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During the last decade not only multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using whole chromosome paints as probes, but also numerous chromosome banding techniques based on FISH have been developed for the human and for the murine genome. This review focuses on such FISH-banding techniques, which were recently defined as 'any kind of FISH technique, which provide the possibility to characterize simultaneously several chromosomal subregions smaller than a chromosome arm. FISH-banding methods fitting that definition may have quite different characteristics, but share the ability to produce a DNA-specific chromosomal banding'. While the standard chromosome banding techniques like GTG lead to a protein-related black and white banding pattern, FISH-banding techniques are DNA-specific, more colorful and, thus, more informative. For some, even high-resolution FISH-banding techniques the development is complete and they can be used for whole genome hybridizations in one step. Other FISH-banding methods are only available for selected chromosomes and/or are still under development. FISH-banding methods have successfully been applied in research in evolution- and radiation-biology, as well as in studies on the nuclear architecture. Moreover, their suitability for diagnostic purposes has been proven in prenatal, postnatal and tumor cytogenetics, indicating that they are an important tool with the potential to partly replace the conventional banding techniques in the future.
Fishing is one of the oldest human activities in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso in Central Brazil. In the of Bento Gomes River Basin (Pantanal of Poconé) the presence of fishermen is very common. The objective of this study is to describe the fishing activity in the basin in view of the elaboration of proposals for the sustainable use of this natural resource. Of the 256 fishermen that were registered most are fishing for their subsistence (92%) and the rest (8%) are occasional fishermen (locally called "de lufada" fishermen). "Traíra" (Hoplias malabaricus) and "piranhas" (Serrasalmus marginatus, Serrasalmus spilopleura and Pygocentrus nattereri) were the species most frequently captured for human consumption. The fishing is more intensive during the ebb season and at the beginning of the drought season, when the waters begin to recede for the river channel, as the catch is facilitated by the concentration of fishes at the river margin. The fishermen and their families consume fish three to four times a week, twice a day. Fish meat is one of the only means of obtaining animal protein for dozens of poor families in the area. The number of fishermen, as well as the actual number of catches do not appear to compromise the natural fish stocks, although no specific capture criteria is obeyed by the fishing activity.
Examinations of 882 samples of newly caught, frozen, salted, sun-dried and smoked marine fish and of 50 samples of canned fish and preserves were conducted to study the contamination with halophil vibrios of the marine fish and fish products. The newly caught fish was found to be contaminated with Vibrio parahaemolyticus on the average in 28.6 per cent of the cases and with Vibrio alginolyitcus, on the average in 52.2 per cent of the instances. The Vibrio parahaemolyticus contamination of the marine fish during its processing and storage varied from 3.3 up to 21.7 per cent. The contamination of the fish was noted to be greatest in summer months. These microorganisms were not isolated in canned fish and preserves. In the course of research a total of 845 strains of halophil microorganisms were isolated, 240 of which were found to be similar to Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The properties of the cultures isolated were studied.
Epidemiological studies have indicated a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease in populations with a high habitual intake of marine fish and fish oils, and this apparent protection may be due to the presence of n-3 fatty acids in the dietary fish. Two populations, a rish consuming one from coastal area and an inland one with non fish consuming from Nellore district or South India were selected for the present study. A total of one thousand healthy subjects were randomly chosen (500 in each population) from both sexes, aged from 20 to 70 years. The concentration of serum cholesterol, triacylglycerol and LDL-cholesterol were significantly lower in fish consumers, whereas HDL-cholesterol was higher in fish consumers than in non fish consumers. The difference between the percent quantities of the three n-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids) was highly significant (p < 0.001) with a greater value in fish consumers.
We have been surveying toxic substances in food and foodstuffs and carrying out a total diet study on the intakes of various substances since 1979 in cooperation with local public institutes in Japan. In this paper, we report the daily intakes of mercury, PCB and arsenic from foods, and the relation between the concentrations of these substance in fish and the fish body weight. The intakes of mercury and arsenic were 6.9-11.0 micrograms/ man/day and 120-230 micrograms/man/day, respectively. The intakes of these substances remained on a stable level from 1979 to 1994. On the other hand, the intake of PCB decreased from 3.1 micrograms/man/day in 1979 to 0.9 microgram/man/day in 1994. Most of the intakes of mercury, PCB and arsenic were derived from the diet group "fish and shellfish". The level of mercury in fish increased with increasing fish body weight. For PCB and arsenic, there was no correlation between these concentrations in fish and the fish body weight, except that mackerel and croaker show a higher concentration of PCB when they are small. Arsenic shows almost a constant level in each fish regardless of their body weight.
