Non‐specific immune responses and intestinal immunity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fed Jujube (Ziziphus jujube) fruit extract

This study investigated the effects of Jujube (Ziziphus jujube) fruit extract (JFE) as an excellent source of nutrients and phytochemicals on the innate immune responses and expression of genes involved in intestinal immunity of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fingerlings. Three hundred healthy carps (10.78 ± 0.05 g) fingerlings were randomly allocated to 12 fibre glass tanks (300L; 15 fish per tank) and fed for 8 weeks with experimental diets which contained different levels of JFE (0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, or 1%). Thereafter, serum non‐specific immune parameters [total immunoglobulin (Ig) as well as alternative complement (ACH50) and lysozyme activity (SL)] and expression of genes involved in intestinal immunity (lyz, tnf‐alpha, il1b, il8, il10, and tgfb) were measured. The results revealed a significant elevation of Ig level in the JFE‐fed fish (p < 0.05) over the control fish. However, there was no significant difference among treated groups in case of serum total Ig. The highest levels of SL and ACH50 were observed in fish fed 1% of JFE. Nonetheless, no significant difference was noticed regarding SL and ACH50 of control and other supplemented groups (0.25% and 0.5% JFE). Also, expression of lyz, tnf‐alpha, and il1b genes increased significantly (p < 0.05) in JFE‐fed fish, in a dose‐dependent manner. On the other hand, significant (p < 0.05) down‐regulation of il110 and tgfb were noticed in treated groups. The present findings suggested that extraction of Jujube, Z. jujube fruit, possesses beneficial effects on immune responses of common carp.     

Maternal age influence on diapause induction in sexual and asexual Trichogramma brassicae

In this study, the effect of maternal age on prepupae diapause of progeny in sexual (Wolbachia free) and asexual (Wolbachia infected) Trichogramma brassicae was studied at two temperatures. Maternal generation (G₁) of both populations was reared at 10L:14D photoperiod, 14 and 20 °C, separately. Mated females from G₁ were supplied with eggs of Ephestia kuehniella, each 48 h from one day after emergence to death. The tendency to diapause in progeny (G₂) was determined by rearing at 10 °C. According to the results, reproductive modes, maternal temperature and age have significant effect on the mean number of eggs laid by G₁ and the diapause percentage of G₂. Offspring whose maternal generation was reared at 20 °C had higher diapause percentage than those reared at 14 °C. Diapause percentage in sexual population was higher than the asexual, which demonstrates a negative effect of Wolbachia on this process. Wolbachia infection modifies the effect of maternal age on the diapause percentage in the offspring at 20 °C but not at 14 °C. The result can be due to lower Wolbachia density at 14 °C and greater Wolbachia density at 20 °C.     

Growth,morphology and gas exchange responses of two-year-old Quercus castaneifolia seedlings to flooding stress

Tolerance to flooding is crucial when thinking in promissory species for restoration of ecosystems prone to suffer soil water excess. In this study, we tested the flooding tolerance of two-years-old seedlings of Chestnut-leaved oak (Quercus castaneifolia C.A.Mey.) to determine whether it can be recommended for use in wetland restoration programs. Seedlings of Q. castaneifolia were subjected to three treatments: (1) control (C), (2) flooding for 60 days followed by a 42-day recovery period (F?+?R) and (3) continuous flooding for 102 days (F). Physiological performance, plant morphological changes and biomass accumulation were assessed. Results showed that, although net photosynthetic rates, stomatal conductance and transpiration decreased with prolonged flooding, when flood waters were removed, plants were able to recover their physiological activity (49–80% compared to controls). By contrast, when plants were continually flooded, their physiological activity decreased as well as the leaves experienced precocious senescence and wilting. Biomass responses paralleled physiological responses: leaf and root biomass were 42–49% higher under F?+?R treatment than under continuous flooding, and all plants under the F?+?R survived. Therefore, Q. castaneifolia appears as a promising species to be further studied when thinking re-vegetation of riverine areas and other temporarily flooded wetlands.     

Serum lipid and lipoprotein parameters of Turkman horses

BACKGROUND: Lipid transport systems in animals have been evaluated both as experimental models for lipid and lipoprotein metabolism in humans and to gain insight into the lipid metabolism of specific breeds. The Turkman horse is a pure-blooded horse that lives on the margins of the Caspian Basin; information about serum lipids and lipoproteins in this breed is lacking. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in clinically healthy Turkman horses. METHODS: Concentrations of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), and lipoprotein electrophoretic patterns were determined in serum samples from 48 Turkman horses of both sexes and 0-12 years of age. Results were analyzed by 1-way ANOVA. RESULTS: In both sexes and all age groups, the relative percentages of LDL-C (44.2-64.3%) were higher than those of HDL-C (29.7-47.1%) and VLDL-C (5.9-9.0%). Serum concentrations of TG and TC were significantly higher in male (0.45 +/- 0.12 mmol/L; 2.70 +/- 0.45 mmol/L) than in female (0.34 +/- 0.1 mmol/L; 2.15 +/- 0.3 mmol/L) horses in most age groups. The relative percentages of alpha- and beta-lipoproteins in electrophoretic tracings were 62.77 +/- 5.05% and 36.67 +/- 4.29%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Serum lipid and lipoprotein values in Turkman horses differ from those of other equine breeds, and may be useful for evaluating metabolic diseases in this species.     

