Fertility of a spontaneous hexaploid male Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii

• Published in: BMC Genetics
• Main Authors: Havelka, M., Hulák, M., Ráb, P. (Petr), Rábová, M. (Marie), Lieckfeldt, D., Ludwig, A., Rodina, M., Gela, D., Pšenička, M., Bytyutskyy, D., Flajšhans, M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Acipenseridae; polyploidy determination; sperm quality; Acipenser baerii; Siberian sturgeon
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2156-15-5; http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0231040

Evolution of sturgeons and paddlefishes (order Acipenseriformes) is inherently connected with polyploidization events which resulted in differentiation of ploidy levels and chromosome numbers of present acipenseriform species. Moreover, allopolyploidization as well as autopolyploidization seems to be an ongoing process in these fishes and individuals with abnormal ploidy levels were occasionally observed within sturgeon populations. Here, we reported occurrence of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) male with abnormal ploidy level for this species, accessed its ploidy level and chromosome number and investigate its potential sterility or fertility in comparison with normal individuals of sterlet (A. ruthenus), Russian sturgeon (A. gueldenstaedtii) and Siberian sturgeon (A. baerii).This study firstly described occurrence of hexaploid individual of A. baerii and confirmed its autopolyploid origin. In addition to that, the first detailed evidence about fertility of spontaneous hexaploid sturgeon was provided. If 1.5 fold increment in number of chromosome sets occurring in diploids, resulted triploids possess odd number of chromosome sets causing their sterility or subfertility due to interference of gametogenesis. In contrast, 1.5 fold increment in number of chromosome sets in naturally tetraploid A. baerii resulted in even number of chromosome sets and therefore in fertility of the hexaploid specimen under study.