Effects of dietary supplementation with 17β-estradiol and 17α-methyltestosterone on growth performance and gonadal development of the juvenile oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense)

17β-Estradiol (E2) and 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) are steroid hormones with dramatic regulatory effects on the growth performance and gonadal development of aquatic species. The aim of the present study was to investigate the regulatory effects of E2 and MT on the growth performance and gonadal development of juvenile prawns (Macrobrachium nipponense). Male and female juvenile prawns were separately maintained and fed different concentrations of E2 and MT, respectively. Treatment with both E2 and MT at 500 mg/kg dramatically promoted the growth of male and female juvenile prawns, respectively (p 0.05). The expression levels of vitellogenin and vitellogenin receptor were dramatically decreased with increased MT concentrations, and the lowest expression levels were observed in the group treated with 1000 mg/kg (p