Toxic effect of heavy metals on ovarian deformities,apoptotic changes,oxidative stress,and steroid hormones in rainbow trout

BackgroundAs is well known, the pollution in the aquatic environment in which fish grow has a direct impact on aquaculture practices. Pollution in aquatic systems because of multiple adverse effects on fish metabolic processes, especially the reproductive systems.AimThe goal of this study was to assess the severity of pollution impact in two different hatcheries, Verinag hatchery, Site 1 (S1) and Panzath hatchery, Site 2 (S2) in Anantnag region, using histopathological, ultrastructural, oxidative stress, genotoxic, and hormonal analysis in rainbow trout gonad (ovary).M&M: Fish were collected between May 2018 and April 2019 from two locations, Verinag hatchery (S1) and Panzath hatchery (S2), which were affected by heavy metals.ResultsThe histological and ultrastructural examination of rainbow trout ovaries from the Verinag hatchery (S1) revealed normal structure in growing oocytes in rainbow trout at various stages based on morphological features while the fish ovaries in the Panzath hatchery (S2) showed various deformities and irregularly shaped oocytes. The surfaces of some of these oocytes were wrinkled, rough, or distorted. Apoptotic studies revealed that the frequency of apoptotic cells collected from S2 water was significantly increased in ovarian cells (P < 0.05). The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were found to be increased in fish collected from S1 but decreased in fish collected from S2. In S2 caught fish, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were found to increase gradually, and the degree of heavy metal stress was positively correlated (p < 0.05). The comet assay was used to determine the induction of DNA damage in ovarian cells. The induction of DNA damage was found to be significantly higher (p < 0.05) in S2 fish specimens compared to fish from S1. On comparing the DNA damage of the rainbow trout from the two sampling sites, it was revealed that the fish is much more sensitive to aquatic contaminants. Regarding steroid hormones, higher levels of progesterone and estrogen were reported in the fish samples collected from S1 as compared to S2 captured fish.ConclusionIn conclusion, the comparative study of fish from two different sites viz. Verinag hatchery (S1) and Panzath hatchery (S2) revealed that S2 sampled fish suffered more heavy metal damage, including cellular deformities, apoptosis, oxidative damage, and altered steroid hormones.     

异育银鲫及其人工杂合种外源遗传物质的检测分析

采用 DNA 杂交的方法,对异育银鲫及其人工杂合种进行了外源 DNA 的检测分析,发现两个雌核发育系的异育银鲫及其人工杂合种的 DNA 与红鲤 DNA 片段间的分子杂交均有阳性斑点出现,这表明,在异育银鲫及其人工杂合种产生过程中,父本(红鲤)的 DNA 片段的确可以随机地掺入到母本细胞的 DNA 中,从而产生了异精效应,使其子代生长加快,并出现父本性状。     

Flower senescence in daylily (Hemerocallis)

This paper reviews recent developments in the use of molecular probes for analyzing the genetic makeup of somatic hybrids. Successful application of somatic hybridization to the interspecific transfer of traits encoded in the nucleus is still having limited success. A major difficulty is hybrid infertility, particularly in hybrids between sexually incompatible species. The formation of asymmetric hybrids is being explored as an approach for improving hybrid fertility. Evaluation of the degree of chromosome elimination and chromosome stability and instability in asymmetric hybrids is difficult when the traditional approaches of chromosome counting and isozyme analysis are used. Two new approaches are resolving this difficulty. The use of species-specific repetitive DNA probes in dot blotting and in situ hybridization to chromosomes is providing quantitative data on chromosome elimination and allows detection of translocations. Use of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) probes for analysis of hybrids between genetically mapped species makes it possible to account for the presence or absence of individual chromosomes and chromosomes arms. Wider use of such molecular probes should greatly improve our understanding of the genetics of both symmetric and asymmetric somatic hybrids and may lead to new strategies for the effective interspecific transfer of nucleus-encoded traits by protoplast fusion.     

