Purification and characterization of hepatic triacylglycerol lipase isolated from rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss

Trialcylglycerol (TG) lipase was isolated and partially purified from rainbow trout liver. Triacylglycerol lipase activity was assayed by measuring¹⁴C-oleic acid release from¹⁴C-triolein.¹⁴C-oleic acid release was linear for up to two hours. Optimal activity occurred at pH 7.0 and 15°C. Most of the lipase activity was recovered in the cytosolic fraction. A 27,000-fold purification was achieved after Sepharose (Bio-gel A 0.5 M, 200–400 mesh) chromatography of a resuspended 20% ammonium sulfate fraction. The molecular weight of the trout hepatic lipase as determined by size-exclusion chromatography and by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was 40–43 kD. Lipase-mediated hydrolysis of TG resulted in the production of diacylglycerols, monoacylglycerols, and fatty acids. Kinetic analysis indicated that V_max=0.016 nmol/h/mg protein and that K_m=0.28 mM triolein. Lipolytic activity was enhanced in the presence of cAMP/ATP-Mg²⁺. These results suggest that the liver of trout possesses a neutral TG lipase that is responsible for mobilizing stored TG and is catalytically activated by phosphorylation.A part of this work was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Zoologists, December 26–30, 1990, San Antonio, TX.     

Factors associated with development of Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) in dogs in 5 Canadian small animal clinics

This study investigated the association between presence of respiratory pathogens and development of Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) in dogs in 5 Canadian small animal clinics. In total, 86 dogs were tested using a commercial PCR respiratory panel; 64 dogs were considered as cases and 22 were control dogs matched by veterinary clinic. No control animals (0/22) were positive for canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), whereas 27/64 (42%) CIRDC cases were positive. Furthermore, 81% of case dogs tested positive for Mycoplasma cynos, compared with 73% of control dogs. Canine respiratory corona virus (CRCoV) was detected in no control dogs compared with 9.4% of clinical dogs. No animals were positive for any influenza virus type A present in the diagnostic panel. Presence of CPIV was associated (P < 0.01) with the occurrence of CIRDC after adjustment for demographic factors and presence of CRCoV (P = 0.09).     

Efficacy of bovine herpesvirus-1 inactivated vaccine against abortion and stillbirth in pregnant heifers

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of an inactivated bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) vaccine to protect against BHV-1 challenge-induced abortion and stillbirth. DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: 35 beef heifers. PROCEDURES: Before breeding, heifers were vaccinated with a commercially available BHV-1 inactivated vaccine SC or IM. The estrous cycle was then synchronized, and heifers were artificially inseminated 30 to 60 days after vaccination. Heifers (n = 21) were challenge inoculated IV at approximately 180 days of gestation with virulent BHV-1. Fourteen control heifers were not vaccinated. Clinical signs of BHV-1 infection were monitored for 10 days following challenge; serologic status and occurrence of abortion or stillbirth were evaluated until time of calving. RESULTS: 18 of 21 (85.7%) heifers that received vaccine were protected from abortion following challenge, whereas all 14 control heifers aborted. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that an inactivated BHV-1 vaccine can protect against abortion resulting from a substantial challenge infection, with efficacy similar to that of modified-live BHV-1 vaccines.     

Relative adrenal insufficiency in dogs with sepsis

BACKGROUND: A syndrome of relative adrenal insufficiency has been identified in septic humans, and is associated with hypotension and death. Relative adrenal insufficiency is generally associated with basal serum cortisol concentration within or above the reference range and a blunted cortisol response to adrenocorticotropic hormone administration. It is unknown whether relative adrenal insufficiency occurs in septic dogs. HYPOTHESIS: That relative adrenal insufficiency occurs in septic dogs, and that relative adrenal insufficiency is associated with hypotension and mortality. ANIMALS: Thirty-three septic dogs admitted to a small animal intensive care unit. METHODS: Dogs were included in the study if they had a known or suspected infectious disease and had systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Dogs were excluded if they had disease or medication history expected to affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Serum cortisol and endogenous plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone concentrations were measured before, and serum cortisol concentration measured 1 hour after, intramuscular administration of 250 microg of cosyntropin/dog. The change in cortisol concentration (delta-cortisol) before and after cosyntropin administration was determined in each dog. RESULTS: Hypotension was associated with lower delta-cortisol values (OR 1.3; CI 1.0-1.9; P = .029). delta-Cortisol cutoff of 3.0 microg/dL was most accurate for predicting hypotension, survival to discharge, and 28-day survival. The rate of death in dogs with delta-cortisol < or = 3 microg/dL was 4.1 times that of dogs with delta-cortisol > 3 microg/dL (RR 4.1; CI 1.5-12.3; P = .01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Delta-cortisol < or = 3 microg/dL after adrenocorticotropic hormone administration is associated with systemic hypotension and decreased survival in septic dogs.     

