ORCID Profile
0000-0002-2327-0535
Current Organisation
University of Melbourne
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.VETPAR.2011.01.031
Abstract: The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae is one of the most economically deleterious ectoparasite of laying hens worldwide. To evaluate the efficacy of three strains (V245, 3247 and 715C) of entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae with potential as acaricides against D. gallinae, this investigation was carried out in a commercial caged laying poultry farm in Naghedeh, West Azarbaijan of Iran. The parasite infestation already existed in the farm. Sunflower oil suspension of all fungal strains, each in two concentrations (1×10(7) and 1×10(9) conidia/ml) were used separately as spray on hens and cages, and in the control group the cages were only sprayed with sunflower oil and sterile distilled water. For estimating the population rate of mites before and after treatment, special cardboard traps were fixed to cages during a 1-month period. The traps were placed on weeks -1, 0, 1, 2 and 3 and always removed after 1 w. The results showed that the population rates post fungal treatment with the lower concentration were not significantly different compared to the control group. However, the reduction in mite numbers induced by all three strains at the concentration of 1×10(9) conidia/ml was significantly higher than the control (P<0.05). The results revealed that under field conditions, higher concentrations of M. anisopliae will be required for controlling D. gallinae.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1111/J.1751-0813.2006.TB13130.X
Abstract: Objective Rapid differentiation of vaccine strains of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) from wild type strains would enhance investigations of disease outbreaks. This study aimed to develop a reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) assay to differentiate between Australian vaccine strains of IBV and field isolates. Procedure A fragment of 6.5 kilobases that contains the S, M and N genes was lified by RT‐PCR from ten different IBV strains, including vaccine strains and field isolates, and then sequenced. Results Comparison of the sequences of these strains revealed a deletion of 58 bases in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of IBV vaccine strains but not in the field isolates. Two primers were designed to lify a fragment of the 3′ UTR that differed in size between the vaccine strains and field isolates. RT‐PCR was performed using these two primers to screen 20 IBV strains, including field isolates and the vaccine strains. All strains were correctly identified as either vaccine strains or field isolates. Conclusion This procedure is a rapid, sensitive and inexpensive method for discrimination between most current Australian vaccine strains and field isolates of IBV.
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 09-2013
DOI: 10.1128/IAI.00365-13
Abstract: Although lipoproteins of mycoplasmas are thought to play a crucial role in interactions with their hosts, very few have had their biochemical function defined. The gene encoding the lipoprotein MslA in Mycoplasma gallisepticum has recently been shown to be required for virulence, but the biochemical function of this gene is not known. Although this gene has no significant sequence similarity to any gene of known function, it is located within an operon in M. gallisepticum that contains a homolog of a gene previously shown to be a nonspecific exonuclease. We mutagenized both genes to facilitate expression in Escherichia coli and then examined the functions of the recombinant proteins. The capacity of MslA to bind polynucleotides was examined, and we found that the protein bound single- and double-stranded DNA, as well as single-stranded RNA, with a predicted binding site of greater than 1 nucleotide but less than or equal to 5 nucleotides in length. Recombinant MslA cleaved into two fragments in vitro , both of which were able to bind oligonucleotides. These findings suggest that the role of MslA may be to act in concert with the lipoprotein nuclease to generate nucleotides for transport into the mycoplasma cell, as the remaining genes in the operon are predicted to encode an ABC transporter.
Publisher: OMICS Publishing Group
Date: 2017
Publisher: OMICS Publishing Group
Date: 2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.VETMIC.2009.01.001
Abstract: The objective was to investigate the genotypic characteristics and distribution of Staphylococcus aureus in 9 dairy herds of Tabriz and Urmia regions which are located in east and west Azerbaijan provinces, respectively, Iran. In this study 58 S. aureus isolates were recovered from 370 milk s les of cows with clinical and subclinical mastitis. S. aureus isolates were identified on the basis of the cultural and biochemical properties as well as by lification of the aroA gene specific to S. aureus and then were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the coagulase gene (coa). Amplification of the variable region of the coa gene from these isolates produced five different PCR products ranging in size from approximately 490 bp to 850 bp. To obtain RFLP patterns of the PCR products they were subjected to digestion with restriction endonuclease HaeIII and the fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. Nine coa gene RFLP patterns, numbered I-IX, were observed, with 23 isolates (39.66%) assigned to RFLP pattern I and 14 isolates (24.14%) assigned to RFLP pattern III. Five out of nine patterns were found in both regions and four of nine patterns were only found in one region. The results demonstrated that several variants of the coa gene are present in the studied regions, but only a few of them were predominant, suggesting contagious transmission, a common source, or host adaptation of subset of the population of S. aureus strains. This study also indicated that genetic heterogeneity among S. aureus isolates recovered from bovine mastitis may be exists within and among herds in different regions.
