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.
Nehra AK, Kumari A, Moudgil AD, Vohra S.Equine theileriosis, an economically important disease that affects horses and other equids worldwide, is caused by a tick-borne intracellular apicomplexan protozoa . Genotyping of based on the 18S rRNA gene revealed the presence of two, three, four or five genotypes. In previous published reports, these genotypes have been labelled either alphabetically or numerically, and there is no uniformity in naming of these genotypes. The present study was aimed to revisit the phylogeny, genetic diversity and geographical distribution of based on the nucleotide sequences of the V4 hypervariable regio...
Muroni G, Serra E, Biggio GP, Sanna D, Cherchi R, Taras A, Appino S, Foxi C, Masala G, Loi F, Chisu V.The members of the family are important pathogens that infect a wide range of vertebrate hosts, including humans. Among them, , historically considered as an avian agent, has recently been identified in livestock, primarily sheep and cattle, but also in horses, with the infection being linked to reproductive disorders, such as abortion, absorption of embryos, stillbirth, and the birth of weak foals. Much less is known about chlamydial infections in the Sardinian equine population. This study aimed to identify the chlamydial diversity in genital samples from asymptomatic Sardinian horses. Howe...
Hassanien RT, Thieulent CJ, Carossino M, Li G, Balasuriya UBR.(1) Background: equid alphaherpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a highly contagious viral pathogen prevalent in most horse populations worldwide. Genome-editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 have become powerful tools for precise RNA-guided genome modifications; (2) Methods: we designed single guide RNAs (sgRNA) to target three essential (ORF30, ORF31, and ORF7) and one non-essential (ORF74) EHV-1 genes and determine their effect on viral replication dynamics ; (3) Results: we demonstrated that sgRNAs targeting essential lytic genes reduced EHV-1 replication, whereas those targeting ORF74 had a negligi...
Wang T, Li S, Hu X, Geng Y, Chen L, Liu W, Zhao J, Tian W, Wang C, Li Y, Li L.Equid alphaherpesvirus 8 (EqHV-8) is one of the most economically important viruses that is known to cause severe respiratory disease, abortion, and neurological syndromes in equines. However, no effective vaccines or therapeutic agents are available to control EqHV-8 infection. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an antioxidant defense enzyme that displays significant cytoprotective effects against different viral infections. However, the literature on the function of HO-1 during EqHV-8 infection is little. We explored the effects of HO-1 on EqHV-8 infection and revealed its potential mechanisms. Our ...
Raza A, Ijaz M, Mehmood K, Ahmed A, Javed MU, Anwaar F, Rasheed H, Ghumman NZ.Theileria equi is 1 of the emerging and prevailing tick-borne hemoprotozoans adversely affecting the equids worldwide, including Pakistan. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence and molecular characterization of T. equi in working horses (n = 194), the comparative efficacy of different diagnostic tests, associated risk factors, and hematobiochemical analysis. The blood samples of horses were subjected to microscopic examination, cELISA, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the results revealed a prevalence of 9.79, 21.13, and 13.40%, respectively, for T. equi in working horse...
Hellman S, Martin F, Tydén E, Sellin ME, Norman A, Hjertner B, Svedberg P, Fossum C.Stem cell-derived organoid cultures have emerged as attractive experimental models for infection biology research regarding various types of gastro-intestinal pathogens and host species. However, the large size of infectious nematode larvae and the closed structure of 3-dimensional organoids often hinder studies of the natural route of infection. To enable easy administration to the apical surface of the epithelium, organoids from the equine small intestine, i.e. enteroids, were used in the present study to establish epithelial monolayer cultures. These monolayers were functionally tested by s...
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...
Hamad MH, Islam SI, Jitsamai W, Chinkangsadarn T, Naraporn D, Ouisuwan S, Taweethavonsawat P.Mixed strongylid infections significantly impact equine health and performance. Traditional microscopy-based methods exhibit limitations in accurately identifying strongylid species. Nemabiome deep amplicon sequencing approach previously succeeded in describing the strongylid communities in livestock including equids. However, there are no available studies that describe the structural communities of strongylid parasites in horses in Thailand. Therefore, this study was undertaken encompassing the ITS-2 rDNA metabarcoding assay to characterize strongylid species within horse fecal samples colle...
Bubenikova J, Plasil M, Futas J, Stejskalova K, Klumplerova M, Oppelt J, Suchentrunk F, Burger PA, Horin P.The immunogenome is the part of the genome that underlies immune mechanisms and evolves under various selective pressures. Two complex regions of the immunogenome, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and natural killer cell receptor (NKR) genes, play an important role in the response to selective pressures of pathogens. Their importance is expressed by their genetic polymorphism at the molecular level, and their diversity associated with different types of diseases at the population level. Findings of associations between specific combinations of MHC/NKR haplotypes with different diseases i...
Ivanova Z, Petrova V, Grigorova N, Vachkova E.Obtaining accurate and reliable gene expression results in real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) data analysis requires appropriate normalization by carefully selected reference genes, either a single or a combination of multiple housekeeping genes (HKGs). The optimal reference gene/s for normalization should demonstrate stable expression across varying conditions to diminish potential influences on the results. Despite the extensive database available, research data are lacking regarding the most appropriate HKGs for qRT-PCR data analysis in rabbit and horse adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). Therefore,...
Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious viral disease of equids characterized by pyrexia and respiratory signs. Like other influenza A viruses, antigenic drift or shift could lead to a vaccine-induced immunity breakdown if vaccine strains are not updated. The aim of this study was to genetically characterize EIV strains circulating in Italy, detected in PCR-positive samples collected from suspected cases, especially in the absence of formal active surveillance. Methods: Between February and April 2019, blood samples and nasal swabs collected from each of the 20 symptomatic horses from Nor...
Hamad MH, Islam SI, Jitsamai W, Chinkangsadarn T, Naraporn D, Ouisuwan S, Taweethavonsawat P.The indiscriminate use of anthelmintics to control parasitic nematodes in horses has led to the emergence of anthelmintic resistance worldwide. However, there are no data available on using ivermectin for treating strongyle infections within domesticated horses in Thailand. Therefore, this study aimed to use the fecal egg count reduction (FECR) test to determine the strongylid egg reappearance period (ERP). Additionally, the nemabiome metabarcoding approach is incorporated to study patterns of strongyle species infection following ivermectin treatment. The study results indicate that, although...
Bae JW, Hwang JM, Lee WJ, Kim DH, Yi JK, Ha JJ, Oh DY, Kwon WS.The selection of superior sires is paramount for enhancing the efficiency of animal production in the livestock industry. However, semen quality assessment still relies on conventional semen analysis techniques in both animals and humans. Despite extensive efforts to develop various biomarkers for more accurate and precise predictions of male fertility potential, more effective physiological indicators and advance potential biomarkers are needed. Herein, we aimed to develop new potential biomarkers related to sperm motion kinematics for male fertility prediction. We first evaluated sperm motio...
Arroyo-Salvo C, Cogollo Villarreal MY, Clérico G, Flores Bragulat AP, Niño Vargas A, Castañeira C, Briski O, Alonso C, Plaza J, Zeledon JM....Members of the Equus genus exhibit a fascinating capacity for hybridization, giving rise to healthy offspring. Mules, resulting from the mating of a mare with a jack, represent the most prevalent equid hybrid, serving diverse roles in our society. While in vitro embryo production, particularly through Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), has rapidly gained significance in domestic horses, the in vitro production in other equids remains largely unexplored. Utilizing donkey sperm for fertilizing horse oocytes not only addresses this gap but also provides an opportunity to investigate donkey ...
Kang M, Lee S, Seo JP, Lee EB, Ahn D, Shin J, Paik YK, Jo D.The use of the FDA-approved osteoinductive growth factor BMP2 is widespread for bone regeneration. However, its clinical application has been hindered by limitations in cell permeability and a short half-life in circulation. To address this issue, we have developed a modified version of BMP2, referred to as Cell Permeable (CP)-BMP2, which possesses improved cell permeability. CP-BMP2 incorporates an advanced macromolecular transduction domain (aMTD) to facilitate transfer across the plasma membrane, a solubilization domain, and recombinant human BMP2. Compared to traditional rhBMP2, CP-BMP2 ex...
