Hybrids between olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and stone flounder Kareius bicoloratus: karyotype, allozyme and RAPD analyses

The hybrid between olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and stone flounder Kareius bicoloratus was produced by artificial insemination of olive flounder eggs with stone flounder Sperm. Sinistral and dextral are two types of hybrid progeny after metamorphosis. Karyotypes of both hybrid flounders are the same as those of the two parental species. Of the 22 loci examined from 12 allozymes,12 confirmed hybridization of the paternal and matemal loci in hybrids and no difference was found in allozyme patterns of sinistral and dextral hybrid fishes. RAPD patterns of these specimens were also studied with 38 primers selected from 104 tested. Among them, the PCR products of 30 primers showed hybridization of the paternal and maternal bands. Genetic variation between hybrids and their parental stocks was analyzed by RAPD using 10 of the above 38 primers. The average heterozygosity and genetic distance were calculated. The results suggested that the filial generation could inherit a little more genetic materials from paternal fish than that from maternal fish.     

Hybrids between olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and stone flounder Kareius bicoloratus： karyotype, allozyme and RAPD analyses

The hybrid between olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and stone flounder Kareius bicoloratus was produced by artificial insemination of olive flounder eggs with stone flounder sperm. Sinistral and dextral are two types of hybrid progeny after metamorphosis. Karyotypes of both hybrid flounders are the same as those of the two parental species. Of the 22 loci examined from 12 allozymes, 12 confirmed hybridization of the paternal and maternal loci in hybrids and no difference was found in allozyme patterns of sinistral and dextral hybrid fishes. RAPD patterns of these specimens were also studied with 38 primers selected from 104 tested. Among them, the PCR products of 30 primers showed hybridization of the paternal and maternal bands. Genetic variation between hybrids and their parental stocks was analyzed by RAPD using 10 of the above 38 primers. The average heterozygosity and genetic distance were calculated. The results suggested that the filial generation could inherit a little more genetic materials from paternal fish than that from maternal fish. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30571445), National High-Technology Research and Development Program (863 Program, No. 2006AA10A404), and Project from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2006DKA30470-017)     

Preliminary study on mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences and phylogeny of flatfishes （Pleuronectiformes）

A 605 bp section of mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene from Paralichthys olivaceus, Pseudorhombus cinnamomeus, Psetta maxima and Kareius bicoloratus, which represent 3 families of Order Pleuronectiformes was amplified by PCR and sequenced to show the molecular systematics of Pleuronectiformes for comparison with related gene sequences of other 6 flatfish downloaded from GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis based on genetic distance from related gene sequences of 10 flatfish showed that this method was ideal to explore the relationship between species, genera and families. Phylogenetic trees set-up is based on neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods that accords to the general rule of Pleuronectiformes evolution. But they also resulted in some confusion. Unlike data from morphological characters, P olivaceus clustered with K.bicoloratus, but P cinnamomeus did not cluster with t3. olivaceus, which is worth further studying.     

Application of quantitative PCR method in detection of Lymphocystis disease virus China （LCDV-cn） in Japanese flounder （Paralichthys olivaceus）

Lymphocystis disease causes serious economic losses in the fish farming industry. The causative agent of the disease is Lymphocystis disease virus China (LCDV-cn), which has a wide range of hosts. Based on competitive quantitative PCR technology, we established a method to quantify the LCDV-cn in tissue. Results demonstrate that the average amount of LCDV-cn in the peripheral blood of infected flounder with evident tumors is about 106virions/ml while the average amount in those flounder with no evident tumor but cultured with the flounder with evident tumor is about 104virions/ml. No virus was found in the negative samples of flounder.     

Screening of eye-position related genes with DD-RT-PCR and RDA in the hybrids between Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and stone flounder Kareius bicoloratus

Flatfish or flounder moves one eye to change body proportion into vertebral asymmetry during metamorphosis, during which some become sinistral while others dextral. However, the mechanism behinds the eye-position has not been well understood. In this research, hybrids between Japanese flounder(♀) and stone flounder (♂) show mixed eye-location in both dextral type and sinistral type, and thus become good samples for studying the eye-migration. mRNAs from pro-metamorphosis sinistral and dextral hybrids larvae...     

