HEMOPLASMAS IN WILD CANIDS AND FEUDS IN BRAZIL

Hemotropic mycoplasmas, epicellular erythrocytic bacterial parasites lacking a cell wall, are the causative agents of infectious anemia in numerous mammalian species. The presence of hemotropic mycoplasmas in blood samples of neotropical and exotic wild canids and felids from Brazilian zoos were recorded using molecular techniques. Blood samples were collected from 146 Brazilian wild felids, 19 exotic felids, 3 European wolves (Canis lupus), and from 97 Brazilian wild canids from zoos in the Brazilian states of Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso and the Federal District. Using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR), this work found 22 (13%) wild felids positive to Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum [4 jaguars (Panthera onca); 3 pumas (Puma concolor); 10 ocelots (Leopardus pardalis); 2 jaguarondis (Puma yagouaroundi); and 3 little spotted cats (Leopardus tigrinus)]. Only one little spotted cat (Leopardus tigrinus) was positive to Mycoplasma haemofelis, and none was positive to Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis. Two bush dogs (Speothos venaticus) were positive for a Mycoplasma sp. closely related to Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum, and two European wolves were positive for a Mycoplasma sp. closely related to candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum. This is the first study regarding the molecular detection of hemotropic mycoplasmas in wild canids.

Bacterial community in the rhizosphere and rhizoplane of wild type and transgenic eucalyptus

The rhizosphere is a niche exploited by a wide variety of bacteria. The expression of heterologous genes by plants might become a factor affecting the structure of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere. In a greenhouse experiment, the bacterial community associated to transgenic eucalyptus, carrying the Lhcb1-2 genes from pea (responsible for a higher photosynthetic capacity), was evaluated. The culturable bacterial community associated to transgenic and wild type plants were not different in density, and the Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) typing of 124 strains revealed dominant ribotypes representing the bacterial orders Burkholderiales, Rhizobiales, and Actinomycetales, the families Xanthomonadaceae, and Bacillaceae, and the genus Mycobacterium. Principal Component Analysis based on the fingerprints obtained by culture-independent Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis analysis revealed that Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria communities responded differently to plant genotypes. Similar effects for the cultivation of transgenic eucalyptus to those observed when two genotype-distinct wild type plants are compared.

Absorption and metabolism of cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside extracted from wild mulberry (Morus nigra L.) in rats

The mechanism of uptake of anthocyanins (as well as the type) from food in the intestine is not clear. Anthocyanin-rich extract from wild mulberry, composed of cyanidin-3-glucoside (79%) and cyanidin-3-rutino side (cy-3-rut) (19%), was orally administered to Wistar rats, and their concentrations were determined in plasma, kidney, and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The 2 glycosylated forms showed maximum concentration at 15 minutes after oral administration, both in plasma and kidney. The cyanidin-3-glucoside and cy-3-rut were found in plasma as glucuronides, as sulfates of cyanidin, and as unchanged forms. The area under the curve of concentration vs time (AUC(0-8h)) was 2.76 +/- 0.88 mu g hour/mL and 9.74 +/- 0.75 mu g hour/g for plasma and kidney, respectively. In spite of the low absorption, the increase in plasma anthocyanin level resulted in a significant increase in antioxidant capacity (P < .05). In the GI tract (stomach and small and large intestines), cyanidin glycosides were found unchanged, but a low amount of the aglycone form was present. Anthocyanin glycosides were no longer detected in the GI tract after 8 hours of administration. In vitro fermentation showed that the 2 cyanidin glycosides were totally metabolized by the rat colonic microflora, explaining their disappearance. In addition, the 2 products of their degradation, cyanidin and protocatechuic acid, were not detected in plasma and probably do not influence plasma antioxidant capacity. As found by the everted sac model, anthocyanins were transported across the enterocyte by the sodium-dependent glucose transporter. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Permeation of Large Antineoplastics into Wild Strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used in genotoxicity and cytotoxicity assays for several years before the Ames Test approach. However the cell permeability of yeast has been considered a limitant factor to this kind of assay and many researchers have been introducing genetic modifications into wild strains to improve the sensitivity to chemical compounds. In our study, we used Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 9763, well known and very common strain in antibiotic assays, and we evaluated the cytotoxicity of some antineoplastic agents (etoposide, epirubicin, carboplatin, cisplatin and mitoxantrone). Each culture was observed under the light of microscope and photographed. Neither genetic modification nor addition of permeation inducers, as dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), were introduced during the assays and the cells presented good sensitivity to those compounds, demonstrating that other potential strains and characteristics of cells should be reconsidered to improve these assays apart from the cellular permeability.