For many genes, ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) have two paralogous copies, where only one ortholog is present in tetrapods. The discovery of an additional, almost-complete set of Hox clusters in teleosts (zebrafish, pufferfish, medaka, and cichlid) but not in basal actinopterygian lineages ( Polypterus) led to the formulation of the fish-specific genome duplication hypothesis. The phylogenetic timing of this genome duplication during the evolution of ray-finned fish is unknown, since only a few species of basal fish lineages have been investigated so far. In this study, three nuclear genes ( fzd8, sox11, tyrosinase) were sequenced from sturgeons (Acipenseriformes), gars (Semionotiformes), bony tongues (Osteoglossomorpha), and a tenpounder (Elopomorpha). For these three genes, two copies have been described previously teleosts (e.g., zebrafish, pufferfish), but only one orthologous copy is found in tetrapods. Individual gene trees for these three genes and a concatenated dataset support the hypothesis that the fish-specific genome duplication event took place after the split of the Acipenseriformes and the Semionotiformes from the lineage leading to teleost fish but before the divergence of Osteoglossiformes. If these three genes were duplicated during the proposed fish-specific genome duplication event, then this event separates the species-poor early-branching lineages from the species-rich teleost lineage. The additional number of genes resulting from this event might have facilitated the evolutionary radiation and the phenotypic diversification of the teleost fish.
A total of 526 Atlantic salmon and 500 brown trout from a fish farm were studied for parasites, as were 272 roach, 251 perch and 150 whitefish from the lake which formed the water source, and 196 roach and 136 perch from the effluent recipient lake. The cultured fish harboured 14 parasite species, of which most were protozoan generalist parasites. Nine species were found on salmon and 12 on brown trout. Epizootically the most important species were Ichthyobodo necator, Chilodonella cyprini and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. The mean number of species per studied fish was 0.71 for salmon and 0.61 for brown trout. The seasonal occurrences of the ectoparasites were found to be irregular due to preventative bathing of the fish. The wild whitefish harboured 19 parasite species, roach 41 and perch 33. The proportions of the parasite species common to both wild and cultured fishes were 17% of the species from roach, 36% of those from perch and 47% of the species from whitefish. Jaccard's similarity index, indicating similarities between wild and farmed fish, was highest between whitefish and brown trout. It was concluded that the source of parasites in the fish farm is the water supplying lake, but the farm itself was unlikely to effect the fish parasite fauna of the water recipient lake, although some ectoparasites, which had high prevalences in this lake, could originate from the farm. The high standard of maintenance and hygiene in this farm kept problems caused by parasites under control.
It is commonly accepted that among recent fishes the lungfishes are the closest relatives of the tetrapods. According to this hypothesis, the tetrapods, lungfishes and coelacanths constitute a group of specialized fishes (Sarcopterygii) to the exclusion of other bony fishes. Here, we describe basal relationships among gnathostome (jawed) vertebrates as reconstructed by analysis of complete mitochondrial DNA sequences. The study includes all major extant groups of both tetrapods and fishes and uses agnathan (jawless) vertebrates as an outgroup to root the trees. The analyses split extant gnathostomes into two monophyletic groups: tetrapods and fishes (including cartilaginous fishes). Cladistia (bichirs, ropefish) is in a basal position on the piscine branch. Thus, contrary to the traditional view, the mitogenomic results suggest that among living gnathostomes a tetrapod is a tetrapod and a fish, a fish. Similarly, analyses of 18S and 28S rRNA genes (both nuclear) do not support the commonly accepted tree.
