Investigation of Sexes and Fertility Potential of Female Russian Sturgeon (<i>Acipenser gueldenstaedtii</i>) and Male American Paddlefish (<i>Polyodon spathula</i>) Hybrids
Katalin Bogár,
Jelena Stanivuk,
Aliz Géczi,
Georgina Lea Fazekas,
Balázs Kovács,
Bence Lázár,
Mariann Molnár,
László Ardó,
Uroš Ljubobratović,
Gyula Kovács,
Dániel Péter,
Eszter Várkonyi,
Jenő Káldy
Affiliations
Katalin Bogár
Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
Jelena Stanivuk
Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
Aliz Géczi
Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
Georgina Lea Fazekas
Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
Balázs Kovács
Department of Molecular Ecology, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Bence Lázár
Institute for Farm Animal Gene Conservation, National Centre for Biodiversity and Gene Conservation, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Mariann Molnár
PhD School of Animal Biotechnology and Animal Science, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
László Ardó
Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
Uroš Ljubobratović
Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
Gyula Kovács
Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
Dániel Péter
Department of Molecular Ecology, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Eszter Várkonyi
Institute for Farm Animal Gene Conservation, National Centre for Biodiversity and Gene Conservation, H-2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Jenő Káldy
Research Centre for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, H-5540 Szarvas, Hungary
In the present study, 10 allotriploid (3nALT) and 10 allopentaploid (5nALP) six-month-old hybrid fish and two 3nALT and four 5nALP 40-month-old hybrid fish, which resulted by crossing female Russian sturgeon Acipenser gueldenstaedtii (Brandt and Ratzeberg, 1833) and male American paddlefish Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792), were investigated. It was revealed that six-month-old 3nALT and 5nALP hybrids initially had “undifferentiated” gonads, while in the 40-month-old hybrids, only testes were observed in one case of 3nALT and one case of 5nALP hybrids. The testis of 3nALT hybrids was partially developed with spermatogonia, while the testis of one 5nALP hybrid was in the second developmental stage with low spermatogonia density. We could not determine gonad differentiation in any of the cases when the hybrid individuals had the W sex chromosome. We concluded that the gonad differentiation of these interfamilial hybrids follows a similar pattern to interspecific hybrids of different ploidy parent species of the family Acipenseridae, which is consistent with the classical Haldane’s rule. However, it cannot be excluded that the testis of this/these hybrid(s) may produce fertile sperm after sexual maturity, depending on additional genetic, hormonal and environmental factors, and further research is required for its evaluation.
