Bioassay technique using seed shrimps for comparative studies regarding the aquatic acute lethality of biodegradable lubricants.

To evaluate the environmental load resulting from the spillage of biodegradable lubricants in aquatic systems, a comparative acute lethality test wherein an oil-water interfacial area could be examined was considered. In this study, oleic acid was employed as a model biodegradable lubricant. Measurements of the pH value and dissolved oxygen (DO) level of water during the exposure tests indicate that water degradation depends on the oil-water interfacial area, exposure duration, and water temperature.

Antioxidant activity of the giant jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai measured by the oxygen radical absorbance capacity and hydroxyl radical averting capacity methods.

The giant jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai (reaching sizes of up to 2 m diameter and 150 kg), which forms dense blooms, has caused extensive damage to fisheries by overloading trawl nets, while its toxic nematocysts cause dermatological symptoms. Giant jellyfish are currently discarded on the grounds of pest control. However, the giant jellyfish is considered to be edible and is part of Chinese cuisine.

Structural variation of Tn10 that carries tetB found in fish farm bacteria.

Three variants of the composite transposon Tn10 were extracted from transferable plasmids of fish farm bacteria. These variants were identical in insertions with IS10, but differed in another class I transposon insertion and a region of homologous recombination downstream of tetB.

Antioxidant activity of fish sauces including puffer (Lagocephalus wheeleri) fish sauce measured by the oxygen radical absorbance capacity method.

Fish sauces are fermented seasonings traditionally used throughout Asia, including Japan. Here, we report on the antioxidant activity of 30 fish sauces, among them a puffer fish sauce developed specifically for this study. To determine the antioxidant activity (i.

Maritalea porphyrae sp. nov., isolated from a red alga (Porphyra yezoensis), and transfer of Zhangella mobilis to Maritalea mobilis comb. nov.

Three Gram-negative, motile, aerobic bacteria were isolated from cultures of the marine red alga Porphyra yezoensis. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the novel strains were closely related to Maritalea myrionectae CL-SK30(T) (97.9% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Zhangella mobilis E6(T) (96.

Morphological and mtDNA sequence studies on three crucian carps (Carassius: Cyprinidae) including a new stock from the Ob River system, Kazakhstan.

Three morphologically and genetically distinct forms of the genus Carassius were collected from the Ob River system, Kazakhstan, Central Asia; Carassius carassius, Carassius gibelio gibelio and an unknown stock tentatively referred to as Carassius gibelio sub-species M. The last mentioned had 33-41 gill rakers, being intermediate between the other two forms (23-27 in C. carassius and 44-49 in C.

Two types of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) genes: Molecular cloning and expression profile in response to several immunological stimulants.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a key inflammatory mediator and has also the potential as a prominent biomarker of innate immunity. In this study, we identified and characterized TNF-alpha from bluefin tuna, which is an important cultured species. Two types of TNF-alpha were also cloned incidentally (TNF1 and TNF2).

Efficacy of puffer fish (Takifugu rubripes) sauce in reducing hydroxyl radical damage to DNA assessed using the apurinic/apyrimidinic site method.

Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites are frequently observed DNA lesions when cells are exposed to hydroxyl radicals. We developed a new method for measurement of the antioxidative activity of foods using the occurrence frequency of AP sites on DNA. Combined with the electron spin resonance (ESR) method as a standard method, we examined whether fish and soy sauces including puffer fish [Takifugu rubripes (Temminck et Schlegel)] sauce could protect DNA from damage caused by hydroxyl radicals.

Phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships of northern Far Eastern phoxinin minnows, Phoxinus and Rhynchocypris (Pisces, Cyprinidae), as inferred from allozyme and mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequence analyses.

Analyses of allozyme (18 loci) and partial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (1295 bp, 16S rRNA) support the classification of phoxinin minnows from the northern Far East into 2 genera of 8 species: Phoxinus phoxinus, Rhynchocypris oxycephalus, R. perenurus, R. czekanowskii, R.

Isolation of multidrug-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia from cultured yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) from a marine fish farm.

Six strains of multidrug-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were isolated from cultured yellowtail. The strains were divided into two clusters based on the 16S rRNA genes, and all of them contained L1 metallo-beta-lactamase and L2 beta-lactamase genes. Differences in the intercluster divergence between the lactamase genes suggest that horizontal transfer of the genes occurred.

Hybrid male sterility between the fresh- and brackish-water types of ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius (Pisces, Gasterosteidae).

Two ecologically distinct forms, fresh- and brackish-water types, of ninespine stickleback co-exist in several freshwater systems on the coast of eastern Hokkaido. Recent genetic analyses of 13 allozyme loci revealed genetic separation between the two types even though their spawning grounds were in close proximity. On the other hand, there is only a small difference in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence between the two types suggesting that they diverged quite recently or that mtDNA introgression occurred between them.

