Refining the evolutionary tree of the horse Y chromosome

The Y chromosome carries information about the demography of paternal lineages, and thus, can prove invaluable for retracing both the evolutionary trajectory of wild animals and the breeding history of domesticates. In horses, the Y chromosome shows a limited, but highly informative, sequence diversity, supporting the increasing breeding influence of Oriental lineages during the last 1500 years. Here, we augment the primary horse Y-phylogeny, which is currently mainly based on modern horse breeds of economic interest, with haplotypes (HT) segregating in remote horse populations around the world. We analyze target enriched sequencing data of 5 Mb of the Y chromosome from 76 domestic males, together with 89 whole genome sequenced domestic males and five Przewalski's horses from previous studies. The resulting phylogeny comprises 153 HTs defined by 2966 variants and offers unprecedented resolution into the history of horse paternal lineages. It reveals the presence of a remarkable number of previously unknown haplogroups in Mongolian horses and insular populations. Phylogenetic placement of HTs retrieved from 163 archaeological specimens further indicates that most of the present-day Y-chromosomal variation evolved after the domestication process that started around 4200 years ago in the Western Eurasian steppes. Our comprehensive phylogeny significantly reduces ascertainment bias and constitutes a robust evolutionary framework for analyzing horse population dynamics and diversity

Antibody detection from Middendorf’s vole (Microtus middendorffii) against Tula virus captured in Mongolia

Seroepizootiological surveys among wild rodents were carried out on the east side of Lake Khovsgol in Mongolia in 2010 and 2011. A total of 76 voles belonging to the genera Myodes and Microtus were captured. Most of the voles that were seropositive to Tula virus antigen were Middendorf’s voles (Microtus middendorffii (6/31)). Two of the 18 Myodes voles were also seropositive to Tula virus antigen. On the other hand, only one vole was seropositive to Puumala virus antigen. The results suggest that Tula virus was maintained in Middendorf’s vole. This is the first report of detection of anti-Tula virus antibody in the central part of the Eurasia continent

Cerebellar Coenurosis with Hind Limb Paralysis in Sheep and Goats in Mongolia

Cerebellar coenurosis is caused by Coenurus cerebralis, the larval stage of Taenia multiceps, particu-larly in goats and sheep. In this case report, we describe gross and histopathological characteristics of cerebel-lar coenurosis in two goats and one sheep in mongolia. In march 2017, animals showing ataxia and hind limb paralysis were referred to the Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Institute of Veterinary medicine, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. At necropsy, fluid-filled coenurus cysts were detected exclusively in the cerebellum of all the animals. Histological examination of the affected cerebellar hemispheres revealed necrosis, granulomatous inflammation and diffuse gliosis at the periphery of the cysts. Based on the results of this study, cerebellar coenurosis should be considered a differential diagnosis in cases with neurologic signs such as ataxia and hind limb paralysis, in mongolia

Distribution and molecular characteristics of rickettsiae found in ticks across Central Mongolia

10.1186/s13071-017-1981-3Parasites and Vectors1016