Copy of author's previously published work inserted. Bibliography: leaves 139-160.

The aim of the experiments reported in the present work was: first, to generate a rat model of lithium-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), and, second, to use this to test the hypothesis that the effects of lithium were far more reaching than merely the inhibition of vasopressin induced translocation and synthesis of the water channel protein AQP2. Specifically, the effect of lithium on the abundance and distribution of the other water channel proteins, AQP1, AQP3 and AQP4 was investigated. It was found that AQP3 protein abundance was significantly reduced in the renal medulla while AQP4 was not affected. In addition, it was further hypothesized that, given the known effects of lithium on the urea transporter UT-A1 and on sodium channels and transporters, the renal medullary osmotic gradient would be dissipated by lithium. This was examined indirectly by determining the amounts of organic osmolytes in the renal medulla of rats with lithium-induced NDI. Myo-inositol was found to be 85 � 9 mmol kg⁻1 protein in the NDI rats, a reduction of 38% compared with control values, sotbitol fell from 35� 9 mmol kg⁻� in the control rats to 2.5 � 0.5 mmol kg⁻�, and glycerophosphorylcholine levels in the experimental animals were 91 � 18 mmol kg⁻� protein compared with 372 � 72 mmol kg⁻� in the controls. In addition, betaine decreased to 38 � 2 mmol kg⁻� protein from 69 � 10 mmol kg⁻� protein in the control. The urea content of the medulla was found to have fallen from 2868 � 558 mmol kg⁻� protein to 480 � 105 mmol kg⁻� protein. These data indicated that indeed the medullary osmotic gradient, the driving force for AVP-dependent fluid reabsorption in the kidney was greatly reduced during lithium-induced NDI. Thirdly, it was proposed that the sodium-channel blocker, amiloride, by acting to prevent lithium entry into the cells of the collecting duct, should ameliorate or abolish the adverse effects of lithium on the kidney. Treatment of rats with established NDI, with amiloride, reversed to a large extent the reduction in aquaporin protein expression and re-established the medullary osmotic gradient, as assessed by the ability of treated rats to concentrate their urine, and by the rise in amounts of medullary osmolytes. Administration of 0.5 mmol l⁻� amiloride to lithium-treated rats led to medullary AQP2 and AQP3 protein abundance increasing by 82% � 16% and 110% � 4% of the control level respectively. The content of urea in the medulla also increased to 2474 � 557 mmol kg⁻� protein. Finally, since in humans it is known that the chronic effect of lithium on the kidney is to cause cortical fibrosis and renal failure, microarray studies were commenced to look for evidence of early changes in gene activity in response to lithium-administration. The results showed that 77 genes were either up- or down-regulated, in particular, genes that are involved in the apoptosis pathway. In the light of these results it is plausible to suggest that the acute renal effects of lithium to induce NDI can be effectively mitigated, and reversed, by administration of amiloride. Whether this can serve to offset the chronic effects of lithium on the kidney awaits further investigation.

