Marine Biotechnology最新文献

{"title":"Genetic Transformation of the Marine Oleaginous Microalga, Marinichlorella sp. NKG400014","authors":"Ryota Kumakubo,&nbsp;Kento Sagawa,&nbsp;Tsuyoshi Tanaka","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10473-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10473-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Microalgae attract significant attention as promising biofuel sources. However, lack of an efficient genetic transformation system hinders their use in advanced genetic engineering applications. We previously identified the marine oleaginous microalgal strain, NKG400014, from our marine microalgal culture collection via Nile red screening. Subsequent phylogenetic analysis revealed that strain NKG400014 belonged to the new genus, <i>Marinichlorella</i>. To date, successful genetic transformation of <i>Marinichlorella</i> species has not been reported. In this study, we aimed to investigate the growth characteristics of NKG400014 to clarify its oleaginous features as a biofuel producer. Then, we established a technique for NKG400014 genetic transformation via electroporation and optimized the key parameters. Two selectable markers (hygromycin phosphotransferase and neomycin phosphotransferase II genes) were used to assess the transformation efficiency under endogenous and exogenous promoters. Endogenous promoters of <i>Marinichlorella</i> sp. were more efficient for transformation than its exogenous promoters. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first successful genetic transformation of <i>Marinichlorella</i> sp.. Further development of genetic tools and metabolic engineering approaches can enhance the lipid productivity of this strain, facilitating the economic production of microalgal biofuels.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12141415/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144223897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of Host, Cell Density, and Timing of Injection on Efficiency for Xenogen Production in Ictalurid Catfish","authors":"Kate B. Pottle,&nbsp;Darshika U. Hettiarachchi,&nbsp;Mei Shang,&nbsp;Baofeng Su,&nbsp;Jacob Al-Armanazi,&nbsp;Jinhai Wang,&nbsp;Misha Soman,&nbsp;Hamza Dilawar,&nbsp;Ian A. E. Butts,&nbsp;Rex A. Dunham","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10466-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10466-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Optimization of xenogenesis for hybrid catfish (♀ channel catfish, <i>Ictalurus punctatus</i> × ♂ blue catfish, <i>I. furcatus</i>) embryo production was the goal. The effect of density of unsorted gonadal cells (80,000, 100,000, or 120,000 cells/fry) from blue catfish (BGCs) injected into triploid channel catfish surrogates, and BGCs or channel catfish (CGCs) into triploid white catfish (<i>Ameiurus catus</i>) surrogates on proliferation and colonization rates in surrogates injected at 4-, 5-, or 6-days post-hatch (DPH) was evaluated. At 45 and 90 DPH, survival and size of surrogates, and colonization/proliferation of donor cells (cell area &lt; 150 μm² and cluster area &gt; 150 μm²) were evaluated. Survival and size of all surrogate species were not impacted by cell density or donor. All surrogate species injected with 100,000 cells/fry had larger cluster cell areas than those injected with 80,000 cells/fry. White catfish surrogates with BGCs and CGCs had larger cell areas when injected with 100,000 cells/fry than those injected with 80,000 cells/fry. Both cell and cluster area increased by 90 DPH for all surrogates. PCR and PKH26 red fluorescence analysis confirmed that &gt; 89% and &gt; 86% of surrogates were positive xenogens at 45 and 90 DPH, respectively. No surrogate type or donor was superior to the others regarding colonization and proliferation, survival or growth, thus, channel catfish or white catfish were equally effective surrogates. Potential advantages of white catfish are small size, early sexual maturity, and spawning early in the season. These findings enhance the efficiency of germ cell transplantation for commercial hybrid catfish production.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10126-025-10466-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144140142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic Basis of Low-Salinity Tolerance in the Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) as Revealed by Estimation of Genetic Parameters and Genome-Wide Association Study","authors":"Xiaojie Han,&nbsp;Ben Yang,&nbsp;Chao Guo,&nbsp;Mengmeng Xu,&nbsp;Deqi Sun,&nbsp;Chengjun Zhi,&nbsp;Qi Li,&nbsp;Shikai Liu","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10465-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10465-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Pacific oyster (<i>Crassostrea gigas</i>), a species of significant economic importance in global aquaculture, faces increasing challenges due to climate change and salinity fluctuations in coastal environments. This study aims to explore the breeding potential of low salinity tolerance traits and dissect their genetic basis, thereby improving environmental adaptability and expanding aquaculture zones. A total of 845 oysters from 36 full families were exposed to a low-salinity challenge (10 practical salinity units) for assessing phenotypic variation, estimating genetic parameters, and dissecting the genetic basis of low-salinity tolerance. The variation in survival rates among families (0–27.27%) highlighted substantial phenotypic plasticity of low-salinity tolerance. Heritability estimates for low-salinity tolerance traits ranged from 0.141 to 0.277, indicating low to moderate level genetic control of the trait. The low genetic and phenotypic correlations were observed between low-salinity tolerance and growth traits. Using a high-throughput and cost-effective genotyping approach by low-coverage whole genome sequencing with genotype imputation, we genotyped 297 samples with contrasted performance in low-salinity tolerance and detected 3,830,446 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for genetic analysis. