Equids are members of the family Equidae, which includes modern horses, donkeys, and zebras, as well as extinct species. Equids are characterized by their long limbs, single-toed hooves, and herbivorous diet, which is primarily composed of grasses. Horses, specifically, have been domesticated for thousands of years and have played significant roles in agriculture, transportation, and sport. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of equids and horses, including their evolution, physiology, behavior, and interactions with humans. The collected works provide insights into the genetic diversity, adaptive traits, and conservation efforts related to equid species.
Librado P, Khan N, Fages A, Kusliy MA, Suchan T, Tonasso-Calvière L, Schiavinato S, Alioglu D, Fromentier A, Perdereau A, Aury JM, Gaunitz C....Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 BC. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia and Anatolia, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don regi...
VOR DER DOMESTIKATION HING DAS ÜBERLEBEN DER EQUIDEN VON DER FäHIGKEIT AB, SICH IHRER UMGEBUNG UND MIT IHR VERBUNDENEN GEFAHREN ANZUPASSEN. DIES BETRAF V. A. RAUBTIERE, AUF DIE DIE PFERDE SCHNELL REAGIEREN MUSSTEN. MODERNE PFERDE UNTERSCHEIDEN SICH VON IHREN VORFAHREN U. A. IN IHRER REAKTION AUF STRESSOREN. SIE WURDEN üBER JAHRHUNDERTE HINWEG SO GEZüCHTET, DASS EIN FüR MENSCHEN SICHERER UMGANG MIT IHNEN MöGLICH IST. DIES REDUZIERTE AUCH IHRE REAKTIONEN AUF ANGSTERZEUGENDE FAKTOREN. DIE STUDIE UNTERSUCHTE, OB PFERDE NOCH IMMER DIE FäHIGKEIT BESITZEN, RECHTZEITIG AUF GEFAHREN DURCH RAUBTI...
Suchan T, Kusliy MA, Khan N, Chauvey L, Tonasso-Calvière L, Schiavinato S, Southon J, Keller M, Kitagawa K, Krause J, Bessudnov AN, Bessudnov AA....DNA hybridization-capture techniques allow researchers to focus their sequencing efforts on preselected genomic regions. This feature is especially useful when analysing ancient DNA (aDNA) extracts, which are often dominated by exogenous environmental sources. Here, we assessed, for the first time, the performance of hyRAD as an inexpensive and design-free alternative to commercial capture protocols to obtain authentic aDNA data from osseous remains. HyRAD relies on double enzymatic restriction of fresh DNA extracts to produce RNA probes that cover only a fraction of the genome and can serve a...
Boyce P, Bhattacharyya J, Linklater W.Conservation issues are often complicated by sociopolitical controversies that reflect competing philosophies and values regarding natural systems, animals, and people. Effective conservation outcomes require managers to engage myriad influences (social, cultural, political, and economic, as well as ecological). The contribution of conservation scientists who generate the information on which solutions rely is constrained if they are unable to acknowledge how personal values and disciplinary paradigms influence their research and conclusions. Conservation challenges involving controversial spe...
Graïc JM, Peruffo A, Corain L, Finos L, Grisan E, Cozzi B.Cetartiodactyls include terrestrial and marine species, all generally endowed with a comparatively lateral position of their eyes and a relatively limited binocular field of vision. To this day, our understanding of the visual system in mammals beyond the few studied animal models remains limited. In the present study, we examined the primary visual cortex of Cetartiodactyls that live on land (sheep, Père David deer, giraffe); in the sea (bottlenose dolphin, Risso's dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, Cuvier's beaked whale, sperm whale and fin whale); or in an amphibious environment (hippopotam...
Krueger K, Esch L, Byrne R.Debate persists over whether animals develop innovative solutions primarily in response to needs or conversely whether they innovate more when basic needs are covered and opportunity to develop novel behaviour is offered. We sourced 746 cases of "unusual" behaviour in equids by contacting equid owners and caretakers directly and via a website (https://innovative-behaviour.org), and by searching the internet platforms YouTube and Facebook for videos. The study investigated whether differences in need or opportunity for innovation were reflected in the numbers of different types of innovations a...