Autoimmune disease is comprised of a wide variety of disorders characterised by a loss of self-tolerance towards a target organ or systemic region leading to its eventual destruction. Type 1 diabetes (T1D), autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are debilitating organ-specific disorders. These disorders arise from a combination of genetic factors and environmental triggers. A greater level of basic understanding of these disorders is required to delay and/or prevent their effects. Numerous autoimmune susceptibility loci have been implicated in the development of these disorders, but only a few causative genes have been identified. The aim of this project was to use comparative mapping between the human and mouse genomes to provide a greater understanding of the human autoimmune susceptibility locus, IDDM6, shown to be involved in a number of autoimmune disease conditions. Hall et al., (2003) previously demonstrated that the mouse autoimmune diabetes locus, Idd21, on distal mouse chr18 contains orthology to human IDDM6, IDDM10, IDDM18 and rat Iddm3. As part of this project the Idd21 locus was fine mapped using the congenic mapping technique. Beginning with the consomic mouse strain, NOD.ABHChr18 (90Mb of Biozzi/ABH-derived diabetes-resistant chr18 introgressed onto a non-obese diabetic (NOD) genetic background), 13 NOD.ABHIdd21 congenic mouse strains were established. The diabetes incidences of these congenic mouse strains were statistically compared stepwise along mouse chr18 and Idd21 was fine mapped to at least four independent autoimmune diabetes loci. Idd21.1 and Idd21.2 were located on distal mouse chr18 in regions orthologous to human IDDM6 and rat Iddm3 and Idd21.3a/b and Idd21.4 were located on proximal mouse chr18 in regions orthologous to human IDDM18 and IDDM10 respectively. Candidate genes of notable interest include Map3k8, Spink5, Cd14, Dcc, Smad4 and 7, Miz1, Nfatc1 and Cd226. Idd21.1 was further fine mapped. Beginning with the NOD.ABHD18Mit8-D18Mit214[(75-85.1Mb)] (Idd21.1) congenic strain (containing at least 10.1Mb of distal chr18 Biozzi/ABH diabetes-resistant DNA introgressed onto a NOD genetic background), seven subcongenic mouse strains were created. The diabetes incidence of these subcongenic mouse strains were statistically compared stepwise along mouse chr18 and Idd21.1 was fine mapped to at least three independent autoimmune diabetes loci; Idd21.11 (72.6-76.1Mb), Idd21.12a/b (75-76.1Mb and 80.6-81.4Mb) and Idd21.13 (84.8-85.1Mb). Candidate genes of interest in these regions include Dcc, Smad4 and 7, Miz1, Nfatc1, and Cd226. Functional characterisation of the Idd21.1 locus was performed by adoptively transferring splenocytes from female NOD or NOD.ABHIdd21.1 mice into cohorts of severe combined immune deficient (scid) female mice, NOD/LtSz.Prkdc[scid] and NOD/LtSz.Prkdc[scid].ABHIdd21.1. There were two notable findings from this work. Firstly, NOD.ABHIdd21.1 splenocytes are not as effective as NOD at transferring diabetes to either NOD/LtSz.Prkdc[scid] (P = 0.0004) or NOD/LtSz.Prkdc[scid].ABHIdd21.1 (P = 0.0178), suggesting that Idd21.1 acquired immune cells are not as diabetogenic as NOD. Secondly, NOD/LtSz.Prkdc[scid].ABHIdd21.1 mice are more resistant to autoimmune attack than NOD/LtSz.Prkdc[scid] when injected with either NOD (P = 0.0015) or NOD.ABHIdd21.1 splenocytes (P = 0.0014), suggesting that Idd21.1 either acts by altering the intrinsic resistance of beta-cells to autoimmune attack or due to changes in the innate immune system. Other NOD-based models of autoimmune disease, spontaneous and experimental autoimmune thyroiditis and spontaneous colitis, were also investigated to determine whether Idd21.1 is a common autoimmune disease locus. When bred onto the NOD.Cg-H2[h4] (thyroiditis model) genetic background Idd21.1 was demonstrated to increase the development of thyroiditis and reduce the incidence of insulitis in spontaneous (untreated) but not experimental (NaI-induced) NOD.Cg-H2[h4] mice. When bred onto the NOD.Cg-Il10[tm1Cgn] (colitis) genetic background Idd21.1 was demonstrated to inhibit the development of rectal prolapse in breeding female NOD.Cg-Il10[tm1Cgn] mice. Data from this thesis demonstrate that the IDDM6 orthologous region in mouse, Idd21.1, contains several loci that influence autoimmune diabetes, thyroiditis and colitis in NOD-based mouse models. These findings are consistent with previous knowledge that IDDM6 is a common autoimmune susceptibility locus.

