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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Seawater Sampling and Collection
Published on: June 17, 2009
Marine fish egg hydration is aquaporin-mediated
Mercedes Fabra1, Demetrio Raldúa, Deborah M Power
1Center of Aquaculture-Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries, Tarragona, Spain, and Reference Center in Aquaculture, Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract:
The positive buoyancy of marine fish eggs in sea water, allowed by hydration of the oocyte, is critical for their survival and dispersion in the ocean. We isolated an aquaporin, SaAQP1o, that belongs to a unique subfamily of aquaporin-1-like channels specifically evolved in teleosts and mainly expressed in the ovary. We further show that hormone-induced fish oocyte hydration is a highly controlled process based on the interplay between protein hydrolysis and the translocation of SaAQP1o to the plasma membrane, indicating a specialized physiological role for this aquaporin.
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