• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.51-61
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• 2016

Neurokinin B (NKB) and neurokinin B related peptide (NKBRP) belong to tachykinin peptide family. They act as a neurotransmitter and/or neuromodulator. Mutation of NKB and/or its cognate receptor, NK3R resulted in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in mammals, implying a strong involvement of NKB/NK3R system in controlling mammalian reproduction. Teleosts possess NKBRP as well as NKB, but their roles in fish reproduction need to be clarified. In this study, NKB and NKBRP coding gene (tac3) was cloned from Nile tilapia and sequenced. Based on the sequence, Nile tilapia NKB and NKBRP peptide were synthesized and their biological potencies were tested in vitro pituitary culture. The synthetic NKBRP showed direct inhibitory effect on the expression of GTH subunits at the pituitary level. This inhibitory effect was confirmed in vivo by means of intraperitoneal (ip) injection of synthetic NKB and NKBRP to mature female tilapia (20 pmol/g body weight [BW]). Both NKB and NKBRP had no effect on the plasma level of sex steroids, E2 and 11-KT. However, NKBRP caused declines of expression level of GnRH I, Kiss2 and tac3 mRNAs in the brain while NKB seemed to have no distinct effect. These results indicate some inhibitory roles of NKBRP in reproduction of mature female Nile tilapia, although their exact functions are not clear at the moment.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.179-184
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• 2010

Water temperature influences on various key biological events in fish, but the internal pathway of the temperature effects are not well understood. Heat shock proteins (HSPs), known to respond in the level of cells to many environmental factors including temperature, could improve our understanding on the pathway. Some biological processes such as gonadal development and sex differentiation in the Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus is particularly sensitive to water temperature. In this study, we have investigated the expressions of HSP70 and HSP90 genes in young tilapia at an ordinary temperature ($28^{\circ}C$) and elevated water temperature ($36^{\circ}C$). The distribution of the expressions of HSP70 and HSP90 mRNA in this species were found to be almost ubiquitous, being detected in all tissues studied here (brain, gonad, liver and muscle), suggesting the house keeping functions of these genes. Heat shock by elevating temperature from $28^{\circ}C$ to $36^{\circ}C$ significantly increased the expression of HSP70 mRNA in the gonad, liver and muscle for several hours (P<0.05) (brain tissue was not examined for this). The increased level of HSP70 gene expression recovered to the level at control temperature ($28^{\circ}C$) when fish were kept continuously at high temperature ($36^{\circ}C$) for 24 hours. Contrary to this, expression of HSP90 mRNA did not show significant increase in the gonad and muscle by the same heat shock (P>0.05), except in the liver where the expression of HSP90 mRNA increased continuously for 24 hours at $36^{\circ}C$. The results obtained in this study suggest that response to temperature change in different tissue or organ may utilize different heat shock proteins, and that HSP70 may have some importance in temperature-sensitive gonadal event in the Nile tilapia.

• 한국어병학회지
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.147-153
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• 2009

To study the biological activity of interleukin-$1\beta$(IL-$1\beta$), a proinflammatory cytokine, in nile tilapia, Oreochromis niliticus, the recombinant tilapia IL-$1\beta$ was produced in E. coli cells based on pQE vector. Ni-NTA (nitriloacetic acid) metal affinity chromatography was used to purify recombinant protein. The eluted fractions exhibited a single band of protein with a molecular weight of about 25kDa, which is in close agreement with 25.4 kDa predicted by the cDNA sequence. The biological activity of the purified recombinant tilapia IL-$1\beta$ was tested through its effects on IL-$1\beta$ gene expression, which are known as IL-$1\beta$ inducible genes in mammals and fishes. IL-$1\beta$ gene expression induced by poly I:C, a synthetic double stranded RNA, was also assessed in tilapia head kidney cells. IL-$1\beta$ gene expression was analysed using QPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction). The ratio of the indicated gene expression was expressed as the relative mRNA level to $\beta$-actin mRNA level, which is constitutively expressed in macrophages. Consequently, head kidney cells incubated for three hours with rIL-$1\beta$(10, 2, 1 $\mu{g}$/ml) showed a dose dependent increase in IL-$1\beta$ mRNA levels and 1 $\mu{g}$/ml of poly I:C was also able to induce IL-$1\beta$ gene expression in head kidney in tilapia.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.21-25
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• 2010

