Muscular Dystrophy in Dogs: Does the Crossing of Breeds Influence Disease Phenotype?

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

African-Derived mitochondria in South American native cattle breeds (Bos taurus): Evidence of a new taurine mitochondrial lineage

This article reports the nucleotide diversity within the control region of 42 mitochondrial chromosomes belonging to five South American native cattle breeds (Bos taurus). Analysis of these data in conjunction with B. taurus and B. indicus sequences from Africa, Europe, the Near East, India, and Japan allowed the recognition of eight new mitochondrial haplotypes and their relative positions in a phylogenetic network. The structure of genetic variation among different hypothetical groupings was tested through the molecular variance decomposition, which was best explained by haplotype group components. Haplotypes surveyed were classified as European-related and African-related. Unexpectedly, two haplotypes within the African cluster were more divergent from the African consensus than the latter from the European consensus. A neighbor-joining tree shows the position of two haplotypes compared to European/African mitochondrial lineage splitting. This different and putatively ancestral mitochondrial lineage (AA) is supported by the calibration of sequence divergence based on the Bos-Bison separation. The European/African mitochondria divergence might be subsequent (67,100 years before present) to that between AA and Africans (84,700 years before present), also preceding domestication times. These genetic data could reflect the haplotype distribution of Iberian cattle five centuries ago.

Auxin-producing bacteria isolated from the roots of Cattleya walkeriana, an endangered Brazilian orchid, and their role in acclimatization

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Phylogeography and Pleistocene demographic history of the endangered marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) from the Rio de la Plata Basin

The marsh deer is the largest neotropical cervid with morphological and ecological adaptations to wetlands and riparian habitats. Historically, this now endangered species occupied habitats along the major river basins in South America, ranging from southern Amazonia into northern Argentina to the Parana river delta. This particularly close association with wetlands makes marsh deer an excellent species for studying the effects of Pleistocene climatic changes on their demographic and phylogeographic patterns. We examined mitochondrial DNA variation in 127 marsh deer from 4 areas distributed throughout the Rio de]a Plata basin. We found 17 haplotypes in marsh deer from Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina that differed by 1-8 substitutions in a 601 bp fragment of mitochondrial control region sequence, and 486 bp of cytochrome b revealed only 3 variable sites that defined 4 haplotypes. Phylogeny and distribution of control region haplotypes suggest that populations close to the Pantanal area in central Brazil underwent a rapid population expansion and that this occurred approximately 28,000-25,000 years BP. Paleoclimatic data from this period suggests that there was a dramatic increase for precipitation in the medium latitudes in South America and these conditions may have fostered marsh deer's population growth.

Identification of the endangered small red brocket deer (Mazama bororo) using noninvasive genetic techniques (Mammalia; Cervidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Genome-Wide Survey of SNP Variation Uncovers the Genetic Structure of Cattle Breeds

The imprints of domestication and breed development on the genomes of livestock likely differ from those of companion animals. A deep draft sequence assembly of shotgun reads from a single Hereford female and comparative sequences sampled from six additional breeds were used to develop probes to interrogate 37,470 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 497 cattle from 19 geographically and biologically diverse breeds. These data show that cattle have undergone a rapid recent decrease in effective population size from a very large ancestral population, possibly due to bottlenecks associated with domestication, selection, and breed formation. Domestication and artificial selection appear to have left detectable signatures of selection within the cattle genome, yet the current levels of diversity within breeds are at least as great as exists within humans.

Synaptonemal complex analysis of the Holstein-Friesian, Piemontese and Simmental breeds of Bos taurus taurus

The synaptonemal complex (SC) of specimens of Sos taurus taurus from the Holstein-Friesian, Piemontese, and Simmental breeds, was analysed. The analysis included quantification of the frequency of various types of abnormalities in the SC, and the frequency of calls with SC abnormalities. All animals had 29 autosomal bivalents and one sexual bivalent and the most frequently recorded abnormality was pairing failure. The number of cells with abnormalities in the Holstein-Friesian breed was 29.41%, in the Piemontese breed was 30.00% and in the Simmental breed it was 29.54%. The subspecies Bos taurus taurus had 29.63% of cells showing abnormalities with 57.33% of these abnormalities occurring in zygotene and 42.67% occurring in pachytene. Statistical analyses showed that there were no significant differences in the number of cells with SC abnormalities among the breeds studied. The frequency of cells with abnormalities, and the efect on the fertility of the Holstein-Friesian, Piemontese and Simmental breeds are discussed.

