Advances in vitellogenin research of aquatic animals

Vitellogenins (VTG) are precursors of major components of female yolk proteins in oviparous animals. The paper briefly reviews the VTG gene characterization in aquatic animals such as fish, amphibian and crustaceans as well as the classification and evolution of their gene families, introduces the new physiological functions of VTG, and summarizes theirusages as biomarker in monitoring environmental endocrine disruption, predictive factor of gonad maturity and effective marker in gender discrimination. Thus, the review provides references for researches on VTG in aquatic animalsand breeding of aquatic animals.