Paratuberculosis in Red Deer (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus) in the Western Alps

During the hunting seasons 1995–96 to 1997–98, 19 red deer from the Upper Susa Valley (Cottian Alps) were examined for paratuberculosis (Johne's disease). Specific DNA amplification on mesenteric lymph nodes detected Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis in 17 animals. Ten of these red deer were tested for serum antibodies by the AGID and ELISA tests, nine being negative. Three isolates from infected deer were genetically characterized by an arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction, and showed similar genetic polymorphism to that of bovine strains isolated in different Italian areas. The study showed that paratuberculosis is present in red deer of the Upper Susa Valley and that serological tests are not an efficient means for monitoring this infection.     

STR在野生东北马鹿个体识别中的应用

为了建立有效的东北马鹿个体识别体系,从12对加拿大马鹿的微卫星引物和6对黑尾鹿的微卫星引物中,筛选出8个具有多态性的微卫星位点。各位点的观察杂合度为0．3314～0．8174,平均杂合度为0．6243;各位点的匹配率为0．0656～0．5130,累计匹配率为1．446×10^-6;各位点的识别率为0．4870～0．9344,累计个体识别能力为0．9999。这8个微卫星位点可以准确地进行东北马鹿的个体识别分析。     

中国马鹿的研究现状及展望

马鹿在世界上主要分布于欧洲南部和中部、北美洲、非洲北部、亚洲的俄罗斯东部、蒙古、朝鲜和喜马拉雅山地区,在中国马鹿有8个亚种,主要分布在东北、华北、西北及西南等地。本文根据文献资料系统地总结了中国马鹿的研究现状,展望了马鹿需要研究的问题,为中国马鹿的保护及科研活动开展提供依据。     

Histological Studies of Growing and Mature Antlers of Red Deer Stags (Cervus elaphus)

This study aims at presenting histology of growing and mature antlers in red deer stag ( Cervus elaphus ). Growing antlers constitute a model organ for examining regeneration processes of tissues because they are the only mammalian appendages capable of regeneration. Histological study revealed that the tip of a growing antler consists of hairy skin, perichondrium, mesenchyme and chondroprogenitors area. By performing immunochistochemistry, we found that cell expressing Ki-67 and PCNA antigens were localized in basal layer of epidermis, skin glands and beneath their secretory sections, mesenchyme as well as within and in the vicinity of central blood vessels. Ultrastructurally, cells from chondroprogenitors zone have chondroblast-like morphology and take part in producing of collagen fibres followed by the process of cartilage mineralization. However, mature antlers also consist of lamellar osseous tissue.     

梅花鹿行为生态学及保护遗传学研究进展

梅花鹿是我国极度濒危的鹿科动物,目前仅分布于黑龙江、吉林、四川、江西等省狭窄的区域内。文章主要对梅花鹿的种群数量、行为生态学及保护遗传学研究等进行了概述,并指出目前国内学者对梅花鹿行为生态学的研究主要集中在行为节律和栖息地的研究,为了更准确地反映梅花鹿系统进化关系,必须结合形态学、动物地理学、地理信息系统及古生物学等方面进行综合分析探讨。     

天山马鹿数量性状相关的统计分析

探讨了凉泉天山马鹿上锯公鹿的体重、茸重、茸的鲜干比例性状与鹿年龄、茸重性状与体重 ,体重、体尺和茸尺性状与茸重的关系。结果表明 :在一定年龄段 ,这些数量性状除了体尺中角基距性状与茸重呈强负相关 (-r,P <0 0 1 )外 ,多呈极显著正相关 (P <0 0 1 ) ,少数呈显著正相关 (P <0 0 5 ) ,并建立了线性回归方程 ,为预测并比较天山马鹿各锯时的体重、茸重、体尺、茸尺和茸的鲜干比例水平及制审定其检测标准提供了科学依据。     

