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.
Kumar CS, Sivaramakrishna D, Ravi SK, Swamy MJ.Seminal fibronectin type-II (Fn-II) proteins interact with choline phospholipids present on the sperm plasma membrane and play a crucial role in sperm capacitation. Crystal structure of phosphorylcholine (PrC) complex of PDC-109, the major bovine Fn-II protein, together with fluorescence spectroscopic studies has shown that tryptophan residues are crucial for its specific interaction with choline phospholipids. In the present study, the heterogeneity and microenvironment of tryptophan residues in HSP-1/2, a major protein of horse seminal plasma (which is homologous to PDC-109) were investigate...
Ghosh S, Das PJ, McQueen CM, Gerber V, Swiderski CE, Lavoie JP, Chowdhary BP, Raudsepp T.We explored the involvement of genomic copy number variants (CNVs) in susceptibility to recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), or heaves-an asthmalike inflammatory disease in horses. Analysis of 16 RAO-susceptible (cases) and six RAO-resistant (control) horses on a custom-made whole-genome 400K equine tiling array identified 245 CNV regions (CNVRs), 197 previously known and 48 new, distributed on all horse autosomes and the X chromosome. Among the new CNVRs, 30 were exclusively found in RAO cases and were further analyzed by quantitative PCR, including additional cases and controls. Suggestive as...
Staiger EA, Al Abri MA, Pflug KM, Kalla SE, Ainsworth DM, Miller D, Raudsepp T, Sutter NB, Brooks SA.Conformation has long been a driving force in horse selection and breed creation as a predictor for performance. The Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) ranges in size from 1.5 to 1.7 m and is often used as a trail, show, and pleasure horse. To investigate the contribution of genetics to body conformation in the TWH, we collected DNA samples, body measurements, and gait/training information from 282 individuals. We analyzed the 32 body measures with a principal component analysis. Principal component (PC)1 captured 28.5% of the trait variance, while PC2 comprised just 9.5% and PC3 6.4% of trait vari...
Hussein H, Boyaka P, Dulin J, Bertone A.Cathepsin K (CatK) is an important enzyme regulating bone degradation and has been shown to contribute to the immune response. We have studied two inflammatory models in equine bone marrow nucleated cells (BMNCs); the LPS and the unmethylated CpG stimulation with the following objectives to: 1.determine whether CatK inhibition will alter the cytokine secretion by stimulated BMNCs; specifically IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, and 2.determine the changes in BMNCs surface markers' expression and MHC II molecule under CatK inhibition. Cathepsin K inhibition promoted BMNCs viability and reduced cell apop...
Smyth GB, Dagley K.To obtain information on the types of Australian horses, how they are kept and their activities. Methods: An invitation to participate in an opt-in, internet-based survey was sent to 7000 people who had registered an email address to receive information from the Australian Horse Industry Council Inc. Results: There were 3377 (48%) useable responses from owners of 26,548 horses. Most horses were kept on small properties (usually 2-8 ha) in paddocks in rural areas of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Most horses were female or geldings and the most common of 54 different activities was...
Taylor KR, MacKay RJ, Nelson EA, Stieler AL, Roberts JF, Castleman WL.Two horses euthanized for neurologic deficits were diagnosed with hamartomatous myelodysplasia of the spinal cord. One was a 5-week-old Holsteiner colt exhibiting spasms of muscle rigidity in the extensor muscles of the limbs and epaxial muscles, and the other was a 3-year-old Thoroughbred colt exhibiting progressive ataxia and hypermetria in the pelvic limbs. Each had focal disorganization of the white and gray matter of the spinal cord forming a mass interspersed with neurons, glial cells, and disoriented axon bundles. In the Holsteiner colt, the mass was at the level of C5 and included isla...
Hinrichs K, Choi YH.Embryo cryopreservation presents an essential method for banking of valuable genetics. However, in equine species the cryopreservation of embryos is complicated by three interacting factors: (1) the late entry of the embryo into the uterus (~6 days after ovulation); (2) the rapid expansion of the blastocyst; and (3) the formation of the equine embryonic capsule, a glycoprotein membrane that forms between the embryo and zona. Efforts to freeze or vitrify equine expanded blastocysts were initially met with little success. In addition, it was thought that breaching the capsule led to loss of embr...
