Description of the ovarian follicle maturation of the migratory adult female Bulatmai barbel (Luciobarbus capito, Güldenstädt 1772) in captivity

The study aimed to investigate the maturation process of ovarian follicles and ovary structure of migratory form of female Bulatmai barbel (Lucioarbus capito). The histology of oogenesis coincided with that known from most teleosts. The ovarian structure was found to be cytovarian. The development of the oocytes is started from early May along with spawning and the degeneration of matured oocytes. The oocytes’ development continues during summer and early fall and the ovary undergoes a dormant period in fall and winter. In the next spring, the next phase of oocyte development started along with the rising of water-temperature. During May and June the development of the oocytes is completed and the final maturation can occur if the environmental conditions are suitable. The Gonadosomatic Index values show a concordance with the oocyts maturation in the ovaries. The reproductive strategy, with long spawning periods during spawning season, found to be batch spawner with asynchronous oogenesis pattern. The results show that it can be matured while captivity

Ontogenija usnog aparata salmo faroides and salmo macedonicus gajenih u mrestilištu tokom ranih faza razvitka

Continuing losses of natural production from over harvesting, habitat degradation and disappearance of spawning habitat due to hydroelectric development, irrigation, logging and transportation are increasingly showing the importance of hatchery operations in many countries. Few years ago, the Republic of Macedonia started with captive breeding programs for salmons. This program involves capturing wild fish of species as Salmo faroides and Salmo macedonicus from their native habitats and subsequent culturing the offspring from captive broodstocks which are then stocked into ancestral streams at the juvenile stage. From a practical point of view, the importance of study on how a developing larva copes with the changing functional demands during ontogeny, especially when being reared under artificial conditions, is obvious. Understanding how the locomotor and feeding apparatus is formed during early ontogeny can assist in improving the success of artificial propagation in terms of effective production of high quality juveniles. This would especially be valuable when offspring would be re-introduced into the river ecosystem. On the other hand knowledge on the ontogeny of fishes, especially for the early development of the skeletal system, provides information that can also be useful for solving some taxonomic problems and unravel phylogenetic relationships. For example, it is well known that morphological variation is commonly observed in salmonids. These fishes often form reproductively isolated populations across a diversity of environments and exhibit high levels of phenotypic variation. The final form of a phenotype and its life history are determined during early ontogeny. To better understand the relationship between morphology and ecology studies on the effect on environmentally induced variation in early life stage development within a single species, or study differences in the effect of a single environment in closely related species. Among the Salmo species that are present in the Balkan Peninsula, there is a high level of phenotypic variability, where also phenotypic plasticity is problematic for demarcate species boundaries between previously defined salmon species. Molecular data have confirmed the existence of previously defined species but several nominal species and populations of Balkan trout still remain unresolved. Still, understanding patterns of phenotypic variation that underlies molecular affinities remains essential. Within this context, we analysed the ontogeny of the skeletal system in Salmo faroides and Salmo macedonicus, two species of a still uncertain taxonomic status, reared under controlled condition. We wanted to test to what degree ontogeny of these closely related species is similar. In this study we focus on the early development of the feeding apparatus, from hatching till beginning of the exogenous feedin

Reductive dechlorination of PCDD/F by anaerobic cultures and sediments

The fate of highly chlorinated (5 to 7 chlorines per molecule) dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and dibenzofuran (PCDF) congeners was studied in anaerobic microcosms, using polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated Hudson River sediments, and creosote-contaminated aquifer sediments. The PCDD/PCDF concentrations in active microcosms were shown to decrease at higher rates than in chemical and biological controls. The net loss of PCDD/F from active microcosms was up to 35% higher than in autoclaved controls after extended incubation periods. Lesser chlorinated PCDD/F, identified to be peri-dechlorinated, have been found as the accumulating products resulting from reductive dechlorination under anaerobic methanogenic conditions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31241/1/0000147.pd

Kinematics of mouthbrooding in <i>Oreochromis niloticus</i> (Cichlidae)

