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Topic:Animal Science
Animal Science and horses encompass the study of equine biology, physiology, and management practices aimed at understanding and improving horse health, welfare, and performance. This field integrates various scientific disciplines, including genetics, nutrition, reproduction, and behavior, to address the needs of horses in diverse contexts such as sports, work, and companionship. Research in this area often focuses on optimizing feeding strategies, enhancing breeding programs, and developing effective health management protocols. Additionally, studies explore the genetic factors influencing traits such as athleticism and disease resistance, as well as the impact of environmental and management conditions on horse behavior and welfare. This page gathers peer-reviewed research and scholarly articles that investigate the scientific principles underpinning equine science and their practical applications in horse care and management.
History and instrumentation of laparoscopic surgery. Equine surgery continues to benefit from advances in endoscopic surgical techniques. Much of what we have learned in equine endoscopy comes from techniques used in humans. Descriptions of the normal anatomy of the standing horse and advances in instrumentation have improved our ability to perform laparoscopic surgery in standing and dorsally recumbent horses. This article describes the history of laparoscopy and available instrumentation.
Refined genome-wide comparative map of the domestic horse, donkey and human based on cross-species chromosome painting: insight into the occasional fertility of mules. We have made a complete set of painting probes for the domestic horse by degenerate oligonucleotide-primed PCR amplification of flow-sorted horse chromosomes. The horse probes, together with a full set of those available for human, were hybridized onto metaphase chromosomes of human, horse and mule. Based on the hybridization results, we have generated genome-wide comparative chromosome maps involving the domestic horse, donkey and human. These maps define the overall distribution and boundaries of evolutionarily conserved chromosomal segments in the three genomes. Our results shed further lig...
Exceptional conservation of horse-human gene order on X chromosome revealed by high-resolution radiation hybrid mapping. Development of a dense map of the horse genome is key to efforts aimed at identifying genes controlling health, reproduction, and performance. We herein report a high-resolution gene map of the horse (Equus caballus) X chromosome (ECAX) generated by developing and typing 116 gene-specific and 12 short tandem repeat markers on the 5,000-rad horse x hamster whole-genome radiation hybrid panel and mapping 29 gene loci by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The human X chromosome sequence was used as a template to select genes at 1-Mb intervals to develop equine orthologs. Coupled with our previou...
Current research and theories on the pathogenesis of acute laminitis in the horse. A large number of studies have been undertaken in recent years aimed at furthering our understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying the common and debilitating condition of acute laminitis in the horse. Many of these studies have either reinforced or cast doubt on previously held theories on the pathogenesis of this disease, while others have suggested new mechanisms which may play a key role in its development. This review seeks to put the current hypotheses into the context of this recent body of evidence. While a unifying theory may not yet seem to be achievable, this review demonstra...
Structure of peripheral cementum of normal equine cheek teeth. The structure of peripheral cementum of mandibular and maxillary cheek teeth was studied by gross observation, light microscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Teeth from four horses aged 4, 8, 17, and 30-years-old were examined. The cementum of the occlusal surface was thicker on the buccal aspect when compared with the lingual aspect of mandibular teeth. The cementum of the occlusal surface was thicker on the palatal aspect when compared with the buccal aspect of maxillary teeth. There was no peripheral cementum on the interdental aspects of either mandibular or maxillary...
The epitheliogenesis imperfecta locus maps to equine chromosome 8 in American Saddlebred horses. Epitheliogenesis imperfecta (EI) is a hereditary junctional mechanobullous disease that occurs in newborn American Saddlebred foals. The pathological signs of epitheliogenesis imperfecta closely match a similar disease in humans known as Herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa, which is caused by a mutation in one of the genes (LAMA3, LAMB3 and LAMC2) coding for the subunits of the laminin 5 protein (laminin alpha3, laminin beta3 and laminin gamma2). The LAMA3 gene has been assigned to equine chromosome 8 and LAMB3 and LAMC2 have been mapped to equine chromosome 5. Linkage disequilibrium betw...
