The protozoon Babesia is a blood parasite transmitted by hard ticks and commonly parasitizes ruminants such as cattle, buffaloes, goats, and sheep. Babesiosis, the disease caused by Babesia infection, has been considered a potential threat to ruminant production due to the grave and enormous impact it brings. About 125 million ruminants are at risk of babesiosis in Southeast Asia (SEA), a region composed of 11 countries. In recent decades, molecular-based diagnostic platforms, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, have been a reliable and broadly employed tool in Babesia detection. In this article, the authors compiled and summarized the molecular studies conducted on ruminant babesiosis and mapped the species, including B. bovis, B. bigemina, B. ovata, Babesia sp. Mymensingh, Babesia sp. Hue, and B. ovis, and determined the host diversity of ruminant Babesia in SEA.

This case-control study sought to confirm and investigate in more depth protective associations previously found of bovine (cattle and water buffalo) ownership with reduced risk of both pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in humans. The study recruited male and female PTB cases from a diagnostic centre and a frequency-matched community-based control group in Kaski District, Nepal. Controls were tested for LTBI status and a separate nested case-control study was conducted based on LTBI status. Data were collected on participant household animal ownership. Using logistic regression, animal ownership was investigated for associations with both PTB and LTBI. Data were obtained from 570 PTB cases and 1,224 controls, the latter group providing 396 LTBI-positive and 692 LTBI-negative subjects. Results provided evidence of decreased odds of both PTB and LTBI positivity associated with owning bovines. The evidence was strongest for protection against infection, rather than activation of infection to PTB. Effects were strongest in women, who usually manage the animals in Nepal, and there were exposure-response relationships with numbers of bovines owned. Results suggest that exposure to bovines is protective against LTBI and PTB. A possible mechanism involves boosting the effect of BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) vaccination, particularly in protecting against tuberculous infection. Additional studies with more extensive data collection are needed to confirm the observed associations.

A female buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) of the Bulgarian Murrah breed aged 1,090 days was observed to give birth to a second newborn (normally developed male) after she had calved (normal female) 49 days earlier. This phenomenon is highly associated with her melatonin treatment within a trial for induction of puberty, the last ear implants being placed approximately 50 days before the assumed date of first mating, to which point the level of progesterone had increased dramatically. Despite none of the matings of the dam was visually witnessed to prove ovulation over an existing gestation, we take the liberty to qualify this phenomenon as superfetation, ruling out the other possible phenomena, namely embryonic diapause as it is highly unlikely to occur in any livestock species, and differentiated development of twin foetuses as it is associated with foetal malformation, which was not observed in this case.

Visible pigmentation phenotypes can be used to explore the regulation of gene expression and the evolution of coat color patterns in animals. Here, we performed whole-genome and RNA sequencing and applied genome-wide association study, comparative population genomics and biological experiments to show that the 2,809-bp-long LINE-1 insertion in the ASIP (agouti signaling protein) gene is the causative mutation for the white coat phenotype in swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). This LINE-1 insertion (3\' truncated and containing only 5\' UTR) functions as a strong proximal promoter that leads to a 10-fold increase in the transcription of ASIP in white buffalo skin. The 165 bp of 5\' UTR transcribed from the LINE-1 is spliced into the first coding exon of ASIP, resulting in a chimeric transcript. The increased expression of ASIP prevents melanocyte maturation, leading to the absence of pigment in white buffalo skin and hairs. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the white buffalo-specific ASIP allele originated from a recent genetic transposition event in swamp buffalo. Interestingly, as a similar LINE-1 insertion has been identified in the cattle ASIP gene, we discuss the convergent mechanism of coat color evolution in the Bovini tribe.