Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences
Volume:16 Issue: 1, Jan 2017

The fouling barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus is a cosmopolitan biomonitor of trace metal bioavailability in coastal waters of reduced salinity such as estuaries or the Baltic Sea. Bioavailability of Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn to A. improvisus was investigated in July 2014 at 15 sites along the Iranian coast of the understudied, yet biologically unique, Caspian Sea. In general, the bioavailability of these toxic metals in the water column, as biomonitored by the barnacle, was within the typical ranges expected from data available in the literature. Thus, there were no major environmental concerns raised. Nevertheless increased Cu and Zn were locally bioavailable at one site, perhaps associated with shrimp farming activities, and of Mn at another, probably from an industrial source. It is vital that the degree of contamination of the largest continental body of water in the world, particularly a water body with a unique biology is monitored.

The need of aquarists for proper and safe disinfection of fish with Chloramine-T (CL-T) necessitates toxico/pathologic examinations. This study assays toxicity level of CL-T and histopathologic changes of gills, liver, kidney and brain of treated zebrafish (Danio rerio). Groups of 10 Zebrafish were treated with 0 (control), 5, 10, 15, 30, 50,100 and 200 mg/L of CL– T. Mortality was recorded at every 6 hours until 96h after the beginning of the treatment and lethal concentration for 50% of population (LC50 at 24h and 96h) was calculated. The histopathologic samples were taken from dying fish during the exposure period. Histopathological changes were not evident in organs of the control group. In the gills of treatment groups, congestion, edema, separation of epithelium of secondary lamella from basal membrane, fusion and hypertrophy of secondary lamella, telangiectasis and necrosis of lamella epithelium were observed. In the liver of treatment groups degenerative changes and necrosis of hepatocytes were visible. The kidney samples represented hydropic degeneration, necrosis, dilation of periglomerular urinary space and hyaline droplets in renal tubules in high concentration. The brain of treatment groups showed spongiosis and increase in glial cells. Severity of these lesions was related to the concentration of CL-T. LC50 24h for CL-T was 428.649 mg/L and LC50 96h was 11.044 mg/L which reveals the low level of toxicity for few hours of treatment. The concentrations below 15mg/L are reasonably safe and recommended for usage in D. rerio treatment during 24h of bath.

The objective of this study was to compare growth performance and feed conversion ratios of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) juveniles in monoculture and duo-culture in freshwater and seawater under aquarium conditions. The fish were about 2-months old hatchery-reared brook and rainbow trout with initial weights of 0.934±0.033 (n=360) and 1.014±0.019 (n=360) g, respectively. The juveniles were kept in 10 L aquaria. Each aquarium contained 40 fish: 40 fish from each species for monoculture, 20 (rainbow trout溺 trout) fish from each species for duo-culture. The fish were in 3 groups with three replicates in freshwater and seawater and 18 aquaria were used. At the end of the 45 day study; mean live weights of brook trout were 2.735±0.153 g, rainbow trout 2.925±0.262 g in monoculture and brook trout 2.354±0.186 g, rainbow trout 3.882±0.494 g in duo-culture in seawater, brook trout 3.088±0.085, rainbow trout 3.364±0.093 g in monoculture and brook trout 2.164±0.169, rainbow trout 3.948±0.124 g in duo-culture in fresh water. While there were similarities between brook trout and rainbow trout in monoculture groups in sea water and fresh water, some differences were realized in duo-culture (p

In this study, seasonal variations of fatty acid amounts in muscle tissues of Capoeta caelestis were investigated. We have found that the ω3 contents of C. caelestis in spring, summer, autumn and winter were 17.43%, 15.29%, 17.54%, 13.63% in female and 16.96%, 19.25%, 18.66%, 14.76% in male, respectively. The amounts of ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids were higher than those of ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The eicosapentaenoic acid amounts were always higher than the docosahexaenoic acid amounts in C. caelestis. Female C. caelestis presented a higher amount of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid than males. The amounts of docosahexaenoic acid to eicosapentaenoic acid varied from 0.44% to 0.56% in females and from 0.45% to 0.59% in males in different seasons. The levels of eicosapentaenoic acid docosahexaenoic acid in female muscles changed from 10.34% to12.51% and in male muscles from 11.16% to 15.41%, respectively. It was seen that the ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid amounts of C. caelestis reached the highest level in summer and autumn in both sexes. Therefore, it can be concluded that the nutritional value of this fish is better in the both seasons with respect to the ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid amounts.

