So we also ordered the scrambled eggs on charcoal bread topped with asparagus , the french toast (it might be the best french toast I’ve had in a while) and a few other eggs dishes. Oysters are cultivated in Hong Kong by a primitive method of bottom laying in polluted waters. The method of shucking the oysters is also unhygienic. The oysters are faecally contaminated, particularly in the summer months when the rain-bearing south-east monsoon flushes out the rivers, streams and watercourses into the oyster producing areas. The level of contamination is high and largely comprises effluents derived from the neighbouring agricultural areas of Hong Kong and southern China. Cleansing of 生蠔香港 , prior to resale, particularly in summer, is urgently recommended, possibly using ultraviolet light as a necessary exercise in public health.

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#exclusive: The Regent returns to Hong Kong in spectacular dining fashion

In addition, oysters have a powerful ability to clean water. But in Hong Kong, decades of development through large-scale coastal reclamation, dredging for lime, and overharvesting have decimated the once-abundant local oyster populations. A 2011 study estimates that 85% of oyster reefs have been lost worldwide, making them one of the most endangered marine habitats on the planet. It was identified as a new species in 2003 after DNA analysis. Image by Peter Yeung for Mongabay.Some of the thousands of oyster-farming rafts in Hong Kong.

Seafood lovers should go for the giant seafood platter for two, which includes sea whelks, sweet prawns, scallops, clams, and an assortment of freshly-shucked oysters. Hong Kong oysters (M. hongkongensis) were collected from Lau Fau Shan in Deep Bay, Hong Kong, and samples for genome sequencing originate from a single individual (Fig.1a). Genomic DNA was extracted using the PureLink Genomic DNA Mini Kit following the manufacturer’s protocol. Extracted gDNA was subjected to quality control using a Nanodrop spectrophotometer and gel electrophoresis. Qualifying samples were sent to Novogene, and Dovetail Genomics for library preparation and sequencing. Details of the sequencing data can be found in Supplementary information S1.

Dried seafood

Transposable element content is comparable to that found in other mollusc species, contrary to the conclusion of another recent analysis. Also, our chromosome-level assembly allows the inference of ancient gene linkages for the homeobox-containing genes, even though a number of the homeobox gene clusters, like the Hox/ParaHox clusters, are undergoing dispersal in molluscs such as this oyster. Eukaryotic genomes contain a substantial proportion of repetitive DNA, and repeats are frequenty an important contributor to overall genome size . The genomes of true oysters are no exception, with a repeat content of ~ 40% for available species in the Ostreidae (Supplementary information S2, Fig.3a). We applied a conservative repeat annotation approach, focusing on high scoring matches, and discarding very short fragments unlikely to represent real repeat sequence . We found that total repeat content is remarkably constant among available true oyster genomes, with variation spanning just 2.69% of total genome size (Table2, Fig.3a).

The highest repeat content was identified in the Hong Kong oyster (41.12%), followed by the Sydney rock oyster (40.53%), and the Pacific oyster (38.43%) (Supplementary Information S2, Fig.3a). Our results are similar to those published in the genome papers of the Sydney Rock oyster (45.03%) , and the Pacific oyster (36.1%) , but slightly more conservative given the more stringent approach undertaken in our pipeline . From the mapping of certain ANTP-class homeobox genes in the polychaete Platynereis dumerillii, the latest consensus is that the Hox genes, ParaHox genes, NK genes, and NK2 family genes were located on four chromosomes in the bilaterian ancestor (Fig.5). With our chromosome-level assembly of the genome of M.

Homeobox gene trees constructed with Maximum-likelihood method (LG + G) based on the homeodomain sequences . Contamination by raw food, consumption of raw food and inadequate cooking were the most frequently identified contributing factors. Viruses accounted for more than a quarter of food poisoning outbreaks, all being norovirus. A few incidents were linked to poisonous mushrooms and ciguatera.