Necropsy examination of a captive emaciated, dehydrated adult female Mole snake (Pseudaspis cana) in October 2007 revealed multiple cutaneous abscesses. Other findings included renal and hepatic atrophy, hepatic haemosiderosis, multifocal granulomatous hepatitis associated with acid-fast bacteria as well as pulmonary congestion and oedema. Large numbers of the nematode Kalicephalus colubri colubri were recovered from the oesophagus and stomach, representing the 1st reported case of K. colubri from a Mole snake in South Africa. The lesions caused by K. c. colubri were insignificant, but the presence of worms may have contributed to weight loss

The mitochondrial D-loop region was used to investigate genetic diversity within and between populations of Egyptian goats, to elucidate processes that explain present patterns of diversity and differentiation and to characterize Egyptian goats relative to international breeds. A total of 120 animals from six populations were sampled. Results confirm the main trend from previous studies of mtDNA diversity in goats, with high levels of diversity within populations, but with a comparative lack of genetic structure supporting geographic distribution. Haplotype diversity varied in a narrow range whereas nucleotide diversity values were more informative in showing differences between populations. The majority of goats analyzed (93.2%) displayed haplotypes that group with Haplogroup A, the most common type found in global goat populations. The remaining animals grouped with the less common Haplogroup G. Population differentiation analysis showed some uniqueness in the Aswan and Sharkawi populations from the South and East of Egypt. Overall, the structure of the Egyptian goat population is characterized by a high degree of homogeneity among populations from the north-western coastal region, the Nile Delta and the upper and middle regions of the Nile valley, but with possible introgression of rarer haplotypes into populations at the southern and eastern extremities of the country.

Chronological age is a key factor in animal ecology, as many biological traits appear and change over time. Such traits include development, age of reproductive maturity, reproductive success, future reproductive potential, and mortality. Several molecular methods have emerged as potential vehicle for biological age determination. The aim of this experiment is to ascertain if a Methylation Sensitive PCR (MSP) could be developed to screen for methylation at a previously identified site in the GRIA2 gene. Primers were designed by eye for both methylated and unmethylated target CpG’s in the GRIA2 promoter, and MSP conducted with the EpiScope® MSP kit. After optimization, the assay was able to successfully amplify the unmethylated control DNA with an efficiency of 97.6% and R²=99% across a range of 0.3–20 ng input DNA. Comparable results were, however, obtained with the methylated control DNA. Thus, the primers designed for the GRIA2 CpG was able to amplify the selected CpG with great efficiency making MSP a promising method of methylation screening, but primer design to assay a specific site faces many problems and selectivity for methylated vs. unmethylated may not be achievable.