Preliminary results of an anticircumsporozoite DNA vaccine trial for protection against avian malaria in captive African black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus).

Captive juvenile African black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus) housed in an outdoor enclosure at the Baltimore Zoo have an average 50% mortality from avian malarial (Plasmodium sp.) infection each year without intense monitoring for disease and chemotherapeutic intervention. During the 1996 malaria transmission season, the safety and efficacy of an anti-circumsporozoite (CSP) DNA vaccine encoding the Plasmodium gallinaceum CSP protein against P. relictum were studied. The goal was to reduce clinical disease and death without initiating sterile immunity after release into an area with stable, endemic avian malaria. The birds were monitored for adverse clinical signs associated with vaccination, the stimulation of an anti-CSP antibody response, and protection afforded by the vaccine. The presence of P. relictum in trapped culicine mosquitoes within the penguin enclosure was monitored to assess parasite pressure. Among the vaccinated penguins, the parasitemia rate dropped from approximately 50% to approximately 17% despite intense parasite pressure, as determined by mosquito infection rate. During the year of the vaccine trial, no mortalities due to malaria occurred and no undesirable vaccination side effects occurred. This is the first trial of an antimalarial vaccine in a captive penguin colony.     

Characterization of a wild-type strain of Francisella tularensis isolated from a cat.

Francisella tularensis type A is the primary cause of tularemia in animals and humans in North America. The majority of research on F. tularensis has been done with the attenuated live vaccine strain (LVS), which is a type B, but very few wild-type F. tularensis strains have been characterized. A gram-negative coccobacillus that was isolated in pure culture from the lungs of a cat that died after being lost for 5 days was received for identification at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching hospital. The isolate (strain TI0902) was not identified (or was misidentified) by commercial identification systems; however, it was identified as F. tularensis subspecies tularensis (type A) by sequencing a portion of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Furthermore, repetitive extragenic palindromic sequences-polymerase chain reaction amplified a 4-kb DNA fragment from TI0902 that was characteristic of F. tularensis type A but not type B. The electrophoretic profile of the lipopolysaccharide of strain TI0902 was identical to that of the LVS by Western blotting with antiserum to LVS. The protein-enriched outer membrane of strain TI0902 contained 6-8 proteins, which were similar in molecular size to those from the LVS. Electron microscopy of negatively stained and alcian blue-stained LVS and TI0902 cells showed that both strains were coccobacillary in shape and may be encapsulated. However, after mouse challenge, the TI0902 strain was clearly more virulent than the LVS strain. Results of this study indicate that the genotype and phenotype of wild-type F. tularensis type A strain TI0902 is similar, but not identical, to that of the LVS strain. Further studies will help determine whether pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions are also similar between the 2 strains.     

Pancreatic islet fibrosis in rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), Part 1: Case histories, clinical pathology, and epizootiology.

Two adult female rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) at the Dallas Zoo were confirmed with spontaneous diabetes mellitus from 1997-2000, whereas a third animal with a similar clinical presentation never became hyperglycemic. The pancreas in all three animals showed pancreatic islet fibrosis (PIF). Retrospective examination of medical records for rock hyraxes acquired by this collection or born into it from 1991-2002 identified eight more animals affected with PIE All affected animals, including three males and eight females, were 1-7 yr of age and presented either with vague clinical signs of soft feces and rough hair coat or were acutely moribund or dead. Clinical pathology data was available for seven of the animals before onset of overt clinical signs and revealed inappropriate hyperglycemia in six, as well as elevated serum concentrations of creatine phosphokinase, amylase, and lipase in all seven animals. Pedigree evaluation did not support a familial pattern for PIE Review of the histopathology findings from nine other zoologic collections with rock hyrax deaths during the study period identified six institutions with 12 additional cases genetically unrelated to the incident collection. Histopathology and viral serology did not support an infectious cause. Analysis of serum anti-islet and anti-insulin antibodies did not suggest autoimmune disease, and none of the animals had known exposure to toxic substances. Limited nutritional analyses did not support a nutritional basis for the condition, and the cause for PIF remains unknown.     

