Eimeria acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. maxima: pathogenic effects of single or mixed infections with low doses of oocysts in chickens.

The pathogenic effects of E. acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. maxima were modified when chickens received mixed infections with these species.Six-week-old chickens were inoculated with doses of 20,000 oocysts of E. acervulina, 1250 oocysts of E. brunetti, and 5000 oocysts of E. maxima given as a single or mixed infection.Typical signs of coccidiosis were apparent in chickens infected with a single Eimeria sp. When birds were given infections composed of two species, the weight loss was greater than that due to either given alone but when three species were given, weight loss was slightly less than that due to infection will E. brunetti alone. Oocyst production due to E. acervulina tended to be similar in birds given this species alone or with E. brunetti. Output fell to less than 50% when E. acervulina was administered with E. maxima. Oocyst production due to E. brunetti and E. maxima decreased when these species were inoculated together and when they were administered with E. acervulina. Lesions of E. acervulina and E. brunetti were superimposed on those of E. maxima in birds given mixed infections.Growth retardation was not evident in chickens inoculated with E. acervulina alone, although weight loss increased when this species was administered with either E. brunetti or E. maxima.     

On the water relations of four heath species

Four species of heath, occurring in the heathlands of Brittany, are compared regarding their water relations: Calluna vulgaris, Erica ciliaris, E. cinerea and E. tetralix. E. cinerea is unable to establish itself in wet heathland because of its intolerance of prolonged waterlogging. It is the Erica species best adapted to dry habitat conditions in Brittany. E. ciliaris canot establish itself in dry heathland and is less tolerant of waterlogging than E. tetralix. E. tetralix is the species best adapted to wet heathland, being tolerant of waterlogging, but can also establish itself in dry heathland. Of the three E. species it has the widest ecological range. Calluna is tolerant of both wet and dry conditions and has a wide ecological range. E. cinerea is typical of dry- and E. tetralix of wet heathland. Although both species did best in moist aerated soil in experimental cultures, neither is abundant in mesophilic heaths where E. ciliaris is dominant. One explanation may be competition for aerial space. E. cinerea and E. tetralix both have an upright growth, whereas E. ciliaris rapidly adopts a straggling bushy habit, with long rooting branches. E. ciliaris thus establishes large interpenetrating clumps. With increasing dryness E. ciliaris disappears and may be replaced by E. cinerea and, with increasing wetness and especially waterlogging, E. tetralix will take over.     

Chromosome observations on some eastern North American Eleocharis (Cyperaceae)

Chromosome numbers are reported forEleocharis obtusa var.ellipsoidalis (2n = 10),E. obtusa var.peasei (2n =10),E. engelmannii (2n =10),E. olivacea f.olivacea (2n = 20),E. olivacea f.reductiseta (2n = 20),E. flavescens (2n = 30),E. tenuis var.verrucosa (2n = 20),E. tenuis var.tenuis (2n = 24),E. tenuis var.pseudoptera (2n = 39), a possible hybrid betweenE. tenuis var.pseudoptera and var.tenuis (2n = ca. 34 & 68),E. intermedia (2n = 22),E. tuberculosa (2n = 30),E. smallii (2n = 36), andE. ambigens (2n = 46). Noticeable chromosome size differences inE. tenuis, E. smallii, andE. ambigens are consistent with size differences previously reported by other authors. Variable meiotic pairing configurations were observed inE. flavescens, E. intermedia, andE. tenuis. Chromosome data help verify taxonomic relationships of some taxa and indicate the need for further investigation of others.     

Analysis of leaf oils from a Eucalyptus species trial

The volatile leaf oils were analysed from adult leaves of five Eucalyptus species growing in a common environment. The trial consisted of two provenances of the species E. globulus and one provenance each of E. nitens and E. denticulata from the southern blue gum group and two provenances each of the species E. delegatensis and E. regnans from the ash group. Oil yields from adult leaves of E. nitens (0.7% dry wt.) and E. denticulata (0.8%) were markedly lower than those from the other three species (3.0–6.1%). Volatile leaf oils of E. delegatensis and E. regnans were rich in α- and β-phellandrene, cis- and trans-p-menth-2-en-1-ol, while E. regnans was also rich in α-, β- and γ-eudesmol. In contrast, volatile leaf oils of E. globulus were rich in 1,8-cineole and α-pinene and E. denticulata rich in γ-terpinene and p-cymene. Oil composition of E. nitens was intermediate between E. globulus and E. denticulata. Differences in oil yield and oil composition between species indicated a strong genetic basis for these variables.     

