GTHREG · Differential regulation of gonadotropins

Differential regulation of gonadotropins

As wild fisheries catches are declining, they can no longer sustain the world needs and aquaculture is becoming a more prominent supplier of fish for human consumption. In the last three decades global fish production from aquaculture has expanded by almost 12 fold at an average annual rate of almost 9%, making aquaculture one of the fastest growing sectors worldwide. Aquaculture is set to remain one of the fastest-growing animal food-producing sectors and, in the next decade, total production from both capture and aquaculture will exceed that of beef, pork or poultry. Despite these global trends, European aquaculture accounts for only 18% of total European fish production. One of the major bottlenecks in captive rearing of fish is the control of their reproductive biology and in many foodfish species this concerns remains the main challenge hindering their production. As most aquacultured species are teleosts, comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the factors regulating the teleost reproductive axis is paramount for enabling the future growth of fish production through aquaculture. Our research focuses on the key regulators of reproduction in vertebrates, namely the hypothalamic peptide gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and its pituitary targets, the gonadotropins luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). The zebrafish genetic toolbox and the anatomy of the fish hypothlamo-pituitary (HP) axis provide a unique, accessible and relevant model to dissect out the mechanisms underlying gonadotropin release. Using the zebrafish toolbox we aim to better understand how the GnRH system develops in fish and how it affects the secretion of the two gonadotropins in the adult pituitary. These insights are expected to increase our ability to control and manipulate reproduction in commercially important species.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union