Observations on the food and diel feeding behaviour of pelagic O-group gadoids in the northern North Sea

The diets and diel feeding behaviour of six O-group gadoid species are described, the cod Gadus morhua (L.), the haddock Melanogramus aeglefinus (L.), whiting Merlangius merlangus (L.), saithe Pollachius virens (L.), Norway pout Trisopterus esmarkii (L.) and the blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou (R.). There were differences, in the main food groups selected by each species with respect to the type, size and number. The main prey consumed did not vary with depth. Cod, saithe and Norway pout had only one period of feeding activity whereas haddock and whiting apparently had two. The diets of haddock and whiting varied in association with these two periods. It is suggested that the differences between the diets were the result of each species having a different feeding behaviour which reflects that adopted in adult life.     

The genera Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892, Leptotheca Thélohan, 1895 and Sphaeromyxa Thélohan, 1892 (Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) in gadid fish of the Northeast Atlantic

The gall-bladders of four species of gadid fish from the North Sea and Norwegian waters were examined for myxosporeans. The host species were cod Gadus morhua L. (350 examined), haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus (L.) (592 examined), saithe Pollachius virens (L.) (205 examined) and whiting Merlangius merlangus (L.) (368 examined). Four species of myxosporeans are redescribed from these fish. Ceratomyxa arcuata Thélohan, 1892 was the most common species and was found in whiting (42.8%) and cod (0.6%). Leptotheca informis Auerbach, 1910 was found only in whiting (6.5%). L. longipes Auerbach, 1910 was found only in haddock (6.2%). Sphaeromyxa hellandi Auerbach, 1909 was found in haddock (9.1%) and whiting (0.3%). None of the saithe examined, and no cod or haddock from Norwegian waters, was infected with these myxosporeans. All four species appear to have distributions limited to the Northeast Atlantic, with S. hellandi having a more northern distribution than the other three. The validity of reports of C. arcuata, L. informis and L. longipes from outside this area is discussed.     

Comparison of myosin isoenzymes present in skeletal and cardiac muscles of the Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus (L.). Sequential expression of different myosin heavy chains during development of the fast white skeletal muscle.

The expression of myosin isoforms and their subunit composition in the white skeletal body musculature of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) of different ages (from 77-day embryos until about 5 years old) was studied at the protein level by means of electrophoretic techniques. Myosin from the white muscle displayed three types of light chain during all the developmental stages examined: two myosin light chains type 1 (LC1F) differing in both apparent molecular mass and pI, one myosin light chain type 2 (LC2F) and one myosin light chain type 3 (LC3F). The fastest-migrating form of LC1F seemed to be predominant during the embryonic and eleutheroembryonic periods. The slowest-migrating form of LC1F was predominant in the 5-year-old fish. Between 1 year and 4 years, both types of LC1F were present in similar amounts. Cardiac as well as red muscle myosin from 3-year-old fish had two types of light chain. The myosin light chains from atria and ventriculi were indistinguishable by two-dimensional electrophoresis, but were different from the myosin light chains from red muscle. Neither the light chains from cardiac nor red muscle were coexpressed with the myosin light chains of white muscle at any of the developmental stages examined. Two myosin heavy chain bands were resolved by SDS/glycerol/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the extract from embryos. One of the bands was present in minor amounts. The other, and most abundant, band comigrated with the only band found in the extracts of white muscle myosin from older fish. One-dimensional Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease peptide mapping of these bands revealed some differences during development of the white muscle tentatively interpreted as follows. The myosin heavy chain band present in minor amounts in the embryos may represent an early embryonic form that is replaced by a late embryonic or foetal form in the eleutheroembryos. The foetal myosin heavy chain appears to be present until the resorption of the yolk sack and beginning of the free-swimming stage. A new form of myosin heavy chain, termed neonatal and probably expressed around hatching, is present until about 1 year of age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Distribution of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus in wild fish species of the North Sea, north east Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea.

A surveillance programme was initiated on the occurrence and distribution of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) in wild marine fish. Six research cruises were undertaken in an 18 mo period during 1997 and 1998, covering the North Sea, the Atlantic waters off the north and west coasts of Scotland and the Irish Sea. A total of 19,293 fish were sampled from 23 different species including cod, haddock, Norway pout, herring and sprat. Individual fish lengths were recorded and the fish were checked for lesions, haemorrhaging and other signs of disease. Pools of organ samples were taken for virus assay. The majority of fish sampled did not display clinical signs indicative of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia. A small number of cod were found with skin lesions and haddock with skin haemorrhaging. Of the 2081 organ and skin sample pools collected, 21 tested positive for VHSV by tissue culture and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Seventeen of the isolates originated from Norway pout Trisopterus esmarkii, one from cod Gadus morhua (skin lesion), one from herring Clupea harengus, one from whiting Merlangius merlangus, and one from a previously unreported host species, poor cod Trisopterus minutus.     

