FAQ 3222

Advance Molecular Genetics Applied to Fisheries and

Aquaculture

Dr. Kasun A Bandara

(Ph.D. in Biotechnology, DTU-Denmark & NTNU-Norway), (M.Sc. in Aquaculture, Ghent
University- Belgium), (B.Sc. in Fisheries and Marine Sciences, UOR-Sri Lanka)

Lecturer
9/4/2024 Dept. of Fisheries and Aquaculture 1
Course structure
Teacher Number of theory hrs.
Dr. Kasun A Bandara 10
Dr. Sajani Rathnapala 14

T+P
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 How is a phenotype determined?

Phenotype = Genetics (G) + Environment (E) + Interaction between G & E

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What is Molecular genetics?
• a branch of biology that studies how differences in DNA structure or
expression cause variation among organisms.
• based on the merging of several sub-fields in biology: classical
Mendelian inheritance, cellular biology, molecular biology,
biochemistry, and biotechnology
• integrates these disciplines to explore things like genetic inheritance,
gene regulation and expression, and the molecular mechanism
behind various life processes

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 Genetic Material
DNA - Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid
Structure and
properties
RNA – Ribo Nucleic Acid

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 Structure of DNA/ RNA molecule

Bases

Nucleoside

Nucleotide

Phosphodiester bond

DNA/RNA sequence

DNA double helix

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 The basic structure/ Primary structure of DNA

• DNA is usually composed of two polynucleotide chains twisted

around each other in the form of a 3D double helix (Watson and
Crick’s model).

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 • The nucleotide is the fundamental building block of DNA

• The nucleotide consists of a phosphate joined to a sugar,

to which a base is attached

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 A 3D structure

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A single nucleotide is made up of three components: a nitrogen-containing base, a five-carbon sugar, and a phosphate group. The nitrogenous base
is either a purine or a pyrimidine. The five-carbon sugar is either a ribose (in RNA) or a deoxyribose (in DNA) molecule.

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 Pentose sugar

Nitrogenous base

Phosphate group

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Formation of nucleotide by removal of water 11
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 • The five carbon atoms in each pentose sugar are assigned
numbers 1′ through 5′

• 5′-carbon is outside the ring

• Pentose sugar is known as 2’-deoxyribose because there

is no hydroxyl at position 2’

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 • The bases in DNA are flat, heterocyclic rings, consisting of
carbon and nitrogen atoms

• Nitrogenous bases are of two main types

- purine bases
- pyrimidine bases

• The purines are derived from the double-ringed structure

• The pyrimidines are derived from the single-ringed

structure

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 Purine Bases

Adenine (A)
Guanine (G)

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 Pyrimidine Bases

Thymine (T)
Cytosine (C)

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 Nucleoside
• The sugar and base alone are called a nucleoside

• Adding a phosphate to a nucleoside creates a

nucleotide

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 Glycosidic bonds and Phosphoester bonds

• A glycosidic bond is formed between the base and the

pentose sugar of a nucleotide

• A Phosphoester bond is formed between the pentose

sugar and phosphate group of a nucleotide

• These bonds create the nucleotide

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 How are polynucleotide chains formed?
• Nucleotides are joined to each other in polynucleotide
chains through the 3’-hydroxyl of deoxyribose of one
nucleotide and the phosphate attached to the 5’-hydroxyl
of another nucleotide

• This is a phosphodiester linkage

• Phosphodiester linkages create the repeating, sugar–

phosphate backbone of the polynucleotide chain, which is
a regular feature of DNA

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 Double helix structure of DNA

• DNA generally exists as two interwound strands

• The double helix consists of two polynucleotide chains that

are aligned in opposite orientation

• The two chains have opposite 5’ to 3’ orientation. That is,

the 5’ to 3’ orientation of one chain is antiparallel to the 5’
to 3’ orientation of the other strand.

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 • The 5′ end is the one where carbon #5 is not bound to
another nucleotide; the 3′ end is the one where carbon
#3 is not bound to another nucleotide

• 3′ end of each strand has a free hydroxyl group, while the

5′ end of each strand has a free phosphate group

• The two chains interact with each other by pairing

between the bases;
- Adenine and Thymine
- Guanine and Cytosine

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 • The pairing between adenine and thymine, and between
guanine and cytosine, results in a complementary
relationship between the sequence of bases on the two
interwound chains

• and gives DNA its self-encoding character

Q1 - if we have the sequence 5’-ATGTC-3’ on

one chain what is the complementary sequence
of the other chain?

