Search

In countries where farming is largely subsistence, no pedigree records of farm animals are maintained at farmers' herd and scientific mating plans are not observed which leads to the accumulation of inbreeding and loss of production potential. Microsatellites have been widely used as reliable molecular markers to measure inbreeding. We attempted to correlate autozygosity estimated from microsatellite data with the inbreeding coefficient (F) calculated from pedigree data in Vrindavani crossbred cattle developed in India. The inbreeding coefficient was calculated from the pedigree of ninety-six Vrindavani cattle. Animals were further grouped into three groups viz. acceptable/low (F: 0–5%), moderate (F: 5–10%) and high (F: ≥10%), based on their inbreeding coefficients. The overall mean of the inbreeding coefficient was found to be 0.070 ± 0.007. A panel of twenty-five bovine-specific loci were chosen for the study according to ISAG/FAO. The mean FIS,FST, and FIT values were 0.0548 ± 0.025, 0.012 ± 0.001 and 0.0417 ± 0.025, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the FIS values obtained and the pedigree F values. The locus-wise individual autozygosity was estimated using the method-of-moments estimator (MME) formula for locus-specific autozygosity. The autozygosities ascribing to CSSM66 and TGLA53 were found to be significantly (p <.01 and p <.05, respectively) correlated with pedigree F values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pasteurella multocida is widely distributed in all pig-rearing countries, affecting the economic viability and profitability of pig production. The present research highlights the molecular characterization and pathology of untypeable capsular serotypes of P. multocida in slaughtered pigs from prominent pig-rearing states of India. The prevalence of Pasteurellosis was 27.17% by Pasteurella multocida specific Pasteurella multocida specific PCR (PM-PCR). assay, while isolation rate was 7.62%. The microscopic lesions of bronchopneumonia, tonsillitis, and the presence of bacterial antigens in immunohistochemistry confirmed P. multocida with pathologies. In capsular typing, the majority of the isolates were untypeable with prevalence of 52.15% and 43.58% in molecular and microbiological methods, respectively. All the isolates showed the uniform distribution of virulence genes such as exbB, nanB, sodC, plpB, and oma87 (100%), while the variations were observed in ptfA, hasR, ptfA, pfhA, hsf-1, and plpE genes. The untypeable isolates showed higher prevalence of hsf-1 gene as compared to others. The untypeable serotypes showed a higher degree of resistance to ampicillin, amoxicillin, and penicillin antibiotics. The mouse pathogenicity testing of untypeable capsular isolates confirmed its pathogenic potential. The higher frequency of pathogenic untypeable isolates with antibiotic resistance profile might pose a serious threat to the pigs, and therefore, preventive measures should be adopted for effective control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus suis is an emerging bacterial pathogen of huge economic impact to the swine industry worldwide. The information regarding the carrier status of S. suis in the slaughtered pigs along with its genetic characterization is not available in Indian pig population, which needs to be addressed for the therapeutic and preventive measures. In the present study, 563 palatine tonsils of apparently healthy slaughtered pigs were probed for the prevalence, and genetic characterization of S. suis and prevalence were found to be 15.45% and 32.68% by bacteriological and molecular methods, respectively. In 87 isolates recovered, 6 cps-types were detected showing the predominance of serotype 7 (24.13%) and 5 (18.39%), whereas 11 cps-types were detected in tonsillar DNA involving cps-types 9 (28.26%) and 7 (14.13%) as the major serotypes with arcA+/sly+/epf+/mrp− being the prevalent genotype. The histopathological changes with the immunodetection of S. suis antigen confirmed its persistence in asymptomatic carriers. Of 87 bacterial isolates, 7 isolates (serotypes 7 & 2) were pathogenic to Swiss albino mice showing the classical lesions of meningitis and septicemia. The presence of virulent serotypes of S. suis in healthy slaughtered pigs suggests a great health risk to