Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
Topic:Animal Species
The topic "Animal Species and Horses" explores the interactions and relationships between horses and various other animal species. This includes understanding the ecological roles horses play within their environments, as well as their interactions with domestic and wild animals. Research in this area may cover aspects such as competition for resources, symbiotic relationships, and behavioral influences between horses and other species. Studies may also investigate the impact of horses on biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that examine these interspecies relationships, focusing on the ecological, behavioral, and environmental implications of horses interacting with other animals.
Genotypes of predomestic horses match phenotypes painted in Paleolithic works of cave art. Archaeologists often argue whether Paleolithic works of art, cave paintings in particular, constitute reflections of the natural environment of humans at the time. They also debate the extent to which these paintings actually contain creative artistic expression, reflect the phenotypic variation of the surrounding environment, or focus on rare phenotypes. The famous paintings "The Dappled Horses of Pech-Merle," depicting spotted horses on the walls of a cave in Pech-Merle, France, date back ~25,000 y, but the coat pattern portrayed in these paintings is remarkably similar to a pattern known as...
High microsatellite and mitochondrial diversity in Anatolian native horse breeds shows Anatolia as a genetic conduit between Europe and Asia. The horse has been a food source, but more importantly, it has been a means for transport. Its domestication was one of the crucial steps in the history of human civilization. Despite the archaeological and molecular studies carried out on the history of horse domestication, which would contribute to conservation of the breeds, the details of the domestication of horses still remain to be resolved. We employed 21 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial control region partial sequences to analyse genetic variability within and among four Anatolian native horse breeds, Ayvacık Pony, Malakan Horse...
Phylogenetic relationships of the Hucul horse from Romania inferred from mitochondrial D-loop variation. The existence of the Hucul horse on Romanian territory has been documented from the very distant past; today Hucul is a unique breed that is part of the FAO Program for the Preservation of Animal Genetic Resources. We compared Hucul with several primitive European and Asiatic breeds in order to elucidate the origin of these horses. We analyzed a 683-bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop fragment in a population of Hucul horses and compared the polymorphic sites with sequences from other primitive breeds, including Exmoor, Icelandic Pony, Sorraia, Przewalski Horse, Mongolian Wild Horse, Konik, an...
Bartonellae in animals and vectors in New Caledonia. Bartonellae are gram-negative facultative intracellular alpha-proteobacteria from the family Bartonellaceae. The natural history of bartonellae consists of a reservoir/host, which is a vertebrate with chronic intravascular infection with sustained bacteremia, and a vector (usually an arthropod) that transfers the bacteria from the reservoir to a susceptible yet uninfected host. In order to reveal the sources and reservoirs of Bartonella infection in animals and vectors in New Caledonia, we collected the blood samples of 64 dogs, 8 cats, 30 bovines, 25 horses and 29 wild deer Cervus timorensis ...
Genetic characterization of the endangered Kiso horse using 31 microsatellite DNAs. In order to contribute to conservation of the endangered Kiso horse, we clarified their genetic information using 31 microsatellite DNAs, and genotyped 125 horses, 83% of the existing breed. First, we clarified the current status of the horses. The horses were confirmed to have experienced rapid loss of population causing a bottleneck, and their effective population size was much smaller than their census size. Moreover, the number of alleles (6.3), observed heterozygosity (0.674), and expected heterozygosity (0.662) were in the same range as other endangered horses all over the world. Therefo...
Genetic analysis of Sicilian autochthonous horse breeds using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers. Genetic diversity and relationship among 3 Sicilian horse breeds were investigated using 16 microsatellite markers and a 397-bp length mitochondrial D-loop sequence. The analysis of autosomal DNA was performed on 191 horses (80 Siciliano [SIC], 61 Sanfratellano [SAN], and 50 Sicilian Oriental Purebred [SOP]). SIC and SAN breeds were notably higher in genetic variability than the SOP. Genetic distances and cluster analysis showed a close relationship between SIC and SAN breeds, as expected according to the breeds' history. Sequencing of hypervariable mitochondrial DNA region was performed on a ...
Effects of a 10-year conservation programme on the genetic diversity of the Pottoka pony–new clues regarding their origin. Here, we present the results of a genetic analysis of 463 Pottoka ponies corresponding to four generations, using 17 microsatellite markers. Ten years after the beginning of the Pottoka conservation programme, the values for the genetic diversity of the breed are still high and stable, indicating the success of the programme. We found null alleles in Pottoka for the ASB23, HMS3 and HTG10 microsatellites. Together with information obtained from other pony breeds from the Iberian Peninsula, this finding indicates that these microsatellites should not be used for phylogenetic analyses or parentag...
