@article{pecoraro_leal_frias-de-diego_browning_odle_crisci_2022, title={The health benefits of selenium in food animals: a review}, volume={13}, ISSN={2049-1891}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40104-022-00706-2}, DOI={10.1186/s40104-022-00706-2}, abstractNote={Selenium is an essential trace mineral important for the maintenance of homeostasis in animals and humans. It evinces a strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and potential antimicrobial capacity. Selenium biological function is primarily achieved by its presence in selenoproteins as a form of selenocysteine. Selenium deficiency may result in an array of health disorders, affecting many organs and systems; to prevent this, dietary supplementation, mainly in the forms of organic (i.e., selenomethionine and selenocysteine) inorganic (i.e., selenate and selenite) sources is used. In pigs as well as other food animals, dietary selenium supplementation has been used for improving growth performance, immune function, and meat quality. A substantial body of knowledge demonstrates that dietary selenium supplementation is positively associated with overall animal health especially due to its immunomodulatory activity and protection from oxidative damage. Selenium also possesses potential antiviral activity and this is achieved by protecting immune cells against oxidative damage and decreasing viral replication. In this review we endeavor to combine established and novel knowledge on the beneficial effects of dietary selenium supplementation, its antioxidant and immunomodulatory actions, and the putative antimicrobial effect thereof. Furthermore, our review demonstrates the gaps in knowledge pertaining to the use of selenium as an antiviral, underscoring the need for further in vivo and in vitro studies, particularly in pigs.}, number={1}, journal={Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Pecoraro, B.M. and Leal, D.F. and Frias-De-Diego, A. and Browning, M. and Odle, J. and Crisci, E.}, year={2022}, pages={58} }
 @article{frias-de-diego_jara_pecoraro_crisci_2021, title={Whole Genome or Single Genes? A Phylodynamic and Bibliometric Analysis of PRRSV}, volume={8}, ISSN={2297-1769}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.658512}, DOI={10.3389/fvets.2021.658512}, abstractNote={Diversity, ecology, and evolution of viruses are commonly determined through phylogenetics, an accurate tool for the identification and study of lineages with different pathological characteristics within the same species. In the case of PRRSV, evolutionary research has divided into two main branches based on the use of a specific gene (i.e., ORF5) or whole genome sequences as the input used to produce the phylogeny. In this study, we performed a review on PRRSV phylogenetic literature and characterized the spatiotemporal trends in research of single gene vs. whole genome evolutionary approaches. Finally, using publicly available data, we produced a Bayesian phylodynamic analysis following each research branch and compared the results to determine the pros and cons of each particular approach. This study provides an exploration of the two main phylogenetic research lines applied for PRRSV evolution, as well as an example of the differences found when both methods are applied to the same database. We expect that our results will serve as a guidance for future PRRSV phylogenetic research.}, journal={Frontiers in Veterinary Science}, publisher={Frontiers Media SA}, author={Frias-De-Diego, Alba and Jara, Manuel and Pecoraro, Brittany M. and Crisci, Elisa}, year={2021}, month={Jun} }