One of the many problems of fish production in captivity is the predictable generation of all-female and all-male populations of fish. A number of methods have been developed for producing either predominantly male or predominantly female populations, although most are not technically feasible outside of the research laboratory, or the treatments render the fish unusable as a food product. We plan to develop an efficient, effective, safe, and inexpensive technology for selecting either functionally-X or functionally-Y fish sperm cells and for producing unisex fish populations. Our proposed method will be based on the use of antibodies which differentially bind to X and Y sperm cells from a variety of different fish. Preparations of functionally-X sperm will be prepared by masculinization of gynogenetically produced females; functionally-Y sperm will be prepared by feminization of offspring and subsequent mating of individuals to normal males. Rabbit polyclonal antibodies will be generated against each of the isolated sperm samples. Titers will be assessed, and potentially useful antibodies will be isolated and characterized for their specificity. In Phase II of this project, the antibodies produced in Phase I will be more completely characterized and will be used to develop strategies to segregate functionally-X and functionally-Y sperm.Commercial Applications:These antibodies will be useful in a number of direct applications in the fish farming industry by segregating sperm cells or tagging them to manipulate there productive capability of the X and Y populations, enabling the production of mono sex populations of fish without the use of hormones.