Oldenhof H, Schütze S, Wolkers WF, Sieme H.Sperm chromatin structure and condensation determine accessibility for damage, and hence success of fertilization and development. The aim of this study was to reveal characteristic spectral features coinciding with abnormal sperm chromatin packing (i.e., DNA-protein interactions) and decreased fertility, using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Chromatin structure in spermatozoa obtained from different stallions was investigated. Furthermore, spermatozoa were exposed to oxidative stress, or treated with thiol-oxidizing and disulfide-reducing agents, to alter chromatin structure and pack...
Kozai K, Tokuyama S, Szóstek AZ, Toishi Y, Tsunoda N, Taya K, Sakatani M, Takahashi M, Nambo Y, Skarzynski DJ, Yamamoto Y, Kimura K, Okuda K.In mares, prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) secreted from the endometrium is a major luteolysin. Some domestic animals have an auto-amplification system in which PGF2α can stimulate its own production. Here, we investigated whether this is also the case in mares. In an in vivo study, mares at the mid-luteal phase (days 6-8 of estrous cycle) were injected i.m. with cloprostenol (250 µg) and blood samples were collected at fixed intervals until 72 h after treatment. Progesterone (P4) concentrations started decreasing 45 min after the injection and continued to decrease up to 24 h (P < 0.05). In t...
Sung SE, Hwang M, Kim AY, Lee EM, Lee EJ, Hwang SK, Kim SY, Kim HK, Jeong KS.Mesenchymal stem cells could potentially be used in the clinical treatment of muscle disorders and muscle regeneration. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) can be easily isolated from adipose tissue, as opposed to stem cells of other tissues. We believe that cell therapy using ADSCs could be applied to muscle disorders in horses and other species. We sought to improve the myogenic differentiation potential of equine ADSCs (eqADSCs) using a MyoD lentiviral vector. MyoD lentiviruses were transduced into eqADSCs and selected using puromycin. Cells were cultured in differentiation media containing ...
Raudsepp T, Chowdhary BP.The association between chromosomal abnormalities and reduced fertility in domestic animals is well recorded and has been studied for decades. Chromosome aberrations directly affect meiosis, gametogenesis, and the viability of zygotes and embryos. In some instances, balanced structural rearrangements can be transmitted, causing fertility problems in subsequent generations. Here, we aim to give a comprehensive overview of the current status and future prospects of clinical cytogenetics of animal reproduction by focusing on the advances in molecular cytogenetics during the genomics era. We descr...
Handing KB, Shabalin IG, Szlachta K, Majorek KA, Minor W.Serum albumin (SA) is the main transporter of drugs in mammalian blood plasma. Here, we report the first crystal structure of equine serum albumin (ESA) in complex with antihistamine drug cetirizine at a resolution of 2.1Ã…. Cetirizine is bound in two sites--a novel drug binding site (CBS1) and the fatty acid binding site 6 (CBS2). Both sites differ from those that have been proposed in multiple reports based on equilibrium dialysis and fluorescence studies for mammalian albumins as cetirizine binding sites. We show that the residues forming the binding pockets in ESA are highly conserved in h...
The Journal of heredityFebruary 16, 2016
Volume 107, Issue 3 214-219 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esw007
Jacobs LN, Staiger EA, Albright JD, Brooks SA.Shared signaling pathways utilized by melanocytes and neurons result in pleiotropic traits of coat color and behavior in many mammalian species. For example, in humans polymorphisms at MC1R cause red hair, increased heat sensitivity, and lower pain tolerance. In deer mice, rats, and foxes, ASIP polymorphisms causing black coat color lead to more docile demeanors and reduced activity. Horse (Equus caballus) base coat color is primarily determined by polymorphisms at the Melanocortin-1 Receptor (MC1R) and Agouti Signaling Protein (ASIP) loci, creating a black, bay, or chestnut coat. Our goal was...
Goudet G, Douet C, Kaabouba-Escurier A, Couty I, Moros-Nicolás C, Barrière P, Blard T, Reigner F, Deleuze S, Magistrini M.Most wild and domestic donkey breeds are currently endangered or threatened. Their preservation includes the creation of a Genome Resource Bank. Embryos cryopreservation allows the preservation of genetics from both male and female and is the fastest method to restore a breed. Because embryo production in vivo is limited in equids, our objective was to establish conditions for in vitro production of embryos in donkey using ovum pick up (OPU), IVM, IVF, and in vitro culture of zygotes. Donkey cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected by transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspirations OPU in ...
