Greater amberjack Fsh, Lh, and their receptors: Plasma and mRNA profiles during ovarian development

• Greater amberjack FSHR and LHR responded strongly to their own ligands.
• Competitive ELISAs were developed for greater amberjack FSH and LH.
• Pituitary fshb, ovarian fshr, and plasma E2 increased during ovarian development.
• Plasma FSH increased during the post-spawning period in female greater amberjack.
• Pituitary lhb, ovarian lhr, and plasma LH were high during the spawning period.

To understand the endocrine regulation of ovarian development in a multiple spawning fish, the relationship between gonadotropins (Gths; follicle-stimulating hormone [Fsh] and luteinizing hormone [Lh]) and their receptors (Gthrs; Fshr and Lhr) were investigated in greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili). cDNAs encoding the Gth subunits (Fshβ, Lhβ, and glycoprotein α [Gpα]) and Gthrs were cloned. The in vitro reporter gene assay using recombinant hormones revealed that greater amberjack Fshr and Lhr responded strongly to their own ligands. Competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed for measuring greater amberjack Fsh and Lh. Anti-Fsh and anti-Lh antibodies were raised against recombinant chimeric single-chain Gths consisting of greater amberjack Fshβ (or Lhβ) with rabbit GPα. The validation study showed that the ELISAs were precise (intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variation, <10%) and sensitive (detection limit of 0.2 ng/ml for Fsh and 0.8 ng/ml for Lh) with low cross-reactivity. A good parallelism between the standard curve and serial dilutions of greater amberjack plasma and pituitary extract were obtained. In female greater amberjack, pituitary fshb, ovarian fshr, and plasma E2 gradually increased during ovarian development, and plasma Fsh significantly increased during the post-spawning period. This suggests that Fsh plays a role throughout ovarian development and during the post-spawning period. Pituitary lhb, ovarian lhr, and plasma Lh were high during the spawning period, suggesting that the synthesis and secretion of Lh, and Lhr expression are upregulated to induce final oocyte maturation and ovulation.