The saccus vasculosus of fish is a sensor of seasonal changes in day length

Yusuke Nakane, Keisuke Ikegami, Masayuki Iigo (), Hiroko Ono, Korenori Takeda, Daisuke Takahashi, Maiko Uesaka, Meita Kimijima, Ramu Hashimoto, Natsumi Arai, Takuya Suga, Katsuya Kosuge, Tomotaka Abe, Ryosuke Maeda, Takumi Senga, Noriko Amiya, Teruo Azuma, Masafumi Amano, Hideki Abe, Naoyuki Yamamoto and Takashi Yoshimura ()
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Yusuke Nakane: Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
Keisuke Ikegami: Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
Masayuki Iigo: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Hiroko Ono: Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
Korenori Takeda: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Daisuke Takahashi: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Maiko Uesaka: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Meita Kimijima: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Ramu Hashimoto: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Natsumi Arai: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Takuya Suga: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Katsuya Kosuge: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Tomotaka Abe: Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University
Ryosuke Maeda: Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
Takumi Senga: Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
Noriko Amiya: Laboratory of Fish Physiology, School of Marine Biosciences, Kitasato University
Teruo Azuma: National Research Institute of Fisheries Science
Masafumi Amano: Laboratory of Fish Physiology, School of Marine Biosciences, Kitasato University
Hideki Abe: Laboratory of Fish Biology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
Naoyuki Yamamoto: Laboratory of Fish Biology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
Takashi Yoshimura: Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract The pars tuberalis of the pituitary gland is the regulatory hub for seasonal reproduction in birds and mammals. Although fish also exhibit robust seasonal responses, they do not possess an anatomically distinct pars tuberalis. Here we report that the saccus vasculosus of fish is a seasonal sensor. We observe expression of key genes regulating seasonal reproduction and rhodopsin family genes in the saccus vasculosus of masu salmon. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrate that all of these genes are expressed in the coronet cells of the saccus vasculosus, suggesting the existence of a photoperiodic signalling pathway from light input to neuroendocrine output. In addition, isolated saccus vasculosus has the capacity to respond to photoperiodic signals, and its removal abolishes photoperiodic response of the gonad. Although the physiological role of the saccus vasculosus has been a mystery for several centuries, our findings indicate that the saccus vasculosus acts as a sensor of seasonal changes in day length in fish.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3108

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