More room for legume - Consumer acceptance of meat substitution with classic, processed and meat-resembling legume products.

The substitution of meat with legumes is one way of making food consumption more sustainable. The substitution would ease the debate on food security and is aligned with the recommendations of climate change experts. Consumer preferences on whether meat should be substituted and how meat can be substituted are heterogeneous. This article explores consumers' acceptance of replacing meat with legumes, their acceptance of meat alternatives made from legumes and their acceptance of processed legumes in general. Consumer samples were drawn from Germany (GER: N = 633) and New Zealand (NZ: N = 445). The samples reflect the underlying age, gender and income distributions. Two separate latent class analyses reveal seven consumer types with five in each country. A large cluster from both countries will not consider substituting meat with legumes or buying processed legume products. Another cluster will consider processed legume products if the products are not marketed as an alternative to meat. Although they do not use them regularly, many consumers in NZ are open to using meat substitutes made from legumes. Another group would prefer to directly substitute meat with specific legumes rather than having highly processed products. We discuss the cluster specific findings and how to develop consumers' acceptance of meat substitution with respect to each cluster.

No Evidence of Herpesvirus Infection in West Highland White Terriers With Canine Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

In humans, horses, and rodents, an association between pulmonary fibrotic disorders and gammaherpesvirus infection has been suggested. In dogs, canine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (CIPF), a progressive fibrotic lung disease of unknown origin and poorly understood pathophysiology, has been reported to occur in West Highland white terriers (WHWTs). The present study investigated the potential association between CIPF and herpesvirus infection. A PCR assay, using a mixture of degenerate and deoxyinosine-substituted primers targeting highly conserved regions of the DNA polymerase gene (DPOL) of herpesviruses, was applied on both lung and blood samples from WHWTs affected with CIPF and controls. Herpesvirus DPOL sequence could not be amplified from any of 46 lung samples (28 affected WHWTs and 18 control dogs of various breeds) and 38 blood samples (19 CIPF WHWTs and 19 control age-matched WHWTs) included. An association between CIPF and herpesvirus infection is therefore unlikely. Investigation of other causes of the disease is warranted.

Water availability and population origin affect the expression of the tradeoff between reproduction and growth in Plantago coronopus.

Investment in reproduction and growth represent a classic tradeoff with implication for life history evolution. The local environment can play a major role in the magnitude and evolutionary consequences of such a tradeoff. Here, we examined the investment in reproductive and vegetative tissue in 40 maternal half-sib families from four different populations of the herb Plantago coronopus growing in either a dry or wet greenhouse environment. Plants originated from populations with an annual or a perennial life form, with annuals prevailing in drier habitats with greater seasonal variation in both temperature and precipitation. We found that water availability affected the expression of the tradeoff (both phenotypic and genetic) between reproduction and growth, being most accentuated under dry condition. However, populations responded very differently to water treatments. Plants from annual populations showed a similar response to drought condition with little variation among maternal families, suggesting a history of selection favouring genotypes with high allocation to reproduction when water availability is low. Plants from annual populations also expressed the highest level of plasticity. For the perennial populations, one showed a large variation among maternal families in resource allocation and expressed significant negative genetic correlations between reproductive and vegetative biomass under drought. The other perennial population showed less variation in response to treatment and had trait values similar to those of the annuals, although it was significantly less plastic. We stress the importance of considering intraspecific variation in response to environmental change such as drought, as conspecific plants exhibited very different abilities and strategies to respond to high versus low water availability even among geographically close populations.

Metastatic endocervical adenocarcinoma in a western lowland gorilla (Gorilla g. gorilla): no evidence of virus-induced carcinogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Cervical Cancer is the second most common cancer among women. Nevertheless, similar tumours have only been rarely described in Great Apes. This report characterizes the pathological and molecular features of a metastatic endocervical adenocarcinoma in a Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla g. gorilla). METHODS: Necropsy and histopathology was performed to identify the cause of the disease in an cachectic 50-year-old western lowland gorilla. Immunohistochemistry for Ki67, oestrogen receptor alpha and ERBB2 was performed to characterize the tumor. In addition, Pan-herpesvirus and Pan-papillomavirus PCR were used to identify a possible viral cause. RESULTS: The endoccervical carcinoma showed a severe metastatic spread to the lung, brain and bone and was herpesvirus and papillomavirus-negative. Most tumor cells were ERBB2-positive, 15% of tumor cells were Ki67-positive and only few tumor cells had oestrogen receptor alpha expression. CONCLUSIONS: Histopathologically and immunohistochemically, the tumour had striking similarities to human endocervicial adenocarcinomas of the common type. However, PCR analysis failed to identify herpes- or papillomaviral DNA in the tumor at the time of necropsy, thus leaving the question for cause of the disease open.

Treponema infection associated with genital ulceration in wild baboons.

The authors describe genital alterations and detailed histologic findings in baboons naturally infected with Treponema pallidum. The disease causes moderate to severe genital ulcerations in a population of olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis) at Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania. In a field survey in 2007, 63 individuals of all age classes, both sexes, and different grades of infection were chemically immobilized and sampled. Histology and molecular biological tests were used to detect and identify the organism responsible: a strain similar to T pallidum ssp pertenue, the cause of yaws in humans. Although treponemal infections are not a new phenomenon in nonhuman primates, the infection described here appears to be strictly associated with the anogenital region and results in tissue alterations matching those found in human syphilis infections (caused by T pallidum ssp pallidum), despite the causative pathogen's greater genetic similarity to human yaws-causing strains.

A novel herpesvirus in the sanctuary chimpanzees on Ngamba Island in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies in non-human primates have led to the discovery of novel primate herpesviruses. In order to get more information on herpesvirus infections in apes, we studied wild born captive chimpanzees. METHODS: Chimpanzees of the Ngamba island sanctuary, Uganda, were analyzed with pan-herpes polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the herpesvirus DNA polymerase gene and the glycoprotein B gene. The obtained sequences were connected by long-distance PCR, and analyzed phylogenetically. RESULTS: Twenty-one of 40 individuals were infected with members of the Gammaherpesvirinae, two of them with a novel member of this subfamily. Phylogenetically, the novel virus fell into a clade of primate rhadinoviruses and the Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (human herpesvirus 8), representing a third distinct rhadinovirus in chimpanzees. CONCLUSION: Non-human primates harbor several herpesviruses many of which are still unknown. This has implications to management of primates in sanctuaries requiring continuous updates on the management protocols to deal with potential occupational pathogens.

The porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus 1 encodes functional regulators of gene expression.

The porcine lymphotropic herpesviruses (PLHV) are discussed as possible risk factors in xenotransplantation because of the high prevalence of PLHV-1, PLHV-2 and PLHV-3 in pig populations world-wide and the fact that PLHV-1 has been found to be associated with porcine post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. To provide structural and functional knowledge on the PLHV immediate-early (IE) transactivator genes, the central regions of the PLHV genomes were characterized by genome walking, sequence and splicing analysis. Three spliced genes were identified (ORF50, ORFA6/BZLF1(h), ORF57) encoding putative IE transactivators, homologous to (i) ORF50 and BRLF1/Rta, (ii) K8/K-bZIP and BZLF1/Zta and (iii) ORF57 and BMLF1 of HHV-8 and EBV, respectively. Expressed as myc-tag or HA-tag fusion proteins, they were located to the cellular nucleus. In reporter gene assays, several PLHV-promoters were mainly activated by PLHV-1 ORF50, to a lower level by PLHV-1 ORFA6/BZLF1(h) and not by PLHV-1 ORF57. However, the ORF57-encoded protein acted synergistically on ORF50-mediated activation.

Fatal poxvirus outbreak in a colony of New World monkeys.

An epizootic infection was observed in a colony of 80 New World monkeys consisting of various species including a group of marmosets and Saguinus species. During the summer and autumn of 2002, 30 animals died of unknown diseases. Six animals were sent to the German Primate Center for investigation of the cause of death. A complete pathologic and histologic investigation was carried out. The animals exhibited erosive-ulcerative lesions of the oral mucous membranes. Advanced stages of the disease were characterised by hemorrhagic lesions on the skin distributed randomly over the body, but principally on the face, scrotal region, soles, and palms. Electron microscopy revealed virus particles with orthopox-like morphology within intracytoplasmic inclusions in epithelial cells. The DNA samples from various tissues were analyzed by use of a set of orthopox virus-specific, real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. Amplification products were sequenced to define the virus more precisely. Sequencing confirmed the presence of an orthopox virus. Sequence data indicated that all six animals were infected with the same virus. Propagation of the virus on Vero cells resulted in a rapidly progressive cytopathogenic effect. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses of two genes revealed closest homology to cowpox viruses. The origin of this poxvirus outbreak remains unexplained, and the strain and genus of the virus need to be determined in detail.

[Porcine malignant catarrhal fever: diagnostic findings and first detection of the pathogenic agent in diseased swine in Switzerland]. / Porcines Bösartiges Katarrhalfieber: Diagnostische Befunde und erstmaliger Nachweis des Erregers bei erkrankten Schweinen in der Schweiz.

For the first time Ovine Herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) was identified in Swiss pigs as the causative agent of Porcine Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF). Diseased animals from two farms were observed to show weakness, anorexia, fever up to 41 degrees C, and neurological symptoms, i.e. ataxia, convulsions and hyperesthesia, erosion on the snout and in the oral and nasal mucosa, as well as multiple skin lesions. Histopathological findings included severe non-purulent inflammation with mononuclear cell infiltration in several organs. Most dominant were meningo-encephalitis, disseminated nephritis as well as purulent catarrhalic bronchopneumonia. The findings were quite reminiscent of the lesions due to MCF in cattle and give therefore substantial proof to use Porcine Malignant Catarrhal Fever as the term for the disease. Identification of the causative agent was done with a quantitative PCR specific for OvHV-2. Different tissues from diseased animals were positive. Furthermore, one animal which had been ill for more than five days tested positive for antibodies against an epitope conserved among MCF viruses. Serum samples from diseased animals reacted negative towards Classical Swine Fever- and Pseudorabies virus antigen. A weakly positive reaction against porcine enterovirus type I argued against the involvement of enteroviruses in the observed disease. Moreover, by means of different conventional PCRs, we detected the newly discovered porcine lymphotropic herpesviruses for the first time in Switzerland and could at the same time exclude their involvement in Porcine Malignant Catarrhal Fever.

Eyes covered by mitochondrial lenses in Petaliella spiracauda and Ptychopera purasjokii (Plathelminthes, Rhabdocoela, Trigonostominae). Ultrastructural features and phylogenetic implications.

The submicroscopic anatomy of the eyes in Petaliella spiracauda and Ptychopera purasjokii is described. These eyes correspond in general to the basic pattern of rhabdomeric pigment-cup ocelli. This, however, does not apply to modifications of the cup cell such as the differentiation of mitochondrial lenses. Corresponding with two sensory cells two extensions of the cup cell capping the eye aperture are crowded with small unmodified mitochondria in the eyes of P. spiracauda. The eyes of P. purasjokii have three sensory cells and the lenticular element is formed by a trifoil-shaped differentiation of three giant mitochondrial derivatives. These derivatives show peripheral appendages of various configurations, all of which resemble the profiles of small mitochondria. The implication of the existence of such appendages is that the lenses in P. purasjokii are derived from many fused mitochondria, rather than from a single enlarged one. It is concluded that the unmodified or modified mitochondrial differentiations in proliferations of the pigment cell capping the opening of the eye cup serve to focalize incoming light. The evolution of mitochondrial lenses in Plathelminthes is considered.

Evidence for the mitochondrial origin of the eye lenses in embryos of Entobdella soleae (Plathelminthes, Monogenea).

The lens associated with each of the four pigmented eyes of the oncomiracidium of Entobdella soleae (Plathelminthes, Monogenea, Capsalidae) develops in a special region of the pigment cup cell of the eye. It is confirmed that the inner of the two membranes enclosing each lens bears short, inwardly projecting, membranous profiles identical to mitochondrial cristae. Studies of embryos incubated for 19 days at 12 degrees C (hatching begins at 28 days at this temperature) revealed that the matrix of the developing lens of each anterior eye contains many mitochondrial membrane compartments, some having the configuration of separate, small mitochondria. The implication is that the lens is derived from many fused mitochondria, rather than from a single large one. The anterior eyes of 19-day-old embryos are less well developed than the posterior eyes. Pigment granules in the anterior eyes appear to be at the premelanosome stage and contain dispersed dense particles lacking an obvious orderly arrangement. The posterior eyes mostly contain mature melanosomes. Membranous compartments in the matrix of the posterior eye lenses are rare. Apart from longer peripheral cristae, lenses of 22-day-old embryos are identical with those of oncomiracidia. The evolution of mitochondrial lenses in Plathelminthes is considered.

