Genetics in horses encompasses the study of hereditary traits and the genetic makeup that influences various characteristics and health conditions in equine populations. This field involves the analysis of genes and their functions, inheritance patterns, and the impact of genetic variations on traits such as coat color, performance ability, and susceptibility to diseases. Research in equine genetics employs techniques such as genome mapping, sequencing, and genetic testing to identify specific genes and mutations associated with these traits. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the genetic basis of equine traits, the methodologies used in genetic research, and the implications for breeding, health management, and conservation of horse breeds.
Amaral TM, Ramos PDCA, Silva RA, Ferreira MM, Filho EDS.In the context of Brazilian equestrian sports, the Quarter Horse (QH) breed has the third largest population of registered horses and stands out for its numerous abilities in various disciplines. Studies on equine health and athletic performance parameters are scarce, especially involving molecular markers. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the differential expression of microRNAs and target genes involved in metabolic pathways of exercise and to assess hematological and clinical changes in 10 horses (Equus caballus Linnaeus) of the QH breed under different physiological conditions. H...
Jafari H, Abebe BK, Cong L, Ahmed Z, Zhaofei W, Sun M, Muhatai G, Chuzhao L, Dang R.The domestication and selective breeding of horses have profoundly influenced the emergence of adaptive traits and stress resistance mechanisms, shaping modern equine populations. This comprehensive review examines the genomic foundations of these traits, emphasizing recent advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies and bioinformatics. These tools have elucidated the genetic underpinnings of key characteristics such as endurance, speed, metabolic efficiency, and disease resistance. Importantly, the review identifies and connects gene variants associated with thermoregulation, immu...
Santana ML, Bignardi AB, Faria RAS, Silva JAIV.Thermal load is a major welfare and performance concern for athletic horses, as physical exertion increases internal heat production. Although several phenotypic strategies have been developed to mitigate its effects, the genetic basis of thermal tolerance in horses remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to (1) evaluate the influence of thermal indices on the racing performance of Brazilian Quarter Horses, and (2) investigate the genetic basis of thermal tolerance through the estimation of genetic parameters across temperature gradients. We analyzed 21,857 racing-time (RT) records from 5...
Horses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, nati...
Bazvand B, Rashidi A, Zandi MB, Moradi MH, Rostamzadeh J, Mahmoudi P.Iran is home to genetically distinct horse breeds shaped by geography and history. Breeds like the Kurdish, Caspian pony, and Turkmen reflect deep-rooted diversity and unique adaptive traits. Objective: This study aimed to identify genomic regions exhibiting signatures of selection and to detect candidate genes and biological pathways related to body size that may influence performance in various Iranian and exotic horse breeds. Methods: Samples were collected from three Iranian native breeds (Caspian pony, Turkmen, and Kurdish) and three exotic breeds (Fell pony, Arabian, and Akhal-Teke) orig...
Corbally AF, Mulligan FJ, Sweeney T, Fahey AG.This study examines the associations between linearly scored phenotypic traits and auction sales prices of young event horses in Ireland, aiming to identify key traits influencing market value. Data from 307 horses sold at public auctions (2022-2023) were analysed using regression analysis, binary optimisation, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Regression identified Head-neck Connection, Quality of Legs, Walk length of Stride, and Scope as highly significant predictors of sales price ( < 0.001), with Length of Croup, Trot Elasticity, Trot Balance, and Take-off Direction also significa...
Gelinder Viklund Ã…, Blom Y, Eriksson S.The breeding goal of the Swedish Warmblood horse (SWB) is to produce internationally competitive horses in dressage and show jumping. In the current genetic evaluation, breeding values are estimated in multiple-trait animal models where competition performance is the target trait and results from two different young horse tests serve as indicator traits. However, preselection of horses, both for young horse tests and for competitions, is not considered in the current evaluation. The overall aim of this study was to analyse the all-or-none trait start status, in competition and in young horse t...
