Tropical animal health and production最新文献

The body conformations of 262 adult Ganjam goats were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) with 11 morphometric variables. The results were then used to predict the mature body weight of the goats. Most of the traits were positively correlated, and the correlations were statistically significant. The three main components that the PCA recovered explained 76.12% of the variation in body morphometry overall. The first component accounted for approximately 54.74% of the overall variation and described almost all the traits except ear length and tail length, as indicated by high component loadings. The second component accounted for approximately 11.48% of the variation, mostly accounting for the variation in tail length. The principal component accounted for 9.89% and mostly explained the variation in ear length. The communalities ranged between 0.557 (horn length) and 0.848 (chest circumference) for the first three extracted components. The highest percentage of variability in chest girth was explained by the first three principal components, whereas it was the lowest for the horn length. In the context of predicting body weight through stepwise regression analysis, nine primary variables accounted for 57.3% of the total variance in body weight. Conversely, utilizing the first principal component alongside six additional principal components as independent variables resulted in capturing 56.3% of the variation in the adult live weight of goats while maintaining model comparability with other pertinent parameters. PCA was used efficiently for body weight prediction from major morphometric traits of Ganjam goats addressing the multicollinearity issue.

Precise as well as unbiased estimates of genetic parameters of economically important traits is important for framing breeding programmes meant for genetic progress of dairy animals. Present work was carried out to assess the co-variances along with genetic parameters of production and reproduction traits in Sahiwal cattle with Bayesian approach. Records of Sahiwal cattle kept at ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana for the period 1988-2016 were used. Heritability estimates ± posterior standard deviation for 305 days' milk yield (305DMY), lactation milk yield (LMY), lactation length (LL), peak yield (PY), days to attain peak yield (DPY), dry period (DP), gestation period (GP), calving to first insemination interval (CFI), days open (DO) and calving interval (CI) as obtained were 0.23 ± 0.03, 0.26 ± 0.03, 0.18 ± 0.03, 0.18 ± 0.03, 0.07 ± 0.02, 0.08 ± 0.02, 0.08 ± 0.02, 0.07 ± 0.02, 0.09 ± 0.02 and 0.02 ± 0.02, respectively and estimates of repeatability for the corresponding traits were 0.23 ± 0.03, 0.26 ± 0.03, 0.21 ± 0.03, 0.21 ± 0.03, 0.12 ± 0.02, 0.14 ± 0.03, 0.16 ± 0.03, 0.16 ± 0.03, 0.17 ± 0.03 and 0.17 ± 0.03. Moderate heritability values for 305DMY and LMY implies that sufficient additive genetic variability is available to obtain selection response. Repeatability estimates for 305DMY, LMY and PY were moderate, pointing towards the possibility of early appraisal of Sahiwal cattle for selection. Antagonistic genetic associations were observed between reproduction and production traits suggesting that reproduction traits need due attention while selecting high producing Sahiwal animals.

A comprehensive genomic scan of selective sweeps was conducted in autochthonous Attappady Black and improved dual-purpose Malabari goat breeds in south India. High-throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker data, obtained through Illumina goat SNP50 BeadChip genotyping of 48 goats (24 each of Attappady Black and Malabari goats), were utilized for the analysis. Selection signature analysis, employing hapFLK analysis based on haplotype differentiation, identified seven significant sweep regions (p < 0.005). Notably, one of these regions encompassed the genomic area housing the casein cluster and quantitative trait loci associated with milk production on chromosome 6. Gene ontology enrichment analysis of 166 putative selective genes associated with these sweep regions revealed 13 significantly over-represented Panther pathways (p ≤ 0.05), including the TGF-beta signalling pathway and GNRHR pathway. The selective sweeps detected in this study contributed significantly to the phenotypic divergence observed between Attappady Black and Malabari goats in south India.

