湖羊不同发育阶段卵泡内代谢产物和激素含量的比较研究

本试验旨在研究代谢产物、代谢激素和生殖激素在湖羊黄体期不同发育卵泡内的变化。选用体质量40kg左右的湖羊11头,同期发情结束后第12天屠宰,按不同大小卵泡分离卵泡液。试验结果表明,与≤2.5mm卵泡相比,>2.5mm卵泡内的葡萄糖浓度显著提高(P<0.05),胰高血糖素浓度显著降低(P<0.05),乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)活性和睾酮浓度极显著降低(P<0.01),雌二醇浓度极显著提高(P<0.01),而血氨、游离脂肪酸、尿素、胰岛素和孕酮浓度差异不显著。雌二醇浓度与LDH活性呈极显著负相关(P<0.01),与葡萄糖浓度呈显著正相关(P<0.05),与胰高血糖素浓度呈显著负相关(P<0.05),与睾酮浓度呈极显著负相关(P<0.01),与孕酮浓度接近正相关(P=0.051)。试验结果表明代谢产物和激素共同参与调节卵泡发育。     

卵泡液中总蛋白含量与卵泡直径的关系

通过检测不同直径卵泡的卵泡液中总蛋白含量的变化,从而进一步阐明卵泡液中蛋白成分在卵泡发育过程中的作用。将直径为3~5、5~8、8~10mm的卵泡和囊肿卵泡(>21mm)分为4组(n=10),分别抽取卵泡液。通过TCA/丙酮方法进行样品处理;根据Bradford法检测原理,利用分光光度计对其进行蛋白定量研究。结果表明:3~5mm为4440μg/mL,5~8mm为976μg/mL,8~10mm为686μg/mL,囊肿卵泡(>21mm)为537.2μg/mL。经SPSS13.0软件分析,3~5mm卵泡液中蛋白平均浓度高于其他组(P<0.01);其他3组间差异均不显著(P>0.05);囊肿卵泡中蛋白含量最低。由此可得出,卵泡液中总蛋白浓度随着卵泡直径的增加而降低,表明卵泡液中的蛋白含量与卵泡发育的成熟度呈负相关。而囊肿卵泡的发生很可能和蛋白含量降低有关,为卵泡囊肿发病机制的研究提供新的理论参考。     

牛卵泡卵母细胞体外成熟的研究

研究了卵泡大小、卵泡液和卵丘细胞对牛卵泡卵母细胞体外成熟的影响。结果表明 :直径 2～ 6mm卵泡中的卵母细胞成熟率 ( 72 1%)最高 ,与直径小于 2mm( 5 8 4%)、6～ 8mm( 5 6 4%)及大于 8mm ( 3 5 0 %)卵泡中的卵母细胞组差异显著 ;成熟培养基中添加 10 %的新鲜牛卵泡液 (bFF)对牛卵母细胞的体外成熟有促进作用 ,但高浓度的bFF( 2 0 %、3 0 %)则抑制牛卵母细胞的体外成熟 ;卵丘 -卵母细胞复合体的质量影响卵母细胞的体外成熟 ,A、B、C三级卵母细胞成熟率分别为 86 1%、66 3 %、3 5 6%,卵裂率分别为 42 8%、3 1 9%、10 5 %,差异均显著 (P <0 0 5 )。     

青年母牛卵泡大小与妊娠成功的关系

早期研究表明:经产母牛输精期卵泡大小显著影响其受胎率和授精后胚胎/胎儿死亡率,但对自然排卵的母牛受胎率没有影响。本研究目标是分析青年母年受胎率、胚胎/胎儿死亡率同排卵前期卵泡大小、诱导或自发排卵后血液循环中雌二醇浓度之间的关系。青年母牛分为成2组不同的繁殖牛群进行人工授精:①利用同期发情和诱导排卵后授精(TAI,n=98);②在23 d发情周期中,利用电子检测仪检测母牛发情后12 h授精(自然排卵,n=110)。利用直肠超声波检查输精时卵泡大小和输精后27、41、55和68d怀孕状态。测定的青年母牛中仅有6头出现后期胚胎或早期胎儿死亡。繁殖牛群和卵泡大小的相互作用并不影响母牛受胎率。结合繁殖牛群数据分析,卵泡大小对受胎率的对数回归特征表现为曲线(P<0.01),并且预测出卵泡大小为12.8mm时,受胎率最高(为68.0±4.9%)。卵泡直径小于10.7 mm或大于15.7 mm时,受胎率都较直径为12.8 mm卵泡低。直径小于10.7 mm卵泡(有28%的青年母牛妊娠)则比大于15.7 mm的卵泡(仅有4%)更易受孕。授精后24 h内有发情行为的青年母牛所排卵泡直径(12.2±0.2 mm)、雌二醇浓度(9.9±0.6)以及妊娠率(63%)都显著高于无发情行为的母牛(分别为11.1±0.3mm,6.6±0.7,20%)(P<0.01)。然而,对卵泡大小差异进行分析后,发现妊娠率又与发情行为表现和雌二醇浓度无关。因此,血清雌二醇浓度和发情行为对妊娠的影响似乎通过卵泡大小来介导的,并且优化卵泡大小的管理实践可以提高受胎率。     