Hanot P, Bayarsaikhan J, Guintard C, Haruda A, Mijiddorj E, Schafberg R, Taylor W.The potential of artificial selection to dramatically impact phenotypic diversity is well known. Large-scale morphological changes in domestic species, emerging over short timescales, offer an accelerated perspective on evolutionary processes. The domestic horse (Equus caballus) provides a striking example of rapid evolution, with major changes in morphology and size likely stemming from artificial selection. However, the microevolutionary mechanisms allowing to generate this variation in a short time interval remain little known. Here, we use 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify skull morph...
de Heus P, Kolodziejek J, Hubálek Z, Dimmel K, Racher V, Nowotny N, Cavalleri JV.The emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) in addition to the autochthonous tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in Europe causes rising concern for public and animal health. The first equine case of West Nile neuroinvasive disease in Austria was diagnosed in 2016. As a consequence, a cross-sectional seroprevalence study was conducted in 2017, including 348 equids from eastern Austria. Serum samples reactive by ELISA for either flavivirus immunoglobulin G or M were further analyzed with the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT-80) to identify the specific etiologic age...
Data in briefSeptember 16, 2021
Volume 38 107374 doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.107374
Grandal-d'Anglade A, Albizuri S, López-Cachero FJ.The analysis of stable isotopes in bone collagen allows us to infer the diet of the animals studied. This dataset consists of isotopic signatures (δC and δN) obtained by isotope ratio mass spectrometry from the skeletal remains of 42 equines (horse, ass and their hybrids) from the Can Roqueta site (Sabadell, Northeast Iberian Peninsula). Their chronology spans from Late Bronze Age to Late Roman Period, with particular emphasis on the Early Iron Age. These animals were found in storage silos and graves and were probably sacrificed as ritual offerings. The isotopic values are accompanied by da...
Li S, Zhao G, Han H, Li Y, Li J, Wang J, Cao G, Li X.It is important to resolve the evolutionary history of species genomes as it has affected both genome organization and chromosomal architecture. The rapid innovation in sequencing technologies and the improvement in assembly algorithms have enabled the creation of highly contiguous genomes. DNA Zoo, a global organization dedicated to animal conservation, offers more than 150 chromosome-length genome assemblies. This database has great potential in the comparative genomics field. Results: Using the donkey (Equus asinus asinus, EAS) genome provided by DNA Zoo as an example, the scaffold N50 leng...
Mota-Rojas D, Braghieri A, Álvarez-Macías A, Serrapica F, Ramírez-Bribiesca E, Cruz-Monterrosa R, Masucci F, Mora-Medina P, Napolitano F.This study discusses scientific findings on the use of draught animals such as equids (i.e., horses, mules, and donkeys) and bovids (i.e., cattle and water buffaloes) in rural labours. Relevant peer-reviewed literature published between 1980 and 2021 was retrieved from CAB Abstracts, PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Scopus databases. Although animals were used to produce draught power since their domestication and are still being used for this purpose, mechanisation has markedly reduced animal labour demand in agriculture. However, the process was uneven across continents according to economi...
Jindra C, Kamjunke AK, Jones S, Brandt S.Bovine papillomavirus types 1 and 2 (BPV1 and BPV2) are accepted aetiological agents of equine sarcoids. Recently, genetically similar BPV13 has been identified from equine sarcoids in Brazil. Objective: To determine whether BPV13 DNA can be also found in sarcoid-affected horses in Austria, and donkeys in Northern Italy and the UK, and should hence be considered in the context of vaccine-mediated sarcoid prevention. Methods: Cross sectional study. Methods: A total of 194 archival, equine and asinine DNA isolates derived from confirmedly delta-BPV-positive tumours were subjected to quality cont...
