The healthy equine uterus harbors a distinct core microbiome plus a rich and diverse microbiome that varies with geographical location.

The goal of this study was to understand the composition and existence of the resident uterine microbiome in healthy mares and to establish the presence of a core microbiome for the healthy equine uterus. We analyzed the microbiomes of 35 healthy mares that are long-time residents of three farms in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Australia as well as that of 19 mares purchased from scattered owners in the Southern Mid-Western states of the United States. Over 6 million paired-end reads of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene were obtained resulting in 19,542 unique Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs).

Utility and Outcomes of the 2019 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics-Clinical Genome Resource Guidelines for Interpretation of Copy Number Variants with Borderline Classifications at an Academic Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory.

In 2019, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Clinical Genome Resource published updated technical standards for the interpretation and reporting of copy number variants (CNVs), introducing a semiquantitative classification system to improve standardization and consistency between laboratories. Evaluation of these guidelines' performance will inform laboratories about the impact of their implementation into clinical practice. A total of 145 difficult-to-classify CNVs, originally assessed by an academic molecular diagnostic laboratory, were re-interpreted/classified according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics-Clinical Genome Resource guidelines.

Total nitrogen is the main soil property associated with soil fungal community in karst rocky desertification regions in southwest China.

Karst rocky desertification (KRD) is a type of land deterioration, resulting in the degraded soil and a delicate ecosystem. Previous studies focused on the influence of KRD on the animals and plants, the impact of KRD on microorganisms, especially soil fungi remains to be discovered. This study reveals the change in the soil fungal community in response to KRD progression in southwest China.

Canine endometrial and vaginal microbiomes reveal distinct and complex ecosystems.

The objective of this study was to characterize the normal microbiome of healthy canine vagina and endometrium and to determine the effect of the stage of estrous, on the resident microbiome. Cranial vaginal swabs and uterine biopsy samples were collected from twenty-five bitches in five different stages of estrous at elective ovariohysterectomy (OVH). Over 4 million reads of the V4 region of 16S rDNA gene were obtained and used for further analyses.

Development of a Cell-Based High-Throughput Screening Assay to Identify Porcine Host Defense Peptide-Inducing Compounds.

Novel alternatives to antibiotics are needed for the swine industry, given increasing restrictions on subtherapeutic use of antibiotics. Augmenting the synthesis of endogenous host defense peptides (HDPs) has emerged as a promising antibiotic-alternative approach to disease control and prevention. To facilitate the identification of HDP inducers for swine use, we developed a stable luciferase reporter cell line, IPEC-J2/, through permanent integration of a luciferase reporter gene driven by a 1.