| the development of thermoregulation in two species of woodrats, neotoma lepida and neotoma albigula. | | 1976 | 4272 |
| cross-transmission studies with eimeria arizonensis-like oocysts (apicomplexa) in new world rodents of the genera baiomys, neotoma, onychomys, peromyscus, and reithrodontomys (muridae). | cross-transmission experiments were performed using oocysts of an eimeria arizonensis-like coccidian from peromyscus leucopus and peromyscus truei, an e. arizonensis-like coccidian from reithrodontomys fulvescens, eimeria baiomysis and eimeria taylori from baiomys taylori, eimeria albigulae from neotoma albigula, and eimeria onychomysis from onychomys spp., between representatives of the above host genera. the e. arizonensis-like coccidian from r. fulvescens infected reithrodontomys megalotis, r ... | 1992 | 1597781 |
| new host and locality records of coccidia (apicomplexa: eimeriidae) from rodents in the southwestern and western united states. | one hundred forty-seven murid and heteromyid rodents were collected from various sites in the southwestern and western united states (arizona, colorado, new mexico, texas, and utah) and baja california norte, mexico, and their feces were examined for coccidial parasites. of these, 53 (36%) were infected with at least 1 coccidian; 45 of 53 (85%) of the infected rodents harbored only 1 species of coccidian. infected rodents included: 10 of 22 (45%) neotoma albigula, 3 of 11 (27%) neotoma floridana ... | 1991 | 1779282 |
| occurrence of lutzomyia anthophora (diptera: psychodidae) in arizona. | males and females of lutzomyia anthophora addis were collected by vacuum aspiration from woodrat, neotoma albigula hartley, and rock squirrel, citellus variegatus bailey, nests along arivaca creek in pima county, arizona. additional flies were collected from the same location using cdc miniature light traps supplemented with co2. these collections extend the recorded geographic distribution of this vector of leishmania mexicana biagi westward by approximately 724 km and place lu. anthophora in a ... | 1995 | 7473634 |
| prevalence of antibodies to arenaviruses in rodents from the southern and western united states: evidence for an arenavirus associated with the genus neotoma. | the objectives of this study were to extend our knowledge of the geographic distribution and rodent host range of arenaviruses in north america. sera from wild rodents collected from the southern and western united states were tested for antibody against tamiami, pichinde, junin, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis viruses, using an indirect fluorescent antibody test. antibody to at least one arenavirus was found in 220 (3.1%) of 7,106 rodents tested. the antibody-positive animals included mus musc ... | 1996 | 8686773 |
| isolation and characterization of whitewater arroyo virus, a novel north american arenavirus. | rodents are principal hosts for each of the well-characterized arenaviruses. prior to the present study, tamiami (tam) virus was the sole arenavirus known to be indigenous to north america; it has been isolated only from southern florida where its primary host is the cotton rat sigmodon hispidus. recently, arenavirus antibody was found in neotoma albigula woodrats collected from the southwestern united states. the purpose of the present study was to isolate and characterize the arenavirus associ ... | 1996 | 8862405 |
| parasites of mammals on the sevilleta national wildlife refuge, socorro, new mexico: cuterebra austeni and c. neomexicana (diptera:oestridae) from neotoma and peromyscus (rodentia:muridae), 1991-1994. | in total, 6,486 rodents representing 3 families (muridae, heteromyidae, and sciuridae) and 24 species were trapped may through august of 1991 through 1994. of these, only the white-throated woodrat. neotoma albigula hartley; piñon mouse, peromyscus truei shufeldt; and white-footed mouse, p. leucopus rafinesque, were infested with cuterebra clark larvae. of the 594 n. albigula that were captured 103 (17.3%) were infested with 139 cuterebra larvae with all infestations occurring in the throat regi ... | 1997 | 9151503 |
| small mammal survival and trapability in mark-recapture monitoring programs for hantavirus. | following the 1993 hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (hps) epidemic in the south-western united states, mammalogists and epidemiologists instituted long-term studies to monitor population density and prevalence of infection in rodents which constitute the reservoir for sin nombre virus (snv). in this study, field techniques used in sampling small mammals for snv infection were evaluated to determine if trapping and handling protocols were having significant effects on future trapability or mortality ... | 1998 | 9476220 |
