0000000000515283
AUTHOR
Rita Scardino
New distributional data on <em>Haemogregarina stepanowi</em> (Apicomplexa) and <em>Placobdella costata</em> (Hirudinea) parasitising the Sicilian pond turtle <em>Emys trinacris</em> (Testudines)
The host-parasite system “Emys trinacris – Placobdella costata – Haemogregarina stepanowi” is known for Sicily, but scarce information is available to date about the distribution of the two parasites on the island. Therefore, an extensive sampling effort through visual census and collection and analysis of blood smears of the endemic Sicilian pond turtle E. trinacris was carried out in 46 water bodies scattered throughout mainland Sicily. Our findings revealed that the distribution of both parasites is limited to the Nebrodi area, where the infection of H. stepanowi has shown a high incidence on the local turtle populations. Our data suggest no correlation between the current distribution o…
The good, the bad and the ugly: Emys trinacris, Placobdella costata and Haemogregarina stepanowi in Sicily (Testudines, Annelida and Apicomplexa)
Endemic Sicilian pond turtles Emys trinacris Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger et Wink were examined for the presence of haemogregarine parasites. The presence of haemogregarines, occurring mainly in the microgametocyte stage (13.2 ± 0.12 μm in length and 6.4 ± 0.52 μm in width), was observed in approximately 9% of the sampled E. trinacris. Based on the observed morphology and on the sequencing of nuclear 18S rDNA, we identified the parasite as Haemogregarina stepanowi Danilewsky, 1885. Morphometric study of uninfected and infected red blood cells has shown that H. stepanowi induces different changes in erythrocyte shape depending on the infective stage. The different…
Comparative Cytogenetics Allows the Reconstruction of Human Chromosome History: The Case of Human Chromosome 13
Comparative cytogenetics permits the identification of human chromosomal homologies and rearrangements between species, allowing the reconstruction of the history of each human chromosome. The aim of this work is to review evolutionary aspects regarding human chromosome 13. Classic and molecular cytogenetics using comparative banding, chromosome painting, and bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) mapping can help us formulate hypotheses about chromosome ancestral forms; more recently, sequence data have been integrated as well. Although it has been previously shown to be conserved when compared to the ancestral primate chromosome, it shows a degree of rearrangements in some primate taxa; fu…
Molecular Cytogenetic Characterization of the Sicilian Endemic Pond Turtle Emys trinacris and the Yellow-Bellied Slider Trachemys scripta scripta (Testudines, Emydidae)
Turtles, a speciose group consisting of more than 300 species, demonstrate karyotypes with diploid chromosome numbers ranging from 2n = 26 to 2n = 68. However, cytogenetic analyses have been conducted only to 1/3rd of the turtle species, often limited to conventional staining methods. In order to expand our knowledge of the karyotype evolution in turtles, we examined the topology of the (TTAGGG)n telomeric repeats and the rDNA loci by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on the karyotypes of two emydids: the Sicilian pond turtle, Emys trinacris, and the yellow-bellied slider, Trachemys scripta scripta (family Emydidae). Furthermore, AT-rich and GC-rich chromosome regions were detected …
Evolution of the human chromosome 13 synteny: Evolutionary rearrangements, plasticity, human disease genes and cancer breakpoints
The history of each human chromosome can be studied through comparative cytogenetic approaches in mammals which permit the identification of human chromosomal homologies and rearrangements between species. Comparative banding, chromosome painting, Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) mapping and genome data permit researchers to formulate hypotheses about ancestral chromosome forms. Human chromosome 13 has been previously shown to be conserved as a single syntenic element in the Ancestral Primate Karyotype