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Email the author (Login required) Early gonadal development phases leading to sexual maturity in the Pacific white snook (Centropomus viridis Lockington, 1877) under captive conditions
Submited: 2024-12-29 02:22:06 | Published: 2025-10-31 20:21:55
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3856/vol53-issue5-fulltext-3380
Abstract
The advancement of biotechnology in cultivating the Pacific white snook (Centropomus viridis) is noteworthy. This study aimed to elucidate the reproductive biology of C. viridis during the early stages leading up to first sexual maturity, with particular focus on spermatogenesis. We evaluated several factors, including 1) weight and growth, with physiological indices such as the condition factor (K) and the gonadosomatic index (GSI); 2) gonadal development (GD); and 3) environmental influences, including water temperature and photoperiod. We identified four distinct phases of GD: phase I: immature, phase II: developing, phase III: spawning capable, and phase IV: regressing. The spermatogenesis process involved various cell types: 1) spermatogonia (diameter 5.01 ± 0.80 μm), 2) primary spermatocytes (3.29 ± 0.36 μm), 3) secondary spermatocytes (2.76 ± 0.30 μm), 4) spermatids (2.38 ± 0.48 μm), and 5) spermatozoa (1.48 ± 0.44 μm). Phase III, indicating sexual maturity, was first observed in July 2020 (approximately 3 years old). Almost a year later, in May 2021, K peaked (>1.0), and by July 2021, with the water temperature on the rise, GSI reached a value greater than 0.8. These findings provide the first documented description of early gonadal development and sexual maturation in captive-born male C. viridis.
