| corynebacterium caspium sp. nov., from a caspian seal (phoca caspica). | a previously unknown gram-positive, non-spore-forming, non-lipophilic, catalase-positive, irregular rod-shaped bacterium (m/106/00/5(t)) was isolated, in mixed culture, from the penis of a caspian seal (phoca caspica). the strain was a facultative anaerobe that was able to grow at 22 and 42 degrees c. comparative 16s rrna gene sequencing showed that the organism formed a hitherto unknown subline within the genus corynebacterium. sequence divergence values of more than 5 % from other described co ... | 2004 | 15143043 |
| the 2000 canine distemper epidemic in caspian seals (phoca caspica): pathology and analysis of contributory factors. | more than 10,000 caspian seals (phoca caspica) were reported dead in the caspian sea during spring and summer 2000. we performed necropsies and extensive laboratory analyses on 18 seals, as well as examination of the pattern of strandings and variation in weather in recent years, to identify the cause of mortality and potential contributory factors. the monthly stranding rate in 2000 was up to 2.8 times the historic mean. it was preceded by an unusually mild winter, as observed before in mass mo ... | 2006 | 16672579 |