DNA in horses refers to the genetic material that carries the hereditary information necessary for the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of equine species. It consists of sequences of nucleotides that encode the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of horses. DNA analysis in horses can provide insights into genetic diversity, lineage, and breed characteristics. It is also utilized in identifying genetic disorders, understanding hereditary traits, and assisting in selective breeding programs. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the structure, function, and applications of DNA analysis in equine genetics and breeding.
Valente JDM, Mongruel ACB, Machado CAL, Chiyo L, Leandro AS, Britto AS, Martins TF, Barros-Filho IR, Biondo AW, Perotta JH, Campos ANS, Vidotto O....Tick-borne diseases (TBD) constitute an important group of illness affecting animals and humans worldwide. In Brazil, carthorses are frequently exposed to ticks and tick-borne pathogens, leading to impairment of horse performance and imposing restrictions by the international veterinary authorities for the importation of horses. Accordingly, this study has aimed to i) determine the prevalence of the TBD agents Theileria equi, Babesia caballi, Ehrlichia spp., and hemotropic mycoplasmas in carthorses, ii) identify the tick species parasitizing the animals, and iii) determine factors associated w...
Grant DM, Macedo A, Toms D, Klein C.Preimplantation equine embryos synthesize and secrete fibrinogen, which is a peculiar finding as fibrinogen synthesis almost exclusively occurs in the liver. This study investigated the hypothesis that conceptus-derived fibrinogen mediates cell adhesion during fixation. On day 21 of pregnancy, five integrin subunits, including ITGA5, ITGB1, ITGAV, and ITGB1, displayed significantly higher transcript abundance than on day 16 of pregnancy. Endometrial epithelial cells adhered to fibrinogen in an integrin-dependent manner in an in vitro cell adhesion assay. Bilaminar trophoblast and allantochorio...
Azmi K, Al-Jawabreh A, Abdeen Z.Theileria and Babesia are intracellular protozoan parasites infecting a wide range of animals. In Palestine, there is limited information on the prevalence of Theileria and Babesia spp. in livestock. We used PCR of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene followed by DNA sequencing to detect and identify parasite DNA in blood samples from sheep (n = 49), goats (n = 48), horses (n = 40), camels (n = 34), donkeys (n = 28) and mules (n = 2) from four districts of Palestine. DNA of T. ovis and T. equi was detected in 19 and 2 ovine blood samples, respectively. None of the camels, donkeys...
Li Y, Zhang K, Liu Y, Li K, Hu D, Wronski T.Large and complex intestinal microbiota communities in hosts have profound effects on digestion and metabolism. To better understand the community structure of intestinal microbiota in Przewalski's horse () under different feeding regimes, we compared bacterial diversity and composition between captive and reintroduced Przewalski's horses, using high-throughput 16S-rRNA gene sequencing for identification. Reintroduced Przewalski's horses were sampled in two Chinese nature reserves, i.e., Dunhuang Xihu Nature Reserve (DXNR; = 8) in Gansu Province and Kalamaili Nature Reserve (KNR; = 12) in Xi...
Fawcett JA, Sato F, Sakamoto T, Iwasaki WM, Tozaki T, Innan H.The domestication process of plants and animals typically involves intense inbreeding and directional selection for various traits. Here, we genotyped 370 Japanese Thoroughbred horses using the recently developed 670k SNP array and performed various genome-wide analysis also using genotype data of other horse breeds. We identified a number of regions showing interesting patterns of polymorphisms. For instance, the region containing the MC1R locus associated with chestnut coat color may have been targeted by selection for a different mutation much earlier on than the recent selection for chestn...
The aim of this study was to compare the effect of three sugars and Equex paste in a freezing extender for donkey sperm cryopreservation. Ejaculates (n = 18) were collected from six Andalusian donkeys of proven fertility were pooled (two ejaculates per pool) and cryopreserved using a freezing extender containing three different sugars (glucose, fructose and sorbitol), with or without the addition of Equex paste. Sperm quality was assessed before and after freezing-thawing for motility, morphology, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity and DNA integrity. The use of sorbitol in the f...
MacFadyen AC, Waller AS, Paterson GK.Strain 28462T, which had Gram-stain-positive, catalase-negative coccus-shaped cells, was isolated from a routine tracheal sample from a 3 year old thoroughbred horse. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed it to be most closely related to, but distinct from, Streptococcus henryi (95.7 % identity), Streptococcusplurextorum (95.8 %), Streptococcusporci (96.4 %) and Streptococcus caprae (95.1 %). Similarity values derived from sequences from sodA and rpoB genes were consistent with strain 28462T belonging to a species distinct from these four streptococci. At the whole genome level, str...
