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Open AccessArticle

Faecal DNA Metabarcoding for Diet Analysis of Endangered Fish Species, Odontobutis obscurus

by Kanghui Kim, Kyung-A You, Jeong-Hui Kim, Sang-Hyeon Park, Seung-Ho Baek, Kwang-Seuk Jeong, Gea-Jae Joo and Hyunbin Jo

Animals 2024, 14(21), 3083; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14213083 - 25 Oct 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3189

Abstract

Understanding the ecological characteristics of endangered species is essential for their management and conservation. The dark sleeper (Odontobutis obscurus) is a carnivorous freshwater fish that has been designated an endangered species in South Korea because of its highly restricted habitat range and small population size. However, ecological research on prey items for this species remains severely limited globally, posing challenges for establishing conservation measures such as translocation management. In this study, the food sources and feeding strategies of O. obscurus were identified through non-invasive faecal DNA metabarcoding. A total of 24 O. obscurus specimens were collected from Sanyang Stream on Geoje Island, and faecal DNA was amplified using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) primer. As a result, 13 prey items were identified, comprising fish and benthic invertebrates. Dietary metrics revealed the overall food composition and major food source of O. obscurus, and the Costello method enabled graphical diet analysis, suggesting that O. obscurus is a generalist, feeding on a wide variety of food sources. The food selectivity index suggested that O. obscurus prefers specific prey items, such as genus Misgurnus, Zacco (fish), Radix (gastropod), and Ephemera (mayfly). This molecular method facilitated the diet analysis of an endangered fish species that cannot undergo dissection, providing crucial information for their management, particularly regarding translocation efforts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Aquatic Animals)

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16 pages, 3643 KB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Proteomics-Based Investigation of Different Live Prey Administered to Freshwater Dark Sleeper (Odontobutis potamophila): Examining the Effects on Glycolipids and Energy Metabolism

by Zihan Zhou, Qichen Jiang, You Zheng, Chen Hao, Shuyan Ding, Mengya Guo, Yunlong Zhao, Guoxing Liu and Shuyan Miao

Metabolites 2024, 14(2), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14020085 - 24 Jan 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2370

Abstract

Live prey is characterized by balanced rich nutrients and high palatability and is widely used for the seedling cultivation of freshwater dark sleeper (Odontobutis potamophila) larvae. In this study, we evaluated the effects of four groups of paired feeding regimens (group C (Daphnia magna), group L (Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri), group H (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix fry), and group M (mixed groups C, L, and H)) on glycolipid and energy metabolism in O. potamophila larvae. We observed that fatty acid synthase (FAS) and sterol-regulatory-element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) mRNA levels were significantly lower in group H when compared to mRNA levels in the other three groups (p < 0.05) and that carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1α (CPT1-α) mRNA levels were significantly lower in group L when compared to group M (p < 0.05). Relative glucokinase (GK) expression levels were significantly lower in group M when compared to the other three groups (p < 0.05). Using proteomics, we analyzed and compared groups H and L and identified 457 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), of which 151 were significantly up-regulated and 306 were significantly down-regulated. In the comparison of group M with groups C, L, and H, we found significant enrichment in glycolytic processes, the endoplasmic reticulum lumen, NAD binding, intermediate filaments, and nutrient reservoir activity. Our results provide a theoretical guidance for bait selection during larvae cultivation stages in carnivorous fish. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Metabolism in Animals)

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20 pages, 572 KB

Open AccessReview

Fishing Innate Immune System Properties through the Transcriptomic Single-Cell Data of Teleostei

by Aleksandr V. Bobrovskikh, Ulyana S. Zubairova and Alexey V. Doroshkov

Biology 2023, 12(12), 1516; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12121516 - 12 Dec 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5472

Abstract

The innate immune system is the first line of defense in multicellular organisms. Danio rerio is widely considered a promising model for IIS-related research, with the most amount of scRNAseq data available among Teleostei. We summarized the scRNAseq and spatial transcriptomics experiments related to the IIS for zebrafish and other Teleostei from the GEO NCBI and the Single-Cell Expression Atlas. We found a considerable number of scRNAseq experiments at different stages of zebrafish development in organs such as the kidney, liver, stomach, heart, and brain. These datasets could be further used to conduct large-scale meta-analyses and to compare the IIS of zebrafish with the mammalian one. However, only a small number of scRNAseq datasets are available for other fish (turbot, salmon, cavefish, and dark sleeper). Since fish biology is very diverse, it would be a major mistake to use zebrafish alone in fish immunology studies. In particular, there is a special need for new scRNAseq experiments involving nonmodel Teleostei, e.g., long-lived species, cancer-resistant fish, and various fish ecotypes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immune Response Regulation in Animals)

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15 pages, 4297 KB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Quercetin on the Intestinal Microflora of Freshwater Dark Sleeper Odontobutis potamophila

by Chenxi Zhu, Guoxing Liu, Xiankun Gu, Tongqing Zhang, Aijun Xia, You Zheng, Jiawen Yin, Mingming Han and Qichen Jiang

Antioxidants 2022, 11(10), 2015; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11102015 - 12 Oct 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3407

Abstract

Flavonoids have antimicrobial and anti-oxidation properties. The effects of the flavonoid quercetin on the intestinal microflora of freshwater dark sleeper Odontobutis potamophila were tested for the first time. Odontobutis potamophila juveniles were treated with quercetin for 21 days at one of three concentrations (2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/L) and compared with a control group that was not treated with quercetin. Quercetin improved the stability of the intestinal flora in O. potamophila and the probiotic bacteria Bacillus spp. and Lactobacillus spp. increased in species abundance after the low concentration quercetin treatments. Furthermore, the abundance of pathogenic bacteria Plesiomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., and Shewanella spp. decreased after the fish had been exposed to quercetin. Activity of hepatic antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD), (glutathione S-transferase, GST), (glutathione peroxidase, GSH-Px), and (total antioxidant capacity, T-AOC) increased in the livers of O. potamophila treated with quercetin, thereby increasing their hepatic antioxidant capacity and their ability to scavenge free radicals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Antioxidants and Gut Health)

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13 pages, 1962 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Relationship between the Lunar Phase, Menstrual Cycle Onset and Subjective Sleep Quality among Women of Reproductive Age

by Yoko Komada, Makoto Sato, Yuko Ikeda, Azusa Kami, Chika Masuda and Shigenobu Shibata

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(6), 3245; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063245 - 21 Mar 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 11989

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association among lunar cycle, menstrual cycle onset, and subjective sleep quality. Menstrual cycle onset data from the six most recent menstrual cycles were obtained for 529 women (aged 25–39 years) using the smartphone app Luna Luna. We also collected questionnaire survey data on sleep quality from each participant. Overall, there was no association between the onset of menstrual cycle and lunar phase. Interestingly, the proportion of good sleepers with menstrual cycle beginning during the light period was significantly higher than that during the dark period, while the proportion of poor sleepers with menstrual cycle beginning during the dark period was significantly higher than that during the light period. When participants were categorized by the combination of lunar phases (light, dark, neutral periods) in the two most recent menstrual cycle onsets, the “both dark period” group and the “other (light and dark) period” group showed the lowest proportion of good sleepers. Menstrual cycle onset in the dark period was associated with a deterioration in subsequent subjective sleep quality, which was more apparent with consecutive onsets in the dark period or at a rapidly changing lunar phase. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep, Sleep Disorders and Public Health)

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