Project description:Through thousands of years of breeding and strong human selection, the dog (Canis lupus familiaris) exists today within hundreds of closed populations throughout the world, each with defined phenotypes. A singular geographic region with broad diversity in dog breeds presents an interesting opportunity to observe potential mechanisms of breed formation. Italy claims 14 internationally recognized dog breeds, with numerous additional local varieties. To determine the relationship among Italian dog populations, we integrated genetic data from 263 dogs representing 23 closed dog populations from Italy, seven Apennine gray wolves. Using 142,840 genome-wide SNPs, this dataset was used in the identification of breed development routes for the Italian breeds that included divergence from common populations for a specific purpose, admixture of regional stock with that from other regions, and isolated selection of local stock with specific attributes.
Project description:We report the presence of circulating miRNAs released by the filarial nematode Dirofilaria immitis into the host (Canis familiaris) bloodstream. MiRNA deep-sequencing combined with bioinformatics revealed over 200 mature miRNA sequences of potential nematode origin in Dirofilaria immitis-infected dog plasma in two independent analyses
Project description:We report the presence of circulating miRNAs released by the filarial nematode Dirofilaria immitis into the host (Canis familiaris) bloodstream.
Project description:Accurate postmortem estimation of breastfeeding status for archaeological or forensic neonatal remains is difficult. Confident identification of milk-specific proteins associated with these remains, would provide direct evidence of breastmilk consumption. We used liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS) to confidently identify beta-lactoglobulin-1 (LGB1) and whey acidic protein (WAP), major whey proteins associated with a neonatal dog (Canis lupus familiaris) skeleton (430–960 cal AD), from an archaeological site in Hokkaido, Japan. The age at death of the individual was estimated to be approximately two weeks after birth. Protein residues extracted from rib and vertebra fragments were analyzed and identified by matching tandem MS spectra against the dog reference proteome. A total of 200 dog protein groups were detected and at least 1 peptide from canine LGB1 and two peptides from canine WAP were confidently identified. These milk proteins most probably originated from the mother’s breastmilk, ingested by the neonate just before it died. We suggest the milk diffused outside the digestive apparatus during decomposition, and by being absorbed into the bones, it partially preserved. The result of this study suggests that proteomic analysis can be used for postmortem reconstruction of the breastfeeding status at the time of death of neonatal mammalian, by analyzing their skeletal archaeological remains. This method is also applicable to forensic and wildlife studies.