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Along the coasts of Sicily, 73 striped dolphins strandings were recorded from 2013 to 2016. The specimens were collected at the Centro di Monitoraggio e Controllo per Tartarughe marine e Cetacei [Monitoring and Control Centre for Marine Turtles and Cetaceans] at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia. Subsequent necropsies were performed to determine the cause of death. The date and stranding location were recorded for each specimen. Total body length, weight, sex, and other key biometric measurements were also recorded for fresh and moderately decomposed specimens. The individuals were divided into three life stage categories on the basis of total body length: (1) newborns 191 cm.

Biting midges of the genus Culicoides are known vectors of arboviruses affecting human and animal health. However, little is known about Culicoides imicola microbiota and its influence on this insect’s biology. In this study, the impact of biotic and abiotic factors on C. imicola microbiota was characterized using shotgun-metagenomic sequencing of whole-body DNA samples. Wild-caught C. imicola adult nulliparous females were sampled in two locations from Sicily, Italy. The climatic variables of temperature and soil moisture from both localities were recorded together with potential host bloodmeal sources. Shared core microbiome among C. imicola populations included Pseudomonas, Escherichia, Halomonas, Candidatus Zinderia, Propionibacterium, and Schizosaccharomyces. Specific and unique taxa were also found in C. imicola from each location, highlighting similarities and differences in microbiome composition between the two populations. DNA and protein identification showed differences in host preferences between the two populations, with Homo sapiens and Canis lupus familiaris L. being the preferred bloodmeal source in both locations. A principal component analysis showed that the combined effect of host preferences (H. sapiens) and local soil moisture factors shape the microbiome composition of wild-caught populations of C. imicola. These results contribute to characterizing the role of the microbiome in insect adaptation and its utility in predicting geographic expansion of Culicoides species with potential implications for the control of vector-borne diseases.

Ticks and the pathogens they transmit constitute a growing burden for human and animal health worldwide. Vector competence is a component of vectorial capacity and depends on genetic determinants affecting the ability of a vector to transmit a pathogen. These determinants affect traits such as tick-host-pathogen and susceptibility to pathogen infection. Therefore, the elucidation of the mechanisms involved in tick-pathogen interactions that affect vector competence is essential for the identification of molecular drivers for tick-borne diseases. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of tick-pathogen molecular interactions for bacteria, viruses, and protozoa affecting human and animal health. Additionally, the impact of tick microbiome on these interactions was considered. Results show that different pathogens evolved similar strategies such as manipulation of the immune response to infect vectors and facilitate multiplication and transmission. Furthermore, some of these strategies may be used by pathogens to infect both tick and mammalian hosts. Identification of interactions that promote tick survival, spread, and pathogen transmission provides the opportunity to disrupt these interactions and lead to a reduction in tick burden and the prevalence of tick-borne diseases. Targeting some of the similar mechanisms used by the pathogens for infection and transmission by ticks may assist in development of preventative strategies against multiple tick-borne diseases.

β-Lactoglobulin (β-lg) is the major whey milk protein and it represents the main allergen in cow and sheep milk (1). Microbial fermentation produces some proteolytic enzymes and leads to the degradation of milk protein allergens. In this study, the results of a screening on the ability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from typical Sicilian cheeses to reduce the β-lg are shown. This screening was carried out through an indirect competitive ELISA. The lactic acid fermentation was found to be suitable for decreasing milk immunoreactivity. Twenty three strains of cheese LAB, belonging to six genera (Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus and Streptococcus), were cultured for 48h in their optimal growth medium and, after washing and re-suspension in Ringer's solution, inoculated (1% vol/vol) in UHT milk. After 24h incubation at the optimal growth temperature, all samples were diluted (1:10) in distilled water and analysed by Ridascreen ß-Lactoglobulin kit (r-biopharm-Germany) according to the manufacture's instructions. Un-inoculated UHT milk was used as control. After milk fermentation by LAB, the amount of β-lg decreased in twelve samples with an inhibition rate ranging between 21% and 96%, as compared with unfermented milk. Eleven samples did not show a significant β-lg decrease. The strains that showed a higher capacity to hydrolyze the β-lg were represented by Leuconostoc mesenteroides, followed by Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis (Figure 1). It is important to observe that two different strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides give different results. Since β-lg is recognized as the major milk allergen and it is known that its hydrolysis may reduce milk allergenicity (2), this study can contribute to give some help in the development of hypoallergenic milk products. Future studies will be needed to evaluate the efficacy and suitability of the selected LAB useful in the processes of cheese-making.

