Bovine ceroid-lipofuscinosis: pathology of blindness

Five Devon cattle with suspected ceroid-lipofuscinosis and aged between 19 and 39 months of age were humanely slaughtered and subjected to post-mortem examination. There was severe atrophy of the cerebrum, particularly of the occipital cortex. Microscopy also showed severe atrophy of the retina with complete loss of photoreceptor cells, even in the youngest animal examined. Histopathologically the disease was characterised by accumulation of a fluorescent lipopigment in neurones, including those of the retina and a severe astrocytosis. The disease, which is characterised by the accumulation of subunit c of mitochondrial ATP synthase, is similar to that extensively described in South Hampshire sheep except that the retinal lesions were more severe. In contrast, tremors were not noted in the cattle. The clinical history and similarity to the disease in sheep and other species indicated inheritance was as an autosomal recessive trait.     

Congenital arthrogryposis: an inherited limb deformity in pedigree Suffolk lambs

Thirty of 52 pedigree Suffolk lambs (58 per cent) were born with arthrogryposis characterised by bilateral flexion rigidity of the metacarpophalangeal and carpal joints. The recent introduction of a breeding ram was identified as the only significant risk factor in the flock, and embryo transfer was used to test the hypothesis that the arthrogryposis was an inherited disorder associated with the introduction of this ram. Two adult ewes that had previously produced lambs with arthrogryposis by the ram and four of its affected daughters were available as donors, and 20 crossbred ewes were used as recipients. Ten Suffolk-crossed ewes that had no known familial relationship with the ram were also mated by the ram as controls and they produced 10 normal lambs. Following embryo transfer, 19 lambs were born, of which seven were stillborn; arthrogryposis was evident in 10 of the 12 live lambs. Analysis of the data suggested that in the population under study, arthrogryposis was inherited as an autosomal recessive condition.     

Acute cortisol responses of calves to scoop dehorning using local anaesthesia and/or cautery of the wound

Objective To measure plasma cortisol responses in calves dehorned using a scoop after administration of local anaesthesia and/or cautery of the wounds.
Design A physiological study with controls.
Procedure There were six treatments: control handling with and without local anaesthesia, dehorning, dehorning after local anaesthesia, dehorning followed by wound cautery, and dehorning after local anaesthesia followed by wound cautery. Blood samples were taken before and after dehorning.
Results Dehorning caused an increase in plasma cortisol concentrations, which decreased a little to plateau values and then declined to pretreatment values 3 to 4 h after dehorning. The peak was smaller after local anaesthesia was administered but when its effects wore off, cortisol concentrations increased and thereafter were similar to those in the dehorned animals. The combination of local anaesthesia and cautery resulted in a plasma cortisol response similar to those in control calves with or without local anaesthesia.
Conclusions If plasma cortisol concentrations reflect the distress being experienced by the calves, then local anaesthesia reduces the acute distress for about 3 h after dehorning but not during the subsequent 3 to 4 h. Combining local anaesthetic and cautery prevented the significant increase in plasma cortisol following dehorning and may eliminate the acute distress caused by scoop dehorning.     

Molecular heterogeneity for bovine α-mannosidosis: PCR based assays for detection of breed-specific mutations

tests, based on the polymerase chain reaction ( ), were developed for the detection of two breed-specific mutations responsible for the autosomal recessive disorder bovine α-mannosidosis. The tests involve separate amplification of two exons of the lysosomal α-mannosidase gene followed by restriction enzyme digestion of the amplicons. We demonstrate that one of the mutations, the 662G→A transition, is responsible for α-mannosidosis in Galloway cattle. The other mutation, the 961T→C transition, is uniquely associated with α-mannosidosis in Angus, Murray Grey and Brangus cattle from Australia. The 961T→C mutation was also detected in Red Angus cattle exported from Canada to Australia as embryos. All 39 animals classified as heterozygotes on the basis of biochemical assays were heterozygous for one of the two mutations. None of 102 animals classified as homozygous-normal on the basis of biochemical assays possessed the mutations. Our results indicate that the two breed-specific mutations may have arisen in Scotland and by the export of animals and germplasm disseminated to America, New Zealand and Australia.     

Management of inappetant sheep during export by sea

In the first of 2 experiments, a simulated voyage was conducted to examine the effects of various treatments on bodyweight change and feeding frequency of inappetant sheep at the end of lot-feeding (non-feeders). The treatments, applied during simulated shipping, were: normal quantities of feed and length of troughs; extra trough length; extra feed. Adult Merino wethers (n = 108) were used in each treatment. A voyage to the Middle East was then conducted to establish whether shipboard mortality could be reduced by separating non-feeders (n = 305) from feeders (n = 5,620) late in the feedlot hase and housing the groups separately aboard ship. A control group of non-feeders (n = 215) mixed with feeders (n = 5,732) was used for comparison. Bars (marker bars), containing a coloured dye, were attached to feed troughs to mark sheep that fed. Most non-feeders (82%) began eating when placed in shipping pens in both studies. However, there was no significant difference in percentage of sheep that fed between non-feeders given extra trough length or extra feed compared with non-feeders given standard management at any stage of simulated shipping. There was no significant difference in mean bodyweights between treatment groups on days 1, 8 and 15 of simulated shipping. Differences in bodyweight on d 22 were probably associated with different levels of gut fill. Death rates were not significantly different in separated and control groups (1.1%, 0.9%, P = 0.6) in the voyage of 14 d to the Middle East.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Determination of Feeder Cell‐Based Cellular Niches Supporting the Colonization and Maintenance of Spermatogonial Stem Cells from Prepubertal Domestic Cat Testes

Recently, isolation and in vitro culture of putative spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in the domestic cat have been conducted. However, the cellular niche conditions that facilitate the establishment and long‐term maintenance of feline SSCs (FSSCs) have not been described. Therefore, we investigated the type of feeder cells used to stimulate colony formation and growth of FSSCs among the various factors in the FSSC niche. Spermatogonial stem cells isolated from feline testes were cultured on mitotically inactivated testicular stromal cells (TSCs) derived from cats, dogs and mice, and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). The formation and growth of colonies derived from SSCs cultured on each type of feeder cell were identified at passage 0, and the morphology, alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and expression of SSC‐specific genes in surviving colonies were investigated at passage 4. Among these diverse feeder cells, TSCs from cat showed the greatest colony formation, growth and maintenance of FSSCs, and SSC colonies cultured by passage 4 showed a typical dome‐shaped morphology, AP activity and expression of SSC‐specific genes (NANOG, OCT4, SOX2 and CD9). Accordingly, these results demonstrate that feline TSCs could be used as feeder cells to support the establishment and maintenance of SSCs from domestic cats.     

Prenatal occurrence and mode of inheritance of neuraxial oedema in Poll Hereford calves

Breeding experiments were conducted in 1981, 1982 and 1983 using bulls and cows that were obligatory heterozygotes for neuraxial oedema. Fifty-six calves were born in the herd, 14 of which were diagnosed as cases of neuraxial oedema. The mean gestation length for affected calves born in 1983 was nine days shorter than that for unaffected calves. Observations were made of the birth of three affected calves. In one calf spasms of the forelimbs were observed during an unassisted delivery, and in this and two others, typical clinical signs were observed within two minutes of birth. Radiological and, or, pathological examination of each of the eight affected calves born in 1983 revealed lesions in the coxae, some of which predated parturition. These observations are consistent with the calves being affected with neuraxial oedema while in utero.