New insights into the altered adhesive and mechanical properties of red blood cells parasitized by Babesia bovis

Sequestration of parasite-infected red blood cells (RBCs) in the microvasculature is an important pathological feature of both bovine babesiosis caused by Babesia bovis and human malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Surprisingly, when compared with malaria, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie this abnormal circulatory behaviour for RBCs infected with B. bovis have been relatively ignored. Here, we present some novel insights into the adhesive and mechanical changes that occur in B. bovis-infected bovine RBCs and compare them with the alterations that occur in human RBCs infected with P. falciparum. After infection with B. bovis, bovine RBCs become rigid and adhere to vascular endothelial cells under conditions of physiologically relevant flow. These alterations are accompanied by the appearance of ridge-like structures on the RBC surface that are analogous, but morphologically and biochemically different, to the knob-like structures on the surface of human RBCs infected with P. falciparum. Importantly, albeit for a limited number of parasite lines examined here, the extent of these cellular and rheological changes appear to be related to parasite virulence. Future investigations to identify the precise molecular composition of ridges and the proteins that mediate adhesion will provide important insight into the pathogenesis of both babesiosis and malaria.

Encroachment of Echinococcus granulosus into urban areas in eastern Queensland, Australia

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus in wild dogs (dingos and dingo-domestic dog hybrids) living in and around human habitation on Fraser Island and in townships of the Maroochy Shire, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Australia. Design: Wild dogs were humanely killed on Fraser Island and in the Maroochy Shire because they were deemed a potential danger to the public. Their intestines were collected and the contents examined for intestinal parasites. Procedure: Intestines were removed as soon after death as possible, packed in plastic bags and kept frozen until examination. The intestinal contents were washed, sieved and examined microscopically for the presence of helminths, which were identified and counted. Results: Intestines from 108 wild dogs, 7 foxes and 18 Fraser Island dingoes were examined. Echinococcus granulosus was only present in the wild dogs from Maroochy Shire (46.3%) with worm burdens of between 30 and 104,000. Other helminths included Spirometra erinacei, Dipylidium caninum, Taenia spp., Ancylostoma caninum and Toxocara canis. Two specimens of a trematode (Haplorchinae sp.) usually found infecting fish and seabirds were recovered from a Fraser Island dingo. Conclusion: Dingoes on Fraser Island are not infected with E. granulosus and do not pose a hydatid disease public health risk to residents or visitors. However, wild dogs examined from the Maroochy Shire do present a potential hydatid disease public health risk.

Detecting the attributes of a wheat crop using digital imagery acquired from a low-altitude platform

A low-altitude platform utilising a 1.8-m diameter tethered helium balloon was used to position a multispectral sensor, consisting of two digital cameras, above a fertiliser trial plot where wheat (Triticum spp.) was being grown. Located in Cecil Plains, Queensland, Australia, the plot was a long-term fertiliser trial being conducted by a fertiliser company to monitor the response of crops to various levels of nutrition. The different levels of nutrition were achieved by varying nitrogen application rates between 0 and 120 units of N at 40 unit increments. Each plot had received the same application rate for 10 years. Colour and near-infrared images were acquired that captured the whole 2 ha plot. These images were examined and relationships sought between the captured digital information and the crop parameters imaged at anthesis and the at-harvest quality and quantity parameters. The statistical analysis techniques used were correlation analysis, discriminant analysis and partial least squares regression. A high correlation was found between the image and yield (R2 = 0.91) and a moderate correlation between the image and grain protein content (R2 = 0.66). The utility of the system could be extended by choosing a more mobile platform. This would increase the potential for the system to be used to diagnose the causes of the variability and allow remediation, and/or to segregate the crop at harvest to meet certain quality parameters.

Predator presence moves Helicoverpa armigera larvae to distraction

Displacement of herbivorous insects by the presence of predators on whole plants has rarely been studied. By semi-continuous observations of an externally feeding insect herbivore and a predator, we show how the mere presence of the predator, Geocoris lubra Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Geocoridae), on a plant can have a strong influence on the movement and behaviors of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae. The presence of predators, as opposed to mortality by predators, influenced the proportion of larvae feeding, resting and implementing avoidance activities. In addition, the proportion of time individual larvae allocated to feeding, resting and dropping off plants was affected when predators were present with and without contact between the two. Predators do more than just reduce numbers of herbivores; they influence feeding, displacement and subsequently the distribution of plant damage.

