Linguatula serrata (Frölich, 1789) is a widespread parasite known as the tongue worm belonging to the family Linguatulidae. The adult form of the parasite is usually located in the upper respiratory ...tract of domestic and wild carnivores while the larval forms are located in the visceral organs of intermediate hosts (various herbivorous mammals). Twenty-four European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) were examined in this study, of which two were positive with L. serrata nymphs. The collected nymphs were examined morphologically using electron-microscopic analysis and molecularly by amplification of 18S rRNA and COX1 genes. Lung tissue samples were also collected and histopathological examination was performed. Histopathological examination revealed the following lesions: generalized inflammatory oedema, granulomas with necrosis, calcification and fibrosis in the bronchial tree. The results of molecular sequencing for L. serrata specimens collected from the European brown hares are deposited in GenBank. This study presents the first report on Linguatula serrata nymphs collected from L. europaeus in Romania, using molecular and morphological characterization simultaneously.
Since summer 2010, numerous cases of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) have been reported in north-western France both in rabbitries, affecting RHD-vaccinated rabbits, and in wild populations. We ...demonstrate that the aetiological agent was a lagovirus phylogenetically distinct from other lagoviruses and which presents a unique antigenic profile. Experimental results show that the disease differs from RHD in terms of disease duration, mortality rates, higher occurrence of subacute/chronic forms and that partial cross-protection occurs between RHDV and the new RHDV variant, designated RHDV2. These data support the hypothesis that RHDV2 is a new member of the Lagovirus genus. A molecular epidemiology study detected RHDV2 in France a few months before the first recorded cases and revealed that one year after its discovery it had spread throughout the country and had almost replaced RHDV strains. RHDV2 was detected in continental Italy in June 2011, then four months later in Sardinia.
Rabbits have been used as urologic models in many studies. The aim of this study was to characterize the renal morphology and anatomical variations of the renal pedicle in rabbit. The research ethics ...committee of Rio de Janeiro Federal Rural University approved this study. The animals were obtained from the university's necropsy unit. Dissections were performed in 50 adult rabbits, male and females, without macroscopic renal pathology. Kidney measurements were made with a digital caliper: length, width, and thickness. The length and origin of the renal arteries and main branches and length of the renal veins were also determined. The terminology of Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria was followed. The mean and standard deviation of the length of the right kidney was 3.150 + or - 0.2588 cm in males and 3.127 + or - 0.3769 cm in females and in the left kidney was 3.083 + or - 0.0818 cm in males and 3.162 + or - 0.0848 cm in females. The width of the right kidney was 1.933 + or - 0.0848 cm in males and 1.996 + or - 0.0680 cm in females and in the left kidney was 1.850 + or - 0.0659 cm in males and 2.004 + or - 0.0940 cm in females. There was no significant difference in the measurements between the two sexes and antimeres and in the measures of renal vessels in relation to sex, but the left artery and renal vein were always larger than the right in both sexes. The results of the present study are expected to contribute to the body of knowledge in the field of comparative and applied anatomy. KEY WORDS: Blood vessels; Kidney; Measurements; Variability; Rabbit. Los conejos se han utilizado como modelos urologicos en muchas investigaciones. El objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar la morfologia renal y variaciones anatomicas del pediculo renal en el conejo. El comite de etica de la investigacion de Rio de Janeiro Universidad Federal Rural aprobo este estudio. Los animales se obtuvieron de unidad de necropsia de la universidad. Las disecciones se realizaron en 50 conejos adultos, machos y hembras, sin patologia renal macroscopica. Se realizaron con un calibrador digital las siguientes mediciones en el rinon : longitud, ancho y grosor. Tambien se determinaron la longitud y el origen de las arterias renales y ramas principales y longitud de las venas renales. Se siguio la terminologia de Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria. La Media y DE de la longitud del rinon derecho fue 3,150 + or - 0,2588 cm en machos y 3,127 + or - 0,3769 cm en hembras y en el rinon izquierdo fue 3,083 + or - 0,0818 cm en machos y 3,162 + or - 0,0848 cm en hembras. El ancho del rinon derecho fue 1,933+0,0848 cm en machos y 1,996 + or - 0,0680 cm en las hembras y en el rinon izquierdo fue 1,850 + or - 0,0659 cm en machos y 2,004 + or - 0,0940 cm en hembras. No hubo diferencias significativas en las mediciones entre los dos sexos y los antimeros, asi como en las medidas de los vasos renales en relacion con el sexo; pero la arteria y vena renal izquierda fueron siempre mayores que las del lado derecho en ambos sexos. Se espera con los resultados del presente estudio contribuir al conocimientos en el campo de la anatomia comparada y aplicada. PALABRAS CLAVE: Vasos sanguineos; Rinones; Mediciones; Variabilidad; Conejo.
In the 1950s the myxoma virus was released into European rabbit populations in Australia and Europe, decimating populations and resulting in the rapid evolution of resistance. We investigated the ...genetic basis of resistance by comparing the exomes of rabbits collected before and after the pandemic. We found a strong pattern of parallel evolution, with selection on standing genetic variation favoring the same alleles in Australia, France, and the United Kingdom. Many of these changes occurred in immunity-related genes, supporting a polygenic basis of resistance. We experimentally validated the role of several genes in viral replication and showed that selection acting on an interferon protein has increased the protein's antiviral effect.
The genetic changes underlying the initial steps of animal domestication are still poorly understood. We generated a high-quality reference genome for the rabbit and compared it to resequencing data ...from populations of wild and domestic rabbits. We identified more than 100 selective sweeps specific to domestic rabbits but only a relatively small number of fixed (or nearly fixed) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for derived alleles. SNPs with marked allele frequency differences between wild and domestic rabbits were enriched for conserved noncoding sites. Enrichment analyses suggest that genes affecting brain and neuronal development have often been targeted during domestication. We propose that because of a truly complex genetic background, tame behavior in rabbits and other domestic animals evolved by shifts in allele frequencies at many loci, rather than by critical changes at only a few domestication loci.
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