To study the effects of post-stripping oocyte ageing at low temperatures on the viability of kutum (Rutilus kutum) oocytes, unfertilised eggs of five females were stored in ovarian fluid at temperatures of 4 and 7 degree centigrade for 24 hours post stripping (HPS). The stored ova of five female kutum were separately fertilised at 0 (i.e., control eggs fertilised prior to storage), 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 HPS. The eyeing and hatching rates were recorded as indices of the egg quality. The results indicated that the maximum eyeing and hatching rates of the eggs (92% and 74%, respectively) were observed at 0 HPS, whereas the storage of the eggs at 4 °C for 24 HPS decreased the eyeing and hatching rates to 36% and 28%, respectively. The use of the higher storage temperature resulted in a more rapid decrease in the egg viability: eyeing and hatching rates of 9% and 2%, respectively, were obtained after storage at 7 °C for 24 HPS. The present study demonstrated that stripped kutum eggs that are stored in ovarian fluid at 4 and 7 degree centigrade should be fertilised within 12 and 8 HPS, respectively, to obtain viability rates higher than 50%.

This study was conducted with different levels (0, 0.25, 0.5,1,2 g) of Zingiber officinale powder per 100 g of common carp commercial diet. Feed was offered for 8 weeks by the post pelleting liquid spraying method. Results showed that there were significant differences in all growth parameters and body composition except in survival rate, Gain Weight Percent (GW%) ,SGR and NFE between treatments (p0.05). Also, Kruskall-Wallis test found significant difference in the amount of carbohydrate and body fiber (p

Improving food quality is one the major issues for the food processing industry. Since food produced from fish spoils quickly, it obviously cannot be kept for an extended time. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of sodium polyphosphate and smoking on the shelf life of fish sausage that was produced from Capoeta umbla and stored at 4±1°C. Therefore, we designed four groups: control group (A), which used neither sodium polyphosphate nor smoking; and treatment groups that used only sodium polyphosphate (group B), smoking (group C) and a combination of sodium polyphosphate and smoking (group D). The shelf life of fish sausage in each group was evaluated according to microbiological (total mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and molds), chemical (pH, thiobarbituoric acid and total volatile basic nitrogen) and sensory analysis. The shelf life of groups A, B, and C was determined as 42 days, while the shelf life of group D was 56 days. Thus, we found significant differences between group D and the other two treatment groups, B and C (p

The aim of this study was to determine the inhibitory effects of feed ingredients on protease activities of Argyrosomus regius larvae using in vitro techniques. A. regius larvae fed on a commercial feeding procedure were sampled thirteen times, during the sampling period (from 3 to 32 days after hatching (DAH)). The differences observed in protease activities of meagre larvae during the sampling period were statistically significant (p

Agunmukha River is an important water body having plentiful aquatic resources. The fisheries communities in the river are familiar with a diverse range of fishing gear and crafts to catch fish. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to explore fishing gear and fishing crafts, catch composition of the respective gearand identification of fish biodiversity of Agunmukha River. A step wise validated questionnaire was used for data recording from February 2015 to August 2015. In total, 19 types of fishing gear were identified under 9 major categories. On the other hand, in view of fisheries biodiversity, 47 fish species were listed covering 28 families of which Cyprinidae was found as the most dominant family which contains 9 species under 7 genera followed by Bagridae having 5 species belonging to 3 genera and Engraulidae also containing 3 species under 3 different genera. The study described 7 vulnerable, 5 endangered and 2 critically endangered species out of 42 finfish species. Diversity indexes were calculated for the present finding of which Margalef’s index (d) was 5.13 for species available in the study area. Due to unawareness and indiscriminate fish caught with a small mesh size net, diversity of fish species in the river is under threat. Thus, public awareness and adequate knowledge on use of appropriate fishing gear with appropriate mesh size could contribute to sustainable fisheries diversity in the river and the improvement in livelihood of the fishermen in the adjacent area

