First Identification of the Hepatotoxic Microcystins in the Serum of a Chronically Exposed Human Population Together with Indication of Hepatocellular Damage

Hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs) are the most commonly reported cyanotoxins in eutrophic freshwaters. In 1996, human intoxications by MCs caused deaths of 76 patients at Caruaru dialysis centers in Brazil. So far, there have been no direct evidences of MC occurrence in human tissue in consequence of exposure to MC. In this study, we improved cleanup procedures for detecting MCs in serum sample using liquid chromatographymass spectrometry, and confirmed for the first time the presence of MCs in serum samples (average 0.39 ng/ml, which amounts to ca. 1/87 of the concentrations found in tissue samples of the Caruaru victims) of fishermen at Lake Chaohu. Daily intake by the fishermen was estimated to be in the range of 2.2-3.9 mu g MC-LReq, whereas the provisional World Health Organization tolerable daily intake (TDI) for daily lifetime exposure is 0.04 mu g/kg or 2-3 mu g per person. Moreover, statistical analysis showed closer positive relationships between MC serum concentrations and concentrations of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase than between the MC concentrations and other biochemical indicators. Thus, the data raise the question whether extended exposure in the range of the TDI or up to a factor of 10 above it may already lead to indication of liver damage. The results also demonstrate a risk of health effects from chronic exposure to MCs at least for populations with high levels of exposure, like these fishermen.

Population differentiation of Procypris rabaudi (Tchang) in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River revealed by mitochondrial DNA and RAPD markers

Procypris rabaudi (Tchang) is a cyprinid fish endermic to middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Besides in main stream and large tributaries, there exists an early matured, small-sized ecological type in a small tributary, Tang River. In this study, mitochondrial DNA cytochrome h (cyt b) gene sequence analysis and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis were performed to investigate the differentiation of the Tang River population from the Mudong reach population of the Yangtze River, with the purpose of conservation and exploitation of this fish. In the 1140 bps of cyt b gene sequence surveyed, 20 sites were found polymorphic, which defined 23 haplotypes. Among them, four haplotypes accounted for 54.4% of all individuals, while population-specific haplotypes occurred in low frequencies. Analysis of molecular variation on cyt b data revealed no significant partition existing between Tang River population and Mudong reach population. Analyses of 132 RAPD loci suggested that genetic variation between populations was significant, though values of different F-ST were not very high. The results revealed low genetic diversity and the beginning of population differentiation, suggesting that Tang River population should be designated as a separate Management Unit.

Prediction and elucidation of the population dynamics of Microcystis spp. in Lake Dianchi (China) by means of artificial neural networks

Lake Dianchi is a shallow and turbid lake, located in Southwest China. Since 1985, Lake Dianchi has experienced severe cyanabacterial blooms (dominated by Microcystis spp.). In extreme cases, the algal cell densities have exceeded three billion cells per liter. To predict and elucidate the population dynamics ofMicrocystis spp. in Lake Dianchi, a neural network based model was developed. The correlation coefficient (R 2) between the predicted algal concentrations by the model and the observed values was 0.911. Sensitivity analysis was performed to clarify the algal dynamics to the changes of environmental factors. The results of a sensitivity analysis of the neural network model suggested that small increases in pH could cause significantly reduced algal abundance. Further investigations on raw data showed that the response of Microcystis spp. concentration to pH increase was dependent on algal biomass and pH level. When Microcystis spp. population and pH were moderate or low, the response of Microcystis spp. population would be more likely to be positive in Lake Dianchi; contrarily, Microcystis spp. population in Lake Dianchi would be more likely to show negative response to pH increase when Microcystis spp. population and pH were high. The paper concluded that the extremely high concentration of algal population and high pH could explain the distinctive response of Microcystis spp. population to +1 SD (standard deviation) pH increase in Lake Dianchi. And the paper also elucidated the algal dynamics to changes of other environmental factors. One SD increase of water temperature (WT) had strongest positive relationship with Microcystis spp. biomass. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total phosphorus (TP) had strong positive effect on Microcystis spp. abundance while total nitrogen (TN), biological oxygen demand in five days (BOD5), and dissolved oxygen had only weak relationship with Microcystis spp. concentration. And transparency (Tr) had moderate positive relationship with Microcystis spp. concentration.

