Optical mapping compendium of structural variants across global cattle breeds.

Structural variants (SV) have been linked to important bovine disease phenotypes, but due to the difficulty of their accurate detection with standard sequencing approaches, their role in shaping important traits across cattle breeds is largely unexplored. Optical mapping is an alternative approach for mapping SVs that has been shown to have higher sensitivity than DNA sequencing approaches. The aim of this project was to use optical mapping to develop a high-quality database of structural variation across cattle breeds from different geographical regions, to enable further study of SVs in cattle.

A cattle graph genome incorporating global breed diversity.

Despite only 8% of cattle being found in Europe, European breeds dominate current genetic resources. This adversely impacts cattle research in other important global cattle breeds, especially those from Africa for which genomic resources are particularly limited, despite their disproportionate importance to the continent's economies. To mitigate this issue, we have generated assemblies of African breeds, which have been integrated with genomic data for 294 diverse cattle into a graph genome that incorporates global cattle diversity.

Invasive cattle ticks in East Africa: morphological and molecular confirmation of the presence of Rhipicephalus microplus in south-eastern Uganda.

Background: Rhipicephalus microplus, an invasive tick species of Asian origin and the main vector of Babesia species, is considered one of the most widespread ectoparasites of livestock. The tick has spread from its native habitats on translocated livestock to large parts of the tropical world, where it has replaced some of the local populations of Rhipicephalus decoloratus ticks. Although the tick was reported in Uganda 70 years ago, it has not been found in any subsequent surveys.

Identification of Ixodid Tick-Specific Aquaporin-1 Potential Anti-tick Vaccine Epitopes: An Analysis.

Ticks are arthropod vectors of pathogens of both Veterinary and Public health importance. Acaricide application, which is currently the mainstay of tick control, is hampered by high cost, the need for regular application and a selection of multi-acaricide resistant tick populations. In light of this, future tick control approaches are poised to rely on the integration of rational acaricide application and other methods, such as vaccination.