8^th International conference on Fisheries & Aquaculture October 02-04, 2017 Toronto, Canada

Shigeharu Kinoshita started his Research Experience on the Stress Response of the Phytoplankton when he was a college student. Later on, he was involved in the analysis of zebrafish mutants showing defects in development of the nervous system as a Post-doctoral Fellow. Currently he is conducting Research at lab of Aquatic Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo. His research interest is in the life span and aging of vertebrates.

Mammalian skeletal muscles undergo a marked senescence called sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass due to an agerelated decrease in the number and size of muscle fibers. Sarcopenia is a serious incidence in human associated with an increasing aged population. In this regard, teleosts are attractive models because these have an indeterminate muscle growth, i.e., an successive production of neonatal muscle fibers until death. The natural occurrence of negligible senescence in teleost skeletal muscle presents potentially a powerful system through which a way to prevent from sarcopenia would be discovered. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the indeterminate muscle growth in teleosts are almost unknown. Here, we focused on the torafugu (Takifugu rubripes) myosin heavy chain gene, MYHM2528-1, which is specifically expressed in neonatal muscle fibers accompanied with indeterminate muscle growth. We examined the flanking region of MYHM2528-1 through an in vivo reporter assay using zebrafish (Danio rerio) and identified a 2100bp 5' flanking sequence that contained a sufficient promoter activity to induce specific gene expression. Spatio-temporal expression of reporter gene by the promoter well overlapped with known myogenic zones functioning in teleost indeterminate muscle growth. A deletion mutant analysis revealed that the-2100~-600bp 5'-flanking sequence of MYHM2528-1 is essential for the promoter activity. This region contained putative binding sites for several representative myogenesis-related transcription factors and nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT), a transcription activator involved in regeneration of mammalian adult skeletal muscle. A significant reduction in the promoter activity was observed in the deletion constructs which lessened the number of the above-mentioned binding sites, suggesting the involvement of muscle regeneration system in indeterminate muscle growth. In this session, I will also discuss our recenct fidings about transcriptome of aged fish and accerelated aging observed in growth hormone trangenic fish.

Vasu Jayaprakas is currently working as a professor at Amity University Uttar Pradesh, India. He is a scientist with a wide range of experience in Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Science. An aquaculture expert with vast experience and knowledge in commercial farming of marine shrimps, brackish water and fresh water fishes. He is associated with academic agencies, policy makers, Government bodies and NGOs to carry out aquaculture projects in coastal areas. He is the In-charge of Integrated Research Project on Fish-cum Livestock culture, pig cum fish culture and composite culture of carp and giant fresh water prawn.

Statement of the Problem: The science of fish nutrition has advanced over the last 2-3 decades primarily in response to development in commercial aquaculture. Proper nutrition is one of the most important factors influencing the ability of cultured fishes to attain the genetic potential for growth, reproduction and longevity. Food quality and quantity affect fish reproduction. Adequate protein is essential for egg development, spawning, formation of follicles, ovarian tissues, growth and development of embryo. Feed should be formulated to meet the nutritional needs of the reproducing fish which is the key factor of attaining desired brood and seed quality. The brood stock diet should be cheap, low cost, with low conversion efficiency and high conversion ratio with less wastage and will improve the reproductive potential and yield maximum production of fry, high larval survival and fry growth ultimately increasing the profit. A sustainable and cost effective technology for brood stock development and mass production of fry and fingerlings will be the key factor for developing aquaculture industry. Dietary protein significantly affects fertility, gonad maturation, fecundity, hatching and viability of fish eggs and larval growth. Egg size and composition are useful indicators of seed production in terms of hatchability and larval quality. Larger fish egg size will eventually result in larger fry at hatching. Larger fries possess the advantage of better survival and growth through more efficient prey capture and tolerance to survival. Thus nutrition plays a major role in the reproductive performance and production of quality eggs and larvae which in turn enormously enhances gross fish production and improves aquaculture industry and ornamental fish culture trade globally.