Correlation Between Infection and the Nasal Mycobiota in a Population of Free-Ranging Koalas () in New South Wales, Australia.

Cryptococcosis is a fungal disease in humans and animals, caused by the and species complexes. Clinical cryptococcosis primarily manifests as upper respiratory tract disease; however, dissemination to other organs, particularly the brain, can occur. Nasal colonisation and subclinical cryptococcosis are common in koalas () due to their shared environmental niche with : trees.

Koala MHCII association with chlamydia infertility remains equivocal: a need for new research approaches.

Chlamydiosis is a common infectious disease impacting koalas and is a major cause of population decline due to resulting mortality and infertility. Polymorphisms of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes influence chlamydial disease outcomes in several species but koala studies have produced variable results. We aimed to identify the MHC II DAB and DBB repertoire of koalas from Liverpool Plains, NSW, a population heavily impacted by chlamydiosis.

Zoonotic feline sporotrichosis: a small case cluster in Perth, Western Australia, and a review of previous feline cases from Australia.

Sporotrichosis is caused by species of the fungus Sporothrix that affect human and several animal species. The transmission of sporotrichosis is classically from an environmental source following penetrating injury. The alternative zoonotic route has gained attention due to the rapid and significant spread of cat-transmitted sporotrichosis in South America and Malaysia, resulting in several thousand human and feline cases in recent decades, especially in Brazil.

Algorithm Development and Early Performance Evaluation of a Next-Generation Multitarget Stool DNA Screening Test for Colorectal Cancer.

Background And Aims: The multitarget stool DNA (mt-sDNA) assay is a noninvasive average-risk colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test. A new biomarker panel was developed for a next-generation test to improve specificity while maintaining/increasing sensitivity. We aimed first to establish an algorithm and cutoff for the next-generation mt-sDNA test and then to validate it using archived samples from the pivotal DeeP-C study (NCT01397747) of the first-generation test.

Reversing the decline of threatened koala () populations in New South Wales: Using genomics to enhance conservation outcomes.

Genetic management is a critical component of threatened species conservation. Understanding spatial patterns of genetic diversity is essential for evaluating the resilience of fragmented populations to accelerating anthropogenic threats. Nowhere is this more relevant than on the Australian continent, which is experiencing an ongoing loss of biodiversity that exceeds any other developed nation.

The CARD9 Gene in Koalas (): Does It Play a Role in the -Koala Interaction?

is a genus of fungal pathogens that can infect and cause disease in a range of host species and is particularly prominent in koalas (). Like other host species, koalas display a range of outcomes upon exposure to environmental from external nasal colonization to asymptomatic invasive infection and, in rare cases, severe clinical disease resulting in death. Host factors contributing to these varied outcomes are poorly understood.

Hot climate, hot koalas: the role of weather, behaviour and disease on thermoregulation.

Thermoregulation is critical for endotherms living in hot, dry conditions, and maintaining optimal core body temperature () in a changing climate is an increasingly challenging task for mammals. Koalas () have evolved physiological and behavioural strategies to maintain homeostasis and regulate their but are thought to be vulnerable to prolonged heat. We investigated how weather, behaviour and disease influence for wild, free-living koalas during summer in north-west New South Wales.

Novel typing scheme reveals emergence and genetic diversity of Chlamydia pecorum at the local management scale across two koala populations.

To overcome shortcomings in discriminating Chlamydia pecorum strains infecting the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) at the local level, we developed a novel genotyping scheme for this pathogen to inform koala management at a fine-scale subpopulation level. We applied this scheme to two geographically distinct koala populations in New South Wales, Australia: the Liverpool Plains and the Southern Highlands to South-west Sydney (SHSWS). Our method provides greater resolution than traditional multi-locus sequence typing, and can be used to monitor strain emergence, movement, and divergence across a range of fragmented habitats.

A case of disseminated cryptococcosis with abdominal involvement due to Cryptococcus neoformans species complex in a Ragdoll cat and false-negative cryptococcal antigen lateral flow tests due to the postzone phenomenon.

Although cryptococcosis is the most common systemic fungal disease of cats, abdominal involvement is rarely reported. The pathogenesis of cryptococcosis usually involves sinonasal colonisation, followed by tissue invasion and sinonasal infection, with possible subsequent spread to the lungs and/or direct extension into the central nervous system (CNS), for example, via the cribriform plate. Further haematogenous spread can occur to any tissue, including skin and the CNS.

A novel multi-variate immunological approach, reveals immune variation associated with environmental conditions, and co-infection in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

External signs of disease are frequently used as indicators of disease susceptibility. However, immune profiling can be a more effective indicator to understand how host responses to infection may be shaped by host, pathogen and environmental factors. To better inform wildlife health assessment and research directions, we investigated the utility of a novel multivariate immunophenotyping approach examining innate and adaptive immune responses in differing climatic, pathogen co-infection and demographic contexts across two koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in New South Wales: the Liverpool Plains (LP), and Southern Highlands to South-west Sydney (SHSWS).

Algorithm Training and Testing for a Nonendoscopic Barrett's Esophagus Detection Test in Prospective Multicenter Cohorts.

Background & Aims: Endoscopic Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) detection is invasive and expensive. Nonendoscopic BE/EAC detection tools are guideline-endorsed alternatives. We previously described a 5-methylated DNA marker (MDM) panel assayed on encapsulated sponge cell collection device (CCD) specimens.

Next-generation Multi-target Stool DNA Panel Accurately Detects Colorectal Cancer and Advanced Precancerous Lesions.

