Prevalence of antibody to caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus in goats in the United States.

Goats from 28 states were tested for antibodies to caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus. Of 3,790 goats, 1,175 (31%) tested positive, and of 196 herds tested, 143 (73%) had 1 or more seropositive members. This prevalence, based on serum samples from all goats in the participating herds, was lower than most rates reported in other studies. Such studies were based on fewer samples, incomplete sampling of herds, or smaller geographic base. Prevalence was highest in western Pacific and northern plains regions, increased with age to 3 years, was highest among goats on family-owned farms, and was lowest in the Angora breed. Differences in prevalence was not related to gender or size of herd.     

Interactions between different media and follicle‐stimulating hormone supplementation on in vitro culture of preantral follicles enclosed in ovarian tissue derived from collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu Linneaus, 1758)

The aim was to verify the effect of follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) supplementation to α‐MEM+ or TCM199+ media on the in vitro development of ovarian preantral follicles (PFs) derived from collared peccaries. Ovaries (n = 5 pairs) were collected and divided into fragments destined to control group (non‐cultured) or treatments that were cultured for 7 days. The PFs morphology, growth and activation were evaluated by classical histology. The immunohistochemistry markers Ag‐NOR and PCNA were used for nuclear proliferation analysis, and the picrosirius red labelling was used for ovarian extracellular matrix (ECM) evaluation. After 7‐day culture, only the TCM199+ treatment maintained the proportion of intact PFs similar to day 1 (63.2%), but no differences were found among treatments (p > .05). In addition, a significant increase in the growing follicles proportion was verified for all the treatments, indicating follicular activation (p > .05). By the Ag‐NOR analysis, only the TCM199+/FSH maintained the nuclear proliferation similar to the first day (p > .05). The picrosirius red staining revealed that the ECM remained intact in all the treatments (p > .05). We suggest the use of TCM199+ medium supplemented of FSH for the in vitro development of peccaries PFs under 7‐day culturing conditions.     

Validation for use with coyotes (Canis latrans) of a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for Dirofilaria immitis

Serological tests offer a potentially powerful tool for monitoring parasites in wildlife populations. However, such tests must be validated before using them with target wildlife populations. We evaluated in coyotes (Canis latrans) the performance of a commercially available serological test used to detect canine heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) in domestic dogs. We obtained 265 coyote carcasses and serological specimens from 54 additional coyotes from several regions of California, USA. We necropsied coyotes to determine the adult heartworm infection status. Blood was collected at necropsy on filter paper strips and allowed to dry; it was later eluted in a buffer solution, and the supernatant was tested for heartworm. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess discriminatory power of the test and indicated a 93% probability that a randomly selected infected coyote would exhibit a higher enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) value than a randomly selected uninfected coyote. We estimated specificity at 96% (95% CI: 92-98%) for 165 uninfected coyotes and sensitivity at 85% (77-91%) for 100 infected coyotes, results similar to published values for the commercial serological test used with dog serum or plasma. Test performance was similar for filter paper specimens and supernatant of frozen whole blood collected in EDTA tubes (i.e. hemolyzed plasma). We found no difference in test performance among geographic or demographic coyote groups. Our findings support application of the test to filter paper or standard serological specimens for detection of heartworm in coyote populations.     

Mutarotase in erythrocytes: isolation and properties

Mutarotase was found in lysed human erythrocytes and in hemoglobin. The enzyme was partially purified by treatment with ethanol and chloroform at -15 degrees C. It was nondialyzable and heat sensitive, and was inhibited by D-galactose, L-arabinose, D-ribose, D-xylose, and D-arabinose.     

Frequency of association of noncytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus with mononuclear leukocytes from persistently infected cattle

All mononuclear leukocytes and T lymphocyte-enriched and B lymphocyte-enriched subpopulations of mononuclear leukocytes collected from 8 cows persistently infected with 1 of 3 isolates of noncytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus were tested for association with virus. For all persistently infected cows, approximately 4.4% of all mononuclear leukocytes, 5.4% of T lymphocyte-enriched, and 2.1% of B lymphocyte-enriched subpopulations of mononuclear leukocytes were associated with virus. Differences between leukocyte populations in percentages of leukocytes associated with virus were real (P less than 0.05). Among virus isolates, significant differences in percentages of leukocytes associated with virus were not detected.     

The effects of dog breed development on genetic diversity and the relative influences of performance and conformation breeding

Genetic diversity was compared among eight dog breeds selected primarily for conformation (Standard Poodle, Italian Greyhound and show English Setter), conformation and performance (Brittany), predominantly performance (German Shorthaired and Wirehaired Pointers) or solely performance (field English Setter and Red Setter). Modern village dogs, which better reflect ancestral genetic diversity, were used as the standard. Four to seven maternal and one to two Y haplotypes were found per breed, with one usually dominant. Diversity of maternal haplotypes was greatest in village dogs, intermediate in performance breeds and lowest in conformation breeds. Maternal haplotype sharing occurred across all breeds, while Y haplotypes were more breed specific. Almost all paternal haplotypes were identified among village dogs, with the exception of the dominant Y haplotype in Brittanys, which has not been identified heretofore. The highest heterozygosity based on 24 autosomal microsatellites was found in village dogs and the lowest in conformation (show) breeds. Principal coordinate analysis indicated that conformation‐type breeds were distinct from breeds heavily used for performance, the latter clustering more closely with village dogs. The Brittany, a well‐established dual show and field breed, was also genetically intermediate between the conformation and performance breeds. The number of DLA‐DRB1 alleles varied from 3 to 10 per breed with extensive sharing. SNPs across the wider DLA region were more frequently homozygous in all pure breeds than in village dogs. Compared with their village dog relatives, all modern breed dogs exhibit reduced genetic diversity. Genetic diversity was even more reduced among breeds under selection for show/conformation.