Reproductive cycle of yellow croaker <Emphasis Type="Italic">Larimichthys polyactis</Emphasis> in southern waters off Korea

The reproductive cycle and batch fecundity of yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis were examined in 981 specimens (286 males, 695 females) caught from waters around Mokpo, Busan, and Jeju-do (Korea) between February 2008 and January 2009. Males and females with ripe-stage gonads were collected between April and June, at which time the mean gonadosomatic indices were also high, indicating that the spawning season of yellow croaker around the waters off southern Korea occurs from April to June. Degenerating postovulatory follicles as well as oocytes in the migratory-nucleus stage or hydrated stage were found in ripe-stage gonads, suggesting that this species can spawn repeatedly in a season. Batch fecundity in 45 females with migratory-nucleus or hydrated oocytes ranged from 19,396 to 106,311 eggs in fish varying from 20.0 to 26.7 cm in total length and was found to be positively related to total length and body weight. Our findings should assist in implementing a proper stock assessment of yellow croaker around the waters off Korea.     

First report on the isolation of immunoglobulin M of guppy, Poecilia reticulata, for the production of polyclonal antibodies

As guppies are one of the commercially important fish in freshwater ornamental aquaculture industry, it is important to gain an understanding of guppy immune response for infectious disease control. Till now, the number of study that examined the immune response of guppies is limited and effective tools for monitoring guppy antibody have not been reported. In this study, we successfully isolated guppy IgM using mannan-binding protein (MBP) affinity chromatography and produced specific polyclonal antibodies against guppy IgM heavy and light chains, that showed a molecular weight of approximately 74 and 23 kDa respectively. The produced polyclonal antibodies were used to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and have demonstrated to be an effective tool for the detection and quantification of antigen-specific antibody of guppies immunized with Pseudomonas fluorescens. In conclusion, the produced anti-guppy IgM polyclonal antibodies should prove its future implications for immunology and epidemiology studies in guppies.     

Pseudoalteromone A,a Ubiquinone Derivative from Marine Pseudoalteromonas spp., Suppresses Melanogenesis

An ubiquinone derivative, pseudoalteromone A (1), has been isolated from two marine-derived Pseudoalteromonas spp., APmarine002 and ROA-050, and its anti-melanogenesis activity was investigated. The anti-melanogenic capacity of pseudoalteromone A was demonstrated by assessing the intracellular and extracellular melanin content and cellular tyrosinase activity in the B16 cell line, Melan-a mouse melanocyte cell line, and MNT-1 human malignant melanoma cell line. Treatment with pseudoalteromone A (40 μg/mL) for 72 h reduced α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH)-induced intracellular melanin production by up to 44.68% in B16 cells and 38.24% in MNT-1 cells. Notably, pseudoalteromone A induced a concentration-dependent reduction in cellular tyrosinase activity in B16 cell, and Western blot analyses showed that this inhibitory activity was associated with a significant decrease in protein levels of tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein 1 (Tyrp-1), suggesting that pseudoalteromone A exerts its anti-melanogenesis activity through effects on melanogenic genes. We further evaluated the skin-whitening effect of pseudoalteromone A in the three-dimensional (3D) pigmented-epidermis model, MelanoDerm, and visualized the 3D distribution of melanin by two-photon excited fluorescence imaging in this human skin equivalent. Collectively, our findings suggest that pseudoalteromone A inhibits tyrosinase activity and expression and that this accounts for its anti-melanogenic effects in melanocytes.     

Viscoelasticity of Cowpea Starch Gels

The mechanical behavior of cowpea starch gels (10%, w/v) at small and large deformations were investigated in comparison with acorn, corn, and potato starches in storage at 4°C for seven days. The rapid viscograms of starch paste (7%, w/v) revealed that cowpea starch had a larger setback (1,135 cP) than other starches (465–830 cP), although peak viscosity (1,723 cP) and pasting temperature (76°C) were between those of corn and potato starches. Texture profile analysis of cowpea starch gel showed exceptionally higher values for hardness, gumminess, chewiness and initial modulus than other starch gels. Cowpea starch gel also exhibited higher G′ and smaller tan δ compared with other starch gels, regardless of the storage time. A creep test revealed that the cowpea starch gel could remain highly resistant to stress, showing the least deformation among the tested starch gels during storage up to seven days. The overall results disclosed that cowpea starch was capable of forming exceptionally strong and elastic gels with good storage stability.     

