Search

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a key neuropeptide regulating reproduction in vertebrates. In the present study, we have cloned and identified the cDNA sequence of the prepro-GnRH (rp-GnRH) in the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum. The open reading frame encodes a protein of 94 amino acids, which consists of a signal peptide, a GnRH dodecapeptide, a cleavage site, and a GnRH-associated peptide. These deduced peptides were highly homologous to that reported for other molluscs. We used temperature control to promote gonadal development of the clams. The mRNA expression of rp-GnRH in the visceral ganglia from clams at different reproductive stages was determined by quantitative RT-PCR. The levels of steroids progesterone (P), testosterone (T), and estradiol-17β (E2) in the hemolymph of the corresponding clam were measured by ELISA. The rp-GnRH mRNA was highly expressed at the gonadal early development stage. Concentrations of P, T, and E2 also increased at the early development stage in both sexes. Positive significant correlations between rp-GnRH expression and P content as well as between rp-GnRH expression and T content were observed throughout the gonadal maturation. The results from this study may help to better understand the physiological functions of the native forms of GnRH-like peptides and the actions of GnRH on sex steroids release in bivalve molluscs.

Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) is currently the most widely used brominated flame retardant (BFR) and has been proven to have a very high toxicity to aquatic organisms including bivalves. However, molecular responses to TBBPA in bivalve remain largely unknown. Novel high-throughput deep sequencing technology has been a powerful tool for looking at molecular responses to toxicological stressors in organisms. Using Illumina's digital gene expression (DGE) system, we investigated TBBPA-induced transcriptome response in the digestive gland tissue of scallop Chlamys farreri. In total, 173 and 266 genes were identified as significantly up- or down-regulated, respectively. Functional analysis based on gene ontology (GO) classification system and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database revealed that TBBPA significantly altered the expression of genes involved in stress response, detoxification, antioxidation, and innate immunity which were extensively discussed. In particular, evidence for the endocrine disrupting effect of TBBPA on bivalve was first obtained in this study. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to ascertain the mRNA expression of several genes identified by the DGE analysis. The results of this study may serve as a basis for future research on molecular mechanism of toxic effects of TBBPA on marine bivalves.

A study was performed on clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) exposed to 0.03, 0.3 and 3μg/L benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) for 21 days. B[a]P metabolite contents, activities of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH), 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), epoxide hydrolase (EH), dihydrodiol dehydrogenase (DD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), sulfotransferase (SULT) and uridinediphosphate glucuronyltransferase (UGT) and B[a]P bioaccumulation were assayed in gills and digestive glands. Results showed that the order of B[a]P phase I metabolite contents was 9-hydroxy-B[a]P>B[a]P-1,6-dione>B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol, and the concentration of B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol sulfate conjugates was higher than that of B[a]P-7,8-dihydrodiol glucuronide conjugates. B[a]P accumulation and the activities of AHH, EROD, EH, DD, SULT and UGT increased first and then reached equilibrium. GST activity was induced first and then depressed. The concentration of B[a]P was far higher than that of its metabolites. Besides, there were no significant differences between enzyme activities in gills and those in digestive glands. These results provided information on B[a]P metabolic mechanism in bivalve and scientific data for pollution monitoring and food security.

Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was used to identify alterations in gene transcription of the manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum after exposure to 5μg/L 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) for 15days. The ability to accumulate BDE-47 in digestive gland and gill was also evaluated in order to provide information for food safety. Analysis of tissue extracts indicated that digestive gland had the higher BDE-47 levels (12,463.1±1334.8 ng/g d.w.) compared to gill (6368.6±738.7ng/g d.w.) after a 15-day exposure period. Forward and reverse SSH libraries were made from pooled digestive glands of R. philippinarum, from which 75 high quality sequences were obtained by BLAST analysis. The expression of 39 genes with significant homology (E-value

On the basis of the principles of Green Infrastructure and Building (GIB) in LEED for Green Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND), this paper studies the technical feasibility, economic soundness, and environmental effectiveness of a water-sourced energy system in a 6.5 million square feet mixed-use neighborhood development project in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. Two energy systems proposed for the project are compared in the study by using scientific fundamentals and engineering principle. The two energy systems are: • System One: Use Xiangjiang River as cooling water for absorption chillers to generate chilled water for all buildings. • System Two: Use traditional cooling towers providing cooling water for absorption chillers to generate chilled water for all buildings. The system performance analyses of study show that system one has better energy, environmental and economic performance than system two. Compared to system two, system one is predicted to have a saving of 32% in electricity, 11% in natural gas, and 675 ton/year in CO2 emission; and its system payback year is 8 years. This paper also investigated the impact of system one on the Xiangjiang River by using Fluent computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results of the CFD simulation indicated that there no significant changes of river temperature over time.. Finally, some suggestions on design and operation have been provided for system one to be implemented.Copyright © 2011 by ASME