As from January 2010 The Israeli Journal of Aquaculture-Bamidgeh (IJA) will be published exclusively as an on-line Open Access (OA) quarterly accessible by all AquacultureHub (http://www.aquaculturehub.org) members and registered individuals and institutions. Please visit our website (http://siamb.org.il) for free registration form, further information and instructions. This transformation from a subscription printed version to an on-line OA journal, aims at supporting the concept that scientific peer-reviewed publications should be made available to all, including those with limited resources. The OA IJA does not enforce author or subscription fees and will endeavor to obtain alternative sources of income to support this policy for as long as possible.

Partial purification of α-amylases from the digestive tract of the Indian major carp Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) through acetone fractionation and ion exchange chromatography (DEAE-SephadexA-50) resulted in 8-fold purification with 86% recovery. Characterisation of amylase activity revealed two pH optima at 4.5 and 6.5. Activity was stable over wide pH ranges of 3.5 to 4.5 and 7 to 12. Optimum incubation temperature was 35°C. The enzyme lost 91% activity at 60°C within 15 min and was inhibited by Amylase inhibitor Type-1 (wheat); 1, 10 Phenanthroline, Ethylene diamine tetra-acetate (EDTA) and Phenyl methyl sulphonyl fluoride (PMSF). Heavy metal ions Hg++ and Cu++ strongly inhibited the enzyme activity, while Zn++ and Bi++ inhibited to a lesser extent. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified amylase fractions revealed four bands, with corresponding molecular weights of 43.59, 52.36, 55.42 and 54.01 kDa. α-Amylase activity from L. rohita exhibited linear hydrolysis of starch upto 7% concentration in 60 min.