Search results for "Animal"

The mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 pathway is conserved in metazoans: Cloning and activation of p38 of the SAPK2 subfamily from the sponge Sube…

2000

Our recent data suggest that during auto- and allograft recognition in sponges (Porifera), cytokines are differentially expressed. Since the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction modulates the synthesis and release of cytokines, we intended to identify one key molecule of this pathway. Therefore, a cDNA from the marine sponge Suberites domuncula encoding the MAPK was isolated and analyzed. Its encoded protein is 366 amino acids long (calculated Mr 42 209), has a TGY dual phosphorylation motif in protein kinase subdomain VIII and displays highest overall similarity to the mammalian p38 stress activated protein kinase (SAPK2), one subfamily of MAPKs. The sponge protein w…

Conservation of the positions of metazoan introns from sponges to humans

2002

Abstract Sponges (phylum Porifera) are the phylogenetic oldest Metazoa still extant. They can be considered as reference animals (Urmetazoa) for the understanding of the evolutionary processes resulting in the creation of Metazoa in general and also for the metazoan gene organization in particular. In the marine sponge Suberites domuncula , genes encoding p38 and JNK kinases contain nine and twelve introns, respectively. Eight introns in both genes share the same positions and the identical phases. One p38 intron slipped for six bases and the JNK gene has three more introns. However, the sequences of the introns are not conserved and the introns in JNK gene are generally much longer. Intron…

Regulation of motility of cells from marine sponges by calcium ions

1996

Sponges are known not to contain muscle and nerve cells. Since sponge cells are characterized by high motility we determined the effect of intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca2+]i) on their motility. Addition of the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin to dissociated cells from the marine sponge Suberites domuncula caused in Ca(2+)-containing artificial seawater (ASW) an increase in motility from 0.2 micron/min (absence of the ionophore) to 3.7 microns/min (presence of ionomycin). When the experiments were performed in Ca(2+)-free medium, no effect of ionomycin could be observed. In parallel experiments the changes of [Ca2+]i using the dye Fura-2 were measured. The experiments revealed that ion…

First report on the helminthfauna of the yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis, in the Iberian Peninsula

2016

Summary Information about the prevalence of helminth parasites of the yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis, in the Iberian Peninsula is almost non-existent and there is no reliable data reported from Spain. Fourteen A. flavicollis from the Erro River valley (Navarre, Spain) were examined for endoparasites, between February 2001 and July 2002. Thirteen specimens (92.9 %) of the total sample were parasitized by at least one of the following six helminth species: one trematode (Corrigia vitta), one cestode (Taenia parva larvae) and four nematodes (Trichuris muris, Calodium hepaticum, Heligmosomoides polygyrus and Syphacia stroma). This is the first report about the helminthfauna of A. fla…

Low-level environmental metal pollution is associated with altered gut microbiota of a wild rodent, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus)

2021

Mining and related industries are a major source of metal pollution. In contrast to the well-studied effects of ex-posure to metals on animal physiology and health, the impacts of environmental metal pollution on the gut mi-crobiota of wild animals are virtually unknown. As the gut microbiota is a key component of host health, it is important to understand whether metal pollution can alter wild animal gut microbiota composition. Using a combination of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and quantification of metal levels in kidneys, we assessed whether multi-metal exposure (the sum of normalized levels of fifteen metals) was associated with changes in gut microbiota of wild bank voles (Myodes glar…

Gestalt Animal Assisted Psychotherapy.Incontri eterospecifici in psicoterapia

2014

Zooantrolopogia clinica: presupposti epistemologici e contesti applicativi

2014

La genitorialità eterospecifica.Analisi descrittiva delle forme genitoriali uomo-animale in un'ottica zooantropologica

2014

Terrestrial carbohydrates support freshwater zooplankton during phytoplankton deficiency

2016

Article

Phosphorus limitation enhances parasite impact: feedback effects at the population level

2014

Background Nutrient deficiency affects the growth and population dynamics of consumers. Endoparasites can be seen as consumers that drain carbon (C) or energy from their host while simultaneously competing for limiting resources such as phosphorus (P). Depending on the relative demands of the host and the parasite for the limiting nutrient, intensified resource competition under nutrient limitation can either reduce the parasite’s effect on the host or further reduce the fitness of the nutrient-limited host. So far, knowledge of how nutrient limitation affects parasite performance at the host population level and how this affects the host populations is limited. Results We followed the popu…