Capture and commercialization of blue land crabs ("guaiamum") Cardisoma guanhumi (Lattreille, 1825) along the coast of Bahia State, Brazil: an ethnoecological approach

Background

Blue Land Crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) is one of the most important crustacean species captured and commercialized in Brazil. Although this species is not considered to be threatened with extinction, populations of C. guanhumi are known to be rapidly diminishing due to heavy harvesting pressures and degradation of their natural habitats, highlighting the necessity of developing and implanting management and protection strategies for their populations. There have been no ethnozoological publications that have focused specifically on C. guanhumi, in spite of importance of this type of information for developing efficient management plans of resource utilization. So, the present work describes the ethnoecological aspects of the capture and commercialization of C. guanhumi by a fishing community in northeastern Brazil.

Methods

Field work was carried out in the municipality of Mucuri, Bahia in Brazil, between the months of January and March/2011 through the use of open semi-structured interviews with all of the crustacean harvesters in city who acknowledged their work in capturing this species, totaling 12 interviewees. The informants were identified through the use of the "snowball" sampling technique. In addition to the interviews themselves, the "guided tour" technique and direct observations was employed.

Results

According all the interviewees, the C. guanhumi is popularly called "guaiamum" and is collected in "apicum" zones. They recognize sexual dimorphism in the species based on three morphological characteristics and the harvesters also pointed two stages in the reproductive cycle during the year and another phase mentioned by the interviewees was ecdysis. All of the interviewed affirmed that the size and the quantities C. guanhumi stocks in Mucuri have been diminishing. All of the interviewees agreed that the species and other mangrove resources constituted their principal source of income. The harvesters dedicated three to five days a week to collect Blue Land Crabs and the principal technique utilized for capturing is a trap called a "ratoeira" (rat-trap).

Conclusions

The results of the present work demonstrated that the community retains a vast and important volume of knowledge about C. guanhumi that could subsidize both scientific studies and the elaboration of viable management and conservation strategies for this species.     

Antenatal breast expression in women with diabetes: outcomes from a retrospective cohort study

Background

Women with diabetes are sometimes advised to express breast milk antenatally to prepare for breastfeeding and to store colostrum for infant feeding in preventing or treating hypoglycaemia after the birth. The acceptability, risks and benefits of this practice have not been evaluated. This was aimed to investigate the pattern of antenatal breast expression uptake and its relationship with birth outcomes in women with diabetes.

Methods

This was part of a two year retrospective cohort study of pregnant women with diabetes (type 1, 2 and gestational diabetes) who gave birth during 2001–2003 in Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (n = 94). The information on the practice of antenatal breastfeeding expression and birth outcomes was collected via self-administered questionnaires and by examining maternity records.

Results

Thirty-seven percent of women (35/94) recalled that they were advised to express antenatally and 17% did (16/94). The mean gestational age at birth for women who hand-expressed was lower than that for those who did not (mean difference (MD) (95% confidence intervals (CI)): -1.2 (?2.4 to 0.04), p = 0.06). A higher proportion of babies from the antenatal expression group were admitted to special care baby units (SCBU) (MD (95% CI): 21% (?3.9 to 46.3).

Conclusions

Less than half the women who stated that they were advised to express, did so. There seems to be an indication that antenatal breast milk expression and lower gestational age at birth are associated. The trend of a higher rate of SCBU admission for babies from the breast milk expression group compared to those who did not express antenatally is of concern. An appropriately-powered randomised controlled trial is needed to determine the safety of this practice and its acceptability to women and health professionals before it can be recommended for implementation in practice.

     

Evaluation of apoptosis markers in different cell lines infected with equine arteritis virus

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) induces apoptosis in infected cells. Cell death caused by EAV has been studied mainly using three cell lines, BHK-21, RK-13 and Vero cells. The mechanism of apoptosis varies among cell lines and results cannot be correlated owing to differences in EAV strains used. We evaluated different markers for apoptosis in BHK-21, RK-13 and Vero cell lines using the Bucyrus EAV reference strain. Acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining revealed morphological changes in infected cells, while flow cytometry indicated the extent of apoptosis. We also observed DNA fragmentation, but the DNA ladder was detected at different times post-infection depending on the cell line, i.e., 48, 72 and 96 h post-infection in RK-13, Vero and BHK-21 cells, respectively. Measurement of viral titers obtained with each cell line indicated that apoptosis causes interference with viral replication and therefore decreased viral titers. As an unequivocal marker of apoptosis, we measured the expression of caspase-3 and caspases-8 and -9 as extrinsic and intrinsic markers of apoptosis pathways, respectively. Caspase-8 in BHK-21 cells was the only protease that was not detected at any of the times assayed. We found that Bucyrus EAV strain exhibited a distinctive apoptosis pathway depending on the cell line.     

Response of candidate sex-determining genes to changes in temperature reveals their involvement in the molecular network underlying temperature-dependent sex determination

Gonadogenesis, the process of forming an ovary or a testis from a bipotential gonad, is critical to the development of sexually reproducing adults. Although the molecular pathway underlying vertebrate gonadogenesis is well characterized in organisms exhibiting genotypic sex determination, it is less well understood in vertebrates whose sex is determined by environmental factors. We examine the response of six candidate sex-determining genes to sex-reversing temperature shifts in a species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). For the first time, we report the regulation of FoxL2, Wnt4, Dmrt1, and Mis by temperature, confirming their involvement in the molecular pathway underlying TSD and placing them downstream of the action of temperature. We find evidence that FoxL2 plays an ovarian-specific role in development, whereas Wnt4 appears to be involved in both testis and ovary formation. Dmrt1 expression shows rapid activation in response to a shift to male-producing temperature, whereas Mis up-regulation is delayed. Furthermore, early repression of Mis appears critical to ovarian development. We also investigate Dax1 and Sox9 and reveal that at the level of gene expression, response to temperature is comparatively later in gonadogenesis. By examining the role of these genes in TSD, we can begin to elucidate elements of conservation and divergence between sex-determining mechanisms.     

