Three colipases were purified from pancreas of two birds (ostrich and turkey) and one mammal (dromedary). After acidic and/or heat treatment and precipitation by sulfate ammonium and then ethanol, cofactors were purified by Sephadex G-50 gel filtration followed by ion-exchange chromatography first on Mono S and then on Mono Q. One molecular form was obtained from each species with a molecular m...

The pecten oculi is a structure peculiar to the avian eye. Three morphological types of pecten oculi are recognized: conical type, vaned type and pleated type. The pleated type has been well studied. However, there exists only scanty data on the morphology of the latter two types of pectens. The structure of the vaned type of pecten of the ostrich, Struthio camelus was investigated with light a...

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteome analysis relies heavily on the presence of complete protein databases. Such a strategy is extremely powerful, albeit not adequate in the analysis of unpredicted postgenome events, such as posttranslational modifications, which exponentially increase the search space. Therefore, it is of interest to explore "database-free" approaches. Here, we sampled the os...

The distribution of Herbst corpuscles in the oropharynx of the ostrich and emu has recently been documented. However, although the morphology of these mechanoreceptors is well known in neognathous birds, little structural information is available on the Herbst corpuscles of ratites. Tissue sections from those regions of the oropharynx known to possess a high concentration of Herbst corpuscles w...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of gamma irradiation and vacuum packaging as combined process for improvement of ostrich meat shelf life. Ostrich meat was vacuum-packaged and irradiated at 0, 1 and 3.0 kGy. Bacterial growth and sensory quality were determined at 1, 7, 14 and 21 days. Microbial analysis indicated that the combined use of vacuum packaging and irradiation had a si...

Aspergillosis is an important infectious disease in ostriches that can be acute or chronic. Because of high morbidity and mortality rate of aspergillosis in ostriches, it can cause serious financial losses to the ostrich production industry. In this study, we discuss some outbreaks of Aspergillus infection in ostrich farms of eastern regions of Iran during 2010-2012. Signs of respiratory involv...

Protease activities were detected in quiescent and germinating spores of the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris [L.] Todaro). Peak endopeptidase, aminopeptidase, and carboxypeptidase activities were detected 12 to 24 hours after spores began imbibing under light. There was a correlation between activities of proteases, the onset of a decline in levels of soluble protein, and an increase in...

In this work, we explore the potential of the metalloendopeptidase Lys-N for MALDI-MS/MS proteomics applications. Initially we digested a HEK293 cellular lysate with Lys-N and, for comparison, in parallel with the protease Lys-C. The resulting peptides were separated by strong cation exchange to enrich and isolate peptides containing a single N-terminal lysine. MALDI-MS/MS analysis of these pep...

A total of 2160 images of candled, incubated ostrich eggs were digitized to determine the percentage of egg volume occupied by the air cell at different stages of incubation. The air cell on average occupied 2.5% of the volume of fresh eggs. For eggs that hatched successfully, this volume increased to an average of 24.4% at 41 days of incubation, just prior to hatching. Air cell volume at 29 da...

The interactions of a fluorescent membrane probe, 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid (1,8-ANS), with boar spermatozoa were followed through the use of lipoprotein fraction of ostrich egg yolk (LPFo). Semen samples, extended in Kortowo 3 (K3) extender, were supplemented with 2% or 5% LPFo and stored for 3h at 16 degrees C. Additionally, cold shock-treated spermatozoa (1h at 4 degrees C) were s...