Fucose-Rich Sulfated Polysaccharides from Two Vietnamese Sea Cucumbers Bohadschia argus and Holothuria (Theelothuria) spinifera: Structures and Anticoagulant Activity

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfates (FCSs) FCS-BA and FCS-HS, as well as fucan sulfates (FSs) FS-BA-AT and FS-HS-AT were isolated from the sea cucumbers Bohadschia argus and Holothuria (Theelothuria) spinifera, respectively. Purification of the polysaccharides was carried out by anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel column. Structural characterization of polysaccharides was performed in terms of monosaccharide and sulfate content, as well as using a series of non-destructive NMR spectroscopic methods. Both FCSs were shown to contain a chondroitin core [→3)-β-d-GalNAc-(1→4)-β-d-GlcA-(1→]_n bearing sulfated fucosyl branches at O-3 of every GlcA residue in the chain. These fucosyl residues were different in pattern of sulfation: FCS-BA contained Fuc2S4S, Fuc3S4S and Fuc4S at a ratio of 1:8:2, while FCS-HS contained these residues at a ratio of 2:2:1. Polysaccharides differed also in content of GalNAc4S6S and GalNAc4S units, the ratios being 14:1 for FCS-BA and 4:1 for FCS-HS. Both FCSs demonstrated significant anticoagulant activity in clotting time assay and potentiated inhibition of thrombin, but not of factor Xa. FS-BA-AT was shown to be a regular linear polymer of 4-linked α-L-fucopyranose 3-sulfate, the structure being confirmed by NMR spectra of desulfated polysaccharide. In spite of considerable sulfate content, FS-BA-AT was practically devoid of anticoagulant activity. FS-HS-AT cannot be purified completely from contamination of some FCS. Its structure was tentatively represented as a mixture of chains identical with FS-BA-AT and other chains built up of randomly sulfated alternating 4- and 3-linked α-L-fucopyranose residues.     

Seasonal effects on the aerobic bacterial and fungal conjunctival flora of normal thoroughbred brood mares in Florida

Objective To evaluate seasonal effects on the presence or absence of fungal and aerobic bacterial flora of the conjunctival fornix of normal Florida Thoroughbred horses. Sample population Both eyes of 100 horses. Procedure Horses with normal anterior segment ophthalmic examinations from three farms in north central Florida were included. Each animal had the ventral conjunctival fornix of each eye swabbed with sterile culturettes. Samples were taken in October, January, April, and July (1999–2000). Aerobic and fungal cultures were plated. Bacterial cultures were reviewed at 24 and 48 h. Fungal cultures were reviewed weekly for 4 weeks. Logistic regression analysis with season as a factor and age of the horse as a covariate was performed. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.01. Results Horses ranged from 3 to 24 years of age, with a median age of 9 years. Twenty‐four genera of bacteria and 35 genera of fungi were recovered. Corynebacterium sp., Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp. and Moraxella sp. were the bacteria most frequently isolated. Mold species, dematiaceous mold species, Chrysosporium sp., Cladosporium sp., and Aspergillus sp. were the most frequently recovered fungi. Season did not have a significant effect on the presence of microorganisms isolated for individual horses adjusted for age. Younger horses had an increased incidence of gram‐negative rods and fungal isolates. The number of bacteria and fungi isolated are not uniform across seasons. Conclusion There were no significant differences between the number or type of organisms cultured during the sampling seasons in normal Florida horses. A large range of normal bacterial and fungal flora were isolated from these horses. The number of bacteria and fungi isolated are not uniform across seasons. The likelihood of detecting an organism depends on the horses’ age.     

A Multistate Investigation of Antibiotic‐Resistant Salmonella enterica Serotype I 4,[5],12:i:‐ Infections as Part of an International Outbreak Associated with Frozen Feeder Rodents

While most human Salmonella infections result from exposure to contaminated foods, an estimated 11% of all Salmonella infections are attributed to animal exposures, including both direct animal handling and indirect exposures such as cleaning cages and handling contaminated pet food. This report describes the epidemiologic, environmental and laboratory investigations conducted in the United States as part of the response to an international outbreak of tetracycline‐resistant Salmonella enterica serotype I 4,[5],12:i:‐ infections with over 500 illnesses occurring from 2008 to 2010. This investigation found that illness due to the outbreak strain was significantly associated with exposure to pet reptiles and frozen feeder rodents used as food for pet reptiles. Salmonella isolates indistinguishable from the outbreak strain were isolated from a frozen feeder mice‐fed reptile owned by a case patient, as well as from frozen feeder mice and environmental samples collected from a rodent producing facility (Company A). An international voluntary recall of all Company A produced frozen feeder animals sold between May 2009 and July 2010 occurred. Only 13% of cases in our investigation were aware of the association between Salmonella infection and mice or rats. Consumers, the pet industry, healthcare providers and veterinarians need to be aware of the potential health risk posed by feeder rodents, whether live or frozen. Frozen feeder rodent producers, suppliers and distributors should follow the animal food labelling requirements as described in 21 CFR §501.5, and all packages of frozen feeder rodents should include safe handling instructions. Persons should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling live or frozen feeder rodents, as well as reptiles or anything in the area where the animals live. Continued opportunities exist for public health officials, the pet industry, veterinarians and consumers to work together to prevent salmonellosis associated with pet food, pets and other animals.     