Wubulikasimu M, Liu J, Yao X, Meng J, Wang J, Zeng Y, Li L, Ren W.Kazakh horses, a distinguished breed in China known for their dual-purpose use in milk and meat production, exhibit early maturation, tolerance to coarse feeding, and strong resistance to environmental stress. However, the gene expression differences across various muscle tissues of Kazakh horses have yet to be elucidated. In this study, transcriptomic sequencing was performed on muscle tissues from three anatomical regions of Kazakh horses, including the longissimus dorsi (Gb), external oblique (Gf), and diaphragm (Gg) muscles. In the Gb and Gf groups, 426 differentially expressed genes (DEGs...
Lu Z, Wen M, Yao X, Meng J, Wang J, Zeng Y, Li L, Ren W.The reproductive performance of horses is closely associated with testicular development, which involves a complex network of gene regulation. The molecular mechanisms underlying the reproductive traits of Kazakh horses are yet to be fully understood. In this study, transcriptomic analysis was performed on testicular tissues from Kazakh horses at different developmental stages using whole-transcriptome sequencing, aiming to investigate differential gene expression and regulatory mechanisms during testicular development. The results revealed significant differential expression of 7678 mRNAs, in...
Ghielmetti G, Stevens MJA, Schmitt S, Kittl S, Cernela N, Biggel M, Schulthess B, Keller PM, Schrenzel J, Stephan R.Rhodococcus equi is an intracellular bacterial pathogen that can cause infections in various hosts, including humans and animals. Host-associated virulence plasmids have been identified as key contributors to the pathogenicity of R. equi and potentially play a role in determining the host tropism of the bacteria. The investigation of additional clinical and environmental isolates is likely to provide novel insights into the population structure, infection pathways, and drug resistance of this important pathogen. We combined whole-genome sequencing and antimicrobial-susceptibility testing of 37...
McGlennon AA, Verheyen KL, Newton JR, van Tonder A, Wilson H, Parkhill J, de Brauwere N, Frosth S, Waller AS.Strangles (Streptococcus equi infection) remains endemic in the UK, with ~300 laboratory diagnoses annually. Sub-clinically infected long-term carriers are considered a key driver of endemicity. Analysing genomes of circulating strains could provide valuable transmission insights of this pathogen. Objective: To determine the population structure and diversity of UK S. equi isolates and to model transmission using epidemiological and whole genome sequencing data. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional epidemiological and genomic surveillance. Methods: A dated phylogenetic tree derived from 511â...
Ding W, Gong W, Bou T, Shi L, Lin Y, Shi X, Li Z, Wu H, Dugarjaviin M, Bai D.The core objective of racehorse breeding is to enhance the speed and endurance of the horses. The Grassland-Thoroughbred is an emerging horse breed developed in northern China in recent years, characterized by excellent speed performance, enduring stamina, and strong environmental adaptability. However, research on the genetic characteristics within this breed and the genes associated with athletic performance remains relatively limited. We conducted whole-genome resequencing of Grassland-Thoroughbred F1, F2, F3, and the crossbred population (CY) and obtained a total of 4056.23 Gb of high-qual...
Jia H, Tang L, Fu Y, Xiong Y, Yan L, Shao C, Li K, Zhang D, Hu D.Petrovinema skrjabini (Nematoda: Strongylidae, Cyathostominae) is a parasitic nematode colonizing the cecum and colon of equids. Like other cyathostomins, its larvae (L3) invade the intestinal mucosa, forming encysted nodules that may remain dormant for years. Mass larval emergence triggers larval cyathostominosis-a severe syndrome characterized by hemorrhagic typhlocolitis and diarrhea, with mortality rates exceeding 50%. However, owing to the morphological indistinguishability of cyathostomin and frequent mixed infections in natural settings, species-specific contributions to pathogenesis re...
Zhang Z, Lu Z, Yao X, Li L, Meng J, Wang J, Zeng Y, Ren W.Kazakh mares have drawn significant attention for their outstanding lactation traits. Lactation, a complex physiological activity, is modulated by multiple factors. This study utilized high-throughput sequencing to conduct whole-transcriptome sequencing analysis on the mammary gland tissue of eight Kazakh mares, of which four were pregnant and four were non-pregnant, to systematically reveal the molecular regulatory mechanisms. The results showed differential expression in 2136 mRNAs, 180 lncRNAs, 104 miRNAs, and 1162 circRNAs. Gene ontology functional annotation indicates that these different...