Tozaki T, Kikuchi M, Kakoi H, Hirota K, Nagata S, Yamashita D, Ohnuma T, Takasu M, Kobayashi I, Hobo S, Manglai D, Petersen JL.Eight horse breeds-Hokkaido, Kiso, Misaki, Noma, Taishu, Tokara, Miyako and Yonaguni-are native to Japan. Although Japanese native breeds are believed to have originated from ancient Mongolian horses imported from the Korean Peninsula, the phylogenetic relationships among these breeds are not well elucidated. In the present study, we compared genetic diversity among 32 international horse breeds previously evaluated by the Equine Genetic Diversity Consortium, the eight Japanese native breeds and Japanese Thoroughbreds using genome-wide SNP genotype data. The proportion of polymorphic loci and ...
Kandemir H, Dukik K, Hagen F, Ilkit M, Gräser Y, de Hoog GS.The anthropophilic dermatophyte Trichophyton tonsurans and its zoophilic counterpart T. equinum are phylogenetically closely related. The barcoding marker rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) shows limited variation between these two species. In the current study, we combined molecular approaches with phenotypic data to determine the species boundaries between T. tonsurans (n = 52) and T. equinum (n = 15) strains originating from humans (n = 40), horses (n = 26), and a mouse (n = 1). Culture characteristics and physiology on Trichophyton agar media 1 and 5 were evaluated....
Tezuka A, Takasu M, Tozaki T, Nagano AJ.Taishu horses are a native Japanese breed, of which only 41 individuals remained on Tsushima Island in 2018. Their genetic diversity is considered lower than that of other Japanese native horse breeds; thus, it needs to be investigated for sustainable conservation of this breed. Historical records revealed that several Taishu individuals were released areas off-Tsushima Island in mid-1980s. At present, Taishu horses living outside of Tsushima Island, hereafter referred to as Non-Tsushima Taishus (NTTs), are tagged. However, the genetic structure of the NTT individuals remains unclear, and such...
de Oliveira PB, Harvey TV, Fehlberg HF, Rocha JM, Martins TF, da Acosta ICL, Labruna MB, Faccini JLH, Albuquerque GR.Tick-borne spotted fever in Brazil is known to be caused by two agents, Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia parkeri. Nothing was known about these agents in one area of the Atlantic rainforest biome of Bahia state, where during March to June 2016, 356 rural dogs and 69 horses were sampled and their sera were processed through indirect immunofluorescence assay against antigens of R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, Rickettsia amblyommatis and Rickettsia bellii. Ticks collected from these dogs and horses were molecularly tested for the presence of rickettsial DNA. Overall, 16.4% (58/356) dogs and 24.6% ...
Grilz-Seger G, Neuditschko M, Ricard A, Velie B, Lindgren G, Mesarič M, Cotman M, Horna M, Dobretsberger M, Brem G, Druml T.Intensive artificial and natural selection have shaped substantial variation among European horse breeds. Whereas most equine selection signature studies employ divergent genetic population structures in order to derive specific inter-breed targets of selection, we screened a total of 1476 horses originating from 12 breeds for the loss of genetic diversity by runs of homozygosity (ROH) utilizing a 670,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array. Overlapping homozygous regions (ROH islands) indicating signatures of selection were identified by breed and similarities/dissimilaritie...
Peng Z, Shen D, Zhang D, Li X, Wang L, Zhai Q, Hou Z, Li H.The equine Parascaris spp. is large, parasitic nematodes, and predominantly focuses on the intestine of foals and young weanlings. There are two roundworms, Parascaris equorum and Parascaris univalens, recognized among equine hosts. In this study, all fifty-nine Parascaris worms were harvested from three different equine hosts (twenty specimens from Equus zebra, twenty specimens from E. caballus, and nineteen specimens from E. asinus). The ribosomal gene (ITS) and mitochondrial genes (cox1 and nadh1) were amplified to identify and genetically characterize these worms. Analysis of ITS sequences...
The typical vertebrate centromeres contain long stretches of highly repeated DNA sequences (satellite DNA). We previously demonstrated that the karyotypes of the species belonging to the genus are characterized by the presence of satellite-free and satellite-based centromeres and represent a unique biological model for the study of centromere organization and behavior. Using horse primary fibroblasts cultured in vitro, we compared the segregation fidelity of chromosome 11, whose centromere is satellite-free, with that of chromosome 13, which has similar size and a centromere containing long s...