Evaluation of partial replacement of live and fresh feeds with a formulated diet and the influence of weaning Panulirus ornatus phyllosomata onto a formulated diet during early ontogeny

We have evaluated the potential of a formulated diet as a replacement for live and fresh feeds for 7-day post-hatch Panulirus ornatus phyllosomata and also investigated the effect of conditioning phyllosomata for 14-21 days on live feeds prior to weaning onto a 100% formulated diet. In the first trial, the highest survival (>55%) was consistently shown by phyllosomata fed a diet consisting of a 50% combination of Artemia nauplii and 50% Greenshell mussel, followed by phyllosomata fed 50% Artemia nauplii and 50% formulated diet and, thirdly, by those receiving 100% Artemia nauplii. The second trial assessed the replacement of on-grown Artemia with proportions of formulated diet and Greenshell mussel that differed from those used in trial 1. Phyllosomata fed a 75% combination of formulated diet and 25% on-grown Artemia and 50% on-grown Artemia and 50% Greenshell mussel consistently showed the highest survival (>75%). Combinations of Greenshell mussel and formulated diet resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) reduced survival. In trial 3, phyllosomata were conditioned for 14, 18 or 21 days on Artemia nauplii prior to weaning onto a 100% formulated diet, which resulted in survival rates that were negatively related to the duration of feeding Artemia nauplii. In the final trial, phyllosomata were conditioned for 14 days on live on-grown Artemia prior to weaning onto one of three formulated diets (one diet with 44% CP and two diets with 50%). Phyllosomata fed a 44% CP diet consistently showed the highest survival (>35%) among all treatments, while those fed a 50%-squid CP diet showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in mortality at day 24. The results of these trials demonstrate that hatcheries can potentially replace 75% of live on-grown Artemia with a formulated diet 7 days after hatch. The poor performance associated with feeding combinations of Greenshell mussel and formulated diet, and 100% formulated diet as well as conditioning phyllosomata for 14-21 days on live feeds prior to weaning onto a formulated diet highlights the importance of providing Artemia to stimulate feeding.

Pitfalls and benefits of involving industry in fisheries research: A case study of the live reef fish industry in Queensland, Australia

Including collaboration with industry members as an integral part of research activities is a relatively new approach to fisheries research. Earlier approaches to involving fishers in research usually involved compulsory accommodations of research, such as through compulsory observer programs, in which fishers were seen as subjects of rather than participants in research. This new approach brings with it significant potential benefits but also some unique issues both for the researchers and the participating industry members. In this paper we describe a research project involving the Queensland Coral Reef Finfish Fishery that originated from industry and community concerns about changes in marketing practices in an established commercial line fishery. A key aspect of this project was industry collaboration in all stages of the research, from formulation of objectives to assistance with interpretation of results. We discuss this research as a case study of some of the issues raised by collaboration between industry and research groups in fisheries research and the potential pitfalls and benefits of such collaborations for all parties. A dedicated liaison and extension strategy was a key element in the project to develop and maintain the relationships between fishers and researchers that were fundamental to the success of the collaboration. A major research benefit of the approach was the provision of information not available from other sources: 300 days of direct and unimpeded observation of commercial fishing by researchers; detailed catch and effort records from a further 126 fishing trips; and 53 interviews completed with fishers. Fishers also provided extensive operational information about the fishery as well as ongoing support for subsequent research projects. The time and resources required to complete the research in this consultative framework were greater than for more traditional, researcher-centric fisheries research, but the benefits gained far outweighed the costs.

Productivity and health effects of anaplasmosis and babesiosis on Bos indicus cattle and their crosses, and the effects of differing intensity of tick control in Australia

