Molecular biology in horses involves the study of molecular processes and genetic mechanisms that underpin equine physiology and health. This field encompasses the analysis of DNA, RNA, proteins, and other biomolecules to understand gene expression, genetic variation, and cellular functions in horses. Techniques such as genomic sequencing, gene expression profiling, and molecular diagnostics are employed to explore topics like hereditary diseases, performance traits, and immune responses in equines. This page assembles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the molecular biology of horses, focusing on genetic research, molecular techniques, and their applications in equine science.
Messick JB, Rikihisa Y.The binding, internalization, and proliferation of Ehrlichia risticii in P388D1 cells and equine polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes were studied by immunofluorescent staining and flow cytometric analysis. The binding of ehrlichiae to P388D1 cells at 4 degrees C was dose dependent, and the antigens of bound organisms were susceptible to pronase treatment. Additionally, the binding of ehrlichiae to P388D1 cells was diminished when either P388D1 cells or ehrlichiae were treated with 1% paraformaldehyde for 30 min or 0.25% trypsin for 15 min. These results indicate that the ehrlichial ligand and h...
Hoffman LH, Wooding FB.The cellular origin, structure, and function of trophoblastic giant cells (GC) and binucleate cells (BNC) are reviewed. Mammals in which these cells have received the greatest attention include rodents, rabbits, and humans (GCs), and ruminants and equids (BNCs). In almost all cases these cells arise from the cytotrophoblast. All are large cells and contain either two diploid nuclei (BNCs), multiple nuclei (human placental bed GCs), or single nuclei with amplified DNA content (rodent and rabbit GCs). Giant and binucleate cells typically exhibit the capacity for migration or invasion, although t...
Takeda S, Ohta M, Ebina S, Nagayama K.Horse L-ferritin cDNA was cloned from horse liver, and the base sequence was determined. The L-ferritin was expressed using pTZ18U encoding lac promoter, and found to possess an additional 8-amino acid sequence at the N-terminus as compared with commercially obtained horse spleen (natural) ferritin. It was determined that there was Pro at position 94 in both the recombinant and natural L-ferritin, although it was previously reported that Leu was in this position in the natural species. Transmission electron microscopy showed that this recombinant ferritin formed a 24-mer shell.
Bolann BJ, Ulvik RJ.The redox interaction between O2.- and ferritin cannot solely be regarded as as a Fe(II) release reaction. We demonstrate that native copper bound to horse spleen ferritin and apoferritin, stimulated the decay of O2.- in a catalytic reaction. Copper was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Decay of O2.- was monitored spectrophotometrically as the decrease in (A250-A360) at pH 9.5. The catalytic effect was linearly related to the copper content of the protein. Ferritin copper was less efficient than equimolar CuCl2, and iron-poor ferritin was more efficient than iron-rich ferritin...
Strange R, Morante S, Stefanini S, Chiancone E, Desideri A.Extended X-ray absorbance fine structure measurements have been carried out on the initial Fe(III)-apoferritin complex at a Fe/subunit ratio of 2 in native and modified horse spleen apoferritin. Analysis of the data indicates that in the native protein the iron forms a protein-bound polynuclear cluster (Fe-Fe distance 3.4 A) with a first coordination sphere constituted by 5-6 low-Z atoms, e.g., nitrogen atoms, carboxylate-like ligands or oxo bridges between the iron atoms. Modification of Cys-126, a residue localized on the outer surface of the hydrophilic three-fold channels, with p-chloromer...
Madigan JE.This article reviews epizootiology, public health considerations, antibody testing, and molecular biology of Lyme borreliosis. Correlation of clinical signs with titer response is discussed.
Mihajlovic V, Cascone O, Biscoglio de Jiménez Bonino MJ.1. Reactivity of methionine residues towards Chloramine-T was studied in the equine growth hormone. 2. With a 20.0-fold molar excess of reagent over methionine, full oxidation of the four residues of the protein is achieved. 3. Methionine 4 is the most reactive group, followed by methionines 72 and 178--methionine 123 being the less reactive residue. 4. As judged by circular dichroism spectra and binding assays, protein conformation and binding capacity to specific receptors remains unchanged even after full oxidation of all four methionine residues. 5. Results agree with data previously obtai...