The autoimmune diseases embody a diverse range of common human conditions that are caused by a loss of self-tolerance in the host immune system to a specific organ or tissue type. Approximately 5% of the general population are affected by autoimmune diseases which include type 1 diabetes (T1D), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Graves disease (GD). The majority of the autoimmune diseases are multifactorial in origin, brought about by a combination of both environmental and genetic factors. Numerous susceptibility loci have been identified for each autoimmune disease and a number of these loci have been shown to be shared amongst the autoimmune diseases. The fine-mapping of susceptibility loci to the underlying disease genes remains the current challenge facing complex disease genetics. This project aimed to further characterise the autoimmune disease susceptibility locus IDDM6 on chromosome 18q12-21. This was achieved by using a comparative mapping approach that incorporates the study of genetic association in human autoimmune disease alongside the consomic mapping of the orthologous region in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of autoimmunity. Deleted in colorectal carcinomas (DCC) provided a strong candidate gene at IDDM6 and the resident R201G polymorphism was identified as a functional candidate A potential mechanism for the R201G polymorphism involvement in T1D aetiology was identified where the polymorphism may affect the ability of DCC to induce apoptosis in vitro. However, no evidence for R201G association could be detected in autoimmune disease case-control datasets from the New Zealand (NZ) population (T1D n = 428, RA n = 730, autoimmune thyroid disease n = 192 (AITD); versus n = 1246 healthy controls). In addition, no evidence for R201G involvement in T1D could be provided in a transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) incorporating 382 affected sib-pair families (54.2% transmission; P = 0.15). Significant association of R201G with GD was detected in a United Kingdom (UK) dataset (P = 0.002) from the Newcastle population (423 cases vs. 393 controls) but this was not replicated in an additional dataset from the UK Birmingham population (731 cases vs 668 controls; P = 0.81). It was concluded that the R201G polymorphism may encode susceptibility to GD but is unlikely to be the sole aetiological variant that accounts for the linkage previously observed at IDDM6 in autoimmune disease. To further investigate DCC as a positional candidate at IDDM6, five SNPs were selected from a 100 kb window surrounding a DCC-resident microsatellite that had previously been associated with T1D, called "88,21". The five SNPs were genotyped in the NZ T1D dataset, and the ascertainment of estimated haplotypes in this dataset revealed association of a rare haplotype with T1D, called haplotype H (3.31% cases vs 1.17% controls; P = 0.0044), in addition to global association of all haplotypes (P = 0.018). Haplotype H was also associated in an independent case-control dataset from the UK comprised of 400 T1D subjects and 443 healthy controls (P = 0.038). Maximum support for association of haplotype H was extended when both the UK and NZ T1D datasets were combined (P = 0.0017). Association of haplotype H could not be verified in a family-based test for association using the 382 UK T1D families (P = 0.40). However, the inclusion of the DCC SNPs in a TDT analysis of the published DCC-resident microsatellites "88,21" and "55,26", that had been used to identify IDDM6, extends support for the previously-associated 2-10 haplotype (2-10 refers to the published allele nomenclature at "88,21" and "55,26" respectively; 2-10-haplotype A; 59.6% T; P = 0.0058). There was no evidence for association of the five SNPs with RA or AITD when using either individual SNP analyses or estimated haplotypes in the NZ datasets. A similar lack of association was reported for the UK Newcastle GD dataset. Taken together, these data further support DCC, or a nearby gene, as conferring susceptibility to T1D. The human genetic data that supports IDDM6 involvement in autoimmune disease is further strengthened by consomic mapping of the orthologous region in mouse, using the non-obese diabetic mouse (NOD) model of autoimmune disease. In this thesis, the first evidence for a diabetes and thyroiditis susceptibility locus on mouse chromosome 18 is presented, which have been designated Idd21 and Sat1 respectively. This was achieved by using a chromosome-replacement strain with chromosome 18 derived from the diabetes-resistant Biozzi ABH strain on a diabetes-susceptible NOD genome, called NOD.ABH[Chr�⁸]. Mouse chromosome 18 contains orthology to both IDDM6 and the rat diabetes-susceptibility locus Iddm3. The NOD.ABH[Chr�⁸] mice showed a dramatic and significant reduction in diabetes incidence (30% of females were affected by 7 months of age versus 85% in NOD; P <0.0001) and that of thyroiditis (15.5% at 12 months compared to 37.4% in NOD; P <0.002). The comparative mapping of the chromosome 18 autoimmune susceptibility locus IDDM6 in human and mouse presented in this thesis provides further support for this locus. This research also clearly defines the next steps required to fine-map IDDM6 to the underlying disease genes, especially in regard to the DCC gene.

