The complete mitochondrial genome of the Chinese hook snout carp Opsariichthys bidens (Actinopterygii : Cyprinifonnes) and an altemative pattem of mitogenomic evolution in vertebrate

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Chinese hook snout carp, Opsariichthys bidens, was newly determined using the long and accurate polymerase chain reaction method. The 16,611-nucleotide mitogenome contains 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes (12S, 16S) 22 tRNA genes, and a noncoding control region. We use these data and homologous sequence data from multiple other ostariophysan fishes in a phylogenetic evaluation to test hypothesis pertaining to codon usage pattern of O. bidens mitochondrial protein genes as well as to re-examine the ostariophysan phylogeny. The mitochondrial genome of O. bidens reveals an alternative pattern of vertebrate mitochondrial evolution. For the mitochondrial protein genes of O. bidens, the most frequently used codon generally ends with either A or C, with C preferred over A for most fourfold degenerate codon families; the relative synonymous codon usage of G-ending codons is greatly elevated in all categories. The codon usage pattern of O. bidens mitochondrial protein genes is remarkably different from the general pattern found previously in the relatively closely 9 related zebrafish and most other vertebrate mitochondria. Nucleotide bias at third codon positions is the main cause of codon bias in the mitochondrial protein genes of O. bidens, as it is biased particularly in favor of C over A. Bayesian analysis of 12 concatenated mitochondrial protein sequences for O. bidens and 46 other teleostean taxa supports the monophyly of Cypriniformes and Otophysi and results in a robust estimate of the otophysan phylogeny. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Morphological and genetic differences of Trypanosoma in some Chinese freshwater fishes: difficulties of species identification

Blood smears and purified trypanosome from freshwater fishes yellow catfish (Pseudobagras fulvidraco) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) captured from Niushan Lake, Hubei Province were examined to determine whether all of their trypanosomes were Trypanosoma pseudobagri, a species of supposed host specificity and widespread existence across China. Trypanosomes occurred in 16/16 blood smears, and morphometric character analysis of trypanosomes from these smears showed that there were three morphospecies, Trypanosoma sp Carpio, T. sp Pseudobagri, and T. sp. 18S rDNA sequences of trypanosomes from 16 samples revealed three genetic groups among these fish trypanosomes. Group 1 was from C. carpio containing T. sp Carpio; groups 2 and 3 were from P. fulvidraco containing T. sp Pseudobagri and T. sp, respectively. The high similarity of morphometric characters and 18S rDNA sequences showed that T. sp Carpio and T. siniperca probably were the same species. T. sp Pseudobagri was the first occurrence in China. Sequence comparison showed that T. sp Pseudobagri sequence was most similar to that of clone Marv, whereas T. sp sequence differ from those of T. sp Carpio and T. sp Pseudobagri by 5.4 and 5.8%, respectively, and tentatively identified as T. pseudobagri. It was concluded that three species of trypanosomes, at least three genotypes occur in Niushan Lake fishes, and P. fulvidraco in this region appear to contain both types, although the identification of T. pseudobagri remains a problem.

Driving forces shaping phytoplankton assemblages in two subtropical plateau lakes with contrasting trophic status

1. We studied driving forces shaping phytoplankton assemblages in two subtropical plateau lakes with contrasting trophic status, the oligotrophic deep Lake Fuxian and the eutrophic shallow Lake Xingyun. 2. Phytoplankton samples were taken monthly for a year and phytoplankton species were sorted into the main taxonomic groups and associations proposed by Reynolds. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to test the occurrence of these classification schemes and to determine their discriminatory power. 3. The results suggest that the major driving forces in Lake Fuxian were physical variables, and particularly the underwater light climate, whereas, nutrients were the important driving force in Lake Xingyun. 4. Top-down control through zooplankton grazing in Lake Fuxian was hardly ever a significant determinant itself, because of the scarcity of zooplankton and their low grazing efficiency of predation while a dominance of inedible cyanobacteria throughout the year rendered top-down controls ineffective failing in Lake Xingyun. Hence phytoplankton communities in both lakes appear to be regulated primarily by bottom-up controls.

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.

"Plateau"-related summary statistics are uninformative for comparing working memory models.

Performance on visual working memory tasks decreases as more items need to be remembered. Over the past decade, a debate has unfolded between proponents of slot models and slotless models of this phenomenon (Ma, Husain, Bays (Nature Neuroscience 17, 347-356, 2014). Zhang and Luck (Nature 453, (7192), 233-235, 2008) and Anderson, Vogel, and Awh (Attention, Perception, Psychophys 74, (5), 891-910, 2011) noticed that as more items need to be remembered, "memory noise" seems to first increase and then reach a "stable plateau." They argued that three summary statistics characterizing this plateau are consistent with slot models, but not with slotless models. Here, we assess the validity of their methods. We generated synthetic data both from a leading slot model and from a recent slotless model and quantified model evidence using log Bayes factors. We found that the summary statistics provided at most 0.15 % of the expected model evidence in the raw data. In a model recovery analysis, a total of more than a million trials were required to achieve 99 % correct recovery when models were compared on the basis of summary statistics, whereas fewer than 1,000 trials were sufficient when raw data were used. Therefore, at realistic numbers of trials, plateau-related summary statistics are highly unreliable for model comparison. Applying the same analyses to subject data from Anderson et al. (Attention, Perception, Psychophys 74, (5), 891-910, 2011), we found that the evidence in the summary statistics was at most 0.12 % of the evidence in the raw data and far too weak to warrant any conclusions. The evidence in the raw data, in fact, strongly favored the slotless model. These findings call into question claims about working memory that are based on summary statistics.

