We sequenced the genome of Theileria orientalis, a tick-borne apicomplexan protozoan parasite of cattle. The focus of this study was a comparative genome analysis of T. orientalis relative to other highly pathogenic Theileria species, T. parva and T. annulata. T. parva and T. annulata induce transformation of infected cells of lymphocyte or macrophage/monocyte lineages; in contrast, T. oriental...

Bunias orientalis and Erigeron annuus are two alien herbal plant species invading native ecosystems in Lithuania. Both species have similar introduction and invasion history but differ in their life history traits and strategies of reproduction. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) data to compare the genetic diversity in invasive populations of these species. 42 RAPD bands were iden...

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is one of the major public health problems in northwest Ethiopia, mainly in Libo-Kemkem and Metema districts, where Phlebotomus orientalis is the most probable vector of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the physiological age, host preference and vectorial potential of P. orientalis in the highland and lowland foci of the region. Sand flies were col...

BACKGROUND Certain salivary proteins of phlebotomine sand flies injected into the host skin during blood-feeding are highly antigenic and elicit strong antibody-mediated immune responses in repeatedly-exposed hosts. These antibodies can be measured by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assays (ELISAs) using salivary gland homogenates (SGHs) as the source of antigens and serve as a markers for exposur...

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a rapid method with high specificity and efficiency under isothermal condition using a set of four specifically designed primers that recognize six distinct sequences on the target gene. In this study, a LAMP method was developed for specific detection of Babesia orientalis in water buffalo (Bubalus babalis, Linnaeus, 1758). Four primers were des...

The C-banding karyotype of the jerboas Allactaga tetradactyla, Jaculus jaculus jaculus, and Jaculus orientalis was described and interspecific relationships were discussed. Despite the conservation of a relatively small amount of C-heterochromatin located at the centromeric region of some chromosomes in all karyotypes, a striking loss of C-heterochromatin was clearly observed in J. orientalis. ...

Powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a globally serious disease adversely affecting wheat production. The Bgt-resistant wheat breeding line CH09W89 was derived after backcrossing a Bgt resistant wheat-Thinopyrum intermedium partial amphiploid TAI7045 with susceptible wheat cultivars. At the seedling stage, CH09W89 exhibited immunity or high resistance to Bgt path...

Earthworms were collected in forests, damp habitats, springs, orchards and agricultural fields of the Kohgiluyeh & Boyer Ahmad Province, Iran, from April 2009 to April 2010. Specimens were collected at 20 established stations by digging and by diluted formalin methods. Ten species belonging to family Lumbricidae were identified based on morphology: Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny, 1826), Ap. r...