Four new species of Entoloma s.l. (Agaricales) from southern China

Four new Entoloma s.l. species (E. azureosquamulosum, E. caeruleoflavum, E. hainanense, and E. subtenuicystidiatum) are described from southern China. E. azureosquamulosum fits well within the section Rhamphocystotae, E. caeruleoflavum belongs to the section Entoloma, E. hainanense is placed in the section Calliderma, and E. subtenuicystidiatum is a species in the section Cyanula. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses for the four new species are provided based on ITS and LSU sequences in this paper.     

Equisetum (Equisetaceae) species or hybrids? ISSR fingerprinting profiles help improve diagnoses based on morphology and anatomy

The applicability of “inter-simple sequence repeats” (ISSR)-PCR as a molecular character complex for differentiation of Equisetum taxa is described with a special focus on the detection of hybrids. All Central European Equisetum species and the four most frequent hybrids are considered: E. arvense, E. fluviatile, E. telmateia, E. palustre, E. sylvaticum, E. pratense, E. × litorale, E. ramosissimum, E. hyemale, E. variegatum, E. × moorei, E. × trachyodon and E. × meridionale. The ISSR banding patterns are highly typical for each species. The positions of the clusters of hybrid taxa prove their hybrid origin and enable identification of the parental species. Genetic similarities of populations suggest that in some species vegetative reproduction predominates (e.g. E. arvense), whereas for others (e.g. E. telmateia) sexual reproduction seems to be more frequent. In addition to the molecular analyses, the characteristics of stem cross sections of the four hybrids and their parental species are shown and discussed.     

The steam volatile leaf oils of some species of Eucalyptus subseries Strictinae

The volatile leaf oils of Eucalyptus stenostoma, E. fraxinoides, E. triflora, E. dendromorpha, E. burgessiana, E. rupicola, E. approximans subsp. approximans, E. approximans subsp. codonocarpa and E. paliformis were qualitatively very similar to each other but significantly different from the leaf oils of the remaining species of the subseries. Their leaf oils were characterized by high concentrations of p-cymene and by the presence of α- and β-phellandrene, variable amounts of piperitone, trans- and cis-piperitol and trans- and cis-p-menth- 2-en-1-ol. The three last named alcohols have not been previously reported from the Myrtaceae.     

A review of the geometrid genus Entephria Hübner, 1825 (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) from the Taymyr Peninsula

Five species of the geometrid genus Entephria Hb. from the Taimyr Peninsula are considered: E. punctipes (Curtis, 1835), E. bradorata (Munroe, 1951), E. kidluitata (Munroe, 1951), E. polata (Duponchel, 1831), and E. lynda Troubridge, 1997. E. bradorata and E. lynda in the Palaearctic Region and E. kidluitata in the Taimyr Peninsula are recorded for the first time. Brief characteristics and data on the distribution are given for each species.     

Chemical composition and antibacterial activities of seven Eucalyptus species essential oils leaves

Background

In this paper, we have studied the essential oils chemical composition of the leaves of seven Eucalyptus species developed in Tunisia. Eucalyptus leaves were picked from trees growing in different arboretums in Tunisia. Choucha and Mrifeg arboretums located in Sedjnene, region of Bizerte (Choucha: E. maideni, E. astrengens et E. cinerea; Mrifeg : E. leucoxylon), Korbous arboretums located in the region of Nabeul, North East Tunisia with sub-humid bioclimate, (E. lehmani), Souiniet-Ain Drahem arboretum located in region of Jendouba (E. sideroxylon, E. bicostata). Essential oils were individually tested against a large panel of microorganisms including Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6539), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC29212), Listeria ivanovii (RBL 30), Bacillus cereus (ATCC11778).

Results

The yield of essential oils ranged from 1.2% to 3% (w/w) for the different Eucalyptus species. All essential oils contain α-pinene, 1,8-cineol and pinocarveol-trans for all Eucalyptus species studied. The 1,8-cineol was the major compound in all species (49.07 to 83.59%). Diameter of inhibition zone of essential oils of Eucalyptus species varied from 10 to 29 mm. The largest zone of inhibition was obtained for Bacillus cereus (E. astrengens) and the lowest for Staphylococcus aureus (E. cinerea). The essential oils from E. maideni, E. astrengens, E. cinerea (arboretum of Bizerte), E. bicostata (arboretum of Aindraham) showed the highest antibacterial activity against Listeria ivanovii and Bacillus cereus.

