Changes in brain gonadotropin-releasing hormone, pituitary and plasma gonadotropins, and plasma thyroxine during smoltification in chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tschawytscha)

Abstract

Concentrations of brain salmon gonadotropin-releasing hormone (sGnRH), plasma gonadotropin I (GTH I), and pituitary GTH I and GTH II were determined in yearling chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) during the parr-smolt transformation in two successive seasons. There were significant elevations in brain sGnRH content from February to March in 1988, and from February to April in 1989. Increases in brain sGnRH content coincided with elevations in plasma thyroxine levels that occurred from February to March, 1988 and 1989. Plasma GTH levels were relatively constant (1–2 ng/ml) throughout the period of sampling. However, during 1988, plasma concentrations of GTH I decreased significantly between late March and early April. During 1989, plasma GTH I levels appeared to reach a peak (2 ng/ml) in mid-February, but otherwise remained near 1 ng/ml. Previous studies have shown that GTH II was not detectable in plasma at this stage. During 1989, pituitary GTH I concentrations were 50- to 70-fold higher than that of GTH II, and increased, though not significantly, from February through April. Although GTH II was detected in the pituitary by RIA, it is likely that the measurable levels are due to GTH I cross-reaction in the GTH II RIA. Histological examination of the gonads indicated that throughout smoltification the oocytes remained in the perinucleolar stage of oogenesis and the testes were in the spermatogonial stage of spermatogenesis. Although no observable changes in gametogenesis occurred, the changes in brain sGnRH content, plasma GTH I levels, and pituitary GTH content suggest that some changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis may occur during smoltification.