Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, 5006 Bergen, Norway.
Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, ReXenMar, CIM, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jul 8;25(13):7488. doi: 10.3390/ijms25137488.
Egg quality in fishes is commonly determined by fertilisation success and cleavage patterns as a phenotypic outcome of underlying regulatory mechanisms. Although these phenotypic estimators of egg quality are useful in farming conditions, these "good quality" egg batches do not always translate to good larval growth and survival. The identification of genes involved in embryonic development may help find links between genetic factors of maternal origin and egg quality. Herein, the relative expression of seven stage-specific developmental genes of Atlantic cod was analysed using quantitative PCR to understand the function during embryogenesis and its relationship with egg quality. Genes and showed significant differential expression between developmental stages and significant upregulation from blastula and somite stages, respectively. The comparison of spawning batches showed that the relative gene expression of genes , , and was significantly higher from the middle of the spawning season where phenotypic quality estimators establish the best egg quality. Moreover, a positive significant correlation was observed between quality estimators based on egg morphology and the genetic expression of genes and during somitogenesis. This study suggests that the combination of quality estimators, genetics and batch timing could help optimise reproductive protocols for commercial stocks of Atlantic cod.
鱼类的卵质量通常通过受精成功和卵裂模式来确定，这些模式是潜在调节机制的表型结果。尽管这些卵质量的表型估计在养殖条件下很有用，但这些“高质量”的卵批并不总是转化为良好的幼体生长和存活率。鉴定参与胚胎发育的基因有助于发现母体遗传因素与卵质量之间的联系。在此，使用定量 PCR 分析了大西洋鳕鱼的七个阶段特异性发育基因的相对表达，以了解胚胎发生过程中的功能及其与卵质量的关系。基因和显示出在发育阶段之间的显著差异表达，并且分别从囊胚和体节阶段开始显著上调。产卵批次的比较表明，在表型质量估计值确定最佳卵质量的产卵季节中期，基因、、、和的相对基因表达显著更高。此外，在体节发生过程中，基于卵形态的质量估计值与基因和的遗传表达之间观察到正显著相关性。这项研究表明，质量估计值、遗传学和批次时间的结合可以帮助优化大西洋鳕鱼商业种群的繁殖方案。
