Genes in horses are segments of DNA that encode the biological instructions necessary for the development, functioning, and reproduction of equine species. These genetic sequences influence a wide range of traits, including coat color, speed, endurance, and susceptibility to diseases. Genetic research in horses focuses on identifying specific genes and genetic markers associated with these traits, as well as understanding the inheritance patterns and genetic diversity within and between horse breeds. Studies in equine genetics contribute to breeding programs, disease prevention strategies, and the overall understanding of horse biology. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the identification, function, and implications of genes in equine health and performance.
The Journal of heredityJuly 1, 1990
Volume 81, Issue 4 250-256 doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a110987
Woolf CM.The results of a previous study were compatible with the hypothesis that common white facial markings in the Arabian horse have a multifactorial mode of inheritance. I expanded that study to (1) include the legs and therefore obtain insight into the heritability of common white markings in all peripheral regions (face and legs) of the Arabian horse and (2) investigate the influence of sex and the genotypes that produce the bay and chestnut phenotypes on the variation in common white markings. Both studies were based on computerized data obtained from the Arabian Horse Registry of America, Inc....
Adolf GR, Traxler E, Maurer-Fogy I.Equine interferon-beta 1 (EqIFN-beta 1) was purified from extracts of recombinant Escherichia coli by sequential chromatography on hydroxylapatite, anion-, and cation-exchangers. The resulting protein was greater than 98% pure as determined by sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis, gel permeation HPLC, and reverse-phase HPLC. Amino-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed that essentially all molecules contained an additional amino-terminal methionine. The specific antiviral activity of EqIFN-beta 1 determined on equine dermal fibroblasts challenged with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was...
Leigh SE, Stewart F.A 246 bp cDNA clone representing the C-terminal region of the donkey (Equus asinus) chorionic gonadotrophin (CG)-beta subunit was isolated from a placental library. The transcript contained the 3' untranslated region and 42% of the CG-beta subunit coding region (amino acid residues 85-146 of the mature peptide). Comparison of the deduced donkey amino acid sequence with the published horse CG-beta subunit protein sequence (where they overlapped) revealed an overall homology of 61%. However, most of the differences were in the C-terminal extension, which is thought not to be important for gonado...
van den Heuvel LP, van den Born J, Veerkamp JH, Janssen GH, van de Velden TJ, Monnens LA, Schröder CH, Berden JH.1. Proteoglycans extracted from human and equine glomerular basement membranes (GBM) were purified by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. 2. The glycoconjugates had an apparent molecular mass of 200-400 kDa and consisted of 75% protein and 25% glycosaminoglycan. Glycosidase and HNO2 treatment and the amino sugar and sulfate composition of both proteoglycan preparations identified heparan sulfate (HS) as the predominant saccharide chain. 3. Hydrolysis with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid yielded comparable core proteins with molecular masses of ca 160 and 120 kDa. 4. The HS chains had...
Derse D, Dorn P, DaSilva L, Martarano L.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) encodes a tat gene which is closely related to the trans-activators encoded by the human and simian immunodeficiency viruses. Nucleotide sequence analysis of EIAV cDNA clones revealed that the tat message is composed of three exons; the first two encode tat and the third may encode rev.. Interestingly, EIAV tat translation is initiated at a non-AUG codon in the first exon of the message, perhaps allowing an additional level of gene regulation. The deduced amino acid sequence of EIAV tat, combined with functional analyses of tat cDNAs in transfected cells, ...
Watanabe K, Sohara T, Takeda M, Ueno K, Suzumura N, Rokurouda Y, Rokurouda I, Yamamoto S.Each of five genetic variants of horse serum transferrin (Tf), D, F, H, O, and R, was separated into two bands by polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing (PAGIEF). The more acidic band, termed component a, was more abundant than the other one, termed component b, in all variants. Components a and b of TFO variant were immunologically indistinguishable from each other by double immunodiffusion test. Determination of the content ratio of component a to component b in each variant revealed that the variants were classified into two groups: one group (D, F, and H) had a relatively high ratio withi...
Grundy FJ, Baumann RP, O'Callaghan DJ.The immediate early (IE) proteins of herpesviruses are important regulatory factors which control the expression of genes at the transcriptional level. We report the DNA sequence of the immediate early gene of the alphaherpesvirus equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). This sequence is shown to be extremely rich in guanine and cytosine, resulting in a highly biased codon usage. The IE gene region possesses 38 open reading frames (ORFs) greater than 300 bp in length, 11 of which have coding regions of at least 100 amino acids (aa) following potential translation initiator codons. The largest ORF co...
