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The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti), is the primary vector of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya fever, among other arboviral diseases. It is also a popular laboratory model in vector biology due to its ease of rearing and manipulation in the lab. Established laboratory strains have been used worldwide in thousands of studies for decades. Laboratory evolution of reference strains and contamination among strains are potential severe problems that could dramatically change experimental outcomes and thus is a concern in vector biology. We analyzed laboratory and field colonies of Ae. aegypti and an Ae. aegypti-derived cell line (Aag2) using 12 microsatellites and ~20,000 SNPs to determine the extent of divergence among laboratory strains and relationships to their wild relatives. We found that 1) laboratory populations are less genetically variable than their field counterparts; 2) colonies bearing the same name obtained from different laboratories may be highly divergent; 3) present genetic composition of the LVP strain used as the genome reference is incompatible with its presumed origin; 4) we document changes in two wild caught colonies over ~16 generations of colonization; and 5) the Aag2 Ae. aegypti cell line has experienced minimal genetic changes within and across laboratories. These results illustrate the degree of variability within and among strains of Ae. aegypti, with implications for cross-study comparisons, and highlight the need of a common mosquito repository and the implementation of strain validation tools., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Systems biology methods, such as transcriptomics and metabolomics, require large numbers of small model organisms, such as zebrafish embryos. Manual separation of mutant embryos from wild-type embryos is a tedious and time-consuming task that is prone to errors, especially if there are variable phenotypes of a mutant. Here we describe a zebrafish embryo sorting system with two cameras and image processing based on template-matching algorithms. In order to evaluate the system, zebrafish rx3 mutants that lack eyes due to a patterning defect in brain development were separated from their wild-type siblings. These mutants show glucocorticoid deficiency due to pituitary defects and serve as a model for human secondary adrenal insufficiencies. We show that the variable phenotypes of the mutant embryos can be safely distinguished from phenotypic wild-type zebrafish embryos and sorted from one petri dish into another petri dish or into a 96-well microtiter plate. On average, classification of a zebrafish embryo takes approximately 1 s, with a sensitivity and specificity of 87% to 95%, respectively. Other morphological phenotypes may be classified and sorted using similar techniques.

When designing animal studies, investigators must choose a species that is appropriate for the research. In this paper, the author examines various criteria that can be used to guide this selection. He discusses the concepts of phylogenetic group and sentience and finds them not to be useful in the selection of appropriate species in biomedical research. He identifies other criteria that are more useful as justifications for species selection, including susceptibility to a targeted disease process, tendency to engage in a targeted behavior, suitable size for the experimental techniques to be used, presence of a large body of data relevant to the study, species specificity (the species itself is the target of the research), intergenerational interval, similarity to humans, contractual specification and existing guidelines. He proposes that investigators should use these justifications, and perhaps others, to choose the most scientifically appropriate species for animal studies.

In North America, the biomedical research community faces social and economic challenges to nonhuman primate (NHP) importation that could reduce the number of NHP available for research needs. The effect of such limitations on specific biomedical research topics is unknown. The Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV), with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, developed a survey regarding biomedical research involving NHP in the United States and Canada. The survey sought to determine the number and species of NHP maintained at APV members' facilities, current uses of NHP to identify the types of biomedical research that rely on imported animals, and members' perceived trends in NHP research. Of the 149 members contacted, 33 (22%) replied, representing diverse facility sizes and types. Cynomolgus and rhesus macaques were the most common species housed at responding institutions and comprised the majority of newly acquired and imported NHP. The most common uses for NHP included pharmaceutical research and development and neuroscience, neurology, or neuromuscular disease research. Preclinical safety testing and cancer research projects usually involved imported NHP, whereas research on aging or degenerative disease, reproduction or reproductive disease, and organ or tissue transplantation typically used domestic-bred NHP. The current results improve our understanding of the research uses for imported NHP in North America and may facilitate estimating the potential effect of any future changes in NHP accessibility for research purposes. Ensuring that sufficient NHP are available for critical biomedical research remains a pressing concern for the biomedical research community in North America.

The parasitoid wasp genus Nasonia has rapidly become a genetic model system for developmental and evolutionary biology. The release of its genome sequence led to the development of high-resolution genomic tools, for both interspecific and intraspecific research, which has resulted in great advances in understanding Nasonia biology. To further advance the utility of Nasonia vitripennis as a genetic model system and to be able to fully exploit the advantages of its fully sequenced and annotated genome, we developed a genetically variable and well-characterized experimental population. In this study, we describe the establishment of the genetically diverse HVRx laboratory population from strains collected from the field in the Netherlands. We established a maintenance method that retains genetic variation over generations of culturing in the laboratory. As a characterization of its genetic composition, we provide data on the standing genetic variation and estimate the effective population size (N(e)) by microsatellite analysis. A genome-wide description of polymorphism is provided through pooled resequencing, which yielded 417,331 high-quality SNPs spanning all five Nasonia chromosomes. The HVRx population and its characterization are freely available as a community resource for investigators seeking to elucidate the genetic basis of complex trait variation using the Nasonia model system., (© 2013 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer 1837)) is an ectoparasitic copepod which represents a major pathogen of wild and farmed salmonid fishes in the marine environment. In order to facilitate research on this ecologically and economically important parasite, a hatchery and culturing system permitting the closure of the life-cycle of L. salmonis in the laboratory was developed. Here, the hatchery system, breeding practices, and selected louse strains that have been maintained in culture in the period 2002-2009 are presented. The hatchery and culture protocol gave rise to predictable hatching of larvae and infections of host fish, permitting the cultivation of specific strains of L. salmonis for 22 generations. Both in- and out-bred lice and mutant colour strains have been established, and some of these strains were characterised by microsatellite DNA markers confirming their pedigree. No evidence of inbreeding depression, fitness or morphological changes was observed in any of the strains cultured. It is suggested that the culturing system, and the strains produced represent a significant resource for future research on this parasite.

