Spawning aggregation of bigeye trevally, Caranx sexfasciatus, highlights the ecological importance of oil and gas platforms

Open Access via the Elsevier Agreement Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge the field and logistical support provided by the Crew of the Resolution. This research project was funded by Chevron through its Anchor Partnership with the UK National Decommissioning Centre. We also acknowledge in-kind support from Net Zero Technology Centre and the University of Aberdeen through their partnership in the UK National Decommissioning Centre.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Expression profile of selected genes of the E-11 cell line in response to red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus infection

Most fish species are susceptible to red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) which causes viral encephalopathy and retinopathy leading to huge financial losses in the aquaculture farming industry for decades. A knowledge of RGNNV replication and the host response in depth is warranted to understand the host-virus interaction and to develop an effective approach to inhibit this virus. This study therefore aimed to investigate the expression of selected immune and stress-related genes of the E-11 clonal cell line upon RGNNV infection. The results showed significant upregulation of viperin, hsp70 and tnfaip3 transcripts at 48 h post infection, while the transcript abundance of irf3, cc chemokine, hsp30 showed increases which did not reach significance and tnf-α showed no change in expression in response to infection. This study highlights the involvement of viperin, hsp70 and tnfaip3 during RGNNV infection of E-11 cells which provides a clearer understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of the disease

Oocyte differentiation and reproductive health of solitary tunicate (Styela plicata) from Eastern Coast of Thailand

Histopathological examination is a widely acknowledged technique to assess the reproductive health of aquatic organisms, but it has never been applied to the tunicate Styela plicata, a potential indicator species of water quality. In this study, we examined the oocyte differentiation of S. plicata obtained from the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand in order to provide basic information for future assessment of its reproductive health. The mature gonad of S. plicata comprised several ovo-testicular convoluted tubes, in which each tube was divided into apical and terminal portions. The ovarian tissue is located in the apical part of the tunicate body and contained oocytes of various differentiation stages (asynchronous development type) consisting of the four phases namely oogonial proliferation phase, primary growth phase, secondary growth phase (secondary growth and full-growth stages), and post-ovulatory phase. Changes in the morphology of oocytes and follicular cells were described for each differentiation stage. In addition, we unexpectedly observed a high prevalence of atretic follicles (24.5%), which might indicate the oocyte damage by environmental stresses. These findings would be useful for future assessment of reproductive histology of S. plicata and other tunicate species from environmental perspectives