the people engaged in piggery operations and in-contact pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement in litter traits is the key to profitable pig farming that directly enhances the economic standing of the farmers in developing countries. The present study aimed to explore oestrogen receptor (ESR), epidermal growth factor (EGF), follicle‐stimulating hormone beta subunit (FSHβ), prolactin receptor (PRLR) and retinol‐binding protein 4 (RBP4) genes as possible candidate genetic markers for litter traits in indigenous pigs of India. The breeds included in the study were Ghungroo, Mali, Niang Megha and Tenyi Vo, and the reproductive traits considered were litter size at birth (LSB), number born alive (NBA), litter weight at birth (LWB), litter size at weaning (LSW) and litter weight at weaning (LWW) at their first parity. PCR‐RFLP and primer‐based mutation detection methods were used to identify polymorphism, and associations between the genotypes and the traits were analysed using a general linear model. The Ghungroo pigs recorded the best litter performances among the breeds (p <.05, LWB p <.01). Different alleles and genotypes of the genes under study were detected. Short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) −/− genotype of FSHβ revealed significantly higher litter traits (p <.05, LSB p <.01). The LWW was also found to be significantly influenced by ESR BB and AB, EGF AB and BB, and PRLR CC genotypes (p <.05). Although we did not find statistically significant and consistently superior litter traits with respect to different genotypes of other studied genes than genotype SINE −/− of the FSHβ, PRLR CC genotype demonstrated superior performances for all the litter traits. Our study revealed the FSHβ as a potential candidate genetic marker for litter traits in indigenous pig breeds of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the urban heat island (UHI) studies are carried out in densely populated cities but core industrial areas are also potential sites of heat island effect despite having a comparatively lower population. In the present study, heat island assessment has been carried out for Angul-Talcher industrial area (ATIA) which is one of the oldest industrial areas of India and is still undergoing a transformation to accommodate more industries and mining operations. As the major contributors towards influencing local meteorology were expected to be industrial (and mining) activities, the heat island was studied as "industrial heat island" (IHI) rather than urban heat island. Industrial and mining sites were the most frequent nighttime canopy-layer heat island intensity (HIN) hotspots due to anthropogenic heat of associated industrial processes as well as built structures. During the daytime, croplands experienced the most frequent canopy-layer HIN hotspots which could be attributed to low moisture of the soils during the non-farming period of the field campaign. Hourly maximum atmospheric heat island intensities were observed in the range of 7–9 °C. Monthly maximum HINs ranged from 2.97 to 4.04 °C while 3-month mean HINs varied from 1.45 to 2.74 °C. Amongst different land use/land cover classes, the highest mean canopy-layer heat island intensity for the entire 3-month-long duration of field campaign during nighttime was assessed at the mining sites (3-month mean 2.74 °C) followed in decreasing order by the industrial sites (2.52 °C), rural and urban settlements (2.13 °C), and croplands (2.06 °C). Corresponding daytime canopy-layer heat island intensity was highest for the croplands (2.07 °C) followed in decreasing order by the mining sites (1.70 °C), rural and urban settlements (1.68 °C), and industry (1.45 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the use of logistic regression analysis in the integration of sparse geologic information in gold targeting in the Hutti?Maski Schist Belt, Raichur, Karnataka, India. Use of regression models with lineament-proximity data; Consideration of how soil and groundwater geochemical anomalies were tested on parts of the schist belt with data not used in estimation of model parameters; How the data consists of categorical and continuous variables obtained from a coded lineament map and geochemical anomaly maps of the pathfinder elements of gold in soil and groundwater.