Brodesser DM, Schlangen K, RodrÃguez-Rojas A, Kuropka B, Doulidis PG, Brandt S, Pratscher B.Malignant melanoma (MM) affects not only humans but also animals, with gray horses being particularly predisposed to acquiring the disease. Multiomics have greatly advanced the understanding of human MM. In contrasty little is known regarding the pathogenesis of gray-horse melanoma and the unique phenomenon of melanoma "dormancy" in some animals. To help close this gap in knowledge, melanoma tissue and intact skin collected from gray horses were subjected to transcriptome analysis using RNAseq. In the next step, cultured primary tumor cells and normal skin fibroblasts were established from gra...
Scupham AJ.Many viruses mutate rapidly to adapt to host defenses, and for some of these viruses, the result is long-term infection in individual hosts. The work described here examines the infection and long-term maintenance of a newly identified virus, equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H), in an individual horse. This description is possible because of a hypervariable region in the capsid gene; sequence variants were tracked by high-throughput sequencing of serum samples taken over a 16-year period. The data support the hypothesis that EqPV-H infection resulted in a sequence variant bottleneck. The cont...
While the centromeric function is conserved and epigenetically specified by CENP-A, centromeric DNA, typically composed of satellite repeats, is highly divergent and rapidly evolving. In the species of the genus Equus (horses, asses and zebras), also known as equids, the numerous centromeres devoid of satellite repeats enabled us to carry out molecular analysis of centromeric chromatin establishing a unique model system for mammalian centromere biology. In this review, after a brief description of the rapid evolution of equids, we outline one of our most relevant initial discoveries: the posit...
Tian Y, Su Y, Jiang X, Su L, Zhang B, Lv F.The zoonotic pathogen subspecies (SEZ) frequently colonizes equines harmlessly but can occasionally cause disease or cross species barriers. Currently, growing evidence suggests SEZ can lead to severe clinical manifestations in horses and other animals, posing a threat to human and companion animal health. In this study, we sequenced the complete genome of the SEZ strain HT321, a novel sequence type 420 isolated from a donkey with a respiratory infection in China. Subsequently, we conducted comparative genomics, core genome single nucleotide polymorphisms (cgSNP), phylogenetic analysis multi...
Avila F, Esdaile E, Bellone RR. Standardbreds, a breed of horses used in harness racing at either the trot or the pace, established a closed studbook in 1973. Concerns about genetic diversity within the breed led the United States Trotting Association (USTA) to establish a limit of mares bred per stallion (i.e., a studbook cap) in 2009. Here, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the breeding restrictions on genetic diversity between and among subpopulations. : Sixteen short tandem repeats (STRs) were analyzed across a dataset of 176,424 Standardbreds foaled in the United States between 1998 and 2021. We examined allelic richn...
Furukawa R, Tozaki T, Kawate K, Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Takahashi Y, Fukui E, Kakoi H.Gene doping, which entails the administration of transgenes, poses a serious threat to the integrity of equine sports and also raises both ethical and regulatory concerns. Current methods used for the detection of such doping often necessitate the extraction of DNA from plasma, which can be time-consuming and labour-intensive. To overcome this limitation, we developed a direct chamber digital PCR (cdPCR) method that enables transgene detection in equine plasma without the need for DNA purification. Using the equine erythropoietin (EPO) transgene as a model, we validated the assay by analysing ...
Ryan CA, Berry DP, Bugno-Poniewierska M, Burke MK, Raudsepp T, Egan S, Doyle JL.Autosomal trisomy, a genetic disorder characterized by the presence of an extra autosome, is a rare but important chromosomal abnormality in horses, often associated with infertility, developmental abnormalities, and reduced life expectancy. This study represents the largest population-level screening for autosomal trisomy in horses; the analysis used single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panel genotype intensity data from 17,078 horses, 6601 of which were juveniles (i.e., ≤12 months of age) when genotyped. Using methodologies adapted from similar screening studies in cattle, the only aneuplo...
