Quantification of the Flavor and Taste of Gonads from the Sea Urchin Using GC-MS and a Taste-Sensing System.

Sea urchin gonads are a delicious seafood item of high commercial value. Our past studies have revealed that the gonads of the sea urchin fed the basal frond portion of fresh kelp (BS) or the sporophylls of fresh (SU) during May-July are of high-quality. The present study investigated the flavor and taste of BS and SU gonads in comparison with those from non-fed (NF) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography (GC)-sniffing techniques, and a taste-sensing system.

Characterization of fermented seaweed sauce prepared from nori (Pyropia yezoensis).

High-salt content seaweed sauces were prepared for the first time using nori (Pyropia yezoensis) by fermentation and characterized. Components and taste of the two nori sauces (NSs) prepared separately were compared with those of soy and fish sauces. The NSs were rich in total nitrogen compounds (1.

Selenoneine, a novel selenium-containing compound, mediates detoxification mechanisms against methylmercury accumulation and toxicity in zebrafish embryo.

The selenium (Se)-containing antioxidant selenoneine (2-selenyl-N α,N α,N α-trimethyl-L-histidine) has recently been discovered to be the predominant form of organic Se in tuna blood. Although dietary intake of fish Se has been suggested to reduce methylmercury (MeHg) toxicity, the molecular mechanism of MeHg detoxification by Se has not yet been determined. Here, we report evidence that selenoneine accelerates the excretion and demethylation of MeHg, mediated by a selenoneine-specific transporter, organic cations/carnitine transporter-1 (OCTN1).

Induction of autophagy by amino acid starvation in fish cells.

Autophagy is well established as a starvation-induced process in yeast and mammalian cells and tissues. To elucidate the cellular mechanisms induced by starvation in fish, we characterized the induction of autophagy in cultured zebrafish cells under starvation conditions. As an autophagic marker protein, the microtubule-associated protein 1-light chain 3B protein (MAP1-LC3B) was cloned from the fish cells, and its expression and localization were characterized.

A novel silk-like shell matrix gene is expressed in the mantle edge of the Pacific oyster prior to shell regeneration.

During shell formation, little is known about the functions of organic matrices, especially about the biomineralization of shell prismatic layer. We identified a novel gene, shelk2, from the Pacific oyster presumed to be involved in the shell biosynthesis. The Pacific oyster has multiple copies of shelk2.

Differential gene expression of HSC70/HSP70 in yellowtail cells in response to chaperone-mediated autophagy.

A cell line derived from the tailfin of the marine teleost yellowtail fish Seriola quinqueradiata was established to examine cellular temperature regulation in an ectothermic animal. Three cytosolic members of the HSP70 family, heat-shock cognate proteins HSC70-1, HSC70-2 and heat-shock protein HSP70, were isolated from cultured yellowtail cells as stress-responsive biomarkers. Expression of hsp70 was heat-inducible, in contrast to the hsc70-1 gene product, which was expressed constitutively.