Analysis of Relative Gene Expression of some Brain-Pituitary-Gonad Axis Genes of the Ripe Wild and Captive Female Liza ramada

The thin-lipped grey mullet, Liza ramada, a commercially significant fish in Egypt, was studied for its expression patterns along the brain-pituitary-gonad axis in female L. ramada during the spawning season of 2022 in both captive and wild habitats. The inspected genes included Kiss2, Gpr54, Gnrh1, and Drd2 genes in the brain and ovary, as well as Lhβ, Fshβ, and Slα genes in the pituitary and ovary.Relative expressions of all studied genes either in the brain, or pituitary, and ovary were higher in ripe females than in immature ones. Captive females had higher Drd2 gene expressions; nevertheless, mature wild females had higher expression values for the other investigated genes that were measured in the brain, or pituitary and ovary. The study found correlations between gene expression patterns in wild and captive females (P< 0.05), suggesting that confinement may affect reproductive physiology. The findings suggest focusing on hormones for artificial fertilization therapies in confined females.