Role of serotonin in fish reproduction

Reproduction is a biological process that results in the production of new individual. The nervousand the endocrine system work together (neuroendocrine) to control vertebrate reproduction. Theneuroendocrine mechanism regulates reproduction through the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal(HPG) axis which is evolutionarily conserved in vertebrates. The hypothalamus is the major siteresponsible for the production of neuropeptide, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in thebrain of vertebrates. In vertebrates, reproductive and sexual functions are mainly controlled by thepulsatile secretion of GnRH from the hypothalamus (Bancroft, 2005). GnRH binds to its cognatereceptors located on the pituitary gonadotropes to regulate the synthesis and release ofgonadotropins: luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (McCann et al.,2002). These gonadotropins control gonadal development and maturation, and stimulatingsteroidogenesis. In vertebrates, the HPG axis is regulated by a variety of internal and externalfactors. For example, one of the endogenous key factors controlling reproductive processes are sexsteroids feedback mechanism exerted by the gonads to the hypothalamus and pituitary (Fink,1979). In addition to gonadal steroids, several factors such as stress, nutrition, andneurotransmitters are involved in the control of the HPG axis, in particular modulation ofgonadotropin release (Zohar et al., 2010). Neurotransmitters such as monoamine, amino acids andpeptides are involved in the neuroendocrine control of reproduction (Gallo, 1980). serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), a monoamine neurotransmitter is involved in a wide range of reproductivefunctions

کلیدواژه ها:

Reproduction ، fish ، serotonin