Effect of Delayed Icing on the Microbiological,Chemical, and Sensory Properties of Caspian Sea Golden Grey Mullet (Liza aurata)

Research has shown that fresh fish is an extremely perishable food as compared to other food commodities. In this study, quality deterioration during storage of golden grey mullet (GGM) iced for 0, 6, and 12 h after landing was monitored. Microbiological indices (total viable count, TVC; psychrophilic counts, PTC; lactic acid bacteria, LAB; and Enterobacteriaceae counts, EBC), chemical parameters (pH; total volatile basic nitrogen, TVB-N; peroxide value, PV; thiobarbituric acid, TBA; and free fatty acids, FFA) values increased over the preicing duration. Delayed icing did not lead to significant increases (p > 0.05) in TVC, PTC, LAB, and EBC throughout the period of storage. All chemical indices increased during storage (p < 0.05). This study showed that sensorial analysis of GGM correlated well with microbiological analysis. Results of this study based on the microbiological and raw fish sensorial data indicated that the shelf life of GGM stored in ice immediately after catch was approximately 10–11 days, while the 6- and 12-h delays in icing shortened the shelf life to approximately 6–7 and 2–3 days, respectively.     

Oxidative Stability of Spray-Dried Microencapsulated Fish Oils with Different Wall Materials

Multilayer microencapsulation of fish oil was evaluated by using fish gelatin (treated with or without microbial transglutaminase [MTGase]), chitosan, and maltodextrin for its ability to control lipid oxidation. This study showed that a mixture containing gelatin and maltodextrin obtained the highest percentage of core release. The oxidative stability of the formulated mixtures and the bulk oils was investigated during a period of 60 days. The peroxide value (PV) was assessed as a parameter for primary oxidation products, and p-anisidine (p-AV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive sub-stances (TBARS) was used to analyze secondary oxidation compounds. Observation of oxidation products showed that combinations of gelatin and maltodextrin made by adding MTGase and a mixture of gelatin and chitosan were able to increase the oxidative stability, and increases in PV and p-AV and TBARS were found for all oils.     

Modulating gut microbiota and digestive enzyme activities of Artemia urmiana by administration of different levels of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis on growth, gut microbiota, and digestive enzyme activities of Artemia urmiana. Three diets containing 10² (T₁), 10⁴ (T₂), 10⁶ (T₃) CFU of probiotics/g feed, and a control diet (C) without probiotic were used through a completely randomized design (treatments with triplicates). Twelve plastic tanks with the capacity of 60- l and density of 20 nauplii/ml were used and the trial continued for 15?days. Results showed that probiotics significantly increased the total length of A. urmiana (P?<?0.05). Although the total aerobic gastrointestinal bacteria count showed no significant differences among the treatments, the total Bacillus count significantly increased in experiments (P?<?0.05). The ratio of TCBS to total aerobic bacteria count was significantly lower in T₁ (0.31?±?0.05), T2 (0.27?±?0.15), and T₃ (0.25?±?0.05) compared to the control (0.76?±?0.34) (P?<?0.05). The probiotics were able to increase the protease and amylase activities (P?<?0.05). No significant effect on lipase activity. The study determined T₂ and T₃ as the most effective treatments for improving growth, bacterial flora, and digestive enzyme activities. As less probiotic needed in T₂, using 10⁴ bacteria per g diet is recommended for rearing Artemia up to the maturity stage.     

Dietary tryptophan changes serum stress markers, enzyme activity, and ions concentration of wild common carp Cyprinus carpio exposed to ambient copper

Effect of dietary tryptophan (TRP) on copper toxicity was investigated in common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Fish were randomly distributed into two triplicate treatments (control and TRP) and fed control (TRP?=?3.1?g?kg(-1)) or TRP (TRP?=?8.1?g?kg(-1)) diets over a 2-week period. Then, both treatments were subjected to 10?mg?l(-1) copper sulfate over a 7-day period. Mortality and serum cortisol, glucose, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), sodium, potassium, and chloride levels were recorded at 0, 24, 72, 120, and 168?h post-copper exposure. There was no mortality in the TRP group, whereas the control group mortality was started at 120?h post-copper exposure (21.7?±?7.6?%) and reached 61.7?±?10.4?% at the end of the experiment. Cortisol, glucose, ALT, and AST levels significantly (P?相似文献