2010/727 Molecular assessment of spawning cues in temperate abalone Haliotis laevigata

By Omar Mendoza Porras

Wild caught abalone supplies some of the global market, however to meet increasing commercial demand abalone are also farmed. Despite the advances in abalone farming, many issues remain unresolved such as prolonged feeding requirements, disease management and inefficient spawning all of which have downstream effects on production. In temperate Greenlip Abalone Haliotis laevigata, inefficient spawning has limited pair-wise breeding of selected broodstock that would otherwise produce highly marketable abalone. Understanding the mechanisms that control spawning and identifying the molecule(s) associated with spawning are keys to solving this issue.

Genomic and proteomics tools were used to perform a comprehensive study of abalone gonad protein composition, revealing protein identities and enabling measurement of protein expression levels in abalone gonads following artificial spawning induction. This research utilised proteomics coupled to mass spectrometry to profile the gonad proteome in sexually mature abalone and further to identify proteins that were differentially expressed in gonads during artificially induced spawning. The combined findings of this research provide a greater understanding of the protein expression in abalone gonads following artificial induction of spawning.