FSH和胰岛素对牛卵泡颗粒细胞长期培养的影响

McCoy’s5a为基础培养液添加硒、转铁蛋白、雄烯二酮、谷氨酰胺 ,对牛卵巢上大 (直径 >8mm)、中 (4mm <直径 <8mm)、小 (直径 <4mm)非闭锁卵泡的颗粒细胞进行无血清培养 ,研究添加不同浓度的促卵泡激素和胰岛素对颗粒细胞增生、分化和激素分泌的影响。结果 :FSH可以诱导颗粒细胞增生及雌二醇合成能力 ,颗粒细胞的雌二醇合成能力与生理浓度的FSH呈剂量依赖方式。胰岛素对大、中、小卵泡颗粒细胞增生和雌二醇分泌有促进作用。     

牛卵泡的生长、功能及更新

本文是综述有关奶牛重复发情性周期和产后乏情期间有腔卵泡数量和大小,以及血清和卵泡液中雌二醇、雄激素、孕酮浓度,每个卵泡上促性腺激素受体数量变化的研究结果。1～18天(发情当天作0天)间小卵泡(1～3mm)发育成大卵泡的速度随性周期的进展而增加。有腔大卵泡的体积也随性周期的进展而增大.大多数大卵泡(>10mm)在性周期的第3～13天间在卵巢表面存留5天以上。第13天以后,这些大卵泡中的大多数常常被新的生长着的卵泡所代替(更新),并可能在第18天后排卵。需要对牛的小卵泡发育成大的有腔的最后排卵的卵泡所需时间作进一步研究。控制排卵卵泡出现的因素还不太清楚,可能包括:血液中LH 脉冲频率的增加、血流量的变化、卵泡内类固醇激素和蛋白质浓度的变化。卵泡的定量分析结果表明,卵泡液中雌二醇浓度和大卵泡中LH 受体数量之间仅在排卵前期存在着短暂的一致性的变化。据此推测:大多数性周期中发现的卵泡中雌二醇浓度较低不是由于可芳香化前体或 FSH 受体不足,而是由于卵泡液中孕酮浓度仅于临近排卵时才上升.关于奶牛产后乏情期间卵泡生长、更新和功能的机制现在了解得还很少.初步研究结果表明,产后期间,大卵泡产生类固醇激素的能力存在着明显的变化.     

牛卵巢卵泡Smad9表达模式的研究

本研究旨在探究Smad9在牛卵巢卵泡中的表达模式,为研究Smad9的功能奠定基础。从屠宰场获取牛卵巢,分离得到小卵泡(2 mm≤直径≤4 mm)、中卵泡(4 mm直径8 mm)、大卵泡(直径≥8 mm),用免疫组织化学技术对不同直径卵泡的Smad9蛋白进行定位分析;通过机械分离法分离卵泡颗粒细胞,用qPCR和Westernblotting技术检测Smad9在小卵泡、中卵泡、大卵泡颗粒细胞中的相对表达量。结果显示:在牛的卵泡中,Smad9在颗粒细胞和膜细胞层中表达;小卵泡和中卵泡颗粒细胞中Smad9mRNA转录本相对丰度低于大卵泡颗粒细胞(P0.01),而中卵泡颗粒细胞内Smad9 mRNA转录本相对丰度低于小卵泡(P0.05);中卵泡和小卵泡颗粒细胞中Smad9蛋白的表达量低于大卵泡(P0.01),中卵泡颗粒细胞中Smad9蛋白表达量是小卵泡的0.9倍(P0.05)。综上,Smad9主要在牛卵泡颗粒细胞层中表达,且大卵泡表达量极显著高于小卵泡和中卵泡。     