Ageing is a complex phenomenon, characterised by progressive loss of function, decreasing resistance to age-associated pathologies and stress, and increasing rates of mortality. The Free Radical Theory of Ageing implicates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) generation as being integral to the ageing process, subjecting the organism to oxidative stress. Oxidative damage to biomolecules is suggested to be causative in the formation of ageing-associated phenotypes, dysregulation and dysfunction. Mitochondria are responsible for the production of the majority of ROS/RNS through normal functioning of the respiratory chain. Previous studies have reported increasing mitochondrial dysfunction with age, including oxidative damage to protein, lipid and DNA. Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction is considered by many to be central to the Free Radical Theory of Ageing. However, there are conflicting data on changes in mitochondrial and cellular function and damage on ageing. To investigate the role of mitochondrial protein oxidative damage in ageing, the heart, brain and liver of young (~ 2 month-old) and old (24 month-old) Wistar rats were fractionated into homogenate, cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions. Mitochondrial function was evaluated by measuring activity of the oxidative phosphorylation Complexes I-V, and correlating activity with quantitation of Complex subunits. The activities of the electron transport chain Complexes (I-IV) were largely unchanged on ageing, and no significant differences were seen in the protein levels of nuclear-encoded Complex I-IV subunits. There was a ~ 40% decrease in ATP synthase activity in heart and liver mitochondria from old rats as compared to young, but no change in the level of the Complex V nuclear-encoded subunit. These results suggest the decreased activity is due to modification of Complex V in heart and liver mitochondria on ageing, rather than changes in expression. Oxidative stress is a common cause of mitochondrial dysfunction, and is often accompanied by an increase in cellular antioxidant defences. Expression of the mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme, MnSOD, was found to be increased in the liver (+ 74%) and heart (+ 82%), but not brain, in old rats, suggesting oxidative stress in these organs on ageing in rats. To investigate generalised protein oxidative damage accumulation on ageing, whole tissue homogenate, cytosol and mitochondria were isolated from young and old heart, brain and liver. These fractions were assayed for three markers of protein oxidative damage: protein carbonyl content (a marker for generalised oxidative damage occurring via attack by many ROS/RNS), and ortho-tyrosine and meta-tyrosine accumulation (two markers specific for hydroxyl radical attack on phenylalanine). There were no consistent age-related changes in these biomarkers in any tissues, and no consistent significant differences between cytosolic and mitochondrial protein oxidative damage for any of the three tissues in the two age cohorts. Mitochondria were further subfractionated into membrane-enriched and matrix-enriched subfractions, but again, protein oxidative damage markers were largely unchanged on ageing. These results suggest that there is no common pattern of mitochondrial dysfunction during ageing in rats. Increased mitochondrial oxidative stress is a feature of ageing, but generalised protein oxidative damage is neither necessary nor sufficient for development of the ageing phenotype.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA) are amongst the top ten most common cause of death in those over 55 years of age. The disease is usually asymptomatic, often being diagnosed incidentally. Once diagnosed, elective repair of an AAA results in excellent long-term survival with a 3-5% operative mortality. However, up to one half of patients present with ruptured aneurysms, a complication that carries an 80% mortality in the community, and of those reaching hospital, a 50% mortality. Clearly early diagnosis and treatment results in improved survival. Screening for AAA, with ultrasound, would detect aneurysms early, prior to