Publisher: Institute for Animal Husbandry, Belgrade-Zemun UDC 636.38 FINGERPRINTING OF FECB GENE IN FIVE EGYPTIAN SHEEP BREEDS

Original scientific paper Abstract: Recently, many aspects of FecB gene, including reproductive endocrinology, organs development and body mass have been studied. FecB has an additive effect on litter size and ovulation. The present investigation was carried out to study polymorphism by forced PCR-RFLP of FecB gene in five Egyptian local sheep breeds and its comparison with other foreign sheep breeds. Genomic DNA was isolated from a total of 100 animals of Egyptian sheep breeds namely Rahmani, Ossimi, Awassi, Barki and Awassi x Barki crossbred. Forced PCR of the FecB gene 190 base pair (bp) was amplified using specific primer designed to introduc a point mutation in the resulting PCR products with FecB carrier sheep containing an AvaII restriction site (G|GACC), whereas products from noncarriers lacked (of) this site..Digestion of FecB gene 190 base pair with AvaII restriction enzyme resulted in non carrier 190 bp band (wild type) in all the animals belonging to the five Egyptian breeds studied revealing absence of this restriction site in those five breeds

Disorder in Milk Proteins: Adipophilin and TIP47, Important Constituents of the Milk Fat Globule Membrane

Milk fat globules (MFGs), which are secreted by the epithelial cells of the lactating mammary glands, account for the most of the nutritional value of milk. They are enveloped by the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), a complex structure consisting of three phospholipid membrane monolayers and containing various lipids. Depending on the origin of milk, specific proteins accounts for 5–70% of the MFGM mass. Proteome of MFGMs includes hundreds of proteins, with nine major components being adipophilin, butyrophilin, cluster of differentiation 36, fatty acid binding protein, lactadherin, mucin 1, mucin 15, tail-interacting protein 47 (TIP47), and xanthine oxidoreductase. Two of the MFGM components, adipophilin and TIP47, belong to the five-member perilipin family of lipid droplet proteins. Adipophilin is involved in the formation of cytoplasmic lipid droplets and secretion of MFGs. This protein is also related to the formation of other lipid droplets that exist in most cell types, playing an important role in the transport of lipids from ER to the surface of lipid droplets. TIP47 acts as a cytoplasmic sorting factor for mannose 6-phosphate receptors and is recruited to the MFGM. Therefore, both adipophilin and TIP47 are moonlighting proteins, each possessing several unrelated functions. This review focuses on the main functions and specific structural features of adipophilin and TIP47, analyzes similarities and differences of these proteins among different species, and describes these proteins in the context of other members of the perilipin family. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarm

Characterization of native fungi responsible for degrading crude oil from the coastal area of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia

A total of 15 fungal isolates were obtained from oil-contaminated sites near the Red Sea in the Yanbu region. Based on the preliminary DCPIP (2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol) assay, three isolates showed promising oil degrading ability. The next-generation sequencing of the ITS-I and ITS-II internal transcribed spacer regions assigned the isolates to Aspergillus and Penicillium. Among these three strains, Y2 (Aspergillus oryzae) was the most efficient, degrading about 99% of the crude oil. The degradation rates were corroborated using spectrophotometric and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses after two weeks of cultivation in Bushnell–Haas medium. All the three strains proved to be potent oil-degrading strains and, hence, can be utilized to degrade oil contaminants

Yield and Composition Variations of the Milk from Different Camel Breeds in Saudi Arabia

With the increasing interest in the identification of differences between camel breeds over the last decade, this study was conducted to estimate the variability of milk production and composition of four Saudi camel breeds during different seasons. Milk records were taken two days per week from females of Majahem, Safra, Wadha, and Hamra breeds distributed over Saudi Arabia. The milk yield during winter indicated that the weekly average of the Wadha breed was significantly lower (27.13 kg/week) than Majahem and Hamra breeds. The Safra breed had the lowest milk yield (30.7 kg/week) during summer. During winter, the Hamra breed had a lower content of all analyzed milk components except proteins and was characterized by a lower pH than the milk of the other breeds. However, the Hamra breed had significantly higher contents of milk fat and lactose than the other breeds during summer, with the corresponding values of 3.87 and 4.86%, respectively. Milk collected during winter from Majahem, Safra, and Wadha breeds was characterized by a significant increase in all milk components and milk pH. Finally, the isoelectric focusing analysis revealed noticeable variability of casein purified from camel milk within the different Saudi breeds, with the highest significant value of 2.29 g per 100 mL recorded for the Wadha breed

Yield and Composition Variations of the Milk from Different Camel Breeds in Saudi Arabia

With the increasing interest in the identification of differences between camel breeds over the last decade, this study was conducted to estimate the variability of milk production and composition of four Saudi camel breeds during different seasons. Milk records were taken two days per week from females of Majahem, Safra, Wadha, and Hamra breeds distributed over Saudi Arabia. The milk yield during winter indicated that the weekly average of the Wadha breed was significantly lower (27.13 kg/week) than Majahem and Hamra breeds. The Safra breed had the lowest milk yield (30.7 kg/week) during summer. During winter, the Hamra breed had a lower content of all analyzed milk components except proteins and was characterized by a lower pH than the milk of the other breeds. However, the Hamra breed had significantly higher contents of milk fat and lactose than the other breeds during summer, with the corresponding values of 3.87 and 4.86%, respectively. Milk collected during winter from Majahem, Safra, and Wadha breeds was characterized by a significant increase in all milk components and milk pH. Finally, the isoelectric focusing analysis revealed noticeable variability of casein purified from camel milk within the different Saudi breeds, with the highest significant value of 2.29 g per 100 mL recorded for the Wadha breed