OBJECTIVE: To study the relationships between fish intake and different markers of selenium status and thyroid hormone function. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Sixty-eight men (age 24-79 years) were recruited among coastal fishermen and inland subjects from Latvia. None of the subjects was on selenium medication or had any known endocrine disease. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Correlations between fish intake, plasma levels of selenium, selenoprotein P, glutathione peroxidase, organic mercury in erythrocytes and TSH in serum. RESULTS: Selenium in plasma ranged from 0.30 to 1.56 micromol/l, selenoprotein P from 0.54 to 2.21 arbitrary units relative to pooled plasma, and glutathione peroxidase from 1.20 to 5.73 mg/l. The number of fish meals per month was correlated with plasma selenium, selenoprotein P and glutathione peroxidase (r = 0.63, r = 0.62 and r = 0.50, respectively; P<0.001). Plasma selenium was correlated with selenoprotein P and glutathione peroxidase (r = 0.88 and r = 0.67, respectively; P < 0.001), and also selenoprotein P and glutathione peroxidase were correlated (r = 0.63, P < 0.001). The mean plasma selenium level in those with a high fish intake (21-50 fish meals/month), was 81% higher than in those with lowest fish intake. TSH in serum was inversely correlated with plasma selenium and selenoprotein P. Thyroid hormone levels were not correlated with plasma selenium, selenoproteins or fish intake. CONCLUSIONS: In this study group, selenium from fish intake had a marked impact on all variables studied on selenium status. No impact of selenium status on T3 and T4 levels was observed. The slightly negative correlation of selenium status with TSH levels might indicate a higher TSH secretion at low selenium status.
BACKGROUND: Fish-oil fatty acid esters of plant sterols (FO-PS) were shown to have hypotriglyceridemic and hypocholesterolemic properties in animal models. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate the hypolipidemic effects of FO-PS supplementation in healthy hypercholesterolemic persons fed an olive oil (OO)-based diet. DESIGN: Twenty-one moderately overweight, hyperlipidemic subjects participated in a semi-randomized, single-blind, 4-period crossover study including 4 experimental isoenergetic diets of 4 wk each and 4-wk intervening washout periods. Diets contained 30% of energy as fat, of which 70% was from extra-virgin OO, and differed only in the supplement oil: OO, fish oil, FO-PS, or sunflower oil esters of plant sterols (SU-PS). Both fish oil and FO-PS provided 5.4 g total eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids/d. FO-PS, SU-PS, and OO provided the equivalent of 1.7, 1.7, and 0.02 g free plant sterols/d, respectively. RESULTS: Fish oil and FO-PS resulted in fasting and postprandial plasma triacylglycerol concentrations that were markedly lower than those observed with OO and SU-PS (P = 0.0001), but to a different extent. LDL cholesterol was significantly lower after supplementation with FO-PS and SU-PS than at the end of the control OO diet (P = 0.0031 and 0.0407, respectively). HDL cholesterol was not affected. FO-PS and SU-PS resulted in a lower ratio of total to HDL cholesterol and lower apolipoprotein (apo) B concentrations than did OO and fish oil. The ratio of apoB to apoA was significantly lower after SU-PS consumption than after consumption of OO (P = 0.0126) and fish oil (P = 0.0292). FO-PS and SU-PS resulted in similar ratios of apoB to apoA. HDL2 and the ratio of HDL2 to HDL3 were significantly higher at the end of the FO-PS treatment than at the end of the OO (P = 0.0006), fish oil (P = 0.0036), and SU-PS (P = 0.0016) treatments. CONCLUSION: Supplementation of an OO-based diet with FO-PS may reduce cardiovascular disease risk more than does supplementation with fish oil or SU-PS.