Gray WL, Yalamanchili R, Raengsakulrach B, Baumann RP, Staczek J, O'Callaghan DJ.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) preparations enriched in defective interfering particles (DIPs) have previously been demonstrated to mediate the coestablishment of persistent infection and oncogenic transformation in primary hamster embryo fibroblasts. In this study, it was demonstrated that infection of a rabbit kidney (RK) cell line with EHV-1 DIP-enriched preparations also results in the establishment of persistent infection. Viral transcription was characterized in RK cells infected with DIP-enriched stocks and compared to viral transcription in RK cells infected with standard (STD) EHV-...
Taylor MA, Hunt KR.The term 'anthelmintic drug resistance' describes the heritable ability of some nematode parasites to survive treatment with anthelmintic drugs at the recommended therapeutic dose levels. Genes for resistance appear to be present in many of the important pathogenic nematodes of ruminants and horses. Under intensive management systems, where heavy reliance is placed on anthelmintic drugs for worm control, the selection of resistant genotypes may result in increased reports of the drugs failing to control the nematode populations against which they are aimed. Anthelmintic resistance has been rep...
Kano I, Nagai F, Satoh K, Ushiyama K, Nakao T, Kano K.Genomic DNA for Na,K-ATPase alpha 1 subunit was obtained from libraries of horse kidney genomic DNA in Charon 4A and in EMBL3 bacteriophages by screening with the full sized cDNA probe of the alpha 1 subunit of rat Na,K-ATPase as probe. The gene spans 30 kb and consists of 23 exons and 22 intervening sequences. Intron-exon boundaries were analyzed. The protein-coding nucleotide sequence encodes 1016 amino acids with an Mr of 112,264. The putative amino acid sequence of horse alpha 1 is 96-97% homologous to those of other mammalian species.
The Journal of heredityMay 1, 1989
Volume 80, Issue 3 173-178 doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a110831
Woolf CM.The hypothesis was tested that white facial markings in the Arabian horse show multifactorial inheritance. The hypothesis assumes that (1) alleles at different loci acting in a cumulative manner influence the variation in white facial markings, (2) the amount of whiteness is correlated with the number of genes, and (3) interacting nongenetic factors influence the variation. The study was based on computerized data obtained from the Arabian Horse Registry of America, Inc. The facial region was divided into five areas, and each horse was given a score according to the number of areas with a whit...
Patton S, Huston GE, Jenness R, Vaucher Y.Milk fat globules are secreted by envelopment in plasma membrane of the lactating cell. SDS-gel electrophoresis of proteins from this membrane has revealed differences between milk donors in two mucin-like glycoproteins. One of these glycoproteins resolves in 3% acrylamide stacking gel and the other in 4% running gel. The proteins vary in number of bands (one or two) and band mobilities. This polymorphism arises, at least in part, from expression of hypervariable genes. In this study, gel electrophoretic evidence of similar polymorphism in glycoproteins from cow, chimpanzee, horse and human mi...
Posnett ES, Ambrosio RE.This report describes DNA probes for the identification of Babesia equi. A genomic library of B. equi was constructed in pUC13. Several clones were identified that hybridized strongly to B. equi DNA. Clone pBE33 hybridized specifically to B. equi DNA and did not hybridize to horse DNA nor to DNA from Babesia caballi, Babesia bovis or Babesia bigemina. Two subclones of pBE33 (pSB20 and pEH21) containing B. equi repetitive sequences, could detect 0.49 ng and 0.97 ng B. equi DNA, respectively.
Pirhonen A, Linnala-Kankkunen A, Mäenpää PH.Protamine 1 and two protamine 2 variants were isolated from stallion sperm and separated by acetic acid-urea gel electrophoresis. After electroblotting onto polyvinyldifluoride filters, their amino-terminal amino acid sequences were determined by pulse-liquid peptide sequencing. The sequences of the two protamine 2 variants are homologous but slightly different in length and amino acid composition and indicate for the first time the existence of two different genes for this protamine species.