Williams H, Richards CM, Konfortov BA, Miller JR, Tucker EM.In a study of 35 horse-mouse heterohybridoma cell lines, synteny in the horse was found between LDHB, PEPB and IGF1 and between NP, MPI and IDH2. A synteny between ADA and PEPC was also indicated. The loci for horse immunoglobulin light chain (IgL) genes and for LDHA were independent.
Santucci R, Ascoli F, La Mar GN, Pandey RK, Smith KM.The reconstitution kinetics of horse heart myoglobin, as met-cyano derivative, with two synthetic hemins in which the 6- or the 7-propionate is replaced by a methyl group, has been investigated by circular dichroism, in order to gain information on the heme re-orientation process following the heme insertion into the globin pocket. The results obtained confirm that the preferred heme orientation places the sole propionate into the position occupied by the 6-propionate in the crystal structure, supporting the importance of the salt bridge occurring between this propionate and the basic CD3 resi...
McGorum BC, Dixon PM, Halliwell RE, Irving P.A comparison was made of the cellular and molecular components of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) harvested from the left and right diaphragmatic lobes, the accessory lobe of the right lung and the apical lobe of the left lung, of seven control horses and six horses with symptomatic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Neither control nor symptomatic COPD affected horses showed significant regional differences in BALF recovery volumes, total and differential BALF cell counts, albumen adjusted total and absolute BALF cell counts, total and absolute pulmonary epithelial lining fluid...
Casey PJ, Hillman RB, Robertson KR, Yudin AI, Liu IK, Drobnis EZ.An acrosomal staining technique that can differentiate between living and dead sperm was developed for equine sperm. The fluoresceinated lectin Pisum sativum agglutinin (FITC-PSA) was used to identify the presence or absence of acrosomal contents, while the supravital nuclear dye Hoechst 33258 (H258) was used to assess viability. The accuracy of the FITC-PSA acrosomal stain was tested by comparing the percentage of sperm that had lost their acrosomal contents, detected by the staining method, with that detected by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Following capacitation in vitro, the acr...
Harty RN, Caughman GB, Holden VR, O'Callaghan DJ.Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1, Kentucky A strain) preparations enriched for defective interfering particles (DIPs) can readily establish persistent infection. The UL1 gene, which is conserved in the genome of DIPs that mediate persistent infection, maps between nucleotides 1418 and 2192 (258 amino acids) from the L (long) terminus. UL1 has no homology with any known gene encoded by herpes simplex virus type 1 but has limited homology to open reading frame 2 of varicella-zoster virus and the "circ" gene of bovine herpesvirus type 1. Previous work showed that the EHV-1 UL1 gene belongs to the earl...
Ho JX, Holowachuk EW, Norton EJ, Twigg PD, Carter DC.The amino-acid sequence and three-dimensional structure of equine serum albumin have been determined. The amino-acid sequence was deduced from cDNA isolated from equine liver. Comparisons of the primary structure of equine serum albumin with human serum albumin and bovine serum albumin reveal 76.1% and 73.9% sequence identity, respectively. The three-dimensional structure was determined crystallographically by the molecular-replacement method using molecular coordinates from the previously determined structure of human serum albumin, to a resolution of 0.27 nm. In accordance with the primary s...
Bleumink-Pluym NM, van Dijk L, van Vliet AH, van der Giessen JW, van der Zeijst BA.The 16S ribosomal DNA sequence of Taylorella equigenitalis (formerly Haemophilus equigenitalis), the causative organism of contagious equine metritis, was determined. A phylogenetic analysis of this sequence revealed a phylogenetic position of T. equigenitalis in the beta subclass of the class Proteobacteria apart from the position of Haemophilus influenzae, which belongs to the gamma subclass of Proteobacteria. A close phylogenetic relationship among T. equigenitalis, Alcaligenes xylosoxidans, and Bordetella bronchiseptica was detected; Spirillum volutans and Chromobacterium fluviatile (Iodob...
Kordula T, Dubin A, Schooltink H, Koj A, Heinrich PC, Rose-John S.Horse blood leucocytes contain an elastase inhibitor (HLEI) belonging to the serpin family. Poly(A)+RNA isolated from these cells was used to construct a cDNA library in lambda gt10, which was first screened with a synthetic degenerate oligonucleotide probe corresponding to the amino acid sequence of the reactive centre of the inhibitor. Three clones were obtained covering the entire coding region of the protein. Sequencing of these clones showed identity with the amino acid sequence obtained from Edman degradation of the elastase inhibitor. The coding sequence of the HLEI cDNA was cloned into...
