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.
Studdert MJ.DNA was prepared from 43 equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV 1) isolates, 11 of which were from horses with respiratory disease, 22 from aborted equine foetuses, and 10 from foals that died perinatally. The restriction endonuclease DNA fingerprints of 10 of the 11 respiratory isolates, known with certainty to have been recovered from horses with respiratory disease, were entirely different from all but 3 of the 32 foetal or perinatal foal isolates. The exceptional respiratory isolate, EHV 1 Army 183, had a foetal (F) strain fingerprint but this virus cannot be said with certainty to have been isola...
Jagodzinski PW, Funk GF, Peticolas WL.The nature of the binding of aromatic aldehyde and aromatic alcohol substrates to the catalytic zinc of equine liver alcohol dehydrogenase has been studied by using resonance-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. When an excess of both enzyme and coenzyme to substrate is used, a stable ternary chemical intermediate is formed between liver alcohol dehydrogenase and the reduced coenzyme, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, and the aldehyde, p-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde, in the pH range 8.5-0.6. Resonance-enhanced Raman spectra clearly show that this same intermediate is formed between the excess enzyme, ...
Haynes SE, Reisner AH.Although no major structural or numerical abnormalities were found in the karyotypes of 12 aborted equine fetuses, two unrelated abortuses each carried a large polymorphism for the amount of heterochromatin in chromosome 1. In both karyotypes this chromosome was shown to be larger than its homolog. To determine the nature of the extra DNA in these chromosomes, equine DNA was isolated and characterized by buoyant density analysis. Equine mainband DNA had a buoyant density in neutral CsCl of 1.699 g/cm3, while the highly repetitive (dG+dC)-rich fraction had a buoyant density of 1.715 g/cm3. A ra...
Whalley JM, Robertson GR, Davison AJ.The genome of an Australian isolate of equine herpesvirus type 1 (equine abortion virus) has been analysed using the restriction endonucleases EcoRI, BglII and BamHI, and a physical map constructed. Terminal fragments were identified by exonuclease treatments, and linkage of fragments was deduced by a combination of single- and double-digest experiments and cross-blot hybridizations. The genome has a mol. wt. of 100 x 10(6) and is comprised of a short unique region bounded by repetitive sequences, which is present in both orientations in approximately equal amounts in the DNA population, and a...
Robinson RA, Tucker PW, Dauenhauer SA, O'Callaghan DJ.Genomic DNA sequences of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) have been cloned as BamHI and EcoRI restriction fragments into the plasmid pBR322 and propagated in Escherichia coli. With the exception of two EcoRI restriction fragments that reside in the S region of the viral genome, all of the cloned fragments demonstrated the same electrophoretic mobilities, restriction cleavage sites, and blot-hybridization patterns as did the parent fragments produced by BamHI or EcoRI digestion of virion DNA. The EcoRI J fragment and the BamHI E fragment of the L-region terminus were cloned after the addition ...
Science (New York, N.Y.)October 30, 1981
Volume 214, Issue 4520 562-564 doi: 10.1126/science.6270790
Studdert MJ, Simpson T, Roizman B.Viruses classified by immunologic criteria as equine herpesvirus 1 cause respiratory disease and abortion in horses. Restriction endonuclease analyses of the DNA's of viruses from animals with respiratory disease and from aborted fetuses show that the patterns for respiratory viruses, while similar to each other, are entirely different from the patterns for fetal viruses. It is therefore proposed that the DNA restriction endonuclease patterns of fetal and respiratory viruses analyzed in this study be designated as prototypic of equine herpesvirus 1 and 4, respectively.
Littler E, Yeo J, Killington RA, Purifoy DJ, Powell KL.Previously, we have shown a common antigen of several herpesviruses (pseudorabies virus, equine abortion virus and bovine mammillitis virus) to be antigenically related to the major DNA-binding proteins of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2. In this study we have purified the cross-reacting polypeptide from cells infected with pseudorabies virus, equine abortion virus and bovine mammillitis virus and shown the cross-reacting protein to be a major DNA-binding protein for each virus. Tryptic peptide analysis of the cross-reacting DNA-binding proteins of all five viruses has shown structural simi...
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 ...
Weitkamp LR, Allen PZ.Ancient origin of the equine vitamin D binding protein (Gc) polymorphism is suggested by the finding of two alleles, Gc(F) and Gc(S), in each of three equine subgenera, Equus, Asinus and Hippotigris. The equine Gc and albumin loci are closely linked (lod score = 6). Although no recombinants were observed, the data are not inconsistent with a map distance similar to the 2 centimorgans reported for the human albumin/Gc linkage relationship. Gametic association between the Gc(F) and Alb(F) alleles appears probable in the American Standardbred horse, perhaps as a result of population structure. Si...
