Sexual maturation in the black seabream, Mylio macrocephalus Teleostei, Sparidae: changes in pituitary gonadotropes, hepatocytes and related biochemical constituents in liver and serum

The black seabream, Mylio macrocephalus, exhibits the phenomenon of sex segregation. Immature fish are developing hermaphrodites, and show a considerable overlap with mature males in their body weights. Mature females tend to be the heaviest group. Fish can be classified into immature, developing and mature groups, with a further division into definitive males or females in the two latter groups. The developing groups still have bisexual gonads, whereas mature males have testes with only a comparatively inconspicuous portion of ovarian tissue, and mature females possess ovaries with vitellogenic oocytes and a greatly regressed testicular component. In the present study, monthly samples were collected over a 3-year period, and changes in pituitary gonadotropes and liver tissue studied by light, and electron microscopy. Seasonal changes in serum constituents were also studied by biochemical techniques. Gonadotropes increased in number and became hypertrophied during sexual maturation, showing an enhanced cytoplasmic vacuolation and degranulation of alcian blue- and periodic acid-Schiff-positive material. The levels of various biochemical constituents in the liver and serum of developing fish tended to be intermediate between those recorded in the immature and mature groups. In mature fish, the serum levels of glucose, sodium and calcium were elevated, but hepatic glycogen content was less than the developing group, and hepatocytes contained activated mitochondria. The seasonal changes in pituitary cytology, hepatic ultrastructure and serum constituents, could be correlated with the metabolic adaptations to sexual maturation.