Genetic variation between susceptible and non-susceptible snails to Schistosoma infection using random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPDs).
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Susceptibility of snails to infection by certain trematodes and their suitability as hosts for continued development has been a bewildering problem in host-parasite relationships. The present work emphasizes our interest in snail genetics to determine what genes or gene products are specifically responsible for susceptibility of snails to infection. High molecular weight DNA was extracted from both susceptible and non-susceptible snails within the same species Biomphalaria tenagophila. RAPD was undertaken to distinguish between the two types of snails. Random primers (10 mers) were used to amplify the extracted DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and silver staining. The results suggest that RAPD represents an efficient means of genome comparison, since many molecular markers were detected as genetic variations between susceptible and non-susceptible snails. (+info)
Further studies on the molecular systematics of Biomphalaria snails from Brazil.
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The polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA gene, using the enzyme DdeI were used for the molecular identification of ten species and one subspecies of Brazilian Biomphalaria. Emphasis is given to the analysis of B. oligoza, B. schrammi and B. amazonica. The RFLP profiles obtained using this enzyme were highly distinctive for the majority of the species and exhibited low levels of intraspecific polymorphism among specimens from different regions of Brazil. However, B. peregrina and B. oligoza presented very similar profiles that complicated their identification at the molecular level and suggested a very close genetic similarity between the two species. Others enzymes including HaeIII, HpaII, AluI and MnlI were tested for their ability to differentiate these species. For B. amazonica three variant profiles produced with DdeI were observed. The study demonstrated that the ITS contains useful genetic markers for the identification of these snails (+info)
Gamma (60)Co DL(50/30) of Biomphalaria glabrata (SAY, 1818).
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The variation of resistance to (60)Co gamma-rays of Biomphalaria glabrata was studied. A population of 480 mollusks was observed during 30 days - distributed in 8 groups of snails isolated and 8 groups of snails in colonies - after exposure (30 snails per group per dose) to increasing doses of gamma radiation. Doses of 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 160, 320 and 640 Gy from a Gamma-cell (60)Co irradiator, were applied to the test groups and two groups control (non-irradiated) of snails - isolated and colony - were kept apart. After have been exposed, the snails were drew back to the aquaria where they were maintained before. The survival was estimated on a daily score of the alive animals in each group-dose, starting after the irradiation exposure day. As a result, the survival self-fertilization forms (DL(50/30) = 218.2 Gy) was found greater than in cross-fecundation forms. These data point to a low radio-resistance on the cross-fertilization forms - the sexual reproductive form - which is most found in nature. The lower radio-resistance of the cross-fertilization forms suggests the presence of some sex-linked hormonal factor related to this phenomenon. (+info)
Identification of planorbids from Venezuela by polymerase chain reaction amplification and restriction fragment length polymorphism of internal transcriber spacer of the RNA ribosomal gene.
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Snails of the genus Biomphalaria from Venezuela were subjected to morphological assessment as well as polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. Morphological identification was carried out by comparison of characters of the shell and the male and female reproductive apparatus. The PCR-RFLP involved amplification of the internal spacer region ITS1 and ITS2 of the RNA ribosomal gene and subsequent digestion of this fragment by the restriction enzymes DdeI, MnlI, HaeIII and MspI. The planorbids were compared with snails of the same species and others reported from Venezuela and present in Brazil, Cuba and Mexico. All the enzymes showed a specific profile for each species, that of DdeI being the clearest. The snails were identified as B. glabrata, B. prona and B. kuhniana. (+info)
Microhabitat preferences of Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Lymnaea natalensis in a natural and a man-made habitat in southeastern Tanzania.
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Schistosoma mansoni is an important human parasitic disease which is widespread throughout Africa. As Biomphalaria pfeifferi snails act as intermediate host, knowledge of their population ecology is an essential prerequisite towards understanding disease transmission. We conducted a field study and assessed the density and microhabitat preferences of B.pfeifferi in a natural habitat which was a residual pool of a river. Repeated removal collecting revealed a density of 26.6 [95% confidence interval (CI): 24.9-28.3] snails/m2. B. pfeifferi showed microhabitat preferences for shallow water (depths: 0-4cm). They were found most abundantly close to the shoreline (distances: 0-40cm), and preferred either plant detritus or bedrock as substratum. Lymnaea natalensis, a snail which may act as a host for human Fasciola gigantica, also occurred in this habitat with a density of 34.0 (95% CI: 24.7-43.3) snails/m2, and preferred significantly different microhabitats when compared to B.pfeifferi. Microhabitat selection by these snail species was also investigated in a man-made habitat nearby, which consisted of a flat layer of concrete fixed on the riverbed, covered by algae. Here, B.pfeifferi showed no preference for locations close to the shoreline, probably because the habitat had a uniform depth. We conclude that repeated removal collecting in shallow habitats provides reliable estimates of snail densities and that habitat changes through constructions may create favourable microhabitats and contribute to additional disease transmission. (+info)
Biological screening of Brazilian medicinal plants.
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In this study, we screened sixty medicinal plant species from the Brazilian savanna ("cerrado") that could contain useful compounds for the control of tropical diseases. The plant selection was based on existing ethnobotanic information and interviews with local healers. Plant extracts were screened for: (a) molluscicidal activity against Biomphalaria glabrata, (b) toxicity to brine shrimp (Artemia salina L.), (c) antifungal activity in the bioautographic assay with Cladosporium sphaerospermum and (d) antibacterial activity in the agar diffusion assay against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Forty-two species afforded extracts that showed some degree of activity in one or more of these bioassays. (+info)
Distribution of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata, intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni, within a St Lucian field habitat.
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A total of 6360 mud samples were obtained, in 62 collections made with an exhaustive sampling device, from banana drains on the West Indian island of St Lucia during fortnightly samplings over a 2(1/2)-year period. Analysis of counts of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata from these samples showed that this species had a contagious distribution. This finding is consistent with other evidence that banana drains form a rigorous habitat for B. glabrata. Its distribution was more contagious than that of Oncomelania quadrasi in certain Philippine habitats and several species of aquatic snail in various African irrigation canals. The exact transformation for normalizing the snail counts for standard statistical techniques was z = x(0.287) but the more convenient cube root transformation is probably adequate. However, if too few snails are collected (15 or fewer per 100 samples) or if the frequency distribution of snail counts is discontinuous, with too many widely separated high frequency counts, neither transformation will be entirely satisfactory. (+info)
The suppression, by Helisoma duryi, of the cercarial production of Schistosoma mansoni-infected Biomphalaria pfeifferi.
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Biological control of the intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium by means of a competitor snail, Helisoma duryi, has been suggested. In the present laboratory study, the influence of H. duryi on the relationship between the parasite and the intermediate host was investigated. The results indicated that H. duryi behaves as a "decoy" if it is present when Biomphalaria pfeifferi is exposed to the miracidia of S. mansoni, and that the continued presence of H. duryi in the aquarium after B. pfeifferi has been exposed greatly reduces cercarial production. When these two species were present in equal numbers, cercarial production was reduced by 95.9% in comparison with a control group. (+info)