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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Continuous In Vitro Culture Of The Carpet Shell Clam Tapes Decussatus Protozoan Parasite Perkinsus Atlanticus, Sm Casas, Jf La Peyre, Kimberly S. Reece, C Azevedo, A Villalba
Continuous In Vitro Culture Of The Carpet Shell Clam Tapes Decussatus Protozoan Parasite Perkinsus Atlanticus, Sm Casas, Jf La Peyre, Kimberly S. Reece, C Azevedo, A Villalba
VIMS Articles
Continuous in vitro cultures of the clam Tapes decussatus parasite Perkinsus atlanticus were established from infected gill fragments, infected haemolymph and parasite hypnospores isolated from infected gill fragments following incubation in Ray's fluid thioglycollate medium (RFTM). No continuous cultures could be initiated from P. atlanticus zoospores. Cultures initiated from hypnospores yielded the highest percentage of continuous cultures (100%, 6/6), followed by cultures initiated from gill fragments (93%, 43/46) and from haemolymph (30%, 3/10). Failures to establish continuous cultures were due to microbial contamination, The source of parasite influenced the success rate, the time taken to establish cultures and the size …
Molecular Diagnostics, Field Validation, And Phylogenetic Analysis Of Quahog Parasite Unknown (Qpx), A Pathogen Of The Hard Clam Mercenaria Mercenaria, Na Stokes, Lm Ragone Calvo, Kimberly S. Reece, Em Burreson
Molecular Diagnostics, Field Validation, And Phylogenetic Analysis Of Quahog Parasite Unknown (Qpx), A Pathogen Of The Hard Clam Mercenaria Mercenaria, Na Stokes, Lm Ragone Calvo, Kimberly S. Reece, Em Burreson
VIMS Articles
Quahog Parasite Unknown (QPX) is a protistan parasite that causes disease and mortality in the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. PCR primers and DNA oligonucleotide probes were designed and evaluated for sensitivity and specificity for the QPX organism specifically and for the phylum Labyrinthulomycota in general. The best performing QPX-specific primer pair amplified a 665 bp region of the QPX small-subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) and detected as little as 1 fg cloned QPX SSU rDNA and 20 fg QPX genomic DNA. The primers did not amplify DNA of uninfected hard clams M. mercenaria or of the thraustochytrids Schizochytrium aggregatum, Thraustochytrium …
Are Pfiesteria Species Toxicogenic? Evidence Against Production Of Ichthyotoxins By Pfiesteria Shumwayae, Jp Berry, Kimberly S. Reece, Ks Rein, Dg Baden, Lw Haas, Wl Ribeiro, Jeffrey D. Shields, Rv Snyder, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, Re Gawley
Are Pfiesteria Species Toxicogenic? Evidence Against Production Of Ichthyotoxins By Pfiesteria Shumwayae, Jp Berry, Kimberly S. Reece, Ks Rein, Dg Baden, Lw Haas, Wl Ribeiro, Jeffrey D. Shields, Rv Snyder, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, Re Gawley
VIMS Articles
The estuarine genus Pfiesteria has received considerable attention since it was first identified and proposed to be the causative agent of fish kills along the mid-Atlantic coast in 1992. The presumption has been that the mechanism of fish death is by release of one or more toxins by the dinoflagellate. In this report, we challenge the notion that Pfiesteria species produce ichthyotoxins. Specifically, we show that (i) simple centrifugation, with and without ultrasonication, is sufficient to "detoxify" water of actively fish-killing cultures of Pfiesteria shumwayae, (ii) organic extracts of lyophilized cultures are not toxic to fish, (fit) degenerate primers that …
Characterization Of The Dust/Smoke Aerosol That Settled East Of The World Trade Center (Wtc) In Lower Manhattan After The Collapse Of The Wtc 11 September 2001, Paul J. Lioy, Clifford P. Weisel, Et Al, Robert C. Hale
Characterization Of The Dust/Smoke Aerosol That Settled East Of The World Trade Center (Wtc) In Lower Manhattan After The Collapse Of The Wtc 11 September 2001, Paul J. Lioy, Clifford P. Weisel, Et Al, Robert C. Hale
VIMS Articles
The explosion and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a catastrophic event that produced an aerosol plume impacting many workers, residents, and commuters during the first few days after 11 September 2001. Three bulk samples of the total settled dust and smoke were collected at weather-protected locations east of the WTC on 16 and 17 September 200 1; these samples are representative of the generated material that settled immediately after the explosion and fire and the concurrent collapse of the two structures. We analyzed each sample, not differentiated by particle Size, for inorganic and organic composition. In the …