Lerch N, Cirulli F, Rochais C, Lesimple C, Guilbaud E, Contalbrigo L, Borgi M, Grandgeorge M, Hausberger M.Little is known about the impact of equine-assisted interventions (EAI) on equids' perception of humans. In this study 172 equids, living in 12 riding centres, were submitted to a standardised human-horse relationship test: the motionless person test. Age, sex, type (horse/pony), housing, and feeding conditions of subjects were recorded. Overall, 17 equids worked in EAI, 95 in riding school lessons (RS), and 60 in both (EAI-RS). There were high inter-individual variations in the number of interactive behaviours directed towards the experimenter: negative binomial general linear models showed t...
de Oliveira-Filho EF, Fischer C, Berneck BS, Carneiro IO, Kühne A, de Almeida Campos AC, Ribas JRL, Netto EM, Franke CR, Ulbert S, Drexler JF.Among 713 equids sampled in northeastern Brazil during 2013-2018, West Nile virus seroprevalence was 4.5% (95% CI 3.1%-6.3%). Mathematical modeling substantiated higher seroprevalence adjacent to an avian migratory route and in areas characterized by forest loss, implying increased risk for zoonotic infections in disturbed areas.
Ruppert S, Lee JK, Marsh AE.A 6-year-old female captive zebra (Equus zebra) had a three-year history of slow progressive neurologic signs that recently worsened with hind limb ataxia, head tilt, and circling. Gross examination including the brain and spinal cord were unremarkable. On histopathology, the brain and brainstem had multiple random areas of severe lymphoplasmacytic meningoencephalitis associated with numerous 15-25 μm in diameter protozoal cysts with a discernible outer wall containing numerous 2 × 4 μm oval to crescent-shaped organisms. Immunohistochemistry and PCR identified the presence of Neospora or...
Abu-Seida A.Diaphragmatic hernia (DH) represents an acute abdominal crisis, but respiratory symptoms may be occurring. Different types of diaphragmatic hernias (DHs) like typical DH, Morgagni hernia, hiatal hernia and diaphragmatic diverticulum have been recorded in equids. These DHs have various clinical presentations and prognoses. Early diagnosis and prompt surgical repair are highly recommended in order to diminish the ischemic changes to thoracic and abdominal viscera, thus improving the overall prognosis of equids with DH. Over last decade, the prognosis of DH in equids was better than previously be...
Rodrigues LT, Segabinazzi LG, Oliveira SN, Frasson M, Papa FO.Pregnancy rates after embryo transfer (ET) are disappointing in donkey species. This study aims to report two successful ET of mini-donkey embryos using Brazilian Northeastern jennies as recipients. Eighteen embryo flushes were performed 9 days post-ovulation in two non-pregnant mini-donkeys jennies (11 and 7 cycles per jenny). Eleven embryos (61%, 11/18) were collected and transferred to Brazilian Northeastern jennies 4-6 days post-ovulation by conventional (n = 6) or an alternative (n = 5) technique. The alternative method consisted of inserting a Polansky equine vaginal speculum smear...
Staji H, Yousefi M, Hamedani MA, Tamai IA, Khaligh SG.Anaplasma spp. are among the most recognized arthropod-borne infectious agents. Although the novel A. capra has been isolated from wildlife, livestock, and hard ticks from many parts of the world, there is no report regarding the identification of this pathogen from equines and little is known about the epidemiology of A. capra in Equidae. In this study, A. capra was identified in two out of ten blood specimens of wild onagers (Equus hemionus onager) during a routine health check-up in Semnan, Iran by light microscopy and molecular analyses while other pathogens were not detected. First, inclu...
Souto EPF, Maia LA, Neto EGM, Kommers GD, Junior FG, Riet-Correa F, Galiza GJN, Dantas AFM.The epidemiologic, clinical, pathologic, microbiological and immunohistochemical findings of pythiosis in equidae in northeastern Brazil are described. From January 1985 to December 2020 the Laboratory of Animal Pathology of the Federal University of Campina Grande received 1,331 tissue samples of equidae, 202 (15.17%) of which were diagnosed as pythiosis. Equidae of both sexes with ages varying from 4 months to 25 years were affected. Most animals were mixed breed (79.7%) and reared in an extensive system (73.26%). The disease occurred throughout the year but the highest incidence (70.29%) wa...
