Two biomass preparation methods provide insights into studying microbial communities of intestinal mucosa in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)

Animal digestive tract is habitat for a large number of autochthonous microbiota, which play central roles in multiple biological and physiological processes of the host. In this study, two different micro‐biomass preparation methods were employed to evaluate the diversity of intestinal mucosa‐associated microbiota in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus). Genomic DNAs were isolated either directly from intestinal mucosal samples (group A), or from micro‐biomass after microbial dissociation (group B). Community richness, diversity and evenness indices were all higher in group B, but differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.97, P = 0.33, P = 0.34 respectively). Furthermore, group B samples exhibited an increased ratio of bacterial DNA in comparison with group A samples, but the difference was also not statistically significant (P = 0.74). In addition, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05) at the taxonomic level. Our results support previous findings that there exists a great abundance of the intestinal mucosa‐adherent microbiota in the grass carp; among these, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Spirochaetes and Fusobacteria were the most common phyla. Within these microbiota, Paenibacillus, Bacteroides, Bacillus and Cetobacterium genera comprise the majority of the community, implicating their functional importance (e.g. as probiotics) to their host. Our results contribute towards a better understanding of the intestinal microbial profile of grass carp. Both micro‐biomass preparation techniques proved to be feasible for studying mucosa‐adherent microbiota of grass carp; however, the second method (group B) provides a protocol that is somewhat more effective than the first method (group A).     

Should only females of giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii be selected in genetic improvement programmes?

Sexual dimorphism is widely observed in almost all farmed aquatic animal species but giant freshwater pawn (GFP) is unique, with males characterized by three main morphotypes (blue claw, orange claw and small males) and females by different reproduction status (ovary, berried egg and already‐spawned females). There has been reported evidence that the effect of male morphotype may have masked genetic variation in growth‐related traits, as a result the heritability for male body weight was lower than that estimated in female. A pending question has arisen whether selection should be made in female only. To answer this question, we used an 8‐year data set from a long‐term selection programme (2008–2015) for high growth in this species comprising 106,756 individuals that were offspring of 515 sires and 810 dams. The body weight data of female and male GFP or of each morphotype was treated as a separate trait and a multi‐trait approach was used to estimate genetic correlations for homologous traits between sexes and between morphotypes. Our analysis showed that there were little differences in the heritability estimates between female and male. In female, mature ovary individual displayed higher heritability than berried egg and already‐spawned females. For male, the heritability for blue claw, orange claw and small males were 0.11, 0.06 and 0.00 respectively. Between‐sex genetic correlation was moderate (0.55 ± 0.11) for body weight, suggesting that the trait expressions in female and male may be genetically different. In female, the genetic correlations for body weight among three female types were close to one (0.91–0.94). In contrast, the genetic correlations for body weight between male morphotypes especially between blue claw or orange claw and small males were low (0.15–0.25). Furthermore, we estimated genetic gain as the difference in least square means (LSM) or estimated breeding values (EBV) between the selection line and control group. The genetic gain in body weight was smaller in females than in males. It is concluded that there is no need to run separate breeding programme for female and male GFP. A combined selection using both female and male data can achieve selection response for body weight as demonstrated in the present study.     

Data envelopment analysis for production efficiency improvement: An empirical application on brine shrimp Artemia franciscana culture in the Mekong Delta,Vietnam

Artemia culture in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, is becoming more and more important to satisfy the global demands of cyst production. Nevertheless, Artemia cyst productivity in the Mekong Delta has been fluctuating largely due to not only technical inefficiencies and external factors but also farms’ characteristics. This study employed a data envelopment analysis to evaluate the production efficiencies in correlation with biological and cost inputs of Artemia culture in Vinh Chau and Bac Lieu located in the Mekong Delta. The key factors affecting technical efficiency (TE) were determined using ordinary least squares regression model. The empirical results indicated that production efficiencies of farms in Vinh Chau and Bac Lieu were similar with metatechnology ratios of 0.97 and 0.96 respectively. About 62.8% of surveyed farms were operating in technically inefficient circumstances. Farmers’ experience, educational level and culture technique training participation had positive effects on TE, while climate effects and water problems have been proved to have negative effects on TE. To improve production efficiency, inefficient farms are suggested to have moderately increasing combinations of organic fertilizer, chemical and feed. The use of probiotics should be reduced as it increases production cost and affects TE. Notably, a collaboration of scientists and feed processing companies is recommended to produce a specific formulated feed for Artemia in commercial scales. This study also proposes adaptive policies for local governments and cooperatives to assist coastal famers in the Mekong Delta overcome technical inefficiencies, improve cyst productivity and obtain economic sustainability in Artemia culture.     