| short report: a focus of leishmania mexicana near tucson, arizona. | twenty-eight white-throated woodrats (neotoma albigula) collected in pima county, arizona were screened for leishmania using culture and the polymerase chain reaction (pcr). two rodents were culture positive. isoenzyme analysis determined the isolates to be leishmania mexicana. the two culture-positive and four additional rodents were determined to be leishmania-positive by the pcr. these isolates extend the geographic and ecologic range of enzootic leishmaniasis in the united states and represe ... | 1999 | 10497974 |
| cross-transmission studies with eimeria arizonensis, e. arizonensis-like oocysts and eimeria langebarteli: host specificity at the genus and species level within the muridae. | cross-transmission experiments were done using sporulated oocysts of eimeria arizonensis from peromyscus truei and peromyscus maniculatus, and oocysts of 2 putative species that resemble e. arizonensis, i.e., eimeria albigulae from neotoma albigula, and eimeria onychomysis from onychomys leucogaster. oocysts of each species were inoculated into representatives of p. maniculatus and the latter 2 rodent species. other experiments were conducted wherein oocysts of eimeria langebarteli from peromysc ... | 1999 | 10577723 |
| transmission of an arenavirus in white-throated woodrats (neotoma albigula), southeastern colorado, 1995-1999. | from 1995 to 1999, we conducted longitudinal studies of white- throated woodrats (neotoma albigula) in southeastern colorado. forty-five (42.9%) of 105 female and 15 (26.8%) of 56 male n. albigula had antibodies against whitewater arroyo virus (wwav). sixteen female and three male n. albigula seroconverted during the study period, most of them during july-november, when population densities are highest. analyses of longevity data, minimum numbers alive and infected, movements, and weight data su ... | 2001 | 11384515 |
| geographical distribution of rodent-associated hantaviruses in texas. | the purpose of this study was to increase our knowledge of the geographic distribution and natural host range of hantaviruses in texas, southeastern new mexico, and mexico. blood samples from 3,225 wild rodents, representing 34 species, were tested for hantavirus antibody (igg), using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. hantavirus antibody was found in one or more rodents from each of 13 counties in texas, otero county in southeastern new mexico, and mexico state (central mexico). the 133 anti ... | 2001 | 11469186 |
| experimental infection of neotoma albigula (muridae) with whitewater arroyo virus (arenaviridae). | the whitewater arroyo virus (wwa) is a newly described north american arenavirus. the purpose of this study was to elucidate the biology of this virus in its natural rodent host, neotoma albigula (white-throated woodrat). thirteen adult, 7 juvenile, and 8 newborn woodrats each were inoculated subcutaneously with 1,000 cell culture infectious dose50 of the wwa virus prototype strain av 9310135. all 28 animals became infected (as measured by the recovery of infectious virus and/or seroconversion) ... | 2001 | 11508391 |
| pathology of whitewater arroyo viral infection in the white-throated woodrat (neotoma albigula). | the white-throated woodrat is a principal host of whitewater arroyo (wwa) virus, an arenavirus, in the western united states. the purpose of the present study was to investigate the pathology of wwa infection in this species. twenty-one animals (eight newborn, seven juvenile, and six adult) were inoculated with wwa virus and killed at varying intervals after inoculation. the most striking histological findings were lymphocytic meningitis and perivascular lymphocytic cuffing in the brains of the ... | 2003 | 12834613 |
| detection of rickettsia felis in a new world flea species, anomiopsyllus nudata (siphonaptera: ctenophthalmidae). | the flea and rodent samples studied in this project were collected from field study sites in new mexico from winter 1998 to spring 2001. during this period, 155 small rodents (14 different species) were live-trapped and combed for the presence of fleas. a total of 253 fleas were collected, comprising 21 species. two of the 253 fleas collected were polymerase chain reaction (pcr) positive for the rickettsia 17-kda protein gene. these two fleas were both anomiopsyllus nudata baker, each collected ... | 2005 | 15799525 |
| using a probabilistic approach in an ecological risk assessment simulation tool: test case for depleted uranium (du). | a probabilistic approach was applied in an ecological risk assessment (era) to characterize risk and address uncertainty employing monte carlo simulations for assessing parameter and risk probabilistic distributions. this simulation tool (era) includes a window's based interface, an interactive and modifiable database management system (dbms) that addresses a food web at trophic levels, and a comprehensive evaluation of exposure pathways. to illustrate this model, ecological risks from depleted ... | 2005 | 15910910 |
