Mercury content and fatty acids in muscles of Perca fluviatilis L. (European perch), Leuciscus idus L. (ide), Cyprinus carpio L. (European or common carp), Oncorhynchus mykiss Walb. (rainbow trout), Platichthys flesus L. (European flounder). and Clupea harengus L. (bream) from the Polish market were investigated. The total mercury was processed with AAS. The fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography. The concentration of mercury in muscles varied from 0.006 to 0.138 mg/kg and decreased as follows: perch ≈ ide > flounder > herring ≈ bream ≈ rainbow trout > carp (p ≤ 0.05). There were only significant positive correlations between body weight and mercury content in muscle tissue of carp (r = 0.878), flounder (r = 0.925) and herring (r = 0.982) (p ≤ 0.05). The atherogenic index (AI), thrombogenicity index (TI) and flesh-lipid quality index (FLQ) were calculated as follows 0.33–0.70 (IA), 0.16–0.31 (IT) and 13.01–33.22 (FLQ). Hypocholesterolemic (OFA) and hypercholesterolemic fatty acids (DFA) in muscles of fish ranged from 18.26 to 23.01 and from 73.91 to 78.46, respectively. In most cases, there were not significant correlations between size (body weight and total length) and fatty acids in the muscles of the examined fish (p > 0.05). The Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) values were below 1, which shows that there is no non-carcinogenic health risk to the consumer by consuming the examined fish.

The purpose of this work was to quantify the impact of spontaneous and X-radiation-induced chromosome rearrangements on survival rate of androgenetic rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Various doses of X irradiation (50, 150, 250, 350 Gy) were used for inactivation of nuclear DNA in oocytes. After the irradiation, eggs were inseminated with normal sperm from 4 males derived from a strain characterized by Robertsonian rearrangements and length polymorphism of the Y chromosome. The haploid zygotes were exposed to a high hydrostatic pressure (7000 psi) to duplicate the paternal DNA. Neither Robertsonian chromosome polymorphism nor the Y chromosome morphology impaired the viability of the androgenetic embryos and alevins. Moreover, survival of eyed embryos of the androgenetic rainbow trout increased significantly with increasing doses of oocyte X irradiation. After 6 months of rearing, only specimens from the 250 and 350 Gy variants survived. The number of fingerlings with remnants of the maternal genome in the forms of chromosome fragments was higher in the 250 Gy group. Intraindividual variation of chromosome fragment number was observed, and some individuals exhibited haploid/diploid mosaicism and body malformations. Individuals irradiated with less than 250 Gy died, presumably because of the conflict between intact paternally derived chromosomes and the residues of maternal genome in the form of chromosome fragments.

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The eel is a catadromous fish which spends most of its life in freshwater and adults swim to the Sargasso Sea region to spawn. While preparing for the reproductive process, eels undergo a metamorphosis to become what is called silver eel; a process involving changes in the colour and weight of the body and an increase in the eye size. These are indicators of fish maturity and they facilitate the selection of fish for reproduction under controlled conditions. During this study, changes in the body weight (BW) and eye size in female European eel were observed while being given weekly hormonal injections of 20 mg kg -1 carp pituitary homogenate and kept in 15°C freshwater and in 15°C saltwater with a salinity of 32-33‰. Fish kept in saltwater but not subjected to hormonal stimulation were used as a control group. Furthermore, after the experiment was finished, females in the control group were kept for next 5 months, with the same environmental parameters maintained. Differences between the treated groups were observed as early as week 4 of the experiment. An increase in fish BW was observed in fish kept both in salt and freshwater which were subjected to hormonal stimulation. On the other hand, changes in eye size were observed in the fish kept in saltwater, both in those hormonally stimulated and otherwise. The eye diameter in the fish kept in fresh after hormonal stimulation did not change significantly.

This study compared changes in the biochemical composition of muscles and ovaries of maturing female European eels during hormonal stimulation with carp pituitary homogenate under controlled conditions and in the development of oocytes. It has been found that differentiation of oocyte size in eel is visible from the beginning of the gamete maturation process. This differentiation increases as gonads grow. Furthermore, oocytes are at different development stages and are still highly differentiated in terms of size during ovulation. Moreover, the biochemical composition of the body and gonads was found to change. During the process of maturation, the relative fat content in the eel body decreases both in the muscles (from 21.99 ± 4.3 to 18.48 ± 3.3 %) and in gonads (from 25.76 ± 2.71 to 15.21 ± 4.7 %), with the changes in ovaries being more rapid. Protein content in muscles also decreased (from 15.98 ± 3.13 to 12.35 ± 1.6 %) during the process of female maturation. Different trends were observed for polyunsaturated fatty acids (EPA and DHA). The total amount of these acids decreased in muscles (P \ 0.05) but increased in ovaries (P [ 0.05).

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The effect of burbot weight (BW) and length (TL) on the efficiency of weaning under controlled conditions was investigated. Growth, survival rate, cannibalism and histological analysis of digestive tract were examined. The experiment lasted 49 days (40-89 days post hatch [DPH]). The fish (BW 0.12 g; TL 14.1 mm) were divided into four groups: a control group (C) exclusively fed Artemia sp. nauplii and groups F40, F47 and F54 that were weaned to dry feed on 40, 47 and 54 DPH, respectively. The highest survival rate was observed in groups C (78%) and F54 (58%). In group F54, similar TL (53.8 mm) and higher BW (1.36 g) at the end of experiment, in comparison with group C (43.9 mm, 0.84 g for TL and BW, respectively), were obtained. At the end of the experiment, the length of enterocytes in groups C and F54 was at a similar level (over 23 lm), whereas in group F47 was significantly lower (approximately 20 lm; P < 0.05). This study for the first time presents successful weaning of the burbot. The data indicate that live food should be offered until the fish reach 25 mm and 0.20 g.

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