 | Positions: Director of COMB, Professor Education: Ph.D., Comparative Endocrinology, University of Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris, 1982 Email: zohar@umbi.umd.edu Voice: (410) 234-8824 Mailing info COMB Faculty Directory | Research OverviewFish Reproductive Endocrinology The failure of farmed fish to reproduce predictably when raised in captivity is one of the chief obstacles to sustainable marine aquaculture. This failure is the result of a dysfunctional brain gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system. By studying the nature, mechanisms of actions, and regulation of synthesis and release of GnRH for specific species, it is possible to bypass these obstacles, so that the fish will breed reliably and reproducibly in captivity. Recirculating Marine Aquaculture
Global marine fisheries have exhibited continuous declines in recent years. According to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) statistics, 74% of the world's commercially fished species... Complete Information... | Research DescriptionResearch Areas: Fish reproductive endocrinology, aquaculture
Research Specialties: Physiology, molecular and cellular endocrinology of fish reproduction and hormonal control of gametogenesis; applied technologies for the manipulation of fish spawning; controlled delivery of hormones and other compounds into finfish; recirculating marine aquaculture; Blue crab aquaculture. Research Interests The primary focus of my research program is on basic and applied aspects of fish reproductive physiology and endocrinology. A major obstacle for the development and intensification of the finfish aquaculture industry is the failure of farmed fish to reproduce predictably when raised in captivity. We therefore use endocrine, biochemical and molecular approaches to study interactions along the brain-pituitary-gonadal axis leading to reproductive development , gamete maturation, ovulation and spawning. Our research models include commercially important farmed fish, such as striped bass and seabream, and the zebrafish. From our basic research, we develop technologies for the exogenous manipulation of fish reproduction, to be used in the aquaculture industry... Complete Information... | Representative Publications Palevitch O., Kight K., Abraham, E., Wray, S., Zohar, Y. and Gothilf, Y. (2007). Ontogeny of the GnRH systems in zebrafish brains: in situ hybridization and promoter-reporter expression analyses in intact animals. Cell and Tissue Res. 327: 313-322.
Wong, T.T., Ijiri, S. and Zohar, Y. (2006). Molecular biology of ovarian aromatase in sex reversal: cDNA and 5-flanking region isolation and differential expression of ovarian aromatase in the gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata. Biol. Reprod. 74: 857-864.
Davis, J.L.D, Young-Williams, A., Hines, A.H. and Zohar, Y. (2005). Assessing the potential for stock enhancement in the case of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. Canadian J. of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 62(1): 109-122.
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