• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 2008

Fishborne zoonotic metacercariae have not been reported from brackish water and marine fish from Vietnam waters although these parasites are common in the country's freshwater fish. Both wild-caught and cultured grouper (Epinephelus coioides and Epinephelus bleekeri), and mullet (Mugil cephalus) from brackish and marine waters located in Khanh Hoa province in central coastal Vietnam were examined, and found positive for zoonotic trematode metacercariae. From grouper, Heterophyopsis continua and Procerovum varium were recovered. The prevalence of H. continua ranged from 2.0 to 6.0% and that for P. varium ranged from 11.6 to 15.8%. Mullet were infected with Pygidiopsis summa and H. continua; both of these species are new records for Vietnam. The prevalence of P. summa in mullet was generally high, ranging from 17.6 to 75.5%, and was significantly higher than the prevalence of H. continua (2.5 to 32.4%). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of metacercariae between grouper from natural or cultured habitats, indicating that the highest risk of infection occurs in the wild-caught state prior to their placement in culture. Further, there was no difference in metacercarial prevalence between the 2 species of grouper. Infected wild-caught seed were only observed from January to October. Monthly variation in prevalence suggests seasonal variation in mullet infections occurs in this region with the highest transmission taking place from October to December. Basic investigations on the ecology and epidemiology of these intestinal flukes need to be carried out to determine their significance as a public health problem and the aspects of their biology that may be vulnerable to control interventions.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.110-117
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• 2003

We have cloned and sequenced the cDNA encoding growth hormone (GH) from pituitary poly(A)$^{+}$ RNA of red-spotted grouper (Epinephelus akaara). The cDNA of red-spotted grouper GH is 883 base pairs (bp) consisting of 21 bp of 5'untranslated region (UTR), 615 Up of an open reading frame (ORF) and 247 Up of 3'UTR. The polyadenylation signal, AATAAA, was 20 bp upsteam of polyadenylation site. Based on the nucleotide sequences, the deduced putative polypeptide contains 204 amino acids (aa), representing 17 aa of a signal and 187 aa of a mature polypeptide. The putative GH cDNA encodes a polypeptide with four cysteine residues and only one N-gly- cosylation site. Comparative sequence alignment shows that red-spotted grouper GH exhibits high similarity with its corresponding other Perciformes species GH cDNAs.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.506-514
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• 2020

We investigated seed management and feeding regime of larval red spotted grouper Epinephelus akaara using live food organisms. Fertilized eggs were produced in March 2020 by manipulating photoperiod and water temperature. Broodstock (F0) produced approximately 0.30×10⁶ eggs, of which 0.25×10⁶ were fertilized; first-generation broodstock (F1) produced 2.00×10⁶ eggs, of which 1.90×10⁶ were fertilized. Larvae were reared at temperatures of 21.0-24.5℃. The feeding regime consisted of rotifers Artemia, and commercial pellet feed. From 5-8 days after hatching (dah), rotifers collected from high-density incubation tanks were fed to grouper larvae at a density of 10-20 individuals/mL. From 9-30 dah, rotifers collected from low-density incubation tanks were fed to larvae at a density of 10-20 individuals/mL. Newly hatched Artemia were provided from 20-24 dah and enriched Artemia from 25-50 dah. Commercial pellet feed was given starting at 13 dah. The average mouth size in hatchlings was 263.4±3.7 ㎛ at 5 dah, 406.7±21.0 ㎛ at 11 dah, and 856.9±136.6 ㎛ at 21 dah. At 1 dah, larvae had a mean total length of 1.95±0.06 mm. At 66 dah, the mean TL was 4.0 cm. The final number of surviving red spotted grouper larvae was 218,380 fishes.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.572-576
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• 2020

As grouper aquaculture production intensifies worldwide, hybrids are increasingly produced to induce heterosis of traits such as rapid growth and strong environmental adaptability. In this study, we compared the morphological characteristics of a hybrid grouper to those of its parent species Epinephelus moara and E. lanceolatus. The coefficients of external and skeletal traits evaluated using soft X-rays did not differ significantly among groups; however, several patterns were detected among measured traits. The body depth (BD), length of caudal peduncle (LCP), and pre-anal fin length (PAL) of the hybrid were the same as those of E. moara, whereas the pre-pectoral fin length (PPL) and interorbital width (IOW) of the hybrid were the same as those of E. lanceolatus. Traits that did not differ significantly among the three groups included pre-dorsal fin length (PDL), pre-ventral fin length (PVL), length of anal fin (LAF), and length of dorsal fin (LDF), whereas the depth of caudal peduncle (DCP) and snout length (SNL) showed intermediate traits, and eye diameter (ED) was significantly smaller in the hybrid. Therefore, intermediate traits such as DCP and SNL and specific traits such as ED may be used as indices for hybrid classification.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.97-110
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• 2024

