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.
Quiroga J, Cortes B, Sarmiento J, Morán G, HenrÃquez C.This study explores Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) formation in equine neutrophils, which is crucial for eliminating infections and is implicated in various equine inflammatory diseases. We investigated the molecular pathways involved in NET release by equine neutrophils in response to stimuli. We use PMA, A23187, LPS, PAF, OZ, and cytokines, observing NET release in response to PMA, PAF, and A23187. In contrast, LPS, OZ, and the cytokines tested did not induce DNA release or did not consistently induce citrullination of histone 4. Peptidyl-arginine deiminase inhibition completely halted ...
Flack N, Hughes L, Cassens J, Enriquez M, Gebeyehu S, Alshagawi M, Hatfield J, Kauffman A, Brown B, Klaeui C, Mabrouk IF, Walls C, Yeater T, Rivas A....The Przewalski's horse ( ) is an endangered equid native to the steppes of central Asia. After becoming extinct in the wild, multiple conservation efforts convened to preserve the species including captive breeding programs, reintroduction and monitoring systems, protected lands, and cloning. Availability of a highly contiguous reference genome is essential to support these continued efforts. We used Oxford Nanopore sequencing to produce a scaffold-level 2.5 Gb nuclear assembly and 16,002 bp mitogenome from a captive Przewalski's mare. All assembly drafts were generated from 111 Gb of sequenc...
Wilkin T, Hamilton NA, Cawley AT, Bhat S, Baoutina A.The term 'gene doping' is used to describe the use of any unauthorized gene therapy techniques. We developed a test for five likely candidate genes for equine gene doping: , , , and . The test is based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and includes separate screening and confirmation assays that detect different unique targets in each transgene. For doping material, we used nonviral (plasmid) and viral (recombinant adeno-associated virus) vectors carrying complementary DNA for the targeted genes; the vectors were accurately quantified by digital PCR. To reduce non-specific amplific...
Amini M, Alamian S, Talebhemmat M, Dadar M.Equine brucellosis significantly impacts the health and functionality of horses, leading to complications such as bursitis infection, septic tenosynovitis, septic arthritis, and non-specific lameness resulting from joint infections. In the present study, we used the Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBPT), serum agglutination test (SAT), and the 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) assays to find equine brucellosis. From June 2018 to September 2022, 876 blood samples were randomly taken from apparently healthy racing horses in certain parts of Iran, such as Kerman, Isfahan, Tehran, Qom, and Kurdistan....
Camargo GS, de Barros LD, Oliveira-Filho JP, Bromberger CR, Dias-Melicio LA, Alves Dos Santos L, Bergfelt DR, Ferraz de Andrade ER, Canesin HS....The present study was designed to evaluate equine blastocyst re-expansion rate, quality, and sex following perforation of the blastocoel, collection of blastocoel fluid (BF), and PCR amplification of free DNA. Experiment 1 tested the feasibility of the BF sample collection with a hand-held, small-gauged needle (26g) and subsequent PCR amplification of the TSP-Y gene for males and AMEL-Y gene for males and AMEL-X gene for females. Experiment 2 tested the application of the technique. Equine embryos were collected via uterine flushes 8d after ovulation. Thereafter, embryos (n = 19) were initia...
Otgonsuren D, Amgalanbaatar T, Narantsatsral S, Enkhtaivan B, Munkhgerel D, Zoljargal M, Davkharbayar B, Myagmarsuren P, Battur B, Battsetseg B....Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in horses. Because of its impact on horse industry, control of this disease is crucial for endemic countries. The control of equine piroplasmosis may be influenced by the genotypic diversity of T. equi and B. caballi. Mongolia, a country with a thriving livestock industry, is endemic for T. equi and B. caballi. However, nationwide epidemiological surveys have not been conducted to determine the current status of infections and genetic diversity of these two parasite species. Therefore, the objective of th...
Mura MC, Carcangiu V, Cosso G, Columbano N, Sanna Passino E, Luridiana S.This study aimed to evaluate the discrepancies between genetic and visual coat color assignment in the Sarcidano Horse and to elucidate potential reasons. Individual DNA from 90 Sarcidano Horses was used for genetic assignment of coat color to explore the correspondence with individual forms containing phenotypical traits. The exon 1 and exon 3 have been genotyped and sequenced to obtain a picture of the coat color distribution in this breed. Surprisingly, once we compared the genetic results with the individual forms reporting the phenotypic data for each subject, a certain degree of non-co...
