Codon changed immobilization antigen (iAg), a potent DNA vaccine in fish against Cryptocaryon irritans infection.

The immobilization antigen (iAg) DNA sequence from Chiayi isolate of Cryptocaryon irritans was computationally reviewed to replace the stop codons with suitable amino acids and its GC content was intensified. The plasmid construct comprising the codon changed iAg (optiAg/optimized iAg) was successfully expressed in the bacterial strain BL21 and also in grouper fin cells (GF-1). Results of immobilization assay, ELISA and western blot of C.

Roles of mGluR5 in synaptic function and plasticity of the mouse thalamocortical pathway.

The group I metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) has been implicated in the development of cortical sensory maps. However, its precise roles in the synaptic function and plasticity of thalamocortical (TC) connections remain unknown. Here we first show that in mGluR5 knockout (KO) mice bred onto a C57BL6 background cytoarchitectonic differentiation into barrels is missing, but the representations for large whiskers are identifiable as clusters of TC afferents.

Paenibacillus contaminans sp. nov., isolated from a contaminated laboratory plate.

A bacterial strain, designated CKOBP-6T, isolated from a contaminated laboratory plate, was characterized by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Chemotaxonomic and morphological properties of the strain were consistent with its classification in the genus Paenibacillus. Cells were Gram-variable, aerobic, sporulating, motile rods.

Differential time-series expression of immune-related genes of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei in response to dietary inclusion of beta-1,3-glucan.

Time-series changes in transcript abundance of nine genes encoding important immune proteins in haemocytes or hepatopancreas of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei fed daily in a 1-week feeding trial diets containing three levels (0%, 0.2% or 1%) of beta-1,3-glucan from Schizophyllum commune were quantified by real-time PCR. As a whole, the immune modulation elicited by beta-glucan is bimodal, one swift reaction of up- or down-regulation occurred within 24h and a delayed regulation was commenced as late as 3-7days.

Tissue expressions of nine genes important to immune defence of the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.

The tissue expressions of nine immune related genes in apparently healthy Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei were analyzed by conventional RT-PCR, quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) and in situ hybridisation. The nine genes were beta-glucan binding protein-high density lipoprotein (BGBP-HDL), lipopolysaccharide-beta-glucan binding protein (LGBP), haemocyanin, prophenoloxidase (proPO), transglutaminase (TGase), crustins, penaeidins (PEN), cytosolic manganese superoxide dismutase (cMnSOD), and lysozyme. Transcripts of all nine genes were detected in all tissues with differential expression levels when examined by RT-PCR and qPCR.

Oceanicola marinus sp. nov., a marine alphaproteobacterium isolated from seawater collected off Taiwan.

A short-rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-motile bacterial strain, designated AZO-C(T), was isolated from a sample of seawater collected from the Eluanbi coast of Pingtung County in southern Taiwan and was characterized by using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the strain formed a monophyletic branch at the periphery of the evolutionary radiation occupied by the genus Oceanicola in the order Rhodobacterales of the Alphaproteobacteria. The closest neighbours were Oceanicola batsensis HTCC2597(T) (95.

Tenacibaculum litopenaei sp. nov., isolated from a shrimp mariculture pond.

A yellow-coloured, aerobic, Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated B-I(T), was isolated from the water of a shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) mariculture pond in Taiwan. No species with a validly published name showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of more than 96.5 % to this novel isolate.

Tissue distribution of prophenoloxidase transcript in the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.

The expression of prophenoloxidase (proPO) transcript in the tissues of the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei was studied by Northern blot, RT-PCR and in situ hybridisation. Northern blot analysis reveals that proPO was constitutive mainly in shrimp haemocytes. Its transcripts, when detected with RT-PCR, were widely distributed in haemocytes, gill, heart, lymphoid organ, stomach, midgut, anterior midgut caecum and ganglion.

Chitinimonas taiwanensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel chitinolytic bacterium isolated from a freshwater pond for shrimp culture.

A bacterial strain, designated cfT was isolated from surface water of a freshwater pond for shrimp (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) culture at Ping-Tung (Southern Taiwan). Cells of this organism were Gram-negative, slightly curved rods which were motile by means of a single polar flagellum. Strain cfT utilized chitin as the exclusive carbon, nitrogen, and energy source for growth, both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.