Tegumentary leishmaniasis in the State of Amazonas: what have we learned and what do we need?

This study evaluated the occurrence of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) in the State of Amazonas, Brazil, in the last 30 years with emphasis on the last 10 years (2001 to 2010). The disease was predominantly observed in males (76.2%), in the 21- to 30-year-old age group (26.6%) and in extractive workers (43.7%); 3.3% of the cases were the mucosal form. The endemic channel shows the disease seasonality, with a predominance of cases at the beginning and end of each year. The number of cases by municipality in the period of 2001-2010 shows the maintenance of the endemic in the localities where the highest numbers of cases have always been registered, namely, Manaus, Rio Preto da Eva, Itacoatiara and Presidente Figueiredo. The comparison of data from 2001 to 2005 and from 2006 to 2010 showed the emergence of this disease in municipalities that had been previously unaffected. In the last years, there has been a significant increase in the activities of control, diagnosis and treatment of leishmaniasis in the State of Amazonas. In conclusion, the historical series of ATL analyzed in this study suggests that the transmission foci remain and are even expanding, though without continuous transmission in the intra- or peridomicile settings. Moreover, the disease will persist in the Amazon while the factors associated with infection acquisition relative to forest exploitation continue to have economic appeal. There is a real expectation of wide variations in disease incidence that can be influenced by climate and economic aspects.

Variación fenotípica de la concha en Neritinidae (Gastropoda: Neritimorpha) en ríos de Puerto Rico

Phenotypic variability of the shell in Neritinidae (Gastropoda: Neritimorpha) in Puerto Rican rivers. Gastropods of the Neritinidae family exhibit an amphidromous life cycle and an impressive variability in shell coloration in Puerto Rican streams and rivers. Various nominal species have been described, but Neritina virginea [Linné 1758], N. punctulata [Lamarck 1816] and N. reclivata [Say 1822] are the only broadly reported. However, recent studies have shown that these three species are sympatric at the river scale and that species determination might be difficult due to the presence of intermediate color morphs. Individuals (8 751) were collected from ten rivers across Puerto Rico, and from various segments and habitats in Mameyes River (the most pristine island-wide) during three years (2000-2003), and they were assigned to one of seven phenotypes corresponding to nominal species and morphs (non-nominal species). The “axial lines and dots” morph corresponding to N. reclivata was the most frequent island-wide, while the patelliform N. punctulata was scant, but the only found in headwater reaches. The “yellowish large tongues” phenotype, typical of N. virginea s.s. was the most frequent in the river mouth. The frequency of secondary phenotypes varied broadly among rivers, along the rivers, and among habitats, seemly influenced by salinity and predation gradients. The occurrence of individuals with coloration shifts after predation injuries, suggests phenotypic plasticity in the three nominal species, and urges for the use of molecular markers to unravel the possible occurrence of a species complex, and to understand the genetic basis of polymorphism. The longitudinal distribution of individual sizes, population density and egg capsules suggested the adaptive value of upstream migration, possibly to avoid marine predators. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl. 2): 53-68. Epub 2014 April 01.

Los gasterópodos Neritinidae de Puerto Rico presentan un ciclo de vida anfídromo y exhiben polimorfismo en los patrones de coloración de la concha. Se identificó que la oviposición aumenta río arriba conforme los individuos alcanzan mayores tamaños, a pesar de que la densidad poblacional disminuye. La frecuencia de siete fenotipos previamente establecidos se analizó en diez ríos de la isla durante dos años (n=8 751 individuos). Debido a que el río Mameyes es el más conservado, se tomó como modelo para estudiar la variación a lo largo del río y entre hábitats durante tres años. El fenotipo de líneas axiales y puntos (N. virginea) fue el predominante en toda la isla y el fenotipo pateloide (N. punctulata) fue el menos frecuente. Se observaron diferencias significativas de las frecuencias de los fenotipos (principalmente en los secundarios) entre ríos, a lo largo de ellos y entre hábitats. Esta variabilidad espacial puede responder a gradientes de salinidad y depredación. Se observó plasticidad fenotípica en algunos individuos.

Cloning and expression analysis of a small HSP26 gene of Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai).

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are evolutionally conserved from micro organism to mammals and play important roles in many biological processes including thermal tolerance. We isolated a homologue of small HSP26 (sHSP26) from a subtracted cDNA library of heat shock-treated abalone (Haliotis discus hannai). The abalone sHSP26 encompossed 793 nt, including a coding region of 501 nt. The deduced amino acid sequence of the abalone sHSP26 contained well conserved alpha-crystallin domain and showed overall identities of 27-31% with the other species' sHSP proteins. The abalone sHSP26 transcript was induced by heat shock treatment, but not by cold shock treatment.