Collagen from diamondback squid (Thysanoteuthis rhombus) outer skin.

Collagens (acid-solubilized and pepsin-solubilized collagens) were prepared from diamondback squid outer skin and partially characterized. The yields of acid-solubilized and pepsin-solubilized collagens were about 1.3 and 35.

Antihypertensive effects of Undaria pinnatifida (wakame) peptide on blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

We examined the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity and antihypertensive effect of the hot water extract of wakame, Undaria pinnatifida. Ten dipeptides were isolated from the extract by several steps of chromatography, and their amino acid sequences were Tyr-His, Lys-Trp, Lys-Tyr, Lys-Phe, Phe-Tyr, Val-Trp, Val-Phe, Ile-Tyr, Ile-Trp, and Val-Tyr. Both single administration and repeated oral administration of synthetic Tyr-His, Lys-Tyr, Phe-Tyr, and Ile-Tyr significantly decreased blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Identification of antihypertensive peptides from peptic digest of two microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis.

The peptidic fractions that inhibited angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) were separated from the peptic digests of 2 microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis, by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. Oral administration of peptidic fractions into spontaneously hypertensive rats at 200 mg/kg of body weight resulted in marked antihypertensive effects. Further separation of the peptidic fractions by ODS high-performance liquid chromatography furnished the following active peptides: Ile-Val-Val-Glu (inhibitory against ACE with an IC(50) of 315.

Mechanism of thermotolerance induction by split-dose hyperthermia in Deinococcus radiodurans DNA repair deficient mutants.

We examined the phenomenon of thermotolerance induction in the radioresistant prokaryote, Deinococcus radiodurans, which was initially exposed to 30 min at 52 degrees C followed by various intervals up to 6 h at 30 degrees C in TGY medium and then re-exposed to 52 degrees C for various periods, i.e., split-dose hyperthermia.

Peroxyl radical scavenging capability of fish sauces measured by the chemiluminescence method.

Oxygen-related free radicals have been suggested as a cause of aging and various diseases, for example, various cancers and rheumatoid arthritis. A radical scavenger as an antioxidant has been sought in foods. Fish sauces are traditional Asian fermented seasonings.

Speciation and dispersal of Tribolodon species (Pisces, Cyprinidae) around the Sea of Japan.

Gene products of 22 protein coding loci from 29 populations of a uniquely sea-going cyprinid genus Tribolodon, T. hakonensis (anadromous and/or river-resident), T. brandtii (anadromous), T.

Glutathione peroxidase from the liver of Japanese sea bass Lateolabrax japonicus.

Glutathione peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.

Partial purification of polyphenol oxidase from Chinese cabbage Brassica rapa L.

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was purified and characterized from Chinese cabbage by ammonium sulfate precipitation and DEAE-Toyopearl 650M column chromatography. Substrate staining of the crude protein extract showed the presence of three isozymic forms of this enzyme. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be approximately 65 kDa by gel filtration on Toyopearl HW-55F.

Occurrence of organo-arsenicals in jellyfishes and their mucus.

Water-soluble arsenic compound fractions were extracted from seven species of jellyfishes and subjected to analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) for arsenicals. A low content of arsenic was found to be the characteristic of jellyfish. Arsenobetaine (AB) was the major arsenic compound without exception in the tissues of the jellyfish species and mucus-blobs collected from some of them.

Structures of ribonuclease P RNAs of Vibrio core species.

The structures of an RNA component of ribonuclease P (RNase P RNA) were examined for Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio carchariae, Vibrio natriegens, Vibrio campbellii, Vibrio proteolyticus, Vibrio pelagius and Vibrio harveyi to clearly determine their genetic differences. The RNase P RNAs ranged from 382 to 454 nucleotides (nt) in size, and were remarkably different from each other in the structure of two helices, P3 and P12. The P3 helices were comprised of tandem repeats of a palindromic sequence (24 nt), resulting in the longitudinal repetition of a stem structure.

Identification of an antihypertensive peptide from peptic digest of wakame (Undaria pinnatifida).

A peptide fraction having activity against angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) was separated from the peptic digest of protein prepared from wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) by ion-exchange chromatographies and gel-filtration. Fractions with high ACE inhibitory activity were combined and further chromatographed on a reverse-phase column to yield four tetrapeptides with ACE inhibitory properties. These tetrapeptides were identified by sequence analysis and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry as Ala-Ile-Tyr-Lys (IC(50): 213 microM), Tyr-Lys-Tyr-Tyr (64.

Structural variation in the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacers of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

The 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacers (IGS) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus were PCR-amplified and cloned with pT7Blue T vector. A total of six clones were isolated dependent on size difference. The clones were different with respect to both the number and the composition of the tRNA genes included, and were designated IGS-0, IGS-E, IGS-IA, IGS-AE, IGS-EKV and IGS-EKAV.