Proteomic aspects of infection by lymphocystis disease virus in Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

To reveal the key factor in self-healing from LCDV (lymphocystis disease virus)-infec Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), serum proteins from self-healing and sick Japanese floun were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis to screen differentially expressed proteins. Prot spots demonstrating changes greater than two-fold in the expression level were digested and furt identified in capillary liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Two immuni relevant proteins were thus identified as transferrin and the complement component C3 of Japan flounder. These findings suggest that the two proteins may play important roles in the self-healing lymphocystis in Japanese flounder. This is an important theoretical foundation to promote self-healing LCDV-infected Japanese flounder by improving their innate immunity.     

Screening of eye-position related genes with DD-RT-PCR and RDA in the hybrids between Japanese flounder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paralichthys olivaceus</Emphasis> and stone flounder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kareius bicoloratus</Emphasis>

Flatfish or flounder moves one eye to change body proportion into vertebral asymmetry during metamorphosis, during which some become sinistral while others dextral. However, the mechanism behinds the eye-position has not been well understood. In this research, hybrids between Japanese flounder(♀) and stone flounder (♂) show mixed eye-location in both dextral type and sinistral type, and thus become good samples for studying the eye-migration. mRNAs from pro-metamorphosis sinistral and dextral hybrids larvae were screened with classical differential display RT-PCR (DD-RT-PCR) and representational difference analysis of cDNA (cDNA-RDA); 30 and 47 putative fragments were isolated, respectively. The cDNA fragments of creatine kinase and trypsinogen 2 precursor genes isolated by cDNA-RDA exhibited eye-position expression patterns during metamorphosis. However, none of the fragments was proved to be related to flatfishes’ eye-position specifically. Therefore, further studies and more sensitive gene isolated methods are needed to solve the problems. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30600455) and the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No.2004CB117402)     

Detection of lymphocystis disease virus in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus and other marine teleosts from northern China

We isolated a strain of lymphocystis disease virus (LCDV) from Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) cultured in northern China. Based on published sequences of major capsid protein (MCP) gene of LCDV-cn (GenBank: AF126405), we designed two primer sets P1/P2 and P3/P4. We then used one-step or nested PCR and in-situ hybridization (ISH) to detect LCDV and identify the target tissues or cells in infected Japanese flounder. The PCR products were positive in purified viral supernatant, skin nodules, gut, gill, kidney, spleen, stomach, heart, and liver of Japanese flounder. We compared the DNA sequence with 14 MCP nucleotide sequences from GenBank, including Megalocytivirus (OFIV and RSIV), Iridovirus (CzIV and WIV), Ranavirus (TFV and FV3), and Lymphocystivirus (8 LCDV). Based on the alignment, we confirmed the PCR product was from Lymphocystivirus (GenBank accession number DQ279090 (LCDV-HD)). Using ISH, we noted the presence of LCDV in the skin nodules, gut, gill, spleen, stomach, and heart of spontaneously infected Japanese flounders. We successfully amplified LCDV fragments from Schlegel’s black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli Higendorf), redwing sea robin (Lepidotrigla microptera Günther) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) using the one-step and nested PCR, suggesting the target genes can be widely detected in fish using this method.     

Tissue Expression and Stock Variation of Isozymes of Stone Flounder （Kareius bicoloratus）

Tissue expression and stock variation of isozymes of stone flounder (Kareius bicoloratus) were analyzed with horizontal starch gel electrophoresis. For the fourteen enzymes assayed, 31 loci were recorded. The results indicated that all the isozymes ex- amined were obviously tissue-specific. The expressions of SOD*, GDH*, G3PDH-2* and ADH-2* were detected only in liver, SDH-1*, MDH-1* and ADH-1* only in muscle, and LDH-B* and LDH-C* only in eyes. In comparison, MDH-2*, GPI-3* and SDH-2* were detected in all tissues examined. Other loci examined were detected in a variety of tissues. Muscle and liver were se- lected to detect the isozyme variation of the two geographic stocks of Qingdao and Weihai, Shandong Province, China. The percent- ages of polymorphic loci (P0.99) were 29.17% and 25.00%, the observed heterozygosities (H0) were 0.028 ± 0.014 and 0.040 ± 0.019, and the expected heterozygosities (He) were 0.039 ± 0.017 and 0.052 ± 0.022 in Qingdao and Weihai stock, respectively. The coeffi- cient of gene differentiation (Fst) and genetic distance (D) between the two stocks was 0.012 and 0.0011, respectively, indicating that the genetic differentiation is low between them. Compared with other species of Pleuronectiformes, both the percentage of polymor- phic loci and the mean heterozygosity of K. bicoloratus were at a middle level.     

