Animals Of Economic Importance Research Articles

PamulDB: a comprehensive genomic resource for the study of human- and animal-pathogenic Pasteurella multocida.

Pasteurella multocida can infect a wide range of host, including humans and animals of economic importance. Genomics studies on the pathogen have produced a large amount of omics data, which are deposited in GenBank but lacks a dedicated and comprehensive resource for further analysis and integration so that need to be brought together centrally in a coherent and systematic manner. Here we have collected the genomic data for 176 P. multocida strains that are categorized into 11 host groups and 9 serotype groups, and developed the open-access P. multocida Database (PamulDB) to make this resource readily available. The PamulDB implements and integrates Chado for genome data management, Drupal for web content management, and bioinformatics tools like NCBI BLAST, HMMER, PSORTb and OrthoMCL for data analysis. All the P. multocida genomes have been further annotated for search and analysis of homologous sequence, phylogeny, gene ontology, transposon, protein subcellular localization and secreted protein. Transcriptomic data of P. multocida are also selectively adopted for gene expression analysis. The PamulDB has been developing and improving to better aid researchers with identifying and classifying of pathogens, dissecting mechanisms of the pathogen infection and host response.

Expression and characterization of glutathione peroxidase of the liver fluke, Fasciola gigantica.

Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is a key member of the family of antioxidant enzymes in trematode parasites including Fasciola spp. Because of its abundance and central role as an anti-oxidant that helps to protect parasites from damage by free radicals released from the host immune cells, it has both diagnostic as well as vaccine potential against fasciolosis. In this study, we have cloned, characterized, and detected the expression of the GPx protein in Fasciola gigantica (Fg). FgGPx (582bp) was cloned by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from complementary DNA (cDNA) from an adult fluke. Its putative peptide has no signal sequence and is composed of 168 amino acids, with a molecular weight of 19.1kDa, and conserved sequences at NVACKUG, FPCNQFGGQ, and WNF. Phylogenetic analysis showed that GPx is present from protozoa to mammals and FgGPx was closely related to Fasciola hepatica GPx. A recombinant FgGPx (rFgGPx) was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and used for immunizing mice to obtain polyclonal antibodies (anti-rFgGPx) for immunoblotting and immunolocalization. In immunoblotting analysis, the FgGPx was expressed in all stages of F. gigantica (eggs, metacercariae, newly excysted juveniles (NEJ), 4-week-old juveniles, and adults). This mouse anti-rFgGPx reacted with the native FgGPx at a molecular weight of 19.1kDa in adult whole body (WB) and tegumental antigens (TA) as detected by immunoblotting. The FgGPx protein was expressed at a high level in the tegument, vitelline glands, and eggs of the parasite. Anti-rFgGPx exhibited no cross-reactivity with the other parasite antigens, including Eurytrema pancreaticum, Cotylophoron cotylophorum, Fischoederius cobboldi, Gastrothylax crumenifer, Paramphistomum cervi, and Setaria labiato papillosa. The possibility of using rFgGPx for immunodiagnosis and/or as a vaccine for fasciolosis in animals of economic importance will be explored in the future.

Recent applications of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin technology in bioproduct synthesis and bioremediation.

Since its first use in 1990 to enhance production of α-amylase in E. coli, engineering of heterologous hosts to express the hemoglobin from the bacterium Vitreoscilla (VHb) has become a widely used strategy to enhance production of a variety of bioproducts, stimulate bioremediation, and increase growth and survival of engineered organisms. The hosts have included a variety of bacteria, yeast, fungi, higher plants, and even animals. The beneficial effects of VHb expression are presumably the result of one or more of its activities. The available evidence indicates that these include oxygen binding and delivery to the respiratory chain and oxygenases, protection against reactive oxygen species, and control of gene expression. In the past 4 to 5years, the use of this "VHb technology" has continued in a variety of biotechnological applications in a wide range of organisms. These include enhancement of production of an ever wider array of bioproducts, new applications in bioremediation, a possible role in enhancing aerobic waste water treatment, and the potential to enhance growth and survival of both plants and animals of economic importance.

