Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a significant pathogenic virus with up to 100% morbidity and 91% mortality rates, especially in unvaccinated puppies. The emergence of new strains, interspecies transmission, and vaccine effectiveness can be enabled by just a few base changes in the CPV genome. Therefore, to cope with CPV disease, it is important to identify the viral agent and regularly monitor vaccine effectiveness against new strains. The present study has investigated CPV’s genetic profile in Turkey by collecting 80 samples from dogs in Turkey between 2020 and 2022. These samples and all sequences previously studied for CPV in Turkey were analyzed for whole-genome sequences, nationwide strain distribution over the two years, and the central Turkey prevalence rate. Next-generation sequencing was used for the genome study, Sanger sequencing for strain detection, and PCR for the prevalence analyses. The CPV-2 variants circulating in Turkey form their own cluster while being closely related to Egypt variants. Substantial amino acid changes were detected in antigenically important regions of the VP2 gene. Moreover, CPV-2b has become the most frequent genotype in this region, while the incidence of CPV-2c is predicted to increase gradually over the coming years. The prevalence of CPV in central Turkey was 86.27%. This study thus provides powerful insights to further our understanding of CPV’s genetic profile in Turkey and suggests that up-to-date vaccination efficacy studies are urgently needed.

Stray dogs are inevitably exposed to more infections than owned dogs living indoor. However, no studies have investigated whether the immune system gene expression differs between owned dogs kept in better care conditions and stray dogs living outside. To investigate this, blood samples were taken from 90 dogs (45 owned and 45 stray dogs) that were checked and confirmed as healthy. By using qPCR, the amples were analyzed for the expression of the perforin, granzyme A and granzyme B genes, which are associated with the activation of apoptotic pathways in the immune system. We found that the perforin and granzyme A gene expression levels were higher in stray dogs although the differences were not statistically significant. On the other hand, a 2.81 times higher and a notable difference (P < 0.001) was found in the expression level of granzyme B gene in stray dogs. These results indicate that the immune system in stray dogs might be more prepared for diseases than that of the owned dogs and the granzyme B gene plays a more dominant role in the immune response than granzyme A and perforin.

Some cats live at home with their owners while others live unattended on the streets or in shelters. One might expect that the owned cats would be better prepared for diseases with vaccinations, and good care and feeding conditions whereas the stray cats would be prepared for diseases by constant exposure to microbial factors. However, no study has investigated which group has the stronger immune response against diseases. Cytotoxic T cells and NK cells are known to initiate an immune response that causes apoptosis of the affected cells when stimulated by various factors. This immune response occurs due to an influx of perforin and granzyme proteins into the affected cell. Accordingly, this study compared owned and stray cats in terms of perforin and granzymes gene expression. Blood samples were collected from 30 owned and 30 stray cats, whose health conditions were checked. The samples were analyzed by qPCR for perforin, and granzyme A and granzyme B gene expression. All genes were expressed at a higher level in owned cats, although only the granzyme A gene showed a significant difference (p<0.05). This indicates that this gene plays a more active and significant role in cats than perforin and granzyme B, and that owned cats have a stronger immune response to diseases than stray cats.

Hereditary diseases in cattle lead to economic losses across various breeds worldwide, with arachnomelia syndrome being one such disorder found in Simmental cattle. Arachnomelia results from a recessively inherited loss‐of‐function variant in the MOCS1 gene detected only in Simmentals. In Türkiye, prior research on hereditary cattle diseases has focused exclusively on dairy breeds, particularly Holstein. This study marks the first investigation in Türkiye of a genetic disease in a dual‐purpose breed that is also valued for its beef traits. For this purpose, blood samples were collected from 387 Simmental cattle in Yozgat, Türkiye. The variant MOCS1 allele was analysed, and the results revealed four heterozygous samples carrying the causal two‐nucleotide frameshift deletion, as confirmed by Sanger sequencing. This research provides the first detection of arachnomelia in Türkiye, with a prevalence of 1.03% heterozygous carriers in the population studied. To eliminate arachnomelia, screening of Simmental and Simmental‐cross cattle is recommended, with the avoidance of carrier matings to prevent the birth of affected calves.

En tr Molecular studies have come to the fore within the scope of the development of animal breeding. For this reason, genetic studies made or will be made on production and quality of hair in animals have become more of an issue. In animals like goat and sheep been rich in terms of textile products, hair structure is constitutively divided into two as primary and secondary. In studies made in these follicles, it is identified that the 10077 genes are expressed in the primary hair follicles and the 7772 genes are expressed in the secondary hair follicles. In this review, it will be summarized the anatomy and the process of development of the hair follicle generating the animal fibers, genes had an effect upon development of hair and the processes formed the hair follicle of these genes. In addition, it will be mentioned about structure of hair follicle and efficiency of genes; morphogenesis and cycle stages; anagen, catagen and telogen. The scope of this work includes examination of genes associated with quality from the formation of hair follicle to starting of first cycle and in the repetition of process continually. Hayvan ırkların geliştirilmesi kapsamında moleküler çalışmalar ön plana çıkmaktadır. Bu nedenle hayvanlarda kıl üretimi ve kalitesi üzerine yapılan ve yapılacak olan genetik çalışmalar önem kazanmıştır. Keçi ve koyun gibi tekstil ürünleri açısından değerli hayvanlarda, kıl yapısı temel olarak primer ve sekonder olmak üzere ikiye ayrılmaktadır. Bu foliküllerle yapılan çalışmalarda primer foliküllerde 10077 genin, sekonder foliküllerde ise 7772 genin ifade edildiği tespit edilmiştir. Bu derlemede, hayvansal lifleri oluşturan kıl folikülünün anatomisi ve gelişim süreci, kıl gelişimine etki eden önemli genler ve bu genlerin, kıl folikülünü şekillendirme süreçleri özetlenecektir. Buna ek olarak kıl folikülünün yapısı, morfogenezi ve siklusun meydana geldiği anajen, katajen ve telojen aşamaları ve bu aşamalardaki genlerin etkinliğinden bahsedilecektir. Çalışmanın kapsamı; kıl folikülünün oluşumundan ilk siklusun başlamasına ve sürecin devamlı olarak tekrarında kalite ile ilişkilendirilmiş genlerin incelenmesini içermektedir.