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.
Latham CM, Fenger CK, White SH.Responses of equine skeletal muscle characteristics to growth and training have been shown to differ between breeds. These differential responses may arise in part because muscle fiber type and mitochondrial density differ between breeds, even in untrained racing-bred horses. However, it is not known when these breed-specific differences manifest. To test the hypothesis that weanling Standardbreds (SB) and Thoroughbreds (TB) would have higher mitochondrial measures than Quarter Horses (QH), gluteus medius samples were collected from SB (mean ± SD; 6.2 ± 1.0 mo; n = 10), TB (6.1 ± 0.5 mo; n ...
Grilz-Seger G, Druml T, Neuditschko M, Mesarič M, Cotman M, Brem G.Overlapping runs of homozygosity (ROH islands) shared by the majority of a population are hypothesized to be the result of selection around a target locus. In this study we investigated the impact of selection for coat color within the Noriker horse on autozygosity and ROH patterns. We analyzed overlapping homozygous regions (ROH islands) for gene content in fragments shared by more than 50% of horses. Long-term assortative mating of chestnut horses and the small effective population size of leopard spotted and tobiano horses resulted in higher mean genome-wide ROH coverage (S ) within the ran...
May-Davis S, Vermeulen Z, Brown WY.The 55-million-year history of equine phylogeny has been well-documented from the skeletal record; however, this is less true for the soft tissue structures that are now vestigial in modern horse. A recent study reported that two ligamentous structures resembling functional interosseous muscle II and IV were evident in Dutch Konik horses. The current study investigates this finding and compares it to members of the genus Equus to identify either a breed anomaly or functional primitive trait. Distal limbs (n = 574) were dissected from four species of Equus; E. caballus, E. asinus, E. przewalski...
Cuervo-Arango J, Claes AN, Stout TA.Asynchronous embryo transfer is an excellent tool to investigate how subtle differences in the uterine environment affect embryo development and survival. Progesterone secreted from the corpus luteum following ovulation is one of the main factors responsible for establishing endometrial receptivity for the pre-implantation embryo via complex alterations in the expression of genes involved in the secretion of the histotroph. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine whether the recipient's Day after ovulation and the number of CL at ET influence the pregnancy rates of IVP horse...
Stejskalova K, Janova E, Horecky C, Horecka E, Vaclavek P, Hubalek Z, Relling K, Cvanova M, D'Amico G, Mihalca AD, Modry D, Knoll A, Horin P.The West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus causing meningoencephalitis in humans and animals. Due to their particular susceptibility to WNV infection, horses serve as a sentinel species. In a population of Romanian semi-feral horses living in the Danube delta region, we have analyzed the distribution of candidate polymorphic genetic markers between anti WNV-IgG seropositive and seronegative horses. Thirty-six SNPs located in 28 immunity-related genes and 26 microsatellites located in the MHC and LY49 complex genomic regions were genotyped in 57 seropositive and 32 seronegative ho...
Shakarami MH, Mohammadabadi T, Motamedi H, Sari M, Teimouri Yansari A.This study was conducted to isolate and identify the cellulolytic bacteria from gastrointestinal tract of Arabian horse and investigate their effect on the nutritional value of wheat straw (WS). Results: Fresh faeces were collected from four Arabian horses. The cellulose-hydrolytic bacteria were isolated by using a medium amended with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The activity of CMC was determined by measuring the release of reducing sugars from CMC. Among the isolates, four isolates (L11, L12, L2 and Z2) showed maximum hydrolysis capacity. 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that these isolat...
Gale AL, Linardi RL, McClung G, Mammone RM, Ortved KF.Focal cartilage injury occurs commonly and often precipitates OA. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may be useful for repairing cartilage lesions, thereby preventing joint degeneration. Although MSCs isolated from bone marrow have been shown to have chondrogenic potential, synovial membrane-derived MSCs (SM-MSCs) may have superior chondrogenic abilities due to a common progenitor cell between synovium and cartilage. The objective of this study was to directly compare the immunophenotype, proliferative capabilities, and chondrogenic potential of equine SM-MSCs and bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs)...