Heuer C, Scheel C, Tetens J, Kühn C, Thaller G.Categorical traits without ordinal representation of classes do not qualify for threshold models. Alternatively, the multinomial problem can be assessed by a sequence of independent binary contrasts using schemes such as one-vs-all or one-vs-one. Class probabilities can be arrived at by normalization or pair-wise coupling strategies. We assessed the predictive ability of whole-genome regression models and support vector machines for the classification of horses into four German Warmblood breeds. Results: Prediction accuracies of leave-one-out cross-validation were high and ranged from 0.75 to ...
Reed SM, Furr M, Howe DK, Johnson AL, MacKay RJ, Morrow JK, Pusterla N, Witonsky S.Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) remains an important neurologic disease of horses. There are no pathognomonic clinical signs for the disease. Affected horses can have focal or multifocal central nervous system (CNS) disease. EPM can be difficult to diagnose antemortem. It is caused by either of 2 parasites, Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi, with much less known about N. hughesi. Although risk factors such as transport stress and breed and age correlations have been identified, biologic factors such as genetic predispositions of individual animals, and parasite-specific factors...
Mehdizadeh Gohari I, Kropinski AM, Weese SJ, Parreira VR, Whitehead AE, Boerlin P, Prescott JF.The recent discovery of a novel beta-pore-forming toxin, NetF, which is strongly associated with canine and foal necrotizing enteritis should improve our understanding of the role of type A Clostridium perfringens associated disease in these animals. The current study presents the complete genome sequence of two netF-positive strains, JFP55 and JFP838, which were recovered from cases of foal necrotizing enteritis and canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, respectively. Genome sequencing was done using Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) technology-PacBio and Illumina Hiseq2000. The JFP55 and JFP838...
Frischknecht M, Flury C, Leeb T, Rieder S, Neuditschko M.Shetland ponies were selected for numerous traits including small stature, strength, hardiness and longevity. Despite the different selection criteria, Shetland ponies are well known for their small stature. We performed a selection signature analysis including genome-wide SNPs of 75 Shetland ponies and 76 large-sized horses. Based upon this dataset, we identified a selection signature on equine chromosome (ECA) 1 between 103.8Â Mb and 108.5Â Mb. A total of 33 annotated genes are located within this interval including the IGF1R gene at 104.2Â Mb and the ADAMTS17 gene at 105.4Â Mb. These two ge...
Bayerova Z, Janova E, Matiasovic J, Orlando L, Horin P.Immunity-related genes are a suitable model for studying effects of selection at the genomic level. Some of them are highly conserved due to functional constraints and purifying selection, while others are variable and change quickly to cope with the variation of pathogens. The SLC11A1 gene encodes a transporter protein mediating antimicrobial activity of macrophages. Little is known about the patterns of selection shaping this gene during evolution. Although it is a typical evolutionarily conserved gene, functionally important polymorphisms associated with various diseases were identified in ...
Peugnet P, Robles M, Wimel L, Tarrade A, Chavatte-Palmer P.The study of early developmental conditioning of health and disease in adulthood is particularly relevant in the horse, which is bred mainly to perform in demanding sport challenges. On the basis of this concept, the management of the broodmare could be considered an effective means to produce animals with the desired features. Knowledge on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease in the equine species remains relatively scarce, with some experimental studies and one single epidemiologic study. Data highlight the determinant role of the maternal environment for postnatal body conformati...
Haenni M, Saras E, Ponsin C, Dahmen S, Petitjean M, Hocquet D, Madec JY.The objective of this study was to characterize ESBL-producing Enterobacter cloacae isolated from animals and to compare their clonal distribution with that of human-related isolates. Among 635 clinical E. cloacae from horses, dogs and cats collected in France between 2010 and 2013, 36 were resistant to ceftiofur as determined by disc diffusion. ESBL genes were identified by sequencing. Plasmids carrying ESBL-encoding genes were characterized by PCR-based replicon typing, S1-PFGE and Southern blotting. IncHI2 plasmids were subtyped using the plasmid double-locus sequence typing scheme and mult...
Casteleyn C, Cornillie P, Tüllmann V, Van Cruchten S, Van Ginneken C.An Oldenburg colt with wry nose was autopsied after having lived for only 30 min. It presented cyanotic oral mucosae, underdeveloped eyes and a right-sided temporal osseous mass. The applicable nomenclature for the defects is discussed, and the potential etiopathogenesis is explored by describing the normal embryonic development of the affected body parts.
