Species comparison in horses involves examining the physiological, anatomical, and behavioral differences and similarities between horses and other animal species. This area of study can provide insights into the evolutionary adaptations and ecological roles of horses. Researchers often focus on aspects such as digestive systems, locomotion, sensory capabilities, and social structures to understand how horses have evolved to meet their environmental and survival needs. Comparative studies may also explore genetic differences and similarities, contributing to a broader understanding of species evolution and adaptation. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research and scholarly articles that analyze various aspects of species comparison involving horses, highlighting significant findings and methodologies used in the field.
Dvoĭnos GM, Kharchenko VA, Zviagnitsova NS.The helminth fauna of 24 kulans from Askaniya-Nova and Badkhyz was studied. 42 species of helminths were found, 34 of which belong to strongylids. The helminth species composition of kulan is similar to that of other species of horses. This is a result of an intensive parasite exchange in the historical past when numerous populations of different Equidae species made long seasonal migrations over steppe inter-river lands of Asia and grazed for some time on common pastures.
May SA, Hooke RE, Lees P.Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and stromelysin are produced by equine chondrocytes and synovial cells in vitro in response to recombinant human (rh) interleukin-1 (IL-1) alpha and beta, and equine mononuclear cell supernatants (MCS) containing IL-1. However, culture conditions are important. PGE2 concentrations increase in proportion to the concentration of fetal calf serum (FCS) in the culture medium, whereas stromelysin concentrations are inversely proportional to the concentration of FCS. Equine MCS, containing a lower concentration of IL-1 than the concentration of rhIL-1 used in these experiment...
Vittoria A, Cocca T, La Mura E, Cecio A.The aim of this study is to describe the presence of neuroendocrine (NE) cells (paraneurons), producing biogenic amines and/or peptidergic hormones, in the female urethra of cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses, by means of histochemical and double labeling immunofluorescent techniques. 5-Hydroxy-tryptamine-, chromogranin A-, cholecystokinin- and somatostatin-containing NE cells are present in the urethral epithelium of all the species studied, with the unique exception of the lack of somatostatin cells in the horse. Paraneurons containing 5-hydroxytryptamine colocalized with chromogranin A or chol...
Parks JE, Lynch DV.Composition and thermotropic phase behavior of sperm membrane lipids from species ranging in sensitivity to cold shock were determined. Lipids from whole sperm and sperm plasma membrane were fractionated into neutral lipid, glycolipid, and phospholipid fractions. Compositional analyses were completed for free sterols, phospholipids and phospholipid-bound fatty acids. Phase transition temperatures were determined for phospholipid and glycolipid fractions using differential scanning calorimetry. Cholesterol was the major sterol in sperm lipids of all species. Cholesterol to phospholipid molar ra...
Baggot JD.Veterinary and human pharmacology differ principally in the range of species in which drugs are used and studied. In animals, as in humans, an understanding of the dose-effect relationship can be obtained by linking pharmacokinetic behaviour with pharmacodynamic information. Studies of different classes of drugs support the assumption that the range of therapeutic plasma concentrations in animals is generally the same as in humans. The requirement for species differences in dosage or administration rate (dose/dosage interval) may be attributed to variations in pharmacokinetic behaviour or phar...
Dubrovskaia RM, Starodumov IM, Bannikova LV.The estimation of genetic differentiation between 27 horses breeds originated in USSR, based on serum proteins polymorphism (loci Tf, Al, Es) is shown. Genetical variability among aborigine breeds is higher then among cultural ones. The erosion of gene pool of Przewalski's Horse is explained by special history of this population and a few horses in analyzing group. Genetic distances reflect the directions and intensity of breeding. High genetical distances between Przewalski's Horse, Shetland Pony and other horses obtained could be explained by overcoming the "bottle neck" of selections in bre...
Condò SG, Coletta M, Cicchetti R, Argentin G, Guerrieri P, Marini S, el-Sherbini S, Giardina B.The equilibrium O2-binding properties of the hybrid haemoglobin (Hb) present in vivo in erythrocytes from mule and of its parent Hbs from horse and donkey were compared with special reference to the effect of heterotropic ligands such as Cl-, D-glycerate 2,3-bisphosphate (DPG) and inositol hexakisphosphate. All these Hbs display a decreased effect by polyphosphates, confirming that what has been observed for horse Hb [Giardina, Brix, Clementi, Scatena, Nicoletti, Cicchetti, Argentin & Condò (1990) Biochem. J. 266, 897-900] is common to other equine species, at least from a qualitative sta...
