The long-term effects of three dietary probiotics on rainbow trout during grow-out (mean body weight = 250 ± 50 g) were investigated by feeding for 130 days on eight diet treatments supplemented with ...Lactobacillus buchneri, L. fermentum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 107 CFU/g, singularly or in combination. Fish samples were taken for biochemical and immunological analysis in addition to growth performance indices at days 30 and 130 of the experiment. The expression levels of TNF-α and IL-1β genes were also measured at day 130. A positive effect on food conversion was observed in rainbow trout with dietary inclusion of S. cerevisiae (P < 0.05) over 130 days. Also, the total number of white blood cells and their differential count (blood neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes), as well as respiratory burst activity were all significantly affected by different treatments at 130 days (P < 0.05). Moreover, at 130 days there was a significant increase in the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β in yeast present treatment compared to the control group (P < 0.05), but no significant difference in the combined probiotic treatments from control group. Yeast and L. buchneri showed a contrary effect on the immune gene expression regulation. Serum cholesterol was significantly lower in all treatments receiving yeast as a dietary probiotic, either alone or in combination with other probiotics. However, none of the probiotic treatments had a significant effect on trout growth performance, or total protein, albumin, globulin, triglyceride and the red blood cell count after 30 or 130 days. Overall, the results suggest that inclusion of a single dietary probiotic, especially S. cerevisiae, in rainbow trout during grow-out has a greater positive effect than combinations of probiotics on the immune system.
•Singular and combined treatments of bacterial and fungal probiotics were evaluated in rainbow trout.•Saccharomyces cerevisiae singularly was more effective in growth and immunological responses in 130 days.•The expression levels of TNF-α and IL-1β genes were significantly increased in fish received singular treatment of S. cerevisiae.
Coldwater species are challenged with increasing water temperatures and fluctuations over their upper thermal limits. This study evaluated the potential of acclimation to higher temperature and ...dietary antioxidants capacity to mitigate the adverse effects of heat shocks in rainbow trout. To this end, rainbow trout fingerlings were acclimated at optimal (14 °C) and high (20 °C) temperatures and fed on selenium (5 mg/kg) and polyphenol (2 g/kg) supplemented diets for 60 days and then were exposed to heat shocks by increasing water temperature up to 30 °C. Growth performance, survival rate, haemato-immunological parameters, and expression of HSP70α, HSP70β, HSP90β, and IL-1β genes were measured to evaluate the hypothesises. The rainbow trout acclimated to 20 °C and fed on antioxidants supplemented diets showed a significantly higher aftershock survival rate. Moreover, fish acclimated to higher temperature showed higher red blood cell counts as well as serum total protein and albumin during the acclimation trial and heat shocks phase. Acclimation to higher temperature and feeding on antioxidants remarkably enhanced fish immune and antioxidant capacity in comparison to fish adapted to cold water and fed on the basal diet measured by improved respiratory burst and lysozyme activities and upregulation of IL-1β expression during exposure of fish to heat shocks. Furthermore, fish acclimated to higher temperature, especially those fed on antioxidant supplemented diets, showed lower expression levels of HSPs genes during the heat shock phase, indicating that high heat shocks were less stressful for these fish in comparison to cold water acclimated fish. This finding was also supported by lower cortisol levels during heat shocks in fish acclimated to higher temperature. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that acclimation to higher temperature and/or fed on diets supplemented by selenium and polyphenol, can help to mitigate the adverse effects of the heat shock in rainbow trout.
•Comparison of Iranian coronavirus data with other countries.•Predicting the trends of deaths from COVID-19 using regression.•Spatial modeling, risk mapping, and change detection of COVID-19 using ...the random forest (RF) machine learning technique.•Validation of the modeled risk maps.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a major pandemic threat that has spread to more than 212 countries with more than 432,902 recorded deaths and 7,898,442 confirmed cases worldwide so far (on June 14, 2020). It is crucial to investigate the spatial drivers to prevent and control the epidemic of COVID-19.
This is the first comprehensive study of COVID-19 in Iran; and it carries out spatial modeling, risk mapping, change detection, and outbreak trend analysis of the disease spread. Four main steps were taken: comparison of Iranian coronavirus data with the global trends, prediction of mortality trends using regression modeling, spatial modeling, risk mapping, and change detection using the random forest (RF) machine learning technique (MLT), and validation of the modeled risk map.
The results show that from February 19 to June 14, 2020, the average growth rates (GR) of COVID-19 deaths and the total number of COVID-19 cases in Iran were 1.08 and 1.10, respectively. Based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) data, Iran’s fatality rate (deaths/0.1M pop) is 10.53. Other countries’ fatality rates were, for comparison, Belgium – 83.32, UK – 61.39, Spain – 58.04, Italy – 56.73, Sweden – 48.28, France – 45.04, USA – 35.52, Canada – 21.49, Brazil – 20.10, Peru – 19.70, Chile – 16.20, Mexico– 12.80, and Germany – 10.58. The fatality rate for China is 0.32 (deaths/0.1M pop). Over time, the heatmap of the infected areas identified two critical time intervals for the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. The provinces were classified in terms of disease and death rates into a large primary group and three provinces that had critical outbreaks were separate from the others. The heatmap of countries of the world shows that China and Italy were distinguished from other countries in terms of nine viral infection-related parameters. The regression models for death cases showed an increasing trend but with some evidence of turning. A polynomial relationship was identified between the coronavirus infection rate and the province population density. Also, a third-degree polynomial regression model for deaths showed an increasing trend recently, indicating that subsequent measures taken to cope with the outbreak have been insufficient and ineffective. The general trend of deaths in Iran is similar to the world's, but Iran’s shows lower volatility. Change detection of COVID-19 risk maps with a random forest model for the period from March 11 to March 18 showed an increasing trend of COVID-19 in Iran’s provinces. It is worth noting that using the LASSO MLT to evaluate variables’ importance, indicated that the most important variables were the distance from bus stations, bakeries, hospitals, mosques, ATMs (automated teller machines), banks, and the minimum temperature of the coldest month.
We believe that this study's risk maps are the primary, fundamental step to take for managing and controlling COVID-19 in Iran and its provinces.
Evolutionary divergence and speciation often occur at a slower rate in the marine realm due to the higher potential for long-distance reproductive interaction through larval dispersal. One common ...evolutionary pattern in the Indo-Pacific, is divergence of populations and species at the peripheries of widely-distributed organisms. However, the evolutionary and demographic histories of such divergence are yet to be well understood. Here we address these issues by coupling genome-wide SNP data with mitochondrial DNA sequences to test the patterns of genetic divergence and possible secondary contact among geographically distant populations of the highly valuable spiny lobster Panulirus homarus species complex, distributed widely through the Indo-Pacific, from South Africa to the Marquesas Islands. After stringent filtering, 2020 SNPs were used for population genetic and demographic analyses, revealing strong regional structure (F.sub.ST = 0.148, P < 0001), superficially in accordance with previous analyses. However, detailed demographic analyses supported a much more complex evolutionary history of these populations, including a hybrid origin of a North-West Indian Ocean (NWIO) population, which has previously been discriminated morphologically, but not genetically. The best-supported demographic models suggested that the current genetic relationships among populations were due to a complex series of past divergences followed by asymmetric migration in more recent times. Overall, this study suggests that alternating periods of marine divergence and gene flow have driven the current genetic patterns observed in this lobster and may help explain the observed wider patterns of marine species diversity in the Indo-Pacific.