| rodent-associated bartonella febrile illness, southwestern united states. | serum specimens from 114 patients hospitalized with a febrile illness were tested with an indirect immunofluorescence assay (ifa) using bartonella antigens prepared from 6 species of sigmodontine rodents and 3 known human bartonella pathogens: b. henselae, b. quintana, and b. elizabethae. acute- and convalescent-phase serum samples from 5 of these patients showed seroconversion with an ifa titer >512 to rodent-associated bartonella antigens. the highest titer was against antigen derived from the ... | 2006 | 16836824 |
| catarina virus, an arenaviral species principally associated with neotoma micropus (southern plains woodrat) in texas. | the purpose of this study was to define the taxonomic relationship of an arenavirus principally associated with the southern plains woodrat (neotoma micropus) in southern texas to other new world arenaviruses. the results of independent analyses of glycoprotein precursor amino acid sequences and nucleocapsid protein amino acid sequences indicated that the arenavirus in southern texas is novel (proposed species name catarina virus) and phylogenetically most closely related to whitewater arroyo vi ... | 2007 | 17978080 |
| diversity among tacaribe serocomplex viruses (family arenaviridae) naturally associated with the mexican woodrat (neotoma mexicana). | the results of analyses of glycoprotein precursor and nucleocapsid protein gene sequences indicated that an arenavirus isolated from a mexican woodrat (neotoma mexicana) captured in arizona is a strain of a novel species (proposed name skinner tank virus) and that arenaviruses isolated from mexican woodrats captured in colorado, new mexico, and utah are strains of whitewater arroyo virus or species phylogenetically closely related to whitewater arroyo virus. pairwise comparisons of glycoprotein ... | 2008 | 18304671 |
| diversity among tacaribe serocomplex viruses (family arenaviridae) naturally associated with the white-throated woodrat (neotoma albigula) in the southwestern united states. | bayesian analyses of glycoprotein precursor and nucleocapsid protein gene sequences indicated that arenaviruses naturally associated with white-throated woodrats in central arizona are phylogenetically closely related to the whitewater arroyo virus prototype strain av 9310135, which originally was isolated from a white-throated woodrat captured in northwestern new mexico. pairwise comparisons of glycoprotein precursor and nucleocapsid protein amino acid sequences revealed extensive diversity amo ... | 2008 | 18454597 |
| climate change and risk of leishmaniasis in north america: predictions from ecological niche models of vector and reservoir species. | climate change is increasingly being implicated in species' range shifts throughout the world, including those of important vector and reservoir species for infectious diseases. in north america (méxico, united states, and canada), leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease that is autochthonous in méxico and texas and has begun to expand its range northward. further expansion to the north may be facilitated by climate change as more habitat becomes suitable for vector and reservoir species for lei ... | 2010 | 20098495 |
| Testing the diet-breadth trade-off hypothesis: differential regulation of novel plant secondary compounds by a specialist and a generalist herbivore. | Specialist herbivores are predicted to have evolved biotransformation pathways that can process large doses of secondary compounds from the plant species on which they specialize. It is hypothesized that this physiological specialization results in a trade-off such that specialists may be limited in ability to ingest novel plant secondary compounds (PSCs). In contrast, the generalist foraging strategy requires that herbivores alternate consumption of plant species and PSC types to reduce the pos ... | 2011 | 21927911 |
| epizootiology of tacaribe serocomplex viruses (arenaviridae) associated with neotomine rodents (cricetidae, neotominae) in southern california. | the objective of this study was to advance our knowledge of the epizootiology of bear canyon virus and other tacaribe serocomplex viruses (arenaviridae) associated with wild rodents in california. antibody (immunoglobulin g [igg]) to a tacaribe serocomplex virus was found in 145 (3.6%) of 3977 neotomine rodents (cricetidae: neotominae) captured in six counties in southern california. the majority (122 or 84.1%) of the 145 antibody-positive rodents were big-eared woodrats (neotoma macrotis) or ca ... | 2015 | 25700047 |