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the highly specialized grade schizothoracine fishes (Teleostei : Cyprinidae) inferred from cytochrome b sequences

We recovered the phylogenetic relationships among 23 species and subspecies of the highly specialized grade schizothoracine fishes distributing at 36 geographical sites in the Tibetan Plateau and its Surrounding regions by analyzing sequences of cytochrome b genes. Furthermore, we estimated the possible divergent times among lineages based on a historical geological isolation event in the Tibetan Plateau. The molecular data revealed that the highly specialized grade schizothoracine fishes were not a monophyletic group, but were the same as genera Gymnocypris and Schizogypsis. Our results indicated that the molecular phylogenetic relationships apparently reflected their geographical and historical associations with drainages, namely species from the same and adjacent drainages clustered together and had close relationships. The divergence times of different lineages were well consistent with the rapid uplift phases of the Tibetan Plateau in the late Cenozoic, suggesting that the origin and evolution of schizothoracine fishes were strongly influenced by environment changes resulting from the upheaval of the Tibetan Plateau.

Acoustic signals of Chinese alligators (Alligator sinensis): Social communication

This paper reports the first systematic study of acoustic signals during social interactions of the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis). Sound pressure level (SPL) measurements revealed that Chinese alligators have an elaborate acoustic communication system with both long-distance signal-bellowing-and short-distance signals that include tooting, bubble blowing, hissing, mooing, head slapping and whining. Bellows have high SPL and appear to play an important role in the alligator's long range intercommunion. Sounds characterized by low SPL are short-distance signals used when alligators are in close spatial proximity to one another. The signal spectrographic analysis showed that the acoustic signals of Chinese alligators have a very low dominant frequency, less than 500 Hz. These frequencies are consistent with adaptation to a habitat with high density vegetation. Low dominant frequency sound attenuates less and could therefore cover a larger spatial range by diffraction in a densely vegetated environment relative to a higher dominant frequency sound. (C) 2007 Acoustical Society of America.

Phylogenetic relationships of the Chinese sisorid catfishes: a nuclear intron versus mitochondrial gene approach

Several recent molecular phylogenetic studies of the sisorid catfishes (Sisoridae) have challenged some aspects of their traditional taxonomy and cladistic hypotheses of their phylogeny. However, disagreement with respect to relationships within this family in these studies highlights the need for additional data and analyses. Here we subjected 15 taxa representing 12 sisorids genera to comprehensive phylogenetic analyses using the second intron of low-copy nuclear S7 ribosomal protein (rpS7) gene and the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene segments both individually and in combination. The competing sisorid topologies were then tested by using the approximately unbiased (AU) test and the Shimodaira-Hasegawa (SH) test. Our results support previously suggested polyphyly of Pareuchiloglanis. The genus Pseudecheneis is likely to be nested in the glyptosternoids and Glaridoglanis might be basal to the tribe Glyptosternini. However, justified by AU and SH test, the sister-group relationship between Pseudecheneis and the monophyletic glyptosternoids cannot be rejected based on the second intron of rpS7 gene and combined data analyses. It follows that both gene segments are not suitable for resolving the phylogenetic relationships within the sisorid catfishes. Overall, the second intron of rpS7 gene yielded poor phylogenetic performance when compared to 16S rRNA gene, the evolutionary hypothesis of which virtually agreed with the combined data analyses tree. This phenomenon can be explained by the insufficient length and fast saturation of substitutions in the second intron of rpS7 gene, due to substitution patterns such as frequent indels (insertion/deletion events) of bases in the sequences during the evolution.

