Safety of antibiotic drugs in food animals: comparison of findings from preapproval studies and postapproval experience in the United States with safety information in published literature.

Antibiotics are among the most widely prescribed drugs and are generally considered safe for the target species. However, their use has been associated with various adverse toxic effects in target animals, such as allergic reactions, gastrointestinal signs, cardiovascular effects, hypoglycemia, hepatic/renal toxicity, thrombocytopenia, and anaphylaxis. This article provides a qualitative summary of the adverse events observed in target animals during the evaluation of antibiotics by the Food and Drug Administration during both preapproval and postapproval periods.

The use of viral vectors in introducing genes into agricultural animal species.

The use of viral vectors is a method for introducing foreign genes into various animal species. Vectors based on retro-, adeno-, flavi-, and parvoviruses have been used for research in animal species of agricultural importance, such as chickens, quail, swine, cows, goats, sheep, fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Viral vectors allow for efficient transgenic integration into host genome or for transient expression of the transgenic construct in somatic tissues.

Differential activation of "social" and "solitary" variants of the Caenorhabditis elegans G protein-coupled receptor NPR-1 by its cognate ligand AF9.

Natural variations of wild Caenorhabditis elegans isolates having either Phe-215 or Val-215 in NPR-1, a putative orphan neuropeptide Y-like G protein-coupled receptor, result in either "social" or "solitary" feeding behaviors (de Bono, M., and Bargmann, C. I.