Population dynamics and maturation cycle of Camallanus cotti (Nematoda : Camallanidae) in the Chinese hooksnout carp Opsariichthys bidens (Osteichthyes : Cyprinidae) from a reservoir in China

The seasonal population dynamics and maturation cycle of the nematode Camallanus cotti in the posterior intestine of Chinese hooksnout carp Opsariichthys bidens have been studied in the Danjiangkou Reservoir of the Hubei Province in central China from September 2004 to November, 2005. The overall prevalence, mean abundance and intensity of C cotti among fish sampled (n = 700 fish) were 47%, 2.29 +/- 12.38 ( +/- S.D.) and 1-307 (average 4.89 +/- 17.74), respectively. The overall sexual ratio of female to male nematodes (excluding L3 and L4 juveniles) was 1.17:1. Statistical results showed weakly positive correlations betweerl fish length and the number of nematodes per host. The dynamics of infection of the nematode exhibited significant seasonal pattern in changes in mean abundance. A similar pattern was found for changes in nematode prevalence, although this was not statistically significant. Higher levels of infection were observed among fish sampled in summer months and the lower in the winter. Neither the prevalence nor the abundance of the parasite was significantly different between male and female hosts. The pattern of frequency distribution of the parasite in the host was found to be over-dispersed throughout the sampling period. In addition, studies on the development and maturation of the parasite in O. bidens revealed that development (maturation), recruitment of the next generation, and reproduction may be continuous year-round, although reproduction may peak during the winter. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microsatellite diversity and population genetic structure of redfin culter (Culter erythropterus) in fragmented lakes of the Yangtze River

Redfin culter (Culter erythropterus) is a small lethic freshwater fish and widely distributed in the adjacent lakes of the Yangtze River of China. Five microsatellite loci were applied to investigate the genetic variation and population structure of redfin culter from seven lakes in the middle-and-lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The gene diversity was high among the populations (H > 0.9), the average number of alleles among seven populations was low with a range from 2.00 to 3.87. The mean observed (H-O) and expected (H-E) heterozygosity ranged from 0.111 to 0.419 and from 0.162 to 0.750, respectively. Significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium expectation were found in 50% of the total locus-population combination tests in which heterozygote deficits were apparent. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that the percentage of variance among and within these populations were 6.18 and 93.82, respectively. The Fst values (0.062, P < 0.001) among studied populations indicated that there were significant genetic differentiations among redfin culture populations from the scattered lakes with different connections to the Yangtze River. These results are useful for the evaluation and conservation of small freshwater fishes. The factors that may be involved in low intra-population polymorphism and the pattern of the population genetic structure of redfin culter from the Yangtze River were discussed.

Using the moving window incorporated neural network to forecast the population behavior of Nostocales spp. in the River Darling, Australia

The paper demonstrates the nonstationarity of algal population behaviors by analyzing the historical populations of Nostocales spp. in the River Darling, Australia. Freshwater ecosystems are more likely to be nonstationary, instead of stationary. Nonstationarity implies that only the near past behaviors could forecast the near future for the system. However, nonstionarity was not considered seriously in previous research efforts for modeling and predicting algal population behaviors. Therefore the moving window technique was incorporated with radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) approach to deal with nonstationarity when modeling and forecasting the population behaviors of Nostocales spp. in the River Darling. The results showed that the RBFNN model could predict the timing and magnitude of algal blooms of Nostocales spp. with high accuracy. Moreover, a combined model based on individual RBFNN models was implemented, which showed superiority over the individual RBFNN models. Hence, the combined model was recommended for the modeling and forecasting of the phytoplankton populations, especially for the forecasting.

Population genetic structure of Carchesium polypinum (Ciliophora : Peritrichia) in four chinese lakes inferred from ISSR fingerprinting: High diversity but low differentiation

Although the peritrichous ciliate Carchesium polypinum is common in freshwater, its population genetic structure is largely unknown. We used inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) fingerprinting to analyze the genetic structure of 48 different isolates of the species from four lakes in Wuhan, central China. Using eight polymorphic primers, 81 discernible DNA fragments were detected, among which 76 (93.83%) were polymorphic, indicating high genetic diversity at the isolate level. Further, Nei's gene diversity (h) and Shannon's Information index (I) between the different isolates both revealed a remarkable genetic diversity, higher than previously indicated by their morphology. At the same time, substantial gene flow was found. So the main factors responsible for the high level of diversity within populations are probably due to conjugation (sexual reproduction) and wide distribution of swarmers. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that there was low genetic differentiation among the four populations probably due to common ancestry and flooding events. The cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that genotypes isolated from the same lake displayed a higher genetic similarity than those from different lakes. Both analyses separated C. polypinum isolates into subgroups according to the geographical locations. However, there is only a weak positive correlation between the genetic distance and geographical distance, suggesting a minor effect of geographical distance on the distribution of genetic diversity between populations of C. polypinum at the local level. In conclusion, our studies clearly demonstrated that a single morphospecies may harbor high levels of genetic diversity, and that the degree of resolution offered by morphology as a marker for measuring distribution patterns of genetically distinct entities is too low.