Malaluang P, Niazi A, Guo Y, Nagel C, Guimaraes T, Rocha A, Aurich C, Morrell JM.The microbiome plays a significant role in shaping the health and functioning of the systems it inhabits. The seminal microbiome of stallions has implications for the health of the reproductive tract, sperm quality during preservation and antibiotic use in semen extenders. Diverse bacteria are present on the external genital tract and a mix of commensal microorganisms populates various parts of the reproductive tract, influencing the seminal bacterial content. Other sources of bacteria include the environment, semen collection equipment, and personnel. The bacterial load can adversely affect s...
Weckman MJ, Karikoski NP, Raekallio MR, Box JR, Kvist L.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is a common welfare problem in horses worldwide. It is characterized by insulin dysregulation (ID), predisposition to laminitis and often obesity. EMS is multifactorial by nature, with both the environment and genetics contributing to the phenotype. Environmental factors, such as feeding and exercise, can be controlled, thus forming the basis for treatment and prevention. Genetic factors, by contrast, are less well-known and not easily controllable. The aim of this study was to identify potential genetic loci influencing ID/EMS in Finnhorses. A single-breed (Fin...
Lawson JM, Shilton CA, Lindsay-McGee V, Psifidi A, Wathes DC, Raudsepp T, de Mestre AM.Excessive inbreeding increases the probability of uncovering homozygous recessive genotypes and has been associated with an increased risk of retained placenta and lower semen quality. No genomic analysis has investigated the association between inbreeding levels and pregnancy loss. Objective: To compare genetic inbreeding coefficients (F) of naturally occurring Thoroughbred Early Pregnancy Loss (EPLs), Mid and Late term Pregnancy Loss (MLPL) and Controls. The F value was hypothesised to be higher in cases of pregnancy loss (EPLs and MLPLs) than Controls. Methods: Observational case-control st...
Munday JS, Lewis MC, Leyland MH.Equine sarcoids are common skin tumors that are thought to be caused by cross-species infection by bovine papillomaviruses (BPV). A 16-year-old horse developed a 1cm diameter mandibular gingival mass opposite the right second premolar tooth (406) and a 2cm diameter mass close to the commissure of the lips on the same side of the mouth. The right cheek was diffusely thickened. Histology of the smaller mass revealed a proliferation of mesenchymal cells covered by hyperplastic epithelium that formed thick rete pegs. BPV2 DNA was amplified from the mass. Although the mass had been incompletely exc...
Asghari A, Yousefi A, Mohammadi MR, Badali R, Shamsi L, Köseoğlu AE, Abbaszadeh A, Shams M, Mohammadi-Ghalehbin B.A total of 500 fecal samples were collected from Equus animals in six different cities (Ardabil, Namin, Nir, Meshginshahr, Germi, and Khalkhal) of Ardabil Province, northwestern Iran, with 200 samples from horses, 200 from donkeys, and 100 from mules. Of the horse samples, 100 were from racing horses under special monitoring and care, while the remaining 100 were from non-racing horses, including those used for herding or in rural areas. All fecal samples were examined for the presence of Blastocystis sp. using PCR amplification of the SSU rRNA gene's barcode region after DNA extraction. The m...
El-Zayat M, Shemies OA, Mosad SM, El Rahman SA.Equine herpes viruses (EHVs) are considered one of the most important respiratory pathogens in equids, resulting in serious outcomes for equine health worldwide. The objectives of the current research were the detection, molecular characterization, and isolation of EHV-1 and EHV-4 circulating within different equine populations in Egypt, either clinically or in apparently healthy horses. Unassigned: A total of 120 field samples were collected, and DNA was extracted. Screening and typing of extracted DNA were done by consensus and conventional PCR assays for detection of EHV-1 and EHV-4, follow...
Stasi D, Wagner B, Barnum S, Pusterla N.During neurological EHV-1 outbreaks, modified-live vaccines (MLV) are often administrated intranasally in an off-label fashion to healthy cohort horses in order to achieve rapid mucosal immunity. Thus, the goal of the present study was to determine if a commercially available EHV-1 MLV given intranasally to healthy horses would trigger a measurable systemic and/or mucosal antibody response. Eight healthy adult horses were given the EHV-1 MLV vaccine intranasally, while 8 healthy adult horses received the vaccine intramuscularly. An additional 8 healthy horses served as unvaccinated controls. E...