Bernor RL, Cirilli O, Bukhsianidze M, Lordkipanidze D, Rook L.The Equus datum has been established as a geochronologic 'instantaneous' migratory event of a North American Equus species into Eurasia at the beginning of the Pleistocene (2.58 Ma). A remarkable radiation of Equus followed across Eurasia and Africa. Dmanisi includes excellent remains of Equus, well calibrated between 1.85 and 1.76 Ma. Our morphologic and morphometric analyses of the augmented Dmanisi Equus sample support the co-occurrence of Equus stenonis and Equus altidens in the sequence. Dmanisi E. stenonis is found to be morphologically similar to the European E. stenonis populations a...
Little SV, Hillhouse AE, Lawhon SD, Bryan LK.While Staphylococcus aureus is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in equids (horses, donkeys, and mules), few studies have performed whole-genome sequencing to fully categorize large collections of equine isolates. Such sequencing allows for a comprehensive analysis of the genetic lineage and relationships of isolates, as well as the virulence genes present in each, which can be important for understanding the epidemiology of strains and their range of infections. Seventy-two clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates from equids were collected at the Texas A&M University Veterin...
Merlin A, Foucher N, Linster M, Cazeau G, Marsot M, Delerue M, Sala C, Schneider J, Ferry B, Amat JP, Tapprest J.There is limited evidence regarding the proportion of dead equids in France that were euthanized and the factors influencing the decision-making of euthanasia. The better understanding of which could facilitate research on improvement of welfare, especially on end of life issues. The aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of euthanasia and identify associated factors in equids in France. A web-based survey was created and distributed by the French horse and riding institute to owners who reported an equine death between April 2017 and April 2018 (n = 5 158). Factors associated with...
Harvey AM, Morton JM, Mellor DJ, Russell V, Chapple RS, Ramp D.We previously developed a Ten-Stage Protocol for scientifically assessing the welfare of individual free-roaming wild animals using the Five Domains Model. The protocol includes developing methods for measuring or observing welfare indices. In this study, we assessed the use of remote camera traps to evaluate an extensive range of welfare indicators in individual free-roaming wild horses. Still images and videos were collected and analysed to assess whether horses could be detected and identified individually, which welfare indicators could be reliably evaluated, and whether behaviour could be...
Olufemi OT, Barba M, Daly JM.West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging and re-emerging zoonotic flavivirus first identified in and endemic to Africa. The virus is transmitted between birds by biting mosquitoes, with equids and humans being incidental hosts. The majority of infected incidental hosts display no or only mild clinical signs, but a fraction develop encephalitis. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and evaluate primary research on the presence of antibodies to WNV among African equids. Three bibliographic databases and the grey literature were searched. Of 283 articles identified, only 16 satisfied all th...
Ali A, Zahid H, Zeb I, Tufail M, Khan S, Haroon M, Tufail M, Bilal M, Hussain M, Alouffi AS, Muñoz-Leal S, Labruna MB.Studies on ticks infesting equids are lacking in various parts of the world, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of ticks infesting equids, associated risk factors and rickettsial detection in ticks from equids in KP. Methods: Inspection of 404 equid hosts from November 2018 to October 2019 resulted in the collection of 550 ticks. Data on tick-associated risk factors were collected from equid owners by means of a questionnaire. After morphological identification, partial DNA sequences of the tick mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were u...
The Bering Land Bridge (BLB) last connected Eurasia and North America during the Late Pleistocene. Although the BLB would have enabled transfers of terrestrial biota in both directions, it also acted as an ecological filter whose permeability varied considerably over time. Here we explore the possible impacts of this ecological corridor on genetic diversity within, and connectivity among, populations of a once wide-ranging group, the caballine horses (Equus spp.). Using a panel of 187 mitochondrial and eight nuclear genomes recovered from present-day and extinct caballine horses sampled acros...
Grewar JD, Kotze JL, Parker BJ, van Helden LS, Weyer CT.South Africa is endemic for African horse sickness (AHS), an important health and trade-sensitive disease of equids. The country is zoned with movement control measures facilitating an AHS-free controlled area in the south-west. Our objective was to quantitatively establish the risk of entry of AHS virus into the AHS controlled area through the legal movement of horses. Outcomes were subcategorised to evaluate movement pathway, temporal, and spatial differences in risk. A 'no-control' scenario allowed for evaluation of the impact of control measures. Using 2019 movement and AHS case data, and ...
