on the hindquarters at the age of about 3 months. In the following 1 to 2 months, hair is lost from these regions revealing raised patches of bright pink skin. Each patch is about 20 mm long and 15 mm wide, has a coarse texture, one or two characteristic folds (Pl. 1, Fig. 1) and a musty odour. Histologically, the skin contains very greatly enlarged holocrine sebaceous glands (Pl. 1, Fig. 2). T...

Infection of laboratory mice by the Murid herpesvirus 4 (MHV-4) is a much studied model system for gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis. Little, however, is known about its natural host range, epidemiology and pathogenesis outside the laboratory. We have studied MHV-4 infection in free-living murids in the UK. Using a combination of serology and PCR analysis, we found that MHV-4 was endemic in wood mi...

b ackground: in this study the concentration of lysozyme in blood plasma of  microtus agrestis, clethrinomys glareolus , apodemus sylvaticus, bk rats and outbred white mice before and after infection with culture forms of trypanosoma microti, t, evotomys, t. grosi, t. lewisi and t. musculi respectively was measured. m ethods: blood samples of rodents, microtus agrestis, clethrionomys glareolus,...

Under natural conditions the vole (Microtus agrestis) breeds in the spring and summer but not in the autumn and winter. This seasonal change was attributed by Baker & Ranson (1933) to the influence of hours of sunshine, and in the laboratory it has been shown that photoperiod affects the growth ofgonads and maintenance of their activity (Baker & Ranson, 1932; Clarke & Kennedy, 1967; Breed & Cla...

Sugar content is the major determinant of both fruit quality and consumer acceptance in melon (Cucumis melo L), and is a primary target for crop improvement. Near-isogenic lines (NILs) derived from the intraspecific cross between a "Piel de Sapo" (PS) type and the exotic cultivar "Songwhan Charmi" (SC), and several populations generated from the cross of PS × Ames 24294 ("Trigonus"), a wild mel...