Sire x stud effect on estimation of genetic parameters for body traits in Spanish Purebred horse: Preliminary results

Ponencia publicada en ITEA, vol.104Los mismos sementales o algunos muy emparentados se utilizan en diferentes ganaderías. El rendimiento del semental puede variar según la ganadería por lo que puede ser recomendable incluir en los modelos de estimación el efecto ambiental macho x ganadería (s). Sin embargo, no existen estudios que analicen la influencia de este efecto sobre parámetros genéticos de caracteres de interés en el caballo. En este estudio se pretende evaluar el efecto de la inclusión del efecto s en los modelos de estimación de parámetros genéticos de 8 medidas zoométricas: alzada a la cruz (HW), altura de pecho (HC), longitud de extremidades (LL), longitud corporal (BL), anchura de pecho (WC), perímetro torácico (HGC), perímetro de rodilla (KP) y perímetro de caña (CBC). Se estimaron los componentes de la varianza a partir de los datos obtenidos en 16.472 animales utilizando un modelo animal multivariado con una metodología REML. Las heredabilidades oscilaron entre 0,26 (HC y WC) y 0,57 (HW) y las estimas del efecto s entre 0,02 (HW) y 0,09 (WC y HGC). Las correlaciones entre efectos s fueron positivas, significativas y, en general, entre moderadas y bajas, variando entre 0,09 (HW-BC) y 0,62 (HW-BL); excepto para LL, que fueron negativas y bajas (-0,20 - -0,68). Se considera recomendable incluir este efecto en los modelos de valoración genética en razas equinas.The same or closely related stallions are used for reproduction across studs differing in environments. Stallions may perform differently across studs, and adjustment for the environmental sire x stud effect (s) may be recommended. However, there are no available studies analysing the influence of such effect on estimation of genetic parameters in horses. This research aimed at assessing the effect of including s effects in the models for eight body measurements: height at withers (HW), height at chest (HC), leg length (LL), body length (BL), width of chest (WC), heart girth circumference (HGC), knee perimeter (KP) and cannon bone circumference (CBC). Using data from 16,472 individuals, genetic parameters were estimated using a multivariate animal model by REML. The estimated heritabilities ranged between 0.26 (HC and WC) and 0.57 (HW) and estimates for the s effect from 0.02 (HW) to 0.09 (WC and HGC). Correlations between s effects were positive, significant and from moderate to low, varying between 0.09 (HW-BC) and 0.62 (HW-BL); except for LL, which were negative and low (-0.20 - -0.68). Selective decisions or preferential management practices can cause this environmental effect. The inclusion of an s effect in models fitted for genetic evaluation in horse breeding schemes can be advisable

Genetic study of gestation length in andalusian and arabian mares

The length of gestation in Andalusian, or Spanish Purebred (SPB) and Arabian (AB) mares reared in Spain was analysed, based on 766 spontaneous full-term deliveries appertaining to 141 mares of SPB breed and 72 mares of AB breed in 31 breeding seasons. The data were obtained from the Yeguada Militar de Jerez de la Frontera stud farm in Cadiz, Spain. The mean length of gestation was of 336.8 ´ ± 0.48 days in the SPB mares and 340.3 ± 0.63 days in AB mares. To assess the accurate prediction of time of birth the potential effect of a number of factors was investigated. The influences of the breed, mare, month and year of mating, age of the mother, number of births and sex of the foal were statistically significant. The factor have the greatest influence over the gestation length was the mare itself, with a correlation among consecutive births of around 0.4. The effect of inbreeding, both of the mare and foal, was negligible. Gestation length shortened as the breeding season progressed: in both breeds, a delay of 1 month in mating corresponded to a decrease of 3 days in the gestation length. According to our results, gestation length decrease as the mare gets older, with the shortest gestation periods when the mare is 10–12 years old, and from this point on, it slowly increases. The gestation period shortens as the 4th or 5th birth approaches, and then gets progressively longer. The range of variation in gestation length due to the number of births to the mare is of 2.9 days for the AB mares, and 2.2 days for SPB mares. The heritability for the gestation length for AB and the SPB breeds was 0.2, with a repeatability of 0.36 and 0.37, for SPB and AB breeds, respectively. With the data from both breeds, and using a classical approach, the response to selection was estimated if mares with extreme gestation lengths were culled, i.e. lengths which are under 310 days, or over 360 days. According to our results, in the case of SPB, a decrease of 14–45% would occur in the number of extreme gestation lengths, while in the AB breed, this value would decrease from 2 to 39%

