In mammalian species studied previously, pepsinogen consisted of biochemically different groups of isozymogens. By use of gel filtration chromatography and electrophoresis, we isolated a predominant pepsinogen from the gastric mucosa of a horse. Peptide mapping with V8 protease revealed differences with its porcine homologue. However, porcine and equine pepsinogens, when activated to pepsin, had a similar pattern of activity when hemoglobin was used as substrate. Those results suggest that differences must exist in the primary structure of the pepsinogens of the 2 species.

The present survey was undertaken to determine the mycoflora of broiler houses. Attempts were made to isolate and identify fungi in the dust, feed, litter and water from 21 broiler houses. A total of 166 isolates of fungi was identified as yeast spp. (44%), Aspergillus spp. (30.7%), Verticillium spp. (7.2%), Penicillium spp. (3.6%), Paecilomyces spp. (3.6%), Scopulariopsis spp. (3.0%), Cephalosporium spp. (3.0%), Chrysosporium spp. (2.4%), Cladosporium spp. (1.8%) and Absidia spp. (0.6%).

A total of 253 samples from cattle (52), buffalo (51), sheep (50), goat (50) and chicken (50) were screened for the presence of Pasteurella multocida. Out of these, 17 samples were found positive by species specific PCR (PM-PCR) with ~460 bp amplified product. Overall prevalence of P. multocida was found to be 6.7%. Out of 17 PM-PCR positive samples, 12 (70%) were found positive by capsular type-B specific (HSB-PCR) and multiplex PCR assays with amplification of ~620 bp product in both the cases. A total of 5 isolates of P. multocida were obtained in 17 PM-PCR positive samples of which 4 were of serotype B:2 and 1 was of serotype A:3. The PM-PCR and HSB-PCR assays can be performed directly on clinical samples from animals with reproducible results without any non-specific amplification. Multiplex PCR further reduces the time for the species and type specific detection of P. multocida.

In the conditions of the Republic of Belarus there was developed a concept for differentiation of eimeria and helminthes using a system of identification indexes as mathematical expressions of morphometric correlations of eimeria oocystae and helminth eggs morphology. There was developed a method for identification eimeria species on the basis of two-dimensional mathematical analysis of oocysts using a new identification index which represented a duplication proportion of contour perimeter to surface area of an oocyst.