基于线粒体Cyt b DNA阿拉善马鹿分子系统学研究

阿拉善马鹿为国家Ⅱ级重点保护野生动物,仅分布于宁夏和内蒙古交界的贺兰山中段,是我国唯一幸存的该亚种的有效种群。目前关于野生阿拉善马鹿的分子研究尚属空白,本研究于2016年8—9月和2017年2—3月在贺兰山采集新鲜阿拉善马鹿粪便样本396份,使用线粒体Cyt b区DNA引物对提取的DNA进行物种鉴定和9对微卫星引物对其个体识别,共鉴定出278个阿拉善马鹿个体,基于线粒体Cyt b DNA对其全序列进行分析。使用线粒体Cyt b区引物对提取的粪便DNA扩增,获得了1 075 bp的序列,检测到10个变异位点,并定义了10个单倍型。其中10个变异位点占分析长度的0. 93%,均为碱基代换,无碱基插入和缺失。其单倍型多样性为0. 243,核苷酸多样性为0. 000 32。中性检验Tajima's D值为显著负值,Fu和Li's D值为不显著的负值,表示阿拉善马鹿可能经历瓶颈事件并随后出现种群扩张。在系统发育树中,阿拉善马鹿单独聚成一支且与东北马鹿亲缘关系较近,与其他中国马鹿亚种亲缘关系较远。本研究表明野生阿拉善马鹿种群总体遗传多样性较低,建议加强对该亚种的保护力度。     

马鹿的起源进化与遗传多样性研究进展

马鹿是非常重要的物种资源,由于栖息地的流失和人为干扰进行近亲繁殖等导致野生马鹿数量急剧减少,而家养马鹿多经过改良,因此马鹿的纯种数量锐减。对马鹿进行分子遗传学研究不仅可以加深人们对马鹿起源和物种形成的认识,还能帮助开展遗传多样性保护研究。随着高通量测序技术、分子生物学和生物信息学的迅速发展,马鹿的起源进化研究已发展到全基因组水平,并取得了一定的成果。马鹿的起源进化研究从最初对体态外貌和染色体核型的研究逐渐发展到对DNA序列与生理指标的研究。文章回顾了近年来国内外对马鹿起源进化和遗传多样性方面的研究,从起源时间、起源地和迁徙路线等方面揭示了马鹿的演化历史,介绍了父系、母系和常染色体研究方面分析了马鹿遗传多样性选取的不同分子标记,为进一步揭示马鹿种群的遗传变异、分化情况、迁徙路线和系统发育关系等提供基础信息,同时为马鹿遗传资源的利用和保护以及马鹿产业的良性发展提供重要的借鉴与参考。     

阿拉善马鹿冬季肠道菌群组成的性别差异

肠道菌群对于动物消化及健康有着至关重要的作用,但在性别差异上的研究仍然有限。本研究通过高通量测序技术对贺兰山阿拉善马鹿(Cervus elaphus alashanicus)的20个粪便样本进行多样性分析,雌雄各半,并讨论性别因素对肠道菌群的影响。结果表明,阿拉善马鹿雌雄肠道菌群的多样性及结构均存在差异,且雌性肠道菌群的多样性更高。菌群构成的门水平上,雄性肠道菌群的优势菌门为厚壁菌门(Firmicutes 49.47%)和疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia 14.21%),雌性肠道优势菌门为厚壁菌门(54.47%)和变形菌门(Proteobacteria 54.41%)。在属水平上,雌雄肠道菌群的优势菌属都为孢杆菌属(Sporobacter),含量为(雌性:6.79%,雄性:7.97%),拟杆菌属(Bacteroides),含量为(雌性:3.87%,雄性:4.42%),NMDS分析及LEfSe分析表明,性别因素对阿拉善马鹿雌雄肠道菌群的影响存在显著差异(P<0.05)。本研究表明性别因素对阿拉善马鹿冬季肠道菌群的多样性及构成存在影响,可为深入研究性别因素对阿拉善马鹿肠道菌群的影响提供依据。     

全国梅花鹿养殖状况调查

中国野生动物保护协会于2005年6～12月,在全国31个省(区、市)开展了梅花鹿养殖情况调查.调查数据显示,截止到2004年底,全国31个省(区、市)共有9 465家养殖场,圈养繁殖梅花鹿452 355头.其中养殖梅花鹿数量最多的是吉林省,养殖场5 985家,目前存栏量278 000头.2004年全国生产梅花鹿鹿茸73 t,吉林省居全国首位,年产量约为21 t,占总数的28.8%.本文以调查数据为基础,提出我国梅花鹿养殖中存在的问题和改进建议.     

