Sturgeons are ancient and endangered species whose populations have been greatly reduced over the past few centuries due to habitat destruction overfishing for production of expensive caviar. All sturgeon listed in CITES Appendix II limit their trade; therefore, accurate identification is crucial. In this study, we performed whole-genome resequencing five species, including Kaluga (H. dauricus)...

The Sox9 gene of Acipenser sturio, one of the most primitive vertebrates, was analyzed. No sex-specific differences were observed. Sturgeon Sox9 consists of three exons and two introns with completely conserved exon-intron boundaries showing high levels of homology to other vertebrate Sox9 sequences, especially in the N-terminus region containing the HMG box. We found strong evidence for negati...

DNA barcoding efforts involving animals have focused on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (Cox1) gene. Some authors suggest that this marker might under-diagnose young species. Herein, we examine Cox1 and control region diversity in a sample of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii), a species with an extremely wide geographic distribution in the major rivers of Siberia and in Lake...

The aim of this study was to compare physiological responses in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri) induced by propofol and CO2 anaesthesia. Two procedures were applied during the experiment. In procedure I, blood samples were collected immediately after exposure (1, 2, 5, 10 min) to the anaesthetic. In procedure II, fish were exposed to the anaesthetic for 10 minutes and then were moved to ana...

Efforts have been proposed worldwide to restore sturgeon populations through the use of hatcheries to supplement natural reproduction and to reintroduce sturgeon where they have become extinct. We examined the population structure and inferred the extent of homing in the anadromous Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi). Restriction fragment length polymorphism and contro...

Evolution of the nucleoli has been followed during oogenesis in the Acipenserid fishes, Acipenser ruthenus (the sterlet) and A. guidenstadti (the sturgeon) using light and electron microscopes. In the ovaries of adults, the oogonial nuclei usually have a single nucleolus with an adjacent mass of paranucleolar fibrillar material. The cytoplasm of the oogonia contains two dense bodies peculiar on...