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AbSTRAcT. Schistosomiasis remains one of the most prevalent parasitic infections and has significant economic and public health consequences in many developing countries. Economic development and improvement in standard of living in these countries are dependent on the elimination of this odious disease. For the control of Schistosomiasis, understanding the host/parasite association is important, since the host parasite relationship is often complex and since questions remain concerning the susceptibility of snails to infection by respective trematodes and their specificity and suitability as hosts for continued parasite development. Thus, the long term aim of this research is to learn more about the genetic basis of the snail/parasite relationship with the hope of finding novel ways to disrupt the transmission of this disease. In the current research, genetic variability among susceptible and resistant strains within and between Biomphalaria glabrata and B. tenagophila was investigated using RAPD-PCR. The results indicate great genetic variations within the two snail species using three different primers 519 ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 7 (2): 518-526 (2008) Schistosome/mollusk: genetic compatibility (intrapopulational variations), while specimens from the same snail species showed few individual differences between the susceptible and resistant strains (interpopulational variation).

ABSTRACT. Despite the implementation control programs, schistosomiasis continues to spread throughout the world. Among modern control strategies, vector control is currently being emphasized. Within this context, analysis of the genetic variability of intermediate host snails (Biomphalaria spp) is important because it allows identification of specific sequences of the genome of this mollusk related to suscep- 1451©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 9 (3): 1450-1459 (2010) Genetic variability between Biomphalaria glabrata strains tibility/resistance to Schistosoma mansoni infection. We investigated Brazilian albino (non-pigmented) and pigmented (wild type) strains of Biomphalaria glabrata; these strains differ in their susceptibility to S. mansoni infection. Genetic variability was studied by RAPD-PCR using different random primers. The electrophoretic patterns resulting from amplification showed specific polymorphic markers for the albino and pigmented strains of B. glabrata. This information will help in the identification and isolation of genes specifically related to susceptibility, demonstrating that RAPD-PCR is an appropriate and efficient methodological approach for analysis of the genetic variability of schistosomiasis vectors.

The complexity of the metabolic changes in obese individuals still presents a challenge for the understanding of obesity-related metabolic disruptions and for obesity management. In this study, a gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) based metabolomics approach targeting urine metabolism has been applied to assess the potential roles of functional foods and exercise for obesity management in rats. Male albino rats diagnosed as obese via histopathology and biochemical assays were administered functional foods in common use for obesity management including pomegranate, grapefruit, and red cabbage juice extracts in parallel with swimming exercise. Urine samples were collected from these rats, and likewise from healthy control animals, for metabolite analysis using (GC-MS) coupled to multivariate data analysis. The results revealed a significant elevation in oxalate and phosphate levels in obese rat urine concurrent with lower lactate levels as compared to the control group. Furthermore, and to pinpoint the bioactive agents in the administered functional foods, ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) was employed for secondary metabolite profiling. The different phenolic classes found in the examined functional foods, viz. ellagitannins in pomegranate, flavanones in grapefruit and flavonols in red cabbage, are likely to mediate their anti-obesity effects. The results indicate that these functional foods and exercise were quite effective in reverting obesity-related metabolic disruptions back to normal status, as revealed by orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA).

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