Keratouveitis caused by sap of Euphorbia myrsinites plant.

BACKGROUND: Euphorbia plants grow in many gardens. Their milky latex is, however, a strong irritant which may induce various ocular lesions from keratoconjunctivitis to severe uveitis. HISTORY AND SIGNS: A 86-year-old woman developed a unilateral severe anterior chamber inflammation associated with descemtic folds after direct contact with sap of Euphorbia. Visual acuity was limited to counting fingers. Her eye was operated from filtering surgery ten years previously. The patient was closely followed to rule out the diagnosis of bacterial endophthalmitis. THERAPY AND OUTCOME: Symptoms progressively resolved after topical administration of 3 mg/mL ofloxacine and 1 % prednisolone acetate. CONCLUSIONS: Euphorbia sap toxicity may take different forms from keratoconjunctivitis to severe uveitis. Euphorbia sap-induced uveitis should be kept in mind when the patient has seen in contact with freshly cut plants.

The glycoinositol-phospholipids of Phytomonas.

The Phytomonas spp. are trypanosomatid parasites of plants. A polar glycolipid fraction of a Phytomonas sp., isolated from the plant Euphorbia characias and grown in culture, was fractionated into four major glycolipid species (Phy 1-4). The glycolipids were analysed by chemical and enzymic modifications, composition and methylation analyses, electrospray mass spectrometry and microsequencing after HNO2 deamination and NaB3H4 reduction. The water-soluble headgroup of the Phy2 glycolipid was also analysed by 1H NMR. All four glycolipids were shown to be glycoinositol-phospholipids (GIPLs) with phosphatidylinositol (PI) moieties containing the fully saturated alkylacylglycerol lipids 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-palmitoylglycerol and 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-stearoylglycerol. The structures of the Phy 1-4 GIPLs are: Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6Man alpha 1-4GlcN alpha 1-6PI, Glc alpha 1-2(NH2-CH2CH2-HPO4-)Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6Man alpha 1-4GlcN alpha 1-6PI, [formula: see text] Glc alpha 1-2(NH2CH2CH2-HPO4-)Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6Man alpha 1-4(NH2-CH2CH2-HPO4-)GlcN alpha 1-6PI [formula: see text] and Glc alpha 1-2Glc alpha 1-2(NH2CH2-CH2-HPO4-)Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6Man alpha 1-4(NH2CH2CH2-HPO4-)-GlcN alpha 1-6PI. [formula: see text] The Phytomonas GIPLs represent a novel series of structures. This is the first description of the chemical structure of cell-surface molecules of this plant pathogen. The Phytomonas GIPLs are compared with those of other trypanosomatid parasites and are discussed with respect to trypanosomatid phylogenetic relationships.

Note sur les musaraignes (Soricidae, Mammalia) du Parc National du Souss-Massa Maroc

With 420 trap-nights we sampled shrews in different habitats of the Souss-Massa National Park. Crocidura viaria (n=11) was found in 5 habitats (cultivated land, wetland, beach dunes with Chenopodia, sand dunes with patchy vegetation and also in the Euphorbia association). No shrews were captured in Eucalyptus forest with undergrowth. Southward from Essaouira, C. viaria is obviously the most frequent species in dense or patchy lowland vegetation. Two other species (C. whitakeri and C. tarfayaensis) which occur in sympatry in the Agadir region were not captured. They live probably not in syntopy with C. viaria and their ecological requirements remain to be studied.