Couto MA, Harwig SS, Lehrer RI.Equine neutrophil antimicrobial peptide 2 (eNAP-2), a recently described antimicrobial peptide isolated from equine neutrophils, was found to selectively inactivate microbial serine proteases (subtilisin A and proteinase K) without inhibiting mammalian serine proteases (human neutrophil elastase, human cathepsin G, and bovine pancreatic trypsin). Although the primary structure of eNAP-2 resembled that of several known antiproteases that belong to the 4-disulfide core peptide family, this pattern of selectivity is unique. eNAP-2 formed a noncovalent complex with native subtilisin A or proteinas...
Räsänen LA, Karvonen U, Pösö AR.In situ hybridization was used to localize xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) mRNA in horse skeletal muscle. Capillary endothelial cells were found to express XDH, but muscle cells did not give any signal. The digoxigenin-labelled probe was produced by PCR with primers based on the cDNA sequence of mouse XDH and horse lung cDNAs. A 4.3 kb mRNA was detected in a Northern blot.
Coyne CP, Fenwick BW, Iandola J, Williams D, Griffith G.Objectives of this investigation were to extract and isolate protein fractions inhibitory to the cytotoxic properties of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). In this context, mixed populations of WBC were harvested from equine blood and were stimulated with a combination of a synthetic chemotactic peptide and a calcium ionophore. Several methods were subsequently applied for the initial preparation of cell-free crude protein extracts, including fractional precipitation with gradient concentrations of ammonium sulfate and preparative-scale isoelectric focusing. In addition, protein fraction...
Zientara S, Sailleau C.The authors briefly review the clinical forms of equine rhinopneumonitis and indicate changes in the nomenclature of equine herpesviral infections. The value of restriction profiles for epidemiological studies is described, taking as an example the strains of virus isolated in France. A technique is given for preparing molecular probes, as well as the application of these probes in direct diagnosis from biological specimens.
Moslemi S, Dintinger T, Dehennin L, Silberzahn P, Gaillard JL.The ability of human and equine placental microsomes to aromatize 7 alpha-methyl-19-nortestosterone (MNT) was studied. Kinetic analysis indicates that MNT shares the androgen-binding site of human and equine placental microsomal aromatases. Human placental microsomal estrogen synthetase had about a 2.5-fold higher relative affinity for MNT than the equine placental enzyme (KiMNT/Km androstenedione of 32 versus 87). However, MNT was not metabolized by human placental microsomes, whereas it was very actively metabolized by equine placental microsomes. Further studies using purified equine cytoch...
Bakst M, Hadick S, Proudman J, Maruyama K.This study was conducted to determine the crossreactivity of antisera to human prolactin (PRL), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and growth hormone (GH) to turkey pituicytes. In addition, crossreactivities of the above antisera and antiserum to turkey GH to pituicytes of turkey, cat, rabbit, horse, owl monkey, and human were evaluated. Results of the immunocytochemical localizations showed that with one exception antisera to human hormones were positive for each species tested. Turkey pituicytes failed to crossreact with antiserum to human GH. Likewise, antiserum to turkey GH failed to cros...
Joujou-Sisic K, Granérus M, Wetterling H, Wikström K, Engström W, Jeffcott L, Schofield PN, Welin A.The expression of the insulin like growth factor (IGF) II gene has been examined in the developing equine fetus. It was found that IGF II transcripts were present in abundant quantities in third trimester embryonic and extraembryonic tissues as for example the placenta. The expression of the IGF II gene was high in the fetal liver where two prominent transcripts--4.6 and 4.1--kB were produced. However, these transcripts could not be traced in the adult liver. Instead we found two different transcripts with the sizes of 4.0 and 2.9 kB in the adult liver. These findings taken together with the d...
Szalai G, Bailey E, Gerber H, Lazary S.The genetic diversity at the ELA DQ beta locus was investigated using polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing. Based upon serological methods 16 class II homozygous animals were selected and their genomic DNA was used. A DQ beta gene from an equine cDNA library was also sequenced. Our methodology and the similarity between the genomic and the cDNA sequences suggest that the studied locus is expressed on equine lymphocytes. In the predicted amino acid sequence the most extensive variation is located at residues 56-60. The pattern of these five amino acids is strongly correlated to the sero...
