This study aimed to determine the optimal ratio of natural calcium powders (oyster shell and egg shell calcium) as synthetic phosphate replacers in pork products. Ground pork samples were subjected to six treatments, as follows: control (-) (no phosphate added), control (+) (0.3% phosphate blend added), treatment 1 (0.5% oyster shell calcium powder added), treatment 2 (0.3% oyster shell calcium...

This study is an attempt to evaluate the biomonitoring capabilities of rock oyster, Saccostrea cucullata, for mercury (Hg) pollution. The oyster and sediment samples were collected from 10 rocky habitats of Qeshm and Hormoz Islands in the Persian Gulf. The concentration of mercury in the shell and soft tissues of the oysters and sediments were analyzed using an advanced mercury analyzer. Biot...

BACKGROUND Oysters play important roles in estuarine ecosystems but have suffered recently due to overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss. A tradeoff between growth rate and disease prevalence as a function of salinity makes the estuarine salinity transition of special concern for oyster survival and restoration. Estuarine salinity varies with discharge, so increases or decreases in precipitat...

in this study, the amount of nickel and vanadium elements in the soft tissues of rock oysters (saccostrea cuculata) and sea water from coastal areas of qeshm island, the biggest island of persian gulf located in the south of iran, were measured to evaluate the contamination of the aquatic environment and organisms. following the bioassay, weighing and chemical digestion of the samples, finally...

Following a planktonic dispersal period of days to months, the larvae of benthic marine organisms must locate suitable seafloor habitat in which to settle and metamorphose. For animals that are sessile or sedentary as adults, settlement onto substrates that are adequate for survival and reproduction is particularly critical, yet represents a challenge since patchily distributed settlement sites...

Coastal economies and ecosystems have historically depended on oyster reefs, but this habitat has declined globally by 85% because of anthropogenic activities. In a Florida estuary, we investigated the cause of newly reported losses of oysters. We found that the oyster reefs have deteriorated from north to south and that this deterioration was positively correlated with the abundance of carnivo...

Transesterification of soybean oil catalyzed by combusted oyster shell, which is waste material from shellfish farms, was examined. Powdered oyster shell combusted at a temperature above 700 degrees C, at which point the calcium carbonate of oyster shell transformed to calcium oxide, acted as a catalyst in the transesterification of soybean oil. On the basis of factorial design, the reaction co...

The in vitro effects of the Perkinsus marinus serine protease on the intracellular survival of Vibrio vulnificus in oyster hemocytes were examined by using a time-course gentamicin internalization assay. Results showed that protease-treated hemocytes were initially slower to internalize V. vulnificus than untreated hemocytes. After 1 h, the elimination of V. vulnificus by treated hemocytes was ...

The vasa gene is a key determinant for germline formation in eukaryotes. This gene, highly conserved through evolution, encodes a RNA helicase protein member of the DEAD-box family. To understand the germline formation in oyster, we report here the isolation and the characterization of a vasa orthologue in Crassostrea gigas (Oyvlg). OyVLG contained the eight consensus domains of the DEAD-box in...

An inhibitor of ciliary activity is present in the serum of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and heterozygotes. Fractionation of CF serum has indicated that the inhibitor is associated with the serum IgG fraction. This study compared the activity of the CF inhibitor to that of rabbit antibody preparations directed against oyster cilia. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether the cil...