Etude épidémiologique de la rhinopneumonie chez les équidés au Maroc

Lors d'une enquête sérologique sur la rhinopneumonie équine au Maroc, 4 775 prélèvements (59,6 % de chevaux, 18 % de mulets et 22,4 % d'ânes) ont été réalisés durant cinq ans (de 1990 à 1994) dans les différentes régions du pays. La séroprévalence globale de l'infection était de 39 %. Les ânes (46 %) étaient plus affectés que les mulets (42 %) et les chevaux (35 %). En outre, chez les trois espèces, la séroprévalence a augmenté avec l'âge jusqu'à trois ans pour atteindre la valeur de 42 % et elle s'est stabilisée pour les animaux plus âgés. Il n'est pas certain que le sexe et la région géographique où vivaient les animaux les prédisposaient à la maladie. Par contre, leurs conditions d'entretien ont constitué un facteur prédisposant à l'infection. Après une stabilisation pendant les quatre premières années, l'incidence de l'infection s'est subitement accrue en 1994 à cause de la sécheresse qui a sévi cette année-là

Blood Protein Polymorphism in the Mogod Pony in Tunisia

The Mogod pony is native of Northwest Tunisia. Its physical characteristics make him well adapted for mountain use. Since the beginning of the 20th century, its number has greatly decreased. To reverse this trend, the breed will have to be better characterized, in particular from the genetic angle, as this might help search into possible relationships between the pony and horse breeds in the area. Electrophoretic systems of albumin (Al), group specific component (Gc), postalbumin (Xk), esterase (Es), transferrin (Tf) and protease inhibitor (Pi) were studied in 47 Mogod ponies by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Allelic frequencies of the six systems were as follows: AlA : 0,36 ; AlB : 0,64 ; GcF : 1,00 ; XkK : 1,00 ; EsI : 0,64 ; EsG : 0,18 ; EsF : 0,17 ; EsS : 0,01 ; TfD : 0,41 ; TfF2 : 0,31 ; TfH : 0,12 ; PiL : 0,35 ; PiU : 0,22 ; PiR ; PiS : 0,09. The blood protein polymorphism of the Mogod pony was compared with that of thoroughbred Arabian horses, Barb horses and Arab-Barb horses based on bibliographic data

Twenty polymorphic microsatellites in two of North Africa's most threatened ungulates: Gazella dorcas and Ammotragus lervia (Bovidae; Artiodactyla)

Times Cited: 2International audienceDuring the last century, North African ungulate species have suffered from habitat loss and over-hunting. Gazella dorcas (Antilopidae subfamily) and Ammotragus lervia (Caprinae subfamily) are among the ungulates that have suffered most. To help to protect these species, conservation programs and population genetics studies are being implemented. Here, we tested 30 published microsatellite primer-pairs from Bovids (cattle, sheep and goat) on eight individuals from each species. From the 30 loci tested, 20 amplified well and showed moderate allelic richness (3.75 and 4.65 mean number of alleles per species, respectively, for G. dorcas and A. lervia), and moderatly high heterozygosity (0.53 and 0.63 per species, respectively). These 20 polymorphic markers will facilitate conservation and genetic studies in these two species, and promise to be widely useful across divergent ungulate taxa

Genetic diversity of the semi-feral marismeño horse breed assessed with microsatellites

Marismeño horses originated from primitive horses living around the marshes of the Guadalquivir River in Southern Spain. Throughout their evolution, they have experienced crosses with other breeds, first with horses from North Africa and thereafter with other horses. However, they have not lost their ability to adapt to the demanding marsh environment. Recently, a studbook of the breed was established, and the Breeders Association started a conservation programme. To study the relationship of the Marismeño with other breeds, a microsatellite analysis was developed, which included other ancient Southern Iberian horse populations, such as the Sorraia and Retuertas breeds. Candidates of recent crossbreeding with Marismeño horses, such as the Hispano-Arabian and the Spanish Purebred, were studied, and the Thoroughbred and the Arabian breed were used as international references. The results indicated that the Marismeño horse population maintains a great genetic diversity. Despite recent crossbreeding, the fixation index and the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium analysis disclosed a certain homogeneity degree. A dendrogram was built using the obtained genetic distances, and clustering was performed with the software STRUCTURE, and the results reflected the genetic differentiation of the Marismeño horse from the other autochthonous Iberian breeds, although the Marismeño population has maintained a tight relationship with the Spanish Purebred. Remarkably, some relatedness between the Marismeño and the Barb horse breeds could be observed and was most likely derived from an ancient gene flow between the horses of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa

Studies of blood groups and protein polymorphisms in the Brazilian horse breeds Mangalarga Marchador and Mangalarga (Equus caballus)

Allelic frequencies at 12 loci (five blood groups: C, D, K, P, and U; and seven protein polymorphisms: Al, A1B, Es, Gc, Hb, PGD, and Tf), are given for two Brazilian horse breeds: Mangalarga Marchador and Mangalarga. The high genetic identity value found (96.0%) is consistent with their common origin, although, at some point of the development of Mangalarga Marchador, Mangalarga separated from the original stock. The expected average heterozygosity was higher in Mangalarga Marchador. The populations presented genetic differentiation, as shown by the statistically significant value of F ST. The nonsignificant F IS values showed that there was no appreciable consanguineous mating in any of the two populations. Exclusion probability calculated for the 12 loci was 87.0% and 86.5% for Mangalarga Marchador and Mangalarga, respectively. No genetic equilibrium was observed in the A1B, Tf, and Es loci of Mangalarga Marchador. The frequencies of blood factors A, Q, and T were calculated

The origin of European cattle: Evidence from modern and ancient DNA

Cattle domestication from wild aurochsen was among the most important innovations during the Neolithic agricultural revolution. The available genetic and archaeological evidence points to at least two major sites of domestication in India and in the Near East, where zebu and the taurine breeds would have emerged independently. Under this hypothesis, all present-day European breeds would be descended from cattle domesticated in the Near East and subsequently spread during the diffusion of herding and farming lifestyles. We present here previously undescribed genetic evidence in contrast with this view, based on mtDNA sequences from five Italian aurochsen dated between 7,000 and 17,000 years B.P. and >1,000 modern cattle from 51 breeds. Our data are compatible with local domestication events in Europe and support at least some levels of introgression from the aurochs in Italy. The distribution of genetic variation in modern cattle suggest also that different south European breeds were affected by introductions from northern Africa. If so, the European cattle may represent a more variable and valuable genetic resource than previously realized, and previous simple hypotheses regarding the domestication process and the diffusion of selected breeds should be revised