Hüttl J, Reitt K, Meli ML, Meili T, Bönzli E, Pineroli B, Ginders J, Schoster A, Jones S, Tyson GB, Hosie MJ, Pusterla N, Wernike K....Horses and cattle have shown low susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, and there is no evidence of experimental intraspecies transmission. Nonetheless, seropositive horses in the US and seropositive cattle in Germany and Italy have been reported. The current study investigated the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in horses and cattle in Switzerland. In total, 1940 serum and plasma samples from 1110 horses and 830 cattle were screened with a species-specific ELISA based on the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) and, in the case of suspect positive results, a surrogate virus neutralizat...
Ali AAH, Abdallah F, Shemies OA, Kotb G, Nafea MR.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is a major cause of abortion and respiratory disease. Equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4), on the other hand, is exclusively associated with respiratory disease in horse populations worldwide, particularly in Egypt and Arabian countries. Unassigned: This study aims to investigate the circulation of EHV-1 and EHV-4 in the Arabian horse population through molecular detection and genetic characterization of EHV-1 and/or EHV-4 that may threaten the stability of horse industry. Unassigned: A total of 80 samples including 50 nasal swabs, 10 vaginal swabs and 20 whole ...
Atwa AS, Gomaa L, Elmenofy W, Amer HM, Ahmed BM.Equine influenza (EI) is a transmissible viral respiratory sickness of the family. Two viruses, H7N7 and H3N8 caused EI; however, H7N7 has not been detected for decades. H3N8 has circulated and bifurcated into Eurasian and American lineages. The latter subsequently diversified into Kentucky, South America, and Florida sub-lineages. Florida clade 1 (FC1) and Florida clade 2 (FC2) strains are the only circulating EI viruses (EIVs) in the meantime. Immunization is considered the major means for the prevention and control of EI infection. Using disparate technologies and platforms, several vaccin...
Mirabal B, Andrade BS, Souza SPA, Oliveira IBDS, Melo TS, Barbosa FS, Jaiswal AK, Seyffert N, Portela RW, Soares SC, Azevedo V, Meyer R, Tiwari S....Equine strangles is a prevalent disease that affects the upper respiratory in horses and is caused by the Gram-positive bacterium . In addition to strangles, other clinical conditions are caused by the two subspecies, and , which present relevant zoonotic potential. Treatment of infections caused by has become challenging due to the worldwide spreading of infected horses and the unavailability of effective therapeutics and vaccines. Penicillin treatment is often recommended, but multidrug resistance issues arised. We explored the whole genome sequence of 18 isolates to identify candidate p...
Carossino M, Vissani MA, Barrandeguy ME, Balasuriya UBR, Parreño V.Group A rotaviruses are a well-known cause of viral gastroenteritis in infants and children, as well as in many mammalian species and birds, affecting them at a young age. This group of viruses has a double-stranded, segmented RNA genome with high genetic diversity linked to point mutations, recombination, and, importantly, reassortment. While initial molecular investigations undertaken in the 1900s suggested host range restriction among group A rotaviruses based on the fact that different gene segments were distributed among different animal species, recent molecular surveillance and genome c...
Tuomisto L, Virtanen J, Kegler K, Levanov L, Sukura A, Sironen T, Kareskoski M.Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common genital, ocular and gastric tumour in horses. Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) DNA has been detected in several studies in equine penile squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and precursor lesions providing evidence of a causal role of EcPV2 in equine genital SCCs. Recently, EcPV2 E6/E7 nucleic acids were also detected in equine gastric SCCs, but further studies are required to determine the role of EcPV2 infection in the pathogenesis of gastric SCC. EcPV2 nucleic acids have been rarely described in ocular SCCs and precursor lesions. To investig...
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 ...
