CORRELATION OF ANNUAL CHANGE OF LUTEINIZING HORMONE-RELEASING HORMONE (LH-RH) WITH GONADAL DEVELOPMENT IN AMPHIOXUS

摘要

The present study demonstrates for the first time by RIA that LH-RH is present in the heads as well as the bodies of the amphioxuses of both sexes. Gonadoliberin increases gradually during the course of gonadal development. At the time of gonadal maturity, LH-RH content reaches a maximum. The annual change of LH-RH correlates well with gonadal development and the gonadosomatic index (GSI). The reproductive season of the amphioxus covers about three months from May to July, and LH-RH content starts to increase in May (66.89±5.26 ng) and reaches the peak in June (158.57±3.17 ng), indicating that LH-RH is likely also to be involved in the reproductive activity of the chordate. This finding is of significance in understanding the evolutionary process of the reproductive endocrine in the vertebrate.