VN June 2020

Vetnuus | Junie 2020 38 Bits and Bobs I Stukkies en Brokkies Human meddling has manipulated the shapes of different dog breeds’ brains A brain-scanning study of 62 purebred dogs representing 33 breeds reveals that dog brains are not all alike — offering a starting point for understanding how brain anatomy relates to behaviour. Different breeds had different shapes of various brain regions, distinctions that were not simply the result of head shape or the size of the dogs’ brains or bodies, researchers reported in September 2019 in the Journal of Neuroscience . Through selective breeding, “we have been systematically shaping the brains of another species,” Erin Hecht, an evolutionary neuroscientist at Harvard University, and colleagues conclude. The MRI scans were taken of dogs with normal brain anatomy at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the University of Georgia at Athens. While the study wasn’t designed to directly link brain shape to behaviour, the results offer some hints. Researchers identified groups of brain areas, such as smell and taste regions that showed the most variability between breeds. Those groups are involved in specialised behaviours that often serve humans, such as hunting by smell, guarding and providing companionship to people, earlier studies have suggested. The authors assumed the dogs in the study were all pets. It’s possible that dogs extensively trained for specialised work — such as sheep herding, bomb detecting or guiding the blind — might have even more distinct brains. (Source: www.sciencenews.org ) v Faculty of Veterinary Science’s IVF lab advancing towards artificial rhino conservation technologies with San Diego Zoo Global An important week-long international visit in February to the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science’s In Vitro Fertility Laboratory (IVF) has paved the way for more extensive collaboration with San Diego Zoo Global as part of the International Rhino Reproduction Collaborative (IRRC). An IRRC-MOU*, primarily drafted by the University of Pretoria and San Diego Global was officially signed in early 2019. The focus of the visit by the San Diego Zoo team and other members of the IRRC was rhino semen collection and cryopreservation, oocyte pick-up, and streamlining of IVF media preparation and intracellular sperm injection techniques. According to Mr Mario Smuts from the Faculty’s Department of ProductionAnimal Studies, who represented the Faculty during this visit, the aim of the IRRC is to investigate methods in optimising rhino gamete retrieval and survival and to improve the outcomes from maturation and intracellular sperm injection (ICSI) techniques towards artificial reproduction. This will indeed provide further impetus to rhino conservation efforts. “The critical first step will be to investigate methods for optimising gamete retrieval and survival during their transfer to the laboratory to improve the outcomes from maturation, embryo culture or vitrification for oocyte cryopreservation and ultimately embryos from IVF or ICSI,” Mr Smuts said. As a result of inputs from various members of the IRRC, the Faculty’s IVF Laboratory celebrated its first ever equine hatching blastocyst early in March 2020. First Equine hatched Blastocyst following ICSI at the Faculty of Veterinary Science This was also made possible by the installation of a state-of-the-art ICSI system by the Faculty. The Faculty’s Section of Reproduction will soon be able to extrapolate and offer this specialised in vitro service to potential clients in the equine and wildlife fraternity. * Under this agreement, IVF research is only done by three labs, including the Faculty’s IVF lab, Embryo Plus in Brits and at the San Diego Zoo. Other institutions that are also part of this IRRC collaborative include SANParks, the Institute of Rhino Cryogenetics, Geolife, and the Buffalo Dream Ranch in Klerksdorp. * San Diego Zoo Global's mission is to save species worldwide by uniting their expertise in animal and plant care and conservation science with their dedication to inspiring passion for nature. (Source: www.up.ac.za ) v