Post F, Doster W, Karvounis G, Settles M.The geminate recombination kinetics of CO-myoglobin strongly deviates from single exponential behavior in contrast to what is expected for unimolecular reactions (1). At low temperatures, this result was attributed to slowly exchanging conformational states which differ substantially in barrier height for ligand binding. Above 160 K the kinetics apparently slow down with temperature increase. Agmon and Hopfield (2) explain this result in terms of structural relaxation perpendicular to the reaction coordinate, which enhances the activation energy. In their model, structural relaxation homogeniz...
Carpenter MA, Broad TE.The cDNA sequence of horse transferrin was determined by sequencing clones isolated from a horse liver cDNA library and clones obtained by PCR. The 2305 bp horse transferrin cDNA sequence included part of the 5' untranslated region and extended to the poly(A) tail. It had 80% sequence identity with the human transferrin cDNA, and encoded a protein of 706 residues, including a signal sequence of 19 amino acids. The horse transferrin sequence had the duplicated structure and conserved iron binding and cysteine residues which are characteristic of the transferrin family.
de Haas GH, Dijkman R, Lugtigheid RB, Dekker N, Van den Berg L, Egmond MR, Verheij HM.The inhibitory power (Z) of a number of (R)-1-alkyl-2-acylamino phospholipid analogues was determined for three mammalian phospholipases A2 from pig, ox and horse pancreas. All three enzymes display a clear preference for anionic (phosphoglycol) inhibitors over the zwitterionic (phosphocholine) derivatives; this effect is most pronounced for the bovine enzyme. Upon variation of the 1-alkyl chain length, the bovine and equine phospholipases, like the porcine enzyme in previous studies, show an optimum in Z for a six-carbon alkyl group. The introduction of a double bond in the 2-acylamino group ...
Tözsér J, Friedman D, Weber IT, Bláha I, Oroszlan S.The proteinase of the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), a lentivirus closely related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was purified from concentrated virus. The specificity of the enzyme was characterized using oligopeptides representing naturally occurring cleavage sites in the Gag and Gag-Pol polyproteins. The length of the substrate binding pocket was found to be 1-2 residues longer than that of HIV proteinases. Although the EIAV and HIV proteinases cleaved most of the peptides at the same bond, some were hydrolyzed by only the EIAV enzyme. Oligopeptides representing cleavage site...
Kai K, Tateyama S, Miyoshi N, Yamaguchi R, Uchida K, Rostami M.Genomic DNAs of cattle, horses, pigs, dogs, cats and chickens were surveyed using Southern blot hybridization analysis, with a human EGFR cDNA fragment. Several bands with different numbers and molecular weights were observed under the condition of low stringency in the individual animal species. The bands showing DNA polymorphism were observed among bovine genomic PstI-digested DNAs from 4 individuals and EcoRI-digested genomic DNAs from 4 chickens. These results may provide basic data which are useful for analysis of tumorigenetic mechanisms in domestic animals.
Inaba M, Goto I, Sato K, Maede Y.This report describes a unique response of the anion transporter in equine erythrocytes to the fluorescent substrate N-(2-aminoethyl sulfonate)-7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-3-diazole (NBD-taurine). Equine erythrocytes showed fluxes of NBD-taurine both inward and outward at rates considerably slower than those in human cells. These fluxes were completely abolished by a typical anion transport inhibitor, 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonate. Furthermore, NBD-taurine competitively inhibited the uptake of phosphate in equine red cells with an inhibition constant of phosphate that was slightly higher ...
Méndez-Pérez L, Ibáñez BO, Rodríguez S, Sen Wong Y, Caamaño D, Navarrete FI, Cabezas J, Mançanares AC, Escudero C, Rodríguez-Álvarez L....Endometrial fibrosis in mares compromises fertility through aberrant extracellular matrix deposition and sustained myofibroblast activation. Conventional interventions fail to reverse these pathological alterations, necessitating innovative, mechanism-focused therapies. In this study, we pioneered the use of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) preconditioning of equine endometrial-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ET-eMSCs) and their extracellular vesicles (EVs) to target fibrotic processes directly. ET-eMSCs were isolated from mare endometrial biopsies pretreated with PGE2 to enhance their anti-fibrotic se...
Attia MM, Omar HM.This study aimed to collect data on the most common parasites of the family equidae which is spp. During this study we focused on the prevalence rate in the world; the distribution of the six known species: life cycle and the pathogenesis of the larvae inside the hosts were investigated around the world. Molecular as well as serological diagnoses were analyzed. Possible treatment strategies which were fully studied; are also, included. () and larvae are the main present larvae in equine; other species, such as , , and may be present. Although the female flies' egg-laying behavior can annoy...