rupture. However, debate continues over the cost effectiveness of population based screening programmes. The identification of a sub-population at a higher risk of developing AAA would increase the yield of a screening prograrmne. A number of populations have been examined, none of which have received international acceptance. About 20% of patients with an AAA have a family history of an aneurysm. The disease is also considered to be a disease of Caucasians, both facts suggesting a strong genetic component to the disease. Perhaps a genetically identified sub-population at a high risk of developing an AAA would prove to be an ideal population for screening. This thesis examines the incidence of aneurysms and the family histories of patients with AAA in the Otago region of New Zealand. Almost twenty percent of the population has a family history of AAA. DNA was collected from each of these patients for genetic analysis. The population was divided into familial AAA and non-familial AAA for the purpose of genetic analysis and compared to a control population. AAA is believed to be a disease of Caucasians; a non-Caucasian population with a low incidence of AAA may prove to be a good control population for genetic studies. A literature review demonstrated a higher incidence of AAA in Caucasians than other ethnic groups and within Caucasians a higher incidence in patients of Northern European origin. The incidence was low in Asian communities, even in studies involving of migrant Asian populations. The New Zealand Maori are believed to have originated from South East Asia, therefore could be expected to have a low incidence of AAA and would make an ideal control population for genetic studies. A pilot study was undertaken to examine the incidence of AAA in the New Zealand Maori. The age standardised incidence of AAA proved to be at least equal in Maori to non-Maori, with a more aggressive form of the disease in Maori, manifesting with a younger age at presentation and a higher incidence of ruptured aneurysms at diagnosis. It is well known that at the time of surgery, an AAA is at the end stage in its life. At this time, inflammation and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) enzymes are prevalent within the aneurysm wall and have destroyed the wall of the aorta. One of the most important genetic pathways regulating these enzymes is the plasminogen activator inhibiter 1-Tissue plasminogen activator-plasmin pathway. Genetic analysis of this pathway demonstrated an association of the 4G5G polymorphism in the promoter of the PAl-1 gene with familial AAA. In this insertion:deletion polymorphism, the 5G variant binds an activator and repressor, resulting in reduced PAI-1 expression and ultimately increased MMP activation. This allele was associated with familial aneurysms, 47% versus 62% non-familial AAA and 61% controls (p=0.024). A polymorphism within the tissue plasminogen activator gene was also examined and no association was found with AAA. Another way the MMPs expression could be increased is from mutations or polymorphisms in their own genetic structure. Stromelysin 3 is itself a MMP capable of destroying the aortic wall and it has a role in activating other MMPs. A 5A6A insertion:deletion polymorphism exists in the promoter of this gene. The 5A allele variant results in increased stromelysin expression and is associated with AAA 46% versus 33% in controls p=0. 0006. The actions of the MMPs are themselves inhibited by the tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases. The TIMP genes have been sequenced; two polymorphisms have been identified in the non-coding promoter area of the TIMP 1 gene. Further studies are necessary to examine the effect of these polymorphisms. Inflammation has been implicated in aneurysm progression. One of the roles of the inflammatory cells found in an aneurysm is to deliver the MMP�s to the AAA. The HLA system is integral in controlling this inflammation and was therefore examined. From this series of studies it is concluded that there is a genetic component to AAA. This thesis presents the first genetic polymorphism associated with familial AAA and explores the role of a genetic pathway in the formation of AAA.

