In the present study, the levels of the hypoxia-inducible factors (hif-1, hif-2) transcripts were evaluated during development of an ancient fish species, Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) in a normal oxygen environment. The transcripts of hif-1, hif-2 were detected in all developmental time-points of H. huso from embryos to juvenile fish. Changes in normalized hif-1, hif-2 mRNA expression by using the RPL6 over development was statistically significant over time (P < 0.05). Our results revealed that the mRNA expression of hifs was low during embryonic development and then upregulated significantly in the time of hatch and early larval time-points whereas, in the late larval development and juvenile stage started to decline. The upregulation of hif-1, hif-2 transcripts at the time of hatch and during yolk sac fry development of H. huso is likely tied to the role of hifs in organogenesis and angiogenesis.

Keywords: Beluga sturgeon, Gene transcription, Hypoxia-inducible factors, Larval development

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