Abortion storm of Yili Horses is Associated with Equus Caballus Papillomavirus 2 Variant Infection

Background: Nine different species of Equus caballus papillomavirus (EcPV) and three bovine papillomavirus (BPV) have been reported to infect horses, however, there are so far no describing such infections in China. In January 2021, an abortion storm occurred in Yili horses, as a result of which 50 out of 93 aborted fetus samples were found to be negative for equid herpesvirus (EHV) and equine arteritis virus (EAV).Results: In our pioneer study with Chinese horses, we first found EcPV-2 in the nasal swabs (4/230, 1.7%) of Yili horses, and semen (3/18, 16.7%) of the Thoroughbred horses. This indicated that EcPV can be indeed hosted by horses in China, and that EcPV-2 might be transmitted though breeding. Further detection of EcPVs in the lung tissues of aborted fetus in Yili horses, which were originally negative for equid herpesviruses, established that EcPV-2 was positive in 19 of 50 samples, thereby indicating that EcPV-2 might be a new pathogen causing of abortions. Thereafter, the sequence analyses for L1 genes sequences of 26 China’s EcPV-2 were performed which indicated that EcPV-2, that primarily infected the horses in China, shared 98.3%-99.9% nt identity with the already published sequences for EcPV-2. These observations indicated that EcPV-2 identified in the current study were highly similar variants of the previously identified strains of EcPV-2. Phylogenetic analysis based on L1 genes in GenBank showed that EcPV-2, found in the Chinese horses, was closely related to and clustered together with an already known EcPV-2a lineage. Conclusion: Our study provides the first evidence related to EcPV-2 infection in the Chinese horses, which can serve as a causative agent for Yili horse abortions, and thus can possibly lay the foundation for a systematic and detailed epidemiological study of this infection in the Chinese horses.

Avaliação Osteológica, osteotécnica e osteomontagem de um gato sem raça definida (Felis silvestris catus), encontrado morto na Fazenda Palmares em Santa Cruz da Palmeiras-SP / Osteological, osteotechnical and osteomontage evaluation of a mixed breed cat (Felis silvestris catus), found dead at Fazenda Palmares in Santa Cruz da Palmeiras-SP

O estudo da osteologia nos centros acadêmicos de anatomia de nossas universidades é de grande valia para o médico veterinário, biólogo, bem como outros profissionais das áreas de saúde. Entretanto, este estudo se torna resumido, visto que mesmo sendo inúmeras as espécies a serem estudadas, convencionou-se o cavalo (Equus caballus) como espécie modelo para todas as outras. Sendo assim, a osteologia completa dos ossos do gato, se torna uma grande ferramenta para assessorar estes estudantes e modificaro modelo único de estudo. Este trabalho tem como objetivo examinar a técnica de osteomontagem de um gato, através da qual se estuda e se compreende com maior precisão a estrutura óssea anatômica do gato comum doméstico (Felis silvestris catus) e a elaboração de um guia anatômico para osteomontagem e compreensão técnica para médicos veterinários e biólogos.

Изучение in silico структурных особенностей липаз из различных продуцентов как потенциальных агентов для иммобилизации на заряженных и гидрофобных носителях