Frontiers in geneticsAugust 29, 2025
Volume 16 1651628 doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1651628
Su Y, Ren W, Ma S, Meng J, Yao X, Zeng Y, Li Z, Li L, Wang R, Wang J.This study employed Yili horses participating in a 5000-meter race as a model to investigate exercise-induced gene expression alterations in peripheral blood using whole transcriptome sequencing. Jugular vein blood samples from the three leading horses were collected pre- and immediately post-race, yielding 2,171 differentially expressed mRNAs (2,080 upregulated, 91 downregulated), 4,375 differentially expressed LncRNAs (4,354 upregulated), and 68 differentially expressed circRNAs (64 upregulated). GO/KEGG analyses demonstrated significant enrichment of differential mRNAs in transmembrane tran...
Klass LG, Diekmann I, Andreotti S, Mbedi S, Sparmann S, Schenk T, Anderson HP, Bellaw J, Nielsen MK, Krücken J, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G.Strongyles, especially non-migratory Strongylidae, are the most common equine gut parasites, and typically occur in mixed infections with 10 - 20 species per host. Current knowledge on strongyle species prevalence and within-host tropism is sparse. Herein species composition of mixed strongyle infections of 12 naturally infected untreated young horses, based on strongyle eggs extracted from faeces, cultured third stage larva and luminal worms collected from ventral and dorsal colon was examined. Species were identified using a cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) metabarcoding approach allowing differ...
Wang T, Yang X, Ren W, Meng J, Yao X, Chu H, Yao R, Zhai M, Zeng Y.Training not only enhances the athletic performance of horses but also improves cardiac structure and function, strengthens cardiovascular adaptability, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the consequences of training on equine cardiac structure and function remain unclear. This study investigated the morphological, functional, genetic, and metabolic changes in the hearts of Yili horses divided into three groups: high athletic performance (agility group, AG), low athletic performance (ordinary group, OG), and untrained (untrained group, UN). The results showed remodeling ...
Castanheira CIGD, Taylor S, Skiöldebrand E, Rubio-Martinez LM, Hackl M, Clegg PD, Peffers MJ.The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in serum and synovial fluid (SF) samples of control horses and those with osteoarthritis (OA) to identify potential candidates for biomarkers of disease. Total RNA was extracted from serum and SF samples of control (n = 4) and OA (n = 9) horses and sequenced. Differential expression analysis, pathway analysis and miRNA target prediction were performed. A group of six miRNAs (eca-miR-199a-3p, eca-miR-148a, eca-miR-99b, eca-miR-146a, eca-miR-423-5p and eca-miR-23b) was selected for validation in an independent coho...
Krücken J, Diekmann I, Andreotti S, Bredtmann CM, Mbedi S, Sparmann S, Schmidt JS, de Almeida Borges F, de Freitas MG, Sallé G, Hofer H....Equines are parasitized by complex communities of Strongylidae (Nematoda) comprising multi-species infections. Currently, Cyathostominae are most prevalent, while Strongylus species are only rarely detected. Since eggs and, in most cases, infective larvae cannot be differentiated to species level, except for Strongylus spp., species-specific knowledge of the pathology, epidemiology and ecology of these parasitic nematodes is limited. Reference sequence data for several cyathostomin species are limited or missing. Deep amplicon sequencing of internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) regions of nema...
Köhne M, Hüsch R, Peh E, Hirnet J, Tönissen A, Müsken M, Plötz M, Kittler S, Sieme H.Bacterial infections of the genital tract are a severe problem in equine reproduction. Biofilms produced by Klebsiella (K.) pneumoniae and Pseudomonas (P.) aeruginosa present further concerns in such cases as they can limit the success of antibiotic treatments. Alternative treatment approaches are urgently needed for treating bacterial equine genital tract infections and thus, reduce antibiotic use. The present study reports on the bactericidal efficacy of both, novel K. pneumoniae- and P. aeruginosa-specific phages, in a biofilm model and in conjunction with antibiotic drugs as tested in vitr...
Weingarten A, Häusler M, Serangeli J, Verheijen I, Reiter E, Radzevičiūtė R, Stoessel A, Krause J, Spyrou MA, Conard NJ, Nieselt K, Posth C.Deep-time palaeogenomics offers rare insights into macroevolutionary events for both extant and extinct species. Aside from a Middle Pleistocene genome from North American permafrost (780-560 ka) and a number of Late Pleistocene specimens, most ancient horse DNA studies have focused on tracing the origins of domestication and subsequent periods. Here we present mitochondrial genomes from two Equus mosbachensis specimens from Schöningen, Germany, a Middle Pleistocene archaeological site complex with direct and repeated evidence of hominin-horse interactions on the shore of a palaeolake. Usin...
Zhou Y, Yao X, Meng J, Wang J, Zeng Y, Li L, Ren W.The Kazakh horse is a highly valuable indigenous Chinese breed known for its use in both milk and meat production. However, the mechanisms underlying color variation in the abdominal adipose tissue of this breed remain poorly understood. In this study, the sequencing of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) was conducted on abdominal adipose tissue of different colors from Kazakh horses, with the aim of investigating the molecular mechanisms responsible for this variation. A total of 205 differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DELncRNAs) including , , and ; 52 differentially expressed microRNAs (DEm...
Wójtowicz A, Sadowska A, Piotrowska-Tomala K, Szóstek-Mioduchowska A.The role of AREG in the development of fibrosis in the progression of endometrosis in mare remains unknown. We aimed to determine the effects of AREG on fibroblast functional characteristics as well as the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM)-associated genes in fibroblast derived from non-fibrotic and fibrotic equine endometria. Our findings suggest that the mechanisms associated with ECM remodeling regulated by AREG in non-fibrotic fibroblasts may be dysregulated in the progression of fibrosis in endometrosis.
Murillo A, Lebrero ME, Valdés M, Ramos J, Villanueva-Saz S, Davies JE, Gómez Á, Pérez E, Riera C, Marteles-Aragüés D.Equine leishmaniosis, caused by Leishmania infantum and transmitted by infected sand flies, has been increasingly reported in Europe, although clinical and immunological data remain scarce. We describe a 10-year-old mare from southern Spain presenting with periocular nodular lesions. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed granulomatous dermatitis with intrahistiocytic Leishmania amastigotes. Additionally, Leishmania infantum DNA was detected in paraffin embedded skin biopsy. Following surgical removal of the lesions, sequential serological monitoring using enzyme-linked immunosorben...
Conn KL.Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV1) is a DNA virus that causes severe disease in equids. Some strains are neurotropic and cause disease in the central nervous system, whereas others are non-neurotropic and can cause negative reproductive outcomes. Mechanisms governing EHV1 pathotype are not understood. However, EHV1 pathotypes have different infection efficiencies and replication kinetics in various cell types. They are also differentially susceptible to epigenetic inhibitors. Aside from this observation little is known about EHV1 chromatin or how its regulation influences infection. To build know...
Núñez-Montero K, Leal K, Rojas-Villalta D, Castro M, Larronde C, Wagenknecht L, Contreras MJ.Studies on the bacterial composition of seminal samples have primarily focused on species isolated from semen and their effects on fertility and reproductive health. Culture-independent techniques, such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomics, have revolutionized our ability to identify unculturable bacteria, which comprise >90% of the microbiome. These techniques allow for comprehensive analysis of microbial communities in seminal samples, shedding light on their interactions and roles. In this study, we characterized the taxonomic diversity of seminal microbial communities in he...
Marques CDP, da Silva BWS, Nogueira YVS, Bezerra TL, Borges-Silva W, Soares RM, Gondim LFP.Sarcocystis bertrami (synonym: Sarcocystis fayeri) is a coccidian parasite that infects horses and donkeys in several countries. Dogs are known as definitive hosts of the parasite, however, the patent period is not well defined, and S. bertrami shed by dogs has never been confirmed by molecular methods. Here we investigated the shedding of S. bertrami by experimentally infected dogs and examined the excreted parasites by morphological and molecular tools. Three dogs of small breeds (one Yorkshire terrier and two miniature Pinschers) were acquired with ages of 30 and 60 days and were exclusivel...
Hifumi T, Tanaka T, Suzu I, Sato M, Akioka K, Fujimata C, Shinkai R, Maeda T, Kusakisako K, Ikadai H, Miyoshi N.Alveolar echinococcosis is a zoonotic disease caused by a larval-stage infection. Geographical haplotyping targeting the parasite's mitochondrial cytochrome () gene has been reported for isolates from definitive and intermediate hosts (wild canids and rodents); however, there are limited reports on strain typing for the dead-end host, the horse, which could act as a sentinel for E. Accordingly, we investigated the diversity of in isolates obtained from slaughtered Japanese and Canadian horses originating from the Iburi and Hidaka regions in Hokkaido and from Alberta, respectively, with PCR ...
