Population declines of Gyps vultures across the Indian subcontinent were caused by unintentional poisoning by the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac. Subsequently, a number of other NSAIDs have been identified as toxic to vultures, while one, meloxicam, is safe at concentrations likely to be encountered by vultures in the wild. Other vulture-safe drugs need to be identified to reduce the use of those toxic to vultures. We report on safety-testing experiments on the NSAID tolfenamic acid on captive vultures of three Gyps species, all of which are susceptible to diclofenac poisoning. Firstly, we estimated the maximum level of exposure (MLE) of wild vultures and gave this dose to 40 Near Threatened Himalayan Griffons G. himalayensis by oral gavage, with 15 control birds dosed with benzyl alcohol (the carrier solution for tolfenamic acid). Two birds given tolfenamic acid died with elevated uric acid levels and severe visceral gout, while the remainder showed no adverse clinical or biochemical signs. Secondly, four G. himalayensis were fed tissues from water buffaloes which had been treated with double the recommended veterinary dose of tolfenamic acid prior to death and compared to two birds fed uncontaminated tissue; none suffered any clinical effects. Finally, two captive Critically Endangered vultures, one G. bengalensis and one G. indicus, were given the MLE dose by gavage and compared to two control birds; again, none suffered any clinical effects. The death of two G. himalayensis may have been an anomaly due to i) the high dose level used and ii) the high ambient temperatures at the time of the experiment. Tolfenamic acid is likely to be safe to Gyps vultures at concentrations encountered by wild birds and could therefore be promoted as a safe alternative to toxic NSAIDs. It is manufactured in the region, and is increasingly being used to treat livestock.

Vulture declines in South Asia were caused by accidental poisoning by the veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac. Although veterinary use of diclofenac has been banned, other vulture-toxic NSAIDs are legally available, including aceclofenac, which has been shown to metabolise into diclofenac in domestic cattle. We gave nine domestic water buffalo the recommended dose of aceclofenac (2 mg kg-1 body weight), collected blood at intervals up to 48 h, and carried out a pharmacokinetic analysis of aceclofenac and its metabolite diclofenac in plasma. Aceclofenac was rapidly converted to diclofenac, and was barely detectable in plasma at any sampling time. Diclofenac was present within 20 min, and peaked 4-8 h after dosing. Aceclofenac is a prodrug of diclofenac, and behaves similarly in domestic water buffalo as it did in domestic cattle, posing the same risk to vultures. We recommend an immediate ban on the veterinary use of aceclofenac across vulture-range countries.

The objective of this study was to assess the genetic variability present across the Class II MHC DRB 3.2 gene locus in the Sangamneri goat breed of India. Sixty three single nucleotide variations were observed in CLA-DRB3.2 gene of eleven Sangamneri animals. Sixteen haplotypes with Haplotype diversity of 0.974 were found. Besides the snp(s) having two alleles, both triple and tetra allelic single nucleotide variations were present. Thus, the Class II DRB 3.2 gene of the Sangamneri goat breed animals (CLA-DRB3.2/ Cahi DRB3.2) was exhibiting a very high degree of genetic polymorphism. Of the sixty three single nucleotide variations, fifty variations were non-synonymous i.e. they resulted in a change in the corresponding amino acid encoded by the triplet codon in which they were existing. Both conservative and non-conservative amino acid changes were observed to occur. Rich diversity of the DRB3.2 gene reflected well on the ability of the Sangamneri animals to survive in the harsh climatic condition(s), exposed to all kinds of pathogen(s) existing in the environment.

