Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences
Volume:17 Issue: 2, Apr 2018

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary commercial prebiotic A-Max, a mixture of mannan oligosaccharides, fructo oligosaccharides and β glucan, on growth and hemato-immunological parameters of great sturgeon (Huso huso) juveniles. After acclimation, fish (initial weight of 28.79±0.85 g) were placed into 12 tanks (30 fish per tank). Fish were fed a basal diet (containing 44% protein and 20% lipid) supplemented with 0 (control), 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g kg-1 A-Max in a totally randomized design in triplicate groups. At the end of the trial, growth factors and haemato-immunological parameters were assessed. Fish fed 1.5 g kg-1 prebiotic mixture displayed higher growth performances and feed efficiency compared to the control group (p>0.05). There were no significant differences in survival rate among all treatment groups (p>0.05). The results showed that RBC, WBC, lymphocyte, neutrophil, haematocrit and total protein were significantly affected by 1.5 g kg-1 dietary prebiotic mixture (p0.05) was found in the fish fed diet containing 1.0 g kg-1 prebiotic. In addition fish fed the diet with 1.5 g kg-1 prebiotic mixture showed a significant increase in lyzosyme activity, respiratory burst activity, serum total immunoglobulin (Ig) and alternative complement activity (ACH50) (p

Concentrations of both essential (Zn and Cu) and non- essential (As, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ni) metals were measured in the organs (mantle, branchial hearts, gill and digestive gland) of Sepia pharaonis captured in the coastal waters of Bushehr Province in the Persian Gulf (Iran). The relationships between S. pharaonis size (mantle length) and metal concentrations in tissues were investigated by linear regression analysis. Metal concentrations (As µg g-1 d.w.) was highest in the digestive gland and lowest in the mantle of S. pharaonis, except for Ni. The concentrations of metals were found to follow the order: Zn> Cu>Pb> Ni>Hg> Cd> As. The mean Zn concentrations ranged from 37.72± 5.32 to 9.32± 3.73 µg g-1 d.w, whereas the mean As concentrations ranged from 0.01± 0.007 to 0.06± 0.05 µg g-1 d.w, respectively. Results of linear regression analysis showed that significant relationships between metal concentrations and fish size were positive, except for cadmium concentrations in the gills. The digestive gland of S. pharaonis would seem to constitute a good potential indicator of heavy metal concentrations in the marine environmental. Results from this study revealed that except for Pb the concentration of metals in S. pharaonis samples were below the threshold values As recommended by the FAO and EC guidelines.

Some reproduction aspects of the "doctor fish", Cyprinion macrostomum, were examined for the first time from the Tigris River drainage. A total of 316 specimens were caught from Gamasiab River in western Iran, at monthly intervals throughout the year from January to December 2013. Age, sex ratio, fecundity, oocytes diameter, gonado‑somatic (GSI), modified gonado‑somatic (MGSI) and Dobriyal (DI) indices were estimated. Regression analyses were used to find relations between fecundity and fish size (length and weight), gonad weight, and age. Sex ratio differed significantly from unity, and the percentage of males was greater than that of females. The mature females and males were longer than 108 mm and 94 mm in total length ( and in age, respectively). The GSI ranged between 0.09-2.94% and 1.70-15.53% for males and females, respectively. Gonad indices showed spawning took place from May to August, when the water temperature was 16 to 24 °C. The average diameter of the oocytes ranged from 0.2 mm to 1.7 mm, in the spawning season. The averages of absolute and relative fecundity (relative to body weight) were 3642.51 eggs (SD ±1219.92) and of 55.04 (SD ±14.12) per gram body weight, respectively. The absolute fecundity was significantly related to body weight and ovary weight.

Selenium (Se) and many of its compounds are among the most toxic micronutrients. Therefore, determining the optimal level of selenium in the diet of fish is one of the main concerns of researchers. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of Sel-Plex® (Selenium-enriched Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast) on blood biochemical parameters in juvenile Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii, as clinical biomarkers to evaluate the effects of selenium on the health of fish. In this study, fish were fed diets supplemented with 0 (control), 5, 10 and 15 g Sel-Plex per Kg feed for 8 weeks. Although a significant (p

