Abstract: This paper reviews the current status, methodology, achievements, and prospects of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) breeding in China. There are 77 cultivars that have been registered in the country, these include 36 cultivars bred through breeding programs, 17 introduced from overseas, 5 domesticated from wild ecotypes, and 19 through regional collection/breeding programs. Cultivars have been selected for cold resistance, disease resistance, salt tolerance, grazing tolerance, high yield, and early maturity. Most of these cultivars have been developed through conventional breeding techniques, such as selective and cross breeding, and some are now being evaluated that have been developed through the application of transgenic technology. The major problems for alfalfa breeding in China include low success rate, slow progress to breed resistant varieties, lack of breeding materials and their systematic collection, storage and evaluation, lack of advanced breeding techniques, and low adoption rate of new cultivars. There are gaps in alfalfa breeding between China and the developed world. Improvement of alfalfa breeding techniques, development of cultivars with adaptations to different regions within China, and the protection and utilization of alfalfa germplasm resources have been identified as major strategies to improve the efficiency of alfalfa breeding in China.

Abstract: The climatic conditions in Croatia are deteriorating which significantly increases the frequency of heat stress. This creates a need for an adequate dairy farming strategy. The impact of heat stress can be reduced in many ways, but the best long-term solution includes the genetic evaluation and selection for heat stress resistance. In order to create the basis for genetic evaluation, this research determined the variation in daily milk yield (DMY) and somatic cell count (SCC) as well as the differences in resistance to heat stress due to production level (high, low) and breed (Holstein, Simmental) of dairy cattle breed in Croatia. For statistical analysis, 1,070,554 test-day records from 70,135 Holsteins reared on 5679 farms and 1,300,683 test-day records from 86,013 Simmentals reared on 8827 farms in Croatia provided by the Croatian Agricultural Agency were used. The results of this research indicate that the high-producing cows are much more susceptible to heat stress than low-producing especially Holsteins. Also, the results of this research indicate that Simmental breed, in terms of daily milk production and somatic cell count, could be more resistant to heat stress than Holstein. The following research should determine whether Simmentals are genetically more appropriate for the challenges that are in store for the future milk production in this region. Furthermore, could an adequate production level be achieved with Simmentals by maintaining the heat resistance?

Abstract: New Zealand has some unique Terminal Sire composite sheep breeds, which were developed in the last three decades to meet commercial needs. These composite breeds were developed based on crossing various Terminal Sire and Maternal breeds and, therefore, present high genetic diversity compared to other sheep breeds. Their breeding programs are focused on improving carcass and meat quality traits. There is an interest from the industry to implement genomic selection in this population to increase the rates of genetic gain. Therefore, the main objectives of this study were to determine the accuracy of predicted genomic breeding values for various growth, carcass and meat quality traits using a HD SNP chip and to evaluate alternative genomic relationship matrices, validation designs and genomic prediction scenarios. A large multi-breed population (n = 14,845) was genotyped with the HD SNP chip (600 K) and phenotypes were collected for a variety of traits. The average observed accuracies (± SD) for traits measured in the live animal, carcass, and, meat quality traits ranged from 0.18 ± 0.07 to 0.33 ± 0.10, 0.28 ± 0.09 to 0.55 ± 0.05 and 0.21 ± 0.07 to 0.36 ± 0.08, respectively, depending on the scenario/method used in the genomic predictions. When accounting for population stratification by adjusting for 2, 4 or 6 principal components (PCs) the observed accuracies of molecular breeding values (mBVs) decreased or kept constant for all traits. The mBVs observed accuracies when fitting both G and A matrices were similar to fitting only G matrix. The lowest accuracies were observed for k-means cross-validation and forward validation performed within each k-means cluster. The accuracies observed in this study support the feasibility of genomic selection for growth, carcass and meat quality traits in New Zealand Terminal Sire breeds using the Ovine HD SNP chip. There was a clear advantage on using a mixed training population instead of performing analyzes per genomic clusters. In order to perform genomic predictions per breed group, genotyping more animals is recommended to increase the size of the training population within each group and the genetic relationship between training and validation populations. The different scenarios evaluated in this study will help geneticists and breeders to make wiser decisions in their breeding programs.

Abstract: Effects of stewing time (1, 2, and 3 h) on the levels of taste-active and volatile compounds were measured. The flavor characteristics of the stewed yellow-feather chicken meat were assessed with s...

