Summer feeding activities of zooplankton in Prydz Bay, Antarctica

Grazing of dominant zooplankton copepods (Calanoides acutus. and Metridia gerlachei), salps (Salpa thompsoni) and microzooplankton was determined during the austral summer of 1998/1999 at the seasonal ice zone of the Prydz Bay region. The objective was to measure the ingestion rates of zooplankton at the seasonal ice zone, so as to evaluate the importance of different groups of zooplankton in their grazing impact on phytoplankton standing stock and primary production. Grazing by copepods was low, and accounted for less than or equal to 1% of phytoplankton standing stocks and 3.8-12.5% of primary production for both species during this study, even the ingestion rates of individuals were at a high level compared with previous reports. S. thompsoni exhibited a relatively high grazing impact on primary production (72%) in the north of our investigation area. The highest grazing impact on phytoplankton was exerted by microzooplankton during this investigation, and accounted for 10-65% of the standing stock of phytoplankton and 34-100% of potential daily primary production. We concluded that microzooplankton was the dominant phytoplankton consumer in this study area. Salps also played an important role in control of phytoplankton where swarming occurred. The grazing of copepods had a relatively small effect on phytoplankton biomass development.

渤海湾地区前第三系构造特征及其演化研究

Based on fine structural interpretation on seismic profiles of buried-hills in Huanghua depression, structural interpretation and balanced cross-section restoration of regional seismic profiles, drawing structural maps of main seismic interfaces, residual strata distribution of different ages in the Bohai Bay region and structural survey in the western Shandong uplifted area and the intracontinental orogeny of Yanshan mountain, the paper has studied pre-tertiary structural styles and tectonic evolution of the Bohai Bay region. There mainly develop 5 types of pre-tertiary structural style that are extension structure, compression structure, strike-slip structure, negative inversion structure and sliding structure in the Bohai Bay region. Among these 5 types of structural style, extension structure develops detachment fault and its controlling fault terrain structure and fault break slop; compression structure develops reverted fold, fault propagation fold, fault bent fold, imbricate thrust structure and triangle zone; strike-slip structure develops positive flower structure, negative flower structure, en-echelon structure and brush structure; negative reversion structure develops Indosinian compression and Yanshanian extension negative reversion structure, late Yanshanian compression and Cenozoic extension negative reversion structure; sliding structure develops interlayer sliding structure and detachment structure. According to Cangdong fault of SN direction, Zhangjiakou – Penglai fault and Qihe – Guangrao fault of NWW direction, the Bohai Bay region can be divided into 6 sub-regions in which structural direction and style is different from each other. Structural maps of bottom boundary of Cenozoic and upper Paleozoic manifest that main NNE structural direction is formed from late Yanshanian to Himalayan movement and minor NWW structural direction and a string of area more than 8000m are mainly suggest that Indosinian tectonic pattern strongly influence on Yanshanian and Himalayan movement. Residual strata distribution characteristics of middle to upper Neoproterozoic in the Bohai Bay region manifest that middle- to neo- aulacogen position may be corresponding to late Mesozoic uplifted zone. Residual Paleozoic distribution characteristics of main ENN suggest that structural alteration should be resulted from late Yanshanian to Himalayan movement while which of minor NWW structures suggest that deeper structure should restrict shallower structure. Structural patterns of main EW fold direction in the Bohai Bay region and thrust structure in eastern part are formed late Triassic in studied area. Granite magma intrusion of early to middle Jurassic mainly develops Yanshan mountain zone. Late Mesozoic rifting basins of NEE direction are widely distributed in the Bohai Bay region and granite magma intrusions are mainly distributed in Tancheng – Rongcheng zone. Mesozoic structural evolution in the Bohai Bay region is related to scissor convergent from east to west between North China plate and Yangtze plate and gradually reinforcing of the west circum-pacific tectonic tract while basin and range province of late Jurassic and early Cretaceous may be mainly related to lithospheric thinning of North China craton in late Mesozoic.

