The white snook Centropomus viridis is one of the main artisanal fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico with high farming potential. In 2018, the farming of white snook was successfully achieved in Mazatlan, Mexico. However, its aquaculture production is still limited due to a lack of biological and ecological information. Therefore, the cryopreservation of germ cells will contribute to developing assisted reproduction techniques to optimize white snook farming and production. Also, germ cells’ cryopreservation will help conserve it since C. viridis is considered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list as a species of minor concern.
Thus, the objective of this work was to develop a cryopreservation protocol for gonadal tissue of white snook. Pieces of gonadal tissue were suspended in Ethylene glycol (1.5 M or 2 M), Dimethyl sulfoxide (1.5 M or 2 M), or the combination of Dimethyl sulfoxide 1.5 M with the addition of lactose (0.1 M or 0.2 M), and 10% egg yolk. Then, samples were cooled at -80°C for 10, 15, or 30 minutes and plunged into liquid nitrogen (-196°C). Gonadal tissue was thawed, enzymatically dissociated with 0.25% trypsin, and germ cells enriched using a Percoll density gradient (40% and 10%). Cell viability will be determined with double staining of fluorescein diacetate and propidium iodide. The identification of germ cells will be made by immunohistochemistry technique using the protein VASA as a molecular marker. The results will be presented at the meeting.