Halvarsson P, Grandi G, Hägglund S, Höglund J.A relatively new method to study the species richness and diversity of nematode parasites in grazing animals is to perform deep sequencing on composite samples containing a mixture of parasites. In this work, we compared species composition of strongyles in two groups of horses as a function of egg count and age, based on a DNA barcoding approach. Faecal egg counts and larval cultures were obtained from nearly 300 horses, i.e., domestic horses (n = 167) and trotters (n = 130) sampled nationwide. The second internal transcribed spacer region (ITS2) of strongyle nematodes in the larval cultu...
da Rosa G, de Freitas Daudt G, Roman IJ, Cargnelutti JF, Sangioni LA, Flores MM, Vogel FSF.Horses are intermediate hosts of Sarcocystis spp. capable of forming cysts in their musculature. This study aimed to detect sarcocysts and investigate the presence of nucleic acids from Sarcocystis spp. in samples of striated muscles from horses in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, necropsied at the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory of the Federal University of Santa Maria. A total of 108 samples were collected from 24 horses and examined through direct examination. Microscopic tissue cysts were observed in three samples: tongue (2) and esophagus (1) from two animals. Extractions were perf...
Taylor WTT, Belardi JB, Barberena R, Coltrain JB, Marina FC, Borrero LA, Conver JL, Hodgins G, Admiraal M, Craig OE, Lucquin A, Talbot HM, Lundy J....The introduction of domestic horses transformed Indigenous societies across the grasslands of Argentina, leading to the emergence of specialized horse cultures across the Southern Cone. However, the dynamics of this introduction are poorly chronicled by historic records. Here, we apply archaeozoological and biomolecular techniques to horse remains from the site of Chorrillo Grande 1 in southern Argentina. Osteological and taphonomic analyses suggest that horses were pastorally managed and used for food by Aónikenk/Tehuelche hunter-gatherers before the onset of permanent European settlement, a...
Macedo IS, Lara FA, Barbosa HS, Saraiva EM, Menna-Barreto RFS, Mariante RM., responsible for causing toxoplasmosis, is a prevalent food and waterborne pathogen worldwide. It commonly infects warm-blooded animals and affects more than a third of the global human population. Once ingested, the parasite enters the host's small intestine and rapidly disseminates throughout the body via the bloodstream, infiltrating various tissues. Leukocyte-driven responses are vital against , with neutrophils playing a dual role: swiftly recruited to infection sites, releasing inflammatory mediators, and serving as a replication hub and Trojan horses, aiding parasite spread. Neutrophil...
Abbas G, Ghafar A, Beasley A, Stevenson MA, Bauquier J, Koehler AV, Wilkes EJA, McConnell E, El-Hage C, Carrigan P, Cudmore L, Hurley J, Gauci CG....This study reports the spatial and temporal distribution of ascarid and strongylid nematodes in Thoroughbred horses by age category across different climatic zones in Australia over an 18-month period. Faecal samples (n = 2046) from individual horses were analysed using the modified McMaster technique for faecal egg counts (FECs). Strongylids were identified using PCR-directed next-generation sequencing of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. Yearlings had the highest prevalence (82%) of strongyle eggs followed by weanlings (79%), foals (58%), wet mares ...
Abbas G, Ghafar A, McConnell E, Beasley A, Bauquier J, Wilkes EJA, El-Hage C, Carrigan P, Cudmore L, Hurley J, Gauci CG, Beveridge I, Ling E....This study quantified the extent of anthelmintic resistance (AR) in ascarid and strongylid nematodes against commonly used anthelmintics in Australian Thoroughbred horses. Faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRTs, n = 86) and egg reappearance period (ERP) tests were conducted on 22 farms across Australia. Faecal egg counts (FECs) were determined using the modified McMaster technique, and percent faecal egg count reduction (%FECR) was calculated using the Bayesian hierarchical model and hybrid Frequentist/Bayesian analysis method. The results were interpreted using old (published in 1992) and...
Emelogu U, Lewin AC, Balasuriya UBR, Liu CC, Wilkes RP, Zhang J, Mills EP, Carter RT.Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is a global viral pathogen of domestic equids which causes reproductive, respiratory and neurological disease. Few isolates acquired from naturally infected USA-based hosts have been fully sequenced and analyzed to date. An ORF 30 (DNA polymerase) variant (A2254G) has previously been associated with neurological disease in host animals. The purpose of this study was to perform phylogenomic analysis of EHV-1 isolates acquired from USA-based hosts and compare these isolates to previously sequenced global isolates. EHV-1 was isolated from 23 naturally infected USA...
Atroshchenko M, Dementieva N, Shcherbakov Y, Nikolaeva O, Azovtseva A, Ryabova A, Nikitkina E, Makhmutova O, Datsyshin A, Zakharov V, Zaitsev A.Horses were domesticated later than other farm animals. Horse breeds have been selectively developed by humans to satisfy different needs and purposes. The factory and indigenous breeds are of particular interest, having been bred in purity for many centuries without the addition of foreign blood. Data from 31 stud farms, as well as ranches, located in fifteen regions of the Russian Federation were used in this work. DNA was sampled from 102 stallions of 11 breeds: Arabian, Akhal-Teke, Don, Orlov Trotter, Vladimir Heavy Draft, Russian Heavy Draft, Soviet Heavy Draft, Kabardin, Yakut, Tuva, and...