Answer → 3’ – TACAG – 5’
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• Various chemical forces drive the
formation of the DNA double helix

• These include;
• hydrogen bonds between the
bases
• base stacking by hydrophobic
interactions

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 Hydrogen Bonds
• Thermodynamically stable hydrogen bonds form between
the nitrogenous bases on opposite strands of the
interwound DNA chains

• The hydrogen bonds provide one type of force holding

the strands together

• Normally the Hydrogen bonds are very weak

• Although individually very weak, hydrogen bonds give

structural stability to a molecule with large numbers of
them
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 • Adenine (A) normally pairs with thymine (T) by two
hydrogen bonds

• Guanine (C) pairs with cytosine (C) by three hydrogen

bonds

• The hydrogen bonding

between bases is referred
to as “Watson–Crick” or
“complementary” base
pairing

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 What is base Pairing rule (Chargaff's rule)?

The rule states that DNA from any cell of all

organisms should have a 1:1 ratio of pyrimidine
and purine bases and, more specifically, that the
amount of guanine is equal to cytosine and the
amount of adenine is equal to thymine. This pattern
is found in both strands of the DNA

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 Base stacking

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 A 3D structure

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 Schematic diagram showing how the base pairs
(colored rectangles) can stack onto each other without
a gap by means of a helical twist

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 • Major and minor
grooves can be seen
in DNA helix

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 Secondary structures of DNA / Alternative
double helix structures

• A, B, and Z forms of DNA refer to

different conformations that the
DNA double helix can adopt A – DNA
under various conditions.
• These forms differ in their helical B – DNA
structure, including the
orientation, number of base Z – DNA
pairs per turn, and overall
shape.

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 A - DNA

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 B - DNA

Typically found under physiological conditions (normal cellular

conditions with adequate hydration).
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 Z - DNA

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 Tertiary structures of DNA and supercoiling
nature of DNA

• Many naturally occurring DNA molecules are

circular, with no free 5′ or 3′ end

• Due to the polarity of the strands of the DNA

double helix, the 5′ end of one strand can only
join its own 3′ end to covalently close a circle

• Thus, circular, double-stranded DNA is essentially

two circles of single-stranded DNA twisted around
each other
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 • Such circular DNA molecules often become
overwound or underwound, with respect to the
number of complete turns of the DNA double
helix

• This DNA can then become supercoiled

• Supercoils are a twisted, three-dimensional

structures

• Two different forms of Topoisomerase (enzyme)

are required for negative and positive supercoiling

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 Lk=Linking number

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 - Supercoiling is important in DNA
replication, transcription and
recombination

- Allow DNA to fit into a cell

- Provide stability to DNA

- Prevent unnecessary enzymatic

reactions

- Control gene expression

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 Lk=X+ Lk=X Lk=X-

DNA supercoils in a DNA supercoils in an anti

clockwise manner in right- clockwise manner in left-
handed DNA handed DNA

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 The primary structure of RNA

• RNA is principally found as

a single-stranded molecule

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 Difference between DNA and RNA

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 Uracil is the demethylated form of Thymine
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 Secondary structure of RNA

This is because RNA

chains frequently
fold back on
themselves to form
base-paired
segments

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 Tertiary structure of RNA

• RNA can fold up into complex tertiary structures

frequently involving unconventional base pairing,
such as the base triples and base–backbone
interactions

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 • The tertiary structures formed by RNA are not
necessarily static

• This capacity to switch between alternative

structures can sometimes be of important
biological significance

The tertiary structure of RNA

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 Primary function of RNA ? Protein synthesis

transfer RNA tRNA Types of RNA?

messenger RNA mRNA

ribosomal RNA rRNA

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 1. Transcription 2. Translation

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Steps of the protein synthesis

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• Function as messengers carrying
the information in a gene to protein
synthesis site of the cell

• Most heterogeneous in size and

base sequence

• 5’ cap - 7 methyl guanosine

triphosphate cap

• 3’ poly A tail – Adenylate residues

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 mRNA Transcription

• During transcription, the enzyme RNA

polymerase (green) uses DNA as a template to
produce a pre-mRNA transcript (pink)
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 RNA Processing

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 • Introns- noncoding sequence in mRNA

• Exons- coding sequence in mRNA

• When pre mRNA matures, RNA splicing occur

• RNA splicing- removal of introns from pre mRNA

and splicing of exons

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 • Each group of three
bases in mRNA – Codon