Serum lysozyme gene empowers the immune system due to its bacteriolytic property targeting peptidoglycan layer of cell wall. Polymorphs of serum lysozyme gene are reported to be significantly associated with disease resistance traits. Two different gene fragments viz. fragment I (275 bp) and fragment II (230 bp) of serum lysozyme gene were amplified and screened by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) technique to identify genetic variation in two different goat breeds (Barbari and Marwari) of India. The serum lysozyme activity of different genotypes and mRNA expression across the breed was also estimated. In fragment I, four genotypes (AA, BB, AB, and CC) and three alleles (A, B, and C) were identified. The CC genotype (frequency-0.44) and B allele (frequency-0.46) was found to be prevalent in the population. In fragment II, six genotypes (AA, BB, AC, AD, AE, and FF) and six alleles (A, B, C, D, E, and F) were identified. The AD genotype (frequency-0.44) and A allele (frequency-0.53) were found to be prevalent in the population. A significant difference (p <= 0.05) in mean serum lysozyme activity was found among different genotypes of fragment I in Marwari goat only. The genotypes of fragment II did not show any statistically significant effect on serum lysozyme activity. Relative quantification showed that nondescript animals had higher expression levels of serum lysozyme gene as compared to registered goat breeds. A single nucleotide variation was detected at 93rd position (G to A) of full-length coding sequence where guanine in Barbari goat was replaced by adenine in Black Bengal goat. The polymorphic nature of the serum lysozyme gene and its differential expression will help to establish the role of the lysozyme gene in the disease resistance mechanism.

Background : CD14 is an important pattern recognition receptor having innate immune function and has antibacterial activity. It binds with LPS of gram-negative bacteria, arachidonic acid, and lipoteichoic acid. Being a receptor, it binds with the pathogen with the help of other cytokines. Mutations in CD14 affect the binding ability which in turn affects the biological potentiality. Method : The present study was conducted on 228 nos. of buffaloes pertaining to four different breeds as Murrah, Mehsana, Surti and Bhadawari. CD14 gene was characterized and polymorphism was detected through Single nucleotide conformation polymorphism. Association study was conducted for different variants of CD14 with mastitis in buffalo, detected through somatic cell count, california mastitis test. Result: Eight variants of CD14 were detected and mutational hotspots were detected in bubaline CD14 with 58 number of non-synonymous SNP, out of which 18 were observed to be deleterious and 34 as thermodynamically unstable. In the present study, we had detected the mutations in CD14 gene and its association with the somatic cell score and other indicators for mastitis. In-silico studies were conducted to understand the molecular mechanism how the mutations affect the biological potentiality by analyzing different domains and structural analysis along with various post-translational modification sites. Conclusion: Deleterious mutations were observed in CD14 gene which have significant effect on mastitis of buffalo. It may be employed for marker assisted selection, therapeutic application of recombinant CD14, gene therapy, transgenic or gene edited animal production with wild type CD14 resistant to mastitis as future strategy.

Background CD 14 is an important pattern recognition receptor having innate immune function and has antibacterial activity. It binds with LPS of gram-negative bacteria, arachidonic acid, and lipoteichoic acid. Being a receptor, it binds with the pathogen with the help of other cytokines. Mutations in CD14 affect the binding ability which in turn affects the biological potentiality. Method The present study was conducted on 228 nos. of buffaloes pertaining to four different breeds as Murrah, Mehsana, Surti and Bhadawari. CD14 gene was characterized and polymorphism was detected through Single nucleotide conformation polymorphism. Association study was conducted for different variants of CD14 with mastitis in buffalo, detected through somatic cell count, california mastitis test. Result Eight variants of CD14 were detected and mutational hotspots were detected in bubaline CD14 with 58 number of non-synonymous SNP, out of which 18 were observed to be deleterious and 34 as thermodynamically unstable. In the present study, we had detected the mutations in CD14 gene and its association with the somatic cell score and other indicators for mastitis. In-silico studies were conducted to understand the molecular mechanism how the mutations affect the biological potentiality by analyzing different domains and structural analysis along with various post-translational modification sites. Conclusion Deleterious mutations were observed in CD14 gene which have significant effect on mastitis of buffalo. It may be employed for marker assisted selection, therapeutic application of recombinant CD14, gene therapy, transgenic animal production with wild type CD14 resistant to mastitis as future strategy.

