Poor quality and quantity of DNA extracted from gelatin and gelatin capsules often causes failure in the determination of animal species using PCR. Gelatin, which is mainly derived from porcine and bovine, has been a matter of concern among customers in order to fulfill religious obligation and safety precaution against several transmissible infectious diseases associated with bovine species. Thus, optimised DNA extraction from gelatin is very important for successful real-time PCR detection of gelatin species. In this work, the DNA extraction method was optimised in terms of lysis incubation period and inclusion of pre-treatment pH modification of samples.
Human schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease of great importance that remains highly prevalent in Yemen, especially amongst rural communities. In order to investigate the genetic diversity of human Schistosoma species, a DNA barcoding study was conducted on S. mansoni and S. haematobium in Yemen.
The red jungle fowl is generally considered as one of the endangered Asian wild Galleopheasants due to man-made encroachment of their habitats, coupled with the effect of disease and disease causing organisms like ticks and tick-borne infections. This study aimed to determine the tick fauna of the red jungle fowl and their predilection sites based on developmental stages.
There is very little information regarding blood changes during the challenge of phospholipase D (PLD) in goats. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to study the changes in blood after the challenge with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and its exotoxin, PLD to fill in the gap of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) research.
Epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) causes by aquatic oomycete fungus, Aphanomyces invadans is a dangerous fish disease of a wide range of fresh and brackish water, wild and farmed fish throughout the world. The objective of the present study was to determine the susceptibility of a number of tropical fish species to the EUS and compare the severity of infection between experimental groups.
Parasitic roundworms (nematodes) cause substantial morbidity and mortality in livestock animals globally, and considerable productivity losses to farmers. The control of these nematodes has relied largely on the use of a limited number of anthelmintics. However, resistance to many of these these anthelmintics is now widespread, and, therefore, there is a need to find new drugs to ensure sustained and effective treatment and control into the future.
We report here the first high-quality draft genome sequence of Pasteurella multocida sequence type 128, which was isolated from the infected finger bone of an adult female who was bitten by a domestic dog. The draft genome will be a valuable addition to the scarce genomic resources available for P. multocida.
Dengue virus is transmitted by mosquito around the tropical and sub-tropical regions. There was a large-scale dengue epidemic in Guangdong province, China during 2014 and around fifty thousands dengue fever cases, including six deaths, have been reported. In this study, we aimed to understand the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed dengue virus (DENV) infection and determined the origin of the virus from the outbreak.
The genus Antheromorpha is redefined and shown to comprise 11 valid species: Antheromorpha miranda (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha bistriata (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha comotti (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha festiva (Brölemann, 1896), Antheromorpha harpaga (Attems, 1937), Antheromorpha mediovirgata (Carl, 1941), Antheromorpha minlana (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha pardalis (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha paviei (Brölemann, 1896), comb. n., Antheromorpha rosea Golovatch, 2013 and Antheromorpha uncinata (Attems, 1931). Three new synonymies are proposed: Antheromorpha bivittata (Pocock, 1895) and Antheromorpha melanopleuris (Pocock, 1895) are synonymized under Antheromorpha miranda (Pocock, 1895), and Antheromorpha orophila (Carl, 1941) under Antheromorpha comotti (Pocock, 1895). Detailed descriptions and illustrations of fresh material from Thailand and Malaysia are given, especially regarding colour patterns which appear to be crucial for accurate species identifications. Two Antheromorpha species proposed by Attems are redescribed, based on type material. The genus is rediagnosed and a key and a distribution map are also provided. At least in Thailand, adult Antheromorpha rosea have been found to occur every year only for one or two weeks in September or October, disappearing thereafter.
