Pesticide—induced reproductive dysfunction in Indian fishes

Numerous studies are available reporting the effects of pesticides on reproductive activity in Indian fishes. The majority of these reports deals with histopathological changes in gonads and endocrine glands involved in the regulation of reproduction following treatment with different pesticides. Pesticides are reported to cause degenerative changes in gonads and arrest gametogenic processes either by acting directly on the gonads or by interfering with the secretory activity of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-gonadal/thyroid axis that regulates various reproductive events. Secretion of hormones such as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), gonadotropin, growth hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), testosterone, estrogens, 17,20β-dihydroxyprogesterone and thyroid hormones are in general lowered, leading to cessation of gametogenesis, vitellogenesis, oocyte maturation, ovulation, spermiation, etc. Adverse effects of pesticides have also been demonstrated on fecundity, fertilization, hatching, and postembryonic development. The effects are highly variable and depend on the nature, dose, and mode of application of the pesticides.     

克服长毛兔公兔夏季不育的试验

注射促性腺释放激素,克服了长毛兔公兔“夏季不育”问题,有效率达95.65%,治愈率达91.3%。夏季1次自然交配的受胎率为50%,达到了历年来全年重复自然交配平均受胎率的相同水平。本试验所用方法简单,不需复杂设备,费用低廉,有推广应用的价值。     

The effect of whole body lipid on early sexual maturation of 1+ age male chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Early sexual maturation of male chinook salmon (maturation 1 to 4 years prior to females in the same age class) results in reduced effectiveness of stock enhancement programs and a financial loss to the salmon farming industry. Previous studies in Atlantic salmon have shown that the age of maturity in males is affected by growth and/or body energy stores, but the relative roles of these two factors are not well understood. Therefore, an experiment was designed to determine when spermatogenesis was initiated, to characterize the endocrine changes during the onset of puberty in male salmon, and to determine if the level of whole-body lipid affects the incidence of early male maturation in a wild stock (Yakima River) of 1+ spring chinook salmon. Fry were fed a commercial diet from February until August and were then divided into groups of 320 fish (mean weight, 5.6 g) and fed one of five experimental diets (two replicate groups/diet) containing 4%, 9%, 14%, 18% or 22% lipid and 82%, 77%, 73%, 69%, or 65% protein for 13 months. Fish were reared on natural photoperiod and ambient temperature (6°C to 16°C), and pair-fed to a level based on the tank with the lowest feed consumption. Fish were weighed monthly and sampled to determine body composition, pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, plasma insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) levels, and stage of gonadal development.

Throughout the experimental period the mean fish weight was similar among treatment groups. However, from December through the end of the experiment in the following September, maturing males were significantly larger than nonmaturing fish. Initial lipid levels in 0-age experimental fish were near 6%, which is similar to wild fish of the same stock and age captured in the Yakima River during August. Fish fed diets containing more than 4% lipid increased in whole-body lipid content during the first 2 months of feeding and then maintained at relatively constant levels during the course of the experiment. Whole-body lipid levels for the dietary treatment groups averaged 5.6%, 7.1%, 8.2%, 9.4%, and 9.6% from October through the following September.

Based on histological examination of the testes of experimental fish, type B spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes were first observed in some of the yearling males during November. These were designated maturing males. Pituitary FSH levels were significantly higher in maturing than nonmaturing males at this time and for the remainder of the study. Pituitary FSH levels increased as spermatogenesis proceeded in maturing fish, whereas pituitary LH levels increased in maturing 1+ males only during July and August, when testes were in late stages of spermatogenesis and in September during spermiation. Plasma IGF-I levels were significantly higher in maturing males than nonmaturing fish from December through the end of experiment. Since maturing males were significantly larger than nonmaturing fish of both sexes from December through September, the difference in IGF-I levels could be due to differences in growth or due to maturation.

The percentage of maturing males was significantly influenced by whole-body lipid, increasing from 34% in fish fed the 4% lipid diet to 45% in fish fed the 22% lipid diet. These data suggest that whole-body lipid levels influenced the incidence of maturation of male spring chinook salmon. In addition, both endocrine and histological indicators suggest that maturation was initiated in males approximately a full year prior to the time the fish will spawn.     

Selective ligand-binding determinants in catfish and human gonadotropin receptors

In mammals, the specificity of FSH–FSH receptor (FSHR), LH–LH receptor (LHR) and TSH–TSH receptor couples is such that no cross-activation occurs under normal physiological conditions. The interactions between fish gonadotropins and their receptors, however, appear to be less discriminatory. For example, the catfish FSHR is highly responsive to both catfish LH and catfish FSH, while the catfish LHR is specific for its cognate LH. Comparative structure–function studies aimed at elucidating the molecular basis of ligand promiscuity (in fish) and ligand selectivity (in mammals) are described in this paper.     