Marcinkowska M, Bucki A, Panek D, Siwek A, Fajkis N, Bednarski M, Zygmunt M, Godyń J, Del Rio Valdivieso A, Kotańska M, Kołaczkowski M....Serotonin 5-HT receptors, butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and oxidative stress are related to the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease. Inhibition of BuChE provides symptomatic treatment of the disease and the same effect was demonstrated for 5-HT antagonists in clinical trials. Oxidative stress is regarded as a major and primary factor contributing to the development of Alzheimer's disease; therefore, antioxidant agents may provide a disease-modifying effect. Combining BuChE inhibition, 5-HT antagonism, and antioxidant properties may result in multitarget-directed ligands providing cognitio...
Ząbek T, Semik-Gurgul E, Szmatoła T, Gurgul A, Fornal A, Bugno-Poniewierska M.Horses are one of the longest-living species of farm animals. Advanced age is often associated with a decrease in body condition, dysfunction of immune system, and late-onset disorders. Due to this, the search for new solutions in the prevention and treatment of pathological conditions of the advanced age of horses is desirable. That is why the identification of aging-related changes in the horse genome is interesting in this respect. In the recent years, the research on aging includes studies of age-related epigenetic effects observed on the DNA methylation level. We applied reduced represent...
Briefer Freymond S, Bardou D, Beuret S, Bachmann I, Zuberbühler K, Briefer EF.Although stereotypic behaviors are a common problem in captive animals, why certain individuals are more prone to develop them remains elusive. In horses, individuals show considerable differences in how they perceive and react to external events, suggesting that this may partially account for the emergence of stereotypies in this species. In this study, we focused on crib-biting, the most common stereotypy displayed by horses. We compared how established crib-biters ("CB" = 19) and normal controls ("C" = 18) differed in response to a standard "personality" assessment test battery, i.e., react...
Nam B, Mekuria Z, Carossino M, Li G, Zheng Y, Zhang J, Cook RF, Shuck KM, Campos JR, Squires EL, Troedsson MHT, Timoney PJ, Balasuriya UBR.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a reproductive and respiratory disease of horses. Following natural infection, 10 to 70% of infected stallions can become carriers of EAV and continue to shed virus in the semen. In this study, sequential viruses isolated from nasal secretions, buffy coat cells, and semen of seven experimentally infected and two naturally infected EAV carrier stallions were deep sequenced to elucidate the intrahost microevolutionary process after a single transmission event. Analysis of variants from nasal secretions and buffy...
Yasine A, Ashenafi H, Geldhof P, Van Brantegem L, Vercauteren G, Bekana M, Tola A, Van Soom A, Duchateau L, Goddeeris B, Govaere J.Dourine, a venereal transmitted trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma equiperdum, has different clinical signs related to the reproductive and nervous system. Pathologic tissue changes associated with the disease are poorly described. The present study describes the histopathological lesions in naturally T. equiperdum-infected horses in the chronical stage of dourine. Results: Four chronically dourine diseased horses underwent a post-mortem examination. They were Woo test negative, but CATT/T. evansi positive, had a low packed cell volume (PCV) and exhibited obvious clinical signs of dourine. P...
McHorse BK, Biewener AA, Pierce SE.Horses are a classic example of macroevolution in three major traits-large body size, tall-crowned teeth (hypsodonty), and a single toe (monodactyly)-but how and why monodactyly evolved is still poorly understood. Existing hypotheses usually connect digit reduction in horses to the spread and eventual dominance of open-habitat grasslands, which took over from forests during the Cenozoic; digit reduction has been argued to be an adaptation for speed, locomotor economy, stability, and/or increased body size. In this review, we assess the evidence for these (not necessarily mutually exclusive) hy...
McCoy AM, Beeson SK, Rubin CJ, Andersson L, Caputo P, Lykkjen S, Moore A, Piercy RJ, Mickelson JR, McCue ME.Several horse breeds have been specifically selected for the ability to exhibit alternative patterns of locomotion, or gaits. A premature stop codon in the gene DMRT3 is permissive for "gaitedness" across breeds. However, this mutation is nearly fixed in both American Standardbred trotters and pacers, which perform a diagonal and lateral gait, respectively, during harness racing. This suggests that modifying alleles must influence the preferred gait at racing speeds in these populations. A genome-wide association analysis for the ability to pace was performed in 542 Standardbred horses (n = 17...
