The present study aimed to develop a gonad-stimulating substance-like peptide (GSSL)
immunochromatography measuring kit (GIM-Kit) to detect females of the sea cucumber
Apostichopus japonicus that are ready for the collection of matured eggs for artificial insemination
in hatcheries. A. japonicus is the major species consumed in East Asian countries. With regard to
the increasing demand for the species in the region, collecting the minimum number of females for
hatching is beneficial for sustaining the livestock and increasing the efficiency of breeding. A
prototype GIM-Kit was constructed based on the double-antibody sandwich immunosorbent assay
technique using two polyclonal antibodies that were generated against a physiologically active
AEIDDLAGNIDY amino acid sequence of GSSL and a 40-nm-diameter colloidal gold-tagged
antibody. The GIM-Kit detected as little as 80 ng of GSSL in approximately 0.4 g mL1 of ovaries
that was diluted in distilled water. The detection time was approximately 20 min in the early (April)
to mid (May) breeding season. The immunoreaction of the ovaries was high among the females