The paper we are discussing today it… (drum roll, please…) “Analysis of Population Genetics of the Endangered Nile Pufferfish Tetraodon lineatus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Upper Egyptian River Nile” written by Khaled Mohammed-Geba, Aldoushy A. Mahdy, Ahmed S. A. Eissa, and Alaa G. M. Osman. This was published in 2016 in the International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology. pages 60-66. 

The overall purpose of this paper was to design a study the genetic diversity and conservation of the Tetraodon lineatus for the first time in Egypt and in Africa. 

Some important key words that is necessary to know when reading this paper are the following:

Cytochrome C: a heme protein located in the inner and outer mitochondrial membrane where it transfers electrons of the respiratory chain. (1)

DNA Barcoding: method for identifying organisms based on short standardized fragments of genomic DNA (2)

PCR: stands for Polymerase Chain Reaction, method used for making several copies of a specific DNA segment. (3)

Haplotype: set of DNA variations that tend to be inherited together. This can refer to a combination of alleles found on the same chromosome.  (4)

Hypothesis:  This paper hypothesis focuses on if there is a loss of the population and potential bottle neck then the species in question is to be considered endangered.

Some ways that they achieved this is by the first step, sampling and sample preservation. During this point of the experiment, they obtained forty five samples of the Tetraodon lineatus from the lakes of Nasser, Aswan, and Edfu in upper Egypt. These fish were dissected and taken 100 mg samples of liver tissue. Next they extracted the DNA by taking the liver sample, incubated, then boiled in a 100 degree celcius water bath and then stored at 4 degrees celsius until the DNA is amplified. Next they did a PCR analysis for the target region of the COI gene. Once this was complete, they sequenced the genes. 

For me, it is not so much the results that relate to my field of study, but rather the methods by which they conducted the experiment. Being that I am in the laboratory field, using PCR and DNA extraction is something I do on a daily basis and use to answer questions everyday.

I believe these findings apply to a broader issue in the world by exemplifying how species are going extinct due to the amount of toxicity in the rivers and water supply.  

If you all would like to read more about it, here is the link!

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305993695_Analysis_of_Population_Genetics_of_the_Endangered_Nile_Pufferfish_Tetraodon_lineatus_Linnaeus_1758_in_the_Upper_Egyptian_River_Nile 

Other sources:

1. Https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/cytochrome-c
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/dna-barcoding
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/probe/docs/techpcr/
4. https://www.google.com/searchq=haplotype&oq=haplotype&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0l7.2550j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 

The tetraodon family of Puffer fish is a BIG one! There are over 120 species of fish in this family of puffer fish alone! The three that we will focus on today is the puffer fish that we have already met, the Tetraodon lineatus, and a few of his family, the Tetraodon schoutedeni and the Dichotomyctere nigroviridis. One of the main characterisitcs fro this family of animals is their ability to puff up! Like we touched on in a previous post, the action of puffing is used as a defense mechanism against predators. The reasoning behind this is to make it harder for predators to get them in their mouth. They also have spikes and poison that emanates from their bodies in order to deter predators. The Tetraodon schoutedeni, also known as the spotted congo puffer, is another genus in the Tetraodon family primarily found in the African congo basin (4). This puffer is primarily found in freshwater climates such as that found in the congo river. The Dichotomyctere nigroviridis, also known as the green spotted puffer, is found in fresh and brackish water throughout southeast Asia. 

Here is a phylogenetic tree of Puffer Fish!

Welcome back to my blog! I hope everyone enjoyed their break and are staying safe. For today’s blog post, I am  going to continue  talking  about my favorite species, the Puffer fish, and some of their unique physiology. The Puffer fish is the second most poisonous vertebrate in the world, but is still considered a delicacy  in many parts of the world. So why are puffer fish so poisonous? The puffer fish is very poisonous because almost all Puffer fish contain tetrodotoxin which is a substance that makes them foul tasting when a predator eats them. The tetrodotoxin in puffer fish is a potent neurotoxin that blocks sodium channels. A fun fact about tetrodotoxin is that it can be used in the medical field as and analgesic to treat cancer pains due to its paralytic effects.

Below is a figure of Chemical structure of tetrodotoxin (TTX).

The figure was provided from Lago, Jorge, et al. “Tetrodotoxin, an Extremely Potent Marine Neurotoxin: Distribution, Toxicity, Origin and Therapeutical Uses.” Marine Drugs, MDPI, 19 Oct. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4626696/.

The first image shows a puffer fish using its deference mechanism. the image was provided by https://curiosity.com/topics/pufferfish-are-incredibly-poisonous-so-why-do-people-eat-them-curiosity/ The second is also of a Tetraodon lineatus named Mrs. puff. this image was provided from https://www.nick.com/shows/spongebob-squarepants

Hello, my fellow bloggers, to start welcome to my blog. My blog is going to be focusing on animal biology specifically, my favorite animal, the Fahaka Puffer fish! Yes, the animal off of SpongeBob Ms/ Puff. This species of animal is known as Tetraodon lineatus. This species of animal has always had a special place with me as a child watching SpongeBob SquarePants, seeing Mrs. Puff blow up to become twice as big. Watching the cartoon lit a flame inside of me to study more about this fascinating species called the Tetraodon lineatus. There are many amazing things this species is capable of doing. For example, Tetraodon lineatus will puff up to two to three times its size and release a toxin into the environment to ward off predators. That is just one of the fantastic capabilities I know this animal can do. After doing an extensive amount of research on the Tetraodon lineatus, I found that they live primarily in large freshwater environments such as rivers and open waters. There are many interesting things about Tetraodon lineatus, one I found quite interesting is their diet. The Tetraodon lineatus diet consists of insects, mollusks, and crustaceans. So yes, Mrs. Puff’s boyfriend, Mr. crabs, are a part of her daily diet.