Pharmacokinetics of ketoprofen in the green iguana (Iguana iguana) following single intravenous and intramuscular injections.

The nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug ketoprofen (KTP) is a commonly used antiinflammatory and analgesic agent in reptile medicine, but no studies documenting its pharmacokinetics in this species have been published. Ketoprofen was administered as a racemic mixture to green iguanas (Iguana iguana) intravenously (i.v.) and intramuscularly (i.m.) at 2 mg/kg. Pharmacokinetic analyses were performed and indicated that ketoprofen in iguanas administered by the intravenous route has a classical two-compartmental distribution pattern, a slow clearance (67 ml/ kg/hr) and a long terminal half-life (31 hr) compared to ketoprofen studies reported in mammals. When delivered by the intramuscular route, bioavailability was 78%. These data indicate the daily dosing that is generally recommended for reptile patients, as an extrapolation from mammalian data, may be more frequent than necessary.     

Experimental infection of normal and immunosuppressed pigs with Pseudomonas pseudomallei

A single dose of 5 x 10(8) bacilli of Pseudomonas pseudomallei by intratracheal injection resulted in acute (21 cases) or chronic (19 cases) melioidosis in 40 of 48 pigs. Fifteen (10 acute and 5 chronic) had been immunosuppressed by cyclophosphamide before inoculation. The major clinical signs were initial fever, marked neutrophilia and, in the acute cases, respiratory distress. There were no signs of the nasal and ocular discharge, paresis or diarrhoea seen in acute cases in south-east Asia. The cyclophosphamide treatment caused a significant decrease in the neutrophil count by 7 d after inoculation in all 15 immunosuppressed pigs, and all were culture positive at necropsy. Eight of the 33 non-treated pigs were culture negative at necropsy. Pigs overcoming the initial phase of infection had more abscess-like nodules that were bacteriologically sterile at necropsy than the pigs with acute cases of melioidosis. P. pseudomallei was isolated predominantly from the spleen, lungs and the injection site. Although only one strain was used in this study, it is likely that Australian strains of P. pseudomallei are not as virulent as the south-east Asian isolates.     

Method: low-cost delivery of the cotton leaf crumple virus-induced gene silencing system

Background

We previously developed a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) vector for cotton from the bipartite geminivirusCotton leaf crumple virus (CLCrV). The original CLCrV VIGS vector was designed for biolistic delivery by a gene gun. This prerequisite limited the use of the system to labs with access to biolistic equipment. Here we describe the adaptation of this system for delivery by Agrobacterium (Agrobacterium tumefaciens). We also describe the construction of two low-cost particle inflow guns.

Results

The biolistic CLCrV vector was transferred into two Agrobacterium binary plasmids. Agroinoculation of the binary plasmids into cotton resulted in silencing and GFP expression comparable to the biolistic vector. Two homemade low-cost gene guns were used to successfully inoculate cotton (G. hirsutum) and N. benthamiana with either the CLCrV VIGS vector or the Tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV) VIGS vector respectively.

Conclusions

These innovations extend the versatility of CLCrV-based VIGS for analyzing gene function in cotton. The two low-cost gene guns make VIGS experiments affordable for both research and teaching labs by providing a working alternative to expensive commercial gene guns.     

Impacts of intensification of pastoral agriculture on soils: Current and emerging challenges and implications for future land uses

Abstract

AIM: To find evidence for localisation in the uterus, and fetal infection, of Leptospira spp. in farmed deer in the lower North Island of New Zealand during and shortly after the breeding season.

METHODS: Between February and July 2008, 116 blood samples, 120 kidneys, 120 uteri and 27 fetuses were collected from 120 mixed-age hinds from lines from nine farms, at a deer slaughter premises. Serum samples were tested for antibodies against Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo-bovis and Leptospira interrogans serovar Pomona, using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). For both serovars, a titre of >1:48 was considered positive. Samples from kidneys, uteri and fetal tissue were subjected to bacterial culture, using Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) medium, and real-time PCR, using DNA gyrase subunit B gene primers.

RESULTS: Thirty-four of 116 (29.3%) serum samples were positive for serovar Hardjo-bovis, and 13 (11.2%) for serovar Pomona. Seven of 120 kidneys were positive for serovar Hardjo-bovis by culture, and five of these, but no others, were positive by real-time PCR. Of 120 uteri, none was culture- or PCR-positive. None of 27 fetal samples was culture-positive but one was positive by real-time PCR. The dam of the PCR-positive fetus was culture-negative from the kidney, but had an MAT titre of 1:192 for Hardjo-bovis.

CONCLUSIONS: Attempts to isolate Leptospira spp. from the genital tracts and early fetuses of farmed deer were unsuccessful. However, molecular evidence suggested fetal infection in one case. This finding justifies further study of the role of leptospires in the genital tract and fetus and its association with reproductive loss in farmed deer.