Kim H, Lee YK, Kang SC, Han BK, Choi KM.Various new technologies have been applied for developing vaccines against various animal diseases. Virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine technology was used for manufacturing the porcine circovirus type 2 and RNA particle vaccines based on an alphavirus vector for porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). Although VLP is classified as a killed-virus vaccine, because its structure is similar to the original virus, it can induce long-term and cell-mediated immunity. The RNA particle vaccine used a Venezuela equine encephalitis (VEE) virus gene as a vector. The VEE virus partial gene can be substituted with ...
Dixon J, Smith K, Perkins J, Sherlock C, Mair T, Weller R.Melanomas are one of the most common neoplasms in the horse and are frequently found in the head region. There is a genetic predisposition in horses with a gray hair coat. Computed tomography (CT) is frequently used in referral practice to evaluate the equine head but there are few reports describing the CT appearance of melanomas in this location. The aim of this retrospective, case series study was to describe characteristics in a group of horses with confirmed disease. Case records from two referral hospitals were reviewed, and 13 horses were identified that had undergone CT of the head, wi...
Baer A, Lundberg L, Swales D, Waybright N, Pinkham C, Dinman JD, Jacobs JL, Kehn-Hall K.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is a previously weaponized arthropod-borne virus responsible for causing acute and fatal encephalitis in animal and human hosts. The increased circulation and spread in the Americas of VEEV and other encephalitic arboviruses, such as eastern equine encephalitis virus and West Nile virus, underscore the need for research aimed at characterizing the pathogenesis of viral encephalomyelitis for the development of novel medical countermeasures. The host-pathogen dynamics of VEEV Trinidad donkey-infected human astrocytoma U87MG cells were determined by car...
Kumar S, Garg R, Kumar S, Banerjee PS, Ram H, Prasad A.Benzimidazole resistance is a major hindrance to the control of equine cyathostominosis throughout the world. There is a paucity of knowledge on the level of benzimidazole resistance in small strongyles of horses in India. In the present study, allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) that detects F200Y mutation of the isotype 1 β-tubulin gene and faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) were used for detecting benzimidazole resistance in equine cyathostomin populations in different agro-climatic zones of Uttar Pradesh, India. Results of the FECRT revealed prevalence of benzimidazole resistance in cyathos...
Bashir ST, Ishak GM, Gastal MO, Roser JF, Gastal EL.Changes in intrafollicular growth factors and hormones were evaluated in vivo in postdeviation and impending ovulation follicles. Mares (n = 30) were randomly assigned to five experimental groups based on target diameters of 25, 30, 35, 40 mm, and impending signs of ovulation. Furthermore, data belonging to two or more proximal diameter groups that were not different were combined and regrouped for each factor separately. Follicular fluid-free insulin-like growth factor 1 was highest (P  0.05) among groups. Additionally, follicular fluid activin A tended (P < 0.06) to be higher in i...
Quattrocelli M, Giacomazzi G, Broeckx SY, Ceelen L, Bolca S, Spaas JH, Sampaolesi M.Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold great potential not only for human but also for veterinary purposes. The equine industry must often deal with health issues concerning muscle and cartilage, where comprehensive regenerative strategies are still missing. In this regard, a still open question is whether equine iPSCs differentiate toward muscle and cartilage, and whether donor cell type influences their differentiation potential. We addressed these questions through an isogenic system of equine iPSCs obtained from myogenic mesoangioblasts (MAB-iPSCs) and chondrogenic mesenchymal stem ce...
Górecka A, Słoniewski K, Golonka M, Jaworski Z, Jezierski T.There are studies on the relationship between the position and shape of hair whorls on bovine forehead and phenotypic traits. According to anecdotal beliefs by horse users and handlers, temperamental traits may be related to the position of hair whorls in horses. No previous research on the mechanisms of inheritance of hair whorls has been performed, so the aim of the present study was to determine the heritability of the position of the hair whorl on the forehead of Konik horses. The horses (n = 362) were classified into five groups based on the whorl position on forehead with respect to the ...
