The molting cycle of nematodes involves the periodic synthesis and removal of a collagen-rich exoskeleton, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we describe the mlt-10 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans, which emerged from a genetic screen for molting-defective mutants sensitized by low cholesterol. MLT-10 defines a large family of nematode-specific proteins compris...

Previous studies indicated that inorganic pyrophosphatase of Ascaris suum (AsPPase) plays an important role in larval survival in the host. Here we describe a precise role for AsPPase in larval molting and development and also describe the potential role of recombinant AsPPase (rAsPPase) in protective immunity to A. suum infection. Using reverse transcriptase PCR analysis, we found that disrupt...

Laboratory experiments identified microviridin J as the source of a fatal molting disruption in Daphnia species organisms feeding on Microcystis cells. The molting disruption was presumably linked to the inhibitory effect of microviridin J on daphnid proteases, suggesting that hundreds of further cyanobacterial protease inhibitors must be considered potentially toxic to zooplankton.

The standard method for molting to stimulate multiple egg-laying cycles in laying hens is feed deprivation. However, the physiological changes within hens caused by feed deprivation increase susceptibility of the hens to Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) infection. In an effort to develop an alternative method to induce molting without increasing susceptibility to SE, an alfalfa diet...

A novel filarial serine protease inhibitor (SPI) from the human parasitic nematode Onchocerca volvulus, Ov-SPI-1, was identified through the analysis of a molting third-stage larvae expressed sequence tag dataset. Subsequent analysis of the expressed sequence tag datasets of O. volvulus and other filariae identified four other members of this family. These proteins are related to the low molecu...

an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical and non-chemical molting methods as compared to conventional feed removal methods with respect to the physiological response and postmolt performance in hy-line w36 laying hens. one hundred and eight 78-week-old hens were distributed among 27 groups of four birds and placed in cages so that the mean body weight of each cage w...

The periodicity of molting and resumption of feeding after molting was investigated in the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch and Mulaik (Sicariidae). Spiders molted almost every hour of the day but there was a tendency to molt more frequently between 8 A.M. and 1 A.M. Spiderlings resumed feeding after 20 hrs post-molt with feeding occuring more frequently around the 43rd hour and...

Molting activity and innate immunity play a pivotal role in the development growth of crustaceans are related to mortality body abnormality. To evaluate synergistic effect vitamin D3 (vit-D3) Ca molting Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), crabs (3.20 ± 0.01 g) were fed six diets formulated with two levels (0% 1.5%, abbreviated D N) three vit-D3 (0, 9,000 27,000 IU/kg, LVD, MVD HVD) level ...

After molting, stomatopods can be evicted easily from home cavities by conspecifics because these marine crustaceans lose temporarily their body armor and the use of their raptorial appendages. Some newly molted stomatopods defend their cavities with a meral spread display, a signal correlated with attack when used by animals between molts. The use of the meral spread display actually increases...

This study investigated the combined effects of feeding ration and cheliped autotomy on intermolt duration, molting success, molt increments in size weight, ecdysteroid receptor gene (SpEcR) expression early juvenile mud crab Scylla paramamosain. Newly molted second stage crabs (C2) were subjected to four conditions; optimal, suboptimal (1/2 optimal), low (1/4 optimal) starvation, (intact vs. a...