Predation on northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) by three gadoid species

Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) is targeted by commercial fisheries, but is also an important prey in the marine food web. In this study, stomach content data were used to study predation on shrimp by three gadoid species, cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and whiting (Merlangius merlangus), in six inshore areas around Iceland. The results showed that shrimp was more important in the diet of cod compared with the other two predators. However, the overall predation pressure was similar for cod and haddock due to the high abundance of haddock. Therefore, even though shrimp is not the primary source of food for haddock, this species can have a substantial effect on shrimp stocks when haddock abundance is high. In addition, while cod and haddock did not select for any particular size of shrimp, whiting seemed to preferentially target juvenile shrimp. The results suggest that due to the overall effects of these three predators on shrimp stocks, gadoids need to be included in the management of shrimp stocks as predation is one of the major drivers in the development of this important prey stock.     

The food of five gadoid species during the pelagic O-group phase in the northern North Sea

The diets of five gadoid species in the northern North Sea are described: the cod, Gadus morhua (L.); haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus (L.); whiting, Merlangius merlangus (L.); saithe, Pollachius virens (L.); and the Norway pout, Trisopterus esmarkii (L.). The diet of each species was shown to be a gradual progression to different prey species as the predators increased in length. There were differences in the food taken by each species with respect to numbers, species and size. These differences in diet suggest that the degree of competition between pelagic O-group gadoids is not great.     

TaqMan DNA technology confirms likely overestimation of cod (Gadus morhua L.) egg abundance in the Irish Sea: implications for the assessment of the cod stock and mapping of spawning areas using egg-based methods

Recent substantial declines in northeastern Atlantic cod stocks necessitate improved biological knowledge and the development of techniques to complement standard stock assessment methods (which largely depend on accurate commercial catch data). In 2003, an ichthyoplankton survey was undertaken in the Irish Sea and subsamples of 'cod-like' eggs were analysed using a TaqMan multiplex, PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assay (with specific probes for cod, haddock and whiting). The TaqMan method was readily applied to the large number of samples (n = 2770) generated during the survey and when combined with a manual DNA extraction protocol had a low failure rate of 6%. Of the early stage 'cod-like' eggs (1.2-1.75 mm diameter) positively identified: 34% were cod, 8% haddock and 58% whiting. As previous stock estimates based on egg surveys for Irish Sea cod assumed that the majority of 'cod-like' eggs were from cod, the TaqMan results confirm that there was probably substantial contamination by eggs of whiting and haddock that would have inflated estimates of the stock biomass.     

Changes in myosin isozymes during development of chicken gizzard muscle

The distribution of myosin isozymes in embryonic and adult chicken gizzard muscle were examined by electrophoresis in a non-denaturing gel system (pyrophosphate acrylamide gel electrophoresis), and both light and heavy chains of embryonic and adult myosin isozymes were compared. In pyrophosphate acrylamide gel electrophoresis, there were three isozyme components in embryonic gizzard myosin, but only one isozyme in adult gizzard myosin. The mobility of the fastest migrating embryonic isozyme was similar to that of the adult isozyme. The three embryonic isozymes differ from each other in the light chain distribution. Two of them contain an embryo-specific myosin light chain, which is characterized by its molecular weight and isoelectric point, whereas the other embryonic myosin isozyme contained the same light chains as the adult myosin. The pattern of peptide fragments of embryonic heavy chain produced by digestion with alpha-chymotrypsin in the presence of SDS was not distinguishable from that of adult myosin heavy chain. Thus there are myosin isozymes specific to embryonic gizzard muscle which exhibit embryo-specific light chain compositions, but are similar to adult gizzard myosin in their heavy chain structure.     