Milinovich GJ, Burrell PC, Pollitt CC, Bouvet A, Trott DJ.Four Gram-positive, catalase-negative, coccoid-shaped isolates were obtained from the caecum and rectum of horses with oligofructose-induced equine laminitis. Phenotypic and phylogenetic studies were performed on these isolates. Initial biochemical profiling assigned two of the isolates to Streptococcus bovis. The other two isolates, however, could not be assigned conclusively on the basis of their biochemical profiles. Gene sequence analysis demonstrated that the four new isolates were related most closely to Streptococcus suis based on the 16S rRNA gene and to Streptococcus orisratti based o...
Rendo F, Iriondo M, Manzano C, Estonba A.Here, we present the results of a genetic analysis of 463 Pottoka ponies corresponding to four generations, using 17 microsatellite markers. Ten years after the beginning of the Pottoka conservation programme, the values for the genetic diversity of the breed are still high and stable, indicating the success of the programme. We found null alleles in Pottoka for the ASB23, HMS3 and HTG10 microsatellites. Together with information obtained from other pony breeds from the Iberian Peninsula, this finding indicates that these microsatellites should not be used for phylogenetic analyses or parentag...
Stewart JM, Blakely JA, Johnson MD.Non-covalent modification of cytochrome c may have implications for electron transport and energy metabolism. We examined the interaction of various fatty acids (FAs), their coenzyme A and carnitine esters, and fatty alcohols with horse heart ferrocytochrome c. A comparison of FAs indicated a minimum chain length of 14 carbons was required for significant effect on the ferroheme chromophore and major changes in electronic spectra. Coenzyme A and carnitine esters interacted less strongly than FAs whereas long-chain alcohols did not interact with the protein. We found a single, saturable FA bind...
Davidson TR, Chamberlain CS, Bridges TS, Spicer LJ.Little is known regarding the hormonal regulation of granulosa cell steroidogenesis and the ovarian insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in the mare. The objectives of this study were to determine, first, if estradiol, insulin, and/or FSH affect steroid production by equine granulosa cells (experiment 1) and, second, if the components of the IGF system are produced by equine granulosa cells in culture as well as whether estradiol, insulin, and/or FSH affects IGF and/or IGF-binding protein (IGFBP) production by equine granulosa cells (experiment 2). Granulosa cells from small (6-15 mm), medi...
Langemeier JL, Cook SJ, Cook RF, Rushlow KE, Montelaro RC, Issel CJ.Control of equine infectious anemia (EIA) is currently based on detection of anti-EIA virus (EIAV) antibodies. However, serologic diagnostic methods may give false-negative results in infected horses that fail to respond adequately or are in the early stages of infection. We developed a reverse transcriptase nested PCR (RT-nPCR) assay for the detection of viral gag gene sequences in plasma from EIAV-infected horses. The ability of RT-nPCR to detect field strains of EIAV was investigated by assaying plasma samples from 71 horses stabled on EIA quarantine ranches. Positive PCR signals were detec...
Osteochondrosis (OC) develops in growing horses due to disturbed differentiation and maturation of cartilage, particularly at the predilection sites of the fetlock, hock and stifle joints. Horses with osteochondrotic lesions are at a high risk of developing orthopaedic problems later in life. This article briefly reviews the published heritability estimates for OC and offers perspectives for selection in the horse industry. Heritabilities for OC in Warmblood and Standardbred horses have been estimated at 0.1-0.4 in animal threshold models. Whole genome scans using microsatellites have identifi...
Bhoora R, Buss P, Guthrie AJ, Penzhorn BL, Collins NE.Seventy EDTA blood samples collected from plains zebra (Equus quagga burchellii) and Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) were screened for the presence of piroplasm parasite DNA using quantitative T. equi-specific and B. caballi-specific TaqMan real-time PCR (qPCR) tests. T. equi parasite DNA was detected in 60 samples, 19 of which were also positive for B. caballi. Approximately 1480bp of the piroplasm 18S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced from 17 samples, while the V4 hypervariable region of the 18S rRNA gene was amplified, cloned and sequenced from 31 samples. BLASTN analysis reveal...
Lazary S, Marti E, Szalai G, Gaillard C, Gerber H.The equine leucocyte antigen (ELA) types and the clinical diagnosis for equine sarcoid and summer dermatitis were evaluated in 2026 horses representing five breeds. Data were analysed in unrelated animals and in family material. In the case of equine sarcoid, a strong association was observed between the ELA class II DW13 antigen and its effect on Swiss (cP < 0.001), French (cP < 0.0001) and Irish (cP < 0.01) Warmblood horses. The class I antigen A3 occurred more frequently in sarcoid-affected French horses (cP < 0.001). These results confirm our earlier findings (Gerber et al. 1988). Among Fr...