Tick fever is an important disease of cattle where Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus acts as a vector for the three causal organisms Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina and Anaplasma marginale. Bos indicus cattle and their crosses are more resistant to the clinical effects of infection with B. bovis and B. bigemina than are Bos taurus cattle. Resistance is not complete, however, and herds of B. indicus-cross cattle are still at risk of babesiosis in environments where exposure to B. bovis is light in most years but occasionally high. The susceptibility of B. indicus cattle and their crosses to infection with A. marginale is similar to that of B. taurus cattle. In herds of B. indicus cattle and their crosses the infection rate of Babesia spp. and A. marginale is lowered because fewer ticks are likely to attach per day due to reduced numbers of ticks in the field (long-term effect on population, arising from high host resistance) and because a smaller proportion of ticks that do develop to feed on infected cattle will in turn be infected (due to lower parasitaemia). As a consequence, herds of B. indicus cattle are less likely than herds of B. taurus cattle to have high levels of population immunity to babesiosis or anaplasmosis. The effects of acaricide application on the probability of clinical disease due to anaplasmosis and babesiosis are unpredictable and dependent on the prevalence of infection in ticks and in cattle at the time of application. Attempting to manipulate population immunity through the toleration of specific threshold numbers of ticks with the aim of controlling tick fever is not reliable and the justification for acaricide application should be for the control of ticks rather than for tick fever. Vaccination of B. indicus cattle and their crosses is advisable in all areas where ticks exist, although vaccination against B. bigemina is probably not essential in pure B. indicus animals.

Bovine mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB

Mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB, an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder of heparan sulfate caused by mutations in the α-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGLU) gene, was recently discovered in cattle. Clinical signs include progressive ataxia, stumbling gait, swaying and difficulty in balance and walking. These clinical signs are usually first observed at approximately 2 years of age and then develop progressively over the lifespan of the animals. Affected bulls were found to be homozygous for the missense mutation E452K (c.1354G>A). The availability of mutational analysis permits screening for the NAGLU mutation to eradicate this mutation from the cattle breeding population.

The accuracy of varietal selection using factor analytic models for multi-environment plant breeding trials

Modeling of cultivar x trial effects for multienvironment trials (METs) within a mixed model framework is now common practice in many plant breeding programs. The factor analytic (FA) model is a parsimonious form used to approximate the fully unstructured form of the genetic variance-covariance matrix in the model for MET data. In this study, we demonstrate that the FA model is generally the model of best fit across a range of data sets taken from early generation trials in a breeding program. In addition, we demonstrate the superiority of the FA model in achieving the most common aim of METs, namely the selection of superior genotypes. Selection is achieved using best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs) of cultivar effects at each environment, considered either individually or as a weighted average across environments. In practice, empirical BLUPs (E-BLUPs) of cultivar effects must be used instead of BLUPs since variance parameters in the model must be estimated rather than assumed known. While the optimal properties of minimum mean squared error of prediction (MSEP) and maximum correlation between true and predicted effects possessed by BLUPs do not hold for E-BLUPs, a simulation study shows that E-BLUPs perform well in terms of MSEP.

Do parasitic flies attack mites? Evidence in Baltic amber

We provide the first evidence of a small-headed fly planidium (first instar larva; Diptera: Acroceridae) associated with a whirligig mite (Acari: Acariformes: Prostigmata: Anystina: Anystidae) in Baltic amber. This fossil is surprising as parasitic nematodes are the only metazoans known to successfully attack acariform mites, and Acroceridae are believed to be host-restricted parasitoids of spiders. The fossil corroborates a previously published, but widely dismissed, paper that first reported parasitism of parasitengone mites by acrocerid planidia. The possible natural history implications of this find are discussed.

Ruminococcus bromii, identification and isolation as a dominant community member in the rumen of cattle fed a barley diet

Aims: To identify dominant bacteria in grain (barley)-fed cattle for isolation and future use to increase the efficiency of starch utilization in these cattle. Methods and Results: Total DNA was extracted from samples of the rumen contents from eight steers fed a barley diet for 9 and 14 days. Bacterial profiles were obtained using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of the PCR-amplified V2/V3 region of the 16S rRNA genes from total bacterial DNA. Apparently dominant bands were excised and cloned, and the clone insert sequence was determined. One of the most common and dominant bacteria present was identified as Ruminococcus bromii. This species was subsequently isolated using traditional culture-based techniques and its dominance in the grain-fed cattle was confirmed using a real-time Taq nuclease assay (TNA) designed for this purpose. In some animals, the population of R. bromii reached densities above 1010R. bromii cell equivalents per ml or approximately 10% of the total bacterial population. Conclusions: Ruminococcus bromii is a dominant bacterial population in the rumen of cattle fed a barley-based diet. Significance and Impact of the Study: Ruminococcus bromii YE282 may be useful as a probiotic inoculant to increase the efficiency of starch utilization in barley-fed cattle. The combination of DGGE and real-time TNA has been an effective process for identifying and targeting for isolation, dominant bacteria in a complex ecosystem.