Липаза – гидролитический фермент, получаемый из многих организмов, таких как животные, растения, грибы и бактерии. Она осуществляет расщепление триглицеридов до моноглицеридов и жирных кислот, при этом обладает широкой субстратной специфичностью. Липазы применяются в пищевой промышленности и других сферах человеческой деятельности. Характерная особенность многих липаз – явление поверхностной активации, обуславливающее свойственную им зависимость скорости каталитической реакции от концентрации и агрегатного состояния субстрата. Доказано, что функционирование ферментов зависит от их структурных особенностей. Внутренние полости, туннели и поры являются неотъемлемыми компонентами нативной конформации белка. Они играют важную роль в транспорте субстрата, кофакторов и ионов к активному и регуляторным центрам фермента. Кроме того, их конфигурация может влиять на термостабильность энзимов, в связи с чем изучение вышеперечисленных структур является необходимым для понимания механизмов функционирования биокатализаторов. Также важным элементом структуры ферментов являются скопления заряженных и гидрофобных аминокислотных остатков на их поверхности. Данное свойство необходимо учитывать при планировании путей адсорбционной иммобилизации биокатализаторов на различных носителях для использования в промышленности и медицине. В работе исследованы состав, локализация и конфигурация внутренних полостей, туннелей, пор, а также поверхностных скоплений заряженных и гидрофобных аминокислотных остатков в молекулах липаз из Rhizopus niveus (PDB ID: 1LGY), Rhizomucor miehei (PDB ID: 3TGL), Burkholderia cepacia (PDB ID: 1OIL), панкреатических липаз Homo sapiens (PDB ID: 1N8S) и Equus caballus (PDB ID: 1HPL). Для расчета параметров и визуализации данных структур использовались программы MOLE и Maestro. Показано наличие соответственно 2, 1, 5, 5 и 2 туннелей и отсутствие пор для данных ферментов; а также наличие по 6 внутренних полостей для липаз из R. niveus и E. caballus, 5 внутренних полостей для молекулы из R. miehei и по 2 внутренних полости для энзимов из B. cepacia и H. sapiens. Приведены аминокислотный состав и профили туннелей изучаемых липаз. Выявлено, что данные структуры не сообщаются друг с другом общими пустотами. Установлено преобладание гидрофобных аминокислотных остатков в большинстве туннелей данных ферментов. Изучены структура, локализация и состав скоплений заряженных и гидрофобных аминокислотных остатков на поверхностях макромолекул. Выявлено возможное влияние расположения данных скоплений на связывание липаз с носителем при их адсорбционной иммобилизации.

Potential ecological effects of the free-roaming horses Equus caballus (Perissodactyla: Equidae) on wild mammals: a review of current knowledge

Introduction: The horse (Equus caballus) is an adaptable large herbivore distributed in a wide range of terrestrial biomes that negatively affects ecosystems around the world. Most research on horse–ecosystems interactions have been focused on plants and soils, whereas horse effects on vertebrate species are poorly understanded. Objective: We aimed to synthesize, at a global scale, the effects of free-roaming horses on wild mammals. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review that included these words; "feral horses + competition ", "feral horses + interactions", "feral horses + impacts", "feral horses + effects", based on the “Web of Science” internet search engine. Results: We located 366 articles in our search, but only 14 peer-reviewed documents described the effects of horses on local wild mammals. Most studies were published in the last decade (64%), and were located in United States (64%). Additional information showed most studies used correlational approaches while experimental approaches were used less. The effect of horses on mammal taxonomic groups varied significantly, suggesting changes on habitat structure mostly affects vertebrate species such as small rodents. Nevertheless, large ungulates exhibited interference competition derived from presence of free-roaming horses. Conclusion: This review identified patterns and gaps in our current knowledge about the effect of horse presence on wild mammals, and can help to readdress further research. Therefore, we recommend careful monitoring of horses and their potential effects on wildlife by using species proxies such as ungulates and rodents to determine if the presence of horses in protected areas affects conservation objectives

Serological Evidence of Common Equine Viral Infections in a Semi-Isolated, Unvaccinated Population of Hucul Horses

Huculs (Equus caballus) are an old breed of primitive mountain horses, originating from the Carpathian Mountains. To the best of our knowledge, data concerning the epidemiology of viral infections observed within this breed are sparse. The objective of this study was to estimate the serological status of a semi-isolated, unvaccinated Hucul herd, with respect to both common equine viral infections and horse-infecting arboviruses, the presence of which was previously reported in Poland. Twenty horses of the Hucul breed, living in a remote area in Poland, were studied in 2018 from March to May. Using nasal secretion swabs as a specimen source, isolation attempts were negative regarding ERAV, EHV-1, EAV, and EIV. According to the virus neutralisation method, in the sera obtained from the animals, antibodies against the following viruses were detected: EHV-1 in 12 horses (60%; with titres from 1:8 to 1:64), EIV A/H7N7 in 13 (65%; titres from 1:20 to 1:80), EIV A /H3N8 in 12 (60%; titres from 1:20 to 1:80), USUV in 5 (25%; titres from 1:10 to 1:80), and ERAV in 1 (5%; titre 1:32). Antibodies against EAV, EIAV, and WNV were not present in the tested sera. The detected presence of specific antibodies associated with five out of the eight equine viruses investigated indicates that the Hucul herd, due to its partial separation and lack of specific prophylaxis, could serve as a sentinel animal group for the detection of equine viruses/arboviruses present within the local ecosystem. The detection of common equine viral infections within the herd provides additional epidemiological data concerning the breed.