Binns MM, Daly JM, Chirnside ED, Mumford JA, Wood JM, Richards CM, Daniels RS.The haemagglutinin (HA) gene from the equine influenza H3N8 isolate Suffolk/89 has been cloned by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction amplification. The nucleotide sequence of the HA gene was determined from two independently cloned copies of the gene and was found to be most closely related to recent American isolates supporting the idea that most isolates of equine H3N8 are evolving as a single lineage. When the predicted amino acid sequence of the Suffolk/89 HA was examined, changes had taken place in at least four of the major antigenic sites, A, B, C, and D when compared t...
Broström H, Fahlbrink E, Dubath ML, Lazary S.The distribution of equine leucocyte antigens (ELA) in Swedish Halfbreds affected by sarcoid tumors was determined and compared with that of control horses of the same breed. ELA-haplotype A3W13 appeared more frequently in affected horses, resulting in a chi 2 value of 4.45 (P = 0.034) for A3 and 9.05 (P = 0.0026) for W13, respectively. The relative risk factor (RR) could be estimated to 2.13 and 3.00 for A3 and W13, respectively. The etiology fraction (EF) was calculated to 28% and 37% for A3 and W13, respectively. Thus, in the population of Swedish Halfbreds approximately 40% (at least) of t...
Gross MK, Toscano DG, Toscano WA.Calmodulin (CaM), the calcium binding protein that modulates the activity of a number of key regulatory enzymes, is present at high levels in sperm. To determine whether CaM regulates adenylate cyclase in mammalian sperm, the actions of EGTA and selected CaM antagonists on a solubilized adenylate cyclase from mature equine sperm were examined. The activity of equine sperm adenylate cyclase was inhibited by EGTA in a concentration-dependent manner with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2 mM. Equine sperm adenylate cyclase was also inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by...
Sant C, Allicock OM, d'Abadie R, Charles RA, Georges K.The agents of equine piroplasmosis, Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, are endemic in Trinidad, West Indies. While transmission is mainly by ixodid ticks, transplacental transmission of T. equi has also been reported. This disease has contributed to foetal losses as well as morbidity and mortality of neonatal foals and adult horses. Previous 18S rRNA-based phylogenetic studies indicated a noticeable degree of variation within and among B. caballi and T. equi isolates from different geographical regions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diversity of T. equi and B. caballi obtain...
Ibrahim ES, Kinoh M, Matsumura T, Kennedy M, Allen GP, Yamaguchi T, Fukushi H.Equine herpesvirus 1 was isolated from an onager in 1985, a zebra in 1986 and a Thomson's gazelle in 1996 in USA. The genetic relatedness and pathogenicity of these three viruses were investigated based on the nucleotide sequences of the glycoprotein G (gG) gene, experimental infection in hamsters, and comparison with horse isolates. The gG gene sequences of EHV-1 from onager and zebra were identical. The gG gene sequences of the gazelle isolate showed 99.5% identity to those of onager and zebra isolates. The gG gene sequences of EHV-1 isolated from horses were 99.9-100% identical and 98, 98 a...
Ewart SL, Ramsey DT, Xu J, Meyers D.Anterior segment dysgenesis syndrome occurs frequently in Rocky Mountain horses and has two distinct ocular phenotypes: (1) large cysts originating from the temporal ciliary body or peripheral retina and (2) multiple anterior segment anomalies including ciliary cysts, iris hypoplasia, iridocorneal adhesions and opacification, nuclear cataract, and megalocornea. To determine if anterior segment dysgenesis syndrome is heritable in horses we performed ophthalmic examinations and collected pedigree information on horses (n = 516) in an extended Rocky Mountain horse pedigree. Logistic regressive se...
Valberg SJ, Nicholson AM, Lewis SS, Reardon RA, Finno CJ.To report a novel exertional myopathy, myofibrillar myopathy (MFM) in Warmblood (WB) horses. Objective: To 1) describe the distinctive clinical and myopathic features of MFM in Warmblood horses and 2) investigate the potential inheritance of MFM in a Warmblood family. Methods: Retrospective selection of MFM cases and prospective evaluation of a Warmblood family. Methods: Retrospectively, muscle biopsies were selected from Warmblood horses diagnosed with MFM and clinical histories obtained (n = 10). Prospectively, muscle biopsies were obtained from controls (n = 8) and a three generation WB...