Semevolos SA, Marchant EA.The marginal transitional zone (MTZ) is peripherally located within the diarthrodial joint, and represents the junction of synovium, fibrous joint capsule, articular cartilage, periosteum, and bone. The purpose of this study is to characterize age-related differences in protein expression of matrix and molecular regulators in the marginal transitional zone of neonatal and weanling foals. Several families of proteins with known roles in cartilage and bone development are investigated, including matrix molecules, members of the Wnt signaling family, apoptotic factors and paracrine cell signaling...
Cain JL, Norris JK, Swan MP, Nielsen MK.The microbiome plays an important role in health, where changes in microbiota composition can have significant downstream effects within the host, and host-microbiota relationships can be exploited to affect health outcomes. Parasitic helminths affect animals globally, but an exploration of their microbiota has been limited, despite the development of anti-Wolbachia drugs to help control infections with some filarial nematodes. The equine ascarids, Parascaris spp., are considered the most pathogenic nematodes affecting juvenile horses and are also the only ascarid parasite to have developed wi...
Faber E, van Schalkwyk A, Ivy Tshilwane S, Van Kleef M, Pretorius A.The viral proteins VP1-1, VP2, VP4, VP7 and NS3, of African horse sickness virus serotype 4 (AHSV4), have previously been identified to contain CD8+ T cell epitopes. In this study, overlapping peptides spanning the entire sequences of these AHSV4 proteins were synthesized and used to map epitopes. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from five horses immunized with an attenuated AHSV4 were stimulated in vitro with the synthesized peptides. Various memory immune assays were used to identify the individual peptides that contain CD8+ T cell epitopes, CD4+ T cell epitopes and linear ...
Ahedor B, Otgonsuren D, Zhyldyz A, Guswanto A, Ngigi NMM, Valinotti MFR, Kothalawala H, Kalaichelvan N, Silva SSP, Kothalawala H, Acosta TJ....Theileria equi causes equine piroplasmosis, an economically significant disease that affects horses and other equids worldwide. Based on 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA sequences), T. equi can be classified into five genotypes: A, B, C, D, and E. These genotypes have implications for disease management and control. However, no conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays are available to differentiate the genotypes of T. equi. To overcome this limitation, we developed and evaluated PCR assays specific for the detection of each T. equi genotype. Methods: A pair of forward and reverse primers...
Altmann N, Bowlby C, Coughlin H, Belacic Z, Sullivan S, Durgam S.Prolonged inflammation during tendon healing and poor intrinsic healing capacity of tendon are causal factors associated with tendon structural and functional degeneration. Tendon cells, consisting of mature tenocytes and tendon progenitor cells (TPC) function to maintain tendon structure via extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis. Tendon cells can succumb to tissue cytokine/chemokine alterations during healing and consequently contribute to tendon degeneration. Interleukin-(IL-)1β, IL-6 and TNFα are key cytokines upregulated in injured tendons; the specific effects of IL-6 on flexor tendon-de...
Takai S, Suzuki Y, Sasaki Y, Kakuda T, Ribeiro MG, Makrai L, Witkowski L, Cohen N, Sekizaki T.Virulent Rhodococcus equi strains expressing virulence-associated 15-17 kDa protein (VapA) and having a large virulence plasmid (pVAPA) of 85-90 kb containing vapA gene are pathogenic for horses. In the last two decades, following pVAPA, two host-associated virulence plasmid types of R. equi have been discovered: a circular plasmid, pVAPB, associated with porcine isolates in 1995, and a recently detected linear plasmid, pVAPN, related to bovine and caprine isolates. Molecular epidemiological studies of R. equi infection in foals on horse-breeding farms in Japan and many countries around the ...
Yun JU, Jung HS, Jung MJ, Song HS, Kim YB, Kim Y, Kim JG, Roh SW, Lee SH, Lee JS, Whon TW.Strain CBA3108 is a Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, obligately anaerobic bacterium isolated from horse faecal samples obtained in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. The cells of CBA3108 are non-motile short rods that have been assessed as catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. Growth of the strain occurs under the following conditions: 25-45 °C (optimum, 35 °C); pH 6-9 (optimum, pH 6); and in the presence of 0-6 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 2%). Major fatty acids in the strain include C iso and C iso DMA, while major polar lipids include phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and phosp...
