Abortion and congenital transmission of Trypanosoma vivax in goats and ewes in semiarid northeastern Brazil.

The main effects of trypanosomosis in Brazil are related to reproductive alterations. In this context, the present study aimed to report the occurrence of abortions in goats and sheeps in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil, associated with Trypanosoma vivax. Trypomastigotes forms visualized by Buffy coat technique (BCT) method in 68.7% of the goats and 50.0% of the ewes that aborted. PCR identified that 100% of the goats and ewes that aborted were infected with T. vivax. The goats and ewes that aborted showed high parasitemia and developed clinical signs of trypanosomosis. The presence of T. vivax DNA was identified in the blood of fetuses by the PCR technique, proving infection by T. vivax in aborted fetuses, as well as confirming the congenital transmission of the parasite.

Developmental Outcome and Related Abnormalities in Goats: Comparison Between Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer- and In Vivo-Derived Concepti During Pregnancy Through Term.

Cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is characterized by low efficiency and the occurrence of developmental abnormalities, which are rather poorly studied phenomena in goats. This study aimed at comparing overall SCNT efficiency in goats by using in vitro-matured (IVM) or in vivo-matured oocytes and fibroblast donor cells (mock transfected, transgenic, or wild type), also characterizing symptoms of the Abnormal Offspring Syndrome (AOS) in development, comparing results with pregnancies produced by artificial insemination (AI) and in vivo-derived (IVD) embryos. The SCNT group had lower pregnancy rate (18.3%, 11/60), total number of concepti (20.0%, 12/60), term births (3.3%, 2/60), and live births (1.7%, 1/60) than both the IVD (77.8%, 7/9; 155.5%, 14/9; 122.2%, 11/9; 88.8%, 8/9) and the AI (71.4%, 10/14; 121.4%, 17/14; 100%, 14/14; 78.5%, 11/14) groups, respectively (p < 0.05). No SCNT pregnancies reached term using IVM oocytes, but in vivo-matured oocytes resulted in two term transgenic cloned kids. The proportion fetal membrane (FM) weight/birth weight reflected an increase in FM size and cotyledonary enlargement in clones, for disproportionally bigger newborns in relation to cotyledonary numbers. Overall, goat cloning showed losses and abnormality patterns similar to the AOS in cloned cattle and sheep, which have not been previously well recognized in goats.

Topografia do cone medular da paca (Agouti paca, Linnaeus - 1766) / Topography of the medullar cone in the paca (Agouti paca, Linnaeus - 1766)

Objetivamos neste trabalho determinar a esqueletopia da terminação do cone medular da paca relacionando com as vértebras lombares esacrais, visando assim estabelecer parâmetros morfométricos etopográficos do cone medular nesta espécie. Para tanto, procedemos à dissecação, mediante incisão, rebatimento da pele, da tela subcutânea e da musculatura da região dorsal à coluna vertebral, com posterior secção e remoção dos arcos vertebrais para melhor visualização da medula espinhal. Após a individualização do cone medular, registramos os aspectos anatômicos de interesse, enfatizando seu início (base) e seu término (ápice) em relação às vértebras, e a partir deentão efetuamos suas medidas com o auxílio de paquímetro; visando documentar nossos achados, realizamos fotografias e esquemas dos espécimes estudados.

We object in this work to determine the skeleton sintopy of the medular cone termination of the paca relating to the lumbar and sacral vertebrae, thus aiming at establishing morphometric and topographical parameters of the medular cone in this specie. We accomplished the dissection through skin incision, subcutaneous divulsion and dissection of the vertebral column dorsal region musculature, sectioning and removing the vertebrae arcs for better visualization of the spinal medulla. After the individualization of the medular cone, we registered the anatomical aspects of interest, emphasizing the basis and its apex in relation to the vertebrae, following the measuring of the region using a caliper rule; photographs and schematic drawing were made to register the findings of studied specimens.