Effects of estradiol-17β on embryos and larvae of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (Decapoda, Palaemonidae)

Abstract

The effects of estradiol-17β(E2) on embryos and larvae of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879), were investigated. Embryos, obtained from brooding females within one day of spawning, were exposed to 1, 10, or 50 μg/ml estradiol-17β for 2 days. No significant differences in growth or in survival rate with those of controls were found. However, those exposed to 10 μg/ml E2 showed an increase in hatching rate, in the number of primordial germ cells (PGCs), and in the rate of incorporation of the PGCs into the developing gonads. Similarly, newly hatched larvae exposed to 1, 5, or 10 μg/ml E2 for 2 days did not show significant differences in growth, survival, or developmental rate from those of the controls. However, larvae exposed to 5 or 10 μg/ml E2 showed slightly more developed gonads. © Koninklijke Brill NV, 2006.