Effect of Fasted Live-Weight Gain during the Cashmere Non-Growing Period on Cashmere Production Performance and Secondary Hair Follicle Activity of Cashmere Goats

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of fasted live-weight gain during the cashmere non-growing period on cashmere production performance and secondary hair follicle activity, to provide a theoretical basis for appropriate supplementary feeding of cashmere goats. Fifty Inner Mongolian cashmere goats aged 2–4 years old were randomly selected and weighed in May and September 2019, respectively. Based on fasted live-weight gain between the two weights, the experimental ewe goats were divided into two groups: 0–5.0 kg group (n = 30) and 5.0–10.0 kg group (n = 20). Skin samples and cashmere samples were collected. Results of a Pearson correlation analysis showed that fasted live-weight gain during the cashmere non-growing period had a moderate and strong positive correlation with cashmere yield (p = 0.021) and cashmere staple length (p = 0.002), respectively, but did not correlate with cashmere diameter (p = 0.254). Compared with cashmere goats with a fasted live-weight gain of 0–5.0 kg, cashmere goats with a fasted live-weight gain of 5.0–10.0 kg had a 17.10% increase in cashmere yield (p = 0.037) and an 8.09% increase in cashmere staple length (p = 0.045), but had no significant difference in cashmere diameter (p = 0.324). Results of a Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a strong positive correlation between fasted live-weight gain and the population of active secondary hair follicles in the skin of cashmere goats (p p < 0.05). In conclusion, the fasted live-weight gain during the cashmere non-growing period had a significant effect on secondary hair follicle activity and cashmere production performance in cashmere goats. Since fasted live-weight gain reflects nutritional level to a certain extent, this study suggests that nutritional manipulations such as supplementary feeding during cashmere non-growing periods can increase cashmere production performance. However, specific nutritional manipulations during the cashmere non-growing period need further research to increase cashmere production performance

Effect of rare earth elements on feed digestibility, rumen fermentation, and purine derivatives in sheep

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of rare earth elements (REE) on feed digestibility, rumen fermentation, and urinary purine derivatives (PDs) in sheep. Eight sheep (44.58±2.9 kg of body weight) fitted with ruminal cannulas were used in a replicated 4×4 Latin square design 20-day experiment. Sheep were fed a basal diet containing 100, 200 and 300 mg REE-citrate per kg dry matter (DM). Mixture of REE mainly consisted of cerium (56.8%), lanthanum (35.0%) and praseodymium (6.5%). Ruminal pH value was linearly (P&lt;0.01) and quadratically (P&lt;0.01) decreased, and ammonia N concentration (9.73 to 11.83 mg/100 mL) was quadratically (P&lt;0.05) decreased, whereas total volatile fatty acids concentration was linearly increased with increasing REE supplementation (P&lt;0.05). The ratio of acetate to propionate was linearly (P&lt;0.01) and quadratically (P&lt;0.01) decreased due to increase of propionate concentration (P&lt;0.05). In situ ruminal neutral detergent fibre (aNDF) degradation of Leymus chinensis was improved (P&lt;0.01), but the in situ ruminal crude protein (CP) degradation of soybean meal was decreased by feeding REE (P&lt;0.01). Moreover, digestibility of DM, organic matter, aNDF, acid detergent fibre and CP in the total tract and urinary excretion of PD were also linearly (P&lt;0.01) and quadratically (P&lt;0.01) increased with increasing REE addition. In conclusion, supplementation of the basal diet with REE improved rumen fermentation and feed digestion in sheep. It was suggested that REE stimulated rumen microbial activity, digestive microorganisms or enzyme activity in a dose-dependent manner. The optimum supplemental dose of REE was about 200 mg/kg dietary DM in sheep

Effect of oocyte selection, estradiol and antioxidant treatment on in vitro maturation of oocytes collected from prepubertal Boer goats

Development of improved procedures for in vitro maturation of oocytes collected from prepubertal goats has applications for in vitro embryo production and accompanying strategies for genetic improvement. The objective of described studies was to determine the effects of oocyte grade, in vitro maturation time, antioxidant supplementation and concentrations of estradiol in the maturation medium on <em>in vitro</em> maturation of oocytes harvested from 1-6 mm follicles present on the ovaries (obtained from an abattoir) of 1-6 month-old prepubertal Boer goats. Rates of progression to metaphase II were greater for grade 1 oocytes (>3 compact layers of cumulus cells and evenly granulated cytoplasm) than grade 2 oocytes (<3 layers cumulus cells and evenly granulated cytoplasm) and were lowest for Grade 3 oocytes (devoid of cumulus cells with abnormal cytoplasm). No significant effects of maturation for 24 vs 27 vs 30 h on progression of oocytes to metaphase II were observed. The addition of 5 mM beta-mercaptoethanol to maturation medium increased the proportion of oocytes progressing to metaphase II and glutathione content in such oocytes, whereas supplementation with 10 mM hypotaurine was without effect. A significant inhibitory effect of <em>in vitro</em> maturation in the presence of high concentrations of estradiol (10 and 100 mg/mL) on progression to metaphase II was observed, and no effect was observed in response to 1 mg/mL estradiol treatment as compared with control. Results suggest that oocyte selection and beta-mercaptoethanol supplementation can positively influence progression to metaphase II of oocytes harvested from ovaries of prepubertal goats, whereas high concentrations of estradiol are inhibitory to in vitro maturation