The present investigation was carried out to identify two polymorphisms in leptin gene by PCR-RFLP and to examine the possible association of the identified genotypes with growth, production and reproduction traits in 205 female crossbred cattle (½ Holstein Friesian × ½ Hariana). One fragment of 330 bp comprising partial intron 2 and exon 3, and another fragment of 94 bp comprising partial exon 2 of leptin gene were amplified, and digested with HphI and Kpn2I restriction enzymes, respectively, for identification of genotypes. The animals with HphI-RFLPCT and Kpn2I-RFLP-AV genotypes had significantly higher birth weight than the HphI-RFLP-CC and Kpn2IRFLP- AA genotypes respectively. The HphI-RFLP locus had significant effect on body weight at 12 months of age, age at first calving and average daily milk yield, while, Kpn2I-RFLP had significant effect on first lactation milk yield and average daily milk yield. Therefore, leptin gene could be used as a marker for genetic selection of economic traits in cattle.

The donkeys of Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, are well adapted to the cold, arid and hypoxic conditions of this region. The genomic DNA, isolated from 25 blood samples collected from these donkeys, were amplified by PCR using FAM and HEX labeled primers and resolved for alleles on automatic DNA sequencer. Total 20 loci of the horse origin were tested and only 13 loci gave scorable results. Rest of the loci either did not amplify well (HMS3, HMS7, ASB17 and COR22) or showed less than four alleles (HMS5, HMS6, HTG4), in the studied population. At the 13 loci included in the final analysis, the PCR product size ranged from 79–85 bp at locus HTG6 to 257–275 bp at locus COR18. The observed number of alleles varied from 4 (HTG15, HTG6, HTG10 and VHL20) to 9 (HTG7 and COR71) with a mean of 5.92±1.80. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.44 (VHL209) to 0.90 (AHT5) with a mean of 0.76±0.13. The mean genetic diversity estimate (FIS) was –0.076. The cumulative exclusion probability (PE) of these loci was 0.999838 indicating their suitability for parentage testing in these donkeys. The sign test, standardized differences test, the Wilcoxon test using the allelic frequency data under two phased mutation model and sequential mutation model at the studied loci as well as normal ‘L’ shaped distribution of the allelic frequency indicated the absence of any recent genetic bottleneck in donkeys of Ladakh region. When these donkeys were compared to Spiti donkeys of Himachal Pradesh and Brown type donkeys of Andhra Pradesh on the basis of allelic frequency data at these loci, they showed Nei’s minimum genetic distances of 0.115 and 0.165, respectively, from these population.

MS Tantia, KN Raja, Arjava Sharma ICAR-NBAGR, 139, Sector 13, Urban estate, Karnal, Haryana, India Abstract: Present study was conducted to record reproductive and productive performances of Kosali cattle maintained under farmer’s management conditions in Central Plain Region of Chhattisgarh state. 345 livestock owners were randomly selected and interviewed with structured questionnaire to obtain information on reproductive performance of Kosali cattle. Average age at first calving, calving interval, service period and number of services per conception were found 54.64±2.18 months, 430.26±6.33 days, 159.59±2.67 days and 1.4 ±0.08, respectively. In male, age at first ejaculation and age at first mating were found to be 41.54±1.14 and 51.3±1.05 months, respectively. Production was recorded and average daily milk yield, peak yield, lactation milk yield, lactation length and dry period were estimated to be 0.92±0.23 kg, 1.27±0.15 kg, 210.3±4.19 kg, 230.7±9.11 days and 190.8±8.19 days, respectively. Average fat and SNF percent were 4.4±0.27 and 10.41±0.21%, respectively. Observed indices showed poor performances which are below the national average. Hence, suitable breeding strategies and training for livestock keepers and farmers on managemental aspects of Kosali cattle is needed to improve production and reproduction performances.

The goal of this study was to characterize the properties and duration of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) carrier state and associated serological responses subsequent to vaccination and naturally occurring infection at two farms in northern India. Despite previous vaccination of cattle in these herds, clinical signs of FMD occurred in October 2013 within a subset of animals at the farms containing juvenile-yearling heifers and steers (Farm A) and adult dairy cattle (Farm B). Subsequent to the outbreak, FMD virus (FMDV) asymptomatic carriers were identified in both herds by seroreactivity to FMDV non-structural proteins and detection of FMDV genomic RNA in oropharyngeal fluid. Carriers' seroreactivity and FMDV genome detection status were subsequently monitored monthly for 23 months. The mean extinction time of the carrier state was 13.1 ± 0.2 months, with extinction having occurred significantly faster amongst adult dairy cattle at Farm B compared to younger animals at Farm A. The rate of decrease in the proportion of carrier animals was calculated to be 0.07 per month. Seroprevalence against FMDV non-structural proteins decreased over the course of the study period, but was found to increase transiently following repeated vaccinations. These data provide novel insights into viral and host factors associated with the FMDV carrier state under natural conditions. The findings reported herein may be relevant to field veterinarians and governmental regulatory entities engaged in FMD response and control measures.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an important transboundary disease with substantial economic impacts. Although between-herd transmission of the disease has been well studied, studies focusing on within-herd transmission using farm-level outbreak data are rare. The aim of this study was to estimate parameters associated with within-herd transmission, host physiological factors and FMD virus (FMDV) persistence using data collected from an outbreak that occurred at a large, organized dairy farm in India. Of 1,836 regularly vaccinated, adult dairy cattle, 222 had clinical signs of FMD over a 39-day period. Assuming homogenous mixing, a frequency-dependent compartmental model of disease transmission was built. The transmission coefficient and basic reproductive number were estimated to be between 16.2-18.4 and 67-88, respectively. Non-pregnant animals were more likely to manifest clinical signs of FMD as compared to pregnant cattle. Based on oropharyngeal fluid (probang) sampling and FMDV-specific RT-PCR, four of 36 longitudinally sampled animals (14%) were persistently infected carriers 10.5 months post-outbreak. There was no statistical difference between subclinical and clinically infected animals in the duration of the carrier state. However, prevalence of NSP-ELISA antibodies differed significantly between subclinical and clinically infected animals 12 months after the outbreak with 83% seroprevalence amongst clinically infected cattle compared to 69% of subclinical animals. This study further elucidates within-herd FMD transmission dynamics during the acute-phase and characterizes duration of FMDV persistence and seroprevalence of FMD under natural conditions in an endemic setting.

The study was conducted in crossbred Frieswal bulls (Holstein–Friesian X Sahiwal) during an outbreak of FMD and 24 FMD-affected animals were randomly divided into two groups–homeopathic treatment group and allopathic treatment group–consisting of 14 and 10 animals, respectively. Animals in the homeopathic treatment group were treated with Sulphur 200C @ 20 drops orally once, Kalium iodatum 200C @ 20 drops orally twice a day for 3 days. Calendula mother tincture was used for washing and topical application over the oral and foot lesions. Animals in the allopathic treatment group were treated with intramuscular injections of strepto-penicillin twice a day for 3 days, meloxicam once a day for 3 days along with washing of oral and foot lesions with potassium permanganate (1:1000) followed by topical application of 2% boroglycerine over the oral ulcers. The animals were closely inspected for 12 days for recording clinical signs. The mean rectal temperature in the animals of homeopathic treatment group was significantly (p less than 0.05) lower than those of the allopathic treatment group on days 2 and 3 post treatment. Appetite score improved significantly (p less than 0.05) in homeopathic treatment group as compared with allopathic treatment group on day 3 post treatment. Healing scores of oral mucosal lesion were significantly (p less than 0.05) higher in the homoeopathic treatment group than that in the allopathic treatment group on days 2, 3, and 5 post therapy. Healing of foot lesions was significantly (p less than 0.05) better in the homeopathic treatment group than that in the allopathic treatment group on day 3 and 5 post treatment.

Kosali, the first breed of cattle from Chhattisgarh, was registered as 36th breed. Characterization is essential to guide decision-making in livestock development and breeding programmes. Hence, a survey was carried out to characterize the Kosali breed of cattle in Central Plain Region of Chhattisgarh state. The coat colour of most animals was red followed by white and black. Mostly muzzles, tail switch, eyelashes, and hooves were black in colour. Body size, hump, dewlap, naval flap, penis sheath flap, udder and teats were small in size. Horns were stumpy, small and slightly inward and ears were horizontal. The estimated average live weight of adult female and male were 168.7±2.82 and 212.5±3.8 kg, respectively. The mean linear measurements of female vs male Kosali cattle were height at wither (99.79±2.76 vs 103.4±2.11 cm), body length (96.56±1.87 vs 99.89±2.32 cm) and chest girth (119.98±1.98 vs 137.12±2.8 cm). Kosali cattle are smaller in size and are well adapted to the existing agroclimatic conditions of the region. Appropriate breeding strategies and conservation models should be designed for overall improvement of this breed.