Publisher: National Library of Serbia
Date: 2014
Abstract: In the present study polymorphism of the exon 2 of MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) gene in Makuie sheep breed was studied. Genomic DNA from blood s les of 90 sheep was extracted and a 279 bp MHC exon 2 fragment was lified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR products were subjected to enzymatic digestion using RsaI endonuclease. Digested PCR products were electrophoresed on 2% agarose gel. The results showed the existence of 10 alleles: A, B, E, F, I, M, O, P, Q and V for the exon 2 of the MHC gene, with the frequencies of 0.4756, 0.0976, 0.0183, 0.0366, 0.0549, 0.0122, 0.1098, 0.0915, 0.0854 and 0.0183, respectively. Eighteen genotypes: AA, AB, AE, FF, AM, BO, EO, IO, OM, AP, BP, OP, PP, AQ, OQ, PQ, QQ and AV with the frequencies of 0.317, 0.1585, 0.0121, 0.0365, 0.0121, 0.0243, 0.0243, 0.1097, 0.0121, 0.0487, 0.0121, 0.0365, 0.0365, 0.0487, 0.0121, 0.0121, 0.0487 and 0.0365, respectively were identified in the population under study. Effective number of alleles and heterozygosity for the examined region were 3.7231 and 0.7314, respectively. Chi-square test showed that the examined sheep population was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the examined region. br br font color="red" b This article has been corrected. Link to the correction u a href="0.2298/GENRSR1602800A" .2298/GENRSR1602800A /a u /b /font
Publisher: FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
Date: 12-2011
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-08-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S00705-016-3021-6
Abstract: The northwest of Iran shares long borders with three neighboring countries therefore, it is considered one of the main entry portals of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) into the country. Ten virulent NDVs were recovered from 19 poultry farms of various prefectures in northwestern Iran during Newcastle disease outbreaks in 2010. The isolates were genotypically analyzed using an F-gene-specific reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. The lified F gene (nucleotides 189-1666) sequences of the NDV isolates were compared phylogenetically with those of previously published strains in GenBank. All of the NDV isolates belonged to genotype VIIb and were closely related to some isolates from Iran, Russia, and Sweden. Therefore, it can be postulated that these isolates evolved from previously reported strains. The velogenic viruses carried the motif (112)R-R-Q-K-R/F(117) at the F0 cleavage site and a unique substitution of (190)L→F which had never been reported in any NDV genotype VIIb isolate. They shared high sequence similarity with each other but were distinct from current NDV vaccines and NDV strains reported from other countries. This information is fundamental for improving the efficacy of controlling strategies and vaccine development for NDV.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 18-11-2013
DOI: 10.1111/JFPP.12187
Publisher: The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK-ULAKBIM) - DIGITAL COMMONS JOURNALS
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.3906/VET-1305-46
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-03-2009
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 15-02-2008
DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01694-07
Abstract: A number of novel infectious bronchitis viruses (IBVs) were previously identified in commercial poultry in Australia, where they caused significant economic losses. Since there has been only limited characterization of these viruses, we investigated the genomic and phenotypic differences between these novel IBVs and other, classical IBVs. The 3′ 7.5 kb of the genomes of 17 Australian IBV strains were sequenced, and growth properties of 6 of the strains were compared. Comparison of sequences of the genes coding for structural and nonstructural proteins revealed the existence of two IBV genotypes: classical and novel. The genomic organization of the classical IBVs was typical of those of other group III coronaviruses: 5′-Pol-S-3a-3b-E-M-5a-5b-N-untranslated region (UTR)-3′. However, the novel IBV genotype lacked either all or most of the genes coding for nonstructural proteins at the 3′ end of the genome and had a unique open reading frame, X1. The gene order was either 5′-Pol-S-X1-E-M-N-UTR-3′ or 5′-Pol-S-X1-E-M-5b-N-UTR-3′. Phenotypically, novel and classical IBVs also differed novel IBVs grew at a slower rate and reached lower titers in vitro and in vivo and were markedly less immunogenic in chicks. Although the novel IBVs induced histopathological lesions in the tracheas of infected chicks that were comparable to those induced by classical strains, they did not induce lesions in the kidneys. This study has demonstrated for the first time the existence of a naturally occurring IBV genotype devoid of some of the genes coding for nonstructural proteins and has also indicated that all of the accessory genes are dispensable for the growth of IBV and that such viruses are able to cause clinical disease and economic loss. The phylogenic differences between these novel IBVs and other avian coronaviruses suggest a reservoir host distinct from domestic poultry.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-2013
DOI: 10.1080/03079457.2013.766668
