Interprofessional Journal of Health Sciences. Vol.18 No.2 , July - December 2020.

THE DISCOVERY OF ESTROGEN RECEPTOR-BETA IN REPRODUCTIVE TISSUE OF MARINE POLYCHAETE, Perinereis nuntia BROODSTOCK

Chotip Phoim, Patamaporn Sukplang, Acharawan Thongmee, and Gun Anantasomboon

Abstract

The polychaete Perinereis nuntia, a tropical segmented marine worm species in Thailand, has been cultured and wildly used in commercial shrimp live-feed, especially for the penaeid shrimp broodstock. Study of reproductive tissue of the marine worm is necessary to improve its culturing procedure. The presumption of this study is that the reproductive sandworm may generate and use estrogen to control inter-cellular group for reproductive functions as was reported in Korean lugworm, P. aibuhitensis and other vertebrate species. Actions of estrogen at its target cells are commonly known since it binds with the estrogen receptor (ER). Six brooders of female and male P. nuntia at 5-6 months of age and 3 pre-reproductive animals at 3-4 months old were examined for sites of ERb protein synthesis and deposition by using indirect immunohistochemistry. A tissue distribution analysis of ER revealed positive immunoreactions in various tissues of the female and male broodstock, including cytoplasm of oocytes, cluster of cells at the parapodia and the intestinal mucosa corresponding to their reproductive age as was characterized by histological analysis. This report describes the first tissue-specific ERb expression in P. nuntia broodstock. The expressed ER in reproductive tissues was likely related to the process of reproductive cell generation and the completion of reproductive cells of the polychaete.

Keywords: polychaete, Perinereis nuntia, estrogen receptor

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