Molecular Characterization of Wheat Amylopectins by Multiangle Laser Light Scattering Analysis

Weight-average molecular weight (M_w) and chain length of eight amylopectins isolated from one Australian, two United States, and five Korean wheats were measured using multiangle laser light scattering (MALLS) and refractive index (RI) detectors operated in a microbatch mode, and in a high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) mode. The M_w of amylopectins measured in the microbatch mode ranged from 29 × 10⁶ to 349 × 10⁶. Three amylopectins (Geuru, Tapdong and WW) showed significantly high M_w values over 200 × 10⁶. The M_w measured by HPSEC mode with MALLS-RI detectors (42 × 10⁶ to 73 × 10⁶) were significantly less than those obtained in the microbatch mode with exception of dark northern spring hard wheat (DNS) amylopectin, indicating the possible variation of M_w by the analysis mode. Root-mean square of the radius of gyration (R_g) also was greater when the microbatch mode was used (122–340 vs. 95–116 nm). Chain length distributions of debranched amylopectins of different cultivars, measured by the HPSEC-MALLS-RI system, were similar. Weight average degrees of polymerization (DPw) of A, B₁, and larger B chains (B_≥2) had ranges of 13–22, 26–46, and 58–73, respectively, and mass ratios of A and B chains ranged from 0.7 to 1.1.     

Dietary myo‐inositol requirement for Olive flounder,Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminch et Schlegel)

This study was aimed at examining the essentiality and requirement of inositol for Olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. Six casein–gelatin‐based semi‐purified diets were formulated to contain five different levels of myo‐inositol (MI) (designated as M0, M0+, M200, M400, M800 and M1600 for 0, 0+antibiotic, 200, 400, 800 and 1600 mg kg^?1 respectively). After 20 weeks of a long‐term feeding trial, fish (initial body weight, 10 g) fed the M800 diet showed significantly increased growth performances and survival. Liver lipid concentration tended to decrease as the dietary MI increased, although there was no significant difference among all treatments. Polyunsaturated fatty acid in the liver of the fish fed the diets containing high levels (M1600) of MI was significantly increased. Hepatic inositol concentration of the fish was significantly increased by dietary MI supplementation. The intestinal biosynthesis of inositol by microflora seemed to be insufficient to prevent growth retardation in juvenile Olive flounder. The optimum level of dietary MI for juvenile Olive flounder was found to be 617 mg kg^?1 based on weight gain in a broken‐line regression model. This finding indicates that MI supplementation is required at a concentration of at least 617 mg kg^?1 to maximize the growth performances and to prevent abnormal lipid metabolism.     

Substitution of Canola Meal for Soybean Meal in Diets for Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus

Abstract Canola meal was used in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus diets at levels of 0, 15.4, 30.8, 46.2 and 61.6%, by progressively replacing (on an equal nitrogen basis) 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100% of solvent-extracted soybean meal in the control diet. The feeds were formulated to contain approximately 29% crude protein and 2,650 kcal of digestible energy/kg on an air-dry basis. Each diet was fed to juvenile channel catfish to satiation twice daily for 10 wk. Fish fed the diets containing the two lowest levels of canola meal (15.4 and 30.8%) had similar weight gains, feed intakes, feed utilization efficiencies, and percent survivals relative to the group fed the control diet. Weight gains and feed intakes declined significantly as the dietary levels of canola meal were increased to 46.2% or higher, probably because of reductions in diet palatability and some impairment of feed utilization due to the presence of increased levels of antinutritional factors, particularly glucosinolates. Whole body percentages for moisture and crude protein were unaffected by the dietary treatments. Body ash contents, however, were lowest for fish fed the control diets but were essentially the same for fish fed the other diets. Fish fed the diet containing 30.8% canola meal had lowest body fat content but this effect may not have been diet related. Values for red blood cell concentration, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration were not affected by dietary canola meal level, but hematocrit was higher (although not always significant) for fish fed the control diet. The results of this study suggest that canola meal can comprise about 31% of the diet of channel catfish by replacing half of the amount of soybean meal used in the control diet without adversely affecting growth or any other aspect of performance.