Antibiotic resistances of intestinal lactobacilli isolated from wild boars

Acquired antibiotic resistances have been reported in lactobacilli of various animal and food sources, but there are no data from wild boar. The objective was a preliminary examination of the antibiotic resistance prevalence of intrinsically vancomycin-resistant lactobacilli isolated from wild boar intestines and analysis of the genetic determinants implicated. Out of three wild boars, 121 lactobacilli were recovered and grouped according to their whole cell protein patterns. Initial phenotypic screening revealed that all were susceptible to erythromycin (2 μg/ml), but 30 were resistant to tetracycline (32 μg/ml). Based on Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-PCR clustering, 64 strains were selected as representative genotypes for identification and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination. Partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified four species: (i) L. mucosae (n = 57), (ii) L. reuteri (n = 47), (iii) L. fermentum (n = 12), and (iv) L. murinus (n = 5). Most heterofermentative strains displayed low MICs for ampicillin (AMP), chloramphenicol (CHL), streptomycin (STR), kanamycin (KAN), gentamicin (GEN), erythromycin (ERY), quinupristin/dalfopristin (Q/D), and clindamycin (CLI). Atypical MICs were found mainly in L. mucosae and L. reuteri for TET, KAN, STR, AMP and CHL, but except the TET MICs of L. mucosae mostly at low level. L. murinus strains revealed atypical MICs for aminoglycosides, and/or CHL, AMP, CLI. PCR screening detected tet(W) in 12 and tet(M) in one of heterofermentative strains, as well as the aph(3′)-III kanamycin gene in L. murinus. This is the first report showing acquired antibiotic resistance determinants in intestinal lactobacilli of wild boar origin.     

Mosaic organization of neural stem cells in the adult brain

The in vivo potential of neural stem cells in the postnatal mouse brain is not known, but because they produce many different types of neurons, they must be either very versatile or very diverse. By specifically targeting stem cells and following their progeny in vivo, we showed that postnatal stem cells in different regions produce different types of neurons, even when heterotopically grafted or grown in culture. This suggests that rather than being plastic and homogeneous, neural stem cells are a restricted and diverse population of progenitors.     

Fifty years after deep-ploughing: Effects on yield,roots, nutrient stocks and soil structure

Deep-ploughing far beyond the common depth of 30 cm was used more than 50 years ago in Northern Germany with the aim to break root-restricting layers and thereby improve access to subsoil water and nutrient resources. We hypothesized that effects of this earlier intervention on soil properties and yields prevailed after 50 years. Hence, we sampled two sandy soils and one silty soil (Cambisols and a Luvisol) of which half of the field had been deep-ploughed 50 years ago (soils then re-classified as Treposols). The adjacent other half was not deep-ploughed and thus served as the control. At all the three sites, both deep-ploughed and control parts were then conventionally managed over the last 50 years. We assessed yields during the dry year 2019 and additionally in 2020, and rooting intensity at the year of sampling (2019), as well as changes in soil structure, carbon and nutrient stocks in that year. We found that deep-ploughing improved yields in the dry spell of 2019 at the sandy sites, which was supported by a more general pattern of higher NDVI indices in deep-ploughed parts for the period from 2016 to 2021 across varying weather conditions. Subsoil stocks of soil organic carbon and total plant-available phosphorus were enhanced by 21%–199% in the different sites. Root biomass in the subsoil was reduced due to deep-ploughing at the silty site and was increased or unaffected at the sandy sites. Overall, the effects of deep-ploughing were site-specific, with reduced bulk density in the buried topsoil stripes in the subsoil of the sandy sites, but with elevated subsoil density in the silty site. Hence, even 50 years after deep-ploughing, changes in soil properties are still detectable, although effect size differed among sites.     

Use of C-reactive protein to predict outcome in dogs with systemic inflammatory response syndrome or sepsis

Background – There is a high mortality rate in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) or sepsis. Therefore, an early diagnosis and prognostic assessment is important for optimal therapeutic intervention. The objective of the study was to evaluate if baseline values and changes in serum C-reactive protein (CRP) might predict survival in dogs with SIRS and sepsis.
Design – Prospective study; July 2004 to July 2005.
Setting – Small Animal Clinic, Berlin, Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Munich.
Animals – Sixty-one dogs.
Measurements and Main Results – For the CRP analysis blood was drawn on day 0, 1, and 2; CRP was measured using a commercial ELISA test kit. Thirteen dogs suffered from nonseptic SIRS and 48 dogs from sepsis. The 14-day survival rate was 61% (69% nonseptic SIRS, 58% sepsis). Serum CRP was higher in sick dogs compared with controls ( P <0.001). Over the 3-day period surviving dogs ( n =31) displayed a significantly greater decrease in CRP than nonsurvivors ( n =10) ( P =0.001). No correlation was found between the initial CRP concentrations and the survival rate. The changes in CRP corresponded to the survival rate ( P =0.01).
Conclusion – There was no significant relationship between the survival rate in dogs with nonseptic SIRS or sepsis and the initial serum CRP concentrations. There was a correlation between decreasing CRP concentrations and recovery from disease. However, the changes in CRP concentrations over a 3-day period correctly predicted survival in 94% of dogs and death in 30% of the dogs (false positive rate 22%).