| draft genome sequence of an oxalate-degrading strain of clostridium sporogenes from the gastrointestinal tract of the white-throated woodrat (neotoma albigula). | the gastrointestinal tract of the white-throated woodrat neotoma albigula harbors a diverse microbial population that functions in the degradation of ingested plant secondary compounds. here, we present the draft genome sequence and annotation of clostridium sporogenes strain 8-o, a novel oxalate-degrading bacterium isolated from the feces of n. albigula. | 2016 | 27198026 |
| identification of rodent homologs of hepatitis c virus and pegiviruses. | hepatitis c virus (hcv) and human pegivirus (hpgv or gb virus c) are globally distributed and infect 2 to 5% of the human population. the lack of tractable-animal models for these viruses, in particular for hcv, has hampered the study of infection, transmission, virulence, immunity, and pathogenesis. to address this challenge, we searched for homologous viruses in small mammals, including wild rodents. here we report the discovery of several new hepaciviruses (hcv-like viruses) and pegiviruses ( ... | 2013 | 23572554 |
| eimeria ladronensis n. sp. and e. albigulae (apicomplexa: eimeriidae) from the woodrat, neotoma albigula (rodentia: cricetidae). | of 50 white-throated woodrats (neotoma albigula) collected from socorro co., new mexico, 21 (42%) had eimerian oocysts in their feces when examined. of the 21 neotoma found positive for eimeria, 19 (90%) harbored a single eimerian species at time of examination. eimeria albigulae levine, ivens & kruidenier, 1957, was found in 18 (86%), and e. ladronensis n. sp. was found in five (24%) infected woodrats. sporulated oocysts of e. ladronensis are ellipsoidal, 19-25 x 13-15 (21.4 +/- 1.3 x 14.1 +/- ... | 1985 | 3900367 |
| anthropogenic water sources and the effects on sonoran desert small mammal communities. | anthropogenic water sources (aws) are developed water sources used as a management tool for desert wildlife species. studies documenting the effects of aws are often focused on game species; whereas, the effects on non-target wildlife are less understood. we used live trapping techniques to investigate rodent abundance, biomass, and diversity metrics near aws and paired control sites; we sampled vegetation to determine rodent-habitat associations in the sauceda mountains of the sonoran desert in ... | 2017 | 29134147 |
| cacti supply limited nutrients to a desert rodent community. | in the sonoran desert, cacti represent a potentially important source of nutrients and water for consumers. columnar cacti, in particular, produce a large pulse of flowers and succulent fruit during hot summer months. the importance of cactus stems, flowers and fruit to the small mammal community has not been quantified. we exploited natural variation in the carbon isotope (δ(13)c) values of cacti (cam) versus c3 plants to quantify the relative use of these resources by a diverse desert small ma ... | 2015 | 25842296 |
| role of cytochrome p450 2b sequence variation and gene copy number in facilitating dietary specialization in mammalian herbivores. | theory postulates that dietary specialization in mammalian herbivores is enabled by a specialized set of liver enzymes that process the high concentrations of similar plant secondary metabolites (psms) in the diets of specialists. to investigate whether qualitative and quantitative differences in detoxification mechanisms distinguish dietary specialists from generalists, we compared the sequence diversity and gene copy number of detoxification enzymes in two woodrat species: a generalist, the wh ... | 2018 | 29319892 |
| microbiota diversification and crash induced by dietary oxalate in the mammalian herbivore neotoma albigula. | oxalate, broadly found in both dietary and endogenous sources, is a primary constituent in 80% of kidney stones, an affliction that has tripled in prevalence over the last 40 years. oxalate-degrading bacteria within the gut microbiota can mitigate the effects of oxalate and are negatively correlated with kidney stone formation, but bacteriotherapies involving oxalate-degrading bacteria have met with mixed results. to inform the development of more effective and consistent bacteriotherapies, we s ... | 2017 | 29062900 |
| the induction of oxalate metabolism in vivo is more effective with functional microbial communities than with functional microbial species. | for mammals, oxalate enters the body through the diet or is endogenously produced by the liver; it is removed by microbial oxalate metabolism in the gut and/or excretion in feces or urine. deficiencies in any one of the these pathways can lead to complications, such as calcium oxalate urinary stones. while considerable research has been conducted on individual oxalate-degrading bacterial isolates, interactions between oxalate and the gut microbiota as a whole are unknown. we examined the reducti ... | 2017 | 28951890 |