Ryder OA, Hansen SK.A (G + C)-rich density satellite DNA (rho = 1.713 gm/cc) has been purified from splenic DNA of Przewalski's horse, Equus przewalskii, by successive equilibrium density gradient centrifugations. The purified satellite, which may comprise as much as 29% of the total DNA, renatures rapidly; however, analyses of native, single-stranded, and reassociated molecules by analytical ultracentrifugation and melting properties suggest that some sequence heterogeniety exists in the 1.713 gm/cc satellite. Complementary RNA (cRNA) transcribed from satellite DNA has been utilized for in situ hybridization stu...
Rice NR, Coggins L.In the endogenous reverse transcriptase reaction, equine infectious anemia virus is able to synthesize complementary DNA (cDNA) of 8,000 nucleotides in high yield. After 2 h in 50 muM dNTP, about 2.8 mug of cDNA per mg of protein is produced, almost 30% of which is long cDNA. The system thus compares favorably with the other two well-characterized endogenous reaction systems, Moloney murine leukemia virus and avian sarcoma virus. Elongation rates of 100 to 150 nucleotides per min have been observed; these rates are comparable to those seen with purified avian myeloblastosis virus reverse trans...
Gudding R.DNases were demonstrated in samples of colostrum and blood serum from man and various domestic animals. The measurable DNase activity recorded was highest in samples from cat and dog and lowest in samples from goat, horse, pig and sheep. In contrast to DNases produced by certain bacteria, these enzymes were thermo-labile and the activity was maximal in the area pH 5.0–5.5. A modification of an agar medium originally described for the demonstration of bacterial DNases was found to be suitable for assays of DNases from colostrum, milk and serum. DNaser ble påvist i prøver fra kolostrum og bl...
Lancaster WD, Theilen GH, Olson C.DNAs from bovine papilloma virus(BPV)-induced hamster tumors and from equine connective tissue tumors of unknown etiology were examined for BPV DNA sequences by molecular hybridization. DNA from two distinct classes of BPV (type 1 and type 2) was labeled in vitro and used as probes. Analysis of DNA-DNA reassociation kinetics indicated that both virus types were capable of tumor induction in the hamster. DNA isolated from 6 of 7 equine tumors accelerated the reassociation of the BPV DNA probes. BPV type 1 or type 2 DNA hybridized extensively to DNA from 3 tumors, while 3 other tumors contained ...
Serov OL, Zakijan SM, Kulichkov VA.Erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) was examined by 13% starch gel electrophoresis in 74 mules (42 females and 32 males), 35 donkeys, and ten horses. The quantitative expression of the parental alleles at the Gpd locus varies greatly in female mules from the hemizygous expression of the maternal allele to that of the paternal. The data obtained indicate that the X chromosomes are randomly inactivated in females mules. No selective advantage of a cell population with a maternally (or paternally) derived X active was found in female mule erythrocytes. It is suggested that the ph...
Rice NR, Simek S, Ryder OA, Coggins L.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) recently has been shown to possess a high-molecular-weight RNA genome and a virion reverse transcriptase. We completed the demonstration that EIAV is a retrovirus by showing the presence of proviral DNA in equine cells infected in vitro, but not in normal horse DNA. These studies were performed by using a highly representative cDNA probe synthesized by the virion polymerase. It was found that this cDNA reassociated extensively, and with high thermal stability, with either viral RNA or DNA extracted from infected cells, but showed no detectable reassociatio...
Allen GP, Cohen JC, Randall CC, O'Callaghan DJ.The replication of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and type 3 (EHV-3) was unimpeded in three different cell types-equine epithelial cells, equine fibroblasts, and mouse fibroblasts-which had been blocked in their capacity to synthesize host DNA by 2.5 mM hydroxyurea (HU) or 2 mM thymidine (TdR). The rate of DNA synthesis in uninfected or equine herpesvirus-infected cells in the presence of HU or TdR was measured by pulse-labeling cell samples with a labeled DNA precursor at different times after infection. DNA synthesis in uninfected cultures was completely inhibited by both compounds. Howev...
Lancaster WD, Olson C, Meinke W.Four of five spontaneous benign equine connective tissue tumors of unknown etiology and a bovine papilloma virus (BPV)-induced equine tumor contained BPV-specific DNA sequences as determined by DNA-DNA hybridization of DNA from tumors with BPV DNA labeled in vitro. Analysis of the kinetics of reassociation indicated that 20-75% of the BPV genome was present in the various tumors. The number of partial BPV genome equivalents ranged from 60 to 500 copies per diploid quantity of cellular DNA. Thermal denaturation profiles of duplexes formed between labeled BPV DNA and DNA from tumor cells indicat...