The pressure-tension hypothesis is the governing dogma of orthodontic tooth movement. This theory proposes that the application of loads to the crown of a tooth during orthodontic mechano-therapy results in differential site-specific reactionary strains in the para-dental tissues. Briefly, following the application of orthodontic load the bone and periodontal ligament (PDL) on one side of the tooth is placed in compression favoring bone resorption, while on the other side of the tooth they are placed in tension favoring osteogenesis The present in vitro model provides a surrogate for the PDL on the tension side of the tooth during orthodontic tooth movement and aims to identify mechanically induced changes in the expression of osteo-regulatory cytokines in human PDL cell cultures in response to tensile mechanical strain. Materials and Methods: PDL explants were obtained from pathology free bicuspids of two human subjects following extraction of the teeth for orthodontic purposes. Following serial passage, cells were plated on Uniflex� plates and consigned to either the experimental or control groups. Experimental cells were exposed to a cyclic uniaxial tensile mechanical strain for 6,12 or 24 hours using the Flexercell FX 4000 strain unit. Total RNA was extracted using a two-step procedure and samples were analysed using real-time RT-PCR assays for a range of osteo-regulatory cytokines. Results: Human PDL cells expressed mRNA for a range of cytokines of known significance to osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis in response to mechanical stimulation. Conclusions: The production of osteo-regulatory cytokines by PDL cells in response to mechanical strain suggests that these cells have the potential to contribute to the osseous modeling of orthodontic tooth movement. The presence of osteogenic signalling drive in response to tensile strain tends to support the basic assertions of the pressure-tension hypothesis.

Hordeum bulbosum L. (bulbous barley grass) is an important genetic resource for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) improvement. As the sole member of the secondary genepool of Hordeum; H. bulbosum represents a relatively untouched source of genetic diversity which can provide novel allelic variation for traits critical to the future of barley breeding. In order to access this resource efficiently, a complete set of molecular marker resources is necessary to assist the introgression of chromatin from H. bulbosum into a barley genetic background. For breeders to access traits from H. bulbosum for barley improvement, recombinant lines need to be developed to transfer regions of the H. bulbosum genome into a barley background for trait identification and for incorporation into elite barley breeding programs. The chromosomal location of H. bulbosum introgressions in thirty eight unique recombinant lines was performed using RFLP analysis using mostly distal probes from barley genetic linkage maps However, this analysis was labour intensive, restrictive and prone to inconsistencies due to low intensity signals and complex banding in H. bulbosum. Due to the low level of interspecific recombination detected between the two species, a retrotransposon-like marker, pSc119.1, was developed which could be used to quickly screen progeny from an interspecific cross to determine which lines possessed introgressions of chromatin from H. bulbosum. After initial screening, putative recombinants were further characterised using co-dominant single locus PCR markers from throughout the genome. A focus was made on using the EST resources of barley and wheat, combined with the rice genome to create intron-spanning markers. Subsequent allele-sequencing revealed high frequencies of species-diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the intron regions of these markers, coupled with relatively low frequencies of species-diagnostic SNPs in the flanking exon regions. Overall, interspecific SNP frequencies were not significantly higher in intron-spanning markers than those consisting of exon-only sequence. However, species-diagnostic indels were more frequently discovered within intron sequence providing additional polymorphism. Recombinant lines with phenotypes that differed from the barley parent allowed those traits to be assigned to particular chromosomal regions. These characterised recombinant lines will provide a resource for barley breeders to identify novel traits for barley improvement and allow identification of new alleles in different chromosomal locations for current traits, allowing greater flexibility for cultivar construction. A targeted backcross population of the recombinant line 38P18/8/1/10 (possessing leaf rust resistance derived from H. bulbosum) was created. The introgressed region was saturated for PCR markers using a variety of marker types and techniques (AFLP, cDNA-AFLP). Two lines were subsequently identified with introgressions of reduced size relative to the parental recombinant line, both of which have retained the leaf rust resistance trait. The leaf rust resistance was finally linked to two co-dominant EST-based markers located on chromosome 2HL by using these two lines and the direct screening of progeny from interspecific hybrids possessing introgression junctions in the region of interest. In general, recombinant material between barley and H. bulbosum suffers from certation effects which cause distorted segregation that favours heterozygous and homozygous barley genotypes. Two unique lines have been identified during this research that possess gametocidal-type loci that result in the absolute retention of H. bulbosum chromatin with the termination of gametes lacking the introgression (barley genotype only).