Zhang Y, Guo X, Yu M, Sun L, Qu Y, Guo K, Hu Z, Liu D, Zhang H, Wang X.Host ANP32 family proteins are crucial for maintaining the activity of influenza RNA polymerase and play an important role in the cross-species transmission of influenza viruses. To date, the molecular properties of equine ANP32 (eqANP32) protein are poorly understood, particularly the mechanisms that affect equine influenza virus (EIV) RNA polymerase activity. Here, we found that there are six alternative splicing variants of equine ANP32A (eqANP32A) with different levels of expression. Further studies showed that these six splicing variants of eqANP32A supported the activity of EIV RNA polym...
Peckle M, Pires MS, Dos Santos TM, Roier EC, da Silva CB, Vilela JA, Santos HA, Massard CL.The aim of this study was to detect Theileria equi (Laveran 1901) DNA in horses and ticks using real-time PCR and to list the factors associated with infection in animals located in the Seropedica and Petropolis municipalities of the state of Rio de Janeiro. We tested blood samples from 314 horses and samples from 300 ticks, including 191 Amblyomma cajennense, 104 Dermacentor nitens, and 5 Ixodida larvae. Factors inherent to the horse, the ownership, and animal management were obtained from an epidemiological questionnaire and were evaluated in association with the presence of T. equi DNA in t...
Barrey E, Bonnamy B, Barrey EJ, Mata X, Chaffaux S, Guerin G.MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small endogenous noncoding interfering RNA molecules (18-25 nucleotides) regarded as major regulators in eukaryotic gene expression. They play a role in developmental timing, cellular differentiation, signalling and apoptosis pathways. Because of the central function of miRNAs in the proliferation and differentiation of the myoblasts demonstrated in mouse and man, it is assumed that they could be present in equine muscles and their expression profile may be related to the muscle status. Objective: To identify miRNA candidates in the muscles of control and affected horses ...
Garaicoechea L, Miño S, Ciarlet M, Fernández F, Barrandeguy M, Parreño V.P[12]G3 and P[12]G14 equine rotaviruses (ERVs) are epidemiologically important in horses. In Argentina, the prevalent ERV strains have been historically P[12]G3. The aim of this study was the detection and characterization of ERV strains circulating in foals in Argentina during a 17-year study (1992-2008). Additionally, the gene sequences of VP7, VP4 and NSP4 encoding genes of representative Argentinean ERV strains were determined and phylogenetic analyses were performed to elucidate the evolutionary relationships of the ERV strains in Argentina. ERVs were detected in 165 (21%) out of 771 diar...
Lin C, Holland RE, Donofrio JC, McCoy MH, Tudor LR, Chambers TM.Equine influenza virus (EIV) is the leading cause of acute respiratory infection in horses worldwide. In recent years, the precise mechanism by which influenza infection kills host cells is being re-evaluated. In this report, we examined whether caspases, a group of intracellular proteases, are activated following EIV infection and contribute to EIV-mediated cell death. Western blotting analysis indicated that a nuclear target of caspase-3, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was proteolytically cleaved in EIV-infected MDCK cells, but not in mock-infected cells. In comparison with caspase-3 spe...
Hofmaier F, Hauck SM, Amann B, Degroote RL, Deeg CA.Autoimmune uveitis is a sight-threatening disease in which autoreactive T cells cross the blood-retinal barrier. Molecular mechanisms contributing to the loss of eye immune privilege in this autoimmune disease are not well understood. In this study, the authors investigated the changes in the matrix metalloproteinase network in spontaneous uveitis. Methods: Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) MMP2, MMP9, and MMP14 expression and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 and lipocalin 2 (LCN2) expression were analyzed using Western blot quantification. Enzyme activities were examined with zymog...
