KISS1 Gene Expression in the Developing Brain of Female Pigs in Pre- and Peripubertal Periods

Puberty is associated with an increase in gonadotropin secretion as a result of an increase in gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion. Kisspeptin is considered to play a key role in puberty onset in many mammalian species, including rodents, ruminants and primates. The present study aimed to determine if changes in hypothalamic expression of the KISS1 gene, encoding kisspeptin, are associated with the onset of puberty in pigs. The animals (n=4 in each group) were perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 months old, as prepubertal stages, and at 5 months old, as the peripubertal stage, following each blood sampling. KISS1 gene expressions in coronal sections of brains were visualized by in situ hybridization. Plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) was measured by radioimmunoassay. KISS1 mRNA signals were observed in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) at all ages examined without any significant difference in the number of KISS1-expressing cells, indicating that the KISS1 gene is constantly expressed in the ARC throughout pubertal development in pigs. The plasma LH concentration was the highest in 0-month-old piglets and significantly decreased in the 1- and 2 month-old groups (P<0.05), suggesting a developing negative feedback mechanism affecting gonadotropin release during the prepubertal period. Considering the potent stimulating effect of kisspeptin on gonadotropin release in prepubertal pigs, kisspeptin secretion rather than kisspeptin synthesis may be responsible for the onset of puberty in pigs.     

Recovery policy for chub mackerel stock using recruitment-per-spawning

The stock abundance of chub mackerel ( Scomber japonicus ) in the Pacific Ocean off Japan declined in the 1980s and remained at low levels through the 1990s. There were recruitment successes in 1992 and 1996. However, the cohorts born in these years were heavily fished before the age of maturity and chub mackerel has not begun to recover. To investigate the effects of conserving immature fish, we created four recovery policies: (i) policy 0, actual fishing mortality during the 1990s; (ii) policy 1, conserve strong year classes; (iii) policy 2, apply the average fishing mortality in the 1970s–1980s after 1992; and (iv) policy 3, a 55% reduction of the mortality adopted by policy 2. Policy 3 was considered to be the best in terms of final stock abundance and total catch from 1992 to 1999. We also calculate the future projection of stock and catch under these three policies as well as using average fishing mortality from 1993 to 1999. Using average fishing mortality from 1993 to 1999, the stock will not be recovered within the next 20 years. Even under the best policy, the risk that the final stock is not recovered to 3 million tons within the next 10 years is 40%.     

Variations in spawning ground area and egg density of the Japanese sardine in Pacific coastal and oceanic waters

The spawning ground of the Japanese sardine, Sardinops melanostictus (Schlegel), was distributed over the oceanic waters as well as the coastal waters along the Pacific coasts of western and eastern Japan during 1978–1992. The area of the spawning ground in the coastal waters on the continental shelf has ranged from 95 000 km² in 1992 to 143 000 km² in 1988, constituting 44–77% of the total area of the spawning ground. The area of the coastal spawning ground was relatively constant in spite of the large fluctuations in egg abundance, i.e. size of the spawning population, from 88 trillion (1987) to 668 trillion (1989) in the waters. Spawning adults seemed to extend over the coastal waters irrespective of the size of the spawning population. In contrast to the coastal waters, the spawning area in the oceanic waters offshore of the continental shelf increased from 31 000 km² in 1978 to 183 000 km² in 1988 and then shrank to 83 000 km² in 1992, as a function of the spawning population size. The egg distribution density in the coastal waters stayed less than 6000 m⁻² mo⁻¹, but it reached as high as 27 400 m⁻² mo⁻¹ in the expanded spawning ground in the oceanic waters. The oceanic waters seemed to function as a reserve spawning ground for the sardine in years of extremely high spawning population.     

Improved carp diets based on plant protein sources reduceenvironmental phosphorus loading

ABSTRACT:   As part of on-going efforts to reduce environmental phosphorus(P) and nitrogen (N) loading from culture systems, five experimentaldiets were formulated containing 5–15% of fishmeal (FM) and different levels of soy protein concentrate (10–20%),corn gluten meal (3–5%) and defatted soybean meal(2.0–8.5%). These diets had total P ranging between1.04 and 1.29% and available P between 0.62 and 0.63%.A FM-based (43%) commercial diet was used as the controland this diet had total P of 1.87% and available P of 0.82%.Waste loading was calculated after feeding the diets to 3.4 gcarp for 10 weeks. Feed gain ratios were not significantly differentfor fish fed control and experimental diets having 10–15% FM,but the protein efficiency ratio was lower for the control group.The rates of P absorption and retention in the experimental dietgroups were significantly higher than those of the control group.The lowest N retention was obtained for the control group, althoughabsorption was not markedly different among the treatment groups.Total P and N loading (kg/ton production) produced fromthe experimental diets ranged from 7.1 to 8.9 and from 36.1 to 41.3,respectively, whereas the corresponding values for the control dietwere 15.2 and 48.1.