Water salinity has a significant impact on water quality, posing challenges for livestock production and productivity, particularly in arid regions where climate change affects freshwater availability. This study aimed to determine the effect of drinking saline water on the carcass and meat quality traits of sheep and goats in Ethiopia. A total of 100 males with an average initial body weight of growing (18.17 ± 0.51) and mature (22.22 ± 0.52 kg) Blackhead Ogaden sheep and growing (17.99 ± 0.50) and mature (21.99 ± 0.54) kg) Somali goats were used. The design of the experiment was a three-way factorial RCBD with three-factor combinations (5 treatment levels, 2 species, and 2 age groups).Water treatments were natural water (Lake Basaka water (control), low saline water (L-SW), moderate saline water (M-SW), high saline water (H-SW), and very high saline water (VH-SW); that is, NaCl was added to natural water at concentrations of 7.95, 11.93, 15.90, and 19.88 g TDS/L, respectively. The finding showed that increasing salinity levels in drinking water reduced slaughter body weight (SBW), carcass weight (CW), dressing percentage (DP), rib eye area (RAE), total edible components (TEC), and increased total non-edible components (TNEC) (P < 0.05). Similarly, sheep and mature animals had higher (P < 0.001) SBW, CW, DP, RAE, and TEC than goats and growing animals. Sensory evaluation, shear force, and proximate analysis were affected by water salinity, species, and age groups (P < 0.05). Overall, the study revealed that consuming saline water above 11 g TDS/L affected carcass traits and meat quality in Somali goats and Blackhead Ogaden sheep.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a transboundary, viral disease of cattle with a significant economic impact on the livestock industry. This study describes the epidemiological investigations of outbreaks of LSD that occurred in 2022 in three Indian states viz., Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan and the genetic characterization of Lumpy skin disease viruses (LSDVs). Also, the population structure analysis of LSDVs was carried out. Out of 138 scab samples tested from suspected cattle for LSDV, 106 were found positive. Of these, nine representative scab samples were further genetically characterized. Phylogenetic analysis based on the P32 and EEV gene sequences depicted that the LSDV strains of the present study had nucleotide identity of 100% and 99.10-99.45%, respectively with the LSDV/2019 field strains of India. Multiple sequence alignment of the EEV glycoprotein gene sequences revealed nucleotide polymorphisms at three positions viz., G178A, G253A and A459G in circulating LSDV/2022 field strains. Based on the median joining network analysis of the EEV gene, 12 haplotypes were identified among the LSDV populations. Population structure analysis corresponding to the EEV gene revealed high haplotype (0.8486 ± 0.026) and low nucleotide diversities (0.00636 ± 0.0006) and negative values for neutrality indices, indicating a high number of closely related haplotypes and the studied population may have undergone a recent expansion. The findings will help in understanding the distribution and dynamics of LSDV populations, which will prove pivotal in designing and implementing effective management and control strategies.

