Genomic analysis of inbreeding level, kinship and breed relationships in Creole cattle from South America.

The conservation of animal genetic resources refers to measures taken to prevent the loss of genetic diversity in livestock populations, including the protection of breeds from extinction. Creole cattle populations have suffered a drastic reduction in recent decades owing to absorbent crosses or replacement with commercial breeds of European or Indian origin. Genetic characterization can serve as a source of information for conservation strategies to maintain genetic variation.

Analysis of Doberman Pinscher and Toy Poodle samples with targeted next-generation sequencing.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have enabled the identification of many causal variants of genetic disorders, the development of parentage tests and the analysis of multiple traits in domestic animals. In this study, we evaluated the performance of a Canine Targeted Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) custom panel (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, Ma, USA) in a cohort of 95 dog DNA samples, comprising 76 Doberman Pinschers and 19 Toy Poodles from Argentina. The used panel included 383 targets (228 parentage SNVs, 137 genetic disorder markers and 18 trait markers).

Genome-wide scan for signatures of selection in the Brangus cattle genome.

Brangus is a composite cattle breed developed with the objective of combining the advantages of Angus and Zebuine breeds (Brahman, mainly) in tropical climates. The aim of this work was to estimate breed composition both genome-wide and locally, at the chromosome level, and to uncover genomic regions evidencing positive selection in the Argentinean Brangus population/nucleus. To do so, we analysed marker data from 478 animals, including Brangus, Angus and Brahman.

Epidemiology of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture and Patellar Luxation in Dogs from the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Objective:  The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of cranial cruciate ligament rupture and patellar luxation and the associated risk factors in dogs.

Materials And Methods:  A total of 13,072 clinical records of dogs were reviewed from School Hospital (Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, National University of La Plata). Data of age, breed, sex, body weight, patellar luxation and cranial cruciate ligament rupture condition were registered.

Naturally monozygotic quadruplets in a Braford cow confirmed by DNA analysis: A case report.

Cattle are a monotocous species, despite naturally conceived multiple births are sometimes observed. Although the number of twins has consistently increased, triplet and quadruplet pregnancies represent 0.015% and 0.

Effect of cysteine, glutamate and glycine supplementation to in vitro fertilization medium during bovine early embryo development.

Glutathione (GSH) is an antioxidant synthesized from three constitutive amino acids (CAA): cysteine (Cys), glycine (Gly) and glutamate (Glu). Glutathione plays an important role in oocyte maturation, fertilization and early embryo development. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Cys (0.

Polledness in Argentinean Creole cattle, five centuries surviving.

Polledness has been shown to have autosomal Mendelian inheritance, with the polled locus being dominant to the horned locus. This trait was mapped to the BTA1 centromeric end in several breeds. One of the distinctive attributes of Creole cattle, such as the Argentinean Creole, is the presence of long, lyre-shaped horns.

Genomic structural diversity in Criollo Argentino horses: Analysis of copy number variations.

Copy number variation (CNV) has been proved to be widespread in human, animal and plant genomes. Together with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), CVNs play a key role in genetic diversity. In this study, genome-wide detection of CNVs was performed based on SNP data from 24 Criollo Argentino horses genotyped with the GGP Equine70k array.

Evidence of positive selection towards Zebuine haplotypes in the BoLA region of Brangus cattle.

The Brangus breed was developed to combine the superior characteristics of both of its founder breeds, Angus and Brahman. It combines the high adaptability to tropical and subtropical environments, disease resistance, and overall hardiness of Zebu cattle with the reproductive potential and carcass quality of Angus. It is known that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC, also known as bovine leucocyte antigen: BoLA), located on chromosome 23, encodes several genes involved in the adaptive immune response and may be responsible for adaptation to harsh environments.

The copper transporter (SLC31A1/CTR1) is expressed in bovine spermatozoa and oocytes: Copper in IVF medium improves sperm quality.

Adequate dietary intake of copper (Cu) is required for normal reproductive performance in cattle. The objective of this study was to investigate the pregnancy rates from cattle with deficient, marginal and adequate Cu plasma concentration at the beginning of artificial insemination protocol. Moreover, we determined Cu concentrations present in bovine oviductal fluid (OF), and the effects of Cu on fertilizing ability of bovine spermatozoa.

Nonsynonymous changes of equine lentivirus receptor-1 (ELR1) gene in amino acids involved in the interaction with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV).

Equine lentivirus receptor-1 (ELR1) has been characterized as the specific functional receptor that mediates equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) entrance to horse macrophages. This receptor is tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 14 (TNFRSF14). The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of allelic variants in the coding sequence of equine TNFRSF14 gene by screening for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in different equine populations.

Sex chromosomal abnormalities associated with equine infertility: validation of a simple molecular screening tool in the Purebred Spanish Horse.

Chromosomal abnormalities in the sex chromosome pair (ECAX and ECAY) are widely associated with reproductive problems in horses. However, a large proportion of these abnormalities remains undiagnosed due to the lack of an affordable diagnostic tool that allows for avoiding karyotyping tests. Hereby, we developed an STR (single-tandem-repeat)-based molecular method to determine the presence of the main sex chromosomal abnormalities in horses in a fast, cheap and reliable way.

First case of sterility associated with sex chromosomal abnormalities in a jenny.