Haenni M, Châtre P, Drapeau A, Cazeau G, Troncy J, François P, Madec JY.Enterobacter hormaechei is an important pathogen in humans and animals, which, in addition to its intrinsic AmpC, can acquire a wide variety of genes conferring resistances to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs) and carbapenems (CPs). In France, human clinical outbreaks of E. hormaechei resistant to ESC or carbapenem were reported. Objective: To study E. hormaechei isolates from cats and dogs (=59) as well as from horses (n = 55) presenting a non-susceptible phenotype to beta-lactams in order to determine which clones, resistance genes and plasmids are circulating in France. Methods: E. ho...
Cabrera G, Cabezas C, Estay-Olea D, Stoore C, Baquedano MS, Paredes R, Hidalgo C.Liver fluke infection, caused by the trematode Fasciola hepatica, is a parasitic zoonotic disease affecting various mammals, including humans, and has significant implications for public, animal, and ecosystem health. This study provides the first genetic characterization of F. hepatica in Chile, focusing on the complete mitochondrial gene cox1. Samples were collected from two different host species: cattle and horses. Our findings revealed that 70 % of detected haplotypes were found in either cattle or horses, which coincides with their geographical origin. Interestingly, the use of full-len...
Chhabra D, Nagra J, Manuja A, Singha HS, Vaid RK, Goutam U, Kumar B. poses a significant threat to equine health globally. The bacteria causes strangles, a respiratory disease characterized by enlarged, abscessed lymph nodes, leading to airway obstruction. The bacterium, a Gram-positive, chain-forming, Lancefield group C β-hemolytic , is closely related to and distinction between these species is challenging. The present study focused on characterization of isolates from horses in northern India, aiming at elucidation of their sugar fermentation patterns. Nasal and nasopharyngeal swabs collected from different geographical regions of northern India, yieldin...
Huang C, Wang J, Ruan Z, Wu J, Lin Y, Cao C, Yang J, Weng Q, Jin Y, Chen P, Hua Q.African horse sickness (AHS) is an acute infectious disease of equids caused by the AHS virus (AHSV), which can cause up to 90% mortality in naive horses. Reliable and rapid diagnosis is crucial for the surveillance and control of AHSV. As one of the AHSV detection methods recommended by World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), the RT-qPCR assay has the drawbacks such as complex operation, expensive instruments, and long detecting time, which limit its application in simple laboratories or outdoors. In this study, a real-time reverse transcription multienzyme isothermal rapid amplification...
Khaing Y, Htun LL, Linn KS, Kyaw WO, Nwae TT, Chel HM, Win SY, Murata S, Nakao R, Nonaka N, Bawm S.The study aimed to determine the prevalence of blood parasites in horses and identify risk factors and molecular detection of piroplasm species (Theileria equi and Babesia caballi) of horses in Myanmar. Blood samples (n = 302) were collected from five regions of Myanmar. Blood smears were screened for presence of piroplasms. Samples positive for piroplasms were subjected to molecular identification using primers specific to the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) of piroplasms. The overall prevalence of blood parasites (piroplasms, Trypanosoma spp., and microfilaria of Setaria equina) w...
Sadeddine R, Righi S, Saidani K, Benakhla A.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease that affects equids and is caused by the parasites Theileria equi, Theileria haneyi and Babesia caballi. This disease leads to significant economic losses for the global equine industry. The current study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Piroplasmida infections in equines from El Tarf, located in northeastern Algeria, and investigate the phylogenetic diversity within isolates obtained from infected equines in this study and between those from previous studies. Methods: A total of 120 blood samples were collected from equines in three municip...
An T, Dugarjaviin M, Han H.The Mongolian horse, one of the oldest and most genetically diverse breeds, exhibits a wide variety of coat colors and patterns, including both wild-type and unique features. A notable characteristic of dun Mongolian horses is the presence of Bider markings-symmetrical, black-mottled patterns observed on the shoulder blades. These markings are also seen in Przewalski's horses. The dun coat color, a common wild-type phenotype in domestic horses, is characterized by pigment dilution with distinct dark areas and is regulated by mutations in the gene. This study aimed to investigate the role of ...
