Summary：One of the handicaps to successful large-scale controlled reproduction of cultured Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis is that broodstocks are generally not well developed due to the lack of certain stimulating factors in the captive environment to trigger the hypothalamus–pituitary–gonad axis. Hormone treatment is one possible means to promote gonad maturation. The study goal was to ascertain the physiological response of the Chinese sturgeon to the exogenous 17b-estradiol (one of the primary female sex hormones), and estimate its possible effects on gonad development. Serum hormone testosterone (T) and 17β-estradiol (E2), biochemical and haematological parameters, were tested for 10 weeks (injected with E2 for the first 42 days then cultured for a further 28 days) with 4-year-old captive Chinese sturgeon treated in three groups: high dose (HDG, 0.5 mg kg 1, n = 3), low dose (LDG, 0.1 mg kg 1, n = 3), and a control group (injected with 5 ml saline/time/sturgeon, n = 2).
X. Y. Zhang, H. Du, Y. Z. Zhang, Y. P. Wang, J. J. Cai, Y. Chai4, Z. G. Liu, X. M. Qiao, Q. W. Wei. Hematological and biochemical responses of juvenile Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis Gray 1835, to exogenous 17β-estradiol. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 2014, 30. 1216–1221.
