Effects of high dose of vitamin A on reproduction and egg quality of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

ABSTRACT: The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary vitamin A on reproduction and egg quality in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus . Broodstock were fed experimental pellets containing two levels of vitamin A [11 × 10³ IU/100 g (control diet; CD), 337 × 10³ IU/100 g (experimental diet; ED)] for approximately 2 months before spawning and during the spawning period. Two groups of five females (average weight 1.4 kg) and 10 males (average weight 0.7 kg) were randomly allocated to two 30 m³ indoor tanks. Total egg production of the CD group was slightly higher than the ED group. Percentage of buoyant eggs and hatching rate of the ED group were significantly higher than the CD. In other egg quality parameters, such as percentage abnormal larvae and starvation tolerance of larvae, no notable difference was found between these two groups. At the end of the experiment, the skin color of broodstock in the ED group was darker than that of the CD group. Vitamin A content in eggs of the ED group was significantly higher than that of the CD group. However, the difference in vitamin A content in eggs between the ED and CD groups was much smaller than that in the liver of the females between the two groups. These results indicate that feeding broodstock a higher level of vitamin A increases the vitamin A content in eggs but does not affect egg quality in Japanese flounder because excess dietary vitamin A was stored mainly in the broodstocks' liver.     

Dual effects of reversed winter–spring temperatures on year‐to‐year variation in the recruitment of chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

To clarify the effects of temperature on the recruitment of chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the North Pacific, we investigated the influence of winter surface temperature (WST) on spawners at the time of maturity around the spawning grounds and the influence of ambient spring temperature on larvae using estimated temperature (ET) obtained from particle tracking experiments. We found a significant positive correlation between ET approximately 10 days following hatching and the recruitment per spawning stock biomass (RPS) after 2000. The closer (more meandering) the Kuroshio Current (KC) axis was in relation to the spawning ground, the higher (lower) the spring surface temperature and the higher (lower) RPS was in the spawning ground. In contrast, WST inside KC near the maturity/spawning ground was significantly negatively correlated with RPS. A significant negative correlation between the temperatures in winter and spring was detected in the area after 2000, when the conditions of the Pacific decadal oscillation index and the stability of the Kuroshio Extension were synchronous, indicating that KC shifted northward during this time. The reversed temperature pattern was consistent with the winter–spring movement of KC axis in the offshore direction and was correlated with the winter–spring difference in the intensity of the Aleutian low. These results suggest that the annual variation in chub mackerel recruitment after 2000 was strongly affected by the combined effects of ambient temperature because of the reversal of conditions that occurred between winter and spring around the maturity/spawning ground, which was related to the KC path.     

Supplemental effect of cholyltaurine and soybean lecithin to a soybean meal-based fish meal-free diet on hepatic and intestinal morphology of rainbow trout <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus mykiss</Emphasis>

The supplemental effects of cholyltaurine and soybean lecithin to a defatted soybean meal (SBM)-based fish meal-free diet on the hepatic and intestinal morphology of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were investigated. A fish meal-based diet (FM), three fish meal-free diets supplemented either with soybean lecithin (SL), bovine gall powder (BG) or cholyltaurine (C-tau) and an unsupplemented fish meal-free diet (NFM), were given to fish (−11 g) for 10 weeks. The growth was the lowest in fish fed diet NFM, intermediate in fish fed diet SL and the highest in fish fed diet FM, BG and C-tau. Hepatocytes of fish fed diet NFM were atrophied, and the distal intestine of these fish showed abnormal features: disintegrated microvilli and fatty degeneration in epithelial cells and increased amount of connective tissue in the submucosa. Hepatic and intestinal histological features in fish fed diets SL, BG and C-tau were similar to those in fish fed diet FM. These results indicate that soybean lecithin, bovine bile salts and cholyltaurine have similar effects on normalizing the hepatic and intestinal morphologies of rainbow trout fed the SBM-based diet, although growth promotion effect was limited in the soybean lecithin.     