Saudek V, Atkinson RA, Williams RJ, Ramponi G.It has been proposed that combination of intraresidue, sequential and longer range nuclear Overhauser enhancements occurring in 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of protein chains folded in a helix show a regular characteristic pattern. As a test case the spectra of horse muscle acylphosphatase were searched for this pattern together with other typical signs of a helical conformation (i.e. chemical shift, coupling constants and slow 2H-H exchange). Two amino acid sequences complying with these requirements were found. Just a few amino acid spin system assignments were then sufficient to lo...
Andersson-Eklund L, Andersson L, Sandberg K.A study was carried out to attempt to explain the basis of the association between the Es locus and starting proportion in Swedish Trotters which had been observed previously. The effect of Es genotype on starting proportion has diminished among horses born in the late 1970s. There are indications that the incidence of leg lesions varies between Es genotypes. If this is true, it is possible that the decreasing effect of the Es locus on starting proportion is due to the environmental changes which have been made at race tracks in the early 1980s to reduce the strain on the legs of the trotters....
Juneja RK, Gahne B, Lukka M, Ehnholm C.By using immunoblotting with antiserum specific to human plasma apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV), a previously reported polymorphic plasma protein of dogs viz postalbumin-2 (Pa2) and one of horses viz serum protein 2 (SP2), were identified as apoA-IV of these species. This along with earlier published results implied that: (1) both dog and horse show a high degree of polymorphism at the APOA4 locus with three common alleles in each of the two species; and (2) apoA-IV phenotyping in these two species can be done by analysing plasma/serum samples by a simple method of two-dimensional electrophoresi...
Robertson GR, Whalley JM.We have identified the equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) thymidine kinase gene (TK) by DNA-mediated transformation and by DNA sequencing. Alignment of the amino acid sequence of the EHV-1 TK with the TKs from 3 other herpesviruses revealed regions of homology, some of which correspond to the previously identified substrate binding sites, while others have as yet, no assigned function. In particular, the strict conservation of an aspartate within the proposed nucleoside binding site suggests a role in ATP binding for this residue. Comparison of 5 herpes TKs with the thymidylate kinase of yeast revea...
Wood TC, White KL, Thompson DL, Garza F.This experiment was designed (1) to determine if H-Y antigen is expressed on the cell surface of pre-implantation equine blastocyst stage embryos, (2) if so, to identify differences in expression on inner cell mass (ICM) verses trophectoderm cells and (3) to evaluate whether the detection of this glycoprotein would aid in the identification of equine embryonic sex. A total of 33 blastocyst stage horse embryos were collected 6-7 days post-ovulation by trans-cervical flush and were immediately evaluated for the presence of H-Y antigen. Additionally, 17 embryos, collected at similar stages and cu...
Dorn PL, Derse D.Deletion analysis of the equine infectious anemia virus long terminal repeat revealed that sequences responsive to virus-specific transactivation are located within the region spanning the transcriptional start site (-31 to +22). In addition, an active exon of a trans-acting factor (tat) was identified downstream of pol and overlapping env (nucleotides 5264 to 5461). Activation by tat is accompanied by an increase in the steady-state levels of mRNA directed by the equine infectious anemia virus long terminal repeat.
Gopal D, Wilson GS, Earl RA, Cusanovich MA.The ion binding properties of horse, bovine, and tuna cytochrome c (both oxidized and reduced) have been measured using a combination of ultrafiltration, neutron activation, and ion chromatography. The ions investigated were chloride, phosphate, and Tris-cacodylate. Ion chromatography and neutron activation analysis techniques were employed to determine the concentration of free anions. Binding constants are obtained from modified Scatchard plots (in the range of 10-2000 M-1). The redox potentials for cytochrome c at different ionic strengths, pH 7.0, have been determined. In this paper we rep...
Gelderblom WC, Jaskiewicz K, Marasas WF, Thiel PG, Horak RM, Vleggaar R, Kriek NP.Cultures on corn of Fusarium moniliforme MRC 826 are known to cause leukoencephalomalacia in horses and to be toxic and hepatocarcinogenic in rats. Culture material of this F. moniliforme isolate has also been shown to exhibit cancer-promoting activity in a short-term cancer initiation-promotion bioassay with diethylnitrosamine-initiated rats and the induction of gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase-positive (GGT+) foci as an endpoint after 4 weeks of promotion. This bioassay was used as a monitoring system to isolate cancer-promoting compounds from cultures of F. moniliforme MRC 826. Culture materia...