The population parameters of Encrasicholina punctifer (buccaneer anchovy) from commercial fisheries in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea coastal waters were studied from October 2014 to September 2015. A total of 13951 length-frequency data were collected monthly by pair-boat purse seine and beach seine methods. The asymptotic length (L∞) and Von Bertalanffy growth function (K) were 11.5 cm and K=1.4 per year, respectively. The value of to was calculated as -0.14 year. Longevity was estimated as 2 years. The total length ranged from 2.9 to 10.1 cm, with an average of 6.5 cm. The probability of capture was calculated in total length as L25=6.05 cm, L50=6.48 cm and L75=6.93 cm. Four cohorts were distinguished annually with mean lengths of 4.56, 5.77, 7.21 and 8.50 cm. The length-weight relationship was determined as W= 0.0051 L 3.1114. Total, natural and fishing mortality parameters were estimated as 6.15, 2.84 and 3.32 yr-1 respectively. The current rate of exploitation (E) was 0.54, and the values of exploitation ratio was found reasonable for current fishing effort. From the yield-per-recruit analysis, Emax, was estimated as 0.91. The results indicated that the buccaneer anchovy stock was not overexploited. Since E

The present study investigated the use of fermented Prosopis juliflora pods (PJP) as a carbohydrate source alternative to rice bran (RB), and a P. juliflora pods based diet formulation supplemented with probiotics Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA), Lactobacillus bulgaricus 009 (LB) and Streptococcus thermophilus (ST) on the growth of Labeorohita (rohu) fingerlings. The diets were isonitrogenous (39%) and isoenergetic (15.9 KJg-1 gross energy); and were prepared using rice bran (as reference diet RD), crude pods (PJPC), fermented pods (PJPF) and with probiotics L. acidophilus (PJPLA), L. bulgaricus (PJPLB) and S. thermophilus (PJPST). The results showed that fermentation of P. juliflora pods with L. acidophilus significantly increased (p

In the present study, effects of NaCl concentrations (0, 20, 40 and 80 mM) were investigated on Ceratophyllum demersum. Macronutrients N, P and K and micronutrients Zn and Cu were significantly decreased by NaCl salinity. In general, however, Fe and Mn contents of macrophyte tissues increased. As a result, NaCl toxicity disturbed the uptake and translocation of macro and micronutrients in the macrophyte and induced its nutrient imbalance. Although proline, ascorbate and non-protein protein thiols amounts were increased with salinity, contents of photosynthetic pigments, total soluble carbohydrate, reducing sugar and protein were reduced. Observed increases in malondialdehyde contents, one of the most frequently used indicators of lipid peroxidation, showed that oxidative damage occurred in membranes resulting from NaCl. High salinity stress developed some toxicity symptoms. These symptoms probably occurred due to ionic toxicity, imbalance of macro and micronutrients and/or oxidative stress triggered by salinity.

Seasonal samplings were conducted over a year to study population dynamic of Carasobarbus luteus in Shadegan Wetland. Samples were collected from five sampling stations in Shadegan Wetland (Salmane, Rogabe, Khoroosi, Mahshahr and Atish) from April 2014 to March 2015. From total number of 1608 samples, 276 individuals were male and 1332 individuals were female. Length-weight relationship was W=0.013L3.0124 (R2=0.92) for males; and W=0.0136L3.0117 (R2=0.91) for females, showing an isometric growth pattern. Condition factor (K) was calculated to be 1.308±0.15 and 1.368±0.17 for the males and females, respectively, showing significant difference between the genders (p

In the present study, an in vitro brain cell culture was developed from neural cells of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus). The tissue samples collected from the anterior, middle and posterior regions of the brain were cultivated separately in DMEM/F12 medium supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum, antibiotic and antimycotic. The medium was refreshed every 3 days. The cells became confluent after about 3 weeks from the initial time of seeding. The cultured cells from the posterior part of the brain showed high potential of proliferation as they had been passaged 16 times in more than 11 months. To determine optimal temperature, the brain cells were incubated at four temperatures including; 20, 22, 25 and 28°C. The best cultivation temperature was obtained at 25°C. The cultured cells from posterior part of the brain were cryopreserved successfully and the survival rate was 70% after thawing. Immunocytochemistry using antibody against nesting showed that some cells were immunopositive for nesting. Finally, these results suggested that cell cultures from posterior part of the Persian sturgeon brain with high proliferation capacity can be useful for research on brain cells in A. persicus in the future.