Velie BD, Solé M, Fegraeus KJ, Rosengren MK, Røed KH, Ihler CF, Strand E, Lindgren G.Since the 1950s, the Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded trotter (NSCT) has been intensively selected for harness racing performance. As a result, the racing performance of the NSCT has improved remarkably; however, this improved racing performance has also been accompanied by a gradual increase in inbreeding level. Inbreeding in NSCT has historically been monitored by using traditional methods that are based on pedigree analysis, but with recent advancements in genomics, the NSCT industry has shown interest in adopting molecular approaches for the selection and maintenance of this breed. Consequent...
Griffin RA, Baker M, Aitken RJ, Swegen A, Gibb Z.Stallions experience lower per-cycle conception rates compared to other livestock species, largely because they are selected for breeding based on athletic prowess and not reproductive fitness. Mares are seasonal breeders, and pregnancies cannot be detected until 10-14 days post cover via transrectal ultrasonography. This means the detection of stallion fertility fluctuations is delayed by at least 2 weeks, which within the short breeding season employed by the thoroughbred horse breeding industry, can prove quite costly. For these reasons, there is increased demand for robust laboratory assay...
Lee SK, Lee I.Equine herpesvirus (EHV) 2 and equine herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) have been getting attention as potential causative pathogens of reproductive disorders in horses. Equine herpesviruses 2 and 5 are widespread among horses and have been detected in various samples including nasal swabs, blood, and ocular swabs. However, the detection of these pathogens in genital swabs has not been determined. The aims of this study were to determine the positive rate of EHV-2 and EHV-5 DNA in genital swabs taken from clinically normal mares and to define the genetic diversity of these EHV-2 and EHV-5 DNA sequences by...
Meister TL, Tegtmeyer B, Postel A, Cavalleri JV, Todt D, Stang A, Steinmann E.An equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) has been recently identified in association with equine serum hepatitis, also known as Theiler's disease. This disease was first described by Arnold Theiler in 1918 and is often observed after applications with blood products in equines. So far, the virus has only been described in the USA and China. In this study, we evaluated the presence of EqPV-H in several commercial serum samples to assess the potential risk of virus transmission by equine serum-based products for medical and research applications. In 11 out of 18 commercial serum samples, EqPV-H D...
El-Sheikh Ali H, Legacki EL, Loux SC, Esteller-Vico A, Dini P, Scoggin KE, Conley AJ, Stanley SD, Ball BA.The current study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying myometrial activation during equine placentitis related to progestogens and the progesterone receptor signaling pathways. Placentitis was induced via intracervical inoculation with Streptococcus equi ssp zooepidemicus in mares at approximately 290 days of gestation (placentitis group; n = 6) with uninoculated gestationally matched mares as controls (n = 4). Mares in the placentitis and control groups were euthanized, and myometrial samples were collected from two regions: region 1-parallel to active placentitis lesion with plac...
Casenave P, Leclere M, Beauchamp G, Blais MC.After-hours or out-of-clinic crossmatches are often limited by the lack of access to specialized material and technical expertise. Objective: The goal was to adapt a stall-side crossmatch test for pretransfusion evaluation in horses. Methods: Twelve healthy mares (plasma and blood donors, teaching mares). Methods: In a prospective study, blood from 12 mares was used to compare the results of 132 crossmatches performed with a rapid gel assay to crossmatches performed with a microgel column assay, and with predicted compatibilities based on blood types and detection of antibodies at a reference ...
Perry GH, Makarewicz CA.A new analysis of paleogenomic data from 278 ancient horses (Fages et al. Cellhttp://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.049) finds that this animal - crucially important to many ancient and contemporary human societies for subsistence, transportation, conflict, and more - was domesticated in at least two different regions, but with the geographic and cultural origins of the modern domestic horse lineage remaining unknown. By tracing ancient horse population movements and inferring the spatiotemporal trajectories of phenotypic adaptations, this study provides fresh perspectives on past human group ...
Vimercati S, Elli S, Jagannathan V, Pandey AV, Peduto N, Leeb T, Mevissen M.Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) of the equine CYP3A subfamily are predominantly involved in drug metabolism. In this study, genetic variants of the equine CYP3A94, CYP3A95, and CYP3A97 were identified and characterized using in silico modeling and in vitro enzyme kinetics. The genomes of 81 horses were sequenced to obtain the genetic variants. Structural CYP modifications of the most frequent variants were analyzed in silico using the 3D-structures predicted by homology modeling. Enzyme kinetic analyses were performed using testosterone as substrate. Twenty genetic variants were found including...
