Conference presentation
Development of Spermatogonia: A transplantation (surrogate) technology for production of Southern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus macoyii) seed
2012 University Research Conference Program Book, p.13
USC Research Conference, 2012 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 09-Jul-2012–13-Jul-2012)
University of the Sunshine Coast
2012
Abstract
The Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT), Thunnus macoyii, is a highly sought after fish in the Japanese and international market and as such, it is garnering great interest in the aquaculture sector, in attempts to farm the SBT in aquaculture facilities. However, SBT reaches sexual maturity at the age of 10-12 years, weighing approximately 100-150 kg, which implies heavy husbandry and maintenance costs and labour. Further to this, SBT broodstock cannot be handled for reproductive assessment, and the spawning season in captivity is short, thus limiting work on larval rearing and juvenile stages. Therefore, in order to secure a steady supply of SBT seed, both for R&D and commercial applications, improvement in SBT reproductive performance is needed. One of the most important recent discoveries that may revolutionize SBT aquaculture has been the development of surrogate broodstock technology, pioneered by Professor Gore Yoshizaki and his research group (Yoshizaki et al., 2003). Surrogate technology is already used across the medical and agricultural disciplines, when embryos from high value cows or mares are implanted in less valuable surrogates. Fish however, encorporates a flexible and conserved gonads development mechanism, allowing successful transplantation of primordial germ and Spermatogonia A cells into larvae of a different species and even families of fish. The transplanted cells then join the native germ cells' migration routes to the genital ridge and can differentiate into a functioning donor derived gonad. Transplanting SBT germ cells in a small and fast growing host such as Yellowtail Kingfish (YTK), Mactuna, Skipjack tuna, etc. and obtaining a surrogate which develops gonads with SBT eggs and sperm, will transform broodstock management by reducing dramatically the cost of facilities, enabling year round SBT seed production and opening the door for the development of a genetic selection program for SBT, as it effectively cuts the generation time to 2-3 years.
Details
- Title
- Development of Spermatogonia: A transplantation (surrogate) technology for production of Southern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus macoyii) seed
- Authors
- Ido Bar (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health and Education
- Publication details
- 2012 University Research Conference Program Book, p.13
- Conference details
- USC Research Conference, 2012 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 09-Jul-2012–13-Jul-2012)
- Publisher
- University of the Sunshine Coast
- Date published
- 2012
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449389702621
- Output Type
- Conference presentation
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