Lamb production by FecB heterozygous carrier and non-carrier ewes in smallholder flocks in Maharashtra State of India

A breeding program for the introgression of the FecB (Booroola) prolificacy gene from the small Garole breed into the Deccani breed and a composite has been established at the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) at Phaltan in the dry monsoonal climate of southern Maharashtra State of India. The new crossbred type with only Deccani and Garole breeds was termed 'Fecund Deccani' (FD) and the type which also comprised Bannur and/or Awassi breeds was termed 'Fecund Composite' (FC) (Nimbkar et al., 2002). Nimbkar (2006) reported that one copy of the FecB gene increased litter size per ewe conceived by 0.37 lambs and per ewe lambing by 0.64 lambs in Deccani and crossbred ewes at NARI. The objective of this program is to increase the efficiency and profitability of lamb production in smallholder flocks in this Deccan plateau region. The FecB gene was introduced into local smallholder flocks of Deccani sheep through introduction of heterozygous rams, artificial insemination using semen of heterozygous and homozygous rams and introduction of heterozygous crossbred ewes. Rams and ewes of both FD and FC types were used for introduction. This paper presents preliminary results of the number of lambs born and weaned per ewe lambing for heterozygous and non-carrier ewes introduced into or produced in those smallholder flocks

Mitochondrial DNA of seven Italian sheep breeds shows faint signatures of domestication and suggests recent breed formation

Italy represented a crucial zone for migration and formation of sheep breeds. However, few data on Italian breeds have been published so far. We analysed seven Italian sheep breeds using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing to gain information on their genetic diversity and history. A 721 bp mtDNA control region fragment was amplified and sequenced in a total of 138 samples belonging to seven breeds and to Italian mohuflon (Ovis orientalis musimon) to investigate genetic diversity and phylogenetic evolution. We retrieved 68 variable sites and 79 haplotypes. The sheep breeds in our study are quite diverse, and phylogenetic analyses resulted in 3.6% of the samples belonging to A, 2.2% to D and 94.2% to B mtDNA haplogroups. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed a separation of breeds on both dimensions. The results of this study provide data on Italian breeds, presently scarcely investigated, and contribute to the knowledge of Italian sheep breeds and will be useful to the understanding of population genetics and breed evolution