Yuan JX, Hou XD, Barlow A, Preick M, Taron UH, Alberti F, Basler N, Deng T, Lai XL, Hofreiter M, Sheng GL.The extant diversity of horses (family Equidae) represents a small fraction of that occurring over their evolutionary history. One such lost lineage is the subgenus Sussemionus, which is thought to have become extinct during the Middle Pleistocene. However, recent molecular studies and morphological analysis have revealed that one of their representatives, E. ovodovi, did exist in Siberia during the Late Pleistocene. Fossil materials of E. ovodovi have thus far only been found in Russia. In this study, we extracted DNA from three equid fossil specimens excavated from northeastern China dated a...
Neuhauser S, Bollwein H, Siuda M, Handler J.Cryopreservation of epididymal sperm allows the saving of genetic material in case of unexpected death or emergency castration. The aim of the present study was the comparison of five different combinations of extenders commercially available for equine frozen semen processing for cryopreservation of epididymal sperm. Epididymal sperm were harvested from gonads of 10 healthy stallions after routine castration by retrograde flush technique. Then, samples were split and diluted with (1) INRA96 + INRA Freeze, (2) BotuSemen + BotuCRIO, (3) EquiPlus + Gent Freeze, (4) EquiPlus + EquiPlus Freeze...
Nemoto M, Niwa H, Murakami S, Miki R, Higuchi T, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Kokado H.Equine group A rotaviruses (RVAs) cause diarrhoea in foals. We investigated the G genotypes of 360 RVA-positive samples obtained from diarrhoeic foals between 2012 and 2018 in the Hidaka district of Hokkaido, Japan, through sequence analysis of VP7. All samples were classified into genotypes G3A, G3B and G14. G3B RVAs were detected until 2016, and G3A RVAs were detected from 2016 to 2018. G14 RVAs were detected from 2012 to 2018. Although G3B RVAs had been circulating in Japan for a long time, G3A RVAs suddenly emerged in 2016, and have replaced G3B RVAs since 2017. Molecular analyses of VP7 a...
Castillo JM, Tse MPY, Dockweiler JC, Cheong SH, de Amorim MD.A 16-year-old Oldenburg mare was evaluated for stallion-like behavior. The mare had given birth to 2 foals previously. Transrectal palpation revealed bilaterally enlarged ovaries with no palpable ovulation fossa. Ultrasound examination showed both ovaries to have small follicles giving a honeycomb appearance, concurrent with a single large cystic structure in the left ovary (10.2 cm diameter). Serum Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) was elevated (95.7 pmol/L), consistent with granulosa cell tumor (GCT). Both ovaries were removed via flank laparoscopy and were evaluated by histopathology, which con...
Gmel AI, Druml T, von Niederhäusern R, Leeb T, Neuditschko M.The evaluation of conformation traits is an important part of selection for breeding stallions and mares. Some of these judged conformation traits involve joint angles that are associated with performance, health, and longevity. To improve our understanding of the genetic background of joint angles in horses, we have objectively measured the angles of the poll, elbow, carpal, fetlock (front and hind), hip, stifle, and hock joints based on one photograph of each of the 300 Franches-Montagnes (FM) and 224 Lipizzan (LIP) horses. After quality control, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for t...
Neuhauser S, Handler J, Schelling C, Pieńkowska-Schelling A.Chromosomal abnormalities are notable causes of infertility in horses. Mares show various degrees of estrous behavior, and ultrasound examination often reveals an underdeveloped genital tract. This article reports investigations on fertility in a Haflinger sibship with a healthy, normally developed, fertile mare with at least three healthy offspring. Chromosomal analysis performed incidentally and blinded for this mare revealed 63,X/64,XX/65,XXX mosaicism. Two closely related mares were also mosaics (63,X/64,XX), and one of them was a carrier of a marker chromosome. Repeated examinations of th...
Sears KP, Knowles DP, Fry LM.The global importance of the hemoparasite to equine health was recently shown by its resistance to imidocarb dipropionate (ID) and its interference with clearance by ID in some co-infected horses. Genetic characterization of revealed marked genomic reduction compared to , and initial experiments demonstrated reduced clinical severity in spleen-intact horses. Furthermore, in early experiments, splenectomized horses survived infection and progressed to an asymptomatic carrier state, in stark contrast to the high fatality rate of in splenectomized horses. Thus, we hypothesized that is less ...