Aboveground biomass increment and stand dynamics in tropical evergreen broadleaved forest

Forest ecosystems can modify the atmospheric CO₂ through biomass accumulation mostly in tree stems with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 10 cm. Aboveground biomass increment (ΔAGB), and changes in stand AGB, no. stems and basal area (BA) were calculated from mortality, recruitment, and growth data of tree stems in tropical evergreen broadleaved forest, Central Highland Vietnam. Data were derived from ten 1-ha permanent plots established in 2004, where all stems with DBH ≥ 10 cm were tagged, identified to species, and measured for DBH in 2004 and 2012. In an 8-year duration, the increment was 53 ± 10 stems ha^–1, 7.8 ± 0.3 m² ha^–1 for BA and 86.0 ± 4.6 Mg ha^–1 for AGB. The stem mortality rate was 0.9% year^–1 and the stem recruitment rate was 2.2% year^–1. Annual ΔAGB was 10.8 Mg ha^–1 year^–1, equaling to 5.4 Mg C ha^–1 year^–1. Of which, tree stems of 35–80 cm DBH classes accounted for 65%. The results indicated that the forest is in stage of carbon sequestration. Any disturbances causing death of 35–80 cm DBH tree stems will much reduce carbon sequestration capacity and it will take a long time for AGB to return to pre-disturbance stage.     

Non‐specific immune responses and intestinal immunity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fed Jujube (Ziziphus jujube) fruit extract

This study investigated the effects of Jujube (Ziziphus jujube) fruit extract (JFE) as an excellent source of nutrients and phytochemicals on the innate immune responses and expression of genes involved in intestinal immunity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fingerlings. Three hundred healthy carps (10.78 ± 0.05 g) fingerlings were randomly allocated to 12 fibre glass tanks (300L; 15 fish per tank) and fed for 8 weeks with experimental diets which contained different levels of JFE (0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, or 1%). Thereafter, serum non‐specific immune parameters [total immunoglobulin (Ig) as well as alternative complement (ACH50) and lysozyme activity (SL)] and expression of genes involved in intestinal immunity (lyz, tnf‐alpha, il1b, il8, il10, and tgfb) were measured. The results revealed a significant elevation of Ig level in the JFE‐fed fish (p < 0.05) over the control fish. However, there was no significant difference among treated groups in case of serum total Ig. The highest levels of SL and ACH50 were observed in fish fed 1% of JFE. Nonetheless, no significant difference was noticed regarding SL and ACH50 of control and other supplemented groups (0.25% and 0.5% JFE). Also, expression of lyz, tnf‐alpha, and il1b genes increased significantly (p < 0.05) in JFE‐fed fish, in a dose‐dependent manner. On the other hand, significant (p < 0.05) down‐regulation of il110 and tgfb were noticed in treated groups. The present findings suggested that extraction of Jujube, Z. jujube fruit, possesses beneficial effects on immune responses of common carp.     