Spermatogenesis and its endocrine regulation

Three major phases compose spermatogenesis: mitotic proliferation of spermatogonia, meiosis of spermatocytes, and spermiogenesis, the restructuring of spermatids into flagellated spermatozoa. The process is fuelled by stem cells that, when dividing, either self-renew or produce spermatogonia that are committed to proliferation, meiosis, and spermiogenesis. During all phases, germ cells are in close contact with and require the structural and functional support of Sertoli cells. In contrast to germ cells, these somatic cells express receptors for sex steroids and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), the most important hormones that regulate spermatogenesis. A typical Sertoli cell response to an endocrine stimulus would be to change the release of a growth factor that would then mediate the hormone's effect to the germ cells. Recent studies in the Japanese eel have shown, for example, that in the absence of gonadotropin Sertoli cells produce a growth factor (an orthologue of anti-Müllerian hormone) that restricts stem cell divisions to the self-renewal pathway; also estrogens stimulate stem cell renewal divisions but not spermatogonial proliferation. Gonadotropin or 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) stimulation, however, induces spermatogonial proliferation, which is in part mimicked by another Sertoli cell-derived growth factor (activin B). Since FSH (besides luteinizing hormone, LH) stimulates steroidogenesis in fish, and since FSH is the only gonadotropin detected in the plasma of sexually immature salmonids, increased FSH signalling may be sufficient to initiate spermatogenesis by activating both Sertoli cell functions and 11-KT production. Another important androgen is testosterone (T), which seems to act via feedback mechanisms that can compromise FSH-dependent signalling or steroidogenesis. The testicular production of T and 11-KT therefore needs to be balanced adequately. Further research is required to elucidate in what way(s) 11-KT stimulates later stages of development, such as entry into meiosis and spermiogenesis. At this period, LH becomes increasingly important for the regulation of androgen production. Results from mammalian models suggest that during the later phases, the control of germ cell apoptosis via Sertoli cell factors is an important regulatory mechanism. In many species, sperm cells cannot fertilize eggs until having passed a maturation process known as capacitation, which includes the acquisition of motility. Progestins that are produced under the influence of LH appear to play an important role in this context, which involves the control of the composition of the seminal plasma (e.g., pH values). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

水下圆形重力式网箱缆绳张力对波、流的响应特性

通过模型试验研究了周长40 m、网高10 m的HDPE圆形升降式网箱沉降在水下时的缆绳张力。试验采用狄克逊准则,模型大比例尺λ=10和小比例尺λa=λd=2;网箱采用网格形式锚泊系统。试验时前主缆绳水平方向与波流夹角为0°,试验流速为0、5、10和15 cm/s,波浪周期范围1.3～2.2 s,波高范围10～30 cm。在各试验条件下对主缆绳和系框绳以及浮框绳张力进行了测试,以受力最大的缆绳为研究对象,分析了缆绳最大张力与波流因子之间的关系。结果显示:①在纯流作用下,前主缆绳受力最大;在纯波作用下,后侧主缆绳受力最大,最大张力随波高增大呈线性增长趋势,随周期变化的影响较小。②在波流作用下,高流速、低波高、高波周期条件时前主缆绳受力最大;在低流速、高波高、低波周期时后侧主缆绳受力最大;前主缆绳受水流作用影响较大,后侧主缆绳受波浪作用影响较大。③在波流作用下,各缆绳最大张力随波高、流速增大而增大,随周期增大而减小;后侧主缆绳最大张力无量纲量随波陡增大且基本呈线性增长趋势。     

Effect of calcium concentration in nutrient solution before and after inoculation with Ralstonia solanacearum on resistance of tomato seedlings to bacterial wilt