Davis SL, Graf M, Morrison CA, Hall TR, Swift PJ.The chemical nature and variations in serum concentrations of growth hormone binding protein (GHBP) from humans, rabbits, and rodents have been reported. To date little is known about the GHBP of domestic animals. Therefore, we initiated these studies to determine whether a serum GHBP was present in domestic animals and to purify the binding protein (BP) from serum of selected species. Using a dextran-coated charcoal separation assay, specific growth hormone (GH) binding was demonstrated in ovine, bovine, chicken, human, goose, porcine, and equine serum (listed in sequence from lowest to highe...
Millington WR, Dybdal NO, Mueller GP, Chronwall BM.beta-Endorphin is post-translationally processed to both N-acetylated and C-terminally shortened derivatives in the anterior lobe of the horse pituitary, a processing pattern qualitatively different from that of the rat and virtually every other mammalian species. Thus, separation of the molecular forms of beta-endorphin using gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography showed that the horse anterior lobe primarily contains beta-endorphin-1-31 and N-acetyl-beta-endorphin-1-27 along with smaller amounts of beta-lipotropin, beta-endorphin-1-27, and N-acetyl-beta-endorphin-1-31 and -1-26, in c...
Pollin MM, Griffiths IR.Primary dysautonomias appear to be the result of initial damage to the protein synthetic pathway of a specific neuronal population, but despite detailed morphological study of several species there is, as yet, no indication of the precise lesion or the nature of the causal agent. The very marked similarities between the species with regard to lesion type, distribution, the age group affected and the geographical restrictions of occurrence would suggest a very similar, if not common, aetiology. There is no explanation, however, for the 70 year gap between its appearance in horses and its subseq...
Stone KC, Mercer RR, Gehr P, Stockstill B, Crapo JD.Allometric studies have shown that lung volume, alveolar surface area, and diffusing capacity increase proportionally with body weight across a broad range of mammalian species. Changes in the number of cells and in average cell size and surface areas with increasing body weight have not been defined. We speculated that cell size is determined more by cell function than by species and body weight. To test this hypothesis, nine species ranging in size from shrew (2 to 3 g) to horse (510 kg) were studied. Random sites from the distal alveolar region of each species were analyzed using morphometr...
Kennedy CR, Bush AO.Using data sets derived from published literature, the contribution of congeneric species to helminth component community richness is evaluated. Consideration of the frequency distribution of congeners in relation to host and parasite groups reveals that the distributions are unimodal, that singletons are the commonest class and that the frequency of occurrence of congeners decreases with increasing number of species per genus. Congeners may be found in any group of hosts or parasites, but are more common amongst cestodes of aquatic birds. Two patterns of occurrence of congeneric species are r...
May SA, Hooke RE, Lees P.Equine thymocytes, which respond to equine monocyte supernatants, do not respond to stimulation with recombinant human interleukin-1 alpha and beta, and equine synovial fibroblasts show a limited response in the form of prostaglandin E2 production without any evidence of neutral metalloproteinase production. Human interleukin-1 beta was about three to ten times as active on equine synovial cells as human interleukin-1 alpha in terms of prostaglandin E2 production. This preliminary evidence would suggest that there are qualitative and quantitative differences in the way recombinant human interl...
Bowling AT, Nickel LS.Family data from Paso Fino horses support the existence of a new allele (Aabdf) in the A system of red cell alloantigens. Considering breeds throughout the world, the A system now consists of 13 alleles defined by reagents which serologically detect seven factors.