During 30 years of unprecedented urbanization, plant diversity in Shenzhen, a young megacity in southern China, has increased dramatically. Although strongly associated with plant diversity, butterfly diversity generally declines with urbanization, but this has not been investigated in Shenzhen. Considering the speed of urbanization in Shenzhen and the large number of city parks, we investigated butterfly diversity in Shenzhen parks. We measured butterfly species richness in four microhabitats (groves, hedges, flowerbeds, and unmanaged areas) across 10 parks and examined the relationship with three park variables: park age, park size, and distance from the central business district. Butterflies were identified based on wing morphology and DNA barcoding. We collected 1933 butterflies belonging to 74 species from six families; 20% of the species were considered rare. Butterfly species richness showed weak negative correlations with park age and distance from the central business district, but the positive correlation with park size was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Among microhabitat types, highest species richness was recorded in unmanaged areas. Our findings are consistent with others in suggesting that to promote urban butterfly diversity it is necessary to make parks as large as possible and to set aside areas for limited management. In comparison to neighbouring cities, Shenzhen parks have high butterfly diversity.
Bones are nanocomposites consisting of a collagenous fibre network, embedded with calcium phosphates mainly hydroxyapatite (HA) nanocrystallites. As bones are subjected to continuous loading and unloading process every day, they often tend to become prone to fatigue and breakdown. Therefore, this review addresses the use of nanocomposites particularly polymers reinforced with nanoceramics that can be used as load bearing bone implants. Further, nanocomposite preparation and dispersion modification techniques have been highlighted along with thorough discussion on the influence that various nanofillers have on the physico-mechanical properties of nanocomposites in relation to that of natural bone properties. This review updates the nanocomposites that meet the physico-mechanical properties (strength and elasticity) as well as biocompatibility requirement of a load bearing bone implant and also attempts to highlight the gaps in the reported studies to address the fatigue and creep properties of the nanocomposites.
A new bufonid amphibian, belonging to a new monotypic genus, is described from the Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal, Republic of India, based on unique external morphological and skeletal characters which are compared with those of known Oriental and other relevant bufonid genera. Blythophryne gen. n. is distinguished from other bufonid genera by its small adult size (mean SVL 24.02 mm), the presence of six presacral vertebrae, an absence of coccygeal expansions, presence of an elongated pair of parotoid glands, expanded discs at digit tips and phytotelmonous tadpoles that lack oral denticles. The taxonomic and phylogenetic position of the new taxon (that we named as Blythophryne beryet gen. et sp. n.) was ascertained by comparing its 12S and 16S partial genes with those of Oriental and other relevant bufonid lineages. Resulting molecular phylogeny supports the erection of a novel monotypic genus for this lineage from the Andaman Islands of India.
In most livebearing fish, the gravid spot is an excellent marker to identify brooding females, however its use to predict progress of embryonic development, brood size, timing of parturition and overall reproductive potential of populations remain unexplored. Therefore, to understand these relationships, this study quantified visual attributes (intensity and size) of the gravid spot in relation to key internal development in Gambusia holbrooki. Observations show that the colour of the gravid spot arises from progressive melanisation on the surface of the ovarian sac at its hind margin, rather than melanisation of the developing embryos or the skin of the brooding mother. More importantly, the gravid spot intensity and size were closely linked with both developmental stages and clutch size, suggesting their reliable use as external surrogates of key internal developmental in the species. Using predictive consistency of the gravid spot, we also determined the effect of rearing temperature (23 °C and 25 °C) on gestation period and parturition behaviour. The results show that gestation period was significantly reduced (F = 364.58; df = 1,48; P ˃ 0.05) at 25 °C. However there was no significant difference in average number of fry parturated in the two temperature groups (P<0.05), reaffirming that gravid spot intensity is a reliable predictor of reproductive output. The parturition in the species occurred predominantly in the morning and in contrast to earlier reports, tails of the fry emerged first with a few exceptions of head-first, twin and premature births. This study demonstrates utility of the gravid spot for downstream reproductive investigations in a live-bearing fish both in the field and laboratory. The reproducibility of the relationships (intensity with both developmental stage and clutch size), imply that they are also relevant to wild populations that experience varying temperature climes and stressors, significant deviations of which may serve as indicators of environmental health and climate variability.
Marine organisms provide appreciable source of novel bioactive compounds with pharmacological potential. There is little information in correlation with anti-cancer activities of brittle star. In the present study, anti-neoplastic efficacy of Ophiocoma erinaceus methanol extract against human cervical cancer cells was investigated.
