Casos de anaplasmosis, babesiosis y tripanosomiasis bovina registradas en el INTA Rafaela (2012-2019)

Bovine anaplasmosis, babesiosis and trypanosomiasis are diseases of economic importance caused by Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis and/or Babesia bigemina, and Trypanosoma vivax, respectively. In this work, protocols received during 2012-2019 in the laboratory of hemoparasites of the EEA Rafaela with a presumptive diagnosis of one of these three diseases were analyzed. The confirmatory diagnosis was made by microscopic observation of the causal agent. Clinical signs and results of serological and molecular tests were used as complementary information. Association between cases of anaplasmosis (dependent variable), the season of the year and area with or without the presence of Rhipicephalus microplus (independent variables) was analyzed with a generalized linear model using a binomial distribution. 50% of the protocols came from Santa Fe. Confirmatory diagnosis was achieved in 48% (213/441) of the protocols, of which 73% were positive for anaplasmosis, 16% for babesiosis and 11% for trypanosomiasis. In the R. microplus free area, 55 cases of anaplasmosis were recorded. The proportion of anaplasmosis cases was significantly higher in autumn compared to summer (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed when anaplasmosis cases, the season of the year and area were analyzed together. The occurrence of anaplasmosis cases in areas considered naturally free of the disease confirms its expansion. Outbreaks of bovine babesiosis occurred in areas with R. microplus. Bovine trypanosomiasis is also an expanding disease and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hemoparasitic diseases.Anaplasmosis, babesiosis y tripanosomiasis de los bovinos son enfermedades de importancia económica provocadas por Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis y/o Babesia bigemina, y Trypanosoma vivax, respectivamente. En este trabajo se analizaron los protocolos recibidos durante 2012-2019 en el laboratorio de hemoparásitos de la EEA Rafaela con diagnóstico presuntivo de alguna de estas tres enfermedades. Se realizó diagnóstico etiológico de los casos mediante la observación microscópica del agente causal. Signos clínicos y resultados de pruebas serológicas y moleculares se consideraron como información complementaria. Se analizó la relación entre casos de anaplasmosis (variable dependiente), estación del año y zona con o sin presencia de Rhipicephalus microplus (variables independientes) mediante modelo lineal generalizado utilizando distribución binomial. El 50% de los protocolos provino de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Se arribó a un diagnóstico etiológico en el 48% (213/441) de los protocolos, de los cuales un 73% resultó positivo a anaplasmosis, 16% a babesiosis y 11% a tripanosomiasis. En zona libre de R. microplus se registraron 55 casos de anaplasmosis. La proporción de casos de anaplasmosis resultó significativamente mayor en otoño respecto a verano (p<0,05). El análisis conjunto de casos de anaplasmosis, estación del año y zona, no resultó significativo. La ocurrencia de casos de anaplasmosis en zonas consideradas naturalmente libres de la enfermedad confirma su estatus en expansión. Los brotes de babesiosis bovina continúan circunscriptos a las regiones con R. microplus. La tripanosomiasis bovina también es una enfermedad en expansión y debe ser considerada en el diagnóstico diferencial de enfermedades anemizantes

Microfluidic preparation of thin film composite hollow fiber membrane modules for water nanofiltration: Up-scaling, reproducibility and MOF based layers

Background The commercialization of thin film composite (TFC) hollow fiber (HF) membranes remains challenging owing to issues associated with membrane manufacturing. Methods TFC membranes were synthesized by microfluidic interfacial polymerization of polyamide (PA) on polysulfone hollow fiber (HF) membrane modules. A total of 33 HF membrane modules were prepared with different number of HFs (from 1 to 25) and different lengths (from 10 to 50 cm). They were evaluated in a nanofiltration operation in terms of water permeance and rose Bengal (RB) and MgSO4 rejections. Significant findings Among the 33 modules, 73% showed RB rejections higher than 95%, while 36% of the modules reached rejections above 99%. During the membrane synthesis, different parameters, such as PA monomer concentration, residence time and reaction time, were studied. As a result, the amount of monomer was reduced by ca. 80%. The versatility of microfluidics allowed incorporating hydrophilic metal-organic framework (MOF) ZIF-93 to produce HF modules with PA/MOF bilayered membranes (a continuous layer of MOF between the support and the PA film) which led to an important enhancement of the water permeance from 1.3 (bare PA membrane) to 5.3 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1 (PA/ZIF-93 HF membrane), maintaining RB rejection above 95%