Ulaangerel T, Yi M, Budsuren U, Shen Y, Ren H, Demuul B, Bai D, Dorjgotov D, Davaakhuu G, Jambal T, Dugarjav M, Bou G.Satellite cells are an important cellular model for studying muscle growth and development and mammalian locomotion-related molecular mechanisms. In this study, we investigated the effects of voltage, pulse duration, and DNA dosage on horse skeletal muscle satellite cells' electroporation transfection efficiency using the eukaryotic expression plasmid Td Tomato-C1 (5.5 kb) encoding the red fluorescent protein gene mainly based on fluorescence-positive cell rate and cell survival rate. By comparison of different voltages, pulse durations, and DNA doses, horse skeletal muscle satellite cells h...
Amano T, Yokawa H, Masuda Y, Tozaki T, Kawai M, Shirai K.Hokkaido Native Horse (HKD) is a horse breed native to Hokkaido in Japan known for the traits such as coat color with no white spots and adaptability to the local cold climate. To examine whether those traits of HKD are conferred at the DNA level, we attempted to identify fixed DNA regions in HKD individuals, that is, the selection signatures of HKD. A comparison of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes in 58 HKD individuals by principal component analysis, and cluster analysis between breeds, including HKD, and within the HKD individuals indicated the genetic independence of HK...
Di Genova C, Sutton G, Paillot R, Temperton N, Pronost S, Scott SD.Infection with equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1), a DNA virus of the Herpesviridae family represents a significant welfare issue in horses and a great impact on the equine industry. During EHV-1 infection, entry of the virus into different cell types is complex due to the presence of twelve glycoproteins (GPs) on the viral envelope. To investigate virus entry mechanisms, specific combinations of GPs were pseudotyped onto lentiviral vectors. Pseudotyped virus (PV) particles bearing gB, gD, gH and gL were able to transduce several target cell lines (HEK293T/17, RK13, CHO-K1, FHK-Tcl3, MDCK I & II), de...
Osterrieder K, Dorman DC, Burgess BA, Goehring LS, Gross P, Neinast C, Pusterla N, Hussey GS, Lunn DP.Equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV-1) infection in horses is associated with respiratory and neurologic disease, abortion, and neonatal death. Objective: Vaccines decrease the occurrence of clinical disease in EHV-1-infected horses. Methods: A systematic review was performed searching multiple databases to identify relevant studies. Selection criteria were original peer-reviewed research reports that investigated the in vivo use of vaccines for the prevention of disease caused by EHV-1 in domesticated horses. Main outcomes of interest included pyrexia, abortion, neurologic disease, viremia, and n...
Cappelli K, Mecocci S, Porceddu A, Albertini E, Giontella A, Miglio A, Silvestrelli M, Verini Supplizi A, Marconi G, Capomaccio S.With his bicentennial breeding history based on athletic performance, the Thoroughbred horse can be considered the equine sport breed. Although genomic and transcriptomic tools and knowledge are at the state of the art in equine species, the epigenome and its modifications in response to environmental stimuli, such as training, are less studied. One of the major epigenetic modifications is cytosine methylation at 5' of DNA molecules. This crucial biochemical modification directly mediates biological processes and, to some extent, determines the organisms' phenotypic plasticity. Exercise indeed...
Schäfer J, May A, Wittenberg J, Hahn K, Graubner C, Gerber V, Drögemüller C, Unger L.SCC (squamous cell carinomas) are among the most common eye neoplasms in horses. In recent studies Haflinger horses with a homozygous genotype for a missense variant in the DDB2 gene (damage specific DNA binding protein 2) had a significant increased risk of developing ocular SCC. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of the SCC-associated risk allele in the DDB2 gene in Swiss and Austrian Haflinger populations and to validate the previously described phenotypic correlation. For this purpose, Haflingers presented at various horse clinics in Switzerland (n = 21, including 1...
Vaughn SA, Norton NA, Hurley DJ, Hart KA.Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the end-products of physiologic functions in health. Oxidative stress occurs when endogenous antioxidants are insufficient to neutralize ROS in the system. As a result, ROS can damage DNA, RNA, proteins, lipids, and cell organelles. To obtain accurate measurements of plasma oxidative stress, levels of both oxidants and antioxidants must be measured. This study validates a commercially available, semi-quantitative, photometric analytical system that measures systemic determinants of reactive oxygen metabolites (dROM) and plasma antioxidant capacity (PAC) in sto...
