Archaeorhizomycetes: unearthing an ancient class of ubiquitous soil fungi

Estimates suggest that only one-tenth of the true fungal diversity has been described. Among numerous fungal lineages known only from environmental DNA sequences, Soil Clone Group 1 is the most ubiquitous. These globally distributed fungi may dominate below-ground fungal communities, but their placement in the fungal tree of life has been uncertain. Here, we report cultures of this group and describe the class, Archaeorhizomycetes, phylogenetically placed within subphylum Taphrinomycotina in the Ascomycota. Archaeorhizomycetes comprises hundreds of cryptically reproducing filamentous species that do not form recognizable mycorrhizal structures and have saprotrophic potential, yet are omnipresent in roots and rhizosphere soil and show ecosystem and host root habitat specificity.     

Fatal levamisole toxicosis of captive kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

CASE HISTORY: Nine of 24 captive kiwi treated with oral levamisole at a dose between 25–43 mg/kg showed signs of respiratory distress. Six died within 4 h of treatment and the remaining three made a full recovery within 24 h.

CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: Within 3–4 h of treatment, the affected birds had an elevated respiratory rate, mucoid nasal discharge and rapidly became comatose. Post mortem examination revealed accumulation of thick mucus in the oral cavity and trachea. There was severe pulmonary congestion and oedema and early bronchopneumonia in the lungs of five of the birds. In two birds, there was acute hepatic degeneration and necrosis and one bird had acute pancreatic degeneration and necrosis.

DIAGNOSIS: Acute levamisole toxicity.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Kiwi were acutely sensitive to levamisole toxicity at doses that are well within the safe range for domestic poultry. Levamisole should not be used as an anthelmintic in kiwi.     

K99 surface haemagglutinin of enterotoxigenic E. coli recognize terminal n-acetylgalactosamine and sialic acid residues of glycophorin and other complex glycoconjugates

The possible nature of the erythrocyte receptor for K99 haemagglutinin is described. The receptor is a glycophorin which possesses NANA α 2–6 GalNAc structures for which this haemagglutinin has a strong affinity. Human, porcine and equine erythrocytes which are haemagglutinated by K99 all have similar glycophorin oligosaccharide structures. K99 has affinity for both NANA and GalNAc at terminal positions, but the affinity for α 2–6-linked NANA is higher than for α 2–8-linked NANA.     

Effect of Competition on Nitric Oxide, Carbon Monoxide, and Cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate Levels in Training Horses

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of exercise on nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and cyclic guanosyl monophosphate (cGMP) levels in jumping and dressage horses involved in competition. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of 100 horses involved in jumping or dressage competition at three time points: baseline at rest, on reaching the schooling but before exercise, and over a jump or dressage course. Fourteen healthy horses not involved in competition were used as control group. Exercise increased plasma CO concentration in both jumping and dressage horses, and this effect was more apparent in dressage horses. Exercise also increased NO plasma concentration in jumping horses, whereas it did not significantly modify NO plasma concentration in dressage horses. After exercise, plasma cGMP concentration was higher in both groups. Our results show that different signaling pathways are initially activated by exercise and that this activation is specific to the different modes of exercise. This information can be used to optimize warm-up and cool-down procedures for sport horses or to optimize training programs for equine athletes.     

Meat quality of fully or partly outdoor reared pigs in organic production

Abstract

Outdoor production on pasture is considered an option in organic pig production. The aim of the present trial was to study the influence of feeding strategies combining outdoor and indoor rearing on pig meat quality. The experiment was carried out with 245 pigs in 5 replicates, and commenced following weaning at day 52. Five treatments were compared: 1) pigs fed ad libitum and reared indoors with access to an outdoor concrete area (In-A); 2) pigs fed restrictively on pasture until 40 kg body weight and then kept indoors with access to an outdoor concrete area and fed ad libitum until slaughter (In-40A); 3) pigs fed restrictively on pasture until 80 kg body weight and then kept indoors with access to an outdoor concrete area and fed ad libitum until slaughter (In-80A); 4) pigs reared on pasture and fed restrictively during the whole period of growth (Out-R); and 5) pigs reared on pasture and fed ad libitum during the whole period of growth (Out-A). All pigs had free access to roughage (clover-grass silage/fresh clover grass). Restrictive feeding in the weight range from weaning to 40 kg body weight (In-40A) resulted in a reduced daily gain; however, following transfer to indoor facilities and ad libitum feeding these pigs compensated in growth and the overall daily gain did not differ from the In-A control pigs. Pigs fed restrictively from weaning to 80 kg body weight were unable to compensate completely following transfer to indoor facilities. Out-R pigs had the lowest overall daily gain, while In-A pigs and Out-A pigs had similar daily gain. Meat quality assessments were performed on longissimus dorsi (LD) samples from a subsample of 100 pigs (2 castrates and 2 female pigs from each treatment in each replicate). Compared to meat from either ad libitum treatments (In-A and Out-A), meat from Out-R and In-80A pigs was less red due to a lower pigmentation, and had a higher ratio of polyunsaturated:saturated fatty acids. In addition, Out-R female pigs had numerically (6–10 Newton) higher shear force than In-A and Out-A. Treatments did not affect the concentration of α-tocopherol of meat. Introducing a finishing period with free access to concentrates following 40 kg body weight until slaughter prevented the deterioration in meat quality. However, a finishing period following 80 kg body weight was not sufficient. In conclusion, ad libitum feeding in the organic production system gave superior meat quality compared to a restrictive feeding strategy. However, including a finishing period indoors with ad libitum feeding of concentrates may prevent the detrimental effect of restrictive feeding on meat quality.     

Safety evaluation of moxidectin sustained-release injectable in 10-week-old puppies

A study was conducted to evaluate the safety of a commercial formulation of moxidectin sustained-release injectable for dogs (ProHeart 6, Fort Dodge Animal Health) administered as a single subcutaneous dose to 10-week-old puppies. Twelve male and 12 female purpose-bred beagles 10 weeks of age were blocked by weight within gender and randomly allocated to three treatment groups. Puppies in two groups were treated with moxidectin sustained-release injectable for dogs at three or five times the labeled dose rate of 0.17 mg moxidectin/kg. The third group was treated with saline solution as controls. Physical and neurologic status, hematologic parameters, clinical chemistries, urine samples, body weight, and food consumption were evaluated before and up to 12 weeks after treatment. When compared to controls, mild depression of erythropoiesis, characterized by reduced hemoglobin, reticulocytes, erythrocytes, and hematocrit, was noted in puppies treated with five times the label dose of moxidectin sustained-release injectable. Values for these parameters remained within normal ranges and increased during the study, but at a reduced rate relative to saline-treated controls. Other parameters evaluated remained within normal limits for all treatment groups. Based on results of this study, the no observed adverse effect level for moxidectin sustained-release injectable (ProHeart 6) treatment in 10-week-old puppies was determined to be three times the recommended rate.