母马大、小卵泡的卵泡液代谢组学分析及其对卵泡发育的影响

本实验旨在研究母马大、小卵泡液代谢物的差异,从卵泡液代谢组层面初步探讨差异物对卵泡发育的影响及卵泡发育机制。选用8匹山东即墨地区母马的卵泡液进行代谢组学分析,大卵泡直径设为45～60 mm、小卵泡直径设为20～30 mm,采用超高液相色谱-高分辨质谱联用技术,通过主成分分析法(PCA)、偏最小二乘法-判别分析法(PLS-DA)得到大小卵泡液差异性物质质荷比。结果表明:在大卵泡液中含量多的代谢物有睾酮、1-棕榈酰溶血磷脂酸、β-硫酸雌醇、硫酸雌酮,小卵泡液中含量多的代谢物有硫酸吲哚酚、木子塘、水苏糖和3-脲基丙酸酯。综上可知,在大卵泡液中,上调物质主要是类固醇,比较单一集中,但小卵泡中不存在上调的类固醇物质,说明在母马中类固醇激素是促使卵泡发育的主要代谢物;在小卵泡液中,上调物质种类复杂,当优势卵泡出现时,可能有一些代谢物会抑制其余的小卵泡继续发育。     

胚胎移植时卵泡和黄体对妊娠率影响的分析

本试验探讨在受体羊的卵巢上同时存在卵泡和黄体时进行胚胎移植对移植后妊娠率的影响。经试验得出:(1)胚胎移植时受体羊卵巢上有卵泡(卵泡的直径小于3mm)和无卵泡的移植后妊娠率差异不显著(P>0.05);(2)卵巢上有功能性黄体存在时,卵泡的直径(小于2mm)对胚胎移植妊娠率的影响差异不显著(P>0.05)。同期发情处理对卵巢上的黄体和卵泡有很大影响,处理效果直接影响受体羊的利用率和胚胎移植后的妊娠率,而当卵巢上有功能性黄体存在时,卵巢上卵泡的有无及其大小(直径小于3mm)对胚胎移植后的妊娠率影响不显著(P>0.05)。     

基于GC/TOF-MS技术研究猪健康大卵泡和中等卵泡液的代谢变化

为研究国内猪卵巢卵泡液的代谢组分轮廓特征以及由中等卵泡发育为大卵泡过程中的代谢成分变化,运用气相色谱-飞行时间质谱联用技术(GC/TOF-MS)对采自屠宰场三元杂交母猪卵巢中的11份大卵泡液(直径5~8 mm)和12份中等卵泡液(直径3~5 mm)进行代谢物检测,并采用主成分分析(PCA)及偏最小二乘判别法(PLS-DA)分析方法对数据进行多元统计分析。结果显示:猪大卵泡与中等卵泡液的代谢谱明显不同,共有33种差异代谢物与卵泡大小密切相关;与中等卵泡液相比,大卵泡液中α-酮戊二酸、葡萄糖1-磷酸、脯氨酸的浓度极显著升高(P0.01),葡萄糖浓度显著升高(P0.05),其他如氨基酸、脂肪酸在内的绝大多数代谢物浓度均显著性降低(P0.05);代谢物通路富集分析显示差异代谢物主要与三羧酸循环、糖代谢、氨基酸代谢和核苷酸代谢等代谢通路相关。结果表明:应用GC/TOF-MS技术可有效筛选出猪不同大小卵泡之间的卵泡液差异代谢物,这些差异代谢物提示卵泡发育过程涉及很多代谢通路的变化,这为今后利用人工干预手段对卵泡发育进行调控提供参考依据,同时为猪卵母细胞发育潜能和早期胚胎发育研究提供一个新思路。     

