Three new genes associated with longevity in the European Bison.

Longevity-related genes have been found in humans, mice, dogs and in several other animal species. The goal of this study was to perform genetic analysis of long-lived European bisons with the aim to find genes that are associated with longevity using GWAS and further sequencing of a wider sample panel. European bison has a unique history of near extinction and the recovery of the species from just a few founder individuals. Together with the short medium lifespan, the expected genetic homogeneity makes bison a suitable model for studying longevity. Particular single nucleotide polymorphisms within three genes, BCKDHB, FER1L6 and SERPINI2, were found significantly overrepresented in long-lived European bisons. In SERPINI2, the longevity-associated single nucleotide polymorphism localizes to an exon. In the protein encoded by the SERPINI2 gene, amino acid leucine present in the reference European bisons is replaced by tryptophan in the long-lived animals. This study is the first to determine longevity-associated variants in genes in European bison. Association of the FER1L6 gene with longevity shows a possible sex dependency.

Four novel genes associated with longevity found in Cane corso purebred dogs.

BACKGROUND: Longevity-related genes have been found in several animal species as well as in humans. The goal of this study was to perform genetic analysis of long-lived Cane corso dogs with the aim to find genes that are associated with longevity. RESULTS: SNPs with particular nucleotides were significantly overrepresented in long-lived dogs in four genes, TDRP, MC2R, FBXO25 and FBXL21. In FBXL21, the longevity-associated SNP localises to the exon. In the FBXL21 protein, tryptophan in long-lived dogs replaced arginine present in reference dogs. CONCLUSIONS: Four SNPs associated with longevity in dogs were identified using GWAS and validated by DNA sequencing. We conclude that genes TDRP, MC2R, FBXO25 and FBXL21 are associated with longevity in Cane corso dogs.

Integrity of head and tail plasmalemma is associated with different kinetic variables in boar sperm.

An intact and functional sperm plasmalemma has a major role in sperm motility and fertilizing capacity. Several techniques have been developed to evaluate the integrity of the sperm plasma membrane, but there are still some inconsistencies concerning the methods that are more closely associated with sperm function. In this study, the aim was to: i) evaluate the integrity of the boar sperm plasmalemma during 72h of semen storage at 17°C using four techniques: eosin/nigrosin (E/N), propidium iodide/carboxyfluorescein diacetate (PI/CFDA), hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST), and combined HOST with eosin staining (HOST/E), ii) assess the correlations and the limits of consistency among these techniques, iii) and estimate the relationships with the acrosomal status and sperm kinetics. Results indicate that the integrity of the sperm plasmalemma decreases during 72h of storage, although significant differences were found only using the HOST and HOST/E techniques. Moreover, use of E/N and PI/CFDA results in greater values relative to the undamaged sperm membrane than use of HOST and HOST/E at any incubation time. Overall, results using all techniques were consistent and correlate except for findings with PI/CFDA and HOST, which was slightly below 95%. Moreover, values using the techniques for the evaluation of the integrity of the sperm head and tail membranes are positively associated with the acrosomal status and different kinetic variables with the tail integrity being related to rapid linear trajectories and the head integrity to rapid curvilinear trajectories. The results of this study provide new insights into the relevance of evaluating the boar sperm plasmalemma in the routine spermiogram.