Common white facial markings in bay and chestnut Arabian horses and their hybrids

Common white facial and leg markings have a multifactorial mode of inheritance in Equus caballus. Evidence for the complexity of the genetic component is the observation that chestnut (e/e) horses have more extensive white markings than do bay (E/-) horses. Computerized records obtained from the Arabian Horse Registry of America, Inc., were used to determine if heterozygous (E/e) bay horses have more extensive white facial markings than do homozygous (E/E) bay horses. Thirty-five sire families were analyzed. Each sire family consists of a sire, his foals, and the dams of those foals. The facial region was divided into five areas, and each horse was given a score from 0 to 5 according to the number of areas with whiteness. Since dams and foals with E/E genotypes cannot be identified in these sire families, mean facial scores were compared in dams and foals that were E/e and E/-. It was assumed that if a difference exists between E/e and E/E horses, the presence of E/E horses in the E/- group would reduce the mean of the E/- group. The results show that Arabian horses with the genotype E/e have more white markings than do horses with the genotype E/-, leading to the conclusion that horses with the genotypes e/e, E/e, and E/E vary as to the quantitative expression of white facial markings, with heterozygotes having an intermediate expression.     

Evidence for eumelanin and pheomelanin producing genotypes in the Arabian horse

The ultrastructural imaging of melanocytes coupled with analyses to detect sulfur-containing melanosomes by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to test the hypothesis that the yellowish-red and black pigments found in Arabian horses result from pheomelanogenesis and eumelanogenesis, respectively. These procedures detected pheomelanosomes in follicles at the base of hairs in chestnut horses and eumelanosomes in follicles at the base of hairs in black horses. By analyzing tissue obtained by skin biopsy, these procedures also demonstrated that skin melanocytes in a chestnut horse produce eumelanosomes, and follicular melanocytes in the same horse produce pheomelanosomes. It was also shown that the type of follicular melanosome present in light bay horses is correlated with the color of the hair. The results of this study give experimental evidence for the Odriozola-Adalsteinsson hypothesis that the e allele is responsible for the chestnut phenotype; they also give fine structure and chemical confirmation of the action of the A and E loci in the Arabian horse as currently proposed for the mouse and other mammals.     

Hematology and serum chemistry of cottontail rabbits of southern Illinois.

In 1983 and 1984 blood was collected from 79 cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) confined to an outdoor enclosure in southern Illinois to establish reference values for hematology and serum chemistry. Packed cell volume, sodium, potassium, chloride, glucose, calcium, carbon dioxide, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, cholesterol, albumin, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransaminase, total protein, albumin/globulin ratio, and osmolality were measured. Sex and age (adult versus juvenile) of rabbit as well as season (June to September versus October to May) and method of capture (trap versus shot) variously affected most hematology and serum chemistry variables.     

The Value of Pulmonary Function Studies in the Assessment of Patients for Cardiac Surgery

Preoperative pulmonary function, intracardiac pressures and degree of dyspnea were related to the incidence of postoperative respiratory insufficiency in 102 adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery. The purpose was to seek a reliable method of prognosticating the risk of postoperative respiratory insufficiency, especially after the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. When the heart-lung pump was used, 24 of 30 patients with a vital capacity less than 80% of the predicted normal developed respiratory insufficiency, whereas only eight of 41 patients with a normal vital capacity had this complication. In 26 patients where the vital capacity and gas diffusion were both normal, only three developed postoperative respiratory insufficiency. Other single or combined pulmonary function abnormalities, including tests of the mechanics of breathing, were of no greater value in predicting the postoperative course. The degree of dyspnea and the level of intracardiac pressures, although sometimes helpful, were often misleading.     

A study of fluctuating dermatoglyphic asymmetry in the sibs and parents of cleft lip propositi.

Fluctuating asymmetry was studied in cleft lip propositi and their normal sibs and parents. The traits examined were a-b ridge counts and fingerprint patterns. Propositi with a family history of this congenital malformation and their normal sibs and parents were significantly different from the controls for this type of asymmetry. Propositi without a family history and their normal sibs and parents were similar to the controls. These results support the hypothesis that familial and sporadic cases of congenital cleft lip are different entities and give evidence for a genetic mechanism in the parents and sibs of the familial cases that may account for this congenital disorder and, concomitantly, increased fluctuating asymmetry.     

