Combined effects of exogenous enzymes and probiotic on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) growth, intestinal morphology and microbiome

A study was carried out to investigate the combined effect of exogenous enzymes and probiotic supplementation on tilapia growth, intestinal morphology and microbiome composition. Tilapia (34.56 ± 0.05 g) were fed one of four diets (35% protein, 5% lipid); one of which was a control and the remaining three diets were supplemented with either enzymes (containing phytase, protease and xylanase), probiotic (containing Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus pumilus) or enz-pro (the combination of the enzymes and probiotic). Tilapia fed diet supplemented with enz-pro performed better (P < 0.05) than tilapia fed the control and probiotic supplemented diets in terms of final body weight (FBW), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER). The dietary treatments did not affect somatic indices. The serum lysozyme activity was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in tilapia fed the probiotic supplemented diet than of those fed the remaining experimental diets. The intestinal perimeter ratio was higher (P < 0.05) in tilapia fed enz-pro supplemented diet when compared to those fed with the control and probiotic supplemented diets. Goblet cells abundance, microvilli diameter and total enterocyte absorptive surface was higher (P < 0.05) in tilapia fed diet supplemented with enz-pro than those fed the control diet. High-throughput sequencing revealed that majority of reads derived from the tilapia digesta belonged to members of Fusobacteria (predominantly Cetobacterium) distantly followed by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. The alpha and beta diversities did not differ among dietary treatments indicating that the overall microbial community was not modified to a large extent by dietary treatment. In conclusion, supplementation of the diet with a combination of enzymes and probiotic is capable of improving tilapia growth and intestinal morphology without deleterious effect on the intestinal microbial composition

Lista de Peces Continentales de Chiapas, México

An ichthyofaunal checklist of the continental waters of Chiapas is presented, including freshwater species and those marine fishes that penetrate seasonally, occasionally, or permanently into estuaries and coastal lagoons. The list is based primarily on records in the Fish Collection of ECOSUR at San Cristóbal de las Casas, as well as records in other collections and the literature. A total of 207 species is documented, including nine introduced. The fauna consists of 110 genera in 45 families and 20 orders. Ten families contained 66% of the total species richness: Cichlidae, Poeciliidae, Carangidae, Sciaenidae, Ariidae, Centropomidae, Characidae, Gerreidae, Haemulidae, and Engraulidae.Se presenta una lista sistemática de la ictiofauna continental del Estado de Chiapas, desde las formas dulceacuícolas, hasta las marinas que penetran estacional, ocasional o permanentemente a los estuarios y sistemas lagunares. La información se basa principalmente en los registros de la Colección de Peces de ECOSUR en San Cristóbal de las Casas, así como en los registros de otras colecciones y en un análisis de la literatura. La lista está documentada por 207 especies de las cuales nueve son introducidas; están distribuidas en 110 géneros de 45 familias y 20 órdenes. Diez familias agrupan el 66% de la riqueza total de especies: Cichlidae, Poeciliidae, Carangidae, Sciaenidae, Ariidae, Centropomidae, Characidae, Gerreidae, Haemulidae y Engraulidae

Lactobacillus rhamnosus lowers zebrafish lipid content by changing gut microbiota and host transcription of genes involved in lipid metabolism.

The microbiome plays an important role in lipid metabolism but how the introduction of probiotic communities affects host lipid metabolism is poorly understood. Using a multidisciplinary approach we addressed this knowledge gap using the zebrafish model by coupling high-throughput sequencing with biochemical, molecular and morphological analysis to evaluate the changes in the intestine. Analysis of bacterial 16S libraries revealed that Lactobacillus rhamnosus was able to modulate the gut microbiome of zebrafish larvae, elevating the abundance of Firmicutes sequences and reducing the abundance of Actinobacteria. The gut microbiome changes modulated host lipid processing by inducing transcriptional down-regulation of genes involved in cholesterol and triglycerides metabolism (fit2, agpat4, dgat2, mgll, hnf4α, scap, and cck) concomitantly decreasing total body cholesterol and triglyceride content and increasing fatty acid levels. L. rhamnosus treatment also increased microvilli and enterocyte lengths and decreased lipid droplet size in the intestinal epithelium. These changes resulted in elevated zebrafish larval growth. This integrated system investigation demonstrates probiotic modulation of the gut microbiome, highlights a novel gene network involved in lipid metabolism, provides an insight into how the microbiome regulates molecules involved in lipid metabolism, and reveals a new potential role for L. rhamnosus in the treatment of lipid disorders