Turtinen LW, Allen GP, Darlington RW, Bryans JT.The molecular and serologic relatedness of 2 recent respiratory tract isolates of equine herpesvirus type 1, designated T1 and T2, were compared with the Army 183, Kentucky-A hamster-adapted (KyA-ha), and L-M cell-adapted (KyA-LM) strains. Electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels revealed differences in virion structural proteins among 4 purified strains. Seven envelope glycoproteins (molecular weight of 93,000, 65,000, 62,000, 60,000, 36,000, 20,000, and 18,000) corresponding to virion proteins 13, 16, 17, 18, 23, 25, and 26a, respectively, found in both the Army 183 and KyA-ha strains had slig...
Bice DE, Seagrave J, Green FH.Asthma is now recognized to be a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the whole lung. Incidence appears to be increasing despite improved treatment regimens. There is substantial epidemiological evidence suggesting a relationship between the incidence and severity of asthma (e.g., hospitalizations) and exposure to increased levels of air pollution, especially fine and ultrafine particulate material, in susceptible individuals. There have been a few studies in animal models that support this concept, but additional animal studies to test this hypothesis are needed. However, such studies mu...
Robinson VL, Smith BB, Arnone A.In 1947, Perutz and co-workers reported that crystalline horse methemoglobin undergoes a large lattice transition as the pH is decreased from 7.1 to 5.4. We have determined the pH 7.1 and 5.4 crystal structures of horse methemoglobin at 1.6 and 2.1 A resolution, respectively, and find that this lattice transition involves a 23 A translation of adjacent hemoglobin tetramers as well as changes in alpha heme ligation and the tertiary structure of the alpha subunits. Specifically, when the pH is lowered from 7.1 to 5.4, the Fe(3+) alpha heme groups (but not the beta heme groups) are converted from...
Ochoa M, Bárcena J, de la Luna S, Melero JA, Douglas AR, Nieto A, Ortín J, Skehel JJ, Portela A.Characterization of the epitopes recognized by 21 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for the influenza A virus PA (13 MAbs) and PB2 (8 MAbs) polypeptides (Bárcena et al. (1994) J. Virol. 68, 6900-6909) raised against denatured polypeptides produced in E. coli is described. MAbs were characterized by: (1) competitive binding ELISAs; (2) mapping of the protein regions that specify their binding sites; and (3) analyses of their ability to recognize the corresponding viral protein in a number of viral isolates. Five and three non-overlapping antigenic areas were defined by the anti-PA and anti...
Raudsepp T, Chowdhary BP.A pilot study comparing horse and donkey karyotypes on a molecular basis was initiated using the chromosomal microdissection approach. All equine meta- and submetacentric chromosomes, viz. ECA1 to ECA13 and the X and Y chromosomes, were microdissected. The DNA was PCR amplified, non-radioactively labelled and used as probes on equine metaphase chromosomes to confirm their origin. Once tested, the paints were used as probes on donkey metaphase chromosomes to detect homologous chromosomal segments between the two species. The results not only detected conservation of whole chromosome and/or arm ...
Côté GP.The non-muscle tropomyosins (TMs), isolated from such tissues as platelets, brain and thyroid, are structurally very similar to the muscle TMs, being composed of two highly alpha-helical subunits wound around each other to form a rod-like molecule. The non-muscle TMs are shorter than the muscle TMs; sequence analysis demonstrates that each subunit of equine platelet TM consists of 247 amino acids, 37 fewer than for skeletal muscle TM. The major differences in sequence between platelet and skeletal muscle TM are found near the amino and carboxyl terminal ends of the proteins. Probably as the re...
Ikadai H, Xuan X, Igarashi I, Tanaka S, Kanemaru T, Nagasawa H, Fujisaki K, Suzuki N, Mikami T.A cDNA expression library prepared from Babesia caballi merozoite mRNA was screened with a monoclonal antibody BC11D against the rhoptry protein of B. caballi merozoite. A cDNA encoding a 48-kDa protein of B. caballi was cloned and designated BC48. The complete nucleotide sequence of the BC48 gene had 1,828 bp and was shown to contain no intron. Southern blotting analysis indicated that the BC48 gene contained more than two copies in the B. caballi genome. Computer analysis suggested that this sequence contained an open reading frame of 1,374 bp with a coding capacity of approximately 52 kDa. ...