Homologous fission event(s) implicated for chromosomal polymorphisms among five species in the genus Equus. The genus Equus is unusual in that five of the ten extant species have documented centric fission (Robertsonian translocation) polymorphisms within their populations, namely E. hemionus onager, E. hemionus kulan, E. kiang, E. africanus somaliensis, and E. quagga burchelli. Here we report evidence that the polymorphism involves the same homologous chromosome segments in each species, and that these chromosome segments have homology to human chromosome 4 (HSA4). Bacterial artificial chromosome clones containing equine genes SMARCA5 (ECA2q21 homologue to HSA4q31. 21) and UCHL1 (ECA3q22 homologue ...
Equine genomics: galloping to new frontiers. Analysis of the horse genome is proceeding at a rapid pace. Within a short span of 6-7 years, approximately 1,500 markers have been mapped in horse, of which at least half are genes/ESTs. Health, performance and phenotypic characteristic are of major concern/interest to horse breeders and owners. Current efforts to analyze the equine genome are primarily aimed at developing critical resources (including an advanced gene map) that could readily be used in the near future to i) identify genes and mutations responsible for inherited equine diseases/disorders and to formulate approaches for accura...
FISH analysis comparing genome organization in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) to that of the Mongolian wild horse (E. przewalskii). Przewalski's wild horse (E. przewalskii, EPR) has a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 66 while the domestic horse (E. caballus, ECA) has a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 64. Discussions about their phylogenetic relationship and taxonomic classification have hinged on comparisons of their skeletal morphology, protein and mitochondrial DNA similarities, their ability to produce fertile hybrid offspring, and on comparison of their chromosome morphology and banding patterns. Previous studies of GTG-banded karyotypes suggested that the chromosomes of both equids were homologous and the differenc...
An ordered BAC contig map of the equine major histocompatibility complex. A physical map of ordered bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones was constructed to determine the genetic organization of the horse major histocompatibility complex. Human, cattle, pig, mouse, and rat MHC gene sequences were compared to identify highly conserved regions which served as source templates for the design of overgo primers. Thirty-five overgo probes were designed from 24 genes and used for hybridization screening of the equine USDA CHORI 241 BAC library. Two hundred thirty-eight BAC clones were assembled into two contigs spanning the horse MHC region. The first contig contain...
Genetic variation in Przewalski’s horses, with special focus on the last wild caught mare, 231 Orlitza III. In our continuing efforts to document genetic diversity in Przewalski's horses and relatedness with domestic horses, we report genetic variation at 22 loci of blood group and protein polymorphisms and 29 loci of DNA (microsatellite) polymorphisms. The loci have been assigned by linkage or synteny mapping to 20 autosomes and the X chromosome of the domestic horse (plus four loci unassigned to a chromosome). With cumulative data from tests of 568 Przewalski's horses using blood, hair or tooth samples, no species-defining markers were identified, however a few markers were present in the wild spe...
Analysis of relationships between German heavy horse breeds based on pedigree information. We analysed the relationship coefficients (R) between the four German heavy horse breeds South German Coldblood, Rhenish German Draught Horse, Schleswig Draught Horse and Black Forest Draught Horse. The relationship coefficient makes it possible to ascertain crossbreeding between the breeds over time, or autonomous developments of the breeds, respectively. The investigation revealed that the relationship coefficients between the German draught horse breeds were very low. The mean relationship coefficients between the four German heavy horse breeds were largest between the South German Coldbloo...
[Analysis of the population structure of the South German coldblood in Bavaria, Germany]. Gene contributions of foreign populations as well as coefficients of inbreeding and relationship were calculated in 1918 South German Coldblood horses registered in Bavaria in 2003. Based on nearly complete 8-generation-pedigrees (index of pedigree completeness: 76%) the mean coefficient of inbreeding was 23%. After considering missing pedigree data, the mean coefficient of inbreeding was 3%. The rates of inbreeding per generation in the current population amount to about 0.43% over the last eight generations and to about 0.15% in the forthcoming generation. In the total current population, th...
