The in vitro metabolism of radioactive androstenedione and testosterone by the gonads of the protogynous Monopterus albus at different sexual phases: a time-course and seasonal study.
The seasonal gonadal steroidogenesis of Monopterus albus in relation to natural sex reversal was studied by in vitro time-course incubations. In vitro steroid metabolisms varied with the developmental stages of the gonad. In the female stage, the major products were either 3 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-androstan-17-one or unidentified metabolites, depending on the season. In the males, 11-oxotestosterone was the major product during the prespawning, reproductively active period, while in other periods of the seasonal cycle, 5 alpha-reduced metabolites were more abundant. In the intersexes, the steroidogenic pattern changed from a female to a male pattern, i.e., the production of 11-oxotestosterone increased and that of the unidentified metabolites decreased.
Yeung
W S
WS
Department of Zoology, University of Hong Kong.
Chen
H
H
Chan
S T
ST
D000735:Androstenedione / Q000378:metabolism*; D000738:Androsterone / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D006066:Gonads / Q000378:metabolism*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D012621:Seasons; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*
D013739:Testosterone; D000735:Androstenedione; D000738:Androsterone; C003600:11-ketotestosterone