In vitro regeneration of Echinacea purpurea from leaf explants

Efficient plant regeneration was achieved via organogenesis from callus cultures derived from leaf tissue of Echinacea purpurea. Proliferating shoot cultures were obtained by placing leaf explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) combinations. MS medium supplemented with BAP (4.44 M) and NAA (0.054 M) was the most effective, providing high shoot regeneration frequencies (100%) associated with a high number of shoots per explant (7.7 shoots/explant). Plantlets were rooted on MS medium alone or in combination with different concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and high rooting and survival was achieved using MS media without plant growth regulators (PGR). All plantlets survived acclimatization producing healthy plants in the greenhouse. This study demonstrated that adventitious shoot regeneration of E. purpurea from leaf explants can be a useful method for the multiplication of this important medicinal plant.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In vitro</Emphasis> regeneration of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Echinacea pallida</Emphasis> from leaf explants

Summary A method has been developed for the induction of adventitious shoots from leaf tissue of Echinacea pallida with subsequent whole-plant regeneration. Proliferating callus and shoot cultures were derived from leaf tissue explants placed on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine and naphthaleneacetic acid combinations. The optimum shoot regeneration frequency (63%) and number of shoots per explant (2.3 shoots per explant) was achieved using media supplemented with 26.6 μM 6-benzylaminopurine and 0.11 μM naphthaleneacetic acid. Rooting of regenerated shoot explants was successful on Murashige and Skoog medium, both with and without the addition of indole-3-butyric acid. All plantlets survived acclimatization, producing phenotypically normal plants in the greenhouse. This study demonstrates that leaf tissue of E. pallida is competent for adventitious shoot regeneration and establishes a useful method for the micropropagation of this important medicinal plant.     

The effect of medicated diets and level of feeding on caecal microbiota of lactating rabbit does

AIMS: To study the effect of the type of antibiotic used in medicated diets against pathogens and the feeding level on the microbial biodiversity in the rabbit caecum. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three groups of eight does were given a diet unsupplemented (NAB) or with 100 ppm of bacitracin (BAC) or tiamulin (TIA). Litter sizes of four does in each group were adjusted to five (LS5) or to nine (LS9), to manipulate their levels of feed intake. The feeding level strongly affected caecal microbiota in does fed on NAB and BAC diet, whereas the effect of the antibiotic was higher in TIA-supplemented animals, even prevailing over the effect of feeding level. Daily food intake and milk yield (P<0.05) and caecum weight (P<0.10) were higher in feeding of LS9 does. The total volatile fatty acid concentration was lower with BAC (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The feeding level strongly affects caecal biodiversity in lactating does. The extent of the antibiotic effect depends on its nature, being significant with TIA but not with BAC. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Changes in the feeding level promote different profiles of caecal microbiota. Therapeutic doses of TIA may affect caecal microbiota, whereas BAC would not reduce diversity.     

Experimental Absidia corymbifera infection in rabbits: Clinicopathological studies

Absidiosis was produced experimentally in rabbits by intravenous inoculation of 1.4×10⁵ spores of Absidia corymbifera. Infected rabbits exhibited a rise in body temperature, anorexia, dullness, listlessness, diarrhoea, occasional blindness, convulsions and death in some cases. Mortality occurred mainly between 6 to 9 days post infection (DPI) and overall mortality was 50 per cent during the three week observation period. No significant difference was observed in erythrocytic indices viz., Hb, PCV, TEC in control and infected rabbits. However, erythrocyte sedimentation rate was considerably increased in the infected rabbits. A state of leucocytosis was observed in the infected rabbits, which was due to increase in the relative percentage of neutrophils and decrease in lymphocytes. There was a significant increase in blood urea nitrogen concentrations of infected rabbits from 3 to 14 DPI as compared to controls, but serum creatinine values were not significantly altered at any stage of infection. The cause of death was attributed to kidney failure and uraemia in infected rabbits. The rabbit was found to be a suitable model for the study of absidiosis.     

Medicinal properties of Echinacea: A critical review

Preparations from Echinacea purpurea are among the most widely used herbal medicines. Most uses of E. purpurea are based on the reported immunological properties. A series of experiments have demonstrated that E. purpurea extracts do indeed demonstrate significant immunomodulatory activities. Among the many pharmacological properties reported, macrophage activation has been demonstrated most convincingly. Phagocytotic indices and macrophage-derived cytokine concentrations have been shown to be Echinacea-responsive in a variety of assays. Activation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and natural killer cells has also been reasonably demonstrated. Changes in the numbers and activities of T- and B-cell leukocytes have been reported, but are less certain. Despite this cellular evidence of immunostimulation, pathways leading to enhanced resistance to infectious disease have not been described adequately. Several dozen human experiments--including a number of blind randomized trials--have reported health benefits. The most robust data come from trials testing E. purpurea extracts in the treatment for acute upper respiratory infection. Although suggestive of modest benefit, these trials are limited both in size and in methodological quality. Hence, while there is a great deal of moderately good-quality scientific data regarding E. purpurea, effectiveness in treating illness or in enhancing human health has not yet been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.     

浅绿叶水稻突变体的特性与遗传分析

在簇生稻与粳稻日本晴杂交后代F8世代中发现一个能稳定遗传的浅绿叶色突变体(pgl,pale green leaf).与野生型相比,突变体pgl株高、剑叶宽、主穗粒数和千粒重均显著下降.从幼苗开始,突变体pgl叶片都表现为浅绿色.在苗期和抽穗期突变体叶片的叶绿素含量都极显著低于野生型,其中叶绿素b的含量极低,仅为0.00...     