The locomotor activity rhythms of domestic mice, laboratory rats, Syrian hamsters, Siberian hamsters, Mongolian gerbils, degus, and Nile grass rats were compared. Running-wheel activity was monitored under a light-dark cycle with 12 h of light and 12 h of darkness per day. Nile grass rats were found to be reliably diurnal, whereas laboratory rats, Siberian hamsters, domestic mice, and Syrian hamsters were reliably nocturnal. Both diurnal and nocturnal subgroups were observed in Mongolian gerbils and degus. A downward gradient of diurnality was observed from Mongolian gerbils classified as diurnal, degus classified as diurnal, gerbils classified as nocturnal, and degus classified as nocturnal. Nocturnal degus remained nocturnal when tested with an infrared motion detector without running wheels. Thus, although the diurnal-nocturnal dichotomy could be applied to some of the species, it was not appropriate for others. The dichotomy may reflect researchers' needs for systematization more than a natural distinction between species. Through mechanisms as yet poorly understood, the balance between entraining and masking processes seems to generate a gradient of temporal niches that runs from predominantly diurnal species to predominantly nocturnal species with many chronotypes in between, including species that exhibit wide intra-species gradients of temporal niche.

The purpose of this report is to describe the legislative and ethical context in Italy regarding technology and the need for innovative research versus responsibility toward the living world. Questions regarding responsible behaviour in the use of animals for research are examined, and special attention is focused on the implementation of the Three Rs concept (reduction, refinement and replacement) and on considerations of Catholic dogma.

Pancreatic polypeptide was isolated and sequenced from endocrine cells of the pancreas from an insectivore, the house musk shrew, Suncus murinus. The primary sequence was APLEPAYPGD(10)NATPEQMAQY(20)AAELRKYINM(30)VTRPRYamide. This is the first polypeptide hormone to be characterised from this species and is typical of the primary sequences of pancreatic polypeptide of other animals, being a C-terminal-amidated peptide with 36 residues. Comparison with several vertebrate sequences shows that it has more in common with the human form than do the forms from common laboratory animals such as rabbits, rats, mice and guinea-pigs.

We trace the evolutionary correlation between stress resistance and longevity in populations of Drosophila melanogaster selected for stress resistance over many generations. Females selected for desiccation resistance and both females and males selected for increasing starvation resistance initially show concurrent increases in longevity, but then begin to decrease in longevity, even as stress resistance continues to increase. We demonstrate that the correlation between two fitness traits can change and that this change is due to sustained selection rather than a genotype-by-environment interaction or inbreeding depression. The breakdown in evolutionary correlation we report underscores the difficulty of extrapolating the results from short-term selection experiments to predictions of long-term evolution.

Oligodinucleotides containing CpG motifs stimulate vertebrate immune cells in vitro, have proven efficacy in murine disease models and are currently being tested in human clinical trials as therapies for cancer, allergy, and infectious disease. As there are no known immunostimulatory motifs for veterinary species, the potential of CpG DNA as a veterinary pharmaceutical has not been investigated. Here, optimal CpG motifs for seven veterinary and three laboratory species are described. The preferential recognition of a GTCGTT motif was strongly conserved across two vertebrate phyla, although a GACGTT motif was optimal for inbred strains of mice and rabbits. In a subsequent adjuvanticity trial, the in vitro screening methodology was validated in sheep, representing the first demonstration of CpG DNA efficacy in a veterinary species. These results should provide candidate immunostimulant and therapeutic drugs for veterinary use and enable the testing of CpG DNA in large animal models of human disease.

The present work contains information about proper husbandry and care of laboratory animals, microbiological monitoring of their health and protecting them against suffering and distress. The author also gives some advice on the improvement and unification of experimental research results through the standardisation of laboratory animals used for the experiments as well as imposing proper conditions for animal husbandry.

This study is concerned with the correct use of the scientific zoological nomenclature for domesticated and laboratory animals. With the help of four tables, additionally, the most current latin names of all important domesticated animals (animals of economic importance, ranch-bred animals, companion animals, fancy animals, laboratory animals) are given. The authors suggest a formal nomenclature for domesticated animals which should principally be related to the scientific name of the parent species (binomially and in italics), as always followed by the completion "forma domestica/f. dom." (not in italics). Problems arising from the use of such scientific names when hybridization and introgression is concerned are also discussed, and appropriate nomenclature is proposed.

Haemoglobin electrophoresis and chromosome analysis indicate that the widely used multimammate rat (chamois coloured) as experimental animal belongs to the species Mastomys coucha (Smith, 1836) and not, as commonly assumed, to Mastomys natalensis (Smith, 1834).

Independence of the five Papio species is evaluated. Baboons appear to be more similar to man than are other monkey species, which makes them a desirable model for use in experimental research to approximate human health conditions. They are, however, used less widely than macaques. Publications on baboons account for 10.3% of literature on the use of primates in experimental research. Baboons were most intensively used in surgery, then in hematology, cardiology, endocrinology. They were most rarely used in stomatology and in studies on infectious diseases.

The paper reviews the use of various baboon species in biomedical research throughout the world.