Abstract: Chicken anaemia virus (CAV) is an economically important pathogen of chickens with worldwide distribution. CAV is the causative agent of chicken anaemia disease, causing severe anaemia, lymphoid atrophy and immunosuppression in young birds. In the present study, the genetic variation of circulating CAVs in west Azerbaijan broiler farms was investigated and compared with CAVs from other countries. Extracted viral DNA from livers of chickens positive for CAV (46 out of 100) was used and a fragment of the VP1 gene 1390 base pairs in size was lified. The purified products were subjected to restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) using HinfI endonuclease and nucleotide sequencing. Four different RFLP patterns were identified from all examined CAV DNAs. Sequence analysis of the VP1 gene of isolated CAV viruses revealed a high genetic distance (0.5 to 4.7%) among CAV isolates. Phylogenetic analysis showed that CAVs isolated from Iranian poultry farms clustered with CAVs isolated from different parts of the world. It was concluded that the circulating CAVs in broiler farms of west Azerbaijan had a high genomic variation.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.VIRUSRES.2016.12.013
Abstract: Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is the etiological agent of a contagious disease (IHN) mainly in salmonid fish. In the present study, we isolated and identified IHNV in trout fry from Iranian trout farms with unexplained high mortality in 2016. The affected fry showed cumulative mortality of 90% with the gross pathological signs including exophthalmia and hemorrhage of the eye, skin darkening, abdominal distension, ulceration of the snout, and the visceral pallor and yellowish fluid in the intestine. Histopathological examination revealed marked necrosis in the anterior kidney, liver and spleen with the intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the liver sections. Also, intranuclear inclusion body and marginated chromatin were observable in the hematopoietic cells of the kidney. The homogenates tissues of infected fry induced IHNV-positive cytopathic effects (CPE) in EPC cells and confirmed by RT-PCR reactions and sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the Iranian IHNV isolates belonged to the European (E) genogroup with 100% identity to some Italian isolates. This is the first report of IHNV infection in farmed trout fry in Iran describing the viral isolation, clinical symptoms, histopathological findings, molecular confirmation, and genetic analysis suggestion of the specific country of origin.
Publisher: Maad Rayan Publishing Company
Date: 20-05-2015
DOI: 10.17795/IJEP27372
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-09-2010
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.CIMID.2019.101368
Abstract: The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of C. burnetii in raw milk s les collected from water buffalos and cattle in Northwest of Iran (West Azerbaijan Province). A total number of 840 milk s les were randomly collected from buffalos and cattle belonged to three different geographical regions in west Azerbaijan (the map is necessary). The milk s les were collected seasonally during 2018 and the age of animals were recorded. All the milk s les were subjected to DNA extraction. Nested-PCR was used to detect C. burnetii based on the transposable gene IS1111. The results showed that 16.9% (95% CI: 14.5%-19.6%) of the examined milk s les (19.3% buffalo and 14.6% cattle s les) were positive for C. burnetii. There was a significant difference in C. burnetii shedding in milk between different age groups in cattle but not in buffalos (p value <0.05). The shedding of C. burnetii in milk was highly prevalent in summer (31.1%) (p < 0.05, 95% CI: 26.1%-38.4%). There were significant regional and seasonal variations in the prevalence of C. burnetii in the examined milk s les. It was concluded that buffalo population in west Azerbaijan should be considered as an important factor in the epidemiology of Q fever and consequently in public health.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-03-2009
Publisher: Academic Journals
Date: 05-12-2011
DOI: 10.5897/AJB11.2480
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.ACTATROPICA.2016.01.005
Abstract: Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a rhabdovirus that causes one of the most important fish diseases in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) production industry. During the present study from October 2014 to July 2015, the virus causing viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) was isolated and identified in rainbow trout farms from five of sixteen farms experiencing mass mortalities in six provinces of Iran with major trout production. Cumulative mortalities at VHSV-positive farms ranged from 30 to 70%. Clinical signs of disease included exophthalmia, petechial hemorrhages in the mandible and around the eyes, a swollen abdomen and darkening of the integument, widespread petechiae of the musculature and pyloric regions, severe congestion of the kidney, and pale enlarged livers. In addition, histopathologic examinations of tissues showed severe lesions in muscle, kidney and liver, which were compatible with those already described for VHS. Furthermore, homogenates tissues of diseased fish induced cytopathic effects (CPE) in CHSE-214 cells, and confirmatory diagnosis of VHS was made by RT-PCR reactions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of isolation and identification of VHSV from farmed trout in Iran, which may have originated from Europe.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 18-08-2016
DOI: 10.1111/ANU.12445
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 15-09-2016
DOI: 10.1111/TBED.12565
