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A 14-yr- old, male harbor seal ( Phoca vitulina ) presented with depression, anorexia, and weight loss. Clinical examination revealed no specific abnormalities. Diagnostic imaging displayed an enlarged mass in the dorso-cranial abdomen. The animal was euthanized due to progressive worsening of symptoms. Grossly, severe emaciation and a massive enlargement of one mesenteric lymph node were found. Microscopically, a neoplastic round cell population with morphologic characteristics of mature lymphocytes infiltrated the mesenteric lymph node as well as the jejunal mucosa and exhibited a marked invasion of the mucosal epithelial layer. Immunohistochemically, the majority of cells expressed CD3, but not CD79α, indicating a T-cell origin of the tumor cells. Microscopic as well as immunohistochemical findings enabled the diagnosis of an epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma, a neoplasm that has yet not been described in a harbor seal.

The repertoire of small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs), particularly miRNAs, in animals is considered to be evolutionarily conserved. Studies on sncRNAs are often largely based on homology-based information, relying on genomic sequence similarity and excluding actual expression data. To obtain information on sncRNA expression (including miRNAs, snoRNAs, YRNAs and tRNAs), we performed low-input-volume next-generation sequencing of 500 pg of RNA from 21 animals at two German zoological gardens. Notably, none of the species under investigation were previously annotated in any miRNA reference database. Sequencing was performed on blood cells as they are amongst the most accessible, stable and abundant sources of the different sncRNA classes. We evaluated and compared the composition and nature of sncRNAs across the different species by computational approaches. While the distribution of sncRNAs in the different RNA classes varied significantly, general evolutionary patterns were maintained. In particular, miRNA sequences and expression were found to be even more conserved than previously assumed. To make the results available for other researchers, all data, including expression profiles at the species and family levels, and different tools for viewing, filtering and searching the data are freely available in the online resource ASRA (Animal sncRNA Atlas) at https://www.ccb.uni-saarland.de/asra/ .

Atypical myopathy (AM) is an acute seasonal rhabdomyolysis seen primarily in equids, caused by the ingestion of sycamore maple samaras containing hypoglycin A (HGA) and methylenecyclopropyl-glycine (MCPG). Toxic metabolites inhibit acyl-CoA dehydrogenases and enoyl-CoA hydratases, causing selective hyaline degeneration of type I muscle fibers. Two zoo-kept Bactrian camels ( Camelus bactrianus) with a fatal course of AM had sudden onset of muscle pain and weakness, recumbency, and dysphagia, accompanied by increased serum creatine kinase activity and detection in serum of HGA, MCPG, and metabolites. Medical treatment was ineffective. At postmortem examination, sycamore maple tree material was found within the first gastric compartment of the 2-y-old gelding. Although musculature was macroscopically normal, histologically, monophasic hyaline degeneration was marked within type I fibers of intercostal and hypoglossal muscles of the gelding, and in neck, tongue, and masticatory muscles of the cow. The ingestion of sycamore maple material can cause AM in Bactrian camels, and trees of the Sapindaceae family should be avoided in enclosures.

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