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MEPS 259:253-261 (2003)
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Abstract
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Salinity preference of silvering Japanese eel Anguilla japonica: evidence from pituitary prolactin mRNA levels and otolith Sr:Ca ratios
Yu San Han1, John Yu Lin Yu2, I Chiu Liao3, Wann Nian Tzeng1,*
1Institute of Zoology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
2Endocrinology Laboratory, Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
3Taiwan Fisheries Research Institute, 199 Hou-Ih Road, Keelung, Taiwan, ROC
*Corresponding author. Email: wnt@ccms.ntu.edu.tw
ABSTRACT: The salinity preference of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica during silvering was validated from the viewpoints of physiological ecology by examining the pituitary prolactin (PRL) mRNA expression and the otolith strontium:calcium (Sr:Ca)
ratios of the eels of different sexual maturity stages collected in an estuary of Taiwan. The PRL possessed a putative signal peptide of 24 amino acids and a mature peptide of 185 amino acids. RT-PCR and real-time quantitative PCR analyses indicated that
the transcript levels of PRL mRNA significantly decreased from yellow to silver stage. On the contrary, the Sr:Ca ratios at the otolith edge of silver eels, which recorded their latest experience of salinity history, significantly increased. The increase
in otolith Sr:Ca ratios and the decrease in PRL mRNA expression are consistent with the timing of migration from freshwater to seawater during silvering of the eel.
KEY WORDS: Japanese eel · Salinity preference · Otolith · Sr:Ca ratio · Prolactin · mRNA · Silvering
Full text in pdf format
Published in MEPS Vol.
259
(2003) on September 12
Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599.
Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 2003
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