A qPCR-based method to detect the eel parasitic nematode Anguillicola crassus in intermediate and final hosts.

Being able to systematically detect parasitic infection, even when no visual signs of infection are present, is crucial to the establishment of accurate conservation policies. The nematode Anguillicola crassus infects the swimbladder of anguillid species and is a potential threat for eel populations. In North America, naïve hosts such as the American eel Anguilla rostrata are affected by this infection.

Captive rearing effects on the methylome of Atlantic salmon after oceanic migration: Sex-specificity and intergenerational stability.

Captive rearing in salmon hatcheries can have considerable impacts on both fish phenotype and fitness within a single generation, even in the absence of genetic change. Evidence for hatchery-induced changes in DNA methylation is becoming abundant, though questions remain on the sex-specificity of these effects, their persistence until spawning and potential for transmission to future generations. Here we performed whole genome methylation sequencing of fin tissue for 16 hatchery and 16 wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) returning to spawn in the Rimouski River, Québec, Canada.

Past, present and future contributions of evolutionary biology to wildlife forensics, management and conservation.

Successfully implementing fundamental concepts into concrete applications is challenging in any given field. It requires communication, collaboration and shared will between researchers and practitioners. We argue that evolutionary biology, through research work linked to conservation, management and forensics, had a significant impact on wildlife agencies and department practices, where new frameworks and applications have been implemented over the last decades.

Genetic and morphological support for possible sympatric origin of fish from subterranean habitats.

Two blind Iran cave barbs, Garra typhlops and Garra lorestanensis, exist in sympatry in a single subterranean habitat, raising the hypothesis that they may represent a case of sympatric speciation following a colonization event. Their different mental disc forms have prompted some authors to propose the alternative hypothesis of two separate colonization events. In this study, we analysed a genome-wide panel of 11,257 SNPs genotyped by means of genotyping-by-sequencing combined with mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase sub-unit I sequence data, field observations and morphological traits to test these two hypotheses.

Characterization of natural variation in North American Atlantic Salmon populations (Salmonidae: ) at a locus with a major effect on sea age.

Age at maturity is a key life-history trait of most organisms. In anadromous salmonid fishes such as Atlantic Salmon (), age at sexual maturity is associated with sea age, the number of years spent at sea before the spawning migration. For the first time, we investigated the presence of two nonsynonymous polymorphisms in North American Atlantic Salmon populations that relate to sea age in European salmon and quantified the natural variation at these and two additional candidate SNPs from two other genes.

Laser-induced plasmonic colours on metals.

Plasmonic resonances in metallic nanoparticles have been used since antiquity to colour glasses. The use of metal nanostructures for surface colourization has attracted considerable interest following recent developments in plasmonics. However, current top-down colourization methods are not ideally suited to large-scale industrial applications.

Combining next-generation sequencing and online databases for microsatellite development in non-model organisms.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is revolutionising marker development and the rapidly increasing amount of transcriptomes published across a wide variety of taxa is providing valuable sequence databases for the identification of genetic markers without the need to generate new sequences. Microsatellites are still the most important source of polymorphic markers in ecology and evolution. Motivated by our long-term interest in the adaptive radiation of a non-model species complex of whitefishes (Coregonus spp.

DNA barcoding of Cuban freshwater fishes: evidence for cryptic species and taxonomic conflicts.

Despite ongoing efforts to protect species and ecosystems in Cuba, habitat degradation, overuse and introduction of alien species have posed serious challenges to native freshwater fish species. In spite of the accumulated knowledge on the systematics of this freshwater ichthyofauna, recent results suggested that we are far from having a complete picture of the Cuban freshwater fish diversity. It is estimated that 40% of freshwater Cuban fish are endemic; however, this number may be even higher.

The influence of gene-environment interactions on GHR and IGF-1 expression and their association with growth in brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill).

Background: Quantitative reaction norm theory proposes that genotype-by-environment interaction (GxE) results from inter-individual differences of expression in adaptive suites of genes in distinct environments. However, environmental norms for actual gene suites are poorly documented. In this study, we investigated the effects of GxE interactions on levels of gene transcription and growth by documenting the impact of rearing environment (freshwater vs.