Environmental influences on age at first lambing and lambing interval in Yankasa sheep

The effects of different environmental factors on age at first lambing and lambing interval of Yankasa sheep kept at the National Animal Production Research Institute, Shika, were studied. Least-squares means ( ± SE) for age at first lambing and lambing interval were respectively, 597.2 ±12.6 days and 253.1± 2.9 days. Type of birth (

Caprine milk protein polymorphisms: Possible applications for African goat breeding and preliminary data in Red Sokoto

About 70% of all milk consumed in sub-Saharan Africa is imported from other parts of the world. This trend may be reversed by encouraging production through marker assisted selection. Goats are second to cattle in milk production, they require less inputs and their small size make them attractive to smallholder production systems. This paper presents the current knowledge on milk protein polymorphisms in goats, including aS1-casein, aS2-casein, b-casein, k-casein, alactalbumin and b-lactoglobulin, and their relationships with milk quality, composition and technological properties. Moreover, the results of a preliminary investigation on milk samples from 48 Red Sokoto goats by isoelectrofocusing (IEF) are discussed. Three main alleles were detected at each of CSN1S1 and CSN1S2 loci and two IEF patterns at CSN3 locus. Finally, the paper makes recommendations for further exploitation of African goats for milk production considering the possibility for the genetic improvement of milk yield and composition, fulfilling both nutritional requirements and technological properties

Caprine milk protein polymorphisms : possible applications for African goat breeding and preliminary data in Red Sokoto

About 70% of all milk consumed in sub-Saharan Africa is imported from other parts of the world. This trend may be reversed by encouraging production through marker assisted selection. Goats are second to cattle in milk production, they require less inputs and their small size make them attractive to smallholder production systems. This paper presents the current knowledge on milk protein polymorphisms in goats, including aS1-casein, aS2-casein, b-casein, k-casein, alactalbumin and b-lactoglobulin, and their relationships with milk quality, composition and technological properties. Moreover, the results of a preliminary investigation on milk samples from 48 Red Sokoto goats by isoelectrofocusing (IEF) are discussed. Three main alleles were detected at each of CSN1S1 and CSN1S2 loci and two IEF patterns at CSN3 locus. Finally, the paper makes recommendations for further exploitation of African goats for milk production considering the possibility for the genetic improvement of milk yield and composition, fulfilling both nutritional requirements and technological properties

The casein genes in goat breeds from different Continents : analysis by Polymerase Chain Reaction - Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (PCR-SSCP)

A screening of casein gene variability was carried out by Polymerase Chain Reaction - Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism in 8 goat breeds from Sudan (Nubian goat), Turkey (Angora Goat Lalahan Tiftic, Angora Goat Yerkoy, Hair goat) and India (Jammu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, South Goat). A total of 16 different alleles or groups of alleles were found, showing conspicuous differences among breeds. The allele frequencies were submitted to cluster analysis in order to highlight differences between breeds, also including data from Red Sokoto, West African Dwarf Nigeria, West African Dwarf Cameroon, and Borno Goat. The tree obtained from the cluster analysis showed two main lineages. The West African goat clustered together, the Indian and Turkish breeds were in the other group. Nubian goat was found in an intermediate position

Peso à cobrição e ganho de peso durante a gestação de cabras nativas, exóticas e mestiças no semi-árido Mating weight and weight gain during gestation of native, exotic and crossbred goats in the semi-arid

Avaliaram-se os efeitos de mês, ano, ordem de parto e tipo de parto sobre o peso à cobrição (PC) e o ganho de peso durante a gestação (GP), respectivamente, de 753 e 527 cabras nativas Canindés, 463 e 333 cabras exóticas Anglo-nubianas, 374 e 296 Alpinas, 151 e 87 de mestiças ½ Alpina (A) ½ Sem Raça Definida (SRD), 92 e 73 ¾ Alpina (A) ¼ SRD, criadas na Estação Experimental de Pendência - EMEPA-PB, Soledade-PB, na microrregião semi-árida da Paraíba, em regime semi-intensivo, no período de 1980 a 1994. O mês foi significativo sobre os pesos à cobrição das matrizes Canindés, Anglo-nubianas, ½ A ½ SRD e ¾ A ¼ SRD. O ano influenciou o PC de todos os grupos genéticos. O efeito do ano sobre o GP foi significativo para as cabras Canindés, Anglo-nubianas, ½ A ½ SRD e Alpinas. O peso à cobrição elevou-se com o aumento da ordem de parto e o GP foi mais evidente entre as cabras de primeiro parto. O tipo de parto foi significativo sobre o GP das matrizes nubianas, ¾ A ¼ SRD e Alpina, que tiveram maiores ganhos quando pariram apenas um cabrito. A raça influenciou o PC e o GP de todas as matrizes. A raça nativa foi a mais leve e com o melhor ganho de peso; as exóticas, as mais pesadas e com GP inferiores aos da raça Canindé e da mestiça ½ A ½ SRD; e a mestiça ¾ A ¼ SRD, a raça com peso corporal (PC) e GP semelhantes às exóticas. Concluiu-se que a composição genética dos animais e os fatores ambientais, como mês, ano, ordem e tipo de parto, refletiram sobre o peso à cobrição e o ganho de peso durante a gestação das matrizes estudadas.<br>The effects of month, year, order and type parturition on mating weight (MW), weight gain during gestation (WG), respectively, of 753 and 527 Caninde native goats, 463 and 333 exotic Anglo Nubian and 374 and 296 Alpine goats, 151 and 87 crossbred ½ Alpine ½ SRD, and 92 and 73 ¾Alpine ¼SRD goats, raised in the Experimental Station of the Governmental Research Institute (EMEPA-PB), Soledade - Paraiba - Brazil, in the period from 1980 to 1994. The effect of month was significant on MW of the Caninde, Anglo Nubian and crossbred goats. The year influenced MW of all genetic groups and effect on WG was significant for Caninde, Anglo Nubian, ½A ½SRD and Alpine goats. Mating weight increased as parturition order increased and WG was evident in the goats of first kidding. Type parturition showed significant effect on WG of Nubian, ¾ A ¼ SRD and Alpine goats, that showed higher WG when had single kidding. Significant difference among genetic groups was observed for MW and WG. The native goats were more weightless than the exotic and crossbred goats, however showed better weight gain during gestation. There was superiority of mating weights of exotic than the native and crossbred goats. The animal genetic composition and environmental factors, as month, year, order and type of birth, affected mating weight and weight gain during the gestation of the studied flock

Candidate SNPs for carcass and meat traits in Nelore animals and in their crosses with Bos taurus

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes IGF1 (AF_017143.1: g. 198C>T), MSTN (AF_320998.1:g. 433C>A), MYOD1 (NC_007313:g. 1274A>G) and MYF5 (NC_007303:g.1911A>G) on carcass and meat traits in Nelore (Bos indicus) and Nelore x B. taurus. A total of 300 animals were genotyped and phenotyped for rib eye area (REA), backfat thickness (BT), intramuscular fat (IF), shear force (SF) and myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI). The effects of allele substitution for each SNP were estimated by regression of the evaluated phenotypes on the number of copies of a particular allele using the general linear model. The polymorphism at IGF1 was non-informative in Nelore animals. In crossbred animals, the IGF1 C allele was associated with greater REA. However, this relation was not significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. The A allele of the MSTN polymorphism was absent in Nelore cattle and was only found in two crossbred animals. The polymorphisms of MYOD1 and MYF5 were little informative in Nelore animals with G allele frequency of 0.097 and A allele frequency of 0.031, respectively. These markers show no association with the analyzed traits in the total sample of evaluated animals