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.
Platt JP, MacDonald DG, Selberg K, Jackman BR.A 14-year-old American Paint Horse mare was referred for further evaluation of a firm mass with an associated draining tract at the base of the left ear suspected to be a dentigerous cyst. Approximately three months prior, the draining tract had been excised under the presumed diagnosis of an abscess with no improvement. Physical examination revealed a firm mass palpable at the base of the left ear with a draining tract that did not elicit any pain response on palpation. Digital radiographs revealed a 6x11cm mineral mass in the left temporal region. Medially, there were two projections that ex...
Selwet M.The research concerned the determination of the frequency of occurrence of selected virulence genes (cadF, flaA, iam) and genes responsible for the formation of the CDT cytotoxin (cdtA, cdtB, cdtC) in Campylobacter spp. The research object consisted of 100 faecal samples collected from stallions showing no symptoms of campylobacteriosis. The presence of bacteria of the genus Campylobacter spp. Was found in 25 individuals (25%). The molecular biology techniques used in the research allowed us to distinguish the following species from the positive samples: C. jejuni (68%); C. coli (28%) and C. l...
Uchida-Fujii E, Niwa H, Kinoshita Y, Nukada T.Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is used for identification of bacterial species isolated from horses. However, because of insufficiencies in the reference database, some bacterial species isolated from horses are difficult to identify with MALDI-TOF MS, and enriching the databases is expected to enhance the accuracy of MALDI-TOF MS identification. Here we created an in-house database including 271 bacterial isolates from horses. Furthermore, we used an enhanced database (our in-house database plus a commercially provided database) to ...
Villarraza CJ, Antuña S, Tardivo MB, Rodríguez MC, Mussio P, Cattaneo L, Fontana D, Díaz PU, Ortega HH, Tríbulo A, Macagno A, Bó GA, Ceaglio N....Equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone produced by pregnant mares that has been used to improve reproductive performance in different domestic species. Several strategies to produce the hormone in a recombinant way have been reported; nevertheless, no approach has been able to produce a recombinant eCG (reCG) with significant in vivo bioactivity or in sufficient quantities for commercial purposes. For this reason, the only current product available on the market consists of partially purified preparations from serum of pregnant mares (PMSG). Herein, we des...
Weber KS, Wagener K, Blanco M, Bauersachs S, Bollwein H.Subfertility is a major problem in modern horse breeding. Especially, mares without clinical signs of reproductive diseases, without known uterine pathogens and no evidence of inflammation but not becoming pregnant after several breeding attempts are challenging for veterinarians. To obtain new insights into the cause of these fertility problems and aiming at improving diagnosis of subfertile mares, a comparative analysis of the intrauterine transcriptome in subfertile and fertile mares was performed. Uterine cytobrush samples were collected during estrus from 57 mares without clinical signs o...
Singha H, Elschner MC, Malik P, Saini S, Tripathi BN, Mertens-Scholz K, Brangsch H, Melzer F, Singh RK, Neubauer H.We collected 10 Burkholderia mallei isolates from equids in 9 districts in India during glanders outbreaks in 2013-2016. Multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis showed 7 outbreak area-related genotypes. The study highlights the utility of this analysis for epidemiologically tracing of specific B. mallei isolates during outbreaks.
Hui A, Altan E, Slovis N, Fletcher C, Deng X, Delwart E.Circoviruses infect vertebrates where they can result in a wide range of disease signs or in asymptomatic infections. Using viral metagenomics we analyzed a pool of five sera from four healthy and one sick horse. Sequences from parvovirus-H, equus anellovirus, and distantly related to mammalian circoviruses were recognized. PCR identified the circovirus reads as originating from a pregnant mare with fever and hepatitis. That horse's serum was also positive by real time PCR for equine parvovirus H and negative for the flavivirus equine hepacivirus. The complete circular genome of equine circovi...
Ginther OJ.During an ovulatory follicular wave in the monovulatory species of heifers, mares, and women, the two largest follicles deviate in diameter at the end of a common follicle growth phase. The largest follicle before deviation becomes the future ovulatory follicle in most ovulatory waves. In 10-30% of the ovulatory waves, the destiny of the two follicles switches just before or at deviation so that the second-largest follicle becomes the future ovulatory follicle, and the largest follicle becomes a subordinate. In FSH-driven switching in heifers, mares, and women, the wave-stimulating FSH surge d...