Costa SCL, de Souza Freitas J, Carvalho FS, Pereira MJS, Cordeiro MD, da Fonseca AH, Gomes Jusi MM, Machado RZ, Munhoz AD.Currently, various zoonotic diseases are classified as emerging or reemerging. Because equids have a direct relationship with various vectors, they are possibly more frequently exposed to zoonotic agents than are humans. The undeniable importance of diseases such as human granulocytic anaplasmosis, spotted fever, and leishmaniasis for both public and animal health, as well as the possibility of equids acting as sources, reservoirs, or even sentinels for these pathogens, justifies the detection of their frequency and factors associated with infection in equids from northeastern Brazil. Methods:...
Wutke S, Sandoval-Castellanos E, Benecke N, Döhle HJ, Friederich S, Gonzalez J, Hofreiter M, Lõugas L, Magnell O, Malaspinas AS, Morales-Muñiz A....Present-day domestic horses are immensely diverse in their maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA, yet they show very little variation on their paternally inherited Y chromosome. Although it has recently been shown that Y chromosomal diversity in domestic horses was higher at least until the Iron Age, when and why this diversity disappeared remain controversial questions. We genotyped 16 recently discovered Y chromosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 96 ancient Eurasian stallions spanning the early domestication stages (Copper and Bronze Age) to the Middle Ages. Using this Y chromosomal t...
Dubey JP, Murata FHA, Cerqueira-Cézar CK, Kwok OCH.Toxoplasma gondii infections are common in humans and animals worldwide. The present review summarizes worldwide information on the prevalence of clinical and subclinical infections, epidemiology, and genetic diversity of T. gondii in horses, donkeys and other equids in the past decade. This review will be of interest to biologists, parasitologists, veterinarians, and public health workers.
Holmes EC, Ellis SA.We carried out an analysis of partial sequences from expressed major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes isolated from a range of equid species and more distantly related members of the mammalian order Perissodactyla. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a minimum of six groups, five of which contained genes and alleles that are found in equid species and one group specific to the rhinoceros. Four of the groups contained only one, or very few sequences, indicating the presence of relatively nonpolymorphic loci, while another group contained the majority of the equid sequences identified. ...
Gasser RB, Hung GC, Chilton NB, Beveridge I.Infections of equids with parasitic nematodes of the order Strongylida (subfamilies Strongylinae and Cyathostominae) are of major veterinary importance. In last decades, the widespread use of drugs against these parasites has led to problems of resistance within the Cyathostominae, and to an increase in their prevalence and intensity of infection. Novel control strategies, based on improved knowledge of parasite biology and epidemiology, have thus become important. However, there are substantial limitations in the understanding of fundamental biological and systematic aspects of these parasite...
Brandt S, Tober R, Corteggio A, Burger S, Sabitzer S, Walter I, Kainzbauer C, Steinborn R, Nasir L, Borzacchiello G.In equids, bovine papillomaviruses of type 1 (BPV-1) and less frequently type 2 induce common, locally aggressive skin tumours termed sarcoids. Whereas BPV infection in cattle usually involves the epidermis and is productive in this skin layer, infection in equids is currently thought to be abortive, with virus solely residing as multiple episomes in dermal fibroblasts. Based on recent observations that do not agree with this assumption, we hypothesised that BPV also infects equid epidermis and is active in this skin layer. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a proof-of-principle study on ei...
Ginolhac A, Vilstrup J, Stenderup J, Rasmussen M, Stiller M, Shapiro B, Zazula G, Froese D, Steinmann KE, Thompson JF, Al-Rasheid KA, Gilbert TM....Second-generation sequencing technologies have revolutionized our ability to recover genetic information from the past, allowing the characterization of the first complete genomes from past individuals and extinct species. Recently, third generation Helicos sequencing platforms, which perform true Single-Molecule DNA Sequencing (tSMS), have shown great potential for sequencing DNA molecules from Pleistocene fossils. Here, we aim at improving even further the performance of tSMS for ancient DNA by testing two novel tSMS template preparation methods for Pleistocene bone fossils, namely oligonucl...