Jia H, Gao S, Tang L, Fu Y, Xiong Y, Ente M, Mubalake S, Shao C, Li K, Hu D, Zhang D.The Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) is the only surviving wild horse species in the world. A significant population of Przewalski's horses resides in Xinjiang, China. Parasitosis poses a considerable threat to the conservation of this endangered species. Yet, there is limited information on the nematode parasites that infect these species. To deepen our understanding of parasitic fauna affecting wild horses, we identified the intestinal nematodes of Przewalski's horses in Xinjiang and added new barcode sequences to a public database. Methods: Between 2018 and 2021, nematodes were ...
Threadgill DS, Steagall WK, Flaherty MT, Fuller FJ, Perry ST, Rushlow KE, Le Grice SF, Payne SL.The putative dUTPase domain was deleted from the polymerase (pol) gene of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) to produce a recombinant delta DUpol Escherichia coli expression cassette and a delta DU proviral clone. Expression of the recombinant delta DUpol polyprotein yielded a properly processed and enzymatically active reverse transcriptase, as determined by immunoblot analysis and DNA polymerase activity gels. Transfection of delta DU provirus into feline (FEA) cells resulted in production of virus that replicated to wild-type levels in both FEA cells and fetal equine kidney cells. In con...
Endimiani A, Hujer KM, Hujer AM, Bertschy I, Rossano A, Koch C, Gerber V, Francey T, Bonomo RA, Perreten V.We investigated whether Acinetobacter baumannii isolates of veterinary origin shared common molecular characteristics with those described in humans. Methods: Nineteen A. baumannii isolates collected in pets and horses were analysed. Clonality was studied using repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR (rep-PCR) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). PCR and DNA sequencing for various β-lactamase, aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme, gyrA and parC, ISAba1 and IS1133, adeR and adeS of the AdeABC efflux pump, carO porin and class 1/2/3 integron genes were performed. Results: Two main clones [A (n =â€...
Stephens RM, Derse D, Rice NR.We isolated and characterized six cDNA clones from an equine infectious anemia virus-infected cell line that displays a Rev-defective phenotype. With the exception of one splice site in one of the clones, all six cDNAs exhibited the same splicing pattern and consisted of four exons. Exon 1 contained the 5' end of the genome; exon 2 contained the tat gene from mid-genome; exon 3 consisted of a small section of env, near the 5' end of the env gene; and exon 4 contained the putative rev open reading frame from the 3' end of the genome. The structures of the cDNAs predict a bicistronic message in ...
Perkins GA, Goodman LB, Tsujimura K, Van de Walle GR, Kim SG, Dubovi EJ, Osterrieder N.A single nucleotide polymorphism in the equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) DNA polymerase gene (ORF30 A(2254) to G) has been associated with clinical signs of equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM). The purpose of our study was to determine the odds ratio for this genetic marker and EHM using a panel of field isolates from North America collected over the past twenty-three years. EHV-1 isolates cultured at the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory from 1984 to 2007 were retrieved along with their clinical histories. DNA was extracted from these EHV-1 cultures and allelic discrimina...
Torina A, Vicente J, Alongi A, Scimeca S, Turlá R, Nicosia S, Di Marco V, Caracappa S, de la Fuente J.The objective of this study was to characterize the observed prevalence of tick-borne pathogens (TBP) in domestic animals in Sicily, Italy during 2003-2005. Serological (competitive ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence antibody, n = 3299) and DNA tests (polymerase chain reaction and reverse line blot, n = 2565) were conducted on horse, donkey, cattle, sheep, goat, pig and dog samples. Pathogens analysed included Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Babesia and Theileria species, and Coxiella burnetii. The most prevalent TBP were Anaplasma and Babesia species. The results reported herein suggeste...
Raudsepp T, Finno CJ, Bellone RR, Petersen JL.The horse reference genome from the Thoroughbred mare Twilight has been available for a decade and, together with advances in genomics technologies, has led to unparalleled developments in equine genomics. At the core of this progress is the continuing improvement of the quality, contiguity and completeness of the reference genome, and its functional annotation. Recent achievements include the release of the next version of the reference genome (EquCab3.0) and generation of a reference sequence for the Y chromosome. Horse satellite-free centromeres provide unique models for mammalian centromer...