Dall Agnol AM, Beuttemmuller EA, Pilz D, Leme RA, Saporiti V, Headley SA, Alfieri AF, Alfieri AA.Equid gammaherpesvirus 2 (EHV-2) and 5 (EHV-5) are members of the Herpesviridae family and have been reported in horse populations worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of herpesvirus DNA in the upper respiratory tract of horses. Twenty-six nasal swabs were collected from asymptomatic adult horses of two different horse farms (A, n = 18; B, n = 8), both located in Southern Brazil. The EHV-1, EHV-2, EHV-4, and EHV-5 DNA analyses were performed using nested PCR assays targeting the glycoprotein B gene. Four (15.3%) and 12 (46.1%) of the 26 nasal swab samples were positive ...
Shakarami MH, Mohammadabadi T, Motamedi H, Sari M, Teimouri Yansari A.This study was conducted to isolate and identify the cellulolytic bacteria from gastrointestinal tract of Arabian horse and investigate their effect on the nutritional value of wheat straw (WS). Results: Fresh faeces were collected from four Arabian horses. The cellulose-hydrolytic bacteria were isolated by using a medium amended with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The activity of CMC was determined by measuring the release of reducing sugars from CMC. Among the isolates, four isolates (L11, L12, L2 and Z2) showed maximum hydrolysis capacity. 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that these isolat...
Hibi H, Hatama S, Obata A, Shibahara T, Kadota K.A case of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and squamous papilloma in a 19-year-old Thoroughbred stallion is described. The animal exhibited severe wheezing caused by laryngopharyngeal stenosis. Histological examination identified laryngeal, laryngotracheal, and guttural pouch tumor masses consisting of areas of SCC. In the epiglottic lesion, the overlying epithelium was replaced by papilloma cells, and superficial cells frequently had nuclear inclusion bodies that expressed oncoprotein E6, which is characteristic of high risk human papillomaviruses. The papillomatous epithelium was cont...
Ząbek T, Semik-Gurgul E, Szmatoła T, Gurgul A, Fornal A, Bugno-Poniewierska M.Horses are one of the longest-living species of farm animals. Advanced age is often associated with a decrease in body condition, dysfunction of immune system, and late-onset disorders. Due to this, the search for new solutions in the prevention and treatment of pathological conditions of the advanced age of horses is desirable. That is why the identification of aging-related changes in the horse genome is interesting in this respect. In the recent years, the research on aging includes studies of age-related epigenetic effects observed on the DNA methylation level. We applied reduced represent...
Yasine A, Ashenafi H, Geldhof P, Van Brantegem L, Vercauteren G, Bekana M, Tola A, Van Soom A, Duchateau L, Goddeeris B, Govaere J.Dourine, a venereal transmitted trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma equiperdum, has different clinical signs related to the reproductive and nervous system. Pathologic tissue changes associated with the disease are poorly described. The present study describes the histopathological lesions in naturally T. equiperdum-infected horses in the chronical stage of dourine. Results: Four chronically dourine diseased horses underwent a post-mortem examination. They were Woo test negative, but CATT/T. evansi positive, had a low packed cell volume (PCV) and exhibited obvious clinical signs of dourine. P...
Griffin RA, Baker M, Aitken RJ, Swegen A, Gibb Z.Stallions experience lower per-cycle conception rates compared to other livestock species, largely because they are selected for breeding based on athletic prowess and not reproductive fitness. Mares are seasonal breeders, and pregnancies cannot be detected until 10-14 days post cover via transrectal ultrasonography. This means the detection of stallion fertility fluctuations is delayed by at least 2 weeks, which within the short breeding season employed by the thoroughbred horse breeding industry, can prove quite costly. For these reasons, there is increased demand for robust laboratory assay...
Ma X, Wang C, Zhang B, Xia L, Su Y.Strangles is a highly prevalent, extremely contagious, and occasionally lethal infectious disease affecting horses worldwide. Prophylactic antibiotics are ineffective in prevention of disease but are recommended for exposed horses at the first sign of fever and any horse obviously ill from strangles or with complications and there is an urgent need of a cost-effective, safe, efficacious vaccine. In the present study, we sought to develop effective vaccines by fusing the Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) antigen SeM with the flagellin of Salmonella abortus equi FljB. We also explored...