Three mesh sizes of multiflament trammel nets (22 mm, 24 mm, and 26 mm) were used in Finike bay for red mullet (Mullus barbatus L., 1758). The sampling program was arranged during February to May 2012. Holt (1963) method was used for selectivity of trammel nets. Red mullet was the dominant species in 22 mm mesh size at 52.86%, followed by 25.7% with the 24 mm net and 21.43% with the 26 mm net. On the basis of the results of this study, optimal selectivity lengths of multiflament trammel nets estimated for red mullet were 18.58, 20.27, and 21.96 cm for 22, 24, and 26 mm mesh size, respectively. Thus, based on length at first maturity it has been stated that the trammel nets of 22, 24, and 26 mm mesh size do not cause over fishing of the red mullet population in Finike Bay.

Use of different pesticides in the agriculture sector, in order to boost crop yield within a short time period and low labor, has been tremendously increased since the last decade. Pesticide use has elevated crop yield but has produced a number of pronounced problems regarding environmental and health safety. The continuously deteriorating toxicological effects of these pesticides are not only hazardous to humans and land animals but also to economically important aquatic organisms such as fish. One of these extensively used pesticides is an organochlorine insecticide, endosulfan. Experiments conducted in the past have shown the deleterious effects of endosulfan on different aspects of various fish species but its genetic toxicity has not been well studied. The present study was conducted to diagnose the DNA damage induced by endosulfan in peripheral blood erythrocytes of an economically important teleost fish rohu, Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) using comet assay. The fish were exposed to three different sub lethal concentrations (1, 1.5 and 2 µg L-1) of endosulfan for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Rohu showed different extents of DNA damage at different concentrations and time, in terms of genetic damage index (GDI), percentage of damaged cells (% damaged cell) and cumulative tail length (µm) of the comets. Increase in DNA damage was observed to be concentration and time-dependent. The current study revealed the severe genotoxic effects of endosulfan in rohu, Labeo rohita. Therefore its discriminate use should be avoided as it can contribute to the decline of rohu in natural habitats. Also it should be considered as a hazardous threat for human consumption.

This study was accomplished to investigate the effect of Artemia urmiana nauplii enriched with Pediococcus acidilactici as probiotic on growth performance and survival rate of great sturgeon, Huso huso. Artemia nauplii were enriched with P. acidilactici at a final concentration of 1010 CFU mL-1 in three time dependent treatments as 3 h (T3), 6 h (T6), 9 h (T9), and one non-enriched Artemia as the control treatment. All treatments were considered in triplicates. Since the nauplii enriched for 9 hours (T9) had the most significant CFU/g compared to other treatments (p0.05). On the other hand, a decreasing trend was recorded in food conversion ratio (FCR) and final biomass changed significantly for T9 in comparison with that recorded in the control group (p

The aim of this study was to examine the adverse effects of zinc nanoparticles on hematological indices of trout and investigate the improvement of these indices after vitamin C treatments. This study assesses the protective role of vitamin C in fish exposed to ZnO NPs. Two concentrations of ZnO-NPs (40 and 80 mg L-1) and two doses of vitamin C (400 and 800 mg per kg of feed) were used to treat 162 specimens of Oncorhynchus mykiss. No mortality was observed during the test. After 5 and 10 days of exposure, hematological data were analyzed according to routine clinical methods. Statistical analysis showed significant changes in WBCs and RBC on day 10 (p0.05), while significant increase in neutrophils and monocytes, and decrease in lymphocyte cells were recorded (p