Metzger J, Philipp U, Lopes MS, da Camara Machado A, Felicetti M, Silvestrelli M, Distl O.Copy number variants (CNVs) have been shown to play an important role in genetic diversity of mammals and in the development of many complex phenotypic traits. The aim of this study was to perform a standard comparative evaluation of CNVs in horses using three different CNV detection programs and to identify genomic regions associated with body size in horses. Results: Analysis was performed using the Illumina Equine SNP50 genotyping beadchip for 854 horses. CNVs were detected by three different algorithms, CNVPartition, PennCNV and QuantiSNP. Comparative analysis revealed 50 CNVs that affecte...
Frazer KA, Tao H, Osoegawa K, de Jong PJ, Chen X, Doherty MF, Cox DR.Cross-species DNA sequence comparison is a fundamental method for identifying biologically important elements, because functional sequences are evolutionarily conserved, wheres nonfunctional sequences drift. A recent genome-wide comparison of human and mouse DNA discovered over 200,000 conserved noncoding sequences with unknown function. Multispecies DNA comparison has been proposed as a method to prioritize these conserved noncoding sequences for functional analysis based on the hypothesis that elements present in many species are more likely to be functional than elements present in limited ...
Kelly C, Bugg M, Robinson C, Mitchell Z, Davis-Poynter N, Newton JR, Jolley KA, Maiden MC, Waller AS.Improved understanding of the epidemiology of Streptococcus equi transmission requires sensitive and portable subtyping methods that can rationally discriminate between strains. S. equi is highly homogeneous and cannot be distinguished by multilocus enzyme electrophoretic or multilocus sequence-typing methods that utilize housekeeping genes. However, on sequence analysis of the N-terminal region of the SeM genes of 60 S. equi isolates from 27 strangles outbreaks, we identified 21 DNA codon changes. These resulted in the nonsynonymous substitution of 18 amino acids and allowed the assignment of...
Haupt JL, Frisbie DD, McIlwraith CW, Robbins PD, Ghivizzani S, Evans CH, Nixon AJ.This study evaluated the potential of gene induced synoviocyte expression of a combination of insulin-like growth factor-I (AdIGF-I) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (AdIL-1Ra) to control articular cartilage degradation in vitro. Cartilage explants and synovial membrane were harvested from young mature horses. Synovial monolayers were established and either (1) maintained as untransduced controls; (2) transduced with AdIGF-I at 200 MOI in 500 microl serum-free medium; (3) transduced with AdIL-1Ra at 100 MOI; or (4) transduced with a combination of AdIGF-I (200 MOI) and AdIL-1Ra (1...
Lin C, Stahl DA.A total of six 16S rRNA targeted oligonucleotide probes were used to quantify Fibrobacter abundance and diversity in the gastrointestinal contents of a pony. Approximately 12% of the total 16S rRNA extracted from cecal contents hybridized with a Fibrobacter genus-specific probe and a Fibrobacter succinogenes species-specific probe. However, no significant hybridization was observed with a probe for the species. Fibrobacter intestinalis or with three probes for F. succinogenes subspecies. This suggested the presence of a previously undescribed population of F. succinogenes-like organisms. Novel...
Roth SP, Glauche SM, Plenge A, Erbe I, Heller S, Burk J.Decellularization of tendon tissue plays a pivotal role in current tissue engineering approaches for in vitro research as well as for translation of graft-based tendon restoration into clinics. Automation of essential decellularization steps like freeze-thawing is crucial for the development of more standardized decellularization protocols and commercial graft production under good manufacturing practice (GMP) conditions in the future. In this study, a liquid nitrogen-based controlled rate freezer was utilized for automation of repeated freeze-thawing for decellularization of equine superficia...
Zhao Y, Li B, Bai D, Huang J, Shiraigo W, Yang L, Zhao Q, Ren X, Wu J, Bao W, Dugarjaviin M.The hindgut of horses is an anaerobic fermentative chamber for a complex and dynamic microbial population, which plays a critical role in health and energy requirements. Research on the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses has not been reported until now as far as we know. Mongolian horse is a major local breed in China. We performed high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes V4 hypervariable regions from gut fecal material to characterize the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses and compare them to the microbiota in Thoroughbred horses. Fourteen Mongolian and 19 Thoroughbred horses were use...
Dutton MF.The fumonisins (FBs) are a group of closely related mycotoxins that are prevalent in maize. They were isolated from strains of Fusarium moniliforme (Sheldon), which were implicated in the aetiology of human oesophageal cancer in the Transkei, South Africa. Their discovery explained the cause of equine encephalomalacia, or "hole in the head" syndrome, when it was found by feeding trials in horses that they elicited the disease. Subsequently, they were found to cause hepatic cancer in rats and pulmonary oedema in pigs, with most animal species tested showing liver and kidney damage. FB1 is the m...
