Biological comparisons between a laboratory-maintained and a recently isolated field strain of Boophilus microplus.

Biological differences between two strains of Boophilus microplus were examined. The A-strain of ticks had been maintained at the laboratory for many years and the N-strain was recently isolated, being a composite strain derived from ticks from different sources in the field. In three experiments, up to three times as many N-strain ticks grew to maturity than did A-strain ticks, although A-strain ticks matured earlier. N-strain ticks were 17 to 60% heavier, and laid 50 to 100% more eggs than A-strain ticks. N-strain eggs were significantly more fertile than A-strain eggs. Unfed, N-strain larvae survived much longer than A-strain larvae. The reduced vitality of the A-strain is attributed to its long history in the laboratory during which time it has become biologically disadvantaged through inbreeding. These results suggest that some laboratory-maintained strains of ticks may be unsuitable for ecological or acaricide studies.

Reduction in pathogenicity of Babesia bovis for its tick vector, Boophilus microplus, after rapid blood passage in splenectomized calves.

Two strains of Babesia bovis that had been serially blood passaged in splenectomized calves 27 to 33 times, a procedure known to have reduced their virulence for normal cattle, were shown to have low pathogenicity for replete, female Boophilus microplus. In comparison with a strain of B. bovis unmodified by repeated blood passage, the two modified strains infected higher proportions of ticks and produced comparable numbers of morphologically similar parasites in their haemolymph, but killed significantly fewer of them. Red discolouration of haemolymph was observed in many ticks infected with the unmodified strain, but in none of those infected with the modified strains. It is suggested that the modified strains have lost a quality causing pathological effects on the gut cells of infected ticks.

Changes in growth, appetite, food conversion efficiency and body composition in mice selected for high post-weaning weight gain on restricted feeding.

This study aimed to test the hypothesis that if animals were fed the same amount over the same time period, selection of the fastest growers would result in a change in the partitioning of metabolisable energy toward more protein and less fat deposition. Two mouse lines (S1 and S2) were selected for high 5 to 9 week weight gain corrected to mean 5 week weight. Appetite variation between mice was eliminated by feeding a fixed amount to each mouse daily. After 6 generations of selection, the lines were compared with an unselected control (C) on restricted and ad libitum levels of feeding for growth rate, appetite, food conversion efficiency and chemical body composition.Realised heritabilities of 5 to 9 week gain were 0.36+ 0.05 and 0.19±0.04 for S1 and S2 respectively. Nine week weights were increased by an average of 13% on both feeding levels. Most of this increase, particularly in S2, occurred before 5 weeks and was therefore outside the period of measurement used in selection. On ad libitum feeding, selection increased food intake per unit time by 6% but there was no increase per unit body weight. Food conversion efficiency (gain/food) increased by 12%. Compared with controls at 9 weeks, 3% more of the body weights of selected mice was fat and 1% less was protein. These differences were reduced but were still in the same direction when comparisons were made at the same body weight. Thus the expected change in energy partitioning toward greater protein and less fat deposition in the S lines did not occur.It was concluded that the increased growth and energy retention in the S lines was brought about by a reduction in maintenance requirement. To achieve the desired change in energy partitioning using a similar selection scheme, higher levels of dietary protein should be fed, and some measure of protein deposition rather than growth rate used as the selection criterion.

Secondary selective enrichment of salmonellae from naturally contaminated specimens by using a selective motility system.

A selective motility medium was used as a secondary selective enrichment medium to examine specimens naturally contaminated with salmonellae. The medium, incubated at 37 degrees C, was inoculated from either selenite brilliant green sulfa enrichment broth or Müller-Kauffman tetrathionate broth, both of which had been incubated at 42 degrees C. The use of the selective motility medium resulted in an increase in the number of positive specimens from 65 and 74% to 80 and 82%, when inoculated at 24 and 48 h, respectively, from tetrathionate broth. Tetrathionate broth, when used singly, was significantly better than selenite brilliant green sulfa broth, which detected 55% of positive specimens at both 24 and 48 h. The use of the selective motility medium of Harper and Shortridge (J. Hyg. 67: 181--186, 1969) for the further examination of specimens culturally negative on primary selective enrichment is advocated.