Abstract: Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a highly contagious transboundary disease of cattle with major economic losses. This study was undertaken to address the emergence and epidemiological features of LSD in four north-western provinces of Iran. These provinces have extensive borders with others country including Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. A population of 683 cattle from 91 farms were examined during LSD outbreak in Iran during 2014-2016. The information of the farms including the population size, gender, age, vaccination status, clinical signs and the number of death because of LSD were recorded in the designed questionnaires. A number of 234 blood s les were collected randomly from animals with and without clinical signs of LSD. DNA was extracted from blood s les, and they were used for lifying a fragment of 434 bp in size coupled with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) for molecular detection of lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV). The estimated prevalence, cumulative mortality and case fatality were 17.9%, 3.5% and 19.7%, respectively. There was no significant difference in occurrence of the disease between male and female cattle. LSD occurrence in age groups above 5 years old and below 6 months old showed highest and lowest relative frequencies, respectively. Vaccination was significantly decreased the occurrence of clinical disease. The developed PCR-RFLP technique was able to differentiate between LSDV, sheep pox virus (ShPV) and goat pox virus (GPV). It was concluded that LSD was entered into Iran probably from Iraq via uncontrolled animal movements along common land borders between two countries. Developed PCR-RFLP could be used as a rapid and inexpensive method for differentiating Capripoxviruses (CaPVs).
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-08-2015
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-05-2009
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-06-2014
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-2008
DOI: 10.1080/03079450802043718
Abstract: The pathogenicity of three strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae on different life stages of Dermanyssus gallinae was evaluated in the laboratory. All the strains tested were virulent to D. gallinae but pathogenicity varied among the strains. Strain V245 induced a higher mortality rate using different concentrations than other two strains. The estimated median lethal concentration of different strains of M. anisopliae against D. gallinae varied depending on the exposure time of D. gallinae to M. anisopliae. It was concluded that the pathogenicity of the entomopathogenic fungus M. anisopliae on different life stages of D. gallinae was concentration and time dependent.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-06-2010
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-06-2018
DOI: 10.1007/S11250-018-1634-3
Abstract: Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a devastating viral disease of cattle which has recently spread from Africa into the countries of the Middle East. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships among lumpy skin disease viruses (LSDV) isolated from different regions of Iran and the origin and spread of these viruses. In this study, a total of 234 blood s les from clinically affected animals from four provinces in the northwest of Iran were screened for LSDV using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). From 80 positive s les for LSDV detected by PCR, the partial P32 gene (759 bp) of 12 isolates were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. LSD viruses were grouped in three subclusters with an overall 97.1-100% nucleotide identity. LSDVs isolated from Gilan showed lowest nucleotide identity with the other LSDVs. Four isolates of LSDV including KO-1, EA-1, EA-3, and WA-3 showed 100% similarity with each other and also with the Neethling strain. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the identified LSDVs were closely related to each other and had high-sequence homology with other LSDV isolates from Africa. It was concluded that LSD outbreak probably occurred in the northwest of Iran by LSDVs entering the country from Iraq and P32 nucleotide sequence information obtained in the present study is a valuable resource in understanding the genetic nature and molecular epidemiology of local LSDV isolates which can be used for future vaccine development based on the circulating strains in the region.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1155/2014/294704
Abstract: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Babesia ovis infection in adult Rhipicephalus bursa and small ruminants in West Azerbaijan province, Iran. Blood s les were collected from 280 sheep and 122 goats of forty randomly selected flocks. Specific B. ovis fragment was detected in 67 animals (16.7%), of which 52 animals (18.6%) were sheep and 15 animals (12.2%) goats ( P 0.05 ). Of the 848 R. bursa collected from naturally infested small ruminants and farm dogs, Babesia ovis was detected by PCR in salivary glands of 94 adult ticks. The frequency of B. ovis infection was higher in flocks with tick in comparison with animals without tick ( P 0.05 ). Positive lification from blood of ruminants, ticks, oviposition ticks, eggs, and larvae was subjected to restriction digestion with Hph I. One RFLP profile was produced. The PCR-RFLP results indicated that one strain of B. ovis exists in this area. The results showed that the PCR was useful method to investigate the epidemiology of small ruminants’ babesiosis. Furthermore, R. Bursa , which can transovarially transmit B. ovis and as well as being widely distributed in West Azerbaijan province, Iran, might play an important role in the field as a natural vector of B. ovis .
