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[
Acta Trop,
1981]
Experimental filarial infections of Mastomys natalensis, strain GRA Giessen, with Litomosoides carinii, Dipetalonema viteae, Brugia malayi (subperiodic), and Brugia pahangi were compared. Mean prepatent periods of 52, 57, 107, and 73 days p.i. were observed after subcutaneous inoculation of 40, 50, 85, and 70 infective larvae of L. carinii, D. viteae, B. malayi, and B. pahangi, respectively, in the neck region. All of the L. Carinii, D. viteae, and B. pahangi infected Mastomys showed a regularly detectable microfilaraemia. In B. malayi infections 95.5% of the animals developed parasitaemias, when the larvae had been inoculated in the neck region, whereas after groin infections only in 66.7% of the animals became patient. For both Brugia species, infections in the groin resulted in considerably lower microfilarial levels. Maximum microfilariae densities could be detected at day 120 (L. carinii) and at day 1980 (D. viteae) p.i. In the case of Brugia neck infections, the microfilarial levels increased usually until the end of the observation period, 300-350 days p.i. Worm recovery rates were 63% (L. carinii), 20.6% (D. viteae), 21.1% (B. malayi), and 31.4% (B. pahangi) of the inoculated larvae. When third stage larvae of Brugia species were inoculated in the neck region, adults of B. malayi and B. pahangi were isolated predominantly from the heart of lungs (84.4 and 78.5%, respectively). Only 12.3% of B. pahangi parasites were found in the testes; 3.4% and 18.1% were localized in the lymphatics. After inoculation of infective larvae in the groin more worms could be recovered in the testes and lymphatics, i.e. 23.4% and 14.9% (B. malayi) or 19.1% and 45.2% (B.pahangi), respectively. The results are discussed under the aspect of chemotherapeutic investigations for the evaluation of microfilaricidal, macrofilaricidal or chemoprophylactic compounds. It is concluded, that Mastomys natalensis, an animal with a broad spectrum of susceptibility for filarial infections, can be used as an alternative experimental model system, similar to that of the jird.
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[
Worm Breeder's Gazette,
1994]
The C. elegans genome sequencing project: A progress report. The C. elegans Genome Consortium, Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA and Sanger Centre, Hinxton Hall, Cambridge, UK.
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[
Worm Breeder's Gazette,
1994]
The C. elegans genome sequencing project: A progress report. The C. elegans Genome Consortium, Genome Sequencing Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA and Sanger Centre, Hinxton Hall, Cambridge, UK.
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[
Genes (Basel),
2018]
Repetitive genome regions have been difficult to sequence, mainly because of the comparatively small size of the fragments used in assembly. Satellites or tandem repeats are very abundant in nematodes and offer an excellent playground to evaluate different assembly methods. Here, we compare the structure of satellites found in three different assemblies of the <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> genome: the original sequence obtained by Sanger sequencing, an assembly based on PacBio technology, and an assembly using Nanopore sequencing reads. In general, satellites were found in equivalent genomic regions, but the new long-read methods (PacBio and Nanopore) tended to result in longer assembled satellites. Important differences exist between the assemblies resulting from the two long-read technologies, such as the sizes of long satellites. Our results also suggest that the lengths of some annotated genes with internal repeats which were assembled using Sanger sequencing are likely to be incorrect.
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[
Genes (Basel),
2018]
<i>Caenorhabditis</i><i>elegans</i> is a valuable tool as an infection model toward the study of <i>Candida</i> species. In this work, we endeavored to develop a <i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i>-<i>Candida</i><i>parapsilosis</i> infection model by using the fungi as a food source. Three species of the C. parapsilosis complex (<i>C.</i><i>parapsilosis</i> (<i>sensu</i><i>stricto</i>), <i>Candida</i><i>orthopsilosis</i> and <i>Candida</i><i>metapsilosis</i>) caused infection resulting in <i>C. elegans</i> killing. All three strains that comprised the complex significantly diminished the nematode lifespan, indicating the virulence of the pathogens against the host. The infection process included invasion of the intestine and vulva which resulted in organ protrusion and hyphae formation. Importantly, hyphae formation at the vulva opening was not previously reported in <i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i>-<i>Candida</i> infections. Fungal infected worms in the liquid assay were susceptible to fluconazole and caspofungin and could be found to mount an immune response mediated through increased expression of <i>cnc</i>-<i>4</i>, <i>cnc</i>-<i>7</i>, and <i>fipr</i><i>-</i><i>22</i>/<i>23</i>. Overall, the <i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i>-<i>C</i>. <i>parapsilosis</i> infection model can be used to model <i>C</i>. <i>parapsilosis</i> host-pathogen interactions.