The toxic mechanism of high lethality of herbicide butachlor in marine flatfish flounder, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paralichthys olivaceus</Emphasis>

The toxic mechanism of herbicide butachlor to induce extremely high lethality in marine flatfish flounder, Paralichthys Olivaceus, was analyzed by histopathological examination, antioxidant enzymes activities and ATP content assay. Histopathological examination of gill, liver and kidney of exposed fishes showed that gill was a target organ of butachlor. The butachlor seriously impaired the respiration of gills by a series of lesions such as edema, lifting and detachment of lamellar epithelium, breakdown of pillar cells, and blood congestion. The dysfunction of gill respiration caused suffocation to the exposed flounder with extremely high acute lethality. Antioxidant enzyme activity assay of the in vitro cultured flounder gill(FG)cells exposed to butachlor indicated that butachlor markedly inhibited the antioxidant enzyme activities of Superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase(CAT)and glutathione peroxidase(GPX). Furthermore, along with the decline of antioxidant enzyme activities, ATP content in the exposed FG cells decreased, too. This infers that the oxidative stress induced by butachlor can inhibit the production of cellular ATP. Similar decrease of ATP content was also observed in the exposed flounder gill tissues. Taken together, as in FG cells, butachlor possibly induced a short supply of ATP in pillar cells by inhibiting the antioxidant enzyme activities and then affecting the contractibility of the pillar cells, which in turn resulted in the blood congestion and suffocation of exposed flounder.     

Molecular identification,expression pattern,and in-vitro bioactivity analysis of insulin-like growth factor 2 in olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are key regulators of development and growth. Here, we characterized the igf2 gene from olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) and determined its temporal and spatial expression. We set up an in-vitro protein expression system in eukaryotic human embryonic kidney (HEK293T) cells and explored its effects on cell proliferation. The flounder igf2 cDNA contained a 648-bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protein of 215 amino acids (aa), which spanned the complete signal peptide (47 aa), mature peptide (70 aa), and E domain (98 aa). In adult flounder, igf2 mRNA was detected in all selected tissues. In early development, igf2 mRNA was detected throughout development from unfertilized eggs to hatching-stage embryos. In-situ hybridization analysis indicated that igf2 mRNA was specially expressed in the brain region, floor plate, hypochord, otic vesicle, and pectoral fin during embryogenesis. Western blotting analysis indicated that the soluble recombinant flounder IGF2 protein was successfully produced through eukaryotic expression in HEK293T cells. In addition, the recombinant IGF2 protein significantly promoted the proliferation of human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) and HEK293T cells. These results provide new information about the structural and functional conservation, expression patterns, and biological activity of the igf2 in teleosts.

     

The Toxic Mechanism of High Lethality of Herbicide Butachlor in Marine Flatfish Flounder,Paralichthys olivaceus

The toxic mechanism of herbicide butachlor to induce extremely high lethality in marine flatfish flounder,Paralichthys Olivaceus,was analyzed by histopathological examination,antioxidant enzymes activities and ATP content assay.Histopathological examination of gill,liver and kidney of exposed fishes showed that gill was a target organ of butachlor.The butachlor seriously impaired the respiration of gills by a series of lesions such as edema,lifting and detachment of lamellar epithelium,breakdown of pillar cells,and blood congestion.The dysfunction of gill respiration caused suffocation to the exposed flounder with extremely high acute lethality.Antioxidant enzyme activity assay of the in vitro cultured flounder gill(FG) cells exposed to butachlor indicated that butachlor markedly inhibited the antioxidant enzyme activities of Superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT) and glutathione peroxidase(GPX).Furthermore,along with the decline of antioxidant enzyme activities,ATP content in the exposed FG cells decreased,too.This infers that the oxidative stress induced by butachlor can inhibit the production of cellular ATP.Similar decrease of ATP content was also observed in the exposed flounder gill tissues.Taken together,as in FG cells,butachlor possibly induced a short supply of ATP in pillar cells by inhibiting the antioxidant enzyme activities and then affecting the contractibility of the pillar cells,which in turn resulted in the blood congestion and suffocation of exposed flounder.     