This study was carried out to determine some biological characteristics including age, growth and somatic condition of Carasobarbus luteus and Capoeta trutta in the Turkish part of the Tigris River. The examined samples of C. luteus were distributed between II-IX years of age. The length-weigth relations of females and males were calculated as Log W =-4.7314 .0113 Log FL and Log W = -4.7631 .0263 Log FL respectively. Von Bertalanffy growth equations were estimated as Lt=40.09 [1-e-0.087036 (t.55004)] for females and Lt=38.14 [1-e-0.080056 (t.34838)] for males. The somatic condition was 1.9667 ± 0.1751 for females and 1.9967 ± 0.4205 for males. The observed samples of C. trutta were distributed between I-VI years of age. The length-weigth relationship of females and males were calculated as Log W = -4.6845 2.9303 Log FL, Log W = -4.7784 2.9746 Log FL, respectively. Von Bertalanffy growth equations were estimated as Lt=35.36 [1-e-0.082817 (t.82738)] for females and Lt=28.82 [1-e-0.12380 (t.40235)] for males. The somatic condition in female and male individuals were determined as; 1.4434 ± 0.1682 and 1.4722 ± 0.1984 respectively. Both species are economic fish in the Tigris River. Biological characteristics of the species determined in the present study, may contribute to a better understanding of the life cycle, thus providing useful data for its conservation and management.

This study aimed to investigate the concentrations of two heavy metals, lead and cadmium, in the water of Zayandehroud River which is surrounded by Zarinshahr rice farms. Water was sampled from a depth of 30 cm during June, July and August 2015, i.e. during the process of planting, growing and after harvesting, in three stations. Water was collected from three points; 20m before the farms, beside the farms and 100m after the farms. Three water samples and one trout fish (Salmo trutta) sample were collected each month and the concentrations of lead and cadmium were measured in the kidney, liver and gills of trout fish. The results showed that the amounts of lead and cadmiumin in the water were less and more than standard levels for these metals, respectively. The average concentrations of cadmium in the water were 15.81, 11.25, 8.92 mg/L during June, July and August, respectively. It is evident that the amount of cadmium in water was significantly higher in June during the planting phase and use of fertilizers and pesticides was more than the other months (p£0.01). There was a correlation in cadmium and lead concentrations between water and fish organs (kidney, liver and gill).

Sponges are the simplest multicellular animals that lack defense mechanisms and rely on chemical defense that have been used by mankind to develop antimicrobial drugs against diseases. The present study was designed to demonstrate the antibacterial and antifungal activities of marine sponge Dysidea pallescens semipolar and nonpolar extracts. In this study, D. pallescens were collected from Hengam Island in the Persian Gulf. The extracts were produced by Bligh and Dyer method. Broth Dilution Methods were used to check the antimicrobial activity of D. pallescens extracts against Escherichia coli (ATCC 15224), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 25619), Staphylococcus aureus aureus (ATCC 1764), Bacillus subtilis pizizenii (ATCC 6633), Candida albicans (ATCC10231) and Aspergillus fumigates (PTCC5009). The results showed diethyl ether extract has bactericidal activity against S. aureus aureus (MBC=10mg/mL) and B. subtilis spizizenii (MBC=20mg/mL). D. pallescens diethyl ether extract showed a very weak antifungal activity but methanol extract showed fungicidal activity against A. fumigates (MFC=5mg/mL) and C. albicans (MFC=1.5 mg/mL). Therefore nonpolar-semipolar secondary metabolites of D. pallescens solutions in diethyl ether have shown significant antibacterial activity and polar- secondary metabolites solutions in methanol have shown significant antifungal activity.

