Microbiological, molecular, and histopathological findings in goats experimentally infected with Actinobacillus seminis.

The objective of this study was to experimentally evaluate the pathogenicity of an Actinobacillus seminis isolate named SAAS01 in goats. Animals were challenged with 2 mL of a suspension containing 1,5 × 108 CFU/mL of A. seminis (SAAS01 isolate) through the intrapreputial, epididymis tail, and conjunctival routes. Epididymis and testicular fragments were submitted to histopathological exam, and semen samples underwent microbiological and molecular diagnoses. Clinically, a unilateral increase in firm consistency was observed in the epididymis and testicles of two animals inoculated in epididymis tail and in one animal inoculated through conjunctival sac; this firmness continued until the day of euthanasia. Two goats inoculated through epididymis tail and conjunctival sac routes presented histopathological findings with macroscopically and microscopically significant changes. A. seminis was isolated from semen samples collected from goats inoculated through the epididymis tail and conjunctival sac routes. A. seminis DNA was amplified from six semen samples of three goats inoculated through the epididymis tail, two in conjunctival sac and one through intrapreputial route. The experimental infection model using goats confirmed the pathogenicity of the A. seminis isolate, demonstrating the predilection of the agent for the epididymis, with clinical signs, histopathological lesions, bacterial isolation, and a positive molecular diagnosis.

Ovary and vaginal epithelium dynamics during the estrous cycle in Dasyprocta prymnolopha Wagler, 1831: ultrasound and cytological examinations.

The objective of the present study was to monitor and characterize morphological alterations in ovaries of agouti (Dasyprocta prymnolopha), reared in captivity, by using abdominal ultrasonography. All animals underwent daily vaginal cytological examination to identify the current cycle phase. For each phase of the estrous cycle, ultrasound examinations were carried out to identify and describe the morphology of both ovaries. Topographic parameters in an ultrasound window were established to locate the ovaries. The agouti estrous cycle lasted an average of 29.94 ± 6.77 days. During vaginal cytology examinations, all cell types were identified, and each phase of the estrous cycle was established by cell counts. No significant alterations were observed in the assessed ovarian morphometry measurements. In 75% of the animals examined, ovarian follicle presence was observed in the proestrus phase.