Gene bionetworks involved in the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of altered mate preference: environmental epigenetics and evolutionary biology

Background

Mate preference behavior is an essential first step in sexual selection and is a critical determinant in evolutionary biology. Previously an environmental compound (the fungicide vinclozolin) was found to promote the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of an altered sperm epigenome and modified mate preference characteristics for three generations after exposure of a gestating female.

Results

The current study investigated gene networks involved in various regions of the brain that correlated with the altered mate preference behavior in the male and female. Statistically significant correlations of gene clusters and modules were identified to associate with specific mate preference behaviors. This novel systems biology approach identified gene networks (bionetworks) involved in sex-specific mate preference behavior. Observations demonstrate the ability of environmental factors to promote the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of this altered evolutionary biology determinant.

Conclusions

Combined observations elucidate the potential molecular control of mate preference behavior and suggests environmental epigenetics can have a role in evolutionary biology.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-377) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Potential role of viruses in white plague coral disease

White plague (WP)-like diseases of tropical corals are implicated in reef decline worldwide, although their etiological cause is generally unknown. Studies thus far have focused on bacterial or eukaryotic pathogens as the source of these diseases; no studies have examined the role of viruses. Using a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and 454 pyrosequencing, we compared 24 viral metagenomes generated from Montastraea annularis corals showing signs of WP-like disease and/or bleaching, control conspecific corals, and adjacent seawater. TEM was used for visual inspection of diseased coral tissue. No bacteria were visually identified within diseased coral tissues, but viral particles and sequence similarities to eukaryotic circular Rep-encoding single-stranded DNA viruses and their associated satellites (SCSDVs) were abundant in WP diseased tissues. In contrast, sequence similarities to SCSDVs were not found in any healthy coral tissues, suggesting SCSDVs might have a role in WP disease. Furthermore, Herpesviridae gene signatures dominated healthy tissues, corroborating reports that herpes-like viruses infect all corals. Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus (NCLDV) sequences, similar to those recently identified in cultures of Symbiodinium (the algal symbionts of corals), were most common in bleached corals. This finding further implicates that these NCLDV viruses may have a role in bleaching, as suggested in previous studies. This study determined that a specific group of viruses is associated with diseased Caribbean corals and highlights the potential for viral disease in regional coral reef decline.     

Production of the virus‐like particles of nipah virus matrix protein in Pichia pastoris as diagnostic reagents

The matrix (M) protein of Nipah virus (NiV) is a peripheral protein that plays a vital role in the envelopment of nucleocapsid protein and acts as a bridge between the viral surface and the nucleocapsid proteins. The M protein is also proven to play an important role in production of virus‐like particles (VLPs) and is essential for assembly and budding of NiV particles. The recombinant M protein produced in Escherichia coli assembled into VLPs in the absence of the viral surface proteins. However, the E. coli produced VLPs are smaller than the native virus particles. Therefore, the aims of this study were to produce NiV M protein in Pichia pastoris, to examine the structure of the VLPs formed, and to assess the potential of the VLPs as a diagnostic reagent. The M protein was successfully expressed in P. pastoris and was detected with anti‐myc antibody using Western blotting. The VLPs formed by the recombinant M protein were purified with sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation, high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC). Immunogold staining and transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the M protein assembled into VLPs as large as 200 nm. ELISA revealed that the NiV M protein produced in P. pastoris reacted strongly with positive NiV sera demonstrating its potential as a diagnostic reagent. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1038–1045, 2016     

Effects of Nigella sativa on apoptosis and GABAA receptor density in cerebral cortical and hippocampal neurons in pentylenetetrazol induced kindling in rats

We investigated the effects of Nigella sativa on apoptosis and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA_A) receptor density in cerebral cortical and hippocampal neurons in a pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced kindling model in rats. The PTZ kindling model was produced by injecting PTZ in subconvulsive doses to rats on days 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 22 and 24 of the study into animals of PTZ treated (PTZ) and PTZ + N. sativa treated (PTZ + NS) groups. Clonic and tonic seizures were induced by injecting a convulsive dose of PTZ on day 26 of the study. Rats in the PTZ + NS group were treated also with a 10 mg/kg methanolic extract of N. sativa 2 h before each PTZ injection. Rats in the control group were treated with 4 ml/kg saline. The number of neurons that expressed GABA_A receptors in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of rats in the PTZ and PTZ + NS groups increased significantly. There was no significant difference in the number of GABA_A receptors between the PTZ and PTZ + NS groups. GABA_A receptor density of the neurons in the cerebral cortex, but not hippocampus, was increased in PTZ group compared to controls. We observed a significant increase in the number of apoptotic neurons in the cerebral cortex of rats of both the PTZ and PTZ + NS groups compared to controls. We observed a significant decrease in the number of the apoptotic neurons in the cerebral cortex of rats in the PTZ + NS group compared to the PTZ group. N. sativa treatment ameliorated the PTZ induced neurodegeneration in the cerebral cortex as reflected by neuronal apoptosis and neuronal GABA_A receptor frequency.