Similar Datasets
Project description:Novel nematode in the grass snake (Natrix natrix)
| PRJEB37871 | ENA
Project description:Natrix natrix scutata in the northern Zagros Mountains
| PRJEB54859 | ENA
Project description:Distribution and hybridization of barred and common grass snakes (Natrix helvetica, N. natrix) in Baden-Württemberg, Southwest Germany
| PRJEB33815 | ENA
Project description:Phylogeography of the Ibero-Maghrebian red-eyed grass snake (Natrix astreptophora)
| PRJEB21829 | ENA
Project description:Reptiles appear to be an important vector for Gram-negative pathogens, therefore, they are epidemiologically relevant. However, the composition of reptilian microbiota has been poorly recognized so far. The majority of studies concern exotic reptiles as asymptomatic carriers of Salmonella serovars. Studies of other intestinal bacteria of reptiles are rare. Only recently, the microbiota of free-living European reptiles have been investigated, however, on the basis of small samples, mainly in protected areas. Here, we aim to investigate cloacal Gram-negative microbiota of free-living Natrix natrix. Snakes (N?=?45) used in the study were collected in Kraków (Poland) and its vicinity. Nineteen species of Gram-negative bacteria were isolated. The most common species were: Aeromonas hydrophila, Morganella morganii, Proteus vulgaris, Salmonella spp. The bacteria prevalent in N. natrix cloacal swabs are likely to represent the natural intestinal Gram-negative microbiota of the examined snakes. Importantly, the identified bacteria are pathogenic to humans, which clearly highlights the epidemiological potential of free-living N. natrix. The risk of infection is high for immunocompromised humans, children (under 5 years old), elderly persons, and pregnant women. Our study provides the largest dataset on intestinal Gram-negative microbiota of wild snakes. The presence of multiple human pathogens determined by us calls for the necessity of further studies on reptile-transmitted bacteria in anthropogenic environments.
| S-EPMC7415037 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence of Alaria alata (Goeze, 1782) in fifty-one grass snakes (Natrix natrix) collected in Gostynińsko-Włocławski Landscape Park. Each snake was tested for the presence of A. alata mesocercariae using the AMT and MSM methods. 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA), cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) and 28S ribosomal RNA (28S rRNA) genes were amplified by PCR and sequenced for the purpose of species identification. Fifty grass snakes were infected with helminths. The molecular characterization of trematodes allowed us to identify A. alata in 30 snakes (58.8%), Conodiplostomum spathula (Dubois, 1937) in 16 snakes (31.3%), Strigea falconis (Szidat, 1928) in 12 snakes (23.5%), and Neodiplostomum attenuatum (Linstow, 1906) in 2 snakes (3.9%), while, in 4 snakes (7.8%), the trematodes species could not be identified. Based on the analysis of 18S and COI sequences, Crenosoma vulpis (Dujardin, 1845) was identified in four snakes (7.8%), while nematodes collected from three snakes remained unidentified. The tapeworm sample was identified as Ophiotaenia. The obtained results indicate that grass snakes are an excellent vector of A. alata and may be a potential source of infection for mammals, e.g., wild boars and foxes, which results in an increased risk of alariosis for consumers of raw or undercooked game meat.
| S-EPMC8878953 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Extra-Mediterranean glacial refugia of thermophilic biota, in particular in northern latitudes, are controversial. In the present study we provide genetic evidence for extra-Mediterranean refugia in two species of grass snake. The refuge of a widely distributed western European lineage of the barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica) was most likely located in southern France, outside the classical refuges in the southern European peninsulas. One genetic lineage of the common grass snake (N. natrix), distributed in Scandinavia, Central Europe and the Balkan Peninsula, had two distinct glacial refuges. We show that one was located in the southern Balkan Peninsula. However, Central Europe and Scandinavia were not colonized from there, but from a second refuge in Central Europe. This refuge was located in between the northern ice sheet and the Alpine glaciers of the last glaciation and most likely in a permafrost region. Another co-distributed genetic lineage of N. natrix, now massively hybridizing with the aforementioned lineage, survived the last glaciation in a structured refuge in the southern Balkan Peninsula, according to the idea of 'refugia-within-refugia'. It reached Central Europe only very recently. This study reports for the first time the glacial survival of a thermophilic egg-laying reptile species in Central Europe.
| S-EPMC5788984 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In the grass snake (Natrix natrix), the newly developed somites form vesicles that are located on both sides of the neural tube. The walls of the vesicles are composed of tightly connected epithelial cells surrounding the cavity (the somitocoel). Also, in the newly formed somites, the Pax3 protein can be observed in the somite wall cells. Subsequently, the somite splits into three compartments: the sclerotome, dermomyotome (with the dorsomedial [DM] and the ventrolateral [VL] lips) and the myotome. At this stage, the Pax3 protein is detected in both the DM and VL lips of the dermomyotome and in the mononucleated cells of the myotome, whereas the Pax7 protein is observed in the medial part of the dermomyotome and in some of the mononucleated cells of the myotome. The mononucleated cells then become elongated and form myotubes. As myogenesis proceeds, the myotome is filled with multinucleated myotubes accompanied by mononucleated, Pax7-positive cells (satellite cells) that are involved in muscle growth. The Pax3-positive progenitor muscle cells are no longer observed. Moreover, we have observed unique features in the differentiation of the muscles in these snakes. Specifically, our studies have revealed the presence of two classes of muscles in the myotomes. The first class is characterised by fast muscle fibres, with myofibrils equally distributed throughout the sarcoplasm. In the second class, composed of slow muscle fibres, the sarcoplasm is filled with lipid droplets. We assume that their storage could play a crucial role during hibernation in the adult snakes. We suggest that the model of myotomal myogenesis in reptiles, birds and mammals shows the same morphological and molecular character. We therefore believe that the grass snake, in spite of the unique features of its myogenesis, fits into the amniotes-specific model of trunk muscle development.
| S-EPMC5487930 | biostudies-literature