The common cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus causes severe limitations to livestock production. Bovine genetics could be a decisive component for the success or failure of control programs for ticks and diseases transmitted. The objective of this work was to detect chromosomal regions associated with host resistance to R. microplus through an associative mapping study using medium and high density microarrays in a population of Argentine Creole cattle. The phenotypic record of the number of ticks that completed their development on the host, after artificial infestations, was obtained during 2015 to 2020. Genomic DNA was extracted for genotyping from 192 animals using Affymetrix high (Axiom™ Bos 1) and medium density (ArBos1) microarrays. In an exploratory study, chromosomal regions containing putative quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were recognized on chromosomes 27, 11, 10, 9, 16, 13, 3, 19, 8 and 18, associated with the variation of R. microplus load. Gene ontology based on genes located on these regions revealed an enrichment of terms and pathways for the immune system, blood coagulation, tissue regeneration, endopeptidase activity and protein phosphorylation. The information obtained in this work constitutes a first report of QTLs for tick count in the Argentine Creole cattle, and contributes with the knowledge about the underlying process involved in tick resistance.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of environmental effects on growth curve traits of Zandi lambs and estimate their genetic parameters with the best-fit animal model. For this purpose, live body weight (BW) records (n = 10,607) of 2,519 individuals (which were progeny of 278 rams and 1,485 ewes) were used to estimate genetic effects on growth curve traits from birth to yearling age of Zandi lambs. Using the Stochastic Approximation Expectation Maximization (SAEM) algorithm the growth curve parameters of five different mixed functions (i.e., Brody, Richards, Von Bertalanffy, Gompertz and Logistic) were obtained, then for the most appropriate model the genetic parameters were estimated using a Bayesian approach fitted multivariate animal model and ignoring or including maternal genetic effect. Except Richards model, all other mixed functions used here closely fitted actual BW records (R² > 0.96). However, the Logistic function provided the best fit in every type. So, studied growth curve traits were estimated asymptotic weight which considered as mature weight (a), rate parameter (b), rate of maturing (k), and age (Ai)/weight (Wi) at the point of inflection. Of the fixed effects studied (i.e., gender, birth type, dam age, season and year of birth), the only non-significant relationship was the effect dam age on b and Ai. Based on the best-fitted model, posterior means of heritability estimates for a, b, k, Wi and Ai were 0.142 ± 0.036, 0.094 ± 0.029, 0.143 ± 0.063, 0.149 ± 0.039 and 0.029 ± 0.013, respectively. Posterior means of genetic correlations between mentioned traits ranged from -0.018 ± 0.069 (b-k) to 0.959 ± 0.029 (a-b), whereas the phenotypic correlation varied from -0.047 ± 0.014 (b-k) to 0.836 ± 0.007 (a-b). It was concluded that the model including only direct additive effect was sufficient to explain the variation in all investigated growth traits of Zandi lambs, selection for these traits results in slow genetic gain (due to the lack of sufficient genetic variation), but it would not be difficult to improve their mature weight and rate of maturing jointly. The results indicate that although the rate of genetic change for mature weight has been small (0.008 ± 0.003 kg year^-1; P < 0.05) but in the favorable direction for this breed.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an economically important highly serious transboundary disease that mainly occurs in small ruminants such as sheep and goats. The aim of this study was to identify the probability of risk and and space-time clusters of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in Türkiye. The occurrence of PPR in Türkiye from 2017 to 2019 was investigated in this study using spatial analysis based on geographic information system (GIS). Between these dates, it was determined that 337 outbreaks and 18,467 cases. The highest number of outbreaks were detected in the Central Anatolia region. It was determined that PPR is seen more intensely in sheep compared to goats in Türkiye. In this study, 34 environmental variables (19 bioclimatic, 12 precipitation, altitude and small livestock density variables) were used to explore the environmental influences on PPR outbreak by maximum entropy modeling (Maxent). The clusters of PPR in Türkiye were identified using the retrospective space-time scan data that were computed using the space-time permutation model. A PPR prediction model was created using data on PPR outbreaks combination with environmental variables. Nineteen significant (p < 0.001) space-time clusters were determined. It was discovered that the variables altitude, sheep density, precipitation in june, and average temperature in the warmest season made important contributions to the model and the PPR outbreak may be strongly related with these variables. In this study, PPR in Türkiye has been characterized significantly spatio-temporal and enviromental factors. In this context, the disease pattern and obtained these findings will contribute to policymakers in the prevention and control of the disease.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of replacing Tifton 85 hay (TH) with Moringa hay (MH) on the intake, apparent digestibility, ingestive behaviour, rumen parameters, serum attributes, nitrogen balance, water balance, and urinary attributes of sheep. Thus, 5 rams, ½ Dorper + ½ Santa Inês, that were 12 ± 4 months of age with an initial body weight of 32.8 ± 2.6 kg were distributed in metabolic cages in a Latin square design. The experiment lasted 85 days and was divided into five 17-day periods. The animals received rations with increasing replacement (0, 100, 200, 300, or 400 g/kg of dry matter in the total diet) of TH for MH. The forage: concentrate ratio of the diets was 40:60. Replacing TH with MH reduced (P < 0.05) the intake of organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre (NDFap), and total digestible nutrients by sheep. The apparent digestibility of NDFap and the feeding and rumination efficiencies of NDFap were reduced (P < 0.05) when MH replaced TH in the animals' diet. This replacement did not influence (P > 0.05) serum urea, total protein, creatinine, or aspartate aminotransferase in sheep. Replacing TH with MH decreased water intake and excretion (P < 0.05). In addition, nitrogen excretion via urine, urinary creatinine, and nitrogen absorption decreased (P < 0.05) when TH was replaced with MH. However, there was an increase in the sheep's nitrogen retention and urine pH. We recommend replacing 30% TH with MH in the diet of lambs because it does not compromise nutrient metabolism.

A major cause of early embryonic losses is inadequate secretion of progesterone (P4) hormone due to luteal insufficiency in farm animals. Post-mating applications that directly or indirectly increasing serum P4 concentrations have a positive effect on fertility. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of post-mating administration of ketoprofen on serum P4 concentration and fertility in Akkaraman ewes synchronized with a short-term protocol during the breeding season. Oestrus monitoring ewes after synchronization were hand-mated and randomly assigned to two equal groups (Ketoprofen vs. Control). Ewes in the ketoprofen group (KPG) (n = 40) were administered with ketoprofen (Rifen, Richter pharma, Austria) intramuscularly (im) at a dose of 3 mg/kg on days 9 and 10 after mating. In the control group (CG) ewes (n = 40) were administered with saline im on the same days. Blood samples were collected from ewes in both groups at four different time points of post-mating days (9, 12, 15 and 18 days). The results showed that there were no statistical differences between the KPG and CG groups on fertility parameters; pregnancy rates (85% vs. 72.5%), lambing rates (100% vs. 100%), single birth rates (55.9% vs. 55.2%), multiple birth rates (44.1% vs. 44.8%), litter sizes (1.56 vs. 1.55). In pregnant ewes, serum P4 concentrations on day 18 (4.35 ± 0.34 ng/mL) in the KPG group were higher than (3.27 ± 0.27 ng/mL) in CG group (P < 0.05). It was concluded that post-mating ketoprofen administration have no significant effect on fertility, but significantly increased the serum P4 concentration on day 18 in pregnant ewes.