“overview of reproductive Biology studies on paddlefish, Polyodon spathula between university of South Bohemia research institute of fish culture and hydrobiology and kentucky state university aquaculture research center”

Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) are highly valued for its blackish roe, which is processed into caviar and for its delicious boneless meat. Since 1985, Kentucky State University Aquaculture Research Center (KSUARC) has been the lead institution in the United States in developing paddlefish as an aquacultural fish. Research on reproductive biology of paddlefish was essential for its development.  Over the last two decades, an international team of experts (i.e. Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine) funded by United States Department of Agriculture has collaborated with KSUARC to accomplish this goal.  Since 1994, Dr. Otomar Linhart has collaborated on numerous spermatozoan studies to develop basic information (i.e. ionic composition, osmolality and motility) for milt cryopreservation application and was successful in developing a viable cryo-technique for paddlefish.  Further, he collaborated on direct induced gynogenesis research which has developed into a commercial procedure for producing more female paddlefish. This collaboration has led to scientific exchanges at several international conferences and permitted numerous peer–reviewed publications. Collaboration continues today with a recent visit in 2008 of two KSUARC graduate students and with a pending Czech-American cooperation project for further scientific exchange. Czech Republic currently has a viable breeding population of paddlefish for continuing scientific studies and for aquaculture development.