Spatial analysis for spring bloom and nutrient limitation in Xiangxi bay of three Gorges Reservoir

The spatial and temporal dynamics of physical variables, inorganic nutrients and phytoplankton chlorophyll a were investigated in Xiangxi Bay from 23 Feb. to 28 Apr. every six days, including one daily sampling site and one bidaily sampling site. The concentrations of nutrient variables showed ranges of 0.02-3.20 mg/L for dissolved silicate (Si); 0.06-2.40 mg/L for DIN (NH4N + NO2N + NO3N); 0.03-0.56 mg/L for PO4P and 0.22-193.37 mu g/L for chlorophyll a, respectively. The concentration of chlorophyll a and inorganic nutrients were interpolated using GIS techniques. The results indicated that the spring bloom was occurred twice in space during the whole monitoring period (The first one: 26 Feb.-23 Mar.; the second one: 23 Mar.-28 Apr.). The concentration of DIN was always high in the mouth of Xiangxi Bay, and PO4P was high in the upstream of Xiangxi Bay during the whole bloom period. Si seems no obvious difference in space in the beginning of the spring bloom, but showed high heterogeneity in space and time with the development of spring bloom. By comparing the interpolated maps of chlorophyll a and inorganic variables, obvious consumptions of Si and DIN were found when the bloom status was serious. However, no obvious depletion of PO4P was found. Spatial regression analysis could explained most variation of Chl-a except at the begin of the first and second bloom. The result indicated that Si was the factor limiting Chl-a in space before achieved the max area of hypertrophic in the first and second bloom period. When Si was obviously exhausted, DIN became the factor limiting the Chl-a in space. Daily and bidaily monitoring of Site A and B, representing for high DIN: PO4P ratio and low DIN:PO4P ratio, indicated that the concentration of Si was decreased with times at both site A and B, and the dramatically drop of DIN was found in the end monitoring at site B. Multiple stepwise regression analysis indicated that Si was the most important factor affect the development of spring bloom both at site A and B in time series.

Genetic linkage map of bay scallop, Argopecten irradians irradians (Lamarck 1819)

The bay scallop (Argopecten irradians irradians Lamarck 1819) has become one of the most important aquaculture species in China. Genetic improvement of cultured bay scallop can benefit greatly from a better understanding of its genome. In this study, we developed amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) and simple sequence repeat markers from expressed sequence tags (EST-SSRs) for linkage analysis in bay scallop. Segregation of 390 AFLP and eight SSR markers was analysed in a mapping population of 97 progeny. Of the AFLP markers analysed, 326 segregated in the expected 1:1 Mendelian ratio, while the remaining 74 (or 19.0%) showed significant deviation, with 33 (44.6%) being deficient in heterozygotes (A/a). Among the eight polymorphic EST-SSR loci, one marker (12.5%) was found skewing from its expected Mendelian ratios. Eighteen per cent of the markers segregating from female parent were distorted compared with 21% of the markers segregating from male parent. The female map included 147 markers in 17 linkage groups (LGs) and covered 1892.4 cM of the genome. In the male map, totally 146 AFLP and SSR markers were grouped in 18 LGs spanning 1937.1 cM. The average inter-marker spacing in female and male map was 12.9 and 13.3 cM respectively. The AFLP and SSR markers were distributed evenly throughout the genome except for a few large gaps over 20 cM. Although preliminary, the genetic maps presented here provide a starting point for the mapping of the bay scallop genome.

Molecular cloning and immune responsive expression of a novel C-type lectin gene from bay scallop Argopecten irradians

C-type lectins are Ca2+-dependent carbohydrate-recognition proteins that play crucial roles in innate immunity. The cDNA of C-type lectin (AiCTL1) in the bay scallop Argopecten irradians was cloned by expressed sequence tag (EST) and RACE techniques. The full-length cDNA of AiCTL1 was 660 bp, consisting of a T-terminal. untranslated region (UTR) of 30 bp and a 3' UTR of 132 bp with a polyadenylation signal sequence AATAAA and a poly(A) tail. The AiCTL1 cDNA encoded a polypeptide of 166 amino acids with a putative signal peptide of 20 amino acid residues and a mature protein of 146 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of AiCTL1 was highly similar to those of the C-type lectins from other animals and contained a typical carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) of 121 residues, which has four conserved disulfide-bonded cysteine residues that define the CRD and two additional cysteine residues at the amino terminus. AiCTL1 mRNA was dominantly expressed in the hemocytes of the bay scallop. The temporal expression of AiCTL1 mRNA in hemocytes was increased by 5.7-and 4.9-fold at 6 h after injury and 8 h after injection of bacteria, respectively. The structural features, high similarity and expression pattern of AiCTL1 indicate that the gene may be involved in injury heating and the immune response in A. irradians. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular cloning and responsive expression to injury stimulus of a defender against cell death 1 (DAD1) gene from bay scallops Argopecten irradians

