2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Regulatory mechanism of vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone in the kuruma prawn Marsupenaeus japonicus

Research Project

Project/Area Number	22580216
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	General fisheries
Research Institution	Fisheries Research Agency
Principal Investigator	OKUMURA Takuji 独立行政法人水産総合研究センター, 増養殖研究所, 主幹研究員 (30372030)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	OHIRA Tsuyoshi 神奈川大学, 理学部, 准教授 (10361809)
Project Period (FY)	2010 – 2012
Keywords	生理 / 増養殖 / 甲殻類 / 内分泌
Research Abstract	In crustaceans, ovarian development is under the inhibitory regulation of vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone (VIH) secreted from a neuroendocrine system in the eyestalks. In this study, its regulatory mechanism was investigated in the kuruma prawn Marsupenaeus japonicus. In immature shrimp, hemolymph VIH levels were constantly low. This result suggests that VIH inhibits ovarian development during the immature stage and that a decline of its levels is a trigger of the initiation of ovarian development. Furthermore, after eyestalk ablation, expression levels of several genes were found to change in the ovaries. This result suggests that various genes are involved in the initiation of ovarian development.