Ablondi M, Eriksson S, Mikko S.Fragile foal syndrome (FFS) is a disease caused by a recessive lethal missense mutation in the PLOD1 gene located on ECA2. Despite its harmful effect, a relatively high frequency of FFS carriers was observed in Warmblood breeds spanning from 7.4% in a random sample of Swedish Warmblood breed to 17% in the Hanoverian and Danish Warmblood, indicating potential heterozygous advantage. Balancing selection can be further studied based on haplotype blocks and via detection of heterozygosity-rich region (ROHet) around the target of selection. In this study we evaluated the presence of haplotype block...
Herkenhoff ME.MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are molecules that regulate gene expression by targeting the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of mRNAs. They are essential in numerous biological processes like growth, metabolism, and muscle development. miRNA research has become crucial in livestock breeding, offering solutions for improving animal health and productivity. This review focuses on miRNAs' roles in equine performance, reproduction, and disease, highlighting key findings and future applications in these areas. It discusses the use of circulating miRNAs (ci-miRNA) as biomarkers for athletic performance, particularl...
Barandalla M, Colleoni S, Perota A, Galli C, Lazzari G.The introduction of ovum pick-up, Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) and in vitro embryo production in equine reproduction offers significant advantages, including overcoming infertility, high blastocyst yields, embryo cryopreservation, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) by collecting few cells extruded spontaneously during embryo growth using a mouth pipette. PGT enables embryo selection before transfer and is particularly useful in breeds with a preference for specific offspring genders, coat color, and detecting genetic diseases. Here, we present the first large-scale validation...
Everts RE, Caron R, Foster G, McLoone K, Martin K, Brooks SA, Lafayette C.The roan coat color is described as the dispersion of white hairs within an otherwise solid background color coat. This phenotype is primarily expressed on the body of the horse, with the head and legs exhibiting few to no white hairs. Previous studies mapped the locus for roan to the KIT region and observed linked variants in a small number of breeds. However, utilizing those linked markers to determine the roan genotype in other breeds has seen limited success. In this communication we identify a second roan allele (RN2) which, in conjunction with a previously observed roan allele (RN1) disc...
Fakhar-I-Adil M, Angel-Velez D, Araftpoor E, Amin QA, Hedia M, Bühler M, Gevaert K, Menten B, Van Soom A, Chuva de Sousa Lopes SM, Stoop D, De Roo C....In vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes retrieved from ovum pick-up (OPU) or ovarian tissue (OT) is a standard approach for patients with specific conditions where prior hormonal stimulation is contraindicated. However, the developmental competence of oocytes matured in vitro is still inferior to that of oocytes matured in vivo. Capacitation IVM (CAPA-IVM) includes an extra step of pre-maturation culture (PMC) with c-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) as a meiotic arrestor to better synchronize cytoplasmic and nuclear maturity in oocytes by allowing the cytoplasm additional time to acquire essential ...
Connor RJ, Kawaoka Y, Webster RG, Paulson JC.The receptor specificity of 56 H2 and H3 influenza virus isolates from various animal species has been determined to test the relevance of receptor specificity to the ecology of influenza virus. The results show that the receptor specificity of both H2 and H3 isolates evaluated for sialic acid linkage specificity and inhibition of hemagglutination by horse serum correlates with the species of origin, as postulated earlier for H3 strains based on a limited survey of five human, three avian, and one equine strain. Elucidation of the amino acid sequence of several human H2 receptor variants and a...
Science (New York, N.Y.)November 7, 2009
Volume 326, Issue 5954 865-867 doi: 10.1126/science.1178158
Wade CM, Giulotto E, Sigurdsson S, Zoli M, Gnerre S, Imsland F, Lear TL, Adelson DL, Bailey E, Bellone RR, Blöcker H, Distl O, Edgar RC, Garber M....We report a high-quality draft sequence of the genome of the horse (Equus caballus). The genome is relatively repetitive but has little segmental duplication. Chromosomes appear to have undergone few historical rearrangements: 53% of equine chromosomes show conserved synteny to a single human chromosome. Equine chromosome 11 is shown to have an evolutionary new centromere devoid of centromeric satellite DNA, suggesting that centromeric function may arise before satellite repeat accumulation. Linkage disequilibrium, showing the influences of early domestication of large herds of female horses, ...
