Inter- and intracontinental migrations and local differentiation have shaped the contemporary epidemiological landscape of canine parvovirus in South America

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a fast-evolving single-stranded DNA virus that causes one of the most significant infectious diseasesof dogs. Although the virus dispersed over long distances in the past, current populations are considered to be spatiallyconfined and with only a few instances of migration between specific localities. It is unclear whether these dynamicsoccur in South America where global studies have not been performed. The aim of this study is to analyze the patterns ofgenetic variability in South American CPV populations and explore their evolutionary relationships with global strains.Genomic sequences of sixty-three strains from South America and Europe were generated and analyzed using a phylodynamicapproach. All the obtained strains belong to the CPV-2a lineage and associate with global strains in four monophyleticgroups or clades. European and South American strains from all the countries here analyzed are representative of awidely distributed clade (Eur-I) that emerged in Southern Europe during 1990?98 to later spread to South America in theearly 2000s. The emergence and spread of the Eur-I clade were correlated with a significant rise in the CPV effective populationsize in Europe and South America. The Asia-I clade includes strains from Asia and Uruguay. This clade originated in Asia during the late 1980s and evolved locally before spreading to South America during 2009?10. The third clade (Eur-II)comprises strains from Italy, Brazil, and Ecuador. This clade appears in South America as a consequence of an early introductionfrom Italy to Ecuador in the middle 1980s and has experienced extensive local genetic differentiation. Some strainsfrom Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil constitute an exclusive South American clade (SA-I) that emerged in Argentina in the1990s. These results indicate that the current epidemiological scenario is a consequence of inter- and intracontinentalmigrations of strains with different geographic and temporal origins that set the conditions for competition and local differentiationof CPV populations. The coexistence and interaction of highly divergent strains are the main responsible for thedrastic epidemiological changes observed in South America in the last two decades. This highlights the threat of invasionfrom external sources and the importance of whole-genome resolution to robustly infer the origin and spread of new CPVvariants. From a taxonomic standpoint, the findings herein show that the classification system that uses a single aminoacid to identify variants (2a, 2b, and 2c) within the CPV-2a lineage does not reflect phylogenetic relationships and is not suitableto analyze CPV evolution. In this regard, the identification of clades or sublineages within circulating CPV strains is thefirst step towards a genetic and evolutionary classification of the virus.Fil: Grecco, Sofia. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Iraola, Gregorio. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Decaro, Nicola. Università degli Studi di Bari; ItaliaFil: Alfieri, Alice. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Alfieri, Amauri. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Gallo Calderon, Marina Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein". Fundación Pablo Cassará. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología "Dr. César Milstein"; ArgentinaFil: da Silva, Ana Paula. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Name, Daniela. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; UruguayFil: Aldaz, Jaime. Universidad Estatal de Bolivar; EcuadorFil: Calleros, Lucia. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; UruguayFil: Marandino, Ana. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; UruguayFil: Gonzalo, Tomas. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias; Urugua

Plasmid profile of Staphylococcus hyicus isolated from swine exudative epidermitis in Brazil

Staphylococcus hyicus isolados de leitões com lesões de pele foram estudados no que se refere aos seus plasmídios e resistência a agentes antimicrobianos. Plasmídios de diferentes pesos moleculares foram detectados nas seis amostras de Staphylococcus hyicus. Todas as amostras mostraram resistência à tetraciclina e um pequeno plasmídio de 4.0 Kb, com uma exceção. Experimentos de cura e transformação demonstraram que este plasmídio abriga o determinante genético para resistência à tetraciclina nas amostras estudadas.Staphylococcus hyicus cultures, isolated from piglets with skin lesions, were investigated for their plasmid profile and their resistance to antimicrobial agents. Plasmid of different sizes could be detected in six Staphylococcus hyicus isolates. All that samples showed tetracycline resistance and presented small plasmid of 4.0 Kb. Curing and transformation experiments showed that the 4.0 Kb plasmid harboured the genetic determinant of tetracycline resistance in this strains

Avaliação da capacidade adjuvante do cloreto de dimetildioctadecilamônio associado ao hidróxido de alumínio na indução da resposta imune humoral de bovinos vacinados com o vírus da diarréia viral bovina

The humoral immune response of cattle vaccinated with inactivated bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) using the association of dimethyl dioctadecyl ammonium chloride (DDA-chloride) and aluminum hydroxide (vaccine B) as adjuvant, was compared with the same antigenic formulation adsorbed with only aluminum hydroxide (vaccine A). The neutralizing antibodies titers were assessed two weeks after the second vaccine dose. The animals that received vaccine B had better humoral responses than the calves vaccinated with vaccine A. The mean titers of neutralizing antibodies, expressed in Log2, for the calves that received vaccine B was higher to those observed in group vaccinated with vaccine A. These results show that the inclusion of DDA chloride in vaccine formulations adsorbed with aluminum hydroxide determine a better humoral immune response in cattle vaccinated with BVDV inactivated.A resposta imunológica humoral de bovinos vacinados com o vírus da diarréia viral bovina (BVDV) inativado, tendo como adjuvante o cloreto de dimetildioctadecilamônio (DDA cloreto) associado ao hidróxido de alumínio (vacina B), foi comparada com uma vacina contendo o mesmo antígeno adsorvido apenas com hidróxido de alumínio (vacina A). Duas semanas após a segunda dose foi avaliado o título de anticorpos neutralizantes dos animais que receberam as duas preparações de antígenos. Os animais que receberam a vacina B apresentaram melhor resposta imune humoral quando comparados com os animais vacinados com a vacina A. O título médio de anticorpos neutralizantes, expresso em Log2, dos animais que receberam a vacina B foi superior (P<0,05) ao observado no grupo vacinado com a vacina A. Esse resultado demonstra que, em bovinos vacinados com o BVDV inativado, a inclusão do DDA cloreto em formulações de vacinas adsorvidas com hidróxido de alumínio potencializa a resposta imune humoral