Orlando L.Alongside domestic horses and donkeys, the horse family, also known as equids, comprises six extant wild species of asses and zebras (Figure 1). Equids are extremely well represented in the fossil record, comprising a 55 million-year evolutionary history, punctuated by many episodes of innovation, extinction and migration. Limited to the single genus Equus today, in the Miocene (23.0–5.3 million years ago) the equid family flourished, comprising more than twenty genera. The group originated in Northern America, where the earliest fossil forms have been found, the so-called Hyracotheres, no l...
Yang Y, Zhu Q, Liu S, Zhao C, Wu C.The origin of domestic horses in China was a controversial issue and several hypotheses including autochthonous domestication, introduction from other areas, and multiple-origins from both introduction and local wild horse introgression have been proposed, but none of them have been fully supported by DNA data. In the present study, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of 714 Chinese indigenous horses were analyzed. The results showed that Chinese domestic horses harbor some novel mtDNA haplogroups and suggested that local domestication events may have occurred, but they are not the dominant ha...
Shittu I, Meseko CA, Sulaiman LP, Inuwa B, Mustapha M, Zakariya PS, Muhammad AA, Muhammad U, Atuman YJ, Barde IJ, Zecchin B, Quaranta EG, Shamaki D....In December 2018, suspected outbreaks of equine influenza (EI) were observed in donkeys in Sokoto State, in the extreme northwest of Nigeria bordering the Republic of the Niger. Equine influenza virus (EIV) subtype H3N8 was the etiologic agent identified in the outbreaks using real-time RT-qPCR and sequencing of both the partial haemagglutinin (HA) gene and the complete genome. Since then the H3N8 virus spread to 7 of the 19 northern states of Nigeria, where it affected both donkeys and horses. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial and complete HA gene revealed the closest nucleotide similarity...
Sykora S, Samek L, Schönthaler K, Palm F, Borzacchiello G, Aurich C, Brandt S.Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are malignant tumours arising from keratinocytes. In horses, there is increasing evidence for Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV-2) being causally involved in SCC development. However, only little is known regarding intralesional transcription of the virus, and sparse information on the incidence of EcPV-2 infection in healthy equids is available so far. Using RT-PCR, total mRNA from 8 EcPV-2 DNA-positive and 1 EcPV-2 negative SCC/SCC precursor lesions was screened for the presence of EcPV-2 E6 and E1 transcripts. Using PCR, we tested 193 sample specimens...
Lulla V, Losada A, Lecollinet S, Kerviel A, Lilin T, Sailleau C, Beck C, Zientara S, Roy P.African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is an orbivirus, a member of the Reoviridae family. Nine different serotypes have been described so far. AHSV is vectored by Culicoides spp. to equids, causing high mortality, particularly in horses, with considerable economic impacts. For development of a safe attenuated vaccine, we previously established an efficient reverse genetics (RG) system to generate Entry Competent Replication-Abortive (ECRA) virus strains, for all nine serotypes and demonstrated the vaccine potential of these strains in type I interferon receptor (IFNAR)-knockout mice. Here, we ev...
Alonso-Padilla J, Loza-Rubio E, Escribano-Romero E, Córdoba L, Cuevas S, Mejía F, Calderón R, Milián F, Travassos Da Rosa A, Weaver SC....West Nile virus (WNV) was probably introduced in southern and northern Mexico from the USA in two independent events. Since then, WNV activity has been reported in several Mexican states bordering the USA and the Gulf of Mexico, but disease manifestations seen there in humans and equids are quite different to those observed in the USA. We have analysed WNV seroprevalence in asymptomatic, unvaccinated equids from two Mexican states where no data had been previously recorded. WNV IgG antibodies were detected in 31.6% (91/288) of equine sera from Chiapas and Puebla states (53.3% and 8.0%, respect...
Science (New York, N.Y.)April 16, 1965
Volume 148, Issue 3668 382-383 doi: 10.1126/science.148.3668.382
BENIRSCHKE K, MALOUF N, LOW RJ, HECK H.The chromosome number of the domestic horse is 2n = 64; different races have the same complement. The chromosomes of two Przewalski's horses (at Catskill Game Farm, New York), presumably ancestral wild horses from Mongolia, are identical: 2n = 66, with more acrocentric and fewer metacentric elements than the chromosomes of the domestic horse. This apparent difference in karyotype may help resolve the questions of "purity" in the relatively few remaining Przewalski's horses. Moreover, these findings are of interest in relation to the apparent fertility of hybrids between these species.
