An overview of the current genetic and phenotypical selection strategies to reduce the prevalence of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy = Een overzicht van de huidige genetische en fenotypische selectiestrategieën tegen hypertrofe cardiomyopathie bij de kat

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common and potentially lethal heart disease in cats. To reduce its prevalence, breeding cats are frequently screened on the basis of their phenotype or genotype. Although echocardiography is the most reliable phenotypical method, its efficacy is limited by the incomplete penetrance of HCM and by difficulties in distinguishing primary HCM from other causes of left ventricular hypertrophy. On the other hand, genetic testing is hampered by the genetic heterogeneity of the disease. Genetic tests are currently only available for Maine Coons and Ragdolls. Because of the high prevalence of HCM, stringent selection may have a negative impact on the genetic diversity of a breed. A more optimal selection would therefore be a slow and careful exclusion of phenotypically and/or genetically positive cats

Frequency estimation of disease-causing mutations in the Belgian population of some dog breeds, part 1 : shepherds

In light of improving breeding advice, the frequency was estimated for all the disease-causing mutations that were known at the start of the study and that are potentially relevant for a group of dog breeds, which are relatively popular or in which the genetic diversity in Belgium is low to moderately low. In this study, the results for the German shepherd dog, Malinois, Lakenois, Groenendael, Tervuren, Australian shepherd and Border collie are presented. Disorders with a frequency high enough to warrant routine genotyping for breeding programs are (1) multidrug resistance 1 and hereditary cataract for the Australian shepherd, (2) degenerative myelopathy for the German shepherd dog, Malinois and Groenendael and (3) collie eye anomaly for the Border collie. In addition, the hyperuricosuria mutation described in the German shepherd dog was not found in its Belgian population, but was, to the authors' knowledge discovered for the first time in the Malinois

Applicability of biobased packaging materials for long shelf-life food products

AbstractThe research aim was to evaluate the applicability of biobased plastics for packing long shelf-life food products, both on laboratory and industrial scale. Therefore, the shelf-life (room temperature) of tortilla chips, dry biscuits and potato flakes packed under air or modified atmosphere (MAP) in xylan and cellulose-based packages was evaluated and compared with their shelf-life in reference (conventional) packaging materials. These tests were followed by packaging trials on industrial lines. Furthermore, overall migration studies and printability tests were performed. Most of the biobased packages showed sufficient barrier towards moisture and gasses to serve as a food packaging material and MAP packaging of long shelf-life food products is possible. But for very moisture-sensitive food products (e.g. dry biscuits), no suited packaging material was found. The quality of the tortilla chips and potato flakes could be guaranteed during their shelf-life, even if packaging materials with lower barrier properties were used. Still, brittleness and seal properties are critical for use on industrial scale (important for use on vertical flow packaging machines). Furthermore, the films were printable and migration tests showed compliance with legislation. This study shows promising results towards the industrial application of biobased packaging materials for long shelflife food products.</jats:p

Repeats as global DNA methylation marker in bovine preimplantation embryos

DNA methylation undergoes dynamic changes and is a crucial part of the epigenetic regulation during mammalian early development. To determine the DNA methylation levels in bovine embryos, we applied a bisulfite sequencing based method aimed at repetitive sequences including three retrotransposons (L1_BT, BovB, and ERV1-1-I_BT) and Satellite I. A more accurate estimate of the global DNA methylation level compared to previous methods using only one repeat sequence, like Alu, could be made by calculation of the weighted arithmetic mean of multiple repetitive sequences, considering the copy number of each repetitive sequence. Satellite I and L1_BT showed significant methylation reduction at the blastocyst stage, while BovB and ERV1-1-I_BT showed no difference. The mean methylation level of the repetitive sequences during preimplantation development was the lowest at the blastocyst stage. No methylation difference was found between embryos cultured in 5% and 20% O-2. Because mutations of CpGs negatively influence the calculation accuracy, we checked the mutation rate of the sequenced CpG sites. Satellite I and L1_BT showed a relatively low mutation rate (1.92 and 3.72% respectively) while that of ERV1-1-I_BT and BovB was higher (11.95 and 24% respectively). Therefore we suggest using a combination of repeats with low mutation rate, taking into account the proportion of each sequence, as a relatively quick marker for the global DNA methylation status of preimplantation stages and possibly also for other cell types

Interferon alpha suppresses alphaherpesvirus immediate early protein levels in sensory neurons, leading to the establishment of a latent infection

Alphaherpesviruses are a subfamily of the herpesviruses containing closely related human and animal pathogens, including human herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) and porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV)

