Effect of Exogenous Hormones on Spermiation in the Starry Flounder Platichthys stellatus

Two experiments were designed to examine short-term effects of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and long-term effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa), $17{\alpha}-hydroxyprogesterone$ (17P), and $17{\alpha},20{\beta}-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one\;(17,20{\beta}P)$, alone or in combination, on milt production of the starry flounder Platichthys stellatus. In the first experiment, fish were injected with either 200 IU hCG/kg body weight or the same volume of marine fish Ringer's solution (MFRS). In the second experiment, each fish was implanted with a blank cholesterol pellet (control), $200\;{\mu}g$ GnRHa, $500\;{\mu}g$ 17P, or $100\;{\mu}g\;17,20{\beta}P/kg$ body weight alone or in combination. In the first experiment, hCG injection resulted in an increase in the expressible milt volume and a decrease in the spermatocrit (Sct). After pellet implantation in the second experiment, the milt volume was increased in males treated with GnRHa, GnRHa+17P, or $GnRHa+17,20{\beta}P$. On day 7 after hormone pellet implantation, the milt volume began to increase, and on day 14, the milt volume in the $GnRHa+500\;{\mu}g$ 17P group was significantly higher than that in the control group. Compared with the control group, the hormone pellet-treated groups had a significant reduction in the mean Sct and sperm concentration (Sc) at day 7 after pellet implantation, while there were no differences in total sperm number. The results suggest that increases in milt volume are generally associated with decreases in Sct and SC, suggesting that the main mechanism for the increase in milt volume was milt hydration.

외인성 호르몬 처리가 강도다리 (Platichthys stellatus)의 배정에 미치는 영향