Habitat utilization,feeding, and growth of wild spotted halibut <Emphasis Type="Italic">Verasper variegatus</Emphasis> in a shallow brackish lagoon: Matsukawa-ura,northeastern Japan

Habitat utilization, feeding, and growth of a rare pleuronectid flatfish, spotted halibut Verasper variegatus, were examined in a brackish lagoon in northeastern Japan: Matsukawa-ura. The distribution and date–length data of spotted halibut collected mainly from beam-trawl samplings during 1983–2008 indicated that age-0 juveniles [n = 25, 6.0–18.0 cm total length (TL)] and older spotted halibut (n = 71, 13.8–43.0 cm TL) inhabited almost the entire northern part of Matsukawa-ura. Comparative distribution surveys of spotted halibut, stone flounder, and marbled flounder during 1985–1989 revealed similar distribution patterns of these flatfishes; the highest densities were found around the central part of Matsukawa-ura, although significantly lower abundance was detected for spotted halibut. Linear growth equations of age-0 juveniles demonstrated that spotted halibut were able to achieve high growth after June, probably because abundant prey (e.g., mysids and gammarids) and suitable physical conditions (warmer water temperature and lower salinity) were present. The main prey items shifted from various crustaceans including mysids, caridean shrimps, and anomurans to brachyura Hemigrapsus spp. (≥20 cm TL). Our study shows that spotted halibut use the shallow brackish lagoon as an important nursery for juveniles, and also as a feeding ground for young and adults.     

日本食鱼文化历史演变和水产品加工消费最新动向

日本的食鱼文化内涵受历史、经济、政治、地理、气候等多方面的影响一直在不断发展变化.近年来,受西方生活方式的影响,畜禽肉和奶制品的消费量逐年增加,相对来说水产品的消费呈现下降趋势,但是动物性蛋白的一半仍然来源于水产品.介绍了日本食鱼文化的历史和发展演变,以及从最新的水产品家庭消费统计数据和具体的水产加工制品的消费变化来介绍日本最近的水产品消费动向.     

Anti‐PirA‐like toxin immunoglobulin (IgY) in feeds passively immunizes shrimp against acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND), caused by a toxin‐producing Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain, has become a serious threat to shrimp aquaculture. The need to regulate antibiotic use prompted the development of alternative ways to treat infections in aquaculture including the use of chicken egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) for passive immunization. This study evaluated the protective effect of IgY against AHPND infection in Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone). IgY was isolated from eggs laid by hens immunized with recombinant PirA‐like (rPirA) and PirB‐like (rPirB) toxins. Whole‐egg powders having IgY specific to rPirA (anti‐PirA‐IgY) and rPirB (anti‐PirB‐IgY) and IgY from non‐immunized hen (control‐IgY) were mixed with basal diets at 20% concentrations and used to prefeed shrimp 3 days before the bacterial challenge test. Survival rates of the challenged shrimp fed the anti‐PirA‐IgY, anti‐PirB‐IgY and control‐IgY diets were 86%, 14% and 0%, respectively. Only the feed containing anti‐PirA‐IgY protected shrimp against AHPND. Increasing the concentration of rPirA antigen to immunize hens and lowering the amount of egg powder in feeds to 10% consistently showed higher survival rates in shrimp fed with anti‐PirA‐IgY (87%) compared with the control (12%). These results confirm that addition of anti‐PirA‐IgY in feeds could be an effective prophylactic method against AHPND infection in shrimp.     

Resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora infestans</Emphasis>: exploring genes required for disease resistance in Solanaceae plants

The oomycete Phytophthora infestans is the causal agent of potato late blight, one of the most destructive and historically significant pathogens in agricultural production. A virus-induced gene silencing-based screening of the solanaceous model plant N. benthamiana resulted in revealing a wide range of resistance mechanisms of solanaceous plants against this pathogen. In this article, we present an overview of the various pathways involved in the N. benthamiana–P. infestans pathosystem, including some of the follow-up work that was triggered by these findings. The purpose of this review is to assemble these findings and integrate them into our current understanding of plant pathogen defense mechanisms and discuss their potential application for the development of potato resistance to P. infestans.     

胡颓子科2种旱生植物次生木质部的生态解剖学特性

从生态学角度对沙棘和沙枣的木材结构进行对比研究.两树种具有的共同特点为 :生长轮明显,半环孔材,具单穿孔,导管间纹孔交互排列,无分隔木纤维,导管较窄, 环管管胞和纤维状管胞具螺纹加厚,轴向薄壁组织缺失或很少.所选树种明显区别是射线类型、宽度和叠生排列方式:沙棘射线,轴向薄壁组织细胞和导管分子具有明显的叠生排列方式,但沙枣的叠生排列不规则;沙棘射线为异型,1～2列,沙枣射线为同型,2～5列;并且二者之间数量化指标有差异,沙棘导管频率较大,导管分子较短及导管管孔较小,因此V和M值也较小,更能适应干旱环境.两树种导管分子长和纤维长的水平变动不规律,并且树种间和同一树种个体间差异显著.本文最后对该树种的解剖学特征和沙漠环境的适应性进行了讨论 .     