MITOCHONDRIAL GENOTYPES HAVE NO DETECTABLE EFFECTS ON MERISTIC TRAITS IN CUTTHROAT TROUT HYBRID SWARMS

Efforts to detect effects of cytoplasmic genes are confounded by the problem of partitioning nuclear and cytoplasmic effects. In this study we test for effects of mtDNA haplotype on development in hybrid populations of cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) with randomly associated nuclear and mtDNA genotypes. We have previously described several intraspecific hybrid swarms formed by interbreeding of westslope cutthroat trout (O. c. lewisi) and Yellowstone cutthroat trout (O. c. bouvieri). Genetic distance between these subspecies is high (Nei's D = 0.30; mtDNA P = 0.02), and diagnostic alleles at multiple nuclear loci and two distinct mtDNA haplotypes are present in the hybrids. Historical associations between alleles at nuclear loci and between cytotypes and nuclear alleles have largely decayed. We test for differences in meristic characters between fish with alternate mtDNA haplotypes. Counts and fluctuating bilateral asymmetry for these characters have been previously shown to be sensitive indicators of genetic differences that affect development. No differences were found between mtDNA types in meristic counts or fluctuating asymmetry. Therefore, the alternate mtDNA haplotypes had no detectable effect on development as measured by meristic counts in these hybrid populations. However, diagnostic alleles at one nuclear allozyme locus (CK-CI) were associated with several fin ray counts.     

Testing the ecological relevance of Daphnia species designations

1. Molecular approaches have increasingly revealed hidden genetic structure within ecologically important species, leading to the creation of sibling species whose ecological relevance is often unclear. A prime example is Daphnia galeata mendotae, which was split into D. dentifera and D. mendotae based on differences at two allozyme loci. 2. In a set of lake populations in Michigan USA, we test the geographical and temporal consistency of the genetic structure underlying this species split. We also test the morphological relevance of this molecular variation and its ecological significance in lakes. In essence, we ask: does recognition of these new species provide valuable information for plankton ecologists? 3. We found that D. dentifera and D. mendotae represent morphologically and ecologically distinct forms that are distributed among lakes in non‐random fashion, which were remarkably stable over 6 years. Key differences between the species concern their body and head shape, vertical habitat use within lakes and distribution among lakes of different size. We hypothesise that these differences represent specialisation to habitats that differ in risk of invertebrate predation. 4. Reproductive barriers alone are insufficient to explain the pattern of genetic structure; in some lakes complete introgression is apparent. However, parent species and hybrids exhibit a stable co‐existence in many lakes, which suggests that ecological specialisation reinforces divergence within this taxon.     

The catchment and climate regulation of pCO2 in boreal lakes

The regulation of surface water pCO₂ was studied in a set of 33 unproductive boreal lakes of different humic content, situated along a latitudinal gradient (57°N to 64°N) in Sweden. The lakes were sampled four times during one year, and analyzed on a wide variety of water chemistry parameters. With only one exception, all lakes were supersaturated with CO₂ with respect to the atmosphere at all sampling occasions. pCO₂ was closely related to the DOC concentration in lakes, which in turn was mainly regulated by catchment characteristics. This pattern was similar along the latitudinal gradient and at different seasons of the year, indicating that it is valid for a variety of climatic conditions within the boreal forest zone. We suggest that landscape characteristics determine the accumulation and subsequent supply of allochthonous organic matter from boreal catchments to lakes, which in turn results in boreal lakes becoming net sources of atmospheric CO₂.     