Differential expression profiling of components associated with exoskeletal hardening in crustaceans

Background: Exoskeletal hardening in crustaceans can be attributed to mineralization and sclerotization of the organic matrix. Glycoproteins have been implicated in the calcification process of many matrices. Sclerotization, on the other hand, is catalysed by phenoloxidases, which also play a role in melanization and the immunological response in arthropods. Custom cDNA microarrays from Portunus pelagicus were used to identify genes possibly associated with the activation pathways involved in these processes. Results: Two genes potentially involved in the recognition of glycosylation, the C-type lectin receptor and the mannose-binding protein, were found to display molt cycle-related differential expression profiles. C-type lectin receptor up-regulation was found to coincide with periods associated with new uncalcified cuticle formation, while the up-regulation of mannose-binding protein occurred only in the post-molt stage, during which calcification takes place, implicating both in the regulation of calcification. Genes presumed to be involved in the phenoloxidase activation pathway that facilitates sclerotization also displayed molt cycle-related differential expression profiles. Members of the serine protease superfamily, trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like, were up-regulated in the intermolt stage when compared to post-molt, while trypsin-like was also up-regulated in pre-molt compared to ecdysis. Additionally, up-regulation in pre- and intermolt stages was observed by transcripts encoding other phenoloxidase activators including the putative antibacterial protein carcinin-like, and clotting protein precursor-like. Furthermore, hemocyanin, itself with phenoloxidase activity, displayed an identical expression pattern to that of the phenoloxidase activators, i.e. up-regulation in pre- and intermolt. Conclusion: Cuticle hardening in crustaceans is a complex process that is precisely timed to occur in the post-molt stage of the molt cycle. We have identified differential expression patterns of several genes that are believed to be involved in biomineralization and sclerotization and propose possible regulatory mechanisms for these processes based on their expression profiles, such as the potential involvement of C-type lectin receptors and mannose binding protein in the regulation of calcification.

Models for the field-based toxicity of copper and zinc salts to wheat in 11 Australian soils and comparison to laboratory-based models

Laboratory-based relationships that model the phytotoxicity of metals using soil properties have been developed. This paper presents the first field-based phytotoxicity relationships. Wheat(Triticum aestivum L) was grown at 11 Australian field sites at which soil was spiked with copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) salts. Toxicity was measured as inhibition of plant growth at 8 weeks and grain yield at harvest. The added Cu and Zn EC10 values for both endpoints ranged from approximately 3 to 4760 mg/kg. There were no relationships between field-based 8-week biomass and grain yield toxicity values for either metal. Cu toxicity was best modelled using pH and organic carbon content while Zn toxicity was best modelled using pH and the cation exchange capacity. The best relationships estimated toxicity within a factor of two of measured values. Laboratory-based phytotoxicity relationships could not accurately predict field-based phytotoxicity responses.

Modelling environmental effects on phenology and canopy development of diverse sorghum genotypes

The ability to predict phenology and canopy development is critical in crop models used for simulating likely consequences of alternative crop management and cultivar choice strategies. Here we quantify and contrast the temperature and photoperiod responses for phenology and canopy development of a diverse range of elite Indian and Australian sorghum genotypes (hybrid and landrace). Detailed field experiments were undertaken in Australia and India using a range of genotypes, sowing dates, and photoperiod extension treatments. Measurements of timing of developmental stages and leaf appearance were taken. The generality of photo-thermal approaches to modelling phenological and canopy development was tested. Environmental and genotypic effects on rate of progression from emergence to floral initiation (E-FI) were explained well using a multiplicative model, which combined the intrinsic development rate (Ropt), with responses to temperature and photoperiod. Differences in Ropt and extent of the photoperiod response explained most genotypic effects. Average leaf initiation rate (LIR), leaf appearance rate and duration of the phase from anthesis to physiological maturity differed among genotypes. The association of total leaf number (TLN) with photoperiod found for all genotypes could not be fully explained by effects on development and LIRs. While a putative effect of photoperiod on LIR would explain the observations, other possible confounding factors, such as air-soil temperature differential and the nature of model structure were considered and discussed. This study found a generally robust predictive capacity of photo-thermal development models across diverse ranges of both genotypes and environments. Hence, they remain the most appropriate models for simulation analysis of genotype-by-management scenarios in environments varying broadly in temperature and photoperiod.