No abstract

Maedi Visna virus (MVV) causes progressive degenerative inflammatory disease in multiple organs including the lungs (pneumonia, 'maedi'), mammary gland, joints and nervous system (meningoencephalomyelitis, 'visna') in sheep. Maedi Visna Virus has been detected in macrophages of several tissues and epithelial cells in vivo: bone marrow, cells of the central nervous system, lung and bronchial tissues, milk epithelial cells recovered from milk samples and epithelial cells of mammary tissue. However, the presence of MVV in the genital tracts of naturally infected ewes has not previously been studied. The aim of this study was to use nested-PCR, targeting the gag gene, to determine whether genital tissues (ovaries, oviducts and uterus) from 83 ewes originating from various breeding herds in the South-East of France were positive for MVV-proviral DNA. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) tested positive for MVV-proviral DNA, using nested-PCR analysis, in 57.8% of ewes (48/83). The provirus was also identified in 47% (78/166) of the ovaries, 38.6% (64/166) of the oviducts and 45.8% (38/83) of the uteri sampled. These findings clearly demonstrate, for the first time, that tissue samples from the genital tract of ewes (ovary, oviduct and uterus) can be infected with MVV. This suggests that there is a risk of vertical and/or horizontal transmission of MVV during embryo transfer from embryos produced in vivo or in vitro.

ResumenEl búho manchado (Strix occidentalis lucida) es una especie amenazada y poco estudiada en México. En este estudio caracterizamos el hábitat de sus sitios de descanso (reproductivos y no reproductivos) y aleatorios (sitios en donde la especie se distribuye aleatoriamente sin un patrón) en Aguascalientes, Durango y Zacatecas e identificamos las variables físicas y biológicas (hábitat) que seleccionan. Usamos estadística descriptiva y determinamos mediante Regresión de Poisson (arp) aquellas variables de hábi-tat que tuvieron un efecto sobre los búhos registrados; asimismo, agrupamos las variables identificadas por el arp con un análisis de Correspondencia Simple (acs) y realizamos una prueba de Kruskal-Wallis con el objeto de identificar posibles diferencias significativas entre sitios (descanso y aleatorios). Localizamos en total 29 búhos (parejas, polluelos e individuos solitarios) en 11 sitios de descanso en bosques de encino-pino (63.6%), en laderas con exposición norte y más inclinadas que la de los sitios aleatorios. Los sitios reproductivos estuvieron en una elevación más alta, comparada con los sitios no reproductivos y aleatorios; asimismo, en estos sitios encontramos una mayor densidad de árboles, con árboles usados como percha y árboles muertos (en pie) de dimensiones más grandes, comparados con los árboles encontrados en los sitios de descanso no reproductivos y aleatorios. Sin embargo, sólo la variable densidad de árboles fue diferente estadísticamente (P < 0.05) entre sitios. Las variables de vegetación que se asociaron más a los sitios de descanso del búho manchado fueron la altura del árbol de percha, la cobertura arbustiva y dap del árbol de percha. Esta información la podemos utilizar en planes de manejo y conservación de la subespecie en México.Palabras clave: Encinos, sitios aleatorios, sitios de descanso, sitios reproductivos, variables. AbstractThe Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) is a threatened species and little has been studied in Mexico. In this study, we characterized its habitat at roosting sites (reproductive and non-reproductive) and at random sites (sites where the species is distributed random ly without a pattern) in Aguascalientes, Durango and Zacatecas and identified the physical and biological (habitat) variables they select. We used descriptive statistics and determined through a Poisson Regression (pra) those variables that had an effect on the registered owls; we also grouped the variables identified by the pra with a Simple Correspondence (acs) analysis and performed a Kruskal-Wallis test to detect possible significant differences between sites (rest and random). We located 29 owls (pairs, chicks and solitary individuals) in 11 roosting sites in oak-pine forests (63.6%) and in slopes with northern exposure and more inclined than those of random sites. The reproductive sites were located at a higher elevation, compared with non-reproductive and random sites; we also found at these sites, a greater tree density and with perching and dead trees of greater dimensi...

During the reproductive season of the white-tailed deer, 36 diluted semen samples from deer were evaluated before freezing, and at the time of thawing. The samples were obtained by electro ejaculation from three sedated deer with a mixture of Zoletil ® and xylazine hydrochloride. Samples were diluted with three commercial extenders Biladyl ® , Trilady ® and Bioxcell ® and frozen by applying two freezing curves, the one used for sheep and goat, and the recommended for deer semen. The response variable was the Semen Quality Index for Deer (SQID%) obtained from the estimation of the percentage of gross motility, progressive motility, alive sperms, normal sperms and sperm concentration. The results of the statistical analysis showed differences (p = 0.0301) between the extenders before freezing, resulting Bioxcell ® with greater SQID (60.77%), while for Triladyl ® and Biladil ® rates were 48.39% and 33.01%, respectively. As for the evaluated freezing curves, no differences were found (p = 0.5502) between the recommended curve for deer semen and the curve used for sheep and goat semen. In the present study, the use of the SQID as response variable turned out to be useful in the assessment of diluents and freezing curves.

No abstract