Suitability of habitat for spawning lake trout

We provide further insight into the reproductive ecology and spawning requirements of lake trout. New comparative information about substrate characteristics, sediment transport, quality of interstitial water at spawning substrates, and the role of temperature in site selection and time of spawning is given for lakes Simcoe and Manitou (Ontario) and Seneca Lake (New York). Spawning lake trout commonly use stable lag deposits derived from glacial sediments, or relict features such as fans, bars or submerged talus slopes. Artificial breakwaters of broken material may also provide suitable substrates. Optimal particle sizes range from 4 to 10 cm diameter but larger materials to 30 cm are also successfully utilized for spawning. The transport of finer particulates by wind generated water movements may limit the suitability of some substrates and successful spawning sites are usually remote from depositional effects. Successful embryo development is associated with low nutrient conditions, with high dissolved oxygen (>7 mg L^-1) and with low un-ionized ammonia (<12.5 g L^-1) in the interstitial water of spawning substrates. Shallow-water spawning appears to be the common strategy of colonizing lake trout. Some deepwater spawning in the Great Lakes may reflect initial colonization in shallow-water and adaptation to later increases in water level, but some may also reflect unique behavioural and physiological adaptations. Temperature is an important cue, and many wild and hatchery stocks spawn at 8 to 13 °C with latitudinal shifts in the actual time of spawning. These requirements are summarized as a dichotomous key for evaluation of approaches to restoration of lost or damaged lake trout stocks.Presented at the Conference on Rehabilitation of Lake Trout in the Great Lakes: A Critical Assessment (sponsored by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, Michigan, January 10–14, 1994).     

甘蓝型油菜与诸葛菜属间杂种无性系的变异研究

从形态及细胞学两方面对甘蓝型油菜与诸葛菜属间杂种无性系的变异进行了研究。经过长期继代培养后,杂种在形态上越来越偏向母本甘蓝型油菜,而表现出较少的父本诸葛菜性状,但表现出对等双分枝的新性状。经细胞学观察表明,杂种体内杂种细胞比例下降,而甘蓝型油菜细胞比例大幅度上升并远高于核质杂种细胞（具有油菜细胞质与诸葛菜细胞核）的比例,以至较多的甘蓝型油菜染色体组被遗传下去。在该杂种继代培养中还观察到杂种细胞内的染色体消除及体细胞配对现象。     

Aggressiveness and kinship in brown trout (Salmo trutta) parr

In a series of experiments, kin-biased behavior of young browntrout (Salmo trutta) was observed. The aggressiveness shownby groups of familiar siblings (siblings reared together sincefertilization) and groups of unfamiliar siblings (siblings rearedapart since fertilization) was significantly lower comparedto that of mixed groups of two unrelated sibling groups (offspringof two different pairs of parents). The evolution of kin-biasedbehavior, as shown by a reduction in aggressiveness, is assumedto have evolved through a kin-selective mechanism.[Behav Ecol7: 445-450 (1996)]     

Rare symmetric and asymmetric Nicotiana tabacum (+) N. megalosiphon somatic hybrids recovered by selection for nuclear-encoded resistance genes and in the absence of genome inactivation

Following protoplast fusion between Nicotiana tabacum (dhfr) and N. megalosiphon (nptII) somatic hybrids were selected on the basis of dual resistance to kanamycin and methotrexate. Despite strong selection for parental nuclear-encoded resistances, only nine N. tabacum (+) N. megalosiphon somatic hybrids were obtained. A preferential loss of the parental N. tabacum nuclear and organelle genome was apparent in some plants in spite of the lack of genomic inactivation by the irradiation or chemical treatment of the parental protoplasts. Only six of the nine hybrids recovered possessed both parental profiles of nuclear RFLPs and isoenzymes. The remaining three hybrids were highly asymmetric with two being identical to N. megalosiphon except for minor morphological differences and rearranged or recombined mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNA), while the other one was distinguishable only by the presence of a rearranged or recombined mtDNA, and was therefore possibly a cybrid. Overall, eight somatic hybrids possessed rearranged or recombined mtDNAs and chloroplast inheritance was non-random since eight possessed N. megalosiphon-type chloroplasts and only one had N. tabacum chloroplasts. In contrast, using the same selection approach, numerous morphologically similar symmetric somatic hybrids with nuclear RFLPs and isozymes of both the parental species were recovered from control fusions between N. tabacum and the more closely related N. sylvestris. In spite of the low frequency of recovery of symmetric N. tabacum (+) N. megalosiphon hybrids in this study, one of these hybrids displayed a significant degree of self-fertility allowing for back-crosses to transfer N. megalosiphon disease-resistance traits to N. tabacum. Plant Research Centre Contribution No. 1579