Lee SK, Lee I.Equine herpesvirus (EHV) 2 and equine herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) have been getting attention as potential causative pathogens of reproductive disorders in horses. Equine herpesviruses 2 and 5 are widespread among horses and have been detected in various samples including nasal swabs, blood, and ocular swabs. However, the detection of these pathogens in genital swabs has not been determined. The aims of this study were to determine the positive rate of EHV-2 and EHV-5 DNA in genital swabs taken from clinically normal mares and to define the genetic diversity of these EHV-2 and EHV-5 DNA sequences by...
Consuegra C, Crespo F, Dorado J, Diaz-Jimenez M, Pereira B, Ortiz I, Hidalgo M.Sperm vitrification is a rapid freezing method in which carbohydrates are used as cryoprotectants. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal volume, concentration and type of carbohydrates for stallion sperm vitrification using 0.25 ml straws in comparison to conventional freezing. Ejaculates (n = 54) were collected from six stallions. For vitrification, straws were filled with different volumes (30, 70, 100 μl), sperm concentrations (50, 100, 200 × 10 sperm/ml) and extenders containing sucrose (20, 100, 200 mM), trehalose (50, 100, 200 mM) and raffinose (50, 100, 20...
Riddin MA, Venter GJ, Labuschagne K, Villet MH.An upsurge in African horse sickness (AHS) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, from 2006 led to an epidemiological reassessment of the disease there. Light trapping surveys carried out near horses, donkeys and zebras in 2014-2016 collected 39 species of Culicoides midge (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) that are potential vectors of AHS. To establish if these midges fed on equids, DNA sequences were obtained from the gut contents of 52 female midges (35 freshly blood-fed, 13 gravid and four parous), representing 11 species collected across 11 sites. Culicoides leucostictus fed on all three equids. Cul...
Borkent D, Reardon RJM, McLACHLAN G, Glendinning L, Dixon PM.Although, peripheral caries (PC) affects almost half of UK horses, no comprehensive microbiological study has been performed on this disorder. As a high proportion of oral bacteria cannot be conventionally cultured, molecular microbiological techniques such as Next Generation Sequencing are required to examine the complex oral bacteria community. Objective: To identify the microbiota involved in equine PC, including comparing microbiota at the more commonly and severely affected three caudal cheek teeth with the less commonly affected three rostral cheek teeth. Methods: Equine dental plaque sa...
Yuan JX, Hou XD, Barlow A, Preick M, Taron UH, Alberti F, Basler N, Deng T, Lai XL, Hofreiter M, Sheng GL.The extant diversity of horses (family Equidae) represents a small fraction of that occurring over their evolutionary history. One such lost lineage is the subgenus Sussemionus, which is thought to have become extinct during the Middle Pleistocene. However, recent molecular studies and morphological analysis have revealed that one of their representatives, E. ovodovi, did exist in Siberia during the Late Pleistocene. Fossil materials of E. ovodovi have thus far only been found in Russia. In this study, we extracted DNA from three equid fossil specimens excavated from northeastern China dated a...
Ramsauer AS, Kubacki J, Favrot C, Ackermann M, Fraefel C, Tobler K.Equine papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) was discovered only recently, but it is found consistently in the context of genital squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Since neither cell cultures nor animal models exist, the characterization of this potential disease agent relies on the analysis of patient materials. To analyse the host and viral transcriptome in EcPV2-affected horses, genital tissue samples were collected from horses with EcPV2-positive lesions as well as from healthy EcPV2-negative horses. It was determined by RNA-seq analysis that there were 1957 differentially expressed (DE) host genes...
de la Torre J, Crespo F, Arroyo F, Zabal-Aguirre M, Abdoon AS, Gosálvez J.Artificial insemination programs for horses usually involve ex vivo handling and transporting of sperm. The present experiment was designed to: (i) assess the effect of transportation on sperm DNA integrity at different time post semen collection, and (ii) evaluate if sperm DNA quality deteriorates rapidly beyond 24 h of cooled storage. After collection, the ejaculates were extended using INRA 96 and semen was prepared for prompt analysis (A0) or 24 h/48 h cooled-shipping (B24 and C48 respectively). Each sample was assessed for sperm DNA fragmentation index (SDFI) at time 0 and after inc...
Boucheikhchoukh M, Mechouk N, Benakhla A, Raoult D, Parola P.The sheep ked, Melophagus ovinus, and the forest fly, Hippobosca equina, are parasitic dipteran insects of veterinary importance. As hematophagous insects, they might be considered as potential vectors of diseases which may be transmissible to humans and animals. The purpose of this study was to present initial primary data about these two species in Algeria. To do so, we conducted a molecular survey to detect the presence of bacterial DNA in flies collected in Algeria. A total of 712 flies including, 683 Melophagus ovinus and 29 Hippobosca equina were collected from two regions in northeaster...
