MEDITS-based information on the deep water red shrimps Aristaeomorpha foliacea and Aristeus antennatus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Aristeidae)

Special Volume: Mediterranean marine demersal resources: the Medits international trawl survey (1994-1999)The application of statistical models on a time series of data arising from the MEDITS International Trawl Survey, an experimental demersal resources survey carried out during six years (1994-1999) in the same season of the year (late spring - early summer) using the same fishing gear in a large part of the Mediterranean, has allowed for a study to compare, for the first time, the space-time distribution, abundance, and size structure of the two Aristeids Aristaeomorpha foliacea and Aristeus antennatus throughout most of the Mediterranean Sea. This research has shown a large variability among the six reference areas, that were arbitrarily defined within the basin. In particular the two shrimps do not seem to present any correlation or yield continuity in the years. The same lack of homogeneity was also observed in the time trend of the abundances and frequencies of each of the two species. These data seem to confirm the intrinsic variability of the species, the cause of which is still unknown and undocumented. Nevertheless, a longitudinal gradient of catches has been observed where A. antennatus is more abundant in the west and A. foliacea in the east of the basinVersión del editor1,006

Genome-wide Analyses Identify KIF5A as a Novel ALS Gene

To identify novel genes associated with ALS, we undertook two lines of investigation. We carried out a genome-wide association study comparing 20,806 ALS cases and 59,804 controls. Independently, we performed a rare variant burden analysis comparing 1,138 index familial ALS cases and 19,494 controls. Through both approaches, we identified kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A) as a novel gene associated with ALS. Interestingly, mutations predominantly in the N-terminal motor domain of KIF5A are causative for two neurodegenerative diseases: hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG10) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2). In contrast, ALS-associated mutations are primarily located at the C-terminal cargo-binding tail domain and patients harboring loss-of-function mutations displayed an extended survival relative to typical ALS cases. Taken together, these results broaden the phenotype spectrum resulting from mutations in KIF5A and strengthen the role of cytoskeletal defects in the pathogenesis of ALS.Peer reviewe

RECENT RECORDS OF SCHEDOPHILUS OVALIS (OSTEICHTHYES, CENTROLOPHIDAE) FROM SARDINIAN WATERS (CENTRAL-WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN)

The first occurrence of several young and adult specimens of Schedophilus ovalis (Cuvier, 1833) found at different depths along the coast of Sardinia (Italy) were documented. Morphological and meristic characters of some mature and immature specimens were reported. The presence of this species in Sardinian waters confirms its geographical distribution is progressively and continuously expanding within the Mediterranean basi

Biochemical composition of a meso-bathyal lobster (Polycheles typhlops, Heller 1862 Decapoda, Palinura, Polychelidae)

To characterise some traits of the life strategies of Polycheles typhlops, a deep-sea small lobster usually encountered as by-catch within deep trawls in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Mediterranean Sea), we analysed the biochemical composition of the caudal muscles of 49 specimens collected in March and April 2007. Differences in the biochemical composition between females and males were weak, but relevant differences in protein (>90% of the organic C) and lipid (4-6%) contents were observed between developmental stages both in females and males. These differences are likely to be related to different food items and/or to the metabolic shifts associated with their reproduction. We argue that this deep-sea lobster could cover a relevant role in the meso-pelagic food webs and attract future commercial interest

Considerations on recent findings of Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838 off Sardinian coasts (central-western Mediterranean)

Fifteen specimens of Fistularia commersonii (Syngnathiformes: Fistulariidae) were captured off Sardinian coasts from September 2007 to January 2008. Although reproductive data cannot confirm this species as a resident in these waters, the results presented indicate a sudden and significant diffusion of this Lessepsian migrant also in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea