First case report of pustules associated with Escherichia fergusonii in the chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla aurita).

BACKGROUND: Escherichia fergusonii is a common conditionally pathogenic bacterium that infects humans and animals. E. fergusonii has been reported to cause diarrhea, respiratory disease, and septicemia, but it is rarely reported to cause skin infections in animals. E. fergusonii has been isolated from the skin and muscular tissue of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla aurita). To date, there have been no reports of Chinese pangolins with clinical signs of skin diseases. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report describes the clinical case of a subadult (bodyweight: 1.1 kg) female Chinese pangolin from wild rescue with pustules and subcutaneous suppurative infection due to E. fergusonii in the abdominal skin. Bacterial culture, Biochemical analysis, PCR and histopathology were utilized to identify the bacteria in the pustule puncture fluid and infected tissue. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of E. fergusonii-related pustules on a Chinese pangolin. CONCLUSION: This case report presents the first observed skin infection in a Chinese pangolin. E. fergusonii infection should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis of pustules and subcutaneous suppurative skin conditions in Chinese pangolins, and we also provide several recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Toxicity enhancement of nano titanium dioxide to Brachionus calyciflorus (Rotifera) under simulated sunlight and the underlying mechanisms.

Nano titanium dioxide (nTiO2) generally shows low toxicity to organisms under light-emitting diode (LED) light. However, nTiO2 can induce production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under ultraviolet (UV) light due to its photocatalytic activity. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect the enhancement of nTiO2 toxicity under sunlight. To test this hypothesis, we compared the toxicity of nTiO2 to Brachionus calyciflorus under simulated sunlight and LED light. The results showed that the 24 h-LC50 of nTiO2 to B. calyciflorus under LED light and simulated sunlight were 24.32 (95% CI: 14.54-46.81 mg/L) and 10.44 mg/L (95% CI: 6.74-17.09 mg/L), respectively. Compared with the blank control, treatments with nTiO2 significantly affected life-table demographic parameters, population growth parameters and swimming linear speed under both simulated sunlight and LED light. However, life expectancy, net reproductive rate, average lifespan, maximal population density, and swimming linear speed in the treatments of nTiO2 at 0.1, 1, and/or 10 mg/L showed markedly lower values under simulated sunlight than those under LED light, suggesting that simulated sunlight could enhance the toxicity of nTiO2. In addition, markedly higher catalase (CAT) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content but lower glutathione (GSH) content were observed in treatment with 10 mg/L nTiO2 under simulated sunlight than that under LED light. The results showed that compared with LED light, simulated sunlight significantly induced more oxidative stress in the presence of nTiO2, and the ROS production was mainly localized to the corona and digestive tract of rotifers by confocal laser scanning microscope. Exposure to 10-50 µM of vitamin C, that is an effective ROS scavenger, could rescue the swimming linear speed of rotifers to the normal level in the blank control. These results suggested that oxidative damages on cell membrane might be the vital mechanism underlying the toxicity enhancement of nTiO2 to rotifers under simulated sunlight. Thus, the previous publications under LED light may underestimate the real toxicity and environmental risk of nTiO2 in natural conditions.

Determining heavy metal pollution in sediments from the largest impounded lake in the eastern route of China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project: Ecological risks, sources, and implications for lake management.

The eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (ER-SNWDP) is a major human health project designed to alleviate the water scarcity in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China. Impounded lake water security is directly related to the water diversion project effectiveness. At present, there is not a thorough understanding of the sediment heavy metals in Lake Hongze, the largest impounded lake of the ER-SNWDP. Consequently, this study reports a distribution analysis of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, As, Hg, and Ni in 101 sediment samples from Lake Hongze; we, utilized the enrichment factor, geoaccumulation index, and potential ecological risk index for the are to determine the ecological risk of heavy metals. The heavy metal source was examined with correlation analysis and principal component analysis-multiple linear regressions. The results showed that the average heavy metal content (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, As, Hg, Ni) were 0.03-1.57 times greater than the Jiangsu Province background values. Cd, As, and Hg were the main contributors to the Lake Hongze ecological risk. Spatially, the open water area was the most polluted among the four lake parts, and most of the flushing area had a low ecological risk. Chengzi bay and the western lake area have similar risk profiles, but are lower than the open water area risk. Source analysis showed that nonpoint-source agricultural pollution and industrial production were important pollution sources, while a considerable portion of the heavy metal content came from atmospheric deposition and natural sources. This study identified the main contamination areas and revealed the possible sources of each heavy metal; as such, this study can serve as a reference for the remediation and management of Lake Hongze to ensure the water safety of the ER-SNWDP.

Phylogenetic relationship of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla aurita) revealed by complete mitochondrial genome.

The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is an extremely endangered species, it has been banned from international trade due to a sharp decline of the population number in China. It is difficult to distinguish among subspecies, thus making it entangled in law enforement. In order to clarify this chaos, we determined and annotated the whole mtDNA genome of the Chinese pangolin. The complete mitogenome is 16 573 bp in length, includeing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and one control region. We built the phylogenetic tree of Chinese pangolinand other 7 most related Manis species.