5th International Workshop on the Biology of Fish Gametes – FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

Into the framework of the AQUAGAMETE COST Action activities, the 5th International Workshop on the Biology of Fish Gametes will be held in Ancona (Italy) from September 7 to 11, 2015.

The congress will cover issues on the following topics:

- Oogenesis: the molecular basis behind oocyte growth, egg quality, fertilization and embryo development

– Spermatology: basic and strategic research leading to high quality sperm

– Anthropogenic contaminants in the environment: effects on fish gametes

– Progress and perspectives on fish gametes cryopreservation

– Reproduction and development in ornamental fish and invertebrates

– Fish germ cell: from basic sciences to applied biotechnologies

– Epigenetic programming: from gametes to embryo

We would like to invite contributors like you to submit papers to the conference according to the Instructions for Authors page on our website. The due date for abstract submissions is June 15th, 2015.

All accepted papers will be published in a special issue of General and Comparative Endocrinology to ensure the widest dissemination of your published work.

More info: http://fishgametes2015.com/

Email: fishgametes2015@gmail.com (Program Coordinator: Dr. Oliana Carnevali)

Nuestro último artículo, aceptado en Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology

Impact of dietary fatty acids on muscle composition, liver lipids, milt composition and sperm performance in European eel

I.A.E. Butts, R. Baeza, J.G. Støttrup, M. Krüger-Johnsen, C. Jacobsen, L. Pérez, J.F. Asturiano, J. Tomkiewicz

In order for European eel aquaculture to be sustainable, the life cycle should be completed in captivity. Development of broodstock diets may improve the species’ reproductive success in captivity, through the production of high-quality gametes. Here, our aim was to evaluate the influence of dietary regime on muscle composition, and liver lipids prior to induced maturation, and the resulting sperm composition and performance. To accomplish this fish were reared on three “enhanced” diets and one commercial diet, each with different levels of fatty acids, arachidonic acid (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Neutral lipids from the muscle and liver incorporated the majority of the fatty acid profile, while phospholipids incorporated only certain fatty acids. Diet had an effect on the majority of sperm fatty acids, on the total volume of extractable milt, and on the percentage of motile sperm. 
Here, our results suggest that the total volume of extractable milt is a DHA-dependent process, as we found the diet with the highest DHA level induced the most milt while the diet with the lowest DHA level induced the least amount of milt. The diet with the highest level of ARA induced medium milt volumes but had the highest sperm motility. EPA also seems important for sperm quality parameters since diets with higher EPA percentages had a higher volume of milt and higher sperm motility. In conclusion, dietary fatty acids had an influence on fatty acids in the tissues of male eel and this impacted sperm performance.

Estancia de Ana Leonardo

Ana Leonardo es una estudiante del Master of Aquaculture and Fisheries de la Universidade do Algarve (Faro, Portugal), que durante el segundo curso del Master realiza sus prácticas en el Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Animal de la UPV durante 10 meses, que comenzaron en septiembre de 2014.

Ana está trabajando en el cuidado de peces y la inducción hormonal de la maduración sexual de machos de anguila, la obtención y la evaluación de su esperma, así como realizando cortes histológicos de varios tejidos y colaborando en otras tareas de laboratorio.

La estancia de Ana está cofinanciada por el Programa Erasmus y la Acción COST AQUAGAMETE, que recientemente le ha concedido una segunda ayuda para STSMs.