Assessment of Egyptian Buffalo Crossing With Pakistani And Italian Buffaloes for some production traits.

Abstract: Egyptian buffaloes are considered one of the most important dual purpose farm animals that represent 44% of dairy animals in Egypt. In 1980, the Animal Production Research Institute (APRI) imported 93 Pakistani semen straws for crossbreeding to improve milk productivities. In 2003, Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) allowed the commercial importation of Italian buffalo semen, which randomly utilized in some large scale buffalo farms. This study aims to evaluate the Egyptian buffalo crosses with both Pakistani and Italian buffaloes for some productive traits to assess the crossing trials. For the first trial of the study, 180 records (85 pure Egyptian buffaloes (E), 22 record 1/2 Egyptian (E) 1/2 Pakistani (PA) buffaloes and 52 record 3/4E 1/4PA buffaloes and 21 record 7/8E 1/8PA) through the period from 1980 to 1998 were used for the evaluation of Egyptian (E) Pakistani (PA) crossbred. Data for the second trial, concerned with the evaluation of the Egyptian (E) Italian (I) crosses, was collected from two private farms. A total 138 records; 64 record from Ganat Elreda farm (32 record E and 32 record 1/2E 1/2I) and 74 records from "United Group farm" (26 record E and 48 record 1/2E 1/2I buffaloes) was utilized. Utilized record covers the period from 2005 to 2009. Average for total milk yield was nearly the same for Egyptian and its cross with Pakistani buffaloes. In trial 1, Milk yield generally tended to increase with the advancement of parities till the ≥7 parity. Egyptian buffaloes showed the highest values for all growth traits measures. In trial 2, significant difference in milk productivity between the Egyptian and its Italian crossbred, which was significantly higher (P 0.001) in farm 2 than it is in farm 1 (P 0.01), was observed. The same trend in difference was detected for the parity effect. Italian crosses showed higher least square means (LSM) estimates for total milk yield (TMY) than the Egyptian buffaloes, which also increased with the advancement of the parity, in the two farms. LSM data reveal increase of 27 and 15% in 1/2E1/2I crossbred milk production than the Egyptian in farm 1 and farm 2, respectively. Difference between the highest and lowest breeding value (BV) in the Egyptian population is larger than it is in the crossbred population. More studies are recommended for the assessment of productive, reproductive and genetic diversity of crossbred populations before the enhancement of crossbreeding activities on national level. [Fooda, T. A.; Elbeltagy, A. R.; Laila R. Hassan and SetEl-habaeib S. Awad. Assessment of Egyptian buffaloes crossing with Pakistani and Italian buffaloes for some production traits

Natural Selection Footprints Among African Chicken Breeds and Village Ecotypes

Natural selection is likely a major factor in shaping genomic variation of the African indigenous rural chicken, driving the development of genetic footprints. Selection footprints are expected to be associated with adaptation to locally prevailing environmental stressors, which may include diverse factors as high altitude, disease resistance, poor nutrition, oxidative and heat stresses. To determine the existence of a selection footprint, 268 birds were randomly sampled from three indigenous ecotypes from East Africa (Rwanda and Uganda) and North Africa (Baladi), and two registered Egyptian breeds (Dandarawi and Fayoumi). Samples were genotyped using the chicken Affymetrix 600K Axiom® Array. A total of 494,332 SNPs were utilized in the downstream analysis after implementing quality control measures. The intra-population runs of homozygosity (ROH) that occurred in >50% of individuals of an ecotype or in >75% of a breed were studied. To identify inter-population differentiation due to genetic structure, FST was calculated for North- vs. East-African populations and Baladi and Fayoumi vs. Dandarawi for overlapping windows (500 kb with a step-size of 250 kb). The ROH and FST mapping detected several selective sweeps on different autosomes. Results reflected selection footprints of the environmental stresses, breed behavior, and management. Intra-population ROH of the Egyptian chickens showed selection footprints bearing genes for adaptation to heat, solar radiation, ion transport and immunity. The high-altitude-adapted East-African populations’ ROH showed a selection signature with genes for angiogenesis, oxygen-heme binding and transport. The neuroglobin gene (GO:0019825 and GO:0015671) was detected on a Chromosome 5 ROH of Rwanda–Uganda ecotypes. The sodium-dependent noradrenaline transporter, SLC6A2 on a Chromosome 11 ROH in Fayoumi breed may reflect its active behavior. Inter-population FST among Egyptian populations reflected genetic mechanisms for the Fayoumi resistance to Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), while FST between Egyptian and Rwanda–Uganda populations indicated the Secreted frizzled related protein 2, SFRP2, (GO:0009314) on Chromosome 4, that contributes to melanogenic activity and most likely enhances the Dandarawi chicken adaptation to high-intensity of solar radiation in Southern Egypt. These results enhance our understanding of the natural selection forces role in shaping genomic structure for adaptation to the stressful African conditions