Morpho-anatomical studies of seeds and seedlings of wild indigo, ""anileira"", Indigofera-Leguminosae

(Morpho-anatomical studies of seeds and seedlings of wild indigo, ""anileira"", Indigofera-Leguminosae). The common name ""wild indigo"" specifies Indigofera will L., I. suffruticosa Mill. (legitimate name) and I. truxillensis Kunth (legitimate name) that are very similar due to their external morphology. This work analyzed diagnostic characteristics of seeds and seedlings of these species since such features are widely used in taxonomic approaches within Leguminosae. We studied surface features and morpho-anatomy of seeds and cotyledons with scanning electronic microscopy and light microscopy, and described seedling phases. Although seedlings are similar, seed characteristics (size, shape, surface ornamentation, shape of the hilum and embryo size) and cotyledon characteristics (shape, trichome ornamentation, organization of spongy parenchyma along central veins and metabolite distribution in the tissues) have diagnostic features for the species. I. anil differs from I. suffruticosa in its larger seeds and acuminate-margined cotyledons. I. truxillensis is recognized by its cylindrical seeds and kidney-shaped cotyledons with large oil drops. We assume that the characteristics examined, plus fruit morphology and foliar anatomy suggest that I. anil, I. suffruticosa and I. truxillensis should not be synonymized.

A Critical Appraisal of Narrative in Sport History: Reading the Surf Lifesaving Debate

All debates in history—who started the Cold War, how successful were the Chartists in achieving their aims, to what extent was the recession of the American frontier culturally significant in American history— are debates between competing narrative interpretations. Moreover, because the historical imagination itself exists intertextually within our own social and political environment, the past is never discovered set aside from everyday life. History is designed and composed in the here and now.

Remembering sport history: Narrative, social memory and the origins of the rugby league in Australia

This study examines the historiography of the origins of rugby league in Australia. By accepting the inclusive nature of representation of the past as found in social memory theory, a wide range of sources ranging from histories written by academics to annuals, yearbooks and newspaper books are consulted. These sources reveal that there are several competing and conflicting accounts of the emergence of rugby league in Australia. These divergent accounts are used to facilitate a discussion of the role of narrative in sport history This article argues that narrative is an integral, not optional, feature of the production of history and that the historography of the origins of rugby league highlight the problematic nature of objectivity in history and the unavoidable, impositionalist role of the historian.

Evidence for persistent dysfunction of wild-type aldosterone synthase gene in glucocorticoid-treated familial hyperaldosteronism type I

Background In familial hyperaldosteronism type I (FH-I), glucocorticoid treatment suppresses adrenocorticotrophic hormone-regulated hybrid gene expression and corrects hyperaldosteronism. Objective To determine whether the wild-type aldosterone synthase genes, thereby released from chronic suppression, are capable of functioning normally. Methods We compared mid-morning levels of plasma potassium, plasma aldosterone, plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone : PRA ratios, measured with patients in an upright position, and responsiveness of aldosterone levels to infusion of angiotensin II (AII), for 11 patients with FH-I before and during long-term (0.8-14.3 years) treatment with 0.25-0.75 mg/day dexamethasone or 2.5-10 mg/day prednisolone. Results During glucocorticoid treatment, hypertension was corrected in all. Potassium levels, which had been low (< 3.5 mmol/l) in two patients before treatment, were normal in all during treatment (mean 4.0 +/- 0.1 mmol/l, range 3.5-4.6). Aldosterone levels during treatment [13.2 +/- 2.1 ng/100 ml (mean +/- SEM)] were lower than those before treatment (20.1 +/- 2.5 ng/100 ml, P < 0.05). PRA levels, which had been suppressed before treatment (0.5 +/- 0.2 ng/ml per h), were unsuppressed during treatment (5.1 +/- 1.5 ng/ml per h, P < 0.01) and elevated (> 4 ng/ml per h) in six patients. Aldosterone : PRA ratios, which had been elevated (> 30) before treatment (101.1 +/- 25.9), were much lower during treatment (4.1 +/- 1.0, P < 0.005) and below normal (< 5) in eight patients. Surprisingly, aldosterone level, which had not been responsive (< 50% rise) to infusion of AII for all 11 patients before treatment, remained unresponsive for 10 during treatment. Conclusions Apparently regardless of duration of glucocorticoid treatment in FH-I, aldosterone level remains poorly responsive to AII, with a higher than normal PRA and a low aldosterone : PRA ratio. This is consistent with there being a persistent defect in functioning of wild-type aldosterone synthase gene. (C) Rapid Science Publishers ISSN 0263-6352.

