Topic:Biotechnology
Biotechnology in horses encompasses the application of biological techniques and tools to enhance equine health, performance, and reproduction. This field includes genetic engineering, cloning, and the development of vaccines and therapeutics tailored to equine physiology. Techniques such as gene editing and stem cell therapy are explored for their potential to address genetic disorders, improve tissue regeneration, and enhance disease resistance in horses. Additionally, advancements in reproductive biotechnology, such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer, contribute to genetic diversity and breeding efficiency. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the applications, methodologies, and implications of biotechnology in equine science.
Molecular cloning and physical characterization of integrated equine infectious anemia virus: molecular and immunologic evidence of its close relationship to ovine and caprine lentiviruses. Molecular clones of the integrated form of the genome of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), the etiologic agent of a naturally occurring, worldwide disease of horses, were obtained. The restriction map of a full-length genome was determined. Additional evidence for the close evolutionary relationship between EIAV and a prototype lentivirus (caprine arthritis encephalitis virus) was acquired by Southern blotting and immunological analyses. An interspecies radioimmunoassay was developed in which EIAV and ovine and caprine lentiviruses could be detected equally well. These studies make availa...
Molecular cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of equine type I interferons. Using human interferon-alpha 2 (IFN-alpha 2) and IFN-beta DNA to probe an equine genomic library we isolated recombinant phages containing genes for equine interferon-alpha (EqIFN-alpha), interferon-beta (EqIFN-beta), and interferon-omega (EqIFN-omega). Sequence and hybridization analyses of these genes reveal that the equine genome contains gene families of each of these three type I interferon classes. The mature proteins of EqIFN-alpha are 71-77% homologous to human IFN-alpha polypeptides, and, when expressed in E. coli, possess antiviral activity on both equine and human cells. By contrast...
Fracture toughness design in horse hoof keratin. An engineering fracture mechanics approach was applied to the analysis of the fracture resistance of equine hoof-wall. The relationship between fracture toughness and the morphological organization of the keratin hoof tissue was investigated. Fracture toughness was evaluated using the J-integral analysis method which employs the compact tension test geometry. Tensile tests were also conducted to evaluate the effect of the morphological organization on the stress-strain behaviour. Hoof-wall has greatest fracture resistance for cracks running proximally, parallel to the tubular component of the ...
Cloning and fine mapping the DNA of equine herpesvirus type one defective interfering particles. Equine herpesvirus type one (EHV-1) defective interfering (DI) particle DNA fragments were inserted into the XbaI site of the plasmid vector pACYC184. Five DI XbaI fragments, which ranged in molecular weight from 4.5 to 6.7 MDa, were selected for detailed analysis. Each DI DNA clone was labeled with 32P-deoxynucleotides by nick translation and hybridized to genomic digests of EHV-1 standard (STD) DNA bound to nitrocellulose. All five clones were shown to hybridize to DNA sequences derived from the left terminus (0.0-0.04 map units) of the long (L) region and from the short (S) region inverted ...
Cloning and characterization of an equine cutaneous papillomavirus. Equine papillomaviruses (EqPV) from naturally occurring cases of cutaneous papillomatosis in several ponies and one horse were isolated, cloned, and characterized. Group specific papillomavirus structural antigens were detected in sections of the papillomas by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique, and virions were observed in the in the nuclei of cells in the stratum granulosum and corneum. Negatively stained virions purified from papilloma homogenates by isopycnic CsCl centrifugation were 55 nm in diameter and had typical papillomavirus morphology. The entire viral genomes of two separate ...
Pi granules and related intracytoplasmic inclusions in equine Schwann cells. Suchwann cells from a variety of nerves in two adult horses and one adult pony contained perinuclear intracytoplasmic inclusion complexes consisting of lipid droplets, variably electron-dense rounded to elongated bodies and rod-shaped multilamellar structures. The latter were characteristic of pi granules of Reich. There were no significant axonal or myelin alterations associated with these inclusions. It was concluded that the inclusions are a component of normal equine Schwann cells.
Triplet-singlet energy transfer in the complex of auramine O with horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Triplet-singlet energy transfer has been studied in the complex formed between auramine O (AO) and horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase with optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) spectroscopy. The results show that Trp-15 and Tyr residues transfer triplet energy mainly by a trivial process, whereas Trp-314 transfers triplet energy by a Förster process with two observed lifetimes at 77 K of 170 and 50 ms. The different Förster energy-transfer lifetimes are ascribed either to quenching of the two Trp-314 residues of the dimer by a single asymmetrically bound AO or to two distinct conformat...
Isolation and characterization of latherin, a surface-active protein from horse sweat. A protein, latherin, with unusual surface activity was isolated from horse sweat by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. The protein has a Stokes radius, determined by gel filtration, of 2.47 nm, and in the ultracentrifuge sediments as a single species with S20,W 2.05 S, indicating an Mr of 24,400. On SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis the molecule behaves as a single peptide chain of apparent Mr 20,000. Latherin contains a high proportion of hydrophobic amino acids (37.2%), and the leucine content (24.5%) is exceptionally high. The unusual composition of the protein may account...
Generation of packaging-defective DNA molecules of equine adenovirus. Equine adenovirus (EAd) DNA prepared from infected bovine kidney (MDBK) cells contained additional sequences of about 100 to 700 bp at the left-hand end of the genome. These aberrant viral genomes were produced even after the first passage of the wild type EAd in MDBK cells and their relative amounts did not change significantly during serial passage. The left terminal fragments of two defective viral DNAs were cloned into the plasmid vector pBR322 and the nucleotide sequences of their terminal regions were analyzed. The data indicate that one viral DNA contained a duplication of the inverted ...
Two-dimensional 1H NMR studies of cytochrome c: assignment of the N-terminal helix. The 1H resonances of 11 sequential amino acids in the N-terminal helix of horse ferrocytochrome c were studied by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. All the main-chain protons from Lys-5 through Ala-15 and many of the side-chain protons were assigned. J-Correlated spectroscopy (COSY) was used to distinguish protons on neighboring bonds and to recognize amino acid types. Nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) was used to define spatially contiguous protons and to determine amino acid sequence neighbors. The relayed coherence experiment (relay COSY) was used to resolv...
Continuous-flow centrifugation hemapheresis in the horse. In a continuous-flow centrifugation apheresis technique adapted for blood-component separation and collection in horses, hydroxyethyl starch was not required for erythrocyte sedimentation. The efficacy and separation characteristics of whole blood from 10 horses were evaluated at various gravitational forces (700 to 1,500 rpm), using a constant withdrawal rate (100 ml/min). Maximum leukocyte collection occurred at 700 rpm (P less than 0.01), and optimal neutrophil collection occurred at 700 to 750 rpm (P less than 0.01). Although neutrophil counts decreased and lymphocyte counts remained const...
Assessment of spermatozoal function using dual fluorescent staining and flow cytometric analyses. Spermatozoa from bulls, boars, dogs, horses, mice, and men were examined using a fluorogenic stain consisting of the membrane-permeant substrate carboxyfluorescin diacetate (CFDA) and the relatively membrane-impermeant nuclear stain propidium iodide (PI). Three distinct populations of spermatozoa were discernible in samples from each species upon microscopic examination. Individual spermatozoa, presumed to be viable because of their motility, retained products of the fluorescein chromophore throughout the cell. A second population of spermatozoa in which the nuclei stained red with PI retained...
Increased acidophilia of eosinophil granules after EDTA treatment. The acidophilic reaction of eosinophil leucocyte granules from human, pig and horse blood smears was investigated by using May-Grünwald-Giemsa staining after previous treatment with EDTA and sodium citrate solutions. The same peak at 530 nm, but absorption values considerably higher than those of controls, were found in eosinophil granules after application of chelating agents, indicating that removal of metal cations could unmask basic groups in these structures.