Bowling AT, Clark RS.Data from 5934 matings of American Standardbred horses provided evidence for an excess of heterozygotes at the albumin locus, statistically significant (P less than 0.01) in one mating class (A1-AB stallions x Al-A dams), primarily attributed to an excess of heterozygotes among male offspring.
Sponenberg DP, Ito S, Eng LA, Schwink K.Hair samples of various colors of horses were analyzed for content of both eumelanin and pheomelanin by a procedure using high performance liquid chromatography. The results are in accord with generally accepted genetic hypotheses accounting for the various colors. However, the results support the hypothesis that the chestnut/sorrel group of colors is conditioned by the extension locus, not the brown locus. The results also indicate that the brown locus is a likely contributor to some rare color phenotypes.
Bowling AT, Wictum E.A fourth allele at the horse erythrocyte phosphohexose isomerase (Phi) locus was proposed to account for phenotypes observed after starch gel electrophoresis and enzymatic staining of red cell lysates from American Saddlebred and Tennessee Walking Horse breeds. The gene was rare, having an estimated frequency of 0.009 in 949 Saddlebreds tested.
Bowling AT, Scott AM, Flint J, Clegg JB.Four minor haplotypes that produce abnormal haemoglobin phenotypes in horses have been characterized. Two of them, AIIb and V, are copy number variants with, respectively, one and three alpha genes instead of the normal complement of two. The AIIa and C haplotypes, on the other hand, each have two alpha genes but, as a result of probable gene conversions, they now encode identical, though haplotype specific, globins. Two out of 60 unrelated and phenotypically normal horses studied had an unusual triplicated rearrangement in the embryonic zeta-gene locus. Each of these variants appears to have ...
Ansari HA, Hediger R, Fries R, Stranzinger G.The first gene assignment to a horse chromosome is reported for equine leucocyte antigen (ELA), the major histocompatibility complex of the horse. A cloned DNA sequence derived from a class I gene of the porcine major histocompatibility complex was used as a probe for an in situ hybridization experiment. We present the regional localization of ELA, using this sequence, to equine chromosome 20q14-q22.
Weitkamp LR, MacCluer JW, Guttormsen SA, King RH.The transmission ratios of alleles at 12 protein marker loci were computed individually for American Standardbred stallions in a genealogy of 5392 phenotyped horses. Over all loci there was significant gene transmission distortion for trotting stallions (p = 0.0019) but not for pacing stallions (p = 0.99). The transmission distortion was due to sire-specific effects (p = 0.0024) and not to increased transmission of one or the other allele of a given heterozygous genotype (p = 0.21). Individual-specific, non-random transmission of homologous chromosomes may provide a mechanism for selection to ...
Bowling AT, Ewalt-Evans R.Family data are presented for a new allele (Aabdg) in the A system of horse erythrocyte alloantigens which includes factors Aa and Ab traditionally thought to be products of allelic genes. Evidence for incorrect assignment of the codominant factor Ae in the presence of Ab and Ac and the absence of Aa is discussed.
Khatibzadeh SM, Menarim BC, Nichols AEC, Werre SR, Dahlgren LA.Extracellular matrix (ECM) is responsible for tendon strength and elasticity. Healed tendon ECM lacks structural integrity, leading to reinjury. Porcine urinary bladder matrix (UBM) provides a scaffold and source of bioactive proteins to improve tissue healing, but has received limited attention for treating tendon injuries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of UBM to induce matrix organization and tenogenesis using a novel in vitro model. We hypothesized that addition of UBM to tendon ECM hydrogels would improve matrix organization and cell differentiation. Hydrogels se...
Chanter N, Collin N, Holmes N, Binns M, Mumford J.The 16S-23S RNA gene intergenic spacers of isolates of Streptococcus equi (n = 5), S. zooepidemicus (n = 5), S. equisimilis (n = 3) and S. dysgalactiae (n = 2) were sequenced and compared. There were distinct regions within the spacer, arranged in the order 1-9 for all S. equi and one S. zooepidemicus isolate and 1,2 and 4-9 for the remaining isolates. Region 4 was identical to the tRNA(ala) gene found in the 16S-23S intergenic spacers of other streptococci. Regions 1, 5, 6 and 7 had distinct variations, each conserved in different isolates. However, amongst the intergenic spacers there were d...