Suagee JK, Corl BA, Crisman MV, Wearn JG, McCutcheon LJ, Geor RJ.The lipogenic capacities of equine liver and adipose tissue explants were investigated in vitro. Preference for glucose or acetate as the primary carbon source for de novo fatty acid synthesis was determined using (14)C labeled substrates. Additional aims included determining the relative contribution of NADPH generating pathways to reducing equivalent generation and comparing the lipogenic activity of two adipose depots, mesenteric and subcutaneous harvested from the crest region of the neck. Mesenteric adipose tissue had greater lipogenic activity than subcutaneous adipose tissue, and liver ...
Santos EM, Paula JF, Motta PM, Heinemann MB, Leite RC, Haddad JP, Del Puerto HL, Reis JK.We compared three different protocols for DNA extraction from horse peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and lung fragments, determining average final DNA concentration, purity, percentage of PCR amplification using beta-actin, and cost. Thirty-four samples from PBMC, and 33 samples from lung fragments were submitted to DNA extraction by three different protocols. Protocol A consisted of a phenol-chloroform and isoamylic alcohol extraction, Protocol B used alkaline extraction with NaOH, and Protocol C used the DNAzol((R)) reagent kit. Protocol A was the best option for DNA extraction from...
Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.This paper summarises and interrelates the findings of a large-scale multidisciplinary investigation to assess the influence of exercise on the development of the equine musculoskeletal system in general and of osteochondrosis in particular, up to age 5 months. Forty-three foals, genetically predisposed to develop OC, were divided into 3 exercise groups: box-rest, box-rest with training and free pasture exercise. At 5 months, all foals were weaned and 8 foals per group were subjected to euthanasia for postmortem examination. The remaining 19 foals were placed together and subjected to euthanas...
Gasser RB, Stevenson LA, Chilton NB, Nansen P, Bucknell DG, Beveridge I.Five species of equine strongyle belonging to the subfamily Strongylinae (Strongylus edentatus, S. equinus, S. vulgaris, Oesophagodontus robustus and Triodontophorus serratus) and 11 species belonging to the subfamily Cyathostominae (Poteriostomum imparidentatum, P. ratzii, Cylicocyclus insignis, Cc. leptostomus, Cc. nassatus, Cylicostephanus calicatus, Cs. longibursatus, Cs. goldi, Cyathostomum catinatum, Cy. labiatum and Cy. pateratum) were characterized using a polymerase chain reaction-linked restriction fragment length polymorphism technique (PCR-RFLP). Internal transcribed spacer ribosom...
Nergadze SG, Belloni E, Piras FM, Khoriauli L, Mazzagatti A, Vella F, Bensi M, Vitelli V, Giulotto E, Raimondi E.Centromeres are the sites of kinetochore assembly and spindle fiber attachment and consist of protein-DNA complexes in which the DNA component is typically characterized by the presence of extended arrays of tandem repeats called satellite DNA. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of a 137-bp-long new satellite DNA sequence from the horse genome (EC137), which is also present, even if less abundant, in the domestic donkey, the Grevy's zebra and the Burchelli's zebra. We investigated the chromosomal distribution of the EC137 sequence in these 4 species. Moreover, we analyzed its...
Xing J, Liu G, Zhang X, Bai D, Yu J, Li L, Wang X, Su S, Zhao Y, Bou G, Dugarjaviin M.The community of microorganisms inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract of monogastric herbivores played critical roles in the absorption of nutrients and keeping the host healthy. However, its establishment at different age groups has not been quantitatively and functionally examined. The knowledge of microbial colonization and its function in the intestinal tract of different-age donkeys is still limited. By applying the V3-V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and functional prediction on fecal samples from different-age donkeys, we characterized the gut microbiota during the different age...
Rockey JH.Eight antigenically unique immunoglobulins have been identified in purified equine anti-p-azophenyl-beta-lactoside (Lac) antibody isolated from a single horse. The Fc fragments of the gammaGa-, gammaGb-, gammaGc-, and -gammaA-globulins have been shown to possess unique antigenic determinants. Common gammaG- and gammaA-Fc fragment antigenic determinants, which were absent from the 10Sgamma(1)- and gammaM-globulins, have also been observed. All antibody populations share two antigenically distinct light (B, L) chain variants. The association of anti-Lac antibody with the hapten p-(p-dimethylamin...
