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Research has been conducted on tetracycline-resistant gram-negative fish farm bacteria. The authors have isolated these bacteria, and have determined the DNA sequence of the bacteria's genes.

The detail study on the reaction of (hydrogen) H atoms with solid SiH4 molecules deposited on the silicon substrate is presented. The results revealed that the reaction led to the formation of solid product, which was identified to have the structure similar to the amorphous silicon (a-Si: H) formed by the plasma chemical vapor deposition.

Antimicrobial peptides serve as an important component of the innate immune system of all species by functioning to provide a rapid first line defense against infection. Arthropod antimicrobial peptides have been well described in insects, whereas only a few molecules have been identified in crustaceans. Five variants (types 1–5) ofMarsupenaeus japonicuscrustin-like peptide cDNA that were obtained from a hemocyte cDNA library and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification are reported here.Marsupenaeus japonicuscrustin-like peptide type 1, the predominant type, has a cDNA consisting of 679 nucleotides and an open reading frame consisting of 573 base pairs coding for 191 amino acid residues. Other types contain varying glycine-rich repeats at the N-terminal amino acid sequences. The deduced amino acid sequences of these variants are highly similar to those ofLitopenaeus setiferus(80% identity),Litopenaeus vannamei(80% identity) andCarcinus maenascrustins (44% identity). Expression ofMarsupenaeus japonicuscrustin-like peptide mRNA was detected in hemocytes, but not in the heart, hepatopancreas, gill, fore-gut, mid-gut, muscle, subcuticular epithelium or ovary. The expression level of crustin-like peptide mRNA increased significantly 1, 3 and 7 days post-peptidoglycan feeding as determined by quantitative real-time PCR. These results suggest that crustin-like peptide could have an important role in shrimp defense mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that examines the possible contribution of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) on carp thrombocyte signal transduction. It considers the effects of intracellular agents like Iloprost, Beraprost, and isobutylmethlyxanthine to confirm cAMP's involvement on carp thrombocyte signal transduction. It likewise tries to clarify a significant part of fish thrombocytes aggregation's molecular mechanisms. Meanwhile, it states that cAMP regulates the inhibition of platelet aggregation by promoting protein phosphorylation and intracellular calcium mobilization.

Examines the sensitivities of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) obtained from infected kuruma shrimp Penaeus japonicus to photochemically generated singlet oxygen. Use of immobilized Rose Bengal, a water-insoluble dye, in the experiment; Details on how the inactivation of WSSV by oxygen is examined in seawater; Investigation on whether oxygen would also treat the WSSV-contaminated crustacean eggs in seawater.

Gene expression in haemocytes of the kuruma prawn (Penaeus japonicus) was investigated using an expressed sequence tag (EST) approach. Partial nucleotide sequences of cDNA library clones constructed from normal and white spot syndrome virus (WSSV)—infected P. japonicus haemocytes were determined. Of 635 clones obtained from the normal library, 284 (44·7%) significantly matched sequences in GenBank, and of 370 clones obtained from WSSV-infected library, 174 (47·0%) significantly matched sequences in the database. One hundred fifty-two deduced proteins were newly identified. Of these, 28 types were involved in biodefence. For the prophenoloxidase system, there are prophenoloxidase, coagulation factor G-β chain precursor, factor D, Masquarade-like protease, transglutaminase (TGase), clottable protein and eight types of protease inhibitors (two types of antileukoproteinase, alpha-2-macroglobulin, chelonianin, elastase inhibitor, two types of Kazal inhibitor and Kunitz-type inhibitor). For antibacterial peptides, there are bactinecin 11, penaeidin-2 precursor and lysozyme c type. The others defence-related proteins are basophil leukocyte interleukin-3-regulated protein, natural killer enhancing factor (NK-EF), integral membrane protein (CD34+), ESM-1, Notch homologue and Drac homologue. For the adhesion proteins, there are β-integrin, cell adhesion molecule (CAM) and three types of collagens. All ESTs representing protease inhibitors and tumour-related proteins were found only in the WSSV-infected library. Those encoding for apoptotic peptides were expressed at high levels in infected library. The putative defence proteins accounted for 2·7% of total ESTs in a normal shrimp library and 15·7% of the total ESTs in an infected library. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]