This study evaluated the effects of diets containing 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% Arthrospir platensis on skin pigmentation, growth performance, and digestive enzymes of koi, Cyprinus carpio. A completely randomized design was performed with five treatments and three replicates. One hundred and fifty koi fish with average initial weight of 30±1g were assigned to fifteen experimental tanks. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. Koi fish fed with 2.5% A. platensis (1.17±0.02) showed a significant lower growth performance than those fed with 7.5 and 10% A. platensis (1.39±0.02 and 1.46) (p

Date palm seed (Phoenix dactylifera) (DPS) extract has been used worldwide in pharmaceutical agent due to its constituents. This study aimed to assess the effects of DPS extract as a dietary supplementation at on the body composition, lipid peroxidation and tissue quality of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) based on the total volatile nitrogen (TVN) test. Common carp juveniles weighing ca 32 g were cultured in 26°C freshwater for 60 days and fed with diets supplemented with 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 4% of DPS extract. At the end of the trail, the crude protein (p>0.05) and crude lipid (p0.05). The increase in DPS ratio of diet above 0.5% , resulted in lower crude protein and crude lipid, while the ash and moisture content increased. In addition, the values of TVN and lipid peroxidation in muscle and brain were lower in all treatments fed with supplemented diet compared to the control group. The results indicated that utilization of 0.5% DPS in commercial diet of carp can improve the body composition and antioxidant defense system of fish.

This study was conducted using butyric acid as a growth enhancer in the diets of Clarias gariepinus and Oreochromis niloticus. C. gariepinus (42.39 g±1.17) were fed diets containing varying inclusion levels of butyric acid (BA); 0 (CG1), 0.5 (CG2), 1.0 (CG3), 1.5 (CG4), 2.0 (CG5) g kg -1, where, CG1 is the control or reference diet. O. niloticus (25.50 g±0.50) were also fed diets containing varying inclusion levels of butyric acid; 0 (ON1), 0.5 (ON2), 1.0 (ON3), 1.5 (ON4), 2.0 (ON5) g kg -1, where, ON1 is the control or reference diet. Diets for C. gariepinus contained 40 % while those of O. niloticus had 35 % crude protein. Fish were fed to satiation twice daily in two equal portions for 12 weeks. At the end of the experiment C. gariepinus fed on diet CG5 (2 g kg-1 BA) had an improved growth of over 600 % while O. niloticus fed diet ON4 (1.5 g kg-1 BA) showed over 400 % improvement in growth when compared with those fed the control or reference diets. The highest carcass protein were also obtained in those fed BA diets when compared with their respective control diets. The results of the present study showed that there was better nutrient utilization in C. gariepinus and O. niloticus fed BA supplemented diets. Furthermore, there were no significant variations in the survival of fish fed BA diets when compared with their controls except for those fed ON4 which showed 100 % survival. Quality of water parameters were within the acceptable limits for the culture of fin fishes.

Marine microorganisms are important sources for novel natural products. Hence, the aim of this study was to introduce marine microorganisms with the capability of producing antioxidant and cytotoxic metabolites. For this purpose, ten live sea cucumbers (Holothuria leucospilota) were collected from Larak Island, Persian Gulf. Then, their intestine contents were serially diluted and treated by heating (55°C). 100 µL of treated samples were inoculated on starch casein nitrate agar medium, which is supplemented with nalidixic acid and cycloheximide. The plates were incubated at 28 °C for 4 weeks and the colonies were purified. The antioxidant activity of extracted metabolites from the isolated actinobacteria was evaluated using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity assay and the cytotoxic activity was screened by Brine-Shrimp micro well cytotoxicity method. In addition, the cytotoxic effect was evaluated against HCT 116 and SW 480 cell lines by MTT cell proliferation assay. A new strain of marine actinobacterium represented maximum antioxidant and cytotoxic activity among 17 actinobacterial isolates. The ethyl acetate culture extract of the isolate scavenged DPPH radicals with IC50 value of 211.2 µg mL-1. In addition, the extract exhibited high toxicity against HCT 116 and SW 480 tumor cell lines with IC50 values of 26.48 and 18.53 µg mL-1 respectively. The isolate was identified as Streptomyces sp. strain SC 156 and showed 98% similarity with type strains in NCBI database. These results suggested that Streptomyces sp. strain SC 156 could be considered as promising candidate for antioxidant and cytotoxic compound discovery.