Interactions between landscape and local factors inform spatial action planning in post-fire forest environments

Landscape Ecology - Landscape and local factors govern tree regeneration across heterogeneous post-fire forest environments. But their relative influence is unclear—limiting the degree that...     

Morphological variability of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and brown trout Salmo trutta in different river environments

Abstract – The morphologies of sympatric juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr and brown trout Salmo trutta parr were compared between Irish rivers with contrasting hydraulic environments – a high‐gradient and a low‐gradient tributary from the River Barrow catchment, south‐east Ireland and a high‐gradient river from the Burrishoole catchment, west of Ireland. The two catchments differ markedly in mean annual precipitation (849.0 mm year^?1 and 1370.3 mm year^?1 for the Barrow and Burrishoole catchments, respectively). Parr of both species demonstrated morphological variation between and within catchments. Changes in metrics such as pectoral fin length, body depth and body length between and within catchments suggest that hydraulic forces were a major determinant of morphological variation. Both species from the Burrishoole catchment had relatively larger pectoral fins, longer heads, larger eyes and shallower bodies than conspecifics from the Barrow catchment. In rivers subject to frequent rainfall‐driven high discharges, such as those in the Burrishoole catchment, a more fusiform body and head shape coupled with larger pectoral fins may reduce the energetic cost of maintaining position in the water column, as well as increase stability and manoeuvrability. The larger eyes in both parr species in the Burrishoole catchment could further be a response to the lower visibility of the more turbid and peat‐stained waters or to the reduced prey availability. The results of this study demonstrate that local adaptation to flow conditions can yield morphologically distinct populations and that multiple species can exhibit parallel phenotypic responses to changing environmental conditions.     

Molecular differentiation of Hypoderma bovis and Hypoderma lineatum (Diptera,Oestridae) by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP)

The most variable region of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene of Hypoderma bovis(1) and Hypoderma lineatum(2) (Diptera, Oestridae) was amplified by PCR and the amplicons were sequenced and analysed. PCR products were digested with three restriction enzymes, namely BfaI, HinfI and TaqI, providing informative profiles. H. bovis and H. lineatum sequences revealed an inter-specific variation rate of 8.5%, and an intra-specific variation rate of 0.87 and 0.29%, respectively. The results showed that the COI gene region examined was useful for the differentiation of H. bovis and H. lineatum and that a PCR-RFLP assay is a practical tool for their identification, offering additional diagnostic and epidemiological instruments for the study of cattle grub infestation.     

Isolation of Vibrio cholerae from the brain of a feedlot heifer with meningoencephalitis.

A 700-pound, 9-month-old Angus heifer from a feedlot presented with acute neurologic signs, characterized by circling, posterior weakness, and nonresponsiveness, followed by death. Histologically, the frontal lobe and the thalamus contained multiple foci of liquefaction that contained numerous degenerative neutrophils and foamy macrophages. Some of these foci were centered on blood vessels that contained fibrin thrombi and exhibited varying degrees of fibrinoid necrosis of the vessel wall. There was adjacent axonal degeneration and neuronal necrosis characterized by pronounced cytoplasmic eosinophilia, peripheralization of the nuclei, and loss of Nissl substance. Aerobic culture of the brain yielded moderate growth of Vibrio species, which was determined to be Vibrio cholerae by polymerase chain reaction analysis of a 438-base pair fragment of the 16 S ribosomal RNA gene. V. cholerae are motile, gram-negative, curved rod-shaped bacteria. Some strains of V. cholerae are important food- and water-borne bacterial pathogens that produce an often fatal diarrhea in humans. This is the first known case report of V. cholerae meningoencephalitis and cerebral abscessation in a bovine.