Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences that include (a) a part of the cytochrome b gene, (b) two tRNA genes, and (c) a part of the noncoding D-loop region of 31 Anguilla japonica (Japanese eel) and 1 A. marmorata collected from Taiwan, Japan, and mainland China were determined to evaluate the population structure of Japanese eel. Among 30 genotypes identified from the 31 Japanese eel mtDNAs sequen...

Immunochemical methods have been used to investigate questions concerning the relatedness of sodium channels from different sources and their distribution in the eel electroplax. The reagents employed were two monoclonal antibodies, 5D10 (Moore, H. -P. H., L. C. Fritz, M. A. Raftery, and J. P. Brockes (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79: 1673-1677) and 5F3, and a rabbit antiserum; all three...

A new glucagon-like peptide was isolated from the intestine of the eel Anguilla japonica. The primary structure was determined by sequence analysis after cleavage with lysyl endopeptidase, quantitative amino acid analysis and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry as HSQGTFTNDY(10)SKYLETRRAQ(20)DFVQWLMNSK(30)RSGGPT. Since its structure is similar to that of oxyntomodulins (OXMs) reported in va...

The morphodynamic changes occurring during growth were evaluated in the eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) heart. Using an in vitro working heart preparation, cardiac performance of small (body mass 96.76 +/- 27.49 g; mean +/- s.d.) and large (body mass 656 +/- 12 g; mean +/- s.d.) eels was compared under basal conditions and under loading (i.e. preload and afterload) challenges. A parallel morphometri...

Intermuscular bones are found in the myosepta in teleosts. However, there is very little information on the development and ossification of these intermuscular bones. In this study, we performed an in-depth investigation of the ossification process during development in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica). In Japanese eel, a typical anguilliform swimmer, the intermuscul...

Spiny rats of the genus Proechimys are morphologically diverse, widely distributed and have diploid numbers ranging from 2n = 14-16 to 2n = 62. In this paper we present cytogenetical data and brief comments on morphological and biogeographical issues related to spiny rats. In our sample of 42 spiny rats collected from 12 Brazilian Amazonian tropical rainforest and the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna...

Spiny lobsters have few reported pathogens, parasites and symbionts. However, they do have a diverse fauna comprised of a pathogenic virus, several bacteria, protozoans, helminths and even symbiotic crustaceans. A few idiopathic syndromes have also been reported, but these appear correlated with lobsters held in poor conditions. Fungal and bacterial pathogens present significant threats for rea...

A radioligand-binding assay was established for eel atrial natriuretic peptide (eANP), and ANP receptors were characterised in the eel gill. ANP binding to the gill membrane fraction was saturable with increasing ligand concentrations and was specific to ANP peptides, i.e. eANP, ventricular natriuretic peptide (VNP) and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP). A Scatchard analysis revealed a single cl...

Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica Temminck & Schlegel, is a temperate catadromous fish with a long migratory loop and lengthy leptocehalus stage. Its freshwater distribution ranges from Taiwan, through Mainland China, Korea, and north to Japan (Tesch 2003). The spawning ground of this species is presumed to be in the western Mariana Islands near 14–16 N 142 E (Tsukamoto 1992, 2006). The leptoceph...

A peptide with bradykinin (BK)-like immunoreactivity was isolated from an incubate of heat-denatured eel plasma with porcine pancreatic kallikrein. The purified peptide had the following amino acid sequence: Arg-Arg-Pro-Pro-Gly-Ser-Trp-Pro-Leu-Arg. This decapeptide, named eel [Arg(0)]BK, was identical to two previously identified BK homologs from cod and trout. High conservation of the BK seque...