Centuries of genome instability and evolution in soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria, bivalve transmissible neoplasia.

Transmissible cancers are infectious parasitic clones that metastasize to new hosts, living past the death of the founder animal in which the cancer initiated. We investigated the evolutionary history of a cancer lineage that has spread though the soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) population by assembling a chromosome-scale soft-shell clam reference genome and characterizing somatic mutations in transmissible cancer. We observe high mutation density, widespread copy-number gain, structural rearrangement, loss of heterozygosity, variable telomere lengths, mitochondrial genome expansion and transposable element activity, all indicative of an unstable cancer genome.

Behavioral and physiological effects of ocean acidification and warming on larvae of a continental shelf bivalve.

The negative impacts of ocean warming and acidification on bivalve fisheries are well documented but few studies investigate parameters relevant to energy budgets and larval dispersal. This study used laboratory experiments to assess developmental, physiological and behavioral responses to projected climate change scenarios using larval Atlantic surfclams Spisula solidissima solidissima, found in northwest Atlantic Ocean continental shelf waters. Ocean warming increased feeding, scope for growth, and biomineralization, but decreased swimming speed and pelagic larval duration.

Fine-scale population genetic structure of sugar kelp, (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae), in eastern Maine, USA.

There is an interest to develop sugar kelp () cultivation in the rural, eastern Maine region of the USA. Future farming efforts would benefit from an understanding of the genetic diversity and population structure of kelp, to inform management and conservation, and to identify genetic resources. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the fine-scale population genetic structure of kelp in eastern Maine, using twelve microsatellite loci.

Analysis of Gene Expression in an Inbred Line of Soft-Shell Clams () Displaying Growth Heterosis: Regulation of Structural Genes and the NOD2 Pathway.

is a bivalve mollusk of commercial and economic importance, currently impacted by ocean warming, acidification, and invasive species. In order to inform studies on the growth of , we selected and inbred a population of soft-shell clams for a fast-growth phenotype. This population displayed significantly faster growth ( < 0.

Genome Sequences of Newly Isolated Mycobacteriophages Forming Cluster S.

We describe the genomes of two mycobacteriophages, MosMoris and Gattaca, newly isolated on Mycobacterium smegmatis The two phages are very similar to each other, differing in 61 single nucleotide polymorphisms and six small insertion/deletions. Both have extensive nucleotide sequence similarity to mycobacteriophage Marvin and together form cluster S.

Clam predator protection is effective and necessary for food production.

Shellfish aquaculture is a widely practiced way of producing food for human consumption in coastal areas. When farming intertidal clams, farmers commonly protect young seedling clams from predatory losses by covering farmed plots with netting or screening. Recent discussion of the effectiveness of protective nets or screens and their environmental effects has raised questions concerning the utility of the practice.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria.

We have sequenced and characterized the complete mitochondrial genome of the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria, an important organism for environmental toxicology and aquaculture. Mya arenaria is located in the taxonomic order Myoida, which lacks any member with a completely annotated mitogenome. The M.

Out of sight but not out of mind: memory scanning is attuned to threatening faces.

Working memory (WM) theoretically affords the ability to privilege social threats and opportunities over other more mundane information, but few experiments have sought support for this contention. Using a functional logic, we predicted that threatening faces are likely to elicit encoding benefits in WM. Critically, however, threat depends on both the capacities and inclinations of the potential aggressor and the possible responses available to the perceiver.

Down-regulation of activity and expression of three transport-related proteins in the gills of the euryhaline green crab, Carcinus maenas, in response to high salinity acclimation.

The euryhaline green crab, Carcinus maenas, undergoes an annual cycle of salinity exposure, having to adapt to low salinity during its annual spring migration into estuaries, and then having to re-adapt to high salinity when it moves off-shore at the end of summer. Most studies have focused on low salinity acclimation, the activation of osmoregulatory mechanisms, and the induction of transport protein and transport-related enzyme activity and gene expression. In this study we followed the changes in hemolymph osmolality, carbonic anhydrase activity, and mRNA expression of three proteins through a complete cycle of low (15 ppt) and high (32 ppt) salinity acclimation.

Environmental immune disruption: a comorbidity factor for reproduction?

Objective: To review the evidence on exposure to environmental contaminants and immune system disruption, and how this has been demonstrated or hypothesized to impact reproductive health and fertility.

Design: Review of literature.

Result(s): Exposure to environmental contaminants including polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and other hormone disrupting chemicals are associated with a wide spectrum of effects on the reproductive, immune, and endocrine systems.

Prenatal and lactational exposure to methylmercury affects select parameters of mouse cerebellar development.

Animal studies of the neuropathological effects of prenatal methylmercury (MeHg) seldom use regimens that represent environmental exposures. While acute administration of high doses of MeHg to developing rodents can model some of the outcomes MeHg produces in the human cerebellum, their long-term relevance to cerebellar development is unknown. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of chronic dietary exposure to MeHg.

Effect of Brining and Canning on Salt Uptake and Retention by Herring ( Clupea harengus ) Examined Using Four Analytical Methods.

The effect of brine concentration, brine temperature, brining period, delayed brining, and fish size on salt uptake by a sea herring ( Clupea harengus ) as well as salt retention after subsequent steaming and retorting in oil was examined. Salt was determined using four different analytical precedures (QUANTAB, specific ion electrode, inductively coupled plasma spectrometer, and potentiometer). Results revealed that all four methods are reliable and comparable.