Projects

-NKFI K138425 "Research towards in vitro gonads in freshwater fish"

• Duration: 01.09.2022 - 31.08.2025

• Amount awarded: 47.750 million HUF (approx. 124 thousand €)

The principal objective of the project is the in vitro culture of germline stem cells (GSCs such as spermatogonia and oogonia) of freshwater fish either in the abscence or presence of feeder cells. Detailed objectives of the project include the characterization and culture of GSCs and feeder cells (in case of mammals Sertoli cells, for females theca and granulosa cells) as well as development of a two-dimensional (2D) culture using these cells (primarily spermatogonia), and finally induction of proliferation and differentiation of GSCs in order to produce sperm capable of fertilization. Based on the results of 2D culture, our further objective is the development of a three-dimensional (3D) culture using GSCs, feeder cells and extracellular matrix as a scaffold. The planned 3D culture targets the production of in vitro gonads, organoids that ensures the proliferation of GSCs and their differentiation into gametes.

-NKFI K 129127 "Inherited cryoresistance of fish sperm"

• Duration: 01.09.2018 - 31.8.2023

• Amount awarded: 44.692 million HUF (approx. 117 thousand €)

Summary: Experiments on the cryopreservation of fish sperm have been conducted for several decades and with increasing intensive fish farming this methodology is slowly becoming part of induced spawning. During cryopreservation some cells are damaged while others survive the process of freezing and thawing intact. Cell survival can to a certain extent be improved by the perfection of methods, however, its efficiency is always relative and differences among species or among individuals of a species are manifested in differential survival of cells. Thus, the objective of our research is to study cell selection during the process of cryopreservation and to investigate if individual resistance of cells against the effects of freezing and thawing (cryoresistance) is inherited or not. This hypothesis is based on a study published in 2002 where the sperm of rainbow trout individuals hatched from eggs fertilized with cryopreserved sperm had a higher fertilizing capacity following cryopreservation than that of their full siblings hatched from eggs fertilized with fresh sperm. Our further objective is to investigate the molecular background of inherited cryoresistance if that indeed exists.

-NKFI SNN 116912 "Interspecific transplantation of freshwater fish spermatogonia"

• Duration: 01.01.2016 - 31.12.2018

• Amount awarded: 32.820 million HUF (approx. 105 thousand €)

Summary: The primary objective of the research is the production of germline chimeras for species conservation. The objective of the project will be attained by interspecific transplantation of spermatogonia of various species in a Hungarian-Slovenian collaboration. The detailed objectives of the project are as follows: 1. Identification and isolation of spermatogonia using state-of-the-art immunohistochemistry and molecular biology methods 2. Cryopreservation of spermatogonia 3. Transplantation of spermatogonia into suitable recipients including adult fish as well as larvae 4. Production of donor-derived offspring from gametes produced by the recipient (in zebrafish and common carp where it is feasible due to the time required for sexual maturation) 5. Development of molecular markers for the determination of transplantation success.

-GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00025 "Innovative development of consumer demand-driven, economically significant cultured fish species (catfish, carp, perch) genetic resources and breeding technology - GOODFISH" (Fogyasztói igényekhez igazodó, gazdaságilag jelentős haszonhalaink (harcsa, ponty, süllő) genetikai erőforrásainak és tenyésztés-technológiájának innovatív fejlesztése)

• Duration: 01.01.2017 – 31.12.2020

• Amount awarded: 987.440 million HUF (approx. 3.29 million €)
• Of which the budget of the Department of Aquaculture: 214.049 million HUF (approx. 692 thousand €)

The project targets the management of genetic resources as well as a complex development of aquaculture systems for three autochthonous cultured fish species in Hungary: the wels catfish, common carp and pikeperch). The GOODFISH project is an unprecedented collaborative effort by four major aquaculture education and reseach institutions in Hungary, the Department of Aquaculture of Szent István University, the National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Research Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Department of Livestock Breeding of the University of Debrecen as well as the Aquaculture Group of the University of Pannonia. The project will also involve contribution by other research groups as subcontractors. The main objectives of GOODFISH include general intensification of the current carp-based pond aquaculture, development and intensification of wels catfish production, development of juvenile rearing of pikeperch, creation of live and frozen gene banks for various populations of the wels catfish and pikeperch as well as veterinary, proteomic and economic studies in common carp farming.


-NKFI FK 124585 "Conservation of female genetic resources in fish"

• Duration: 01.09.2017 – 31.08.2021

• Amount awarded: 39.844 million HUF (approx. 128 thousand €)

During the last few decades, anthropogenic factors have resonated through the natural environment. Climate changes and general degradation of the environment have left thousands of animal species vulnerable, endangered or even extinct. Cryobanking of cells (storing cells at subzero temperatures) which can readily produce the next generation (sperm, eggs, embryos) has been a great facilitating tool in conservation efforts of such species, however, currently cryobanking of fish oocytes and embryos is not efficient enough due to high complexity and high yolk content. One approach which will enable the cryogenic storage of female genetic resources is cryopreservation of early development stage oocytes which mature into functional eggs since they are much more tolerable to cooling and harsh environments met by cells during cryopreservation. However, this approach opens new challenges such as isolation of early-stage oocytes and their maturation into functional eggs after cryopreservation. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to develop cryopreservation methods for cryobanking of early-stage oocytes, and methods which will allow their simple isolation and sorting, but also maturation into functional eggs through in vitro culture or by oogonial transplantation. Development of these methods will improve current conservation strategies, but also enable safe storage of genetic reasources in research institutes and stock centers which will be more cost- and labor-efficient.