白术、微米白术和白术多糖对断奶仔猪生长性能和肠道形态及微生态区系的影响

试验选用96头平均体重14.82 kg左右的杜×长×大断奶仔猪,随机分成4组,每组3栏,每栏8头(公母各半)。对照组饲喂基础日粮,试验1、2、3组分别添加1%80目白术、0.2%白术多糖和1%微米白术。试验期30 d。结果表明:在生长性能方面,与对照组相比,1%微米白术添加组可显著提高日增重(P0.05)、降低饲料增重比和腹泻率,而且效果优于1%80目白术组和0.2%白术多糖组,在肠道形态和肠道微生态区系方面,与对照组相比,日粮添加1%80目白术、0.2%白术多糖、1%微米白术均可不同程度的提高十二指肠和空肠的绒毛高度,加深十二指肠和空肠的隐窝深度,并且增加肠道微生态区系的多样性,其中以1%微米白术添加组的效果最佳。     

Prevalence and seasonal incidence of nematode parasites and fluke infections of sheep and goats in eastern Ethiopia

Sissay, M.M., Uggla, A. and Waller, P.J., XXXX. Prevalence and seasonal incidence of nematode parasites and fluke infections of sheep and goats in eastern Ethiopia. Tropical Animal Health and Production, XXXX. A 2-year abattoir survey was carried out to determine the prevalence, abundance and seasonal incidence of gastro-intestinal (GI) nematodes and trematodes (flukes) of sheep and goats in the semi-arid zone of eastern Ethiopia. During May 2003 to April 2005, viscera including liver, lungs and GI tracts were collected from 655 sheep and 632 goats slaughtered at 4 abattoirs located in the towns of Haramaya, Harar, Dire Dawa and Jijiga in eastern Ethiopia. All animals were raised in the farming areas located within the community boundaries for each town. Collected materials were transported within 24 h to the parasitology laboratory of Haramaya University for immediate processing. Thirteen species belonging to 9 genera of GI nematodes (Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus axei, T. colubriformis, T. vitrinus, Nematodirus filicollis, N. spathiger, Oesophagostomum columbianum, O. venulosum, Strongyloides papillosus, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, Trichuris ovis, Cooperia curticei and Chabertia ovina), and 4 species belonging to 3 genera of trematodes (Fasciola hepatica, F. gigantica, Paramphistomum {Calicohoron} microbothrium and Dicrocoelium dendriticum) were recorded in both sheep and goats. All animals in this investigation were infected with multiple species to varying degrees. The mean burdens of adult nematodes were generally moderate in both sheep and goats and showed patterns of seasonal abundance that corresponded with the bi-modal annual rainfall pattern, with highest burdens around the middle of the rainy season. In both sheep and goats there were significant differences in the mean worm burdens and abundance of the different nematode species between the four geographic locations, with worm burdens in the Haramaya and Harar areas greater than those observed in the Dire Dawa and Jijiga locations. Similar seasonal variations were also observed in the prevalence of flukes. But there were no significant differences in the prevalence of each fluke species between the four locations. Overall, the results showed that Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus, Nematodirus, Oesophagostomum, Fasciola and Paramphistomum species were the most abundant helminth parasites of sheep and goats in eastern Ethiopia.     

Feline intracranial neoplasia: retrospective review of 160 cases (1985-2001)

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of different tumor types within a large cohort of cats with intracranial neoplasia and to attempt to correlate signalment, tumor size and location, and survival time for each tumor. Medical records of 160 cats with confirmed intracranial neoplasia evaluated between 1985 and 2001 were reviewed. Parameters evaluated included age, sex, breed, FeLV/FIV status, clinical signs, duration of signs, number of tumors, tumor location(s), imaging results, treatment, survival times, and histopathologic diagnosis. Most of the cats were older (11.3 +/- 3.8 years). Primary tumors accounted for 70.6% of cases. Metastasis and direct extension of secondary tumors accounted for only 5.6 and 3.8% of cases, respectively. Twelve cats (7.5%) had 2 or more discrete tumors of the same type, whereas 16 cats (10.0%) had 2 different types of intracranial tumors. The most common tumor types were meningioma (n = 93, 58.1%), lymphoma (n = 23, 14.4%), pituitary tumors (n = 14, 8.8%), and gliomas (n = 12, 7.5%). The most common neurological signs were altered consciousness (n = 42, 26.2%), circling (n = 36, 22.5%), and seizures (n = 36, 22.5%). Cats without specific neurological signs were common (n = 34, 21.2%). The tumor was considered an incidental finding in 30 (18.8%) cats. In addition to expected relationships (eg, meninges and meningioma, pituitary and pituitary tumors), we found that lesion location was predictive of tumor type with diffuse cerebral or brainstem involvement predictive of lymphoma and third ventricle involvement predictive of meningioma.     