Serotype identification occupies the central part of foot and mouth disease (FMD) diagnosis workflow and vaccination decision tree. In this study, a reverse transcription-multiplex PCR (RT-mPCR) strategy wherein three assays with unique combinations of serotype specific primers targeting the VP1 region was developed to differentiate FMD virus serotypes O, A and Asia 1 based on differential size of the PCR amplicons on agarose gel. Their diagnostic performance relative to the mPCR assay in use in India was evaluated on 169 clinical samples and 210 cell culture grown virus isolates. The relative diagnostic sensitivity was found to be 99.69%, 98.78% and 99.08% for primer combinations 1, 2 and 3, respectively. These assays proved their worth by detecting serotype in three FMD suspected specimens that went undiagnosed in the existing mPCR and also by identifying multiple serotypes in the same sample. Their detection limits varied from log 10 2 to log 10 4 viral RNA dilution and from 100 to 0.1 TCID 50 virus depending on the serotype. The validated novel mPCR assays show promise to be included in the routine diagnostic tool-box to augment the efficiency of diagnosis of FMD virus serotypes that display extreme genetic diversity and a tendency of transboundary dispersal. • Multiplex PCR (mPCR) to differentiate FMD virus serotypes O, A and Asia 1 developed. • Serotype specific primers designed at VP1 produce differentially sized PCR products. • Relative diagnostic sensitivity were 99.69%, 98.78%, 99.08% compared to mPCR in use. • The assays detected serotype in additional FMD suspected samples and mixed infection. • The validated novel mPCR could be a back-up diagnostic to enhance serotyping efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing urban land use dynamics and associated anthropogenic heat (AH) has increased warming over urban centres. This warming is associated with the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and is mainly studied in major cities worldwide. However, predominantly industrial regions can also experience heat island effect due to heat emissions from industrial infrastructure and associated activities. The current study examines the role of the urban morphology and anthropogenic heat over the Angul-Talcher region (industrial region) of Odisha state, India. The region is also referred to as India's highly polluted industrial cluster due to open cast mining and industries. In the present study, Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF) coupled with Single-Layer Urban Canopy Model (WRFUCM) has been modified to examine the impact of urban morphology and anthropogenic heat on the heat island effect over the region. The study refers modified version of WRFUCM as the WRFAH[Gridded] model, which incorporates anthropogenic heat from different industries with stack height information. It was found that the WRF model capabilities have improved in simulating surface meteorological variables such as temperature at 2 m, wind speed, and relative humidity with the inclusion of gridded AH. Urban canopies were estimated to bring in an increase of up to 0.77°C in local near-surface temperatures during daytime and up to 2.12°C during nighttime. AH emissions further increased temperatures by up to 0.32°C during daytime and 0.69°C during nighttime. Maximum heat island intensity with urban canopies is estimated to be 5.62°C which increases to 7.11°C with the inclusion of average AH released at canopy level. However, this has significantly improved to 5.88°C with inputs of industry-specific AH released at stack heights with the WRFAH[Gridded] model against observed maximum heat island intensity of 6.06°C. Overall, the influence of urban morphology was found to be higher than the influence of AH over the region at ground level, and the inclusion of gridded AH in the model showed improved performance for the heat island assessment. • Influence of urban canopy and anthropogenic heat towards heat island effect in an industrial area. • Code of WRF-UCM modeling system modified to incorporate individual industrial AH emissions at stack height. • Urban canopies and AH emissions bring in an estimated increase of up to 2.8°C in local near surface temperatures. • Modified WRF-UCM version improves the default model's over-estimation bias by about 1.2°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) is of great economic significance to porcine industry worldwide. PCV-2 variants and genotypes, alternating world over, are the etiological agent of several clinical syndromes such as porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS), post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) and others in pigs. This study is reporting an atypical manifestation of PDNS in twelve grower pigs, 3- to - 4.5 months age and either sex, died of the disease, with predominant lesions of nephropathy and no obvious clinical lesions in skin. Necropsy examination of pigs showed lesions of petechial -to- ecchymotic hemorrhages in the kidneys and in the right auricular musculature of the hearts. Microscopic lesions in H & E sections of the kidneys showed acute glomerulonephritis, interstitial nephritis, and vasculitis, but the skin morphology and architecture remained unaltered in contrast to the pathognomonic lesions of PDNS described in the literature. Other syndromic associations of PDNS in these cases included-perimyocarditis, interstitial pneumonia, depleted lymphoid