Sequence comparison of prefrontal cortical brain transcriptome from a tame and an aggressive silver fox (Vulpes vulpes)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Two strains of the silver fox (<it>Vulpes vulpes</it>), with markedly different behavioral phenotypes, have been developed by long-term selection for behavior. Foxes from the tame strain exhibit friendly behavior towards humans, paralleling the sociability of canine puppies, whereas foxes from the aggressive strain are defensive and exhibit aggression to humans. To understand the genetic differences underlying these behavioral phenotypes fox-specific genomic resources are needed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>cDNA from mRNA from pre-frontal cortex of a tame and an aggressive fox was sequenced using the Roche 454 FLX Titanium platform (> 2.5 million reads & 0.9 Gbase of tame fox sequence; >3.3 million reads & 1.2 Gbase of aggressive fox sequence). Over 80% of the fox reads were assembled into contigs. Mapping fox reads against the fox transcriptome assembly and the dog genome identified over 30,000 high confidence fox-specific SNPs. Fox transcripts for approximately 14,000 genes were identified using SwissProt and the dog RefSeq databases. An at least 2-fold expression difference between the two samples (p < 0.05) was observed for 335 genes, fewer than 3% of the total number of genes identified in the fox transcriptome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Transcriptome sequencing significantly expanded genomic resources available for the fox, a species without a sequenced genome. In a very cost efficient manner this yielded a large number of fox-specific SNP markers for genetic studies and provided significant insights into the gene expression profile of the fox pre-frontal cortex; expression differences between the two fox samples; and a catalogue of potentially important gene-specific sequence variants. This result demonstrates the utility of this approach for developing genomic resources in species with limited genomic information.</p

Polytrauma-induced coagulopathy in an American Staffordshire Terrier

An 11-year-old spayed female American Stafforshire Terrier was presented to the Emergency Service at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals for bite wounds. At presentation, the patient was in hypovolemic shock and respiratory distress. She had multiple bite wounds over her thorax and left forelimb. Comprehensive blood work revealed anemia, hypoproteinemia, respiratory and metabolic acidosis, hyperlactatemia, leukopenia, elevated muscle enzymes, and decrease colloid osmotic pressure. Initial stabilization included fluid therapy with crystalloids and colloids, supplemental oxygen, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and pain management. The patient was taken to surgery for wound exploration and repair. Post-operative complictions included persistent anemia, hypoproteinemia, prolonged coagulation times, ventricular arrhythmias, and hypotension. Additional therapies included transfusions of packed red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and human 25% albumin. The patient ultimately succumbed to respiratory and cardiac arrest. This case documents the development of a coagulopathy in a traumatized canine patient and sheds light on the multifactorial nature of trauma-induced coagulopathy