DNA sequence analysis of serologically detected ELA class II haplotypes at the equine DQP locus

The genetic diversity at the ELA DQβ locus was investigated using polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing. Based upon serological methods 16 class II homozygous animals were selected and their genomic DNA was used. A DQβ gene from an equine cDNA library was also sequenced. Our methology and the similarity between the genomic and the cDNA sequences suggest that the studied locus is expressed on equine lymphocytes. In the predicted amino acid sequence the most extensive variation is located at residues 56–60. The pattern of these five amino acids is strongly correlated to the serological ELA class II specificities (W13, W22, W23, Be200). The alleles corresponding to the W23 specificity are the most divergent among the equine DQβ alleles and also from other mammalian DQβ sequences.     

Common white facial markings in bay and chestnut Arabian horses and their hybrids

Common white facial and leg markings have a multifactorial mode of inheritance in Equus caballus. Evidence for the complexity of the genetic component is the observation that chestnut (e/e) horses have more extensive white markings than do bay (E/-) horses. Computerized records obtained from the Arabian Horse Registry of America, Inc., were used to determine if heterozygous (E/e) bay horses have more extensive white facial markings than do homozygous (E/E) bay horses. Thirty-five sire families were analyzed. Each sire family consists of a sire, his foals, and the dams of those foals. The facial region was divided into five areas, and each horse was given a score from 0 to 5 according to the number of areas with whiteness. Since dams and foals with E/E genotypes cannot be identified in these sire families, mean facial scores were compared in dams and foals that were E/e and E/-. It was assumed that if a difference exists between E/e and E/E horses, the presence of E/E horses in the E/- group would reduce the mean of the E/- group. The results show that Arabian horses with the genotype E/e have more white markings than do horses with the genotype E/-, leading to the conclusion that horses with the genotypes e/e, E/e, and E/E vary as to the quantitative expression of white facial markings, with heterozygotes having an intermediate expression.     

The effects of Heterosigma akashiwo on juvenile Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and its implications for fish culture

The effects of natural blooms of Heterosigma akashiwo on freshwater-and saltwater-acclimated juvenile chinook salmon were assessed. Rates of fish mortality in the blooms were independent of acclimation of fish to seawater and the ambient oxygen levels, but were dependent on concentration of algae and ambient water temperatures. No pathological abnormality to gills or other internal organs in the fish were evident. Aeration or oxygenation of fish cages did not enhance or inhibit fish survival in a H. akashiwo bloom. Cause of death was considered to be due to a labile ichthyotoxic agent.     

MacStylet, software to analyse electrical penetration graph data on the Macintosh

Conclusion Since the EPG method is increasingly utilized in the investigation of plant-Homoptera interactions, this software has been developed to enable fast processing of abundant data. The objective seems to have been achieved and, with a little practice, a 2-hour experiment may be analysed in about 10–15 minutes. Mac-Stylet is stand-alone shareware, freely distributed to all persons interested (request to G. Febvay, email: febvay@jouy.inra.fr).     

New gene assignments using a complete, characterized sheep-hamster somatic cell hybrid panel

The generation and characterization of new sheep-hamster cell hybrids is reported from the fusion of sheep white blood cells with six different hamster auxotrophs. Selection from these and previously generated cell hybrids has led to the production of a panel of 30 hybrids covering the complete sheep genome of 28 chromosomes. Over half of the cell hybrids in this panel contain single sheep chromosomes. By complementation, the following new assignments have been made using the panel: phosphoribosyl N-formylglycinamide amidotransferase (PRFGA) to sheep chromosome (chr) 11; adenylosuccinate synthetase (ADSS) to sheep chr 12; adenylosuccinate lyase (ADSL) to sheep chr 3q; 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase (HMGCS) to sheep chr 16; dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) to sheep chr 5; and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) to sheep chr 14. The gene phosphoribosylaminoinidazole-carboxamide formyltransferase/Inosinicase (PRACFT) has now been regionally assigned to chr 2q. By isozyme analysis, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (PGD) was assigned to sheep chr 12, anchoring the sheep syntenic group U1 to this chromosome, and mannose phosphate isomerase (MPI) was assigned to sheep chr 18. Furthermore, the chromosomal assignment of 110 microsatellites was confirmed using this cell panel.     

