Abstract The trade in live animals between India and Brazil dates from the late nineteenth century when European travellers traded animals of Indian origin for display in zoos. Considering the origin of coffee and sugar cane, as well as the expertise related to mineral evaluation, we need to consider that India was involved in important economic cycles of Brazil, even indirectly. This virtuous flow of trade has been maintained and intensified throughout modern history, especially after these two nations gained political independence from their colonisers, thereby becoming independent in mercantile affairs. This paper addresses the main points related to the use of animals of Indian origin in Brazil. We revisit some of the historical aspects of the process of colonisation of Brazil, as well as the importation of animals from India. The restrictions imposed on this process due to the occurrence of diseases in cattle and buffalo in India will be examined. At the end of the text, emphasis will be given to the risks of introducing exotic diseases into Brazil.

A resistência aos anti-helmínticos é um problema crescente que ameaça a produção pecuária em todo o mundo. A compreensão da base genética da resistência ao benzimidazol permitiu, recentemente, o desenvolvimento de métodos diagnósticos moleculares promissores. Neste estudo, isolados de Haemonchus contortus obtidos a partir de rebanhos de caprinos, ovinos e bubalinos criados no Brasil foram avaliados quanto à presença do polimorfismo F200Y no gene da β-tubulina1, o qual confere resistência ao benzimidazol. A frequência alélica da mutação variou de 7% a 43%, indicando que a resistência ao benzimidazol pode ser encontrada em nematoides isolados a partir de todas as espécies de ruminantes pesquisadas. Embora tenha sido observada variação significativa das frequências de mutação F200Y entre rebanhos/espécies hospedeiros distintos, não foi encontrada variação significativa entre populações isoladas de animais dentro de um mesmo rebanho. Estes achados sugerem que a avaliação de amostras de alguns poucos animais tem o potencial de fornecer informações sobre o nível de resistência ao benzimidazol de todo o rebanho, possibilitando uma redução considerável dos custos de diagnóstico para o produtor. O diagnóstico molecular apresenta vantagens práticas, uma vez que pode guiar a escolha da base anti-helmíntica a ser utilizada antes da sua aplicação no rebanho, reduzindo, portanto, as perdas ocasionadas pela resistência aos fármacos anti-helmínticos.

Anthelmintic resistance is an increasing problem that threatens livestock production worldwide. Understanding of the genetic basis of benzimidazole resistance recently allowed the development of promising molecular diagnostic tools. In this study, isolates of Haemonchus contortus obtained from goats, sheep and buffaloes raised in Brazil were screened for presence of the polymorphism Phe200Tyr in the β-tubulin 1 gene, which confers resistance to benzimidazole. The allelic frequency of the mutation conferring resistance ranged from 7% to 43%, and indicated that resistance to benzimidazole could be found in nematodes isolated from all the ruminant species surveyed. Although significant variation in the frequency of the F200Y mutation was observed between different herds or host species, no significant variation could be found in populations isolated from animals within the same herd. These findings suggest that screening of samples from a few animals has the potential to provide information about the benzimidazole resistance status of the entire herd, which would enable a considerable reduction in the costs of diagnosis for the producer. Molecular diagnosis has practical advantages, since it can guide the choice of anthelmintic drug that will be used, before its application in the herd, thus reducing the economic losses driven by anthelmintic resistance.

A molecular phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial 16S ribosomal DNA and Control Region sequences from native and introduced populations was undertaken, in order to characterize the introduction of Cichla (peacock bass or tucunaré) species in Brazil. Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes found in introduced fish from Minas Gerais state (southeastern Brazil) clustered only with those from native species of the Tocantins River (Cichla piquiti and C. kelberi), thereby suggesting a single or, at most, few translocation acts in this area, even though with fish from the same source-population. Our study contributes to an understanding of the introduction of Cichla in regions of Brazil outside the Amazon basin, and adds phylogenetic data to the recently describe Cichla species, endemic from the Tocantins-Araguaia basin.

