First report on facultative parthenogenetic activation of eggs in sterlet sturgeon, Acipenser ruthenus

This study reported facultative parthenogenetic cleavage development of sterlet sturgeon Acipenser ruthenus eggs and quantified the percentage of parthenogenetically developed eggs in relation to the fertilization ability of different females. When eggs were activated in freshwater, 5.1-13.7% of eggs developed parthenogenetically, while among those activated eggs 3.6-9.4% developed to 2 cells, 0.4-4.5% developed to 4 cells, and 0-0.8% developed to 8 cells. The mean percentage of fertilized and parthenogenetically activated eggs among the females was negatively correlated (R(2)=0.71, p=0.036), which indicates that parthenogenetic activation rate of sterlet eggs depends on the quality of eggs in terms of fertilization rate.