| modeling time-series data from microbial communities. | as sequencing technologies have advanced, the amount of information regarding the composition of bacterial communities from various environments (for example, skin or soil) has grown exponentially. to date, most work has focused on cataloging taxa present in samples and determining whether the distribution of taxa shifts with exogenous covariates. however, important questions regarding how taxa interact with each other and their environment remain open thus preventing in-depth ecological underst ... | 2017 | 28786973 |
| a review of the flea genus phalacropsylla rothschild, 1915 (siphonaptera, ctenophthalmidae, neopsyllinae, phalacropsyllini) with new host and distributional records. | a redescription of the genus phalacropsylla rothschild is provided. six species are recognized: phalacropsylla allos wagner, p. hamata tipton and mendez, p. morlani eads and campos, p. nivalis barrera and traub, p. oregonensis lewis and maser, and p. paradisea rothschild. phalacropsylla hamata is designated herein as a junior synonym of p. paradisea. the distribution of p. paradisea is more extensive than previously thought, extending from arizona through southern colorado, into new mexico, texa ... | 2017 | 28769677 |
| intestinal lymphatic transport: an overlooked pathway for understanding absorption of plant secondary compounds in vertebrate herbivores. | herbivores employ numerous strategies to reduce their exposure to toxic plant secondary chemicals (pscs). however, the physiological mechanisms of psc absorption have not been extensively explored. in particular, the absorption of pscs via intestinal lymphatic absorption has been largely overlooked in herbivores, even though this pathway is well recognized for pharmaceutical uptake. here, we investigated for the first time whether pscs might be absorbed by lymphatic transport. we fed woodrats (n ... | 2017 | 28255942 |
| microbial community transplant results in increased and long-term oxalate degradation. | gut microbes are essential for the degradation of dietary oxalate, and this function may play a role in decreasing the incidence of kidney stones. however, many oxalate-degrading bacteria are susceptible to antibiotics and the use of oxalate-degrading probiotics has only led to an ephemeral reduction in urinary oxalate. the objective of the current study was to determine the efficacy of using whole-community microbial transplants from a wild mammalian herbivore, neotoma albigula, to increase oxa ... | 2016 | 27312892 |
| effect of dietary oxalate on the gut microbiota of the mammalian herbivore neotoma albigula. | diet is one of the primary drivers that sculpts the form and function of the mammalian gut microbiota. however, the enormous taxonomic and metabolic diversity held within the gut microbiota makes it difficult to isolate specific diet-microbe interactions. the objective of the current study was to elucidate interactions between the gut microbiota of the mammalian herbivore neotoma albigula and dietary oxalate, a plant secondary compound (psc) degraded exclusively by the gut microbiota. we quantif ... | 2016 | 26896138 |
| captivity results in disparate loss of gut microbial diversity in closely related hosts. | the gastrointestinal tracts of animals contain diverse communities of microbes that provide a number of services to their hosts. there is recent concern that these communities may be lost as animals enter captive breeding programmes, due to changes in diet and/or exposure to environmental sources. however, empirical evidence documenting the effects of captivity and captive birth on gut communities is lacking. we conducted three studies to advance our knowledge in this area. first, we compared ch ... | 2014 | 27293630 |
| the gastrointestinal tract of the white-throated woodrat (neotoma albigula) harbors distinct consortia of oxalate-degrading bacteria. | the microbiota inhabiting the mammalian gut is a functional organ that provides a number of services for the host. one factor that may regulate the composition and function of gut microbial communities is dietary toxins. oxalate is a toxic plant secondary compound (psc) produced in all major taxa of vascular plants and is consumed by a variety of animals. the mammalian herbivore neotoma albigula is capable of consuming and degrading large quantities of dietary oxalate. we isolated and characteri ... | 2014 | 24362432 |
| biotransformation enzyme expression in the nasal epithelium of woodrats. | when herbivores come in contact with volatile plant secondary compounds (psc) that enter the nasal passages the only barrier between the nasal cavity and the brain is the nasal epithelium and the biotransformation enzymes present there. the expression of two biotransformation enzymes cytochrome p450 2b (cyp2b) and glutathione-s-transferase (gst) was investigated in the nasal epithelia and livers of three populations of woodrats. one population of neotoma albigula was fed juniper that contains vo ... | 2013 | 23058987 |