Alshahrani SH, Alameri AA, Kahar F, Alexis Ramírez-Coronel A, Fadhel Obaid R, Alsaikhan F, Zabibah RS, Qasim QA, Altalbawy FMA, Fakri Mustafa Y....Recently in vivo and in vitro studies have provided evidence establishing the significance of microRNAs (miRNAs) in both physiological and pathological conditions. In this regard, the role of miRNA-128 (miR-128) in health and diseases has been found, and its critical regulatory role in the context of some viral diseases has been recently identified. For instance, it has been found that miR-128 can serve as an antiviral mediator and significantly limit the replication and dissemination of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Besides, it has been noted that poliovirus receptor-related 4 ...
Barshick MR, Gonzalez ML, Busse NI, Helsel PJ, Johnson SE.Satellite cell (SC) activation is defined as the time frame during which the stem cell becomes poised to reenter G1 of the cell cycle. The growth factors and events leading to full mitotic activation in equine SCs remain largely unknown. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) are sequentially transcribed during the muscle repair and recovery period following strenuous exercise in adult horses. Expression of IGF-I occurs within 24 h of the postexercise recovery period suggesting it may affect early SC actions. As a first step,...
Forsell PK, Lindberg A, Karlsson S, Lindgren JA, Claesson HE.It has been demonstrated that equine neutrophils, but not eosinophils, require exogenous arachidonic acid for calcium ionophore A23187-induced leukotriene synthesis. Because cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) plays an essential role in leukotriene formation in leukocytes, we investigated the presence of a functional cPLA(2) in equine neutrophils. To determine whether cPLA(2) from neutrophils was catalytically active, we purified the enzyme >6,500 fold with 3% recovery from equine neutrophils. The full-length cDNA sequence encoded a 749-amino acid protein. The deduced amino acid sequence...
Hudgens E, Tompkins D, Boyd P, Lunney JK, Horohov D, Baldwin CL.This report describes the cloning and characterization of expressed gene sequences of bovine, equine, and swine CXCL9 from RNA obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and other tissues. The bovine coding region was 378 nucleotides in length, while the equine and swine coding regions were 381 nucleotides. Mapping showed that all three sequences were coded for in four exons in the genome, as are the human and mouse genes. The bovine, equine, and swine coding regions shared 83%, 86%, and 84% homology with human CXCL9, respectively, and all three were 74% homologous with mouse CXCL...
Gomide ACP, de Sá PG, Cavalcante ALQ, de Jesus Sousa T, Gomes LGR, Ramos RTJ, Azevedo V, Silva A, Folador ARC.Transcriptome studies on Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis have recently contributed to the understanding about this microorganism's survival mechanisms in various hostile conditions. The gene expression profile of the C. pseudotuberculosis strain 1002 (Ovis biovar), has revealed genes that are possible candidates responsible for its maintenance in adverse environments, such as those found in the host. In another strain of this bacterium, 258 (Equi biovar), a high temperature condition was simulated, in order to verify which genes are responsible for promoting the persistence of the bacterium...
Fousse SL, Stern JA.There have been some advances in understanding the genetic contribution to ventricular septal defects in Arabians, sudden death in racehorses, and atrial fibrillation in racehorses. No genetic analyses have been published for aortic rupture in Friesians or atrioventricular block in donkeys despite strong evidence for a genetic cause. To date, no genetic mutation has been identified for any equid cardiac disease. With the advancement of genetic tools and resources, we are moving closer to discoveries that may explain the heritable basis of inherited equid cardiac disease.
Hamann H, Jude R, Sieme H, Mertens U, Töpfer-Petersen E, Distl O, Leeb T.Fertility of stallions is of high economic importance, especially for large breeding organisations and studs. Breeding schemes with respect to fertility traits and selection of stallions at an early stage may be improved by including molecular genetic markers associated with traits. The genes coding for equine cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISPs) are promising candidate genes because previous studies have shown that CRISPs play a role in the fertilising ability of male animals. We have previously characterised the three equine CRISP genes and identified a non-synonymous polymorphism in th...
Degroote RL, Hauck SM, Treutlein G, Amann B, Fröhlich KJ, Kremmer E, Merl J, Stangassinger M, Ueffing M, Deeg CA.Autoimmune uveitis is characterized by crossing of blood-retinal barrier (BRB) by autoaggressive immune cells. Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a valuable spontaneous model for autoimmune uveitis and analyses of differentially expressed proteins in ERU unraveled changed protein clusters in target tissues and immune system. Healthy eyes are devoid of leukocytes. In ERU, however, leukocytes enter the inner eye and subsequently destroy it. Molecular mechanisms enabling cell migration through BRB still remain elusive. Previously, we detected decreased talin 1 expression in blood-derived granulocy...