Conclusion

The major constituents of Eucalyptus leaves essential oils are 1,8-cineol (49.07 to 83.59%) and α-pinene (1.27 to 26.35%). The essential oils from E. maideni, E. astrengens, E. cinerea, E. bicostata showed the highest antibacterial activity against Listeria ivanovii and Bacillus cereus, they may have potential applications in food and pharmaceutical products.     

Eimeria acervulina,E. brunetti,E. maxima, and E. necatrix: Low doses of oocysts to immunize young chickens

Resistance to reinfection varied with the species of Eimeria and with the number of oocysts in the inoculum. Chickens immunized with doses of 20,000 and 80,000 oocysts of E. acervulina, 312 and 1250 oocysts of E. brunetti or E. necatrix, or 1250 and 5000 oocysts of E. maxima at 2 and 4 weeks of age, respectively, were almost completely immune to a challenge dose at 6 weeks of age. Resistance was slightly less in chickens immunized with 1250 and 5000 oocysts of E. acervulina or 312 and 1250 oocysts of E. maxima. Birds given three immunizing infections of 1250, 5000, and 20,000 oocysts of E. maxima were completely immune 8 weeks after the last dose. Resistance was slightly less in birds immunized with similar doses of E. brunetti or E. necatrix. Doses of 20,000, 80,000, and 320,000 oocysts appeared necessary to confer a high level of immunity to E. acervulina. More than three low doses of oocysts appear necessary to induce a complete and enduring immunity against a high challenge for E. acervulina, E. brunetti, and E. necatrix. Higher immunizing doses would not be satisfactory due to the pathogenic effects of the coccidia after the initial infection.     

Variation in icariin and flavonoid contents of barrenwort accessions native to Guizhou,China

Flavonoid and icariin contents of 87 samples drawn from 21 accessions of seven species native to Guizhou, China, of the genus Epimedium were determined by means of ultraviolet and high-performance liquid chromatography. The contents differed significantly among the species and accessions. E. acuminatum, E. yinjiangense, E. myrianthum, E. wushanense, and E. simplicifloum had greater amounts of flavonoids and icariin than E. letorrhizum and E. luodianense.     

An electrophoretic investigation of six species of darters in the subgenus Catonotus

The electrophoretic patterns of lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase and total muscle proteins distinguished the species Etheostoma flabellare, E. kennicotti and E. squamiceps from each other and from three species of the E. virgatum group (E. virgatum, E. obeyense and E. barbouri), which all possessed identical patterns. Etheostoma flabellare, the species with the widest geographic range, possessed the greatest amount of genetic variation in all three protein systems studied. Patristic distances were calculated via an unrooted Wagner network. Using this method it was shown that E. flabellare was the most divergent species, E. kennicotti and E. squamiceps were less divergent, and the members of the E. virgatum group clustered closely.     

Entomophthora infecting the cereal aphids Metapolophium dirhodum and Sitobion avenae

Entomophthora aphidis, E. planchoniana, and E. thaxteriana killed many Metapalophium dirhodum and Sitobion avenae in barley during 1970. E. planchoniana first infected M. dirhodum late in June, after rain ended a long dry period, but few aphids were infected until after July 7, when heavy rain killed 65–80% of aphids. E. planchoniana was the most frequent of the 3 species until July 27, when E. aphidis and E. thaxteriana each became more abundant. S. avenae was more often infected by E. thaxteriana than the other species of Entomophthora. During the second half of July, 40–76% of adult M. dirhodum and 34–80% of S. avenae were infected. The 3 fungus species were equally common in M. dirhodum in sheltered fields, but E. thaxteriana was less common in an exposed field. In a sheltered field, E. thaxteriana was less frequent than the other species along the perimeter, and E. planchoniana was most common and E. aphidis the least common about 37 m into the crop.     

Survival of Entamoeba and related Amoebae at low temperature. I. Viability of Entamoeba cysts at 4 degrees C

The time of survival at 4°C of mature cysts of six species of Entamoeba was studied. The length of time cysts generally survived storage was E. histolytica 12 weeks, E. moshkovskii 36 weeks, E. terrapinae and E. knowlesi 24 weeks, E. ranarum 25 weeks and E. invadens 7 weeks.     

Morphophylogenetic study revealed that Erysiphe gracilis (powdery mildew of evergreen oaks,Erysiphales) is a species complex consisting of six different species

Erysiphe gracilis is a powdery mildew species that occurs on evergreen oak species belonging to Quercus subgen. Cyclobalanopsis in East Asia (China and Japan). In a previous report, we found that E. gracilis var. gracilis is divided into four genotypes each of them forming a separate clade with strong bootstrap support. In this study, we further investigated genotype speciation in E. gracilis var. longissima occurring on Q. acuta and Q. sessilifolia, and found that this variety is also divided into two distinct genotypes. These results suggested that E. gracilis represents a species complex consisting of six different species. Based on detailed morphological examinations correlating with results of molecular sequence analyses, we propose to divide E. gracilis into six species, encompassing three new species (E. uncinuloides, E. pseudogracilis, and E. longiappendiculata), one new name (E. longifilamentosa), and two known species (E. gracilis s. str. and E. hiratae). A key to the species concerned is provided.     

