Effect of bleeding on the quality of amberjack Seriola dumerili and red sea bream Pagrus major muscle tissues during iced storage

The effect of bleeding on white muscle quality in amberjack and red sea bream was evaluated by measuring ATP-related compounds, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), and the trimethylamine (TMA) content. The freshness was evaluated by the K value, and the degree of spoilage was elucidated by VBN and TMA. ATP was rapidly converted to ADP and AMP in the muscle and IMP was the main product of ATP degradation during iced storage. For both species, the IMP content was higher in the muscles of fish that were bled than in those unbled during iced storage. Conversely, the K value and the levels of hypoxanthine (Hx) and VBN were higher in the muscle tissue of unbled fish than in the bled tissue of both species. Similarly, the TMA content was higher in the unbled muscle tissues of both species after a week of storage.     

Identification of oyster-derived hypotensive peptide acting as angiotensin-I-converting enzyme inhibitor

Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) plays a crucial role in the crisis of hypertension. Some peptides that originate from protease hydrolysates are known to suppress ACE activity in vitro and in vivo. Here, we investigated whether trypsin hydrolysate of oyster Crassostrea gigas showed hypotensive activity and ACE inhibition. The hydrolysate significantly suppressed systolic blood pressure and ACE activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats following a one-shot oral administration and a long-term feeding experiment lasting 9 weeks. Each hydrolysate from oyster tissue showed ACE inhibitory activity, indicating the hypotensive effect was due to synergism. One potent ACE inhibitory peptide, Asp-Leu-Thr-Asp-Tyr, was identified from the hydrolysate of the striate muscle, and the peptide exhibited hypotensive activity in vivo. Protease digestion analysis suggested that Asp-Tyr could be the real effector of this penta-peptide in vivo.     

The complete nucleotide sequences of L3 and S7 segments of Ibaraki virus encoding for the major inner capsid proteins, VP3 and VP7

The complete nucleotide sequences of the genes encoding two of the major inner capsid proteins of Ibaraki virus (IBAV), belonging to epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 2 (EHDV-2) were determined. The L3 RNA segment is 2768 nucleotides in length which encodes VP3 polypeptides of 899 amino acid residues (M.W. 103 kDa). The S7 RNA segment, which encodes the VP7 core protein, is 1162 nucleotides in length and encodes 349 amino acids (M.W. 38 kDa). These RNA segments had the characteristic consensus motifs of Orbivirus RNA segments in termini, namely 5'-GUUAAA... and ...ACUUAC-3'. The comparison of the IBAV L3 and S7 sequences with those of other two EHDV-2 isolates revealed the higher homologies of 93% and 92% against EHDV-2 Australia isolate (EHDV-2AUS) and lower homologies of 80% and 81% against EHDV-2 North America isolate, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis based on L3 and S7 genes also indicated close relationships between IBAV and EHDV-2AUS. KEY WORDS: dsRNA gene, lbaraki virus, inner capsid, VP3, VP7.     

Morphology and size of embryos recovered from superovulated cows.

A total of 691 normal embryos were recovered from 183 superovulated donor cows on the 5th and 6th days after the first insemination, and were examined for their morphology and size in relation to their developmental stage. There was no significant difference in the thickness of the zona pellucida, the diameter of the cell mass, and the overall diameter of the embryos among zygotes, 2-, 4-, 8- and 16-cell embryos, and morulae. In the blastocyst stage, however, the diameter of the cell mass and the overall embryo diameter were significantly greater and the zona pellucida was significantly thinner than in the earlier-stage embryos. The volume of the blastomere significantly decreased from zygote to morula in proportion to the increase in the number of blastomeres. The volume of the cell mass of 2-cell embryos was decreased by about 30% compared with that of zygotes and no increase in the volume of the cell mass was observed during the progression from 2-cell stage to morula. The diameter of the cell mass and the overall diameter of morulae recovered on the 6th day after the first insemination were significantly greater than those of morulae recovered on the 5th day.