Detection and multigenic characterization of a novel gammaherpesvirus in goats.

Evidence for the existence of a caprine gammaherpesvirus was obtained by analysis of peripheral blood leucocytes of goats with PCR assays that target the herpesvirus genes encoding the glycoprotein B (gB), the DNA polymerase (DPOL) and the terminase (TERM) with degenerate and deoxyinosine-substituted primers. A contiguous 3.6 kbp sequence extending from the gB to the DPOL gene was then determined with specific primers. All sequences (gB, DPOL and TERM) showed a close relationship with the corresponding genes of the Gammaherpesvirinae. Alignment of amino acid sequences revealed a particularly high percentage of identity with the ovine herpesvirus type 2 (>83%), followed by the alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (>76%) and the bovine lymphotropic herpesvirus (>61%). Phylogenetic analyses confirmed these relationships. The putative novel goat herpesvirus from which these sequences originate was tentatively designated caprine herpesvirus 2. This virus is the first gammaherpesvirus recognized in goats.

Genetic and ultrastructural characterization of a European isolate of the fatal endotheliotropic elephant herpesvirus.

A male Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) died at the Berlin zoological gardens in August 1998 of systemic infection with the novel endotheliotropic elephant herpesvirus (ElHV-1). This virus causes a fatal haemorrhagic disease in Asian elephants, the so-called endothelial inclusion body disease, as reported from North American zoological gardens. In the present work, ElHV-1 was visualized ultrastructurally in affected organ material. Furthermore, a gene block comprising the complete glycoprotein B (gB) and DNA polymerase (DPOL) genes as well as two partial genes was amplified by PCR-based genome walking and sequenced. The gene content and arrangement were similar to those of members of the Betaherpesvirinae. However, phylogenetic analysis with gB and DPOL consistently revealed a very distant relationship to the betaherpesviruses. Therefore, ElHV-1 may be a member of a new genus or even a new herpesvirus subfamily. The sequence information generated was used to set up a nested-PCR assay for diagnosis of suspected cases of endothelial inclusion body disease. Furthermore, it will aid in the development of antibody-based detection methods and of vaccination strategies against this fatal herpesvirus infection in the endangered Asian elephant.

Genome sequence of bovine herpesvirus 4, a bovine Rhadinovirus, and identification of an origin of DNA replication.

Bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is a gammaherpesvirus of cattle. The complete long unique coding region (LUR) of BoHV-4 strain 66-p-347 was determined by a shotgun approach. Together with the previously published noncoding terminal repeats, the entire genome sequence of BoHV-4 is now available. The LUR consists of 108,873 bp with an overall G+C content of 41.4%. At least 79 open reading frames (ORFs) are present in this coding region, 17 of them unique to BoHV-4. In contrast to herpesvirus saimiri and human herpesvirus 8, BoHV-4 has a reduced set of ORFs homologous to cellular genes. Gene arrangement as well as phylogenetic analysis confirmed that BoHV-4 is a member of the genus Rhadinovirus. In addition, an origin of replication (ori) in the genome of BoHV-4 was identified by DpnI assays. A minimum of 1.69 kbp located between ORFs 69 and 71 was sufficient to act as a cis signal for replication.

Identification and sequence analysis of the glycoprotein B gene of porcine cytomegalovirus.

Porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) is one of the pathogens that should be eliminated from pigs intended for use as organ donors in xenotransplantation. For this purpose, reliable diagnostic test systems are needed. To provide a basis for this goal and to analyse the evolutionary relationships of PCMV within the herpesvirus family, the putative glycoprotein B (gB) gene of PCMV was identified by assuming gene colinearity and a relative conservation of nucleotide sequences in comparison with closely related herpesviruses. Using this approach the complete nucleotide sequence of the PCMV gB gene was determined. A protein of 860 amino acids was deduced and a putative cleavage site, conserved cysteine residues, as well as potential N-terminal glycosylation motifs were identified. In a comparison of PCMV gB with the corresponding region of other herpesviruses, the highest identities were found with human herpesviruses 6 and 7 (HHV-6 and 7; 43.4% and 42.6%, respectively). Also in phylogenetic analysis, the PCMV gB clustered with HHV-6 and HHV-7. Between the complete gB sequences of five different PCMV strains and isolates from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan and Sweden, differences of 3.4% were found, indicating a considerable intra-species variation. The characterisation of the protein deduced from the identified gene provides further evidence that this is indeed the gB gene of PCMV and provides important taxonomical information regarding PCMV. The identification of the gB gene should facilitate the development of sensitive and robust diagnostic methods for the PCMV screening of pigs.