Kefena E, Rosenbom S, Beja-Pereira A, Kurtu MY, Han JL, Dessie T.We investigated the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of six morphologically distinct Ethiopian donkey populations using 12 equine microsatellite markers. The donkey populations were Abyssinian (AB), Afar (AF), Hararghe (HA), Ogaden (OG), Omo (OM) and Sinnar (SI). Blood samples were collected from 180 genetically unrelated donkeys (30 individuals per population). Population genetic diversity estimates showed that total number and mean number of observed alleles, average observed and expected heterozygosity were 94, 5.208 ± 0.0229, 0.555 ± 0.023 and 0.588 ± 0.022, respective...
Pirosanto Y, Laseca N, Valera M, Molina A, Moreno-Millán M, Bugno-Poniewierska M, Ross P, Azor P, Demyda-Peyrás S.Chromosomal abnormalities are a common cause of infertility in horses. However, they are difficult to detect using automated methods. Here, we propose a simple methodology based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-array data that allows us to detect the main chromosomal abnormalities in horses in a single procedure. As proof of concept, we were able to detect chromosomal abnormalities in 33 out of 268 individuals, including monosomies, chimerisms, and male and female sex-reversions, by analyzing the raw signal intensity produced by an SNP array-based genotyping platform. We also demonstrat...
Amaral A, Fernandes C, Szóstek-Mioduchowska A, Rebordão MR, Skarzynski DJ, Ferreira-Dias G.Endometrosis is a reproductive pathology that is responsible for mare infertility. Our recent studies have focused on the involvement of neutrophil extracellular traps enzymes, such as elastase (ELA), in the development of equine endometrosis. Noscapine (NOSC) is an alkaloid derived from poppy opium with anticough, antistroke, anticancer, and antifibrotic properties. The present work investigates the putative inhibitory in vitro effect of NOSC on collagen type I alpha 2 chain () mRNA and COL1 protein relative abundance induced by ELA in endometrial explants of mares in the follicular or mid-lu...
Motlou TP, Williams J, Venter M.The genus, family , contains several important emerging and re-emerging arboviruses of veterinary and medical importance. These viruses may cause mild febrile illness, to severe encephalitis, fetal deformity, abortion, hemorrhagic fever and death in humans and/or animals. Shuni virus (SHUV) is a zoonotic arbovirus thought to be transmitted by hematophagous arthropods. It was previously reported in a child in Nigeria in 1966 and horses in Southern Africa in the 1970s and again in 2009, and in humans with neurological signs in 2017. Here we investigated the epidemiology and phylogenetic relatio...
Quentin-Froignant C, Kappler-Gratias S, Top S, Bertagnoli S, Gallardo F.Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is a causative agent of respiratory disorders, abortion and myeloencephalopathy in horses and has an important impact on equine health and economy. Several bacterial artificial chromosomes have already been developed and enabled identification and functional characterization of EHV-1 genes. Unfortunately, little is known about its replication. Here, the ANCHOR system was inserted by targeted homologous recombination into the equine herpesvirus genome. This insertion led to the conversion of EHV-1 DNA to auto-fluorescent spots easily detectable by fluorescence micro...
Cirilli O, Pandolfi L, Rook L, Bernor RL.Evolution of the genus Equus has been a matter of long debate with a multitude of hypotheses. Currently, there is no consensus on either the taxonomic content nor phylogeny of Equus. Some hypotheses segregate Equus species into three genera, Plesippus, Allohippus and Equus. Also, the evolutionary role of European Pleistocene Equus stenonis in the origin of the zebra-ass clade has been debated. Studies based on skull, mandible and dental morphology suggest an evolutionary relationship between North American Pliocene E. simplicidens and European and African Pleistocene Equus. In this contributio...
Hendesi H, Stewart S, Gibison ML, Guehring H, Richardson DW, Dodge GR.Posttraumatic osteoarthritis is a disabling condition impacting the mostly young and active population. In the present study, we investigated the impact of intra-articular sprifermin, a recombinant truncated fibroblast growth factor 18, on the outcome of microfracture treatment, a widely used surgical technique to enhance cartilage healing at the site of injury. For this study, we created a cartilage defect and performed microfracture treatment in fetlock joints of 18 horses, treated joints with one of three doses of sprifermin (10, 30, or 100 μg) or with saline, hyaluronan, and evaluated a...
