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PubMed2004

Population-structure and genetic diversity in a haplochromine cichlid fish [corrected] of a satellite lake of Lake Victoria.

The approximately 500 species of the cichlid fish species flock of Lake Victoria, East Africa, have evolved in a record-setting 100,000 years and represent one of the largest adaptive radiations. We examined the population structure of the endangered cichlid species Xystichromis phytophagus from Lake Kanyaboli, a satellite lake to Lake Victoria in the Kenyan Yala wetlands. Two sets of molecular markers were analysed--sequences of the mitochondrial control region as well as six microsatellite loci--and revealed surprisingly high levels of genetic variability in this species. Mitochondrial DNA sequences failed to detect population structuring among the three sample populations. A model-based population assignment test based on microsatellite data revealed that the three populations most probably aggregate into a larger panmictic population. However, values of population pairwise FST indicated moderate levels of genetic differentiation for one population. Eleven distinct mitochondrial haplotypes were found among 205 specimens of X. phytophagus, a relatively high number compared to the total number of 54 haplotypes that were recovered from hundreds of specimens of the entire cichlid species flock of Lake Victoria. Most of the X. phytophagus mitochondrial DNA haplotypes were absent from the main Lake Victoria, corroborating the putative importance of satellite lakes as refugia for haplochromine cichlids that went extinct from the main lake in the last decades and possibly during the Late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Comparison of clozapine use in Maryland and in Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: Studies of how differences in systems of care, including cultural differences, affect prescribing practice and patient outcomes are important and can help answer questions such as the effectiveness of clozapine in routine practice. This study examined the use of clozapine in Maryland and in Victoria, Australia. METHODS: This study used medical record data to examine the use of clozapine in January 2000 for people with schizophrenia in two different countries. Data were gathered from all six public inpatient facilities in Maryland and from the two main community outpatient centers in Victoria. Outpatients were studied in Victoria because Australia's inpatient mental health facilities have closed and people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia are managed exclusively as outpatients. RESULTS: In Maryland 591 inpatients with schizophrenia were given a prescription for second-generation antipsychotics; in Victoria 356 outpatients with schizophrenia were given such a prescription. Among second-generation antipsychotics, clozapine was used significantly more frequently in Australia than in Maryland for the treatment of schizophrenia (173 prescriptions, or 49 percent, compared with 144 prescriptions, or 19 percent). Both systems used clozapine mostly for the treatment of schizophrenia (94 percent in Victoria compared with 88 percent in Maryland). The mean clozapine dosages that were used for the treatment of schizophrenia were significantly higher in Maryland than in Australia (522 mg per day compared with 431 mg per day). CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences in use and dosages of clozapine were found in two populations that were similar in diagnoses and demographic characteristics.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Injury surveillance in Victoria, Australia: developing comprehensive injury incidence estimates.

This study aimed to develop an estimate of the incidence of all medically-treated injury by level of severity and to broadly describe the epidemiology of injury in the Australian State of Victoria in a given year. Victoria has developed a relatively comprehensive injury surveillance system. Data is currently collected by various agencies on injury deaths, hospitalisations and emergency department attendances. The method used to establish the incidence of both unintentional and intentional injury is described. Incidence figures were directly derived, or estimated from, the available Victorian health sector and Coronial data bases for three level of severity (deaths, hospitalisations and medical treatment only) and for causes of injury, age and gender groups, location of the injury event and activity at the time of injury. In 1993/1994, injuries resulted in at least 1487 deaths, 67,402 persons hospitalised and an estimated 397,160 medically-treated, non-hospitalised injured persons in Victoria. In total, over 466,000 people were injured or 10.5 persons per year for every 100 residents. Males sustain 62% of all injuries yet represent 49.5% of the population. Almost three-quarters of injury fatalities and over 60% of non-fatal injuries occur among males. Young people aged 15-24 years account for 22% of all injuries yet represent only about 16% of the Victorian population. Children (0-14 years) also suffer relatively high injury rates, although mainly less severe, while the elderly are at risk of more severe injuries. The leading cause of injury death in Victoria is suicide, followed by motor vehicle accidents, whereas falls are the leading cause of all non-fatal injury. Most injuries occur in the home (36%), areas of sport and recreation (12.5%) and transport (11.7%). They are mainly associated with leisure activities (33.1%), work (11%) and transportation (10.8%). This study demonstrates a method for the development of comprehensive injury incidence estimates. The results indicate that injuries have a significant impact on the Victorian community, health care system and economy in general. Reliable incidence data are necessary for descriptive epidemiology and provide the basis for quality of life and economic cost studies. Together this information has potential application for evidence-based strategic planning and evaluation in injury research and prevention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Nuclear markers reveal unexpected genetic variation and a Congolese-Nilotic origin of the Lake Victoria cichlid species flock.

Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial (mt) DNA have indicated that the cichlid species flock of the Lake Victoria region is derived from a single ancestral species found in East African rivers, closely related to the ancestor of the Lake Malawi cichlid species flock. The Lake Victoria flock contains ten times less mtDNA variation than the Lake Malawi radiation, consistent with current estimates of the ages of the lakes. We present results of a phylogenetic investigation using nuclear (amplified fragment length polymorphism) markers and a wider coverage of riverine haplochromines. We demonstrate that the Lake Victoria-Edward flock is derived from the morphologically and ecologically diverse cichlid genus Thoracochromis from the Congo and Nile, rather than from the phenotypically conservative East African Astatotilapia. This implies that the ability to express much of the morphological diversity found in the species flock may by far pre-date the origin of the flock. Our data indicate that the nuclear diversity of the Lake Victoria-Edward species flock is similar to that of the Lake Malawi flock, indicating that the genetic diversity is considerably older than the 15 000 years that have passed since the lake began to refill. Most of this variation is manifested in trans-species polymorphisms, indicating very recent cladogenesis from a genetically very diverse founder stock. Our data do not confirm strict monophyly of either of the species flocks, but raise the possibility that these flocks have arisen from hybrid swarms.

Africa, Eastern↗

PubMed2004

'From the sphere of Sarah Gampism':The professionalisation of nursing and midwifery in the Colony of Victoria.

In the nineteenth century, while the Colony of Victoria was still a fledgling settlement, many of the hospitals of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Europe had instituted forms of nursing and midwifery training. When graduates of these training schemes emigrated to Australia with their knowledge, skills and experience, they found health practice to be haphazard and lacking in organisational standards. Individual immigrant women rose to prominence as managers of Victorian hospitals, and superintendents of homes for trained nurses. Through professional networks of their peers and compatriots, these women succeeded in placing the profession of nursing on a firm footing, and were instrumental in the emergence of professional organisations for trained nurses and midwives in Victoria, including the Melbourne District Nursing Society, the short-lived Nurses Association of Australasia (1892), and the Victorian Trained Nurses Association (1901). Their leadership was to have a profound influence on the way nursing and midwifery were regulated in twentieth century Victoria. In this historical review, we trace the movement to professionalise nursing and midwifery which emerged in the Colony of Victoria during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

History of Nursing↗

PubMed2002

Having a baby in Victoria 1989-2000: continuity and change in the decade following the Victorian Ministerial Review of Birthing Services.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate changing patterns in the provision of maternity care in Victoria based on data collected in three statewide surveys conducted in 1989, 1994 and 2000. METHODS: Postal surveys were mailed to all women who gave birth in Victoria in one week in 1989, and in two weeks in 1993 and 1999, excluding those who had a stillbirth or neonatal death. Questionnaires were sent to women by hospitals and home birth practitioners 5-8 months after the birth. RESULTS: 71.4% of women (n = 790) returned completed surveys in 1989, 62.5% (n = 1,336) in 1994, and 67% (n = 1,616) in 2000. The proportion of women receiving public care increased from 41.1% in 1989 to 63.6% in 1999. Simultaneously, the proportion of women attending public hospital antenatal clinics decreased from 16.6% in 1989 to 8.7% in 1999. Shared care (15.8%) and combined care (29.2%), where women attend a GP or specialist obstetrician for all antenatal care and receive standard public intrapartum care in a public hospital, are now the most common models of public maternity care in Victoria. The proportion of women enrolled in public maternity care who had a known midwife caring for them in labour did not change significantly between 1993 and 1999 (34.9% vs. 30.3%, OR = 0.81 [0.7-1.0]). Sixty per cent of women had a midwife home visit after leaving hospital in 1999 compared with 23.8% in 1993. CONCLUSIONS: The conduct of three population-based surveys at regular intervals over the past 10 years highlights major changes in the organisation of maternity care in Victoria. Comparable information cannot be derived from routine data collections. The Victorian Surveys of Recent Mothers provide an important and unique mechanism for monitoring the impact of shifts in policy and practice over the past decade.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Monitoring measles elimination in Victoria.

OBJECTIVES: To weigh the evidence from outbreak data that Victoria has achieved, and is maintaining, elimination of measles. To identify age groups that measles vaccination has not protected adequately. METHODS: Data on observed measles outbreaks in Victoria since the start of 1998 are used to estimate the reproduction number of cases, and the probability that it is maintained below unity, its threshold value for elimination. The relative susceptibility to measles is estimated as a function of age, with confidence intervals. RESULTS: Seventeen measles introductions led to secondary cases, while 22 were single-case introductions. From these, the probability that the reproduction number for cases exceeds unity is estimated to be 0.044, or less, depending on assumptions made. There is no evidence that the reproduction number increased over time. Those aged between 19 and 32 years were most susceptible, followed by those in the first and second year of life. CONCLUSIONS: The data provide strong evidence that Victoria has maintained elimination of measles over the period 1998 to mid-2003. There is scope to improve the immunisation coverage. It is not clear how much outbreak intervention is contributing to the success in achieving apparent elimination. IMPLICATIONS: To prevent importations from causing a major epidemic of measles, Victoria must maintain its immunisation coverage and outbreak control at current levels, or better. It is important to monitor the control of measles even when elimination is achieved.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Surveillance for Bordetella pertussis infection in Victoria.

Our aims were to describe the epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis infection in Victoria during the last decade and to evaluate surveillance of B. pertussis by comparing notifications with laboratory isolations and hospital diagnoses. Whooping cough was once a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality but there was a dramatic reduction in the 1940s because of immunisation. During the last two decades, controversy about the vaccine's toxicity has resulted in waning immunisation rates and outbreaks of the disease. The notification system in Victoria has undergone changes which make interpretation of surveillance data difficult. We compared notifications of B. pertussis with laboratory data from the Royal Children's Hospital and hospital separations with B. pertussis from all hospitals in Victoria. The latter sources revealed epidemic years of infection in 1982, 1985 and 1989. This was not apparent from notifications alone and highlights the importance of using multiple sources of surveillance data. We also found a higher rate of notification from Geelong than rural Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne. The fluctuating incidence of B. pertussis infection in the last decade may reflect changing immunisation practices. Unfounded fears that pertussis vaccine causes serious neurological sequelae have inappropriately influenced individual practice and legislation. The increased notification of B. pertussis in the early 1980s may have reflected the omission of the fourth dose of pertussis vaccine from the Australian schedule in 1979. Surveillance data should be used not only for descriptive epidemiology, but for public health action, and efforts should be made to ensure that immunisation rates remain high.

Child↗

PubMed2001

Personal protective equipment use by in-line skaters in Victoria.

OBJECTIVE: To describe use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by in-line skaters at four different skate settings (rink, park, trail and street) in Melbourne and rural Victoria, and to compare local PPE with reported international use. METHOD: Unobtrusive observations of in-line skaters at four types of skate settings (rinks, parks, trails, street) in Melbourne and rural Victoria. RESULTS: Two-thirds of 490 observed in-line skaters (66.7%) wore none of the recommended PPE (wrist guards, elbow and knee pads and helmets). Only 2.2% wore all four pieces of PPE. Wrist guards were worn by 25.9% of skaters, knee pads by 23.5%, elbow pads by 6.9% and helmets by 5.5%. Younger skaters were least likely to wear any PPE. Trail skaters were more likely to wear PPE than skaters on rinks, parks and streets. Almost one-third of skaters did not have a heel brake on their skates. Use of PPE was influenced by group norms. CONCLUSION: Personal protective equipment use is low among in-line skaters in Victoria, and varies according to skate location. The use of PPE in Victoria is much lower than that reported overseas. IMPLICATIONS: Evidence of the effectiveness and the low use of PPE by skaters highlights the need to better promote the use of wrist guards, elbow and knee pads and helmets to skaters of all ages and abilities. There is opportunity for public health professionals to work in partnership with in-line skating bodies, organisers and sponsors of skating events, skate venue owners and managers, skating equipment manufacturers and hirers to promote PPE use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Measles in Victoria 1992 to 1996: the importance of laboratory confirmation.