DNA polymorphism in the major histocompatibility complex of man and various farm animals. In the past few years it has been possible by combining enzymatic cleavage of genomic DNA and the Southern blot hybridization technique to explore the endonuclease recognition site polymorphism of the MHC. HLA class I and DR and DQ alpha and beta class II specific probes as well as human C4 and Bf class III probes were used. All these probes were shown to cross-hybridize with DNA from pigs, cattle, sheep and horses. Hybridization of human genomic DNA with a class I probe showed 15-25 bands per genome depending on the enzyme used. Distinct endonucleases generated clusters of restriction fragmen...
The organism as bioreactor. Interpretation of the reduction law of metabolism in terms of heterogeneous catalysis and fractal structure. Organisms and bioreactors are open, dissipative systems in steady state. They are functionally equivalent with respect to turnover and kinetics, and structurally analogous with respect to fractal organization and self-similar scaling. As heterogeneous catalytic systems both are governed by interaction of mass transport and reaction. The structural equivalent to turbulence in the reactor, yielding high efficiency, is the fractal folding and branching of the transport systems of the organism. Dimensionally and in terms of fractals, organisms and reactors are therefore area-volume hybrids. The ph...
Deep freezing of horse embryos. Fourteen horse embryos recovered non-surgically on Days 6-8 after ovulation (Day 0) were cooled slowly to - 35 degrees C (7 embryos) or - 40 degrees C (7 embryos) and stored in liquid nitrogen (- 196 degrees C) for 4-98 days. Surgical transfer of the thawed embryos to unmated recipient mares that had ovulated - 2 to + 1 days with respect to the embryo donors resulted initially in the establishment of 4 conceptuses. However, only one mare maintained her pregnancy to term.
Complexities in the denaturation of horse metmyoglobin by guanidine hydrochloride. The denaturation of horse metmyoglobin by guanidine hydrochloride was studied at pH 6.4 and 25 degrees C. Measurements of both the peptide circular dichroism and the absorbance in the Soret region suggest that the extent of renaturation strongly depends on the time interval during which the protein is exposed to concentrated solutions of the denaturant. From the equilibrium measurements of the absorption in the Soret region, it is concluded that the unfolding of metmyoglobin is complex. This is further supported by kinetic studies of denaturation which suggest the occurrence of the least four ...
High resolution R-bands produced in equine chromosomes after incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine. Cell synchronization was used to obtain an adequate percentage of very long chromosomes in equine mitotic spreads. Reported here is our variation, adapted to horse chromosomes, of a method using excess thymidine followed by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation. This technique routinely yields excellent quality cells, predominantly in prometaphase and prophase. Among other differences with the standard technique, this method does not use Colcemid, which, in addition to inhibiting spindle fiber formation, also increases chromosome contraction resulting in thicker and thus fewer bands. Consequently, h...
The sequence of equine muscle carbonic anhydrase. The sequence of equine muscle carbonic anhydrase (CA-III) has been determined. The 2 reactive cysteines of the 5 such residues have been localized. A strong sequence homology to other mammalian carbonic anhydrases exists, and 91% of the residues in the equine and bovine muscle forms are identical.
Hybrids from equine LH: alpha enhances, beta diminishes activity. LH hybrids were prepared by combining eLH alpha and eLH beta with the corresponding subunits of oLH, pLH and hCG. Recombinants were isolated by gel filtration and assessed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under both dissociating and non-dissociating conditions. All combinations of subunits produced hybrid LH molecules. Hybrids prepared by combining eLH beta with oLH alpha, pLH alpha or hCG alpha were very inactive in rat radioligand and Leydig cell in vitro bioassays. Hybrids prepared with eLH alpha were very active in both assays. The greatest potentiating activity was observed when ...
Iron deposition in apoferritin. Evidence for the formation of a mixed valence binuclear iron complex. A preliminary EPR investigation of iron accumulation in apoferritin has identified paramagnetic species generated during the early stage of iron deposition within the apoprotein shell. A featureless resonance at g' = 4.3, attributable to solitary high spin Fe3+ ions bound to the protein, is generated when Fe(II) is added to apoferritin at a level of 0.5 Fe/subunit (12 Fe/molecule) followed by air oxidation. This resonance accounts for 36% of the added iron. The remainder is EPR-silent and is probably present as oligomeric Fe3+ species. The intensity of the g' = 4.3 signal is reduced 3-fold upo...