Influence of different bottom types on the Senegal sole Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858 ongrowing

Fish coloration may affect its market value. The present paper compares growth, survival rate and pigmentation during the ongrowing of Senegal sole Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858 on three different bottoms. This experiment lasted five months, and at the beginning fish were 4.93 ± 0.75 cm (length) and 1.91 ± 0.68 g (weight). No significant differences were found for final length and weight between different bottoms. Several pigmentation patterns were found on the sand and white bottoms, but one single pattern appeared in the dark bottom tanks. The survival rate on the sand bottom was significantly less than others, probably due to pathologies stemming from the difficult maintenance of the sand bed.La falta de homogeneidad en la coloración de los peces puede afectar a su valor comercial. En este trabajo se ha comparado el crecimiento, la supervivencia y la pigmentación de ejemplares de lenguado senegalés Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858 durante el preengorde en tanques con tres tipos de fondos. El experimento tuvo una duración de 5 meses. El tamaño inicial de los individuos era 4,93 ± 0,75 cm y 1,91 ± 0,68 g, y al final de la experiencia no se encontraron diferencias significativas entre las tallas y los pesos de los ejemplares de los distintos tanques. Se detectaron varios patrones de pigmentación en los especímenes correspondientes a los fondos arenoso y blanco, pero solo uno en los de los tanques de fondo gris. La supervivencia en el fondo de arena fue la menor de todas (p 0,01), probablemente atribuible a patologías asociadas al difícil mantenimiento del lecho arenoso.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Influence of Dietary Supplementation of Probiotic Pediococcus acidilactici MA18/5M During the Transition From Freshwater to Seawater on Intestinal Health and Microbiota of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.)

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A systematic analysis of host factors reveals a Med23-interferon-λ regulatory axis against herpes simplex virus type 1 replication

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a neurotropic virus causing vesicular oral or genital skin lesions, meningitis and other diseases particularly harmful in immunocompromised individuals. To comprehensively investigate the complex interaction between HSV-1 and its host we combined two genome-scale screens for host factors (HFs) involved in virus replication. A yeast two-hybrid screen for protein interactions and a RNA interference (RNAi) screen with a druggable genome small interfering RNA (siRNA) library confirmed existing and identified novel HFs which functionally influence HSV-1 infection. Bioinformatic analyses found the 358 HFs were enriched for several pathways and multi-protein complexes. Of particular interest was the identification of Med23 as a strongly anti-viral component of the largely pro-viral Mediator complex, which links specific transcription factors to RNA polymerase II. The anti-viral effect of Med23 on HSV-1 replication was confirmed in gain-of-function gene overexpression experiments, and this inhibitory effect was specific to HSV-1, as a range of other viruses including Vaccinia virus and Semliki Forest virus were unaffected by Med23 depletion. We found Med23 significantly upregulated expression of the type III interferon family (IFN-λ) at the mRNA and protein level by directly interacting with the transcription factor IRF7. The synergistic effect of Med23 and IRF7 on IFN-λ induction suggests this is the major transcription factor for IFN-λ expression. Genotypic analysis of patients suffering recurrent orofacial HSV-1 outbreaks, previously shown to be deficient in IFN-λ secretion, found a significant correlation with a single nucleotide polymorphism in the IFN-λ3 (IL28b) promoter strongly linked to Hepatitis C disease and treatment outcome. This paper describes a link between Med23 and IFN-λ, provides evidence for the crucial role of IFN-λ in HSV-1 immune control, and highlights the power of integrative genome-scale approaches to identify HFs critical for disease progression and outcome