Apoptosis is an active process of cell death, which is an integral part of growth and development in multicellular organisms. The defender against cell death 1 (DAD1), the regulatory protein to inhibit the apoptosis process, was first cloned from the bay scallop Argopecten irradians by randomly sequencing a whole tissue cDNA library and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE). The full-length cDNA of the A. irradians DAD1 was 607 bp, consist of a 5'-terminal untranslated region (UTR) of 63 bp, a 3'-terminal UTR of 205 bp with a canonical polyadenylation signal sequence AATAAA and a poly (A) tail, and an open reading frame of 339 bp. The deduced amino acid sequence of the A. irradians DAD1 showed 75.5% identity to Araneus ventricosus, 74.5% to Drosophila melanogaster, and 73.6% to Homo sapiens, Sus scrofa, Mesocricetus auratus, Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus. Excluding the Saccharomyces cerevisiae DAD1 homologue, all animal DAD1 including A. irradians DAD1 homologue formed a subgroup and all plant DAD1 proteins formed another subgroup in the phylogenetic analysis. The A. irradians DAD1 was expressed in all examined tissues including adductor muscle, mantle, gills, digestive gland, gonad and hemolymph, suggesting that A. irradians DAD1 is expressed in most body tissues. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of A. irradians DAD1 gene of hemolymph were particularly high after injury, suggesting that the gene is responsive to injury stimuli.

The cDNA cloning and mRNA expression of heat shock protein 70 gene in the haemocytes of bay scallop (Argopecten irradians, Lamarck 1819) responding to bacteria challenge and naphthalin stress

Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is an important member of the heat shock protein superfamily, and it plays a key role in the process of protecting cells, facilitating the folding of nascent peptides and responding to stress. The cDNA of bay scallop Argopecten irradians HSP70 (designated AIHSP70) was cloned by the techniques of homological cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE). The full length of AIHSP70 cDNA was 2651 bp in length, having a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 96 bp, a 3' UTR of 575 bp, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 1980 bp encoding a polypeptide of 659 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 71.80 kDa and an estimated isoelectric point of 5.26. BLAST analysis revealed that the AIHSP70 gene shared high identity with other known HSP70 genes. Three classical HSP signature motifs were detected in AIHSP70 by InterPro, analysis. 3-D structural prediction of AIHSP70 showed that its N terminal ATPase activity domain and,C terminal substrate-binding domain shared high similarity with that in human heat shock protein 70. The results indicated that the AIHSP70 was a member of the heat shock protein 70 family. A semi-quantitive RT-PCR method was used to analyse the expression of AIHSP70 gene after the treatment of naphthalin which is one kind of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and the challenge of bacteria. mRNA expression of AIHSP70 in scallop was up-regulated significantly after the stimulation of naphthalin and increased with increasing naphthalin concentration. A clearly time-dependent expression pattern of AIHSP70 was observed after the scallops were infected by Vibrio anguillarum, and the mRNA expression reached a maximum level at 8 h and lasted to 16 h, and then dropped progressively. The results indicated that AIHSP70 could play an important role in mediating the environmental stress and immune response in scallop. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression of a novel serine proteinase inhibitor gene in bay scallops (Argopecten irradians, Lamarck 1819)

