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Bats and dogs are the main reservoirs of rabies virus (RABV) in Latin America and are responsible for the maintenance of different cycles of infection. In the two neighbour and most southern Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and Santa Catarina (SC), rabies in dogs has been successfully controlled for more than 30 years. However, rabies associated to the rural cycle remains endemic, with a significant, though oscillating—annual incidence of rabies in cattle. Despite the plethora of studies on genetic analyses of Brazilian RABV, isolates from southern Brazil have only scarcely been investigated. This work was performed to identify the genetic lineages of RABVs circulating in states of RS and SC. Fifty-nine RABV cattle isolates from RS and SC were selected and submitted to reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) followed by sequencing of the nucleoprotein gene. In RS, the circulation of two sublineages (1A and 1B) of RABV was detected, both with characteristics of lineages usually detected in vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus). In SC, only one sublineage of RABV (1B) was detected. Nevertheless, the findings reported here are expected to contribute to the understanding of the biology of the virus in the region and its interactions with the natural host D. rotundus.

Fragments of ileum from 663 pigs were collected in abattoirs, prepared with the use of standard histological methods and stained with a novel sensitive histochemical method for the detection of porcine proliferative enteropathy. The method is a combination of the following 3 well-known methods, the Warthin-Starry method, alcian blue and hematoxylin-eosin. In 11 cases, mucus-producing cells were completely absent, severe adenomatous proliferation was observed and intracellular bacteria were found in enterocytes. Disappearance of goblet cells and the presence of adenomatous proliferation without any detectable intracellular bacteria were observed in 16 cases. In the remaining 636 cases, histological changes and intracellular bacteria were not found. When comparing the conventional Warthin-Starry method with the modified staining method presented here, the same 16 cases were found. However, the method presented here enables examination of large numbers of sections in a relatively short period of time.

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by extensive neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) formation and neuronal loss in selective neuronal populations. Currently, no clues to the biological events underlying the pathological process have emerged. In Alzheimer disease (AD), which shares with PSP the occurrence of NFTs, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) as well as oxidation adducts have been found to be increased in association with neurofibrillary pathology. The presence and the amount of lipid and protein oxidation markers, as well as of pyrraline and pentosidine, 2 major AGEs, was assessed by biochemical, immunochemical, and immunocytochemical analysis in midbrain tissue from 5 PSP cases, 6 sporadic AD cases, and 6 age-matched control cases. The levels of 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), 2 major products of lipid peroxidation, were significantly increased by 1.6-fold (p < 0.04) and 3.9-fold (p < 0.01), respectively, in PSP compared with control tissues, whereas in AD only TBARS were significantly increased. In PSP tissue the intensity of neuronal HNE immunoreactivity was proportional to the extent of abnormal aggregated τ protein. The amount of protein oxidation products and AGEs was instead similar in PSP and control tissues. In AD, a higher but not significant level of pyrraline and pentosidine was measured, whereas the level of carbonyl groups was doubled. These findings indicate that in PSP, unlike in AD, lipid peroxidation is selectively associated with NFT formation. The intraneuronal accumulation of toxic aldehydes may contribute to hamper τ degradation, leading to its aggregation in the PSP specific abnormal filaments.

The Hemiptera (aphids, cicadas, and true bugs) are a key insect order, with high diversity for feeding ecology and excellent experimental tractability for molecular genetics. Building upon recent sequencing of hemipteran pests such as phloem-feeding aphids and blood-feeding bed bugs, we present the genome sequence and comparative analyses centered on the milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus, a seed feeder of the family Lygaeidae. Contexte : les hémiptères (pucerons, cigales et punaises) constituent un ordre d'insectes clé, caractérisé par une grande diversité alimentaire et une excellente faisabilité expérimentale en génétique moléculaire. En nous appuyant sur le séquençage récent d'hémiptères nuisibles tels que les pucerons phloémifuges et les punaises de lit hématophages, nous présentons la séquence du génome et des analyses comparatives centrées sur la punaise de l'asclépiade Oncopeltus fasciatus, une espèce granivore de la famille des Lygaeidae.Résultats : le génome d'Oncopeltus (926 Mb) est bien représenté par l'assemblage actuel et le jeu de gènes officiel. Nous utilisons nos données génomiques et de séquençage d'ARN non seulement pour caractériser le répertoire de gènes codant pour les protéines et réaliser une interférence ARN spécifique à l'isoforme, mais aussi pour élucider les schémas d'évolution moléculaire et de physiologie. Nous observons une expansion et une diversification continues, spécifiques à la lignée, des protéines répressives à doigts de zinc C2H2. La découverte d'un gain et d'un renouvellement d'introns spécifiques aux hémiptères a également conduit à évaluer la lignée et la taille du génome comme prédicteurs de l'évolution de la structure des gènes. De plus, nous identifions des gains et des pertes enzymatiques corrélés à la biologie de l'alimentation, en particulier pour les réductions associées à une alimentation dérivée et fluide.Conclusions : grâce à la punaise de l’asclépiade, nous disposons désormais d’une masse critique d’espèces séquencées pour un ordre d’insectes hémimétaboles et un groupe proche des Holométaboles, améliorant considérablement la diversité génomique des insectes. Nous définissons ainsi les points communs entre les hémiptères et étudions comment les génomes des hémiptères reflètent des écologies alimentaires distinctes. Compte tenu de la force d’Oncopeltus comme modèle expérimental, ces nouvelles ressources de séquences renforcent les bases de la recherche moléculaire et mettent en lumière des considérations techniques pour l’analyse des génomes d’invertébrés de taille moyenne.