Spier SJ, Carlson GP, Holliday TA, Cardinet GH, Pickar JG.Eleven horses (3 mares, 7 stallions, 1 gelding) with clinical and biochemical evidence of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis were studied. Each horse had history of episodic weakness, muscular tremors, or collapse, which lasted for periods of a few minutes to hours. Diagnosis was based on hyperkalemia in association with a spontaneous episode of paralysis or by precipitation of an episode by oral administration of potassium chloride. Clinical and biochemical events were documented during spontaneous and induced episodes of muscular weakness. During episodes, electrocardiographic findings were con...
Bruhn O, Paul S, Tetens J, Thaller G.Defensins represent an important class of antimicrobial peptides. These effector molecules of the innate immune system act as endogenous antibiotics to protect the organism against infections with pathogenic microorganisms. Mammalian defensins are classified into three distinct sub-families (alpha-, beta- and theta-defensins) according to their specific intramolecular disulfide-bond pattern. The peptides exhibit an antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of microorganisms including bacteria and fungi. Alpha-Defensins are primarily synthesised in neutrophils and intestinal Paneth cells....
van der Kolk JH, Pacholewska A, Gerber V.The search for new markers of diseases in human as well as veterinary medicine is ongoing. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) have emerged as potential new biomarkers. MiRNAs are short sequences of RNA (∼22 nucleotides) that regulate gene expression via their target messenger RNA (mRNA). Circulating miRNAs in blood can be used as novel diagnostic markers for diseases due to their evolutionary conservation and stability. As a consequence of their systemic and manifold effects on the gene expression in various target organs, the concept that miRNAs could function as hormones has been suggest...
Hagen SJ, Latypov RF, Dolgikh DA, Roder H.Time-resolved spectroscopic studies of unfolded horse iron(II) cytochrome c have suggested that the imidazole side chains of His26 and His33 bind transiently to the heme iron on microsecond time scales, after photodissociation of a carbon monoxide ligand from the heme. Our studies of four variants of cytochrome c (horse wild type, horse H33N, horse H33N/H26Q, and tuna wild type), unfolded in guanidine hydrochloride at pH 6.5, demonstrate that these side chains are responsible for the observed microsecond spectral changes. As His33 and then His26 are eliminated from the horse wild-type sequence...
Peffers MJ, Thornton DJ, Clegg PD.Osteoarthritis is characterized by a loss of extracellular matrix that leads to cartilage degradation and joint space narrowing. Specific proteases, including the aggrecanases ADAMTS-4 and matrix metalloproteinase 3, are important in initiating and promoting cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis. This study investigated protease-specific and disease-specific cleavage patterns of particular extracellular matrix proteins by comparing new peptide fragments, neopeptides, in specific exogenous protease-driven digestion of a crude cartilage proteoglycan extract and an in-vitro model of early osteo...
McFarlane D, Beech J, Cribb A.Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) stimulates an increase in plasma cortisol in horses with pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, Cushing's disease). A similar phenomenon is observed in humans with Cushing's disease or Nelson's syndrome. The mechanism of the response in humans is not known, but an alteration in receptor expression, selectivity or responsiveness in abnormal corticotropes has been proposed. Horses with PPID, unlike humans, almost exclusively have adenomas of pars intermedia (PI) rather than pars distalis (PD) origin. Therefore, the mechanism responsible for the TRH response observ...
Pusterla N, Leutenegger CM, Chae JS, Lutz H, Kimsey RB, Dumler JS, Madigan JE.This paper describes the kinetics of the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent in the blood of horses experimentally infected by intravenous inoculation with infected leukocytes and by infected ticks as evaluated by using a real-time quantitative PCR assay. The data obtained indicated differences in the period of incubation, duration of rickettsemia, and initial and maximal ehrlichial loads between the two routes of infection.
Baumber J, Ball BA.To determine glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activities in spermatozoa, seminal plasma, and reproductive tissues (ie, testis, epididymis, bulbourethral gland, prostate, vesicular gland, and ampulla) in horses. Methods: Seminal plasma from 17 stallions, spermatozoa from 5 stallions, and reproductive tissues from 3 stallions. Methods: Activity of GPX was determined by use of assays measuring oxidation of NADPH in the presence of exogenous glutathione, cumene hydroperoxide, and glutathione reductase. Activity of SOD-like enzymes was determined by use of the nitrob...
