Prediction of Fish Growth Rate and Food Availability in the Himalayan Waterbodies by Estimation of RNA/DNA Ratios
The IUP Journal of Genetics & Evolution, Vol. IV, No. 3, August 2011, pp. 15-19
4 Pages Posted: 23 Jun 2012 Last revised: 28 Jan 2014
Date Written: June 22, 2012
Abstract
Recent biotechnological methods have made it possible to measure the real-time growth rate of fishes in response to changes in environmental conditions, as compared to the traditional methods. The accurate isolation and quantification from a tiny amount of tissue’s DNA, RNA and protein concentration would give the physiological status of fishes in their natural environment. The DNA content of tissue/cell remains stable and provides an index of cell number, whereas RNA content changes in response to transcription-dependent protein synthesis and is directly correlated with the growth rate of fish. The RNA/DNA ratio of tissue has proven to be a reliable estimator of real-time growth and its nutritional status of fish larvae and juvenile fish and it is an indicator of the protein synthesizing potential of a cell.
Keywords: Fish growth, DNA, RNA, R/D ratio, Nutritional status
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation