Survey of milk protein polymorphism in the "Bovina Rossa Siciliana"

The “Rossa Siciliana” is an autochthonous small Sicilian dairy cattle population, accounting for 5-7,000 individuals.This breed is characterized by high ability to live on poor pasture lands, moderate milk production, and traditionally linked to cheese production. Aim of this work was to investigate milk protein polymorphisms in this population. A total of 62 individual milk samples were collected from 19 extensive farms spread in the “Parco dei Nebrodi” area (Messina). All samples were analyzed by isoelectrofocusing (IEF) with pH range 2.5-6. High variability was found at the CSN1S1, CSN2, CSN3, LGB and LALBA loci, while the CSN1S2 locus was monomorphic for the A allele. The allele frequencies and the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were estimated using the GENEPOP software, further the casein haplotype frequencies and the occurrence of the linkage disequilibrium were computed with the EH software, taking into account the association among loci. Joint analysis at all loci showed that the population is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (Chi-square=19.0, pvalue=0.0407), probably due to genetic drift. Of the three alleles detected at CSN1S1 locus, CSN1S1*B and CSN1S1*C had high frequencies (0.734 and 0.258 respectively), as reported for most breeds. The CSN1S1*D allele was detected with a low frequency (0.008). High frequencies were found for CSN2*A2 (0.573) and CSN3*B (0.637). High frequencies were observed for LALBA*B (0.903) and LGB*B (0.815). Strong linkage disequilibrium was detected for the polymorphic casein loci CSN1S1-CSN2-CSN3. For the casein haplotype only the hypothesis of association among loci was considered. Out of the 27 expected, only four haplotypes had a frequency higher than 0.10. The most frequent haplotype was BA2B (0.236), followed by CA2B (0.214), BA1A (0.168), BA1B (0.131), and BA2A (0.094). The high frequency of BA2B haplotype and the possible relation with production traits are under investigation

Demographic characterization, inbreeding and genetic variability within Sanfratellano population horse from genealogical data

The Sanfratellano horse is an ancient Sicilian population, however nothing is definite with regards its origin. The breed, raised in the Nebrodi mountains near Messina, is very well adapted to the hard Sicilian habitat (Chiofalo et al., 1983). In 1948 the first try to improve the Sanfratellano horse was set up (Chiofalo et al., 1959). Nowadays the Sanfratellano’s morphology is no longer definite. Over the years stallions from other breeds (Mecklenburg, Hackney, Nonius, Thoroughbred derivatives and Maremmano) were frequently used in the Sanfratellano’s stud farms. The Maremmano horse was, above all, used more recently..

La Messinese risorsa autoctona tutta siciliana

Scopo del presente lavoro è la presentazione della situazione attuale e delle prospettive future di sviluppo e valorizzazione della capra Messinese, che tra le popolazioni autoctone siciliane, presenta buone caratteristiche produttive. La capra Messinese è largamente diffusa nella zone dei monti Nebrodi dove prevale l’allevamento brado. Il fabbisogno alimentare è dato da pascoli naturali con integrazione di fave e fieno polifita. La mungitura è manuale. La stagione di monta ha inizio a giugno quando i becchi vengono immessi nelle greggi. Dal punto di vista fenotipico, gli individui mostrano un mantello che nella maggior parte dei casi è nero ma può anche presentarsi grigio, marrone e rossiccio. L’animale è di norma di taglia medio-piccola con corna resenti in entrambi i sessi. Le orecchie sono piccole e portate orizzontalmente. Il Registro Anagrafico è attivo dal 2001 e la consistenza è stimata pari a circa 50000 capi. I prodotti da allevamento sono caratterizzati principalmente da latte ma anche dalla carne con la produzione del capretto leggero

Survey of milk protein polymorphism in the "Rossa Siciliana" dairy cattle

\u201cRossa Siciliana\u201d is a dairy cattle population traditionally linked to cheese production protein polymorphisms from 62 individual milk samples from 19 farms were analyzed by isoelectrofocusing. High variability was found at the CNS1S1, CSN2, CSN3, LGB and LALBA loci, while the CNS1S2 locus was monomorphic for the A allele. The casein haplotype frequencies and the occurrence of the linkage disequilibrium, taking into account the association among loci were investigated. The population was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (Chi-square=19.0, p-value=0.0407), probably due to genetic drift. Frequencies of the three allele detected at CSN1S1 locus were B (0.734), C (0.258) and D (0.008). high frequencies were found for CSN2*A2 (0.573) and CSN3*B (0.637). Whey protein showed high frequencies for LALBA*B (0.903) and LGB*B (0.815). Strong linkage disequilibrium was detected for the polymorphic casein loci CSN1S1-CSN2-CSN3. Out of the 27 possible combination from the 3x3x3 alleles considered, only four haplotypes had a frequency above 0.10. the most frequent haplotype frequency was BA2B (0.236) followed by CA2B (0.214), BA1A (0.168), BA1B (0.131), and BA2A (0.094). the CSN1S1*B variant showed an allele frequency of 0.734 and occurred in almost all haplotype combinations