Morphological variation in intergrade pupfish populations from the Pecos River, Texas, U.S.A.

In the early 1980s, sheepshead minnow Cyprinodon variegates was introduced into the Pecos River, Texas, U.S.A. where it hybridized with the endemic Pecos pupfish C. pecosensis . By 1985, pupfish populations throughout approximately 300 km of the river consisted exclusively of individuals of hybrid origin (intergrades). There was significant ( P <0·05) geographic variation in most morphological characters; the general pattern of variation was of a bidirectional cline centred near Pecos, Texas. At that site, morphology of intergrade populations resembled mostly that of the introduced species. Upstream and downstream from Pecos, morphology shifted progressively toward that typical of the native form. Intergrade populations were morphologically intermediate to the parental forms, showed a rapid approach to random assortment of characters, and generally exhibited greater morphological variability than occurred in either parent species. These observations and the consistent lack of bimodality in frequency distributions of a morphological hybrid index support the contention that intergrade populations comprise panmictic admixtures of C. variegates and C. pecosensis .     

Development of polymorphic microsatellite markers from barfin flounder (Verasper moseri) and their cross-species amplification

Barfin flounder (Verasper moseri) is a rare fish species in the world. Here, we reported 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci isolated from a dinucleotide-enriched genomic library of barfin flounder (Verasper moseri). The number of alleles, observed, and expected heterozygosity per locus in a test population ranged from 2 to 6, from 0.3333 to 1.0000, and from 0.4866 to 0.7774, respectively. One locus significantly deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction and no significant linkage disequilibrium was found between pairs of loci. Cross-species amplification of these microsatellite loci in additional five fish species was performed. These polymorphic microsatellite loci would be useful for investigating genetic population structure and construction of genetic linkage map in Verasper moseri. Gui-Dong Miao and Chang-Wei Shao Contributed equally to this work.     

Immunocytochemical localization and ontogenic development of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in the brain of a pleuronectiform fish,barfin flounder

-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (-MSH) is a pituitary hormone derived by post-translational processing from proopiomelanocortin and is involved in background adaptation in teleost fish. It has also been reported to suppress food intake in mammals. Here, we examined the immunocytochemical localization of -MSH in the brain and pituitary of a pleuronectiform fish, the barfin flounder (Verasper moseri), as a first step in unraveling the possible function of -MSH in the brain. The ontogenic development of the -MSH system was also studied. In the pituitary, -MSH-immunoreactive (ir) cells were preferentially detected in the pars intermedia. In the brain, -MSH-ir neuronal somata were located in the nucleus tuberis lateralis of the basal hypothalamus, and -MSH-ir fibers were located mainly in the telencephalon, hypothalamus, and midbrain. -MSH-ir neuronal somata did not project their axons to the pituitary. The -MSH-ir neurons differed from those immunoreactive to melanin-concentrating hormone. -MSH cells in the pituitary and -MSH-ir neuronal somata in the brain were first detected 1 day and 5 days after hatching, respectively. The distribution of -MSH-ir cells, neuronal somata, and fibers showed a pattern similar to that in adult fish 30 days after hatching. These results indicate that the functions of -MSH in the brain and pituitary are different and that -MSH plays physiological roles in the early development of the barfin flounder. This study was supported in part by grants from the Regional Science Promotion Program Evolutional Research of the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, and the Yumekendo-Iwate Research and Promotion Project of the Iwate Prefectural Government Science and Technology Division to A.T.     

