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Exploring endocrine regulation of sea urchin reproductive biology: effects of 17ß-oestradiol

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Michela Sugni ,
Daphne Motta ,
Paolo Tremolada  and
Maria Daniela Candia Carnevali
Michela Sugni*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology ‘Luigi Gorini’, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
Daphne Motta
Affiliation:
Department of Biology ‘Luigi Gorini’, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
Paolo Tremolada
Affiliation:
Department of Biology ‘Luigi Gorini’, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
Maria Daniela Candia Carnevali
Affiliation:
Department of Biology ‘Luigi Gorini’, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Sugni, Department of Biology ‘Luigi Gorini’, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy email: michela.sugni@unimi.it
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Abstract

Although several authors have suggested a plausible involvement of steroids in the reproductive biology of echinoderms, their definitive role is still poorly understood. In this paper we focused on oestradiol (E2), whose presence and variations were previously revealed in different echinoderm tissues. The aim of this investigation was to provide further information on the scarcely known role of this hormone in the reproductive biology of sea urchins. We injected two different concentrations (5 ng ml−1 and 50 ng ml−1) of 17ß-oestradiol into specimens of the common Paracentrotus lividus for 10 weeks. The E2 treatment did not influence the maturation stage of the gonads and the development of the gametes; it caused a slight decrease in the gonad index and an increase in lipid content. Our present results suggest that E2 could have a function different from that reported for vertebrates and suggested for other echinoderms such as asteroids.

Keywords

sea urchinreproductiongonadoestradiolhormone regulation
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 6 , September 2012 , pp. 1419 - 1426
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

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