• Each codon is specific to

a particular amino acid

AUG – Initiation codon

UAA, UAG and, UGA - Termination codons

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 • Smallest of all three types of RNA

• Transfer amino acids from the cytoplasm to the site of

protein synthesis (ribosome)

• Known as Adapter molecules

• There at least 20 tRNA corresponding to each of the 20

amino acids required for protein synthesis

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 An anticodon is a trinucleotide sequence located at one end of a
transfer RNA (tRNA) molecule, which is complementary to a
corresponding codon in a messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence.
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• tRNA have one end (i.e., anticodon) that
can read the triplet code in the mRNA
through complementary base-pairing

• Other end that attaches to a specific amino

acid

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 • Secondary structure of tRNA show extensive
internal base pairing

• Shows a clover-leaf like structure

tRNA tertiary structure

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Main function of tRNA → Engage in Translation process

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• Three major stages in translation
process:
1. Initiation
2. Elongation
3. Termination

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 Stage 1:
Initiation

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• When translation begins, the small subunit of the ribosome and an
initiator tRNA molecule assemble on the mRNA transcript

• The small subunit of the ribosome has three binding sites: an amino
acid site (A), a polypeptide site (P), and an exit site (E)

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• The initiator tRNA molecule carrying the amino acid methionine binds
to the AUG start codon of the mRNA transcript at the ribosome’s P site
where it will become the first amino acid incorporated into the growing
polypeptide chain

• Methionine (Met) - the first amino acid incorporated into any new
protein

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 Stage 2:
Elongation

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 • In this stage, the ribosome continues to translate each codon in
turn.
• The A site is aligned with the next codon (translocation), which will
be bound by the anticodon of the next incoming tRNA
• Each corresponding amino acid is added to the growing chain and
bound by peptide bonds.
• Elongation continues until all codons have been read.

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 Stage 3:
Termination

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 • In this final stage, termination occurs when the ribosome reaches
the stop codon (UAA, UAG, and UGA).
• The ribosome recognizes that translation is complete because there
are no tRNA molecules that can recognize these codons.
• Thus, in the place of these tRNAs, one of several proteins, called
release factors, binds and facilitates release of the mRNA from the
ribosome.
• Next, new proteins are formed, and the translation complex is
broken down.

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 • found in ribosomes → over 60-80% of the weight of the ribosome is
composed of rRNA

• responsible for catalysing protein synthesis

• essential for all of the ribosome’s activities, including

• binding to mRNA
• attracting tRNA
• catalysing the formation of peptide bonds between amino acids

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 Summary
so far ….

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 Chemical and Physical Properties of
Nucleic Acids
• UV absorbance

• Density

• Denaturation and re-naturation

• Effect of pH

• Ionic strength

• Electrophoresis
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 UV absorbance

• The bases in the nucleic acid (DNA and

RNA) has the ability to absorb Ultraviolet
(UV) lights at the wavelength of 260 nm

• The absorbance can be measured using

a spectrophotometer (Nano drop)

• This theory is used to quantify total

nucleic acids (measures the
concentration of DNA and RNA)

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Principle of UV spectroscopy

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 UV absorbance cont.

• The less ordered the bases the more UV light is absorbed

✓ Free bases absorb 1.6 units
✓ Bases in Single stranded DNA absorbs 1.37 units
✓ Bases in double stranded DNA absorbs 1.0 units

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 Density

• Density can be measured by CsCl (Caesium chloride) –

density ultracentrifugation

• CsCl, upon ultracentrifugation, will form a density

gradient, with the densest solution at the bottom

• Macromolecules, such as DNA, will concentrate in the

area of CsCl that has the same density as themselves

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 Denaturation and renaturation
Denaturation

• DNA is considered denatured when the double stranded

DNA molecule is converted into two single stranded
molecules

• This can be monitored by noting the increase in

absorption of ultraviolet light

• This can be done using increasing temperature and pH,

lowering salt concentrations, using organic solvents

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• As thermal energy increases, the
frequency of hydrogen bonds
breaking between the molecules
increases

• So that two strands will separate

into single stranded molecules

• The Tm (melting temperature) of a

DNA molecule is the temperature in
which half the DNA molecules
unwinds

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 • Melting temperature depends on:
• length of DNA (shorter pieces melt more easily)
• nucleotide sequence
• salt concentration
• Substances that are hydrophobic tend to decrease the Tm
of DNA molecules

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 • Hydrophobic substances allow the DNA bases to dissolve
into the solvent, which means they don't have to stay
stacked together.
• This makes it easier to break the hydrogen bonds that
hold the DNA strands together.
• Substances that are hydrophilic tend to increase the Tm
of DNA molecules.