Hansen TF.Comparative studies tend to differ from optimality and functionality studies in how they treat adaptation. While the comparative approach focuses on the origin and change of traits, optimality studies assume that adaptations are maintained at an optimum by stabilizing selection. This paper presents a model of adaptive evolution on a macroevolutionary time scale that includes the maintenance of traits at adaptive optima by stabilizing selection as the dominant evolutionary force. Interspecific variation is treated as variation in the position of adaptive optima. The model illustrates how phylog...
Kaplan RM.Reports of drug resistance have been made in every livestock host and to every anthelmintic class. In some regions of world, the extremely high prevalence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) in nematodes of sheep and goats threatens the viability of small-ruminant industries. Resistance in nematodes of horses and cattle has not yet reached the levels seen in small ruminants, but evidence suggests that the problems of resistance, including MDR worms, are also increasing in these hosts. There is an urgent need to develop both novel non-chemical approaches for parasite control and molecular assays cap...
Orlando L, Ginolhac A, Zhang G, Froese D, Albrechtsen A, Stiller M, Schubert M, Cappellini E, Petersen B, Moltke I, Johnson PL, Fumagalli M....The rich fossil record of equids has made them a model for evolutionary processes. Here we present a 1.12-times coverage draft genome from a horse bone recovered from permafrost dated to approximately 560-780 thousand years before present (kyr BP). Our data represent the oldest full genome sequence determined so far by almost an order of magnitude. For comparison, we sequenced the genome of a Late Pleistocene horse (43 kyr BP), and modern genomes of five domestic horse breeds (Equus ferus caballus), a Przewalski's horse (E. f. przewalskii) and a donkey (E. asinus). Our analyses suggest that ...
Murray K, Selleck P, Hooper P, Hyatt A, Gould A, Gleeson L, Westbury H, Hiley L, Selvey L, Rodwell B.A morbillivirus has been isolated and added to an increasing list of emerging viral diseases. This virus caused an outbreak of fatal respiratory disease in horses and humans. Genetic analyses show it to be only distantly related to the classic morbilliviruses rinderpest, measles, and canine distemper. When seen by electron microscopy, viruses had 10- and 18-nanometer surface projections that gave them a "double-fringed" appearance. The virus induced syncytia that developed in the endothelium of blood vessels, particularly the lungs.
Suzuki Y, Ito T, Suzuki T, Holland RE, Chambers TM, Kiso M, Ishida H, Kawaoka Y.The distribution of sialic acid (SA) species varies among animal species, but the biological role of this variation is largely unknown. Influenza viruses differ in their ability to recognize SA-galactose (Gal) linkages, depending on the animal hosts from which they are isolated. For example, human viruses preferentially recognize SA linked to Gal by the alpha2,6(SAalpha2,6Gal) linkage, while equine viruses favor SAalpha2,3Gal. However, whether a difference in relative abundance of specific SA species (N-acetylneuraminic acid [NeuAc] and N-glycolylneuraminic acid [NeuGc]) among different animal...
Costa MC, Arroyo LG, Allen-Vercoe E, Stämpfli HR, Kim PT, Sturgeon A, Weese JS.The intestinal tract houses one of the richest and most complex microbial populations on the planet, and plays a critical role in health and a wide range of diseases. Limited studies using new sequencing technologies in horses are available. The objective of this study was to characterize the fecal microbiome of healthy horses and to compare the fecal microbiome of healthy horses to that of horses with undifferentiated colitis. A total of 195,748 sequences obtained from 6 healthy horses and 10 horses affected by undifferentiated colitis were analyzed. Firmicutes predominated (68%) among health...
Bujacz A.Serum albumin first appeared in early vertebrates and is present in the plasma of all mammals. Its canonical structure supported by a conserved set of disulfide bridges is maintained in all mammalian serum albumins and any changes in sequence are highly correlated with evolution of the species. Previous structural investigations of mammalian serum albumins have only concentrated on human serum albumin (HSA), most likely as a consequence of crystallization and diffraction difficulties. Here, the crystal structures of serum albumins isolated from bovine, equine and leporine blood plasma are repo...