Predicted sub-populations in a marine shrimp proteome as revealed by combined EST and cDNA data from multiple Penaeus species

BackgroundMany species of marine shrimp in the Family Penaeidae, viz. Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei, Penaeus monodon, Penaeus (Fenneropenaeus) chinensis, and Penaeus (Marsupenaeus) japonicus, are animals of economic importance in the aquaculture industry. Yet information about their DNA and protein sequences is lacking. In order to predict their collective proteome, we combined over 270,000 available EST and cDNA sequences from the 4 shrimp species with all protein sequences of Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. EST data from 4 other crustaceans, the crab Carcinus maenas, the lobster Homarus americanus (Decapoda), the water flea Daphnia pulex, and the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana were also used.FindingsSimilarity searches from EST collections of the 4 shrimp species matched 64% of the protein sequences of the fruit fly, but only 45% of nematode proteins, indicating that the shrimp proteome content is more similar to that of an insect than a nematode. Combined results with 4 additional non-shrimp crustaceans increased matching to 78% of fruit fly and 56% of nematode proteins, suggesting that present shrimp EST collections still lack sequences for many conserved crustacean proteins. Analysis of matching data revealed the presence of 4 EST groups from shrimp, namely sequences for proteins that are both fruit fly-like and nematode-like, fruit fly-like only, nematode-like only, and non-matching. Gene ontology profiles of proteins for the 3 matching EST groups were analyzed. For non-matching ESTs, a small fraction matched protein sequences from other species in the UniProt database, including other crustacean-specific proteins.ConclusionsShrimp ESTs indicated that the shrimp proteome is comprised of sub-populations of proteins similar to those common to both insect and nematode models, those present specifically in either model, or neither. Combining small EST collections from related species to compensate for their small size allowed prediction of conserved expressed protein components encoded by their uncharacterized genomes. The organized data should be useful for transferring annotation data from model species into shrimp data and for further studies on shrimp proteins with particular functions or groups.

Progesterone from the Cumulus Cells Is the Sperm Chemoattractant Secreted by the Rabbit Oocyte Cumulus Complex

Sperm chemotaxis in mammals have been identified towards several female sources as follicular fluid (FF), oviduct fluid, and conditioned medium from the cumulus oophorus (CU) and the oocyte (O). Though several substances were confirmed as sperm chemoattractant, Progesterone (P) seems to be the best chemoattractant candidate, because: 1) spermatozoa express a cell surface P receptor, 2) capacitated spermatozoa are chemotactically attracted in vitro by gradients of low quantities of P; 3) the CU cells produce and secrete P after ovulation; 4) a gradient of P may be kept stable along the CU; and 5) the most probable site for sperm chemotaxis in vivo could be near and/or inside the CU. The aim of this study was to verify whether P is the sperm chemoattractant secreted by the rabbit oocyte-cumulus complex (OCC) in the rabbit, as a mammalian animal model. By means of videomicroscopy and computer image analysis we observed that only the CU are a stable source of sperm attractants. The CU produce and secrete P since the hormone was localized inside these cells by immunocytochemistry and in the conditioned medium by enzyme immunoassay. In addition, rabbit spermatozoa express a cell surface P receptor detected by western blot and localized over the acrosomal region by immunocytochemistry. To confirm that P is the sperm chemoattractant secreted by the CU, the sperm chemotactic response towards the OCC conditioned medium was inhibited by three different approaches: P from the OCC conditioned medium was removed with an anti-P antibody, the attractant gradient of the OCC conditioned medium was disrupted by a P counter gradient, and the sperm P receptor was blocked with a specific antibody. We concluded that only the CU but not the oocyte secretes P, and the latter chemoattract spermatozoa by means of a cell surface receptor. Our findings may be of interest in assisted reproduction procedures in humans, animals of economic importance and endangered species.

Genome mapping in aquatic animals: progress and future perspectives

The genome of aquatic animals is poorly understood and information from different taxonomic groups is sketchy. While there have been intensive genomic studies on some fish models, investigations on other fishes and invertebrates have been scarce. Yet there are recently some coordinated studies on genome mapping in a number of aquaculture animals of economic importance. This review summarizes information available on genome mapping of the important fish models and aquaculture animals. The future perspectives of this field of studies are discussed.

Generation of native bovine mAbs by phage display.

