The bitterling (Cyprinidae, Acheilongnathinae) is a temperate freshwater fish with a unique spawning symbiosis with host mussels. Female bitterlings use their extended ovipositors to lay eggs on the gills of mussels through the mussel's exhalant siphon. In the present study, in April of 2020, we investigated spawning frequencies and patterns of three bitterling fish species in host mussel species in the Nakdong River basin (Hoecheon). During field surveys, a total of four bitterling and three mussel species were found. We observed bitterling's spawning eggs/larvae in the three mussel species: Anodonta arcaeformis (proportion spawned: 45.5%), Corbicula fluminea (12.1%), and Nodularia douglasiae (45.2%). The number of bitterlings’ eggs/larvae per mussel ranged from 1 to 58. Using our developed genetic markers, we identified the eggs/ larvae of each bitterling species in each mussel species (except for A. macropterus): A. arcaeformis (spawned by Acheilognathus yamatsutae), C. fluminea (A. yamatsutae and Tanakia latimarginata), and N. douglasiae (A. yamatsutae, Rhodeus uyekii, and T. latimarginata). Approximately 57.6% of N. douglasiae mussel individuals had eggs/ larvae of more than one bitterling species, suggesting that interspecific competition for occupying spawning grounds is intense. This is the first report on bitterling’s spawning events in the Asian clam C. fluminea from Korea; however, it should be ascertained whether bitterling’s embryo undergoes successful development inside the small mussel and leaves as a free-swimming juvenile. In addition, the importance of its conservation as a new host mussel species for bitterling fishes needs to be studied further.

Barnea manilensis is a bivalve which bores soft rocks, such as, limestone or mudstone in the low intertidal zone. They make burrows which have narrow entrances and wide interiors and live in these burrows for a lifetime. In this study, the morphology and the microstructure of the valve of rock-boring clam B. manilensis were observed using a stereoscopic microscope and FE-SEM, respectively. The chemical composition of specific part of the valve was assessed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. 3D modeling and structural dynamic analysis were used to simulate the boring behavior of B. manilensis. Microscopy results showed that the valve was asymmetric with plow-like spikes which were located on the anterior surface of the valve and were distributed in a specific direction. The anterior parts of the valve were thicker than the posterior parts. EDS results indicated that the valve mainly consisted of calcium carbonate, while metal elements, such as, Al, Si, Mn, Fe, and Mg were detected on the outer surface of the anterior spikes. It was assumed that the metal elements increased the strength of the valve, thus helping the B. manilensis to bore sediment. The simulation showed that spikes located on the anterior part of the valve received a load at all angles. It was suggested that the anterior part of the shell received the load while drilling rocks. The boring mechanism using the amorphous valve of B. manilensis is expected to be used as basic data to devise an efficient drilling mechanism.

An estuary is a water ecosystem with a high abundance of the species diversity, due to a variety of complex physicochemical factors of the area where freshwater and ocean mixed. The identification of Corbicula species in the estuary environments is difficult because of various morphological characteristics. In this study, we provide taxonomic information on Corbicula species with taxonomic difficulties using morphological and genetic analysis. This study was conducted on clams from the Seomjin River-Gwangyang Bay, one of the major production area of marsh clam in Korea. As a result, we characterized Cytocrome C Oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences of the Corbicula. The 636 bp nucleotide sequences of COI have 98% homology among Corbicula species collected from 2 sites of Seomjin River-Gwangyang Bay. The phylogenetic analysis with 17 species of Corbicula indicated that most of the species collected from Seomjin River-Gwangyang Bay were brackish water clam (Corbicula japonica), and only one Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea). The evolutionary distance between C. japonica and C. fluminea was less than 0.003. Therefore, it was confirmed that C. japonica is phylogenetically closely related to C. fluminea. In 9 species of Cyrenidae, phylogenetic tree was classified into three lineages. These results will be used as an important data for an identification of clam species by providing genetic information for Corbicula species with a morphological diversity. Key words: Corbicula japonica, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (

본 연구는 수온, 염분, 사육밀도 및 혼합 먹이생물 공급량과 같은 환경요인이 왕우럭 Tresus keenae의 유생사육 시 생존 및 발생에 미치는 영향을 조사하기 위하여 수행하였다. 연구 결과, 왕우럭 유생사육의 최적 조건은 수온 20℃에서 24℃, 염분 30 psu, 사육밀도 1 ml당 5개체 및 먹이생물 I. galbana, C. simplex 및 T. suecica 혼합 공급량 10×104 세포/ml이였다. 본 연구 결과 를 통해 밝혀진 왕우럭 유생 최적의 사육 환경요인은 빠른 성장 및 높은 생존을 통해 생산성 향상에 기여하리라 생각된다.

갯벌의 건강 수준에 대한 평가는 갯벌에 서식하는 생물의 건강에 의해 평가될 수 있다. 생체지 표유전자의 발현 분석을 통하여 갯벌에 서식하는 생물의 건강 수준을 평가할 수 있다. 본 연구 의 목적은 heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), glutathione S-transferases (GST) 및 thioredoxin (TRX)과 같은 생체지표유전자를 이용하여 서해안 갯벌의 건강을 평가하는 것이다. 이들 유전자는 스트레스, 면역 및 항산화 관련한 유전자들로서 이들 유전자의 발현을 통해 생물의 건강 정도를 관찰하는 데 사용할 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 서해안의 8개 정점에서 바지락(Ruditapes philippinarum)을 수집했다. 유전자의 발현은 RT-qPCR 방법으로 분석하였다. 연구 결과 Hsp70, Hsp90, GST 및 TRX 유전자들의 발현이 8개 정점에서 차별적으로 발현되는 것으로 나타났다. 특히, Hsp90 및 GST의 발현 또는 Hsp70 및 TRX의 발현은 유사하였다. 이것 은 각 유전자에 특이적으로 반응하는 물질이 존재하는 것으로 생각된다. 따라서 이화학적 분석 결과에 근거하여 분석에 적합한 유전자를 선택할 수 있다고 생각한다. 이 결과는 Hsp70, Hsp90, GST 및 TRX 유전자는 갯벌의 건강을 평가하기 위한 생체지표유전자로서의 역할을 수행함을 시사한다.