tissues, tonsillitis, enteritis, and meningo-encephalitis. The lesional sites in duplicate paraffin tissue sections of kidneys, heart, lungs, spleen, lymph nodes, intestine, and brain demonstrated PCV-2 antigen in the cytoplasm of cells as highlighted by the intense immunolabeling on IHC staining. The PCV-2 positive organs reconfirmed by PCR, targeting ORF2 gene, which yielded 481bp size of products. The sequencing results of 481bp products on phylogenetic analysis showed 94% similarity with that of PCV-2 sequences in the database that grouped into PCV2d-2 genotype. The present report confirms, probably for the first time, the atypical PDNS cases due to PCV2d-2 genotype in naturally affected grower pigs of India. • The study describes the mortality in grower pigs due to an atypical form of porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS). • Erythematous lesions of varying intensity were noted in kidneys and the heart, but not in the skin of the pigs. • The microscopic lesions of diffuse, necrotizing granulomatous glomerulonephritis. and similar types of necrotizing inflammatory lesions in other organs were noted. • Strong immunolabeling of PCV-2 antigen at the sites of histopathological lesions confirmed the association of PCV-2 with PDNS. • Phylogenetic analysis revealed the PCV2d-2 genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an extremely contagious and economically devastating viral disease of cloven-hoofed domestic and wildlife animals. The disease is endemic in India and other developing countries of the world. The disease is mainly characterized by the presence of vesicular lesions and "tigroid heart" in calves. The current report describes the novel pathologic findings along with the distribution of FMDV antigens in brain of young calves naturally infected with FMDV. The carcasses of 37 calves suspected to have died from FMD were presented for postmortem investigation. Out of 37 dead calves, 10 calves showed the clinical signs of neurological abnormalities like opisthotonos, muscle twitching and tremor in hind limbs, stiffening of the neck followed by death. Microscopically, the meninges were congested, hemorrhagic, and infiltrated with mononuclear cells. The various sub anatomical sites of the brain showed the varying degrees of vascular changes, perivascular cuffing, focal to diffuse gliosis as well as degeneration and neuronal necrosis, indicating the nonsuppurative encephalitis. The immunolabeling of FMDV antigen was demonstrated in the neurons, inflammatory cells, and microglial cells besides its typical locations. The neurons of the brain also showed strong immunopositivity for caspase-3, caspase-9 and p53 and negative for Bcl-2 and apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) by both immunohistochemistry and western blotting indicating the role of caspase mediated intrinsic, and p53 dependent apoptotic pathway. Further, the TUNEL assay also confirmed the apoptosis in the neurons and glial cells of the brain of naturally infected calves. This study in calves establishes a basis for resemblance to other members of Picornaviruses, such as Enterovirus 71 and Coxsackievirus of humans and showing the neuropathological alterations along with the distribution of FMDV antigens associated with apoptosis in younger calves. • FMDV exhibits CNS affections besides vesicular lesions and myocarditis. • Meningoencephalitis, immunolocalization of FMDV antigens along with the molecular detection in the brain confirms the neurotropism of FMDV. • FMDV shares similar mechanistic of actions of EV-71 & Coxsackievirus of humans. • Caspase mediated intrinsic pathway and p53 dependent pathways play role in FMDV mediated neuronal apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the amount of rain that India gets on a yearly basis, June-September monsoon stretch, actual rain within two-week span leading to a flood. It also discusses thousands of dams in the country, including the preventive measure of rainwater drainage to seas by scientists.

The article discusses the report revealed by the specialized agency World Health Organization in 2015 on the statistics of people in India suffering from type II diabetes.

India is home for at least 18 indigenous pig breeds; however, the genetic diversity of Indian pig, Sus scrofa domesticus , population is poorly known. Here, the hypervariable region (HVR) of mitochondrial DNA D-loop (~487 bp) of 214 pigs representing five indigenous and three exotic breeds was sequenced and analysed with reference sequences from other countries. A total of 54 segregating sites among the sequences revealed 56 different haplotypes. Two, 11, eight, seven and six haplotypes were identified with some haplotype sharing in indigenous breeds: Doom, Ghungroo, Mali, Niang-Megha and Tenyi-Vo, respectively. Population pairwise differences (PhiST) (0.409) were found significant ( P <0.001), and variance within breeds (59.1%) was more than that of among breeds (40.9%). Similar topology was noted in phylogeny and median-joining network. Indian domestic pigs from this study were found to possess unique and highly differentiated haplotypes on network analysis. The diverse haplotypes and phylogenetic lineages identified here is the first report on Indian pig breeds that need to be further explored by complete mitochondrial DNA sequencing and analysis. These findings provide indicative insights for conservation and optimum utilization of the porcine genetic resources.