Strüder-Kypke MC, Kornilova OA, Lynn DH.Ciliates of the subclass Trichostomatia inhabit the fermentative regions of the digestive tract of herbivores. Most available small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSrRNA) gene sequences of trichostomes are from species isolated from the rumen of cattle or sheep and from marsupials. No ciliate species endosymbiotic in horses has yet been analyzed. We have sequenced the SSrRNA genes of five ciliate species, isolated from the cecum and colon of four Yakut horses: Cycloposthium edentatum, Cycloposthium ishikawai, Tripalmaria dogieli, Cochliatoxum periachtum, and Paraisotricha colpoidea. Based on their mor...
Alexander AJ, Bailey E, Woodward JG.Fourteen Standardbred horses homozygous for one of six equine lymphocyte antigen (ELA) specificities (A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, or A10) were analyzed by Southern blot hybridization using DNA probes derived from the mouse major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Total genomic DNA from peripheral lymphocytes was digested with the restriction enzymes Hind III, Pvu II, or Eco RI. Twenty-three to thirty-three bands were generated for individual horses with the class I cDNA probe. The resulting band patterns revealed 12-14 nonpolymorphic fragments, which is consistent with the highly conserved Qa/Tla genes...
Christensen H, Bisgaard M, Olsen JE.Members of Bisgaard taxon 11 have been isolated from horses. These bacteria are of importance in the veterinary clinic and also to the medical profession, since they may be isolated from infected wounds of humans bitten by horses. Six strains from different continents were identified as taxon 11, with 16S rRNA similarities between 98.0 and 99.7%. A single isolate that represented the so-called (+)L-arabinose-positive Actinobacillus equuli isolated from a diseased foal showed 99.9% 16S rRNA similarity to the type strain of A. equuli. DNA-DNA hybridizations showed that (+)L-arabinose-positive st...
Vengust M, Wen X, Bienzle D.A 4-year-old donkey was evaluated for progressive neurological abnormalities consisting of depression, stupor, weakness, and recumbency. Diagnostic evaluation for viral involvement identified an asinine herpesvirus in DNA extracted from deep pharyngeal swabs. Specific primers were designed based on comparison with equine herpesviral DNA polymerase sequences and yielded an 875-base pair product from the donkey. This sequence had complete identity with short sequences of asinine herpesvirus previously identified in donkeys with interstitial pneumonia. Amino acid analysis of the entire sequence i...
Hu L, Zhang M, Sun Y, Bu Y.Cylicocyclus spp. are common parasites in the intestine of equine animals. Hosts infected by these strongylid nematodes might face emaciation, anemia, and even death, all of which lead to significant economic losses. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Cylicocyclus radiatus, the type species of the genus Cylicocyclus, was sequenced and characterized for the first time using next-generation sequencing technology. Results show that the mitogenome of C. radiatus is a double-stranded 13,836 bp circular molecule, containing 12 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes,...
Onyiche TE, Taioe MO, Ogo NI, Sivakumar T, Biu AA, Mbaya AW, Xuan X, Yokoyama N, Thekisoe O.Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are biological agents responsible for equine piroplasmosis (EP). We conducted a robust and extensive epidemiological study in Nigeria on the prevalence and risk factors of EP. Blood (468, both horses and donkeys) and ticks (201 pools) were screened using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). DNA of equine piroplasms was observed in tick pools with B. caballi amplified in Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi only [minimum infection rate (MIR) of 7.6%] while T. equi was observed in R. e. evertsi (MIR, 61.6%), Hyalomma dromedarii (MIR, 23.7%) and H. truncatum (MIR, 50.0%). ...
Górniak W, Cholewińska P, Szeligowska N, Wołoszyńska M, Soroko M, Czyż K.Exercise significantly affects the body of both animals and humans, including the composition of the digestive microbiome. This study aimed to determine the changes in the composition of the most numerous bacterial phyla (Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, as well as the level of the family) in the digestive system of horses under the influence of physical effort. The study included a group of 17 Thoroughbred racehorses at the age of 3 years, fed the same forage, from whom feces samples were collected individually before and 48 h after physical effort. The obtained samples were subjected to DNA is...
Georgescu SE, Manea MA, Dudu A, Costache M.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...
