A study of inherited short tail and taillessness in Pembroke Welsh corgi

OBJECTIVES: To study whether natural short tail in adult Pembroke Welsh corgi is associated with congenital spinal defects. To report anatomical defects in two newborn tailless puppies from short-tailed parents, and to check whether they were homozygous for the dominant mutation in the T-gene (C295G). METHODS: The vertebral column of 19 adult dogs with natural short tail, from short-tail x long-tail crossings, was radiographically examined. Two tailless puppies were radiographed and submitted for necropsy. Samples from the puppies, their parents and five siblings were analysed for the mutation of the T-gene. RESULTS: No congenital spinal defects were diagnosed in any of the short-tailed dogs. The tailless puppies had anorectal atresia, had multiple spinal defects and were homozygous for the mutation in the T-gene. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: As tail docking is forbidden in many countries, breeding Pembroke Welsh corgis with natural short tail is becoming increasingly common. Previous studies indicated that the mutation in homozygotes is lethal in early fetal life. It is of clinical significance that natural short tail is probably not associated with congenital spinal defects, as is known from studies of other species, and that homozygotes for this mutation with serious anatomical defects may be born.     

Sex attractant of the pink bollworm moth: isolation, identification, and synthesis

The sex attractant produced in extremely small amount by the virgin female pink bollworm moth has been isolated in pure form and identified as 10-propyl-trans- 5, 9-tridecadienyl acetate. Successful synthesis of this molecule confirms the structure and makes possible its practical use to help control this destructive pest of cotton. The attractant, for which the common name "propylure" is suggested, may be the first naturally occurring compound with propyl branching to be reported.     

Reward-predictive cues enhance excitatory synaptic strength onto midbrain dopamine neurons

Using sensory information for the prediction of future events is essential for survival. Midbrain dopamine neurons are activated by environmental cues that predict rewards, but the cellular mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon remain elusive. We used in vivo voltammetry and in vitro patch-clamp electrophysiology to show that both dopamine release to reward predictive cues and enhanced synaptic strength onto dopamine neurons develop over the course of cue-reward learning. Increased synaptic strength was not observed after stable behavioral responding. Thus, enhanced synaptic strength onto dopamine neurons may act to facilitate the transformation of neutral environmental stimuli to salient reward-predictive cues.     

Optothermistor as a breakthrough in the quantification of lycopene content of thermally processed tomato-based foods: verification versus absorption spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography

This study reports on the first use of the "optothermistor" as a novel, precise, fast, and low-cost detector of lycopene in a wide range of commercially available processed-tomato products. The quantitative performance of the new device was evaluated by comparing data obtained to that acquired by conventional methods, namely, absorption spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); the linear correlation was high (R = 0.98). The variation of data obtained with the optothermistor in a series of consecutive measurements performed with the same loading of the sample was better than 1%. However, the repeatability (RSD 0.5-9.0%, n = 3-5) achieved with the optothermistor by independent analyses (multiple loading) is comparable to that of HPLC and spectrophotometry. Results of the studies performed on the 19 products derived from tomatoes demonstrated that the optothermistor is suitable for selective, accurate, precise, and simple determination of lycopene (range = 7-75 mg/100 g of product weight) without the need for a sample pretreatment step. The estimated sensitivity of the present optothermistor is 2 mg of lycopene/100 g of product.     

Collaborative non-self recognition system in S-RNase-based self-incompatibility

Self-incompatibility in flowering plants prevents inbreeding and promotes outcrossing to generate genetic diversity. In Solanaceae, a multiallelic gene, S-locus F-box (SLF), was previously shown to encode the pollen determinant in self-incompatibility. It was postulated that an SLF allelic product specifically detoxifies its non-self S-ribonucleases (S-RNases), allelic products of the pistil determinant, inside pollen tubes via the ubiquitin-26S-proteasome system, thereby allowing compatible pollinations. However, it remained puzzling how SLF, with much lower allelic sequence diversity than S-RNase, might have the capacity to recognize a large repertoire of non-self S-RNases. We used in vivo functional assays and protein interaction assays to show that in Petunia, at least three types of divergent SLF proteins function as the pollen determinant, each recognizing a subset of non-self S-RNases. Our findings reveal a collaborative non-self recognition system in plants.     

Blindness as a sign of proventricular dilatation disease in a grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus erithacus)

An approximately eight-year-old female grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus erithacus) was presented with a two months history of blindness. The radiographic examination showed a dilatation of the proventriculus, ventriculus and gut. Ophthalmoscopy and electroretinography revealed degeneration of the retina. A proventricular dilatation disease was suspected. The bird was euthanased because of deteriorating condition and poor prognosis. The pathological examination showed an atrophy of the ventricular muscles and lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates of the myenteric plexus of the proventriculus, ventriculus and gut as well as moderate lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates of the cerebrum with moderate neuronophagia. Lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates in the retina, indicating proventricular dilatation disease, and subsequent retinal degeneration were found. A potential common aetiology for proventricular dilatation disease and blindness is discussed.     

The association between plasma levels of acute phase proteins, haptoglobin, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP), pig-MAP, transthyretin and serum amyloid A (SAA) in Large White and Meishan pigs

During infection, the acute phase response triggers the release of acute phase proteins (APP), alpha-(1) acid glycoprotein (AGP), serum amyloid A (SAA) and Pig-MAP into the circulation, accompanied by a decrease in plasma levels of transthyretin. We quantified the association between these APP in 26 apparently healthy pigs from two breeds, 13 Large White and 13 Meishan (16 male; 10 female). There was a significant correlation between plasma levels of haptoglobin and Pig-MAP (r=0.57; p<0.05), but no significant associations between any of the other APP tested. We also measured the relationship between PigMAP, transthyretin and SAA, and the proportions of peripheral blood mononuclear sub-sets, CD8(+) cells, CD4(+) cells, CD11R1(+) cells, MHC DQ(+) cells, and monocytes. There were correlations between both plasma levels of Pig-MAP and the proportion of monocytes (r=0.55; p<0.05) and plasma levels of transthyretin and the proportion of MHC DQ(+) cells (r=0.40; p<0.01). Breed and sex influenced plasma levels of Pig-MAP but not plasma levels of transthyretin. Overall, these results suggest closer links between the mechanisms that regulate the release haptoglobin, Pig-MAP and monocytes compared to those that regulate the release of AGP, SAA and transthyretin.