Lymnaea schirazensis, an Overlooked Snail Distorting Fascioliasis Data: Genotype, Phenotype, Ecology, Worldwide Spread, Susceptibility, Applicability

BACKGROUND: Lymnaeid snails transmit medical and veterinary important trematodiases, mainly fascioliasis. Vector specificity of fasciolid parasites defines disease distribution and characteristics. Different lymnaeid species appear linked to different transmission and epidemiological patterns. Pronounced susceptibility differences to absolute resistance have been described among lymnaeid populations. When assessing disease characteristics in different endemic areas, unexpected results were obtained in studies on lymnaeid susceptibility to Fasciola. We undertook studies to understand this disease transmission heterogeneity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A ten-year study in Iran, Egypt, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru, demonstrated that such heterogeneity is not due to susceptibility differences, but to a hitherto overlooked cryptic species, Lymnaea schirazensis, confused with the main vector Galba truncatula and/or other Galba/Fossaria vectors. Nuclear rDNA and mtDNA sequences and phylogenetic reconstruction highlighted an old evolutionary divergence from other Galba/Fossaria species, and a low intraspecific variability suggesting a recent spread from one geographical source. Morphometry, anatomy and egg cluster analyses allowed for phenotypic differentiation. Selfing, egg laying, and habitat characteristics indicated a migration capacity by passive transport. Studies showed that it is not a vector species (n = 8572 field collected, 20 populations): snail finding and penetration by F. hepatica miracidium occur but never lead to cercarial production (n = 338 experimentally infected). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This species has been distorting fasciolid specificity/susceptibility and fascioliasis geographical distribution data. Hence, a large body of literature on G. truncatula should be revised. Its existence has henceforth to be considered in research. Genetic data on livestock, archeology and history along the 10,000-year post-domestication period explain its wide spread from the Neolithic Fertile Crescent. It is an efficient biomarker for the follow-up of livestock movements, a crucial aspect in fascioliasis emergence. It offers an outstanding laboratory model for genetic studies on susceptibility/resistance in F. hepatica/lymnaeid interaction, a field of applied research with disease control perspectives

Capitolo 10. Dati sull’agricoltura e l’allevamento

I. Resti archeobotanici 1. Introduzione La possibilità d’interpretare le fonti classiche che descrivono l’agricoltura e il paesaggio di epoca romana ha spesso fatto passare in secondo piano lo studio delle evidenze dirette prodotte dagli scavi di età arcaica e romana. Però, mentre le fonti rappresentano un riferimento di carattere generale per il loro contenuto informativo, i resti vegetali estratti dagli scavi costituiscono gli elementi fondamentali per un’analisi corretta delle condizioni m..

Capitolo 4. Il deposito votivo

1. Quadro generale La documentazione di attività cultuali in diversi ambienti del complesso di edifici sul pianoro centrale costituisce un aspetto notevole dell’evidenza archeologica raccolta nell’abitato all’interno del muro di fortificazione soprattutto quando si consideri che l’evidenza sinora disponibile sulla presenza di aree di culto all’interno di abitati di IV secolo a.C. è estremamente scarsa per i territori italici, in generale, e per l’area lucana in particolare. È stato ripetutame..

Camels from Roman imperial sites in Serbia

This paper presents camel remains identified in Roman sites in Serbia. The remains originate from Viminacium, the capital of Roman province Moesia, and from the 3rd-4th century villa rustica in the locality of Vranj, in the province of Pannonia. In Viminacium, they were found in a 4th century dump, near the Eastern necropolis of the city, and in the 4th century layers in the area of the amphitheatre. In order to conclude whether these bones belonged to Camelus dromedarius or Camelus bactrianus, measurements and morphology of our specimens were compared with camel bones found at other Roman sites, and with modern specimens. We have identified two-humped camels and also hybrid individuals. The role of the camels is also discussed here: whether they were used in public games (ludi), for military purposes, or as transportation animals. As a conclusion, we acknowledge that camels were not rare animals in Roman provinces as it was considered before

Correlating Bayesian date estimates with climatic events and domestication using a bovine case study

The tribe Bovini contains a number of commercially and culturally important species, such as cattle. Understanding their evolutionary time scale is important for distinguishing between post-glacial and domestication-associated population expansions, but estimates of bovine divergence times have been hindered by a lack of reliable calibration points. We present a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of 481 mitochondrial D-loop sequences, including 228 radiocarbon-dated ancient DNA sequences, using a multi-demographic coalescent model. By employing the radiocarbon dates as internal calibrations, we co-estimate the bovine phylogeny and divergence times in a relaxed-clock framework. The analysis yields evidence for significant population expansions in both taurine and zebu cattle, European aurochs and yak clades. The divergence age estimates support domestication-associated expansion times (less than 12 kyr) for the major haplogroups of cattle. We compare the molecular and palaeontological estimates for the Bison–Bos divergence