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[
Front Cell Infect Microbiol,
2021]
The yeast <i>Candida albicans</i> exhibits multiple morphologies dependent on environmental cues. <i>Candida albicans</i> biofilms are frequently polymicrobial, enabling interspecies interaction through proximity and contact. The interaction between <i>C. albicans</i> and the bacterium, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, is antagonistic <i>in vitro, with P. aeruginosa</i> repressing the yeast-to-hyphal switch in <i>C. albicans</i>. Previous transcriptional analysis of <i>C. albicans</i> in polymicrobial biofilms with <i>P. aeruginosa</i> revealed upregulation of genes involved in regulation of morphology and biofilm formation, including <i>SET3</i>, a component of the Set3/Hos2 histone deacetylase complex (Set3C). This prompted the question regarding the involvement of <i>SET3</i> in the interaction between <i>C. albicans</i> and <i>P. aeruginosa</i>, both <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo.</i> We found that <i>SET3</i> may influence early biofilm formation by <i>C. albicans</i> and the interaction between <i>C. albicans</i> and <i>P. aeruginosa</i>. In addition, although deletion of <i>SET3</i> did not alter the morphology of <i>C. albicans</i> in the presence of <i>P. aeruginosa</i>, it did cause a reduction in virulence in a <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> infection model, even in the presence of <i>P. aeruginosa.</i>
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[
Oxid Med Cell Longev,
2020]
Naringin is a dihydroflavonoid, which is rich in several plant species used for herbal medicine. It has a wide range of biological activities, including antineoplastic, anti-inflammatory, antiphotoaging, and antioxidative activities. So it would be interesting to know if naringin has an effect on aging and aging-related diseases. We examined the effect of naringin on the aging of <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> (<i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i>). Our results showed that naringin could extend the lifespan of <i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i>. Moreover, naringin could also increase the thermal and oxidative stress tolerance, reduce the accumulation of lipofuscin, and delay the progress of aging-related diseases in <i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i> models of AD and PD. Naringin could not significantly extend the lifespan of long-lived mutants from genes in insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) and nutrient-sensing pathways, such as <i>daf</i>-<i>2</i>, <i>akt</i>-<i>2</i>, <i>akt</i>-<i>1</i>, <i>eat</i>-<i>2</i>, <i>sir</i>-<i>2</i>.<i>1</i>, and <i>rsks</i>-<i>1</i>. Naringin treatment prolonged the lifespan of long-lived <i>glp</i>-<i>1</i> mutants, which have decreased reproductive stem cells. Naringin could not extend the lifespan of a null mutant of the fox-head transcription factor DAF-16. Moreover, naringin could increase the mRNA expression of genes regulated by <i>daf</i>-<i>16</i> and itself. In conclusion, we show that a natural product naringin could extend the lifespan of <i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i> and delay the progression of aging-related diseases in <i>C</i>. <i>elegans</i> models via DAF-16.
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[
Heliyon,
2019]
This study identified the endoparasites in Brown rat (<i>Rattus norvegicus)</i> during May to July 2017 in Grenada, West Indies. A total of 162 rats, 76 females and 86 males were trapped from St. George and St. David parishes in Grenada. The collected fecal samples were examined for parasitic eggs and/or oocysts using simple fecal flotation technique. Adult parasites found in the intestinal tract were examined for identification. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites among rats was 79 %. Ten helminth species were recovered, several of which were reported for the first time in rodents in Grenada. The internal parasites consist of seven nematodes (<i>Angiostrongylus</i> spp., <i>Nippostrongylus braziliensis</i>, <i>Heterakis spumosa</i>, <i>Strongyloides ratti</i>, <i>Aspiculuris tetraptera</i>, <i>Syphacia</i> spp. and <i>Protospirura</i> spp.), one cestode (<i>Hymenolepsis diminuta</i>), one acanthocephalan (<i>Moniliformis moniliformis</i>) and one protozoa species (<i>Eimeria</i> spp.). The most prevalent zoonotic species were <i>Angiostrongylus</i> spp. (35.2%), <i>Hymenolepsis diminuta</i> (7.4%) and <i>Moniliformis moniliformis</i> (3.1%). Several nonzoonotic endoparasites; which included <i>Nippostrongylus braziliensis</i> (50.6%), <i>Heterakis spumosa</i> (15.4%), <i>Strongyloides ratti</i> (43.2%), <i>Aspiculuris tetraptera</i> (2.5%), <i>Syphacia</i> spp<i>.</i> (1.9%), <i>Protospirura</i> spp. (1.2%) and <i>Eimeria</i> spp. (4.7%) were also identified. The most prevalent parasites were <i>Nippostrongylus brasiliensis</i> (50.6%), <i>Strongyloides ratti</i> (43.2%) and <i>Angiostrongylus spp.</i> (35.2%). Co-infections occurred with up to six species per rat showing different combinations of parasitic infections.
