The major histocompatibility complex of cattle with particular reference to some aspects of East Coast fever

Following an introduction and review of literature pertaining to relevant aspects of major histocompatibility systems and a review of literature on the bovine system specifically, an introduction to East Coast fever (ECF) and review of literature on ECF immunology and lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) vaccination is given.The development and application of a technique for selection of bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA) ~ defined subpopulations within established LCLs transformed by the causative organism of ECF (Theileria parva) is then described. The results are discussed in the context of T.parva-preferred target cells in in vitro transformation systems, and the possible application of the technique in producing LCLs lacking BoLA expression is considered. No evidence of modulation of BoLA phenotype (workshop specificities) as a consequence of Theileria~induced transformation was found.Two large scale LCL challenge experiments in cattle are reported, in which degrees of compatibility between LCLs and recipient cattle were quantified and the effect of this on the responses to LCL inoculation and subsequent stabilate challenge, assessed. Evidence is presented for the BoLA system being an important factor in determining the response to LCL inoculation and the generation of immunity to a second challenge with the homologous parasite, when cattle are inoculated with low numbers of cells initially.Also presented are the results of a series of experiments carried out to investigate the specificity of bovine alloreactive cytotoxic cells generated in vitro. The results suggest that BoLA workshop specificities, as defined by alloantisera, are restrictive in this system. The results also suggest that effects due to expression of the products of a BoLA locus other than that coding for the workshop specificities were being detected in some experiments.The significance of these results for future studies of the bovine immune system in general, and for studies of the immune response in ECF in particular, is discussed

A description of the origins, design and performance of the TRAITS-SGP Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. cDNA microarray

The origins, design, fabrication and performance of an Atlantic salmon microarray are described. The microarray comprises 16 950 Atlantic salmon-derived cDNA features, printed in duplicate and mostly sourced from pre-existing expressed sequence tag (EST) collections [SALGENE and salmon genome project (SGP)] but also supplemented with cDNAs from suppression subtractive hybridization libraries and candidate genes involved in immune response, protein catabolism, lipid metabolism and the parr–smolt transformation. A preliminary analysis of a dietary lipid experiment identified a number of genes known to be involved in lipid metabolism. Significant fold change differences (as low as 1.2x) were apparent from the microarray analysis and were confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. The study also highlighted the potential for obtaining artefactual expression patterns as a result of cross-hybridization of similar transcripts. Examination of the robustness and sensitivity of the experimental design employed demonstrated the greater importance of biological replication over technical (dye flip) replication for identification of a limited number of key genes in the studied system. The TRAITS (TRanscriptome Analysis of Important Traits of Salmon)–salmon genome project microarray has been proven, in a number of studies, to be a powerful tool for the study of key traits of Atlantic salmon biology. It is now available for use by researchers in the wider scientific community

The evolution of a Gondwanan collisional orogen: A structural and geochronological appraisal from the Southern Granulite Terrane, South India

Gondwana amalgamated along a suite of Himalayan-scale collisional orogens, the roots of which lace the continents of Africa, South America, and Antarctica. The Southern Granulite Terrane of India is a generally well-exposed, exhumed, Gondwana-forming orogen that preserves a record of the tectonic evolution of the eastern margin of the East African Orogen during the Ediacaran-Cambrian (circa 600–500 Ma) as central Gondwana formed. The deformation associated with the closure of the Mozambique Ocean and collision of the Indian and East African/Madagascan cratonic domains is believed to have taken place along the southern margin of the Salem Block (the Palghat-Cauvery Shear System, PCSS) in the Southern Granulite Terrane. Investigation of the structural fabrics and the geochronology of the high-grade shear zones within the PCSS system shows that the Moyar-Salem-Attur shear zone to the north of the PCSS system is early Paleoproterozoic in age and associated with dextral strike-slip motion, while the Cauvery shear zone (CSZ) to the south of the PCSS system can be loosely constrained to circa 740–550 Ma and is associated with dip-slip dextral transpression and north side-up motion.To the south of the proposed suture zone (the Cauvery shear zone), the structural fabrics of the Northern Madurai Block suggest four deformational events (D1–D4), some of which are likely to be contemporaneous. The timing of high pressure-ultrahigh temperature metamorphism and deformation (D1–D3) in the Madurai Block (here interpreted as the southern extension of Azania) is constrained to circa 550–500 Ma and interpreted as representing collisional orogeny and subsequent orogenic collapse of the eastern margin of the East African Orogen. The disparity in the nature of the structural fabrics and the timing of the deformation in the Salem and the Madurai Blocks suggest that the two experienced distinct tectonothermal events prior to their amalgamation along the Cauvery shear zone during the Ediacaran/Cambrian

Chromosomal regions controlling resistance to gastro-intestinal nematode infections in mice

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with resistance to an intestinal worm in a well-defined murine model are described. These have been identified in an F₂ population derived from resistant (SWR) and susceptible (CBA) parental mouse strains infected with the gastro-intestinal nematode parasite Heligmosomoides polygyrus. Seven QTL located on six chromosomes are described, associated with components of the complex host response and the differential regulation of parasite survival and reproduction. The combined additive effects of the five significant QTL associated with worm survival (total worm count at necropsy) account for about 60% of the difference in worm count between the parental lines. The dominance effect for these five QTL are all in the direction of resistance, supporting the heterosis for resistance established from the mean worm count for the F₂ line relative to the parental lines. It is now possible to identify the comparative chromosomal regions of these QTL in livestock and humans and to consider the possibility of future improved control strategies. These may include breeding of resistant or tolerant livestock, development of vaccines, or identification of new anthelmintic drugs