Y‐chromosomal variation of local goat breeds of Turkey close to the domestication centre

Genetic variations in chromosome Y are enabling researchers to identify paternal lineages, which are informative for introgressions and migrations. In this study, the male‐specific region markers, sex‐determining region‐Y (SRY), amelogenin (AMELY) and zinc finger (ZFY) were analysed in seven Turkish native goat breeds, Angora, Kilis, Hair, Honaml?, Norduz, Gürcü and Abaza. A SNP in the ZFY gene defined a new haplotype Y2C. All domestic haplogroups originate from Capra aegagrus, while the finding of Y1A, Y1B, Y2A and Y2C in 32, 4, 126 and 2 Turkish domestic goats, respectively, appears to indicate a predomestic origin of the major haplotypes. The occurrence of four haplotypes in the Hair goat and, in contrast, a frequency of 96% of Y1A in the Kilis breed illustrate that Y‐chromosomal variants have a more breed‐dependent distribution than mitochondrial or autosomal DNA. This probably reflects male founder effects, but a role in adaptation cannot be excluded.     

A brief history of the prevention of infectious diseases by immunisations

Infectious diseases have always been a terrible scourge for humans. The appearance of these plagues, as they were called without distinction, was generally connected to various conditions: asters, climatic changes or religious reasons. The concept of contagious, and then infectious, diseases came slowly. Variolation, i.e. transmission of ‘virulent’ matter to induce a natural disease and the immunity against it, was brought from Constantinople to England by Lady Montague, in 1721. This ‘variolation’ technique was also often performed in veterinary medicine against diseases like sheep-pox or pleuropneumonia. As ‘vaccination’ is the term generally accepted for ‘immunisation’, variolation can be the word designating such a technique. The second period of the history of immunisation began, in 1880, with the studies of Pasteur and his collaborators. A great number of bacterial vaccines were developed: dead, live but attenuated or only parts of pathogens. The viruses were produced in animals, then in eggs and at last, in tissue cultures. Second generation vaccines appeared with genetic engineering: recombinant vaccines, vector vaccines, nucleic acids vaccines, and markers vaccines, among others. These novel technologies can permit the development of new ones and improve the quality of the vaccines already existing.     

Micronutrient Content of Certain Tropical Conventional and Unconventional Feed Resources of Southern India

The ash, silica and certain important micronutrients were estimated in conventional and unconventional feed and fodder resources available in Southern India. Commonly used dry roughages, such as paddy straw, ragi straw, maize kadbi/stalk, jowar kadbi/stalk, bajra stalk and wheat straw, were high in ash (9.9% +/- 0.77%) and silica (6.4% +/- 0.65%) and low in most of the other micronutrients, except iron, with paddy straw containing most silica (>9%). Cultivated non-leguminous (maize, jowar) and improved green crops (hybrid napier, guinea, green panic, NB-21, CO-1) were also high in ash (10.5% +/- 0.60% and 12.5% +/- 0.51%) but were moderate sources of P, Mg and Cu and good sources of Zn (98 +/- 13.8 ppm and 55 +/- 6.7 ppm). Leguminous green fodders (stylosanthus, lucerne, cow pea, soyabean) were excellent sources of Ca (1.9% +/- 0.16%), Mg (0.40% +/- 0.05%), Cu (30 +/- 5.2 ppm), Zn (121 +/- 14.7 ppm) and Fe (1234 +/- 166 ppm) and moderate sources of P. Mixed local grasses and weeds were high in silica (6.9% +/- 1.00%) but were good sources of Cu, Zn and Fe. Cereal grains (maize, wheat, rice, ragi) were low in ash (2.9% +/- 0.33%) and were relatively poor sources of Ca (0.22% +/- 0.03%), Mg (0.19% +/- 0.03%) and Cu (13 +/- 3.1 ppm). Pulses were low to medium sources of most minerals and good sources of Fe (1230 +/- 293 ppm). Oil seed cake/extractions (groundnut cake, cotton seed cake, soyabean meal, sunflower cake, safflower cake) and cereal by-products (rice polish, rice bran, wheat bran) were excellent sources of P (1.1% +/- 0.47% and 2.3% +/- 0.19%) and good sources of Zn (65 +/- 3.9 ppm and 66 +/- 10.7 ppm) and Fe (938 +/- 130 ppm and 662 +/- 126 ppm). Among the unconventional feeds screened, orange peel, sunflower heads, meat meal, rubber seed cake, spirulina algae and sea weeds contained plentiful Ca, Zn and Fe: tree leaves/top feeds (mulberry, erythrina, glyricidia, banana, subabul, groundnut haulms) were excellent sources of Ca (1.5% +/- 0.13%), Zn (120 +/- 22.9 ppm) and Fe (1033 +/- 133 ppm) but relatively poor sources of P. Soyabean husk, cocoa seed husk, rubber seed cake and meat meal were moderate to good sources of P (1.0% and 0.33%). The high Zn and Fe values of most feeds/fodders were probably due to soil contamination. This account of the micronutrient content of feed/fodder resources should help in strategic supplementation intended to alleviate local deficiencies.     

Bovine Mastitis in Selected Areas of Southern Ethiopia

A study on bovine mastitis, designed to determine the causal agents, prevalence of infection and impact of risk factors in three cattle breeds, was conducted in selected areas of southern Ethiopia. A total of 307 lactating and non-lactating cows, of which 162 were indigenous Zebu, 85 Jersey and 60 Holstein-Friesian, were examined by clinical examination and the California mastitis (CMT) test. Of these, 40.4% were positive by CMT and bacteriology for clinical or subclinical mastitis, with prevalence rates of 37.1% and 62.9%, respectively. Out of 1133 quarters examined, 212 (18.7%) were found to be infected, 83 (39.2%) clinically and 129 (60.8%) subclinically. The prevalence of mastitis was significantly higher in Holstein-Friesian than in indigenous Zebu, in non-lactating cows than in lactating cows, in the early lactation stage than in the mid-lactation stage, in cows with lesions and/or tick infestation on skin of udder and/or teats than in cows without this factor, and in the wet season than in the dry season. Mastitis increased with parity number (R = 0.9). Of 248 CMT and clinically positive udder quarter samples analysed microbiologically, 212 were culturally positive for known mastitis pathogens and 36 were negative. Of the 199 positive samples, Staphylococcus accounted for 39.2%, Streptococcus for 23.6%, coliforms for 14.1%, Micrococcus and Bacillus species for 8.0% each and Actinomyces or Arcanobacterium (Corynebacterium) for 7.0%. It was concluded that there was a high prevalence of clinical and subclinical mastitis, mainly caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae and Escherichia coli, in this study area.     

不同日粮氮水平对山羊氮代谢和微生物蛋白质合成的影响

本试验旨在探讨不同日粮氮水平对内蒙古白绒山羊氮代谢和微生物蛋白质合成(MCP)的影响,以达到提高氮利用率,减少环境污染和饲料资源的浪费。试验选用9只体况良好、体重为(43.83±2.95)kg,装有瘤胃瘘管的内蒙古白绒山羊,按体重随机分为3组,每组3只。日粮分为低氮7.5%、中氮10.5%、高氮13.5%3个氮水平。试验使用常规试验方法分析测定粪尿血液等生化指标,通过全收尿法和尿嘌呤衍生物法估测MCP。结果表明:随着氮水平增加,氨氮(NH3-N)浓度、氮摄入量、尿氮排出、尿中尿素氮(UUN)和MCP显著增加(P0.05),干物质采食量(DMI)显著降低(P0.01);沉积氮占总摄入氮的比例在中氮组最高,MCP在高氮组最高。综上所述,适当降低日粮氮水平可减少粪尿氮排放,提高反刍动物氮利用率。     

Microsporidial keratopathy in two dogs

A microsporidial keratopathy is described in two dogs. Both dogs presented with a unilateral stromal keratopathy characterized by multifocal coalescing opacities, and the diagnosis was made on histopathologic examination of keratectomy specimens. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded corneal tissue was performed in one dog, and the morphologic features were consistent with Nosema species infection. Both dogs were initially diagnosed and treated by superficial keratectomy. One dog received additional antifungal medication and underwent a penetrating keratoplasty following local recurrence two years later. No other systemic lesions attributable to the microsporidial infection were identified clinically. The clinical and diagnostic pathology findings, treatment, and follow‐up are discussed.