Relationship of abomasal histology and parasite-specific immunoglobulin A with the resistance to Haemonchus contortus infection in three breeds of sheep

This study was carried out to evaluate the relationship of abomasal inflammatory cells and parasite-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA) in mucus, with the resistance to Haemonchus contortus infection in three breeds of sheep naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes. The breeds were the native Santa Ines sheep, and the European Suffolk and Ile de France breeds. Mast cells, eosinophils and globule leucocytes were enumerated in abomasal mucosa. Eosinophils within the sub-mucosa also were counted separately. Histamine concentration was estimated in abomasal tissue samples. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was carried out in mucus samples to determine the level of IgA anti-H. contortus third and fifth instar. There were no significant differences among group means of these variables (P > 0.05). The correlation coefficients between fecal egg counts (FEC) x mast cells (r = -0.490; P < 0.05) and FEC x eosinophils in sub-mucosa (r = -0.714; P < 0.01) was significant in the Santa Ines sheep. In the Ile de France group, the correlation coefficients between globule leucocytes x FEC (r = -0.879; P < 0.001) and histamine x worm burden (r = -0.833; P < 0.01) were also significant. In the Santa Ines and Ile de France sheep, correlation coefficients between IgA anti-L3 x worm burden and IgA anti-L3 x FEC were negative. In general, inflammatory cells and IgA-parasite-specific in abomasum were inversely associated with H. contortus worm burden and FEC indicating that they may impair parasite development or fecundity in the three breeds of sheep. However, similar mean values of inflammatory cells and IgA were found in the resistant (Santa Ines) and in the susceptible (Suffolk and Ile de France) breeds of sheep. The enumeration of cells by histological assessment does not provide information on their functional activity, which may be different among breeds. Thus, the effect of breed on the functional activity of these and other inflammatory cells is an important area for further study. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Survey for Foot-and-mouth Disease in the Endangered Marsh Deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) from Marshlands of the Parana River Basin, Brazil

Habitat fragmentation and diseases have resulted in a decline of the marsh deer (Blastocerus (dichotomus) throughout its South American range. Our objectives were to determine whether marsh deer intended for translocation from a region of the Rio Parana Basin had been infected previously by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and whether they were carrying virus We captured marsh deer from June to October 1998 and collected blood from 108 animals and esophageal-pharyngeal fluid from 53 Serum was tested for antibodies against three FMDV serotypes (O, A, and C) by liquid-phase-blocking sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Esophageal-pharyngeal fluid was tested for FMDV RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and inoculation into three successive baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cell subcultures, followed by RT-PCR of cultures We detected low log(10) titers (range 1 0-1 5) to FM DV subtype A(24) Cruzeiro in 19 of 108 sampled marsh deer, but failed to isolate FMDV or detect FMDV RNA in any samples we conclude that marsh deer from our study site were unlikely to carry FMDV, however, as a preventive measure, the 19 animals with titers for FMDV were not sent to FMDV-free Brazilian states

Relationship of intestinal histology with the resistance to Trichostrongylus colubriformis infection in three breeds of sheep

Avaliaram-se a associação entre o número de células inflamatórias no intestino delgado e a resistência à infecção por Trichostrongylus colubriformis em ovinos de três raças (Santa Inês, Suffolk e Ile de France), naturalmente infectados. Mastócitos, eosinófilos e leucócitos globulares foram quantificados na mucosa intestinal. A concentração de histamina foi estimada em amostras teciduais do intestino, bem como foi determinado o comprimento de machos e fêmeas de T. colubriformis. A resposta celular foi similar na mucosa intestinal das três raças ovinas (P>0,05). Houve grande variação entre os ovinos em relação aos resultados parasitológicos e celulares, mesmo nos animais de mesma raça. em geral, os animais que apresentaram número menor de células inflamatórias tiveram cargas parasitárias maiores, contagens de ovos por grama de fezes mais altas e exemplares de T. colubriformis maiores. Os resultados indicaram que mastócitos, eosinófilos e leucócitos globulares prejudicaram o estabelecimento, o desenvolvimento e a sobrevivência dos parasitas.

Development of 22 Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci for the Critically Endangered Morato's Digger Toad, Proceratophrys moratoi

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Conservation puzzle: Endangered hyacinth macaw depends on its nest predator for reproduction

In the Pantanal wetlands of Central Brazil, the endangered hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), the largest psitacid in the world, makes its nest almost exclusively in natural hollows found in the manduvi tree (Sterculia apetala). The recruitment of manduvis greatly depends on the seed dispersal services provided by the toco toucan (Ramphastos toco), responsible for 83.3% of the seed dispersal. The toco toucan, however, is responsible for about 53% of the preyed eggs, resulting in a case of conflicting ecological pressures in which the reproduction of the hyacinth macaw is indirectly dependent on the seed dispersal services of its nest predator. The case illustrates the intricacies of biotic interactions in species-rich environments where species may be tied by indirect, subtle ecological links which conservationists should be aware of. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Karyotype description of two Neotropical Psittacidae species: the endangered Hyacinth Macaw, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, and the Hawk-headed Parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus (Psittaciformes: Aves), and its significance for conservation plans

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Structure and genetic relationships between Brazilian naturalized and exotic purebred goat domestic goat (Capra hircus) breeds based on microsatellites

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)