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 How can pH denature DNA?

• In very acidic solutions (with pH less than 1), the strong

acidity can break the bonds that hold the building blocks
of DNA together.
• Phosphodiester bonds: links between the individual nucleotides
in a DNA strand
• N-glycosidic bonds: links between the sugar molecules and the
purine bases

• So, in extremely acidic conditions, both of these bonds

can break, causing the DNA to break apart.

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 How can pH denature DNA? Cont.

• pH of around 4 results in the selective breakage of N-

glycosidic bonds between the sugar and purines
• In alkaline situations, base tends to change the polarity of
groups involved in hydrogen bonds
• Above pH 11.3, all hydrogen bonds are disrupted, and the
DNA is totally denatured

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 How can salt denature DNA?

• The phosphates of the DNA sugar-phosphate backbones

are negatively charged

• Like charges repel each other

• DNA in distilled water will spontaneously denature into

single stranded DNA

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 • Salts that dissociate into ions (e.g., Na+) will neutralize the
charges of the phosphate groups

• Salts will stabilize the DNA double helix resulting in a

higher Tm

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Renaturation

• DNA that has been denatured will often come back together
when suitable condition are met

• This is referred to as renaturation

• Renaturation occurs because hydrogen bonds of

complimentary base pairs reform

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 • Slowly lowering the temperature or adding ions to
solution may lead to renaturation

• Renaturation rates are dependent on DNA concentration

• The more molecules of complimentary DNA present, the

faster they can find each other and renature

• DNA molecules in low concentration in solution will take

awhile to find a complimentary partner, and will therefore
renature slower

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 Solubility

• RNA is more soluble in aqueous solutions than DNA

• Ribose has a 2'-OH group where deoxyribose contains a

2'-H

• Hydroxyl groups are polar and dissolve in water better

• C-H is a non-polar bond and is therefore hydrophobic

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 Electrophoresis

• DNA has a negative charge that is proportional to its size

• This is due to the negatively charged phosphates in the

sugar-phosphate backbone

• If DNA is placed in an electrical field, it will migrate

towards the positive electrode (the cathode)

• If DNA is electrophoresed through a gel, smaller pieces

will migrate faster than larger pieces

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 • Types of Gels:
• Agarose is used to separate large DNA molecules - 5
million to a few thousand base pairs

• Polyacrylamide is used to separate small pieces of

DNA - 2 to several hundred base pairs

• The size of DNA is estimated by comparing its migration

through the gel to DNA molecules of known size

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 • The DNA bands in a gel can be stained using intercalation
agents such as ethidium ion (ethidium bromide),
proflavin, acridine orange

• These dyes bonds to DNA double strand by intercalation

• Then this inserted dyes exhibit florescent under UV light

which is more intense than of a free dye

• Single-stranded DNA and RNA also enhance the

fluorescence of ethidium, but to a lesser extent compared
to double-stranded DNA

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https://youtu.be/GUXKQBknYQo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdmQaAycafc
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 Velocity sedimentation

• Sedimentation velocity is dependent

upon two variables: density and
shape

• The denser the DNA the quicker it will

sediment upon centrifugation

• Globular (more compact) molecules

will sediment faster than linear
molecules
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 What is a Gene?

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 Gene

• Basic physical and functional unit of heredity

• A specific sequence of nucleotide bases whose sequences

carry the information required for constructing proteins
or RNA

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 • A gene has three parts;
- Promoter
- Coding region
- Terminator

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Pseudogenes

• Pseudogenes are nonfunctional segments of DNA that

resemble functional genes

• Due to several mutational changes, it does not produce

functional products

• Functions:
1. Regulation of Gene Expression
2. Evolutionary Reservoir
3. Genomic Stability and DNA Repair

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 What is an allele?

