Genetic improvement of farmed tilapias: Biochemical characterization of strain differences in Nile tilapia

Four African wild strains (Egypt, Ghana, Senegal and Kenya) and four established Asian farmed strains of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (popularly known in the Philippines as Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Israel) were analysed electrophoretically at 30 protein loci to estimate genetic differences among the strains. All strains shared alleles at 14 monomorphic and 16 variable loci. Among the African strains, characteristic allele frequency differences were observed at AAT-1 ^* 46 for Ghana and Senegal, ADH ^* 83 for Kenya, ADH ^* 120 for Senegal, G3PDH-2 ^* 300 for Egypt, IDDH ^* 67 for Senegal, sMDH-1 ^* 120 for Kenya and SOD ^* 150 for Senegal. Genetic distance values among the strains revealed a clustering of the farmed strains with Egypt and Ghana O. niloticus, a slight separation of the Senegal strain and a larger separation of the Kenya strain. This profile may reflect the origins of the few founder populations of this species previously introduced to Asia. It also confirms the wider genetic divergence of the Kenya strain (O. niloticus vulcani) from the others studied here, which are all O. n. niloticus. Observed heterozygosities of the strains ranged from 0.026 to 0.071, with the African wild strains the lower values (mean Ho = 0.036) and the farmed strains the higher ones (mean Ho = 0.056). The implications of these results to the ongoing tilapia genetic improvement programme in the Philippines are discussed.     

Variable versus constant temperature acclimation regimes: Effects on hemoglobin isomorph profile in goldfish,Carassius auratus

Goldfish,Carassius auratus, were acclimated for 2 to 3.5 weeks to three temperature regimes: [1] temporally-constant (10, 20 and 30°C), [2] diurnally-cycling (20 ± 10°C) and [3] randomly-fluctuating (± 2°C at approximately 2h intervals between extremes of 10 and 30°C). No significant differences in hematocrit were evident. Hemoglobin levels in fish at constant 30°C and under randomly fluctuating temperature were significantly elevated. Of the three hemoglobin isomorphs observed, the two minor components (G₁, G₃) tended to decrease in relative abundance with increase in constant temperature, but increased under varying temperature regimes. The converse was true of the principal hemoglobin, G₂. Extent of isomorph variation was correlated with extent of temperature variability. These observations confirm that temperature variability significantly effects thermoacclimatory response. The functional significance of changes in isomorph abundances during the acclimatory process is considered.     

Effects of long-term contrasting lime and phosphorus applications on barley grain yield,root growth and abundance of mycorrhiza

Lime and phosphorus (P) applications are common agricultural management practices. Our aim was to quantify the effects of long-term application practices on root growth and abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) under field conditions. We assessed the effects of lime and P fertilizer applications on barley yield, root growth and AMF abundance in 2016. Treatments were no, low, medium and high liming rate corresponding to application of 0, 4, 8 and 12 Mg lime ha⁻¹ every 5–9 years since 1942 combined with no or yearly application of 15.6 kg P ha⁻¹ since 1944. At harvest, grain yield, root intensity (core-break) and AMF abundance at different soil depths were estimated. Root development was monitored during early growth with minirhizotrons in treatments receiving low, medium and high liming rates and P fertilization. A quadratic model relating grain yield to liming rate estimated yields to peak at 6.4 Mg lime ha⁻¹ with yields of 4.2 and 3.2 Mg grain ha⁻¹ with and without P fertilization, respectively. Low and medium liming rates resulted in greater AMF abundance, especially in the no P treatments. During early growth in P-fertilized treatments, 77% and 65% more roots developed in the soil profile when treated with medium and high liming rate, respectively, compared to low liming rate. We conclude that long-term application of lime in soils receiving yearly P fertilization improved conditions for root growth in soil layers below 30 cm, but at the high liming rate, this did not translate into higher yield.     

BILOBED GALLBLADDER IN A CAT: ULTRASONOGRAPHIC APPEARANCE

A five-month-old male domestic shorthair cat presented with a history of vomiting for 4 days. An ultrasound examination of the abdomen was performed as part of the diagnostic workup. The gallbladder appeared to be bilobate. The cat died the following day from renal failure. At necropsy, a bilobed gallbladder was confirmed and considered to be a congenital anomaly unrelated to the cat's death.     