We previously reported that calcium (Ca) nutrition in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) significantly affected the resistance to bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum Smith. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the Ca-dependent resistance, the effect of the Ca concentration in the nutrient solution applied before and after inoculation with the pathogen on the resistance of tomato seedlings to bacterial wilt was studied. One week before inoculation, seedlings were transferred to nutrient solutions containing Ca at concentrations of 0.4, 4.4, or 20.4 mM. Soon after inoculation, the seedlings that were treated with each concentration of Ca before inoculation were transferred to solutions containing the same three concentrations of Ca. Although the disease development was not affected by the concentration of Ca in the solution before inoculation, a higher concentration of Ca after inoculation reduced the disease severity. This result suggests that the concentration of Ca in the host, especially in the cell walls, before infection may not be directly involved in the Ca-dependent resistance of tomato seedlings to bacterial wilt.     

Effect of bamboo vinegar on regulation of germination and radicle growth of seed plants

 Two kinds of bamboo vinegar from madake bamboo (Phyllostachys bambusoides) and moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) were prepared to analyze their components by gas chromatography (GC). The original vinegar, distilled vinegar, ether-extracted vinegar, and three fractions including acidic, neutral, and phenolic fractions separated from ether-extracted vinegar were diluted with distilled water 10² to 10⁷ times. These diluted vinegar solutions were used to investigate the effect of bamboo vinegar on the germination and radicle growth of seed plants. High concentrations of all kinds of treated bamboo vinegars (e.g., 10² of original vinegar and 10³ of ether-extracted vinegar) showed strong inhibition against germination of the seeds. However, an appropriate dilution of bamboo vinegar showed an obvious promotional effect on germination and radicle growth for the four kinds of tested seeds (lettuce, watercress, honewort, chrysanthemum). Received: December, 12, 2001 / Accepted: July 29, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" Part of this paper was presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 2001     

风对林木的影响

风除对森林造成了危害外,还对树木的生长、形态以及森林生态等产生影响。随着全球气候变化的发展,更多和更强的暴风出现的危险性日益增加。为了更好地理解风害对树木、林分和森林生态系统的影响,为森林经营管理提供依据,本文对近10年来国际上有关风对林木影响内容进行归纳总结。结果表明,风对林木影响的研究主要在以下几个方面取得了重要的进展：1)风与林木的空气动力学关系;2)树木在风力荷载下其适应性的生长机理;3)树木对风的生理响应：4)森林风害的危险评估。所有这些研究大都在人工用材林中进行的。此外,本文还介绍了该研究领域需要开展的其它研究,如1)天然林或天然次生林的风害研究;2)风害形成的林窗和森林动态研究;3)风害对森林生态主要过程的影响研究;4)．风害与森林管理研究。图3参61。     

Plant species identification using fecal DNAs from red-eared slider and Reeves’ pond turtle in agricultural canals for rural ecosystem conservation

Fecal DNA samples from the red-eared slider and Reeves’ pond turtle, suspected pests of lotus root paddies, were used to identify the plant species eaten by these turtles in order to develop a strategy for rural ecosystem conservation. The fecal samples were obtained from young and adult individuals (mostly female) of both species living in agricultural canals surrounding lotus root paddies in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. The samples were screened for the presence or absence of DNA from nine plant species using PCR and plant species-specific primers for the rbcL gene of chloroplast DNA. In the red-eared slider, our analysis identified seven plant species in the fecal DNA samples of adults and three plant species in those of young individuals. In Reeves’ pond turtle, our analysis identified two plant species from adult fecal samples and one species from those of young individuals. Thus, adult red-eared sliders consume a greater range of plants than young red-eared sliders or Reeves’ pond turtles. Both turtle species, independently of age, consumed lotus plants and were likely to cause feeding damage to lotus roots. Considering the plant species detected in adult red-eared sliders and these plant habitats, we suggest that this adult turtle is likely to travel between the agricultural canals and the lotus root paddies. These findings will help the development of strategies for preventing damage to lotus roots by these turtles; furthermore, they indicate that fecal DNA analysis will be applicable to investigation of the feeding habits of other animal species.