Search results for "Otus"
showing 10 items of 567 documents
Experimental Infection of Voles with Francisella tularensis Indicates Their Amplification Role in Tularemia Outbreaks
2014
Tularemia outbreaks in humans have been linked to fluctuations in rodent population density, but the mode of bacterial maintenance in nature is unclear. Here we report on an experiment to investigate the pathogenesis of Francisella tularensis infection in wild rodents, and thereby assess their potential to spread the bacterium. We infected 20 field voles (Microtus agrestis) and 12 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) with a strain of F. tularensis ssp. holarctica isolated from a human patient. Upon euthanasia or death, voles were necropsied and specimens collected for histological assessment and identification of bacteria by immunohistology and PCR. Bacterial excretion and a rapid lethal clinical …
Ecological Analysis of the Helminth Community of Microtus lusitanicus (Gerbe, 1879) (Rodentia) in Asturias (NW Spain)
2021
Simple Summary The Lusitanian pine vole is an endemic rodent of the Iberian Peninsula, which has a burrowing behaviour and prefers to live underground. It feeds on bark and roots causing severe damage to trees. In Asturias (NW Spain), this species is considered a pest causing economic losses in apple orchards, damaging the tree, and sometimes even causing its death. With the aim to shed light on the helminth community of this rodent pest species and to elucidate which intrinsic and extrinsic factors affect its helminth species, a faunistic-ecological study was carried out. For this purpose, our own collection of 710 voles from several orchards of various locations in Asturias was used. The …
Fungal Assemblages Associated with Roots of Halophytic and Non-halophytic Plant Species Vary Differentially Along a Salinity Gradient
2012
Structure of fungal communities is known to be influenced by host plants and environmental conditions. However, in most cases, the dynamics of these variation patterns are poorly understood. In this work, we compared richness, diversity, and composition between assemblages of endophytic and rhizospheric fungi associated to roots of two plants with different lifestyles: the halophyte Inula crithmoides and the non-halophyte I. viscosa (syn. Dittrichia viscosa L.), along a spatially short salinity gradient. Roots and rhizospheric soil from these plants were collected at three points between a salt marsh and a sand dune, and fungi were isolated and characterized by ITS rDNA sequencing. Isolates…
Presence and biodistribution of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Paracentrotus lividus highlight its potential application for environmental biomonit…
2021
AbstractThe first determination of presence and biodistribution of PFOA in ninety specimens of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus from two differently contaminated sites along Palermo’s coastline (Sicily) is reported. Analyses were performed on the sea urchins’ coelomic fluids, coelomocytes, gonads or mixed organs, as well as on seawater and Posidonia oceanica leaves samples from the collection sites. PFOA concentration ranged between 1 and 13 ng/L in seawater and between 0 and 794 ng/g in P. oceanica. The analyses carried out on individuals of P. lividus from the least polluted site (A) showed PFOA median values equal to 0 in all the matrices (coelomic fluid, coelomocytes and gonads). Conver…
Medicinal Mushrooms as Part of the "Third Mission" Activities of Univesities - A Science to Business Initiative Related to Mycotherapy
2021
In Italy, the National Agency for the Evaluation of the University System and Research (ANVUR) carries out a systematic evaluation of the "Third Mission" activities of universities and research bodies. In this perspective, universities already engaged in research on medicinal mushrooms and on their potential applications in the industrial sector set the frame for collaboration with large, well-reputed private companies. In Italy, one of the major problems of mycotherapy is related to lack of certification and the dubious origin/identity of mushroom extracts used by the industry. Hence, products deriving from medicinal mushrooms that are in trade do not often meet the required quality criter…
Localization of HSP70, Cdc2, and cyclin B in sea urchin oocytes in non-stressed conditions.
2003
In Paracentrotus lividus embryos, a Mediterranean sea urchin species, HSP70 is present in all the cells. During cell division it localizes under normal growth conditions on the centrosomes and on the whole isolated mitotic apparatus. Now, in situ hybridization, Western blot analyses, and immunohistochemistry show that the HSP70 mRNA is present in both small and large P. lividus oocytes, that all four isoforms of HSP70 can be found also in the oocytes, and that a certain amount of HSP70 localizes on asters and spindles during polar body formation. Moreover, two representative cell-cycle related proteins, cyclin B, and Cdc2, are present both in small and large oocytes, concentrating in the ge…
The effects of recreational Paracentrotus lividus fishing on distribution patterns of sea urchins at Ustica Island MPA (Western Mediterranean, Italy)
2006
This study evaluated the effects of recreational Paracentrotus lividus fishing on average density and size of this edible sea urchin, and its indirect effects on Arbacia lixula on barren substrates of Ustica Island MPA (SW Italy, Mediterranean Sea). Size, single and pooled species densities, density of large individuals (>40 mm long) and small individuals (<20 mm long) of the two species were estimated by scuba diving in autumn 2003, spring and summer 2004 at two sites impacted by P. lividus fishing (Punta Cavazzi and Pagliaro, take zone C) and one control (Cala Sidoti, no take zone). Two samplings were performed in each season. We found that reduced densities of P. lividus and A. lixula oc…
Sequence analysis of the rDNA spacer of Paracentrotus lividus and observations about pre-rRNA processing. NTS sequence of Paracentrotus lividus rDNA.
1993
We have isolated and sequenced one intergenic region and a small part of the flanking regions (18S and 26S rRNA coding regions) of the rRNA-encoding genes (rDNA) from the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. This region is about 3.8 Kb long. Northern blot hybridizations and S1 mapping experiments demonstrated the presence of a partially processed 21S rRNA precursor while has the same 5' terminus as the 32S primary precursor, also in developmental stages characterized by a low rate of rRNA synthesis.
Nuovi ospiti di Inonotus tamaricis (Hymenochaetaceae) in Sicilia
2010
L’autore segnala T. arborea var. arborea, T. africana var. fluminensis e T. rosea quali nuovi ospiti di Inonotus tamaricis, agente di carie bianca. Si tratta di tamerici coltivate e spontanee, ampiamente diffuse nel territorio, che vegetano in condizioni precarie e di stress principalmente a causa di interventi di potatura poco razionali e del forte inquinamento.