Park T, Yoon J, Kim A, Unno T, Yun Y.(1) Background: The large intestine of horses is an anaerobic fermentative chamber filled with fibrolytic bacteria that play essential roles in digesting and absorbing nutrients for energy production. Although Jeju horses are a prominent local breed in Korea, few studies have investigated the gut microbiota of Jeju horses; (2) Methods: This study performed sequencing of V3 and V4 hypervariable regions of the partial 16S rRNA genes obtained from horse fecal samples and compared the gut microbiota between Jeju and Thoroughbred horses. Thirty and 24 fecal samples were obtained from Jeju and Thoro...
Vostry L, Vostra-Vydrova H, Citek J, Gorjanc G, Curik I.Inbreeding depression is the reduction of performance caused by mating of close relatives. In livestock populations, inbreeding depression has been traditionally estimated by regression of phenotypes on pedigree inbreeding coefficients. This estimation can be improved by utilising genomic inbreeding coefficients. Here we estimate inbreeding depression for insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) prevalence, the most common allergic horse disease worldwide, in Old Kladruber horse. In a deep pedigree with 3214 horses (187 genotyped), we used a generalised linear mixed model with IBH phenotype from 558...
Johnson ACB, Biddle AS.Cyathostomins are a multispecies parasite ubiquitous in Equids. Cyathostomins have developed resistance to all but one class of anthelmintics, but species-level sensitivity to anthelmintics has not been shown. This study measured reinfection rates of cyathostomin species following the administration of three commercial dewormers. Nine treated horses were compared with 90 untreated controls during June-September 2017-2019. Ivermectin (IVM) (n = 6), Moxidectin (MOX) (n = 8) or Pyrantel (PYR) (n = 8) were orally administered. Fecal samples were collected every 14 d for 98 d. Fecal egg count reduc...
Larson EM, Wagner B.Horses have many naturally occurring diseases that mimic similar conditions in humans. The ability to conduct environmentally controlled experiments and induced disease studies in a genetically diverse host makes the horse a valuable intermediate model between mouse studies and human clinical trials. This review highlights important similarities in the immune landscape between horses and humans using current research on two equine diseases as examples. First, equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection initiates a series of innate inflammatory signals at its mucosal entry site in the upper res...
Swegen A.Maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) is a process by which an early conceptus signals its presence to the maternal system and prevents the lysis of the corpus luteum, thus ensuring a maternal milieu supportive of pregnancy continuation. It is a fundamental aspect of reproductive biology, yet in the horse, the mechanism underlying MRP remains unknown. This review seeks to address some of the controversies surrounding the evidence and theories of MRP in the equine species, such as the idea that the horse does not conform to the MRP paradigm established in other species or that equine MRP invo...
Du Cheyne C, Chen Y, De Craene J, Thas O, De Spiegelaere W.Accurate tools to measure RNA integrity are essential to obtain reliable gene expression data. The reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) based 3':5' assay permits a direct determination of messenger RNA (mRNA) integrity. However, the use of standard curves and the possible effect of PCR inhibitors make this method cumbersome and prone to variation, especially in small samples. Here we developed a triplex digital PCR (dPCR) 3':5' assay for assessing RNA integrity in equine samples as rapid and simple alternative to RT-qPCR. This dPCR assay not only provides a straight forward analysi...
Benavides JA, Salgado-Caxito M, Opazo-Capurro A, González Muñoz P, Piñeiro A, Otto Medina M, Rivas L, Munita J, Millán J.Antibiotic-resistant bacteria of critical importance for global health such as extended-spectrum beta-lactamases-producing (ESBL)- have been detected in livestock, dogs, and wildlife worldwide. However, the dynamics of ESBL- between these animals remains poorly understood, particularly in small-scale farms of low and middle-income countries where contact between species can be frequent. We compared the prevalence of fecal carriage of ESBL- among 332 livestock (207 cows, 15 pigs, 60 horses, 40 sheep, 6 goats, 4 chickens), 82 dogs, and wildlife including 131 European rabbits, 30 rodents, and 12 ...
Pezzanite L, Chow L, Griffenhagen G, Dow S, Goodrich L.Culture and expansion of equine mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are routinely performed using fetal bovine serum (FBS) as a source of growth factors, nutrients, and extracellular matrix proteins. However, the desire to minimize introduction of xenogeneic bovine proteins or pathogens and to standardize cellular products intended for clinical application has driven evaluation of alternatives to FBS. Replacement of FBS in culture for several days before administration has been proposed to reduce antigenicity and potentially prolong survival after injection. However, the functional consequences o...