Andersson LS, Larhammar M, Memic F, Wootz H, Schwochow D, Rubin CJ, Patra K, Arnason T, Wellbring L, Hjälm G, Imsland F, Petersen JL, McCue ME....Locomotion in mammals relies on a central pattern-generating circuitry of spinal interneurons established during development that coordinates limb movement. These networks produce left-right alternation of limbs as well as coordinated activation of flexor and extensor muscles. Here we show that a premature stop codon in the DMRT3 gene has a major effect on the pattern of locomotion in horses. The mutation is permissive for the ability to perform alternate gaits and has a favourable effect on harness racing performance. Examination of wild-type and Dmrt3-null mice demonstrates that Dmrt3 is exp...
Groeneveld LF, Lenstra JA, Eding H, Toro MA, Scherf B, Pilling D, Negrini R, Finlay EK, Jianlin H, Groeneveld E, Weigend S.Domestication of livestock species and a long history of migrations, selection and adaptation have created an enormous variety of breeds. Conservation of these genetic resources relies on demographic characterization, recording of production environments and effective data management. In addition, molecular genetic studies allow a comparison of genetic diversity within and across breeds and a reconstruction of the history of breeds and ancestral populations. This has been summarized for cattle, yak, water buffalo, sheep, goats, camelids, pigs, horses, and chickens. Further progress is expected...
Science (New York, N.Y.)May 9, 2018
Volume 360, Issue 6396 eaar7711 doi: 10.1126/science.aar7711
de Barros Damgaard P, Martiniano R, Kamm J, Moreno-Mayar JV, Kroonen G, Peyrot M, Barjamovic G, Rasmussen S, Zacho C, Baimukhanov N, Zaibert V....The Yamnaya expansions from the western steppe into Europe and Asia during the Early Bronze Age (~3000 BCE) are believed to have brought with them Indo-European languages and possibly horse husbandry. We analyzed 74 ancient whole-genome sequences from across Inner Asia and Anatolia and show that the Botai people associated with the earliest horse husbandry derived from a hunter-gatherer population deeply diverged from the Yamnaya. Our results also suggest distinct migrations bringing West Eurasian ancestry into South Asia before and after, but not at the time of, Yamnaya culture. We find no ev...
Goldansaz SA, Guo AC, Sajed T, Steele MA, Plastow GS, Wishart DS.Metabolomics uses advanced analytical chemistry techniques to comprehensively measure large numbers of small molecule metabolites in cells, tissues and biofluids. The ability to rapidly detect and quantify hundreds or even thousands of metabolites within a single sample is helping scientists paint a far more complete picture of system-wide metabolism and biology. Metabolomics is also allowing researchers to focus on measuring the end-products of complex, hard-to-decipher genetic, epigenetic and environmental interactions. As a result, metabolomics has become an increasingly popular "omics" app...
Quinlivan M, Zamarin D, GarcÃa-Sastre A, Cullinane A, Chambers T, Palese P.Equine influenza is a common disease of the horse, causing significant morbidity worldwide. Here we describe the establishment of a plasmid-based reverse genetics system for equine influenza virus. Utilizing this system, we generated three mutant viruses encoding carboxy-terminally truncated NS1 proteins. We have previously shown that a recombinant human influenza virus lacking the NS1 gene (delNS1) could only replicate in interferon (IFN)-incompetent systems, suggesting that the NS1 protein is responsible for IFN antagonist activity. Contrary to previous findings with human influenza virus, w...
da Silveira JC, Veeramachaneni DN, Winger QA, Carnevale EM, Bouma GJ.Proper cell communication within the ovarian follicle is critical for the growth and maturation of a healthy oocyte that can be fertilized and develop into an embryo. Cell communication within the follicle involves many signaling molecules and is affected by maternal age. Recent studies indicate that cell communication can be mediated through secretion and uptake of small membrane-enclosed vesicles. The goals of this study were to 1) identify cell-secreted vesicles (microvesicles and exosomes) containing miRNAs and proteins within ovarian follicular fluid and 2) determine if miRNA level differ...
Li VL, He Y, Contrepois K, Liu H, Kim JT, Wiggenhorn AL, Tanzo JT, Tung AS, Lyu X, Zushin PH, Jansen RS, Michael B, Loh KY, Yang AC, Carl CS....Exercise confers protection against obesity, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases1-5. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate the metabolic benefits of physical activity remain unclear6. Here we show that exercise stimulates the production of N-lactoyl-phenylalanine (Lac-Phe), a blood-borne signalling metabolite that suppresses feeding and obesity. The biosynthesis of Lac-Phe from lactate and phenylalanine occurs in CNDP2+ cells, including macrophages, monocytes and other immune and epithelial cells localized to diverse organs. In diet-induced obese mice,...