Radovic L, Remer V, Rigler D, Bozlak E, Allen L, Brem G, Reissman M, Brockmann GA, Ropka-Molik K, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Kalinkova L, Kalashnikov VV....Since their domestication, horses have accompanied mankind, and humans have constantly shaped horses according to their needs through stallion-centered breeding. Consequently, the male-specific portion of the Y chromosome (MSY) is extremely uniform in modern horse breeds. The majority of stallions worldwide carry MSY haplotypes (HT) attributed to an only ~1,500-y-old, so-called, "Crown" haplogroup. The predominance of the Crown in modern horse breeds is thought to represent a footprint of the vast impact of stallions of "Oriental origin" in the past millennium. Here, we report the results of a...
Knox A, Beddoe T. subspecies , commonly referred to as "strangles", poses a significant biosecurity challenge across equine farms worldwide. The continuous prevalence and highly transmissibility of strangles necessitates a rapid and accurate diagnostic procedure. However, current "gold-standard" techniques, such as cultures and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), are unreliable or inaccessible, and require lengthy periods between sample collection and results. Moreover, the lack of a standardized detection protocol can lead to variations in results. This study aimed to develop a reproducible and fie...
Sasaki M, Fukumoto N, Fukumoto S.A two-year-old male Japanese draft horse (known as a "Ban'ei horse") excreted eight cestodes. Based on their morphological features, they were identified as Anoplocephala perfoliata. The partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences of the worms were nearly identical to A. perfoliata isolated from horses in Europe. The results of phylogenetic analyses of COI revealed that our samples and the European isolates formed the same clade, which was separate from Chinese and Australian isolates. Ban'ei horses were developed by crossbreeding draft horses imported from European co...
Gonzalez-Obando J, Zuluaga-Cabrera A, Moreno I, Úsuga J, Ciuderis K, Forero JE, Diaz A, Rojas-Arbeláez C, Hernández-Ortiz JP, Ruiz-Saenz J.Equine influenza is a viral disease caused by the equine influenza virus (EIV), and according to the WOAH, it is mandatory to report these infections. In Latin America and Colombia, EIV risk factors have not been analyzed. The objective of this research is to perform an epidemiological and molecular analysis of the EIV in horses with respiratory symptoms from 2020 to 2023 in Colombia. Molecular EIV detection was performed using RT-qPCR and nanopore sequencing. A risk analysis was also performed via the GEE method. A total of 188 equines with EIV respiratory symptoms were recruited. The positiv...
Chagoya-Fuentes JL, Gaona-López J, Hernández-Carbajal GR, Torres-Guerrero H, Lammoglia-Villagómez MA, Huerta-Peña J, Pérez-Brígido CD....A clinical case of an adult horse with invasive, ulcerative, proliferative, pyogranulomatous disease of the skin (tumor) in the shoulder region is presented. The mass had a granulomatous and crater-shaped appearance, with serosanguinous discharge and the presence of fistulas with caseous material. The tumor was removed by surgery and sent to the laboratory for diagnosis. Histopathology was performed using Grocott-Gomori methenamine silver stain. The presence of necrotic material, fibrosis, infiltrated cells, and brown-colored hyphae, characteristic of members of the genus Pythium, were observe...
Köhne M, Diel E, Packeiser EM, Böttcher D, Tönissen A, Unruh C, Goericke-Pesch S, Ulrich R, Sieme H.In the past, most research in equine reproduction has been performed in vivo but the use of in vitro and ex vivo models has recently increased. This study aimed to evaluate the functional stability of an ex vivo hemoperfused model for equine uteri with molecular characterization of marker genes and their proteins. In addition, the study validated the respective protein expression and the aptness of the software QuPath for identifying and scoring immunohistochemically stained equine endometrium. After collection, uteri (n = 12) were flushed with preservation solution, transported to the labor...
Tong P, Yang E, Liu B, Tian S, Suo Y, Pan J, Dang Y, Palidan N, Jia C, Kuang L, Xie J.Varicellovirus equidalpha1 (formerly Equid alphaherpesvirus 1, EqAHV-1) is among the most important viruses responsible for respiratory disease outbreaks among horses throughout the world. No reports to date have detailed the association between EqAHV-1 and respiratory disease among horses in China. This study described one such outbreak among a population of horses in north Xinjiang that occurred from April 2021 - May 2023. Results: qPCR revealed that EqAHV-1 was detectable in all samples and this virus was identified as a possible source of respiratory disease, although a limited subset of t...
