Differential gene expression in the body wall of the sea cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus) under strong lighting and dark conditions

Sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus is very sensitive to light changes. It is important to study the influence of light on the molecular response of A. japonicus. In this study, RNA-seq provided a general overview of the gene expression profiles of the body walls of A. japonicus exposed to strong light("light"), normal light("control") and fully dark("dark") environment. In the comparisons of "control" vs. "dark", "control" vs. "light" and "dark" vs."light", 1 161, 113 and 1 705 differentially expressed genes(DEGs) were identified following the criteria of|log_2 ratio|≥1 and FDR≤0.001, respectively. Gene ontology analysis showed that "cellular process" and "binding"enriched the most DEGs in the category of "biological process" and "molecular function", while "cell" and "cell part" enriched the most DEGs in the category of "cellular component". And the DEGs were mapped to 214, 41 and229 pathways in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database, and 51, 2 and 57 pathways were significantly enriched, respectively. Light-specific DEGs identified in this study will be important targets for further investigation to establish the biochemical mechanisms involved in the adaption of this sea cucumber to changes in the level of environmental light.     

Accelerated recruitment of copepod Calanus hyperboreus in pelagic slope waters of the western Arctic Ocean

Shelf-basin advection is essential to subsistence of the Arctic copepod Calanus hyperboreus population in high basin area. Its abundance, population structure and body size in pelagic layer were investigated with samples collected over a large range in the western Arctic Ocean during summer 2003, to evaluate the geographical variation in recruitment pattern. Calanus hyperboreus was absent from the shallow areas of the Chukchi Sea and most abundant in the slope area between the Chukchi Sea and Chukchi Abyssal Plain(CS-slope). Total abundance varied between 1 110.0 and 5 815.0 ind./m2 in the CS-slope area and ranged from 40.0 to 950.0 ind./m2 in the other areas. Early stages(CI–IV) dominated in the CS-slope area, whereas CV and adult females were frequently recorded only in deep basin areas. Geographical difference of prosome length was most evident in CIII,with average ranging from 2.48 to 2.61 mm at the CS-slope stations and 2.16–2.37 mm at the others. Abundance of early developmental stages(CI–CIV) correlated positively with Chl a concentration, but negative correlation was observed in late stages(CV–adult). Our results indicated that C. hyperboreus can benefit from primary production increase through accelerated development in the first growth season and the productive CS-slope area is a potential source for slope-basin replenishment.     

强光照和黑暗条件下刺参体壁的基因表达差异

参对光照变化非常敏感,研究刺参对光照的分子响应非常重要。本研究应用RNA测序获取了刺参暴露于强光（“强光”）、正常光照（“对照”）和完全黑暗（“黑暗”）环境下体壁的基因表达谱情况,通过“对照”与“黑暗”,“对照”与“强光”和“黑暗”与“强光”的比较,在|log₂ ratio|≥1和FDR≤0.001的标准下分别发现了1161、113和1705个差异表达基因（DEGs）。基因本体分析表明,“cellular process”和“binding”在“生物过程”和“分子功能”类别中的DEGs富集最多,而“cell”和“cell part”在“细胞组分”类别中的DEGs富集最多。将DEGs与Kyoto Encyclopedia基因和基因组数据库上的于214、41和229条通路进行比对,发现了51、2和57条通路分别显著富集。本研究发现的光特异性DEGs可作为深入研究刺参对光照变化的生化适应机制的重要目标基因。     

Rare earth elements and yttrium in ferromanganese deposits from the South China Sea: distribution, composition and resource considerations

Ferromanganese nodules and crusts contain relatively high concentration of rare earth elements(REE) and yttrium(REY),with a growing interest in exploitation as an alternative to land-based REY resources.On the basis of comprehensive geochemical approach,the abundance and distribution of REY in the ferromanganese nodules from the South China Sea are analyzed.The results indicate that the REY contents in ferromanganese deposits show a clear geographic regularity.Total REY contents range from 69.1×10~(–6) to 2 919.4×10~(–6),with an average value of 1 459.5×10~(–6).Especially,the enrichment rate of Ce content is high,accounting for almost 60% of the total REY.This REE enrichment is controlled mainly by the sorption of ferromanganese oxides and clay minerals in the nodules and crusts.Moreover,the total REY are higher in ferromanganese deposits of hydrogenous origin than of diagenetic origin.Finally,Light REE(LREE) and heavy REE(HREE) oxides of the ferromanganese deposits in the study area can be classified into four grades: non-enriched type,weakly enriched type,enriched type,and extremely enriched type.According to the classification criteria of rare earth resources,the Xisha and Zhongsha platform-central deep basin areas show a great potential for these rare earth metals.     

