Genetic diversity revealed by AFLP markers in Albanian goat breeds

The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique with three EcoRI/TaqI primer combinations was used in 185 unrelated individuals, representative of 6 local goat breeds of Albania, and 107 markers were generated. The mean Nei’s expected heterozygosity value for the whole population was 0.199 and the mean Shannon index was 0.249, indicating a high level of within-breed diversity. Wright’s FST index, Nei’s unbiased genetic distance and Reynolds’ genetic distance were calculated. Pairwise Fst values among the populations ranged from 0.019 to 0.047. A highly significant average FST of 0.031 was estimated, showing a low level of breed subdivision. Most of the variation is accounted for by differences among individuals. Cluster analysis based on Reynolds’ genetic distance between breeds and PCA were performed. An individual UPGMA tree based on Jaccard’s similarity index showed clusters with individuals from all goat breeds. Analysis of population structure points to a high level of admixture among breeds

The State of Local Cattle of Busha Type in Albania and Kosovo. Their Identification and Morphometric Description

Local cattle population of Busha type are still found in remote areas of  Albania and Kosovo.  They have survived until now because of geographic isolation and harsh conditions that are not suitable for exotic breeds. The number of these populations is rapidly declining putting them in danger of extinction. Conservation of this genetic diversity is challenging for both countries.  Identification of local cattle populations of Busha type farmed in different regions of Albania and Kosovo , their phenotypic and genetic characterization, has been and currently is one of interesting study subject with the aim of  compiling a sustainable breeding strategy that will help to run a national or cross border conservation program. The study was conducted in 5 regions distributed in the north-west and north –east of Albania whereas in Kosovo the east and south-west regions both countries: The number of local  cattle’s sampled of Busha type for phenotypic characterization was 94 of which 86 were females and 8 were males. The linear body measurement of  adult animals only were done according to FAO guidelines 2012. The means of morph metric variables were calculated  for animals not divided by sex. Local cattle of Busha type is characterized  of different coat colors  from intensive red, reddish, dark and light  brown. Velipoja local cattle has the lowest mean of wither height, heart girth and body length than other populations (103.07, 137.57 and 113.5 cm). It can be noticed that the populations located in the border between Albania and Kosovo (Kukes and Prizren regions) as well as the population of Gjilan  have similar mean values of wither height, heart girth and budy length. Higher mean value of wither height is found at Gjakova local cattle (133.0 cm). Despite these small differences in body size the milk production is rather different between Albanian and Kosovo populations. Discriminate analyses model was used to evaluate the level of local differentiation of cattle populations. Three groups are formed: Back Rjoll herd of Albania showing  constant differentiation from other groups, the group composed by three herds located in Kukes (Albania), Prizren and Gjilan(Kosovo); the  group  where we find only Gjakova herd. The results of discrimanate analyses shows that the process of evolution of morphometric trais and selection have been associated with the presence of isolation in distance. The results need further verifications.  Keywords: Local cattle, identification, morphometric measurement, local differentiation.    

On the origin of European sheep as revealed by the diversity of the Balkan breeds and by optimizing population-genetic analysis tools

Background: In the Neolithic, domestic sheep migrated into Europe and subsequently spread in westerly and northwesterly directions. Reconstruction of these migrations and subsequent genetic events requires a more detailed characterization of the current phylogeographic differentiation. Results: We collected 50 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles of Balkan sheep that are currently found near the major Neolithic point of entry into Europe, and combined these data with published genotypes from southwest-Asian, Mediterranean, central-European and north-European sheep and from Asian and European mouflons. We detected clines, ancestral components and admixture by using variants of common analysis tools: geography-informative supervised principal component analysis (PCA), breed-specific admixture analysis, across-breed f 4 profiles and phylogenetic analysis of regional pools of breeds. The regional Balkan sheep populations exhibit considerable genetic overlap, but are clearly distinct from the breeds in surrounding regions. The Asian mouflon did not influence the differentiation of the European domestic sheep and is only distantly related to present-day sheep, including those from Iran where the mouflons were sampled. We demonstrate the occurrence, from southeast to northwest Europe, of a continuously increasing ancestral component of up to 20% contributed by the European mouflon, which is assumed to descend from the original Neolithic domesticates. The overall patterns indicate that the Balkan region and Italy served as post-domestication migration hubs, from which wool sheep reached Spain and north Italy with subsequent migrations northwards. The documented dispersal of Tarentine wool sheep during the Roman period may have been part of this process. Our results also reproduce the documented 18th century admixture of Spanish Merino sheep into several central-European breeds. Conclusions: Our results contribute to a better understanding of the events that have created the present diversity pattern, which is relevant for the management of the genetic resources represented by the European sheep population

Microsatellite diversity of the Nordic type of goats in relation to breed conservation: how relevant is pure ancestry?

