Does the knockout of melatonin- and gonadotropin-inhibitory-hormone-related genes induce early first maturity?

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K19156
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 40:Forestry and forest products science, applied aquatic science, and related fields
• Research Institution: Fisheries Research and Education Agency
• Principal Investigator: Yoshikawa Hiroyuki 国立研究開発法人水産研究・教育機構, 水産大学校, 講師 (40733936)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-07-09 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: メラトニン / GnIH / 代理親魚技術 / クサフグ / ゲノム編集

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Long generation time, which is often seen in marine fish, is a major obstacle that hinders the development of useful aquaculture strain. Surrogate bloodstock technology, which can produce target aquaculture fish with long generation time from surrogate parent fish (recipient), is a mean to solve this problem, but genetical improvement of recipient for precocious puberty has not been performed. In this study, in order to develop a genetic precocious technology and apply it to genetic improvement of recipient of the surrogate bloodstock technology, we conducted genome editing to produce knockout mutants related to melatonin and gonadotropin release-inhibiting hormone (GnIH), whose loss has been reported to cause premature maturation in mammals etc., and revealed their reproductive characteristics.

Free Research Field

魚類発生工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

有用品種の樹立には、始祖となる魚を交配し、遺伝的変異の固定と均一化をはかる必要があるが、世代時間が長く、体サイズが大型化する海産魚を成熟させて次世代を得るのは容易ではない。本研究では、哺乳類などで報告のあるメラトニンに誘導される生殖腺刺激ホルモン放出抑制ホルモン(GnIH)による成熟抑制機構について、その関連遺伝子の遺伝子破壊を行い、その変異体の成熟特性を評価することで、海産魚における成熟抑制作用の有無や初回成熟への影響を明らかにした。