A total of 168 wool samples of Poonchi sheep of both sexes were collected randomly and analyzed for different wool production traits at Fleece testing laboratory, Kartholi, Jammu. The wool traits included in the present study were crimps per inch (CPI), staple length (SL) (cm), clean wool yield (CWY) (%), fibre diameter (FD) (µ), medullation (M) (%), wool count (WC) (no.) and range in diameter (RD) (µ).Wool colour in Poonchi sheep was white, black and different shades of black and white. The overall averages for CPI, SL, CWY, FD, M, WC and RD lower & RD upper were 8.67±0.18, 3.82±0.07 cm, 63.14±0.23%, 24.99±0.13 µ, 2.22±0.19%, 58.13±0.17 nos and 11.75±0.07 & 39.74±0.31, respectively. The Co-efficient of variations (CV) for all the traits under study was very low to medium. The highest CV (%) was obtained for medullation. The correlation values ranges from -0.691 between FD and WC to 0.654 between CPI and M. The values of analysis of wool parameters suggested that wool of Poonchi sheep is of moderate fine type.

The present study was conducted to quantify and compare TLR2 (toll-like receptor 2) activity in monocyte-derived macrophages of zebu (Tharparkar) and crossbred (Holstein-Friesian × Jersey × Brown Swiss × Hariana) cattle. The cells were either induced with Pam3CSK4 or kept as control. The TLR2 activity was quantified in terms of IκB-α inhibitory subunit (NFKBIA) messenger RNA (mRNA) copies using real-time, one-step reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Toll-like receptor 2 activity of induced cells was in the range of 1060421 ± 477937 (n=3) to 3514715 ± 290222 (n=3) copies for Tharparkar cattle (n=7) and in the range of 1365532 ± 47243 (n=3) to 3016510 ± 172340 (n=3) copies for the crossbred cattle (n=7). For uninduced cells, this activity was within the range of 117 ± 51 (n=3) to 293 ± 103 (n=3) copies for the Thraparkar cattle (n=7), and in the range of 182 ± 122 (n=3) to 296 ± 88 (n=3) copies for the crossbred cattle (n=7). The TLR2 activity of induced cells in both groups was found to be significantly higher than that of the respective uninduced cells (P<0.0001). Furthermore, upon comparison, TLR2 activities of induced and uninduced cells of the Tharparkar were not found to be significantly different from those of the crossbred cattle (P=0.8154 and P=0.6670). In the present study, we have quantified and compared, for the first time, TLR2 activity in terms of NFKBIA mRNA copies in monocyte-derived macrophages of Tharparkar and crossbred cattle and found that both have equivalent TLR2 activity.

The genetic polymorphism of Mx1 gene was explored in Indian chicken breeds. PCR-RFLP analysis in 102 bp fragment of partial intron 13 and partial exon 14 of Mx1 gene revealed two genotypes viz. RS and SS with two alleles viz. R and S both in Naked Neck and Tellicherry breeds of chicken. The homozygous genotype RR was not identified. When deduced amino acid sequences were compared, the asparagine amino acid was found to be substituted in "R" allele for serine in "S" allele. PCR-SSCP analysis of 284 bp fragment in 5'-UTR and partial promoter region revealed three genotypes viz. CC, CG, and CH with three different alleles viz. C, G, and H in Naked Neck breed of chicken and five genotypes viz. DI, JK, KK, KL, and KM with six different alleles viz. D, I, J, K, L, and M in Tellicherry breed of chicken. The homozygous genotypes viz. GG and HH in Naked Neck and DD, II, JJ, LL, and MM in Tellicherry chicken was not identified. The nucleotide substitution rate estimated to be in the range of 0.004-0.011. The identified genetic variation can be helpful for better insight to disease resistance property of the Mx1 gene.