In the last decades, several endangered breeds of livestock species have been re-established effectively. However, the successful revival of the Dutch and Danish Landrace goats involved crossing with exotic breeds and the ancestry of the current populations is therefore not clear. We have generated genotypes for 27 FAO-recommended microsatellites of these landraces and three phenotypically similar Nordic-type landraces and compared these breeds with central European, Mediterranean and south-west Asian goats. We found decreasing levels of genetic diversity with increasing distance from the south-west Asian domestication site with a south-east-to-north-west cline that is clearly steeper than the Mediterranean east-to-west cline. In terms of genetic diversity, the Dutch Landrace comes next to the isolated Icelandic breed, which has an extremely low diversity. The Norwegian coastal goat and the Finnish and Icelandic landraces are clearly related. It appears that by a combination of mixed origin and a population bottleneck, the Dutch and Danish Land-races are separated from the other breeds. However, the current Dutch and Danish populations with the multicoloured and long-horned appearance effectively substitute for the original breed, illustrating that for conservation of cultural heritage, the phenotype of a breed is more relevant than pure ancestry and the genetic diversity of the original breed. More in general, we propose that for conservation, the retention of genetic diversity of an original breed and of the visual phenotype by which the breed is recognized and defined needs to be considered separately

MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF TWO GOAT BREEDS REARED IN SOUTH EAST OF ALBANIA

The study was conducted at the Agricultural Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Korca in South East area of Albania. Two imported goat breeds, Alpine and Saana not previously characterized were included in the study. Their characterization is of great importance, and the information provided is of great value, especially for the ATTC which use these breeds for the improvement of the local populations by crossbreeding. Morphometric measurements of 50 animals were analyzed. Both breeds have similar values of body measurements. All morphometric traits were positively correlated, where most of them were statistically significant. Body weight has the highest positive correlation with CC (0.763), which is statistically significant. The PCA of all morphometric parameters indicated that the three components accounted 80.1% of the cumulative variance. The PCA and discriminant analysis indicated admixture between breeds. A regression analysis was performed to predict the body weight from morphometric measurements, which indicated that HG and CBC were best fitted to the model with R2 (adj) values 66.87 and 65.29 respectively. The information obtained could be used by the ATTC in a near future for the the management, conservation, and for designing the breeding programes

NEW PERSPECTIVES IN ALBANIA TO DEVELOP A SUSTAINEABLE USE OF RENEWABLE WATER RESOURCE: INNOVATIVE SPIN-OFF ENTERPRISES FOR NEW PRODUCTS AND AQUACULTURE IN POLYCULTURE SYSTEMS

This paper develops a presentation of the politic of the academic spin-off realization in according with the experience of the Pisa University. The sector of application of this study concerns the aquaculture production and the irrigation in agriculture, in consideration to the reduction of the environmental impact with a responsible use of renewable water resource. After the analysis of the principal aspects on the role of the University and its importance in the transferring the results of the research and technology in productive enterprises, The work presents the opportunity of the academic spin-off companies, with their particular aspects, referring to new young’s work opportunity and a possible hypothesis of realization of new line of products. In aquaculture the polyculture is an old natural system but recently studies show interesting applications to reduce the impact of the intensive rearing. The many tentative of manipulation of different species of aquatic organisms, in the world, show a concrete possibility of actuation of this technique and in a big number of realization it is produced a significant reduction of environment impact. In this report are showed the principal events in different localities and different systems of rearing with the implication of association of different aquatic organisms. This one \represents a valid suggestion to release, with opportune adaptations, in many conditions The examples suggested in this work are: the freshwater pearls production, the Koran and its chain of production and eels breeding. Each example represents a valid solution and a significant suggestion in different situation of the rural contest in Albania

Comprehensive <i>in silico</i> analysis of prolactin receptor (PRLR) gene nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) reveals multifaceted impact on protein structure, function, and interactions

This study delves into the functional and structural implications of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) within the Prolactin Receptor (PRLR) gene. Thirteen deleterious nsSNPs were identified through bioinformatics tools, with SIFT predicting 168 out of 395 nsSNPs as detrimental, exhibiting tolerance index (TI) scores ranging from 0 to 0.05. Polyphen2 assigned likelihood scores >0.99 to all 13 nsSNPs, indicating high probability of harm, while Panther scores classified most nsSNPs as ‘probably damaging’, with specific mutations like W218R scoring 0.74, suggesting a higher impact. Stability analysis using DDG I-Mutant and DDG Mupro consistently predicted decreased stability for all mutations, with CUPSAT indicating mutations like V125G and W218R significantly decreasing stability. Structural analysis through DynaMut predicted destabilization for all mutations except L196I and L292H. MutPred2 highlighted structural alterations for all nsSNPs except L196I, L293V, R315W, and S353N. Domain analysis revealed key mutations within essential functional domains, with five nsSNPs located within Fibronectin type-III domains. Bayesian analysis through ConSurf identified 9 critical residues, with 11 nsSNPs exhibiting notably high conservation. STRING analysis unveiled a complex interaction network, indicating involvement in vital biological processes like lactation. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, spanning 100 nanoseconds, elucidated structural dynamics induced by detrimental missense SNPs. Post-translational modification (PTM) analysis identified specific mutations, such as R351, involved in methylation, while S353 was implicated in phosphorylation and glycosylation. These findings offer comprehensive insights into the molecular and phenotypic effects of deleterious nsSNPs in the PRLR gene, crucial for selective breeding. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma</p