圆斑星鲽及相关种类线粒体DNA控制区结构分析

采用PCR产物直接测序法测定了圆斑星鲽(Verasper variegatus)的24个个体的线粒体控制区(Control region)核苷酸全序列, 并进行了结构分析。结果表明, 圆斑星鲽线粒体控制区核苷酸全序列具有长度多态性, 得到4种长度单元型, 主要表现为控制区中的串联重复序列的长度不同。对鲽形目鱼类如鲽科的条斑星鲽(Verasper moseri)、黄盖鲽(Limanda feruginea)、马舌鲽 (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides), 美洲拟庸鲽(Heppoglossoides platessoides )和鲆科的牙鲆(Paralichthys olivaceus)以及鳎科的欧洲鳎(Solea solea)、塞内加尔鳎(S. senegalensis)和沙鳎(S. lascari)的控制区的比较研究发现, 鲽形目鱼类的线粒体控制区均存在相似的结构, 即线粒体控制区可分为终止相关序列区(ETAS)、中央保守区(包括CSB-A、CSB-B、CSB-C、CSB-D、CSB-E、CSB-F)以及保守序列区(CSB1、CSB2、CSB3)和重复序列区(Repeat region)4个区域。通过与脊椎动物各个纲线粒体控制区序列的比较分析, 发现只有鲽形目(包括鲆、鲽类和鳎类)鱼类和两栖纲的无尾类在CSB-3之后存在相似的串联重复序列。     

臭腹腺蝗（直翅目：锥头蝗科）消化道对食物储存、消化和吸收相适应的显微结构

显微观察发现臭腹腺蝗Zonocerus variegatus（直翅目：锥头蝗科）嗉囊、中肠和后肠的肠壁结构有所不同。嗉囊为空时纵向折叠。中肠上皮层的厚度随龄期有明显变化,1龄和2龄时明显大于3龄、4龄和5龄。后肠具有帮助消化和吸收的功能。     

圆斑星鲽精子的超微结构及核前区特殊结构

分别以扫描电镜和透射电镜方法研究了圆斑星鲽 (Veraspervariegates)精子的超微结构。头部呈圆形、中段不发达 ,具有多个未分化的圆形小线粒体、鞭毛结构极简单 ,具有 9 2型的轴丝等特征 ,均表示圆斑星鲽的精子属于简单的原始类型 ,与多数其它高等鱼类精子结构相似。但是 ,圆斑星鲽精子核前部的凹陷 ,即不含染色质的电子透明区 ,以及核前区的囊泡结构却未见在其它新鳍鱼类精子中报道。圆斑星鲽精子核前凹陷开口于核前端稍偏处 ,凹陷呈不规则状 ,可深入到核的中央。凹陷处与染色质区无界膜分隔。凹陷区的前部及其开口处常有多个小的具单层界膜的囊泡 ,有时可见在凹陷区的开口处汇集成一个大泡。在某些处理过程中 ,例如在冷冻 -解冻过程中 ,囊泡可能丢失 ,而在精子顶端留下一个凹坑。尽管顶体在现存最早的新鳍鱼类 ,如雀鳝鱼及弓鳍鱼中已经完全消失 ,但考虑甚至在某些纯真骨鱼 ,如鲑形目中的螈鱼精子上 ,顶体仍然存在 ,而在其它一些纯真骨鱼精子或精子细胞中也存在顶体或顶体遗迹等事实。我们推测在圆斑星鲽精子中的上述特殊结构也是顶体的一种遗迹 ,但也不排除其是向外释放核内物质的一种途径的可能性     

Reproductive Ecology and Host Utilization of Four Sympatric Bitterling (Acheilognathinae,Cyprinidae) in a Lowland Reach of the Harai River in Mie,Japan

Bitterling are fishes that use freshwater mussels for oviposition. The reproductive ecology and pattern of mussel utilization of four sympatric species of bitterling, Acheilognathus rhombeus, A. tabira tabira, Tanakia lanceolata, and T. limbata, were investigated in a lowland river with seven sympatric mussel species. Three bitterling species are spring spawners with overlapping spawning seasons. A. rhombeus is an autumn-spawning species and is temporally isolated in its reproduction from the other species. Ovipositor length during oviposition of T. limbata and T. lanceolata was short, while those of A. tabira tabira and A. rhombeus were long. Most T. limbata inhabited near-shore areas, whereas the two other spring-spawning species were distributed across the entire river. All bitterling species used Inversidens brandti, Obovalis omiensis and Inversiunio jokohamensis as spawning hosts, but not the other mussel species available. T. lanceolata, A. tabira tabira and A. rhombeus showed spawning preferences for O. omiensis and I. brandti. However, T. limbata did not show clear preferences for any of the mussel species they used. A. t. tabira showed a significant preference for large I. brandti in offshore areas, while the other spring-spawning bitterling showed a preference for mussels inshore. These results are discussed in the context of reproductive resource partitioning.