| differential expression and activity of catechol-o-methyl transferase (comt) in a generalist (neotoma albigula) and juniper specialist (neotoma stephensi) woodrat. | mammalian herbivores, particularly dietary specialists must have an efficient means to metabolize the high doses of plant secondary compounds they consume. we found previously that neotoma stephensi, a juniper specialist, upregulated catechol-o-methyl transferase (comt) mrna almost seven fold in response to an ecologically relevant diet (70% juniper). to further investigate the relevance of this enzyme with respect to juniper metabolism, we compared the protein expression, activity and kinetics ... | 2011 | 21820082 |
| ambient temperature influences diet selection and physiology of an herbivorous mammal, neotoma albigula. | the whitethroat woodrat (neotoma albigula) eats juniper (juniperus monosperma), but the amount of juniper in its diet varies seasonally. we tested whether changes in juniper consumption are due to changes in ambient temperature and what the physiological consequences of consuming plant secondary compounds (pscs) at different ambient temperatures might be. woodrats were acclimated to either 20 degrees c or 28 degrees c. later, they were given two diets to choose from (50% juniper and a nontoxic c ... | 2008 | 18925863 |
| differential hepatic gene expression of a dietary specialist (neotoma stephensi) and generalist (neotoma albigula) in response to juniper (juniperus monosperma) ingestion. | dietary specialization is thought to be rare in mammalian herbivores because of limitations of their detoxification system in processing large doses of a single type of plant secondary compound (psc). therefore, in order to specialize on a single species of plant, mammalian herbivores must have a highly efficient detoxification system for the particular types of pscs they ingest. using microarray technology, we looked at the expression of hepatic genes of a dietary specialist, neotoma stephensi, ... | 2007 | 20483276 |
| ingestion of juniper foliage reduces metabolic rates in woodrat (neotoma) herbivores. | ingestion of plant secondary compounds by herbivores is predicted to increase resting or basal metabolic rates. we tested this hypothesis with two species of woodrat herbivores, neotoma stephensi and neotoma albigula, consuming diets of juniper (juniperus monosperma), which is rich in plant secondary compounds. in nature, n. stephensi specializes on juniper, whereas n. albigula consumes a variety of plant species including juniper. we measured resting metabolic rates (rmr) of woodrats on control ... | 2003 | 16351900 |
| epizootiology of arenaviral infections in the white-throated woodrat (muridae: sigmodontinae) and other woodrats in arizona. | the purpose of this study was to extend and refine our knowledge of the geographical distribution and natural host relationships of the arenaviruses associated with woodrats indigenous to arizona. antibody to a tacaribe serocomplex virus was found in 112 of 1,250 white-throated woodrats, five of 208 mexican woodrats, one of 114 stephen's woodrats, and none of 862 other rodents captured at 51 sites in 10 counties in arizona. of the 112 antibody-positive white-throated woodrats, 109 (97.3%) were c ... | 2004 | 15707295 |
| intestinal capacity of p-glycoprotein is higher in the juniper specialist, neotoma stephensi, than the sympatric generalist, neotoma albigula. | permeability-glycoprotein (pgp) is a membrane-bound, atp-dependent, transport protein that excludes many cytotoxic compounds including plant metabolites and pollutants from the barrier epithelia of many tissues including the small intestine. we hypothesized that intestinal pgp capacity would be higher in neotoma stephensi, a specialist on juniperus monosperma known to be high in plant toxins, than the sympatric generalist, neotoma albigula, which consumes juniper in the field, but is unable to t ... | 2004 | 15556388 |
| effects of consumption of juniper (juniperus monosperma) on cost of thermoregulation in the woodrats neotoma albigula and neotoma stephensi at different acclimation temperatures. | a study was done to test whether toxic plants that occur naturally in the diet affect thermoregulation in mammalian herbivores. the woodrats neotoma albigula and neotoma stephensi both consume juniper (juniperus monosperma), a plant with high levels of toxic compounds. body temperature (tb), basal metabolic rate (bmr), and the minimum cost of thermogenesis (cmin) were measured for both species on control and juniper diets following warm (25 degrees c) and cold (18 degrees c) acclimation. in n. a ... | 2006 | 15095250 |
| a specialist herbivore (neotoma stephensi) absorbs fewer plant toxins than does a generalist (neotoma albigula). | detoxification capacity of enzymes in the liver is thought to be the primary factor governing dietary toxin intake by mammalian herbivores. recently, toxin absorption in the gut was proposed as an alternative process that also influences toxin intake. we examined the role of the gut in regulating toxin absorption by quantifying excretion of a plant secondary compound in the feces. we hypothesized that specialists have a greater capacity to reduce intestinal absorption of toxins than do generalis ... | 2012 | 15057724 |