Composición y diversidad de peces del río San Pedro, Balancán, Tabasco, México

In the San Pedro river sub-basin, Balancán, Tabasco, Mexico, an ichthyofauna study was carried out in two subsystems; the main stream and the floodplain during the months of March 2007 to February 2008. From a total of 1035 fish were collected, 33 species, 25 genera and 14 families were identified. The Cichlidae and Poeciliidae family were the most species; four species are introduced Pterygoplichthys pardalis, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Oreochromis niloticus, Parachromis managuensis and two new records were found: P. pardalis and Potamarius usumacintae. The most abundance species were Thorichthys affinis and T. helleri and five species were least abundant: P. usumacintae, Phallichthys fairweatheri, Cichlasoma Nandopsis urophthalmus, C. idella and Batrachoides goldmani. The higher values of diversity and abundance showed in sites I (H=2.52 bits) and II (?=0.38 sp/ind). The higher values of evenness were in sites III (J = 0.86) and IV (J = 0.99). The abundance (Nmax = 353) species was showed in the site II. Significant differences (p&lt;0.05) were found between the diversity and sites comparison. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the temperature, dissolved oxygen and depth are the most important factors in the distribution of species. Finally, the relative abundance of species in the two seasons was representative by two families; Cichlidae T. affinis, (T. helleri and Petenia splendida) and Characidae(Astyanax aeneus).En la subcuenca del río San Pedro, Balancán, Tabasco, México, se realizó un estudio ictiofaunístico en dos subsistemas; el cauce principal del río y la zona de inundación en la parte baja, durante los meses de marzo 2007 a febrero 2008. De un total de 1,035 peces capturados, se identificaron 33 especies, 25 géneros y 14 familias. La familia Cichlidae y Poeciliidae fueron las más diversas, cuatro especies son introducidas: Pterygoplichthys pardalis, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Oreochromis niloticus, Parachromis managuensis, dos son nuevos registros Potamarius usumacintae y P. pardalis. Las especies más abundantes fueron Thorichthys affinis y T. helleri, mientras que P. usumacintae, Phallichthys fairweatheri, Cichlasoma Nandopsis urophthalmus, C. idella y Batrachoides goldmani, fueron las menos abundantes. La diversidad ydominancia presentaron valores altos en los sitios I (H´=2.52 bits) y el sitio II (? =0.38 sp/ind), mientras que los sitios III (J´=0.86) y IV (J´=0.99) fueron más equitativos. La especie más abundante (Nmax= 353) se mostró en el sitio II. Se encontró diferencias significativas (p &lt; 0.5) entre la comparación de la diversidad y sitios. El análisis de correspondencia canónica, mostró que la temperatura, el oxígeno disuelto y la profundidad son los factores más importantes en la distribución de las especies. Finalmente, se encontró que las abundancias relativas de las especies presentes en las dos épocas estuvo representadas por dos familias; Cichlidae (T. affinis, T. helleri, Petenia splendida) y Characidae con (Astyanax aeneus)

Presenilin Controls CBP Levels in the Adult Drosophila Central Nervous System

Background: Dominant mutations in both human Presenilin (Psn) genes have been correlated with the formation of amyloid plaques and development of familial early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, a definitive mechanism whereby plaque formation causes the pathology of familial and sporadic forms of AD has remained elusive. Recent discoveries of several substrates for Psn protease activity have sparked alternative hypotheses for the pathophysiology underlying AD. CBP (CREB-binding protein) is a haplo-insufficient transcriptional co-activator with histone acetly-transferase (HAT) activity that has been proposed to be a downstream target of Psn signaling. Individuals with altered CBP have cognitive deficits that have been linked to several neurological disorders. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a transgenic RNA-interference strategy to selectively silence CBP, Psn, and Notch in adult Drosophila, we provide evidence for the first time that Psn is required for normal CBP levels and for maintaining specific global acetylations at lysine 8 of histone 4 (H4K8ac) in the central nervous system (CNS). In addition, flies conditionally compromised for the adult-expression of CBP display an altered geotaxis behavior that may reflect a neurological defect. Conclusions/Significance: Our data support a model in which Psn regulates CBP levels in the adult fly brain in a manner that is independent of Notch signaling. Although we do not understand the molecular mechanism underlying th