A team of Japanese researchers has used a new Pacific bluefin tuna reference genome to identify male-specific DNA markers in the fish The cultivation and conservation of one of the most important commercial fishes in the world may come down to sex determination — how can you successfully breed a species without knowing the sex of your stock? A Japanese research team has come up with a solution, thanks to a new Pacific bluefin tuna reference genome and the male-specific DNA markers they were able to identify as a result. In a study published recently in the Nature journal Scientific…
One of the fastest growing global foods is also one of its most vulnerable. Without an adaptive immune system, the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, rely on cellular and humoral defenses, such as the release of antimicrobial peptides, in their battle against invading microbes and pathogen infections. A battle they’re losing, leading to massive mortality and devastating economic losses. A full-length transcriptome analysis using the PacBio Iso-Seq method has resulted in an isoform-level reference transcriptome that is shedding new light into the shrimp’s innate immune system, providing hope for the shrimp aquaculture industry. One of the most economically important shrimp…
With their large brains, sophisticated sense organs and complex nervous systems, cephalopods could teach us a thing or two about learning, memory, and adaptability. But despite their evolutionary, biological, and economic significance, their genome information is still limited to a few species. To bridge this gap, a team of Korean scientists has assembled the genome of the common long-arm octopus (Octopus minor) using PacBio technology to sequence both the DNA and RNA of the emerging model species. Found in Northeast Asia, particularly in coastal mudflats of South Korea, China, and Japan, O. minor has become a major commercial fishery product…
Northern Bluefin Tuna Their bodies are big, bony and… warm? Unique among bony fish, Atlantic, Pacific and Southern bluefin tuna have a rare endothermic physiology that has garnered great interest among scientists. Like birds, mammals and some sharks, these kings of the sea are capable of conserving internally generated metabolic heat produced from their swimming muscles and viscera, and maintaining tissue temperatures above that of the environment. The fish are also renowned among sushi enthusiasts for their delectable, fat-laden muscle, and prized by fisherman because of the high prices they command. So the preservation of these species is paramount to…