Abstract: The objective of this study was to characterize the milk yield (MY) and milk composition of relevant sheep and goat breeds raised around the world to be used with nutrition models for diet formulation and nutrient balancing. A 2-step approach was used. First, a database developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization was used to identify relevant breeds (i.e., frequently raised) by comparing the occurrence of transboundary breed names across countries. We selected transboundary breeds that occurred more than 3 times and other relevant breeds obtained from the specialized literature that had milk production information (e.g., MY, days in milk, and milk fat, protein, and lactose). The majority of sheep breeds were classified as nondairy (76%) because they lacked milk production information. Karakul and Merino accounted for up to 2.4% of sheep breeds raised around the world, whereas the other individual breeds accounted for less than 1%. In contrast, nondairy breeds of goats accounted for 46.3% and of the remaining 53.7%, Saanen, Boer, Anglo-Nubian, Toggenburg, and Alpine accounted for 6.5, 5, 4.4, 4, and 3%, respectively, of the transboundary breeds. Second, a database compiled from published studies for the selected sheep (n = 65) and goats (n = 78) breeds were analyzed using a random coefficients model (studies and treatments within studies as random effects). For sheep breeds, the average and SD were 1.1 ± 0.3 kg/d for MY, 6.9 ± 1% for milk fat, 5.4 ± 0.4% for milk protein, 5 ± 0.3% for milk lactose, 17.7 ± 1.4% for milk total solids, and 1,073 ± 91 kcal/kg of milk energy. Lacaune had the greatest MY compared to Comisana and Tsigai (1.65 versus 0.83 and 0.62 kg/d; respectively, P 0.05), but greater (P < 0.05) than other breeds. The Boer breed had the greatest milk fat, protein, lactose, and total solids than several other breeds, leading to the greatest milk energy content (907 kcal/kg). Because there are many factors that can alter MY and milk composition, averages provided in this study serve as guidelines, and nutritionists must obtain observed values when using nutrition models.

Abstract: The aim of this study was molecular identification of Cryptosporidium species and assessment of their prevalence in different breeds of sheep and goat reared in Poland. In addition, the relationship between animal age, breed type, and the frequency of Cryptosporidium infections was determined. Fecal samples from 234 lambs and 105 goat kids aged up to 9 weeks, representing 24 breeds and their cross-breeds were collected from 71 small ruminant farms across Poland. The identification of Cryptosporidium species was performed at the 18 SSU ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and COWP loci followed by subtyping of C. parvum and C. hominis strains at GP60 gene locus. The presence of Cryptosporidium DNA at the 18 SSU rRNA locus was detected in 45/234 (19.2%) lamb feces samples and in 39/105 (37.1%) taken from goats. The following Cryptosporidium species: C. xiaoi, C. bovis, C. ubiquitum, C. parvum, and C. hominis were detected in small ruminants. Infections caused by C. xiaoi were predominant without favoring any tested animal species. Subsequent GP60 subtyping revealed the presence of C. parvum IIaA17G1R1 subtype in sheep and IIdA23G1 subtype in goats. IIdA23G1 subtype was detected in a goat host for the first time. There were no significant differences found in frequency of infections between the age groups ( 0.05) or goat kids (P = 0.06, α > 0.05). In addition, there was no correlation observed between the frequency in occurrence of particular parasite species and breed type in relation to native sheep breeds (F = 0.11; P = 0.990 > 0.05). In the case of goats, more breed-related differences in parasite occurrence were found. The results of this study improve our knowledge on the breed-related occurrence of Cryptosporidium infections in the population of small ruminants reared in Poland.

Abstract: Population-level phenotyping is, for some traits, hardly achievable due to limitation of reference analyses. Mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) is a quick and cost-effective laboratory technique allowing the prediction of innovative milk quality features on a large scale. The present study aimed at investigating factors associated with milk Ca, K, Mg, Na and P contents predicted by MIRS models on a large multi-breed spectral data set of 123,240 test-day records. Two dairy (Holstein–Friesian and Brown Swiss) and two dual-purpose (Simmental and Alpine Grey) cattle breeds were considered. Sources of variation of predicted milk mineral contents were studied using linear mixed models, including the fixed effects of breed, month of sampling, stage of lactation, parity and interactions between the main effects. Random factors were herd nested within breed, cow nested within breed and the residual. Calcium content was greater in milk of dual-purpose than dairy cattle breeds. Simmental cows produced milk wit...

