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Induction of sex reversal in blue drum ( Nibea mitsukurii ) and gynogenetic yellow drum ( Nibea albiflora ) by oral administration of letrozole
Author(s) -
Qin Zeqian,
Yang Fang,
Tian Lu,
Chen Ruiyi,
Xu Dongdong,
Takeuchi Yutaka
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/are.14434
Subject(s) - biology , letrozole , drum , zoology , gonadosomatic index , andrology , sex reversal , hermaphrodite , aromatase inhibitor , gonad , anatomy , botany , population , aromatase , fecundity , genetics , mechanical engineering , engineering , medicine , demography , cancer , sociology , breast cancer , gene
The objective of this study was to test the efficiency of an aromatase inhibitor, letrozole (LZ), to induce masculinization in blue drum ( Nibea mitsukurii ) and gynogenetic yellow drum ( N. albiflora ). Two experiments (Exp‐1 and Exp‐2) were performed to investigate the effect of LZ on the growth, sex ratio and gonad development in these two fishes. In Exp‐1, blue drum were treated with oral administration of letrozole at different doses (0, 1, 10, 100 mg/kg). In Exp‐2, gynogenetic yellow drum were orally administered different doses of LZ (0, 10, 100 mg/kg) and a dose of 10 mg/kg 17α‐methyltestosterone (MT). The treatments in both experiments were performed from 25 to 85 days post hatch (dph). As a result, all the LZ‐treated fish were phenotypic males despite of slower growth than the control during the treatment period. Free spermatozoa were observed from 150 dph onwards and the gonadosomatic index of the LZ‐treated fish did not differ significantly from that in the control at maturity. However, the sex‐reversed fish induced by MT exhibited a high proportion (33.4%) of testicular abnormalities. Our results showed that oral administration of LZ was efficient in inducing sex reversal in drums, and thereby facilitated their mono‐sex culture.