Follicular development in a sexually plastic fish
Board Location: #106
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: physiology and health science
Session: 2
Yuridia Vega Gonzalez - Idaho State University
Co-Author(s): Heather J. Ray, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID MadeLynn Anderson, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID Kai Park, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID Zach Hawkins, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID Devaleena S. Pradhan, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
We characterized distinct stages indicating oocyte development and maturation in a marine fish, the bluebanded goby, Lythrypnus dalli. This fish is bidirectionally hermaphroditic and can be used to study mechanisms pertaining to oogenesis in adult females and during the process of adult sex change. As a first step, we characterized the ovarian cycle by sectioning and staining ovaries from wild-caught adult fish that were at different stages of gravidity. We hypothesized that these fish would have ovarian follicles that cycle through different stages of maturation throughout their ovarian cycle. We separated the ovary into four phases of cycle and characterized five follicle stages. The early ovarian phases (I-II) were categorized by early-stage follicles (primary growth, cortical alveoli) while later phases (III, IV) were dominated by late-stage follicles at varying degrees of vitellogenesis (Vtg 1, Vtg 2, Vtg 3). The numbers of stage IV follicles were most prevalent in phases 3 and 4 while stage V follicles were only found in phase IV. There were notable differences in interstitial space between phases II and III. We also identified follicles that had composite phenotypes that consisted of mixed phenotypes of three phases. Overall, as the ovarian cycle phases progress, the ovary increases in size and the number of developed follicles present. These data will determine whether L. dalli have similar patterns of oocyte development as seen in other Teleosts. Future studies will investigate the mechanisms by which endocrine signaling molecules and developmental genes regulate oogenesis.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): This project was supported by grants from NSF award number OIA-1757324 from the NSF Idaho EPSCoR Program and ISU Office fir Research to HJR and DSP, and NSF CAREER number 2145398 to DSP.
Faculty Advisor: Devaleena S. Pradhan and Heather J. Ray, devaleenapradhan@isu.eduheatherray2isu.edu
Role: My primary role in the project involves the quantification and classification of ovarian follicles. I have measured ovarian follicle areas using Fiji and classified them into their respective follicle stages. I contributed to analyzing the relationship between follicle size, follicle stage, and ovarian phase by compiling data and creating graphs. I am also contributing to the manuscript, which will summarize our findings.