Changes in Acipenser ruthenus liver structure during domestication: Preliminary data

Abstract

Wild sturgeon populations have declined dramatically worldwide due to habitat degradation, such as river fragmentation, caused by anthropogenic pressures including legal and illegal overfishing and pollution. Rearing and releasing juvenile fish into natural water bodies is one method to restore biological resources. This study aimed to: (1) examine the spectrum of conditionally pathogenic bacteria causing pathological processes in domesticated sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus Linnaeus, 1758); (2) investigate the effects of pathogenic bacteria on fish internal organs using combined histological techniques for tissue treatment; (3) identify tissues as biomarkers for assessing the impact of bacterial co-infection in sturgeon; and (4)evaluate the role of these infections in fish domestication. Liver damage was the primary clinical manifestation during co-bacterial infection in all tested fish. Additionally, shifts in liver cell functions and cytological characteristics were observed.