Bovine mastitis is one of the most costly dairy-based diseases worldwide. Streptococcus uberis is a prevalent causative organism of mastitis and resides naturally in the environment of the dairy cow making prevention of the disease difficult. New strategies need to be developed to control this pathogen. However, a fundamental understanding of the complex relationships that exist between the cow, the pathogen and the environment are required in order to advance the development of prevention strategies. Microarray technology was used to evaluate the complex transcriptional changes which occur in the bovine mammary gland following the onset of clinical S. uberis mastitis. A 22,000 bovine cDNA microarray indicated that S. uberis mastitis led to the up-regulation of 1,283 genes and the down-regulation of 1,237 genes by greater than 1.5 fold. Gene ontology analysis demonstrated that S. uberis mastitis was typically associated with the up-regulation of genes that are involved in the immune response and homeostasis and a down-regulation of genes involved in lipid metabolism. Quantitative real-time analyses for a selection of genes associated with the immune response validated the microarray data. Mammary epithelial cell cultures did not show an increase in the expression of any of these immune factors in response to the same S. uberis strain used to induce clinical mastitis. This indicates that the expression of immune-related genes by mammary epithelial cells may be initiated by host factors and not S. uberis. The application of bacteriocins, proteinaceous antimicrobials produced by bacteria which typically inhibit the same or closely-related species to that of the producer organism, has been suggested as one possible approach in the control of mastitis. S. uberis have been previously found to commonly produce bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS). The BLIS activities of a set of fifteen S. uberis and S. bovis strains were assessed. The results confirmed the prolific and varied nature of BLIS production by S. uberis and S. bovis and also indicated that these strains may commonly produce more than one inhibitory agent. This survey of BLIS production led to the detection and characterisation of a novel circular bacteriocin, uberolysin, produced by S. uberis strains 233 and 42. The structural gene of uberolysin was subsequently identified in nine (64%) of the fifteen test strains. Multiplex PCR analysis showed that 93% of 158 New Zealand S. uberis isolates contained the structural genes of at least one of the four known S. uberis bacteriocins (uberolysin, nisin U, ubericin A and ubericin 63). However, no apparent direct association was identified between any one of these bacteriocin-related loci and apparent ability to cause mastitis on New Zealand dairy farms. The uberolysin structural gene was detected in 91% of the isolates and this widespread distribution prompted the advancement and evaluation of a potential role for uberolysin in immunomodulation within the bovine mammary gland. Two different preparations of uberolysin were found to have different stimulatory effects on monocytes, neutrophils and epithelial cells. The less highly purified preparation appeared to diminish the production of TNF-α by monocytes in the presence of a bacterial stimulus and to decrease neutrophil phagocytosis. By contrast, the relatively more highly purified preparation of uberolysin itself induced a significant immune response by monocytes. Consistent with this, the purer preparation of uberolysin induced an increase in C3, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, the β-defensin LAP, the acute-phase protein MSAA, the calcium-binding protein S100A12 and TLR2 by quantitative real-time analysis. Although currently only two S. uberis bacteriocins (uberolysin and nisin U) have been fully characterised, the present study has shown that this species may be an important source of novel antimicrobials. Furthermore, bacteriocin production by S. uberis may have an immunomodulation role within the mammary gland. A better understanding of the complex immune response initiated at the onset of clinical S. uberis mastitis and of the role that bacteriocins have in S. uberis pathogenesis may lead to development of improved strategies to combat this disease.

Copy of author's previously published work inserted. / Bibliography: leaves 139-160. / 160, [10] leaves, [41] leaves of plates : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Molecular Biosciences, 2001?