Danser avec les esprits : Explorations de l’univers amérindien

Un des aspects les plus frappants de la réalité multiculturelle et plurireligieuse du Canada est la persistance de l’univers spirituel des Amérindien(ne)s. Cet article offre un aperçu et une interprétation de la place des « esprits » dans ce monde autochtone, contemporain. Au moyen de la description d’un rituel particulier (la suerie), nous essayons de saisir la nature et la fonction des entités qui sont désignées comme « esprits », « puissances » ou « puissances spirituelles », tout en soulignant l’actualité et la valeur thérapeutique de la médecine amérindienne, traditionnelle

Expression of inflammation-related genes is associated with adipose tissue location in horses

Background : In humans, adipose tissue (AT) originating from different depots shows varying gene expression profiles. In horses, the risk of certain metabolic disorders may also be influenced by the impact of specific AT depots. Macrophage infiltration in human and rat AT is considered to be a source of inflammatory changes. In horses, this relationship has not been extensively studied yet. Reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), a useful method to evaluate differences in mRNA expression across different tissues, can be used to evaluate differences between equine AT depots. For a correct interpretation of the RT-qPCR results, expression data have to be normalized by the use of validated reference genes. The main objectives of this study were to compare mRNA expression of inflammation-related genes, as well as adipocyte morphology and number between different equine AT depots; and in addition, to investigate the presence of antigen presenting cells in equine AT and any potential relationship with adipokine mRNA expression. Results : In this study, the mRNA expression of inflammation-related genes (leptin, chemokine ligand 5, interleukin 1β, interleukin 6, interleukin 10, adiponectin, matrix metalloproteinase 2, and superoxide dismutase 2) and candidate reference gene stability was investigated in 8 different AT depots collected from the nuchal, abdominal (mesenteric, retroperitoneal, and peri-renal) and subcutaneous (tail head and loin) AT region. By using GeNorm analysis, HPRT1, RPL32, and GAPDH were found to be the most stable genes in equine AT. The mRNA expression of leptin, chemokine ligand 5, interleukin 10, interleukin 1β, adiponectin, and matrix metalloproteinase 2 significantly differed across AT depots (P 0.05). Adipocyte area and number of antigen presenting cells per adipocyte significantly differed between AT depots (P < 0.05). Conclusions : Adipose tissue location was associated with differences in mRNA expression of inflammation-related genes. This depot-specific difference in mRNA expression suggests that the overall inflammatory status of horses could be partially determined by the relative proportion of the different AT depots

Frequency estimation of disease-causing mutations in the Belgian population of some dog breeds, part 2 : retrievers and other breed types

A Belgian population of ten breeds with a low to moderately low genetic diversity or which are relatively popular in Belgium, i.e. Bichon frise, Bloodhound, Bouvier des Flandres, Boxer, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Irish setter, Papillon, Rottweiler, Golden retriever and Labrador retriever, was genotyped for all potentially relevant disease-causing variants known at the start of the study. In this way, the frequency was estimated for 26 variants in order to improve breeding advice. Disorders with a frequency high enough to recommend routine genotyping in breeding programs are (1) degenerative myelopathy for the Bloodhound, (2) arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and degenerative myelopathy for Boxers, (3) episodic falling syndrome and macrothrombocytopenia for the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, (4) progressive retinal atrophy rod cone dysplasia 4 for the Irish setter (5) Golden retriever progressive retinal atrophy 1 for the Golden retriever and (6) exercise induced collapse and progressive rod-cone degeneration for the Labrador retriever. To the authors' knowledge, in this study, the presence of a causal mutation for a short tail in the Bouvier des Flandres is described for the first time

Bta-miR-10b secreted by bovine embryos negatively impacts preimplantation embryo quality

In a previous study, we found miR-10b to be more abundant in a conditioned culture medium of degenerate embryos compared to that of blastocysts. Here, we show that miR-10b mimics added to the culture medium can be taken up by embryos. This uptake results in an increase in embryonic cell apoptosis and aberrant expression of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs). Using several algorithms, Homeobox Al (HOXA1) was identified as one of the potential miR-10b target genes and dual-luciferase assay confirmed HOXA1 as a direct target of miR-10b. Microinjection of si-HOXA1 into embryos also resulted in an increase in embryonic cell apoptosis and downregulation of DNMTs. Cell progression analysis using Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells (MDBKs) showed that miR-10b overexpression and HOXA1 knockdown results in suppressed cell cycle progression and decreased cell viability. Overall, this work demonstrates that miR-10b negatively influences embryo quality and might do this through targeting HOXA1 and/or influencing DNA methylation