ENU-Induced Mutagenesis in Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) by Treating Mature Sperm

N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis is a useful approach for genetic improvement of plants, as well as for inducing functional mutants in animal models including mice and zebrafish. In the present study, mature sperm of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) were treated with a range of ENU concentrations for 45 min, and then wild-type eggs were fertilized. The results indicated that the proportion of embryos with morphological abnormalities at segmentation stage or dead fry at hatching stage increased with increasing ENU dose up to 10 mM. Choosing a dose that was mutagenic, but provided adequate numbers of viable fry, an F1 population was generated from 1 mM ENU-treated sperm for screening purposes. The ENU-treated F1 population showed large variations in growth during the first year. A few bigger mutants with morphologically normal were generated, as compared to the controls. Analysis of DNA from 15 F1 ENU-treated individuals for mutations in partial coding regions of igf-2a, igf-2b, mstn-1, mstn-2, fst-1and fst-2 loci revealed that most ENU-treated point mutations were GC to AT or AT to GC substitution, which led to nonsense, nonsynonymous and synonymous mutations. The average mutation rate at the examined loci was 0.41%. These results indicate that ENU treatment of mature sperm can efficiently induce point mutations in grass carp, which is a potentially useful approach for genetic improvement of these fish

The LAMOST Survey of Background Quasars in the Vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies -- II. Results from the Commissioning Observations and the Pilot Surveys

We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies with the LAMOST during the 2010 and 2011 observational seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available SDSS, KPNO 4 m telescope, XSTPS optical, and WISE near infrared photometric data. We present 509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ~135 sq. deg from M31 to M33 along the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey datasets, and also 17 new quasars discovered in an area of ~100 sq. deg that covers the central region and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning datasets. These 526 new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to 3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62 and 139 known quasars in this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5 and 18.0 respectively, of which 5, 20 and 75 are newly-discovered. These bright quasars provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and chemistry of the ISM/IGM in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars are now known with locations within 2.5 deg of M31, of which 73 are newly discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant Stellar Stream, and hundreds behind the extended halo and its associated substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric reference frame to measure the minute PMs of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, AJ accepte

Lactic acid bacteria biofilms and their antimicrobial potential against pathogenic microorganisms

The continuous growth of pathogenic microorganisms and associated biofilms poses severe public health challenges, particularly in food and clinical environments. However, these difficulties have enabled scientists to develop novel and safe methods for combating pathogens. The use of biofilms produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) against pathogenic bacteria has recently gained popularity. This review provides an in-depth look at LAB biofilms, their distribution, and mechanisms of action against pathogenic bacteria. More importantly, the bioactive substances produced by LAB-forming biofilm may be active against undesirable microorganisms and their products, which is of great interest in improving human health. Therefore, this review implies that a combination of LAB biofilms and other LAB products like bacteriocins could provide viable alternatives to traditional methods of combating pathogenic microorganisms and their biofilms