Australia had a major measles epidemic in 1993 and 1994, which appeared to by-pass Victoria. Victorian notification and laboratory testing data for measles, and public hospital discharge codes, from 1992 to 1996, were reviewed. The rate of measles notification in Victoria fell between 1992 and 1996. By contrast the national notification rate increased markedly in 1993 and 1994. The proportion of measles tests performed at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) which were positive increased for all age groups in 1993 and 1994. This increase was highest for the 15 to 19 years age group. The hospital discharge codes demonstrated an increase in the number of admissions for measles in 1993 and 1994, largely for adolescents and younger adults. These data suggest Victoria had an age group specific measles outbreak, the magnitude of which was not reflected by the passive notification system. Reasons why younger age groups in Victoria appeared to avoid the epidemic are unclear.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

A profile of HIV testing in Victoria, 1984 to 2004.

HIV testing is an important public health strategy and collection of HIV testing data is a component of overall HIV surveillance activities. This paper describes changes in HIV testing patterns in relation to HIV diagnoses in Victoria between 1984 and 2004. HIV testing and diagnosis data were extracted from surveillance databases maintained at the Burnet Institute. The annual number of HIV tests performed in Victoria increased from 2,879 in 1984, to 193,927 in 2004. Between 1991 and 2004, the male HIV testing rate per 100,000 population increased from 2,754 to 3,710 and the female rate from 2,395 to 4,453. The proportion of HIV tests conducted by private laboratories increased from less than 1 per cent in 1991 to 75 per cent in 2004. The number of HIV diagnoses increased from 140 in 1999 to 233 in 2002 and then fell to 217 in 2004. The HIV diagnosis rate per 100,000 tests increased from 98.9 in 1999 to 137.7 in 2000 then decreased to 111.9 in 2004. The overall rate of HIV diagnosis per 100,000 tests was 291.6 for males and 25.9 for females. Increased testing among males is a good outcome considering the majority of HIV diagnoses in Victoria are among men who have sex with men (MSM). Increased testing among females probably relates to increased antenatal screening. The inability to collect sexual orientation and reason for test data limited interpretations. To provide a better understanding of the impact of testing on the HIV epidemiology, especially among MSM, linked HIV sentinel surveillance has been implemented in Victoria.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Entry of human immunodeficiency virus infection into a population of injecting drug users, Victoria, 1990.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pathway by which the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is entering populations of injecting drug users (IDUs) in Victoria. DESIGN: A retrospective case-control study comparing the prevalence of self reported risk behaviour in HIV-infected and uninfected Victorian IDUs. SETTING: Subjects were recruited by trained peer outreach workers from their personal networks, community agencies and Fairfield Hospital outpatients, and by a research worker from the major metropolitan prison. PARTICIPANTS: People who had been resident in Victoria for the past 12 months and had injected an illicit drug more than once in the previous three years were eligible to participate. Sixty-two such people (28 HIV-infected, 34 not infected) were included in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The two main hypothesised portals of entry were from the non-IDU homosexual population in Victoria, and from HIV-infected IDUs elsewhere. RESULTS: male homosexual contact was the most consistent risk factor identified by this study (odds ratio [OR], 6.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-23.8). Having lived in or visited Sydney before 1986 was also associated with being infected with HIV (OR, 13.2; 95% CI, 1.5-603), and this was associated with homosexuality. Infected IDUs reported more sharing of injecting equipment than controls (OR, 9.0; 95% CI, 1.5-92.5), particularly with sexual partners; when this was the case, they were more likely to always use the injecting equipment after their partner (61% of cases, 0% of controls; OR, greater than or equal to 4.1; P = 0.0006). CONCLUSION: Men who have a history of both homosexual contact and injecting drug use represent the group of IDUs at highest risk of HIV infection in Victoria. Although heterosexual and homosexual IDUs may have limited contact only, a larger epidemic of HIV infection in heterosexual IDUs could spread from homosexual IDUs through the sharing of injecting equipment.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

The epidemiology of tuberculosis in Victoria.