• Alternative forms of a gene is called as an allele

• There are dominant and recessive alleles for the same

gene/ trait

• Each chromosomes contains a linear array of genes

• Each gene resides at a particular location on the

chromosomes

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 • The location is more formally called a genetic locus

• Generally, there are up to two alleles per locus in a

diploid individual

• A population might have many alleles of a single gene

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 Genome
• Genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including
all its genes

• Contains the information needed to build and maintain

that organism

• Genome size varies substantially between different

organisms

• Because more genes are required to direct the formation

of more complex organisms

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• The complete set of DNA within the
nucleus of any organism is called
its nuclear genome

• The nuclear genome is composed of

a species-specific number of linear
DNA molecules, which are packaged
into chromosomes

• Some Eukaryotic organelles contain

genomes
E.g., Mitochondrial and chloroplasts
genomes

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 Different types of sequences found in the genome

1. Unique DNA (Single copy DNA)

• Definition: sequences in the genome that are present only

once (or very few times) in the entire genome.
• These sequences are often associated with genes that code
for proteins or functional RNA molecules.

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• Has a unique sequence → can be distinguished from the DNA
patterns of other individuals

• Used to identify signature sequences to detect individual organisms or

to detect a particular gene

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2. Repeated DNA

• Definition: sequences that occur multiple times in the

genome.

• These repeats can be short or long sequences and can be

located in different regions of the genome.

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• Characteristics:
• High Copy Number: can appear hundreds, thousands, or even millions of times
in the genome
• Non-Coding: Many repeated DNA sequences do not code for proteins and were
once considered "junk DNA"
• Function: Play roles in genome organization, regulation of gene expression, and
evolution.

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• Types of Repeated DNA:
1. Tandem Repeats: Sequences that are repeated one after another in a specific
region of the genome.
E.g., satellite DNA (minisatellites, and microsatellites)
2. Interspersed/ Dispersed Repeats: Repeated sequences that are scattered
throughout the genome.
E.g., transposons and retrotransposons.

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Satellite DNA

• This is a general term for highly repetitive

DNA sequences that are organized in tandem
repeats.
• often found in specific regions of the genome,
such as centromeres and telomeres.
• can be divided into different categories based
on the size of the repeating units and the
number of repeats.

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 Also referred as Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTR)

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 also called Short Sequence Repeats (SSR) or Simple Tandem Repeats (STR)

The microsatellite repeats of single nucleotides are called Single

Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)

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 • Both, minisatellites and microsatellites show
polymorphism among individuals

• Therefore, this character can be used as

genetic marker

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 Self-study
Mitochondrial Genome (mtDNA)

• In sexual reproduction, mitochondria are normally inherited

exclusively from the mother

• The mitochondria in sperm are usually destroyed by the egg cell after
fertilization

• The mtDNA is haploid (n) and uni-parentally inherited along with own
mutations

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 Self-study

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 Self-study
• With the mitochondria's role as an energy provider, different tissues
contain different amounts of mtDNA, depending on the energy
requirements of the cell
• Shape: typically circular, like the DNA of bacteria, which reflects its
evolutionary origins.
• Function:
• Energy Production - encodes genes essential for cellular respiration
and ATP production.
• Proteins and rRNA/tRNA - encodes proteins, rRNAs and tRNAs
necessary for mitochondrial protein synthesis

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 Self-study
Chloroplast Genome (cpDNA)

• It is a circular double stranded DNA molecule

• Their size ranges from 120 – 220 kb, depending on the species.

• Larger than that of mitochondrial genome of plants

• The chloroplast genome contains genes encoding the major ribosomal

RNAs, and about half of the required ribosomal proteins

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 Self-study

• All required proteins for chloroplast functions are encoded by the

nuclear genome

• Mode of inheritance - often inherited maternally, like mtDNA, but in

some plants, it can also be inherited from both parents or paternally

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 Self-study

Significance:
• Evolutionary Studies: mtDNA is commonly used in studies of evolution and
ancestry because it mutates at a relatively consistent rate and is maternally
inherited without recombination.

• Plant Evolution: cpDNA is used in phylogenetic studies to trace the evolutionary

relationships among plant species, as it evolves more slowly than nuclear DNA.

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 Genetic applications in fisheries and aquaculture

• What do we except from fishery industry?

