Changes in the number of germ cells in the gonads of the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) during the first 10 post-hatching weeks.

The number of germ cells in fry gonads was determined from histological sections sampled periodically over a 10-week post-hatching period. Several successive types of germ cells were identified: primordial germ cells (PGC), two kinds of gonocytes (G1 and G2) and all the stages of female meiotic prophase. The mean diameters are shown in table 1. The number of germ cells increased regularly from 47 +/- 35 (SD) after hatching (PGC) to 166 +/- 25 at 2 post-hatching weeks (G1). At 5 post-hatching weeks, two groups of fish could be distinguished by the number of their germ cells (G2) - one group had less than 926 cells and the other more than 1 577 - and by their gonadal morphology (Filiform or with an enlarged anterior part due to germ cell concentration). At 6 post-hatching weeks, the ovary differentiated with organization of the ovarian lamellae and the appearance of oocytes in meiotic prophase (4 out of 10 trout). The gonads of the other fish stayed at the indifferent stage. The number of germ cells was significantly higher in female-type gonads (6 335 +/- 3 558) than in indifferent gonads (1 696 +/- 467). The situation was the same at 8 to 10 weeks.