AIMS: To describe the epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) in Victoria, Australia. METHODS: We analysed data from the Victorian Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory database and MTb notifications to Health and Community Services Victoria, for the period 1948 to 1992. RESULTS: The annual number of notified tuberculosis cases peaked at 1143 in 1954 and declined to 266 in 1992. The incidence rate decreased from 47 to 6.2 per 100,000 in the same period. The pattern of tuberculosis has changed significantly over the last two decades, reflecting the high prevalence of MTb in recent immigrants, particularly in those from South-East Asia. Among people born overseas the number of cases increased from 40% of notifications in 1970 to 80% in 1990; they are younger, more likely to be female and to have extrapulmonary disease, than their Australian-born counterparts. Between 1987 and 1991, the mean annual incidence of tuberculosis in people born in Australia and South-East Asia respectively was 1.5 and 47.5 per 100,000. People born in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines had rates between 100 and 400 per 100,000. These rates have remained stable during the last six years. Almost 50% of migrant patients presented within five years, and 30% within two years, of arrival in Australia. The estimated mean annual incidence of MTb in homeless men between 1984 and June 1992 was 80 per 100,000. Resistance to all first-line drugs increased from 10.8% of all isolates in 1981 to 14.7% in 1990. The incidence of multi-drug resistant MTb (MDR-MTb) has been consistently less than 2% of isolates per year in the past 15 years. There were 14 cases of MTb and HIV between 1985 and June 1992. The mean annual incidence of MTb in people with AIDS is 1579 per 100,000 (range, 570-2420 per 100,000), with a relative risk of 236 (95% confidence interval [CI], 134-414). MDR-MTb has not been documented in HIV-infected individuals in Victoria. CONCLUSION: Tuberculosis remains an important public health concern. Groups at high risk include people born overseas, the homeless, and people infected with HIV. Physicians caring for AIDS patients should consider the diagnosis of MTb, since its incidence in AIDS patients is so high. Our data suggest possible shortcomings in current methods of screening and prophylactic treatment of migrants and refugees. The rising rate of drug resistance cannot be ignored. We should consider strategies to ensure judicious use of anti-tuberculous drugs by physicians, and optimal patient compliance. These issues are critical to the future of tuberculosis control in Victoria.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Changes in bed resources and admission patterns in acute public hospitals in Victoria, 1987-1995.

OBJECTIVE: To describe changes in admission patterns, bed resources and hospital use in acute public hospitals and their relationship with early readmissions and interhospital transfers in Victoria between 1987 and 1995. DESIGN: Descriptive study of longitudinal trends using data from the Victorian inpatient Minimum Database and the Acute Health Services Branch of the Department of Human Services, Victoria. SETTING: State of Victoria. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Acute public hospital beds and hospital separations per 1000 population; separation type (same-day or longer); mean length of stay; interhospital transfers; and readmissions to the same hospital within 28 days. RESULTS: Between 1987-88 and 1994-95, public hospital beds in Victoria decreased from 3.2 to 2.8/1000 population, and mean length of hospital stay decreased from 6.4 to 4.2 days. There was a significant direct correlation between number of beds/1000 and length of stay (r = 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52-0.98). Bed occupancy remained constant at 80%. Over the same period, same-day admissions increased from 22% to 42% of hospital separations, interhospital transfers increased from 2.7% to 4% of separations, and readmissions to the same hospital within 28 days for any reason increased from 12.4% to 15% of separations (21% increase). Beds/1000 were inversely correlated with interhospital transfers (r = -0.83; 95% CI, -0.31 to -0.97), while readmission rates were inversely correlated with beds/1000 (r = -0.89; 95% CI, -0.98 to -0.50) and length of hospital stay (r = -0.95; 95% CI, -0.99 to -0.74). CONCLUSIONS: There were significant changes in the patterns of use of public hospitals between 1987 and 1995, possibly reflecting technological advances and changes in clinical practice, as well as policy to improve efficiency. Early readmission rates may be a useful proxy measure of potentially avoidable adverse outcomes.

Diagnosis-Related Groups↗

PubMed2000

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis in Victoria: 10 years' experience (1989-1998).

