Individual variation in gene expression is important for evolutionary adaptation1,2 and susceptibility to diseases and pathologies3,4. In this study, we address the functional importance of this variation by comparing cardiac metabolism to patterns of mRNA expression using microarrays. There is extensive variation in both cardiac metabolism and the expression of metabolic genes among individual...

BACKGROUND The primary route of exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), a known developmental neurotoxicant, is from ingestion of seafood. Since 2004, women of reproductive age in the U.S. have been urged to eat fish and shellfish as part of a healthy diet while selecting species that contain lower levels MeHg. Yet few studies have examined trends in MeHg exposure and fish consumption over time in th...

The effectiveness of three immunostimulants viz., vitamin C, levamisole and chitin on the prophenoloxidase (proPO) activity of haemolymph, response to challenge studies and growth performance of juveniles of the tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) was assessed by oral administration of these immunostimulants to the shrimps. The levels of incorporation of these immunostimulants in shrimp fe...