Health status and potential uptake of transgenic DNA by Japanese quail fed diets containing genetically modified plant ingredients over 10 generations.

The hypothesis assumes that feed containing GMOs affects animal health and results in the transgene product accumulating in the body. Therefore, the objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of genetically modified (GM) ingredients used in poultry diets on aspects of bird health status and accumulation of transgenic DNA in eggs, breast muscle and internal organs. A total of 10 generations of Japanese quail were fed three types of diets: group A - containing GM soya (Roundup Ready) and non-GM maize, group B - containing GM maize (MON810) and non-GM soya, and group C - containing non-GM soya and maize. Bird performance traits were monitored throughout the trial. In 17-week-old animals of each generation, health examination took place on birds from each group including post-mortem necropsy and histological organ evaluation. For the purpose of transgenic DNA detection, samples of selected important tissues were taken. A molecular screening method of PCR amplification was used. The analysis of the sectional examination of birds used in the current experiment did not indicate the existence of the pathological changes caused by pathogens, nutritional factors or of environmental nature. The histopathological changes occurred in all three dietary groups and there were no statistically significant differences between the groups. There was no transgene amplification - neither CaMV35S promoter sequence nor nos terminator sequence, in the samples derived from breast muscle, selected tissues and germinal discs (eggs). According to the obtained results, it was concluded that there was no negative effect of the use of GM soya or maize with regard to bird health status or to the presence of transgenic DNA in the final consumable product.

Pedigrees as a source of information in mtDNA studies of dogs and horses.

The goal of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of pedigree data in studies of mitochondrial DNA diversity in dogs and horses. Pedigree information allows for precisely choosing animals with distinct haplotypes for analysis, makes it possible to find rare haplotypes present exclusively in single individuals and helps to evaluate haplotype frequencies at the present and in the past. Estimating founder contributions to gene pools enables evaluating the parts of gene pools observed with the help of mtDNA analysis. An important aspect is also the financial benefits: using pedigree data, researchers can save a significant amount of time and money needed for sample collection and laboratory analysis.

A note on the organization and expression of ß-defensin genes in Polish goats.

Nucleotide (cds) and amino acids sequences of the caprine ß2-defensin genes were in silico compared to search for the sequence variation and for the LAP gene sequences in the goat genome and for the presence of LAP gene transcripts in goat tissues. The comparison of the exon sequences revealed that the first 64 amino acids are identical in both LAP and ß1-defensin. However, the GBD-1 prepropeptide is shorter by 18 amino acids due to the presence of the stop codon UAA at position 209-211 in GBD-1 mRNA. The LAP gene, which was found, so far, only in Indian goat breeds, is absent in the genome of Polish dairy goats. The introns of the caprine ß1- and ß2-defensin genes were, for the first time, sequenced; their sequences showed 99.6 % identity, differing in six nucleotide positions.

The polymorphism in the beta4-defensin gene and its association with production and somatic cell count in Holstein-Friesian cows.

The aim of this study was to find a polymorphism of the bovine beta4-defensin gene and search for its association with milk yield and composition and with the somatic cell count in milk. The data were from the years 1999 to 2004 on 212 Holstein-Friesian (HF) dairy cows, descended from 70 sires. Based on the sequence of the bovine beta4-defensin gene (GenBank no. AF008307) the primers were designed for the amplification of the 924-bp or 393-bp long fragments. The 924-bp long fragment was sequenced and the sequence was compared with that available in the GenBank. Ten putative nucleotide sequence polymorphisms were found in the intron of the bovine beta4-defensin gene. One of them, a C-->T transition at position 2239, that creates a new NlaIII (Hin1II) restriction site, was genotyped with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in a cohort of 212 HF cows. The CC genotype was the most common (72%). The heterozygous CT genotype was found in 26% of the genotyped cows and four cows (2%) were TT homozygotes. In order to determine the relationship between the polymorphism of the beta4-defensin gene and milk production traits a multi-trait repeatability test-day animal model was used. The Derivative-free Multivariate analysis program was used for computation. The differences between estimates for genotypes were checked using Student's t-test. The model included the animal genotype, year-season of calving and parity as fixed effects and the animal additive genetic effect and permanent environmental effect of individual cows as well as dates of the tests as random effects. Significant associations were found between the RFLP-NlaIII and milk fat, protein and lactose contents. Also, a significant effect was shown of the defensin genotype on the somatic cell count in the milk.

Cytomegalovirus as a risk factor in living-related renal transplantation. A prospective study.

Forty-four living-related donor kidney (LRD) recipients (19 HLA-identical and 25 haploidentical) were followed prospectively to determine the posttransplant incidence and sequelae of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection as they relate to the CMV status of recipients and donors. CMV titers were measured in all patients before transplantation by an immunofluorescent assay (IFA). Recipients similarly had CMV titers measured at selected intervals after transplant and during febrile episodes. Appropriate viral cultures were simultaneously performed. Laboratory evidence of infection was correlated with symptoms and signs of active CMV disease. Mean follow-up period was 20 +/- 12 months with a range of 3-51 months. Three patients were excluded due to early acute rejection resulting in graft loss. Twenty-eight of 41 donors (68%) and 22 of 41 recipients (54%) had positive CMV titers before transplantation. Six of 41 recipients (15%) subsequently developed clinical and laboratory evidence of CMV infection: three of 19 seronegative recipients and three of 22 seropositive recipients. All six patients received kidneys from seropositive donors. Four patients had severe CMV disease (2 seronegative, 2 seropositive), whereas two patients had leukopenia and fever only. Two patients with severe CMV infections subsequently lost their grafts due to unrelated causes. Overall, actual patient and graft survival of the entire group is 95% and 82%, respectively. In conclusion, individuals who receive LRD kidneys from seronegative individuals are unlikely to develop CMV infection, and transplantation of seropositive LRD kidneys may be associated with transmission of CMV in susceptible recipients regardless of their serologic status. With appropriate management of CMV illness in the posttransplant period, LRD kidney donation is safe and efficacious and should not be discouraged on the basis of pretransplant CMV serology in any donor-recipient pairing.

Anatomic abnormalities of cadaver kidneys procured for purposes of transplantation.

Over a 7-year period the authors studied the vascular and ureteric anomalies of kidneys procured from brain dead, heart-beating cadavers for the purposes of transplantation. Four hundred donors had a bilateral nephroureterectomy performed using an en-bloc technique, followed by fine anatomical dissection in cold saline slush solution. Thus, 800 kidneys were available for study. Single renal arteries were found in 72 per cent of the kidneys, with multiple arteries occurring in 28 per cent. The renal veins showed a more uniform anatomical pattern and were single in 92 per cent of instances. There were nine ureteral anomalies, all duplications, being just 1 per cent of the total number studied. Sex, race, and blood group of the donor did not significantly influence the number of anomalies seen. In sum, anatomical variants were noted in 197 (49.3%) donors, 69 (17.3%) with bilateral anomalies and 128 (32.0%) with unilateral anomalies. A knowledge of these anatomical variants will allow surgeons responsible for organ procurement to proceed with caution and so prevent wastage of cadaver kidneys due to technical misadventures.