Dr Olukayode Daramola

Adequate knowledge of the genetic diversity among Babesia species infecting dogs is necessary for a better understanding of the epidemiology and control of canine babesiosis. Hence, this study determined the genetic diversity among the Babesia rossi detected in dogs presented for routine examination in Veterinary Hospitals in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Blood were randomly collected from 209 dogs. Field-stained thin smears were made and DNA extracted from the blood. Partial region of the 18S small subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was amplified, sequenced and analysed. Babesia species was detected in 16 (7.7%) of the dogs by microscopy. Electrophoresed PCR products from 39 (18.66%) dogs revealed band size of 450 bp and 2 (0.95%) dogs had band size of 430 bp. The sequences obtained from 450 bp amplicon displayed homology of 99.74% (387/388) with partial sequences of 18S rRNA gene of Babesia rossi in the GeneBank. Of the two sequences that had 430 bp amplicon, one was identified as T. annulata and second as T. ovis. A significantly (p<0.05) higher prevalence of B. rossi was detected by PCR compared to microscopy. The mean PCV of Babesia infected dogs was significantly (p<0.05) lower than non-infected dogs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed minimal diversity among B. rossi with the exception of one sequence that was greatly divergent from the others. This study suggests that more than one genotype of B. rossi may be in circulation among the dog population in the study area and this may have potential implication on clinical outcome of canine babesiosis.

Canine ehrlichiosis is an important tick-borne rickettsial disease mainly caused by Ehrlichia canis. This study aimed to detect and characterise E. canis in dogs in Abeokuta, Nigeria by microscopy and nested PCR. Blood samples were collected from 205 dogs, thin smears were made, field-stained, and DNA was extracted from the blood samples. A partial region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced unidirectionally. Ehrlichial morulae were detected in three dogs (1.5%). The PCR test revealed that 47 dogs (22.9%) were positive for E. canis. The lengths of the sequences obtained range from 374 bp to 376 bp with an average G-C content of 37% and 98-99% homology with the reference sequences in GenBank. The aligned autochthonous sequences were less polymorphic. The phylogenetic analysis separated sequences reported previously in Nigeria from the autochthonous sequences. The present work shows that the strain of E. canis detected in the study area is genetically different from those reported in the northern part of Nigeria and more closely related to sequences from Brazil and India.

Education for Sustainable Development (an interdisciplinary approach to learning aimed towards providing students with values, skills, and knowledge to be socially, economically, and globally accountable With respect to global citizenship, curriculum development plays a key role in ESD, while is a staff and student perspective as well In this the short study, I am interested in the attitude and various practices of HE teachers (tutors, etc) in the UK towards ESD This investigation would use a short anonymous survey targeting academics in the UK ( but not exclusively open to peers on the PGCert Academic Practice course, University of Liverpool) With the investigation already been covered by the module low-level ethical approval, I will be open to collecting opinions and discussing my ideas at the conference

8th annual Pedagogic Research Conference, 19/01/2023 - 19/01/2023, University of Liverpool: Emerging Ideas