Bacterial diseases have been reported to be the major limiting factor in shrimp production. The use of natural products such as antimicrobials has been reported as a solution to the problem. The crude extract of a red seaweed Laurencia snyderiae obtained from the Persian Gulf was evaluated for shrimp growth performance and to determine in vivo efficacy of this seaweed in the prevention of shrimp Vibriosis. The ethanol extract from L. snyderiae (EELS) that was fed to the Artemia instar I for their enrichment was found to be non toxic to them. Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei juveniles were fed with these enriched Artemia at 0 mg mL-1 (Control group), 200 mg mL-1, 400 mg mL-1 and 600 mg mL-1 for 30 days. The results obtained showed a significant increase (p

Allometric growth pattern and body shape changes of the Green terror (Andinoacara rivulatus)(Cichlidae) were studied using landmark-based geometric morphometric (GM) and traditional methods, from hatching up to 1266 Hours Post Hatching (HPH) under culture conditions. The left side of specimens were photographed using digital camera and morphometric characters, including total length, head length, tail length, trunk length, eye diameter, snout length and body depth were measured using ImageJ software. In GM method, ten landmark-points were digitized on 2D pictures. Allometric growth patterns were calculated as a power function of total length and described by the growth coefficient to reveal important steps in the species’ early life history. The scores of relative warp analysis (RW) were used as descriptors for the variation in shape. The growth patterns obtained by both traditional morphometric (TM) and GM methods showed similar patterns, but GM showed effective results to interpret the morphological changes and revealing larval stages based on the body shape change. The results also showed higher growth rate of head and tail regions up to yolk sac absorption following by isometric patterns, after begin of exogenous feeding. Based on the findings, the early development of this species can be divided into five stages based on its morphology, including newly hatching larvae (up to 48 HPH), younger larvae (156 HPH), older larvae (426 HPH), younger juvenile (666 HPH) and juveniles. The results confirmed this fact that morphological development and growth patterns during early life stages in A. rivulatus closely match its immediate required function.

Selenium, a trace mineral complement is used as cofactor of antioxidant enzymes that protects fishes against environmental stress agents and enhances performance in fishes. In this study the different levels of organic and inorganic source of selenium were included in juvenile rainbow trout diet to evaluate feed conversion ratio (FCR), specific growth rate (SGR), weight gain percent (WG), condition factor (CF), survival rate (SR) and proximate analysis of the fillet during 60 days of the experiment. The fishes were allotted to 9 treatment groups including, Tc the fishes were fed diet without any selenium, control group, To1, To2 ,To3 and To4 the fishes were fed different dosages of inorganic selenium and Ti1, Ti2, Ti3 and Ti4 those were fed different dose of inorganic Se in their diet. Results showed that To4, showed the highest level of WG from 50±2.8 to 168.54± 25.56 g in comparison to Tc (134.38± 27.26g) (p

We quantified the distribution, abundance and assemblage structure of macrofauna at 22 stations in Gorgan bay, seasonally in 2012-2013. Also, depth, temperature, salinity, DO, TOM and sediment particle size were measured in each station. The highest concentration of TOM was measured near the western littoral zone (10.22) while the mouth part and north-eastern area was characterized by the lowest values (2.65 % and 4.69). A total of 31658 individuals belonging to 12 families and 14 species were identified. Polychaeta with 3 species was the most dominant group in terms of abundance. The four most abundant taxa making up 85% of all specimens were Streblospio gynobranchiata, Tubificidae, Hediste diversicolor and Abra segmentum. The maximum density (7,893 ind/m2) was obtained at station 1 while the minimum (1,777 ind/m2) was observed at station 16. The western area was characterized by the highest species diversity (H', 1.94) and the stations 10, 8 and 7 were characterized by the lowest diversity indices (H', 0.72, 0.77 and 0.87, respectively). The PCA showed that water parameters with more temporary variations had a greater significance in explaining the system variability, and a not marked but evident difference between the two parts of Gorgan Bay was observed and supported by nmMDS test. So Gorgan Bay presents transitional macrobenthic assemblages that are spatially distributed along substrate gradients but it seems that the coastal ecosystem of the south Caspian Sea and mouth-eastern part of Gorgan Bay is very dynamic and some species are forming a metapopulation toward western sites.

