Spawning and larval rearing in hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops + x Morone saxatilis >) in Turkey [Türkiye’de hibrit çizgili levrek baliklarinda (Morone chrysops + X Morone saxatilis >) yumurtlatma ve larva yetiştiriciliği]

This study is the first spawning and larval rearing of the F1 hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops + X M. saxatilis >) grown in culture conditions in Turkey. The F1 Hybrid striped bass was fed with commercial pellet feed in floating net cages. They reached the sexual maturity at two years old. Female brood fish were given 30 µg/kg of LHRH-a (Lutenizing hormone releasing hormone analogue) and male fish given 10 µg/kg; of CHP(Dried carp pituitary), 4 mg/kg was used for the female and half that amount for the male for induced breeding. The fish injected LHRHa were successfully induced to both strip spawning and tank spawning by a single hormone injection. However, fish injected CPH and saline, untreated control did not spawn. Latency period was found to be 20.41±0.91 hour. In term of fertilization rate, larval deformity rate no significant difference was found between tank spawning and strip spawning (p>0.05).Fertilization rates ranged from 56.3% to 85.4% and hatch rates were between 0.99% and 46.88%, whereas the level of larval deformities ranged between 81.25% and 100%. Hatched larvae were placed into 400-liter rectangular tanks with water discharge of 4 liter/minute at a stocking density of 30 larvae/liter. After larvae hatching, they were given artemia nauplii for 5-19 days. Trout granule feed (300-500 micron) also started to be given in addition to artemia nauplii afterwards. Granule feed was started eating completely 24 th days. The larvae obtained from a single hatch in the production season reached 2.87 cm length in 32 days with 2.7% survival rate. Of this study was terminated due to white spot disease (Ichtyophthirius multifilis) arising from sudden change in water temperature. The F2 progenies were not deemed to be available for aquaculture due to poor fertilization, poor hatching, low survival rate and high deformity rate. For the progenies of the hybrid striped bass that grow in natural water, it was suggested that their ecology in waters in Turkey be first studied and brought into aquaculture afterwards. © 2015 Cevkor Vakfi. All rights reserved

Red blood cell enzyme biochemical polymorphism in Anatolian shepherd dog

Anatolian shepherd dog (Asd), probably the descendants of the large hunting dogs of Mesopotamia, has been the most preferred dog in Anatolia as a guard dog of flocks. Furthermore, because of their high endurance of extreme of heat and cold, recently they started to be employed in African countries and in Australia. To help the conservation and management strategies to be establihed for this highly valuable gene pool, genotypes of 108 Asd individuals, belonging to four breeding farms and to local people in a region from Central Anatolia (altogether five populations), were determined by using horizontal starch gel electrophoresis based on ESD, PGD, CAI, GOT and SOD enzyme systems. Bands observed on starch gels for Asd were compared with those obtained from 21 other individuals belonging to 7 other well-known breeds

Some of the frequently used biochemical values of serum and plasma in three different populations of Anatolian shepherd dog

The biochemical values serum albumin, total cholesterol, magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), inorganic phosphorus (Pi), sodium (Na). potassium (K) in serum (nl = 38) and zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in plasma (n2 = 74) were determined in individuals of Anatolian shepherd dog (Asd) which is the most preferred dog in Anatolia as a guard dog of flocks. Individuals from both sexes were collected from three different farms (sites). Comparative studies showed that (i) there were no significant differences between the values of the two sexes except for Ca, (ii) there were significant (P < 0.05-0.001) differences between the values of sites in Pi, Na. Zn and Cu. When the results of the present study was considered together with the previous ones carried on other breeds or on dogs generally, it was observed Na in Asd is in the lower limit of the observed range

Genetic evidence for the distinctness of Kangal dogs

The genetic diversity of Kangal dogs (n=23) was analysed using 100 canine microsatellites, and the results were compared to Central Anatolian feral dogs (n=51), Akbash dogs (n=6), and Turkish greyhounds (TG, n=3). The Kangal, Akbash, Turkish greyhound and feral dogs were found to be significantly different from each other by F-ST measure. Factorial Correspondence Analysis (FCA), which evaluated the span of genotypic variation between individual dogs, yielded 4 distinct groups of the animals. Group I was composed of 12 pure Kangal dogs (Kangal I) without the Kangal looking hybrids of Kangals and feral dogs. Group II contained the remaining 11 Kangal dogs (Kangal II), 1 Turkish greyhound, and all feral dogs except for one. Group III was comprised of the remaining 2 Turkish greyhounds, while Group IV consisted of all of the Akbash dogs. Kangal I, Akbash and Turkish greyhound groups were scattered in different parts of the three-dimensional FCA plot. We conclude that Kangal dogs are genetically distinct and hence they deserve to be identified as a breed. Furthermore, it has been observed that microsatellites can be employed in the conservation efforts of Kangals

Evolutionary relationship among three native and two crossbreed sheep breeds of Turkey: preliminary results

The Turkish native sheep breeds, possibly being the neighbours of the earliest domesticated sheep populations, might be harbouring important genetic characteristics to be employed in the future for the improvement of sheep breeds. In order to design a conservation strategy, their genetic diversities must be determined. In the present study, based on three microsatellite loci, the genetic diversity of the Kivircik, Awassi, Akkaraman breeds (native) of Turkey as well as two of their crossbreeds Turkgeldi and Konya Merino were studied comparatively. It was observed that their heterozygoties are all high (0.6673-0.7822) compared to previously studied breeds, as expected for populations close to the center of domestication. Neighbour Joining (NJ) tree based on allele sharing distances indicated that the inertia of the breeds are not high. Yet, the genetic differentiations between the breeds based on pairwise F-ST (inbreeding coefficient) values are all significant. Furthermore, the three microsatellite loci could distinguish three groups of native breeds and their crossbreeds; 11) Awassi, 2) Kivircik-Turkgeldi and 3) Akkaraman-Konya Merino