Changes in thyroid hormone levels in eggs and larvae and in iodide uptake by eggs of coho and chinook salmon,Oncorhynchus kisutsch andO. tschawytscha.

Developmental profiles of thyroxin (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and radioactive iodide uptake were established for eggs and T4 and T3 profiles were established for larvae (whole-body, yolk-only and body-only) of coho and chinook salmon. T4 and T3 were consistently present in all samples. In eggs, hormone levels remained fairly constant in all cohorst for at least the first three weeks of incubation, but then fluctuated in both directions in some sample groups. Large increases in T4 (from 9 ng/g to 245 ng/g) were seen in 1985 chinook eggs 28 days after fertilization. Radioactive iodide uptake (which was used as a possible indicator of thyroxinogenesis) increased at least 10-fold in both 1986 coho and chinook eggs from 23-30 days after fertilization. T4 (62 ng/g) and T3 (393 ng/g) were found in the bodies of 28-day-old 1986 chinook embryos. In whole larvae, hormone levels varied depending upon the cohort studied. In general, initial body-only concentrations of both T4 and T3 decreased as body weight increased, but before yolksac resorption was completed, both thyroid hormone content and concentration increased (except for chinook T3). T4 and T3 content in larval yolk stayed constant as yolksac size decreased, resulting in increased thyroid hormone concentration in the yolksac. All of these data suggest that the initial source of thyroid hormones in coho and chinook salmon eggs is maternal, but that by approximately 3-4 weeks after fertilization, the developing embryos begin to produce their own thyroid hormones. After hatching, increases in tissue T4 and T3 concentration coupled with constant T4 and T3 content in diminishing yolksacs suggest that larvae also produce their own thyroid hormones; yolksac content then may reflect both the original maternal hormones and the larva-producted hormones.