Some insights into the phenotypic and genetic diversity of indigenous pigs in southern Africa

Indigenous pigs in southern Africa are mainly owned by economically vulnerable groups in marginal areas where they are used as a source food, income and security. A study was carried out to achieve three objectives: to describe pig production systems, get a phenotypic description of the pigs and to characterize them genetically. A survey of 199 farmers in three districts in South Africa, (Vhembe, OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo) and one district in Zimbabwe (Chirumhnazu) was carried out. Additional farmers in Malawi (Dedza, Mchinji and Salima) and Zimbabwe (Mutoko) were sampled in order to meet the other two objectives. Most of the pigs (69.7%) were owned by women, with men owning 20.5% and children the remainder. Production of the pigs was constrained by several factors including disease, inadequate feeds, poor housing and lack of knowledge. The majority of the pigs were small and black with characteristics that are probably suited for thermoregulation in arid environments. The third objective was achieved through genotyping 111 pigs using 22 microsatellites. Preliminary results indicate very little differences across populations with an overall inbreeding coefficient of the subpopulation relative to the total population (FST) of 0.071. The results indicate that the indigenous pigs in southern Africa are relatively homogenous.Keywords: Conservation, Kolbroek, microsatellites, smallholder pig production, Windsnye

Biophysical Characterization of the Strong Stabilization of the RNA Triplex poly(U)•poly(A)*poly(U) by 9-O-(ω-amino) Alkyl Ether Berberine Analogs

Background: Binding of two 9-O-(v-amino) alkyl ether berberine analogs BC1 and BC2 to the RNA triplex poly(U)Npoly(A)*poly(U) was studied by various biophysical techniques. Methodology/Principal Findings: Berberine analogs bind to the RNA triplex non-cooperatively. The affinity of binding was remarkably high by about 5 and 15 times, respectively, for BC1 and BC2 compared to berberine. The site size for the binding was around 4.3 for all. Based on ferrocyanide quenching, fluorescence polarization, quantum yield values and viscosity results a strong intercalative binding of BC1 and BC2 to the RNA triplex has been demonstrated. BC1 and BC2 stabilized the Hoogsteen base paired third strand by about 18.1 and 20.5uC compared to a 17.5uC stabilization by berberine. The binding was entropy driven compared to the enthalpy driven binding of berbeine, most likely due to additional contacts within the grooves of the triplex and disruption of the water structure by the alkyl side chain. Conclusions/Significance: Remarkably higher binding affinity and stabilization effect of the RNA triplex by the amino alkyl berberine analogs was achieved compared to berberine. The length of the alkyl side chain influence in the triplex stabilization phenomena

Physiological Responses of Slow-Growing Chickens under Diurnally Cycling Temperature in a Hot Environment

<div><p>ABSTRACT Free-range chicken production has significantly increased in recent years and it often entails exposing birds to cyclic environmental conditions. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of bird strain and sex, and rearing system on the physiological responses of Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK), Ovambo (OV) and Naked Neck (NN) chickens reared in a hot environment. Body weight (BW), rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) were determined weekly for 4 weeks, in 3 slow-growing chicken strains under cyclic environmental conditions. A total of 288, 20-week old Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK), Ovambo (OV) and Naked Neck (NN) chickens were separated by sex and allocated to extensive and intensive rearing systems. Ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) were used to compute a temperature humidity index (THI). A Proc MIXED model was used to analyze fixed effects and a linear regression model was fitted to test the relationship between THI and response parameters. All factors studied influenced (p<0.05) BW while none affected (p>0.05) RT. Higher BW (p<0.05) were obtained with OV in both rearing systems. Sex influenced (p=0.0021) HR but not RR (p>0.05). Week and rearing system affected (p>0.05) RR. THI showed significant correlation with RR and HR. THI was higher in intensive than extensive rearing. Physiological responses of PK, OV and NN are comparable under similar rearing conditions.</p></div

Physiological Responses of Slow-Growing Chickens under Diurnally Cycling Temperature in a Hot Environment

ABSTRACT Free-range chicken production has significantly increased in recent years and it often entails exposing birds to cyclic environmental conditions. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of bird strain and sex, and rearing system on the physiological responses of Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK), Ovambo (OV) and Naked Neck (NN) chickens reared in a hot environment. Body weight (BW), rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) were determined weekly for 4 weeks, in 3 slow-growing chicken strains under cyclic environmental conditions. A total of 288, 20-week old Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK), Ovambo (OV) and Naked Neck (NN) chickens were separated by sex and allocated to extensive and intensive rearing systems. Ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) were used to compute a temperature humidity index (THI). A Proc MIXED model was used to analyze fixed effects and a linear regression model was fitted to test the relationship between THI and response parameters. All factors studied influenced (p0.05) RT. Higher BW (p0.05). Week and rearing system affected (p>0.05) RR. THI showed significant correlation with RR and HR. THI was higher in intensive than extensive rearing. Physiological responses of PK, OV and NN are comparable under similar rearing conditions

