Sturgeon fishes optimizing of staining protocol for skeletal studies during developmental stages

Document Type : Physiology (Animal)

Authors

1 Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P.O. Box: 4111, Karaj, Iran

2 Artemia and Aquatic Animal Institute, University of Urmia, P.O. Box: 57561-51818, Urmia, Iran

3 Department of Fisheries Faculty of Natural Resources College of Agriculture & Natural Resources,University of Tehran, Karaj

4 Department of Fishery, Faculty of Natural Resources and marine Sciences, University of Hormozgan, Box:3995, Bandar Abbas, Iran

Abstract

Alcian  blue-Alizarin  red  staining  protocol  during  different  growth  stages  of  Beluga (Huso huso), as a model of sturgeon  fishes, for skeletal ontogeny studies  was prepared successfully.  For  an  optimal  staining  protocol  design  both  fish  size  and  their morphological  characteristics  at  each  developmental  stage  were  considered,  since  such parameters notably influence the staining of tissues. Three developmental windows were determined  for  an  optimal  staining  procedure:  (i)  11-20  mm,  (ii)  29-30  mm,  and  (iii) more  than  30  mm  total  length  (TL).  Generally,  for  skeletal  staining,  alcian  blue  and alizarin Red are used for stain cartilage and bone respectively. The incubation times of the  different  solutions  were  adjusted  to  allow  the  stain  penetration  for  revealing  the integrity of cartilaginous and bony tissues without significant tissue degradation. Since it was possible to detect the first cartilaginous and mineralized structures in specimens as small  as  11  and  20  mm  TL,  respectively,  this  procedure  is  a  useful  tool  to  study  the sturgeon fishes skeletal ontogenesis, to precociously diagnose skeletal malformations in small  larvae  and  eventually  to  better  characterize  the  effect  of  different  environmental and ⁄ or nutritional factors on the ossification status of specific skeletal components. 

Keywords

Journal of Animal Environment
Volume 5, Issue 2
September 2012
Pages 1-9

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