Unlabelled: The multi-target stool DNA (mt-sDNA) test screens for colorectal cancer by analyzing DNA methylation/mutation and hemoglobin markers to algorithmically derive a qualitative result. A new panel of highly discriminant candidate methylated DNA markers (MDM) was recently developed. Performance of the novel MDM panel, with hemoglobin, was evaluated in a simulated screening population using archived stool samples weighted to early-stage colorectal cancer and prospectively collected advanced precancerous lesions (APL).

Review of exosomes and their potential for veterinary medicine.

Small extracellular vesicles called exosomes are released by almost all cell types and play a crucial role in both healthy and pathological circumstances. Exosomes, found in biological fluids (including plasma, urine, milk, semen, saliva, abdominal fluid and cervical vaginal fluid) and ranging in size from 50 to 150 nm, are critical for intercellular communication. Analysis of exosomal cargos, including micro RNAs (miRNAs), proteins and lipids, has been proposed as valuable diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of disease.

Expanding the known distribution of phascolartid gammaherpesvirus 1 in koalas to populations across Queensland and New South Wales.

Koala populations across the east coast of Australia are under threat of extinction with little known about the presence or distribution of a potential pathogen, phascolartid gammaherpesvirus 1 (PhaHV-1) across these threatened populations. Co-infections with PhaHV-1 and Chlamydia pecorum may be common and there is currently a limited understanding of the impact of these co-infections on koala health. To address these knowledge gaps, archived clinical and field-collected koala samples were examined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction to determine the distribution of PhaHV-1 in previously untested populations across New South Wales and Queensland.

Cytoarchitectonic and connection stripes in the dysgranular insular cortex in the macaque monkey.

The insula has been classically divided into broad granular, dysgranular, and agranular architectonic sectors. We previously proposed a novel partition, dividing each sector into four to seven sharply delimited architectonic areas, with the dysgranular areas being possibly further subdivided into subtle horizontal partitions or "stripes." In architectonics, discrete subparcellations are prone to subjective variability and need being supported with additional neuroanatomical methods.

Genetic markers of Chlamydia pecorum virulence in ruminants support short term host-pathogen evolutionary relationships in the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus.

In ruminants infected with Chlamydia pecorum, shorter lengths of coding tandem repeats (CTR) within two genes, the inclusion membrane protein (incA) and Type III secretor protein (ORF663), have been previously associated with pathogenic outcomes. In other chlamydial species, the presence of a chlamydial plasmid has been linked to heightened virulence, and the plasmid is not ubiquitous in C. pecorum across the koala's range.

Efficacy of a synthetic peptide Chlamydia pecorum major outer membrane protein vaccine in a wild koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) population.

Chlamydiosis is a significant disease affecting Eastern Australian koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations, impacting individual animal welfare and fecundity and therefore influencing population dynamics. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a synthetic peptide vaccine based on 4 components of the Chlamydia pecorum major outer membrane protein (MOMP), over an 18-month period in a koala population severely impacted by chlamydiosis. Wild koalas were recruited into a vaccination or a placebo treatment group on a random allocation, then followed through a period of 18 months, with recapture at 6 monthly intervals.

Serum proteome profiles in cats with chronic enteropathies.

Background: Serum protein biomarkers are used to diagnose, monitor treatment response, and to differentiate various forms of chronic enteropathies (CE) in humans. The utility of liquid biopsy proteomic approaches has not been examined in cats.

Hypothesis/objectives: To explore the serum proteome in cats to identify markers differentiating healthy cats from cats with CE.

Immunohistochemical analysis of expression of VEGFR2, KIT, PDGFR-β, and CDK4 in canine urothelial carcinoma.

Urothelial carcinomas (UCs), also known as transitional cell carcinomas, are the most common canine urinary tract neoplasms. Tyrosine kinases (TKs) are enzymes that tightly regulate cell growth and differentiation through phosphorylation. Receptor TK (RTK) inhibitors are currently used to treat UCs.

Patch quality and habitat fragmentation shape the foraging patterns of a specialist folivore.

Research on use of foraging patches has focused on why herbivores visit or quit patches, yet little is known about visits to patches over time. Food quality, as reflected by higher nutritional quality and lower plant defenses, and physical patch characteristics, which offer protection from predators and weather, affect patch use and hence should influence their revisitation. Due to the potentially high costs of moving between patches, fragmented habitats are predicted to complicate foraging decisions of many animals.

A Possible Link between the Environment and Nasal Colonisation in Koalas () in the Liverpool Plains, New South Wales.

Cryptococcosis caused by yeasts of the species complex is an increasingly important mycological disease in humans and other mammals. In Australia, cases of -related cryptococcosis are more prevalent in the koala () compared to humans and other animals, likely due to the close association that both and koalas have with species. This provides a cogent opportunity to investigate the epidemiology of spontaneous infections in a free-living mammalian host, thereby offering insights into similar infections in humans.

Colonization in Dogs Is as in Humans.

Pneumocystis is an atypical fungus that resides in the pulmonary parenchyma of many mammals, including humans and dogs. Immunocompetent human hosts are usually asymptomatically colonised or show subtle clinical signs, but some immunocompromised people can develop florid life-threatening Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). Since much less is known concerning Pneumocystis in dogs, we posit the question: can Pneumocystis colonization be present in dogs with inflammatory airway or lung disease caused by other pathogens or disease processes? In this study, Pneumocystis DNA was detected in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of 22/255 dogs (9%) with respiratory distress and/or chronic cough.