Denaturation mode of carp myofibrils when affected by temperature and salt concentration

ABSTRACT: Heating temperatures of 30–40°C and KCl concentrations of 0.1–0.5 M altered the denaturation mode of carp myofibrils. In 0.1 M KCl medium, heating temperature affected the denaturation of rod more significantly than of subfragment-1 (S-1), and a slow decrease in solubility at 30°C was accompanied by a slow denaturation of rod. KCl concentration at heating altered the denaturation mode differently at 30°C and 40°C. Increased KCl concentrations for heating reduced the rod denaturation rate at 40°C, but it was increased at 30°C. At concentrations above 0.3*Τ*M KCl, the denaturation rate for rod became identical to that for S-1 at both temperatures. Upon heating of chymotryptic digest of myofibrils, S-1 denaturation was similarly detected as in intact myofibrils, whereas practically no rod denaturation was detected. Thus, it was concluded that myosin structure connecting S-1 and rod has an important role in the denaturation process.     

Feeding habits of Baird's beaked whale Berardius bairdii, in the western North Pacific and Sea of Okhotsk off Japan

ABSTRACT:   We examined the stomach contents of 26 Baird's beaked whales caught off the coast of Japan by small-type coastal whalers. The main prey for these whales was rat-tails and hakes in the western North Pacific. Pollock and squids were also important food in the whales collected from the southern Sea of Okhotsk. The prey species found in the stomachs of the whales were almost identical to those caught in bottom-trawl nets at depths greater than about 1000 m in the western North Pacific, which suggests that the Baird's beaked whale forages for prey at depths of about 1000 m or more. Baird's beaked whales in the western North Pacific migrate to waters of 1000–3000 m in depth, where demersal fish are abundant. This implies that Baird's beaked whales migrate to waters where demersal fish, especially rat-tails and hakes, are abundant. Although there is limited information on the feeding habits of ziphiid whales, they are generally thought to prefer squid. The present data suggest that demersal fish are also important prey for ziphiid whales.     

Sequence variability in the mitochondrial DNA control region of five Sebastes species

ABSTRACT: Sequence variability of the control region of mitochondrial DNA in five Sebastes species ( S. thompsoni , S. joyneri , S. inermis , S. schlegeli and S. owstoni ) was investigated. Of 324 nucleotide sites in the control region of S. thompsoni , 56 sites (17.3%) varied, and all 20 individuals had different haplotypes. The other four species had between five and 17 sites (1.5–5.9%), which was fewer than that observed in S. thompsoni . The nucleotide diversity of S. thompsoni was highest (3.45%) among the five species, and that of S. schlegeli was the lowest (0.19%). The results demonstrated that sequence variability exists in the control region of the five Sebastes fishes investigated, and that sequence data in the control region may be suitable for stock structure analysis. Also, the extent of genetic variablitiy in the control region differed among these species. In particular, the mitochondrial DNA control region in S. thompsoni was characterized by high sequence variability, which may indicate a large effective population size.     

Effect of salinity change on free amino acid content in Pacific oyster

ABSTRACT:   In order to identify free amino acids (FAA) that are importantas intracellular osmolytes in Crassostrea gigas , we investigatedthe change in FAA content in the mantle exposed to an abrupt decreaseor increase in salinity. In hypo-osmotic adaptation, most FAA showedremarkable and synchronous decreases from 2 to 8 h, suggestingthat the non-selective efflux of FAA was mainly responsible forthe decrease in FAA. Taurine that accounted for approximately 80% oftotal FAA content contributed most significantly to the hypo-osmoticadaptation. In hyper-osmotic adaptation, significant increases inglycine, alanine, β-alanine, proline, arginine and taurinewere observed. Of these, alanine showed an immediate increase thatis important to short-term adaptation to hyper-osmolality, whiletaurine showed a slower and substantial increase that contributesto a long-term adaptation to hyper-osmolality.