Characterization of the DNA polymerase loci of porcine cytomegaloviruses from diverse geographic origins.

Porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) is an undesired pathogen in pigs intended for use as organ donors in xenotransplantation. In the present work, we characterized the first set of genes of PCMV. From a German isolate, the DNA polymerase (DPOL) locus was amplified and two complete open reading frames (ORF) as well as two partial ORFs including the complete DPOL gene and the 3'-end of the glycoprotein gB gene were sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequences showed the highest identities with the respective proteins of the betaherpesviruses, in particular those (ORFs 36-39) of the human herpesviruses 6 and 7 (HHV-6 and -7). In phylogenetic analysis, PCMV clustered also with HHV-6 and HHV-7. On this basis, PCMV could be firmly classified to the Betaherpesvirinae and tentatively assigned to the genus Roseolovirus. In addition to the German isolate, the DPOL gene was analysed from a British and a Japanese strain as well as a Spanish isolate. Differences of 0.4 to 1% were found on the nucleotide and the amino acid level. On the basis of the conserved regions, primer pairs were selected for PCR which detected PCMV in blood and tissue samples from four European countries. Therefore, these are the first nucleic acid-based test systems which were shown to universally detect PCMV. The application of these assays to organs of domestic pigs from Germany revealed a PCMV prevalence of > 50%.

Unusual crystalline structures in photoreceptors of Lonchoplanella axi (Plathelminthes, Rhabdocoela, 'Typhloplanoida'): functional aspects and phylogenetic implications.

Lonchoplanella axi has a pair of small dot-like pigment-cup ocelli. Each eye is composed of a single cup cell and two sensory cells of the rhabdomeric type. The most conspicuous differentiations in the sensory cells are spindle-shaped crystalline structures accompanying the nuclei. These structures flank the dorsolateral, respectively ventrolateral side of the nucleus. It is supposed that these 'spindles' serve rather as an additional shading device than as dioptrics. Since such structures in photoreceptors have hitherto not been reported for representatives of the Plathelminthes, it is concluded that the spindle-shaped crystalline bodies in the eyes of Lonchoplanella axi are an autapomorphic feature of this species or even an autapomorphy of the taxon Mariplanellinae.

Cloning and sequencing of columbid circovirus (coCV), a new circovirus from pigeons.

The complete nucleotide sequence of columbid circovirus (CoCV) isolated from pigeons is described. CoCV was amplified using a consensus primer PCR approach directed against conserved sequences within the rep genes of vertebrate circoviruses. The genome of CoCV is circular and 2037 nt in size. It displays 55% homology to the genome of psittacine beak and feather disease virus and is more distantly related (< 40% homology) to porcine circovirus type 1 and 2. Two major open reading frames were identified, encoding the replicase and the putative capsid protein of CoCV. A region similar to the origin of replication of other circoviruses was found: it encompasses a stem-loop structure with the nonamer 5'-TAGTATTAC, conserved in circo-, nano- and geminiviruses. Phylogenetic analyses suggest classification of CoCV as member of the genus Circovirus of the virus family Circoviridae.

Bovine herpesvirus type 2 is closely related to the primate alphaherpesviruses.

Bovine herpesvirus type 2 (BoHV-2), also known as bovine mammillitis virus, is classified in the Family Herpesviridae, Subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae, and Genus Simplexvirus along with herpes simplex viruses type 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and other primate simplexviruses on the basis of similarities in 4 genes within the 15 kb U(L) 23-29 cluster. This could be explained either by a global similarity or a recombination event that brought primate herpesviral sequences into a bovine virus. Our sequences for DNA polymerase (U(L)30), a large gene adjacent to the previously identified conserved cluster, and glycoprotein G (U(S)4), a gene as distant from the cluster as possible on the circularized genome, confirm the close relationship between BoHV-2 and the primate simplexviruses, and argue for a global similarity and probably a close evolutionary relationship. Thus one can speculate that BoHV-2 may represent a greater hazard to humans than has been appreciated previously.