The complete mitochondrial genome sequencing of Anisakis simplex isolated from Anoplopoma fimbria

In this study, zoonotic Anisakis simplex was isolated and identified from the outermost layer of the stomach of diseased Anoplopoma fimbria at an industrial farm in Liaoning, North China (122.1842 E, 39.2616 N). With the completion of A. simplex mitochondrial genome sequencing, the full-length mitochondrial genome of A. simplex was assembled and analyzed. All results indicate that the complete mitochondrial genome of A. simplex was 13,899 bp. There were 20 tRNAs and 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and two rRNA all located at the heavy (H) strand. Besides, the phylogenetic tree of 19 A. simplex isolated from different host species was constructed. The results showed that A. simplex isolated from A. fimbria was clustered with Oncorhynchus nerka isolate in a clade. To sum up, our research results would further provide essential data for systematics and evolution study of A. simplex.

Genetic variability between complete mitochondrion genomes of the sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria (Pallas, 1814)

The complete mitochondrial genome of the sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria (Genbank accession KP777542) is 16,507 bp in size and contains the typical 37 genes (13 protein-coding, 2 ribosomal RNA, and 22 transfer RNA) found in teleosts mitogenomes. The genome varies in 118 positions with respect to another mitogenome sablefish specimen.

Phylogenetic analysis and positive-selection site detecting of vascular endothelial growth factor family in vertebrates

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), known to play an important role in vascular homeostasis, vascular integrity and angiogenesis, is little known about the evolutionary relationship of its five members especially the role of gene duplication and natural selection in the evolution of the VEGF family. In this study, seventy-five full-length cDNA sequences from 33 vertebrate species were extracted from the NCBI's GenBank, UniProt protein database and the Ensembl database. By phylogenetic analyses, we investigated the origin, conservation, and evolution of the VEGFs. Five VEGF family members in vertebrates might be formed by gene duplication. The inferred evolutionary transitions that separate members which belong to different gene clusters correlated with changes in functional properties. Selection analysis and protein structure analysis were combined to explain the relationship of the site-specific evolution in the vertebrate VEGF family. Eleven positive selection sites, one transmembrane region and the active sites were detected in this process.

Molecular characterization and quantification of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) gonadotropins and their receptors: reproductive dysfunction in female captive broodstock

Efforts to establish an aquaculture industry for sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) are constrained by reproductive dysfunction in wild-caught fish and by lack of reproduction of F1 females. Toward a better understanding of the reproductive dysfunction of captive broodstock, full-length cDNAs encoding the sablefish gonadotropin subunits (fshb, lhb and cga) and their receptors (fshr and lhcgr) were cloned, sequenced and quantitative real-time PCR assays developed. Sablefish gonadotropin subunits display some unique features, such as two additional Cys residues in the N-terminal region of Fshb and a lack of potential N-glycosylation sites in Fshb and Lhb, whereas Fshr and Lhcgr possess conserved structural characteristics described in other vertebrates. Wild females captured in fall completed gametogenesis in captivity the next spawning season, whereas females captured three months earlier, during summer, failed to mature. Interestingly, these wild non-maturing females exhibited similar reproductive features as prepubertal F1 females, including low levels of pituitary gonadotropin and ovarian receptor mRNAs and plasma sex steroids, and ovarian follicles arrested at the perinucleolus stage. In conclusion, this study described the cloning, molecular characterization and development of qPCRs for sablefish gonadotropins and their receptors. Rearing conditions may impair vitellogenic growth of ovarian follicles in sablefish, compromising the reproductive success of broodstock.