Wallner B, Palmieri N, Vogl C, Rigler D, Bozlak E, Druml T, Jagannathan V, Leeb T, Fries R, Tetens J, Thaller G, Metzger J, Distl O, Lindgren G....The Y chromosome directly reflects male genealogies, but the extremely low Y chromosome sequence diversity in horses has prevented the reconstruction of stallion genealogies [1, 2]. Here, we resolve the first Y chromosome genealogy of modern horses by screening 1.46 Mb of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) in 52 horses from 21 breeds. Based on highly accurate pedigree data, we estimated the de novo mutation rate of the horse MSY and showed that various modern horse Y chromosome lineages split much later than the domestication of the species. Apart from few private northern Euro...
Brüning A.Two haemoprotozoan parasites, Babesia caballi and Babesia equi, can cause equine piroplasmosis. Due to the presence of potential tick vectors in areas so far unaffected by equine babesias, import and export regulations often require the serum testing of animals for evidence of infection. Although the complement fixation test (CFT) has been recommended for detecting the presence of antibodies to Babesia spp., it has been demonstrated to have several disadvantages, including false-positive results and low sensitivity for detecting latent infections. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) m...
Nikiforov TT, Rendle RB, Goelet P, Rogers YH, Kotewicz ML, Anderson S, Trainor GL, Knapp MR.A new method for typing single nucleotide polymorphisms in DNA is described. In this method, specific fragments of genomic DNA containing the polymorphic site(s) are first amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using one regular and one phosphorothioate-modified primer. The double-stranded PCR product is rendered single-stranded by treatment with the enzyme T7 gene 6 exonuclease, and captured onto individual wells of a 96 well polystyrene plate by hybridization to an immobilized oligonucleotide primer. This primer is designed to hybridize to the single-stranded target DNA immediately...
Amtmann E, Müller H, Sauer G.Bovine papilloma virus (BPV) appears to be the etiological agent of common equine connective tissue tumors. We investigated the physical state of the viral DNA within such tumors and found no indication for integration into the host genome. The BPV genomes were present as free circular episomes. Two equine sarcoids were shown to contain multiple copies of free circular BPV type 1 (BPV-1) DNA. When the tumors were digested with several single-cut restriction enzymes, there were only form III BPV-1 DNA sequences could be revealed. One of the sarcoids contained, apart from wild-type BPV-1 DNA, a ...
Kennedy R, Lappin DF, Dixon PM, Buijs MJ, Zaura E, Crielaard W, O'Donnell L, Bennett D, Brandt BW, Riggio MP.Equine periodontal disease is a common and painful condition and its severe form, periodontitis, can lead to tooth loss. Its aetiopathogenesis remains poorly understood despite recent increased awareness of this disorder amongst the veterinary profession. Bacteria have been found to be causative agents of the disease in other species, but current understanding of their role in equine periodontitis is extremely limited. The aim of this study was to use high-throughput sequencing to identify the microbiome associated with equine periodontitis and oral health. Subgingival plaque samples from 24 h...
Zhen H, Han T, Fennell DE, Mainelis G.We report here that stress experienced by bacteria due to aerosolization and air sampling can result in severe membrane impairment, leading to the release of DNA as free molecules. Escherichia coli and Bacillus atrophaeus bacteria were aerosolized and then either collected directly into liquid or collected using other collection media and then transferred into liquid. The amount of DNA released was quantified as the cell membrane damage index (ID), i.e., the number of 16S rRNA gene copies in the supernatant liquid relative to the total number in the bioaerosol sample. During aerosolization by ...
Renaud G, Petersen B, Seguin-Orlando A, Bertelsen MF, Waller A, Newton R, Paillot R, Bryant N, Vaudin M, Librado P, Orlando L.Donkeys and horses share a common ancestor dating back to about 4 million years ago. Although a high-quality genome assembly at the chromosomal level is available for the horse, current assemblies available for the donkey are limited to moderately sized scaffolds. The absence of a better-quality assembly for the donkey has hampered studies involving the characterization of patterns of genetic variation at the genome-wide scale. These range from the application of genomic tools to selective breeding and conservation to the more fundamental characterization of the genomic loci underlying speciat...
Stewart AA, Byron CR, Pondenis H, Stewart MC.To determine whether fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) treatment of equine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) during monolayer expansion enhances subsequent chondrogenesis in a 3-dimensional culture system. Methods: 6 healthy horses, 6 months to 5 years of age. Methods: Bone marrow-derived MSCs were obtained from 6 horses. First-passage MSCs were seeded as monolayers at 10,000 cells/cm(2) and in medium containing 0, 1, 10, or 100 ng of FGF-2/mL. After 6 days, MSCs were transferred to pellet cultures (200,000 cells/pellet) and maintained in chondrogenic medium. Pellets were collected after 15 days....