Genetics of the apolipoprotein E-system in man

The polymorphism of apolipoprotein E (Apo E) in man is controlled by two codominant alleles, Apo Eⁿ and Apo E^d, at the Apo E-N/D locus and by two alleles, the dominant, Apo E4⁺, and the recessive, Apo E4^o, at the Apo E4 locus.

Frequency distribution analysis of Apo E phenotypes demonstrated a highly significant association between both systems (P ~ 1%). The Apo E4-(+) variant was about twice as frequent in phenotype Apo E-N (30.1%) than in phenotype Apo E-ND (16.4%). The phenotypic combination Apo E-D/-E4(+) was not observed. The segregation of Apo E phenotypes in informative matings is consistent with a close linkage of both loci.

The results may be explained by different models. On the basis of the present data, these models cannot be distinguished by formal genetic criteria. (1) Haplotypes Apo Eⁿ/E4⁺, Apo Eⁿ/E4^o, and Apo E^d/E4^o determine the different phenotypes, and a linkage disequilibrium exists of Δ = .0147 between the E-N/D and E4 loci. (2) The fourth haplotype, Apo E^d/E4⁺, exists, but the gene E4⁺ is not expressed in coupling with Apo E^d. The four-haplotype model seems more attractive in view of Apo E-N/D polymorphism's quantitative character and of biochemical results, which show that phenotypes Apo E-N and Apo E-D differ in the apparent molecular weight (M_r) of the respective major Apo E polymorphic form. Hence, the Apo E-N/D locus may control structural genes involved in the posttranslational modification of Apo E. (3) Finally, there may exist only one Apo E structural gene locus but with mutations at two sites susceptible to posttranslational modification.

     

Anticoccidial Activity of Berberine against Eimeria-Infected Chickens

Avian coccidiosis has a major economic impact on the poultry industry, it is caused by 7 species of Eimeria, and has been primarily controlled using chemotherapeutic agents. Due to the emergence of drug-resistant strains, alternative control strategies are needed. We assessed anticoccidial effects of berberine-based diets in broiler chickens following oral infection with 5 Eimeria species (E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. tenella, E. mitis, and E. praecox). When 0.2% berberine, a concentration that does not affect weight gain, was added to the diet, the 4 groups infected with E. acervulina, E. tenella, E. mitis, or E. praecox showed significant reductions in fecal oocyst shedding (P<0.05) compared to their respective infected and untreated controls. In chickens treated 0.5% berberine instead of 0.2% and infected with E. maxima, fecal oocyst production was significantly reduced, but body weight deceased, indicating that berberine treatment was not useful for E. maxima infection. Taken together, these results illustrate the applicability of berberine for prophylactic use to control most Eimeria infections except E. maxima. Further studies on the mechanisms underlying the differences in anticoccidial susceptibility to berberine, particularly E. maxima, are remained.     

A molecular analysis of some Eastern Atlantic grouper from the Epinephelus and Mycteroperca genus

Mitochondrial cytochrome b (397 bp) and 16S rDNA (516 bp) sequences analysis was used to investigate the phylogenetic relationships among some Eastern Atlantic Epinephelinae species. Six species of Epinephelus (E. aeneus, E. caninus, E. costae, E. haifensis, E. marginatus and E. tauvina) and two species of Mycteroperca (M. rubra and M. fusca) were analysed. Neighbour-joining and maximum-parsimony analysis support the paraphyletic grouping of the Epinephelus and Mycteroperca analysed. The maximum pairwise nucleotide divergence value in cyt b among all taxa was 0.196 between E. aeneus and E. marginatus and the minimum value was 0.006 between E. costae and M. rubra. Meanwhile, in 16S sequence analysis, the maximum value is 0.093 between E. aeneus and E. tauvina and the minimum value is 0.011 between E. marginatus and M. rubra. Molecular clock estimates for the species suggest a divergence time of 20-24 mya, which coincides with the Miocene period. A molecular analysis was also conducted, using other Epinephelinae sequences from GenBank in order to improve our understanding of the phyletic status of the Epinephelus and Mycteroperca species analysed.