Acoustic assessment and distribution of anchovy, sardine and chub mackerel in ICES Subdivision 9a South during the ECOCADIZ-RECLUTAS 2021-10 Spanish survey (October 2020) with notes on the distribution of other pelagic species. Preliminary information.

The present working document summarises a part of the main results obtained during the ECOCADIZ-RECLUTAS 2021-10 Spanish (pelagic ecosystem-) acoustic survey. The survey was conducted by IEO between 21st October and 07th November 2021 in the Portuguese and Spanish shelf waters (20-200 m isobaths) off the Gulf of Cadiz (GoC) onboard the R/V Ramón Margalef. The survey suffered a ten-day delay in relation to the usual starting dates, resulting in ending dates very close to the starting ones of the WGACEGG meeting. Therefore, no acoustic estimates were available at the time of WG meeting. The survey’s main objective is the acoustic assessment of anchovy and sardine juveniles (age 0 fish) in the recruitment areas of the GoC. The 21 foreseen acoustic transects were sampled. A total of 18 valid fishing hauls were carried out for echo-trace ground-truthing purposes. This working document only provides information on the results of these hauls in terms of species-specific occurrences, yields in numbers and weight, size ranges, mean size and mean weight in catches

Genetic characterization of the Spanish Trotter horse breed using microsatellite markers

To assist in selection schemes we carried out the first genetic characterization of the Spanish Trotter horse (Trotador Español). We used 16 microsatellite markers to genotype 40 unrelated Spanish trotters, 25 native Balearic horses (11 Menorquina and 14 Mallorquina horses) and 32 Andalusian horses. The observed heterozygosity for the Spanish Trotters was 0.647 ± 0.037 and the expected heterozygosity was 0.696 ± 0.026 while the average number of alleles per locus was 6.0 ± 0.341, these values being similar to the data published for other horse breeds. We also tried to establish the importance of the Mallorquina and Menorquina breeds in the present Spanish Trotter population. Only 9% of the total genetic variability could be attributed to differences between breeds (mean FST = 0.09 ± 0.010). Recent migration rates were confirmed the low recent genetic relationship between the Balearic breeds and Spanish Trotters, indicating that the genetic background of the present Spanish Trotter population is not based on the native Balearic horse populatio

Color de la carne y de la grasa de potros de raza Burguete y cruzados de Hispano-Bretón

A lo largo de la historia, la relación entre el hombre y el caballo ha variado mucho según sus necesidades. La hipofagia (del griego, hipos=caballo y fagos=comer) es una práctica muy antigua, quedando liberalizado el sacrificio y venta de carne equina en España en el año 1985. A pesar de esto, en la sociedad actual ha quedado relegado a épocas de guerras y a determinadas regiones geográficas en las que existe una destacable tradición de consumo. A pesar de los estudios internacionales que evidencian las características nutritivas de este producto (Paleari et al., 2003; Lombardi-Boccia et al., 2005), son escasos los análisis realizados en nuestro país (Sarriés y Beriain, 2005; Sarriés et al., 2006). Si bien es sabido que el consumo de carne equina en la dieta humana constituye una gran fuente de proteínas, baja en grasa, rica en hierro y de fácil digestión, características muy apreciadas actualmente por los consumidores. En España, la cría de équidos para el consumo se centra en la zona norte, donde équidos de razas autóctonas con marcada aptitud cárnica (Burguete o Hispano-Bretón, entre otras), o los cruces de estas con razas extranjeras, son criados en un régimen de libertad o semilibertad hasta el destete, cuando son trasladados a cebaderos. Los cebaderos se localizan mayoritariamente en la zona de Levante (Cataluña y Comunidad Valenciana), donde los animales permanecen en régimen semi-intensivo hasta alcanzar el peso idóneo para su sacrificio en torno a los 16-24 meses. La carne producida en España se utiliza, además de para el abastecimiento del mercado nacional, importante en las zonas norte y este, para su exportación a otros países consumidores, entre los que destacan Italia y Francia. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar las características iniciales del color de la carne y de la grasa sobre una muestra de canales de caballos sacrificados en España.Instituto Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica (I+D+I) RZ2004-00023-0

Genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships of the autochthonous horse breed for meat production based on mitochondrial DNA

Publicado en el año 2008 en: Revista ITEA, 104 (2), 283-289. http://www.aida-itea.org/index.php/revista/contenidos?idArt=85&lang=esp Webs desde donde descargar las ponencias: http://acteon.webs.upv.es/ Web del congreso: http://www.uco.es/genetica/MERAGEM/xivreunion.htmSe han estudiado la variabilidad y relaciones genéticas de las cuatro poblaciones equinas de aptitud cárnica de España de protección especial (41 muestras) (Burguete (BUR): 10, Jaca Navarra (JAC): 11, Hispano Bretón (HB): 10 y Agrupación Hipermétrica del Pirineo (AHP): 10) a través del estudio del ADN mitocondrial (ADNmt). Se han encontrado 15 haplotipos en las 4 razas analizadas determinados por la existencia de 19 posiciones polimórficas de las cuales 18 han sido posiciones informativas parsimoniosas y 1 no informativa (singleton). La diversidad haplotípica (Hd) ha oscilado entre 0,758 del AHP y 0,993 del BUR siendo el valor medio de todas las razas de de 0,929 (SD = 0,016). La raza JAC ha presentado el mayor valor de diversidad nucleotídica (0,023). Casi la totalidad de los haplotipos encontrados los han compartido las razas analizadas excepto el haplotipo 8 que sólo lo ha presentado la AHP, el haplotipo 10 la raza BUR, los haplotipos 13 y 14 el HB y el haplotipo 15 la raza JAC. No se ha encontrado un agrupamiento claro de las poblaciones analizadas, lo que confirma los múltiples orígenes maternos previamente indicado por varios autores. No obstante, al haberse encontrado haplotipos específicos en las 4 poblaciones analizadas se deben tenerlos en cuenta a la hora de llevar a cabo los planes de conservación.Genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships of the autochthonous horse breed for meat production based on mitochondrial DNA We have studied the genetic variability and relationships of four endangered Spanish equine populations for meat production using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (41 horses, 30 of them belong to Burguete (BUR), Hispano Bretón (HB) and Agrupación Hipermétrica del Pirineo (AHP) populations and the other 11 samples belong to Jaca Navarra (JAC) breed. Fifteen haplotypes were found and 19 polomorphic sites were detected, eighteen of them were parsimony informative sites and the other one was a singleton. Haplotipic diversity (Hd) ranged from 0.758 of AHP to 0.993 of BUR breed. The average Hd value was 0.929 (SD = 0.016). The JAC breed presented the highest nucleotide diversity value (0.023). Most of haplotypes found have been shared by the four horse populations except haplotype 8 that only was presented by AHP populaton, haplotype 10 by BUR, the haplotypes 13 and 14 by HB and haplotype 15 by JAC breed. A clear group of horses belong to the same population were not shown. These results confirm the multiple maternal origin previously shown by other authors. However we have found haplotypes specific of each breed that is important to take in account in their conservation programmes

Efecto del destete sobre la calidad de la carne de corderos ternascos de raza merina española

Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria RZ03-01

Caracterización productiva y demográfica de la raza ovina montesina

La raza ovina Montesina se ha explotado tradicionalmente en zonas muy hostiles de alta montaña (por encima de 1.000 metros sobre nivel del mar), caracterizadas por la escasa pluviosidad y su mal reparto a lo largo del año, donde aprovecha los pastos de zonas marginales: ralos, escasos y de mala calidad. En los últimos años, el número de efectivos ha sufrido un fuerte retroceso, pasando de los 300.000 ejemplares, criados en pureza, censados durante la década de los 80 a sólo 1.366 en la actualidad. Este descenso se ha producido en beneficio de razas mejorantes como la Merina o la Segureña. En este trabajo se presentan las características del sistema de producción, el censo actual, la distribución geográfica y las principales características productivas de la raza. Según nuestros resultados, se trata de una raza explotada en régimen extensivo, de un enorme potencial cárnico, gran adaptabilidad al medio y una enorme capacidad de aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales, siendo escasa la necesidad de realizar suplementación. Es una raza con una prolificidad del 123 %, cuyos corderos tienen un peso medio al nacimiento de 3,97 kg, alcanzando su máxima tasa de crecimiento (280 g/día) hacia la 4ª semana de vida.Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria RZ-03-01

Acoustic assessment and distribution of the main pelagic fish species in ICES Subdivision 9a South during the ECOCADIZ-RECLUTAS 2020-10 Spanish survey (October 2020)

The present working document summarises the main results obtained from the ECOCADIZ-RECLUTAS 2020-10 Spanish (pelagic ecosystem-) acoustic-trawl survey conducted by IEO between 02nd and 21st October 2020 in the Portuguese and Spanish shelf waters (20-200 m isobaths) off the Gulf of Cadiz (GoC) onboard the R/V Ramón Margalef. The survey’s main objective is the acoustic assessment of anchovy and sardine juveniles (age 0 fish) in the GoC recruitment areas. The 21 foreseen acoustic transects were sampled. A total of 22 valid fishing hauls were carried out for echo-trace ground-truthing purposes. Chub mackerel, anchovy, mackerel and sardine were the most frequent captured species in the fishing hauls, followed by bogue, horse mackerel, Mediterranean horse mackerel and blue jack mackerel. Boarfish, longspine snipefish and pearlside showed an incidental occurrence in the hauls performed in the surveyed area. Sardine, anchovy, chub mackerel and mackerel showed the highest yields. Total and regional estimates of total NASC allocated to the “pelagic fish species assemblage” in this survey become the historical records in their time-series. Such estimates are the result of the relatively high acoustic contributions of sardine (both in Portuguese and Spanish waters), anchovy (in Spanish waters), and chub mackerel (in Portuguese waters). GoC anchovy was widely distributed in the surveyed area, although higher densities were recorded between east of Cape Santa Maria and Bay of Cadiz. Anchovy acoustic estimates in autumn 2020, 36 070 t and 3197 million fish, showed a decrease in relation to the historical peak recorded the last year, but they were either close (abundance) or even higher (biomass) than the time-series average. The population was composed by fishes not older than 3 years. As usual, the bulk of the population, including juveniles, was located in Spanish waters. Age-0 anchovies accounted for 75% (2385 million) and 58% (21 060 t) of the total estimated abundance and biomass, respectively. Age-0 estimates experienced a similar decreasing trend than the one showed by the whole population in relation to the historical peak recorded the year before, but with values close to the time-series average. GoC sardine experienced a huge increase in autumn 2020, rising up to its time-series maximum and yielding 208 400 t and 5451 million fish, with similar regional contributions to the population and with the juveniles being located in the Spanish coastal waters. Age-6 group was the oldest age group in the population, although the occurrence of fishes older than 4 years was incidental. The population was mainly composed by fishes belonging to the age-0 to age-2 groups. Juvenile sardines (age-0 group) were the dominant group, accounting for 45% and 24% of the total abundance (2454 million) and biomass (49 259 t), respectively. This age-group also recorded its historical maximum in 2020. Chub mackerel estimates were of 22 918 t and 295 million fish, representing a slight decrease compared with the last year, but still above the time-series average. The population was composed by fishes not older than 3 years, with the age-1 group being the dominant one (73%, 216 million, and 75%, 17 082 t, of the total abundance and biomass). Age-0 fish was the second most important age group in the estimated population (17%, 51 million fish, and 12%, 2759 t, of the total abundance and biomass estimates). The bulk of the age-0 (73%) and age-1 groups (74%) was recorded in the Portuguese water