Watanabe R, Furuta H, Ueno Y, Nukada T, Niwa H, Shinyashiki N, Kano R.Trichophyton bullosum is a zoophilic dermatophyte that has been rarely isolated from horses and humans in Africa and Europe. This is the first reported isolation of T. bullosum from a horse with dermatophytosis in Japan. The isolate from a skin lesion formed a cream-colored and waxy colony that was slightly elevated in the center. Sequencing of the internal transcribe spacer region of the isolate revealed that it was 100% identical to that of T. bullosum.
Onder Z, Yildirim A, Pekmezci D, Duzlu O, Pekmezci GZ, Ciloglu A, Simsek E, Kokcu ND, Yetismis G, Ercan N, Inci A.A total of 1340 fresh fecal samples from farm and pet animals in Central Anatolia and the Middle Black Sea Region of Turkey were investigated using a PCR assay targeting the SSU rRNA of Blastocystis sp. An overall Blastocystis sp. prevalence of 19.4% (183/940) was found in farm animals, including cattle, sheep, water buffaloes, and chickens. Fecal samples of dogs, cats, and horses were negative. The highest prevalence of Blastocystis sp. was found in sheep (38.2%) among the farm animals. The SSU rRNA sequence analysis revealed two animal-specific subtypes, including ST10 in cattle and sheep an...
Tuvshintulga B, Nugraha AB, Mizutani T, Liu M, Ishizaki T, Sivakumar T, Xuan X, Yokoyama N, Igarashi I.Theileria equi, an intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite, causes equine piroplasmosis, a disease which negatively impacts the global horse industry. Genetic manipulation is one of the research tools under development as a control method for protozoan parasites, but this technique needs to be established for T. equi. Herein, we report on the first development of a stable transgenic T. equi line expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein/blasticidin S deaminase (eGFP/BSD). To express the exogenous fusion gene in T. equi, regulatory regions of the elongation factor-1 alpha (ef-1α) gene were id...
Wang X, Bou G, Zhang X, Tao L, Shen Y, Na R, Liu G, Ren H, Ren X, Song L, Su S, Bai D, Zhao Y, Li B, Dugarjaviin M.Having considered that the current methods are costly and time-consuming, we designed an only 3 pairs primer-based PCR test to accurately identify the species and gender in horses, donkeys, mules and hinnies. Through a thorough sequence comparison between horse and donkey's highly similar genomes, and a vast amount of preliminary confirmation, we found that three fragments, CNGB3 gene on an autosome, displacement loop region on mitochondrial DNA and SRY genes on chromosome Y, within these equine DNA, are enough to enable us achieving our goal. The PCR test described here would be an economical...
Colmer SF, Luethy D, Abraham M, Stefanovski D, Hurcombe SD.Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) levels have been associated with disease and survival status in septic humans and dogs. To date, studies investigating cfDNA levels in association with critical illness in foals are lacking. We hypothesized that cfDNA would be detectable in the plasma of foals, that septic and sick-nonseptic foals would have significantly higher cfDNA levels compared to healthy foals, and that increased cfDNA levels would be associated with non-survival. Animals used include 80 foals of 10 days of age or less admitted to a tertiary referral center between January and July, 2020 wer...
Mitchell S, Bull M, Muscatello G, Chapman B, Coleman NV.Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is a growing problem for both human and veterinary medicine. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as plasmids, transposons, and integrons enable the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among bacteria, and the overuse of antibiotics drives this process by providing the selection pressure for resistance genes to establish and persist in bacterial populations. Because bacteria, MGEs, and resistance genes can readily spread between different ecological compartments (e.g. soil, plants, animals, humans, wastewater), a "One Health" approach is need...
Beeson SK, Mickelson JR, McCue ME.Total genetic map length and local recombination landscapes typically vary within and across populations. As a first step to understanding the recombination landscape in the domestic horse, we calculated population recombination rates and identified likely recombination hotspots using approximately 1.8 million SNP genotypes for 485 horses from 32 distinct breeds. The resulting breed-averaged recombination map spans 2.36 Gb and accounts for 2939.07 cM. Recombination hotspots occur once per 23.8 Mb on average and account for ∼9% of the physical map length. Regions with elevated recombination r...