Energy requirements for the maintenance and growth of Dorper-Jinzhong crossbred ram lambs

The sheep industry in China has been rapidly developing in recent years; however, the animals’ nutritional requirements under certain conditions have not been thoroughly defined. The objective of this study was to investigate the energy requirements of both the maintenance and growth of Dorper-Jinzhong crossbred ram lambs. Thirty 1/2 Dorper × 1/2 Jinzhong crossed F1 ram lambs (35 ± 0.5 kg of body weight, BW) were randomly selected and divided into five groups in a randomised design for a comparative slaughter trial. The lambs were offered one type of feed at 100%, 65% and 40% of the ad libitum intake. Another 15 lambs were used for the digestibility trial to estimate the metabolisable energy (ME) values of the diet at various feed intake levels. The net energy for maintenance (NEm) and the ME requirement for maintenance (MEm) were 286.68 kJ/kg0.75 of SBW and 437.80 kJ/kg0.75 of SBW, respectively; the energy efficiency for maintenance (km) was 0.655. The net energy for growth (NEg) values for varying average daily gain (100–350 g) in ram lambs grown from 35 to 50 kg increased from 1.31 to 5.93 MJ/d with an energy efficiency for growth (kg) of 0.457. Our results suggest that the energy requirements of Dorper-Jinzhong crossbred ram lambs are lower than the requirements recommended by the National Research Council (NRC) and Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC)

Transcriptome analysis of adipose tissues from two fat-tailed sheep breeds reveals key genes involved in fat deposition

Abstract Background The level of fat deposition in carcass is a crucial factor influencing meat quality. Guangling Large-Tailed (GLT) and Small-Tailed Han (STH) sheep are important local Chinese fat-tailed breeds that show distinct patterns of fat depots. To gain a better understanding of fat deposition, transcriptome profiles were determined by RNA-sequencing of perirenal, subcutaneous, and tail fat tissues from both the sheep breeds. The common highly expressed genes (co-genes) in all the six tissues, and the genes that were differentially expressed (DE genes) between these two breeds in the corresponding tissues were analyzed. Results Approximately 47 million clean reads were obtained for each sample, and a total of 17,267 genes were annotated. Of the 47 highly expressed co-genes, FABP4, ADIPOQ, FABP5, and CD36 were the four most highly transcribed genes among all the known genes related to adipose deposition. FHC, FHC-pseudogene, and ZC3H10 were also highly expressed genes and could, thus, have roles in fat deposition. A total of 2091, 4233, and 4131 DE genes were identified in the perirenal, subcutaneous, and tail fat tissues between the GLT and STH breeds, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that some DE genes were associated with adipose metabolism. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that PPAR signaling pathway and ECM-receptor interaction were specifically enriched. Four genes, namely LOC101102230, PLTP, C1QTNF7, and OLR1 were up-regulated and two genes, SCD and UCP-1, were down-regulated in all the tested tissues of STH. Among the genes involved in ECM–receptor interaction, the genes encoding collagens, laminins, and integrins were quite different depending on the depots or the breeds. In STH, genes such as LAMB3, RELN, TNXB, and ITGA8, were identified to be up regulated and LAMB4 was observed to be down regulated. Conclusions This study unravels the complex transcriptome profiles in sheep fat tissues, highlighting the candidate genes involved in fat deposition. Further studies are needed to investigate the roles of the candidate genes in fat deposition and in determining the meat quality of sheep

Additional file 8: of Transcriptome analysis of adipose tissues from two fat-tailed sheep breeds reveals key genes involved in fat deposition

Table S7. KEGG pathway analysis of DE genes with Q value ≤1. Significantly enriched biological pathways were identified in DE genes based on the entire genome background. Q value is a P value that has been adjusted for the FDR value. Pathways with Q value ≤0.05 are thought to be significantly enriched. (XLS 105 kb

Additional file 1: of Transcriptome analysis of adipose tissues from two fat-tailed sheep breeds reveals key genes involved in fat deposition

Table S1. Primers used in qRT-PCR. (XLS 19 kb

Additional file 6: of Transcriptome analysis of adipose tissues from two fat-tailed sheep breeds reveals key genes involved in fat deposition

Table S5. DE genes with the FDR value≤0.001 and the absolute value of log 2 Ratio ≥ 1. Gene Length, length of all exon in gene; Expression, reads number that uniquely mapped to gene; P value, p value for hypothesis testing. (XLS 2504 kb