Bioaccumulation of the hepatotoxic microcystins in various organs of a freshwater snail from a subtropical Chinese lake, Taihu lake, with dense toxic microcystis blooms

In this paper, we describe the seasonal dynamics of three common microcystins (MCs MC-RR, MC-YR, and MC-LR) in the whole body, hepatopancreas, intestine, gonad, foot, remaining tissue, and offspring of a freshwater snail, Bellamya aeruginosa, from Gonghu Bay of Lake Taihu, China, where dense toxic Microcystis blooms occur in the warm seasons. Microcystins were determined by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrum. Microcystin (MC-RR + MC-YR + MC-LR) content of the offspring and gonad showed high positive correlation, indicating that microcystins could transfer from adult females to their young with physiological connection. This study is the first to report the presence of microcystins in the offspring of the adult snail. The majority of the toxins were present in the intestine (53.6%) and hepatopancreas (29.9%), whereas other tissues contained only 16.5%. If intestines are excluded, up to 64.3% of the toxin burden was allocated in the hepatopancreas. The microcystin content in the intestine, hepatopancreas, and gonad were correlated with the biomass of Microcystis and intracellular and extracellular toxins. Of the analyzed foot samples, 18.2% were above the tolerable daily microcystin intake recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for human consumption. This result indicates that public health warnings regarding human ingestion of snails from Taihu Lake are warranted. In addition, further studies are needed to evaluate the occurrence by Microcystis in relation to spatial and temporal changes in water quality.

Isolation and characterization of 18 polymorphic microsatellite markers in Chinese mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky)

Eighteen microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized using an enrichment protocol in the Chinese mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi (Basilewsky), a commercially important piscivorous fish in China. Out of 48 pairs of primers designed, 18 loci exhibited polymorphism with three to six alleles (mean 4.4 alleles/locus) and average observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.633 to 0.833 (mean 0.748) in a test population from Dongting Lake of China. Except for two loci, all other 16 loci were in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. These markers would be useful for such studies as population genetics, ecology and selective breeding of the Chinese mandarin fish in future.

Sorption, degradation and mobility of microcystins in Chinese agriculture soils: Risk assessment for groundwater protection

In the present paper, sorption, persistence, and leaching behavior of three microcystin variants in Chinese agriculture soils were examined. Based on this study, the values of capacity factor and slope for three MCs variants in three soils ranged from 0.69 to 6.00, and 1.01 to 1.54, respectively. The adsorption of MCs in the soils decreased in the following order: RR > Dha(7) LR > LR. Furthermore, for each MC variant in the three soils, the adsorption rate in the soils decreased in the following order: soil A > soil C > soil B. The calculated half-time ranged between 7.9 and 17.8 days for MC-RR, 6.0-17.1 days for MC-LR, and 7.1-10.2 days for MC-Dha(7) LR. Results from leaching experiments demonstrated that recoveries of toxins in leachates ranged from 0-16.7% for RR, 73.2-88.9% for LR, and 8.9-73.1% for Dha 7 LR. The GUS value ranged from 1.48 to 2.06 for RR, 1.82-2.88 for LR, and 1.76-2.09 for Dha(7) LR. Results demonstrated the use of cyanobacterial collections as plant fertilizer is likely to be unsafe in soils. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimated detection distance of a baiji's (Chinese river dolphin, Lipotes vexillifer) whistles using a passive acoustic survey method

Source levels and phonation intervals of whistles produced by a free-ranging baiji (Chinese river dolphin) were measured in the seminatural reserve of Shishou in Hubei, China. A total of 43 whistles were recorded over 12 recording sessions. The mean dominant frequency (the frequency at the highest energy) was 5.7 kHz (s.d.=0.67). The calculated source level was 143.2 dB rms re 1 mu Pa (s.d.=5.8). Most phonation intervals were shorter than 460 s, and the average interval was 205 s (s.d. = 254). Theoretical detection range of baiji's whistle was 6600 m at the present study site, but it could reduce a couple of hundred meters in practical noisy situation in the Yangtze River. Sporadic phonation (205 s interval on average) with relatively faint signal of baiji was considered, to be difficult to be detected by a towing hydrophone system. Stationed monitoring or slow speed towing of hydrophones along the river current is recommended. (c) 2006 Acoustical Society of America.

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.

Insecticide resistance in Chinese populations of the Culex pipiens complex through esterase overproduction

In most parts of China, mosquitoes have been subjected to organophosphate (OP) insecticide treatments since the mid-1960s, and resistance gene monitoring in the Culex pipiens complex (Diptera: Culicidae) started in only a few locations from the end of the 1980s. Many resistant alleles at the Ester locus have been found in field populations, including those commonly found around the world (Ester(B1) and Ester(2)), and those endemic to China (Ester(B6), Ester(B7), Ester(8), and Ester(9)). This situation is atypical, and may represent a complex situation for the evolution of insecticide resistance genes in China. To increase our understanding of the Chinese situation and our ability to manage resistance in the C. pipiens complex, a large study was performed. Twenty field populations were sampled from Beijing to Guangzhou. Bioassays with five insecticides (dichlorvos, parathion, chlorpyrifos, 2-sec-butylphenyl methyl carbamate, and propoxur) disclosed resistance levels variable according to the geographic origin, and up to 85-fold for dichlorvos. Six overproduced esterases were identified, including two that have not been previously described. Most of them were found in all samples, although at variable frequencies, suggesting variable selection or a transient situation, e.g., each one was recently restricted to a particular geographic area. The results are discussed in the context of recent alterations to insecticide campaigns, and of the evolution of resistance genes in Chinese C. pipiens populations.