- Fulfil the demand
- Alternative animal protein source
- Profit

• But there are some constrains in the fishery industry:

 • To overcome these problems, two main aspects can be used;
1. Conventional methods
2. Novel techniques/methods such as molecular genetic
methods

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Conventional methods used in aquaculture that
manipulated genetic materials

1. Breeding programs

2. Hormonal sex reversal

3. Chromosome manipulation
 1. Breeding Programs/ Artificial Propagation

• Induced breeding can be used to produce quality seeds (eggs and

sperms) in aquaculture

• Artificial propagation can be used to develop offspring with

superior qualities

• At present, wild fish stocks solely cannot fulfil the demand for
the increasing human population
• Artificial propagation plays a crucial role in sustainable
production of fry and fingerlings

• Several approaches are available for artificial breeding of fish;

1. Induced breeding

2. Cross breeding

3. Hybridization
1. Induced Breeding

Weighing the fish Injecting Hormones

• Gonadotropin hormone (GnRH)

• Luteinizing hormone (LH)
• Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
GnRH used at the NAQDA Carp Breeding Center -
Udawalawa
 Injected broodstock is kept
in spawning tanks

Injected broodstock
kept in spawning tanks
for natural fertilization
Fertilized eggs will be collected
OR ELSE, Artificial Fertilization

Collection of eggs/sperm
from matured fish +
Fertilization

Fertilized eggs will be transferred to

larval rearing tanks
2. Cross Breeding

• Cross between two strains or varieties of the same species

• Mainly used in ornamental fish breeding programs

• Can be applied food fish to develop the desirable characteristics

that are more preferred by customers.
E.g., flesh color
3. Hybridization

• Breed two different species – Interspecific hybridization

• Develop superior qualities than their parents

• Occur naturally or induced by hormones

• Sometimes interspecific hybridization results in sterile fish, which
in turn can increases the fish production by not wasting the
energy on reproduction
Hybridization of Nile tilapia
(Oreochromis niloticus) and
blue tilapia (O. aureus).

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 2. Hormonal Sex Reversal
• Production of a population with single sex characteristics (mono-
sex culture)
• Steroid hormones or hormone analogues as well as non-steroid
compounds are commonly used for producing mono-sex cultures

• But the use of hormones is now become a health and

environment issue

• So that recent focus is given on using non-steroid compounds for

sex reversal

• Two methods are used:

1. Oral administration
2. Immersion techniques
1. Oral Administration

• Hormones are generally added to larval feed and give them to

undifferentiated larvae at very early larval stages

• When early larval stages are fed there will be sufficient time for
sex reversal

• Generally safe & successful than the immersion techniques

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• Percentage of sex- reversal depend on;
• type of hormone & dose
• timing and duration of administration
• fish species and size/age of larvae

• Hormone traces from uneaten food and metabolites are often a

major environmental concern

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2. Immersion Technique

• Immersing fish fry in hormone solution for short periods of time

• Main advantages:
• substantial decrease in treatment period
• reduction of possible effects of the hormones on the workers

• The immersion of tilapia eggs, instead of fry, has recently

emerged as an effective tool for inducing sex reversal

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• Hormone is absorbed through passive diffusion across the lipid
membrane of the egg

• Very small amount of hormone will be required → main

advantage

• Percentage of sex- reversal depend on:

- type of hormone & dose

- immersion period

- fish species

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• Using hormone following population can be produced

1. All-male production
2. All-female production

1. All- male production (Masculinization)

• 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) hormone is the most common and

successful hormone used for masculinization of tilapia

• Male fish have a superior growth rate when compared with that
of female

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2. All-female production (Feminization)

• Several natural or synthetic steroids are used for feminization of

tilapia

• Mainly estrogens or other chemicals with estrogenic capacity

• Synthetic chemicals have been used for tilapia feminization at

larger scales than natural steroids

• 17α-ethynyloestradiol (EE) and diethylstilboestrol (DES) are the

most common and the most effective

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Advantages of mono-sex fish culture
• High growth rates and feed utilization efficiency
• High tolerance to severe environmental conditions, including
temperature, salinity, low dissolved oxygen, etc.
• Higher energy conservation
• Reduced aggressiveness
• Greater uniformity of size at harvest
• Better flesh quality and appearance
• High resistance to stress and diseases
• Role in controlling over-reproduction
 3. Chromosome manipulation
• Manipulations are carried out at the chromosomal level to
obtained desired characteristics
Androgenesis and Gynogenesis

• Androgenesis is the process of producing individuals from

paternal chromosomes only

• Female nuclear genome is destructed by using UV before

fertilization

• Gynogenesis is the process of producing individuals from

maternal chromosomes only

• Sperm nucleus is inactivated prior to fertilization by use of X-rays

Androgenesis

For fish species with WZ (female) and

ZZ (Male) sex determination

E.g.,
Blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus)

Wami tilapia (O. urolepis)

Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica)

Gynogenesis
For fish species with XY sex
determination

E.g., Many cultured species

Polyploidy

Polyploidy refers to a
numerical change in a
whole set of
chromosomes
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