| bionomics of cuterebra austeni (diptera: cuterebridae) and its association with neotoma albigula (rodentia: cricetidae) in the southwestern united states. | cuterebra austeni sabrosky causes cutaneous myiasis in white-throated woodrats, neotoma albigula, in the southwestern united states. in central and southern arizona and southwestern new mexico, this species is bivoltine. adult flies are active at hilltop aggregation sites from early spring through mid-may and again to a lesser extent in the fall months. eggs produced from laboratory matings of adult flies hatched in response to warm breath (34-36 degrees c) 6-8 d after oviposition. oviposition t ... | 1997 | 9439124 |
| oxalate digestibility in neotoma albigula and neotoma mexicana. | the cactus specialist, neotoma albigula, tolerates high concentrations of potentially harmful oxalate compounds in its diet. previous research has shown that oxalate compounds are broken down by intestinal micro-organisms. thus the ability of n. albigula to utilize a diet high in oxalates may be a consequence of the adaptation of the microflora rather than its own evolution. to test this hypothesis, the oxalate degradation ability of n. albigula was compared with that of n. mexicana, a generalis ... | 1985 | 28311315 |
| british red squirrels remain the only known wild rodent host for leprosy bacilli. | eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) in the british isles are the most recently discovered animal reservoir for the leprosy bacteria mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium lepromatosis. initial data suggest that prevalence of leprosy infection is variable and often low in different squirrel populations. nothing is known about the presence of leprosy bacilli in other wild squirrel species despite two others (siberian chipmunk [tamias sibiricus], and thirteen-lined ground squirrel [ictidomys ... | 2019 | 30775369 |
| ontogeny, species identity, and environment dominate microbiome dynamics in wild populations of kissing bugs (triatominae). | kissing bugs (triatominae) are blood-feeding insects best known as the vectors of trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of chagas' disease. considering the high epidemiological relevance of these vectors, their biology and bacterial symbiosis remains surprisingly understudied. while previous investigations revealed generally low individual complexity but high among-individual variability of the triatomine microbiomes, any consistent microbiome determinants have not yet been identified across mu ... | 2020 | 33040738 |
| strategies in herbivory by mammals revisited: the role of liver metabolism in a juniper specialist (neotoma stephensi) and a generalist (neotoma albigula). | although herbivory is widespread among mammals, few species have adopted a strategy of dietary specialization. feeding on a single plant species often exposes herbivores to high doses of plant secondary metabolites (psms), which may exceed the animal's detoxification capacities. theory predicts that specialists will have unique detoxification mechanisms to process high levels of dietary toxins. to evaluate this hypothesis, we compared liver microsomal metabolism of a juniper specialist, neotoma ... | 2020 | 32246507 |
| natural diets promote retention of the native gut microbiota in captive rodents. | wild animals entering captivity experience radical lifestyle changes resulting in microbiome alterations. however, little is known about the factors that drive microbial community shifts in captivity, and what actions could mitigate microbial changes. using white-throated woodrats (neotoma albigula), we tested whether offering natural diets in captivity facilitates retention of native microbial communities of captive animals. wild-caught woodrats were brought to laboratory conditions. woodrats r ... | 2020 | 31495829 |
| loss of function dysbiosis associated with antibiotics and high fat, high sugar diet. | the incidence of urinary stone disease (usd) has increased four-fold in 50 years. oxalate, which is degraded exclusively by gut bacteria, is an important constituent in 80% of urinary stones. we quantified the effects of antibiotics and a high fat/high sugar (hfhs) diet on the microbial metabolism of oxalate in the gut. high and low oxalate-degrading mouse models were developed by administering fecal transplants from either the wild mammalian rodent neotoma albigula or swiss-webster mice to swis ... | 2019 | 30700790 |
| re: microbiota diversification and crash induced by dietary oxalate in the mammalian herbivore neotoma albigula. | | 2018 | 29677891 |