Ontogenic development of salmon GnRH and chicken GnRH-II systems in the brain of masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou).

Ontogenic development of salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and chicken GnRH-II systems in masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) was examined. Salmon GnRH was first detected by radioimmunoassay in the embryo on day 36 after fertilization. Salmon GnRH-immunoreactive fibers were detected initially by immunocytochemistry in the vicinity of the olfactory placode of the embryo (day 36) and were distributed widely in the brain as well as in the pituitary gland of fish just after hatching (day 80). Salmon GnRH-immunoreactive neuronal somata were first detected about 6 months after fertilization in the rostroventral brain area, ranging from the olfactory nerve to the preoptic area. Salmon GnRH neuronal somata were detected earlier by in situ hybridization than by immunocytochemistry. Neuronal somata expressing salmon GnRH mRNA were first detected in the vicinity of the olfactory epithelium on day 40 and then were seen to be migrating from the olfactory epithelium, along the olfactory nerve, on day 60 and in the transitional area between olfactory nerve and olfactory bulb on day 80. In the brain, these neurons were first detected in the ventral olfactory bulb on day 80, and thereafter they were also detected in the caudal brain regions. The chicken GnRH-II system was detected later than the salmon GnRH system; chicken GnRH-II was first detected by radioimmunoassay on day 57, and chicken GnRH-II-immunoreactive fibers were first detected on day 67. Chicken GnRH-II-immunoreactive neuronal somata were not detected during the observation period. These results suggest that salmon GnRH neurons derive from the olfactory placode and then migrate into the brain and that salmon GnRH is synthesized before chicken GnRH-II.