OPTIMIZING HORMONE THERAPY TO INCREASE SPAWNING IN SINGLE AND REDUNDANTLY STERILIZED GENE-EDITED TRANSGENIC CATFISH

Specific Objectives-1) To determine the optimum dose of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) as either liquid injections or slow-release cellulose acetate implants to restore fertility to transgenic channel catfish that have had one or two HPG axis related genes knocked out.2) To determine if equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is more effective than HCG for restoring fertility to sterilized transgenic- gene-edited channel catfish.3) To verify that hormone therapy regimens do not adversely affect progeny development and early life history performance.4) Confirm the inheritance of performance level in the resulting generation of offspring of the transgenic-gene-edited parents and examine any potential epigenetic effects on long-term performance due to hormone therapy.