Biometrics,Testosterone, Cortisol and Antler Growth Cycle in Iberian Red Deer Stags (Cervus elaphus hispanicus)

In this article, we aimed to describe the changes related to mating season in red deer, especially those related to antler growth, body condition score, testosterone and cortisol. Antler growth was studied in 17 Iberian red deer males, including body weight, antler length, biometric measures and testosterone and cortisol determination during 15 months. Body weight, body condition score, thoracic perimeter (TP), neck perimeter (NL) and testicular diameter (TD) showed the highest values immediately before mating season (autumn), decreased during it and remained constant at winter. Antler growth lasted 158 days and produced antlers with a final length of 80.8 ± 2.0 cm. Testosterone and cortisol showed seasonal changes with maximum values at September and May, respectively. Final antler size was related positively to cranial longitude, TP, NL, TD and body weight at casting time. No relationship between weight loss during precedent mating season and current antler size was found, but spring recovery weight was positively related to final antler size. Final length was related to the descent in testosterone values during previous mating season and to body weight before it. Spring recovery weight was related to relative weight loss during previous mating season. These results suggest that there is no relationship between the reproductive effort performed during one season and the next year size of the antler. In contrast, antler size was positively related to spring recovery weight, in the sense that those deer that recover a higher percentage of body weight at the early stages of antler growth develop higher antlers.     

The Stomach of the Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor unicolor)

In New Zealand, the sambar deer is reported to feed on a variety of grasses and browse material. In the specimens studied, the average volume of the sambar rumen was about 15 l. Thick, non-papillated pillars divided the rumen into a saccus dorsalis and a saccus ventralis. The lining of the rumen was covered with papillae; those in the roof area were short and poorly developed. The omasum was a well-developed organ with 47-71 (mean 57) laminae. These were covered with short and poorly developed papillae. It is concluded that these sambar deer stomachs were typical of a grass-roughage feeder. This contrasts with the previous classification of the sambar deer as an intermediate feeder.     

The Effects of Cryopreservation on the Morphometric Dimensions of Iberian Red Deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) Epididymal Sperm Heads

Computer-automated sperm-head morphometry was used in this study to determine the effects of cryopreservation on red deer sperm-head morphometry. Epididymal sperm samples were collected from 40 mature stags and were divided. One portion was diluted at room temperature in a Tris-citrate egg yolk medium, containing 6% glycerol. A microscope slide was prepared from single extended sperm samples prior to freezing. The remainder of each sample was frozen in nitrogen vapours. After thawing, sperm smears were prepared as described above. All slides were air dried and stained with Hemacolor. The sperm-head dimensions for length, width, area, perimeter and shape factor (length/width), for a minimum of 135 spermatozoa were determined for each slide by means of the Sperm-Class Analyser (SCA). Firstly, our results show that cryopreservation substantially reduced (p < 0.001) sperm motility and plasma membrane and acrosome integrities. In addition, sperm heads were significantly smaller in cryopreserved spermatozoa than in the companion extended samples for area (32.05 microm2 vs 32.56 microm2; p < 0.05), length (8.46 microm vs 8.53 microm; p < 0.0001) and shape factor (1.833 vs 1.849; p < 0.0001) for all stags. These differences were found within 29 of 40 stags (75%) for at least three of the morphometric parameters. The individual variability (CV) of sperm head measurements from extended samples was negatively correlated (p < 0.005) with the per cent of change in sperm head measurements after cryopreservation for area (r = -0.465), width (r = -0.483) and perimeter (r = -0.375). Thus, the lower the sperm head variability in the extended samples, the greater the sperm change as a consequence of the cryopreservation. These results suggest that the variability (heterogeneity) in sperm head dimensions of individual stags may be a good indicator of sperm freezability.     

基于粪便分子生物学技术的中国马鹿分子生态学研究进展

中国马鹿分为东北亚种、天山亚种、塔里木亚种、甘肃亚种、川西亚种、阿拉善亚种、西藏亚种和阿尔泰亚种。根据文献资料系统性总结了以粪便为研究材料对中国马鹿各个亚种的分子生态学的研究现状,展望了中国马鹿分子生态学需要研究的问题;具体介绍了马鹿分子生态学中研究很少的亲权鉴定、近亲交配和家域利用方面的研究现状并提出了进一步的研究趋势。为中国马鹿的种群恢复、保护管理以及科学研究提供依据。     

Effects of Egg Yolk and Cooling Rate on the Survival of Refrigerated Red Deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) Epididymal Spermatozoa

