Pig cloning will have a marked impact on the optimization of meat production and xenotransplantation. To clone pigs from differentiated cells, we microinjected the nuclei of porcine (Sus scrofa) fetal fibroblasts into enucleated oocytes, and development was induced by electroactivation. The transfer of 110 cloned embryos to four surrogate mothers produced an apparently normal female piglet. The...

The objective of the present study was to conduct the genetic characterization of nine experimental chicken lines based on multilocus microsatellite analysis. Commercial chicken lines were also analyzed in order to compare their levels of genetic uniformity with those of the experimental lines. In six experimental lines, more than 80% of genotyped loci showed fixed allele for all individuals in...

Panmictic species pose particular problems for conservation because their welfare can be addressed effectively only on a global scale. We recently documented by means of microsatellite analysis that the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is not panmictic but instead shows genetic isolation by distance. In this study, we extended the analysis to the American eel (A. rostrata) by applying identical...

Herein, genetic relationships among five breeds of Bulgarian sheep were estimated using microsatellite markers. The total number of alleles identified was 226 at the 16 loci examined. D(A) distance values were used for phylogenetic tree construction with the UPGMA algorithm. The two Tsigai and two Maritza populations were found to be geneticallvery closely related to each other y (0.198, and 0....

Quantifying the influence of the landscape on the genetic structure of natural populations remains an important empirical challenge, particularly for poorly studied, ecologically cryptic species. We conducted an extensive microsatellite analysis to examine the population genetics of the southern long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum sigillatum) in a naturally complex landscape. Using sp...

Currently the universally accepted standard procedure for characterizing and identifying strains of Leishmania is isoenzyme analysis. However, in the Mediterranean area, despite their very wide geographical distribution, most Leishmania infantum strains belong to zymodeme MON-1. In order to increase our understanding of polymorphism in strains of L. infantum, we developed PCR assays amplifying ...

Cutaneous toxoplasmosis is a rare manifestation. This study represents a case report of an immunosuppressed dog that developed nodular dermal lesions caused by Toxoplasma gondii. The isolate (TgDgBr20) was characterized as mouse virulent and was genotyped as type BrI (ToxoDB genotype 6) using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and as Africa 1 through microsatellite analysis.

In some rodent species frequently exposed to plague outbreaks caused by Yersinia pestis, resistance to the disease has evolved as a population trait. As a first step in determining if plague resistance has developed in black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), animals captured from colonies in a plague-free region (South Dakota) and two plague-endemic regions (Colorado and Texas) were c...

One of the primary questions concerning the long-term preservation of nature and its diversity is the maintenance of genetic diversity. However, despite numerous theoretical investigations, comparative empirical information on how local extinctions influence regional genetic variation does not exist. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an empirical study comparing the genetic variatio...

We used microsatellite DNA markers to genotype chicks in 10 broods of lek-breeding sage grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, whose mothers' behaviour was studied by radio-tracking and observing leks. Previous behavioural studies suggested that almost all matings are performed by territorial males on leks and that multiple mating is rare. Two broods (20%) were sired by more than one male. Genetic ...