Japanese Society for Animal Reproduction: award for outstanding research 2002. Cryopreservation of follicular oocytes and preimplantation embryos in cattle and horses. Factors affecting sensitivity of preimplantation embryos and follicular oocytes to cryopreservation were analyzed in the equine and bovine species. (1) Survival of equine blastocysts after two-step freezing in the presence of glycerol as the cryoprotective agent (CPA) was influenced by development of the embryonic capsule. The use of ethylene glycol (EG) with sucrose as CPAs improved the post-thaw survival of blastocysts and made it possible to transfer the embryos into recipient mares without removing the CPAs. In addition, early blastocysts cryopreserved by vitrification could develop both i...
Detection and quantification of cocaine metabolites in urine samples from horses administered cocaine. Cocaine is a naturally occurring alkaloid that is commonly abused by human-beings for its psychostimulatory effects. Occasionally, very small concentrations (i.e. <100 ng/mL) of the primary cocaine metabolite, benzoylecgonine (BZE) have been detected in urine collected from horses competing in athletic events. In this study urine samples, collected from four horses following the administration of 2.5 and 20 mg of cocaine sublingually and 50 mg of cocaine intravenously, were analyzed for the presence of cocaine and/or its metabolites by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gas chrom...
Adhesion and proliferation of human dermal fibroblasts on collagen matrix. The purpose of this study was to evaluate adhesion and growth of human dermal fibroblasts on a 0.150 mm-thick matrix of reconstituted collagen isolated from horse tendon. Collagen was extracted and polymerized according to the standard procedures (Opocrin, Corlo, Modena, Italy). By light microscopy, the bottom surface of the matrix appeared linear and compact, whereas the superficial one was indented and less homogeneous. By scanning electron microscopy, the collagen fibrils had different diameters and the great majority of them was oriented parallel to the surface of the gel. By transmission ...
Avian host preference by vectors of eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus. An important variable in the amplification and escape from the enzootic cycle of the arboviral encephalitides is the degree of contact between avian hosts and mosquito vectors. To analyze this interaction in detail, blood-fed mosquitoes that were confirmed vectors of eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus were collected in 2002 from an enzootic site in central Alabama during the time this virus was actively transmitted. Avian-derived blood meals were identified to the species level of the host, and the proportion derived from each species was compared with the overall composition of the ...
Gastrointestinal protectants and cathartics. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an overview of gastrointestinal cathartics and protectants and to point out possible applications for use in the horse with gastrointestinal disease. Most of the treatments described in this article have been used by the authors with apparent success; however, controlled studies with subsequent publication in the scientific literature with respect to these treatments in the horse are, for the most part, lacking. The authors view this emerging field of treatment as exciting and look forward to substantiating the efficacy of several of th...
Identification of putative homology between horse microsatellite flanking sequences and cross-species ESTs, mRNAs and genomic sequences. In this study the flanking sequences of 1534 horse microsatellites were used in a BLAST search to identify putative human-horse homologies. BLAST searches revealed 129 flanking sequences with significant blastn matches [alignment scores (S) > or = 60 and sum probability values (E) < or = 3.0E-6], also, 25 of these produced significant blastx matches. To provide a reference point in the human genome the flanking sequences with matches were subjected to a BLAT search of the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) human genome assembly (July 2003 freeze). Eighty-three of the flanking seq...
Turnover of carbon isotopes in tail hair and breath CO2 of horses fed an isotopically varied diet. Temporal stable isotope records derived from animal tissues are increasingly studied to determine dietary and climatic histories. Despite this, the turnover times governing rates of isotope equilibration in specific tissues following a dietary isotope change are poorly known. The dietary isotope changes recorded in the hair and blood bicarbonate of two adult horses in this study are found to be successfully described by a model having three exponential isotope pools. For horse tail hair, the carbon isotope response observed following a dietary change from a C3 to a C4 grass was consistent with...
Fixed nucleotide differences on the Y chromosome indicate clear divergence between Equus przewalskii and Equus caballus. The phylogenetic relationship between Equus przewalskii and E. caballus is often a matter of debate. Although these taxa have different chromosome numbers, they do not form monophyletic clades in a phylogenetic tree based on mtDNA sequences. Here we report sequence variation from five newly identified Y chromosome regions of the horse. Two fixed nucleotide differences on the Y chromosome clearly display Przewalski's horse and domestic horse as sister taxa. At both positions the Przewalski's horse haplotype shows the ancestral state, in common with the members of the zebra/ass lineage. We discu...
