"Interventions Against Small Ruminant Lentiviruses: Progress and Potential for Host Genetics," will be presented by Stephen White from Washington State University at 4 p.m., Nov. 13 in E103 Beadle Center. The seminar is free and open to the public.
Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) share structure with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and are prevalent in U.S. sheep and goats. In sheep, SRLV most often cause progressive interstitial pneumonia, cachexia, and mastitis, while in goats arthritis and mastitis are common symptoms. There is no cure or effective treatment for SRLV, so current interventions focus on prevention either by separation of offspring from infected dams at birth or by serial test and cull procedures in flocks with some infected individuals. These methods are costly and labor-intensive, but breed differences in susceptibility to SRLV in both sheep and goats suggest an important role for host genetics.
Individual genes and gene variants responsible for these breed differences are beginning to be identified and made available for use in selective breeding to reduce susceptibility. In addition, such information may illuminate additional biological pathways of importance for lentiviral infections in a range of mammalian hosts.
The Beadle Center is located at 1901 Vine Street. The complete schedule of seminars may be found at http://biotech.unl.edu/
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/oqm