Laboratório de Antropologia Forense do Instituto de Medicina Legal, Departamento de Polícia Técnica da Polícia Civil do Distrito Federal, Universidade de Brasília, 70610-200, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Published: September 2015
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Little is known regarding the scavenger fauna associated with buried human corpses, particularly in clandestine burials. We report the presence of 20 shells of the terrestrial snail Allopeas micra, within hollow bones of human remains buried for 5 years, during the process of collecting DNA material. The fact that a large number of shells of A. micra had been found in the corpse and in the crime scene supports the assumption that there was no attempt to remove the corpse from the area where the crime occurred. Despite this, our observations cannot be used to estimate the postmortem interval because there is no precise knowledge about the development of this species. This is the first record of a terrestrial snail associated with a human corpse and its role in this forensic medicine case.
Background: Biomphalaria glabrata acts as the intermediate host of schistosomes that causes human schistosomiasis. Symbiotic bacteria, Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus associated with Steinernema and Heterorhabditis, produce secondary metabolites with several biological activities. Controlling B.
Malaysian fire snails , face threats to their environment, including habitat destruction and the illegal wildlife trade. Captive breeding projects are likely to play a role in the survival of this species; however, mortality in captive populations potentially presents a significant challenge. This paper presents the results of histopathologic examination of tissues from 10 casualties in a captive population at Chester Zoo.
Although invertebrate herbivores commonly impact terrestrial plant diseases by facilitating transmission of plant pathogens and increasing host susceptibility to infection via wounding, less is known about the role of herbivores in marine plant disease dynamics. Importantly, transmission via herbivores may not be required in the ocean since saline ocean waters support pathogen survival and transmission. Through laboratory experiments with eelgrass (Zostera marina), we showed that isopods (Pentidotea wosnesenskii) and snails (Lacuna spp.
Animal Systematics Research Unit, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. E-mail: (Pholyotha); (Sutcharit).
The terrestrial semislug genus, which belongs to the Helicarionidae family, includes nine species found in Thailand and Myanmar, with two species based solely on shell characteristics.
The taxonomy of these species is discussed using comparative morphology, leading to revised descriptions for four existing species, and the reclassification of another species into this genus.
Two new species, Pholyotha & Panha, sp. nov., are introduced, and unique shell and genital features are highlighted as distinguishing factors, with only one species lacking a dart apparatus.
Accumulated data indicate that epigenetic regulations, including histone modifications and DNA methylation, are important means for adjusting the expression of genes in response to various stimuli. In contrast to the success in studying the role of DNA methylation in laboratory rodents, the role of DNA methylation in the terrestrial snail has been studied only in behavioral experiments. This prompted us to further investigate the role of DNA methylation and the interaction between DNA methylation and histone acetylation in the mechanisms of neuroplasticity in terrestrial snails using in vitro experiments.
