The protective effects of melatonin on survival, immune response, digestive enzymes activities and intestinal microbiota diversity in Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) exposed to glyphosate
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY C-TOXICOLOGY & PHARMACOLOGY
Authors: Song, Yameng; Song, Xiaozhe; Wu, Mengyao; Pang, Yangyang; Shi, Aoya; Shi, Xingliang; Niu, Chao; Cheng, Yongxu; Yang, Xiaozhen
Abstract
Glyphosate is one of the most widely used pesticides, which can cause toxicity to aquatic animals. In this study, the survival rate, immune response, digestive enzyme activities, and the intestinal microbiota diversity of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) were evaluated after 14 days of exposure to glyphosate (48.945 mg/L from 50% 96 h LC50 value) and melatonin feeding (80 mg/kg). The results showed that MT significantly improved the survival rate, antibacterial capacity of E. sinensis (P < 0.05). After exposure to glyphosate, the expression of Hsp60, Hsp70 and Hsp90 in cranial ganglia and thoracic ganglia was decreased significantly, but MT significantly raised the expression of these proteins (P < 0.05). Glyphosate significantly decreased lipase activity compared with the control group (P < 0.05), while melatonin significantly increased the lipase, amylase and trypsin activities (P < 0.05). Melatonin significantly increased the Chaol and Shannon index and the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes (P < 0.05). This study shows that melatonin has a protective effect on the glyphosate exposed E. sinensis.
Comparative PCR-based diagnosis for the detection of Leishmania infantum in naturally infected dogs
ACTA TROPICA
Authors: Marcelino, Andreza Pain; de Souza Filho, Job Alves; de Valgas e Bastos, Camila; Ribeiro, Simone Rodrigues; Cardoso Medeiros, Fernanda Alvarenga; Reis, Ilka Afonso; Mariano da Rocha Lima, Ana Cristina Vianna; Barbosa, Jose Ronaldo; Paz, Gustavo Fontes; Ferreira Gontijo, Celia Maria
Abstract
The applicability of molecular biology/PCR for canine visceral leishmaniasis diagnosis presents challenges, mainly due to the diversity of targets described. The objectives of this study were to compare the sensitivities and reliability of five targets (kDNA/120, kDNA/145, ITS1, hsp70/234 and hsp70/1300) in four different tissue samples (bone marrow, popliteal lymph node, skin and conjunctival swab). Sixty-five dogs (32 males and 33 females) naturally infected with Leishmania infantum and ten dogs without infection were examined. Dogs were characterized by serological and parasitological methods. The parasitological test was considered the gold standard for analysis. All tests presented high specificity 100% (95% CI 0.72-1), and variable sensitivity. The targets kDNA/145, ITS1, kDNA/120, hsp70/234 and hsp70/1300 detected 100% (65/65), 93.4% (61/65), 92.3% (60/65), 84.61% (55/65) and 72.3% (77/65) of positive animals respectively. The performance of PCR methods was analyzed in two different scenarios. The highest sensitivity value identified in all scenarios studied was kDNA/145. Our results suggest that popliteal lymph node and conjunctival swab samples, besides being less invasive collections, represent a good substratum for PCR-based diagnosis, and the target kDNA/145 is the best choice for detecting L. infantum DNA in naturally infected dogs.