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) uncovered the polygenic architecture of low-salinity tolerance and identified 16 SNPs associated with eight genes involved in oxidative metabolism, transmembrane transport, and immune defense. This study performed the first estimation of genetic parameters for low-salinity tolerance in <i>C. gigas</i> and identified genetic markers and associated genes for the trait, providing valuable information toward genetic improvement of low-salinity tolerance in the oyster using both traditional and genomic selection breeding strategies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144117746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differential Methylation Analysis of Hypermelanosis in Chinese Tongue Sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)","authors":"Yaqun Zhang,&nbsp;Feng Xu,&nbsp;Yitong Zhang,&nbsp;Songlin Chen,&nbsp;Hengde Li","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10467-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10467-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Hypermelanosis on the blind side is a major concern in tongue sole (<i>Cynoglossus semilaevis</i>) aquaculture in China and causes great economic loss for farmers. To investigate the relationship between DNA methylation and hypermelanosis, different skin tissues on both the ocular and blind sides of both normal and hypermelanotic fish were used in this study, and set analysis was utilized to narrow and filter the possible, potential, and direct differentially methylated regions (DMRs). A total of 2278, 1015, and 6740 DMRs were discovered, which belonged to 1786, 908, and 4210 genes, for possible, potential, and direct methylation types, respectively. Enrichment analysis revealed that the genes harboring DMRs associated with hypermelanosis were involved in the development of the skeletal system and embryonic organs during morphogenesis. Tens of key genes were mutually found by comparing methylation results with reported transcriptomic, ncRNA, and genetic studies. These results implied that hypermelanosis on the blind side in tongue sole is a complex trait that is affected by both genetic factors and environmental conditions and is regulated by a complicated gene network.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144108448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unveiling the Characteristics of Microbiota in Different Mucosal Layers of Leopard Coral Grouper (Plectropomus leopardus)","authors":"Jiahui Wang,&nbsp;Shengtao Gao,&nbsp;Zhenyuan Xu,&nbsp;Zhihui Yang,&nbsp;Qianqian Mu,&nbsp;Zijian Li,&nbsp;Pingping Liu,&nbsp;Jingjie Hu,&nbsp;Zhenmin Bao","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10458-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10458-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Mucosal microbiomes play an important role in digestion, nutrition, and resistance to pathogens and toxins in fish; thus, characterizing the mucosal microbiomes of economically important fish species is paramount. In this study, mucosal microbiomes of healthy leopard coral grouper (<i>Plectropomus leopardus</i>), which is of economic importance worldwide, were systematically analyzed and compared by using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The analysis of alpha-diversity and beta-diversity revealed significant differences in the structure and composition of the microbial community between different mucosal layers of <i>P. leopardus</i>. The skin microbiota showed the lowest microbial diversity among the three tissues, and the highest interindividual variability within gill groups was observed. Proteobacteria is the dominant phylum of the gut, skin, and gill microbiomes. Microbial biomarkers of the three mucosal tissues were identified, with the genera <i>Parvibaculum</i>, <i>Aminobacter</i>, <i>Sphingobium</i>, and <i>Ralstonia</i> for skin; <i>Mesoflavibacter</i>, <i>Winogradskyella</i>, <i>Malaciobacter</i>, <i>Nautella</i>, and <i>Marinobacterium</i> for gills; and <i>Cetobacterium</i>, <i>Photobacterium</i>, and <i>Vibrio</i> for gut. These genera were also the core microorganisms in each tissue. A large number of identical pathways of the three mucosal surfaces microbiome (e.g., pathways related to metabolism, human diseases, genetic/environmental information processing) and some specifically enriched pathways in each tissue were identified. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that there were more ecological communities and higher functional diversity in the gill microbiota, and the interactions between gut microbiota are closer and more stable. Our study provides a new perspective for a comprehensive understanding of the mucosal microbiota of <i>P. leopardus</i>, contributing to an in-depth exploration of the interaction between fish and microorganisms, and may help to predict potential disease outbreaks, thus promoting the development of the fish farming industry.