There has been considerable interest in the benefits and risks of eating Great Lakes fish, particularly with regard to reproductive health. We report the results of a survey conducted from 1993-1995 among Michigan anglers. The survey was designed to identify a reproductive-aged cohort of persons who consume high or low levels of Great Lakes fish in order to study the impact of polyhalogenated biphenyl (PHB) compounds and other toxins on human reproduction outcomes. Using fishing license data obtained from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, we identified anglers of early reproductive age (18-34 years) in ten Michigan counties. The screening survey ascertained demographic, behavioral, fish consumption, and reproductive history information on anglers and their partners. Over 4,000 angler households were contacted. One thousand nine hundred fifty questionnaires were returned from 1,168 households. The median age of respondents was 30 years; 58% were male and 64% reported being married. Slightly more than one-half the respondents had attended or graduated from college, and less than 10% had not completed high school. In the past year, most respondents (46%) reported having eaten sport-caught fish 1-12 times, while 20% reported having eaten no sport-caught fish; 20% had consumed 13-24 meals. More sport-caught fish was consumed in the spring and summer than in the fall and winter, and males reported eating more fish than females. About 43% of our respondents reported that they intend to have one or more children in the next five years. Of these respondents, 287 couples had no identified impairments to reproduction and therefore would be eligible to participate in the future reproductive study.
Rodents fed fish oil showed less obesity with a reduction of triglyceride synthesis in liver, relative to other dietary oils, along with a decrease of mature form of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) and activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha). Decrease of mature SREBP-1 protein by fish oil feeding was due to either inhibition of SREBP-1 proteolytic cascade or to decrease of its mRNA. To clarify its mechanism and relation to antiobesity effect, mice were fed fish oil in a range from 10 to 60 energy percent (en%). Fish oil feeding decreased body weight and fat mass in a dose-dependent manner, in parallel with PPARalpha activation and a decrease of SREBP-1 mRNA. However, compared with 0 en% fish oil feeding, 10 en% fish oil feeding decreased mature SREBP-1 protein by 50% with concomitant decreases of lipogenic genes, while precursor SREBP-1 protein rather increased by 1.3-fold. These data suggest that physiological doses of fish oil feeding effectively decrease expression of liver lipogenic enzymes by inhibiting SREBP-1 proteolytic cascade, while substantial decrease of SREBP-1 expression is observed in its pharmacological doses, and that activation of PPARalpha rather than SREBP-1 decrease might be related to the antiobesity effect of fish oil feeding.
Holstein calves (120) were fed milk replacers as the only nutrients from 4 to 46 days of age. All milk replacers contained 20% crude protein and differed in protein source: 1) 100% milk protein; 2) 67% milk protein, 33% soybean protein concentrate; 3) 67% milk protein, 33% enzymatic hydrolysate of fish; 4) 67% milk protein, 16.5% soybean protein concentrate, 16.5% enzymatic hydrolysate of fish; 5) 67% milk protein, 16.5% soybean protein concentrate, 16.5% spray-dried fish solubles; 6) 67% milk protein, 24.75% soybean protein concentrate, 8.25% spray-dried fish solubles. Substitution up to 33% of dietary protein with soybean protein concentrate or combinations of soybean, enzymatic hydrolysate of fish, or spray-dried fish solubles produced 14% lower weight gains than all milk protein, but 33% replacement with enzymatic hydrolysate of fish produced 27% lower weight gains. Feed consumed per kilogram of gain was least for all milk, most for 33% fish hydrolysate, and intermediate for other rations. Scour scores did not differ between diets.
The effect of a daily dietary supplement of 6 g fish oil (3.4 g eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid) on body weight, blood pressure, bleeding time and blood lipids was assessed in an open trial. The fish oil was taken for four weeks by nine 30-55 year-old individuals. An age- and sex-matched control group took equivalent amounts of safflower oil, which has an overall fatty acid composition similar to the tested fish oil. The fish oil supplement caused significant changes in body weight (median: +0.9 kg), systolic blood pressure (-10 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure (-5 mmHg), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration (+0.21 mmol/l), whereas serum triglycerides decreased insignificantly (-0.25 mmol/l). Low density lipoprotein (LDL) concentration were not affected. We observed no changes in the control group. In the discussion, it is underlined that fish oil supplementation may affect some risk markers of ischemic heart disease favourably. However, other important risk markers, including LDL cholesterol, are unaffected or unfavourably affected by fish oils. A more uni-directional reduction in risk can be attained by a change in dietary habits, which should be preferable to a fish oil supplement in the general population. Individuals who show critically low HDL/total cholesterol ratios, who are hypertriglyceridemic, or are mildly hypertensive may, however, benefit from a fish oil supplement of the amount tested here.