Systematics within Gyps vultures: a clade at risk

Background  

Populations of the Oriental White-backed Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) have declined by over 95% within the past decade. This decline is largely due to incidental consumption of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory veterinary pharmaceutical diclofenac, commonly used to treat domestic livestock. The conservation status of other Gyps vultures in southern Asia is also of immediate concern, given the lack of knowledge regarding status of their populations and the continuing existence of taxonomic uncertainties. In this study, we assess phylogenetic relationships for all recognized species and the majority of subspecies within the genus Gyps. The continuing veterinary use of diclofenac is an unknown but potential risk to related species with similar feeding habits to Gyps bengalensis. Therefore, an accurate assessment of the phylogenetic relationships among Gyps vultures should aid in their conservation by clarifying taxonomic uncertainties, and enabling inference of their respective relatedness to susceptible G. bengalensis.     

Le dépistage de la syphilis au cours de la grossesse: l’exemple de la Thaïlande

Syphilis serology must be determined in pregnant women during the first prenatal visit. An economic analysis of the serological tests used in Thailand indicates that combined VDRL and TPHA testing is the most cost-effective screening protocol. It represents an optimal alternative for systematic screening in that country.     

Assessment and comparison of neural morphology through metrical feature extraction and analysis in neuron and neuron–glia cultures

The morphology of dissociated single cerebellar Purkinje cells obtained from wild-type P1 CD1 mice was assessed in the absence and in the presence of glia. A dedicated noninvasive technique based on optical microscopy was developed. Image processing algorithms were implemented to extract metrical features characterizing cell structure and dendritic arborization. The morphological features were analyzed in order to identify quantitative differences in Purkinje cell morphology due to interactions with astrocytes.     

Status of the reproductive system of bony fish from the Teterev River and the Kiev Reservoir 20 years after the Chernobyl accident

The status of the reproductive system is investigated in five species of Teleostei from the Teterev River and the Kiev Reservoir (Ukraine), descendants of F₄2–F₇ generations of fish exposed to radiation from the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Twenty years after the accident, a wide range of morphofuinctional anomalies of this system is present in fish. The most significant of them are: asymmetry and anomalous morphology of gonads, proliferation of connective tissue—sterilization, mass destruction of follicular and sex cells of various developmental stages, and hermaphroditism. Among the investigated species, disturbances of reproductive glands were preset to the highest extent in pike Esox lucius and crucian carp Carassius carassius. In the series of investigated generations the maximum frequency of occurrence of gonad anomalies was noted in F₄ and F₅, due to prolonged mutagenesis (Dubinin, 1986).     

Analysis of phospholipid molecular species by liquid chromatography--atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry of diacylglycerol nicotinates.

A method using liquid chromatography - atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry was evaluated for determining the molecular species composition of phospholipids (phosphatidylcholines from soybean, egg yolk and bovine liver) after conversion to diacylglycerol nicotinate derivatives. The structures could be deduced from pseudo-molecular ions ([MH-123](+)) and three pairs of monoacyl containing fragment ions. All molecular species in mixed peaks were readily identified and many minor components, earlier not encountered in the samples under investigation, were identified. Acyl chain regioisomers were readily distinguished by the ratio of the [MH-RCHCO](+) ions. Molecular species differing only in the position of the double bonds in one polyunsaturated acyl chain were separated on the basis of retention times. A half quantitative estimation of the molecular species composition of complex samples was achieved by a combination of UV detection and, for mixed peaks, the areas of [MH-123](+) ions.