Many species from several different families of fishes perform mouthbrooding, where one of the sexes protects and ventilates the eggs inside the mouth cavity. This ventilation behaviour differs from gill ventilation outside the brooding period, as the normal, small-amplitude suction-pump respiration cycles are alternated with actions including near-simultaneous closed-mouth protrusions and high-amplitude depressions of the hyoid. The latter is called churning, referring to its hypothetical function in moving around and repositioning the eggs by a presumed hydrodynamic effect of the marked shifts in volume along the mouth cavity. We tested the hypothesis that churning causes the eggs located posteriorly in the mouth cavity to move anteriorly away from the gill entrance. This would prevent or clear accumulations of brood at the branchial basket, which would otherwise hinder breathing by the parent. Dual-view videos of female Nile tilapias (Oreochromis niloticus) during mouthbrooding showed that churning involves a posterior-to-anterior wave of expansion and compression of the head volume. Flow visualisation with polyethylene microspheres revealed a significant inflow of water entering the gill slits at the zone above the pectoral fin base, followed by a predominantly ventral outflow passing the ventrolaterally flapping branchiostegal membranes. X-ray videos indicated that particularly the brood located close to the gills is moved anteriorly during churning. These data suggest that, in addition to mixing of the brood to aid its oxygenation, an important function of the anterior flow through the gills and buccal cavity during churning is to prevent clogging of the eggs near the gills

Genome-Wide Identification of Expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTLs) in Human Heart.

In recent years genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have uncovered numerous chromosomal loci associated with various electrocardiographic traits and cardiac arrhythmia predisposition. A considerable fraction of these loci lie within inter-genic regions. The underlying trait-associated variants likely reside in regulatory regions and exert their effect by modulating gene expression. Hence, the key to unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying these cardiac traits is to interrogate variants for association with differential transcript abundance by expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis. In this study we conducted an eQTL analysis of human heart. For a total of 129 left ventricular samples that were collected from non-diseased human donor hearts, genome-wide transcript abundance and genotyping was determined using microarrays. Each of the 18,402 transcripts and 897,683 SNP genotypes that remained after pre-processing and stringent quality control were tested for eQTL effects. We identified 771 eQTLs, regulating 429 unique transcripts. Overlaying these eQTLs with cardiac GWAS loci identified novel candidates for studies aimed at elucidating the functional and transcriptional impact of these loci. Thus, this work provides for the first time a comprehensive eQTL map of human heart: a powerful and unique resource that enables systems genetics approaches for the study of cardiac traits

Transformation of ortho-substituted biphenyls by Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b: substituent effects on oxidation kinetics and product formation

The ability of Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b, expressing soluble methane monooxygenase, to oxidize a range of ortho- substituted biphenyls was examined to better understand how substituents affect both the rate and products of oxidation in comparison to biphenyl. Inhibition of oxidation was observed over the tested substrate range for both biphenyl and ortho- halogenated biphenyls (2-chloro-, 2-bromo-, and 2-iodobiphenyl). No inhibition was observed during the oxidation of 2-hydroxybiphenyl and 2-methylbiphenyl. Analysis of the products of oxidation showed that, depending on the substituent, ring hydroxylation, substituent oxidation, and elimination pathways could occur. The type and abundance of products formed along with the relatively high kinetic isotope effect observed for deuterated vs. nondeuterated biphenyl ( k h / k d = 3.4±0.02) are consistent with mechanisms that include both hydrogen abstraction and NIH-shift pathways. Knowledge of these substituent-dependent reaction rates and mechanisms enhances our understanding of the methanotrophic aryl transformation potential and allows for better prediction of the formation of oxidized intermediates by methanotrophic bacteria.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41919/1/203-174-1-2-35_s002030000170.pd

Bioinformatic interrogation of expression array data to identify nutritionally regulated genes potentially modulated by DNA methylation

DNA methylation occurs at CpG dinucleotide sites within the genome and is recognised as one of the mechanisms involved in regulation of gene expression. CpG sites are relatively underrepresented in the mammalian genome, but occur densely in regions called CpG islands (CGIs). CGIs located in the promoters of genes inhibit transcription when methylated by impeding transcription factor binding. Due to the malleable nature of DNA methylation, environmental factors are able to influence promoter CGI methylation patterns and thus influence gene expression. Recent studies have provided evidence that nutrition (and other environmental exposures) can cause altered CGI methylation but, with a few exceptions, the genes influenced by these exposures remain largely unknown. Here we describe a novel bioinformatics approach for the analysis of gene expression microarray data designed to identify regulatory sites within promoters of differentially expressed genes that may be influenced by changes in DNA methylation