Development and evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on recombinant TgSRS2 for serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on recombinant SAG1-related sequence 2 of Toxoplasma gondii (rTgSRS2) was developed to detect toxoplasmosis in cats. The specificity and sensitivity of rTgSRS2 ELISA were confirmed using a series of serum samples from T. gondii-experimentally infected mice. A total of 76 field samples from cats were examined by the developed ELISA. The rTgSRS2 ELISA showed a good diagnostic performance characterized by high concordance (88.16) and kappa value (0.76) with latex agglutination test (LAT). The sensitivity and specificity of the test were 92.68% and 82.86%, respectively. These results suggest that the ELISA based on rTgSRS2 could be a useful tool for serodiagnosis of T. gondii infection in cats.     

Evaluation of in vitro culture systems for goat preantral follicles using reused ovaries from reproductive biotechniques: An alternative to maximize the potential of reproduction

This study aimed to examine the in vitro culture of secondary preantral follicles, using reused ovaries, to compare both the 2D and 3D methods of in vitro culture of preantral follicles, and the system of medium replacement. Twenty‐five pairs of ovaries from mixed‐breed goats were used for the experiment. Follicular puncture of antral follicles was performed for in vitro production. After this procedure, the secondary preantral follicles were submitted to a microdissection procedure. The isolated preantral follicles were randomly divided into three treatments: (a) Two‐dimensional culture with partial replacement of medium during culture (2D PR), (b) Three‐dimensional culture with addition of medium during culture (3D AD) and (c) Three‐dimensional culture with partial replacement of medium (3D PR). The culture period was 18 days. All treatments at the end of the in vitro culture period (18 days) presented a follicular survival rate which ranged from 59% to 70%, demonstrating that it was possible to perform an experiment with preantral follicles using ovaries that had previously been used in another reproductive biotechnique. The 3D AD treatment showed a survival percentage and follicular diameter higher than the 2D PR treatment, however, it did not differ from the 3D PR treatment. In conclusion, experiments employing the use of preantral follicles can be performed with success after the ovaries have been used for experiments with antral follicles. Moreover, the three‐dimensional system with the addition of medium is recommended for in vitro culture of preantral follicles, since this system is more practical and financially feasible.