Discovery of lost diversity of paternal horse lineages using ancient DNA. Modern domestic horses display abundant genetic diversity within female-inherited mitochondrial DNA, but practically no sequence diversity on the male-inherited Y chromosome. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this discrepancy, but can only be tested through knowledge of the diversity in both the ancestral (pre-domestication) maternal and paternal lineages. As wild horses are practically extinct, ancient DNA studies offer the only means to assess this ancestral diversity. Here we show considerable ancestral diversity in ancient male horses by sequencing 4 kb of Y chromosomal DNA ...
Genetic characterization of equine adenovirus type 1. Two known serotypes of equine adenovirus (EAdV), equine adenovirus type 1 (EAdV-1) and equine adenovirus type 2 (EAdV-2) have been isolated from horses. EAdV-1 is predominantly associated with upper respiratory tract infections while EAdV-2 appears to be associated with gastrointestinal infections in horses. In this report the EAdV-1 genome has been sequenced for the first time. The EAdV-1 genome encoded genes are characteristic of the Mastadenovirus genus such as protein V and IX. Unexpectedly, phylogenetic reconstructions also revealed a close relationship between EAdV-1 and two recently cha...
True single-molecule DNA sequencing of a pleistocene horse bone. Second-generation sequencing platforms have revolutionized the field of ancient DNA, opening access to complete genomes of past individuals and extinct species. However, these platforms are dependent on library construction and amplification steps that may result in sequences that do not reflect the original DNA template composition. This is particularly true for ancient DNA, where templates have undergone extensive damage post-mortem. Here, we report the results of the first "true single molecule sequencing" of ancient DNA. We generated 115.9 Mb and 76.9 Mb of DNA sequences from a permafrost-...
A massively parallel sequencing approach uncovers ancient origins and high genetic variability of endangered Przewalski’s horses. The endangered Przewalski's horse is the closest relative of the domestic horse and is the only true wild horse species surviving today. The question of whether Przewalski's horse is the direct progenitor of domestic horse has been hotly debated. Studies of DNA diversity within Przewalski's horses have been sparse but are urgently needed to ensure their successful reintroduction to the wild. In an attempt to resolve the controversy surrounding the phylogenetic position and genetic diversity of Przewalski's horses, we used massively parallel sequencing technology to decipher the complete mitoch...
Chromosomal assignment of six genes (EIF4G3, HSP90, RBBP6, IL8, TERT, and TERC) in four species of the genus Equus. We mapped six genes (EIF4G3, HSP90, RBBP6, IL8, TERT, and TERC) on the chromosomes of Equus caballus, Equus asinus, Equus grevyi, and Equus burchelli by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Our results add six type I markers to the cytogenetic map of these species and provide new information on the comparative genomics of the genus Equus.
Eurasian wild asses in time and space: morphological versus genetic diversity. The Equidae have a long evolutionary history that has interested palaeontologists for a long time. Their morphology-based taxonomy, however, is a matter of controversy. Since most equid species are now extinct, the phylogenetic tree based on genetic data can be established only imperfectly via deduction of present day genomes and little is known about the past genetic diversity of these species. Recent studies of ancient DNA preserved in fossil bones have led to a simplification of the phylogenetic tree and the classification system. The situation is still particularly unclear for the wild ass...
The evolutionary origins of friendship. Convergent evidence from many species reveals the evolutionary origins of human friendship. In horses, elephants, hyenas, dolphins, monkeys, and chimpanzees, some individuals form friendships that last for years. Bonds occur among females, among males, or between males and females. Genetic relatedness affects friendships. In species where males disperse, friendships are more likely among females. If females disperse, friendships are more likely among males. Not all friendships, however, depend on kinship; many are formed between unrelated individuals. Friendships often involve cooperative inte...
Evidence-based medicine in bovine, equine and canine reproduction: quality of current literature. The objective was to evaluate deficits and differences of published literature on reproduction in cattle, horses, and dogs. A literature search was conducted in the databases Medline and Veterinary Science. Approximately five times more articles on clinical bovine reproduction (n = 25 910) were found compared to canine (n = 5 015) and equine (n = 5 090) reproduction. For the evaluation of the literature, a checklist was used. A subset of 600 articles published between 1999 and 2008 was randomly selected. After applying exclusion criteria, a total of 268 trials (86 for cattle, 99 for horses, an...