Allen GP, O'Callaghan DJ, Randall CC.Infection of cells with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) or type 3 (EHV-3) resulted in the induction of a DNA polymerase activity distinguishable from host cell DNA polymerases by its high salt requirement for maximal activity. By column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, DNA-cellulose, phosphocellulose, and hydroxyapatite, the EHV-1-induced polymerase was purified 500-fold with 1–2% recovery of total activity from the nuclei of infected hamster livers. The final enzyme preparation was homogeneous as judged by electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Calculations based ...
Dutta SK.An adenovirus was isolated from a foal with respiratory tract disease. The virus produced cytopathic effects (CPE) in equine embryo kidney (EEK) cell culture, contained deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), was resistant to chloroform and pH 3, and was moderately resistant to heat. The virus caused hemagglutination of human (type O) erythrocytes. Viral density was 1.34 g/cm,3 and diameter was 75 nm. An adenovirus-associated virus (AAV) isolated from the infected cell culture was 22 nm in diameter. These viruses are classified as equine adenovirus and equine AAV.
Plummer G, Goodheart CR, Studdert MJ.Equine herpesviruses with a deoxyribonucleic acid density of 1.716 to 1.717 g/cm(3) were compared with one another by the plaque-reduction test and by the rate of development of cytopathic effect as indicated by plaque size in rabbit kidney cultures. Of the 19 isolates studied, the 9 which had already been tentatively labeled equine abortion viruses were serologically similar to one another; each of them grew more quickly than did any of the other 10 isolates although the mean plaque sizes formed a series of gradations with no clear hiatus which would permit the unequivocal delineation of the ...
Thoburn R, Hurvitz AI, Kunkel HG.Various mammalian species contain an anionic serum protein that reacts specifically with native DNA. It is considerably less reactive with single-strand DNA and does not react with monodeoxyribonucleotides, homopolyribonucleotides, or duplexes of homopolyribonucleotides. Synthetic dA.dT was an effective inhibitor of the reaction with native DNA, while Micrococcus luteus DNA and dG.dC were not inhibitory. This protein was encountered in the course of studies on DNA antibodies. Although it reacted with red cells coated with DNA and gave agar precipitation bands, it was clearly distinct from DNA ...
Tau RL, Ferreccio C, Bachir N, Torales F, Romera SA, Maidana SS.High-throughput sequencing of genomes has expanded our knowledge of the Alphaherpesvirinae, a widely extended subfamily of DNA viruses that recombine to increase their genetic diversity. It has been acknowledged that equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and equid herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4), two alphaherpesviruses with an economic impact on the horse industry, can recombine. This work aimed to analyze interspecific recombination between all equid alphaherpesvirus species, using genomes of EHV-1, EHV-3, EHV-4, EHV-6, EHV-8, and EHV-9 available in GenBank. 14 events of recombination by RDP4 and Simplot between...
Nagy S, Kovacs B, Johannisson A.The aim of the present study was to test a rapid, robust flow cytometric technique for the detection of sperm head abnormalities of domestic bulls and stallions. The so-called PulSA approach detects the pulse profiles of propidium-iodide labelled spermatozoa. In the first experiment, species-specific threshold values were established on sperm samples that were tested for sperm head abnormalities with a classic visual morphology analysis. In the second experiment, serial mixtures of bull and stallion spermatozoa mimicking different percentages of sperm head abnormalities were analysed. Non-metr...
Farooq A, Lee M, Han S, Jung GY, Kim SJ, Jung MY.Brachybacterium species have been identified in various ecological niches and belong to the family within the phylum . In this study, we isolated a novel JHP9 strain from horse feces and compared its kinetic, biochemical, and genomic features with those of other strains. Moreover, comparative genomic analysis using publicly available genomes was performed to determine the properties involved in their ecological adaptation and metabolic potential. Novel species delineation was determined phylogenetically through 16S rRNA gene similarity (up to 97.9%), average nucleotide identity (79.5-82.5%...
Jung HS, Yun JU, Jung MJ, Song HS, Kim YB, Kim Y, Kim JG, Jeon CO, Roh SW, Whon TW, Lee SH.A novel, anaerobic, Gram-stain-positive coccoid strain, CBA3646, was isolated from the faeces of a thoroughbred racehorse. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing yielded results indicative of CBA3646 representing a member of the genus , with the species most closely related to it being DSM 20463, with a similarity of 94.79 %. DNA-DNA relatedness and average nucleotide identity values between CBA3646 and DSM 20463 were 21.4 and 67.6 %, respectively. CBA3646 has a circular chromosomal genome of 1 709 189 bp (45.5 mol% DNA G+C content), containing 1652 genes in tota...
