Morphological and histological characterization of an ectopically mineralized structure in a gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata with opercular deformation

In this study, we describe an abnormal ectopically mineralized structure (EMS) that was found inside the skull of a juvenile Sparus aurata that also showed a bilateral opercular deformation. The overall phenotype and tissue composition were studied using micro‐CT scanning and histological analyses. The ectopic structure occupies a large volume of the brain cavity, partially extruding into the gill cavity. It shows a dense mineralization and an extracellular matrix‐rich phenotype, with variation in both the morphology and size of the cell lacunae, combined with an irregular fibre organization inside the matrix. This study is the first to report such an EMS in a juvenile teleost fish, where the tissue does not resemble any other connective tissue type described in bony fish so far. The tissue phenotype seems to rule out that the EMS corresponds to a tumorous cartilage. Yet, it is rather reminiscent of a highly mineralized structure found in cartilaginous fish, where it is suggested to be associated with damage repair.     

A novel enzymatic pre‐treatment improves amino acid utilization in feather meal fed to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

A growth trial followed by a digestibility trial were conducted to assess the bioavailability of arginine (Arg) and amino acid digestibility of two feather meals (FeMs) and their pre‐treated counterparts (PTFeMs). Two FeMs, identified as FeM1 and FeM2, were incubated in 200% distilled water (%FeM w/w), with 0.05% of Savinase^® 16L (%FeM v/w) and 2% sodium sulphite (%FeM w/w) at 55ºC for 24 hr in a shaking incubator to produce PTFeM1 and PTFeM2 respectively. A basal diet, highly deficient in Arg (12.0 g/kg Arg) was formulated and 10 other diets were formulated to contain 13.5 or 15.0 g/kg Arg by adding increasing amounts of L‐Arg, FeMs or PTFeMs. The experimental diets were fed for 8 weeks using a standard protocol. At 13.5 g/kg Arg, the PTFeMs supported 10.5% to 11.5% higher growth rates (p < 0.05) than their untreated counterparts. The diets formulated with PTFeMs presented 3.5%–4.5% and 2.7%–5.9% higher (p < 0.05) apparent digestibility coefficients of protein when compared to the diets containing the FeM counterparts at 13.5 and 15.0 g/kg Arg respectively. The results from this study demonstrate the potential of the pre‐treatment to improve the nutritive value of FeMs in rainbow trout.     

Saddleback syndrome in European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758): anatomy,ontogeny and correlation with lateral‐line,anal and pelvic fin abnormalities

This study focused on the anatomy and ontogeny of saddleback syndrome (SBS) in reared European sea bass. The abnormality was detected at an unusually high frequency (12–94%) during a routine quality control in a commercial hatchery. Anatomically the abnormality was mainly characterized by the loss of 1–5 hard spines and severe abnormalities of the proximal pterygiophores (anterior dorsal fin), size reduction of a few lepidotrichia, missing lepidotrichia and/or lepidotrichia of poor ossification (posterior dorsal fin). SBS was significantly correlated with abnormalities of the anal and pelvic fins in all the examined populations. Moreover, in juvenile fish, SBS was significantly correlated with an abnormal lack of sectors of the lateral line. The examination of early larval samples revealed that SBS was ontogenetically associated with severe abnormalities of the primordial marginal finfold, which developed at the flexion stage (ca 8.5–11.0 mm SL). Histologically, these abnormalities were associated with extensive epidermal erosion. The results are discussed in respect of the critical ontogenetic period and the possible causative factors of SBS in European sea bass. It is suggested that causative factors acted during a wide ontogenetic period including flexion and metamorphosis phases.     

Hand-feel soil texture observations to evaluate the accuracy of digital soil maps for local prediction of soil particle size distribution: A case study in Central France

Digital maps of soil properties are now widely available. End-users now can access several digital soil mapping (DSM) products of soil properties, produced using different models, calibration/training data, and covariates at various spatial scales from global to local. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide easy-to-understand tools to communicate map uncertainty and help end-users assess the reliability of DSM products for use at local scales. In this study, we used a large amount of hand-feel soil texture (HFST) data to assess the performance of various published DSM products on the prediction of soil particle size distribution in Central France. We tested four DSM products for soil texture prediction developed at various scales (global, continental, national, and regional) by comparing their predictions with approximately 3 200 HFST observations realized on a 1:50 000 soil survey conducted after release of these DSM products. We used both visual comparisons and quantitative indicators to match the DSM predictions and HFST observations. The comparison between the low-cost HFST observations and DSM predictions clearly showed the applicability of various DSM products, with the prediction accuracy increasing from global to regional predictions. This simple evaluation can determine which products can be used at the local scale and if more accurate DSM products are required.