Canarian land snail diversity: conflict between anatomical and molecular data on the phylogenetic placement of five new species of Napaeus (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Enidae)

Five new species of land snail (family Enidae) are described from La Gomera (Canary Islands) of which the majority, on the basis of anatomy alone, could be incorporated within a new supraspecific taxon. In addition to the morphological study of these new species, a region of the 16S mitochondrial gene is sequenced from three of the new species and a range of species of Napaeus from within its two subgenera ( Napaeinus and Napaeus ) . There is a disparity between the morphological and preliminary molecular phylogenetic data. Possible explanations for this conflict are discussed, as well as the evolutionary relationships among these different taxa, and it is suggested that this group may be an excellent model for further studies of adaptation and diversification.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 89 , 169–187.     

A Study of Rapid and Simplified Confirmatory Tests for Clostridium perfringens

Strains of Clostridium perfringens and culturally similar species which also may grow on selective isolation media for this organism were examined by conventional confirmatory tests, the API ZYM system and by individual tests for phosphatase and glutamic acid decarboxylase activity.
API ZYM tests, involving 19 different enzymes, confirmed the known similarity between Cl. perfringens, Cl. absonum, Cl. paraperfringens and Cl. sardiniensis but effectively distinguished this group from Cl. bifermentans, Cl. celatum, Cl. perenne and Cl. sordellii. A similar separation was achieved by a single test for acid phosphatase which could be applied to individual colonies on a plating medium.
Because the acid phosphatase test was found to be of greater value than nitrate reduction in distinguishing Cl. perfringens , it could replace the latter in the usual series of confirmatory tests. It is suggested that strains from Cl. perfringens isolation media should be screened for acid phosphatase activity at the purification stage and only positive strains subjected to further tests.
It was found that Cl. perfringens could not be distinguished from the other species on the basis of glutamate decarboxylase activity.     

Use of a crude extract or purified antigen from first‐instar cattle grubs,Hypoderma lineatum,for the detection of anti‐Hypoderma antibodies in free‐ranging cervids from southern Spain

During the 2003–2005 hunting seasons, a total of 120 Cervidae, including 39 red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and 81 fallow deer (Dama dama), were examined for subcutaneous myiasis. Animals were shot from January to June in southern Spain. Specific antibodies against Hypodermatinae (Diptera: Oestridae) were detected by indirect enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) using a crude larval extract (CLE) and a purified antigen [hypodermin C (HC)] obtained from first instars of Hypoderma lineatum (De Villers) (Diptera: Oestridae). Hypoderma actaeon Brauer was the only species detected in this study, which represents the first confirmation of this species in fallow deer from Spain. The overall prevalence of animals presenting subcutaneous larvae (14.2%) was considerably lower than the prevalences determined by iELISA with CLE (43.3%) and HC (40.0%). Red deer showed a higher prevalence of Hypoderma than fallow deer. The concordance between larval examination during the hunting season and iELISA using both antigens was low, whereas the concordance between the CLE and HC ELISAs was good. Larval antigens obtained from H. lineatum constitute a good tool for the diagnosis of H. actaeon in Cervidae, especially when the hunting season does not coincide with the maximum presence of larvae on the back.     

Survey of flea infestation in cats in Spain

Fleas are a common cause of feline skin disorders as well as vectors of zoonotic diseases. This study evaluated the flea species infesting domestic cats in Spain and assessed factors influencing their distribution. Fleas from 217 cats from 57 localities in Spain were identified and associations between abundance, and host‐dependent, host habitat and environmental factors were examined. Variations in infracommunity and component community structure were also explored. Three species were present, of which Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) was the most abundant (98.4%), followed by Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis) (1.1%) and Pulex irritans (L.) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) (0.5%). Overall abundance and abundances of both C. felis and C. canis were higher on farms than in apartments, but overall flea abundance and abundances of both C. felis and C. canis were lower in rural than urban environments. Overall abundance and C. felis abundance were lower during the warmest months, and mean annual rainfall was positively correlated with overall, C. felis and C. canis abundances. No relationship between the number of species per cat and any host, habitat or physiographical variable was found. Species richness was not correlated with mean annual temperature or rainfall. Flea abundance was mainly associated with host habitat and environmental factors.     

Coxsackievirus-Induced miR-21 Disrupts Cardiomyocyte Interactions via the Downregulation of Intercalated Disk Components

Intercalated disks (ICDs) are substantial connections maintaining cardiac structures and mediating signal communications among cardiomyocytes. Deficiency in ICD components such as desmosomes, fascia adherens and gap junctions leads to heart dysfunction. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection induces cardiac failure but its pathogenic effect on ICDs is unclear. Here we show that CVB3-induced miR-21 expression affects ICD structure, i.e., upregulated miR-21 targets YOD1, a deubiquitinating enzyme, to enhance the K48-linked ubiquitination and degradation of desmin, resulting in disruption of desmosomes. Inhibition of miR-21 preserves desmin during CVB3 infection. Treatment with proteasome inhibitors blocks miR-21-mediated desmin degradation. Transfection of miR-21 or knockdown of YOD1 triggers co-localization of desmin with proteasomes. We also identified K108 and K406 as important sites for desmin ubiquintination and degradation. In addition, miR-21 directly targets vinculin, leading to disturbed fascia adherens evidenced by the suppression and disorientation of pan-cadherin and α-E-catenin proteins, two fascia adherens-components. Our findings suggest a new mechanism of miR-21 in modulating cell-cell interactions of cardiomyocytes during CVB3 infection.     

Urinary metabolic biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma in an Egyptian population: a validation study

The advent of metabonomics has seen a proliferation of biofluid profiling studies of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The majority of these studies have been conducted in single indigenous populations making the widespread applicability of candidate metabolite biomarkers difficult. Presented here is a urinary proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of mainly hepatitis C virus infected Egyptian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, which corroborates findings of a previous study from our group of mainly hepatitis B-infected Nigerian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Using multivariate statistical analysis, in the form of orthogonal signal-corrected partial least squared discriminant analysis, the sensitivity and specificity of the technique for distinguishing patients with tumors from healthy controls and patients with cirrhosis was 100%/94% and 81%/71%, respectively. Discriminatory metabolites included glycine, trimethylamine-N-oxide, hippurate, citrate, creatinine, creatine, and carnitine. This metabolic profile bears similarity to profiles identified in the Nigerian cohort of subjects indicative of tumor effects on physiology, energy production, and aberrant chromosomal methylation. This is the first study to identify similarly altered urine metabolic profiles of hepatocellular carcinoma in two etiologically and ethnically distinct populations, suggesting that altered metabolism as a result of tumorogenesis is independent of these two factors.