Bellone RR, Ocampo NR, Hughes SS, Le V, Arthur R, Finno CJ, Penedo MCT.Catastrophic fractures are among the most common cause of fatalities in racehorses. Several factors, including genetics, likely contribute to increased risk for fatal injuries. A variant in the procollagen-lysine, 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase1 gene (PLOD1 c.2032G>A) was shown to cause Warmblood fragile foal syndrome type 1 (WFFS), a fatal recessive defect of the connective tissue. Screening of multiple horse breeds identified the presence of the WFFS allele in the Thoroughbred. PLOD1 is involved in cross-linking of collagen fibrils and thus could potentially increase the risk of catastrophic b...
McBride SD, Hemmings A.Stress-induced changes in mesoaccumbens dopamine neurophysiology have been associated with the development of stereotypic behaviour in in-bred strains of laboratory rodents. This experiment evaluated whether similar changes are associated with environmentally-induced stereotypic behaviour in a higher-vertebrate species, the horse. D1- and D2-like dopamine receptor densities (B(max)) and dissociation constants (K(d)) were measured in control (n=9) and stereotypy (n=9) horses in the nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus, putamen, substantia nigra and ventral tegmentum brain regions. Results reveale...
Hamond C, Martins G, Bremont S, Medeiros MA, Bourhy P, Lilenbaum W.A strain of Leptospira kirschneri (serogroup Grippotyphosa) was cultured from urine of a mare post-abortion in Brazil and characterized by serogrouping, multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis, PGFE, and sequencing of genes rrs and secY. Strains of L. kirschneri have apparently never been recovered from horses in tropical area, only in Europe and USA. Knowledge of local epidemiology is important to interpret genetic profiles of leptospires circulating in an area.
Ma CL, Ye YL, Wen T, Huang ZM, Pan J, Hu JJ, Tao JP, Song JL.Three cyst-forming Sarcocystis species have been identified in horsemeat; however, there exists considerable confusion concerning their relationships. Here, 74% (34/46) of the examined tissue samples from horses contained sarcocysts based on examination by light microscopy (LM), and the organism was identified as Sarcocystis bertrami based on cyst structure. The S. bertrami cysts were microscopic (up to 6750 μm in length) and exhibited a striated wall with 2.0-5.1 μm villar protrusions (vps) under LM. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations showed that the vps were tightly pack...
Demircan K, Onder Z, Duzlu O, Yildirim A, Okur M, Ciloglu A, Yetismis G, Inci A.The goal of our study was to investigate the molecular prevalence of Giardia intestinalis in naturally infected horses in Kayseri, Central Anatolia Region in Turkey, to determine the molecular characterization of the obtained isolates and to exhibit the potential role of horses in zoonotic transmission of G. intestinalis. Fecal samples were randomly collected from totally 150 horses with clinically healthy between March and June of 2018. After the genomic DNA extractions, 25 (16.6%) of the 150 fecal samples, were found positive for G. intestinalis by nested PCR analyses of β-giardin gene. P...
Dong JB, Zhu W, Cook FR, Goto Y, Horii Y, Haga T.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) has posed a major challenge and caused significant losses to the equine industry worldwide. PCR detection methods have considerable potential as an adjunct to conventional serological diagnostic techniques. However, most published PCR methods, including that recommended by the OIE, were designed using laboratory-adapted virus strains and do not function with field isolates of EIA virus (EIAV). In the present study, a nested PCR assay for detection of EIAV proviral DNA in peripheral blood cells of naturally infected horses was developed. Primer sets were designed ...
Komáromy AM, Rowlan JS, La Croix NC, Mangan BG.To describe the clinical phenotype and genetics of equine Multiple Congenital Ocular Anomalies (MCOA) syndrome in PMEL17 (Silver) mutant ponies. Methods: Five presumably unrelated ponies. Methods: The ponies were examined under field conditions in their barn by slit lamp biomicroscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, and applanation tonometry. Blood was collected and genomic DNA extracted for MCOA genotyping using the PMEL17ex11 marker. Results: One pony solely presented with temporal ciliary body cysts, suggestive of the less severe Cyst phenotype of MCOA; the animal was heterozygous at the MCOA loc...
