Survivals of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Escherichia coli in a gastropod mollusc, Heminerita japonica.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains D-3 and R-13 were found to be cleared within 7 days from a marine neritid gastropod mollusc, Heminerita japonica, maintained in artificial seawater with salinities of 15, 25 and 35 permil (%) at 25 degrees C. Escherichia coli strain YS-2 survived at a level of 10(2) colony forming units per gram in the mollusc maintained in 15% water for up to 14 days and fell to non-detectable level within 7 days in a 35% salinity group. The ability of H. japonica to clear these organisms seems to be less active than that of a marine species. Nerita albicilla, and more active than that of an estuarine species. Clithon retropictus.     

Sequence variants at the myostatin gene locus influence the body composition of Thoroughbred horses

Myostatin is a member of the transforming growth factor-β family with a key role in inhibition of muscle growth by negative regulation of both myoblast proliferation and differentiation. Recently, a genomic region on ECA18, which includes the MSTN gene, was identified as a candidate region influencing racing performance in Thoroughbreds. In this study, four SNPs on ECA18, g.65809482T>C, g.65868604G>T, g.66493737C>T, and g.66539967A>G, were genotyped in 91 Thoroughbred horses-in-training to evaluate the association between genotype and body composition traits, including body weight, withers height, chest circumference, cannon circumference, and body weight/withers height. Of these, statistically differences in body weight and body weight/withers height were associated with specific genotypes in males. Specifically, body weight/withers height showed statistically significant differences depending on genotype at g.658604G>T, g.66493737C>T, and g.66539967A>G (P<0.01) in males during the training period. Animals with a genotype associated with suitability for short-distance racing, C/C at g.66493737C>T, had the highest value (3.17 ± 0.05 kg·cm(-1)) for body weight/withers height in March, while those with a genotype associated with suitability for long-distance racing, T/T, had the lowest (2.99 ± 0.03 kg·cm(-1)). In females, the trends in the association of body weight/withers height with genotypes were similar to those observed in males. As the SNPs are not believed to be linked to coding variants in MSTN, these results suggest that regulation of MSTN gene expression influences skeletal muscle mass and hence racing performance, particularly optimum race distance, in Thoroughbred horses.     

Production of calcium maintenance factor Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) by the equine endometrium during the early pregnant period

A factor responsible for progression to pregnancy establishment in the mare has not been definitively characterized. To identify factors possibly involved in the establishment of equine pregnancy, the endometrium was collected from day 13 (day 0=day of ovulation) cyclic and day 13, 19 and 25 pregnant animals. From initial subtractive hybridization studies, a calcium regulating factor, Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) mRNA, was found as a candidate molecule expressed uniquely in the pregnant endometrium. Endometrial expression of STC1 mRNA was noted on day 19 and was markedly increased in the day 25 gravid endometrium. STC1 protein was found in the extracts of day 25 gravid endometrium and immunochemically localized in the uterine glands. In addition, STC1 protein was detected in uterine flushing media collected from day 25 pregnant mares. High concentrations of estradiol-17 β (E(2)) were detected in day 25 conceptuses. E(2) levels were much higher in the gravid endometrium than in other regions, whereas progesterone levels did not differ among the samples from different endometrial regions. Expression of STC1 mRNA, however, was not significantly upregulated in cultured endometrial explants treated with various concentrations of E(2) (0.01-100 ng/ml) with or without 10 ng/ml progesterone. These results indicate that an increase in STC1 expression appears to coincide with capsule disappearance in the conceptus, and suggest that STC1 from the uterine glands likely plays a role in conceptus development during the pregnancy establishment period in the mare.     

Inducing sleep by remote control facilitates memory consolidation in Drosophila

Sleep is believed to play an important role in memory consolidation. We induced sleep on demand by expressing the temperature-gated nonspecific cation channel Transient receptor potential cation channel (UAS-TrpA1) in neurons, including those with projections to the dorsal fan-shaped body (FB). When the temperature was raised to 31°C, flies entered a quiescent state that meets the criteria for identifying sleep. When sleep was induced for 4 hours after a massed-training protocol for courtship conditioning that is not capable of inducing long-term memory (LTM) by itself, flies develop an LTM. Activating the dorsal FB in the absence of sleep did not result in the formation of LTM after massed training.     