Metabolism of a synthetic compared with a natural therapeutic pulmonary surfactant in adult mice

Secreted pulmonary surfactant phosphatidylcholine (PC) has a complex intra-alveolar metabolism that involves uptake and recycling by alveolar type II epithelial cells, catabolism by alveolar macrophages, and loss up the bronchial tree. We compared the in vivo metabolism of animal-derived poractant alfa (Curosurf) and a synthetic surfactant (CHF5633) in adult male C57BL/6 mice. The mice were dosed intranasally with either surfactant (80 mg/kg body weight) containing universally 13C-labeled dipalmitoyl PC (DPPC) as a tracer. The loss of [U13C]DPPC from bronchoalveolar lavage and lung parenchyma, together with the incorporation of 13C-hydrolysis fragments into new PC molecular species, was monitored by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The catabolism of CHF5633 was considerably delayed compared with poractant alfa, the hydrolysis products of which were cleared more rapidly. There was no selective resynthesis of DPPC and, strikingly, acyl remodeling resulted in preferential synthesis of polyunsaturated PC species. In conclusion, both surfactants were metabolized by similar pathways, but the slower catabolism of CHF5633 resulted in longer residence time in the airways and enhanced recycling of its hydrolysis products into new PC species

Genetic diversity of Anaplasma marginale in Argentina

Bovine anaplasmosis caused by Anaplasma marginale is a worldwide major constraint to cattle production. The A. marginale major surface protein 1 alpha (msp1α) gene contains a variable number of tandem repeats in the amino terminal region and has been used for the characterization of pathogen genetic diversity. This study reports the first characterization of A. marginale genetic diversity in Argentina based on msp1α genotypes and its putative relationship with Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus infestations. Herein, we analyzed whole blood bovine samples from anaplasmosis outbreaks in R. microplus infested (9 samples) and eradicated/free (14 samples) regions. Sequence analysis revealed the existence of 15 different msp1α genotypes with 31 different repeat units. Six new repeat sequences were discovered in this study and 13/31 (42%) repeats were unique to Argentinean strains. The analysis of msp1α repeat sequences according to R. microplus infestations resulted in three repeat groups: (i) found in tick-infested regions (20 repeats), (ii) found in tick free regions (6 repeats) and (iii) randomly distributed (5 repeats). Moreover, A. marginale msp1α genetic diversity was higher in tick-infested regions than in tick free areas. These results, together with previous evidence suggesting that A. marginale msp1α repeat units co-evolved with the tick vector, might represent an evidence of the role of tick-mediated transmission for the generation of pathogen genetic diversity.This work was supported by INCO Epigenevac project -UE FP6-, CONICET, ANPCyT and INTA, Argentina, Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station Project 1669.Peer reviewe

Cases of bovine anaplasmosis, babesiosis and trypanosomiasis registered at INTA Rafaela (2012 to 2019)

