Cassiopea xamachana jellyfish are an attractive model system to study metamorphosis and/or cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis due to the ease of cultivation of their planula larvae and scyphistomae through their asexual cycle, in which the latter can bud new larvae and continue the cycle without differentiation into ephyrae. Then, a subsequent induction of metamorphosis and full differentiation...

A substantial degree of immunologic cross-reactivity is demonstrated among yellow jacket (YJV), yellow hornet (YHV) and white-faced hornet (WFHV) venoms and between the vespid venoms and paper wasp venom (PWV) by RAST inhibition studies of individual sera from allergic patients. Cross-reactivity is shown to be complete, partial or absent in various cases. In many cases RAST inhibition studies a...

I. Humans and Hymenoptera Venoms 509 II. Stings and Statistics 510 III. Psychological Aspects 516 IV. Historical Perspectives 518 V. Medical Causes of Venom Allergy 521 VI. Biochemistry of Venom Allergens 522 VII. Cross-reactivity between Taxa 524 VIII. Reactions to Hymenoptera Stings and Clinical Symptoms of Venom Hypersensitivity . . 527 A. Normal Nonimmune Responses to Hymenoptera Stings 527...

A cladistic analysis of 87 morphological and life history characters of medusozoan cnidarians, rooted with Anthozoa, results in the phylogenetic hypothesis (Anthozoa (Hydrozoa (Scyphozoa (Staurozoa, Cubozoa)))). Staurozoa is a new class of Cnidaria consisting of Stauromedusae and the fossil group Conulatae. Scyphozoa is redefined as including those medusozoans characterized by strobilation and ...

Cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbioses are widespread in the marine environment. Growing concern over the health of coral reef ecosystems has revealed a fundamental lack of knowledge of how cnidarian-algal associations are regulated at the cellular and molecular level. We are interested in identifying genes that mediate interactions between the partners, and we are using the temperate sea anemone A...

In nature, one can find examples of both strategies to replace body parts (see Pearson, 2001). Within some invertebrates such as the cnidarian Hydra, populations of ‘totipotent’ stem cells are present throughout their lives. Upon transection, stem cells near the place of injury are mobilized and respond to local cues, regrowing the missing body part. In some vertebrates, such as amphibian urode...

The complement system is an innate immune pathway that in vertebrates, is responsible for initial recognition and ultimately phagocytosis and destruction of microbes. Several complement molecules including C3, Factor B, and mannose binding lectin associated serine proteases (MASP) have been characterized in invertebrates and while most studies have focused on their conserved role in defense aga...

Objectives: The present study focuses on development of novel Metal-Herbal Nano composite (MHNC) formulation against Naja naja and Bungarus Caeruleus venoms animal models. Methods: were procured from Irula snake catchers society in lyophilised forms. Herbal-metal nanocomposites prepared 1:1 combinations. Single strength concentration Leucas zeylanica extracts copper oxide metal nanoparticles wa...

During the past eight years the senior author has been engaged in testing the pharmacological action and therapeutic properties of Indian snake venoms. Chopra and Chowhan (1932 and 1935) showed that the efficacy of the cobra and other snake venoms in relieving the pain of malignant growths and of neuritis and neuralgias was probably due to the presence of such active principles as neurotoxin. The

There is limited information on the cross-neutralisation of neurotoxic venoms with antivenoms. Cross-neutralisation of the in vitro neurotoxicity of four Asian and four Australian snake venoms, four post-synaptic neurotoxins (α-bungarotoxin, α-elapitoxin-Nk2a, α-elapitoxin-Ppr1 and α-scutoxin; 100 nM) and one pre-synaptic neurotoxin (taipoxin; 100 nM) was studied with five antivenoms: Thai cobr...