Modeling of disease pathogenesis and immunity often is carried out in large animals that are natural targets for pathogens of human or economic relevance. Although murine mAbs are a valuable tool in identifying certain host/pathogen interactions, progress in comparative immunology would be enhanced by the use of mAbs isolated from the host species. Such antibodies would reflect an authentic host immune response to infection or vaccination, and as they are host derived, would allow the application of in vivo experiments that previously have been unrealizable in large animals because of induction of an antispecies immune response. The advent of antibody phage display technology provides a way of producing host-derived mAbs in animals where the molecular genetics of Ig formation are known. Exploiting recent advances in the molecular immunology of cattle, we report here the design of an optimized phage display vector, pComBov, for the construction of combinatorial libraries of bovine Ig antigen-binding fragments (Fab) of native sequence. By using this system, we initially have generated and characterized a panel of bovine mAbs against a model antigen glutathione S-transferase. The isolated mAbs showed features typical of bovine Igs and recognized glutathione S-transferase with high specificity in ELISA and by Western blotting. The pComBov expression system can be readily adapted for the preparation of libraries from related ruminant species and advances the use of monoclonal reagents derived in this way for comparative studies in animals of economic importance.

Inhibin as a fecundity vaccine

Inhibin acts as a negative feedback regulator of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), therefore, attenuation of its biological activity through immunisation should lead to an increase in the circulating concentrations of FSH. In turn, this should result in increased ovulation rates and a consequent increase in litter size. In this article, we review work on the structure and function of inhibin which ultimately led to the development of inhibin-based fecundity vaccines. These vaccines have been shown to cause increases in ovulation rate and litter size in sheep and increases in ovulation rate in cattle and pigs. The data establish a basis for using inhibin vaccines to increase fecundity in animals of economic importance.

Mapping functional domains of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

The mechanisms through which microbes communicate using signal molecules has inspired a great deal of research. Microbes use this exchange of information, known as quorum sensing (QS), to initiate and perpetuate infectious diseases in eukaryotic organisms, evading the eukaryotic defense system by multiplying and expressing their pathogenicity through QS regulation. The major issue to arise from such networks is increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics, resulting from QS-dependent mediation of the formation of biofilm, the induction of efflux pumps, and the production of antibiotics. QS inhibitors (QSIs) of diverse origins have been shown to act as potential antipathogens. In this review, we focus on the use of QSIs to counter diseases in humans as well as plants and animals of economic importance. We also discuss the challenges encountered in the potential applications of QSIs.

The diversity and unity of herpesviridae

The family herpesviridae contains over 100 viruses endogenous to humans and to a wide variety of eukaryotic organisms. Inclusion in the family is based on architecture of the virion. The viruses differ significantly with respect to base composition and sequence arrangements of their DNAs, but share many biologic properties including the ability to remain latent in their hosts. On the basis of their biologic properties the herpesviruses have been classified into three subfamilies, i.e. alphaherpesvirinae, betaherpesvirinae and gammaherpesvirinae. The members of each subfamily share many properties including greater conservation and colinear arrangements of their genes. As a rule, more than one herpesvirus has been isolated from animals of economic importance and both humans have yielded viruses belong to all three subfamilies of the herpesviridae.

Spread of viral infections by aerosols

Viruses are responsible for a variety of diseases in humans as well as animals of economic importance. Although consumption of virus‐contaminated water and food is known to result in the spread of some of these diseases, air is now recognized as an important means for their transmission. Depending on environmental conditions, many of these viruses can survive in an airborne state anywhere from several hours to several days. This can result in the aerial dissemination of such infectious agents over distances of several kilometers. This review will critically evaluate the available information on what major factors influence the airborne survival of human and animal pathogenic viruses. It will also examine those published data where infectious viruses have been recovered from naturally contaminated atmosphere, and summarize the information from epidemiological studies documenting the airborne spread of viral infections. The existing gaps in our knowledge of this field will then be identified.

The psychological interaction between the stockman and his animals and its influence on performance of pigs and dairy cows.

The interaction between animals of economic importance and man, though considered important by many people, has been the subject of only limited investigation. Research on pigs and dairy cows is reported here. The research methodology for pigs is essentially one of controlled experiments, that for dairy cows one of field observations and participant action. The psychological traits of high achievement dairy cow stockmen are shown and discussed. The general conclusions from research with different species, indicate that pleasant, consistent and confident handling leads to a good relationship. There is evidence that this relationship can be correlated with higher performance of animals. The implications for the welfare of animals are considered.