Rizzo M, Ducheyne KD, Deelen C, Beitsma M, Cristarella S, Quartuccio M, Stout TAE, de Ruijter-Villani M.Advanced mare age is associated with declining fertility and an increased risk of early pregnancy loss. Compromised oocyte quality is probably the primary reason for reduced fertility, but the defects predisposing to embryonic death are unknown. In women, advanced age predisposes to chromosome segregation errors during meiosis, which lead to embryonic aneuploidy and a heightened risk of miscarriage. Objective: To evaluate the effect of advanced mare age on chromosome alignment and meiotic spindle morphology in in vitro-matured (IVM) oocytes. Methods: Morphometric and morphological analysis. M...
Cocco MJ, Lecomte JT.A proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic study of horse apomyoglobin was undertaken in order to define the regions of myoglobin that are and that are not structurally affected by the binding of the prosthetic group. It was found that, in spite of the poor spectral resolution, a number of spin systems could be identified by using standard correlated methods. Four clusters consisting mostly of hydrophobic residues were detected by nuclear Overhauser spectroscopy, two of which involved the tryptophan side chains. Extensive similarities to nuclear Overhauser spectroscopy data collected on...
Yoon MJ, Berger T, Roser JF.The insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a key regulator of reproductive functions. IGF-I actions are primarily mediated by IGF-IR. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the presence of IGF-I and IGF-I Receptor (IGF-IR) in stallion testicular tissue. The hypotheses of this study were (i) IGF-I and IGF-IR are present in stallion testicular cells including Leydig, Sertoli, and developing germ cells, and (ii) the immunolabelling of IGF-I and IGF-IR varies with age. Testicular tissues from groups of 4 stallions in different developmental ages were used. Rabbit anti-human polyclona...
Szeredi L, Hotzel H, Sachse K.Seventy-seven cases of equine abortion from 49 Hungarian farms that occurred between 1998 and 2000 were investigated for the presence of chlamydiae by immunohistochemistry, PCR and/or MZN staining. Evidence of the presence of these bacteria was obtained in 64 cases (83.1%) from 41 (83.7%) different farms. Partial ompA gene sequencing of PCR products revealed that the agent was Chlamydophila psittaci. Based on the findings of microbial diagnosis, pathology and case history, chlamydial infection was considered to be the most likely cause of abortion in at least 11 (14.3%) cases. In the remaining...
Li Y, Lan Y, Zhang S, Wang X.Increasing evidence reveals the importance of gut microbiota in animals for regulating intestinal homeostasis, metabolism, and host health. The gut microbial community has been reported to be closely related to many diseases, but information regarding diarrheic influence on gut microbiota in horses remains scarce. This study investigated and compared gut microbial changes in horses during diarrhea. The results showed that the alpha diversity of gut microbiota in diarrheic horses decreased observably, accompanied by obvious shifts in taxonomic compositions. The dominant bacterial phyla (, and )...
Lacombe VA.Glucose uptake is the rate-limiting step in glucose utilization in mammalians and is tightly regulated by a family of specialized proteins, called the facilitated glucose transporters (GLUTs/SLC2). GLUT4, the major isoform in insulin-responsive tissue, translocates from an intracellular pool to the cell surface and as such determines insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. However, despite intensive research over 50 years, the insulin-dependent and -independent pathways that mediate GLUT4 translocation are not fully elucidated in any species. Insulin resistance (IR) is one of the hallmarks of equin...
Nixon AJ, Sparks HD, Begum L, McDonough S, Scimeca MS, Moran N, Matthews GL.Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) using a collagen scaffold (matrix-induced ACI; MACI) is a next-generation approach to traditional ACI that provides the benefit of autologous cells and guided tissue regeneration using a biocompatible collagen scaffold. The MACI implant also has inherent advantages including surgical implantation via arthroscopy or miniarthrotomy, the elimination of periosteal harvest, and the use of tissue adhesive in lieu of sutures. This study evaluated the efficacy of the MACI implant in an equine full-thickness cartilage defect model at 1 year. Methods: Autologous...
Harvey JW.Deficiencies of enzymes involved in erythrocyte metabolism can have significant effects on erythrocyte function and survival. Animals with pyruvate kinase (PK) or phosphofructokinase (PFK) deficiencies have shortened erythrocyte life spans and regenerative anemia. PK-deficient dogs (but not PK-deficient cats) develop progressive myelofibrosis and osteosclerosis of bone marrow and hemochromatosis and cirrhosis of the liver. PFK-deficient dogs have sporadic episodes of hyperventilation-induced intravascular hemolysis and hemoglobinuria. Cytochrome b5 reductase (Cb5R) deficiency in dogs and cats ...