Global burden of human brucellosis : a systematic review of disease frequency

BACKGROUND: This report presents a systematic review of scientific literature published between 1990-2010 relating to the frequency of human brucellosis, commissioned by WHO. The objectives were to identify high quality disease incidence data to complement existing knowledge of the global disease burden and, ultimately, to contribute towards the calculation of a Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) estimate for brucellosis.METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty three databases were searched, identifying 2,385 articles relating to human brucellosis. Based on strict screening criteria, 60 studies were selected for quality assessment, of which only 29 were of sufficient quality for data analysis. Data were only available from 15 countries in the regions of Northern Africa and Middle East, Western Europe, Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central Asia. Half of the studies presented incidence data, six of which were longitudinal prospective studies, and half presented seroprevalence data which were converted to incidence rates. Brucellosis incidence varied widely between, and within, countries. Although study biases cannot be ruled out, demographic, occupational, and socioeconomic factors likely play a role. Aggregated data at national or regional levels do not capture these complexities of disease dynamics and, consequently, at-risk populations or areas may be overlooked. In many brucellosis-endemic countries, health systems are weak and passively-acquired official data underestimate the true disease burden.CONCLUSIONS: High quality research is essential for an accurate assessment of disease burden, particularly in Eastern Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Central and South America and Africa where data are lacking. Providing formal epidemiological and statistical training to researchers is essential for improving study quality. An integrated approach to disease surveillance involving both human health and veterinary services would allow a better understand of disease dynamics at the animal-human interface, as well as a more cost-effective utilisation of resources

Fluoxetine Counteracts the Cognitive and Cellular Effects of 5-Fluorouracil in the Rat Hippocampus by a Mechanism of Prevention Rather than Recovery

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a cytostatic drug associated with chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairments that many cancer patients experience after treatment. Previous work in rodents has shown that 5-FU reduces hippocampal cell proliferation, a possible mechanism for the observed cognitive impairment, and that both effects can be reversed by co-administration of the antidepressant, fluoxetine. In the present study we investigate the optimum time for administration of fluoxetine to reverse or prevent the cognitive and cellular effects of 5-FU

Fluoxetine reverses the memory impairment and reduction in proliferation and survival of hippocampal cells caused by methotrexate chemotherapy

RATIONALE: Adjuvant cancer chemotherapy can cause long-lasting, cognitive deficits. It is postulated that these impairments are due to these drugs targeting neural precursors within the adult hippocampus, the loss of which has been associated with memory impairment. OBJECTIVES: The present study investigates the effects of the chemotherapy, methotrexate (MTX) on spatial working memory and the proliferation and survival of the neural precursors involved in hippocampal neurogenesis, and the possible neuroprotective properties of the antidepressant fluoxetine. METHODS: Male Lister hooded rats were administered MTX (75 mg/kg, two i.v. doses a week apart) followed by leucovorin rescue (i.p. 18 h after MTX at 6 mg/kg and at 26, 42 and 50 h at 3 mg/kg) and/or fluoxetine (10 mg/kg/day in drinking water for 40 days). Memory was tested using the novel location recognition (NLR) test. Using markers, cell proliferation (Ki67) and survival (bromodeoxyuridine/BrdU), in the dentate gyrus were quantified. RESULTS: MTX-treated rats showed a cognitive deficit in the NLR task compared with the vehicle and fluoxetine-treated groups. Cognitive ability was restored in the group receiving both MTX and fluoxetine. MTX reduced both the number of proliferating cells in the SGZ and their survival. This was prevented by the co-administration of fluoxetine, which alone increased cell numbers. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that MTX induces an impairment in spatial working memory and has a negative long-term effect on hippocampal neurogenesis, which is counteracted by the co-administration of fluoxetine. If translatable to patients, this finding has the potential to prevent the chemotherapy-induced cognitive deficits experienced by many cancer survivors

Genetic and Phenotypic Characterization of African Goat Populations to Prioritize Conservation and Production Efforts for Small-holder Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT: Food production systems in Africa depend heavily on the use of locally adapted animals. Goats are critical to small-holder farmers being easier to acquire, maintain, and act as scavengers in sparse pasture. Indigenous goats have undergone generations of adaptation and genetic isolation that have led to great phenotypic variation. These indigenous goats serve as a genetic reservoir for the identification of genes important to environmental adaptation, disease resistance, and improved productivity under local conditions. The immediate goal is to characterize African goat populations to prioritize conservation and production efforts and to develop genomic tools for use in selective breeding programs. We have established a standardized phenotypic scoring system to characterize goats including geographical information data, body measurements, photo characterization, and DNA. To date, 2,443 goats from 12 countries, representing 46 breeds have been sampled. Using the 50K goat beadchip, we report parameters of population structure of 620 African goats

Genome of Herbaspirillum seropedicae Strain SmR1, a Specialized Diazotrophic Endophyte of Tropical Grasses

The molecular mechanisms of plant recognition, colonization, and nutrient exchange between diazotrophic endophytes and plants are scarcely known. Herbaspirillum seropedicae is an endophytic bacterium capable of colonizing intercellular spaces of grasses such as rice and sugar cane. The genome of H. seropedicae strain SmR1 was sequenced and annotated by The Paraná State Genome Programme—GENOPAR. The genome is composed of a circular chromosome of 5,513,887 bp and contains a total of 4,804 genes. The genome sequence revealed that H. seropedicae is a highly versatile microorganism with capacity to metabolize a wide range of carbon and nitrogen sources and with possession of four distinct terminal oxidases. The genome contains a multitude of protein secretion systems, including type I, type II, type III, type V, and type VI secretion systems, and type IV pili, suggesting a high potential to interact with host plants. H. seropedicae is able to synthesize indole acetic acid as reflected by the four IAA biosynthetic pathways present. A gene coding for ACC deaminase, which may be involved in modulating the associated plant ethylene-signaling pathway, is also present. Genes for hemagglutinins/hemolysins/adhesins were found and may play a role in plant cell surface adhesion. These features may endow H. seropedicae with the ability to establish an endophytic life-style in a large number of plant species