The heavy-chain stoichiometry of smooth muscle myosin is a characteristic of smooth muscle tissues

The stoichiometry of the two heavy chains of myosin in smooth muscle was determined by electrophoresing extracts of native myosin and of dissociated myosin on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) 4%-polyacrylamide gels. The slower migrating heavy chain was 3.6 times more abundant in toad stomach, 2.3 in rabbit myometrium, 2.0 in rat femoral artery, 1.3 in guinea pig ileum, 0.93 in pig trachea and 0.69 in human bronchus, than the more rapidly migrating chain. Both heavy chains were identified as smooth muscle myosin by immunoblotting using antibodies to smooth muscle and non-muscle myosin. The unequal proportion of heavy chains suggested the possibility of native isoforms of myosin comprised of heavy-chain homodimers. To test this, native myosin extracts wer electrophoresed on non-dissociating (pyrophosphate) gels. When each band was individually analysed on SDS-polyacrylamide gel the slowest was found to be filamin and the other bands were myosin in which the relative proportion of the heavy chains was unchanged from that found in the original tissue extracts. Since this is incompatible with either a heterodimeric or a homodimeric arrangement it suggests that pyrophosphate gel electrophoresis is incapable of separating putative isoforms of native myosin.     

Isolation of twenty low stutter di- and tetranucleotide microsatellites for population analyses of walleye pollock and other gadoids

Fourteen tetra- and six dinucleotide microsatellites, which exhibit minimal stuttering following amplification via PCR were developed from walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma . Most of these loci were isolated from a library enriched for tetranucleotide microsatellites by hybridization of genomic DNA to (gata)₇ oligonucleotides bound to streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads. The average heterozygosity of these loci is ∼80%, and ranges from 53–95%. Mendelian inheritance was confirmed in five families, each consisting of a minimum of 10 or more offspring. Primer sets for all 20 loci were also evaluated in Arctic cod Boreogadus saida , Pacific cod Gadus macrocephalus , Pacific tomcod Microgadus proximus , sa.ron cod Eleginus gracilis , Pacific hake Merluccius productus , Atlantic cod Gadus morhua , haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus , blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou , and European hake Merluccius merluccius . In each of these species, 3–19 primer sets amplified variable microsatellite loci. These loci, which exhibit little stutter and moderate to high variability, should be useful population markers in pollock and other gadoid fishes.     

Effects of survey scale and water depth on the assessment of spatial distribution patterns of selected fish in the northern North Sea showing different levels of aggregation

Geostatistics was employed to investigate spatial structuring of herring, cod, dab, haddock and whiting at different spatial scales in the northern North Sea. Additionally, a structural analysis of the maximum water depth was carried out to assess habitat associations of fish. Linear, spherical, exponential and Gaussian models were fitted to the semivariograms, showing clear spatial autocorrelations. At the smaller scale, spatial structuring was weak for haddock, herring and dab, increasing at the greater spatial scale, with the exception of whiting. Mean catch rates, estimated classically and geostatistically, were in good agreement. Corresponding variances were clearly reduced at both spatial scales, when accounting for spatial distribution of the fish. At the greater survey scale a high level of habitat association was detected for haddock and whiting, while a poor habitat association was found for cod, dab and herring. The smaller scale seems to be the threshold at which spatial structuring of “cpue” could have marked influence on estimation error. Thus, survey scale is important when analysing spatial patterns and estimating mean biomass indices, and a sound analysis of relations in spatial structuring of fish and habitat conditions is essential to derive more precise estimates.     

Population genetic substructure in blue whiting based on allozyme data

The genetic population structure of the pelagic gadoid blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou throughout its east Atlantic distribution range was explored using polymorphisms at the tissue enzyme loci IDHP-2 * and PGM-1 *. The study included 5025 individuals from 65 locations in the east Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Significant geographic heterogeneity in allele frequencies was demonstrated at both loci ( IDHP-2 *: P=0·030, PGM-1 *: P=0·005). The degree of genetic differentiation ( F _ST= 1·1%) in blue whiting appears to be at the same level as for the demersal gadoids cod and haddock. Several separate reproductive units were indicated at the fringes of the distribution range, i.e. in the Barents Sea, and in one Norwegian fjord (Romsdalsfjord).     

Myosin subunit composition in human developing muscle.

Previous pyrophosphate-gel studies have reported the existence of embryonic neonatal myosin isoenzymes in human developing muscle. The present investigation was undertaken to characterize their subunit composition more precisely. Two immature muscle myosins are contrasted with adult myosin: neonatal myosin and foetal myosin. The neonatal form of myosin is weakly cross-reactive with rabbit slow myosin and contains only fast-type light chains (LC), LC1F and LC2F. The associated heavy chains consist of a single electrophoretic component that reacts exclusively with antibodies against human foetal myosin and has a mobility and peptide pattern distinct from that of adult fast and slow heavy chains. Foetal myosin is distinguished by the presence of low amounts of a heavy chain immunologically cross-reactive with the adult slow form and of two additional light-chain components: a LC2S light chain and a foetal-specific light chain (LCemb.). The foetal-specific light chain, as shown by one-dimensional-peptide-map analysis, is structurally unrelated to both LC1S and LC1F light chains of human adult myosin. We conclude from these results that the ontogenesis of human muscle myosin shares certain common features with that observed in other species, except for the persistence until birth of a foetal form of heavy chain (HCemb.).     

