Recent developments in aquaculture in Japan

Aquaculture production in Japan in 1993 was 1,351,000 tons, 15.6% of the total fisheries production. About 93.6% came from mariculture and 6.4% from freshwater aquaculture. The per cent contribution of aquaculture to total production has increased in recent years but partly because marine fisheries,especially of sardine and pollack, have decreased. Aquaculture has reached a plateau, and decreased slightly between 1992 and 1993. Diverse marine and freshwater species are cultured in Japan — various fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, seaweeds, sea squirt, sea urchin, and others. Research and development in mariculture focus on finding substitutes for animal protein in feeds, improvement of fish quality, protection of the culture environment, use of offshore floating culture systems, and protection from diseases. Research in freshwater aquaculture has expanded to include recreational fishing, the propagation and preservation of endangered species, and the construction of fish ladders for salmonids and other migratory species

Gene Expression Analysis from Nuclear Poly(A)+ RNA

Quantitation of the level of specific mRNA involves the isolation of total RNA or poly(A)+ RNA as a starting material. Thus, this result is the sum of the transcription and degradation of mRNA. Here we report a rapid, sensitive, and high-throughput methodology for gene expression analysis from nuclear poly(A)+ RNA via the reduction of the cytosolic components. The cells were first trapped on the glass fiber membranes of 96-well filter plates and subsequently exposed to non-ionic detergent to achieve cell membrane permeation. The cytosolic components, which contain preexisting mRNA, were removed by washing with the appropriate buffer, while nuclei remained in the filter plates. Lysis buffer was then used to release nuclear mRNA, which was collected on oligo(dT)-immobilized PCR plates for the capture of poly(A)+ RNA, on which RT-PCR was performed. The reduction of the cytosolic components and the preservation of the nuclear components were confirmed by electron microscopy, agarose gel electrophoresis, PCR of mtDNA, and RT-PCR of pre-splicing immature β-actin poly(A)+ RNA. Using this method, we clearly identified UVC-induced p21 gene expression that is not detectable with conventional whole cell methods