Catfish reovirus (CRV), a double stranded RNA virus, inhibited channel catfish herpes-virus (CCV) replication by 2 different mechanisms: (1) directly as a consequence of its own replication, and (2) indirectly due to the induction of an anti-viral factor. In the former, prior infection with CRV significantly reduced subsequent CCV protein synthesis and virus yield. CRV mediated-interference was...

The effect of the pesticide endosulfan on predator-prey interactions between catfish and Schistosoma host snails was assessed in static tank experiments. Hybrid catfish (Clarias gariepinus × C. ngamensis) and Bulinus globosus were subjected to various endosulfan concentrations including an untreated control. The 48- and 96-h LC50 values for catfish were 1.0 and <0.5 µg/L, respectively, whereas ...

Stream flow modifications, such as reduced spring flow and construction of low-head dams, have led to declines in the headwater catfish (Ictalurus lupus) across much of its range, as has competition with channel catfish (I. punctatus). Hybridization between headwater catfish and channel catfish also poses a threat to the headwater catfish. Our analyses of cytochrome-b sequences of headwater cat...

Pansteatitis has been identified in wild populations of sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), and Nile crocodiles, Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti, inhabiting the same waters in the Olifants River Gorge in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Mesenteric and pectoral fat tissue was investigated microscopically and by fatty acid analysis in healthy and pansteatitis-affected catfish ...

A genetic linkage map of the channel catfish genome (N=29) was constructed using EST-based microsatellite and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in an interspecific reference family. A total of 413 microsatellites and 125 SNP markers were polymorphic in the reference family. Linkage analysis using JoinMap 4.0 allowed mapping of 331 markers (259 microsatellites and 72 SNPs) to 29 linka...

Edwardsiella ictaluri is a Gram-negative facultative anaerobic rod and the causative agent of enteric septicemia of channel catfish (ESC), which is one of the most prevalent diseases of catfish, causing significant economic losses in the catfish industry. E. ictaluri is resistant to complement system and macrophage killing, which results in rapid systemic septicemia. However, mechanisms of E. i...

The human body burden of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) sharply declined after production was banned in the US in 1979. For the 10% of the US population that remains most exposed to PCBs, fish consumption is the primary source. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data indicates that the highest remaining PCB levels exist in a non-Hispanic black subpopulation. Our review ...

The objective of this study was to chemically characterize both channel and hybrid catfish parts including heads, frames, viscera, skin, and fillet trimming mince. Triplicate samples of channel and hybrid catfish byproduct parts were obtained from a large commercial catfish processor and analyzed for percent moisture, lipid, protein, ash, and amino acid and fatty acid profiles were determined. ...

Diplostomoid digenean metacercariae have caused widescale mortalities of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), at aquaculture farms in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, USA. Originally, based on a tentative diagnosis, the industry considered the primary harmful agent to be an introduced species from Europe, Bolbophorus confusus (Krause, 1914), frequently reported from the Americ...

Catfish is the major aquaculture species in the United States. The hybrid catfish produced by crossing channel catfish females with blue catfish males exhibit a number of desirable production traits, but their mass production has been difficult. To introduce desirable genes from blue catfish into channel catfish through introgression, a genetic linkage map is helpful. In this project, a genetic...