Schubert M, Jónsson H, Chang D, Der Sarkissian C, Ermini L, Ginolhac A, Albrechtsen A, Dupanloup I, Foucal A, Petersen B, Fumagalli M, Raghavan M....The domestication of the horse ∼ 5.5 kya and the emergence of mounted riding, chariotry, and cavalry dramatically transformed human civilization. However, the genetics underlying horse domestication are difficult to reconstruct, given the near extinction of wild horses. We therefore sequenced two ancient horse genomes from Taymyr, Russia (at 7.4- and 24.3-fold coverage), both predating the earliest archeological evidence of domestication. We compared these genomes with genomes of domesticated horses and the wild Przewalski's horse and found genetic structure within Eurasia in the Late Pleist...
Zeller HG, Schuffenecker I.West Nile (WN) virus is a mosquito-transmitted flavivirus. It is widely distributed in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and southern Europe and was recently introduced to North America. Birds are involved in the cycle of transmission as amplifying hosts. Humans and horses are considered accidental dead-end hosts. WN fever was initially considered a minor arbovirosis, usually inducing a nonsymptomatic or a mild flu-like illness in humans, but some cases of encephalitis associated with fatalities were reported in Israel in the 1950s. After two silent decades, several human and equine outbreaks of ...
Science (New York, N.Y.)December 11, 1992
Volume 258, Issue 5089 1748-1755 doi: 10.1126/science.1334573
Pelletier H, Kraut J.The crystal structure of a 1:1 complex between yeast cytochrome c peroxidase and yeast iso-1-cytochrome c was determined at 2.3 A resolution. This structure reveals a possible electron transfer pathway unlike any previously proposed for this extensively studied redox pair. The shortest straight line between the two hemes closely follows the peroxidase backbone chain of residues Ala194, Ala193, Gly192, and finally Trp191, the indole ring of which is perpendicular to, and in van der Waals contact with, the peroxidase heme. The crystal structure at 2.8 A of a complex between yeast cytochrome c pe...
Ito S, Wakamatsu K.The color of hair, skin, and eyes in animals mainly depends on the quantity, quality, and distribution of the pigment melanin, which occurs in two types: black to brown eumelanin and yellow to reddish pheomelanin. Microanalytical methods to quantify the amounts of eumelanin and pheomelanin in biological materials were developed in 1985. The methods are based on the chemical degradation of eumelanin to pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid and of pheomelanin to aminohydroxyphenylalanine isomers, which can be analyzed and quantitated by high performance liquid chromatography. This review summarizes a...
Higuchi R, Bowman B, Freiberger M, Ryder OA, Wilson AC.To determine whether DNA survives and can be recovered from the remains of extinct creatures, we have examined dried muscle from a museum specimen of the quagga, a zebra-like species (Equus quagga) that became extinct in 1883 (ref. 1). We report that DNA was extracted from this tissue in amounts approaching 1% of that expected from fresh muscle, and that the DNA was of relatively low molecular weight. Among the many clones obtained from the quagga DNA, two containing pieces of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were sequenced. These sequences, comprising 229 nucleotide pairs, differ by 12 base substitu...
Rosengren Pielberg G, Golovko A, Sundström E, Curik I, Lennartsson J, Seltenhammer MH, Druml T, Binns M, Fitzsimmons C, Lindgren G, Sandberg K....In horses, graying with age is an autosomal dominant trait associated with a high incidence of melanoma and vitiligo-like depigmentation. Here we show that the Gray phenotype is caused by a 4.6-kb duplication in intron 6 of STX17 (syntaxin-17) that constitutes a cis-acting regulatory mutation. Both STX17 and the neighboring NR4A3 gene are overexpressed in melanomas from Gray horses. Gray horses carrying a loss-of-function mutation in ASIP (agouti signaling protein) had a higher incidence of melanoma, implying that increased melanocortin-1 receptor signaling promotes melanoma development in Gra...
