Causes of perinatal mortality in farmed fallow deer (Dama dama)

The causes of perinatal mortality in farmed fallow deer in the Camden region of New South Wales were determined between 1982 and 1987. The results of 144 necropsies on fawns showed that ante-parturient and parturient deaths occurred in 33 (22.9%) of cases, with post-parturient deaths accounting for 99 (69.8%), and undiagnosed causes the remaining 12 (8.3%). The most common cause of post-parturient death (43.1%) was exposure/starvation of fawns that had birthweights lower than the average for surviving fawns on these same farms (3.01 kg and 4.12 kg, respectively). These results provide good evidence of the correlation between low birthweight and perinatal mortality in fallow deer on Australian deer farms.     

Clinical pathological findings in an owl (Athene noctua) with microfilaraemia in Italy

We report the first case of microfilaria infection in a free-flying owl Athene noctua in Italy. A macroparasite, about 10.1-mm long, was observed in the right chamber of the heart. On microscopic examination microfilariae were seen in liver, kidney, myocardium and lungs, although no cellular reaction was present in association with the parasites in any of these tissues. Because of the low pathogenicity of this parasite, infection with microfilaria may be not harmful in wild owls.     

Detection by RT-PCR and genetic characterization of canine distemper virus from vaccinated and non-vaccinated dogs in Argentina

RT-PCR was used to detect canine distemper virus (CDV) RNA in clotted blood from Argentine domestic dogs. The NP gene was detected in 73 out of 99 blood samples analyzed. The deduced amino acid sequence of these gene fragments showed 100% identity with the sequence of other wild-type and vaccine strains. A fragment of the hemagglutinin gene was amplified from 24 (32.9%) of the NP-RNA-positive clinical specimens. These H fragments were further analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequencing. A single NdeI site was detected in all 24 wild-type strains but was absent in the vaccine strains. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial hemagglutinin amino acid sequences showed close clustering for local strains, clearly distinct from vaccine strains and other wild-type foreign CDV strains. One of the local strains, Arg 23, branched out of the root of the Argentine clade, close to the European strains, suggesting that two different pathogenic CDV genotypes are currently circulating in Argentina, one of them clearly predominant.     

The Amniotic Membrane: Development and Potential Applications – A Review

Foetal membranes are essential tissues for embryonic development, playing important roles related to protection, breathing, nutrition and excretion. The amnion is the innermost extraembryonic membrane, which surrounds the foetus, forming an amniotic sac that contains the amniotic fluid (AF). In recent years, the amniotic membrane has emerged as a potential tool for clinical applications and has been primarily used in medicine in order to stimulate the healing of skin and corneal diseases. It has also been used in vaginal reconstructive surgery, repair of abdominal hernia, prevention of surgical adhesions and pericardium closure. More recently, it has been used in regenerative medicine because the amniotic‐derived stem cells as well as AF‐derived cells exhibit cellular plasticity, angiogenic, cytoprotective, immunosuppressive properties, antitumoural potential and the ability to generate induced pluripotent stem cells. These features make them a promising source of stem cells for cell therapy and tissue engineering. In this review, we discussed the development of the amnion, AF and amniotic cavity in different species, as well as the applicability of stem cells from the amnion and AF in cellular therapy.     

Organic carbon enables the biotic engineering of beneficial soil structure in Profundihumic and Haplic Ferralsols

We investigated how organic matter may, directly and indirectly, modify the porosity of Ferralsols, that is, deeply weathered soils of the tropics and subtropics. Although empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that organic matter accumulation may increase porosity, a mechanistic understanding of the processes underlying this beneficial effect is lacking, especially so for Ferralsols. To achieve our end, we leveraged the fact that the Profundihumic qualifier of Ferralsols (PF) is distinguished from Haplic Ferralsols (HF) by both a much larger average carbon content in the first 1 m of soil depth (19 kg C m⁻³ in PF vs. 10 kg C m⁻³ in HF) and a significantly lower bulk density (1.05 ± 0.08 kg L⁻¹ in PF vs. 1.21 ± 0.05 kg L⁻¹ in HF). Through exhaustive modelling of carbon – bulk density relationships, we demonstrate that the lower bulk density of PF cannot be satisfactorily explained by a simple dilution effect. Rather, we found that bulk density correlated with carbon content when combined with carbon: nitrogen ratio (r² = 0.51), black carbon content (r² = 0.75), and Δ¹⁴C (r² = 0.81). Total pore space was greater in PF (61 ± 3%) than in HF (55 ± 2%), but x-ray computed tomography revealed that pore space inside soil aggregates of 4–5 mm diameter does not vary between the studied Ferralsols. We further observed nearly twice as many roots and burrows in PF compared with HF. We thus infer that the mechanism responsible for the increase in porosity is most likely an enhancement of resource availability (e.g., energy, carbon, and nutrients) for the organisms (earthworms, ants, termites, etc.) that physically displace soil particles and promote soil aggregation. As a result of increased resource availability, soil organisms can create especially the mesoscale structural soil features necessary for unrestricted water flow and rapid gas exchange. This insight paves the way for the development of land management technologies to optimize the physical shape and capacity of the soil bioreactor.     

Oxylipin Diversity in the Diatom Family Leptocylindraceae Reveals DHA Derivatives in Marine Diatoms

Marine planktonic organisms, such as diatoms, are prospective sources of novel bioactive metabolites. Oxygenated derivatives of fatty acids, generally referred to as oxylipins, in diatoms comprise a highly diverse and complex family of secondary metabolites. These molecules have recently been implicated in several biological processes including intra- and inter-cellular signaling as well as in defense against biotic stressors and grazers. Here, we analyze the production and diversity of C₂₀ and C₂₂ non-volatile oxylipins in five species of the family Leptocylindraceae, which constitute a basal clade in the diatom phylogeny. We report the presence of species-specific lipoxygenase activity and oxylipin patterns, providing the first demonstration of enzymatic production of docosahexaenoic acid derivatives in marine diatoms. The differences observed in lipoxygenase pathways among the species investigated broadly reflected the relationships observed with phylogenetic markers, thus providing functional support to the taxonomic diversity of the individual species.     

The sor gene of HIV-1 is required for efficient virus transmission in vitro

The genome of the human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1 contains at least eight genes, of which three (sor, R, and 3' orf) have no known function. In this study, the role of the sor gene was examined by constructing a series of proviral genomes of HIV-1 that either lacked the coding sequences for sor or contained point mutations in sor. Analysis of four such mutants revealed that although each clone could generate morphologically normal virus particles upon transfection, the mutant viruses were limited in their capacity to establish stable infection. Virus derived from transfection of Cos-1 cells (OKT4-) with sor mutant proviral DNA's was resistant to transmission to OKT4+ "susceptible" cells under cell-free conditions, and was transmitted poorly by coculture. In contrast, virus derived from clones with an intact sor frame was readily propagated by either approach. Normal amounts of gag-, env-, and pol-derived proteins were produced by all four mutants and assays in both lymphoid and nonlymphoid cells indicated that their trans-activating capacity was intact and comparable with wild type. Thus the sor gene, although not absolutely required in HIV virion formation, influences virus transmission in vitro and is crucial in the efficient generation of infectious virus. The data also suggest that sor influences virus replication at a novel, post-translational stage and that its action is independent of the regulatory genes tat and trs.