A new species of sisorid catfish of the genus Exostoma from the Salween drainage,Yunnan, China

A new species of the sisorid catfish genus Exostoma Blyth,1860 was collected from two hill-stream tributaries of the Nujiang (Salween River) drainage in Gaoligong Mountain,south-western Yunnan Province,China from 2003 to 2006 and from two tributaries of the Salween River in Cangyuan County,Lingcang Prefecture,Yunnan Province,China (in 2007) and in Yongde County,Lingcang Prefecture,Yunnan Province,China (in 2015).Exostoma gaoligongense sp.nov.is the 10th species of the genus and is most similar to E.vinciguerrae in morphology but can be distinguished by pelvic fin reaching anus vs.not reaching;maxillary barbels just reaching or slightly surpassing pectoral-fin origin vs.surpassing pectoral-fin origin or even reaching posterior end of gill membrane;abdominal vertebrae 23-25 vs.25-27;length of dorsal fin/dorsal to adipose distance 90.3％-287.0％ vs.59.2-85.7.A key to Exostoma spp.is provided.     

Influence of temperature on ovarian recrudescence in the Indian catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis

Over a 60-day experiment during the preparatory phase of the reproductive cycle, ovarian weights increased with rise in temperature in Heteropneustes fossilis and oocyte diameters suggested an optimum temperature of 22° C for Stage II oocyte formation. The oocytes did not reach Stage II at 10° C. Atresia of Stage III oocytes occurred following 60 days of exposure at 30°C.     

The morphology of the adhesive organ of the sisorid fish,Glyptothorax pectinopterus

In the sisorid fish,Glyptothorax pectinopterus, the adhesive organ located on the ventral side of the thorax consists of a number of longitudinal ridges and grooves that alternate with each other around a triangular furrow lying in the centre. Adhesion of the fish to the rocky substratum in a hill stream habitat is brought about by the hooked and keratinized epidermal spines borne by the longitudinal ridges of the adhesive organ as well as those on the under surface of the pectoral and pelvic fins. The secretion of a surface coat of mucopolysaccharides by the mucous cells and the goblet cells is a device to protect the adhesive organ from mechanical abrasion.     

Non-metric variation of the skull in samples of four Indian populations

Four skeletal samples from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh in India are compared using cranial non-metric traits. The skeletal “epigenetic” distances correspond with the geographic pattern of separation, also demonstrating variable correspondence with known genetic relationships of the living populations.     

Biochemical Studies on Indian Wild Legumes

Chemical screening of some profusely growing wild leguminous seeds of Acacia, Albizzia and Leucaena species, for their nutritional constituents suggested the possibility of their inclusion in animal nutrition. However, since the whole seeds proved to be unpalatable as well as toxic in some cases, it was thought of utility to employ their isolated proteins instead. Accordingly, with a view to explore newer and effective sources of dietary proteins, simple and effective solubility method was employed for their extraction, precipitation, fractionation and isolation from the undesirable wild seed constituents to obtain the protein fractions in the pure form which could be incorporated in animal nutrition. Distribution of total nitrogen and dispersion of nitrogenous constituents in the seeds have also been studied. Extraction of proteins of considerable purity is best effected with sodium chloride solution (5%, w/v) and subsequent dialysis of the extract. Proteins were isolated from seven varieties of leguminous seeds by acid-alkali extraction method and their protein efficiency ratio and the biological value have been evaluated by animal experiments with and without supplementing the isolated protein diets with the missing essential amino acids.     

Studies on the skull of the Henophidia (Reptilia: Serpentes)

The skulls of Cylindrophis, Anilius, Uropeltis and other genera of Uropeltidae, Xenopeltis and Loxocemus are described and figured.
On the basis of cranial characters, a separation of the Aniliidae into two subfamilies, the Aniliinaeand theCylindrophinaeis suggested. The Uropeltidae, separated from the Aniliidae by a set of derived characters, are grouped together with the Aniliidae as the superfamily Anilioidea. The skulls of Xenopeltis and Loxocemus are described and the systematic position of the genera discussed. General remarks as to the bearing of the skull on the reconstruction of henophidian phylogeny conclude the study.     

Physiological responses to acute experimental hypoxia in the air-breathing Indian catfish, Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758)

With an aim to study the mechanism of adaptation to acute hypoxic periods by hypoxia-tolerant catfish, Clarias batrachus, the mass-specific metabolic rate (VO₂) along with its hematological parameters, metabolic response and antioxidant enzyme activities were studied. During progressive hypoxia, C. batrachus was found to be an oxyconformer and showed a steady decline in its aquatic oxygen consumption rate. When C. batrachus was exposed for different periods at experimental hypoxia level (0.98?±?0.1 mg/L, DO), hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations were increased, along with decrease in mean cellular hemoglobin concentration, which reflected a physiological adaptation to enhance oxygen transport capacity. Significant increase in serum glucose and lactate concentration as well as lactate dehydrogenase activity was observed. Antioxidant enzymes were found to operate independently of one another, while total glutathione concentration was unaffected in any of the tissues across treatments. These observations suggested that hypoxia resulted in the development of oxidative stress and C. batrachus was able to respond through increase in the oxygen carrying capacity, metabolic depression and efficient antioxidant defense system to survive periods of acute hypoxia.     

EST-based identification of immune-relevant genes from spleen of Indian catfish, Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758)

A normalized cDNA library from spleen of Indian catfish, Clarias batrachus, was constructed with a redundancy factor of 2.29. A total of 2045 clones from the library were single-pass sequenced, which generated 1937 high quality ESTs with an average read length of approximately 700 bp. Based on sequence similarities, 65 ESTs were found to be associated with immune functions, which were mainly associated with response to stress, response to chemical stimulus, cellular response to stimulus, response to external stimulus, immune response and regulation of response to stimulus. The immune-relevant gene for CD141, thrombomodulin, has been identified in Teleosts for the first time. Six EST-SSRs and three SNPs were found associated with eight immune-relevant genes. These markers associated with important immune genes would be useful for the identification of trait associated alleles for marker-assisted selection. The identification of the putative immune-related genes provides a meaningful framework to understand the Indian catfish immune system and defense mechanisms.