Current Perspectives on Mycobacterium farcinogenes and Mycobacterium senegalense, the Causal Agents of Bovine Farcy

Mycobacterium farcinogenes and M. senegalense are the causal agents of bovine farcy, a chronic, progressive disease of the skin and lymphatics of zebu cattle. The disease, which is prevalent mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, was in earlier times thought to be caused byNocardia farcinica and can be described as one of the neglected diseases in cattle. Some aspects of the disease have been investigated during the last five decades but the major development had been in the bacteriological, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic aspects. Molecular analyses confirmed that M. farcinogenes and M. senegalense fall in a subclade together with M. houstonense and M. fortuitum. This subclade is closely related to the one accommodating M. peregrinum, M. porcinum, M. septicum, M. neworleansense, and M. alvei. DNA probes were designed from 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer and could be used for the rapid diagnosis of bovine farcy. An ELISA assay has been evaluated for the serodiagnosis of the disease. The zoonotic potentials of M. farcinogenes and M. senegalense are unknown; few studies reported the isolation of M. senegalense and M. farcinogenes from human clinical sources but not from environmental sources or from other domestic or wild animals

THE EFFECT OF THE EXOGENOUS GIBBERELLIC ACID ON TWO SALT STRESSED BARLEY CULTIVARS

An alternative strategy to ameliorate salt stress could be to use exogenous application of plant growth regulators. The present investigation was carried out to study the effect of exogenous application of GA3 on germination, some growth parameters, protein banding pattern, nucleic acids content and some minerals of salt stressed two cultivars of barley. The grains of both cultivars Giza 126 and 123 were individually pre emergence treated with different concentrations of NaCl or mixture of NaCl and GA3 for 7 days. The results of germination percentage revealed that cv. Giza 123 had higher response to the interaction between salinity and GA3 than cv. Giza 126. The morphological characters revealed inhibition in all plant growth parameters by salinity stress and this inhibition was significantly alleviated after treatment with GA3. The protein electrophoresis of seedlings of cv. Giza 123 induced formation of unique newly protein bands including certain units may acting as protein receptors for gibberellins (M.W. 71.41 kDa). In addition, the DNA and RNA content of cv. Giza 123 showed its priority to the interaction between salinity and GA3. Regarding to minerals the data showed that cv. Giza 123 had the ability to discard salts and prevent the accumulation of them in its tissues especially Na+, k+ and Ca+2 elements. cv. Giza 123 seedlings could overcome the inimical effects of salt stress whereas cv. Giza 126 seedlings appeared to have an attenuated potential to do so resulting in an efficient tolerance of cv. Giza 123 seedlings

Physicochemical typology of water of a middle atlas river (Morocco) where the common trout (Salmo trutta macrstigma, Duméril, 1858) live: Oued Sidi Rachid

For every live being, ecological conditions greatly influence biology. In the case of a fish, these conditions may be responsible for its presence or absence in the medium, its development and its population size. This work studies the characteristics and physicochemical typology of Sidi Rachid River, known by its wealth of the Salmonidae fish: Salmo trutta macrostigma (Duméril, 1858). The results show that apart from the appearance of nitrates, whose high levels indicate an organic pollution, during some times of the year, coming seemingly from the Ras Elma fish farm waste water, the water quality is good. The results also show that the physico-chemical typology of the watercourse is mainly influenced by the "season" factor and that among the studied variables, only the pH does not influence the spatial and temporal variation of the medium studied characteristics.Key words: Sidi Rachid River, physicochemical typology, Salmo fario, Morocco