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Biological properties of Indian walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) (L.) gonadotropins in female reproduction

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Abstract

The biological activities of catfish LH-like (semi-purified: s200a and purified Qa) and FSH-like (semi-purified: s200b and purified: Qb) were compared in intact and hypophysectomized female catfish, Clarias batrachus, during preparatory and the pre-spawning periods on vitellogenesis and ovarian maintenance, as well as in vitro final maturation of oocytes, germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). During preparatory period, in intact catfish, semi-purified FSH-like induced complete vitellogenesis through the production of estradiol-17β (E2) and vitellogenin (Vg) accompanied by the formation of SIII yolky oocytes. On the other hand, semi-purified LH-like had induced the formation of only SII (characterized by the appearance of cortical alveoli in cytoplasm) oocytes, which indicates the initiation of vitellogenesis. In hypophysectomized female catfish, purified LH-like but not FSH-like induced the formation of SII oocytes in the ovaries. Treatment with semi-purified LH- and FSH-like at the dose level of 5 µg/fish/day for 7 days significantly maintained the yolky oocytes in gravid catfish after hypophysectomy with a significant reduction in plasma Vg, but not E2 levels, indicating some unknown GtH-induced factor doing the job. In in vitro oocytes culture, both LH- and FSH-like induced GVBD, but the response was significantly more with LH-like than FSH-like. All these findings revealed that both LH-like and FSH-like have overlapping physiological functions, but their responses differ depending on the physiological status of the catfish.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by Grants from ICAR (F. No. 4(20)2002-ASR-I) and DST (F. No. SR/SO/AS-31/2003), New Delhi, sanctioned to Dr. P. Nath and by the UGC-sponsored CAS program to the Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, 731235, West Bengal, India

    Shrabanti Sarkar, Debapriya Bhattacharya, Subir Kumar Juin & Panchanan Nath

  2. Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Kwazulu Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Shrabanti Sarkar & Debapriya Bhattacharya

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  1. Shrabanti Sarkar
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  2. Debapriya Bhattacharya
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Correspondence to Panchanan Nath.

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Sarkar, S., Bhattacharya, D., Juin, S.K. et al. Biological properties of Indian walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) (L.) gonadotropins in female reproduction. Fish Physiol Biochem 40, 1849–1861 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-014-9973-0

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