短尾派线粒体基因组特征及基因差异位点分析

分析了短尾派14个物种线粒体基因组全序列,初步揭示了短尾派线粒体基因组的基本特征。短尾派线粒体基因组的基因排列与泛甲壳动物线粒体基因组相比,发生了大规模的基因重排;然而,trnH基因的易位是短尾派14个物种所共有的,从而可以视作短尾派线粒体基因组的一个共同衍征。绒螯蟹属和青蟹属所有13个线粒体蛋白质编码基因的Ka/Ks比值均远远低于1,显示出很强的纯化(负)选择。从线粒体基因组13个蛋白质编码基因和2个核糖体RNA基因的差异位点分析可以看出,在短尾派和青蟹属群体遗传学的研究中,nad5、nad4和nad2基因可以作为coxl基因辅助的分子标记;而在绒螯蟹属群体遗传学的研究中,nad5和nad4基因可以作为coxl基因辅助的分子标记。     

Identification of quantitative trait loci for growth‐related traits in the swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus

The swimming crab (Portunus trituberculatus) is an economically important species in Asian aquaculture. Implementing growth‐related traits of P. trituberculatus into genetic breeding programmes is an ongoing effort. We used a previously published genetic linkage map of P. trituberculatus, containing 55 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and 172 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) techniques to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for growth‐related traits in a single full sibling F₂ family. Ten growth‐related traits were measured for QTL mapping. Composite interval mapping identified 9 QTL on the female map and 16 on the male map. Individual QTL with additive effects explained 11–38% of the phenotypic variance for various traits using the female parent's map, and from 1% to 21% using the male parent's map. Two QTL explaining a large percentage of variation in body weight were detected on chromosome 17 on the female map, and on chromosome 16 on the male map, and contributed 38% and 18% of the phenotypic variance respectively. This is the first study to report the detection and positioning of major QTL affecting growth in a true crab species (Brachyura). The mapping of growth‐related QTL in this study raises the possibility of improving the growth of P. trituberculatus through marker‐assisted selection.     

Growth and elemental composition (C,N, H) in larvae and early juveniles of a South American salt marsh crab,Chasmagnathus granulata (Decapoda: Grapsidae)

The semiterrestrial grapsid crab Chasmagnathus granulata Dana is one of the most predominant inhabitants of brackish salt marsh ecosystems in South America. Its early postembryonic stages were reared in the laboratory from hatching of the first larval stage through the first juvenile crab instar, and changes in the quantity and elemental composition of biomass (measured as dry weight, W; carbon, C; nitrogen, N; hydrogen, H) were investigated in short intervals of time (every 1 or 2 d). In a series of successive developmental stages, the accumulation of biomass per individual can be described as an exponential function of the number of moults. In contrast, the pattern of growth within individual moulting cycles is described with best fit of observed and predicted data as a quadratic function of development time elapsed since last ecdysis. Weight-specific instantaneous growth rates show decreasing trends within the moulting cycle. Cumulative biomass increments during larval development of C. granulata are among the highest on record for brachyuran crabs. The quantities and patterns of larval growth are in this species similar as in most marine brachyuran crabs, for which data are available, but different from those in some other semiterrestrial grapsid crab species, which live in similar brackish water habitats as C. granulata. Hence, the early postembryonic stages of C. granulata do not show special bioenergetic adaptations to the non-marine conditions, which prevail in the adult habitat of this species. This reflects a strategy of larval export to the sea, i.e. a reproductive dependence of this species on the marine environment.     

Aspects on The Ecology of Labeo Capensis and Labeo Umbratus in The Vaal River

Studies on bivalves in the Swartkops estuary have indicated that spatfall occurs during late summer. After adult populations had been dtc'nvttfrrt by floods in 1971 spat made up a large proportion of the bivalve population in 1973. Growth rates vary at different intertidal levels and in different parts of the estuary and growth has been shown to vary seasonally. In two species age determinations from growth rings corresponded well with age determinations from size frequency histograms.