Biochemistry of selenium: A brief overview

The chemistry of Se suggests that, in biological systems, it is most likely present as the selenol (selenomercaptan) R-SeH, or, as the Se ether analogous to sulfur in the amino acid methionine. Selenols are stronger acids than mercaptans and, at physiological pH, exist mainly in anionic form (R-Se −) whereas the sulfhydryl group exists mainly in the protonated form. The anionic form of the selenohydryl group is a good nucleophile as well as a good leaving group. Also, it binds metals strongly, which is the principle behind the use of Se compounds for heavy metal detoxification. Conversely, metal ions can strip Se from organoselenium compounds and Hg, Cd, Pb, and Cu are highly effective in this capacity. In vivo, Se compounds tend to undergo reduction in contrast to sulfur compounds which are acquired in reduced form and generally undergo oxidation. Biosynthesis of methylated Se compounds, yielding dimethyl selenide, dimethyl diselenide, or trimethyl selenonium ion, appears to be the major pathway of Se metabolism/detoxification in animals. The highest activity of the pathway has been found in liver and kidney followed by lung, skeletal muscle, spleen, and heart. Selenium (Se) appears to be incorporated into proteins via post transcriptional modification of polypeptides. Six proteins that incorporate/require Se have been isolated: Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), the selenoprotein of muscle, selenoflagellin, Se-transport protein, and the bacterial enzymes formate dehydrogenase and glycin reductase. There is evidence also that Se is an essential component of nicotinic acid hydroxylase, xanthine dehydrogenase, and a bacterial thiolase. As an integral part of Se-dependent GSH-Px, Se has been reported to play a key role in the cellular antioxidant defense mechanism and modulation of the arachidonic acid cascade. Selenium deficiency has been implicated as a factor in a number of diseases affecting humans and animals of economic importance. Also, Se has been reported to enhance both the humoral and cellular immune responses and to possess anticarcinogenic activity.

Studies on the use of animals of economic importance in schools

The purpose of keeping animals in schools and the main problems encountered in their maintenance are summarised. Many teachers prefer animals which are kept typically in research laboratories over animals which can be collected from the student's environment. However, small animals of economic importance can combine some of the advantages of both of these groups of animals. Chickens, bees, plant pests and their natural enemies have been tried out in the Agriculture as Environmental Science Curriculum Project and can be used for observation and measurement as well as to stress the aspect of relevance to real life problems. In their maintenance, standard equipment and methods can often be used and help the teacher to solve some of the main problems of keeping animals. Two curriculum units, on a fruit fly and on honey bees, are described. Reasons for a widespread negative image of rural studies are discussed, and positive, effective outcomes, reported in the evaluation of an environmental science course, are...

Antarctic hydrographic fluctuation as suggested by animals that reach Ceylon

Various records of antarctic and southern cold temperate zone species entering the Ceylon area appear in the Colombo Museum bulletin Spolia Zeylanica , in the check list of the birds of Ceylon, and in the administration reports of the Marine Biologist of Ceylon. A study of these data reveals that fluctuating hydrographic conditions of the antarctic and southern cold temperate zone might be responsible for the periodic advent into Ceylon and its seas of the animals from the above-mentioned zones. They might also exert a direct influence upon the decrease or increase of various marine animals of economic importance and affect meteorological conditions which in turn exert their influence both on the land and its fauna and flora. The following data are now set down for consideration: (1) The pearl oyster Perlamater vulgaris appears in fishable numbers for one, two or three years then dies off and almost becomes extinct for 6 to 20 year periods before again appearing in large numbers. (2) Fishes such as the Mako shark, the sunfishes Mola mola and Ranzania laevis and the swordfish Xiphias gladius are seasonal in their appearance and are rarely captured (Deraniyagala 1936).

Breeding

Animal Breeding Research Department. The University, Edinburgh. Seventh Annual Report of the Director for the year April 1st 1926 to March 31st 1927.The function of the department.To secure and democratise knowledge concerning the physiology of reproduction and of inheritance with special reference to the animals of economic importance.

The Vitamin Requirements of Growing Chickens

With several fairly recent demonstrations that the chicken can be raised successfully under laboratory conditions, and that its food requirements can be covered by the synthetic rations (composed largely of purified nutrients) that have heretofore been used only with rats and mice, the popularity and usefulness of this animal as an experimental subject is undoubtedly increasing. In laboratories primarily interested in the nutrition of farm animals, the chicken may be used, not only in the solution of general problems in nutrition, but also of problems in practical poultry husbandry. If the experimental work in such laboratories is to be the most widely appreciated, it is undoubtedly of great advantage to work with animals of economic importance on the farm. The chicken possesses many of the advantages of the rat as an experimental animal, in size, food consumption, rapidity of growth, etc., but it must be constantly borne in mind that .