Investigation of The Usefulness of Serum Amyloid A in Characterizing Selected Disease Forms of Equine Herpesvirus-1 Infection.

The objective of this study was to study the SAA response of horses with various forms of EHV-1 infection. Archived serum samples from 153 horses with various disease forms of EHV-1 infection (48 healthy non-infected horses, 48 subclinically infected horses, 40 horses with respiratory EHV-1 infection and 17 horses with neurological EHV-1 infection) were available for SAA testing. SAA values ranged from 0 to 31 µg/mL (median 0 µg/mL) in healthy horses, from 0 to 2,416 µg/mL (median 8.5 µg/mL) in subclinically infected horses, from 0 to 3,000 µg/mL (median 597 µg/mL) in horse with respiratory EHV-1 infection and from 0 to 1,640 µg/mL (median 58 µg/mL) in horse with neurological EHV-1 disease. Infected horses had significantly higher SAA values compared to healthy, non-infected horses. While SAA was elevated in the majority of horses with evidence of EHV-1 infection, a single point in time SAA test was unable to consistently support infection in horses with subclinical disease.

Application of diffusion growth chambers for the cultivation of marine sponge-associated bacteria.

Marine sponges contain dense and diverse microbial communities, which are renowned as a source of bioactive metabolites. The biological activities of sponge-microbe natural products span a broad spectrum, from antibacterial and antifungal to antitumor and antiviral applications. However, the potential of sponge-derived compounds has not been fully realized, due largely to the acknowledged "supply issue." Most bacteria from environmental samples have resisted cultivation on artificial growth media, and cultivation of sponge-associated bacteria has been a major focus in the search for novel marine natural products. One approach to isolate so-called "uncultivable" microorganisms from different environments is the diffusion growth chamber method. Here, we describe the first application of diffusion growth chambers for the isolation of cultivable and previously uncultivated bacteria from sponges. The study was conducted by implanting diffusion growth chambers in the tissue of Rhabdastrella globostellata reef sponges. In total, 255 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained, with phylogenetic analyses revealing their affiliations with the Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Fifteen sequences represented previously uncultivated bacteria belonging to the Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria (Alpha and Gamma classes). Our results indicate that the diffusion growth chamber approach can be successfully applied in a natural, living marine environment such as sponges.