Evaluating growth of larval
walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma, using cell cycle analysis
G.H. Theilacker, W. Shen-2001
Marine Biology, 138(5): 897-907
Abstract:
Cell cycle analysis of muscle cell division rates
offers a new and efficient technique to analyze growth of larval fish. Using
this approach, growth of larval walleye pollock was estimated by determining
cell proliferation rates, reasoning that growth during early life stages is
probably attributed to increases in cell number rather than to increases in
cell size. Characteristic patterns of brain and muscle cell division rates
were produced in larval walleye pollock by manipulating their diet in the
laboratory. The fraction of dividing muscle cells and, to a lesser extent,
the fraction of dividing brain cells were direct indicators of fast and slow
growth. A model was produced to estimate average growth rate from the
fraction of dividing muscle cells. We developed a simple method for
preparing and storing the muscle tissue that ensures nucleic acid stability
for subsequent analyses and permits sampling in the field. We envision that
the cell cycle methodology will have on-site applications, presenting an
opportunity to attain real-time estimates of larval fish growth at sea.
Determining the proportion of first-feeding larvae with a high fraction of
dividing muscle cells may yield a means for predicting the proportion of
fast-growing fish, i.e., the potential survivors.
(NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science
Center, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98115, USA)