Some insights into the phenotypic and genetic diversity of indigenous pigs in southern Africa

Indigenous pigs in southern Africa are mainly owned by economically vulnerable groups in marginal areas where they are used as a source food, income and security. A study was carried out to achieve three objectives: to describe pig production systems, get a phenotypic description of the pigs and to characterize them genetically. A survey of 199 farmers in three districts in South Africa, (Vhembe, OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo) and one district in Zimbabwe (Chirumhnazu) was carried out. Additional farmers in Malawi (Dedza, Mchinji and Salima) and Zimbabwe (Mutoko) were sampled in order to meet the other two objectives. Most of the pigs (69.7%) were owned by women, with men owning 20.5% and children the remainder. Production of the pigs was constrained by several factors including disease, inadequate feeds, poor housing and lack of knowledge. The majority of the pigs were small and black with characteristics that are probably suited for thermoregulation in arid environments. The third objective was achieved through genotyping 111 pigs using 22 microsatellites. Preliminary results indicate very little differences across populations with an overall inbreeding coefficient of the subpopulation relative to the total population (FST) of 0.071. The results indicate that the indigenous pigs in southern Africa are relatively homogenous.Keywords: Conservation, Kolbroek, microsatellites, smallholder pig production, Windsnye

Pig genetic resource conservation: The Southern African perspective

Local pigs in Southern Africa are an important component of resource-based subsistence farming systems and contribute substantially to the improvement of livelihoods of farmers. In addition to utilising by-products and feed resources that are otherwise of no use, they serve various socio-economic functions. The numbers, breeds and population genetic structures, attributes and risk status of these pigs are understudied. In the few studies to date, they have been shown to be tolerant to parasites that are endemic in their production environment. They also have a better chance to survive various disease outbreaks and have a higher capacity to utilise fibrous and poor quality feed resources compared to exotic breeds. Their production environment has also been described with women owning most of the pigs. The farmers tend to keep the herd sizes small in order to adequately meet the animals' nutrition needs. This leads to small populations that are vulnerable to inbreeding and disasters. In addition, there are no incentive systems in place to promote conservation of the pigs. There is an urgent need to address research and policy gaps, and to formulate strategies for the conservation of this resource.Local pig breeds Mukota Kolbroek Windsnyer

Opportunities for conservation and utilisation of local pig breeds in low-input production systems in Zimbabwe and South Africa

AgriwetenskappeVeekundige WetenskappePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

Some insights into the phenotypic and genetic diversity of indigenous pigs in southern Africa

CITATION: Halimani, T. E., Muchadeyi, F. C., Chimonyo, M. & Dzama, K. 2012. Some insights into the phenotypic and genetic diversity of indigenous pigs in southern Africa. South African Journal of Animal Science, 42(5):507-510, doi:10.4314/sajas.v42i5.13.The original publication is available at http://www.sasas.co.zaIndigenous pigs in southern Africa are mainly owned by economically vulnerable groups in marginal areas where they are used as a source food, income and security. A study was carried out to achieve three objectives: to describe pig production systems, get a phenotypic description of the pigs and to characterize them genetically. A survey of 199 farmers in three districts in South Africa, (Vhembe, OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo) and one district in Zimbabwe (Chirumhnazu) was carried out. Additional farmers in Malawi (Dedza, Mchinji and Salima) and Zimbabwe (Mutoko) were sampled in order to meet the other two objectives. Most of the pigs (69.7%) were owned by women, with men owning 20.5% and children the remainder. Production of the pigs was constrained by several factors including disease, inadequate feeds, poor housing and lack of knowledge. The majority of the pigs were small and black with characteristics that are probably suited for thermoregulation in arid environments. The third objective was achieved through genotyping 111 pigs using 22 microsatellites. Preliminary results indicate very little differences across populations with an overall inbreeding coefficient of the subpopulation relative to the total population (FST) of 0.071. The results indicate that the indigenous pigs in southern Africa are relatively homogenous.http://www.sasas.co.za/some-insights-phenotypic-and-genetic-diversity-indigenous-pigs-southern-africaPublisher's versio

Seasonal changes in body condition scores of pigs and chemical composition of pig feed resources in a semi-arid smallholder farming area of Zimbabwe

Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected] Wetenskapp