Competition Effects Among Isolates of Fusarium culmorum Differing in Aggressiveness and Mycotoxin Production on Heads of Winter Rye

Fusarium culmorum is a phytopathogenic, toxigenic fungus causing seedling diseases, foot rot and head blight of cereals. For estimating competition effects in mixtures of two single-spore isolates, two winter rye single crosses were tested with either four isolates individually or four 1 : 1 mixtures of the same isolates in six field environments. Two isolates (FC46, FC64) were highly aggressive deoxynivalenol (DON) and 3-acetyl DON-producers, the other two (FC30, FC71) were medium aggressive nivalenol-producers. Rye heads were inoculated during flowering with conidia of pairs of isolates expressing similar (FC46 + FC64, FC30 + FC71) or contrary (FC46 + FC71, FC30 + FC64) levels of aggressiveness and similar or different concentrations and chemotypes of mycotoxins, respectively. Head blight rating and yield components relative to the non-inoculated plots were recorded as aggressiveness traits. Additionally, mycotoxin concentrations were measured in the rye grain. Random pathogen samples were re-isolated from heads at the onset of symptom development and analysed by molecular markers (RAPD–PCR) in one environment. Aggressiveness of the isolate mixtures was significantly lower than that of the isolates applied individually on both rye genotypes. Similarly, mycotoxin concentrations were significantly lower in the mixtures in seven out of eleven comparisons. Among the re-isolates, the component genotypes of a mixture significantly deviated from the inoculated 1 : 1 ratio when a particular isolate (FC46) was present in the mixture. This isolate displayed a superior competitive ability irrespective of the aggressiveness or mycotoxin profile of the mixing partner illustrating that pathogenic fitness is caused by additional factors that have not, as yet, been identified.     

Wind-mediated spread of Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) in irrigated rice crops

A study was carried out to demonstrate that Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), a virus known to be transmitted by beetles, can spread between rice plants by direct leaf contact caused by wind. Almost all healthy plants surrounding an infected plant became infected when exposed to a fan blowing for 15 min at a distance of 50 cm. Spread of RYMV by plant contact, mediated by wind, was also demonstrated in field experiments, the extent of spread depending on plant density. Infection was almost 10 times higher in plots with a density of 33 plants m⁻² than in plots with 16 plants m⁻². Less spread was observed in plots protected by 1·5 m high windscreens. It is suggested that wind-mediated spread of RYMV may result from abrasive contact between leaves of plants.     

Influence of larval and juvenile life history on age at first maturity in two tropical amphidromous fish species

This study investigates how age at first maturity of two tropical amphidromous species Sicyopterus lagocephalus (Pallas, 1770) and Cotylopus acutipinnis (Guichenot, 1863) varies in relation to their larval and juvenile life history. Reproductive stage was estimated based on histological observation of ovaries of more than 200 females of each species caught monthly over 1 year. The age of fish was estimated by interpreting the daily increments deposited on otoliths during the oceanic larval phase, and the juvenile phase in the river. The age at first maturity was approximately 9 months for S. lagocephalus and 7 months for C. acutipinnis, corresponding to approximately 70–130 and 90–130 days after they returned to freshwater respectively. For both species, the time spent in freshwater before maturity was significantly influenced by the duration of the pelagic larval stage at sea (PLD) and the season of return in freshwater. Individuals with a long PLD, or returning in freshwater during the warmer season, maturated faster once in freshwater. This reproductive advantage may minimise the risk of extirpation due to catastrophic events at each generation and thus probably benefits amphidromous species living in very unpredictable tropical rivers.     

Evidence for genetic distinction among sympatric ecotypes of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in south‐western Alaskan lakes

Resource polymorphism may play an important role in the process of speciation. The Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) exhibits great phenotypic and genetic diversity across its range, making it an ideal species for studies of resource polymorphism and divergence. Here, we investigated genetic variation at 11 microsatellite loci among 287 Arctic char from five isolated yet proximate postglacial lakes in south‐western Alaska that were previously examined for resource polymorphism. Significant differences in pairwise F_ST were detected among all lakes (range from 0.05 to 0.28, all P < 0.02). In one lake (Lower Tazimina Lake), we found evidence for two genetic groups of char and for significant differences in the distribution of microsatellite variability among at least two of the three previously described body size morphotypes (‘large’‐, ‘medium’‐, and ‘small’‐bodied char; maximum F_ST = 0.09; differences in admixture proportions). We also found a significant association between genetic admixture proportions and gill raker counts among body size morphs (r = ?0.73, P < 0.001). Our data represent the first record of genetically distinct sympatric morphs of Arctic char in Alaska and provide further evidence that differences in morphology associated with feeding (gill rakers) and growth trajectories reflect niche diversification and promote genetic divergence in Holarctic populations of Arctic char.