Mutations in exons of the CYP17-II gene affect sex steroid concentration in male Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

As a specific gene of fish,cytochrome P450c17-Ⅱ(CYP17-Ⅱ) gene plays a key role in the growth,development and reproduction level of fish.In this study,the single-stranded conformational polymorphism(SSCP) technique was used to characterize polymorphisms within the coding region of CYP17-Ⅱ gene in a population of 75 male Japanese flounder(Paralichthys olivaceus).Three single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) were identified in CYP17-Ⅱ gene of Japanese flounder.They were c.G594A(p.G188R),c.G939A and c.G1502A(p.G490D).SNP1(c.G594A),located in exon 4 of CYP17-Ⅱ gene,was significantly associated with gonadosomatic index(GSI).Individuals with genotype GG of SNP1 had significantly lower GSI(P < 0.05) than those with geno-type AA or AG.SNP2(c.G939A) located at the CpG island of CYP17-Ⅱ gene.The mutation changed the methylation of exon 6.Indi-viduals with genotype AA of SNP2 had significantly lower serum testosterone(T) level and hepatosomatic index(HSI) compared to those with genotype GG.The results suggested that SNP2 could influence the reproductive endocrine of male Japanese flounder.How-ever,the SNP3(c.G1502A) located in exon 9 did not affect the four measured reproductive traits.This study showed that CYP17-Ⅱ gene could be a potentially useful candidate gene for the research of genetic breeding and physiological aspects of Japanese flounder.     

Genome-Wide Identification of heat shock protein 10/60 Genes in Japanese Flounder(Paralichthys olivaceus) and Their Regulated Expression After Bacterial Infection

Heat shock proteins 10/60(hsp10/60) are a family of conserved ubiquitously expressed heat shock proteins which are produced by cells in response to exposure to stressful conditions. Besides the chaperone and housekeeping functions, they are also known to be involved in immune response during bacterial infection. In this study, we identified and annotated 10 hsp10/60 genes through bioinformatic analysis in Japanese flounder(Paralichthys olivaceus). Among them one member of hsp10(hspe) family and nine members of hsp60(hspd) family were identified. Phylogenetic and selection pressure analysis showed that the hsp10/60 genes were evolutionarily constrained and their function was conserved. Besides, hsp10/60 genes were involved in different embryonic and larval stages and acted as the sentinel role in an unchallenged organism. In addition, we also observed the expression patterns of hsp10/60 genes after Edwardsiella tarda infection, for the first time in Japanese flounder. Eight out of 10 genes were differentially expressed after bacterial challenges, the significantly regulated expressions of flounder hsp10/60 genes after bacterial infections suggested their involvement in immune response in flounder. Our results provide valuable information for clarifying the evolutionary relationship, and early insights of the immune functions of hsp10/60 genes in Japanese flounder.     

Analysis of IL-2-1ike factor in lymphocyte culture supernatant of olive flounder, Paralichthys oliveaceus

To study immune mechanism of fish lymphocyte we performed a proliferation assay and ELISA using monoclonal antibody against human IL-2. The result showed that an interleukin-2 (IL-2)-like factor was detected in the supernatant of plant haemoglutinin (PHA)-stimulated lymphocyte culture from peripheral blood, spleen and head kidney of olive flounder,Paralichthys olivaceus. The quantities of IL-2-like factor in the supernatant from different lymphoid tissues were quite different. The IL-2 like factor in the supernatant from cultured head kidney lymphocytes was much higher than those of peripheral blood lymphocytes and spleen lymphocytes (P<0.01). The IL-2 activity was found in either mouse thymocyte proliferation assay or flounder head kidney lymphocyte proliferation assay and shown to have obvious enhancing effect on proliferation of the above two types of cell. The recombinant human IL-2, (rhIL-2) was able to stimulate flounder thymocyte proliferation and used to detect the IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) on the surface of flounder lymphocyte. The cross-reaction between the lymphocytes of flounder peripheral blood and CD25(IL-2R) was detected with flow cytometry and shown that the percentage of CD25-positive cell in peripheral blood was 7.74±0.67%. This work was supported by National “973” Project G1999012003, G19999012006.     

