Diversity of gastrointestinal helminths among murid rodents from northern and northeastern Thailand.

The presence of gastrointestinal helminths (GI helminths) was investigated among 725 murid rodents, trapped in various habitats of Nan, Loei and Buri Ram Provinces, Thailand. The study revealed 17 species of rodents infected with 21 species or taxonomic groups of parasites (3 trematodes, 3 cestodes, 14 nematodes and 1 acanthocephalan). The overall prevalence of infection was 57.7% (418/725). Of the gastrointestinal (GI) helminths, the dominant parasitic group was members of the family Trichostrongylidae (24.3%), followed by the cestodes Raillietina sp (17.1%) and Hymenolepis diminuta (8.6%) and the nematode Syphacia muris (8.6%). The GI helminthic infection rates were highest in Mus caroli (81.8%), Mus cervicolor (76.5%), Leopoldamys edwardsi (75.0%), Bandicota indica (71.5%) and Bandicota savilei (71.4%). Highest rodent species richness (RSR) and helminth species richness (HSR) rates were found in Loei, followed by Nan and Buri Ram. The helminth prevalence rate was higher in rodents from Nan, followed by rodents from Loei and Buri Ram. Rodents from irrigated fields had the highest infection rates followed by rodents from upland or dry agricultural areas, forests and domestic habitats. Raillietina sp, Rodentolepis nana (syn. Hymenolepis nana), Hymenolepis diminuta, Moniliformis moniliformis and Cyclodontostomum purvisi, considered zoonotic parasites, were mainly found in rodents from domestic habitats and lowland irrigated fields.

Crocodylus siamensis serum and macrophage phagocytic activity.

Antimicrobial activity of sera from many crocodilian species has been recognized. This activity was proposed to be mediated, at least in part, by complement. Due to the fact that complement proteins have different functions in the immune system, they may be involved in phagocytic process of phagocytes. In the present study, the effects of Siamese crocodile serum on phagocytic activity of macrophages as well as the possible involvement of complement in this process were examined. The results showed increases in the phagocytosis of both Escherichia coli and to a lesser extent, Staphylococcus aureus upon incubation of murine macrophage cell line with fresh crocodile serum (FS). Similar to FS, other crocodile blood products, including freeze dried serum (DS) and freeze dried whole blood (DWB) exhibited phagocytosis-enhancing property. However the ability of DWB to enhance phagocytosis was less efficient than that of FS and DS, suggesting that serum factors were involved in this process. Treatment of FS with heat at 56 degrees C for 30 min deteriorated the effect of FS on bacterial uptake of macrophages, suggesting that complement proteins play a role in the modulation of the phagocytic process. Collectively, the results of the present study suggested that crocodile serum enhances the macrophage phagocytic activity through complement activity and, therefore, may be taken as an alternative medicine for supporting the human immune responses.

Human-dominated habitats and helminth parasitism in Southeast Asian murids.

The effect of habitat anthropization is investigated using a comparative analysis based on a literature survey of the gastrointestinal helminths of murid rodents described in Southeast Asia (SEA). The literature survey gave 30 references on helminth diversity concerning 20 murid rodent species. The diversity of helminths was high with a total of 13 species of cestodes, 15 species of trematodes, 29 species of nematodes and one species of acanthocephalans. The highest helminth species richness was found in Rattus tanezumi, Rattus norvegicus and Rattus argentiventer, all these species were found in more human-dominated habitats (agricultural areas or human settlements). Helminth species richness was positively linked across rodent species to the level of the anthropization of the host environment from forests, agricultural areas to human settlements.

Antibacterial and antifungal activities from Siamese crocodile blood.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of the Siamese crocodile blood against bacteria and fungi. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Thirty Siamese crocodile blood samples including freeze dried whole blood (FDWB), fresh serum (FS), and freeze dried serum (FDS) were evaluated for antimicrobial susceptibility and MIC values against ATCC-registered strains of nine bacterial species and two fungal species and one fungus isolated from a clinical specimen, by using the standard broth microdilution method and a modified resazurin microtiter plate assay. RESULTS: The result showed that FS (80 mg/ml) and FDS (100 mg/ml) inhibited Gram negative bacteria including Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC 13048, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 27736, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 13311 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 with the susceptibility rate at 23.30%, 10.00%, 40.00%, 70.00%, and 86.67%, respectively for FS, and 30.00%, 10.00%, 43.33%, 76.67% and 90.00%, respectively for FDS. The MIC and MBC were in the range of 12.50-100.00 mg/ml and 25.00-100.00 mg/m1 respectively. FS and FDS also inhibited Cryptococcus neoformans 250309 and Aspergillus niger with the susceptibility rate at 90.00% and 80.00%, respectively for FS and 100.00% and 83.33%, respectively for FDS. The MIC was in the range of 25.00-100.00 mg/ml. However, FS and FDS did not inhibit Gram positive bacteria and did not kill fungi. FDWB (100 mg/ml) could neither inhibit bacteria nor fungi. CONCLUSION: FS and FDS from Siamese crocodile exhibited potential antibacterial and antifungal activities.

Skeletal gene expression in the temporal region of the reptilian embryos: implications for the evolution of reptilian skull morphology.

Reptiles have achieved highly diverse morphological and physiological traits that allow them to exploit various ecological niches and resources. Morphology of the temporal region of the reptilian skull is highly diverse and historically it has been treated as an important character for classifying reptiles and has helped us understand the ecology and physiology of each species. However, the developmental mechanism that generates diversity of reptilian skull morphology is poorly understood. We reveal a potential developmental basis that generates morphological diversity in the temporal region of the reptilian skull by performing a comparative analysis of gene expression in the embryos of reptile species with different skull morphology. By investigating genes known to regulate early osteoblast development, we find dorsoventrally broadened unique expression of the early osteoblast marker, Runx2, in the temporal region of the head of turtle embryos that do not form temporal fenestrae. We also observe that Msx2 is also uniquely expressed in the mesenchymal cells distributed at the temporal region of the head of turtle embryos. Furthermore, through comparison of gene expression pattern in the embryos of turtle, crocodile, and snake species, we find a possible correlation between the spatial patterns of Runx2 and Msx2 expression in cranial mesenchymal cells and skull morphology of each reptilian lineage. Regulatory modifications of Runx2 and Msx2 expression in osteogenic mesenchymal precursor cells are likely involved in generating morphological diversity in the temporal region of the reptilian skull.

Developmental basis of toothlessness in turtles: insight into convergent evolution of vertebrate morphology.

The tooth is a major component of the vertebrate feeding apparatus and plays a crucial role in species survival, thus subjecting tooth developmental programs to strong selective constraints. However, irrespective of their functional importance, teeth have been lost in multiple lineages of tetrapod vertebrates independently. To understand both the generality and the diversity of developmental mechanisms that cause tooth agenesis in tetrapods, we investigated expression patterns of a series of tooth developmental genes in the lower jaw of toothless turtles and compared them to that of toothed crocodiles and the chicken as a representative of toothless modern birds. In turtle embryos, we found impairment of Shh signaling in the oral epithelium and early-stage arrest of odontoblast development caused by termination of Msx2 expression in the dental mesenchyme. Our data indicate that such changes underlie tooth agenesis in turtles and suggest that the mechanism that leads to early-stage odontogenic arrest differs between birds and turtles. Our results demonstrate that the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate early-stage arrest of tooth development are diverse in tetrapod lineages, and odontogenic developmental programs may respond to changes in upstream molecules similarly thereby evolving convergently with feeding morphology.