WorldFengur – the studbook of origin for the Icelandic horse. WorldFengur is the database that contains and functions as the studbook of origin of the Icelandic horse. Only pure-bred Icelandic horses, whose ancestry can be traced back to Iceland entirely, may be registered into WorldFengur. The WorldFengur project is a joint effort by the FAIC (Farmers Association of Iceland) and FEIF (International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations) to construct an official and central database on horses of Icelandic origin located all over the world. It is used in this capacity in 19 countries so far; the number of data stored in the WorldFengur database has i...
A microsatellite analysis of five Colonial Spanish horse populations of the southeastern United States. The domestic horse (Equus caballus) was re-introduced to the Americas by Spanish explorers. Although horses from other parts of Europe were subsequently introduced, some New World populations maintain characteristics ascribed to their Spanish heritage. The southeastern United States has a history of Spanish invasion and settlement, and this influence on local feral horse populations includes two feral-recaptured breeds: the Florida Cracker and the Marsh Tacky, both of which are classified as Colonial Spanish horses. The feral Banker horses found on islands off the coast of North Carolina, whic...
Pinus halepensis invasion in mountain pampean grassland: effects of feral horses grazing on seedling establishment. We evaluated the mechanisms that determine the increasing abundance of Pinus halepensis in mountain pampean grasslands in Argentina that is associated with the continuous presence of feral horses. We hypothesized that direct and indirect effects of feral horse grazing on grassland may affect the establishment of P. halepensis. We conducted a field experiment to evaluate this hypothesis, studying the response of seedling emergence, survival and growth to herbaceous vegetation defoliation and soil disturbance in sites with contrasting grazing histories. We also evaluated the composition and stru...
Comparative evolutionary analyses of beta globin gene in eutherian, dinosaurian and neopterygii taxa. Comparative genomics and evolutionary analyses of conserved genes have enabled us to understand the complexity of genomes of closely related species. For example: β-globin gene present in human hemoglobin is one such gene that has experienced many genetic changes in many related taxa and produced more than 600 variants. One of the variant, HBS causes sickle-cell anemia in humans but offers protection against severe malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum. In the present study, we characterized and performed evolutionary comparative analyses of the ?-globin gene in different related and unrelated...
Surveillance for Cryptococcus gattii in horses of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the last decade Cryptococcus gattii has emerged as an important human and animal pathogen in southwestern British Columbia (BC), Canada. When the disease initially emerged it was identified in humans and multiple animal species on the east coast of Vancouver Island. From fall 2003 until summer 2004, active surveillance was initiated to look for horses exposed to or infected with the organism by performing nasal cultures and serum antigen testing in horses residing within 10 km of known areas of environmental reservoirs of the fungus. Surveillance efforts were facilitated by local equine pra...
Genetic variability in the Skyros pony and its relationship with other Greek and foreign horse breeds. In Greece, seven native horse breeds have been identified so far. Among these, the Skyros pony is outstanding through having a distinct phenotype. In the present study, the aim was to assess genetic diversity in this breed, by using different types of genetic loci and available genealogical information. Its relationships with the other Greek, as well as foreign, domestic breeds were also investigated. Through microsatellite and pedigree analysis it appeared that the Skyros presented a similar level of genetic diversity to the other European breeds. Nevertheless, comparisons between DNA-based a...
Genetic diversity of Actinobacillus lignieresii isolates from different hosts. Genetic diversity detected by analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) of 54 Actinobacillus lignieresii isolates from different hosts and geographic localities is described. On the basis of variances in AFLP profiles, the strains were grouped in two major clusters; one comprising strains isolated from horses and infected wounds of humans bitten by horses and another consisting of strains isolated from bovine and ovine hosts. The present data indicate a comparatively higher degree of genetic diversity among strains isolated from equine hosts and confirm the existence of a sep...
Thoracic emphysematous lymphadenitis in a foal. Emphysema of lymph nodes is a rare finding that has been described in different anatomical locations and related to specific diseases in different animal species. Herein is described a foal with Rhodococcus equi infection that presented with emphysema and granulomatous inflammation of the bronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes. This is the first report of emphysematous lymphadenitis in a horse.