Eizema K, van den Burg M, Kiri A, Dingboom EG, van Oudheusden H, Goldspink G, Weijs WA.The horse is one of the few animals kept and bred for its athletic performance and is therefore an interesting model for human sports performance. The regulation of the development of equine locomotion in the first year of life, and the influence of early training on later performance, are largely unknown. The major structural protein in skeletal muscle, myosin heavy-chain (MyHC), is believed to be primarily transcriptionally controlled. To investigate the expression of the MyHC genes at the transcriptional level, we isolated cDNAs encoding the equine MyHC isoforms type 1 (slow), type 2a (fast...
Love CC, Brinsko SP, Rigby SL, Thompson JA, Blanchard TL, Varner DD.The relationship between seminal plasma level (0, 10, or 20%) and extender type [Kenney type (EZ-Mixin-CST) or Kenney-modified Tyrodes-KMT] to the susceptibility of sperm DNA to denaturation and sperm motility measures were investigated in cooled (5 degrees C) stallion sperm. Three ejaculates from each of three fertile stallions were collected in an artificial vagina and processed as follows: diluted one part uncentrifuged semen with four parts of extender to a final concentration of 20% seminal plasma in either CST or KMT (20% CST; 20% KMT); diluted to a final concentration of 25 million sper...
Reshadi P, Heydari F, Ghanbarpour R, Bagheri M, Jajarmi M, Amiri M, Alizade H, Badouei MA, Sahraei S, Adib N.Transmission of antimicrobial resistant and virulent Escherichia coli (E. coli) from animal to human has been considered as a public health concern. This study aimed to determine the phylogenetic background and prevalence of diarrheagenic E. coli and antimicrobial resistance in healthy riding-horses in Iran. In this research, the genes related to six main pathotypes of E. coli were screened. Also, genotypic and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance against commonly used antibiotics were studied, then phylo-grouping was performed on all the isolates. Results: Out of 65 analyzed isolates, 29.23â€...
Racine J, Gerber V, Feutz MM, Riley CP, Adamec J, Swinburne JE, Couetil LL.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a severe chronic respiratory disease affecting horses worldwide, though mostly in the Northern hemisphere. Environmental as well as genetic factors strongly influence the course and prognosis of the disease. Research has been focused on characterization of immunologic factors contributing to inflammatory responses, on genetic linkage analysis, and, more recently, on proteomic analysis of airway secretions from affected horses. The goal of this study was to investigate the interactions between eight candidate genes previously identified in a genetic linkage...
Hess S, Gulati R, Peluso JJ.The present studies showed that sequential treatment with equine CG (eCG) and hCG not only induced an increase in ovarian weight, but also caused an estimated 4.6-fold increase in the number of ovarian surface epithelial cells. In addition, eCG-hCG treatment increased ovarian hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) messenger RNA levels. These studies also demonstrated that rat primary ovarian surface epithelial cells as well as a cell line derived from rat ovarian surface epithelium (i.e. ROSE-179 cells) do not express the LH (hCG) receptor. Both of these cells express c-Met, the receptor for HGF. To a...
He HY, Liu LL, Chen B, Xiao HX, Liu WJ.Donkey milk has high nutritional and medicinal value, but there are few researches in donkey milk traits, especially on genome. The whole lactation of 89 donkeys was recorded and it was found that Xinjiang donkey had good lactation performance while great differences among individuals. In our previous study, four genes including , , and were identified as milk-associated with Chinese Kazakh house, based on Equine 670k Chip genomic analysis. And then 15 SNPs of the four key genes were conducted for genotyping in Xinjiang donkey in this study, one of Chinese indigenous breed, 14 SNPs were succ...
Lagneaux D, Huhtinen M, Koskinen E, Palmer E.Equine embryos recovered on Day 6 after ovulation were cooled to +4 degrees C, or frozen with AFP alone or together with glycerol. Twenty embryos (140-200 microm in diameter) were randomly assigned to 6 treatment groups. In the first 3 groups, the embryos were cooled from room temperature to +4 degrees C at a rate of 3 degrees C/min and warmed again at a rate of 32 degrees C/min in a programmable freezer. In the second 3 groups, the embryos were frozen using a standard protocol, stored in liquid nitrogen for 5-7 days and then thawed in a 37 degrees C waterbath. After cooling/warming or freezin...