Population dynamics of the water mite Unionicola arcuata (Unionicolidae) in the freshwater bivalve Cristaria plicata (Unionidae) in Poyang Lake, eastern China

Population dynamics of the water mite Unionicola arcuata were investigated in the freshwater bivalve Cristaria plicata during the period from January to December 2002 in Poyang Lake, East China. A pattern of seasonal variation was observed, with prevalence and abundance peaking in early spring and autumn. The number of mites in individual hosts was significantly correlated with the size, but not with the sex, of bivalves. The change in infection level of mites on different infection sites in C. plicata was significant, with > 58% of the mites found on the outer and inner gills, indicating that U. arcuata shows site preference.

Population growth and physiological characteristics of microalgae in a miniaturized bioreactor during space flight

A strain of microalgae (Anabaena siamensis) had been cultured in a miniaturized bioreactor during a retrievable satellite flight for 15 days. By means of remote sensing equipment installed in the satellite, we gained the growth curve of microalgae population in space every day in real time. The curve indicated that the growth of microalgae in space was slower than the control on ground. Inoculation of the retrieved microalgae culture showed that the growth rate was distinctively higher than ground control. But after several generations, both cultures indicated similar growth rates. Those data showed that algae, can adapt to space environment easily which may be valuable for designing more complex bioreactor and controlled ecological life support system in future experiment. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Population genetic structure of an endemic cyprinid fish, Ancherythroculter nigrocauda, in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and its implication for conservation

Ancherythroculter nigrocauda is a cyprinid fish endemic to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, which has been reported to have 2 or 3 chambers to its air bladder. Morphological studies showed no differences between individuals with different types of air bladder, but did demonstrate geographical differences from different sources. After the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, it was expected that the population of this species would decrease, but artificial breeding and stocking is under consideration to protect this species from extinction. In the present study, mtDNA cytochrome b gene sequences were determined and analyzed for A. nigrocauda samples of different morphotypes and sources to identify their genetic differentiations, and thereby guide plans for the artificial propagation and conservation of this species. Haplotype diversity index values (h) and nucleotide diversity values (pi) for all the populations were found to be high indicating their high level genetic diversity. An analysis of molecular variance identified no differentiation among the studied populations. Therefore, we suggested that the individuals of different morphological types and geographical sources belong to the same species. To maintain its high level genetic diversity, it mill he necessary to use large and diverse sources of parental fish for artificial reproduction.

Ex situ conservation status of an endangered Yangtze finless porpoise population (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) as measured from microsatellites and mtDNA diversity

The Yangtze finless porpoise, Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis, is all endangered small cetacean that occurs only in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River of China. The establishment of a breeding population of the porpoise in Tian-e-Zhou Baiji National Natural Reserve represents the first attempt at ex situ conservation efforts for a cetacean species. With the goal of effective protection, management, and monitoring of this preserved population, we examined its genetic diversity using 930 bp of mtDNA control region sequences and 13 polymorphic microsatellite loci. A very low level of genetic variation (h = 0.6010 +/- 0.0029 s.d.; pi = 0.0007 +/- 0.0000002 s.d.) in the mtDNA control region sequences and a moderate genetic diversity (Ho = 0.5740 +/- 0.2575 s.d.) in the microsatellites were detected in the population. It is necessary to introduce more individuals with representative genetic variations into the reserve ill order to foml a larger and healthier group structure for long-term survival of the population. Successful establishment of the Yangtze finless porpoise population in the Reserve also provides a useful model for an ex situ conservation programme for other rare and endangered species. (c) 2005 International Council for the Exploration ofthe Sea. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A population of red-transparent, triploid Carassius auratus

A red-transparent population, distributed in Pingxiang of Jiangxi Province, was identified to be triploid Carassius auratus by DNA content measurement and chromosome analysis. Artificial propagation experiments indicated that the red-transparent triploid Carassius auratus could reproduce by gynogenesis. (c) 2005 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.