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Classical Swine Fever (CSF) is a contagious viral disease of pigs which is endemic in several parts of the world, including India. Prophylactic vaccination using live attenuated vaccine is the preferred method of control. However, there is significant inter-individual variation in the antibody response to vaccination. In this study, we measured the E2 antibody blocking percentage after 21 days of CSF vaccination in a mixed pig population consisting of Landrace, indigenous Ghurrah pigs, and their crossbreds. A Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) carried out using single-SNP and haplotype based methods detected a 1.6 Mb region on SSC2 (28.92−30.52 Mb) as significantly associated with antibody response to CSF vaccination. The significant region and 1 Mb flanking sequences encompass 3 genes – EIF3M, DNAJC24 and ARL14EP, which code for proteins involved in Pestivirus replication and host immune response system. Our results combined with previous studies on immune response of pigs present this region as a suitable candidate for future functional investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is home to a large and diverse buffalo population. The Murrah breed of North India is known for its milk production, and it has been used in breeding programs in several countries. Selection signature analysis yield valuable information about how the natural and artificial selective pressures have shaped the genomic landscape of modern-day livestock species. Genotype information was generated on six buffalo breeds of India, namely, Murrah, Bhadawari, Mehsana, Pandharpuri, Surti, and Toda using ddRAD sequencing protocol. Initially, the genotypes were used to carry out population diversity and structure analysis among the six breeds, followed by pair-wise comparisons of Murrah with the other five breeds through XP-EHH and F ST methodologies to identify regions under selection in Murrah. Admixture results showed significant levels of Murrah inheritance in all the breeds except Pandharpuri. The selection signature analysis revealed six regions in Murrah, which were identified in more than one pair-wise comparison through both XP-EHH and F ST analyses. The significant regions overlapped with QTLs for milk production, immunity, and body development traits. Genes present in these regions included SLC37A1 , PDE9A , PPBP , CXCL6 , RASSF6 , AFM , AFP , ALB , ANKRD17 , CNTNAP2 , GPC5 , MYLK3 , and GPT2. These genes emerged as candidates for future polymorphism studies of adaptability and performance traits in buffaloes. The results also suggested ddRAD sequencing as a useful cost-effective alternative for whole-genome sequencing to carry out diversity analysis and discover selection signatures in Indian buffalo breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is one of the highly contagious viral disease, characterized by fever, sore mouth, conjunctivitis, gastroenteritis and pneumonia, primarily affecting sheep and goats. Reports suggested variable host response in goats and sheep and this host response vis-a-vis the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) has not been investigated. Here, miRNAs were sequenced and proteomis data were generated to identify the role of differentially expressed miRNA (DEmiRNA) in PPR virus (PPRV) infected lung and spleen tissues of sheep and goats. In lungs, 67 and 37 DEmiRNAs have been identified in goats and sheep, respectively. Similarly, in spleen, 50 and 56 DEmiRNAs were identified in goats and sheep, respectively. A total of 20 and 11 miRNAs were found to be common differentially expressed in both the species in PPRV infected spleen and lung, respectively. Six DEmiRNAs-miR-21-3p, miR-1246, miR-27a-5p, miR-760-3p, miR-320a and miR-363 were selected based on their role in viral infections, apoptosis and fold change. The target prediction analysis of these six selected DEmiRNAs from the proteome data generated, revealed involvement of more number of genes in lung and spleen of goats than in sheep. On gene ontology analysis of host target genes these DEmiRNAs were found to regulate several immune response signaling pathways. It was observed that the pathways viz. T cell receptor signaling, Rap1 signaling, Toll-like receptor signaling and B cell receptor signaling governed by DEmiRNAs were more perturbed in goats than in sheep. The data suggests that PPRV-induced miR-21-3p, miR-320a and miR-363 might act cooperatively to enhance viral pathogenesis in the lung and spleen of sheep by downregulating several immune response genes. The study gives an important insight into the molecular pathogenesis of PPR by identifying that the PPRV-Izatnagar/94 isolate elicits a strong host response in goats than in sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this study was to establish the buffalo mammary epithelial cell line (BuMEC) and characterize its mammary specific functions. Methodology: Buffalo mammary tissue collected from the slaughter house was processed enzymatically to obtain a heterogenous population of cells containing both epithelial and fibroblasts cells. Epithelial cells were purified by selective trypsinization and were grown in a plastic substratum. The purified mammary epithelial cells (MECs) after several passages were characterized for mammary specific functions by immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR and western blot. Principal Findings: The established buffalo mammary epithelial cell line (BuMEC) exhibited epithelial cell characteristics by immunostaining positively with cytokeratin 18 and negatively with vimentin. The BuMEC maintained the characteristics of its functional differentiation by expression of β-casein, κ-casein, butyrophilin and lactoferrin. BuMEC had normal growth properties and maintained diploid chromosome