Seroprevalence of Bartonella henselae,Toxoplasma gondii,FIV and FeLV infections in domestic cats in Japan

Seroprevalence of Bartonella henselae, Toxoplasma gondii, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infections was investigated in 1,447 domestic cats derived from the north (Hokkaido) to the south (Okinawa) prefectures in Japan. Of the cats investigated, 8.8% (128/1,447) were seropositive to B. henselae, 5.4% (78/1,447) to T. gondii, 9.8% (107/1,088) to FIV, and 2.9% (32/1,088) to FeLV, respectively. For B. henselae infection, the positive rate varied from 11.5% in cats of 1 to <2 years old to 7.2% in those over 3 years old. Outdoor cats showed higher positive rate (14.5%) than that (7.0%) in indoor ones. The rate (13.5%) in flea-infested cats was significantly higher than that (7.4%) in flea-negative cats. The positive rates in southern and urban sites were more likely to be higher than those in northern and suburban sites, suggesting that warm and humid environments, density of cat population, and raising status, including hygienic condition and flea infestation in cats may correlate to higher seroprevalence of B. henselae infection. For T. gondii, FIV and FeLV infections, the seroprevalence also tended to be higher in outdoor, flea-infested cats and advanced age groups. For FIV infection, the positive rates in male (14.3%) and outdoor cats (15.0%) were significantly higher than those in female (5.0%) and indoor cats (4.6%). On the other hand, no significant difference in seropositivities was observed in FeLV and T. gondii infections concerning to both genders and raising status.     

A comparison of the enzymatic responses of the DNA polymerases from four RNA tumor viruses.

DNA polymerases from avian, feline, murine and simian RNA tumor viruses exhibit substantial differences in optimal assay conditions and vary widely in their template-primer preferences. Avian DNA polymerase utilizes both natural and synthetic template-primers efficiently in the presence of Mg⁺⁺ as well as Mn⁺⁺. By contrast, the mammalian viral DNA polymerases are much more responsive to poly(A)·oligo(dT) than to other template-primers, and exhibit up to 20-fold greater activity with Mn⁺⁺ than with Mg⁺⁺. In addition, simian sarcoma virus DNA polymerase shows no detectable response to poly(C)·oligo(dG) over a wide variety of conditions stimulatory to the other viral enzymes.     

Viral infections in wild-living European wildcats in Slovenia

Prevalence of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) was investigated in wild-living European wildcats (Felis silvestris) in Slovenia. Seventeen blood samples of 15 wildcats (13 males and two females, two recaptures—1 and 1.5 years after capture) were collected between August 1999 and April 2006. Wildcats were anesthetized using ketamine and medetomidine. Specific antibodies against FIV and FeLV antigens were detected using commercial virus antibody test kits or commercial antigen detection kits, respectively. All investigated sera were negative for presence of specific antibodies against FIV and all investigated animals were negative for presence of FeLV, showing that the highest expected prevalence of the diseases in the population is low. This contrasts with the data from the domestic cats, suggesting a low level of contact between both populations. Apart from addressing the obvious concerns about the impact of infectious diseases on a wild population, epidemiology can be a useful tool for detection of the level of contact in cases when introgression of genes of a common or domestic subspecies/variety might pose a problem for conservation of a threatened species/population.     

Transfer ribonucleic acid nucleotidyltransferase activity in virions of type-C viruses.

A nucleotidyltransferase activity has been found associated with a number of mammalian and avian oncornaviruses. This activity catalyzes the incorporation of adenosine monophosphate and cytosine monophosphate into acid insoluble forms. The transferase activity from Rauscher murine leukemia virus has been characterized. The endogenous reaction is stimulated by various tRNAs particularly the 4S RNA isolated from Rauscher leukemia virus, whereas other RNAs have no effect. The product of the reaction is alkali and RNase sensitive, insensitive to DNase, and its size is similar to tRNA. Finally, the terminal nucleotide analysis of the product of the reaction indicates the presence of a CCA terminus. The properties of the activity found in the type-C viruses are in accord with those of known tRNA nucleotidyltransferases from other sources.