Lameness is one of the most serious economic problems in dairy animals. The present study was undertaken to identify the SNPs associated with lameness in Vrindavani, a synthetic crossbred cattle developed in India. A total of 187 cows were screened for lameness at Cattle and Buffalo Farm, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, India and 16.04% prevalence was noticed. The effect of age, body weight, parity, and peak yield was not significant on lameness score. Heritability estimate of lameness score was low (0.07 ± 0.01). A total of 90 Vrindavani cows were genotyped by PCR-RFLP for 10 SNPs that were reported to have association with feet and legs in cattle. Five SNPs displayed significant departure from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium. Varying levels of heterozygosity, polymorphic information content, and allelic diversity were noticed at different SNPs. Odds ratio and least squares analysis revealed a significant association (P < 0.05) of three SNPs with lameness in the herd. Cows with AG, TT, and GG genotypes respectively at rs41632254, rs41603160, and rs41636945 loci were less prone to lameness. These genetic markers would certainly aid in development of an early detection system for lameness.

Exon 2 of MHC class II gene codes for the first domain of the molecule that forms the peptide-binding groove and its polymorphism partly explains functional MHC diversity. A 850 bp DQA1 gene fragment spanning from intron I to exon III was typed by sequencing of 40 Tharparkar cattle of various agro-climatic zones of northern India along with 10 Tharparkar crossbreds. On analysis of nucleotide sequences, a total of 30 polymorphic sites (1 insertion and 29 SNPs) were identified in 14 MHC alleles leading to amino acid changes in 5 places in 249 bp (exon 2). Five new BoLa DQA1 alleles were identified and reported. The within group mean distance was highest in Tharparkar herd of Bikaner (0.045) and lowest (0.020) in that of Surathgarh (breeding tract) whereas, between groups mean distance was highest in Bikaner Tharparkar-Suratgarh Tharparkar pair. There was excess of nonsynonymous over synonymous nucleotide substitutions in the present study. The effects of these substitutions were predicted using I-Mutant and Panther online resources. The mean ratio of dN/dS was found to be >1.0 at 12 codons with two mutation hotspots at 13th codon (P = 0.002) and 64th codon (P = 0.01). The phylo-geographic analysis revealed that alleles 5, 7 and 13 formed a different cluster with alleles 7 and 13 grouped by the most frequent allele (BoLa-DQA*1401)., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Assessment of genetic diversity in indigenous animals is an important and essential task for animal genetic improvement studies as well as conservation decision-making. The genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships among geographically and phenotypically distinct three pig breeds/types native to Indo-Burma and Eastern Himalayan global biodiversity hotspots were determined by genotyping with a panel of 22 ISAG recommended microsatellite loci as well as sequencing partial MTRNR1gene. The mean number of alleles per locus, effective number of alleles and observed heterozygosity were found to be 11.27 ± 0.85, 5.29 ± 0.34, and 0.795 ± 0.01, respectively. The moderate FST value (0.115 ± 0.01) indicated a fair degree of genetic differentiation among the native breeds. The Nei's unbiased genetic identity estimates indicated less genetic distance (0.2909) between Niang Megha and Tenyi Vo pigs than the both individually with Ghoongroo breed. The divergence time was also estimated from the microsatellite analysis. Analysis of MTRNR1gene revealed distinct clustering of native Indian pigs with Chinese pigs over European pigs. The study revealed the abundance of genetic variation within native Indian pigs and their relationships as well as genetic distances.