Although reactive oxygen species (ROS) are inevitable by-products of many redox reactions in eukaryotic cells, they play a crucial role as signaling molecules in many cellular processes for development and defense response to abiotic stresses. The biphasic ROS production which was peaked twice in a first transient phase and a second massive phase was occurred after treatment of abiotic stress such as oxidative stress, high salinity. This biphasic generation of ROS was followed by the biphasic production of stress hormone, ethylene. The mechanism of interactions between ROS and ethylene biosynthesis is studied in tobacco (Nicotiana tabaccum L.) plants under the abiotic stresses. The stress-induced ethylene production was significantly inhibited in RbohD-AS and RbohF-AS, in which antisense expression of NADPH oxidase genes was performed. The accumulation of ROS, which was determined by DAB and DCFH-DA staining, was significantly decreased after abiotic stresses in transgenic plants. The suppression of signaling with ethylene and ROS induced more tolerance in response to abiotic stress. The transgenic plants were more tolerant in MS medium supplemented with salinity stress in contrast with wild-type. Stress-induced cell damage determined by DNA fragmentation was decreased at phase II in those transgenic plants. Therefore, the first burst of ROS is more responsible for making a role as a signaling molecule during stress-induced response. These results suggested that ethylene and ROS act in a positive feedback cycle that results in mutual enhancement of ethylene and ROS production during stress-induced cell death.

This study investigated the effects of dietary inclusion of sea mud on growth and body composition of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. In experiment 1, three experimental diets containing sea mud at the level of 0, 30 and 60% were prepared. After feeding trial for 7 weeks, survival was not significantly different among groups. Final mean weight of sea cucumber fed the experimental diet without sea mud supplementation was significantly higher than that of sea cucumber fed the diet containing 30 and 60% sea mud. In experiment 2, three experimental diets containing sea mud at the levels of 0, 15 and 30% were prepared. After feeding trial for 19 weeks, survival was not significantly different among groups. Final mean weight of sea cucumber fed the diet without sea mud supplementation was not significantly different from that of 15%, but was significantly higher than that of sea cucumber fed the diet containing 30% sea mud. It was concluded that dietary inclusion of sea mud may inhibit growth of sea cucumber.

The energy budget of the larvae of pandalid shrimp, Pandalopsis japonica, reared in the laboratory from zoea to post-larva was investigated. Energy used during the growth of the shrimp larvae was calculated daily for feeding, growth, molting, and metabolism. The total energy used was 16.2 J for the entire larval stage. Molting energy loss was estimated at a total 1.03 J. Energy used for respiration was estimated at a total of 1.85 J. The intake energy by feeding reached a total of 77.69 J. The total sum of energies used by excretion and egestion was 58.61 J. Larvae assimilated 24.57% of ingested food and used 84.91% for somatic growth. The gross growth efficiency (K 1 ) was 22.19% for the entire larval stage, and the net growth efficiency (K 2 ) was 90.31%. Maintenance costs were estimated at 9.69% of assimilated energy for the entire larval stage.

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A comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity and relationship of the cold-water fishery walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), the most abundant economically important fishery resource in the East sea of Korea, has not been carried out, despite its importance in Korea. The present study assessed the genetic diversity and relationship between five walleye pollock populations (Korean population, Russian population, USA population, and Japanese populations) of T. chalcogramma using eight microsatellite DNA (msDNA) markers to provide the scientific data for the preservation and management of the Pollock fishery resource. The results of the analysis of 186 individuals of the Pollock revealed a range of 7.13-10.63 numbers of alleles (mean number of alleles=9.05). The means of observed heterozygosity (HO), expected heterozygosity (HE) were 0.732 and 0.698, respectively. The results of genetic distance, Pairwise FST, UPGMA (UPGMA: un-weighted pair-group method with an arithmetical average) (the phylogenetic tree), PCA (PCA: Principal Coordinate analysis) analysis pointed to significant differences between the Korean population, Russian population, USA population, and Japanese populations, although small (p<0.05). These results shed light on the genetic diversity and relationships of T. chalcogramma and can be utilized for research on the evaluation and conservation of Korean T. chalcogramma as genetic resources.Key words : Genetic diversity, microsatellite, relationship, Theragra chalcogramma *Corresponding author *Tel : +82-51-720-2467, Fax : +82-51-720-2456 *E-mail : ocean0629@korea.kr This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.