In a dairy jennet farm the meat, which can be produced using the foals in excess, could be another profitable income. Equine meat is very thin and with high protein content; above all, the fatty acids are unsaturated, being a monogastric animal product. The donkey meat processed products are sold in niche market and are very appreciated by the European consumers. A study on the characteristics of the donkey salami made in Sicily was carried out using a 12 months old foal derived from Ragusano breed. Two different mixes were compared: only donkey meat (A thesis) and donkey meat plus the 10% of Nero Siciliano pig fat (AS thesis). The meat was husked of fat and nerves and mixed with 3.5 kg/q of Aromil D.S+Nisal, 1l/q of Nero D’Avola wine, 150 g/q of not crushed white pepper, and the following crushed spices: 150 g/q of black pepper, 150 g/q of white pepper and 60 g/q of garlic. The mixes were gloomed with a holed plate (Ø 8 mm). After that, the chopped fat pig in the AS mix was added. The A and AS mixes were bagged in mutton gut (Ø 24/26). The fresh salami weighed on average 205 g, and for 4 days were dried, modifying the temperature (T) from 22 to 16°C and the relative humidity (R.H.) from 60 to 75%. After that, for 30 days the products were cured at T=14°C and R.H.=78%. At the slaughtering the lived animal and the carcass weights were registered. At the salami production the weights of the bones, the meat and the other tissues of each carcass quarter were registered, while the salami weights at the beginning and at the end of the drying period and at 15 and 30 days of the curing period. In the same time samples of salami were collected for pH determination and microbiological analyses. The salami chemical composition was determined at the bagging and at the end of the curing period. The lived animal weight was 245 kg. The slaughtering, the meat, the bones and the fat yields were respectively 58, 53, 24 and 23%. During the curing period the weight decrease was on average higher in the A than in the AS salami (final value: A=55% vs AS=49%). This result could be affected by the higher water content in the muscle tissues than in the fat ones. The pH trend was for both theses on line with the values of a normal curing process, but the A thesis achieved more rapidly a pH value >6, in relation with a higher weight decrease. This result shows the possibility to reduce the curing period at

Babesia bigemina is an endemic parasite in different parts of the world, including Europe and the Americas. One of the few genes characterized in this species codifies for the apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1), a transmembrane antigen recently identified. We characterized the ama-1 gene from three Italian B. bigemina strains. Italian sequences were compared to those of the Australian strain. The results obtained confirmed that this newly described ama-1 gene is highly conserved among Italian and foreign strains, which has implications for vaccine development.

BACKGROUND: Somatic cell score (SCS) has been promoted as a selection criterion to improve mastitis resistance. However, SCS from healthy and infected animals may be considered as separate traits. Moreover, imperfect sensitivity and specificity could influence animals' classification and impact on estimated variance components. This study was aimed at: (1) estimating the heritability of bacteria negative SCS, bacteria positive SCS, and infection status, (2) estimating phenotypic and genetic correlations between bacteria negative and bacteria positive SCS, and the genetic correlation between bacteria negative SCS and infection status, and (3) evaluating the impact of imperfect diagnosis of infection on variance component estimates. METHODS: Data on SCS and udder infection status for 1,120 ewes were collected from four Valle del Belice flocks. The pedigree file included 1,603 animals. The SCS dataset was split according to whether animals were infected or not at the time of sampling. A repeatability test-day animal model was used to estimate genetic parameters for SCS traits and the heritability of infection status. The genetic correlation between bacteria negative SCS and infection status was estimated using an MCMC threshold model, implemented by Gibbs Sampling. RESULTS: The heritability was 0.10 for bacteria negative SCS, 0.03 for bacteria positive SCS, and 0.09 for infection status, on the liability scale. The genetic correlation between bacteria negative and bacteria positive SCS was 0.62, suggesting that they may be genetically different traits. The genetic correlation between bacteria negative SCS and infection status was 0.51. We demonstrate that imperfect diagnosis of infection leads to underestimation of differences between bacteria negative and bacteria positive SCS, and we derive formulae to predict impacts on estimated genetic parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that bacteria negative and bacteria positive SCS are genetically different traits. A positive genetic correlation between bacteria negative SCS and liability to infection was found, suggesting that the approach of selecting animals for decreased SCS should help to reduce mastitis prevalence. However, the results show that imperfect diagnosis of infection has an impact on estimated genetic parameters, which may reduce the efficiency of selection strategies aiming at distinguishing between bacteria negative and bacteria positive SCS

The PCR technique was applied to the diagnosis of tuberculosis in live cattle, and both skin-test-negative and skin-test-positive animals were studied. DNA was taken from various sources including specimens of lymph node aspirates, milk, and nasal swabs. After slaughter and visual inspection, tissues such as lymph nodes, lungs, and udders from tuberculin reactors were tested by the same technique. Specific oligonucleotide primers internal to the IS6110 insertion element were used to amplify a 580-bp fragment. A 182-bp fragment was obtained by designating a nested PCR from the first amplification product. This fragment was cloned and sequenced, and after being labeled it was employed in dot blot hybridization. A total of 100 cattle were tested, and PCR analysis was performed using nasal swab, milk, and lymph node aspirate. Sixty skin-test-positive cows were also tested to detect mycobacterial DNA in tissue samples from lymph nodes, lungs, and udders, and the infection was confirmed in all of the animals. Using PCR analysis of tissue samples from slaughtered animals as a “gold standard” we calculated 100% values for sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for milk and lymph node aspirate samples. The respective values for nasal swab samples were 58, 100, 100, and 28%. The respective values for all of the samples were 74, 100, 100, and 35%, while for visual inspection the values were 81, 100, 100, and 58%, respectively. PCR analysis of specimens of lymph node aspirates, milk, and nasal swabs from skin-test-negative animals showed that 52% of these skin test results were false negatives. These animals, not being removed from the farms, represent a potential source of further infection.