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144100262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Three New α-Pyrone Derivatives with Antiepileptic Activity from the Marine Actinomycete Nocardiopsis sp. NBUDK19","authors":"Jinling Li,&nbsp;Zhiyan Zhou,&nbsp;Fangjian Feng,&nbsp;Wei Yuan,&nbsp;Yawen Zhang,&nbsp;Jiaxing Wang,&nbsp;Bin Zhang,&nbsp;Haixiao Jin,&nbsp;Shan He,&nbsp;Lijian Ding","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10462-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10462-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Epilepsy is a serious brain disease that urgently needs new drugs to treat it. In this study, three new <i>α</i>-pyrone derivatives, nocardipones A − C (<b>1 − 3</b>), were isolated from the sponge-associated actinomycete <i>Nocardiopsis</i> sp. NBUDK19 guided by anti-epileptic bioactivity using an in vivo zebrafish model. Compounds <b>1</b> − <b>3</b> were isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatography combined with semi-preparative HPLC. The structures of <b>1 − 3</b> were elucidated by UV, HRESIMS, NMR spectroscopic analysis, optical rotation, and computational chemical calculations. Our pharmacological study showed that compounds <b>1 − 3</b> exhibited notable reductions in seizure-like locomotor activity at 5 μg/mL. The qPCR analysis showed that compounds <b>1 − 3</b> significantly regulated the mRNA expression levels of <i>c-fos</i> and genes associated with GABAergic-glutamatergic signaling, including <i>gria1b</i> and <i>gat1</i>. The molecular docking revealed that compounds <b>1 − 3</b> strongly binding to 4-aminobutyric acid transaminase, with binding energies of − 7.3, − 7.8, and − 7.3 kcal/mol, respectively. This work enriches bioactive drug discovery to treat epilepsy and illustrates an underlying pharmacological and molecular mechanism of these natural <i>α</i>-pyrones.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143949688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex-Biased Gene Expression of RNAi Pathway Components in the Sea Lice Caligus rogercresseyi","authors":"Alexandra Brante,&nbsp;Paulina Bustos,&nbsp;Paulina Schmitt,&nbsp;Rodolfo Farlora","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10463-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10463-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>RNA interference (RNAi) is a conserved mechanism for post-transcriptional gene regulation and a critical process of arthropod immunity. This study investigates RNAi-associated genes in <i>Caligus rogercresseyi</i>, an ectoparasitic sea louse that poses significant challenges to salmon aquaculture. In that regard, 16 RNAi-associated genes were identified by in silico analysis, including <i>Cr-AGO1</i>, <i>Cr-CNOT1</i>, <i>Cr-DCR</i>, <i>Cr-SND1</i>, and <i>Cr-XRN1</i>. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated clustering with homologous sequences from other arthropods, particularly the ectoparasitic copepod <i>Lepeophtheirus salmonis</i>. RNA-Seq analyses revealed developmentally regulated expression patterns, with RNAi-associated genes clustered into four distinct expression profiles. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) validation confirmed significant male-biased expression for several key genes, including <i>Cr-AGO1</i> (109-fold increase), <i>Cr-DCR</i> (22-fold), <i>Cr-XRN1</i> (22-fold), <i>Cr-SND1</i> (fourfold), and <i>Cr-CNOT1</i> (threefold), suggesting potential roles in male reproductive processes such as spermatogenesis. <i>Cr-DDX6</i>, <i>Cr-Drosha</i>, and <i>Cr-XPO5</i>, potentially involved in oocyte development and RNA transport, exhibited female-biased expression. These results provide new insights into RNAi-associated gene expression in <i>C. rogercresseyi</i>, uncovering significant developmental and sex-biased expression patterns. Characterizing these critical genes establishes a foundation for exploring control strategies based on the RNAi process, targeting sex-biased and developmentally essential genes. Such treatments could reduce reproductive success in sea lice while minimizing environmental impact, offering a sustainable alternative for managing caligidosis in aquaculture.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143930137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transcriptome Analysis of Genes Responsive to Nutrient Level Changes in the Marine Red Alga Pyropia yezoensis (Nori)","authors":"Motoshige Yasuike,&nbsp;Natsuki Hasegawa,&nbsp;Yoji Nakamura,&nbsp;Yuki Hongo,&nbsp;Youhei Fukui,&nbsp;Mahiko Abe,&nbsp;Noboru Murase","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10461-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10461-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The cultivation of the red alga <i>Pyropia</i> (nori) is among the most significant aquaculture industries in East Asia. Nutrient deficiency-induced “discoloration” poses a serious threat to the industry, substantially impacting both harvest quality and production levels. In this study, we conducted transcriptome analysis (RNA-Seq) of <i>P. yezoensis</i> to gain deeper insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying physiological responses to nutrient limitation that lead to discoloration. