Electrotransfer of plasmid DNA into skeletal muscle is a common non-viral delivery system for the study of gene function and for gene therapy. However, the effects of epinecidin-1 (epi) on bacterial growth and immune system modulation following its electrotransfer into the muscle of grouper (Epinephelus coioides), a marine fish species, have not been addressed. In this study, pCMV-gfp-epi plasm...

In 1956, the shallow-water grouper Cephalopholis argus was introduced from Moorea (French Polynesia), where grouper diversity (14 species) is high, to the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), where only 2 rare native deep-water groupers occur. In this non-native environment, the species has flourished and has become the dominant apex predator on many reefs. In the present study, a comparison of non-nat...

Leptin is a multifunctional protein involved in processes such as body weight regulation, energy expenditure, fat metabolism, food intake, and appetite regulation. Duplicate leptin genes, leptin-a and leptin-b, were previously detected in the orange-spotted grouper. In this study, we cloned the full-length open reading frame (ORF) of the leptin-a gene in the orange-spotted grouper, searched for...

We used an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to survey bathymetry and water mass properties at Glover’s Reef atoll in Belize as part of a multidisciplinary study of population connectivity of Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus). Nassau grouper populations are declining dramatically throughout its range in the Caribbean because of overfishing. In response, Marine Protected Areas have been es...

The Indo-Pacific lionfish species [Pterois volitans (Linnaeus, 1758) and P. miles (Bennett, 1828): Family Scorpaenidae] are the first nonnative marine fishes to establish in the Western North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. Despite the continued documentation of its range expansion and highly publicized invasion (including public-driven removal efforts) there remains a paucity of basic information ...

A ranavirus was isolated from the diseased farmed groupers (Grouper iridovirus in genus Ranavirus, GIV-R), Epinephelus hybrids (blotchy rock cod, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀×giant grouper, Epinephelus lanceolatus ♂), in Sanya, Hainan, in July 2013. In this study, susceptibility of farmed juvenile giant grouper E. lanceolatus to GIV-R was determined by intraperitoneally injection. The cumulative...

Dusky grouper (garoupa, Epinephelus marginatus) is an important catch for several artisanal small-scale fisheries along the Brazilian coast. It is a sedentary, monandric, and late maturing protogynous species, which makes it vulnerable to overharvesting even though it is mainly caught through hook and line or spear fishing through free diving. Lack of information on the ecology and biology of t...

Because of their specific binding to carbohydrates, lectins play a crucial role in pathogen recognition and clearance in vertebrate animals. Previously, only two types of collectins had been isolated from bony fish: mannan-binding lectin (MBL) and galactose-binding lectin (GalBL). We sequenced a novel collectin (designated EALec1) from the red-spotted grouper, Epinephelus akaara. The gene struc...

To address patterns of genetic connectivity in a mass-aggregating marine fish, we analyzed genetic variation in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), microsatellites, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus). We expected Nassau grouper to exhibit genetic differentiation among its subpopulations due to its reproductive behavior and retentive oceanographic conditi...

In mammals, leptin has been demonstrated to perform important roles in many physiological activities and to influence development, growth, metabolism and reproduction. However, in fish, its function is still unclear. Duplicate leptin genes, leptin-a and leptin-b, have been identified in the orange-spotted grouper. In the present study, the polymorphisms in the leptin-b gene of the orange-spotte...