Dietary cation and anion difference: Effects on milk production and body fluid distribution in lactating dairy goats under tropical conditions

This study aimed to determine the effect of dietary cation and anion difference (DCAD) on milk production and body fluid distribution in lactating dairy goats. Ten dairy goats were selected and divided into two groups, five animals each. Animals received either control DCAD (control, 22.81 mEq/100 g dry matter (DM)) or high DCAD (DCAD, 39.08 mEq/100 g DM). The results indicated that rectal temperature (Tr), respiration rate, milk yield and compositions did not differ between groups. But the percentage change of Tr from the DCAD group was lower than the control group between 09.00 and 13.00 hours. DM intake tended to increase in the DCAD group. Dairy goats in the DCAD group drank more water, but urinary excretion and plasma antidiuretic hormone concentration remained unchanged. Apparent water balance was higher from the DCAD group over 24 h. There was no effect of DCAD on plasma and blood volumes, but tended to increase in extracellular fluid and thereby increased total body water. The present results indicate that animals supplemented with high DCAD increase their total body water and apparent water balance. These results have contributed to the process of adaptation for evaporative cooling and would be useful in slowing down the elevation in Tr.     

Differences in Ion Accumulation and Salt Tolerance among Glycine Accessions

Salinity reduces crop yield by limiting water uptake and causing ion‐specific stress. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is sensitive to soil salinity. However, there is variability among soybean genotypes and wild relatives for salt tolerance, suggesting that genetic improvement may be possible. The objective of this study was to identify differences in salt tolerance based on ion accumulation in leaves, stems and roots among accessions of four Glycine species. Four NaCl treatments, 0, 50, 75 and 100 mm , were imposed on G. max, G. soja, G. tomentella and G. argyrea accessions with different levels of salinity tolerance. Tolerant genotypes had less leaf scorch and a greater capacity to prevent Na⁺ and Cl^? transport from soil solution to stems and leaves than sensitive genotypes. Magnitude of leaf injury per unit increase in leaf Na⁺ or Cl^? concentrations was lower in tolerant than in susceptible accessions. Also, plant injury was associated more with Na⁺ rather than with Cl^? concentration in leaves. Salt‐tolerant accessions had greater leaf chlorophyll‐meter readings than sensitive genotypes at all NaCl concentrations. Glycine argyrea and G. tomentella accessions possessed higher salt tolerance than G. soja and G. max genotypes.     

Blood and liver biopsy for the non‐destructive screening of tilapia lake virus

Detection of tilapia lake virus (TiLV) in tilapines is mainly from visceral organs of killed fish. However, lethal sampling might not be viable to broodstock and economically important ornamental cichlids. To contribute towards screening of the virus in asymptomatic infected fish, a subclinically infected population of Nile tilapia adults obtained from a local farm was preliminarily tested to compare different non‐lethal sampling methods, for example liver biopsy, gill biopsy, fin clip, mucus, faeces and blood for detection of TiLV. Only liver and blood samples gave positive results by PCR. Since blood sampling is relatively simpler, it was further used for five naturally co‐cultured juvenile fish species from above‐mentioned farm including 40 red tilapia broodstock and 20 Nile tilapia adults from two other different farms. The results showed that from the tested fish, 4 of 5 Nile tilapia, 2 of 5 hybrid red tilapia and 3 of 5 giant gourami blood samples tested positive, while 38 of 40 blood samples of red tilapia tested positive for TiLV in second‐step PCR. Sequencing representative PCR amplicons of positive samples confirmed sequence identity to TiLV. In conclusion, both blood and liver biopsy are practical non‐destructive sampling platforms for TiLV screening in cichlids with blood being more convenient, especially for tilapia broodstock.     

Should only females of giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii be selected in genetic improvement programmes?

Sexual dimorphism is widely observed in almost all farmed aquatic animal species but giant freshwater pawn (GFP) is unique, with males characterized by three main morphotypes (blue claw, orange claw and small males) and females by different reproduction status (ovary, berried egg and already‐spawned females). There has been reported evidence that the effect of male morphotype may have masked genetic variation in growth‐related traits, as a result the heritability for male body weight was lower than that estimated in female. A pending question has arisen whether selection should be made in female only. To answer this question, we used an 8‐year data set from a long‐term selection programme (2008–2015) for high growth in this species comprising 106,756 individuals that were offspring of 515 sires and 810 dams. The body weight data of female and male GFP or of each morphotype was treated as a separate trait and a multi‐trait approach was used to estimate genetic correlations for homologous traits between sexes and between morphotypes. Our analysis showed that there were little differences in the heritability estimates between female and male. In female, mature ovary individual displayed higher heritability than berried egg and already‐spawned females. For male, the heritability for blue claw, orange claw and small males were 0.11, 0.06 and 0.00 respectively. Between‐sex genetic correlation was moderate (0.55 ± 0.11) for body weight, suggesting that the trait expressions in female and male may be genetically different. In female, the genetic correlations for body weight among three female types were close to one (0.91–0.94). In contrast, the genetic correlations for body weight between male morphotypes especially between blue claw or orange claw and small males were low (0.15–0.25). Furthermore, we estimated genetic gain as the difference in least square means (LSM) or estimated breeding values (EBV) between the selection line and control group. The genetic gain in body weight was smaller in females than in males. It is concluded that there is no need to run separate breeding programme for female and male GFP. A combined selection using both female and male data can achieve selection response for body weight as demonstrated in the present study.