Marty Kwok‐Shing Wong

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is increasingly popular as a useful non-invasive method to monitor and study biodiversity and community structure in freshwater and marine environments. To effectively extract eDNA from the filter surface is a fundamental factor determining the representativeness of the samples. We improved the eDNA extraction efficiency of an established Sterivex method by 12- to 16-fold using a larger volume of lysis buffer mix coupled with backflushing the cartridges. The DNeasy extra

Since cortisol is an important hormone for seawater acclimation as well as for general stress in teleosts, emergency and osmotic challenges could have been evolved in parallel and resulted in the overlapped signaling networks. Our results revealed important interactions among transcription factors and offer a multifactorial perspective of genes involved in seawater acclimation.

By integrating gene expression and phylogenetic results, we propose that the major NKA α-subunits for SW acclimation were not ancestrally selected, but rather were flexibly determined in lineage-specific fashion in teleosts.

The kallikrein-kinin system (KKS) consists of two major cascades in mammals: "plasma KKS" consisting of high molecular-weight (HMW) kininogen (KNG), plasma kallikrein (KLKB1), and bradykinin (BK); and "tissue KKS" consisting of low molecular-weight (LMW) KNG, tissue kallikreins (KLKs), and [Lys(0)]-BK. Some components of the KKS have been identified in the fishes, but systematic analyses have not been performed, thus this study aims to define the KKS components in teleosts and pave a way for fut

Angiotensinogen belongs to family A serine protease inhibitors (SERPIN family) and we have cloned and characterized SERPIN genes in two lamprey species, which possess all the properties of angiotensinogen. The putative angiotensinogens in lampreys can be considered as an evolutionary link between SERPIN and other angiotensinogen according to the phylogenetic analyses. The inferred sea lamprey angiotensinogen gene was expressed abundantly in liver and to a lesser extent in other tissues. The pred

The timing for the activation of the Na-binding mechanism to alleviate the adverse osmotic gradient was temporally complementary to the subsequent remodeling of branchial ionocytes and transporting epithelia of the digestive tract. The strategy to manipulate the osmotic potential of Na⁺ by specific binding molecules is similar to the osmotically inactive Na described in human skin and muscle. The Na-binding molecules provide a buffer to tolerate the salinity changes, which is advantag

The kidney histology of silver sea bream Sparus sarba adapted to different salinities was studied. Renal glomeruli in silver sea bream were grouped into clusters and two distinct types of glomeruli could be discerned. Expanded glomeruli were highly vascular, probably related to an active filtering role, while collapsed glomeruli had a shrunken appearance, probably related to an abated filtering role. Collecting tubules were lined by tall columnar cells and were more prominent and muscular in hyp

Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a popular non‐invasive method to study the presence of organisms in the environment. To study the ecological behavior and migration routes of small pelagic fishes that are difficult to trace with traditional capturing methods, we developed multiplex real‐time PCR assays to measure the eDNA of chub mackerel, blue mackerel, Japanese jack mackerel, Japanese anchovy, Japanese sardine, and Pacific saury. To test the validity, eDNA samples collected from th