Robert E. L. Taylor’s research while affiliated with University of Nevada, Reno and other places

Trichomonas cultures taken from 2389 bulls showed that approximately 4.7% of them were infected. Correlation of these data with the ranches from which diagnostic samples were obtained indicated that in the period of 1984 through 1987 26.7 to 44.1% of ranches had at least one infected bull. Thirty-four 18-month-old Holstein heifers were assigned to one of three groups, controls n = 12 animals, soluble vaccine n = 11 animals, and whole vaccine n = 11 animals to determine the effect of Tritrichomonas foetus vaccines on the reproductive performance of T . foetus infected animals. Heifers were bred with T . foetus infected bulls beginning two weeks after the second T . foetus vaccination. All immunized animals developed antibody titers of at least 1:1000 following vaccination. In addition, all control and immunized animals became infected with T . foetus . However, the duration of infection was approximately two weeks shorter in immunized animals. Approximately 42% (5 of 12) of control heifers remained infected with T . foetus for the duration of the experiment, while only 18% (2 of 11) of each of the vaccine groups remained infected for the duration of the experiment. Finally, 27% (3 of 11) of heifers in each of the vaccine groups were pregnant at slaughter, while none of the control heifers were pregnant at slaughter. Therefore, both vaccine formulations appeared to protect heifers (P<0.05) from fetal loss due to trichomoniasis.

1.1. Injection of [U-14C]aspartic acid into juvenile Macrobrachium rosenbergii resulted in no label being incorporated into asparagine.2.2. Labelled taurine was observed 24 hr post injection of [U-14C]serine. Radioactivity was also detected in glycine.3.3. The turnover rate of injected [U-14C]taurine suggests a half-life of greater than 28 days in the prawn.4.4. Results suggest that a dietary requirement for asparagine may exist in the prawn. In addition, the prawn's nutritional requirement of taurine may be fulfilled by its biosynthesis.

Tritrichomonas foetus antigens were identified, using the serum of an Angus heifer that had been repeatedly immunized with suspensions of 1 X 10(8) organisms in Freund's complete adjuvant. Antibody activity against T foetus was determined by dot-blot analysis, using horse-radish peroxidase-conjugated anti-bovine immunoglobulin to detect bound antibody. The antiserum contained antibodies against surface and flagellar components of live or fixed T foetus, as determined by use of immunofluorescence. The antiserum reacted with approximately 38 proteins in a pool of 55 to 60 components resolvable by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of T foetus extracts.