Genetic structure of a small closed population of the New Zealand white rabbit through pedigree analyses

[EN] The genetic structure of a small population of New Zealand White rabbits maintained at the Sheep Breeding and Research Station, Sandynallah, The Nilgiris, India, was evaluated through pedigree analyses. Data on pedigree information (n=2503) for 18 yr (1995-2012) were used for the study. Pedigree analysis and the estimates of population genetic parameters based on the gene origin probabilities were performed. The analysis revealed that the mean values of generation interval, coefficients of inbreeding and equivalent inbreeding were 1.49 yr, 13.23 and 17.59%, respectively. The proportion of population inbred was 100%. The estimated mean values of average relatedness and individual increase in inbreeding were 22.73 and 3.00%, respectively. The percentage increase in inbreeding over generations was 1.94, 3.06 and 3.98 estimated through maximum generations, equivalent generations and complete generations, respectively. The number of ancestors contributing the majority of 50% genes (fa50) to the gene pool of reference population was only 4, which might have led to reduction in genetic variability and increased the amount of inbreeding. The extent of genetic bottleneck assessed by calculating the effective number of founders (fe) and the effective number of ancestors (fa), as expressed by the fe/fa ratio was 1.1, which is indicative of the absence of stringent bottlenecks. Up to 5th generation, 71.29% pedigree was complete, reflecting the well maintained pedigree records. The maximum known generations were 15, with an average of 7.9, and the average equivalent generations traced were 5.6, indicating a fairly good depth in pedigree. The realized effective population size was 14.93, which is very critical, and with the increasing trend of inbreeding the situation has been assessed as likely to become worse in future. The proportion of animals with the genetic conservation index (GCI) greater than 9 was 39.10%, which can be used as a scale to use such animals with higher GCI to maintain balanced contribution from the founders. From the study, it was evident that the herd was completely inbred, with a very high inbreeding coefficient, and the effective population size was critical. Recommendations were made to reduce the probability of deleterious effects of inbreeding and to improve genetic variability in the herd. The present study can help in carrying out similar studies to meet the demand for animal protein in developing countries.The authors acknowledge the support provided by Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) for successful completion of the study.Sakthivel, M.; Balasubramanyam, D.; Kumarasamy, P.; Raja, A.; Anilkumar, R.; Gopi, H.; Devaki, A. (2018). Genetic structure of a small closed population of the New Zealand white rabbit through pedigree analyses. World Rabbit Science. 26(2):101-112. doi:10.4995/wrs.2018.7426SWORD101112262Alderson G.I.H. 1992. A system to maximize the maintenance of genetic variability in small populations. In L. Alderson & I. Bodo (ed). Genetic Conservation of Domestic Livestock II. CABI, Wallingford, UK, 18-29.Boichard D., Maignel L., Verrier E. 1997. The value of using probabilities of gene origin to measure genetic variability in a population. Genet. Sel. Evol., 29: 5-23. https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9686-29-1-5Cervantes I., Goyache F., Molina A., Valera M., Gutiérrez J.P. 2008. Application of individual increase in inbreeding to estimate realized effective sizes from real pedigrees. J. Anim. Breed. Genet., 125: 301-310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2008.00755.xDuchev Z., Distl O., Groeneveld E. 2006. Early warning system for loss of diversity in European livestock breeds. Arch. Anim. Breed., 49: 521-531. https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-49-521-2006Dunner S., Checa M.L., Gutierrez J.P., Martin J.P., Cañon J. 1998. Genetic analysis and management in small populations: the Asturcon pony as an example. Genetics Selection Evolution 30: 397-405. https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9686-30-4-397Falconer D.S., Mackay T.F.C. 1996. Introduction to Quantitative Genetics. Longmans Green, Harlow, Essex, UK.Fernández J., Toro M.A., Caballero A. 2003. Fixed contributions designs vs. minimization of global conancestry to control inbreeding in small populations. Genetics, 165: 885-894.González-Recio O., López de Maturana E., Gutiérrez J.P. 2007. Inbreeding depression on female fertility and calving ease in Spanish dairy cattle. J. Dairy Sci., 90: 5744-5752. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2007-0203Gowane G.R., Chopra A., Misra S.S., Prince L.L.L. 2014. Genetic diversity of a nucleus flock of Malpura sheep through pedigree analyses. Small Ruminant Res., 120: 35-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2014.04.016Goyache F., Gutiérrez J.P., Fernández I., Gomez E., Alvarez I., Díez J., Royo I.J. 2003. Using pedigree information to monitor genetic variability of endangered populations: the Xalda sheep breed of Asturias as an example. J. Anim. Breed. Genet., 120: 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0388.2003.00378.xGutiérrez J.P., Altarriba J., Díaz C., Quintanilla A.R., Cañón J., Piedrafita J. 2003. Genetic analysis of eight Spanish beef cattle breeds. Genet. Sel. Evol., 35: 43-64. https://doi.org/10.1051/gse:2002035Gutiérrez J.P., Cervantes I., Goyache F. 2009. Improving the estimation of realized effective population sizes in farm animals. J. Anim. Breed. Genet., 126: 327-332.