Chirnside ED, Wearing CM, Binns MM, Mumford JA.cDNA copies of the M and N genes of equine arteritis virus (EAV) isolates were synthesized by reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction amplification. The cDNA was subjected to a cycle sequencing strategy using Taq polymerase, and the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences of 10 virus isolates were compared. The M and N genes of all isolates had the same initiation and termination sites as the prototype Bucyrus strain and the encoded proteins were conserved between viruses. Comparison of nucleotide sequence homologies and phylogenetic tree analysis implied the existence ...
Crabb BS, Nagesha HS, Studdert MJ.Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV4) glycoproteins of M(r) 63K and 250K were identified in the supernatant of infected cell cultures. The 63K glycoprotein was type-specific; that is, it reacted with monospecific sera from horses that had been immunized or infected with EHV4, but not with monospecific sera from horses immunized or infected with EHV1, a closely related alphaherpesvirus. It was postulated that the secreted protein may be the homologue of similarly secreted glycoproteins of herpes simplex virus 2 glycoprotein G (HSV2 gG) and pseudorabies virus (PRV) gX, which is the homologue of HSV2 gG. T...
Ojo KK, Dangoudoubiyam S, Verma SK, Scheele S, DeRocher AE, Yeargan M, Choi R, Smith TR, Rivas KL, Hulverson MA, Barrett LK, Fan E, Maly DJ....Sarcocystis neurona is the most frequent cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, a debilitating neurological disease of horses that can be difficult to treat. We identified SnCDPK1, the S. neurona homologue of calcium-dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1), a validated drug target in Toxoplasma gondii. SnCDPK1 shares the glycine "gatekeeper" residue of the well-characterized T. gondii enzyme, which allows the latter to be targeted by bumped kinase inhibitors. This study presents detailed molecular and phenotypic evidence that SnCDPK1 can be targeted for rational drug development. Recombinant ...
Fransson LA, Havsmark B.The structure of dermatan sulfate-chondroitin sulfate
copolymers, isolated from horse aorta, has been examined.
It was found that a large proportion of the galactosaminoglycans of this tissue was obtained as a discrete polysaccharide fraction with an L-iduronic acid to D-glucuronic
acid ratio of approximately 1: 2. This finding together with
infrared data indicated that the polymer contained approximately equimolar proportions of the three repeating disaccharide units glucuronosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate
(A), iduronosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate (B), and
glucuronosyl-N-acet...
Chesters PM, Allsop R, Purewal A, Edington N.Results from Southern hybridization and PCR amplification experiments using a randomly synthesized reverse transcription-PCR product showed that peripheral blood leukocytes from horses showing no clinical signs of disease expressed a putative latency-associated transcript antisense to and overlapping the 3' end of the equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) immediate-early gene (gene 64). A PCR product derived from this transcript has > or =96% identity with the published EHV-1 sequence. In situ hybridization studies of equine bronchial lymph nodes corroborated these findings and are consistent with re...
Yalamanchili RR, Raengsakulrach B, O'Callaghan DJ.We have previously reported the sequence of the equine herpesvirus one genomic termini that are homologous to the genomic termini of other herpesviruses. In this paper, we present the nucleotide sequence adjacent to the left terminus sequence (map units 0.0087 to 0.0237). This sequence codes for two open reading frames (ORF) which are homologous to ORF2 and ORF3 of the varicella-zoster virus genome and are located at colinear positions. The L region sequence presented here also contains a segment that is involved in the generation of the genome of EHV-1 DI particles through recombination with ...
Vieira RF, Vidotto O, Vieira TS, Guimaraes AM, Santos AP, Nascimento NC, Santos NJ, Martins TF, Labruna MB, Marcondes M, Biondo AW, Messick JB.The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of hemoplasmas in a rural Brazilian settlement's population of human beings, their dogs and horses, highly exposed to tick bites; to identify the tick species parasitizing dogs and horses, and analyze factors associated with their infection. Blood samples from 132 dogs, 16 horses and 100 humans were screened using a pan-hemoplasma SYBR green real-time PCR assay followed by a species-specific TaqMan real-time PCR. A total of 59/132 (44.7%) dog samples were positive for hemoplasmas (21 Mycoplasma haemocanis alone, 12 ' Candidatus Mycoplasma...