Males of certain species belonging to the Bactrocera dorsalis complex are strongly attracted to, and readily feed on methyl eugenol (ME), a plant secondary compound that is found in over 480 plant species worldwide. Amongst those species is one of the world's most severe fruit pests the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis s.s., and the former taxonomic species Bactrocera invadens, Bactrocera papayae and Bactrocera philippinensis. The latter species have been recently synonymised with Bactrocera dorsalis based on their very similar morphology, mating compatibility, molecular genetics and identical sex pheromones following consumption of ME. Previous studies have shown that male fruit fly responsiveness to lures is a unique phenomenon that is dose species-specific, besides showing a close correlation to sexual maturity attainment. This led us to use ME sensitivity as a behavioural parameter to test if Bactrocera dorsalis and the three former taxonomic species had similar sensitivity towards odours of ME. Using Probit analysis, we estimated the median dose of ME required to elicit species' positive response in 50% of each population tested (ED50). ED50 values were compared between Bactrocera dorsalis and the former species. Our results showed no significant differences between Bactrocera dorsalis s.s., and the former Bactrocera invadens, Bactrocera papayae and Bactrocera philippinensis in their response to ME. We consider that the Bactrocera males' sensitivity to ME may be a useful behavioural parameter for species delimitation and, in addition to other integrative taxonomic tools used, provides further supportive evidence that the four taxa belong to one and the same biological species, Bactrocera dorsalis.
Five sea cucumber species including one new species of the genus Stichopus are reported from the shallow coral reefs of Straits of Malacca. The new species Stichopus fusiformiossa has unusual fusiform spicules in the tentacles, which are not found in the other species of the genus. Pseudo-tables and large perforated plates are newly recorded for Stichopus hermanni Semper, 1868 and Stichopus vastus Sluiter, 1887, respectively.
An FAO/IAEA-sponsored coordinated research project on integrative taxonomy, involving close to 50 researchers from at least 20 countries, culminated in a significant breakthrough in the recognition that four major pest species, Bactrocera dorsalis, Bactrocera philippinensis, Bactrocera papayae and Bactrocera invadens, belong to the same biological species, Bactrocera dorsalis. The successful conclusion of this initiative is expected to significantly facilitate global agricultural trade, primarily through the lifting of quarantine restrictions that have long affected many countries, especially those in regions such as Asia and Africa that have large potential for fresh fruit and vegetable commodity exports. This work stems from two taxonomic studies: a revision in 1994 that significantly increased the number of described species in the Bactrocera dorsalis species complex; and the description in 2005 of Bactrocera invadens, then newly incursive in Africa. While taxonomically valid species, many biologists considered that these were different names for one biological species. Many disagreements confounded attempts to develop a solution for resolving this taxonomic issue, before the FAO/IAEA project commenced. Crucial to understanding the success of that initiative is an accounting of the historical events and perspectives leading up to the international, multidisciplinary collaborative efforts that successfully achieved the final synonymization. This review highlights the 21 year journey taken to achieve this outcome.
Automatic recording of birdsong is becoming the preferred way to monitor and quantify bird populations worldwide. Programmable recorders allow recordings to be obtained at all times of day and year for extended periods of time. Consequently, there is a critical need for robust automated birdsong recognition. One prominent obstacle to achieving this is low signal to noise ratio in unattended recordings. Field recordings are often very noisy: birdsong is only one component in a recording, which also includes noise from the environment (such as wind and rain), other animals (including insects), and human-related activities, as well as noise from the recorder itself. We describe a method of denoising using a combination of the wavelet packet decomposition and band-pass or low-pass filtering, and present experiments that demonstrate an order of magnitude improvement in noise reduction over natural noisy bird recordings.
The complete genome sequence of the ALL-03 strain of rat cytomegalovirus (RCMV) has been determined. The RCMV genome has a length of 197,958 bp and is arranged as a single unique sequence flanked by 504-bp terminal direct repeats. This strain is closely related to the English strain of RCMV in terms of genetic arrangement but differs slightly in size.