Serine protease inhibitors, critical regulators of endogenous proteases, are found in all multicellular organisms and play crucial roles in host physiological and immunological effector mechanisms. The first mollusk serine proteinase inhibitor (designated AISPI) cDNA was obtained from the bay scallop Argopecten irradians by randomly sequencing a whole tissue cDNA library and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full-length cDNA of the scallop serine protease inhibitor was 1020 bp, consisting of a 5'-terminal untranslated region (UTR) of 39 bp, a 3'-terminal UTR of 147 bp with a canonical polyadenylation signal sequence AATAAA and a poly(A) tail, and an open reading frame of 834 bp. The AISPI cDNA encoded a polypeptide of 278 amino acids with a putative signal peptide of 22 amino acids and a mature protein of 256 amino acids. The deduced amino-acid sequence of AISPI contained six tandem and homologous domains similar to that of Kazal-type serine protease inhibitors, including the conserved sequence C-X(7)-C-X(6)-Y-X(3)-C-X(2,3)-C and six cysteine residues responsible for the formation of disulfide bridges, indicating that the AISPI protein from bay scallop should be a member of the Kazal-type serine protease inhibitor family. The temporal expression of AISPI was measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR after injury or bacterial challenge. After the adductor muscle was wounded or injected with Vibrio anguillarum, the expression of AISPI mRNA in hemolymph was up-regulated and reached the maximum level at 8 and 16 h, respectively, and then progressively dropped back to the original level. The results indicated that AISPI could play an important role in injury healing and immune response in mollusks as it could be induced by injury and bacterial challenge. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical simulation of tides and tidal currents in Liaodong Bay with POM

A three-dimensional ocean circulation model, called Princeton Ocean Model (POM), is employed to simulate tides and tidal currents in Liaodong Bay. The nested grid technique is adopted to improve the computation precision. Computed harmonic constants of M-1, M-2 tides at five tidal gauge stations and surface elevations at two oil platforms are compared with those observed, and show good agreements with them. Based on the calculated results, the co-amplitude and co-phase tag lines of nil and M-2 tidal constituents, the residual current field of M-2 constituent, tidal form, tidal Current ellipse and the moving style of tidal current are given. It is found that diurnal tidal constituents have no amphidromic point whereas semi-diurnal constituents have one in the region of interest. Meanwhile, some meaningful results are concluded and presented, which are conducive to a thorough knowledge of the characteristics of tides and tidal currents in the Liaodong Bay.

Ecological environment changes in Daya Bay, China, from 1982 to 2004

Data collected from 12 marine monitoring stations in Daya Bay from 1982 to 2004 reveal a substantial change in the ecological environment of this region. The average N/P ratio increased from 1.377 in 1985 to 49.09 in 2004. Algal species changed from 159 species of 46 genera in 1982 to 126 species of 44 genera in 2004. Major zooplankton species went from 46 species in 1983 to 36 species in 2004. The annual mean biomass of benthic animals was recorded at 123.10 gm(2) in 1982 and 126.68 g m(2) in 2004. Mean biomass and species of benthic animals near nuclear power plants ranged froth 317.9 g m(2) in 1991 to 45.24 g m(2) in 2004 and from 250 species in 1991 to 177 species in 2004. A total of 12-19 species of hermatypic corals and 13 species of mangrove plants were observed in Daya Bay from 1984 to 2002. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The behaviors and sources of dissolved arsenic and antimony in Bohai Bay

In this paper, we determined the concentrations of antimony species (antimonite (Sb(III)), antimonate (Sb(V)) and dissolved inorganic antimony (DISb)) and arsenic, in Bohai Bay seawaters, as well as the relationships of the analytes with environmental factors such as seawater characteristics (e.g., suspended particulate material (SPM), salinity and total organic carbon (TOC)), heavy metals, nutrients and phytoplankton species, and evaluated the sources of arsenic and antimony. Dissolved arsenic and antimony concentrations in the surface waters were ranging spatially from 1.03 to 1.26 ng/ml and 0.386 to 1.075 ng/ml, with mean values of 1.18 and 0.562 ng/ml, respectively. Sb(V) as the prominent chemical species constituted about 89%. Regarding arsenic concentrations in the surface waters, there was a tendency for a small variation. However, antimony species concentrations were much variable than arsenic. The highest arsenic and antimony concentrations were found near the Haihe Estuary. These distribution patterns were controlled mainly by environmental factors, biological activities and sources. In this region, DISb and Sb(V) negatively correlated with salinity. Besides, arsenic and antimony correlated well with the nutrients, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton, implying that arsenic and antimony had been involved in biological cycling. In addition, according to our estimate, about 333.5 x 10(8) mg/year of arsenic and 454.2 x 10(8) mg/year of antimony reached Bohai Bay via rivers. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cloning, characterization, and expression analysis of extracellular copper/zinc superoxide dismutase gene from bay scallop Argopecten irradians