OBJECTIVE: To review the effectiveness of statewide newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) in Victoria over the first 10 years of the program (1989-1998). DESIGN: Population study involving screening of newborns by immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) testing on Day 3-5, followed by either repeat IRT testing (1989-1990) or delta F508 mutation analysis (1991-1998). PATIENTS AND SETTING: All babies screened for CF in a newborn screening program in Victoria in 1989-1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The diagnosis of CF. RESULTS: Of 635,157 babies born in Victoria in the 10 years, 191 were diagnosed with CF. A further 30 cases were detected antenatally, giving an incidence of 1/2874 (95% CI, 1/2519-1/3294). CF was detected early in 182 babies (95.3% of affected babies in the screened cohort)--136 by screening, 35 because they had meconium ileus, and 11 because they were siblings of older children with CF. Nine cases of CF were missed by screening. Of these nine babies, four did not have an elevated neonatal IRT level, one had a normal IRT level at repeat testing at 4-6 weeks (1989-1990), three did not have a delta F508 mutation (1991-1998), and one had a false negative sweat test result. Six of the nine missed babies (67%) were diagnosed within four months of birth. CONCLUSION: Newborn screening for CF in Victoria has proven effective in detecting most babies with CF in the newborn period. However, a sweat test should be requested when the clinical features suggest the diagnosis of CF, even if the child has been screened.

Chlorides↗

PubMed1979

Reduction in road fatalities and injuries after legislation for compulsory wearing of seat belts: experience in Victoria and the rest of Australia.

In 1970 the Government of the State of Victoria became the first in the 'western' world to introduce legislation for compulsory wearing of seat belts. Within 14 months the other Australian states followed. Seat belt wearing rates increased to attain 90 per cent in 1977. This paper presents an evaluation of changes during the period 1955--77 in the incidence of road crash fatalities and injuries for vehicle occupants in Victoria and the rest of Australia. The introduction of the legislation in Victoria and subsequently in the other Australian states coincided with significant and marked decreases in driver and passenger fatality and injury rates (numbers per 10 000 registered vehicles). The decreases were enough to reduce the total numbers of vehicle occupant fatalities and injuries for all post-legislation years in Victoria. The improvements have been maintained throughout the entire post-legislation period. The legislation did not apply to child passengers of less than 8 years of age and the frequency of seat belt or harness wearing among them remained low. These children did not share in the overall improvement for passengers. The Australian experience supports the view that legislation for compulsory wearing of seat belts is the single most effective method available for the protection of vehicle occupants in road crashes.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1999

Evolution of the ribosomal RNA internal transcribed spacer one (ITS-1) in cichlid fishes of the Lake Victoria region.

The nucleotide sequences of the first internal transcribed spacer (ITS-1) of the ribosomal RNA gene cluster have been determined for 11 species of closely related endemic cichlid fishes of the Lake Victoria region (LVR) and 6 related East African cichlids. The ITS-1 sequences confirmed independently derived basal phylogenies, but provide limited insight within this species flock. The line leading to Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor arose early, close to the divergence event that separated the tilapiine and haplochromine tribes of the "African Group" of the family Cichlidae. In this phylogeny, Astatoreochromis alluaudi and the riverine Astatotilapia burtoni are sister taxa, which together are a sister group to a monophyletic assemblage including both Lake Victoria and Lake Edward taxa. The ITS-1 data support the monophyly of haplochromine genera across lakes. Since Lake Victoria is believed to have been dry between 14, 500 and 12,400 BPE, the modern assemblage must have been derived from reinvasion by the products of earlier cladogenesis events. Thus, although the regional superflock is monophyletic, the haplochromines of Lake Victoria itself did not evolve in situ from a single ancestor.

Africa, Eastern↗

PubMed2000

A cellular protein with an RNA-binding activity co-purifies with viral dsRNA from mycovirus-infected Helminthosporium victoriae.

A cellular protein that co-purifies with mycoviral dsRNA was isolated from the plant pathogenic fungus Helminthosporium victoriae (telomorph: Cochliobolus victoriae) infected with two viruses, the totivirus Helminthosporium victoriae 190S virus and the chrysovirus-like Helminthosporium victoriae 145S virus (Hv145SV). The cellular protein, which was, designated Hv-p68, accumulated to higher levels in virus-infected isolates compared to virus-free ones. The majority of the Hv145S dsRNAs were found in association with Hv-p68 and not packaged in virions. Hv-p68 could also be detected as a minor component of the virus capsid. Evidence is presented that Hv-p68 occurs in vivo as an octamer and that it possesses RNA-binding activities. Based on partial amino acid sequence analysis, Hv-p68 was shown to share significant sequence identity with alcohol oxidases from methylotrophic yeasts. Hv-p68 is proposed to play a role in viral RNA packaging/replication and in regulating viral pathogenesis.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