Risk of Infection with Leishmania spp. in the Canine Population in the Netherlands

The dog is the main reservoir of Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in humans in Southern Europe. In order to identify the risk of dogs from a Leishmania non-endemic area traveling to a Leishmania -endemic area becoming infected and the risk of transmitting infection to humans in non-endemic areas an investigation was performed, in which the results of a questionnaire were combined with the results of a serologic survey.     

Benefits of a Ball and Chain: Simple Environmental Enrichments Improve Welfare and Reproductive Success in Farmed American Mink (Neovison vison)

Can simple enrichments enhance caged mink welfare? Pilot data from 756 sub-adults spanning three colour-types (strains) identified potentially practical enrichments, and suggested beneficial effects on temperament and fur-chewing. Our main experiment started with 2032 Black mink on three farms: from each of 508 families, one juvenile male-female pair was enriched (E) with two balls and a hanging plastic chain or length of hose, while a second pair was left as a non-enriched (NE) control. At 8 months, more than half the subjects were killed for pelts, and 302 new females were recruited (half enriched: ‘late E’). Several signs of improved welfare or productivity emerged. Access to enrichment increased play in juveniles. E mink were calmer (less aggressive in temperament tests; quieter when handled; less fearful, if male), and less likely to fur-chew, although other stereotypic behaviours were not reduced. On one farm, E females had lower cortisol (inferred from faecal metabolites). E males tended to copulate for longer. E females also weaned more offspring: about 10% more juveniles per E female, primarily caused by reduced rates of barrenness (‘late E’ females also giving birth to bigger litters on one farm), effects that our data cautiously suggest were partly mediated by reduced inactivity and changes in temperament. Pelt quality seemed unaffected, but E animals had cleaner cages. In a subsidiary side-study using 368 mink of a second colour-type (‘Demis’), similar temperament effects emerged, and while E did not reduce fur-chewing or improve reproductive success in this colour-type, E animals were judged to have better pelts. Overall, simple enrichments were thus beneficial. These findings should encourage welfare improvements on fur farms (which house 60-70 million mink p.a.) and in breeding centres where endangered mustelids (e.g. black-footed ferrets) often reproduce poorly. They should also stimulate future research into more effective practical enrichments.     

Allozyme frequencies in New Jersey and North Carolina populations of Atlantic white-cedar, Chamaecyparis thyoides (Cupressaceae)

The present study was conducted to assess the distribution of genetic variation within and among populations of Chamaecyparis thyoides in both marginal and centrally located populations. Allozyme frequency analyses of ten loci from foliage of four New Jersey populations and two North Carolina populations of C. thyoides showed polymorphic loci = 50%, mean number of alleles per locus = 2.8, effective number of alleles per locus = 1.17, and expected heterozygosity = 0.14. Diversity was highest in two populations from southern New Jersey. The isolated population at High Point, New Jersey had only two polymorphic loci and expected heterozygosity of 0.03. There was no correlation between genetic and geographic distances among populations, implying that cedar must have possessed some means of long-distance dispersal at the end of the last glacial period, rather than advancing northward step by step.     

Overexpression of Phytochelatin Synthase in Arabidopsis Leads to Enhanced Arsenic Tolerance and Cadmium Hypersensitivity

The above article appeared in Plant and Cell