Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is a chronic lymphosarcoma disease of cattle caused by bovine leukemia virus (BLV). No information is available concerning the epidemiology of BLV infection in yaks (Bos mutus). One thousand five hundred and eighty-four serum samples from 610 black yaks and 974 white yaks from Gansu province, northwest China, were collected between April 2013 and March 2014 and te...

Thirty-seven yaks (Bos grunniens) with keratoconjunctivitis and 22 healthy yaks were used to investigate the role of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) in keratoconjunctivitis in yaks. Nucleic acid sequences of BoHV-1 glycoproteins B and E were detected in conjunctival swabs from all yaks with keratoconjunctivitis using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In 21 yaks, BoHV-1 sequences were dete...

The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors of fascioliasis in yaks, Bos grunniens, from 3 counties of Gansu Province in China. A total of 1,584 serum samples, including 974 samples from white yaks from Tianzhu, 464 from black yaks from Maqu, and 146 from black yaks from Luqu County, were collected and analyzed using ELISA to detect IgG antibodies against Fasciola...

Domestic yaks (Bos grunniens) exhibit two major coat color variations: a brown vs. wild-type black pigmentation and a white spotting vs. wild-type solid color pattern. The genetic basis for these variations in color and distribution remains largely unknown and may be complicated by a breeding history involving hybridization between yaks and cattle. Here, we investigated 92 domestic yaks from Ch...

The Jinchuan yak is a new yak population identified in Sichuan, China. This population has a special anatomical characteristic: an additional pair of ribs compared with other yak breeds. The genetic structure of this population is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the maternal phylogeny of this special yak population using the mitochondrial DNA variation. A total of 23 Jinchuan yak...

The objective of the present investigation was to determine the seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection in free-range yaks in China. A total of 552 serum samples were collected from yaks in Gansu province, northwest China between April 2013 and January 2014, and antibodies against C. burnetii were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Overall, 13.59% (75/552, 95% CI: ...

Hypoxia-induced and high altitude pulmonary hypertension are a major problem in the mountain areas of the world. The asymmetric methylarginines (ADMA) inhibit nitric oxide (NO) synthesis by competing with L-arginine, and high levels of plasma ADMA predict adverse outcomes in pulmonary hypertension. However, little is known about the regulation of the ADMA-NO pathway in animals adapted to high a...

the objective of the present investigation was to determine the seroprevalence of coxiella burnetii infection in free-range yaks in china. a total of 552 serum samples were collected from yaks in gansu province, northwest china between april 2013 and january 2014, and antibodies against c. burnetii were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). overall, 13.59% (75/552, 95% ci: ...

Wild yaks roaming in the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibetan plateau have to maintain high metabolic efficiency. However, domestic yaks do not require such high efficiency because of their limited activity. Hence, domestication may have caused the relaxation of selective constraints on the yak mitochondrial genome because mitochondrial mutations are extremely sensitive to energy-related selective pre...

ATP synthase 8 (ATP8) and ATPase synthase 6 (ATP6) play an important role in mitochondrial ATPase assembly. Mutations in either of these units could affect the ATP processing and the respiration chain in mitochondria. To find out if there were differences in gene diversity between Tibetan yaks and domestic cattle, we sequenced the ATP8 and ATP6 genes in 66 Tibetan yaks and 81 domestic cattle. W...