Wilson AD, Armstrong ELR, Gofton RG, Mason J, De Toit N, Day MJ.Sarcoids are common skin tumours of horses and donkeys that are characterised by persistent proliferation of dermal fibroblasts associated with the presence of bovine papillomavirus (BPV) DNA. Some early BPV proteins have been demonstrated within sarcoids and RNA containing both early and late transcripts is present, yet it remains unclear whether late replication of BPV, culminating in the production of infectious virus particles, can occur in equids. Here we report that BPV1 RNA isolated from equine sarcoids encodes a unique deletion of four residues within the L2 protein suggesting a novel ...
Ji S, Na L, Ren H, Wang Y, Wang X.Human myxovirus resistance protein 2 (huMxB) has been shown to be a determinant type I interferon (IFN)-induced host factor involved in the inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) as well as many other primate lentiviruses. This blocking occurs after the reverse transcription of viral RNA and ahead of integration into the host DNA, which is closely connected to the ability of the protein to bind the viral capsid. To date, Mx2s derived from nonprimate animals have shown no capacity for HIV-1 suppression. In this study, we examined the restrictive effect of equine Mx2 (eqMx2) o...
Krajaejun T, Kittichotirat W, Patumcharoenpol P, Rujirawat T, Lohnoo T, Yingyong W.The oomycete Pythium insidiosum infects humans and animals worldwide, and causes the life-threatening condition, called pythosis. Most patients lose infected organs or die from the disease. Comparative genomic analyses of different P. insidiosum strains could provide new insights into its pathobiology, and can lead to discovery of an effective treatment method. Several draft genomes of P. insidiosum are publicly available: three from Asia (Thailand), and one each from North (the United States) and Central (Costa Rica) Americas. We report another draft genome of P. insidiosum isolated from Sout...
Grubaugh ND, Petz LN, Melanson VR, McMenamy SS, Turell MJ, Long LS, Pisarcik SE, Kengluecha A, Jaichapor B, O'Guinn ML, Lee JS.Highly multiplexed assays, such as microarrays, can benefit arbovirus surveillance by allowing researchers to screen for hundreds of targets at once. We evaluated amplification strategies and the practicality of a portable DNA microarray platform to analyze virus-infected mosquitoes. The prototype microarray design used here targeted the non-structural protein 5, ribosomal RNA, and cytochrome b genes for the detection of flaviviruses, mosquitoes, and bloodmeals, respectively. We identified 13 of 14 flaviviruses from virus inoculated mosquitoes and cultured cells. Additionally, we differentiate...
Payne SL, Pei XF, Jia B, Fagerness A, Fuller FJ.The molecular clones pSPeiav19 and p19/wenv17 of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) differ in env and long terminal repeats (LTRs) and produce viruses (EIAV(19) and EIAV(17), respectively) of dramatically different virulence phenotypes. These constructs were used to generate a series of chimeric clones to test the individual contributions of LTR, surface (SU), and transmembrane (TM)/Rev regions to the disease potential of the highly virulent EIAV(17). The LTRs of EIAV(19) and EIAV(17) differ by 16 nucleotides in the transcriptional enhancer region. The two viruses differ by 30 amino acids i...
Yasui M, Suzuki N, Liu X, Okamoto Y, Kim SY, Laxmi YR, Shibutani S.4-Hydroxyequilenin (4-OHEN)-dC is a major, potentially mutagenic DNA adduct induced by equine estrogens used for hormone replacement therapy. To study the miscoding property of 4-OHEN-dC and the involvement of Y-family human DNA polymerases (pols) eta, kappa and iota in that process, we incorporated 4-OHEN-dC into oligodeoxynucleotides and used them as templates in primer extension reactions catalyzed by pol eta, kappa and iota. Pol eta inserted dAMP opposite 4-OHEN-dC, accompanied by lesser amounts of dCMP and dTMP incorporation and base deletion. Pol kappa promoted base deletions as well as ...
Senju N, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Almunia J, Maeda M, Matsuyama R, Takasu M.To help plan conservation of the endangered Miyako horse, a biological resource of the Miyako Islands in Japan, we characterized the genetics of the breed by genotyping 32 microsatellites and identifying mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. We also calculated genetic distances between individuals based on the proportion of shared alleles and visualized the genetic relationships with a phylogenetic tree. Two important results were obtained. One is that accurate pedigree registration of the horse by using microsatellites is possible, as the exclusion power of parentage testing is 0.999998. Another is t...
LaFrentz S, Abarca E, Mohammed HH, Cuming R, Arias CR.The equine conjunctival microbiota has often been reported to be dominated by Gram-positive species such as Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., and Corynebacterium sp. However, traditional culture-based methods can only recover a fraction of the bacterial species present in the sample. Objective: This pilot study aimed at exploring the diversity of the equine conjunctival microbiota using culture-independent methods. Methods: Eight horses were included in this study, and only eyes with normal ophthalmic examination (n = 15 eyes) were sampled. Methods: Conjunctival biopsies (culture-independent...
Stoica G, Tasca SI, Kim HT.Thirty-four peripheral nerve sheath tumors of four domesticated animal species were characterized and assayed for point mutation of the neu oncogene. Based on their morphoimmunophenotype, 32 tumors were classified as schwannomas. Schwannoma morphology was characterized by the presence of Antoni type A and B pattern and immunoreactivity for S-100 protein and vimentin. Two anaplastic and metastatic tumors originating from spinal cord root, immunonegative for S-100 protein and positive for vimentin, were classified as malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs). Four malignant schwannomas a...
Muscatello G, Gilkerson JR, Browning GF.Virulent Rhodococcus equi causes pyogranulomatous bronchopneumonia in foals. The route of infection of foals has been considered to be inhalation of aerosolized bacteria from soil that is contaminated with equine feces. Thus, disease caused by R. equi has been regarded as an opportunistic infection of environmental origin and not a contagious disease. In this study, we report the exhalation of virulent R. equi from the respiratory tract of naturally infected foals. A handheld air-monitoring system was used to recover virulent R. equi from the exhaled breath of foals, and the concentration of v...
Akkutay AZ, Osterrieder N, Damiani A, Tischer BK, Borchers K, Alkan F.Equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2) and EHV-5 are members of the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae. The viruses are detected in horses with upper respiratory tract disease and are associated with low performance in racehorses. The aim of the current study was to use nested PCR to investigate the epidemiology of EHV-2 and EHV-5 in Arabian horse populations from breeding farms located in three different cities (Eskişehir, Malatya, and Bursa) in Turkey, using a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) with a TaqMan® minor-groove-binder (MGB) probe to detect EHV-5. Screening of blood and ocular and nasal swab...
de Oliveira PB, Harvey TV, Fehlberg HF, Rocha JM, Martins TF, da Acosta ICL, Labruna MB, Faccini JLH, Albuquerque GR.Tick-borne spotted fever in Brazil is known to be caused by two agents, Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia parkeri. Nothing was known about these agents in one area of the Atlantic rainforest biome of Bahia state, where during March to June 2016, 356 rural dogs and 69 horses were sampled and their sera were processed through indirect immunofluorescence assay against antigens of R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, Rickettsia amblyommatis and Rickettsia bellii. Ticks collected from these dogs and horses were molecularly tested for the presence of rickettsial DNA. Overall, 16.4% (58/356) dogs and 24.6% ...
Bleumink-Pluym NM, Werdler ME, Houwers DJ, Parlevliet JM, Colenbrander B, van der Zeijst BA.A PCR for the detection of Taylorella equigenitalis, the causative agent of contagious equine metritis, was developed and evaluated. A genus-specific primer-probe set was derived from the 16S ribosomal DNA sequences. The PCR was specific and amplified a 585-bp product from all 64 available T. equigenitalis isolates. This PCR product hybridized with a specific probe in a dot spot assay. A variety of microorganisms from the genital tracts of horses or with a close phylogenetic relationship to T. equigenitalis did not yield a visible PCR product and were all negative in the dot spot hybridization...
Berlinguer F, Pasciu V, Succu S, Cossu I, Caggiu S, Addis D, Castagna A, Fontani V, Rinaldi S, Passino ES.REAC technology (acronym for Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyor) is a technology platform for neuro and bio modulation. It has already proven to optimize the ions fluxes at the molecular level and the molecular mechanisms driving cellular asymmetry and polarization. Methods: This study was designed to verify whether this technology could extend spermatozoa life-span during liquid storage, while preserving their functions, DNA integrity and oxidative status. At 0, 24, 48, and 72 h. of storage at 4 °C, a battery of analyses was performed to assess spermatozoa viability, motility parameters, a...
Schrimpf R, Dierks C, Martinsson G, Sieme H, Distl O.A consistently high level of stallion fertility plays an economically important role in modern horse breeding. We performed a genome-wide association study for estimated breeding values of the paternal component of the pregnancy rate per estrus cycle (EBV-PAT) in Hanoverian stallions. A total of 228 Hanoverian stallions were genotyped using the Equine SNP50 Beadchip. The most significant association was found on horse chromosome 6 for a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within phospholipase C zeta 1 (PLCz1). In the close neighbourhood to PLCz1 is located CAPZA3 (capping protein (actin filam...