Anaplasmosis, babesiosis y tripanosomiasis de los bovinos son enfermedades de importancia económica provocadas por Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis y/o Babesia bigemina, y Trypanosoma vivax, respectivamente. En este trabajo se analizaron los protocolos recibidos durante 2012-2019 en el laboratorio de hemoparásitos de la EEA Rafaela con diagnóstico presuntivo de alguna de estas tres enfermedades. Se realizó diagnóstico etiológico de los casos mediante la observación microscópica del agente causal. Signos clínicos y resultados de pruebas serológicas y moleculares se consideraron como información complementaria. Se analizó la relación entre casos de anaplasmosis (variable dependiente), estación del año y zona con o sin presencia de Rhipicephalus microplus (variables independientes) mediante modelo lineal generalizado utilizando distribución binomial. El 50% de los protocolos provino de la Provincia de Santa Fe. Se arribó a un diagnóstico etiológico en el 48% (213/441) de los protocolos, de los cuales un 73% resultó positivo a anaplasmosis, 16% a babesiosis y 11% a tripanosomiasis. En zona libre de R. microplus se registraron 55 casos de anaplasmosis. La proporción de casos de anaplasmosis resultó significativamente mayor en otoño respecto a verano (p<0,05). El análisis conjunto de casos de anaplasmosis, estación del año y zona, no resultó significativo. La ocurrencia de casos de anaplasmosis en zonas consideradas naturalmente libres de la enfermedad confirma su estatus en expansión. Los brotes de babesiosis bovina continúan circunscriptos a las regiones con R. microplus. La tripanosomiasis bovina también es una enfermedad en expansión y debe ser considerada en el diagnóstico diferencial de enfermedades anemizantes.Bovine anaplasmosis, babesiosis and trypanosomiasis are diseases of economic importance caused by Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis and/or B. bigemina, and Trypanosoma vivax, respectively. In this work, protocols received during 2012-2019 in the laboratory of hemoparasites of the EEA Rafaela with a presumptive diagnosis of one of these three diseases were analyzed. The confirmatory diagnosis was made by microscopic observation of the causal agent. Clinical signs and results of serological and molecular tests were used as complementary information. Association between cases of anaplasmosis (dependent variable), the season of the year and area with or without the presence of Rhipicephalus microplus (independent variables) was analyzed with a generalized linear model using a binomial distribution. 50% of the protocols came from Santa Fe. Confirmatory diagnosis was achieved in 48% (213/441) of the protocols, of which 73% were positive for anaplasmosis, 16% for babesiosis and 11% for trypanosomiasis. In the R. microplus free area, 55 cases of anaplasmosis were recorded. The proportion of anaplasmosis cases was significantly higher in autumn compared to summer (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed when anaplasmosis cases, the season of the year and area were analyzed together. The occurrence of anaplasmosis cases in areas considered naturally free of the disease confirms its expansion. Outbreaks of bovine babesiosis occurred in areas with R. microplus. Bovine trypanosomiasis is also an expanding disease and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hemoparasitic diseases.Fil: Mazzucco Panizza, M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigacion de la Cadena Lactea. - Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Instituto de Investigacion de la Cadena Lactea.; ArgentinaFil: Novoa, María Belén. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigacion de la Cadena Lactea. - Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Instituto de Investigacion de la Cadena Lactea.; ArgentinaFil: Sarli, Macarena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigacion de la Cadena Lactea. - Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Instituto de Investigacion de la Cadena Lactea.; ArgentinaFil: Signorini Porchietto, Marcelo Lisandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigacion de la Cadena Lactea. - Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Instituto de Investigacion de la Cadena Lactea.; ArgentinaFil: Echaide, Ignacio Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; Argentin

The evolutionary dynamics of variant antigen genes in Babesia reveal a history of genomic innovation underlying host-parasite interaction

Babesia spp. are tick-borne, intraerythrocytic hemoparasites that use antigenic variation to resist host immunity, through sequential modification of the parasite-derived variant erythrocyte surface antigen (VESA) expressed on the infected red blood cell surface. We identified the genomic processes driving antigenic diversity in genes encoding VESA (ves1) through comparative analysis within and between three Babesia species, (B. bigemina, B. divergens and B. bovis). Ves1 structure diverges rapidly after speciation, notably through the evolution of shortened forms (ves2) from 5′ ends of canonical ves1 genes. Phylogenetic analyses show that ves1 genes are transposed between loci routinely, whereas ves2 genes are not. Similarly, analysis of sequence mosaicism shows that recombination drives variation in ves1 sequences, but less so for ves2, indicating the adoption of different mechanisms for variation of the two families. Proteomic analysis of the B. bigemina PR isolate shows that two dominant VESA1 proteins are expressed in the population, whereas numerous VESA2 proteins are co-expressed, consistent with differential transcriptional regulation of each family. Hence, VESA2 proteins are abundant and previously unrecognized elements of Babesia biology, with evolutionary dynamics consistently different to those of VESA1, suggesting that their functions are distinct

