In vitro approach to determine oocyte maturation in beluga sturgeon (Huso huso)

Due to the high importance of beluga sturgeon breeders and to determine the appropriate time for hormonal induction, the present study was performed with the aim of selecting the breeders with high quality eggs for artificial reproduction. Two groups of eggs from 7 female beluga were incubated with 5 µg of progesterone per mL or hormone-free group in Ringer medium at 16°C for 18 hours. Pre- and post-exposure, the germinal vesicle migration (GVM) index was determined in 10 oocytes. The results showed that the GV position was 13.0±3.4 pre-treatment and changed after in vitro culture of oocytes in control and progesterone groups to 11.7±4.1 and 9.6±2.2, respectively, which showed a significant difference. During this period, the GVM exposed to progesterone was determined to be 31.2% closer to the animal pole. This study suggests that due to high economic value of beluga breeders, this method can be used to select suitable fish to induce artificial reproduction.