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Shu CY, Li CW, Ko WC, Su YC, Chen YW, Lee NY, Su SL, Wu CJ, Chen PL, Li MC, Lin YT
[
Appl Environ Microbiol,
2019]
The present study aimed to isolate <i>Aeromonas</i> from fish sold in the markets as well as in sushi and seafood shops and compare their virulence factors and antimicrobial characteristics with those of clinical isolates. Among the 128 fish isolates and 47 clinical isolates, <i>A. caviae</i>, <i>A. dhakensis</i>, and <i>A. veronii</i> were the principal species. <i>A. dhakensis</i> isolates carried at least 5 virulence genes, more than other <i>Aeromonas</i> species. The predominant genotype of virulence genes was <i>hlyA/lip/alt/col/el</i> in both <i>A. dhakensis</i> and <i>A. hydrophila</i> isolates, <i>alt/col/ela</i> in <i>A. caviae</i> isolates, and <i>act</i> in <i>A. veronii</i> isolates. <i>A. dhakensis</i>, <i>A. hydrophila</i>, and <i>A. veronii</i> isolates more often exhibited hemolytic and proteolytic activity and showed greater virulence than <i>A. caviae</i> in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> and the C2C12 cell line. However, the link between the genotypes and phenotypes of the studied virulence genes in <i>Aeromonas</i> species is not evident. Among the four major clinical <i>Aeromonas</i> species, nearly all (99.0%) <i>A. dhakensis</i>, <i>A. hydrophila</i>, and <i>A. veronii</i> isolates harbored <i>bla</i><sub>CphA</sub>, which encodes a carbapenemase, but only a minority (6.7%, 7/104) were nonsusceptible to carbapenem. Regarding AmpC -lactamase genes, <i>bla</i><sub>AQU-1</sub> was exclusively found in <i>A. dhakensis</i> isolates and <i>bla</i><sub>MOX3</sub> only in <i>A. caviae</i> isolates, but only 7.6% (6) of the 79 <i>Aeromonas</i> isolates carrying <i>bla</i><sub>AQU-1</sub> or <i>bla</i><sub>MOX3</sub> exhibited a cefotaxime resistance phenotype. In conclusion, fish <i>Aeromonas</i> isolates carry a variety of combinations of virulence and B-lactamase resistance genes and exhibit virulence phenotypes and antimicrobial resistance profiles similar to those of clinical isolates.<b>IMPORTANCE</b><i>Aeromonas</i> species can cause severe infections in immunocompromised individuals upon exposure to virulent pathogens in the environment, but the characteristics of environmental <i>Aeromonas</i> species remain unclear. Our study showed several pathogenic <i>Aeromonas</i> species possessing virulence traits and antimicrobial resistance similar to those of <i>Aeromonas</i> isolates causing clinical diseases were present in fish intended for human consumption in Tainan City.
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[
MicroPubl Biol,
2023]
In mice, mutation of <i>brca1</i> results in embryonic lethality, which is partially suppressed by <i>53bp1</i> mutation. In contrast, mutation of the <i>C. elegans</i> BRCA1 ortholog, <i>
brc-1 ,</i> or its binding partner, <i>
brd-1</i> , lead to only mild embryonic lethality. We show that in <i>C. elegans</i> , <i>
brc-1</i> and <i>
brd-1</i> embryonic lethality is enhanced when <i>53bp1</i> ortholog, <i>
hsr-9</i> , is also mutated. This is not a consequence of activating <i>
polq-1</i> -dependent microhomology-mediated end joining, as <i>
polq-1</i> mutation does not suppress embryonic lethality of <i>
hsr-9 ;
brc-1</i> mutants. Together, these results suggest that BRC-1 - BRD-1 and HSR-9 function in parallel pathways and do not act antagonistically as in mammals.