Foyez Shams

University of Canberra ·  Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE)

Karyotypic data from Australian native freshwater fishes are scarce, having been described from relatively few species. Golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) and Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii) are two large-bodied freshwater fish species native to Australia with significant indigenous, cultural, recreational and commercial value. The arid landscape...

Few taxa exhibit the variability of sex-determining modes as amphibians. However, due to the presence of homomorphic sex chromosomes in many species, this phenomenon has been difficult to study. The Australian frog, Litoria aurea, has been relatively well studied over the past 20 years due to widespread declines largely attributable to chytrid fung...

Bi-allelic Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers are widely used in population genetic studies. In most studies, sequences either side of the SNPs remain unused, although these sequences contain information beyond that used in population genetic studies. In this study, we show how these sequence tags either side of a single nucleotide polymo...

Freshwater ecosystems and their associated biota have been negatively impacted by the human development of water resources. Fundamental to restoration activities for target species is an understanding of the factors affecting population decline or recovery. Within Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin, recovery efforts to address the population decline...

Balanced chromosomal rearrangements, mainly reciprocal translocations, are considered to be the causative agent of several clinical conditions in farmed pigs, resulting in hypoprolificacy and economic losses. Literature suggests that reciprocal translocations are heritable and can occur de novo. The prevalence rate of these balanced structural rear...

Amphibians have highly diverse sex-determining modes leading to a notable interest in vertebrate sex determination and sex chromosome evolution. The identification of sex-determining systems in amphibians, however, is often difficult as a vast majority consist of homomorphic sex chromosomes making them hard to distinguish. In this study, we used Di...

Reptile sex determination is attracting much attention because the great diversity of sex-determination and dosage compensation mechanisms permits us to approach fundamental questions about mechanisms of sex chromosome turnover. Recent studies have made significant progress in better understanding diversity and conservation of reptile sex chromosom...

Aquatic plants share a range of convergent reproductive strategies, such as the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually through vegetative growth. In dryland river systems, floodplain inundation is infrequent and irregular, and wetlands consist of discrete and unstable habitat patches. In these systems, life history strategies such as long...

Amphibians have highly diverse sex-determining modes leading to a notable interest in vertebrate sex determination and sex chromosome evolution. The identification of sex-determining systems in amphibians, however, is often difficult as a vast majority consist of homomorphic sex chromosomes making them hard to distinguish. In this study, we used Di...

The Y or W sex chromosome of a heteromorphic pair is usually heterochromatinised and degenerated. However, whether chromosome degeneration constantly proceeds toward an extreme end is not fully understood. Here, we present a case of intermittent evolution of W chromosomes caused by interpopulation hybridisation in the Japanese soil-frog, Glandirana...

Sex chromosomes in poikilothermal vertebrates are characterized by rapid and diverse evolution at the species or population level. Our previous study revealed that the Taiwanese frog Odorrana swinhoana (2n = 26) has a unique system of multiple sex chromosomes created by three sequential translocations among chromosomes 1, 3, and 7. To reveal the ev...

Sex chromosomes constantly exist in a dynamic state of evolution: rapid turnover and change of heterogametic sex during homomorphic state, and often stepping out to a heteromorphic state followed by chromosomal decaying. However, the forces driving these different trajectories of sex chromosome evolution are still unclear. The Japanese frog Glandir...

Aquatic plants share a range of convergent reproductive strategies, such as the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually through vegetative growth. In dryland river systems, floodplain inundation is infrequent and irregular, and wetlands consist of discrete and unstable habitat patches. In these systems life-history strategies such as long-...

Reptile sex determination is attracting much attention because the great diversity of sex-determination and dosage compensation mechanisms permits us to approach fundamental questions about sex chromosome turnover and evolution. However, reptile sex chromosome variation remains largely uncharacterized and no reptile master sex determination genes h...

Translocation between sex-chromosomes and autosomes generates multiple sex-chromosome systems. It happens unexpectedly, and therefore, the evolutionary meaning is not clear. The current study shows a multiple sex chromosome system comprising three different chromosome pairs in a Taiwanese brown frog (Odorrana swinhoana). The male-specific three tra...

Sex determination directs development as male or female in sexually reproducing organisms. Evolutionary transitions in sex determination have occurred frequently, suggesting simple mechanisms behind the transitions, yet their detail remains elusive. Here we explore the links between mechanisms of transitions in sex determination and sex chromosome...

Rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae) are the largest monophyletic group of freshwater fishes occurring in Australia and New Guinea, with 112 species currently recognised. Despite their high taxonomic diversity, rainbowfishes remain poorly studied from a cytogenetic perspective. Using conventional (Giemsa staining, C banding, chromomycin A 3 staining) an...

This study was conducted to detect the presence of enterovirulent Escherichia coli strains using PCR technique in some selected unhygienic and hygienic traditional shrimp farms in Bangladesh. The target genes chosen for this investigation included: the phoa housekeeping gene (present in all E. coli); the lt1, lt2 and st1 genes of ETEC; the vtveroto...

Genetic variation is a key component for improving a stock through selective breeding programs. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker was used to assay genetic variation in two river populations (Halda and Padma) as well as in three hatchery populations of the commercially important Indian major carp, C. catla. Five specimens of each pop...

Genetic variation is a key component for improving a stock through selective breeding programs. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker was used to assay genetic variation in two river populations (Halda and Padma) as well as in three hatchery populations of the commercially important Indian major carp, C. catla . Five specimens of each po...

The level of genetic variation determines the genetic status and provides the raw material for selective improvement of a stock. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to assess the genetic variability of 7 different natural (2) and hatchery (5) populations of Indian Major Carp, Labeo rohita (Rohu) in Bangladsh. In total, 140...

Phenotypic relationships between different traits of Grey mullet (Liza parsia) were estimated from a sample of 100 individuals having size range 10-15 cm in length and 17-62 g in weight. Fillet percentage and dress-out percentage were also calculated. Data were recorded and analyzed for total weight (TW), trunk weight (TrW) standard length (L), bod...

Phenotypic relationships of flesh yield with total weight; carapace width; carapace length and carapace height of mud crab (Scylla serrata, Forskål 1775) were estimated from a sample of 60 individuals having size range of 4.80-10.2 cm in carapace width and 42.72-196.71 g in total weight. Data were recorded and analyzed for total weight (Twt), flesh...