Toh X, Wang Y, Rajapakse MP, Lee B, Songkasupa T, Suwankitwat N, Kamlangdee A, Judith Fernandez C, Huangfu T.African horse sickness (AHS) is a highly infectious and deadly disease despite availability of vaccines. Molecular characterization of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) detected from the March 2020 Thailand outbreak was carried out by whole-genome sequencing using Nanopore with a Sequence-Independent Single Primer Amplification (SISPA) approach. Nucleotide sequence of the whole genome was compared with closest matching AHSV strains using phylogenetic analyses and the AHSV-1 virus shared high sequence identity with isolates from the same outbreak. Substitution analysis revealed non-synonymous...
Wang M, Li H, Zhang X, Yang L, Liu Y, Liu S, Sun Y, Zhao C.The aim of the present study was to analyze the main factors that have a significant impact on skin thickness, and to further identify the genes and signaling pathways regulating skin growth by RNA-seq in Dezhou donkeys. Skin samples from different body regions of 15 slaughtered donkeys were obtained to study variations in skin thickness over the bodies. Skin thickness data for another 514 donkeys was obtained by minimally invasive skin sampling from the back, and measurements of the donkeys' body size traits and pedigree data were also collected. These data were used to analyze changes in ski...
Beutelspacher SC, Ardjomand N, Tan PH, Patton GS, Larkin DF, George AJ, McClure MO.In this study we compare the ability of self-inactivating Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) and Equine Infectious Anaemia Virus (EIAV)-based vectors to mediate gene transfer to rabbit and human corneas and to a murine corneal endothelial cell line. Both vectors were pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus-G (VSV-G) envelope and contained marker transgenes under the control of an internal CMV promoter. For specificity of action, the heterologous promoter in the EIAV-vector was exchanged for an inducible E-Selectin promoter, previously shown to regulate gene-expression in a plasmid syst...
Hicks BA, Etter SJ, Carnahan KG, Joyce MM, Assiri AA, Carling SJ, Kodali K, Johnson GA, Hansen TR, Mirando MA, Woods GL, Vanderwall DK, Ott TL.Pregnancy and interferon-tau (IFN tau) upregulate uterine Mx gene expression in ewes; however, the only known role for Mx is in the immune response to viral infection. We hypothesize that Mx functions as a conceptus-induced component of the anti-luteolytic mechanism and/or regulator of endometrial secretion or uterine remodeling during early pregnancy. This study was conducted to determine the effects of early pregnancy on uterine Mx expression in domestic farm species with varied mechanisms of pregnancy recognition. Endometrium from cows, gilts, and mares was collected during the first 20 d o...
Criscione A, Mastrangelo S, D'Alessandro E, Tumino S, Di Gerlando R, Zumbo A, Marletta D, Bordonaro S.Purosangue Orientale Siciliano, Sanfratellano and Siciliano represent the Sicilian equine genetic resource. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity, population structure and the pattern of autozygosity of Sicilian horse populations using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data generated with the Illumina Equine SNP70 array. The genotyping data of 17 European and Middle East populations were also included in the study. The patterns of genetic differentiation, model-based clustering and Neighbour-Net showed the expected positioning of Sicilian populations within the w...
Gasa S, Makita A, Kinoshita Y.The chemical structure of an equine hematoside, which contained an ester group and comprised 72% of the total erythrocyte gangliosides, was determined by means of nondestructive and destructive procedures. A 400-MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the ganglioside in perdeuterodimethyl sulfoxide demonstrated three protons due to a methyl group of an acetyl moiety, as well as amide and anomeric protons which were compatible with those of the ordinary hematoside. The spin decoupling difference spectroscopy of the ganglioside revealed the presence of the following structures. [formula: see ...
Rodríguez-Roldán V, García-Heredia JM, Navarro JA, Hervás M, De la Cerda B, Molina-Heredia FP, De la Rosa MA.Two synthetic genes coding for human and Arabidopsis cytochrome c, respectively, have been designed and constructed, and the recombinant proteins have been over-expressed in Escherichia coli cells. Thus a comparative analysis of the two heme proteins, including horse cytochrome c as a reference, has been performed. In addition to their physico-chemical properties, the redox behavior of the three proteins has been analyzed by following the kinetics of both their reduction by flavin semiquinones (lumiflavin, riboflavin, and FMN) and oxidation by cytochrome c oxidase. The resulting data indicate ...
