Anatomists and forensic anthropologists routinely determine the age and sex of humans based on skeletal characters. Likewise, sexual dimorphism, also represented by secondary sexual characters, is common in many fish species. These changes are hormone-related and become evident in the course of maturation. Sexual dimorphism further extends to internal skeletal characters. Pregnancy and lactation alter the skeleton of female mammals, in teleost fish, the development of high amounts of calcium-rich egg yolk exerts stress on the skeleton.
Fish taxonomy is well aware of sexual dimorphism. Similarly, aquaculture research takes maturation, hormonal changes and sexual dimorphism into account. Nowadays, zebrafish and medaka are established model organisms in biomedical skeletal research. Many studies are still carried out in early developmental stage when the topics addressed in this volume be neglected. Still, an increasing amount of studies has started to analyze the skeleton of adult individuals. It becomes evident that new treatments for skeletal diseases of adult humans, such as osteoarthritis and post-menopausal osteoporosis, require the study of adult fish models. The aim of this volume is to present expert knowledge across all disciplines that work with fish skeletal tissues related to maturation ageing, hormonal changes and sexual dimorphism. Learning from each other across disciplines will benefit fundamental research, aquaculture research and biomedical research.
This Research Topic aims to provide a fundamental presentation of the current status of our understanding of the developmental and molecular mechanisms involved in fish skeletal development. We welcome the submission of Original Research, Methods, Review, and Mini-Review articles that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:
1. Evolution and development of fish skeletal tissues
2. Shaping the fish skeleton with ageing, hormones and sexual dimorphism
3. Basic process that shapes the teleost skeleton
4. Genetic and developmental basis of skeletogenesis
5. Skeletal responses to defined environments
6. Unravelling the causes of skeletal pathologies
7. New models or new technologies for skeletal studies
Anatomists and forensic anthropologists routinely determine the age and sex of humans based on skeletal characters. Likewise, sexual dimorphism, also represented by secondary sexual characters, is common in many fish species. These changes are hormone-related and become evident in the course of maturation. Sexual dimorphism further extends to internal skeletal characters. Pregnancy and lactation alter the skeleton of female mammals, in teleost fish, the development of high amounts of calcium-rich egg yolk exerts stress on the skeleton.
Fish taxonomy is well aware of sexual dimorphism. Similarly, aquaculture research takes maturation, hormonal changes and sexual dimorphism into account. Nowadays, zebrafish and medaka are established model organisms in biomedical skeletal research. Many studies are still carried out in early developmental stage when the topics addressed in this volume be neglected. Still, an increasing amount of studies has started to analyze the skeleton of adult individuals. It becomes evident that new treatments for skeletal diseases of adult humans, such as osteoarthritis and post-menopausal osteoporosis, require the study of adult fish models. The aim of this volume is to present expert knowledge across all disciplines that work with fish skeletal tissues related to maturation ageing, hormonal changes and sexual dimorphism. Learning from each other across disciplines will benefit fundamental research, aquaculture research and biomedical research.
This Research Topic aims to provide a fundamental presentation of the current status of our understanding of the developmental and molecular mechanisms involved in fish skeletal development. We welcome the submission of Original Research, Methods, Review, and Mini-Review articles that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:
1. Evolution and development of fish skeletal tissues
2. Shaping the fish skeleton with ageing, hormones and sexual dimorphism
3. Basic process that shapes the teleost skeleton
4. Genetic and developmental basis of skeletogenesis
5. Skeletal responses to defined environments
6. Unravelling the causes of skeletal pathologies
7. New models or new technologies for skeletal studies
