ANTIBODIES SPECIFIC FOR GROWTH HORMONE/PROLACTIN ISOFORMS IN TILAPIA

TILAPIA ARE AN IMPORTANT FOOD FISH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, AND A CANDIDATE FISH FOR LARGE SCALE AQUACULTURE BOTH IN THEU.S. AND ABROAD. THEY ARE ALSO THE MOST EXTENSIVELY STUDIEDMODEL SYSTEM FOR UNDERSTANDING THE ENDOCRINE CONTROL OF GROWTH IN FISHES. RECENTLY IT HAS BEEN LEARNED THAT TILAPIA HAVE TWO DISTINCT PROLACTINS AND A SINGLE GROWTH HORMONE. IT IS THE GOAL OF THE WORK PROPOSED HERE TO DEVELOP IMMUNOASSAYS CAPABLE OF MEASURING THESE THREE CLOSELY RELATED GROWTH REGULATORS. TWO STRATEGIES WILL BE PURSUED: SYNTHETIC PEPTIDES CORRESPONDING TO UNIQUE EPITOPES IN EACH OF THE THREE ISOFORMS WILL BE SYNTHESIZED, AND USED TO GENERATE IMMUNOGENS FOR ANTIBODY PRODUCTION. INADDITION, THE NATIVE MOLECULES THEMSELVES WILL BE USED TO INDUCE THE ANTIBODIES. PHASE I EFFORTS WILL BE DEVOTED TO PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES. IN PHASE II, THE EFFORT WILL BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES, AND THE ANTIBODIES WILL BE UTILIZED TO GENERATE ISOFORM-SPECIFIC IMMUNOASSAYS FOR MEASUREMENT OFTHE HORMONES. THESE ASSAYS WILL BE OF TREMENDOUS VALUE FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE ENDOCRINE CONTROL OF GROWTH TILAPIAIN PARTICULAR, AND TO DEVELOPING A BETTER APPRECIATION OF THE ENDOCRINE CONTROL OF GROWTH IN FISH IN GENERAL. ENDOCRINE CONTROL OF GROWTH IN FISH IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD IN LARGE PART BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF ASSAY STSTEMS CAPABLE OF ACCURATELY MEASURING CANDIDATE GROWTH REGULATORS. WE INTENDTO DEVELOP ANTIBODIES CAPABLE OF DISTINGUISHING AMONG THESE CLOSELY RELATED HORMONES IN TILAPIA: TWO PROLACTINS AND ONEGROWTH HORMONE. IMMUNOASSAYS UTILIZING THESE ANTIBODIES WILL BE USEFUL FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN FISH BIOLOGY, AND WILL HAVE TREMENDOUS VALUE IN EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE GROWTH RATEAND GROWTH EFFICIENCY IN FISH IN THE AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY, INCLUDING FISH TREATED WITH RECOMBINANT GROWTH HORMONES AND TRANSGENIC FISH.