Genetic analysis of mammalian color variation has provided fundamental insight into human biology and disease. In most vertebrates, two key genes, Agouti and Melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r), encode a ligand-receptor system that controls pigment type-switching, but in domestic dogs, a third gene is implicated, the K locus, whose genetic characteristics predict a previously unrecognized component of the melanocortin pathway. We identify the K locus as beta-defensin 103 (CBD103) and show that its protein product binds with high affinity to the Mc1r and has a simple and strong effect on pigment type-switching in domestic dogs and transgenic mice. These results expand the functional role of beta-defensins, a protein family previously implicated in innate immunity, and identify an additional class of ligands for signaling through melanocortin receptors.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1147880 | DOI Listing |
Mob DNA
January 2025
Department of Biology, La Sierra University, Riverside, CA, USA.
Background: Messenger RNA 3' untranslated regions (3'UTRs) control many aspects of gene expression and determine where the transcript will terminate. The polyadenylation signal (PAS) AAUAAA (AATAAA in DNA) is a key regulator of transcript termination and this hexamer, or a similar sequence, is very frequently found within 30 bp of 3'UTR ends. Short interspersed element (SINE) retrotransposons are found throughout genomes in high copy numbers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Sci Monit
January 2025
Institute of Invertebrates, Fundación Miguel Lillo, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina.
BACKGROUND Ancylostoma caninum is a soil-borne, soil-transmitted helminth with infective larvae and produces cutaneous larva migrans in humans. The objective of this study was to confirm the presence of A. caninum in domestic dogs from the urban-marginal and rural sectors of the Ecuadorian coast through morphometry, culture, and molecular techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Rabies is a viral zoonosis that kills thousands of people annually in low- and middle-income countries across Africa and Asia where domestic dogs are the reservoir. 'Zero by 30', the global strategy to end dog-mediated human rabies, promotes a One Health approach underpinned by mass dog vaccination, post-exposure vaccination of bite victims, robust surveillance and community engagement. Using Integrated Bite Case Management (IBCM) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), we enhanced rabies surveillance to detect an outbreak in a formerly rabies-free island province in the Philippines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Vet Res
December 2024
School of Statistics and Planning, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Background: In developing countries such as Uganda, domestic dogs suffer high burdens of infectious diseases often with high mortalities. Surveillance data on the common diseases and associated mortalities is however scanty. We thus, present results of a retrospective study of common clinical conditions and mortalities of dogs brought for treatment at the small animal clinic, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Vet Sci
December 2024
College of Life and Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Shengyang, China.
Canine calicivirus (CaCV) belongs to the family, which invades multiple host species. Notably, there are distinct serological and genetic differences between CaCV and other caliciviruses. However, the genome data for only 13 strains of CaCV have been recorded.
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