Dmrt1 and Cyp17a1 Protein Detection and Relative Quantification in Best Beluga Hybrid Sturgeon Gonads

Abstract

Sturgeons are highly valuable species from both a conservation and economic point of view. Their very sought-after caviar extracted from mature females has both a rich culture around it and opens the way for interesting research. Because of the advanced age at which females and males could be identified in aquaculture it is important to develop a set of molecular markers that could make the distinction easy. For this, a better understanding of the sexual development of sturgeons is necessary. We selected the Dmrt1 (doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1) and the Cyp17a1 (17α-hydroxylase) markers with the scope of investigating the gonad development of sturgeon individuals. Both markers appear to be expressed in the gonad but no statistically significant difference in expression is observed between females and males. This could mean that the markers are equally involved in female and male sexual development at the stage of sampling. This study paves the way for a better understanding of sturgeon sexual development.

Keywords

• gonad development
• western blot
• sturgeons
• aquaculture