Lear TL, Trembicki KA, Ennis RB.Giemsa-11 (G-11) staining and in situ hybridization were used to identify the equine chromosome complement of horse x mouse somatic cell hybrids. The presence of horse chromosomes in somatic cell hybrids was determined by differential G-11 staining. The slides were then destained and hybridized with biotinylated total horse (Equus caballus) genomic DNA without suppression. Fluorescence detection permitted rapid confirmation of horse chromosomal DNA in the hybrid cells.
von Engelhardt W.During heavy exercise horses can increase oxygen uptake compared to resting conditions considerably more than man. Processes involved like respiration, heart size, cardiac output, oxygen transport capacity of the blood and oxygen release in the capillaries are discussed. Besides these advantages in the aerobic metabolism conditions for the anaerobic metabolism are also more advantageous in horses than in man. The portion of fast contracting muscle fibers with little fatigue-resistance and also some of the enzymes required for the anaerobic metabolism are higher in horses.
Chowdhary BP, Harbitz I, Davies W, Gustavsson I.In situ hybridization techniques were used to localize regionally the calcium release channel (CRC) gene on cattle and horse chromosomes, using a porcine CRC cDNA probe. In cattle, the hybridization signal peaked on the 18q23-q26 bands and in horse on the 10pter region. Previous studies have shown that the glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) gene localizes at the same site in both species, indicating that the two loci are syntenic. As CRC and GPI are syntenic in human, pig and mouse, the present results in cattle and horse represent another example of synteny conservation in the evolution of mam...
Ellegren H, Andersson L, Johansson M, Sandberg K.A synthetic polynucleotide (TG)n was hybridized to equine DNA digested with HinfI and hypervariable hybridization patterns were obtained. Mendelian inheritance of these DNA fingerprinting patterns was confirmed by pedigree analysis. Estimates of the probabilities of identical band patterns in unrelated individuals of different breeds (Swedish Trotters, North Swedish Trotters, Thoroughbreds and Arabians) were in the range 1 x 10(-4) - 7 x 10(-6). The variability derived with the (TG)n probe in horses was higher than what we obtained with several other commonly used probes for DNA fingerprinting...
Karlström K, Essén-Gustavsson B, Hoppeler H, Straub R, Weishaupt M.In order to investigate possible differences in variables defining capillary supply of skeletal muscle derived from two methods, the electron-microscopical and the amylase-PAS histochemical methods were applied in a study of horse and steer muscles. Samples from several locomoter muscles were taken at slaughter from one horse and one steer, divided into two and prepared separately for the two techniques. It was found that there was no difference between the two methods in the values for the capillary-to-fibre ratio. Values for mean fibre area, on the other hand, were significantly higher in th...
Fletcher JE, Tripolitis L, Beech J.The modulation of Ca2+ release by synthetic bee venom melittin was examined in equine and human terminal cisternae-containing fractions. Melittin (0.1 microM) decreased the threshold of Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release by 20% in equine muscle and by 36% in human muscle. If terminal cisternae fractions were first preloaded with Ca2+ to greater than about 75% of the threshold of Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release and then melittin added, an immediate and sustained release of Ca2+ occurred in preparations from both species. Addition of melittin after a Ca2+ preload of < 50% of the threshold of Ca(2+)-induced...
Aramaki S, Suzuki E, Ishidaka O, Momose A, Umemura K.The pharmacokinetics of caffeine (CAF) and its metabolites, dimethylxanthines, were examined in horses administered 2.5 mg/kg of CAF intravenously (i.v.), intramusculary (i.m.), or orally (p.o.). The plasma samples were extracted by Extrelut and the concentrations of CAF and metabolites were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a short column. The pharmacokinetics of CAF after bolus i.v. injection were described by the assumption of a two-compartment model, and those of CAF after i.m. or p.o. administration were done by the assumption of a one-compartment model. The...
Bristol DG, Riviere JE, Monteiro-Riviere NA, Bowman KF, Rogers RA.A model for the study of equine cutaneous physiology, pharmacology, and toxicology was developed. Four 4 x 12 cm and twenty-one 6 x 12 cm single-pedicle axial pattern skin flaps based on the caudal superficial epigastric artery, and eight 6 x 12 cm flaps based on the saphenous artery and medial saphenous vein, were raised and sutured in a tubed configuration. On day 2, each flap was removed, the artery was cannulated, and the flap was perfused with a modified Krebs-Ringer's albumin-based medium for at least 6 hours. Flap viability was assessed by glucose use, lactate production, and histologic...
