First Evidence of Artificial Fission in two Mediterranean Species of Holothurians: Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria polii

Holothurians, or sea cucumbers, are a common group of echinoderms occurring in most benthic marine habitats intemperate and tropical oceans. Sea cucumbers, already known as bioactive compounds producers, are increasingly seen as anew source of food worldwide. Actions to foster a sustainable development of the resource they represent are increasinglyencouraged. Fission is a way of asexual reproduction reported in these organisms. This natural ability to split their body intotwo parts is generally shown by various tropical species of holothurians, but it has been never reported for Mediterraneanspecies from Italian waters. Inducing fission in order to double individual numbers would be a promising option for cultureand restocking purposes. The present study reports the first evidence of transverse induced fission, after experiments of fissionstimulation, in two edible holothurian species from the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy). Survival and regeneration times after beingforced to undergo transverse fission are reported.

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