Tozaki T, Ohnuma A, Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Nagata SI.Individual identification and paternity testing are important for avoiding inbreeding in the management of small populations of wild and domestic animals. In horse racing industries, they are extremely important for identifying and registering individuals and doping control to ensure fair competition. In this study, we constructed an individual identification panel for horses by using insertion and deletion (INDEL) markers. The panel included 39 INDEL markers selected from a whole-genome INDEL database. Genotyping of 89 Thoroughbreds showed polymorphisms with minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of...
Li S, Guo K, Wang X, Lin Y, Wang J, Wang Y, Du C, Hu Z, Wang X.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) has a worldwide distribution and causes severe economic losses to the equine industry. The EIA virus (EIAV) genome sequences from different countries are highly diverse, which poses a great challenge for pathogen identification with PCR. Phylogenetic analysis showed that although gag is the most conserved structural gene, it still has great genome variability. Currently, most existing PCR methods are designed based on the gag gene sequence and therefore do not cover all the viral strains, especially Asian EIAV strains. In this study, we developed a tat-gag-based ...
Pechanec MY, Mienaltowski MJ.Equine tendinopathies are challenging because of the poor healing capacity of tendons commonly resulting in high re-injury rates. Within the tendon, different regions - tendon proper (TP) and peritenon (PERI) - contribute to the tendon matrix in differing capacities during injury and aging. Aged tendons have decreased repair potential; the underlying transcriptional and epigenetic changes that occur in the TP and PERI regions are not well understood. The objective of this study was to assess TP and PERI regional differences in adolescent, midlife, and geriatric horses using RNA sequencing and ...
Abbas G, Ghafar A, Bauquier J, Beasley A, Ling E, Gauci CG, El-Hage C, Wilkes EJA, McConnell E, Carrigan P, Cudmore L, Hurley J, Beveridge I....The study presents the results of a cross-sectional survey to describe the epidemiology of ascarid and strongylid nematodes in horses, the impact of diverse climatic conditions on parasite diversity and the levels of faecal egg shedding in different age groups of managed Thoroughbred horses. Individual faecal samples (n = 1377) collected from 62 Thoroughbred farms across four climatic zones in Australia were analysed using the modified McMaster technique for faecal egg counts (FECs) and strongylid nematodes were identified utilising PCR-directed next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the second...
Stejskalova K, Janova E, Splichalova P, Futas J, Oppelt J, Vodicka R, Horin P.Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent an important part of the innate immune system. While human and murine TLRs have been intensively studied, little is known about TLRs in non-model species. The order Perissodactyla comprises a variety of free-living and domesticated species exposed to different pathogens in different habitats and is therefore suitable for analyzing the diversity and evolution of immunity-related genes. We analyzed TLR genes in the order Perissodactyla with a focus on the family Equidae. Twelve TLRs were identified by bioinformatic analyses of online genomic resources; their ...
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 ...
De Coster T, Van Poucke M, Bogado Pascottini O, Angel-Velez D, Van den Branden E, Peere S, Papas M, Gerits I, Govaere J, Peelman L, Vermeesch JR....In addition to fulfilling many breeders' curiosity, equine embryonic sex determination can have a profound commercial impact. However, the application of currently described assays for equine embryonic sexing has rendered variable diagnosis and validation rates, with sensitivity being the main problem. In addition, while pregnancy results of in vivo-flushed equine embryos following a needle aspiration biopsy equal those of non-biopsied embryos, the effect on in vitro-produced embryos is unknown. Here, we aimed to develop a highly sensitive and specific assay for equine sex determination that c...
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...
Scantamburlo G, Nofziger C, Paulmichl M, Vanoni S.Because of their importance as companion animals or as racehorses, horses can be treated with various drugs. Although it is known that drug withdrawal times can vary for each horse, pharmacogenetics for these animals has not been adequately studied and requires further development. Since is responsible for the metabolism of 25-30% of drugs in humans, including some used to treat horses, a study of the family in horses was conducted to define its genetic structure as well as its expression pattern in the liver. Unassigned: Genomic DNA extracted from venous blood and mRNA from fresh liver tiss...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Phetkarl T, Fungwithaya P, Udompornprasith S, Amendt J, Sontigun N. and tabanid flies are of medical and veterinary importance because they play crucial roles in disease transmission as mechanical vectors of various hemopathogens. However, its role as a hemoprotozoan parasite vector in horse farms has not been studied. Therefore, we investigated the occurrence of hemoprotozoan parasites belonging to the genera , , and in and tabanid flies using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. Unassigned: All samples ( and tabanid flies) were collected using an Nzi trap for three consecutive days each month from November 2022 to March 2023. T...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