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.VETPAR.2010.05.014
Abstract: The fowl bloodsucking tick Argas persicus is of great medical and veterinary importance in tropical and subtropical regions because of its role as vector of certain parasitic, bacterial and viral pathogens. A variety of acaricides are used for the control of tick infestation in poultry, resulting in environmental contamination and the development of resistance. In order to develop an alternative control method, the efficacy of three strains (V245, 685 and 715C) of entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae against different life stages of A. persicus including eggs, larvae, unfed and engorged adult females was evaluated under laboratory conditions. Five concentrations of different strains of M. anisopliae ranging from 10(3) to 10(7)conidia/ml were utilized. The effects of fungal strains on egg hatchability and larva and adult female mortality were significant and dose-dependent compared to the control groups (P<0.05). The mortality rates of larvae ranged from 92% to 100% for two different concentrations (10(3) and 10(4)conidia/ml) of M. anisopliae strains. Treated engorged females were more susceptible than the unfed females reaching mortality rate of 100% at the highest concentration (10(7)conidia/ml) at 18 days post-inoculation. Among strains used in this study, V245 was the most virulent strain regarding the LC(50) values for adult females exposed to fungal conidia. The results demonstrate that the application of M. anisopliae as a biocontrol agent is a promising option in reducing the use of chemical acaricides, resulting in benefits to poultry and the environment.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-04-2017
Publisher: Genetics and Molecular Research
Date: 2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-07-2012
DOI: 10.1007/S00436-012-3023-6
Abstract: The use of chemicals for the control of arthropod pests can be problematic due to the potential for both environmental contamination and resistance development. As a result, there is an increasing interest in nonchemical alternatives, such as biocontrol by entomopathogenic fungi. In the present study, three strains of Metarhizium anisopliae (V245, 3247, and 4456) and one strain of Beauveria bassiana (LM 3.2) were evaluated under laboratory conditions for their virulence towards three life stages of Ornithodoros lahorensis. Groups of eggs, larvae, and adult ticks were treated by immersion in two different suspensions (10(5) and 10(7) conidia/ml) of each fungal strain. All treatment and control groups were observed during a 3-week period, and the hatchability of eggs and mortality percentage of larvae and adult ticks were assessed. The effect of fungal strains on egg hatchability and larva and adult mortality was significant and dose dependent compared to the control groups (P < 0.05). The results also showed that the greatest biopesticidal effect was due to strain 4456 of M. anisopliae and LM 3.2 strain of B. bassiana at all tested concentrations, making these fungi potential biological control agents of O. lahorensis reducing the use of chemical acaricides.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-2006
DOI: 10.1080/03079450500465817
Abstract: Typing infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strains is useful for implementation of control measures and for understanding the epidemiology and evolution of IBV. The aim of the work reported here was to develop a rapid and sensitive method for typing isolates of IBV, if possible directly from tissues of infected birds. A procedure was developed for differentiation of IBV strains by restriction endonuclease fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of a 7.5 kb DNA fragment lified from their genome by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This fragment encompassed all of the genes encoding the structural proteins of the virus. Viral RNA was extracted either directly from tissues of diseased birds or from virus propagated in embryonated eggs, and was subjected to RT-PCR. Three different restriction endonucleases, AluI, Sau3AI and MnlI, were used to digest the 7.5 kb PCR product from different IBV strains and the resultant RFLP patterns were compared. Patterns obtained with all three enzymes grouped IBV strains belonging to the same serotype in the same cluster. These results show that the RT-PCR-RFLP system described here can be used as a quick and inexpensive tool for differentiating IBV strains.
No related grants have been discovered for Karim Mardani.