The estrous cycle of captive woodchucks (Marmota monax)

Changes in vaginal cytology were assessed and correlated with temporal changes in circulating concentrations of progesterone (P) and estradiol-17 beta (E2) during the breeding season (February to March) in a seasonally breeding rodent, the woodchuck (Marmota monax). Ten individually caged adult females, maintained under laboratory conditions for 3-11 mo, were studied. Vaginal smears were taken each morning for 2 consecutive months beginning 1 February 1990. Seven of 10 females exhibited readily identifiable estrus, characterized by a clear predominance (83%) of cornified cells. The earliest estrous smear was recorded on 3 February and the latest on 12 March. These animals were monoestrous and remained in a prolonged estrous period during their brief breeding season. The average duration of estrus was 18.1 +/- 2.1 days, ranging from 12-27 days. Levels of P and E2 were determined in serum samples taken before, during, and after estrus from 7 females who exhibited estrus. No changes in the circulating levels of P were apparent during the estrous cycle. However, there was a consistent pattern of estradiol secretion characterized by elevated levels of E2 before and during estrus, followed by a significant (p less than 0.05) decline in E2 levels one week after the end of estrus. Elevated levels of E2 preceded and coincided with maximal degree of vaginal cornification. Thus, the termination, but not the onset, of estrus in woodchucks reflected closely the temporal pattern of changes in serum E2 levels during the breeding season.     

Identification of a potentially neurotoxic pyridinium metabolite of haloperidol in rats

In vivo metabolic studies have revealed that haloperidol is converted to the corresponding pyridinium metabolite which has been characterized in both urine and brain tissues isolated from haloperidol treated rats. Unlike the corresponding conversion of the structurally related Parkinsonian inducing agent MPTP to the ultimate neurotoxic pyridinium metabolite MPP+, the oxidative biotransformation of haloperidol is not catalyzed by MAO-B. Microdialysis studies in the rat indicate that intrastriatal administration of this pyridinium metabolite is about 10% as effective as MPP+ in causing the irreversible depletion of striatal nerve terminal dopamine. The results point to the possibility that some of the neurological disorders observed in experimental animals and man during the course of chronic haloperidol treatment may be mediated by this pyridinium metabolite.     

Genetic variability of the tumorous-head maternal effect in Drosophila melanogaster

Summary The tumorous-head maternal effect in Drosophila melanogaster is produced by a recessive gene (tuh-1) in chromosome 1. Polymorphism exists at this locus. This maternal effect, which is part of the normal variation found in this species, is detected with the aid of a mutant gene. In the presence of the maternal effect, a semi-dominant mutant gene (tuh-3) causes homoeotic changes in the eye-antennal imaginal discs. The phenotype in the adult is known as the tumorous-head abnormality. The mutant gene, which is located in the right arm of chromosome 3, is characterized by reduced penetrance. Using the penetrance of the mutant gene as the criterion, the results of these experiments show that the level of the maternal effect activity is influenced remarkably by modifiers present in wild type strains. The assay is to mate females homozygous for tuh-1 with males homozygous for tuh-3 and to determine the percent of the offspring showing the tumorous head abnormality. Using this procedure, it was observed that parental females with various combinations of chromosomes 1 and 3 from Lausanne and Stephenville wild type strains show great variability in the level of maternal effect activity. Modifiers in chromosome 1 and 3 from the Stephenville strain increase the level of the maternal effect activity. The level is reduced if these chromosomes are replaced by those from the Lausanne strain. A major locus in chromosome 3 is in the same region occupied by clusters of functionally related genes with regulating action. These results demonstrate that the penetrance of a mutant gene, which acts during embryogenesis, is influenced by modifiers which act during oogenesis.This investigation was supported by Public Health Service Research Grant GM 18664 to Arizona State University from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences     

A summary of the prevalence of Parelaphostrongylus tenuis in a captive wapiti population.

A total of 87 brains from harvested and collected wapiti and red deer (Cervus spp.) were examined grossly and microscopically between 1973 and 1977 in a 2104 ha. preserve. Prevalence of infection significantly increased from 26.6% of the sample in 1973 to 64.3% in 1975 (P less than .05). A decline to 47.7% in 1977 (P greater than .05) was not significant. However, the number of clinical cases was significantly higher in 1976-1977 (P less than .02) than previously reported in 1973-1975.     

Two closely linked tomato HKT coding genes are positional candidates for the major tomato QTL involved in Na+/K+ homeostasis

The location of major quantitative trait loci (QTL) contributing to stem and leaf [Na⁺] and [K⁺] was previously reported in chromosome 7 using two connected populations of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of tomato. HKT1;1 and HKT1;2, two tomato Na⁺‐selective class I‐HKT transporters, were found to be closely linked, where the maximum logarithm of odds (LOD) score for these QTLs located. When a chromosome 7 linkage map based on 278 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was used, the maximum LOD score position was only 35 kb from HKT1;1 and HKT1;2. Their expression patterns and phenotypic effects were further investigated in two near‐isogenic lines (NILs): 157‐14 (double homozygote for the cheesmaniae alleles) and 157‐17 (double homozygote for the lycopersicum alleles). The expression pattern for the HKT1;1 and HKT1;2 alleles was complex, possibly because of differences in their promoter sequences. High salinity had very little effect on root dry and fresh weight and consequently on the plant dry weight of NIL 157‐14 in comparison with 157‐17. A significant difference between NILs was also found for [K⁺] and the [Na⁺]/[K⁺] ratio in leaf and stem but not for [Na⁺] arising a disagreement with the corresponding RIL population. Their association with leaf [Na⁺] and salt tolerance in tomato is also discussed.