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis estimated that under nutrient-rich conditions, pathways involved in photosynthesis (carbon fixation) and respiration (tricarboxylic acid [TCA] cycle and glycolysis) are more activated. In contrast, under nutrient-deficient conditions, upregulation of genes related to the uptake of external substances and stress response was observed. Additionally, seven genes (<i>ant1-2</i>, <i>pup</i>, <i>drg2</i>, <i>ankrd</i>, <i>bckdha</i>, <i>lhcb</i>, and an unknown gene) identified from the RNA-Seq results as potential discoloration markers were successfully validated through RT-qPCR analysis. The fundamental molecular insights into discoloration in <i>P. yezoensis</i> provided by this study will aid in developing future discoloration prediction methods and breeding discoloration-resistant <i>Pyropia</i> varieties.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143925440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application of Digester Effluent from Methane Fermentation to the Cultivation of the Haptophyte Tisochrysis lutea Promotes the Accumulation of Photosynthetic Pigments","authors":"Akiko Inoue,&nbsp;Nobuko Nishikawa,&nbsp;Yuji Suzuki,&nbsp;Shinobu Hosoda,&nbsp;Yasushi Iwata,&nbsp;Kohei Yoneda,&nbsp;Yoshiaki Maeda,&nbsp;Iwane Suzuki","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10460-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10460-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The microalgae attract attention by producing useful compounds, such as fatty acids, pigments, and biofuels, from CO₂ via photosynthesis. This process requires not only CO₂ but also water and micro- and minor nutrients. Applying seawater and marine microalgae, especially for large-scale industrial production, reduces the cost of acquiring large amounts of water for cultivation. However, the concentrations of combined nitrogen and certain metal ions, such as Fe, in the seawater are lower than in the general culture media for microalgae. We applied digester effluent from the methane fermentation as the source of these nutrients. In this study, we evaluated the application of digester effluent for cultivating a haptophyte, <i>Tisochrysis lutea</i>. At first, we confirmed the algal cells could grow by ammonium as a sole nitrogen source because ammonium was abundantly contained in the digester effluent. Then, we applied the digester effluent as a source of nutrients and found that the optimum growth was obtained when digester effluent was supplied at 2.8% (v/v) in artificial seawater. Surprisingly, the cells in this condition had increased photosynthetic pigment contents such as fucoxanthin and chlorophyll compared to those in the standard culture conditions. We surveyed ingredients in the digester effluent that could potentially increase pigment accumulation and found that iron was a critical nutrient that caused the accumulation of pigments. These findings might provide valuable information for applying digester effluent to cultivate microalgae.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143908759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sterilization of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) via Overexpression of bax Gene Regulated by a Tet-off System in the Primordial Germ Cells","authors":"Zhi Ye,&nbsp;Ahmed Elaswad,&nbsp;Guyu Qin,&nbsp;Dongdong Zhang,&nbsp;Baofeng Su,&nbsp;Karim Khalil,&nbsp;Zhenkui Qin,&nbsp;Nermeen Y. Abass,&nbsp;Qi Cheng,&nbsp;Ramjie Odin,&nbsp;Khoi Vo,&nbsp;Nathan Backenstose,&nbsp;David Drescher,&nbsp;Mei Shang,&nbsp;Hanbo Li,&nbsp;Dan Zhang,&nbsp;William S. Bugg,&nbsp;Kamal Gosh,&nbsp;Rex A. Dunham","doi":"10.1007/s10126-025-10456-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10126-025-10456-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Transgenic technologies have been used for genetic improvement of catfish performance with notable success. However, these developments are useless from a commercialization standpoint without extremely efficient confinement. Transgenic sterilization has the potential to accomplish 100% reproductive confinement and avoid genetic exchange between transgenic or domestic genotypes and wild populations. The present study reports a novel sterilization method for channel catfish by overexpressing the pro-apoptosis gene <i>bax</i>, specifically in the primordial germ cells, to inhibit their proliferation. Three transgenic constructs were electroporated into channel catfish one-cell embryos, including Nanos-nanos, Nanos-dnd, and Dazl-vasa. Transgene integration, gonad development, and sex ratio were evaluated in P₁ and F₁ generations. The transgene was successfully integrated into the channel catfish genome, with variable rates depending on each construct. Mosaicism of transgene integration was widely evident in the P₁ fish, as expected. All three constructs showed similar efficacy for sterilizing P₁ male channel catfish, with approximately half of all males showing little to no gonadal development, resulting in a significantly lower (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) gonadosomatic index (GSI) when compared to the control at four years of age. The same trend occurred but with lower efficacy in P₁ females, with approximately one-third showing little gonadal development at four years of age. This technology is potentially useful for generating sterile male fish, where the overexpression of the <i>bax</i> gene can lead to reduced or no gonadal development, presumably due to the death of primordial germ cells.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":690,"journal":{"name":"Marine Biotechnology","volume":"27 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143888546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}