Two Epizootic Diseases In Chesapeake Bay Commercial Clams, Mya Arenaria And Tagelus Plebeius, Cf Dungan, Rm Hamilton, Kl Hudson, Cb Mccollough, Kimberly S. Reece
Two Epizootic Diseases In Chesapeake Bay Commercial Clams, Mya Arenaria And Tagelus Plebeius, Cf Dungan, Rm Hamilton, Kl Hudson, Cb Mccollough, Kimberly S. Reece
VIMS Articles
Declining Chesapeake Bay harvests of softshell clams, together with historical and emerging reports of epizootic diseases in Mya arenaria, prompted a survey in summer 2000 of the health status of selected commercial clam populations. All sampled populations (8 M. arenaria softshell clam, 2 Tagelus plebeius razor clam) were infected by Perkinsus sp. protozoans at prevalences ranging from 30 to 100% of sampled clams. Nucleotide sequences for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA gene complex were determined for clonal in vitro Perkinsus sp. isolates propagated from both M arenaria and T plebeius. Multiple polymorphic sequences were amplified from …
Study Of Perkinsosis In The Carpet Shell Clam Tapes Decussatus In Galicia (Nw Spain). I. Identification Of The Aetiological Agent And In Vitro Modulation Of Zoosporulation By Temperature And Salinity, Sm Casas, A Villalba, Kimberly S. Reece
Study Of Perkinsosis In The Carpet Shell Clam Tapes Decussatus In Galicia (Nw Spain). I. Identification Of The Aetiological Agent And In Vitro Modulation Of Zoosporulation By Temperature And Salinity, Sm Casas, A Villalba, Kimberly S. Reece
VIMS Articles
Morphological characters of zoosporulation stages and DNA sequence of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene confirmed that the aetiological agent of perkinsosis in the clam Tapes decussatus from Galicia (NW Spain) was Perkinsus atlanticus Azevedo, 1989. In vitro modulation by temperature and salinity of the zoosporulation of the parasite was studied. The optimum temperature range for zoosporulation was 19 to 28degreesC. The temperature range allowing zoosporulation in vitro was 15 to 32degreesC, which is broader than previously reported (24 to 28degreesC) for R atlanticus, and strongly suggests that zoospores can be …
Transmission Of Withering Syndrome In Black Abalone, Haliotis Cracherodii Leach, Cs Friedman, W Biggs, Jeffrey D. Shields, Rp Hedrick
Transmission Of Withering Syndrome In Black Abalone, Haliotis Cracherodii Leach, Cs Friedman, W Biggs, Jeffrey D. Shields, Rp Hedrick
VIMS Articles
Withering syndrome (WS) has been associated with catastrophic declines in black abalone populations in southern and central California. In an effort to identify the etiological agent of WS and to characterize the progression of this disease, we initiated a transmission study in which abalone from Ano Nuevo Island, a location free of WS, shared aquaria with animals from Vandenberg Airforce Base, a location where WS is epizootic. The mean incubation period of WS (time to develop overt signs of the disease) was 245 days with a mean time to death after development of clinical signs of 42 days. Median time …
Haplosporidium Costale (Seaside Organism), A Parasite Of The Eastern Oyster, Is Present In Long Island Sound, I Sunila, Na Stokes, R Smolowitz, Rc Karney, E. M. Burreson
Haplosporidium Costale (Seaside Organism), A Parasite Of The Eastern Oyster, Is Present In Long Island Sound, I Sunila, Na Stokes, R Smolowitz, Rc Karney, E. M. Burreson
VIMS Articles
A haplosporidian parasite, Haplosporidium costale (seaside organism or SSO), is associated with high mortalities of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in seaside bays of Virginia and Maryland. Its presence in Long Island Sound has been tentatively suggested in several publications for the last 50 y. Positive identification of H. costale and differentiation from another haplosporidian parasite, Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX), from histological sections is difficult and requires the presence of spores. We detected H. costale spores in 4 out of 5010 (0.08%) oysters collected from Long Island Sound in 1997-1999. In situ hybridization using an oligonucleotide DNA probe designed to detect small …