Assessment of household risk management strategies for coastal aquaculture: the case of clam farming in Thaibinh Province,Vietnam

Clam farmers have experienced different types of risks that have been further exacerbated by the rapid expansion of clam farming areas, increased growing densities, and increased market difficulties in recent years in the Thaibinh Province of Vietnam. Most farmers have been seriously affected by production risk, market risk, and financial risk, while a number of others have met with success in almost all of their clam-raising cycles. This study applied a differentiating comparative analysis method and multiple discriminant analysis method to discuss the differences in risk management strategies between and among clam farming households and the impacts of those differences on their success/failure rates. In general, the tactics are related to increase in farm size, the application of technical innovations, diversifying livelihood activities, and accessing secure financial sources all provided better conditions for clam growth, diminished losses, and led to speedier recovery from shocks. To support farmers in managing risks, several government interventions are needed: (1) better re-zoning of clam farming areas in parallel with an increase in the farm size of each household, (2) promoting sustainable linkages between the farmers and the formal financial market and output market, and (3) investing more funding into research and extension related to sustainable clam farming practices and to the improvement of farmers’ skills in cooperative works and management.     

Effect of ingredient particle sizes and dietary viscosity on digestion and faecal waste of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus)

The ingredients’ particle size and dietary viscosity may alter digestion, performance and faecal waste management of fish. This study aimed to assess the effect of grinding screen sizes of feed ingredients and dietary viscosity on digestibility, faecal waste and performance of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, Sauvage, 1878). The experiment had a 2 × 3 factorial‐design: two feed mesh particle sizes, by grinding ingredient mixtures at two screen sizes (0.8 versus 1.0 mm); and three dietary viscosity levels, created by exchanging carboxymethylcellulose by guar gum (GG) (0, 3 and 6 g of GG/kg of diet). Six diets were assigned to 18 tanks, each connected to three faecal settling tanks. All aquaria were stocked with 20 fish (82 g per fish). After 52 experimental days, dietary viscosity negatively affected both feed digestibility and performance of striped catfish; as a result, the amount of organic matter in the culture system through faeces had increased significantly. The coarse diets significantly increased the digestibility of dry matter and carbohydrate but worsened feed conversion ratio. Increasing dietary viscosity tended to increase the viscosity and moisture content of the faeces, but significantly accelerated the faecal disintegration through the reduction of both faecal recovery and the amount of recovered faeces.     

中越水稻迁飞性害虫稻飞虱、稻纵卷叶螟发生关系分析

中越两国同属东亚季风区,水稻病虫害在发生危害上为一个整体。每年水稻稻飞虱、稻纵卷叶螟(以下简称"两迁"害虫)随着季节和气温变化,在两国间往返迁飞,发生为害,相互影响。研究两国水稻迁飞性害虫发生的关系和影响规律,对于提高监测预警的早期预见性和防控工作的主动性,有效控制其危害具有重要意义。2010年以来,中越两国实施了中越水稻迁飞性害虫监测与防治合作项目,通过连续多年开展交流合作,初步明确了越南"两迁"害虫发生规律。本文简要分析了影响越南"两迁"害虫发生的主要因素,探讨了中越两国水稻"两迁"害虫发生规律的相关性,对提高中国"两迁"害虫中、长期预报能力和综合治理水平发挥了积极作用。     

Investigation of Polymorphisms in Coding Region of OsHKT1 in Relation to Salinity in Rice

Rice(Oryza sativa) is sensitive to salinity, but the salt tolerance level differs among cultivars, which might result from natural variations in the genes that are responsible for salt tolerance. High-affinity potassium transporter(HKTs) has been proven to be involved in salt tolerance in plants. Therefore, we screened for natural nucleotide polymorphism in the coding sequence of Os HKT1, which encodes the HKT protein in eight Vietnamese rice cultivars differing in salt tolerance level. In total, seven nucleotide substitutions in coding sequence of Os HKT1 were found, including two non-synonymous and five synonymous substitutions. Further analysis revealed that these two non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions(G50T and T1209A) caused changes in amino acids(Gly17Val and Asp403Glu) at signal peptide and the loop of the sixth transmembrane domain, respectively. To assess the potential effect of these substitutions on the protein function, the 3D structure of HKT protein variants was modelled by using PHYRE2 webserver. The results showed that no difference was observed when compared those predicted 3D structure of HKT protein variants with each other. In addition, the codon bias of synonymous substitutions cannot clearly show correlation with salt tolerance level. It might be interesting to further investigate the functional roles of detected non-synonymous substitutions as it might correlate to salt tolerance in rice.