Soave O, Brand CD.Coprophagy is performed by rodents and lagomorphs and to a lesser degree by piglets, foals, dogs and nonhuman primates. Due to the construction of the digestive system of rodents and rabbits, coprophagy is necessary to supply many essential nutrients. Bacterial synthesis of nutrients occurs in the lower gastrointestinal tract in these animals where little absorption is realized. The eating of their feces provides a method for obtaining these nutrients.
Liu DY, Lopata A, Pantke P, Baker HW.The present study demonstrates that horse and marmoset monkey sperm can bind to the human zona of salt-stored oocytes that failed to fertilize in vitro. Marmoset monkey sperm are also able to penetrate the salt-stored human zona. In contrast, human sperm do not bind to the zona of either horse or marmoset monkey oocytes. These results suggest that human sperm binding to the zona pellucida is more strictly species-specific than it is for horse and marmoset monkey sperm. In contrast, horse and marmoset monkey sperm contain receptors recognized by the human zona.
Patterson SD, Bell K, Shaw DC.The equine Pi system, which is highly polymorphic and was considered to be controlled by a single locus, has been shown to be controlled by four loci (named Spi 1-4). This system is the equine equivalent of the major human plasma serpin (serine protease inhibitor), human alpha 1 PI. Twenty-two haplotypes of the equine Pi system have been characterized by two-dimensional electrophoresis, resulting in the assignment of pI, Mr, and bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibition characteristics to 109 proteins. These proteins have been analyzed further to determine their relatedness to each other as w...
Sarazan RD, Krause GF, Franklin D, Garner HE, Griggs DM.Coronary reactive hyperemia duration (RHD) and coronary blood flow debt repayment (BFDR) were compared in conscious dogs and ponies instrumented with coronary artery Doppler flow probes and pneumatic occluders. Additional ponies were instrumented with pacing electrodes. With the use of a Latin square design, eight animals of each species were subjected to a randomized series of nine coronary occlusions ranging from 5 s to 2 min in duration. In both species, postocclusion blood flow velocity rose rapidly and plateaued at similar peak levels relative to control, but in ponies this plateau lasted...
Heap RB, Hamon MH, Allen WR.Aromatase distribution in membranes of preimplantation horse and donkey conceptuses was compared by measuring the incorporation of [3H]androstenedione into oestrone and oestradiol-17 beta. In the donkey conceptus, aromatase activity was similar in all the tissues examined (yolk sac, chorionic girdle and allantochorion), whereas in the horse it was generally lower and showed the relationship chorionic girdle greater than yolk sac greater than allantochorion. A higher proportion of labelled precursor was incorporated into oestradiol-17 beta by extra-embryonic tissues of the donkey compared with ...
The Journal of hereditySeptember 1, 1991
Volume 82, Issue 5 369-377 doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a111106
Wichman HA, Payne CT, Ryder OA, Hamilton MJ, Maltbie M, Baker RJ.We describe a molecular model for rapid chromosomal evolution that proposes tandemly repeated DNA sequences as a driving force. A prediction of this model is that when extensive rearrangements of euchromatin have been facilitated by heterochromatin, genomes will be characterized by tandemly repeated sequences that have actively changed chromosomal fields by intragenomic movement. Alternatively, it is proposed that in conservative chromosomal lineage each class of tandemly repeated sequences will be restricted to a specific chromosomal field. To provide baseline data to test this model we exami...
Johnsen AH, Sandin A, Rourke IJ, Bundgaard JR, Nilsson G, Rehfeld JF.Previous studies have indicated that equine G-cell processing of progastrin differs from that of other species. Since the difference may be due to structural features, we have identified equine gastrin-17 and -34 (
Hagen J, Hartnett C, Houchins JP, Giguère S, Kalyuzhny AE.Human and mouse immune system cells are the most frequently used specimens in ELISPOT assays. In an effect to expand the application of ELISPOT assay to other species, we developed matched antibody pairs for ready-to-use kits designed for studying the frequency of equine IFNγ- and IL-4-secreting peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Equine PBMCs were stimulated with either concanavalin A (Con A) or calcium ionomycin mixed with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (CaI + PMA). We found that Con A, in general, had a more profound stimulating effect than CaI + PMA on IL-4 secretion, whereas bot...