Grøndahl AM, Dolvik NI.Radiography of the tibiotarsal and metacarpo- and metatarsophalangeal joints was performed on 753 Standardbred trotters (6 to 21 months old) born in 1988. The surveyed population was drawn at random from all parts of Norway and represented about 60% of Standardbred trotters born the same year. Osteochondrosis in the tibiotarsal joint was diagnosed in 108 (14.3%) horses, and the prevalence of disease in progeny groups > 10 ranged from 0 to 69%. Bony fragments in the palmar/plantar portion of the metacarpo- and metatarsophalangeal joints were diagnosed in 89 (11.8%) horses, and the prevalence of...
Zheng YH, Nakaya T, Sentsui H, Kameoka M, Kishi M, Hagiwara K, Takahashi H, Kono Y, Ikuta K.We have studied a horse which exhibited typical clinical signs of disease when experimentally infected with a non-adapted virulent strain of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV), designated V70. Five viruses (F1V, F2V, F3V, F4V and F5V) were recovered during periodic febrile episodes. Cross-neutralization tests revealed that all of these variants and the parental V70 were antigenically distinct. Sequencing of their full-length env gp90 genes and gp45 5' sequences revealed novel mutations at a limited number of nucleotide positions, consisting of insertions and duplications in the gp90 princi...
Schurink A, Shrestha M, Eriksson S, Bosse M, Bovenhuis H, Back W, Johansson AM, Ducro BJ.The spectrum of modern horse populations encompasses populations with a long history of development in isolation and relatively recently formed types. To increase our understanding of the evolutionary history and provide information on how to optimally conserve or improve these populations with varying development and background for the future, we analyzed genotype data of 184 horses from 9 Dutch or common horse populations in the Netherlands: The Belgian draft horse, Friesian horse, Shetland pony, Icelandic horse, Gelder horse, Groninger horse, harness horse, KWPN sport horse and the Lipizzan...
Nasir L, Brandt S.The Papillomaviridae family comprises a large number of viruses that can infect a broad range of hosts including mammals, birds and reptiles giving rise to benign lesions of the skin or mucosal membranes. They are characterized by great genetic diversity yet adhere to common biological principles. In this review, we first describe the structure and function of the viral proteins encoded by papillomaviruses (PVs), with a particular emphasis on bovine papillomaviruses (BPV). We then discuss the role of BPV types 1 and 2 in the pathogenesis of equine sarcoids and present recent evidence implicati...
Yolanda H, Krajaejun T.The fungus-like microorganism causes pythiosis, a life-threatening infectious disease increasingly reported worldwide. Antimicrobial drugs are ineffective. Radical surgery is an essential treatment. Pythiosis can resume post-surgically. Immunotherapy using antigens (PIA) has emerged as an alternative treatment. This review aims at providing up-to-date information of the immunotherapeutic PIA, with the focus on its history, preparation, clinical application, outcome, mechanism, and recent advances, in order to promote the proper use and future development of this treatment modality. crude ex...
Tsujimura K, Oyama T, Katayama Y, Muranaka M, Bannai H, Nemoto M, Yamanaka T, Kondo T, Kato M, Matsumura T.A single non-synonymous nucleotide substitution of guanine (G) for adenine (A) at position 2254 in the viral DNA polymerase gene (encoded by open reading frame [ORF] 30) of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) has been significantly associated with neuropathogenic potential in strains of this virus. To estimate the prevalence of EHV-1 strains with the neuropathogenic genotype (ORF30 G(2254)) in the Hidaka district--a major horse breeding area in Japan--we analyzed the ORF30 genomic region in cases of EHV-1 infection in this area during the years 2001-2010. Of the 113 cases analyzed, 3 (2.7%) were...
Science (New York, N.Y.)March 30, 2023
Volume 379, Issue 6639 1316-1323 doi: 10.1126/science.adc9691
Taylor WTT, Librado P, American Horse CJ, Shield Chief Gover C, Arterberry J, Afraid of Bear-Cook AL, Left Heron H, Yellow Hair RM, Gonzalez M....The horse is central to many Indigenous cultures across the American Southwest and the Great Plains. However, when and how horses were first integrated into Indigenous lifeways remain contentious, with extant models derived largely from colonial records. We conducted an interdisciplinary study of an assemblage of historic archaeological horse remains, integrating genomic, isotopic, radiocarbon, and paleopathological evidence. Archaeological and modern North American horses show strong Iberian genetic affinities, with later influx from British sources, but no Viking proximity. Horses rapidly sp...
