Darwin Aquaculture Centre, Channel Island, Darwin, Northern Territory, 0800, Australia.
Genecology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland, 4558, Australia.
Mar Biotechnol (NY). 2018 Aug;20(4):531-541. doi: 10.1007/s10126-018-9824-6. Epub 2018 Apr 28.
Pheromones are considered to play an important role in broadcast spawning in aquatic animals, facilitating synchronous release of gametes. In oysters, the sperm has been implicated as a carrier for the spawn-inducing pheromone (SIP). In hatchery conditions, male pearl oysters (Pinctata maxima) can be stimulated to spawn through a variety of approaches (e.g. rapid temperature change), while females can only be induced to spawn through exposure to conspecific sperm, thus limiting development of targeted pairing, required for genetic research and management. The capacity for commercial production and improvement of genetic lines of pearl oysters could be greatly improved with access to a SIP. In this study, we prepared and sequenced crude and semi-purified P. maxima sperm extracts that were used in bioassays to localise the female SIP. We report that the P. maxima SIP is proteinaceous and extrinsically associated with the sperm membrane. Bioactivity from pooled RP-HPLC fractions, but not individual fractions, suggests that the SIP is multi-component. We conclude that crude sperm preparations, as described in this study, can be used as a sperm-free inducer of female P. maxima spawning, which enables for a more efficient approach to genetic breeding.
信息素被认为在水生动物的广播产卵中发挥重要作用，有助于配子的同步释放。在牡蛎中，精子被认为是产卵诱导信息素 (SIP) 的载体。在孵化条件下，可以通过多种方法（例如快速温度变化）刺激雄性珍珠牡蛎 (Pinctata maxima) 产卵，而只能通过暴露于同种精子来诱导雌性产卵，从而限制了用于遗传研究和管理的目标配对的发展。如果能够获得 SIP，珍珠牡蛎的商业生产和遗传系的改良能力将大大提高。在这项研究中，我们制备并测序了粗提和半纯化的 P. maxima 精子提取物，并用其进行生物测定以定位雌性 SIP。我们报告说，P. maxima SIP 是蛋白质性质的，并且与精子膜外在相关。来自汇集的 RP-HPLC 馏分的生物活性，但不是单个馏分，表明 SIP 是多组分的。我们得出结论，本研究中描述的粗精子制剂可用作雌性 P. maxima 产卵的无精子诱导剂，从而可以更有效地进行遗传育种。