Ecological relevance of temporal stability in regional fish catches

The concept of habitat selection based on 'Ideal Free Distribution' theory suggests that areas of high suitability may attract larger quantities of fishes than less suitable or unsuitable areas. Catch data were used from groundfish surveys to identify areas of consistently high densities of whiting Merlangius merlangus , cod Gadus morhua and haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus in the Irish Sea and plaice Pleuronectes platessa , sole Solea solea , lemon sole Microstomus kitt in the English Channel over a period of 10 and 9 years respectively. A method was introduced to delineate areas of the seabed that held consistently high numbers of fishes objectively from large datasets. These areas may constitute important habitat characteristics which may merit further scientific investigations in respect to 'Essential Fish Habitats'(EFH). In addition, the number of stations with consistently high abundances of fishes and the number of stations where no fishes were caught gave an indication of the site specificity of the fish species analysed. For the gadoids, whiting was found to be less site specific than cod and haddock, while for the flatfishes, plaice and sole were less site specific than lemon sole. The findings are discussed in the context of previously published studies on dietary specializm. The site specificity of demersal fishes has implications for the siting process for marine protected areas as fish species with a strong habitat affinity can be expected to benefit more from such management schemes.     

Isoforms of myosin and actin in human, monkey and rat myometrium. Comparison of pregnant and non-pregnant uterus proteins

Using several electrophoretic procedures, we have compared the forms of myosin and actin in pregnant and non-pregnant uterus of woman, monkey (Macaca fascicularis) and rat. On non-dissociating gels, native myosin of the three species migrates as a single band, of identical mobility independently of the physiological state. Remigration of this band in dissociating conditions shows that it is constituted of two heavy chains of respectively 201 kDa and 205 kDa; the relative proportions of these two bands are different for the three animal species but do not vary during pregnancy. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we found that the 17-kDa light chain of purified uterus myosin exists under two isoelectric forms, the more acidic one becoming progressively predominant at the end of pregnancy in the human as in the monkey uterus, while we observed no changes in the rat. In two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, actin of human, monkey and rat uterus is present under three isoforms, the most basic one (the gamma form) increasing early in pregnancy in the two primate species but being always the most abundant form in the rat. The ATPase activity of human uterus myosin was found to be similar for the protein extracted from both pregnant and non-pregnant uterus. The changes observed in the 17-kDa light chain and in the actin isoforms might nevertheless participate in the modifications of contractility of the uterus during pregnancy of the primates.     

SOME PROPERTIES OF EMBRYONIC MYOSIN

Myosins from the following sources were purified by diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex chromatography: moytubes grown in vitro for 7–8 days, prepared from pectoralis muscles of 10-day old embryos, and breast and leg muscles from 16-day old embryos. The adenosine triphosphatase activities of these myosins were close to that of adult m. pectoralis myosin. The light chains of the embryonic myosins had the same mobilities in sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis as those in adult pectoralis muscle myosin and were clearly distinguishable from those in myosin from tonic muscle m. latissimus dorsi anterior. The fastest light chain in embryonic muscle myosin—apparent mol wt 16,000—was present in smaller amounts than in adult myosin. The negative staining pattern of paracrystals of embryonic light meromyosin (LMM) was indistinguishable from that of adult fast muscle LMM. The significance of these results for differentiation of various muscle types has been discussed.     