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) are mouth-brooders so that the females holding eggs in their mouth sacrifice their somatic growth for reproduction. For this reason, artificial control of reproduction for the culture of this species has been of interest. Manipulation of photoperiod is an emerging technique for such purpose, but little information is available to establish appropriate photoperiod regime. To obtain necessary basic information, sexually mature females were individually accommodated to glass aquarium, and the spawning activity of these females were monitored for two years under natural photoperiod regime. Female tilapia spawned most frequently on March, April and May when the day length gradually increased from 11 hours to 14 hours and least frequently on September, October, November and December when the day length gradually decreased from 13 hours to less than 10 hours in the first year. The decrease of spawning frequency as day length decreased was also observed in the second year, although the increase of spawning frequency as day length increased was less clear. Spawning of female tilapia was less active when the night was dark due to the disappearance of moonlight (Dark Phase), compared to the Phase of Getting Lighter, Light Phase and Phase of Getting Darker. Results from this study suggest that long day length, particularly increasing phase, is favoured for active spawning of Nile tilapia, and that this species, as a tropical fish species, may utilize changing lunar phases as a secondary environmental cue for reproduction.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.38-42
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• 2005

We evaluated the effects of different feeding strategies on the growth of young Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L., in a freshwater recirculating system during summer. Each of twenty fish (Mean body weight$\pm$ SD; 37. 7$\pm$0.10 g) were randomly distributed into each of 24 tanks. Eight treatments were prepared in triplicate. Control fish were hand-fed commercial feed twice daily without starvation. The other seven treatments employed different feeding and starvation strategies ranging from I day starved and 1 day fed (1DS+ 1DF) to 7 days starved to 7 days fed (7DS+7DF). All fish survived to the end of the 44-day feeding trial. The amount of food supplied was highest for the control fish in the control. Food supplied to fish in the 3DS+3DF and 4DS+4DF treatments was significantly lower than that of fish in the 1DS+1DF and 2DS+2DF treatments, but significantly higher than that of fish in the 5DS+5DF, 6DS+6DF and 7DS+7DF treatments. The weight gain of control fish was significantly higher than that of fish in other treatments. Feed efficiency ratio (FER) for fish in the 7DS+7DF treatment was significantly higher than that of fish in the control group, but it did not differ from that of fish in the 1DS+1DF and 2DS+2DF treatments. We concluded that young Nile tilapia raised with different starvation and feeding regimes during the summer in a freshwater recirculating system did not catch up in growth to fish fed daily. However, the enhanced FER of Nile tilapia in the 7DS+ 7DF, 2DS+ 2DF, and 1 DS+ I DF treatments partly explains the compensatory growth of the fish, although their weight gain was relatively low.

• 한국양식학회지
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.247-254
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• 1999

Changes of oxygen consumption of Nile tilapia in relation to different body sizes(average body weight 4 g, 40 g, 120 g and 400 g) and water temperatures ($20^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$ and $30^{\circ}C$) were investigated by a continuous oxygen monitoring system. Mean oxygen consumption of 4 g, 40 g, 120 g and 400 g Nile tilapia at $20^{\circ}C$ were 318.8, 214.9, 84.1 and 69.4 mg $O_2$/kg fish/hr and that at $25^{\circ}C$ were 435.2, 345.9, 151.5 and 115.9 mg $O_2$/kg fish/hr, and that at $30^{\circ}C$ were 611.1, 538.4, 320.8, and 236.0 mg $O_2$/kg fish/hr, respectively. Oxygen consumption per unit body weight tended to decrease exponentially at all temperatures (P<0.05) as body weigth of the fish increased. Oxygen consumption of this fish at $25^{\circ}C$ was $1.61\pm0.18$ times higher than that at $20^{\circ}C$ and oxygen consumption at $30^{\circ}C$ was $1.53\pm0.27$ times higher than that at $25^{\circ}C$. Oxygen consumption per unit body weight linearly increased with the water temperature increased. Also, oxygen consumption of this fish during day time was higher than that during night time at 12L:12D day light condition. The differences between maximum and minimum daily oxygen consumption of this fish increased with the water temperature increased.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.31-38
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• 2012

Kisspeptin has been implicated in the process of puberty onset in various animal groups. This peptide is encoded by a gene, Kiss1 in avian and mammalian species. Contrary to these higher vertebrates, however, fish appeared to have another gene, Kiss2 that also codes for the precursor peptide of kisspeptin. To figure out biological significance of this gene during the puberty onset in fish, the expression profile of Kiss2 gene was investigated in the brain of Nile tilapia together with genes of GPR54, GnRH receptorI (rGnRHI) and GTH subunits ($LH{\beta}$ and $FSH{\beta}$). Expression of Kiss2 mRNA significantly increased at 2 weeks post hatch (wph) and 13 wph ($P$<0.05). This increase coincided with the increases of GPR54 and rGnRH I gene expression. Detection of $LH{\beta}$ and $FSH{\beta}$ subunit gene expression was possible later than 13 wph, indicating the activation of gonadotrophs in the pituitary. Data obtained from this study strongly suggest that, in addition to Kiss1 gene, Kiss2 gene is deeply associated with the onset of puberty by the activation of hypothalamus pituitary gonadal axis in Nile tilapia.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.128-131
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• 2005