Risk factors for bovine herpesvirus 1 infection in cattle herds in the West region of Parana State

O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a prevalência de rebanhos positivos (focos) e identificar os fatores de risco que possam estar associados com a infecção pelo herpesvírus bovino 1 (BoHV-1) em rebanhos bovinos com atividade reprodutiva, na região Oeste do Estado do Paraná. O delineamento estatístico, amostras de soro e informações referentes às propriedades foram as empregadas para o estudo da brucelose bovina no Estado do Paraná dentro do contexto do Programa Nacional de Controle e Erradicação da Brucelose e Tuberculose. Foram avaliadas 1930 fêmeas com idade igual ou superior a 24 meses, provenientes de 295 rebanhos não vacinados contra o BoHV-1. Para o diagnóstico sorológico da infecção pelo BoHV-1, foi utilizado um ensaio imunoenzimático (ELISA) indireto. Em cada propriedade foi aplicado um questionário epidemiológico, afim de obter informações epidemiológicas e práticas de manejo empregadas. Dos 295 rebanhos analisados, 190 foram considerados positivos para o BoHV-1, com a prevalência de rebanhos de 64,41% (I.C.95% = 58,65-69,87%). As variáveis consideradas fatores de risco para a infecção pelo BoHV-1 na análise de regressão logística multivariada foram: i) número ('> OU ='23) fêmeas com idade '> OU ='24 meses (OR=2,22; IC: 1,09-4,51); ii) compra de reprodutores (OR=2,68; IC: 1,48-4,82); iii) uso de pastagens comuns (OR=5,93; IC: 1,31-26,82); iv) histórico de abortamento nos últimos 12 meses (OR=2,37; IC: 1,09-5,16); v) presença de animais silvestres (OR=8,86; IC: 1,11-70,73). Estes resultados indicam que a infecção pelo BoHV-1 está amplamente distribuída na região estudada e que fatores relacionados às características das propriedades e ao manejo estão associados à infecçãoThe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of positive herds and to identify the risk factors for BoHV-1 infection in breeding cattle herds in the Western region of Parana State. The statistic delineation, the serum samples and information regarding the selected farms, were the same employed in the study of bovine brucellosis for Parana State in the context of National Program for Control and Eradication of Brucellosis and Tuberculosis. The sampling was performed in two stages. Blood samples were collected from 1930 females aged '> OU ='24 months from 295 non vaccinated herds. Serum samples were tested for antibodies against BoHV-1 using an indirect ELISA. The epidemiological questionnaire was applied on all the selected farms and aimed to obtain epidemiological data. Hundred ninety of the 295 herds were positive for BoHV-1, presenting prevalence of positive herds of 64.41% [58.65-69.87%]. The number ('> OU ='23) of females aged 24 months (OR=2.22; IC: 1.09-4.51), purchased cattle (OR=2.68; IC: 1.48-4.82), use of common grass (OR=5.93; IC: 1.31-26.82), history of abortion in the last 12 months (OR=2.37; IC: 1.09-5.16) and presence of wildlife animals (OR=8.86; IC: 1.11-70.73) were identified as risk factors for BoHV-1 infection in the multivariate logistic regression. These results indicate that BoHV-1 infection is widespread in the studied region and that factors related to the herd characteristic and management are associated with the infectio

Folliculogenesis, Fertility and Biotechnology in Dairy Cattle

The ovarian follicle population is formed by thousands of follicles, preantral and antral, where oocytes are included. During fetal life, the first follicles produced are preantral, and, as they undergo the development process, they reach the final stage of antral follicles, where a cavity/or antrum is developed. All this growth phase is called folliculogenesis, and this chapter will abord the most important aspects of this process. Moreover, not all follicles reach the preovulatory phase and can be fertilized, so we will discuss how reproductive biotechniques can positively influence the fertility of bovine females. We will also discuss the possibility of antral follicle count to influence reproductive performance and the correlation to biotechniques. Finally, we present alternatives on how to improve fertility and productive efficiency in dairy herds

Perfil plasmidial de Staphylococcus hyicus isolados de suínos com epidermite exsudativa no Brasil

Staphylococcus hyicus isolados de leitões com lesões de pele foram estudados no que se refere aos seus plasmídios e resistência a agentes antimicrobianos. Plasmídios de diferentes pesos moleculares foram detectados nas seis amostras de Staphylococcus hyicus. Todas as amostras mostraram resistência à tetraciclina e um pequeno plasmídio de 4.0 Kb, com uma exceção. Experimentos de cura e transformação demonstraram que este plasmídio abriga o determinante genético para resistência à tetraciclina nas amostras estudadas