Hormonal Integration of Feeding, Metabolism, Growth and Reproduction in Fish

鱼类是地球仪的主要食物来源。对水产养殖的需求迅速增长，以满足对食用鱼的需求。这就需要旨在促进养殖鱼类生长、繁殖成功和增重的技术。可持续水产养殖只能通过基于证据的科学方法来改善，包括本申请中概述的研究类型。激素基础研究所产生的知识对于改进水产养殖做法至关重要。例如，目前有刺激繁殖成功的基于维生素E的药物，快速生长鱼类的维生素E过度表达菌株，以及利用饮食调节鱼类中有益激素的水产养殖实践。我的研究计划的愿景和长期目标是更好地了解激素如何调节鱼类的食物摄入，代谢，生长和繁殖。这项研究的最终成果是产生新的知识和改善水产养殖实践。根据这一总体目标，我在过去十年中获得NSERC发现资助的研究在表征大量激素及其在调节摄食，生长，代谢和生殖中的作用方面做出了开创性的贡献。我推测，摄食，代谢，生长和繁殖是相互联系的新激素（如：鸢尾素，pheonixin）在鱼。这里提出的研究的短期目标是（i）表征新激素对代谢，生长和繁殖的作用，（ii）研究这些激素用于引发其功能的机制，以及（iii）制定有效利用我们确定的激素诱导鱼类生长和产卵的策略。使用斑马鱼，金鱼和虹鳟鱼，广泛使用的模型类型的研究概述在这里，我将采用一些尖端的研究技术来研究鱼类代谢，生长和繁殖的激素调节。我预计这些新的激素对鱼类有显著的生物学效应。此外，这项研究将验证激素和饲料的组合作为水产养殖中提高鱼类产量的潜在策略。这里概述的研究结果将提供（i）关于鱼类摄食，代谢，生长和繁殖的激素调节的重要知识，以及（ii）强烈预期将有利于渔业和水产养殖业制定战略，以增加鱼类的生长和繁殖。这种跨学科的研究为大量高素质的人才提供了出色的培训机会，他们将加入需要高度特定技能的职业。这项研究将有助于维持加拿大作为水产养殖业的领导者，并使我国成为未来劳动力的人才库。

Fish is a major food source around the globe. There is a rapidly growing demand for aquaculture to meet the demand for fish used for consumption. This necessitates technologies aimed to facilitate growth, reproductive success and weight gain of cultured fishes. Sustainable aquaculture can only be improved through evidence based scientific approaches, including the type of research outlined in this application. Knowledge generated by basic research on hormones is critical in refining aquaculture practices. For example, currently there are hormone-based drugs that stimulate reproductive success, hormone-overexpressing strains of fast growing fish, and aquaculture practices that utilize diets to modulate beneficial hormones in fish. The vision, and long-term goal of my research program is to better understand how hormones regulate food intake, metabolism, growth and reproduction in fish. The eventual outcomes of this research are generation of new knowledge and betterment of aquaculture practices. In line with this overarching goal, my NSERC Discovery Grant funded research over the past decade has made seminal contributions in characterizing a large number of hormones and their roles in the regulation of feeding, growth, metabolism and reproduction. I hypothesize that feeding, metabolism, growth and reproduction are interlinked by novel hormones (eg: irisin, pheonixin) in fish. The short-term objectives of the research proposed here are to (i) characterize the role of novel hormones on metabolism, growth and reproduction, (ii) study the mechanisms these hormones use to elicit their functions, and (iii) to develop strategies to effectively utilize hormones we identified to induce growth and spawning in fish. Using zebrafish, goldfish and rainbow trout, widely used models for the type of research outlined here, I will employ a number of cutting-edge research techniques to study hormonal regulation of fish metabolism, growth and reproduction. I anticipate these novel hormones to have significant biological effects in fish. In addition, this research will validate combinations of hormones and diets as potential strategies in aquaculture for improving fish yield. The results of the research outlined here will provide (i) significant knowledge on the hormonal regulation of food intake, metabolism, growth and reproduction in fish, and (ii) is strongly expected to benefit fisheries and aquaculture in developing strategies to augment growth and reproduction of fish. This interdisciplinary research provides outstanding training opportunities for a large number of highly qualified personnel, who will join careers that require highly specific skill sets. This research will contribute to sustain Canada as a leader in aquaculture, and our country as a reservoir of talent pool for the future workforce.