Wong K, van der Weyden L, Schott CR, Foote A, Constantino-Casas F, Smith S, Dobson JM, Murchison EP, Wu H, Yeh I, Fullen DR, Joseph N, Bastian BC....Mucosal melanoma is a rare and poorly characterized subtype of human melanoma. Here we perform a cross-species analysis by sequencing tumor-germline pairs from 46 primary human muscosal, 65 primary canine oral and 28 primary equine melanoma cases from mucosal sites. Analysis of these data reveals recurrently mutated driver genes shared between species such as NRAS, FAT4, PTPRJ, TP53 and PTEN, and pathogenic germline alleles of BRCA1, BRCA2 and TP53. We identify a UV mutation signature in a small number of samples, including human cases from the lip and nasal mucosa. A cross-species comparative...
Liu S, Lian S, Yang Y, Fu C, Ma H, Xiong Z, Ling Y, Zhao C.An experiment was conducted to study the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 5'-untranslated regions (5'-UTR) of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) genes and the serum eCG levels. Methods: SNPs in 5'-UTR of eCG genes were screened across 10 horse breeds, including 7 Chinese indigenous breeds and 3 imported breeds using iPLEX chemistry, and the association between the serum eCG levels of 174 pregnant Da'an mares and their serum eCG levels (determined with ELISA) was analyzed. Results: Four SNPs were identified in the 5'-UTR of the eCGα gene, and one of them was u...
Wongtawan T, Narinthorn R, Sontigun N, Sansamur C, Petcharat Y, Fungwithaya P, Saengsawang P, Blackall PJ, Thomrongsuwannakij T.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant threat to global health and development. Inappropriate antimicrobial drug use in animals cause AMR, and most studies focus on livestock because of the widespread use of antimicrobial medicines. There is a lack of studies on sports animals and AMR issues. This study aimed to characterize the AMR profile of E. coli found in sports animals (fighting cocks, fighting bulls, and sport horses) and soils from their environment. Unassigned: Bacterial isolation and identification were conducted to identify E. coli isolates recovered from fresh feces that w...
Nohejl T, Palkovicova J, Nesporova K, Valcek A, Lausova J, Dolejska M.The operon encoding short-chain fructooligosaccharide (scFOS) utilization enables bacteria of the family to grow and be sustained in environments where they would struggle to survive. Despite several cases of the detection of the operon in isolates of avian and equine origins, its global distribution in bacterial genomes remains unknown. The presence of the plasmid-harbored operon among resistant bacteria may promote the spread of antibiotic resistance. A collection of 11,538 antimicrobial-resistant isolates from various sources was screened for the gene encoding the scFOS transporter. O...
Yu J, Wang Z, Wang F, Yang G, Cheng J, Ji C, Li M, Liu B, Wang Y, Dang R.Testicular development and spermatogenesis are tightly regulated by the number of genes and noncoding genes, and mRNAs and lncRNAs play vital roles in regulating posttranscriptional gene expression. However, mRNAs and lncRNAs have not been systematically identified in the testes of donkeys. In this study, mRNA and lncRNA expression profiles in the testes of DeZhou donkeys between 2 months and 2 years of age were comprehensively analysed by RNA sequencing. We identified 56,605 lncRNAs and 61,857 mRNAs by gene expression analysis, and 21,845 lncRNAs (p < .05) and 14,109 mRNAs (p < .0...
Schauer M, Kleinwort KJH, Degroote RL, Wiedemann C, Kremmer E, Hauck SM, Deeg CA.The GTP-binding protein septin 7 is involved in various cellular processes, including cytoskeleton organization, migration and the regulation of cell shape. Septin 7 function in lymphocytes, however, is poorly characterized. Since the intracellular signaling role of septin 7 is dependent on its interaction network, interaction proteomics was applied to attain novel knowledge about septin 7 function in hematopoietic cells. Our previous finding of decreased septin 7 expression in blood-derived lymphocytes in ERU, a spontaneous animal model for autoimmune uveitis in man, extended the role of sept...
