Ooforectomia em corn snake (Pantherophisguttatus): relato de caso

Introdução: Ooforectomia é o procedimento cirúrgico que consiste na retirada dos ovários e ovidutos dos répteis, sendo responsável pela esterilização do animal e possível aliado no controle de natalidade da Pantherophis guttatus, também conhecida como Corn Snake, espécie de serpente exótica, criada como pet, que vem sendo reproduzida e comercializada de maneira indiscriminada em território brasileiro. Objetivo: relatar o protocolo anestésico multimodal e a técnica cirúrgica de Ooforectomia em um exemplar de Corn Snake. Relato de caso: Após constatar estado de higidez, o animal foi contido quimicamente com a associação de Cetamina 1mg/kg, Midazolam 1mg/kg e Cloridrato de Nalbufina 2mg/kg, aplicados pela via intramuscular. A indução e manutenção anestésica foram feitas com anestésico inalatório Isoflurano, concebendo ao animal o máximo de conforto durante o procedimento cirúrgico. Com o animal em plano anestésico cirúrgico, foi realizado o bloqueio local infiltrativo em plano subcutâneo, na linha de incisão utilizando a Bupivacaína como anestésico local. A técnica cirúrgica de ooforectomia resume- se na extração total dos ovários e ovidutos através de uma celiotomia paraventral na altura dos órgãos em questão, incapacitando a reprodução do animal, alcançando o controle de natalidade e evitando possíveis problemas relacionados a ovipostura. Conclusão: A esterilização do espécime através da realização da técnica cirúrgica de ooforectomia, associadas aos cuidados trans e pós operatório são eficazes para a manutenção do estado de saúde do animal e controle populacional.

Student perceptions after touching vs. holding educational animals

Educators often use reptiles as ambassadors of environmental messages during presentations because of their ease of transport and handling. Although learners may be provided opportunities to touch or hold these animals, this presents a variety of safety and liability issues for the learner and animal. Little is known about whether touching or holding an animal influences perceptions of the animal and related environmental issues. This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of 16 fifth grade students who experienced a live, tactile encounter with a corn snake and Eastern box turtle while participating in an educational class using four focus groups. Regardless of whether students touched the snake or turtle, or fully held the animal, participants noted the uniqueness of the experience and their empathy for the animal and its habitat. Students who fully held the animal thought that they learned more during the experience while students who touched the animal mentioned getting to know the animal better, regardless of whether the animal was a snake or turtle. When learners are unable to completely hold a snake or turtle, educators should consider the equally positive outcomes that can result from touching these animals with two fingers and provide opportunities for such experiences.

Genome mapping of aLYSTmutation in corn snakes indicates that vertebrate chromatophore vesicles are lysosome-related organelles

Reptiles exhibit a spectacular diversity of skin colors and patterns brought about by the interactions among three chromatophore types: black melanophores with melanin-packed melanosomes, red and yellow xanthophores with pteridine- and/or carotenoid-containing vesicles, and iridophores filled with light-reflecting platelets generating structural colors. Whereas the melanosome, the only color-producing endosome in mammals and birds, has been documented as a lysosome-related organelle, the maturation paths of xanthosomes and iridosomes are unknown. Here, we first use 10x Genomics linked-reads and optical mapping to assemble and annotate a nearly chromosome-quality genome of the corn snakePantherophis guttatus. The assembly is 1.71 Gb long, with an N50 of 16.8 Mb and L50 of 24. Second, we perform mapping-by-sequencing analyses and identify a 3.9-Mb genomic interval where thelavendervariant resides. The lavender color morph in corn snakes is characterized by gray, rather than red, blotches on a pink, instead of orange, background. Third, our sequencing analyses reveal a single nucleotide polymorphism introducing a premature stop codon in the lysosomal trafficking regulator gene (LYST) that shortens the corresponding protein by 603 amino acids and removes evolutionary-conserved domains. Fourth, we use light and transmission electron microscopy comparative analyses of wild type versus lavender corn snakes and show that the color-producing endosomes of all chromatophores are substantially affected in theLYSTmutant. Our work provides evidence characterizing xanthosomes in xanthophores and iridosomes in iridophores as lysosome-related organelles.

Shed skin as a source of DNA for genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) in reptiles

Association and genetic mapping studies aimed at linking genotype to phenotype are powerful tools that require large numbers of samples, complicating their use in long-lived species with low fecundity. Shed skins of snakes and other reptiles contain DNA; are a safe and ethical way of non-invasively sampling large numbers of individuals; and provide a simple mechanism by which to involve the public in scientific research. Here we test whether the DNA in dried shed skins mailed to us from citizen scientists is suitable for reduced representation sequencing approaches, specifically genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). We find that shed skin samples provide DNA of sufficient quality and quantity for GBS, although libraries from shed skin resulted in fewer sequenced reads than libraries from snap-frozen muscle, and contained slightly fewer variants (70,685 SNPs versus 97,724). This issue is a direct result of lower read counts of the shed skin samples, and can be rectified quite simply with deeper sequencing. Skin-derived libraries also have a very slight (but significantly different) profile of transitions and transversions, suggesting that DNA damage occurs but is minimal. We conclude that shed skin-derived DNA is a good source of genomic DNA for a variety of genetic studies, and use it to identify sex-linked scaffolds in the corn snake genome.

Keanekaragaman Reptil Impor di Yogyakarta

Reptil impor banyak diminati karena memiliki variasi warna yang sangat beragam. Penelitian ini mengenai jenis reptil eksotik yang ada di Yogyakarta baik yang dipelihara maupun yang sudah terlepas atau dilepas di alam dan bagaimana pula potensi dampaknya bagi spesies reptil lokal yang ada di Yogyakarta. Penelitian dilakukan di wilayah Kota Yogyakarta dengan melakukan survei di pasar hewan, petshop dan pemelihara reptil. Penelitian telah dilaksanakan dari tanggal 1 Agustus 2013 sampai 30 November 2013. Berdasarkan hasil survei pendataan reptil impor yang dipelihara di Yogyakarta, ditemukan 80 jenis yang terdiri dari satu jenis buaya kerdil (Paleosuchus palpebrosus), 14 jenis kadal (Sauria), 21 jenis ular (Serpentes), dan 44 jenis Kura-kura (Testudines). Reptil impor yang terlepas di alam ditemukan beberapa jenis, yaitu dua ekor Red Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), tiga ekor Chinese Soft-shelled Turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) dan satu ekor Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus). Red Eared Slider yang terlepas di alam dalam jumlah tersebut tidak dapat menimbulkan dampak negatif bagi reptil lokal, tetapi jika dalam jumlah yang banyak kemungkinan akan berpotensi sebagai kompetitor bagi bulus jawa (Amyda cartilaginea) dalam mencari makan. Chinese Soft-shelled Turtle yang terlepas di alam dalam jumlah tersebut kemungkinan akan berpotensi sebagai kompetitor bagi Amyda cartilaginea dalam mencari makan. Corn snake yang hanya satu ekor jika terlepas tidak akan menimbulkan dampak negatif bagi reptil lokal, tetapi jika jumlahnya terlalu banyak akan menjadi kompetitor bagi ular-ular lokal seperti ular koros (Ptyas korros), ular jali (Ptyas mucosa), ular kopi (Coelognathus flavolineatus), ular lanang sapi (Coelognathus radiatus), dan lain-lain, karena jenis mangsa yang sama.