Egg yolk is a common component to sperm refrigeration for most of the deer species, the role of which is to protect sperm membranes against cold shock. In addition, there have been many studies of conservation of ejaculated semen from stags, but few have been reported for epididymal spermatozoa. This work was designed to investigate the combined effects of cooling rates (slow: 0.23 degrees C/min vs rapid: 4.2 degrees C/min) from room temperature to 5 degrees C, and egg-yolk concentration (0, 5 or 20%) in the extender on the survival of Iberian red deer epididymal spermatozoa refrigerated at 5 degrees C. Heterospermic sperm samples were diluted to a final sperm concentration approximately 400x10(6) sperm/ml with a Tris-citrate-fructose (TCF)-egg-yolk diluent. Sperm quality was in vitro judged by microscopic assessments of individual sperm motility [sperm motility index (SMI)], and of plasma membrane (hypo-osmotic swelling test) and acrosome (NAR) integrities. Our results first showed that the presence of egg yolk in the extender significantly improves (p=0.01) the viability and sperm motility after sperm dilution. In addition, acrosome and plasma membrane integrities post-refrigeration did not differ significantly between cooling procedures; however, the SMI differed significantly between cooling procedures (slow: 46.6% vs rapid: 50.0%; p=0.01). Our results also showed that sperm quality was significantly (p<0.01) affected by the combined effects of egg-yolk concentration and cooling procedure, being rapid cooling with 20% of egg yolk the most suitable combination for epididymal sperm refrigeration. In conclusion, egg-yolk improved red deer epididymal spermatozoa characteristics after dilution. Rapid cooling protocol using TCF with 20% egg-yolk significantly improved sperm motility of red deer epididymal spermatozoa after cooling.     

基于RNA-Seq技术的塔里木马鹿毛色相关差异表达基因筛选及初步分析

旨在基于RNA-Seq技术对塔里木马鹿毛色相关基因进行筛选及分析。采用Illumina Hi Seq TM2000测序平台对塔里木马鹿和天山马鹿的皮肤组织进行转录组测序,所得序列经质控、组装后比对到NR、Swiss-Prot、COG、KOG、KEGG、GO和Pfam数据库中注释,并对差异表达基因进行筛选、功能注释和富集分析。结果表明,测序获得25 038个有注释信息的Unigenes,比对分析显示,塔里木马鹿与天山马鹿有922个差异表达基因,其中上调表达基因495个,下调表达基因427个;GO功能富集分析结果显示,568个差异表达基因富集到61个GO条目上,分别参与了生物学过程、细胞组分及分子功能;KEGG代谢通路富集分析发现,在差异表达基因中富集最显著的代谢通路是ECM-受体相互作用。利用实时荧光定量PCR（qRT-PCR）方法分析与塔里木马鹿毛色相关的7个候选基因的转录水平变化来验证转录组测序结果的准确性和可靠性,这些基因的表达趋势与转录组测序结果相一致。ECM-受体相互作用、蛋白质消化与吸收、PI3K-Akt信号通路及与黑色素合成相关的酪氨酸等通路可能与塔里木马鹿的毛色有关;候选基因MITF、Ggt1、VDR、PTPRF、CⅡTA、ARPC5L、POMC等可能在塔里木马鹿毛色形成过程中发挥重要作用。本研究结果为今后塔里木马鹿毛色相关基因的分子调控机制方面及挖掘潜在的新基因提供了丰富的试验数据。     

岩羊和马鹿对人与机动车反应的差异分析

人为干扰会对野生动物种间关系、个体适合度、群落结构和繁殖成功率等产生中长期的影响。因此,研究野生动物反干扰行为对于我们认识该物种对其生境的行为适应和进化机制具有重要意义。2017年11—12月在内蒙古贺兰山国家级自然保护区内通过建立多元逻辑斯蒂回归模型研究了岩羊(Pseudois nayaur)、马鹿(Cervus elaphus)的反干扰策略,本研究共设置33条样线,记录了10种在人为干扰下可能会影响岩羊、马鹿反应行为的变量,经模型分析发现影响岩羊反应行为的变量有5种,影响马鹿反应行为的变量有4种,共同影响因子分别是干扰源、性别、头的朝向和地形特征,而植被类型则只对岩羊产生影响。最后根据逻辑模型得出的数据计算发生比,从而了解各个分类变量与反应行为的关系。