We described the isolation and characterization of 27 new microsatellite loci from olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus . All loci were found to be polymorphic, and had between five and 22 alleles with observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.161 to 1.0 in 31 individuals examined. These micorsatellite makers are likely to be useful for studies of genome mapping, mating systems and population genetics in this species.

The complete 1141 bp mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences were determined for lenok Brachymystax lenok, cherry salmon Oncorhynchus masou masou, Ishikawa's cherry salmon O. m. ishikawai, chum salmon O. keta, rainbow trout O. mykiss, and an albino mutant of rainbow trout. Common substitutions detected in these species were transitional mutations. There were no significant differences in the intraspecific variation of the cytochrome b genes. Interspecific divergences were greater than intraspecific variation. The level of variation ranged from 8·026-15·686%. The cherry salmon was closer to chum salmon than to rainbow trout, and the lenok was the most distantly related species. 2000 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

We isolated and characterized the profilin (FcPFN) cDNA from hemocytes of Fenneropenaeus chinensis, a unique shrimp species from the Yellow Sea. The FcPFN cDNA consists of 830 bp and encodes a polypeptide of 125 amino acids, having a predicted isoelectric point of 5.06. The deduced amino acid sequence of FcPFN shows 36% and 90% amino acid sequence identity to the profilin genes of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon, respectively. The FcPFN mRNA was highly expressed in hemocytes and hepatopancreas and moderately in muscle of normal shrimp. The higher expression of FcPFN mRNA is observed in shrimp infected with the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), which is a major concern in all shrimp-growing regions of the world. These results suggest a potential role for FcPFN in viral host defense mechanisms.