Abstract: Little is known about cheese-making efficiency at the individual cow level, so our objective was to study the effects of herd productivity, individual herd within productivity class and breed of cow within herd by producing, then analyzing, 508 model cheeses from the milk of 508 cows of six different breeds reared in 41 multi-breed herds classified into two productivity classes (high v. low). For each cow we obtained six milk composition traits; four milk nutrient (fat, protein, solids and energy) recovery traits (REC) in curd; three actual % cheese yield traits (%CY); two theoretical %CYs (fresh cheese and cheese solids) calculated from milk composition; two overall cheese-making efficiencies (% ratio of actual to theoretical %CYs); daily milk yield (dMY); and three actual daily cheese yield traits (dCY). The aforementioned phenotypes were analyzed using a mixed model which included the fixed effects of herd productivity, parity, days in milk (DIM) and breed; the random effects were the water bath, vat, herd and residual. Cows reared in high-productivity herds yielded more milk with higher nutrient contents and more cheese per day, had greater theoretical %CY, and lower cheese-making efficiency than low-productivity herds, but there were no differences between them in terms of REC traits. Individual herd within productivity class was an intermediate source of total variation in REC, %CY and efficiency traits (10.0% to 17.2%), and a major source of variation in milk yield and dCY traits (43.1% to 46.3%). Parity of cows was an important source of variation for productivity traits, whereas DIM affected almost all traits. Breed within herd greatly affected all traits. Holsteins produced more milk, but Brown Swiss cows produced milk with higher actual and theoretical %CYs and cheese-making efficiency, so that the two large-framed breeds had the same dCY. Compared with the two large-framed breeds, the small Jersey cows produced much less milk, but with greater actual and theoretical %CYs, similar efficiencies and a slightly lower dCY. Compared with the average of the specialized dairy breeds, the three dual-purpose breeds (Simmental and the local Rendena and Alpine Grey) had, on average, similar dMY, lower actual and theoretical %CY, similar fat and protein REC, and slightly greater cheese-making efficiency.

Abstract: The objective of this study was to describe efficiency of reproduction of purebred dogs in field breeding conditions, from mating to weaning in France. Data were collected between 2010 and 2014 in 5,667 French breeding kennels via a reproduction management software (Breeding Management System, Royal Canin, Aimargues, France). Effect of breed size (Mini: adult body weight 40 kg), age of dam and male on pregnancy rate, abortion rate and litter size were evaluated by multivariable models. Data on 45,913 heats (all with mating), from 27,221 bitches from 248 breeds, were analysed. At mating, mean age (±SD) was 3.1 ± 1.8 years for bitches and 3.3 ± 2.0 for males. Males originated from the same kennel as the females in 88.5% of the matings. Based on breeder's evaluation of the pregnancy status, pregnancy rate (number of pregnant females based on breeders declaration/number of heats) was 87.8% and abortion rate was 6.8%. Finally, 81.9% of the mated females gave birth to a litter. On 37,946 litters (204,537 puppies), mean litter size was 5.4 ± 2.8 puppies (range 1-24), which was influenced by breed size and dam age (p < .0001). Stillbirth rate was 7.4% and puppy mortality rate (stillbirth + mortality until 2 months of age) was 13.4%. Prolificacy and puppy mortality rates were affected by breed size and within a breed size, by breed. Despite probable approximations (as data originate from breeders declaration), this large-scale analysis provides reference values on reproductive performance in dogs.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between breed and the histopathological grade of canine mast cell tumours (MCTs). A retrospective survey of pathology data of 9375 histopathologically confirmed diagnoses of cutaneous MCTs in the US was evaluated in the context of breed prevalence in over two million registered purebred dogs. Association of histopathological grade with breed, age, sex and spay/neuter status was assessed. The data indicate that the proportion of high-grade tumours increases with advancing age, and that male and intact dogs have increased odds of developing high-grade tumours. A significant difference in the proportion of high-grade tumours between breeds was detected. The Pug was at significantly increased risk of developing low/intermediate-grade tumours, but not high-grade tumours, resulting in preponderance of less aggressive MCTs in this breed. The results of this study suggest a genetic association for the development of high-grade MCTs.

Abstract: Many local livestock breeds in developing countries are being replaced by exotic breeds, leading to a loss of genetic resources In southern Mali, for the past two decades, a trend towards increasing crossbreeding between the trypanotolerant N'Dama cattle and the trypano-susceptible Fulani Zebu cattle has been taking place A survey with 160 farmers owning a cattle herd was carried out in southern Mali to investigate their production objectives, as well as trait and breed preferences and correlated socio-economic determinants in order to understand farmers' breeding decisions and to identify comparative advantages of three breed groups (N'Dama, Fulani Zebu and crossbreds) raised in the study area Data were analyzed using an exploded logit model The reasons for raising cattle, as well as trait and breed preferences reflected the multiple objectives of the farmers Draught power and savings were the most important production objectives Productive traits were ranked highest; farmers reported large body size as the most preferred trait, followed by fertility, draught ability and milk yield Crossbreds were the favored breed group Breed preferences were mainly explained by 'resistance to disease' for N'Dama cattle and 'high market price' for Fulani Zebu and crossbred cattle Production objectives, trait and breed preferences were mainly influenced by farmer group (local farmers and settled transhumants) Local farmers put comparatively more emphasis on livestock functions linked to crop production such as draught power They had a higher preference for traction ability as a selection trait and preferred N'Dama over Fulani Zebu cattle Settled transhumants emphasized milk yield as a selection trait and preferred Fulani Zebu over N'Dama The results indicate that the trend towards more crossbreeding will continue putting the N'Dama breed under high risk of genetic dilution in southern Mali The N'Dama cattle remain a valuable breed due to their adaptive traits such as disease and drought tolerance and their good traction ability, fulfilling the diverse objectives of local farmers Crossbreeding was found to be a promising breeding strategy, which might contribute to the maintenance of the local breed, provided that breeding schemes are thoroughly planned and organized

