Isolation of Acholeplasma oculi from diseased horses in Australia

Eleven isolations of A. oculi were made from nasal swabs from horses with acute upper respiratory disease (3), from an equine lung with extensive emphysema (1), from lung, liver and placenta respectively of three aborted foals, from cerebrospinal fluids from two horses with a paralytic syndrome, from synovial from a horse with acute polyarthritis and from a semen sample from a stallion with a breeding problem.     

Pathogenicity of different species of staphylococci in caprine udder

Aseptic foremilk samples were collected from Finnish landrace goats. Ten different species of staphylococci, causing subclinical infections were detected. Twelve goats with persistent subclinical staphylococcal infection were followed on a monthly basis and compared with foremilk samples of nine goats suffering from clinical mastitis. Parameters of inflammation based on the activity of the California Mastitis Test (CMT). N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAGase) and antitrypsin were determined from the milk. Staphylococci were further classified using the API STAPH system. On the basis of elevations of activities of CMT, NAGase and antitrypsin, Staphylococcus aureus was the most pathogenic in clinical and subclinical mastitis, S. hyicus showed only marginal pathogenicity. Subclinical infections were persistent and the infective organism was not always detected from milk by culture. The biochemical reactions of subclinical staphylococci seemed to vary within the same gland by time. Antitrypsin was most effective in differentiating between subclinical and clinical infection. A teat cistern puncture technique was found to be suitable for the goat.     

Pathogenicity of some Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma species in the lungs of gnotobiotic calves

Cloned cultures of 16 strains, representing nine different species of Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma, were inoculated intratracheally into gnotobiotic calves. Strains of M bovirhinis, M canadense, M verecundum, A axanthum and A modicum did not produce visible pneumonic lesions and were not reisolated from the lungs. Strains of M alkalescens and M arginini colonised the lower respiratory tract but failed to produce visible pneumonia. M bovigenitalium (strain M991/70) and M dispar (strain Gri226) both colonised the respiratory tract and induced pneumonic lesions estimated to involve up to 8 per cent (M bovigenitalium) and 17 per cent (M dispar) of the lung. Histologically M bovigenitalium produced a cuffing pneumonia and M dispar produced a interstitial alveolitis.     

Pathogenicity of Mycoplasma capricolum in sheep after experimental infection

Mycoplasma (M.) capricolum has been frequently isolated from diseased as well as from healthy sheep in Morocco. In order to determine its pathogenicity for sheep, experiments were performed in three trials with the Moroccan isolate 012. The following results were obtained: Ewes inoculated intramammarily developed acute mastitis; the organism was transmitted to lambs suckling these ewes. Only a mild mastitis appeared after a second inoculum, performed 5 weeks after the first. Young lambs, 1 month of age, fed four times with M. capricolum broth culture, died during the septicemic phase, showing a generalized septicemia, polyarthritis and a diffuse interstitial pneumonia. Lambs, 2 and 3 months of age inoculated intrabronchially developed a disease, which appeared to be age and weight dependent. The more susceptible animals died within 1-2 weeks after infection. The older lambs recovered gradually from the disease, which was characterized by pneumonia, conjunctivitis and arthritis. A significant increase of antibodies against M. capricolum developed in the older animals in the complement fixation test.     

Studies of Mycoplasma mastitis in cattle. 5. Studies of udder pathogenicity of Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma strains of different origins

Isolated acholeplasma laidlawii strains exhibited highly differentiated behaviours regarding their udder pathogenicity. Twelve of 16 tested strains were pathogenic to udder. Symptoms of acute udder inflammation were caused by all ten A. laidlawii strains isolated from differentiated material of calf, but by only two of six strains isolated from differentiated material of cattle. Intracisternal instillation of both strains from milk and one strain each from udder skin or cervical mucus caused merely temporary disorders of secretion. Ultrasonic extracts of A. laidlawii strains, some of them additionally heated, were intracisternally applied, as well. Udder irritation was caused only by those acholeplasma strains which were udder-patha was assumed to be attributable to a toxin of the polysaccharide type. Pathogenicity to udder was recorded also from one M. alkalescens strain isolated from a nose swab taken of cattle as well as from two A. granularum strains isolated from calf lungs.     

Pathogenicity of attenuated peste des petits ruminants virus in sheep and goats

Progressive loss of virulence for goat kids was noticed when peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus was passaged in Vero cells. While goats inoculated with the 60th passage suffered from the clinical PPR disease and mortality, goats inoculated with the 80th passage did not show any sign of the disease. If the progressive loss of virulence of the virus with passage continues, it will not be long before a homologous PPR vaccine will be obtained at the National Veterinary Institute, Vom.     

Investigating the relationship between the prion protein locus and udder morphology traits and milk yield in Sardinian sheep

Different approaches were applied to investigate prion protein (PrP)-encoding gene effects on udder morphology and milk yield in Sardinian sheep. The PrP genotype of 23,077 animals (10,029 males) was determined. The direct effect of the PrP or a closely linked gene was analyzed at the population-wide level using 2 animal models, based on records from genotyped animals, including only the PrP genotype as a fixed effect. In the female model, the dependent variable was animal performance deviation, calculated as the sum of the individual random effects. The male model was based on daughter yield deviations. Both dependent variables were obtained from the national genetic evaluations of 2005. The significance of pairwise comparisons between genotypes was assessed by using the Tukey-Kramer multiple-comparison procedure. Within-family analyses were performed on sires heterozygous for the PrP gene to detect those genes that affect the traits of interest and are not in linkage disequilibrium with the PrP locus at the population-wide level. The overall results led us to exclude either a direct or a linkage gene effect of the PrP locus on udder morphology or milk yield in Sardinian sheep. A further analysis of males that neglected the relationship matrix was carried out to evaluate the effect on the loss of genetic gain of the different selection pressures applied on resistant and susceptible genotype classes. Significant differences between genotypes were detected for milk yield. These were due to the different selection pressures applied to the PrP genotype classes. Finally, no negative correlated genetic response on the selection traits is expected from the selection for scrapie resistance in the Sardinian breed. However, a loss of genetic gain for milk yield is likely to occur in the future due to the different selection pressures on resistant and susceptible males.     

Plasminogen activation in the bovine udder

Plasmin is a serin protease with a broad substrate specificity which might cause disintegration of basal membranes, epithelium and surrounding matrix. Plasmin might also elicit degradation of tissue (Mullins & Rohrlich 1983).