• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.445-452
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• 1996

Endogeneous activities of ${\beta}-galactosidase$-like enzyme in various tissues from several finfishes and shellfishes were examined by histochemical analysis based on X-gal staining and by fluorimetric measurement using 4-methylumbelliferyl-${\beta}$-D-galactoside (4-MUG). Species used in this study were 3 freshwater fishes, mud loach (Misgurnus mizolepis), common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) ; 3 marine fishes, olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), stone flounder (Kareius bicoloratus) and marbled sole (Limanda yokohamae) ; and 4 shellfishes, abalone (Haliotis discus hannai), Pacific oyster (Crassoskra gigas), pearl oyster (Pinctada fucata martensii) and ark shell (Anadara broughtonii). The activities of ${\beta}-galactosidase$-like enzyme in all finfishes examined were significantly different among species, with the wide variations between tissues in a species. In general, the tissues such as kidney, intestine and liver were ones which showed the significantly higher values in 4-MUG fluorimetry and deeper staining patterns in X-gal analysis compared to other tissues. On the other hand, serum and muscle revealed the significantly lower activities than others did, regardless of species. Shellfishes were also found to have endogenous activities of ${\beta}-galactosidase$-like enzyme which were significantly varied depending on both species and organs in a species. Hepatopancreas from all shellfishes examined showed the deepest pattern in X-gal staining and also the highest value in 4-MUG analysis, while activities of ${\beta}-galactosidase$-like enzyme in adductor muscles and mantle muscles from all shellfish species in this study except Pacific oyster were negligible : Pacific oyster had the significant activity of this enzyme in muscle tissues. Putative endogenous lacZ fragment was amplified from both finfishes and shellfishes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The molecular size of PCR products was about 510 bp, and there was no difference in size among species examined.