Analysis of myosin light and heavy chain types in single human skeletal muscle fibers

In this study, myosin types in human skeletal muscle fibers were investigated with electrophoretic techniques. Single fibers were dissected out of lyophilized surgical biopsies and typed by staining for myofibrillar ATPase after preincubation in acid or alkaline buffers. After 14C-labelling of the fiber proteins in vitro by reductive methylation, the myosin light chain pattern was analysed on two-dimensional gels and the myosin heavy chains were investigated by one-dimensional peptide mapping. Surprisingly, human type I fibers, which contained only the slow heavy chain, were found to contain variable amounts of fast myosin light chains in addition to the two slow light chains LC1s and LC2s. The majority of the type I fibers in normal human muscle showed the pattern LC1s, LC2s and LC1f. Further evidence for the existence in human muscle of a hybrid myosin composed of a slow heavy chain with fast and slow light chains comes from the analysis of purified human myosin in the native state by pyrophosphate gel electrophoresis. With this method, a single band corresponding to slow myosin was obtained; this slow myosin had the light chain composition LC1s, LC2s and LC1f. Type IIA and IIB fibers, on the other hand, revealed identical light chain patterns consisting of only the fast light chains LC1f, LC2f and LC3f but were found to have different myosin havy chains. On the basis of the results presented, we suggest that the histochemical ATPase normally used for fibre typing is determined by the myosin heavy chain type (and not by the light chains). Thus, in normal human muscle a number of 'hybrid' myosins were found to occur, namely two extreme forms of fast myosins which have the same light chains but different heavy chains (IIA and IIB) and a continuum of slow forms consisting of the same heavy chain and slow light chains with a variable fast light chain composition. This is consistent with the different physiological roles these fibers are thought to have in muscle contraction.     

Regulatory properties of single-headed fragments of scallop myosin.

Calcium control was studied in single-headed myosin and subfragment-1 (S1) preparations obtained by papain digestion of scallop myosin. Single-headed myosin, containing light chains in stoichiometric amounts, was calcium regulated; in contrast, the actin-activated Mg-ATPase of all S1 species lacked calcium sensitivity. Both regulatory and essential light chains were retained by S1 and single-headed myosin preparations provided divalent cations were present during papain digestion, although a peptide amounting to 10% of the mass was removed from regulatory light chains. The modified regulatory light chain retained its ability to confer calcium binding and restore calcium sensitivity to the ATPase of desensitized myofibrils. Regulatory light chains protected the essential light chains from fragmentation by papain. S1 bound regulatory light chains with a uniformly high affinity and appeared to consist of a single species. The results demonstrate that head to head interactions are not obligatory for calcium control, although they may occur in the intact myosin molecule, and suggest a role for the subfragment-2 region in calcium regulation of myosin.     

Occurrence of Bucephaloides gracilescens metacercariae in three species of gadoid fish

Bucephaloides gracilescens metacercaria is a common encysted trematode parasite of whiting, Merlangius merlangus (L), haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus (L), and hake, Merluccius merluccius (L), in the Irish Sea. The incidence of infection over an 18-month period was uniformly high (whiting, 95%; haddock and hake, 100%). The major site of infection in all three hosts was the cranial fluid surrounding the brain. Large numbers of cysts were also found embedded in the spinal nerves posterior to the anus in haddock and hake and in the auditory capsules in whiting and haddock. Other sites of infection included the spinal canal, cranial nerves (V, VII, VIII, X), eye muscles, orbits and nasal region. Results are discussed in the light of previous records of gasterostome trematodes in the Gadidae.     

An electrophoretic study of native myosin isozymes and of their subunit content.

Myosin polymorphism in muscles has been studied by a variety of electrophoretic techniques, in non-dissociating and in dissociating conditions. The analysis of myosin isozymes in the native state was achieved in pyrophosphate buffer and required only minute amounts of protein; identical results were obtained with purified or crudely extracted myosin. The determination of the subunit content of each isozyme was done in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate or urea for light chain, and in a phenol, acetic acid and urea system for heavy chain screening. Electrophoresis in non-dissociating conditions has led to the separation of up to a dozen of myosin isozymes, differing in mobilities by as much as 30%. Muscle specificity of myosin was clearly established. Apart from a few exceptions, all the muscles tested were shown to contain more than one myosin species; fast-twitch muscles for instance all contained the same three isozymes, but in variable ratios. Class specificity of myosin appeared related to the relative proportions of isozymes in a given muscle. A second electrophoresis in dissociating solvents of the myosin bands first resolved in pyrophosphate buffer has then allowed a further characterization of the various isozymes. The differences in mobilities observed in the native state were shown to come either from the light chains, or from the heavy chains, or from both. The first case was illustrated by the three species present in fast muscles, which were shown to correspond to three alkali light-chain isozymes, the heterodimer representing in some instances up to 40% of the total. Next to light-chain muscle type specificity, electrophoresis in the phenol, acetic acid, urea system has led to the detection of differences in the heavy chains of fast, slow and cardiac myosins. The application of these various electrophoretic techniques to the analysis of the modification of myosin isozymes during development or in pathology studies can be considered.