Nos últimos anos a equideocultura deu um salto qualitativo, havendo hoje, no mercado, animais de alto valor e geneticamente superiores. Isso é possível, em grande parte, devido aos avanços na área da genética animal, os quais permitem identificar, não apenas anomalias, mas também diversos genes de interesse econômico. Com o auxílio da citogenética pode-se identificar indivíduos com alterações no número ou na estrutura dos cromossomos, o que em muitos casos afeta principalmente a reprodução. Também a confirmação de genealogia, anteriormente feita por tipagem sangüínea e atualmente por testes de DNA, tem papel extremamente importante, não apenas por garantir a ascendência dos animais, mas também porque um pedigree confiável pode permitir ao criador identificar a origem de problemas genéticos em seu rebanho e reduzi-los ou mesmo, eliminá-los. Ainda com as ferramentas da biologia molecular, podemos hoje, identificar indivíduos que apresentam genes desejáveis ou indesejáveis, o que nos permite selecioná-los precocemente, reduzindo assim, os custos do produtor e aumentando o valor agregado dos animais. Entre tais genes podemos destacar os que identificam portadores ou afetados por mutações genéticas indesejáveis como: SCID (Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Combinada), HYPP (Parilisa Hipercalêmica), HERDA (Astenia Dérmica Regional Hereditária Eqüina), etc. Também a identificação dos genes que determinam a cor ou padrão da pelagem já pode ser feita direta ou indiretamente (por meio de marcadores genéticos), como é o caso dos genes para as pelagens Overo, Tobiano, etc. Com os avanços no estudo do genoma eqüino muito mais estará disponível em breve, o que certamente só trará maiores contribuições à equideocultura mundial.

In the last few years the horse breeding industry is achieving significant progresses producing animals of high commercial value and genetically superior. It was possible, mainly due to the progresses in the area of the animal genetics, which allow identifying, not only anomalies, but also several genes of economical interest. With the aid of the cytogenetics, individuals with alterations in the number or in the structure of the chromosomes can be identified, which in many cases affect mainly the reproduction. Also the genealogy confirmation, previously done by blood type and now by DNA tests, has extremely important role, not just for guaranteeing the origin of the animals. Due to a reliable pedigree, the breeder can identify the origin of genetic problems and can reduce or even eliminate them. With the tools of the molecular biology, today, we can identify individuals that present desirable or undesirable genes, allowing us to select them early, reducing the costs of the producer and increasing the joined value of the animals. Among those genes we can detach the ones that identify carriers or affected animals for undesirable genetic mutations such as: SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease), HYPP (Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis), HERDA (Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia), etc. Also the identification of the genes that determine the coat color or coat pattern can already be made directly or indirectly (through genetic markers), as it is the case of the genes for the coat colors Overo, Tobiano, etc. With the progresses in the study of the equine genoma much more will be available soon, which will certainly bring larger contributions to the world horse breeding industry.

The effect of the bovine major histocompatibility complex (BoLA) locus on animal health may be due to a direct action of its alleles on immune functions, whereas its indirect effect on production traits might be explained by the better general health conditions of more productive animals. In the present study, the BoLA-DRB3 gene was investigated in 1058 cows belonging to seven Brazilian Gyr Dairy herds (Bos indicus, Zebu cattle). A total of 37 alleles were identified, 15 of them described for the first time in a Zebu breed. A highly significant association (p < 0.02) was observed between allele *54 and a decrease (-26.1 kg) in milk protein yield and there was a significant association (p < 0.05) between this allele and lower (-26.07 kg) milk fat yield. There was also a significant association (p < 0.05) between allele *6 and decreased (-12.47 kg) milk protein and allele *7 and increased (12.72 kg) milk protein. There were also indications of association (p < 0.10) between somatic cell score (SCS) and alleles *3 (SCS increased by 0.54 units) and *31 (SCS increased by 0.46 units). The highly significant association of allele *54 with lower protein yield suggests the possible use of this allele in marker-assisted selection programs.