The catabolism of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) differs between sheep and monogastric animals. The transamination of BCAA seems to be affected by development of the sheep. We studied the developmental changes in the activity and expression of the BCAA aminotransferase (BCAT) isoenzymes in skeletal muscle of sheep. Five muscles were taken from fetus, newborn, preruminant and ruminant lambs. B...

We evaluated the efficacy, sensitivity, host-specificity, and spatial/temporal dynamics of human- and ruminant-specific 16S rRNA gene Bacteroidetes markers used to assess the sources of fecal pollution in a fecally impacted watershed. Phylogenetic analyses of 1271 fecal and environmental 16S rRNA gene clones were also performed to study the diversity of Bacteroidetes in this watershed. The host...

The epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Europe in the late Twentieth Century required the interplay of two sets of factors, which now provide reference points for assessment of the BSE risk throughout the world. One set of factors consisted of the presence of infective agent in cattle or some other ruminant. The second set consisted of transmission and amplification of the dis...

At present, bovine neosporosis is an important worldwide concern because of its wide geographic distribution and economic impact. Abortion is the main clinical sign of bovine neosporosis in both dairy and beef cattle. Ruminant challenge models are critical to evaluate potential vaccine candidates to help tackle bovine neosporosis and to study pathogenesis and host responses to infection. Severa...

AIMS The aims of this study were to evaluate the host-specific distribution of Bacteroidales 16S rRNA gene sequences from human- and animal-related effluents and faeces, and to define a ruminant-specific marker. METHODS AND RESULTS Bacteroidales 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed from samples of effluent (sewage, bovine manure and pig slurry) and faeces (human, bovine, pig and wil...