3种针叶材年轮宽度和管胞长度变异特性研究

对辽宁省章古台固沙造林研究所的油松、樟子松、赤松人工林木材年轮宽度与管胞长度的测定表明,油松和赤松直径生长旺盛期约为17a,樟子松直径生长旺盛期短于油松和赤松,但樟子松17a后的直径生长高于油松和赤松;3树种的未成熟材范围均大于20a,油松和赤松未成熟材范围基本相等,油松略大于樟子松;三者管胞长度在距离髓心第1～8年轮间基本相等,从距离髓心的第9年轮起,樟子松管胞长度小于油松和赤松;3树种管胞长度在距离地面0．2m高度处出现最小值,油松管胞长度在树干轴向呈“短-长-短”的变化模式,在距地面6m处管胞长度再度出现变短趋势。     

Spectrophotometric assay of a wood preservative, didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC), in aqueous solution

A spectrophotometric assay based on the color reaction between didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC) and 4-[4-(dipropylamino)phenylazo]-benzenesulfonic acid (propyl orange) was used for the determination of DDAC as a wood preservative. The assay was carried out using a propyl orange solution at pH 2.9. The visible absorbance spectrum of propyl orange showed an absorbance maximum at 510 nm, which decreased continuously with increasing DDAC concentration from 0 to 20 ppm. A linear correlation was observed at a DDAC concentration lower than 8 ppm. To apply this assay method to determine DDAC retention in treated wood, the influence of wood extractives on the assay was investigated. Wood extractives from sapwood and heartwood of Japanese cedar, Hinoki cypress, Japanese larch, and Western hemlock showed no influence on DDAC determination except in the case of heartwood from Japanese cedar and Hinoki cypress, which gave apparent DDAC concentrations higher than the actual values. However, it was also found that absorbance measurement at 477 nm solved this overestimation and gave precise values. It was concluded that this assay is a viable alternative to the current methods for DDAC determination.     

Haplotype diversity and molecular evolution of the rice <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pikm</Emphasis> locus for blast resistance

Pikm-specific rice blast resistance is conferred by a combination of two genes that have a nucleotide-binding site and a leucine-rich repeat (LRR), Pikm1-TS and Pikm2-TS. To study the evolution of these genes, we investigated the allele diversity of their LRR regions in 16 elite rice cultivars and 35 landraces. Both phylogenetic trees were characterized by a deep bifurcation that separated two major clades of alleles. A high level of polymorphism was detected exclusively between these clades and not within each clade. This two-clade structure commonly observed for the two genes suggests that these genes have evolved together through bidirectional differentiation.     

Diversity and community structure of wood-inhabiting fungi found in Japanese wooden houses analyzed by the next-generation sequencing

The diversity and community structures of wood-inhabiting fungi in 16 decayed wood samples from ten wooden houses in Japan were analyzed using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) to determine the fungi responsible for wood decay. DNA of fungi in decayed wood was extracted directly, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region in ribosomal DNA (rDNA) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and then, sequences of tagged ITS fragments were analyzed by NGS. Results of sequencing indicated that 68 species of ascomycetes, 37 species of basidiomycetes, and one fungus each from Mortierellales and Mucoromycetes were detected. The fungal community structures showed diversity and included various species of ascomycetes. A microscopic examination of cell wall structure in decayed wood samples suggested that some ascomycetes were soft-rot fungi. Heat map analysis indicated that the similarity in the structures of fungal communities was influenced to a greater extent by the wood species of samples than where they were used as a component.     

Epidemiological study of equine piroplasmosis in Mongolia

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the occurrence of equine piroplasmosis in Mongolia, a country in which the disease occurs epidemically in different climatic conditions. Antibodies to Babesia equi and B. caballi were determined in serum samples of 254 pastured horses in different locations of Mongolia using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with recombinant antigens. One hundred and eighty-five (72.8%) and 102 (40.1%) of all serum samples were positive for B. equi and B. caballi infections, respectively. In addition, 78 (30.7%) samples were positive for both B. equi and B. caballi infections. These results indicate that equine piroplasmosis is widespread in Mongolia. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing an epidemiological study on equine piroplasmosis in different geographic regions in Mongolia.