Sensitive and rapid detection of two toxic microalgae Alexandrium by loop-mediated isothermal amplification

A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was designed and evaluated for rapid detection of the toxic microalgae Alexandrium catenella and A. minutum, which can produce paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Two sets of four specific primers targeting these two species were derived from the sequence of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA. The method worked well in less than an hour under isothermal conditions of 65℃. LAMP specificity was validated in closely related algae as a comparison, suggesting the strict specificity of the LAMP primers. Two visual inspection approaches were feasible to interpret the positive or negative results. The detection limits of A. catenella and A. minutum samples using the LAMP assay were found to be 5.6 and 4.5 pg DNA, respectively. The sensitivity of this LAMP assay was 10 or 100-fold higher than Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method in detecting the two microalgae. These characteristics of species specificity, sensitivity, and rapidity suggest that this method has the potentiality in the monitoring of red tide caused by A. catenella and A. minutum.     

莱州湾和牟平近海夏季小型底栖生物群落组成及环境状况分析

为探究莱州湾和牟平近海小型底栖生物群落组成及影响因子,作者于2016年7月在这两个海域采集了沉积物样品,并结合沉积环境因子进行了小型底栖生物群落组成分析。结果表明,在莱州湾和牟平近海各仅检获了7个小型底栖生物类群,且莱州湾的小型底栖生物平均丰度和生物量均明显低于牟平近岸海域。莱州湾线虫和桡足类平均丰度分别占小型底栖生物的91.9%和6.3%,牟平近海分别占92.1%和4.2%。对两个海域小型底栖生物群落组成与环境因子进行Pearson相关性分析,结果显示:小型底栖生物丰度与底层水溶解氧含量呈显著正相关;表层小型底栖生物丰度比与沉积物中叶绿素a含量、脱镁叶绿素含量、沉积物有机质含量以及水深呈显著正相关,与中值粒径和底层水温度呈显著负相关。本研究显示,基于不同沉积物类型中的参考比值,线虫和桡足类丰度比值(N/C)可用于莱州湾和牟平近海沉积环境有机污染状况的评估。研究还发现,牟平海域的小型底栖生物丰度和生物量呈现由近岸向外海增加的异常趋势,且小型底栖生物的数量和类群多样性较十年前显著降低,显示沉积环境受到了明显干扰。     

基于纹理特征的围填海SAR图像分水岭分割方法

本文提出了一种基于纹理特征的围填海SAR图像分水岭分割方法,首先对机载MiniSAR图像进行灰度共生矩阵纹理滤波,获得纹理特征图像,再对纹理特征图像进行分水岭算法分割,将获得的形态学重建图像进行门限阈值分割,得到最后的二值化分割结果。该方法一方面通过调整灰度共生矩阵纹理滤波的窗口大小,抑制了斑点噪声的影响;另一方面,利用分水岭算法对边缘模糊杂乱图像的优势,提高了围填海信息提取的准确性。实验结果表明,本方法对高分辨率SAR图像围填海监测图像的分割效果良好。     

三种凡纳滨对虾池塘养殖模式环境因子变化和养殖效益的分析

研究了3种凡纳滨对虾池塘养殖模式环境因子变化情况和对养殖效益的分析。实验分为3种不同的养殖模式:对虾单养组、鱼虾混养A组、鱼虾混养B组。结果表明:pH变化范围在8.40~9.06之间,其中对虾单养组pH较之两组鱼虾混养组略高,最高值达9.06;COD变化范围在101~211之间,其中对虾单养组COD较之两组鱼虾混养组略高,范围在132~211之间;氨氮和亚硝酸盐氮浓度为对虾单养组>鱼虾混养A组>鱼虾混养B组;异养菌数目和弧菌数目,随着养殖的进行呈现逐渐增加的趋势,最大值分别为对虾单养组1.1×106 CFU/mL、2.0×103 CFU/mL,鱼虾混养A组1.45×106 CFU/mL、1.80×103 CFU/mL,鱼虾混养B组1.20×106 CFU/mL、1.56×103 CFU/mL;养殖效益上,总产值、纯利润、亩利润、投入产出比均呈现出鱼虾混养B组>鱼虾混养A组>对虾单养组。由此可见,凡纳滨对虾和鱼类混养,可以在保证水质的前提下,提高凡纳滨对虾养殖规格,提高投入产出比,增加养殖效益,是一种相较于凡纳滨对虾单独养殖优越的养殖模式;而不同规格和数量的鱼类和不同数量凡纳滨对虾的混养,又会产生不同的养殖效益。