We tried to elucidate how females of a paternal nest brooding goby Rhinogohius sp. OR deposit their eggs in a nest, using a marking technique for live eggs under laboratory conditions in which male somatic condition, nest space, and mating pattern (monogamous or bigamous) were controlled. Whether females rejected mating was independent of either male quality, such as body size and somatic condition, or nest space. In a situation in which two females were allowed to spawn sequentially with a male, however, females rejected mating at a higher rate when they were the first to spawn than when they were the second to spawn; this is because eggs from first females were more vulnerable to cannibalism by parental males and second females. Even when nest space was limited and thus was occupied by eggs from the first females, second females could deposit all their eggs in the nest by using the minute interspace of existing eggs. In the presence of the parental male, such a female seemed less likely to suffer a cost from increased egg mortality due to crowdedness, still holding the advantage of being the second spawner. Finally, we extrapolated the field breeding ecology of this fish from the laboratory data. It was suggested that a single monolayer brood of the same age usually consisted of eggs from multiple females and thus the mating pattern would be more polygynous than previously expected.
From an evolutionary perspective, the ancestors of cetaceans first lived in terrestrial environments prior to adapting to aquatic environments. Whereas anatomical and morphological adaptations to aquatic environments have been well studied, few studies have focused on physiological changes. We focused on plasma amino acid concentrations (aminograms) since they show distinct patterns under various physiological conditions. Plasma and urine aminograms were obtained from bottlenose dolphins, pacific white-sided dolphins, Risso's dolphins, false-killer whales and C57BL/6J and ICR mice. Hierarchical cluster analyses were employed to uncover a multitude of amino acid relationships among different species, which can help us understand the complex interrelations comprising metabolic adaptations. The cetacean aminograms formed a cluster that was markedly distinguishable from the mouse cluster, indicating that cetaceans and terrestrial mammals have quite different metabolic machinery for amino acids. Levels of carnosine and 3-methylhistidine, both of which are antioxidants, were substantially higher in cetaceans. Urea was markedly elevated in cetaceans, whereas the level of urea cycle-related amino acids was lower. Because diving mammals must cope with high rates of reactive oxygen species generation due to alterations in apnea/reoxygenation and ischemia-reperfusion processes, high concentrations of antioxidative amino acids are advantageous. Moreover, shifting the set point of urea cycle may be an adaption used for body water conservation in the hyperosmotic sea water environment, because urea functions as a major blood osmolyte. Furthermore, since dolphins are kept in many aquariums for observation, the evaluation of these aminograms may provide useful diagnostic indices for the assessment of cetacean health in artificial environments in the future.
The first densovirus from a cricket, Acheta domesticus densovirus (AdDNV) (Parvoviridae), was isolated in Europe in 1977 and has been studied previously. We compared seven additional AdDNV genomes isolated from 4 other European outbreaks, 2 major North American outbreaks, and a Japanese outbreak. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the 2009 Japanese and North American outbreaks were not related.
A novel circular single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) virus, volvovirus, from the house cricket has been described recently. Here, we report the isolation of volvoviruses from Acheta domesticus in Japan and Gryllus assimilis in the United States. These Acheta domesticus volvovirus (AdVVV) isolates have genomes of 2,517 and 2,516 nucleotides (nt) and 4 large open reading frames (ORFs).
Mycobacterium montefiorense is a member of the Mycobacterium simiae complex, the largest group of nontuberculous mycobacteria. Here, we report the genome sequence of M. montefiorense isolate BS, isolated from diseased Japanese black salamander (Hynobius nigrescens) reared in an aquarium in Japan. This is the first reported case of an M. montefiorense infection in an amphibian.
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