%0 Journal Article
%T In Silico Identification and Characterization of Potential Drug Targets in Bovine Herpes Virus 4, Causing Bovine Mastitis
%A Mahantesh M. Kurjogi
%A Basappa B. Kaliwal
%J Advances in Biology
%D 2014
%R 10.1155/2014/369213
%X The purpose of this study is to deal with aetiology causing bovine mastitis; bovine herpes virus is also responsible for causing bovine mastitis but studies on viruses have been neglected as historical mastitis research has concentrated only on bacterial pathogens. Therefore, present study aims to make an in silico identification and characterization of potential drug targets in bovine herpes virus 4 by computational methods using various bioinformatics tools. In the current investigation 5 proteins of BoHV 4 were found to be nonhomologous to the host Bos taurus; these nonhomology proteins were believed to be inevitable proteins of BoHV 4 as they were specific to the virus; however 378 proteins were homologous to the host protein. The in silico physicochemical characterization of 5 proteins of BoHV 4 indicated that all the proteins of the virus were having more or less similar characteristics. Perhaps the knowledge of the present study may help in drug discovery which have high affinity to target site. Possible drug discovery to manage bovine mastitis with a help of bioinformatics tool is more significant and, specific and, reduces time and complications involved in clinical trials. 1. Introduction Bovine mastitis is generally considered to be of infectious nature leading to inflammation of one or more quarters of mammary gland and it is often affecting not only individual animal but the whole herd or at least several animals within the herd. If left untreated, the condition can lead to deterioration of animal welfare resulting in culling of affected cows or even death. Mastitis-causing pathogens include bacteria and nonbacterial pathogens, like mycoplasmas, fungi, yeasts, and chlamydia [1, 2]. These pathogens infect udder generally through ductus papillaris, which is the only opening of udder to the outside world. Despite intensive aetiological research, still around 20¨C35% of clinical cases of bovine mastitis have an unknown aetiology [3, 4]. Wedderkopp did not note pathogens in 35% of 6809 milk quarters in 3783 cows suffering from clinical mastitis [4]. The percentage of culture negative samples of both clinical and subclinical mastitis cases in the Netherlands has been determined to be approximately 25% [5]. An explanation for these high percentages of culture-negative samples might be a low concentration of udder pathogenic bacteria. Other pathogens such as mycoplasma, yeasts, and moulds are difficult to cultivate. But these agents cannot be the explanation for all culture negative milk samples from mastitis cows, as they are not a common udder
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ab/2014/369213/