Back

Curriculum vitae

LAM Toong Jin (Emeritus Professor)   Contact Information: Dept. of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543 Tel: 65165155 Fax: 67795671 email: dbslamtj@nus.edu.sg

Research Areas:

Fish Larval Physiology and Aquaculture.

Research Interests:

The focus of our research is on the physiology/endocrinology of fish larval growth, development and health, with a view to developing hatchery technology to promote larval rearing in aquaculture. In particular we are studying the physiological deficiencies in the digestive, osmoregulatory, immune and endocrine systems of marine fish larvae during the course of their early development, and how these deficiencies are compensated by inputs from the mother fish, food and the environment. The maturation of organs/systems during late larval development/metamorphosis and its control mechanisms are also of particular interest.

Current Projects:

Marine fish larvae in general show deficient digestive functions. Protein digestion is partial due to the absence of stomach and hence acid and acid-protease secretion, at this stage (prior to metamorphosis). Evidence also suggests impairment of lipid transport. We are interested to examine the developmental expression profiles of the genome and proteome of the digestive system, as well as the possible hormonal regulation of the genes expression, in marine fish larvae, using the seabass, Lates calcarifer, as a model. We have so far cloned the genes for pepsinogen, trypsinogen, aminopeptidase, a-amylase, and studied their expression during ontogeny with correlation to the respective enzyme activity. The effects of thyroid hormones and cortisol on the genes expression have also been studied. Other genes, such as those for lipases, apolipoprotein and digestive hormones, will follow suit. We hope to develop a database for the genome and proteome of fish digestive system so that global microarray analysis and other data mining could be carried out. At the same time, the nutrition physiology of seabass larvae is studied. The role of protein and free amino acids, as well as lipids, has been investigated. The role of carbohydrates is being looked into. The goal is to formulate an artificial feed for marine fish larvae based on information obtained from the digestive and nutritional studies. In this regard, microencapsulation of the larval feed is also being investigated.

We have two other projects on fish larvae. One is on the development of the immune system in fish larvae, particularly at the genomic level. For this, we are using the zebrafish as a model since the zebrafish genome has been much better studied. The other project concerns thyroid hormone receptors and their gene expression during ontogeny. We have shown that thyroid hormones and cortisol promote growth, development and survival in larvae of various fish species. We would like to understand the endocrine physiology at the molecular level.

Selected Publications:

• Lam, T.J. Application of endocrinology to fish culture. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (1982) 39:111-137.

• Lam, T.J. Hormones and egg/larval quality in fish. Journal of World Aquaculture Society (1994) 25:2-12.

• Formacion, M.J., Venkatesh, B., Tan, C.H. & Lam, T.J. Over-ripening of ovulated eggs in goldfish, Carassius auratus: II Possible involvement of postovulatory follicles and steroids. Fish Physiology and Biochemistry (1995) 14:237-246.

• Gunasekera, R.M., Shim, K.F. & Lam, T.J. Influence of dietary protein content on the distribution of amino acids in oocytes, serum and muscle of Nile tilapia, O. niloticus (L.). Aquaculture (1997) 152:205-221.

• Tay, H.C., Yong, A.N., Goh, J., Lim, H.S., Chao, T.M., Chou, R. & Lam, T.J. Effects of treatment of eggs with tri-iodothyronine and cortisol on the morphometry of newly hatched larvae and larval survival in the greasy grouper, Epinephelus tarvina. Aquaculture International (1997) 5:189-195.

• Sampath-Kumar, R., Lee, S.T.L., Tan, C.H., Munro, A.D. & Lam, T.J. Biosynthesis in vivo and excretion of cortisol by fish larvae. The Journal of Experimental Zoology (1997) 277:337-344.

• Sivaloganathan, B., Walford, J.J., Ip, Y.K. & Lam, T.J. Free amino acids and energy metabolism in eggs and larvae of seabass Lates calcarifer. Marine Biology (1998) 131:695-702.

• Ma, P., Sivaloganathan, B., Reddy, P.K., Chan, W.K. & Lam, T.J. Ontogeny of a-amylase gene expression in seabass larvae (Lates calcarifer). Marine Biotechnology. (In press).