number (2n = 50) before and after cryopreservation. A spontaneously immortalized buffalo mammary epithelial cell line was established after 20 passages and was continuously subcultured for more than 60 passages without senescence. Conclusions: We have established a buffalo mammary epithelial cell line that can be used as a model system for studying mammary gland functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was undertaken to evaluate different Indian riverine buffalo breeds ( Bubalus bubalis) for mutation drift equilibrium and occurrence of any recent genetic bottleneck. A total of 330 animals from seven different breeds were analyzed with a set of 24 heterologous microsatellite markers. Three different tests revealed significant heterozygosity excess in all the seven buffalo breeds studied when assumed under infinite alleles model of microsatellite evolution, while it was the reverse with no significant heterozygosity excess when assumed under conservative stepwise mutation model. Under the two-phase model, all the buffalo breeds except Mehsana were found to be in mutation drift equilibrium when evaluated by all the three statistical methods. Standardized differences test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed significant heterozygosity excess suggesting possible cryptic demographic bottleneck in Mehsana buffaloes of Western India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed at identifying single-nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) sites in different coding and non-coding regions of lactoferrin gene in Indian riverine buffaloes. A total of 102 animals from six different river buffalo breeds were screened at six bubaline lactoferrin gene loci. Single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis revealed monomorphic patterns at three loci LtfE2, LtfE11, and LtfE14 while a total of eight distinct patterns were observed in the other three loci viz. LtfE5, LtfE10, and LtfE16 which correspond to respective exons and their flanking regions. Sequence analysis of different SSCP variants revealed the presence of two SNP sites within the coding (exon 16) region and five SNP sites in flanking non-coding regions (intron 4 and intron 9). Both SNPs within exon 16 were found to be synonymous. The SNPs and haplotypes identified in the present study could serve as potential markers for association with susceptibility/resistance to mastitis in buffaloes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, complete nucleotide as well as derived amino acid sequence characterization of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) kappa-casein gene has been presented. Kappa-casein cDNA clones were identified and isolated from a buffalo lactating mammary gland cDNA library. Sequence analysis of kappa-casein cDNA revealed 850 nucleotides with an open reading frame (ORF) of 573 nucleotides, encoding mature peptide of 169 amino acids. The 5′ untranslated region (UTR) comprised 71 nucleotides, while 3′ UTR was of 206 nucleotides. A total of 11 nucleotide and seven amino acid changes were observed in, buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) as compared to cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus). Among these nucleotide changes, eight were unique in buffalo as they were fully conserved in cattle, sheep and goat. Majority of the nucleotide changes and all the amino acid changes; 14 (Asp-Glu), 19 (Asp/Ser-Asn), 96(Ala-Thr), 1 26(Ala-Val), 1 28(Ala/Gly-Val), 156(Ala/Pro-Val) and 168(Ala/Glu-Val) were limited to exon IV. Three glycosylation sites, Thr 131, Thr 133 and Thr 142 reported in cattle and goat kappa-casein gene were also conserved in buffalo, however, in sheep Thr 142 was replaced by Ala. Chymosin hydrolysis site, between amino acids Phe 105 and Met 106, important for rennet coagulation process, were found to be conserved across four bovid species. Buffalo kappa-casein with the presence of amino acids Thr 136 and Ala 148 seems to be an intermediate of"A" and "B" variants of cattle. Comparison with other livestock species revealed buffalo kappa-casein sharing maximum nucleotide (95.5%) and amino acid (92.6%) similarity with cattle, whereas with pig it showed least sequence similarity of 76.0% and 53.2%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on both nucleotide and amino acid sequence indicated buffalo kappa-casein grouping with cattle, while sheep and goat forming a separate cluster close to them. The non-ruminant species viz, camel, horse and pig were distantly placed, in separate lineages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indian cattle (Bos indicus) and riverine buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) give a poor yield of milk but it has a high fat and protein percentage compared to taurine cattle. The identification of QTLs (Quantitative Trait Loci) on BTA14 and BTA6 and its subsequent fine mapping has led to identification of two non conservative mutations affecting milk production and composition. Our objective was to estimate the frequency of K232A (DGAT1 - diacylglycerol - acyltransferase 1) and Y581S (ABCG2 - ATP binding cassette sub family G member 2) polymorphisms in diverse cattle and buffalo breeds of India having large variation in terms of milk production. Results: We screened the reported missense mutations in six cattle and five buffalo breeds. The DGAT1K and ABCG2Y alleles were found to be fixed in Indian cattle and buffalo breeds studied. Conclusion: This study provides an indirect evidence that all the Indian cattle and buffalo breeds have fixed alleles with respect to DGAT1 and ABCG2 genes reported to be responsible for higher milk fat yield, higher fat and protein percent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented about the protein contents of milk from dairy cows and its impact on human health.