Differential expression analysis of proteins from neutrophils in the periparturient period and neutrophils from dexamethasone-treated dairy cows.

Neutrophils play an important role in the host immune system's defense against pathogens. It has been established that neutrophil functionality is suppressed in dairy cows at parturition. The periparturient immunosuppression seen in dairy cattle is associated with an increase in the incidence of mastitis.

Completion of the genome sequence of Brucella abortus and comparison to the highly similar genomes of Brucella melitensis and Brucella suis.

Brucellosis is a worldwide disease of humans and livestock that is caused by a number of very closely related classical Brucella species in the alpha-2 subdivision of the Proteobacteria. We report the complete genome sequence of Brucella abortus field isolate 9-941 and compare it to those of Brucella suis 1330 and Brucella melitensis 16 M. The genomes of these Brucella species are strikingly similar, with nearly identical genetic content and gene organization.

Genomic neighborhoods for Arabidopsis retrotransposons: a role for targeted integration in the distribution of the Metaviridae.

Background: Retrotransposons are an abundant component of eukaryotic genomes. The high quality of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome sequence makes it possible to comprehensively characterize retroelement populations and explore factors that contribute to their genomic distribution.

Results: We identified the full complement of A.

Genes of the Pseudoviridae (Ty1/copia retrotransposons).

A comprehensive survey of the Pseudoviridae (Ty1/copia) retroelement family was conducted using the GenBank sequence database and completed genome sequences of several model organisms. Plant genomes were the most abundant sources of Pseudoviridae, with the Arabidopsis thaliana genome having 276 distinct elements. A reverse transcriptase amino acid sequence phylogeny indicated that the Pseudoviridae comprises highly divergent members.