Abstract
dc:description.abstract<I>Neospora hughesi</I> is a recently described cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). In the present study, we examined the susceptibility of BALB/c gamma-interferon gene knockout (gamma-INFKO), BALB/c, CD-1, and C57BL/6 strains of mice and gerbils to infection with tachyzoites of the Nh-A1 strain of <I>N. hughesi</I>. Only the gamma-IFNKO mice developed severe clinical disease following infection with <I>N. hughesi</I>. The most severe lesions were in the hearts of these mice. Two dogs fed the brains of mice, shown to contain <I>N. hughesi</I> tissue stages by cell culture and g-IFNKO mouse bioassay, did not shed <I>N. hughesi</I> oocysts over a 23 day observation period. We report important differences between the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the dense granule proteins GRA6 and GRA7 of <I>N. hughesi and N. caninum</I>. The newly defined proteins of <I>N. hughesi</I> are referred to as NhGRA6 and NhGRA7. From analysis of the sequences we found that there is a 14.8% difference in deduced amino acid sequence between NhGRA7 and NcGRA7, and a 4% difference between NhGRA6 and NcGRA6 in areas that could be compared. This thesis supports the identification of <I>N. hughesi</I> as a separate species from <I>N. caninum</I> and describes novel methods of distinguishing between the two.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Master of Science
- Level thesis:degree_level
- masters
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Veterinary Medical Sciences
- Department dc:contributor.department
- Veterinary Medical Sciences
- Grantor dc:publisher
- Virginia Tech
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2000
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Walsh, Catherine Patricia
- Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
-
- Lindsay, David S.
- Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
-
- Buechner-Maxwell, Virginia A.
- Sriranganathan, Nammalwar
- Zajac, Anne M.
Subjects
dc:subject × 5Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- In Copyright
- Licence dc:rights.uri
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Dc Identifier Other
- etd-05172000-10210051
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/32893