The present study was aimed at recording the prevalence and types of various disorders in the domestic animals of hill region. The retrospective data of three years (2014–16) was collected from outpatient case record of veterinary dispensary unit, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar. A total of 577 cases were recorded during the period, of which, majority of cases were of cattle followed by goats. The autumn observed highest percentage of cases with lowest % in winter. Ectoparasitic infestation, endoparasitism, diarrhea and weakness were noticed as major clinical problems in cattle. Among infectious diseases, mastitis prevailed most among all other diseases of cattle. Haematuria, injury/wound and repeat breeding were also recorded frequently in cattle. Highest prevalence (70.58%) of haematuria was observed in the age group of 5–10 years. Retrospective epidemiological data on goats revealed that ecto-endoparasitic infestation and stomatitis were major diseases/disorders observed among goats of the region. About 46.92% of goat patients were recorded in autumn while winter observed 10.05% cases only. The retrospective epidemiological data generated during the present study helps in better understanding of the animal disease pattern in temperate climatic conditions, which will further help in implementing control measures against infectious and non-infectious diseases.

Complete national inventories, supported by periodic monitoring of trends and associated risks, are basic requirements for the effective management of farm animal genetic resources. Government of India conducted breed survey in 2013 to estimate breed-wise data for livestock belonging to different categories, breeds, age and sex groups. FAO has developed criteria for assessment of risk to the livestock breeds, which were used to assess the risk status of all the breeds of livestock species. Breed-wise populations of breeding males and females, overall population size, effective population size and rate of inbreeding were estimated. Cattle, sheep and pigs species were classified as indigenous purebreds, graded to indigenous breeds, indigenous non-descript, exotic purebreds and crossbreds to exotic breeds; while buffalo and goat species were classified under first three categories only. Proportion of indigenous purebreds of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig were found as 9.4, 17, 36.6, 27 and 3%, respectively of the total population of the species; whereas corresponding figures of graded to indigenous breeds and non-descript animals were estimated to be 10.5, 39.6, 18.9, 11.8 and 0% and 59.3, 43.4, 38.7, 61.2 and 73.1%, respectively. Large non-descript proportion of all the livestock species should be screened for identification, characterization and registration of new breeds. Exotic breeds and crossbreds to exotic breeds in cattle, sheep and pig were obtained as 0.7 and 20.1%; 0.7 and 5.1% and 2.3 and 21.6%, respectively of total population. The rate of inbreeding estimated for most of the breeds were well below 0.5% except for Mewati (1.193%), Pullikulam (0.72%) and Vechur (17.893%) cattle breeds and Chilika (0.731%) buffalo breed. Using the FAO criteria, Bargur and Siri cattle breeds and Attapadi goat breeds were categorized under vulnerable status of risk; Krishna Valley, Mewati, Pullikulam and Punganur cattle breeds, Chilika and Toda buffalo breeds and Karnah and Poonchi sheep breeds under endangered status of under risk and Vechur cattle under critical status of risk. All these breeds need immediate steps for rescue by using suitable conservation methodology. Breed-wise census should be continued in future so that trends in breed populations may also be estimated for fine tuning of risk assessment of breeds.

Biodiversity in West Bengal, India is enormous in terms of climate and living creatures, particularly animals. Livestock species as sheep and goat forms the main backbone for rural economy and reared basically for meat production. The objective of the present study was to characterize them and study the growth, biomorphometric traits, reproduction, wool characteristics, blood biochemical profile, and disease resistance traits and aimed to reveal the biodiversity existing within the goat and sheep breeds reared in different agroclimatic zones of the state. Phylogenetic tree constructed by multivariate cluster analysis with identified traits of eight different sheep breeds of eastern India revealed the emergence of Birbhum sheep as a genetically distinct sheep breed of dry arid region of India with greater percentage of rudimentary ear as its unique physical characteristic. Molecular characterization with mitochondrial gene as Cytochrome B gene confirmed genetic uniqueness of Birbhum sheep. Black Bengal (BB) goat was found to be the only goat breed distributed throughout the West Bengal.