Survey of Risk Factors and Genetic Characterization of Ewe Neck in a World Population of Pura Raza Español Horses

Ewe Neck is a relatively common morphological defect in Pura Raza Español (PRE) horses and other Baroque type horse breeds, which adversely affects the breeding industry; (1) objectives: to establish the within-breed prevalence, possible associated factors, and heritability of Ewe Neck in PRE horses; (2) methods: the database included evaluations of 35,267 PRE horses. The Ewe Neck defect, 16 morphological traits, and 4 body indices were recorded. A Bayesian genetic animal model included the following systematic effects: sex, age, coat color, geographical area of the stud, and birth stud size were used; (3) results: in this PRE population, a total of 27.12% was affected. All the risk factors studied were significantly associated with the Ewe Neck score. The heritability coefficient for Ewe Neck score ranged from 0.23 to 0.34. Morphological traits (height at chest, length of back, head-neck junction, and bottom neck-body junction) and the indices (head and thoracic index) were those most closely related with the appearance of Ewe Neck; (4) conclusions: Ewe Neck is a relatively frequent defect in PRE horses, associated with risk factors and other morphological traits, with a moderate level of heritability. Breeding to select against this condition may therefore be beneficial in this breed.

Download Full-text

Genetic characterization of Laotian native cattle using mtDNA haplotype and loci associated with economical traits, coat color, and a hereditary disorder

The Journal of Animal Genetics ◽

10.5924/abgri.45.43 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 43-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yu OKUDA ◽

Taishi KANII ◽

Yoshio YAMAMOTO ◽

Bounthavone KOUNNAVONGSA, ◽

Soukanh KEONOUCHANH ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coat Color ◽

Genetic Characterization ◽

Native Cattle ◽

Mtdna Haplotype

Download Full-text

Genetic characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in dogs and cats in Guangdong, China

Parasites & Vectors ◽

10.1186/s13071-019-3822-z ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jiayu Li ◽

Xiaoyu Dan ◽

Kexin Zhu ◽

Na Li ◽

Yaqiong Guo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Genetic Characterization ◽

Giardia Duodenalis ◽

Ratio Analysis ◽

Infection Rates ◽

Sequence Analyses ◽

Chi Square ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Chi Square Test

Abstract Background There are only limited number of reports on molecular epidemiology of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in dogs and cats in China. This study was conducted to assess the infection rates, genetic identity, and public health potential of these parasites in dogs and cats in Guangdong, China. Methods PCR and sequence analyses were used to identify and genotype Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis in fecal samples from 641 dogs and 418 cats in Guangdong. Chi-square test and odds ratio analysis were used to compare the occurrence rates of these pathogens and identify risk factors for infection. Results The overall infection rates of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis were 6.9% (44/641) and 9.4% (60/641) in dogs, and 6.2% (26/418) and 3.6% (15/418) in cats. Purebred cats (12.4%; χ2 = 5.110, OR = 2.8, P = 0.024) and dogs (10.8%; χ2 = 5.597, OR = 4.8, P = 0.018) were more likely to be infected by Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis, respectively. Dogs (12.0%; χ2 = 7.589, OR = 2.6, P = 0.006) and cats (13.6%; χ2 = 8.235, OR = 3.5, P = 0.004) under 6 months had significantly higher infection rates of Cryptosporidium spp. than older animals. Household (13.9%; χ2 = 10.279, OR = 2.6, P = 0.008) and pet shop dogs (11.0%; χ2 = 7.182, OR = 2.0, P = 0.048) had higher occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp., as was the case for G. duodenalis occurrence in experimental dogs (13.4%; χ2 = 9.223, OR = 1.9, P = 0.017). Cryptosporidium canis (n = 42), C. muris (n = 1) and Cryptosporidium rat genotype IV (n = 1) were identified in dogs, while C. felis (n = 21), C. parvum (n = 3), C. muris (n = 1) and Cryptosporidium rat genotype IV (n = 1) were identified in cats. In contrast, the canine-specific assemblages C (n = 27) and D (n = 26) and the feline-specific assemblage F (n = 14) were almost exclusively the only genotypes of G. duodenalis in dogs and cats, respectively. There was no significant difference in infection rates of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis between diarrheal and non-diarrheal pets. Conclusions While domestic pets in Guangdong are infected with zoonotic Cryptosporidium species, they are mainly infected with host-specific G. duodenalis genotypes. Risk factors for infections differ between Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis and between dogs and cats.

Download Full-text