家畜繁殖学实验中马绒毛膜促性腺激素效价测定方法的改进

家畜繁殖学实验教学中对马绒毛膜促性腺激素效价的测定,通常采用小鼠子宫增重等生物学方法,实验准备时间长、操作步骤多、影响因素多、饲养成本高、测定灵敏度不高。针对传统测定方法存在的不足,在长期从事相关科研和教学的基础上,对测定方法进行了改进,建议使用酶联免疫吸附法,并提出了测定过程中的步骤与需要注意的事项,以期为提高家畜繁殖学实验教学效果提供参考。     

新西兰白兔超数排卵试验研究

采用国产FSH和德国产PMSG对58只新西兰白兔进行超数排卵试验.结果表明:①两种激素均有较好的超数排卵效果,FSH组平均排卵点和平均回收胚胎数分别为28.5±18.0个、22.5±13.2枚;PMSG组分别为27.0±11.9个、23.6±9.8枚.经t检验,两者差异不显著(P＞0.05),但从超排母兔回收胚胎的分布情况看,PMSG组的超排效果更稳定些.②右侧卵巢排卵数无论是FSH组(53.7%),还是PMSG组(50.5%)均高于左侧卵巢(分别为46.3%和49.5%),FSH组左、右侧卵巢排卵数差异极显著(P＜0.01),PMSG组差异不显著(P＞0.05).③两种激素在春季对母兔的超排效果都明显地优于秋季(P＜0.01).     

腐植酸对蛋鸡产蛋后期产蛋性能、抗氧化及促产蛋激素分泌的影响

试验旨在探究天然腐植酸和合成腐植酸对蛋鸡产蛋后期生产性能、蛋品质、血清生化指标、抗氧化指标和激素水平的影响。选取52周龄体重、产蛋率相近的海兰白蛋鸡405羽,随机分成3个组,每组9个重复,每个重复15羽。对照组饲喂基础饲粮(CON组),试验组在基础饲粮中分别添加1 000 mg/kg的天然腐植酸A(HAA组)和合成腐植酸B(HAB组),预试期2周,正试期8周。结果表明:与CON组相比,添加腐植酸均可提高平均蛋重(P<0.05),降低不合格蛋率(P<0.05)和料蛋比(P<0.01),其中HAA组产蛋率极显著提高,HAA组的料蛋比低于HAB组(P<0.01);饲粮添加腐植酸对蛋品质无显著影响;与CON组相比,HAA组血清中白蛋白含量降低(P<0.05),HAB组乳酸脱氢酶活性提高(P<0.05),HAA组与HAB组血清中甘油三酯含量均降低(P<0.01);相比于CON组,添加HAB可提高谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶活性(P<0.05);与CON组相比,饲粮中添加腐植酸提高了血清中促黄体素水平(P<0.01),对促卵泡素水平有升高趋势(P=0.060),且HAA组中促卵泡素水平高于HAB组(P<0.01)。结果提示,腐植酸可促进机体促性腺激素分泌,改善机体抗氧化水平,显著提高产蛋后期蛋鸡的生产性能,且天然提取的腐植酸作用效果更佳。     

Seasonal dynamics in gonadotropin secretion and E2-binding in the catfish Heteropneustes fossilis

In the present investigation, significant annual/seasonal variations were noticed in plasma and pituitary gonadotropin (GTH) which were correlated with gonado-somatic index, plasma estradiol-17β, and nuclear E₂ receptor (NE₂R) in the pituitary, hypothalamus and telencephalon. The NE₂R concentrations and dissociation constant (k _d) values showed significant seasonal variations with high values in the late preparatory phase and low values in the postspawning phase. The NE₂R levels were the highest in the pituitary, followed by the hypothalamus and telencephalon in all the seasons. In the prespawning phase, ovariectomy (OVX) elicited a strong negative feedback on GTH secretion with a bimodal pattern of release and elevated the NE₂R levels and k _d values, without producing any significant change in the resting phase suggesting that E₂ appears to exert differential feedbacks on GTH secretion.     

Effects of Full-Length Kisspeptin Administration on Follicular Development in Japanese Black Beef Cows

Kisspeptin is a key molecule that stimulates gonadotropin secretion via release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). In the present study, our aim was to investigate whether kisspeptin has stimulatory effects on follicular development via GnRH/gonadotropin secretion in cows. Japanese Black beef cows were intravenously injected with full-length bovine kisspeptin [Kp-53 (0.2 or 2 nmol/kg)] or vehicle 5 days after they exhibited standing estrus (Day 0). In cows injected with Kp-53 at 2 nmol/kg, the follicular sizes of the first dominant follicles increased on Day 6 and thereafter. Ovulation of the first dominant follicle occurred in 1 out of 4 cows treated with Kp-53 at 2 nmol/kg. Injection of Kp-53 at 2 nmol/kg increased the concentration of plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) but not follicle-stimulating hormone, over a 4-h period following injection in all cows. The present study suggests that administration of full-length kisspeptin causes LH secretion, which is sustained for a few hours, and it is capable of stimulating follicular development and/or ovulation.