Characterization,tissue distribution,and expression of neuropeptide Y in olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

Neuropeptide Y(NPY) is a 36-amino acid peptide of the neuropeptide Y family that plays key roles in the regulation of food intake. In this study,we focused on NPY m RNA expression changes around feeding time and during food deprivation in olive flounder. The olive flounder NPY m RNA levels were analyzed in different tissues and a high level of expression was detected in the brain. We also demonstrated a correlation between NPY expression levels in the brain and feeding schedule. NPY expression levels in olive flounder maintained on a daily scheduled feeding regimen increased shortly before feeding and decreased after the scheduled feeding time. Compared with the-1 h group before feeding,NPY expression in the 3 h group after feeding decreased significantly( P <0.05). Food deprivation led to an 81.7% decrease in NPY m RNA levels in the 24 h fasted group(P <0.05) and a 91.7% decrease in the 48 h fasted group(P <0.05). Therefore,our study demonstrates that NPY expression is associated with food intake in olive flounder. This result reveals the function of NPY in regulating food intake and its potential importance in olive flounder aquaculture.     

Localization and Dynamic Expression of a 27.8kDa Receptor Protein for Lymphocystis Disease Virus Infection in Sea Bass(Lateolabrax japonicus) Tissues

Lymphocystis disease virus(LCDV) infects target cells by attaching to a 27.8 k Da receptor(27.8R) protein in flounder Paralichthys olivaceus, and anti-27.8R monoclonal antibodies(MAbs) have been developed. However, the 27.8R existence in tissues of sea bass(Lateolabrax japonicus) and its role in LCDV infection have remained unclear. In this study, the results of western blotting demonstrated that the same 27.8R was shared by flounder and sea bass. LCDV-free sea bass individuals were intramuscularly injected with LCDV, and viral copies were detected in tissues from 3 h post infection and showed a time-dependent increase during 9 days infection. Distribution and synthesis of 27.8R in sea bass tissues were investigated by using anti-27.8R MAbs as probes. It was found that 27.8R was distributed in all the tested tissues. The levels of 27.8R protein were highest in gill and skin, then a bit lowly in stomach, head kidney and heart, followed by spleen, intestine, blood cells, gonad and liver, and least in kidney and brain in healthy sea bass. Upon LCDV infection, 27.8R synthesis was up-regulated in each tissue, and higher in the tissues with higher LCDV copies. The 27.8R and LCDV were detected in some peripheral blood leukocytes but not in red blood cells. These results suggested that 27.8R was widely distributed in sea bass tissues, and it served as a receptor and correlated with tissue tropism of LCDV infection. Furthermore, leukocytes had the potential of being a LCDV carrier and were responsible for a systemic infection of LCDV in sea bass.     

青海省宝玉石资源概况

青海省宝玉石矿产资源丰富,是我国宝玉石资源大省之一。现已发现宝玉石矿产地三十余处。发现宝石类矿物十余种,玉石、彩石、冻石十余种。已开发利用的有:祁连玉、中坝玉、金山玉、玛沁玉、祁连翠玉、乌兰翠玉(美酒玉)、格尔木玉、绿东陵石、红东陵石、绿松石、桃花玉、丹麻彩石、龙也彩石、西宁冻石、玛瑙等。     

Histological Study on the Skin of Japanese Flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

Histological development of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus larval skin and ultrastructural difference of skin between reared normal and malpigmented Japanese flounder were studied with light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the skin develops slowly before the metamorphosis, while at the onset of metamorphosis, the skin develops quickly and becomes complete in structure till about 50d after being hatched. Ultrastructural observation on the normal and malpigmented skins shows that the iridophore and melanophore are adjacent to each other. Profile and structure of the two kinds of pigment cells are more complete in the skin of normal ocular side than in the skin of pigmented blind side. The ultrastructure of typical chloride cell was observed in the skin of Japanese flounder larvae for the first time.     

Histological study on the skin of Japanese flounder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paralichthys olivaceus</Emphasis>

Histological development of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus larval skin and ultrastructural difference of skin between reared normal and malpigmented Japanese flounder were studied with light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the skin develops slowly before the metamorphosis, while at the onset of metamorphosis, the skin develops quickly and becomes complete in structure till about 50d after being hatched. Ultrastructural observation on the normal and malpigmented skins shows that the iridophore and melanophore are adjacent to each other. Profile and structure of the two kinds of pigmcnt cells are more complete in the skin of normal ocular side than in the skin of pigmented blind side. The ultrastructure of typical chloride cell was observed in the skin of Japanese flounder larvae for the first time.