Qi M, Wang R, Wang H, Jian F, Li J, Zhao J, Dong H, Zhu H, Ning C, Zhang L.In present study, 262 fecal specimens were collected from 12 groups of grazing horses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The specimens were subjected to PCR and sequencing analyses of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS). The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi in horses was 30.9% (81/262). No significant differences in prevalence were observed between horses of different ages or sexes. Nineteen genotypes were identified: 15 known genotypes (BEB6, CHG19, CM6, CM7, CM8, CS-1, CS-4, D, EpbA, EbpC, G, horse1, horse2, O, and Peru8) and four new genotypes (XJH1-XJH4). Six ...
Pomar FJ, Teerds KJ, Kidson A, Colenbrander B, Tharasanit T, Aguilar B, Roelen BA.The occurrence of pregnancies and births after embryo transfer (ET) of in vivo produced embryos is generally more successful compared to that of embryos produced in vitro. This difference in ET success has been observed when embryos of morphological equal (high) quality were used. The incidence of apoptosis has been suggested as an additional criterion to morphological embryo evaluation in order to assess embryo quality and effectively predict embryo viability. In this study, equine, porcine, ovine, caprine and bovine in vivo and in vitro produced morphologically selected high quality (grade-I...
Rudolph J, O'Callaghan DJ, Osterrieder N.The genome of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) strain RacL11, a highly virulent isolate obtained from an aborted foal, and that of the modified live vaccine strain KyA, were cloned as bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) in Eseherichia coli. Mini F plasmid sequences were inserted into the viral genomes by homologous recombination instead of the gene 71 (EUS4) open reading frame after co-transfection of viral DNA and recombinant plasmid pdelta71-pHA2 into RK13 cells. After isolation of recombinant viruses by three rounds of plaque purification, viral DNA was isolated from RK13 cells infected...
Tozaki T, Miyake T, Kakoi H, Gawahara H, Sugita S, Hasegawa T, Ishida N, Hirota K, Nakano Y.Using 1400 microsatellites, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify genomic regions associated with lifetime earnings and performance ranks, as determined by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). The minimum heritability (h(2) ) was estimated at 7-8% based on the quantitative trait model, suggesting that the racing performance is heritable. Following GWAS with microsatellites, fine mapping led to identification of three SNPs on ECA18, namely, g.65809482T>C (P=1.05E-18), g.65868604G>T (P=6.47E-17), and g.66539967A>G (P=3.35E-14) associated with these performance ...
Hill EW, Bradley DG, Al-Barody M, Ertugrul O, Splan RK, Zakharov I, Cunningham EP.Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences (381 bp) from 100 thoroughbreds in 19 of the most common matrilineal female families were used to reconstruct a founder female population for the thoroughbred ( approximately 1650-1750 AD). Seventeen haplotypes were found to have contributed to the 19 female lineages. In order to place the reconstructed founder population in wider historical context, we examined, using both single strand conformation polymorphism and direct sequence analysis, variation in a 343 bp mtDNA fragment in that population and 13 other horse populations of disparate provenance...
Li Y, Wen X, Li M, Moumouni PFA, Galon EM, Guo Q, Rizk MA, Liu M, Li J, Ji S, Tumwebaze MA, Byamukama B, Chahan B, Xuan X.Ticks carry and transmit a wide range of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, and protozoa) that are of importance to humans and animals globally. However, information about the tick-borne pathogens harbored by ticks in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), northwestern China, is scarce. This study investigated the occurrence of tick species of domestic animals and tick-borne pathogens by using morphological molecular identification and sequence analysis in Turpan, Qitai, Altay, Hejing, Nileke, and Zhaosu counties (XUAR). A total of 5822 adult ticks (females and males) from 12 tick species wer...
Braun J, Hack A, Weis-Klemm M, Conrad S, Treml S, Kohler K, Walliser U, Skutella T, Aicher WK.To evaluate the proliferative behavior, telomere length, immunophenotype, and differentiation capacity of equine adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs). Methods: 6 adult racing horses treated for articular Injury but otherwise healthy. Methods: AT-MSCs were Isolated from horses and expanded In Dulbecco modified Eagle medium enriched with fetal bovine serum and antimicrobials. Expression of cell surface antigens and telomere length were Investigated via flow cytometry Differentiation of MSCs Into chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and adipocytes was Induced In vitro by specific stimuli...
