Work in Lillafüred

On December 14-15th, Jelena, Zoran and Ákos went to Lillafüred to conduct experiments on the transplantation of brown trout spermatogonia to triploid rainbow trout larvae. Triploid rainbow trout eggs were sent by our colleagues working at Pisciculture Expérimentale Inra des Monts d’Arrée (Peima) in Bretagne, France. We managed to transplant spermatogonia into approximately 300 recipients which will be grown to sexual maturity at the Lillafüred Trout Farm. We also had the chance to examine the gonads of adult individuals of the hybrid tiget trout, a potential recipient. As always, we are grateful to György Hoitsy, his family and all his colleagues who did their best to assist us in spite of the usual Christmas fish sale that took all their energies. We are looking for a continued collaboration in the coming year!

Examination of brown trout gonads before isolation of spermatogonia

Triploid rainbow trout larva waiting for transplantation

Zoran conducting transplantation in field conditions

Work on pikeperch

In the period between 13^th and 15^th November Jelena and Zoran were at National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Research Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Szatvas. They worked together with Uroš Ljubobratović, Research Fellow at that Institute. The main aim of this visit was testing different protocols for conservation of genetic material of pikeperch.  

 

Field work in Slovenia

Five of us were in Slovenia for sperm cryopreservation work from 11-04-2016 to 15-04-2016.

our team: Gergő, Ákos, Kinga, Eszti and Zoli

Our team was complemented with the company of a Portuguese collegue, Carina Caldeira, who is an IMPRESS student at the company Proiser. She is currently on a Short-term Scientific Mission of the COST Action FA-1205 AQUAGAMETE carrying out sperm analysis of various fish and shellfish species.

Carina and the Slovenian hills

Sperm samples from grayling (Thymallus thymallus) individuals were taken in the area of the Angling Association of Tolmin, with the help of Dušan Jesenšek and his team.

fish collection

grayling and marble trout collected from the river

ready for sampling

sperm cryopreservation in the field

sperm samples of wild-caught grayling were stored for future fertilizations

 We also worked with the grayling of the fish farm:

sperm stripping

  

Carina was working on the improvement of the PROISER CASA system, Eszti was doing vitrification experiments, and the rest of the team did cryopreservatin trials.

fertilization tests were also carried out with cryopreserved and vitrified sperm samples

The first "on the field" experiments of 2016 at Lillafüred trout farm

On the 14th of January we went for a field trip to Lillafüred, trying to improve our cryopreservation and vitrification techniques on the sperm of brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario). 

the farm covered with some snow

fish collection

selection of the males

anesthesia 

well-documented stripping of the first trout :)

We took our CASA sytstem to the trout farm. Gergő and Timi was working on the cryopreservation experiment, while Isabela and Eszti vitrified the sperm. Fertilization trials were carried out with the vitrified sperm.

Autumn field work in Slovenia

Ákos, Gergő and Eszti were in Tolmin, Slovenia for sperm cryopreservation and vitrification work on the Marble trout (Salmo marmoratus) from 16-11-2015 to 20-11-2015.

A part of the experimental fish were supplied by the Angling Association of Tolmin, the other part was collected from the natural habitat (a genetically pure population) of this species.

marble trout selection at the fish farm of the Angling Association

marble trout

fish waiting for sampling

during anesthesia (top: marble trout, bottom: hybrid trout from the Rižana river)

sperm collection for cryopreservation experiments

egg collection for fertilisation tests

our team at work

on the way to Huda Grapa, the natural habitat of a pure Marble trout population

searching for fish below a waterfall

Gergő climbing up

Dušan climbing up

still collecting fish (from left: Elvis, Dušan, Ákos)

We caught 8 male marbles, let's start stripping the sperm!

anasthesia in the field

sperm stripping

these fish are tagged with ID numbers, all of these individuals are investigated for their life history and genetics by our collegues from the Biological Station Tour de Valat in France and the University of Ljubljana

Gergő was releasing the fish after stripping

Dušan and Ákos during sperm collection

samples stored in a box, waiting for cryopreservation

cryopreservation in the field (Gergő and Ákos pouring liquid nitrogen onto frozen samples)

We had the opportunity to visit the new trout farm in Tolmin, which has just opened in the summer of 2015.

tank full of trouts

the main building has "scales" and the fish tanks have the shape of a fish body

the farm is equipped with a modern processing system, here Dusan is showing the smoking chamber

And last but not least, a video about stripping the sperm of Marble Trout at Huda Grapa: