• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.68-73
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• 1996

This study was carried out to obtain the basic information on morphological and chromosomal charateristics in the three species of Chinese carps (grass carp; Ctenopharyngodon idellua, bighead carp; Aristichthys nobilis, and silver carp; Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) introduced to Korea from China. C. idellua was differ from A. nobilis and H. molitrix by the number of gill rakers, scales, fin rays, body proportion. A. nobilis and H. molitrix were similar in having ventral keel and many scale number, but H. molitrix was differ from A. nobilis by the connected gill rakers and body color pattern. Diploid chromosome and arm number (fundamental number, NF) of the three species were all the same to 2n=48 and NF=84. Diploid chromosome numbers in the three species are consisted of 10 pairs of metacentric chromosome, 8 pairs of submetacentric chromosome and 6 pairs of acro and/ or telocentric chromosome. Morphological and karyological relationship of the three Chinese carps are discussed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.204-209
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• 2008

The cDNAs encoding glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were cloned and sequenced from the liver of three Chinese carps with different tolerance to hepatotoxic microcystins, phyto-planktivorous silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), and herbivorous grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus). Using genome walker method, a 750 bp 5'-flanking region of the silver carp GPx gene was obtained, and several potential regulatory elements were identified in the promoter region of the GPx gene. The silver carp GPx gene was widely expressed in all tissues examined. Despite phylogenetic analysis, assigning this newly described carp GPx to the group of mammalian GPx2, the carp GPx seems more similar to GPx1 from a physiological point of view. The constitutive expression pattern of the three carp liver GPx gene, shows a positive relationship with their tolerance to microcystins.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.346-354
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• 2006

The full-length cDNA of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) was obtained from liver. The grass carp UCP2 cDNA was determined to be 1152 bp in length with an open reading frame that encodes 310 amino acids. Five introns (Intron 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) in the translated region, and partial sequence of Intron 2 in the untranslated region of grass carp UCP2 gene were also obtained. Gene structure comparison between grass carp and mammalian (human and mouse) UCP2 gene shows that, the UCP2 gene structure of grass carp is much similar to that of human and mouse. Partial UCP2 cDNA sequences of bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) and mud carp (Cirrhinus molitorella), were further determined. Together with the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) UCP2 sequence from GenBank (AJ243486), multiple alignment result shows that the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the UCP2 gene, were highly conserved among the five major Chinese carps that belong to four subfamilies. Using beta-actin as control, the ratio UCP2/beta-actin mRNA (%) was determined to be $149.4{\pm}15.6$ (common carp), $127.4{\pm}22.1$ (mud carp), $96.7{\pm}12.7$ (silver carp), $94.1{\pm}26.8$ (bighead carp) and $63.7{\pm}16.2$ (grass carp). The relative liver UCP2 expression of the five major Chinese carps, shows a close relationship with their food habit: benthos and detrituseating fish (common carp and mud carp) > planktivorious fish (silver carp and bighead carp) > herbivorious fish (grass carp). We suggest that liver UCP2 might be important for Chinese carps to detoxify cyanotoxins and bacteria in debris and plankton food.