Extracellular superoxide dismutase (ECSOD) is a major extracellular antioxidant enzyme that protects organs from damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). We cloned a novel ECSOD from the bay scallop Argopecten irradians (AiECSOD) by 3' and 5' RACE. The full-length cDNA of AiECSOD was 893 bp with a 657 bp open reading frame encoding 218 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence contained a putative signal peptide of 20 amino acids, and sequence comparison showed that AiECSOD had low degree of homology to ECSODs of other organisms. The genomic length of the AiECSOD gene was about 5276 bp containing five exons and six introns. The promoter region contained many putative transcription factor binding sites such as c-Myb, Oct-1, Sp1, Kruppel-like, c-ETS, NF kappa B, GATA-1, AP-1, and Ubx binding sites. Furthermore, tissue-specific expressions of AiECSOD and temporal expressions of AiECSOD in haemocytes of bay scallops challenged with bacteria Vibrio anguillarum were quantified using qRT-PCR. High levels of expression were detected in haemocytes, but not in gonad and mantle. The expression of AiECSOD reached the highest level at 12 h post-injection with V. anguillarum and then returned to normal between 24 h and 48 h post-injection. These results indicated that AiECSOD was an inducible protein and that it may play an important role in the immune responses against V anguillarum. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intracellular copper/zinc superoxide dismutase from bay scallop Argopecten irradians: Its gene structure, mRNA expression and recombinant protein

Superoxide dismutases are an ubiquitous family of enzymes that function to efficiently catalyze the dismutation of superoxide anions. Two unique and highly compartmentalized bay scallop Argopecten irradians superoxide dismutases: MnSOD and ecCuZnSOD, have been molecularly characterized in our previous study. To complete characterize the SOD family in A. irradians, a novel intracellular copper/zinc SOD from the A. irradians (Ai-icCuZnSOD) was obtained and characterized. The full-length cDNA of Ai-icCuZnSOD was 1047 bp with a 459 bp open reading frame encoding 152 amino acids. The genomic length of the Ai-icCuZnSOD gene was about 4279 bp containing 4 exons and 3 introns. The promoter region containing many putative transcription factor binding sites were analyzed. Furthermore, quantitative reverse transcriptase real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that the highest expression of the Ai-icCuZnSOD was detected in gill and the expression profiles in hemocytes of bay scallops challenged with bacteria Vibrio anguillarum and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were different. The result presented an increased expression after injection with LPS whereas no significant changes were observed after V. anguillarum injection. A fusion protein containing Ai-icCuZnSOD was produced in vitro. The rAi-icCuZnSOD is a stable enzyme, retaining more than 80% of its activity between 10 and 60 degrees C and keeping above 88% of its activity at pH values between 5.8 and 9. Ai-icCuZnSOD is more stable under alkaline than acidic conditions. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic mapping of size-related quantitative trait loci (QTL) in the bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) using AFLP and microsatellite markers

We constructed genetic linkage maps for the bay scallop Argopecten irradians using AFLP and microsatellite markers and conducted composite interval mapping (CIM) of body-size-related traits. Three hundred seventeen AFLP and 10 microsatellite markers were used for map construction. The female parent map contained 120 markers in 15 linkage groups, spanning 479.6 cM with an average interval of 7.0 cM. The male parent map had 190 markers in 17 linkage groups, covering 883.8 cM at 7.2 cM per marker. The observed coverage was 70.4% for the female and 81.1% for the male map. Markers that were distorted toward the same direction were closely linked to each other on the genetic maps, suggesting the presence of genes important for survival. Six size-related traits, shell length, shell height, shell width, total weight, soft tissue weight, and shell weight, were measured for QTL mapping. The size data were significantly correlated with each other. We subjected the data, log transformed firstly, to a principle component analysis and use the first principle component for QTL mapping. CIM analysis revealed one significant QTL (LOD=2.69, 1000 permutation, P<0.05) in linkage group 3 on the female parent map. The mapping of size-related QTL in this study raises the possibility of improving the growth of bay scallops through marker-assisted selection. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.