Structural analysis and molecular model of a self-incompatibility RNase from wild tomato

Self-incompatibility RNases (S-RNases) are an allelic series of style glycoproteins associated with rejection of self-pollen in solanaceous plants. The nucleotide sequences of S-RNase alleles from several genera have been determined, but the structure of the gene products has only been described for those from Nicotiana alata. We report on the N-glycan structures and the disulfide bonding of the S-3-RNase from wild tomato (Lycopersicon peruvianum) and use this and other information to construct a model of this molecule. The S-3-RNase has a single N-glycosylation site (Asn-28) to which one of three N-glycans is attached. S-3-RNase has seven Cys residues; six are involved in disulfide linkages (Cys-16-Cys-21, Cys-46-Cys-91, and Cys-166-Cys-177), and one has a free thiol group (Cys-150). The disulfide-bonding pattern is consistent with that observed in RNase Rh, a related RNase for which radiographic-crystallographic information is available. A molecular model of the S-3-RNase shows that four of the most variable regions of the S-RNases are clustered on one surface of the molecule. This is discussed in the context of recent experiments that set out to determine the regions of the S-RNase important for recognition during the self-incompatibility response.

(-)-CGP 12177 causes cardiostimulation and binds to cardiac putative beta(4)-adrenoceptors in both wild-type and beta(3)-adrenoceptor knockout mice

Some blockers of beta(1)- and beta(2)-adrenoceptors cause cardiostimulant effects through an atypical beta-adrenoceptor (putative beta(4)-adrenoceptor) that resembles the beta(3)-adrenoceptor. It is likely but not proven that the putative beta(4)-adrenoceptor is genetically distinct from the beta(3)-adrenoceptor. We therefore investigated whether or not the cardiac atypical beta-adrenoceptor could mediate agonist effects in mice lacking a functional beta(3)-adrenoceptor gene (beta(3)KO). (-)-CGP 12177, a beta(1)- and beta(2)-adrenoceptor blocker that causes agonist effects through both beta(3)-adrenoceptors and cardiac putative beta(4)-adrenoceptors, caused cardiostimulant effects that were not different in atria from wild-type (WT) mice and beta(3)KO mice. The effects of (-)-CGP 12177 were resistant to blockade by (-)-propranolol (200 nM) but were blocked by (-)-bupranolol (1 mu M) with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 15 nM in WT and 17 nM in beta(3)KO. (-)-[H-3]CGP 12177 labeled a similar density of the putative beta(4)-adrenoceptor in ventricular membranes from the hearts of both WT (B-max = 52 fmol/mg protein) and beta(3)KO (B-max = 53 fmol/mg protein) mice. The affinity of (-)-[H-3]CGP 12177 for the cardiac putative beta(4)-adrenoceptor was not different between WT (K-d = 46 nM) and beta(3)KO (K-d = 40 nM). These results provide definitive evidence that the cardiac putative beta(4)-adrenoceptor is distinct from the beta(3)-adrenoceptor.

Field evidence for mechanical transmission of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) by flies (Diptera : Calliphoridae) among wild rabbits in Australia

Field collected flies were screened for the presence of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) by applying reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) in which primers specific to the capsid protein of the virus were used. The virus was detected in flies from locations where rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) was reported and also soon after the release of RHDV in a 'clean' area. Oral and/or anal excretions of flies (flyspots) were found to contain viable virus and oral inoculation of rabbits revealed that a single flyspot was able to cause RHD. We conclude that flyspots are a major potential source of the virus for oral or conjunctival transmission of the virus to rabbits. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

PCR bias toward the wild-type k-ras and p53 sequences: Implications for PCR detection of mutations and cancer diagnosis

PCR-based cancer diagnosis requires detection of rare mutations in k-ras, p53 or other genes. The assumption has been that mutant and wild-type sequences amplify with near equal efficiency, so that they are eventually present in proportions representative of the starting material. Work factor IX suggests that this assumption is invalid for one case of near-sequence identity To test the generality of this phenomenon and its relevance to cancer diagnosis, primers distant from point mutations in p53 and k-ras were used to amplify, wild-type and mutant sequences from these genes. A substantial bias against PCR amplification of mutants was observed for two regions of the p53 gene and one region of k-ras. For kras and p53, bias was observed when the wild-type and mutant sequences were amplified separately or when mixed in equal proportions before PCR. Bias was present with proofreading and non-proofreading polymerases. Mutant and wild-type segments of the factor V cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator and prothrombin genes were amplified and did not exhibit PCR bias. Therefore, the assumption of equal PCR efficiency for point mutant and wild-type sequences is invalid in several systems. Quantitative or diagnostic PCR will require validation for each locus, and enrichment strategies may be needed to optimize detection of mutants.