The present study describes the length-weight relationship (LWR), length-length relationship (LLR) and condition factor of the wild population of the shrimp Macrobrachium macrobrachion from the rivers of Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa). Samples were randomly collected from small-scale shrimp fisheries using bamboo traps. Of the thirteen analyzed morphometrics characters, only the second pleura width significantly varies between males (13.11 mm) and females (14.78 mm). All relationships between the considered variables were significantly linear, r2 ranging from 0.66 to 0.97. For length-length relationships, the allometry coefficient varied depending on groups, environments and characters, and ranged between 0.64 and 1.26. The three allometry types (negative allometry, isometry and positive allometry) were observed in this relation. In length-weight relationship, the coefficient ranged from 2.02 to 2.78, indicating a negative allometry. The condition factor values showed that females (0.70±0.06) were in better condition than males (0.657±0.07). Overall, the condition factor followed an east-west gradient, decreasing from eastern (0.70) to western (0.63) regions. These results constituted an important biological database on M. macrobrachion from the rivers of Côte d’Ivoire for further studies as ecology, reproductive biology, and aquaculture potentialities of this species.

In this study, two main probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus) were isolated from the intestine of Tor grypus and their effects on growth performance, gut microbial flora and digestive enzymes activities (i.e., α-amylase, lipase, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and alkaline phosphatase) of Tor grypus (Karaman, 1971) were determined. Juveniles of T. grypus (n=480, weighing 45±10 g) were randomly divided into 4 equal groups (with 3 replications) and fed on diets containing 5×107 cfu g-1 of L. plantarum (G1), L. bulgaricus (G2), L. casei (G3) and a control diet (without probiotic) for 60 continuous days. Results showed that probiotic supplementations had generally significant effects on growth performance (p

The intestinal bacterial diversity of Stichopus japonicus was investigated using 16S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) clone library and Polymerase Chain Reaction/Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). The clone library yielded a total of 188 clones, and these were sequenced and classified into 106 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with sequence similarity ranging from 88 to 100%. The coverage of the library was 77.4%, with approximately 88.7% of the sequences affiliated to Proteobacteria. Gammaproteobacteria and Vibrio sp. were the predominant groups in the intestine of S. japonicus. Some bacteria such as Legionella sp., Brachybacterium sp., Streptomyces sp., Propionigenium sp. and Psychrobacter sp were first identified in the intestine of sea cucumber

The aim of this study was to investigate the effective concentration of ethanolic extract of bee pollen on liver, spleen and heart tissues of fish. Bee pollen extract in various concentrations (0.5, 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 30 ppm) was administered to fish for 96 h under aquarium conditions. The malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) and levels of total free sulfhydryl groups were investigated in liver, spleen and heart in fish samples. MDA levels in liver, spleen and heart tissues of various concentration groups (2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 30 ppm) decreased (p

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of Lernaea cyprinacea and its effects on growth, hematology and skin histopathology of Catla catla in four experimental earthen ponds (P1, P2, P3 and P4) for 90 days. The growth performance, prevalence of Lernaea cyprinacea and ulceration was recorded on a fortnightly basis. The highest final body weight was observed in P4 (413.7 g) followed by P2 (378.7 g) and P1 (359.8 g) compared to P3 (357.8 g). Increase of Lernaea cyprinacea infection in the first half of the study was from 20.51% - 36.25% in P1, 17.75% -25.25% in P2, 6.5% - 10% in P3 and 14.75% - 13.1% in P4. Ulceration percentage in fish was significantly higher during August and September than May to July. Histopathological studies of skin showed a huge difference between healthy and infected fish skin. Hematological parameters such as hemoglobin (Hb), total erythrocytes count (TEC), total leukocyte counts (TLC) and packed cell volume (PCV%) of non-infected fish exhibited significantly higher values than that of infected fish. Other parameters like erythrocytes sedimentation rate (ESR), neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, basophils, monocytes and thrombocytes of infected fish showed significantly higher values than those of non-infected fish. In conclusion the exposure to parasites illustrated significant decrease in the Hb, TEC, TLC and PCV% and increase in ESR and other blood cells concentration showed significant severity of parasitic infection.