Sun Y, Liu Z, Ren L, Wei Z, Wang P, Li N, Zhao Y.This review focuses on the diversity of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes and Ig isotypes that are expressed in domestic animals. Four livestock species-cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses-express a full range of Ig heavy chains (IgHs), including μ, δ, γ, ϵ, and α. Two poultry species (chickens and ducks) express three IgH isotypes, μ, υ, and α, but not δ. The κ and λ light chains are both utilized in the four livestock species, but only the λ chain is expressed in poultry. V(D)J recombination, somatic hypermutation (SHM), and gene conversion (GC) are three distinct mechanisms by which immunog...
Siemieniuch MJ, Szóstek AZ, Gajos K, Kozdrowski R, Nowak M, Okuda K.Mares that fail to conceive or lose their embryos, without showing typical signs of clinical endometritis, should be suspected of subclinical endometritis (SE). In this study, the question was addressed: does SE fully activate selected mechanisms of innate immunity in mares? For this aim, expression of mRNAs for Toll-like Receptor 2 and 4 (TLR 2/4), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF) was examined in control mares versus either mares suffering from chronic endometritis (ChE) or subacute suppurative endometritis (SSE). The concentrations of IL-1β, ...
Szmatoła T, Gurgul A, Jasielczuk I, Oclon E, Ropka-Molik K, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Polak G, Tomczyk-Wrona I, Bugno-Poniewierska M.The present study reports runs of homozygosity (ROH) distribution in the genomes of six horse breeds (571 horses in total) representing three horse types (primitive, light, and draft horses) based on the 65k Equine BeadChip assay. Of major interest was the length, quantity, and frequency of ROH characteristics, as well as differences between horse breeds and types. Noticeable differences in the number, length and distribution of ROH between breeds were observed, as well as in genomic inbreeding coefficients. We also identified regions of the genome characterized by high ROH coverage, known as ...
Sánchez-Guerrero MJ, Solé M, Azor PJ, Sölkner J, Valera M.Vitiligo and melanoma are relatively common disorders in grey Pura Raza Español horses and other horse breeds with grey-coloured coats. Objective: To determine the breed prevalence, environmental risks factors and estimate the genetic parameters for vitiligo and melanoma in Pura Raza Español horses. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: We analysed data from a large worldwide population of Pura Raza Español horses. The database included the vitiligo and melanoma scores, on either a four- or six-point linear scale, of 11,436 horses. Genetic parameters were estimated using a Bayesian ...
Trigo da Roza F, Couto N, Carneiro C, Cunha E, Rosa T, Magalhães M, Tavares L, Novais Â, Peixe L, Rossen JW, Lamas LP, Oliveira M.Multidrug-resistant (MDR) is considered a major global concern by the World Health Organization. Evidence is growing on the importance of circulation of MDR bacterial populations between animals and humans. Horses have been shown to carry commensal isolates of this bacterial species and can act as human MDR bacteria reservoirs. In this study, we characterized an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing sequence type (ST) 348 isolate from a horse, an ST reported for the first time in an animal, using next-generation sequencing. We compared it with six other MDR ST348 human isolates pr...
Hinrichs K, Schmidt AL, Friedman PP, Selgrath JP, Martin MG.The chromatin configuration of resting horse oocytes and the time course of in vitro oocyte maturation was characterized using a fluorescent, DNA-specific label. Oocytes were classified as having either compact (CP) or expanded (EX) cumuli at the time of collection. Centrifugation of oocytes was effective in allowing visualization of the germinal vesicle. Two main chromatin configurations were found in oocytes known to have a germinal vesicle: condensed chromatin (CC), in which the chromatin formed a dense mass surrounding the nucleolus; and fluorescing nucleus (FN), in which the entire nucleu...
Ambler RP, Meyer TE, Kamen MD.The amino-acid sequences of the cytochromes c2 from the photosynthetic non-sulfur purple bacteria Rhodomicrobium vannielii and Rhodopseudomonas viridis have been determined. Only a single residue deletion (at position 11 in horse cytochrome c) is necessary to align the sequences with those of mitochondrial cytochromes c. The overall sequence similarity between these cytochromes c2 and mitochondrial cytochromes c is closer than that between mitochondrial cytochromes c and the other cytochromes c2 of known sequence, and in the latter multiple insertions and deletions must be postulated before a ...
