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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Some Genetic and Environmental Effects on Equine Asthma in P...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2021; 11(8); 2285; doi: 10.3390/ani11082285

Some Genetic and Environmental Effects on Equine Asthma in Polish Konik Horses.

Abstract: Current knowledge of the genetic and environmental backgrounds of equine asthma seems to be insufficient, especially for primitive horse breeds. The main objectives of this study were to estimate the effects of sex, birth period, stud, parentage line and inbreeding on asthma morbidity in Polish Konik horses. Records of 274 horses (housed in two studs) were analysed. These animals were allocated to maternal and paternal lines. Individual inbreeding coefficients were extracted from the additive relationship matrix. Horses underwent diagnosis based on observation of the basic symptoms (high frequency of coughing and excessive nasal discharge). Subsequently, some horses (28 individuals) were clinically examined to confirm the earlier observations. Generally, no significant effects of parentage line on heaves morbidity were identified by the use of logistic regression, although the Pearson's chi-squared test had shown that individuals of some maternal and paternal lines had a predisposition to severe equine asthma. It was concluded that the individual inbreeding level is not associated with the incidence of EA, but a significant effect of the maternal inbreeding coefficient may be observed. It was also found that there is some variability in the incidence of this disease between studs.
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Publication Date: 2021-08-03 PubMed ID: 34438743PubMed Central: PMC8388498DOI: 10.3390/ani11082285Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This study investigated the impact of various genetic and environmental factors on the development of equine asthma in a breed of Polish horses known as Konik. Factors such as sex, birth period, parentage line and inbreeding were studied but found to have no significant effect on asthma incidence.

Research Background and Methodology

  • The research focused on equine asthma in a primitive breed of horses, Polish Konik, where current understanding of the genetic and environmental triggers for this condition was identified as lacking.
  • The study analysed the records of 274 horses from two different stud farms.
  • The horses were categorised according to their maternal and paternal lines, and the individual inbreeding coefficients (a measure of how much genetic material is shared between parents due to shared ancestry) were computed from these relationships.
  • The diagnosis of asthma was undertaken based on basic symptoms like frequent coughing and excessive nasal discharge. Out of the total population, 28 horses underwent clinical examination to validate the observations.

Findings and Conclusions

  • Applying logistic regression to the data, the researchers did not find statistically significant effects of parentage (maternal or paternal lineage) on the likelihood of a horse developing equine asthma.
  • However, when analysing the data with the Pearson’s chi-squared test, some maternal and paternal lines showed a susceptibility to severe equine asthma. This discrepancy suggests a more complex relationship that future research could explore in more detail.
  • It was determined that the individual level of inbreeding (i.e., how closely related the parents are) does not associate with the incidence of equine asthma.
  • On the other hand, they discovered a significant effect from the maternal inbreeding coefficient, implying that inbreeding on the mother’s side could increase the risk for this condition.
  • The study also found variability between the two studs in the prevalence of the disease, indicating that environmental factors at the stud farm may play a role in disease incidence.

Cite This Article

APA
Borowska A, Wolska D, Niedzwiedz A, Borowicz H, Jaworski Z, Siemieniuch M, Szwaczkowski T. (2021). Some Genetic and Environmental Effects on Equine Asthma in Polish Konik Horses. Animals (Basel), 11(8), 2285. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082285

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 11
Issue: 8
PII: 2285

Researcher Affiliations

Borowska, Alicja
  • Division of Horse Breeding, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznan, Poland.
Wolska, Daria
  • Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznan, Poland.
Niedzwiedz, Artur
  • Department of Internal Medicine and Clinic of Diseases of Horses, Dogs and Cats, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-366 Wroclaw, Poland.
Borowicz, Hieronim
  • Department of Internal Medicine and Clinic of Diseases of Horses, Dogs and Cats, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-366 Wroclaw, Poland.
Jaworski, Zbigniew
  • Department of Horse Breeding and Riding, University of Warmia and Mazury, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland.
Siemieniuch, Marta
  • Department of Reproductive Immunology and Pathology, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, 10-243 Olsztyn, Poland.
  • Research Station of the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, in Popielno, 12-222 Ruciane-Nida, Poland.
Szwaczkowski, Tomasz
  • Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznan, Poland.

Grant Funding

  • 2021 / Young Researcher Programme for the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Poznan University of Life Sciences

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Citations

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  2. Simões J, Batista M, Tilley P. The Immune Mechanisms of Severe Equine Asthma-Current Understanding and What Is Missing.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Mar 16;12(6).
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