Allen WR, Skidmore JA, Stewart F, Antczak DF.Measurement of the concentrations of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) in the serum of pregnant mares and Jenny donkeys carrying normal intraspecies and hybrid interspecies pregnancies suggested that the production of this hormone may be influenced by parental gene imprinting. Specifically, a differential expression of maternal and paternal genes may control the size and secretory activity of the structures that secrete eCG, the fetal endometrial cups. However, bisection of an interspecies mule embryo followed by transfer of the resulting demi-embryos and other intact mule embryos to horse ...
Selim A, Radwan A, Arnaout F.West Nile Virus (WNV) is a flavivirus, mosquito-borne infection and have public health importance worldwide. WNV infection have highly significant impact on animal and human health. The virus has been detected serologically in Egypt among equids. Therefore, the aim of the present study to investigate the serological situation of WNV among horse in north of Egypt and identification of WNV in vector. The serological survey was conducted on 500 serum samples that collected from horses from four governorates at north of Egypt. The infection rate was non-significant differed between four localities...
Burden FA, Bell N.The domestic donkey is a unique equid species with specific nutritional requirements. This article examines the importance of feeding strategies that mimic the donkey's natural environment using poor nutritional quality fibers and access to browsing materials. The relationship between nutrition and health is examined and practical approaches to the healthy and sick donkey are discussed.
Davoust B, Maquart M, Roqueplo C, Gravier P, Sambou M, Mediannikov O, Leparc-Goffart I.In Africa, infection with West Nile virus (WNV) is frequent but almost always asymptomatic in humans and equids. The aim of this study was to identify whether any other domestic animal living in the same enzootic locality may be the sentinel of WNV circulation. In northwest Senegal, blood samples were collected from 283 adult domestic animals (136 sheep, 64 horses, 29 donkeys, 29 goats, 14 cattle, and 11 dogs), in three localities near Keur Momar Sarr. Each serum was tested for WNV immunoglobulin G using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The prevalence among donkeys, horses, dogs, goats, catt...
Maeda T, Sueur C, Hirata S, Yamamoto S.Behavioural synchrony among individuals is essential for group-living organisms. The functioning of synchronization in a multilevel society, which is a nested assemblage of multiple social levels between many individuals, remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to build a model that explained the synchronization of activity in a multilevel society of feral horses. Multi-agent-based models were used based on four hypotheses: A) horses do not synchronize, B) horses synchronize with any individual in any unit, C) horses synchronize only within units, and D) horses synchronize ac...
Higuchi RG, Wrischnik LA, Oakes E, George M, Tong B, Wilson AC.Sequences are reported for portions of two mitochondrial genes from a domestic horse and a plains zebra and compared to those published for a quagga and a mountain zebra. The extinct quagga and plains zebra sequences are identical at all silent sites, whereas the horse sequence differs from both of them by 11 silent substitutions. Postmortem changes in quagga DNA may account for the two coding substitutions between the quagga and plains zebra sequences. The hypothesis that the closest relative of the quagga is the domestic horse receives no support from these data. From the extent of sequence ...
Taylor WTT, Barrón-Ortiz CI.Despite its transformative impact on human history, the early domestication of the horse (Equus caballus) remains exceedingly difficult to trace in the archaeological record. In recent years, a scientific consensus emerged linking the Botai culture of northern Kazakhstan with the first domestication of horses, based on compelling but largely indirect archaeological evidence. A cornerstone of the archaeological case for domestication at Botai is damage to the dentition commonly linked with the use of bridle mouthpieces, or "bit wear." Recent archaeogenetic analyses reveal, however, that horse r...