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2009.00810.xGutiérrez J.P., Cervantes I., Molina A., Valera M., Goyache F. 2008. Individual increase in inbreeding allows estimating realized effective sizes from pedigrees. Genet. Sel. Evol., 40: 359-378. https://doi.org/10.1051/gse:2008008Gutiérrez J.P., Goyache F. 2005. A note on ENDOG: a computer program for analyzing pedigree information. J. Anim. Breed. Genet., 122: 172-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2005.00512.xHill W.G. 1979. A note on effective population size with overlapping generations. Genetics, 92: 317-322.Lacy R.C. 1989. Analysis of founder representation in pedigrees: founder equivalents and founder genome equivalents. Zoo Biol., 8: 111-123. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.1430080203Leroy G., Mary-Huard T., Verrier E., Danvy S., Charvolin E., Danchin-Burge C. 2013. Methods to estimate effective population size using pedigree data: examples in dog, sheep, cattle and horse. Genet. Sel. Evol., 45: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9686-45-1Maignel L., Boichard D., Verrier E. 1996. Genetic variability of French dairy breeds estimated form pedigree information. Interbull Bull., 14: 49-54.Martín de la Rosa A.J., Cervantes I., Gutiérrez J.P. 2016. Equivalent effective population size mating as a useful tool in the genetic management of the Ibicenco rabbit breed (Conill Pages d'Eivissa). Czech J. Anim. Sci., 61: 108-116. https://doi.org/10.17221/8783-CJASMartínez R.A., García D., Gallego J.L., Onofre G., Pérez J., Cañón J. 2008. Genetic variability in Colombian Creole cattle populations estimated by pedigree information. J. Anim. Sci., 86: 545-552. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2007-0175Meuwissen T.H.E. 1991. Expectation and variance of genetic gain in open and closed nucleus and progeny testing schemes. Anim. Prod., 53: 133-141. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003356100020043Meuwissen T.H.E. 2009. Towards consensus on how to measure neutral genetic diversity? J. Anim. Breed. Genet., 126: 333-334. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2009.00839.xMeuwissen T.I., Luo Z. 1992. Computing inbreeding coefficients in large populations. Genet. Sel. Evol., 24: 305-303. https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9686-24-4-305Miglior F., Burnside E.B., Dekkers J.C. 1995. Non additive genetic effects and inbreeding depression for somatic cell counts of Holstein cattle. J. Dairy Sci., 78: 1168-1173.https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(95)76734-0Moura A.S.A.M.T., Polastre R., Wechsler F.S. 2000. Dam and litter inbreeding and environmental effects on litter performances in Botucatu rabbits. World Rabbit Sci., 8: 151-157. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2000.433Nagy I., Curik I., Radnai I., Cervantes I., Gyovai P., Baumung R., Farkas J., Szendrő Zs. 2010. Genetic diversity and population structure of the synthetic Pannon White rabbit revealed by pedigree analyses. J. Anim.Sci., 88: 1267-1275. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2009-2273Nagy I., Farkas J., Onika-Szvath S., Radnai I., Szendrő Zs. 2011. Genetic parameters and inbreeding depression of litter weight in Pannon White rabbits. Agric. Conspec. Sci., 76: 231-233.Nagy I., Gyovai P., Farkas J., Radnai I., Eles V., Szendro Zs. 2012. Effects of selection and inbreeding on growth and carcass traits of Pannon terminal line rabbits. In Proc.. 10th World Rabbit Congress, 3-6 September 2012, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 93-96.Panetto J.C.C., Gutiérrez J.P., Ferraz J.B.S., Cunha D.G., Golden B.L. 2010. Assessment of inbreeding depression in a Guzerat dairy herd: Effects of individual increase in inbreeding coefficients on production and reproduction. J. Dairy Sci., 93: 4902-4912. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2010-3197Pedrosa V.B., Santana Jr. M.L., Oliveira P.S., Eler J.P., Ferraz J.B.S. 2010. Population structure and inbreeding effects on growth traits of Santa Ines sheep in Brazil. Small Ruminant Res., 93: 135-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2010.05.012Pérez-Enciso M. 1995. Use of uncertain relationship matrix to compute effective population size. J. Anim. Breed. Genet., 112: 327-332. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.1995.tb00574.xPlaninc M., Kermauner A., Kovac M., Malovrh S. 2012. Pedigree analysis in the Sika rabbits in Slovenia. Acta Agr. Slov., Supplement 3: 171-173.Rafat S.A., Allain D., de Rochambeau H. 2009. Genetic description of a divergent selection experiment in Angora rabbits with overlapping generations. J. Anim. Breed. Genet., 126: 189-197. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2008.00769.xSantana Jr M.L., Oliveira P.S., Eler J.P., Gutiérrez J.P., Ferraz J.B.S. 2012. Pedigree analysis and inbreeding depression on growth traits in Brazilian Marchigiana and Bonsmara breeds. J. Anim. Sci. 90: 99-108. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2011-4079Sorensen A.C., Sorensen M.K., Berg P. 2005. Inbreeding in Danish dairy cattle breed. J. Dairy Sci., 88: 1865-1872. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(05)72861-7Valera M., Molina A., Gutiérrez J.P., Gomes I., Goyache F. 2005. Pedigree analyses in the Andalusian horse: population structure, genetic variability and influence of the Carthusian strain. Livest. Prod. Sci., 95: 57-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livprodsci.2004.12.004Venkataramanan R., Subramanian A., Sivaselvam S.N., Sivakumar T., Sreekumar C., Anilkumar R., Iyue M. 2013. Pedigree analysis of the Nilagiri sheep of South India. Anim. Genet. Resour., 53: 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2078633613000301Wright S. 1931. Evolution in Mendelian populations. Genetics, 16: 97-159