An Ibero-American inter-laboratory trial to evaluate serological tests for the detection of anti-<i>Neospora caninum</i> antibodies in cattle

We carried out an inter-laboratory trial to compare the serological tests commonly used for the detection of specific Neospora caninum antibodies in cattle in Ibero- American countries. A total of eight laboratories participated from the following countries: Argentina (n = 4), Brazil (n = 1), Peru (n = 1), Mexico (n = 1), and Spain (n = 1). A blind panel of well-characterized cattle sera (n = 143) and sera representative of the target population (n = 351) was tested by seven in-house indirect fluorescent antibody tests (IFATs 1–7) and three enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs 1–3; two in-house and one commercial). Diagnostic performance of the serological tests was calculated and compared according to the following criteria: (1) the BPre-test information,^ which uses previous epidemiological and serological data; (2) the BMajority of tests,^ which classifies a serumas positive or negative according to the results obtained by most tests evaluated. Unexpectedly, six tests showed either sensitivity (Se) or specificity (Sp) values lower than 90%. In contrast, the best tests in terms of Se, Sp, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) values were IFAT 1 and optimized ELISA 1 and ELISA 2. We evaluated a high number of IFATs, which are the most widely used tests in Ibero-America. The significant discordances observed among the tests regardless of the criteria employed hinder control programs and urge the use of a common test or with similar performances to either the optimized IFAT 1 and ELISAs 1 and 2.Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Determinantes genéticos de la calidad panadera de los trigos argentinos

Las gluteninas de alto (HMW-GS) y bajo (LMW-GS) peso molecular son las proteínas de reserva más importantes en la determinación de la calidad panadera del trigo y su caracterización es indispensable para una eficiente manipulación de la calidad durante el mejoramiento. En este trabajo se determinó la composición de HMW-GS mediante SDS-PAGE y marcadores moleculares en 112 cultivares argentinos y se calculó el índice de calidad GLU-1. Se encontró una alta frecuencia de los alelos con índice máximo en las HMW-GS de los loci GÍU-A1 (96%), Glu-Bl (72%), y GIu-D1 (88%) lo que determinó que el 63 % de los cultivares estudiados presenten una composición óptima de HMW-GS (GLU-1 = 10). La correlación positiva entre el índice GLU1 y la calidad panadera en tres subconjuntos de cultivares argentinos confirmaron el valor predictivo de este índice.Trabajo galardonado con el Premio "Molinos Brunning", versión 1996.Academia Nacional de Agronomía y Veterinaria (ANAV

Determinantes genéticos de la calidad panadera de los trigos argentinos

Las gluteninas de alto (HMW-GS) y bajo (LMW-GS) peso molecular son las proteínas de reserva más importantes en la determinación de la calidad panadera del trigo y su caracterización es indispensable para una eficiente manipulación de la calidad durante el mejoramiento. En este trabajo se determinó la composición de HMW-GS mediante SDS-PAGE y marcadores moleculares en 112 cultivares argentinos y se calculó el índice de calidad GLU-1. Se encontró una alta frecuencia de los alelos con índice máximo en las HMW-GS de los loci GÍU-A1 (96%), Glu-Bl (72%), y GIu-D1 (88%) lo que determinó que el 63 % de los cultivares estudiados presenten una composición óptima de HMW-GS (GLU-1 = 10). La correlación positiva entre el índice GLU1 y la calidad panadera en tres subconjuntos de cultivares argentinos confirmaron el valor predictivo de este índice.Trabajo galardonado con el Premio "Molinos Brunning", versión 1996.Academia Nacional de Agronomía y Veterinaria (ANAV