Fasciolosis is caused by liver flukes: F. hepatica, and a sister species – F. gigantica. A growing concern with controlling the disease is resistance to triclabendazole (TCBZ), the only drug shown to kill both adult and immature liver flukes. Currently, F. hepatica mechanism of resistance to TCBZ is not clearly understood and there is no effective commercially available vaccine. Previous work proposed three mechanisms associated with TCBZ mode of action and resistance: tubulin binding activity, drug uptake mechanisms, and drug metabolism mechanism. Exploring evolutionary forces acting on F. hepatica genes associated with TCBZ mode of action and resistance could explain how the parasite develops resistance to the drug, enable identification of potential drug targets, and facilitate development of new drugs. A re-annotation of the current F. hepatica genome was done using an updated version of the published F. hepatica draft genome (assembly GCA_000947175.1, BioProject PRJEB6687). Subsequently, the current annotation (Fasciola_10x_pilon, GCA_900302435.1 WormBase Parasite Version 15) was compared and critically assessed with the newly re-annotated version. Using coding sequences (CDS) of three well-described annotated gene families, manual validation of the annotation was done. A total of 15,879 F. hepatica genes were identified in this project compared to the 9,401 genes in the current annotation, while differences noticed in both annotations include gene fragmentation, missing exons, and missing genes. F. hepatica gene family members belonging to each of the three proposed mechanism of action of TCBZ action and resistance, and their trematode orthologous sequences were compiled. The gene families studied include tubulins, ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC), AC, RAS, ADP ribosylation factor, cytochrome P450 (CYP450), GSTs, and Fatty Acid Binding Proteins (FABPs). Signals indicative of positive selection was identified using Phylogenetic Analysis by Maximum Likelihood (PAML) and McDonald and Kreitman test (MKtest). PAML branch-site model testing identified 1 alpha tubulin, 1 delta tubulin, 5 ABC genes, 9 RAS genes, and 4 ADP ribosylation factor genes with statistically significant sites under positive selection. While the MKtest analysis identified 2 RAS genes and 1 AC genes under positive selection. The expression profile of the genes associated with TCBZ mode of action was assessed across F. hepatica life stages. Findings indicate that tubulin gene expression was elevated in metacercariae and newly excysted juveniles (NEJs), with a peak expression pattern noticed in NEJs 1 hour post excystment, with levels reducing in flukes 21 days post excystment. Similarly, in genes associated with TCBZ uptake, expression was predominantly raised in metacercariae and NEJs, while gene expression gradually reduced towards fluke maturity. The effect of TCBZ on F. hepatica was investigated in experimentally infected sheep. Parasite response to the drug in TCBZ resistant and susceptible F. hepatica isolates was compared in sheep infected and treated with the drug. TCBZ treatment induced gene expression patterns were noticed in 72% (90 out 125 genes, P < 0.05) of all the genes assessed (excluding unexpressed genes and constitutively expressed genes). Findings in this study indicate TCBZ administration affects multiple mechanisms in the parasite. Therefore, this confirms that all the three proposed TCBZ mode of action and resistance mechanisms in F. hepatica could be implicated in drug TCBZ resistance.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) refers to an interdisciplinary approach to integrating societal, economic, and environmental issues into the curriculum. While ESD tends to be associated with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the extent to which it should be incorporated in the veterinary education curriculum is debatable, especially for a professionally regulated programme. This emerging idea study used an anonymous survey to evaluate higher education academics across various disciplines’ perspectives and academic practices around ESD. Findings indicate academics have a diverse perception of what ESD means. While these perceptions include ESD within the scope of the 17 SDGs, academics also understood ESD within the scope of staff professional development and student life-long skill acquisition. It was observed that academics’ confidence in including ESD into their teaching practices (P = 0.021), academics’ level of training on ESD (P = 0.023), and academics’ views on the need for their institution’s commitment towards ESD (P = 0.028), were each statistically linked with academic’s number of teaching years in higher education. Results suggest that early career academics (with less than 5 years of teaching experience in higher education) were more aware and open to ESD, while academics with more than 5 years of experience were likely to be less interested in incorporating ESD into their teaching practices. This study revealed that although academics have some understanding of ESD, a clear institutional commitment to staff training on how to incorporate ESD into teaching and learning, particularly within the scope of the 17 SDGs will be crucial to the ESD initiative, however conversations around the “extent of incorporation” should be actively ongoing especially in veterinary schools.

Great Lakes Bioinformatics Conference (GLBIO 2019) - International Society for Computational Biology. University of Wisconsin at Madison, USA

Oral Presentation - Swedish Bioinformatics Workshop, Conference Center Wallenberg, Gothenburg, Sweden

This research paper explores the views and perceptions of academics towards embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into their academic practices and presents study findings on academics’ views on ESD. This study utilized anonymous questionnaires to obtain participant opinions. Participants were encouraged to share personal practices around ESD. This study observed that academics have a diverse perception of the ESD concept, and most academics are aware of ESD to some extent. The results indicate the presence of a statistical relationship between academics’ years of experience in higher education (HE) and their awareness of ESD. Also, early career academics are more likely to be open to incorporating ESD into their teaching practices. In addition to these, this paper discussed that while academics may or may not already be incorporating ESD into their teaching practices, institutional commitment to embedding ESD into policies, staff training, curriculum development, and assessment is critical in ensuring effective integration of ESD into HE.