The gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of herbivores harbor dense and diverse microbiota that has beneficial interactions with the host, particularly for agriculturally relevant animals like ruminants such as cattle. When assessing ruminant health, microbiological indicators are often derived from the rumen or feces. However, it is probable that ruminal and fecal microbiota do not reflect the microbial communities within the GIT of ruminants. To test this, we investigated the compartments of the GIT from a Brazilian Nelore steer and performed a 16S rRNA pyrosequencing analysis on the collected samples. Our results showed high intra-individual variation, with samples clustering according to their location in the GIT including the forestomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Although sequences related to the phyla Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes predominated all samples, there was a remarkable variation at the family level. Comparisons between the microbiota in the rumen, feces, and other GIT components showed distinct differences in microbial community. This work is the first intensive non-culture based GIT microbiota analysis for any ruminant and provides a framework for understanding how host microbiota impact the health of bovines.

BackgroundThe current millennium has seen a steep rise in the number, size and case-fatalities of cholera outbreaks in many African countries. Over 40,000 cases of cholera were reported from Nigeria in 2010. Variants of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor biotype have emerged but very little is known about strains causing cholera outbreaks in West Africa, which is crucial for the implementation of interventions to control epidemic cholera.Methodology/Principal Findings V. cholerae isolates from outbreaks of acute watery diarrhea in Nigeria from December, 2009 to October, 2010 were identified by standard culture methods. Fifteen O1 and five non-O1/non-O139 strains were analyzed; PCR and sequencing targeted regions associated with virulence, resistance and biotype were performed. We also studied genetic interrelatedness among the strains by multilocus sequence analysis and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The antibiotic susceptibility was tested by the disk diffusion method and E-test. We found that multidrug resistant atypical El Tor strains, with reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol, characterized by the presence of the SXT element, and gyrA Ser83Ile/parC Ser85Leu alleles as well CTX phage and TCP cluster characterized by rstR ElTor, ctxB-7 and tcpA CIRS alleles, respectively, were largely responsible for cholera outbreaks in 2009 and 2010. We also identified and characterized a V. cholerae non-O1/non-O139 lineage from cholera-like diarrhea cases in Nigeria.Conclusions/SignificanceThe recent Nigeria outbreaks have been determined by multidrug resistant atypical El Tor and non-O1/non-O139 V. cholerae strains, and it seems that the typical El Tor, from the beginning of seventh cholera pandemic, is no longer epidemic/endemic in this country. This scenario is similar to the East Africa, Asia and Caribbean countries. The detection of a highly virulent, antimicrobial resistant lineage in Nigeria is worrisome and points to a need for vaccine-based control of the disease. This study has also revealed the putative importance of non-O1/non-O139 V. cholerae in diarrheal disease in Nigeria.

BackgroundCarbapenems are the antibiotics of choice to treat infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, and resistance to this class can be determined by loss of membrane permeability and enzymatic mechanisms. Here, we analyzed the basis of carbapenem resistance in clinical A. baumannii isolates from different Brazilian regions.ResultsThe analyses addressed the carbapenemase activity of OXA-23, CarO expression and alterations in its primary structure. Susceptibility test revealed that the strains presented the COS (Colistin-Only-Sensitive) profile. PCR and sequencing showed the presence of the chromosomally-encoded blaOXA-51 in all isolates. The majority of strains (53%) carried the carbapenemase blaOXA-23 gene associated with ISAba1. The Hodge test indicated that these strains are carbapenemase producers. PFGE revealed 14 genotypes among strains from Rio de Janeiro and Maranhão. The influence of carO on imipenem resistance was evaluated considering two aspects: the composition of the primary amino acid sequence; and the expression level of this porin. Sequencing and in silico analyses showed the occurrence of CarOa, CarOb and undefined CarO types, and Real Time RT-PCR revealed basal and reduced carO transcription levels among isolates.ConclusionsWe concluded that, in general, for these Brazilian isolates, the major carbapenem resistance mechanism was due to OXA-23 carbapenemase activity and that loss of CarO porin plays a minor role in this phenotype. However, it was possible to associate the carO alleles and their expression with imipenem resistance. Therefore, these findings underline the complexity in addressing the role of different mechanisms in carbapenem resistance and highlight the possible influence of CarO type in this phenotype.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a flutuação populacional de espécies da ordem Coleoptera (Insecta) em plantios de Eucalyptus grandis na região de Santa Bárbara, Minas Gerais. Os coleópteros foram coletados por meio de armadilhas luminosas, acionadas durante uma noite, a cada 15 dias, de julho de 1993 a junho de 1994. Foram coletados 5.641 indivíduos da ordem Coleoptera, sendo 866 e 4.775 identificados em nível de gênero e, ou, espécie e família, respectivamente. A família com maior número de indivíduos foi Carabidae, com 74,55%, seguida por Scarabaeidae e Elateridae, com 10,12 e 3,98% dos indivíduos coletados, respectivamente. As espécies mais coletadas foram Isonychus albicinctus (Scarabaeidae), Colaspis jolivetti (Chrysomelidae) e Cyclocephala laminata (Scarabaeidae), com 472, 317 e 16 indivíduos, correspondendo a 54,50, 36,61 e 1,85% dos indivíduos identificados por espécie, respectivamente. A região de Santa Bárbara apresenta fauna diversificada de espécies da ordem Coleoptera, mas com baixas possibilidades de surtos. As maiores densidades populacionais dos coleópteros ocorreram em novembro e dezembro, época em que se deve realizar o monitoramento desses insetos.

Lepidoptera species were monitored in a plantation of Eucalyptus grandis in the Municipality of Bom Despacho, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil from March 1987 to February 1992. A total of 547 species were collected and divided in: primary pests: 13; secondary pests: 20; species without defined importance to eucalyptus: 79; and non-identified species: 435. These four groups had a mean of 5231.29; 338.18; 438.16 and 2222.87 individuals with a total of 8229.87 individuals collected per trap. The number of species without defined importance to eucalyptus, and non-identified species, increased during the collecting period of five years while those of primary and secondary pests showed similar numbers in all years. The most collected primary pests Thyrinteina arnobia Stoll and Stenalcidia sp. (Geometridae) showed higher frequencies during the driest and coldest periods of the year, whereas Psorocampa denticulata Schaus (Notodontidae) was most frequent during periods of higher rainfall. Species of groups III and IV increased in diversity with eucalyptus age. This area has a high probability of outbreaks of eucalyptus defoliating caterpillars, especially T. arnobia. For this reason, lepidopteran pests should be monitored in this plantation during the driest and coldest periods of the year, when they can reach population peaks. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54(2): 553-560. Epub 2006 Jun 01.