脂肪酸脱氢酶基因在兔体内表达的生物学效应研究

目的研究脂肪酸脱氢酶基因在兔子体内的生物效应,探索不饱和脂肪酸与兔子免疫的相互作用。方法用壳聚糖(CS)和壳聚糖的聚乙烯亚胺(PEI)、聚乙二醇(PEG)修饰产物(mPEG-O-CS-PEI),对含有脂肪酸脱氢酶基因的真核表达质粒VRMFat-1进行包裹,肌肉注射新西兰白兔,每两周采取抗凝血,检测血液中免疫细胞数量的变化情况,利用气相色谱仪检测动物组织中脂肪酸的含量变化,并通过荧光定量PCR检测免疫细胞内免疫相关基因的表达情况。结果两组实验兔组织中的n-3不饱和脂肪酸含量显著高于对照组(P<0.05),其TLR4、CD3、IL-4和IL-6基因表达水平显著升高(P<0.05)。结论转入的脂肪酸去饱和脱氢酶基因能够在实验兔体内正常表达,初步证明不饱和脂肪酸对兔子的固有免疫和获得性免疫机能均有明显的增强作用。     

海南细长莱蛛（蜘蛛目：巨蟹蛛科）的雌性新发现

本文首次报道了细长莱蛛Rhitymna macilenta Quan＆Liu2012的雌性,该标本采自海南岛黎母山国家自然保护区,标本保存于湖北大学生命科学学院动物行为与进化中心。细长莱蛛Rhityrmna macilenta Quan＆Liu2012（图1—3）鉴别特征：该种雌蛛可根据其身体苍白,外雌器中板巨大和受精管简单等特征与该属其它种区分。     

Evaluation of flow cytometry as a method for quantification of circulating blood cell populations in salmonid fish

Flow cytometry was used to estimate the proportions of different blood cell types in brown and rainbow trout. On the basis of forward light scatter and 90° side scatter three populations were differentiated. The relative abundance of these cells correlated with that of erythrocytc (r²= 0.994), lymphocyte plus thrombocyte(r²= 0.676) and neutrophil populations (r²= 0.571) enumerated by direct microscopy. By density gradient separation of cells, cell sorting and acridine orange staining it was confirmed that these cell types could be assigned to the populations detected. Changes in blood cell populations were monitored by flow cytometry in a group of experimental fish placed under confinement stress. Flow cytometry proved to be a rapid and reliable method for monitoring cell population dynamics in fish blood.     

The influence of level of infection of rats with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis on the haematology and phospholipase activity and mast cell numbers in the small intestine and colon

The haematology and phospholipase activity and mast cell numbers of the small intestine and colon of rats was studied 10 days after infection with various numbers of larvae of N. brasiliensis. A significant reduction in the RBC occurred after infections with 200 and 5000 larvae but not with 1000 larvae. Hb was significantly reduced after infection with 200 larvae and increases in the MCV and MCH indicated the development of a macrocytic anaemia. Reticulocyte count was increased at all levels of infection except after 200 larvae. WBC was increased at all levels of infection except in the 5000 larvae group. Lymphocytes were significantly increased in all groups except those infected with 5000 larvae. Neutrophils increased only at the lower levels of infection. The most marked changes occurred in eosinophil numbers, significant increases occurring with increasing levels of infection. However, after infection with 5000 larvae the numbers were significantly lower than after infection with 200 or 1000 larvae. Phospholipase activity, which is believed to be related to tissue eosinophil levels, was significantly increased at all infection levels in the proximal small intestine. Significant increases in the distal ileum and colon occurred mainly after infection with 1000 and 5000 larvae. Mast cell numbers did not change significantly at any infection level. It is suggested that the pathology observed, here in the form of anaemia, is multifactorial in origin and is largely a function of the immune response, the development and expression of which is dependent on the level of infection, with suppression of immune damage occurring at the high levels of infection when pathogenesis may involve a direct effect of the worms.     

Quantitative trait loci for red blood cell traits in swine

Haematological traits are essential diagnostic parameters in veterinary practice but knowledge on the genetic architecture controlling variability of erythroid traits is sparse, especially in swine. To identify QTL for erythroid traits in the pig, haematocrit (HCT), haemoglobin (HB), erythrocyte counts (RBC) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin content (MCHC) were measured in 139 F₂ pigs from a Meishan/Pietrain family, before and after challenge with the protozoan pathogen Sarcocystis miescheriana . The pigs passed through three stages representing acute disease, reconvalescence and chronic disease. Forty-three single QTL controlling erythroid traits were identified on 16 chromosomes. Twelve of the QTL were significant at the genome-wide level while 31 were significant at a chromosome-wide level. Because erythroid traits varied with health and disease status, QTL influencing the erythroid phenotypes showed specific health/disease patterns. Regions on SSC5, 7, 8, 12 and 13 contained QTL for baseline erythroid traits, while the other QTL regions affected distinct stages of the disease model. Single QTL explained 9–17% of the phenotypic variance in the F₂ animals. Related traits were partly under common genetic influence. Our analysis confirms that erythroid trait variation differs between Meishan and Pietrain breeds and that this variation is associated with multiple chromosomal regions.