Di Pietro R, Arroyo LG, Leclere M, Costa MC.All current studies have used Illumina short-read sequencing to characterize the equine intestinal microbiota. Long-read sequencing can classify bacteria at the species level. The objectives of this study were to characterize the gut microbiota of horses at the species level before and after trimethoprim sulfadiazine (TMS) administration and to compare results with Illumina sequencing. Nine horses received TMS (30 mg/kg) orally for 5 days twice a day to induce dysbiosis. Illumina sequencing of the V4 region or full-length PacBio sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was performed in fecal samples co...
Ma H, Wang S, Zeng G, Guo J, Guo M, Dong X, Hua G, Liu Y, Wang M, Ling Y, Ding X, Zhao C, Wu C. The Jinjiang horse is a unique Chinese indigenous horse breed distributed in the southern coastal areas, but the ancestry of Jinjiang horses is not well understood. Here, we used Equine SNP70 Bead Array technology to genotype 301 horses representing 10 Chinese indigenous horse breeds, and we integrated the published genotyped data of 352 individuals from 14 foreign horse breeds to study the relationships between Jinjiang horses and horse breeds from around the world. Principal component analysis (PCA), linkage disequilibrium (LD), runs of homozygosity (ROH) analysis, and ancestry estimating m...
Kim SK, Kim S, Dai G, Zhang Y, Ahn BC, O'Callaghan DJ.The equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) negative regulatory IR2 protein (IR2P), an early 1,165-amino acid (aa) truncated form of the 1487-aa immediate-early protein (IEP), lacks the trans-activation domain essential for IEP activation functions but retains domains for binding DNA, TFIIB, and TBP and the nuclear localization signal. IR2P mutants of the N-terminal region which lack either DNA-binding activity or TFIIB-binding activity were unable to down-regulate EHV-1 promoters. In EHV-1-infected cells expressing full-length IR2P, transcription and protein expression of viral regulatory IE, early EICP...
Salem SE, Maddox TW, Antczak P, Ketley JM, Williams NJ, Archer DC.Horses that undergo surgery for treatment of primary large colon disease have been reported to be at increased risk of developing recurrent colic episodes postoperatively. The reasons for this are currently unknown. The aim of the current study was to characterise the faecal microbiota of horses with colic signs associated with primary large colon lesions treated surgically and to compare the composition of their faecal microbiota to that of a control group of horses undergoing emergency orthopaedic treatment. Faecal samples were collected from horses in both groups on admission to hospital, d...
Reiter S, Wallner B, Brem G, Haring E, Hoelzle L, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Długosz B, Piórkowska K, Ropka-Molik K, Malvick J, Penedo MCT, Bellone RR.Warmblood fragile foal syndrome (WFFS) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a single nucleotide variant in the procollagen-lysine-2-oxoglutarate-5-dioxygenase 1 gene (PLOD1:c.2032G>A, p.Gly678Arg). Homozygosity for the PLOD1 variant causes an Ehler-Danlos-like syndrome, which has to date only been reported in warmblood breeds but the WFFS allele has been also detected in the Thoroughbred. To investigate the breed distribution of the WFFS allele, 4081 horses belonging to 38 different breeds were screened. In total, 4.9% of the horses representing 21 breeds carried the WFFS allele. The a...
Traversa D, Kuzmina T, Kharchenko VA, Iorio R, Klei TR, Otranto D.This study investigated the genetic variability within Cylicocyclus nassatus (Nematoda, Strongylida, Cyathostominae) collected from different domestic and wild hosts (i.e. horse, donkey, Przewalskii horse, tarpan and Turkmen kulan) and localities in Europe and/or USA. The ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene were PCR-amplified and sequences characterized from seventy individual parasitic specimens. While ITS2 displayed 0-0.6% variation rate among all individual adult specimens of C. nassatus examined, 22 different seque...
Wach-Gygax L, Burger D, Malama E, Bollwein H, Fleisch A, Jeannerat E, Thomas S, Schuler G, Janett F.In this study annual fluctuations of DNA fragmentation and quality of cold-stored equine sperm were evaluated. Ejaculates were collected weekly during one year from 15 stallions. Ejaculate volume, sperm concentration and total sperm count were determined and semen was then extended and cold-stored for 48 h. Sperm motility was evaluated by CASA before and after 24 as well as 48 h of cold storage. In addition, the percentages of sperm with intact plasma membrane and acrosome (PMAI %) and with low intracellular Ca2+ level were determined in cold-stored semen (24 h, 48 h). SCSA™ was performe...