The effects of alternate-week feeding strategies on growth and feed efficiency ratio of juvenile Nile tilapia were investigated in a recirculating aquaculture system. Twenty fish initially weighing 25.5 g were randomly distributed into each of 18 tanks to conduct three replicates for each of six different feeding strategies. Weight gain of fish in the control that were fed daily for 6-week feeding trial was significantly higher than those of fish subjected to various alternate-week feeding regimes. Weight gain of fish that were starved for 3 weeks and then fed daily for 3 weeks (3WS+3WF) was not significantly different from that of fish, starved and fed daily for alternate 1-week period during the trial (1WS+1WF), but was significantly higher than those of fish starved for 2 weeks, and fed for 2 weeks (2WS+2WF); fish starved for 4 weeks and fed for 2 weeks (4WS+2WF); and fish fed for 5 weeks and fed for 1 week (5WS+1WF.) The amount of feed supplied to fish in the groups of 1WS+1WF and 3WS+3WF was significantly lower than that fed to fish in the control group, but significantly higher than the amount feed supplied to fish in the other three groups. Feed efficiency ratio for fish in the control group did not differ from that for fish in the groups of 1WS+1WF, 2WS+2WF and 3WS+3WF, but was significantly higher than that for fish in the groups of 4WS+2WF and 5WS+1WF. In conclusion, juvenile Nile tilapia that were subject to starvation for 1 to 5 weeks did not exhibit compensatory growth sufficient to attain the same weight as fish fed daily for 6 weeks. In addition, fish subjected to starvation exhibited low feed efficiency ratio compared to fish fed daily, which were probably attributable to poor weight gain.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.149-158
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• 2020

Kisspeptin, expressed mainly in the hypothalamus, stimulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons to facilitate reproduction. In some model animals, the kisspeptin is also expressed in the pituitary. Recently, a pathway has been suggested in which kisspeptin acts directly on the pituitary to secretion of gonadotropin in mammals. In the present study, pituitaries of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were cultured at different concentrations of kisspeptin-10 (Kp-10, FNYNPLSLRF) for 3 hours to observe the effect of kisspeptin on the expression of follicle-stimulating hormone β subunit (fshβ) gene and luteinizing hormone β subunit (lhβ) gene. Pituitary tissues were cultured with 0.1 μM of Kp-10, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH), or LHRH+Kp-10 for 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours to investigate changes in the expression of fshβ and lhβ mRNA. Pituitaries cultured with high concentration of Kp-10 more than 0.1 μM for 3 hours exhibited a significant increase of fshβ mRNA expression, but not lhβ mRNA. The expression of both fshβ and lhβ mRNA increased after 6 hours in 0.1 μM of Kp-10 medium in comparison with that in the control medium. Tissues cultured in the LHRH medium however exhibited increased expression of both genes not only at 6 but also 12 hours. There were no significant differences of fshβ and lhβ gene expression in tissues cultured with LHRH+KP-10 medium compared with the control. These results suggested that although kisspeptin plays an important role in fshβ and lhβ expression in the pituitary of Nile tilapia, its action is far more complicated than expected.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.343-349
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• 2010

The effects of osmotic stress on the non-specific immune response of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, were investigated. Osmoregulatory mechanism of tilapia has been studied, but less information is available about innate immune response of O. niloticus faced with hyperosmolality. Acute osmotic stress was elicited by transferring tilapia from freshwater (FW) to 24 psu seawater (SW). Non-specific immune parameters including lysozyme activities of plasma and head kidney (HK), alternative complement pathway (ACP) activity in plasma, phagocytic capacities of spleen and HK immune cells, and respiratory burst activity of immune cells in both HK and spleen were analyzed. Lysozyme activities were increased at 1 h and 30 h after transfer to SW, but decreased at 10 h after SW transfer. Conversely, ACP activity increased 10 h after SW transfer. Phagocytic capacity increased slightly at 1 h and 5 h after SW transfer, and respiratory burst activity showed an increase in superoxide release at 10 h after SW transfer. Taken together, these results indicate that the exposure of tilapia to hyperosmotic conditions has immunostimulatory effects on cellular and humoral immune reactions.