Chromosomal abnormalities are one of the main causes of genetic infertility in horses. Currently, their detection rate is rising due to the use of new diagnostic tools employing molecular markers linked to the sex chromosome pair. Despite genetic similarities, there are no previous reports of sterility associated with chromosomal abnormalities in the domestic donkey (Equus asinus).

High prevalence of clade 8 Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolated from retail meat and butcher shop environment.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an enteric pathogen associated with food safety threats and with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. In Argentina, post-enteric hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is endemic, with >70% of cases associated with E. coli O157 infection.

Comprehensive Evaluation and Implementation of Improvement Actions in Butcher Shops.

Foodborne pathogens can cause acute and chronic diseases and produce a wide range of symptoms. Since the consumption of ground beef is a risk factor for infections with some bacterial pathogens, we performed a comprehensive evaluation of butcher shops, implemented improvement actions for both butcher shops and consumers, and verified the impact of those actions implemented. A comprehensive evaluation was made and risk was quantified on a 1-100 scale as high-risk (1-40), moderate-risk (41-70) or low-risk (71-100).

DNA profile of dog feces as evidence to solve a homicide.

Dog fecal samples were collected at the crime scene and from the shoes of the suspect to see whether they could be linked. DNA was genotyped using a 145bp fragment containing a 60bp hotspot region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. Once the species origin was identified, sequences were aligned with the 23 canine haplotypes defined, showing that evidence and reference had 100% identity with haplotype 5.

Effectiveness of a 95 SNP panel for the screening of breed label fraud in the Chinese meat market.

Breed assignment has proved to be useful to control meat trade and protect the value of special productions. Meat-related frauds have been detected in China; therefore, 95 SNPs selected from the ISAG core panel were evaluated to develop an automated and technologically updated tool to screen breed label fraud in the Chinese meat market. A total of 271 animals from four Chinese yellow cattle (CYC) populations, six Bos taurus breeds, two Bos indicus and one composite were used.

Association of a region of bovine chromosome 1 (BTA1) with age at puberty in Angus bulls.

Age at puberty is an important component of reproductive performance in cattle, so it is important to identify genes that contribute to the regulation of the onset of puberty and polymorphisms that explain differences between bulls. In a previous study, we found putative associations between age at puberty in Angus bulls and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Chromosomes 1 and X. In the present work we aimed to confirm these findings in a larger sample of Angus bulls (n = 276).

The importance of manganese in the cytoplasmic maturation of cattle oocytes: blastocyst production improvement regardless of cumulus cells presence during in vitro maturation.

Adequate dietary intake of manganese (Mn) is required for normal reproductive performance in cattle. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of Mn during in vitro maturation of bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) on apoptosis of cumulus cells, cumulus expansion, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the COC. The role of cumulus cells on Mn transport and subsequent embryo development was also evaluated.

Foreign meat identification by DNA breed assignment for the Chinese market.

Methods for individual identification are usually employed for traceability, whereas breed identification is useful to detect commercial frauds. In this study, Chinese Yellow Cattle (CYC) samples plus data from six Bos taurus breeds, two Bos indicus breeds, and one composite breed were used to develop an allocation test based on 22 microsatellites. The test allowed discriminating all foreign breeds from the CYC, although some CYC individuals were wrongly allocated as Limousin or Holstein, probably due to the recent introduction of these breeds into China.

The importance of having zinc during in vitro maturation of cattle cumulus-oocyte complex: role of cumulus cells.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of zinc (Zn) on the health of cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) during in vitro maturation (IVM). Experiments were designed to evaluate the effect of Zn added to IVM medium on: DNA integrity, apoptosis, cumulus expansion and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of cumulus cells (CC). Also, role of CC on Zn transport during IVM was evaluated on oocyte developmental capacity.

Effectiveness of single-nucleotide polymorphisms to investigate cattle rustling.

Short tandem repeats (STR)s have been the eligible markers for forensic animal genetics, despite single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)s became acceptable. The technology, the type, and amount of markers could limit the investigation in degraded forensic samples. The performance of a 32-SNP panel genotyped through OpenArrays(TM) (real-time PCR based) was evaluated to resolve cattle-specific forensic cases.

Assessing the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in thyroglobulin gene with age of puberty in bulls.

Puberty is a stage of sexual development determined by the interaction of many loci and environmental factors. Identification of genes contributing to genetic variation in this character can assist with selection for early pubertal bulls, improving genetic progress in livestock breeding. Thyroid hormones play an important role in sexual development and spermatogenic function.

A study of the association between chronic superficial keratitis and polymorphisms in the upstream regulatory regions of DLA-DRB1, DLA-DQB1 and DLA-DQA1.

Canine chronic superficial keratitis (CSK) is an inflammatory corneal disease that primarily occurs in German shepherd dogs (GSDs). Several studies support the hypothesis that CSK is an immune-mediated disease. To investigate the genetic factors associated with CSK development, the upstream regulatory regions (URRs) of the DLA-DRB, -DQA and -DQB genes were genotyped in 60 dogs, including 32 CSK animals.

Comparison of the effectiveness of microsatellites and SNP panels for genetic identification, traceability and assessment of parentage in an inbred Angus herd.

During the last decade, microsatellites (short tandem repeats or STRs) have been successfully used for animal genetic identification, traceability and paternity, although in recent year single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been increasingly used for this purpose. An efficient SNP identification system requires a marker set with enough power to identify individuals and their parents. Genetic diagnostics generally include the analysis of related animals.