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1 October 2017 External Asymmetry and Pectoral Fin Loss in the Bamboo Sole (Heteromycteris japonica): Small-Sized Sole with Potential as a Pleuronectiformes Experimental Model
Qiran Chen, Masako Takagi, Makoto Mogi, Miki Kikuchi, Yudai Saito, Shunya Nakamura, Hayato Yokoi, Tadahisa Seikai, Susumu Uji, Tohru Suzuki
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Abstract

Pleuronectiform fish develop marked external asymmetry in eye location and skin color at metamorphosis. The bamboo sole, Heteromycteris japonica, also exhibits loss of the pectoral fins at metamorphosis. Because of its small body size, short generation time, and long spawning season, we focused on the bamboo sole as an experimental model to investigate metamorphic asymmetry and pectoral fin loss during development. In the present study, we utilized a small-scale culture system to evaluate bamboo sole larvae and larval development, and a microinjection system for fertilized eggs. The culture system described here uses an 18 L culture tank for rotifers (the first diet for larvae) and 5 L plastic beakers for larval culture. Under this system, most larvae completed metamorphosis, including one-eye migration and pigmentation of the ocular side, by 23 days postfertilization (dpf) at 25°C. Larvae at density of 120–150 per liter were grown from hatching to 23 dpf with a survival ratio of 60–75% per beaker. Pectoral fins, including coracoid and disk cartilage, formed but were completely lost in late metamorphosis without formation of proximal radials and fin rays. The microinjection system designed here is adequate for the bamboo sole and allows injection of 100 one-cell-stage embryos per day. We expect that the culture and microinjection systems described here will facilitate the use of the bamboo sole as an experimental model organism in developmental biology.

© 2017 Zoological Society of Japan
Qiran Chen, Masako Takagi, Makoto Mogi, Miki Kikuchi, Yudai Saito, Shunya Nakamura, Hayato Yokoi, Tadahisa Seikai, Susumu Uji, and Tohru Suzuki "External Asymmetry and Pectoral Fin Loss in the Bamboo Sole (Heteromycteris japonica): Small-Sized Sole with Potential as a Pleuronectiformes Experimental Model," Zoological Science 34(5), 377-385, (1 October 2017). https://doi.org/10.2108/zs170021
Received: 11 February 2017; Accepted: 1 April 2017; Published: 1 October 2017
KEYWORDS
larval development
metamorphosis
microinjection
pectoral fin loss
Pleuronectiformes
sole
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