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The study was conducted to assess the effects of salinity on growth and biochemical composition of freshwater catfish, Clarias batrachus. A static nonrenewable acute toxicity bioassay test was conducted and LC 50 of salinity for 96-h exposure to the fingerling (14.5 cm) was 12.52 %. Based on these results, two sublethal salinity levels, viz. 4 and 8 % were selected to study the long-term effects of salinity on C. batrachus for a period of 90 days. From the study, it was found that growth and survival rate were less in saline water (4 and 8 %). Maximum growth and survival were recorded in freshwater (0 % salinity) and subsequently at 4 and 8 %. To assess the biochemical alteration, few important biomarkers were estimated. At the end of 90 days rearing period, glucose level in the brain and blood of C. batrachus was found to decrease with salinity. The level of liver and muscle glycogen in the fish reared at 4 % was lower than that of control. Ascorbic acid in all organs under study was found to decrease with increasing salinity, which was attributed to stress mitigation effect of vitamin C. Acetylcholine esterase (AchE) activity recorded a gradual decrease with increasing salinity. Metabolic enzymes, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and adenosine triphosphosphtase (ATPase) activity also reduced both in liver and muscle tissues with increasing salinity. From the present investigation, it can be concluded that exposure to higher salinity significantly (P \ 0.01) affects the growth and physiological response of Clarias batrachus.

RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a powerful tool to manipulate gene expression in the laboratory. The presence of a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in eukaryotic cells triggers this post-transcriptional gene-silencing mechanism, leading to a sequence-specific degradation of the target mRNA. Among its many potential biomedical applications, silencing of viral genes stands out as a promising therapeutic strategy. Marine shrimp viral diseases, especially white spot disease (WSD), represents one of the most attractive targets for the development of therapeutic RNAi owing to its widespread economic impact. This review summarizes the current knowledge in the therapeutic application of RNAi for combating viral diseases in shrimp. The basic principles of RNAi are described, focusing on features important for its therapeutic manipulation. Subsequently, a stepwise strategy for the development of therapeutic RNAi is presented.KEY WORDS: RNAi therapy · Shrimp diseases · Small interfering RNA · siRNA · Long hairpin RNA · lhRNA Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 86: [263][264][265][266][267][268][269][270][271][272] 2009 exception of MSGS, are classified as OIE notifiable (OIE 2006). Among these, WSSV has had the greatest impact on shrimp farming and is currently considered the most important shrimp disease in terms of distribution and economic losses. Current therapeutic strategiesManaging viral diseases has been the greatest challenge to the shrimp industry because short-term strategies, such as the use of immunostimulants, bioremediators and probiotics, have their own limitations in terms of their efficacy, practicability, cost, and, above all, reproducibility. Unlike finfishes, the shrimps lack a developed adaptive immune system, which is a prerequisite for the development of any protein vaccines. Subunit vaccines (Witteveldt et al. 2004a(Witteveldt et al. ,b, 2006 have been reported to provide some degree of protection to shrimps from viral infection, but their field level potential is yet to be seen. In this scenario, RNAi, which seems to offer great promise in terms of treating human and animal diseases, is looked upon with great hope by shrimp health managers. ENDOGENOUS RNAi PATHWAYObservations were made in plants (Napoli et al. 1990, van der Krol et al. 1990) and nematodes (Lee et al. 1993),which hinted at the existence of the RNAi pathway years before double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules were identified as the key component of this evolutionarily conserved post-transcriptional silencing pathway in eukaryotic cells (Fire et al. 1998). Since then, we have witnessed significant advances in the understanding of how RNAi functions and identified several effective ways to manipulate it in the laboratory. Although a detailed account on the mechanistic aspects of RNAi is beyond the scope of this review and can be found elsewhere (Bartel 2004, Carmell & Hannon 2004, Cullen 2004, Meister & Tuschl 2004, Murchison & Hannon 2004, Du & Zamore 2005, Kim 20...

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The impacts of climate change are of particular concern to the coastal region of tropical countries like India, which are exposed to cyclones, floods, tsunami, seawater intrusion, etc. Climate-change adaptation presupposes comprehensive assessment of vulnerability status. Studies so far relied either on remote sensing-based spatial mapping of physical vulnerability or on certain socio-economic aspects with limited scope for upscaling or replication. The current study is an attempt to develop a holistic and robust framework to assess the vulnerability of coastal India at different levels. We propose and estimate cumulative vulnerability index (CVI) as a function of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, at the village level, using nationally comparable and credible datasets. The exposure index (EI) was determined at the village level by decomposing the spatial multi-hazard maps, while sensitivity (SI) and adaptive capacity indices (ACI) were estimated using 23 indicators, covering social and economic aspects. The indicators were identified through the literature review, expert consultations, opinion survey, and were further validated through statistical tests. The socio-economic vulnerability index (SEVI) was constructed as a function of sensitivity and adaptive capacity for planning grassroot-level interventions and adaptation strategies. The framework was piloted in Sindhudurg, a coastal district in Maharashtra, India. It comprises 317 villages, spread across three taluks viz., Devgad, Malvan and Vengurla. The villages in Sindhudurg were ranked based on this multi-criteria approach. Based on CVI values, 92 villages (30%) in Sindhudurg were identified as highly vulnerable. We propose a decision tool for identifying villages vulnerable to changing climate, based on their level of sensitivity and adaptive capacity in a two-dimensional matrix, thus aiding in planning location-specific interventions. Here, vulnerability indicators are classified and designated as 'drivers' (indicators with significantly high values and intervention priority) and 'buffers' (indicators with low-to-moderate values) at the village level. The framework provides for aggregation or decomposition of CVI and other sub-indices, in order to plan spatial contingency plans and enable swift action for climate adaptation.

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In this study, we characterize 18 cultivable bacteria associated within the mucus of the coral Fungia echinata from Andaman Sea, India. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that all the 18 strains isolated in this study from the coral mucus belong to the group Gammaproteobacteria and majority of them were identified as Vibrio core group. Our objective was to investigate the presence of the SXT/R391 integrating conjugative elements (ICEs) targeting integrase int(SXT) and SXT Hotspot IV genetic elements in these isolates. SXT/ICE initially reported in Vibrio cholerae contains many antibiotic and heavy metal resistance genes and acts as an effective tool for the horizontal transfer of resistance genes in other bacterial populations. Two of our strains, AN44 and AN60, were resistant to sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, chloramphenicol, and streptomycin, in addition to other antibiotics such as neomycin, ampicillin, rifampicin, and tetracycline. Using PCR followed by sequencing, we detected the SXT/ICE in these strains. The SXT integrase genes of AN44 and AN60 had a 99% and 100% identity with V. cholerae serogroup O139 strain SG24. This study provides the first evidence of the presence of SXT/R391 ICEs in Marinomonas sp. strain AN44 (JCM 18476(T) ) and Vibrio fortis strain AN60 (DSM 26067(T) ) isolated from the mucus of the coral F. echinata.