Effects of 17α-Methyltestosterone on Growth and Induced Sex Change in Longtooth Grouper Epinephelus bruneus (Bloch)

We examined the effects of 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) on growth and induced sex change in the longtooth grouper Epinephelus bruneus. The growth rate for body weight (GRW) and specific growth rate (SGR) of the group injected with MT over 8 weeks were significantly higher than those of the sham-injected control group, the group injected over 4 weeks, and the control group. Of the orally administrated groups, the GRWs of the control group and the group given 1 kg of feed with 2.0 mg of MT were highest and did not significantly differ from one another. For SGR, the treatment groups differed significantly, and the SGR of the control group was higher than those of the other groups (P<0.05). The condition factor (CF) of the group injected over 4 weeks was higher than those injected over 8 weeks, the sham-injected control group over 8 weeks, and the control group. The CF did not significantly differ between the sham-injected control group over 8 weeks and the injected group over 8 weeks, but these two groups differed from the control group (P<0.05). The CFs of the groups given 1 kg of feed with 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg of MT were significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). The feed efficiency ratio was not significantly affected by MT administration. Most of the experimental groups receiving MT developed many unidentified germ cell cysts and perinucleolus oocytes, although neither spermazoa cells nor sex-changed males were observed in any of the treatments.