Dugdale AH, Curtis GC, Milne E, Harris PA, Argo CM.Excessive accumulations or depletions of body fat have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in horses and ponies. An objective, minimally-invasive method to accurately quantify body fat in living animals is required to aid nutritional management and define welfare/performance limits. Objective: To compare deuterium oxide (D(2) O) dilution-derived estimates of total body water (TBW) and body fat with values obtained by 'gold standard' proximate analysis and cadaver dissection. Objective: D(2) O dilution offers a valid method for the determination of TBW and body fat in equids....
Magnarelli LA, Anderson JF, Shaw E, Post JE, Palka FC.During 1982 and 1985, blood samples from 705 equids were examined for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi. By indirect immunofluorescence staining, IgM and total immunoglobulin (IgM and IgG) antibodies were detected in 37 (5.3%) and 90 (12.8%) serum specimens, respectively. The geometric mean titer for IgM antibody (140.4) was highest during July, whereas total immunoglobulin ranged from 94.1 in October to 338 in May. Eighty-six equids with total immunoglobulin to B burgdorferi lived in areas of Connecticut where the primary tick vector, Ixodes dammini, was present. Of the 86 equids, 9 from Lym...
Funk SM, Guedaoura S, Juras R, Raziq A, Landolsi F, Luís C, Martínez AM, Musa Mayaki A, Mujica F, Oom MDM, Ouragh L, Stranger YM, Vega-Pla JL....STRUCTURE remains the most applied software aimed at recovering the true, but unknown, population structure from microsatellite or other genetic markers. About 30% of structure-based studies could not be reproduced (, 21, 2012, 4925). Here we use a large set of data from 2,323 horses from 93 domestic breeds plus the Przewalski horse, typed at 15 microsatellites, to evaluate how program settings impact the estimation of the optimal number of population clusters that best describe the observed data. Domestic horses are suited as a test case as there is extensive background knowledge on the his...
Hussain MH, Saqib M, Raza F, Muhammad G, Asi MN, Mansoor MK, Saleem M, Jabbar A.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) caused by intraerythrocytic parasites (Theileria equi and Babesia caballi) is an emerging equine disease of world-wide distribution. In Pakistan, the prevalence and incidence of EP are unknown. In order to obtain the first insights into the prevalence of the disease, a total of 430 equids, including 33 mules, 65 horses and 332 donkeys, aging from ≤ 5 to ≥ 10 years of either sex, from five metropolises of Punjab, Pakistan, were serologically tested for the presence of antibodies directed against B. caballi and T. equi, using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorben...
Tozon N, Kramaric P, Kos Kadunc V, Sersa G, Cemazar M.The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of electrochemotherapy (ECT) with cisplatin as a single or adjuvant treatment for sarcoids in equids. Different treatment options with different success rates were proposed. Thirty-one horses and one donkey with different clinical type, size and location of tumours were treated with ECT as a single treatment (18 animals with 52 tumour nodules) or as adjuvant treatment with marginal surgical excision (14 animals with 18 tumour nodules). In animals treated only with ECT with cisplatin, complete response was obtained in 48/52 (92.3 per cent) nodul...
Dubey JP, Bauer C.There is considerable confusion concerning validity of Eimeria species in equids, and endogenous developmental stages and pathogenicity of equid Eimeria. This paper summarizes worldwide information on history, structure, life cycle, pathogenicity, prevalence, epidemiology, and diagnosis of Eimeria infections in equids. The following conclusions were drawn. Although three species of Eimeria; E. solipedum, E. uninugulata, and E. leuckarti were named from horses, only E. leuckarti is a valid species infecting equids, including horses, donkeys and zebra. We consider E. solipedum, E. uninugulata an...
Wutke S, Benecke N, Sandoval-Castellanos E, Döhle HJ, Friederich S, Gonzalez J, Hallsson JH, Hofreiter M, Lõugas L, Magnell O, Morales-Muniz A....Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat colour since prehistoric times; this is especially the case since their domestication in the Caspian steppe in ~3,500 BC. Although we can assume that human preferences were not constant, we have only anecdotal information about how domestic horses were influenced by humans. Our results from genotype analyses show a significant increase in spotted coats in early domestic horses (Copper Age to Iron Age). In contrast, medieval horses carried significantly fewer alleles for these phenotypes, whereas solid phenotypes (i.e., chestnut) became domina...