Henkel J, Lafayette C, Brooks SA, Martin K, Patterson-Rosa L, Cook D, Jagannathan V, Leeb T.White spotting phenotypes in horses are highly valued in some breeds. They are quite variable and may range from the common white markings up to completely white horses. EDNRB, KIT, MITF, PAX3 and TRPM1 represent known candidate genes for white spotting phenotypes in horses. For the present study, we investigated an American Paint Horse family segregating a phenotype involving white spotting and blue eyes. Six of eight horses with the white-spotting phenotype were deaf. We obtained whole-genome sequence data from an affected horse and specifically searched for structural variants in the known ...
Matsumura T, Kondo T, Sugita S, Damiani AM, O'Callaghan DJ, Imagawa H.The cell culture-adapted KyA strain of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) has been found to be attenuated in young horses (Matsumura et al., 1996, Vet. Microbiol. 48, 353-365). The KyA strain lacks at least six genes in its genome, including those encoding glycoproteins gE and gI. To elucidate whether EHV-1 glycoproteins gE and gI play a role in viral virulence, we have constructed an EHV-1 recombinant that has the genes encoding both gE and gI deleted from its genome and its revertant. Growth properties of the deletion mutant virus in vitro were compared with those of the parent and the revert...
Foss R, Ortis H, Hinrichs K.Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is used to produce foals from otherwise infertile mares and from stallions with limited sperm stores, but requires expensive equipment and is technically demanding. Methods to transport oocytes to ICSI laboratories would allow collection of oocytes by the referring veterinarian and enable greater application of this technique. Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate protocols that could be used to transport immature and maturing oocytes for ICSI. Methods: In vitro experiment. Methods: Oocytes were recovered by transvaginal ultrasound-guided folli...
Hall SE, Upton RMO, McLaughlin EA, Sutherland JM.The mare ovary is unique in its anatomical structure; however, the signalling pathways responsible for physiological processes, such as follicular activation, remain uncharacterised. This provided us with the impetus to explore whether signalling molecules from important folliculogenesis pathways, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT), are conserved in the mare ovary. Messenger RNA expression of six genes important in follicle development was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and pr...
Kovaleva EG, Plapp BV.Binding of NAD+ to wild-type horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase is strongly pH-dependent and is limited by a unimolecular step, which may be related to a conformational change of the enzyme-NAD+ complex. Deprotonation during binding of NAD+ and inhibitors that trap the enzyme-NAD+ complex was examined by transient kinetics with pH indicators, and formation of complexes was monitored by absorbance and protein fluorescence. Reactions with pyrazole and trifluoroethanol had biphasic proton release, whereas reaction with caprate showed proton release followed by proton uptake. Proton release (200-55...
McPartlin LA, Visconti PE, Bedford-Guaus SJ.Capacitation encompasses the molecular changes sperm undergo to fertilize an oocyte, some of which are postulated to occur via a cAMP-PRKACA (protein kinase A)-mediated pathway. Due to the recent discovery of cAMP-activated guanine nucleotide exchange factors RAPGEF3 and RAPGEF4, we sought to investigate the separate roles of PRKACA and RAPGEF3/RAPGEF4 in modulating capacitation and acrosomal exocytosis. Indirect immunofluorescence localized RAPGEF3 to the acrosome and subacrosomal ring and RAPGEF4 to the midpiece in equine sperm. Addition of the RAPGEF3/RAPGEF4-specific cAMP analogue 8-(p-chl...
Meehan M, Lynagh Y, Woods C, Owen P.The major cell-wall-associated protein of the equine pathogen Streptococcus equi subsp. equi is an M-like fibrinogen-binding protein (FgBP) which binds equine fibrinogen (Fg) avidly, through residues located at the extreme N-terminus of the molecule. In this study, it is shown that FgBP additionally binds equine IgG-Fc. When tested against polyclonal IgG from ten other animal species, it was found that FgBP binds human, rabbit, pig and cat IgG, but does not bind mouse, rat, goat, sheep, cow or chicken IgG. Through the use of a panel of recombinant FgBP truncates containing defined deletions of...
