The South China landmass has been characterized by a complex geological history, including mountain lifting, climate changes, and river capture/reversal events. To determine how this complexity has influenced the landmass’s phylogeography, our study examined the phylogeography of Garra orientalis, a cyprinid widely distributed in South China, using sequences from the mitochondrial DNA control region and cytochrome b gene (1887 bp) and polymorphisms of thirteen microsatellite loci. In total, 157 specimens were collected from eight populations. All 88 mtDNA haplotypes were identified as belonging to three major lineages, and these lineages were almost allopatric in their distributions. The results of a statistical dispersal-vicariance analysis suggested that the ancestral populations of G. orientalis were distributed south of the Yunkai Mountains, including on Hainan Island. The mtDNA data revealed a strong relationship between phylogeny and geography. In the microsatellite analysis, a total of 339 alleles with an average of 26 alleles per locus were observed across thirteen microsatellite loci. A clustering algorithm for microsatellite data revealed an admixture-like genetic structure. Although the mtDNA and microsatellite data sets displayed a discordant population structure, the results of an approximate Bayesian computation approach showed that these two markers revealed congruent historical signals. The population history of G. orientalis reflects vicariance events and dispersal related to the complex geological history of South China. Our results (i) found that the discordances between mtDNA and microsatellite markers were accounted for by admixtures; (ii) showed that the Wuzhishan and Yinggeling mountain ranges and Qiongzhou Strait were important barriers limiting gene exchange between populations on both sides; (iii) indicated that during glaciation and inter-glacial periods, the strait and continental shelves were exposed and sank, which contributed with the dispersion and differentiation of populations; and (iv) displayed that the admixtures between lineages took place in coastal populations and then colonized the tributaries of the Pearl River.

Herbivorous grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) has a powerful capability to digest aquatic weed. Cellulase activity or cellulase‐producing bacteria were found in the gut of grass carp. However, it remains uncertain whether the cellulase‐producing bacteria were a part of indigenous intestinal microbiota that the fish harboured or were introduced with food. In the present study, the bacterial diversities and population abundance in the gut of starved grass carps have been investigated by sequencing 16S rRNA gene libraries. The 16S rRNA gene libraries revealed that 28 parasitic bacteria from gut were affiliated to seven genera of Vibrio, Acinetobacter, Providencia, Yersinia, Pseudominas, Morganella or Aeromonas, respectively, and Aeromonas was identified as the most dominant genus in the gut of C. idella. All of cellulase‐producing bacteria isolated from the gut of C. idella in this research belonged to Aeromonas. On the whole, the results in this research showed that cellulase activity within C. idella should be at least partially resulting from bacteria of Aeromonas with cellulase‐producing capabilities, which were indigenous and dominant intestinal species.

Intermuscular bones are found in the myosepta in teleosts. However, there is very little information on the development and ossification of these intermuscular bones. In this study, we performed an in-depth investigation of the ossification process during development in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica). In Japanese eel, a typical anguilliform swimmer, the intermuscular bones ossified predominantly from the anterior to the posterior. By contrast, in the zebrafish, a sub-carangiform or carangiform swimmer, the intermuscular bones ossified predominantly from the posterior to the anterior regions of the fish. Furthermore, tail amputation affected the ossification of the intermuscular bones. The length of the intermuscular bones in the posterior area became significantly shorter in tail-amputated zebrafish and Japanese eels, and both had less active and lower swimming speeds; this indicates that swimming might induce the ossification of the intermuscular bones. Moreover, when a greater length of tail was amputated in the zebrafish, the intermuscular bones became even shorter. Tail amputation affected the length and ossification of intermuscular bones in the anterior part of the fish, close to the head, differently between the two fish: they became significantly shorter in the zebrafish, but did not in the Japanese eel. This might be because tail amputation did not significantly affect the undulations in the anterior of the Japanese eel, especially near the head. This study shows that the ossification of intermuscular bones might be induced through mechanical force loadings that are produced by swimming.