Mott J, Muramatsu Y, Seaton E, Martin C, Reed S, Rikihisa Y.Upon ingestion of adult aquatic insects, horses developed clinical signs of Potomac horse fever, and Neorickettsia risticii was isolated from the blood. 16S rRNA and 51-kDa antigen gene sequences from blood, isolates, and caddis flies fed to the horses were identical, proving oral transmission of N. risticii from caddis flies to horses.
Couto MA, Harwig SS, Cullor JS, Hughes JP, Lehrer RI.Endogenous, cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides known as defensins are prominent components of human, rabbit, and rat neutrophils, yet little is known about their occurrence in other mammalian species. Although we did not detect mature (i.e., processed) defensins in equine neutrophil granules, we found that these granules contained small amounts of other cysteine-rich peptides with antimicrobial activity. One of these, eNAP-1, was purified by a combination of gel permeation and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography from acid extracts prepared from the cytoplasmic granules of e...
Nitschke M, Korte T, Tielesch C, Ter-Avetisyan G, Tünnemann G, Cardoso MC, Veit M, Herrmann A.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is an enveloped, positive-stranded RNA virus belonging to the family Arteriviridae. Infection by EAV requires the release of the viral genome by fusion with the respective target membrane of the host cell. We have investigated the entry pathway of EAV into Baby Hamster Kidney cells (BHK). Infection of cells assessed by the plaque reduction assay was strongly inhibited by substances which interfere with clathrin-dependent endocytosis and by lysosomotropic compounds. Furthermore, infection of BHK cells was suppressed when clathrin-dependent endocytosis was inhibited ...
Peña FJ, García BM, Samper JC, Aparicio IM, Tapia JA, Ferrusola CO.We review recent developments in the technology of freezing stallion sperm, paying special attention to the molecular lesions that spermatozoa suffer during freezing and thawing, such as osmotic stress, oxidative damage, and apoptotic changes. We also discuss the applicability of colloidal centrifugation in stallion sperm cryobiology. Increased knowledge about the molecular injuries that occur during cryopreservation may lead to improved protective techniques and thus to further improvements in fertility in the current decade.
Traversa D, Giangaspero A, Iorio R, Otranto D, Paoletti B, Gasser RB.Habronema microstoma and Habronema muscae (Spirurida: Habronematidae) are parasitic nematodes which infect the stomach and/or skin of equids. The accurate diagnosis of gastric habronemosis is central to studying its epidemiology, but data on its distribution and prevalence are lacking, mainly due to the limitations of clinical and coprological diagnosis in live horses. To overcome this constraint, a two-step, semi-nested PCR-based assay was validated (utilizing genetic markers in the nuclear ribosomal DNA) for the specific amplification of H. microstoma or H. muscae DNA from the faeces from ho...
Lan J, Chen P, Liu W, Ren W, Zhang L, Ding Q, Zhang Q, Wang X, Ge J.Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2, and human coronavirus (hCoV)-NL63 utilize ACE2 as the functional receptor for cell entry, which leads to zoonotic infection. Horses (Equus caballus) attracted our attention because the spike protein receptor-binding domains (RBDs) of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses bind equine ACE2 (eACE2) with high affinity. Here we show that eACE2 binds the RBDs of these three coronaviruses and also SARS-CoV-2 variants but with lower affinities compared with human ACE2 (hACE2). Structural analysis and mutation assays indica...
Cannon SC, Hayward LJ, Beech J, Brown RH.1. Equine hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (E-HPP) is a dominantly inherited disorder of muscle that causes recurrent episodes of stiffness (myotonia) and weakness in association with elevated serum K+. Affected horses carry a mutant allele of the skeletal muscle isoform of the Na channel alpha-subunit. To understand how this mutation may cause the disease phenotype, the functional defect in Na channel behavior was defined physiologically by recording unitary currents from cell-attached patches on normal and affected equine myotubes. 2. The presence of the mutation was confirmed in our cell lin...