Burbelo PD, Dubovi EJ, Simmonds P, Medina JL, Henriquez JA, Mishra N, Wagner J, Tokarz R, Cullen JM, Iadarola MJ, Rice CM, Lipkin WI, Kapoor A.Genetic and biological characterization of new hepaciviruses infecting animals contributes to our understanding of the ultimate origins of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in humans and dramatically enhances our ability to study its pathogenesis using tractable animal models. Animal homologs of HCV include a recently discovered canine hepacivirus (CHV) and GB virus B (GBV-B), both viruses with largely undetermined natural host ranges. Here we used a versatile serology-based approach to determine the natural host of the only known nonprimate hepacivirus (NPHV), CHV, which is also the closest p...
Ahern BJ, Parvizi J, Boston R, Schaer TP.Review the literature for single site cartilage defect research and evaluate the respective strengths and weaknesses of different preclinical animal models. Methods: A literature search for animal models evaluating single site cartilage defects was performed. Variables tabulated and analyzed included animal species, age and number, defect depth and diameter and study duration. Cluster analyses were then used to separate animals with only distal femoral defects into similar groups based on defect dimensions. Representative human studies were included allowing comparison of common clinical lesio...
Makvandi-Nejad S, Hoffman GE, Allen JJ, Chu E, Gu E, Chandler AM, Loredo AI, Bellone RR, Mezey JG, Brooks SA, Sutter NB.Horse body size varies greatly due to intense selection within each breed. American Miniatures are less than one meter tall at the withers while Shires and Percherons can exceed two meters. The genetic basis for this variation is not known. We hypothesize that the breed population structure of the horse should simplify efforts to identify genes controlling size. In support of this, here we show with genome-wide association scans (GWAS) that genetic variation at just four loci can explain the great majority of horse size variation. Unlike humans, which are naturally reproducing and possess many...
MacDonald GH, Johnston RE.The initial steps of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE) spread from inoculation in the skin to the draining lymph node have been characterized. By using green fluorescent protein and immunocytochemistry, dendritic cells in the draining lymph node were determined to be the primary target of VEE infection in the first 48 h following inoculation. VEE viral replicon particles, which can undergo only one round of infection, identified Langerhans cells to be the initial set of cells infected by VEE directly following inoculation. These cells are resident dendritic cells in the skin, which mi...
Achilli A, Olivieri A, Soares P, Lancioni H, Hooshiar Kashani B, Perego UA, Nergadze SG, Carossa V, Santagostino M, Capomaccio S, Felicetti M....Archaeological and genetic evidence concerning the time and mode of wild horse (Equus ferus) domestication is still debated. High levels of genetic diversity in horse mtDNA have been detected when analyzing the control region; recurrent mutations, however, tend to blur the structure of the phylogenetic tree. Here, we brought the horse mtDNA phylogeny to the highest level of molecular resolution by analyzing 83 mitochondrial genomes from modern horses across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Our data reveal 18 major haplogroups (A-R) with radiation times that are mostly confined ...
Petersen JL, Mickelson JR, Cothran EG, Andersson LS, Axelsson J, Bailey E, Bannasch D, Binns MM, Borges AS, Brama P, da Câmara Machado A, Distl O....Horses were domesticated from the Eurasian steppes 5,000-6,000 years ago. Since then, the use of horses for transportation, warfare, and agriculture, as well as selection for desired traits and fitness, has resulted in diverse populations distributed across the world, many of which have become or are in the process of becoming formally organized into closed, breeding populations (breeds). This report describes the use of a genome-wide set of autosomal SNPs and 814 horses from 36 breeds to provide the first detailed description of equine breed diversity. F(ST) calculations, parsimony, and dista...
Frisbie DD, Ghivizzani SC, Robbins PD, Evans CH, McIlwraith CW.Osteoarthritis in horses and in humans is a significant social and economic problem and continued research and improvements in therapy are needed. Because horses have naturally occurring osteoarthritis, which is similar to that of humans, the horse was chosen as a species with which to investigate gene transfer as a potential therapeutic modality for the clinical treatment of osteoarthritis. Using an established model of equine osteoarthritis that mimics clinical osteoarthritis, the therapeutic effects resulting from intra-articular overexpression of the equine interleukin-1 receptor antagonis...