Bengtsson RJ, Wee BA, Yebra G, Bacigalupe R, Watson E, Guedes RMC, Jacobson M, Stadejek T, Archibald AL, Fitzgerald JR, Ait-Ali T.Lawsonia intracellularis is a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium that is the aetiological agent of proliferative enteropathy (PE), a common intestinal disease of major economic importance in pigs and other animal species. To date, progress in understanding the biology of L. intracellularis for improved disease control has been hampered by the inability to culture the organism in vitro. In particular, our understanding of the genomic diversity and population structure of clinical L. intercellularis is very limited. Here, we utilized a metagenomic shotgun approach to directly sequenc...
Moro LN, Viale DL, Bastón JI, Arnold V, Suvá M, Wiedenmann E, Olguín M, Miriuka S, Vichera G.The application of new technologies for gene editing in horses may allow the generation of improved sportive individuals. Here, we aimed to knock out the myostatin gene (MSTN), a negative regulator of muscle mass development, using CRISPR/Cas9 and to generate edited embryos for the first time in horses. We nucleofected horse fetal fibroblasts with 1, 2 or 5 µg of 2 different gRNA/Cas9 plasmids targeting the first exon of MSTN. We observed that increasing plasmid concentrations improved mutation efficiency. The average efficiency was 63.6% for gRNA1 (14/22 edited clonal cell lines) and 96.2% ...
Kato H, Youn HY, Ohashi T, Watari T, Goitsuka R, Tsujimoto H, Hasegawa A.Using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated equine peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cDNA as a template, we performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with equine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) specific primers. Electrophoresis of the PCR product on agarose gel revealed an additional smaller fragment that hybridized with an equine IL-1 beta cDNA probe. Sequencing of this fragment demonstrated that it was shorter than normal equine IL-1 beta cDNA by 162 nucleotides, which corresponded to exon 5 of the human and murine IL-1 beta genes. The deletion of 162 nucleotides did not re...
Willmann C, Budik S, Walter I, Aurich C.A positive influence of altrenogest treatment on a retarded development of the conceptus around the beginning of placentation in mares older than 8 years could be recently demonstrated. In the present study, effects of altrenogest treatment in early-pregnant mares on conceptus development and expression of endometrial and embryonic genes were investigated. Genes were chosen according to a possible involvement in embryo-maternal interaction and embryonic development in the equine species. Mares were treated with altrenogest (0.044 mg/kg bodyweight) or sunflower oil (placebo) from day 5 to 11 af...
Suzuki Y, Takai S, Kubota H, Hasegawa N, Ito S, Yabuuchi Y, Sasaki Y, van Duijkeren E, Kakuda T.Rhodococcus equiis the causative agent of pyogenic pneumonia in foals, and a virulence-associated protein A (VapA) encoded on the pVAPA virulence plasmid is important for its pathogenicity. In this study, we analyzed the virulence of R. equi strain U19, originally isolated in the Netherlands in 1997 and the genetic characteristics of the pVAPA_U19 plasmid. U19 expressed VapA that was regulated by temperature and pH and underwent significant intracellular proliferation in macrophages. The restriction fragment length polymorphism of pVAPA_U19 digested with EcoRI was similar to that of pREAT701 (...
Park HB, Marklund S, Jeon JT, Mickelson JR, Valberg SJ, Sandberg K, Andersson L.The PRKAG3 gene encodes a muscle-specific isoform of the regulatory gamma subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). A major part of the coding PRKAG3 sequence was isolated from horse muscle cDNA using reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR analysis. Horse-specific primers were used to amplify genomic fragments containing 12 exons. Comparative sequence analysis of horse, pig, mouse, human, Fugu, and zebrafish was performed to establish the exon/intron organization of horse PRKAG3 and to study the homology among different isoforms of AMPK gamma genes in vertebrates. The results showed conclusively...
Uchida M, Addai-Arhin S, Ishibashi H, Hirano M, Fukushima S, Ishibashi Y, Tominaga N, Arizono K.Equine estrogens (EQs) are steroidal hormones isolated from the urine of pregnant mares and are used in the formulation of human medications. This study initially investigated the embryonic developmental toxicity of equilin (Eq) and equilenin (Eqn) in medaka (Oryzias latipes). Malformations were observed in embryos exposed to nominal concentrations of 1 and 10 mg/L of Eq and Eqn. Delayed hatching was observed at 1 mg/L of Eq. To further investigate the molecular mechanism of developmental toxicity caused by Eq and Eqn, transcriptome and bioinformatics analyses were performed. Among 2016 and ...