The Serranidae is high-quality fish species with good meat quality and is traded at high price, and is attracting attention in South Korea as a cultured species that creates high added value. However, the high-density fish farming for mass production increases the risk of mass mortality due to infectious diseases, leading to enormous economic losses. Therefore, in order to safely prevent and protect farmed fish from serious infectious diseases, it is necessary to conduct disease monitoring on a regular basis. In this study, Hyporthodus septemfasciatus, Epinephelus moara, and the hybrid longtooth grouper (E. moara ♀×E. lanceolatus ♂) were collected once a month from fish farm of Garorim and Aquabiotech Co., Ltd for a total of six months, from July to December 2023. We investigated infections of five species of bacterial diseases, including Flavobacterium columnare, six species of viral diseases, including LCDV (lymphocystis disease virus), and parasitic pathogens in grouper farms. As the result, Vibrio vulnificus and V. harveyi were detected in H. septemfasciatus in August, in the case of viral diseases, NNV was detected in H. septemfasciatus from July to August using RT-PCR or PCR. Finally, In the case of parasitic diseases, Tricodina sp. was detected in E. moara and the hybrid longtooth grouper from August to December.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.636-645
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• 2017

The physiological response of the longtooth grouper, Epinephelus bruneus to low water temperature (LWT) stress while on three different concentrations of dietary vitamin E (1 mg/diet g, 5 mg/diet g, and 10 mg /diet g) were investigated. Plasma cortisol, glucose, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were higher in the control and sham control compared with the vitamin E supplemented groups. The most addition with vitamin E in the diet (10 mg/diet g) showed the lowest levels of cortisol, glucose, and AST. However, plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) showed no significant differences across all experimental conditions (P>0.05). Also the more disposing vitamin E into feeding the better resistance against stress on the LWT was shown through cortisol, glucose, ALT, and AST.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2003

The seasonal reproductive cycle of the female honeycomb grouper, Epinephelus merra, inhabiting Chuuk was examined by histological observations of the ovaries. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) began to increase in February and peaked in March. Histological observations revealed many oocytes laden with yolk in the ovaries from March to April. From June to January, the ovaries were occupied by immature oocytes. These results suggest that the reproductive season of E. merra in Chuuk is from March through April.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2015

This study was conducted to determine the stress response [ethological (operculum movement number (OMN)), hematological (hematocrit and hemoglobin), biochemical (glucose, cortisol and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT))] in red spotted grouper, Epinephelus akaara during exposure of different water temperature in winter season. This species (Total length, $18.56{\pm}0.34cm$) previously maintained in water temperature of $15^{\circ}C$ were transferred to 15, 20 and $25^{\circ}C$. During experimental period (7 days), OMN, hematocrit (Ht), glucose and GOT values were significantly high in $15^{\circ}C$ when compared to 20 and $25^{\circ}C$. Hemoglobin value was also increased at $15^{\circ}C$, but no significant differences. There was no differences in cortisol levels among the temperature groups. No fish mortality was observed during the experimental period. From these results, $15^{\circ}C$ is likely more stressful to red spotted grouper than $20^{\circ}C$ and $25^{\circ}C$. These observations confirm that red spotted grouper adapts better to temperatures between 20 and $25^{\circ}C$ during the winter season.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2010

We investigated the androgenic effects of 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) on gonadal sex reversal and spermatogenesis in honeycomb grouper Epinephelus merra by method of gonadal biopsy. 11-KT was injected intramuscularly at a concentration of 1 and $10{\mu}g$ body weight. The proportion of cross sectional area of the gonad occupied by each germ cell type was measured and compared pre- and post-injection group. During the sex change phase, the distribution ratio of oocytes was decreased in all fish of 11-KT treatment group while the distribution ratio of spermatocytes was increased than pre-injection group. In male phase, all fish of 11-KT treatment group shown the increased distribution ratio of spermatocytes, but the distribution ratio of spermatozoa was decreased than pre-injection group. The present results suggest that 11-KT can stimulate degeneration of oocytes, proliferation of spermatocytes and spermiation in honeycomb grouper.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.566-571
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• 2020

To classify a presumed hybrid of imported grouper species acquired from the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service, maternal and paternal lines were identified based on partial sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (co1) and nuclear recombination activation gene 1 (rag1) genes. The matrilineal species was identified as Epinephleus moara by a partial (760 bp) co1 sequence. Ambiguous sequences with base pairs belonging to E. moara or E. lanceolatus were found in a total of 15 different base pairs in the partial 1,159 bp of the rag1 gene, and the patrilineal species was found to be E. lanceolatus. Therefore, all of the groupers examined in the study were identified to be hybrids of E. moara and E. lanceolatus. In addition, a fast and convenient method using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was established for hybrid discrimination. Hybrids between E. moara ♀ and E. lanceolatus ♂ were identified through specific bands of 387 bp and 433 bp in PRIMER 6.