Response of feral cats to vaccination at the time of neutering

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether administration of inactivated virus or modified-live virus (MLV) vaccines to feral cats at the time of neutering induces protective serum antiviral antibody titers. DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: 61 feral cats included in a trap-neuter-return program in Florida. PROCEDURES: Each cat received vaccines against feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), feline herpes virus (FHV), feline calicivirus (FCV), FeLV, and rabies virus (RV). Immediately on completion of surgery, vaccines that contained inactivated RV and FeLV antigens and either MLV or inactivated FPV, FHV, and FCV antigens were administered. Titers of antiviral antibodies (except those against FeLV) were assessed in serum samples obtained immediately prior to surgery and approximately 10 weeks later. RESULTS: Prior to vaccination, some of the cats had protective serum antibody titers against FPV (33%), FHV (21%), FCV (64%), and RV (3%). Following vaccination, the overall proportion of cats with protective serum antiviral antibody titers increased (FPV [90%], FHV [56%], FCV [93%], and RV [98%]). With the exception of the FHV vaccine, there were no differences in the proportions of cats protected with inactivated virus versus MLV vaccines. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that exposure to FPV, FHV, and FCV is common among feral cats and that a high proportion of cats are susceptible to RV infection. Feral cats appeared to have an excellent immune response following vaccination at the time of neutering. Incorporation of vaccination into trap-neuter-return programs is likely to protect the health of individual cats and possibly reduce the disease burden in the community.     

Improved husbandry to control an outbreak of rainbow trout fry syndrome caused by infection with Flavobacterium psychrophilum

CASE DESCRIPTION: A cohort of 35,200, 13-week-old, female rainbow trout at a fish farm was evaluated because of a 2-week history of anorexia and lethargy and a mortality rate of approximately 100 fish/d. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Affected fish were lethargic and thin and had disequilibrium, bilateral exophthalmia, pale red gills and kidneys, red-tinged coelomic fluid, and pale brown livers. Some fish were differentially pigmented bilaterally. The presumptive diagnosis was bacterial or viral septicemia. The definitive diagnosis was rainbow trout fry syndrome caused by infection with Flavobacterium psychrophilum. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: A strategy for controlling the outbreak based on reducing pathogen numbers in affected tanks and reducing pathogen spread among tanks was developed. The option of treating with antimicrobial-medicated feed was discussed with the farmer, but was declined. After changes were made, mortality rate declined quickly, with no more deaths within 10 days after the initial farm visit. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Bacterial coldwater disease is the most common manifestation of infection with F psychrophilum in fingerling and adult rainbow trout. However, the organism can also cause rainbow trout fry syndrome. This condition should be included on a list of differential diagnoses for septicemia in hatchery-reared rainbow trout fry.     

Effects of habitat characteristics and sedimentation on performance of marine reserves in St. Lucia

This study examines factors affecting the rate and extent of biomass build-up among commercially important groupers, snappers, grunts, parrotfish and surgeonfish in a network of four marine reserves in southwest St. Lucia, Caribbean. Reserves constituted 35% of the total reef area originally available for fishing. Protection was instigated in 1995 after a baseline survey with annual or biennial censuses performed until 2002. Each survey consisted of 114 fifteen minute fish counts in reserves and 83 in fishing grounds, at depths of 5 m and 15 m in a 10 m diameter counting area. Estimates of number and size (cm) of target species were used to calculate fish family biomass. Data were analysed using three-way ANOVA in a before-after-control-impact pairs (BACIP) design. All families increased significantly in biomass over time at nearly all sites. Increases were greater in reserves than fishing grounds, except for grunts, and responses were strongest in parrotfish and surgeonfish. The combined biomass of families more than quadrupled in reserves and tripled in fishing grounds between 1995 and 2002. During this period coral cover declined by 46% in reserves and 35% in fishing grounds. Multiple regression showed that neither habitat characteristics nor habitat deterioration significantly affected rates of biomass build-up. The key factor was protection from fishing, which explained 44% of the variance in biomass growth. A further 28% of the variance was explained by sedimentation, a process known to stress reef invertebrates, significantly reducing the rate of biomass build-up. St. Lucia’s reserves succeeded in producing significant gains to fish stocks despite coral cover and structural complexity falling steeply over the period of the study.     

Recycling endosomes supply AMPA receptors for LTP

Long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic strength, the most established cellular model of information storage in the brain, is expressed by an increase in the number of postsynaptic AMPA receptors. However, the source of AMPA receptors mobilized during LTP is unknown. We report that AMPA receptors are transported from recycling endosomes to the plasma membrane for LTP. Stimuli that triggered LTP promoted not only AMPA receptor insertion but also generalized recycling of cargo and membrane from endocytic compartments. Thus, recycling endosomes supply AMPA receptors for LTP and provide a mechanistic link between synaptic potentiation and membrane remodeling during synapse modification.     

Did cooling oceans trigger Ordovician biodiversification? Evidence from conodont thermometry

The Ordovician Period, long considered a supergreenhouse state, saw one of the greatest radiations of life in Earth's history. Previous temperature estimates of up to approximately 70 degrees C have spawned controversial speculation that the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater must have evolved over geological time. We present a very different global climate record determined by ion microprobe oxygen isotope analyses of Early Ordovician-Silurian conodonts. This record shows a steady cooling trend through the Early Ordovician reaching modern equatorial temperatures that were sustained throughout the Middle and Late Ordovician. This favorable climate regime implies not only that the oxygen isotopic composition of Ordovician seawater was similar to that of today, but also that climate played an overarching role in promoting the unprecedented increases in biodiversity that characterized this period.