In this study the genetic diversity of wild Caspian trout (Salmo trutta caspius) in the Sardabroud and Astara Rivers was evaluated using D- Loop region sequencing. For this purpose, 35 specimens of adult Caspian brown trout were collected from these rivers in the Mazandarn and Gilan Provinces in fall and winter 2011. Approximately 3-5 g of soft and fresh fin tissue was isolated and fixed in ethanol 96% and then transferred to the Caspian Sea Ecology Research Center Genetics Laboratory in Sari, Iran. Genomic DNA from the samples was extracted using Ammonium Acetate Method. The quality and quantity of the extracted DNA were assessed by spectrophotometer and agarose gel (1%) electrophoresis. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed on the target DNA using a primers sequence D- Loop region of mtDNA molecule. Then the product was purified and DNA sequencing was carried out using chain termination method. The D- Loop region of Caspian trout contained 654 bp. Data were analyzed using Bio-Edit, DnaSP, Arlequin and Mega software. 20 and 15 haplotypes was observed in Sardabrud and Astara River. Tthe DNA sequence of one of them was recorded in Gene Bank with numbers KC991027 and KF015727. 223 and 240 polymorphic loci were detected in Sardabrud and Astara River that all of them were out of Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium (p

Apolipoprotein A-I is the most abundant protein in Cyprinus carpio plasma that plays an important role in lipid transport and protection of the skin by means of its antimicrobial activity. A 527 bp cDNA fragment encoding C terminus part of apoA-I from the skin mucosa of common carp was isolated using RT-PCR. After GenBank database searching, a partial sequence containing a coding sequence (CDS) relating to this gene was found. Overlapping of the cDNA fragment with this CDS allowed us to obtain the full-length sequence including non-coding regions. This sequence has 1170bp including a polyA tail of 18 bp plus 45 and 354 bp at the 3'- and 5'-untranslatedregions, respectively. The complete sequence contained an open reading frame of 256 amino containing 5 amino acid propeptides with a predicted molecular mass of 29.967 kDa and theoretical pI of 6.13.The signal peptide of common carp apoA-I was predicted to have the most likely cleavage site between amino acid positions 17 and 18. Domain analysis of common carp apoA-I showed the conserved domain of Apolipoprotein A1/A4/E between amino acid resides 67 to 251. The similarity search indicated that common carp apoA-I matched apoA protein from the group of fish with 45-77% similarity, but showed relatively low levels of similarity to its mammalian counterparts (20-28%).It was shown that the secondary structure of C. carpio apoA-I consisted of a-helical predominantly amphipathic in nature and was characterized by the presence of thirteen conserved repeats.

In this research, White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) with 105.4LD50.mL-1 inactivated with gamma irradiation at a dose rate of 14-15 kGy.sec-1 was used as a vaccine. Three hundred and sixty shrimp of Litopenaeus vannamei, medium body weight (MBW) 1.0±0.17g), were prepared and experimentally exposed. They were distributed among four groups, inclusing vaccinated-virus exposed (T1), vaccinated-nonvirus exposed (T2), virus exposed (Positive control as T3) and non-vaccinated-non-virus exposed (Negative control as T4). The mortality percent of T1 started from day 5 and reached the highest (50%) on day 11 and remained constant until end of the experiment. In T2, no mortality was observed until the 3rd day and the maximum mortality (20%) was observed on day 9. On the other hand, no remarkable mortality was recorded for T4 unlike T3 in which the mortality started on day 2 and stopped on day 7. The minimum density of hyalinocyte was calculated in T4 but the maximum one was found in T3 (17.77±0.33) with no significant differences (p