TheRussian sturgeon,Acipensergueldenstaedtii, is closely related to three other sturgeon species (A. persicus, A. naccarii and A. baerii), with populations in the Caspian Sea containing a cryptic lineage with an A. baerii-like mtDNA profile. Using morphological evidence (morphometrics, meristics) and additional genetic analysis (cytochrome b gene and control region sequencing), cryptic lineages...

The influence of nanoparticles (NPs) on aquatic environments is still poorly documented. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of silver (AgNPs) and copper (CuNPs) nanoparticles on larval Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) after 21 days of exposure. Acute toxicity of AgNPs on Siberian sturgeon was investigated in a 96-h static renewal study and compared with the toxicity of CuNPs....

Enzymatic antioxidant activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase) and lipid peroxidation were determined in different tissues (gills, heart, digestive tract, liver, white muscle, skin, red blood cells, swimbladder) of trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii). Total tissue antioxidant activity was, except for catalase, generally...

Scott Sturgeon has claimed to undermine the principal argument for Physicalism, in his words, the view that “actuality is exhausted by physical reality” (Sturgeon 1998, p. 410). In noting that actuality is exhausted by physical reality, the Physicalist is not claiming that all that there is in actuality are those things identified by physics. Rather the thought is that actuality is made up of a...

Sturgeon (order Acipenserformes) provide an ideal taxonomic context for examination of genome duplication events. Multiple levels of ploidy exist among these fish. In a novel microsatellite approach, data from 962 fish from 20 sturgeon species were used for analysis of ploidy in sturgeon. Allele numbers in a sample of individuals were assessed at six microsatellite loci. Species with approximat...

We report the isolation of a novel vitamin K-dependent protein from the calcified cartilage of Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser nacarii). This 10.2-kDa secreted protein contains 16 gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) residues in its 74-residue sequence, the highest Gla percent of any known protein, and we have therefore termed it Gla-rich protein (GRP). GRP has a high charge density (36 negative+16 po...

Many hydroelectric dams have been in place for 50 - >100 years, which for most fish species means that enough generations have passed for fragmentation induced divergence to have accumulated. However, for long-lived species such as Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, it should be possible to discriminate between historical population structuring and contemporary gene flow and improve the broad...

Veronaea botryosa is a melanized mold and cause of systemic fungal infections in cultured sturgeon (Acipenser spp.). Mortality in adult female sturgeon caused by this emergent pathogen results in significant economic losses for the caviar industry. Little is known regarding environmental conditions conducive to V. botryosa infection. This study evaluated the effect of temperature on V. botryosa...

The sturgeon is a primitive actinopterigian fish that, unlike modern teleosts, possess a portal vascular system that connects a true median eminence with the anterior pituitary as in mammals. The occurrence and localization of corticotropin and corticotropin releasing factor-like immunoreactivies were examined in the brain of the sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus L.) by immunocytochemistry with anti...