Mitotic instability in benomyl-resistant transformants of a fluffy strain of Neurospora crassa

The isolation of the beta-tubulin gene from a benomyl-resistant Neurospora crassa strain (Orbach et al. 1986 Mol. Cell. Biol. 6:2452-2461) has provided a dominant selectable marker usable in transformation experiments with N. crassa

New mutants of Neurospora crassa highly resistant to the microtubule inhibitor benomyl

Mutants of N. crassa highly resistant to benomyl with respect to hyphal growth were obtained by mutagenizing wild type strain St. Lawrence 74A or mutant Bml 511(r) which is moderately resistant to the fungicide. One of these, strain E1-91 that has a mutation mapping at the Bml (beta-tubulin) locus, showed temporary sensitivity to the benzimidazole

Is high prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in wild and domestic animals associated with disease incidence in humans?

We investigated a focus of highly endemic Echinococcus multilocularis infection to assess persistence of high endemicity in rural rodents, explore potential for parasite transmission to domestic carnivores, and assess (serologically) putative exposure versus infection frequency in inhabitants of the region. From spring 1993 to spring 1998, the prevalence of E. multilocularis in rodents was 9% to 39% for Arvicola terrestris and 10% to 21% for Microtus arvalis. From June 1996 to October 1997, 6 (7%) of 86 feral dogs and 1 of 33 cats living close to the region tested positive for intestinal E. multilocularis infection. Testing included egg detection by coproscopy, antigen detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and specific parasite DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction. Thus, the presence of infected domestic carnivores can increase E. multilocularis exposure risk in humans. A seroepidemiologic survey of 2,943 blood donors in the area used specific Em2-ELISA. Comparative statistical analyses of seroprevalence and clinical incidence showed an increase in Em2-seroprevalence from 1986 and 1996-97 but no increase in clinical incidence of alveolar hydatid disease

3D Hydrogeological Model Building Using Airborne Electromagnetic Data

We develop a 3D geological modelling procedure supported by the combination of helicopter time-domain electromagnetic data, seismic reflection data, and water well records for the Spiritwood buried valley aquifer system in Manitoba, Canada. Our procedure is an innovative hybrid of knowledge-driven and data-driven schemes that provides a clear protocol for incorporating different types of geophysical data into a 3D stratigraphic model framework. The limited spatial density of water well bedrock observations precludes detection of the buried valley bedrock topography and renders the water well records alone inadequate for accurate hydrogeological model building. The expert interpretation of the geophysical data allows for leveraging of a spatially extensive dataset with rich information content that would be otherwise difficult to utilize for lithostratigraphic classification