Omega Production in pp Collisions

A model-independent irreducible tensor formalism which has been developed earlier to analyze measurements of $\vec{p}\vec{p}\to pp \pi^\circ$, is extended to present a theoretical discussion of $\vec{p}\vec{p}\to pp \omega$ and the polarization of $\omega$ in $pp\to pp \vec{\omega}$. The recent measurement of unpolarized differential cross section for $pp\to pp \omega$ is analyzed using this theoretical formalism.Comment: 5 pages (double column), no figures, uses revtex

Curcumin-induced inhibition of cellular reactive oxygen species generation: novel therapeutic implications

There is evidence for increased levels of circulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) in diabetics, as indirectly inferred by the findings of increased lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant status. Direct measurements of intracellular generation of ROS using fluorescent dyes also demonstrate an association of oxidative stress with diabetes. Although phenolic compounds attenuate oxidative stress-related tissue damage, there are concerns over toxicity of synthetic phenolic antioxidants and this has considerably stimulated interest in investigating the role of natural phenolics in medicinal applications. Curcumin (the primary active principle in turmeric, Curcuma longa Linn.) has been claimed to represent a potential antioxidant and antiinflammatory agent with phytonutrient and bioprotective properties. However there are lack of molecular studies to demonstrate its cellular action and potential molecular targets. In this study the antioxidant effect of curcumin as a function of changes in cellular ROS generation was tested. Our results clearly demonstrate that curcumin abolished both phorbol-12 myristate-13 acetate (PMA) and thapsigargin-induced ROS generation in cells from control and diabetic subjects. The pattern of these ROS inhibitory effects as a function of dose-dependency suggests that curcumin mechanistically interferes with protein kinase C (PKC) and calcium regulation. Simultaneous measurements of ROS and Ca2+ influx suggest that a rise in cytosolic Ca2+ may be a trigger for increased ROS generation. We suggest that the antioxidant and antiangeogenic actions of curcumin, as a mechanism of inhibition of Ca2+ entry and PKC activity, should be further exploited to develop suitable and novel drugs for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy and other diabetic complications

Human Adipose Tissue As A Reservoir For Memory Cd4(+) T Cells And Hiv

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine whether adipose tissue functions as a reservoir for HIV-1. Design: We examined memory CD4(+) T cells and HIV DNA in adipose tissue-stromal vascular fraction (AT-SVF) of five patients [four antiretroviral therapy (ART)-treated and one untreated]. To determine whether adipocytes stimulate CD4(+) T cells and regulate HIV production, primary human adipose cells were cocultured with HIV-infected CD4(+) T cells. Methods: AT-SVF T cells were studied by flow cytometry, and AT-SVF HIV DNA (Gag and Env) was examined by nested PCR and sequence analyses. CD4(+) T-cell activation and HIV production were measured by flow cytometry and ELISA. Results: AT-SVF CD3(+) T cells were activated (\u3e60% CD69(+)) memory CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in uninfected and HIV-infected persons, but the AT-SVF CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio was lower in HIV patients. HIV DNA(Gag and Env) was detected in AT-SVF of all five patients examined by nested PCR, comparably to other tissues [peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC), lymph node or thymus]. In coculture experiments, adipocytes increased CD4(+) T-cell activation and HIV production approximately two to three-fold in synergy with gamma-chain cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, IL7 or IL15. These effects were mitigated by neutralizing antibodies against IL6 and integrin-alpha 1 beta 1. Adipocytes also enhanced T-cell viability. Conclusion: Adipose tissues of ART-treated patients harbour activated memory CD4(+) T cells and HIV DNA. Adipocytes promote CD4(+) T-cell activation and HIV production in concert with intrinsic adipose factors. Adipose tissue may be an important reservoir for HIV. Copyright (C) 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved

Changes of glucose levels precede dementia in African Americans with diabetes but not in Caucasians

INTRODUCTION Changes in glucose levels may represent a powerful metabolic indicator for dementia in African Americans with diabetes. It is unclear whether these changes also occur in Caucasians. METHODS A secondary data analysis using electronic medical records from 5228 African Americans and Caucasians 65 years and older. Mixed effects models with repeated serum glucose measurements were used to compare changes in glucose levels between African Americans and Caucasian patients with and without incident dementia. RESULTS African Americans and Caucasians with diabetes had significantly different changes in glucose levels by dementia status (p<0.0001). African Americans experienced a significant decline in glucose levels before the dementia diagnosis (estimated glucose decline 1.3421 mg/dL per year, p<0.0001) than those who did not develop dementia. Caucasians with and without dementia showed stable glucose levels over time (p=0.3071). DISCUSSION Significant changes in glucose levels precede dementia in African American patients with diabetes but not in Caucasians

Impact of remittances on economic growth in developing countries: The role of openness

The paper examines the empirical relationship between remittances and economic growth for a sample of 62 developing countries over the time period 1990–2014. Remittances seem to promote growth only in the ‘more open’ countries. That is because remittances are in themselves not sufficient for growth. The extent of the benefit depends on domestic institutions and macroeconomic environment in the receiving country. Unlike the ‘less open’ countries, ‘more open’ countries have better institutions and better financial markets to take advantage of the remittances income and channelise them into profitable investments which, in turn, accelerates the rate of economic growth in these countries.N/

Genotoksičnost metalnih nanočestica: osvrt na podatke istraživanja In vivo

With increasing production and application of a variety of nanomaterials (NMs), research on their cytotoxic and genotoxic potential grows, as the exposure to these nano-sized materials may potentially result in adverse health effects. In large part, indications for potential DNA damaging effects of nanoparticles (NPs) originate from inconsistent in vitro studies. To clarify these effects, the implementation of in vivo studies has been emphasised. This paper summarises study results of genotoxic effects of NPs, which are available in the recent literature. They provide indications that some NP types cause both DNA strand breaks and chromosomal damages in experimental animals. Their genotoxic effects, however, do not depend only on particle size, surface modifi cation (particle coating), and exposure route, but also on exposure duration. Currently available animal studies may suggest differing mechanisms (depending on the duration of exposure) by which living organisms react to NP contact. Nevertheless, due to considerable inconsistencies in the recent literature and the lack of standardised test methods - a reliable hazard assessment of NMs is still limited. Therefore, international organisations (e.g. NIOSH) suggest utmost caution when potential exposure of humans to NMs occurs, as long as evidence of their toxicological and genotoxic effect(s) is limited.S povećanjem proizvodnje i primjene niza različitih nanomaterijala (NM) raste i potreba istraživanja njihovih mogućih citotoksičnih i genotoksičnih učinaka kao i drugih štetnih učinaka na zdravlje u uvjetima profesionalne ili opće izloženost ljudi. Indikacije potencijanog oštećenja DNA kojeg uzrokuju nanočestice u velikoj mjeri proizlaze iz nedosljednih in vitro ispitivanja. Kako bi se razjasnili ti učinci, naglašena je potreba provedbe in vivo ispitivanja. Ovaj pregledni rad sažima rezultate procjene genotoksičnih učinaka nanočestica koji su objavljeni u novijoj stručnoj i znanstvenoj literaturi. Navedeni rezultati pokazuju da određene nanočestice uzrokuju lomove u molekuli DNA i oštećuju kromosome u eksperimentalnim životinjama. Njihovi genotoksični učinci ne ovise samo o veličini čestice, modifi kaciji površine (oblaganje čestice) i načinu izlaganja, već i o trajanju izloženosti nanočesticama. Postojeća istraživanja provedena na životinjama upućuju na različite mehanizme koji ovise o trajanju izlaganja i pomoću kojih živi organizmi reagiraju na doticaj s nanočesticama. Međutim postoje brojne nedosljednosti u novijoj literaturi, a standardne testne metode nisu dostupne pa je stoga pouzdanija procjena opasnosti od izlaganja nanomaterijalima u ljudi još uvijek veoma ograničena. Stoga se u međunarodnim dokumentima savjetuje oprez prilikom svakog izlaganja ljudi nanomaterijalima kako bi se spriječili mogući opći toksični genotoksični učinci