Diagnosis of Ehrlichia ewingii infection by PCR in a puppy from Ohio

Abstract: An 8‐week‐old, male, German Shepherd‐cross puppy found in southeastern Ohio was presented to The Ohio State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for evaluation of lameness and lethargy. Fever and joint effusion involving multiple joints were identified on physical examination. Results of a CBC included mild anemia, mature neutrophilia, monocytosis, and hyperglobulinemia. Rickettsial morulae were identified within neutrophils in joint fluid and peripheral blood. Both initial and convalescent serum titers were negative for Ehrlichia sp.; however, PCR analysis was strongly positive for Ehrlichia ewingii. The patient's clinical signs resolved within several days of beginning doxycycline treatment. Resolution of infection was confirmed by negative PCR results after 18 days of treatment and again after 3 years. This is the first reported case of E. ewingii in Ohio. More importantly, this case demonstrates the importance of PCR in making a definitive diagnosis of tick‐borne disease and the potential pitfalls of relying on serologic testing alone in making a diagnosis.     

Early interaction of canine calicivirus with cells is the major determinant for its cell tropism in vitro

Canine calicivirus (CaCV) No. 48 strain isolated from a dog with fatal diarrhea is known to be able to replicate in MDCK and primary dog kidney cells. In this study, two new canine cell lines, MCM-B2 and MCA-B1, were determined to be permissive for CaCV No. 48, whereas other cell lines, including one canine cell line, A-72, were non-permissive. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that CaCV No. 48 binds efficiently to the permissive cells and to some degree also to Vero cells that are non-permissive for the virus, but does not bind to the other non-permissive cells tested. Both the permissive and non-permissive cells could be transfected with genomic RNA from CaCV No. 48, resulting in the appearance of CPE, production of capsid antigen and release of infectious progeny. These results suggested that the early interaction of the virus with cells, probably by binding to a virus receptor on the cell membrane, is the major determinant of CaCV No. 48 cell tropism in vitro.     

Growth response of cabbage plants to transition elements under water culture conditions

Cabbage plants were water-cultured under 4 levels of titanium (0,0,4,4,20 ppm), vanadium (0, 0.4,4, 20 ppm), chromium (0, 0.2, 2, 10 ppm), manganese (0, 0.4, 4, 20 ppm), and iron (0, 1, 10, 50 ppm), and the effects of the elements supplied on the growth of the plants and on the distribution of the elements in the plants were studied.

The dry weight of a whole plant and of inner leaves (yield) without the addition of Ti, V, and Cr did not decrease, while that without the addition of Mn and Fe decreased slightly. The addition of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, and Fe (more than 0.4, 0.4, 2, 4, and 10 ppm, respectively) decreased the yield. Slight transition element-induced chlorosis was observed in the plots at high levels of Ti, Cr, and Mn.

The contents of the elements in the plants increased with an increase in the concentration of each element in the culture solution. The critical contents of Mn and Fe in plant-tops which resulted in a slight decrease in the yield due to the deficient injury were estimated to be about 10 and l00 ppm. The contents of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, and Fe when the yield decreased by 50% due to the excess injury were 4,6, 20, 3,000, and 300 ppm in outer leaves and 3,000, l,000, 2,000, 15,000, and 50,000 ppm in roots, respectively.     

Growth response of cabbage plants to beryllium and strontium under water culture conditions

Cabbage plants (B. oleracea L. var. capitata L.) were grown for 37 days in culture solutions containing 4 levels (0, 0.5, 5, 25 ppm) of beryllium or strontium with a low or high supply (20 or 200 ppm) of calcium, and the effects of the cations supplied on the growth of the plants were studied.

The total dry weights of the plants decreased successively with increasing levels of Be and Sr in the culture solution, concurrfnt with an increase in the contents of each cation in the plants. The decrease in the yield (dry weight of inner leaves) was most pronounced in the Be treatment with the low Ca supply. The critical contents of Be and Sr which resulted in a 50% decrease in the yield due to the excess injury were estimated to be about 0.0006 and 0.4% on a dry basis in the outer leaves and 0.3 and 0.4% in the roots, respectively, regardless of the Ca supply.     

Methanogenic Characteristics of Flooded Rice Soils in Response to Glucose Amendment

Extract

It was reported that flooded rice soil was an important source of atmospheric CH₄ (Cicerone and Shetter 1981; Sciler et al. 1984). In flooded rice soils, CH₄ is produced under strict anaerobic conditions by methanogenic bacteria (Jones et al. 1987; Jones 1991). Rice plants carry the produced CH₄ from anoxic sediment and release it to the atmosphere (Cicerone and Shetter 1981; Nouchi et al. 1990). More than 90% of emitted CH₄ is released through rice plants and the emission pattern usually shows large seasonal variations (Cicerone et al. 1983; Sciler et al. 1984; Inubushi et al. 1989). Since the number of methanogens did not change throughout the rice growth season (Schutz et al. 1989; Mayer and Conrad 1990), seasonal variations of CH₄ emission could be ascribed to the activities of methanogens and the amount of available substrates. However, the changes in the methanogenic activities in response to available substrates especially in relation to the growth period of rice plants are poorly documented.