Bilhalva Lina C, Zebovitz Leah N, Nutter Felicia B, Higgs Amanda, Fox Dewayne, Cray Carolyn, Conrado Francisco O
Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA.
Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA.
Vet Clin Pathol. 2025 Jun;54(2):158-166. doi: 10.1111/vcp.70020. Epub 2025 Jun 2.
The Atlantic sturgeon has faced severe population declines due to overfishing and environmental changes, resulting in its critical conservation status. There is concern today for the survival of this species, leading to the initiation of studies focused on its conservation.
The aims of this study were to establish reference intervals (RIs) for plasma protein fractions in Atlantic sturgeon using agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE), to evaluate whether changes occur during the spawning season, and to compare results with those obtained using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE).
Between late May and June 2022, blood samples were collected from 81 spawning Atlantic sturgeon. Plasma from all individuals was analyzed using AGE, with a subset of 16 paired samples further evaluated using CZE for comparative analysis.
AGE revealed six distinct protein fractions, while CZE identified seven fractions. Significant differences in the proportions of fraction 3 (traditionally referred to as alpha-1 globulins) were observed between early and late spawning seasons.
Comparison of AGE and CZE results showed that while both methods provided useful data, CZE offered greater resolution and detection sensitivity. Our results provide important data for sturgeon health assessment; however, discrepancies between the two methods underscore the need for method-specific RI.