A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical entity that is updated in real-time by transfer of data between physical and digital (virtual) entities. In this manuscript we aim to ...introduce a digital twin framework for robotic drilling. Initially, a generic reference model is proposed to highlight elements of the digital twin relevant to robotic drilling. Then, a precise reference digital twin architecture model is developed, based on available standards and technologies. Finally, real-time visualisation of drilling process parameters is demonstrated as an initial step towards implementing a digital twin of a robotic drilling process.
Many ecologically important and valuable fisheries marine species have been misidentified in terms of both the statistical data and market demand. Correct identification at the species level and the ...population genetic structure of the orange-spotted grouper (
), a precious fish in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, was tested using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (DNA barcoding) and D-loop sequencing. The results revealed that the
species found in the region, including
,
,
, and
were all mistakenly grouped together and identified as only
. Moreover, the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) of
samples using the D-loop showed a significantly unique genetic structure (Φ
= 0.068,
< 0.001) within the
population throughout the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, with the pairwise genetic difference between sampling locations in UAE and the Iranian coast. Moreover, D-loop sequences analysis showed two distinct haplotype groups scattered among the sampling locations, which did not correlate with the geographic distance between the sampling locations. These findings indicate that the issue of misidentification should be highlighted in the management and conservation of
.
. As this type of misidentification is likely to happen to other threatened marine species as well, the efficacy of using genetic markers for the correct identification, both at the species and the population level, is vital.
The effects of dietary aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and/or zearalenone (ZEA) contamination on goldfish, was investigated. Total of 540 fingerlings, 6.25 ± 0.12 g, were randomly allocated to experimental ...groups comprised of factorial designation of different dietary AFB1 (0, 50 and 100 ppb) and ZEA (0, 500 and 1000 ppb) concentrations for 60 days. Each treatment was conducted in triplicate. Results showed dietary AFB1 and/or ZEA depressed the growth performance of fish; the highest and lowest weight gain (WG), final body weight, thermal growth coefficient (TGC) and daily growth coefficient (DGC) were observed in control group and AFB50ZEA1000, respectively (P < 0.05). Moreover, dietary AFB1 and/or ZEA significantly affected the gene expressions of Caspase 3, Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1, Glutathione S-transferases (GST) and Heat shock proteins 70 (HSP70) in a dose-dependent and tissue specific manner (hepatopancreas or intestine) (P < 0.05). In the hepatopancreas, the highest relative expression of Caspase 3 (2.08 ± 0.43), CYP1A1 (2.73 ± 1.18), GST (32.86 ± 4.03) and HSP70 (7.55 ± 2.35) genes were observed in AFB100ZEA1000, AFB50ZEA0, AFB0ZEA1000 and AFB0ZEA1000 groups, respectively (P < 0.05). However, the highest relative expression of Caspase 3 (39.70 ± 10.98), CYP1A1 (966.4 ± 68.6), GST (175.8 ± 37.1) and HSP70 (1.01 ± 0.22) genes in the intestinal tissue were observed in AFB100ZEA1000, AFB0ZEA1000, AFB100ZEA500 AFB0ZEA0 groups (P < 0.05). The highest scores of the intestine tissue inflammation (4.0 ± 0.75) and necrosis (4.0 ± 0.75) were observed in AFB100ZEA500 group (P < 0.05). The results indicated the significant contribution of the intestine in metabolism/excretion of the feed-born toxins. Furthermore, the results revealed that dietary AFB1 and/or ZEA contamination could negatively affect fish performance and detoxifying genes expression profiles at concentrations even lower than those indicated in the literature as the safe feed mycotoxin thresholds.
There is increasing recognition of the concordance between marine biogeographic and phylogeographic boundaries. However, it is still unclear how population-level divergence translates into ...species-level divergence, and what are the principal factors that first initiate that divergence, and then maintain reproductive isolation. This study examines the likely forces driving population and lineage divergences in the broadly-distributed Indo-Pacific spiny lobster Panulirus homarus, which has peripheral divergent lineages in the west and east. The study focuses particularly on the West Indian Ocean, which is emerging as a region of unexpected diversity. Mitochondrial control region (mtCR) and COI sequences as well as genotypes of 9 microsatellite loci were examined in 410 individuals from 17 locations grouped into 7 regions from South Africa in the west, and eastward across to Taiwan and the Marquesas Islands. Phylogenetic and population-level analyses were used to test the significance and timing of divergences and describe the genetic relationships among populations.
