New insights on gonadal signals (growth factors and lncRNAs) that regulate gonadal maturation in fish: basic knowledge and development of biotechnological strategies to delay puberty

• Grant number: 21/06742-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• Start date: July 01, 2022
• End date: June 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Fishery Resources and Fishery Engineering - Inland Water Fishery Resources
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Henrique Nóbrega
• Grantee: Rafael Henrique Nóbrega
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/07620-7 - Spermatogonial stem cell bank to preserve the genotype of endangered and valuable teleost species, AP.JP
• Associated research grant(s): 23/01319-2 - Evaluation of the impact of cyanobacterial blooms and pollutants in the aquatic environment in vivo and in vitro in teleost fish and its application in human testicular organoids, AP.R
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/21421-9 - Characterization of Candidate Genes Associated with Spermatogonial Differentiation and Male Gonadal Maturation in Fish, BP.TT; 24/09600-5 - Validation and Morphofunctional Characterization of Genes Involved in Spermatogonial Differentiation and Sexual Maturation in Zebrafish (Danio rerio), BP.PD; 24/01700-0 - New insights on gonadal signals (growth factors and lncRNAs) that regulate gonadal maturation in fish: basic knowledge and development of biotechnological strategies to delay puberty, BP.TT; + associated scholarships 23/12692-6 - Prostaglandins and their effects on the spermatogenesis of Astyanax lacustris, BP.IC; 23/04867-0 - New insights on gonadal signals (growth factors and lncRNAs) that regulate gonadal maturation in fish: basic knowledge and development of biotechnological strategies to delay puberty, BP.TT; 23/02621-4 - New insights on gonadal signals (growth factors and lncRNAs) that regulate gonadal maturation in fish: basic knowledge and development of biotechnological strategies to delay puberty, BP.TT; 22/10389-1 - New insights on gonadal growth factors of Lambari, Astyanax altiparanae: basic knowledge and development of biotechnological strategies to delay puberty, BP.PD; 22/10421-2 - New insights on lncRNAS involved in gonadal maturation of teleosts: basic knowledge and development of biotechnological strategies to delay puberty, BP.PD - associated scholarships

Abstract

The applicant is a young outstanding scientist who has published 45 articles (1569 citations, H-index = 15), supervised 5 PhD thesis, coordinated successful project grants (over 500,000 EURO), and became quite early an Associate Professor. His studies were pioneer in developing spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) transplantation in zebrafish, and showing the role of crucial growth factors, Igf3, Amh and Gnih, on fish SSC regulation. The overarching goal of this research is to investigate new paracrine factors and indentify long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that regulate SSC activity, and develop biotechnological strategies to delay puberty in fish. Early sexual maturation of males is still one the major problems limiting the further development of aquaculture in the world. Sexual precocity is an undesirable trait in fish which is correlated with negative aspects such as reduced growth and lower feed conversion. In males, the onset of puberty is generally associated with a switch in SSC activity, from self-renewal to differentiation towards meiosis. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms controlling the switch in SSC activity is the basis for developing approaches to control precocious puberty in males. Focusing on new growth factors and lncRNAs, functional studies that combine in vivo approaches and gain-of-function ex vivo models will be employed. Functional studies will be evaluated with a combination of histomorphometric, biochemical and molecular approaches. In this project, lambari (Astyanax altiparanae), a Neotropical model and promising species for Brazilian aquaculture, and zebrafish will be used as experimental models. Based on the knowledge acquired on the new gonadal factors, we propose to employ somatic gene transfer to delay the start of puberty in fish. The applicant is considered fully capable to coordinate the current project, and certainly will generate important knowledge to improve aquaculture. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ANGEL ANDREAS ARIAS VIGOYA; DANIEL FERNANDES DA COSTA; MARCOS ANTÔNIO DE OLIVEIRA; ARNO JULIANO BUTZGE; IVANA FELIPE ROSA; LUCAS BENITES DORETTO; EMANUEL RICARDO MONTEIRO MARTINEZ; MELANIE DIGMAYER; RAFAEL HENRIQUE NÓBREGA. Time-efficient germ cell transplantation from goldfish (Carassius auratus) into adult common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Animal Reproduction, v. 21, n. 1, 2024-02-12. (14/07620-7, 12/00423-6, 21/06742-5)

VIGOYA, ANGEL ANDREAS ARIAS; COSTA, DANIEL FERNANDES DA; DE OLIVEIRA, MARCOS ANTONIO; BUTZGE, ARNO JULIANO; ROSA, IVANA FELIPE; DORETTO, LUCAS BENITES; MARTINEZ, EMANUEL RICARDO MONTEIRO; DIGMAYER, MELANIE; NOBREGA, RAFAEL HENRIQUE. Time-efficient germ cell transplantation from goldfish (Carassius auratus) into adult common carp (Cyprinus carpio). ANIMAL REPRODUCTION, v. 21, n. 1, p. 10-pg., 2024-01-01. (12/00423-6, 14/07620-7, 21/06742-5)

DA COSTA, DANIEL FERNANDES; RIBEIRO, AMANDA DE OLIVEIRA; RICCI, JULIANA MORENA BONITA; RODRIGUES, MAIRA DA SILVA; DE OLIVEIRA, MARCOS ANTONIO; DA ROSA, IVANA FELIPE; DORETTO, LUCAS BENITES; NAKAJIMA, RAFAEL TAKAHIRO; NOBREGA, RAFAEL HENRIQUE. A83-01 and DMH1 effects in the zebrafish spermatogonial niche: Unraveling the roles of TGF-β and BMP signaling in the Fsh-mediated spermatogonial fate. Gene, v. 897, p. 12-pg., 2023-12-21. (18/16595-7, 22/10421-2, 17/15793-7, 20/15237-0, 19/05643-3, 22/10389-1, 14/25313-4, 21/06742-5)

ROSA, IVANA F.; PECANHA, ANA P. B.; CARVALHO, TABATA R. B.; ALEXANDRE, LEONARDO S.; FERREIRA, VINICIUS G.; DORETTO, LUCAS B.; SOUZA, BEATRIZ M.; NAKAJIMA, RAFAEL T.; DA SILVA, PATRICK; BARBOSA, ANA P.; et al. Photobiomodulation Reduces the Cytokine Storm Syndrome Associated with COVID-19 in the Zebrafish Model. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, v. 24, n. 7, p. 22-pg., 2023-04-01. (20/05761-3, 19/21739-0, 14/04294-1, 19/19939-1, 20/15237-0, 18/07098-0, 21/06742-5)