Tanhuanpää E, Knudsen O.The milk fat from 20 mares on pasture and 9 stable-fed mares was analysed. It is richer in C18:3 than the milk of other domestic species. This was especially marked when the mares were on pasture and were not given any grain. Further, mare’s milk fat is rich in fatty acids containing less than 14 carbon atoms in their chains. Das Milchfett von 20 Stuten auf der Weide und von 9 stallgefütterten Stuten wurde analysiert. Es enthält mehr C18:3 als das Milchfett anderer Haustiere. Dieses war speziell ausgeprägt für Stuten die auf der Weide gingen und kein Getreide bekamen. Das Milchfett der S...
Ginther OJ, Dangudubiyyam SV.Effect of side (left ovary, LO; right ovary, RO) and intraovarian presence of the regressing corpus luteum (CL) on the preovulatory follicle (PF) and ovulation were studied using ultrasonic- records of complete interovulatory intervals (IOI) for 500 IOI in heifers and 485 IOI in mares. Only IOI with a recording of side of a single PF and a single CL at each end of the IOI were used. In heifers, ovulation at the end of the IOI occurred more frequently (P < 0.0001) from RO (n = 285, 57%) than LO (n = 215, 43%). In mares, frequency of ovulation did not differ between RO (n = 250. ...
Raudsepp T, Chowdhary BP.Whole chromosome paints for human (HSA) chromosomes 9, 12, 15 and 20 and arm-specific paints for HSA16p, 19p and 19q were applied on donkey metaphase spreads. All probes, except HSA19p, gave distinct hybridization signals on donkey chromosomes/chromosomal segments. The results show direct segmental homology between human and donkey genomes, and enable refinement of correspondence between donkey and horse karyotypes. Of specific interest is the identification of hitherto unknown correspondence between four equine acrocentric chromosomes (ECA22, 23, 25 and 28) and the donkey chromosomes. Overall...
Tate LP, Ralston SL, Koch CM, Everitt JI.Small intestinal resection (SIR) is not uncommonly done in surgical treatment of equine colic, but little is known about the long-term effects of SIR on horses and ponies. Twelve ponies, fed maintenance amounts of pelleted feed, were divided randomly into 4 treatment groups. D-Xylose absorption curves were recorded for each pony before surgical treatments were performed. Treatments consisted of control (ileal bypass) and 40%, 60%, or 80% SIR. D-Xylose absorption, serum electrolyte, and enzyme profiles for each animal were recorded once every 30 days for 180 days after surgical treatment, and t...
Medeiros LO, Nürmberger R, Medeiros LF.Erythrocytes from thoroughbred horses were submitted to total (80-90%) and partial (25-40%) oxidation of hemoglobin by sodium nitrite. The ability of these cells to reduce methemoglobin to hemoglobin in the presence of either glucose, glucose plus methylene blue or lactate was investigated. The results were compared with those ones obtained for human erythrocytes. Under total oxidation: the horse erythrocytes need longer incubation time with glucose or glucose plus methylene blue than human erythrocytes for reducing the methemoglobin; methylene blue did not enhance methemoglobin reduction in t...
Zakin MM, Peña C, Poskus E, Stewart JM, Paladini AC.The immunological properties of a synthetic human growth hormone fragment comprising the amino acids 73 through 128 and of the homologous natural horse growth fragment formed by amino acids 73 through 123, have been comparatively studied. Antisera obtained in rabbits inoculated with the native human hormone or with the fragments, were used. By hemagglutination experiments both fragments have the same reactivity toward the anti-human growth hormone serum, but complement fixation curves detect the existence of at least two populations of antibodies presumably originated against the sequence 73-1...
Yang P, Bi Q, Li Y, Liao J, Ding Y, Huang D, Luo X, Huang Y, Yao C, Zhang J, Wei W, Li Z, Meng J, Guo D.In this study, a novel pseudo-targeted peptidomics strategy, integrating the transition list generated by an in-house software (Pep-MRMer) and the retention time transfer by high-abundance ion-based retention time calibration (HAI-RT-cal), was developed to screen marker peptides of gelatins from five closely related animal species, including porcine, bovine, horse, mule, and donkey. Five marker peptides were screened from the molecular phenotypic differences of type I collagen. Furthermore, a simple and robust 10 min multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method was established and performed well ...