Collagenase was used to prepare primary cell cultures from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), gills. Although difficult to subcultivate, one primary culture led to the development of a cell line, RTgill-Wl. RTgill-Wl grew in the basal medium, L-15, supplemented with foetal bovine serum at between 5 and 10%, but not in L-15 alone. The cells have been passaged approximately 50 times over a 4-year period. At confluency, the cell shape was predominantly polygonal or epithelial-like. RTgill-Wl cultures were demonstrated by DNA staining with H33258 and by growth on agar to be contaminated with mycoplasma, but this contaminant was eradicated by treatment with mycoplasma removal agent (MRA) and BM cyclin.

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Necrotic enteritis, caused by Clostridium perfringens type A, is more prevalent in broilers fed wheat or barley diets than in those fed a corn diet. We compared the effects of wheat, barley and corn diets on in vitro proliferation of C. perfringens type A. Bacteria were inoculated into the supernatants delivered from either digested or non-digested barley, wheat and corn diets mixed with thioglycollate medium (1:3). Colony forming units were counted following incubation for 6 h at 40°C. There were no significant differences in clostridial proliferation among non-digested diets. Bacterial proliferation in the digested wheat and barley diets was significantly higher than in the digested corn diet. These findings suggest that the increased incidence of necrotic enteritis in broilers fed barley and wheat diets compared with those fed a corn diet may be due in part to increased clostridial proliferation associated with the wheat and barley diets, or to decreased proliferation associated with the corn diet.

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Abstract. In dogs, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a common colonizer and is associated with pyoderma, otitis externa, and urinary tract infections. In the current study, nasal, pharyngeal, and rectal swabs were taken from 175 healthy dogs and cultured for S. pseudintermedius. The organism was found in 153 dogs (87.4%), including individuals in which it exclusively colonized in the nares (n 5 1), pharynx (n 5 16), and rectum (n 5 17). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that a remarkably susceptible population, 46.4% of isolates, was susceptible to all drugs tested, and resistance to penicillin (39.9%) and tetracycline (23.5%) were most common. No methicillin (oxacillin)-resistant isolates were identified. Although 3.3% of isolates were erythromycin resistant, no inducible clindamycin resistance was found. The data provide a baseline for future resistance surveillance and indicate that multiple body sites, including at least the pharynx and rectum, should be tested.