Background: Scabies, caused by infestation of the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, is one of the most severe ectoparasitic diseases in rabbits. Scabies seriously affects the commercial rabbit breeding, causing severe economic losses. Host resistance to S. scabiei is an important factor in further development of the rabbit industry. In the present study, we compared the host resistance to S. scabiei var. cuniculi of a new breed of domestic rabbit propagated by the Sichuan Animal Sciences Academy (QiXing rabbit, QX) compared with that of a traditional rabbit breed in the domestic rabbit industry (IRA rabbit, IRA).
Methods: Both QX and IRA rabbits were experimentally infested with live S. scabiei var. cuniculi mites for 48 h. Then, during the course of four-week experimental infestation period, the body weight of rabbits was recorded every two weeks for calculating body-weight variations in comparison to the non-infested control rabbits. Skin lesions in the foot area were assessed on weekly basis and serum samples were tested weekly for the estimation of changes in the total antibody levels (IgG, IgE and IgM). Moreover, DNA extracted from the blood samples was amplified for analysis of the genetic diversity in the major histocompatibility complex, class II, DQ Alpha (MHC-DQA) gene.
Results: Compared to the IRA rabbits, the QX rabbits showed a significantly higher (P < 0.05) relative body weight gain compared to the non-infested control rabbits and significantly lower (P < 0.05) scores for foot skin lesions and higher levels of IgG, IgE and IgM at weeks 1 to 4, week 2 and week 1 post-infestation, respectively. Furthermore, a polymorphism site at position 103 bp of exon two of MHC-DQA gene and a different gene frequency were found between two rabbit breeds, suggesting the genetic basis for the differential host resistance to the S. scabiei var. cuniculi between two rabbit breeds.
Conclusions: The QX rabbits showed higher host resistance to S. scabiei var. cuniculi compared to the IRA rabbits at the clinical, immunological and genetic levels. These results provide a reference for the breeding of rabbits with adequately improved and sustained host resistance to scabies in the domestic rabbit industry.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6842134 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3764-5 | DOI Listing |
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
December 2024
Hangzhou Normal University, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 2318 Yuhangtang Rd, 311121, Hangzhou, CHINA.
As a unique property of the interlocked structures, rotaxane allows for intramolecular motions between its wheel and axle components. Introduction of rotaxanes into polymers can endow them with distinctive macroscopic features and outstanding mechanical properties. Here, we prepare a copillar[5]arene with a hydroxyl and an amino-group on each end, which can spontaneously form a pseudo[1]rotaxane through intramolecular hydrogen bonds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFmBio
December 2024
College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
Bacteriophages, known for their ability to kill bacteria, are hampered in their effectiveness because bacteria are able to rapidly develop resistance, thereby posing a significant challenge for the efficacy of phage therapy. The impact of evolutionary trajectories on the long-term success of phage therapy remains largely unclear. Herein, we conducted evolutionary experiments, genomic analysis, and CRISPR-mediated gene editing, to illustrate the evolutionary trajectory occurring between phages and their hosts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiol Mol Biol Rev
December 2024
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
SUMMARY is a significant resident of the gastrointestinal tract of most animals, including humans. Although generally non-pathogenic in healthy hosts, this microbe is adept at the exploitation of compromises in host immune functions, resulting in life-threatening opportunistic infections whose treatments are complicated by a high degree of intrinsic and acquired resistance to antimicrobial chemotherapy. Historically, progress in enterococcal research was limited by a lack of experimental models that replicate natural infection pathways and the relevance of studies to the natural biology of the organism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Virol
December 2024
Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IBS, Grenoble, France.
Bacteriophages are viruses infecting bacteria. The vast majority of them bear a tail, allowing host recognition, cell wall perforation, and DNA injection into the host cytoplasm. Using electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) and single particle analysis, we determined the organization of the tail proximal extremity of siphophage T5 that possesses a long flexible tail and solved the structure of its tail terminator protein p142 (TrP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Virol
December 2024
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Several APOBEC3 enzymes restrict HIV-1 by deaminating cytosine to form uracil in single-stranded proviral (-)DNA. However, HIV-1 Vif counteracts their activity by inducing their proteasomal degradation. This counteraction by Vif is incomplete, as evidenced by footprints of APOBEC3-mediated mutations within integrated proviral genomes of people living with HIV-1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!