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. 2015 Sep 25;4(4):640–663. doi: 10.3390/biology4040640

Table 1.

Development of thymus and T cells in fish.

Species, temperature in parenthesis Formation of thymic rudiment Appearance of small lymphocytes Expression of T cell relevant genes in thymus Differentiation of Cortex/Medulla References
Rainbow trout(14°C)

(8–15°C)
5 days pre-hatch (stage 28 *1) 3 dph (stage 32 *1)
cd8α: 1wpf
tcrβ: 2 wpf
[28]
[31]
Carp (22–25°C) Hatching occurs 2–3.5 days after fertilization 2 dph (stage 27–31 *2)
3 dpf
8 dph (stage 35–36 *2) 4 dpf (WCL9+ve cells)


rag1: 4 dpf


4 wpf 1 wpf (rag1/WCL9)
[32]
[22]
[33]
Zebrafish (27–28.5 °C) Hatching occurs 3 days after fertilization 54–60 hpf 7 dpf
ikaros, gata3, rag1, lck: 72 hpf 3.5dpf tcrα & rag1: 4 dpf
6 wph (rag1 expression at peripheral thymus) [34]
[35]
[25]
Sea bass (15–16 °C) Hatching occurs 2 days after fertilization 27 dph 30 dph (DLT15+ve cells)
tcrβ: 25 dph cd4, cd8α: 51 dph

75 dph (cd4 expression)
[36]
[38,39]
Rock fish (20 °C) Birth occurs 4 days after hatching 10–12 dph 21 dph ND 40 dph [29]

hpf: hours post-fertilization; dpf: days post-fertilization; dph: days post-hatch; wpf: weeks post-fertilization; wph: weeks post-hatch. *1: Developmental stages for rainbow trout were designated according to Vernier (1969). *2: Developmental stages for carp were designated according to Balinsky (1948).