Analyses of the mtCR revealed high levels of divergence among the seven regions (Ф
= 0.594, P < 0.001). Microsatellite analyses also revealed significant divergence among regions, but at a much lower level (F
= 0.066, P < 0.001). The results reveal different patterns of mtCR v. nDNA divergence between the two distinct peripheral lineages: a subspecies in South Africa and Madagascar, and a phylogeographically diverged population in the Marquesas. The results also expose a number of other more fine-scale population divergences, particularly in the Indian Ocean.
The divergence of peripheral lineages in the west and east of the species' range appear to have been initiated and maintained by very different processes. The pattern of mitochondrial and nuclear divergence of the western lineage, implicates processes of parapatric isolation, secondary contact and introgression, and suggests possible maintenance through adaptation and behavioural reproductive isolation. In contrast, the eastern lineage appears to have diverged through a rare colonisation event, maintained through long-term isolation, and matches expectations of the core-periphery hypothesis. The process of active peripheral speciation may be a common force in the Indo-Pacific that helps drive some of the regions' recognized biogeographic boundaries.
Panulirus homarus is an economically important spiny lobster that is widespread through the Indo-West Pacific Region, but has an uncertain taxonomic status, with three or four geographic subspecies ...having been described. This study used mitochondrial (16S, COI and control region) and nuclear (18S, ITS-1) DNA sequences to examine specimens of all putative subspecies and forms from throughout their range, in order to determine their genetic validity, and understand the evolutionary history of this species. Despite the range of diversity present in the loci examined, the results were consistent across genes. P. h. rubellus from the SW Indian Ocean comprised the most divergent lineage that was reciprocally monophyletic with respect to all other P. homarus (approx. 9% divergence in COI), and has likely evolved reproductive barriers. The putative P. h. "Brown" subspecies from the Marquesas Is in the central Pacific also comprised a somewhat divergent monophyletic lineage (approx. 3% in COI), but may simply be an allopatric population. The widespread P. h. homarus was not diverged at all from the described P. h. megasculpta from the NW Indian Ocean. The degree of evolutionary divergence of populations at the extremes distribution of the species is somewhat surprising, given the long pelagic larval stage, but suggests that allopatric speciation has been an important driver in the evolution of the genus.
A few species of mollusks display color variation in their soft tissues. In pearl oysters, the color polymorphism in mantle tissue is associated with the color and radiance of shell and pearl. The ...study of biomineralization related genes in mantle tissue of pearl oysters can be used as a suitable approach to better identify the molecular mechanisms that influence shell and pearl quality and color variations. In this study, we investigated the expression of biomineralization-related genes in black and orange mantle morphotypes of pearl oyster
, Pinctada persica
in both warm and cool seasons using quantitative real-time PCR. Our results showed that the genes involved in biomineralization of the prismatic and nacre layer, i.e.;
ASP, KRMP, MRNP34, SHELL, SHEM1B, LINKINE, PIF, SHEM5, NACREIN
, and in pigmentation (
TYR2A
) were significantly higher expressed in orange phenotype compared to those of black one. The higher expression of
ASP
,
KRMP
,
SHEM5
,
LINKINE
and
NACREIN
in orange phenotype was only observed in warm season, but
PIF
,
SHELL
,
SHEM1B
, and
TYR2A
were upregulated in both warm and cool seasons. These results suggest the existence of different genetic processes between the two color morphs of
P. persica
and the more active role of genes in orange morphotype, particularly in warmer season. This study provides better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying biomineralization in pearl oysters.
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