Wen B, Rikihisa Y, Fuerst PA, Chaichanasiriwithaya W.Ehrlichia risticii is the causative agent of Potomac horse fever. Variations among the major antigens of different local E. risticii strains have been detected previously. To further assess genetic variability in this species or species complex, the sequences of the 16S rRNA genes of several isolates obtained from sick horses diagnosed as having Potomac horse fever were determined. The sequences of six isolates obtained from Ohio and three isolates obtained from Kentucky were amplified by PCR. Three groups of sequences were identified. The sequences of five of the Ohio isolates were identical ...
Asadollahpour Nanaei H, Esmailizadeh A, Ayatollahi Mehrgardi A, Han J, Wu DD, Li Y, Zhang YP.Body size is considered as one of the most fundamental properties of an organism. Due to intensive breeding and artificial selection throughout the domestication history, horses exhibit striking variations for heights at withers and body sizes. Debao pony (DBP), a famous Chinese horse, is known for its small body size and lives in Guangxi mountains of southern China. In this study, we employed comparative population genomics to study the genetic basis underlying the small body size of DBP breed based on the whole genome sequencing data. To detect genomic signatures of positive selection, we ap...
van der Meide NM, Roders N, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Schaap PJ, van Oers MM, Leibold W, Savelkoul HF, Tijhaar E.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an IgE-mediated (Type I) hypersensitivity reaction induced by allergens from biting midges of the Culicoides spp. The aim of the present study was to identify, clone and express recombinant allergens from C. obsoletus, the main species found feeding on horses in the Netherlands, by sequence homology searches on the C. obsoletus specific RNA database, with previously described allergens from C. nubeculosus and C. sonorensis. BLAST searches with these described allergens resulted in similarity hits with 7 genes coding for C. obsoletus allergens. These allerg...
Ortiz-Escribano N, Bogado Pascottini O, Woelders H, Vandenberghe L, De Schauwer C, Govaere J, Van den Abbeel E, Vullers T, Ververs C, Roels K....The success rate for vitrification of immature equine oocytes is low. Although vitrified-warmed oocytes are able to mature, further embryonic development appears to be compromised. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare two vitrification protocols, and to examine the effect of the number of layers of cumulus cells surrounding the oocyte during vitrification of immature equine oocytes. Methods: Experimental in vitro and in vivo trials. Methods: Immature equine oocytes were vitrified after a short exposure to high concentrations of cryoprotective agents (CPAs), or a long exposure to l...
Hagen A, Lehmann H, Aurich S, Bauer N, Melzer M, Moellerberndt J, Patané V, Schnabel CL, Burk J.Translation of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-based therapies is advancing in human and veterinary medicine. One critical issue is the culture of MSC before clinical use. Using fetal bovine serum (FBS) as supplement to the basal medium is still the gold standard for cultivation of many cell types including equine MSC. Alternatives are being explored, with substantial success using platelet lysate-supplemented media for human MSC. However, progress lags behind in the veterinary field. The aim of this study was to establish a scalable protocol for equine platelet lysate (ePL) produc...
Mshelia PW, Kappmeyer L, Johnson WC, Kudi CA, Oluyinka OO, Balogun EO, Richard EE, Onoja E, Sears KP, Ueti MW.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is an infectious, tick-borne disease caused by the hemoprotozoan parasites, Theileria equi, Babesia caballi, and a recently reported new species, T. haneyi. Infections by these apicomplexan parasites limit performance and cause economic losses for the horse industry. Equine piroplasmosis is widespread in the northern regions of Nigeria, where an increasing portion of the animal population is composed of horses. This disease has remained epidemiologically challenging, especially as the movement of horses increases across Nigeria. In this study, blood samples from 300 h...
Schurink A, da Silva VH, Velie BD, Dibbits BW, Crooijmans RPMA, Franҫois L, Janssens S, Stinckens A, Blott S, Buys N, Lindgren G, Ducro BJ.Many common and relevant diseases affecting equine welfare have yet to be tested regarding structural variants such as copy number variations (CNVs). CNVs make up a substantial proportion of total genetic variability in populations of many species, resulting in more sequence differences between individuals than SNPs. Associations between CNVs and disease phenotypes have been established in several species, but equine CNV studies have been limited. Aim of this study was to identify CNVs and to perform a genome-wide association (GWA) study in Friesian horses to identify genomic loci associated w...