Vinogradov E, MacLean LL, Brooks BW, Lutze-Wallace C, Perry MB.Taylorella equigenitalis is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes venereally transmitted contagious equine metritis (CEM), and its identification and differentiation from other bacteria and Taylorella species is an important requirement for the control of CEM infection. Based on the results of NMR and MS analysis, the antigenic O-polysaccharide (O-PS) component of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced by the type strain T. equigenitalis (ATCC 35865) was found to be a linear polymer composed of a repeating disaccharide unit, containing partially amidated 2,3-diacetamido-2,3-dideoxy-alpha-L-gulu...
Song X, Jiang H, Lv P, Cui K, Liu Q, Yin S, Liu H, Li Z.Oocyte in vitro maturation is necessary for the study and application of animal-assisted reproduction technology in animal reproduction and breeding. The comprehensive transcriptional profile of equine oocyte maturated in vitro has not been fully mined yet, which makes many key transcriptional events still unidentified. Here, Smart-seq2 was performed to analyse the gene expression pattern and the underlying regulatory mechanism of horse germinal vesicle (GV) and in vitro metaphase II (MII) oocytes. The results showed that 6402 genes (2640 up-regulated and 3762 down-regulated in MII samples com...
The Journal of heredityAugust 4, 2021
Volume 112, Issue 5 443-446 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esab037
Hammons V, Ribeiro L, Munyard K, Sadeghi R, Miller D, Antczak D, Brooks SA.Chestnut coat color in horses is determined by a missense mutation within the MC1R gene. However, the intensity of the chestnut color can vary widely within individuals possessing this genotype. Here, we investigated this variation using standardized photographs of 96 horses. Each horse was ranked lightest to darkest within the cohort for phenotype by 3 blinded observers. A genome-wide association study utilizing the relative shade ranking as the phenotype and using 268 487 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped using the Affymetrix Equine 670k array identified a single significantly...
Johannessen MK, Skretting G, Ytrehus B, Røed KH.Endochondral bone formation is an important process in development and growth of the skeleton; still many of the mechanisms of growth cartilage remain unknown. The aim of this study was to identify genes specifically expressed in growth cartilage by constructing a subtraction cDNA library of the articular-epiphyseal cartilage complex from neonatal foal. Two hundred and eighty-four differently expressed clones, representing five novel and 37 known genes, were detected by subtraction hybridization. The tissue specificity of these genes was verified by reverse Northern analysis, and tissue distri...
Gupta SK.Mammalian zona pellucida (ZP) is composed of three to four glycoproteins, which plays an important role during fertilization. Mutations in the genes encoding zona proteins are reported in women with empty follicle syndrome, degenerated oocytes and those with an abnormal or no ZP further emphasizing their relevance during fertility. Immunization with either native or recombinant ZP glycoproteins/proteins leads to curtailment of fertility in various animal species. Observed infertility is frequently associated with ovarian pathology characterized by follicular atresia and degenerative changes in...
Pathak A, Gulati BR, Maan S, Mor S, Kumar D, Soman R, Punia S, Chaudhary D, Khurana SK.Rotaviruses are the most common viral agents associated with foal diarrhea. Between 2014 and 2017, the annual prevalence of rotavirus in diarrheic foals ranged between 18 and 28% in Haryana (India). Whole-genome sequencing of two equine rotavirus A (ERVA) isolates (RVA/Horse-wt/IND/ERV4/2017 and RVA/Horse-wt/IND/ERV6/2017) was carried out to determine the genotypic constellations (GCs) of ERVAs. The GCs of both the isolates were G3-P[3]-I8-R3-C3-M3-A9-N3-T3-E3-H6, a unique combination reported for ERVAs so far. Both the isolates carried VP6 of genotype I8, previously unreported from equines. U...
Lannergård J, Frykberg L, Guss B.Streptococcus equi subspecies equi is an important horse pathogenic bacterium causing a serious disease called strangles. Using bioinformatics we identified a gene denoted cne (gene encoding collagen-binding protein from S. equi) coding for a novel potential virulence factor of this species called protein CNE. The protein is composed of 657 amino acids and has the typical features found in cell surface-anchored proteins in Gram-positive bacteria. CNE displays amino acid sequence similarities to the previously well-studied collagen-binding protein CNA from Staphylococcus aureus, a proven virule...
