ABSTRACT
Intestinal giant-cystic disease (IGCD) of the Israel carp (Cyprinus carpio nudus) has been recognized as one of the most serious diseases afflicting inland farmed fish in the Republic of Korea, and Thelohanellus kitauei has been identified as the causative agent of the disease. Until now, studies concerning IGCD caused by T. kitauei in the Israel carp have been limited to morphological and histopathological examinations. However, these types of diagnostic examinations are relatively time-consuming, and the infection frequently cannot be detected in its early stages. In this study, we cloned the full-length 18S rRNA gene of T. kitauei isolated from diseased Israel carps, and carried out molecular identification by comparing the sequence with those of other myxosporeans. Moreover, conventional PCR and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) using oligonucleotide primers for the amplification of 18S rRNA gene fragment were established for further use as methods for rapid diagnosis of IGCD. Our results demonstrated that both the conventional PCR and real-time quantitative PCR systems applied herein are effective for rapid detection of T. kitauei spores in fish tissues and environmental water.
Subject(s)
Animals , Carps , DNA Primers/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry , Fish Diseases/diagnosis , Molecular Diagnostic Techniques/methods , Molecular Sequence Data , Myxozoa/genetics , Parasitic Diseases, Animal/diagnosis , RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Republic of Korea , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Time Factors , Veterinary Medicine/methodsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Graphesthesia is the ability to recognize letters or symbols via somatic sensation. We employed functional MRI to determine neurological substrates underlying this ability. We also designed a behavioral experiment to examine the relationship between graphesthesia and working memory. METHODS: Images were acquired in a 1.5T scanner from ten right-handed normal subjects while tactile stimulation was applied for either graphesthesia or simple sensation. Additional eight right-handed normal observers participated in the behavioral experiment where they performed a visuo-spatial or a verbal working memory task, simultaneously with graphesthesia. Overall performance times were measured to detect interference in the dual-task situations. RESULTS: Comparison between graphesthesia and simple sensory stimulation revealed activations at bilateral prefrontal, parietal and superior temporal cortices, regardless of the hand stimulated. The right parietal operculum was activated for both hand conditions, while the corresponding area in the left hemisphere was activated by right-hand stimulation only, suggesting a right-hemisphere dominance for graphesthesia. From the behavioral experiments, we observed that the visuo-spatial task, but not the verbal task, interfered with graphaesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results suggest that the brain areas underlying the visuo-spatial sub-system of working memory are involved in graphesthesia and that some cognitive processes underlying graphesthesia are right-lateralized.