Abstract: Smallholder dairy farming in much of the developing world is based on the use of crossbred cows that combine local adaptation traits of indigenous breeds with high milk yield potential of exotic dairy breeds. Pedigree recording is rare in such systems which means that it is impossible to make informed breeding decisions. High-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays allow accurate estimation of breed composition and parentage assignment but are too expensive for routine application. Our aim was to determine the level of accuracy achieved with low-density SNP assays. We constructed subsets of 100 to 1500 SNPs from the 735k-SNP Illumina panel by selecting: (a) on high minor allele frequencies (MAF) in a crossbred population; (b) on large differences in allele frequency between ancestral breeds; (c) at random; or (d) with a differential evolution algorithm. These panels were tested on a dataset of 1933 crossbred dairy cattle from Kenya/Uganda and on crossbred populations from Ethiopia (N = 545) and Tanzania (N = 462). Dairy breed proportions were estimated by using the ADMIXTURE program, a regression approach, and SNP-best linear unbiased prediction, and tested against estimates obtained by ADMIXTURE based on the 735k-SNP panel. Performance for parentage assignment was based on opposing homozygotes which were used to calculate the separation value (sv) between true and false assignments. Panels of SNPs based on the largest differences in allele frequency between European dairy breeds and a combined Nelore/N’Dama population gave the best predictions of dairy breed proportion (r2 = 0.962 to 0.994 for 100 to 1500 SNPs) with an average absolute bias of 0.026. Panels of SNPs based on the highest MAF in the crossbred population (Kenya/Uganda) gave the most accurate parentage assignments (sv = −1 to 15 for 100 to 1500 SNPs). Due to the different required properties of SNPs, panels that did well for breed composition did poorly for parentage assignment and vice versa. A combined panel of 400 SNPs was not able to assign parentages correctly, thus we recommend the use of 200 SNPs either for breed proportion prediction or parentage assignment, independently.

Abstract: Avian breeding populations have been shown to be regulated by territorial behaviour, often creating a surplus of non-breeding individuals. However, most evidence is of a male non-breeder surplus, whereas for a surplus to actually buffer a population both non-breeding males and females should be present. Here, we provide descriptive and experimental evidence for the existence of a population buffer consisting of mostly male and potentially also female Pied Flycatchers using nest box areas. First we show that local recruits often do not breed in their first year, with 23% of all recruiting males observed breeding in their first year, and 51% of females. When accounting for mortality in the years prior to observed first breeding, we estimate that only 9% of all first-year males breed locally, and 29% of first-year females. Similar percentages of first-year flycatchers skipping breeding have been observed in other study populations. We show that in the year of new establishment of our nest box plots, most kno...

Abstract: Contents Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is a reliable endocrine marker of ovarian reserve in many species with extensive literature in both humans and cattle. However, there are no known hormonal predictors of ovarian reserve and potential reproductive performance in the bitch. A prospective cohort study was performed involving 155 intact bitches of various ages (range 1.2–7.6 years) and breeds that were presented for routine breeding management over a one-year period. All bitches were artificially inseminated with frozen or fresh semen using the transcervical insemination (TCI) technique. AMH concentrations were measured using a commercially available canine AMH ELISA (Ansh Labs®, Texas, USA), which we validated prior to performing the study. The reference interval (RI) for AMH for all bitches in the study, regardless of body weight, was 2.9–21.1 ng/ml. There was a significant effect of bitch size and age on AMH concentrations. The RI for giant breeds was significantly (p < .01) lower (1.75–15.6 ng/ml) than small-sized (5.6–24.2 ng/ml), medium-sized (4.3–23.7 ng/ml) and large-sized (4.3–21.0 ng/ml) bitches. The mean AMH concentration in bitches less than 4 years of age was 12.4 ng/ml, whereas the mean AMH concentration in bitches older than 4 years of age was 10.5 ng/ml (p < .05). For each additional year of age above 1 year of age, AMH concentrations fell by 0.5 ng/ml. There was no effect of AMH concentration on the whelping rate. Smaller breeds had smaller litters (and higher AMH concentrations), but within each breed size category, bitches with higher AMH concentrations had significantly larger litter sizes (p < .01). For each 1 ng/ml increase in AMH, litter size increased by 0.3 pups/litter. In conclusion, we determined a normal reference interval for AMH in bitches based on body weight using a canine-specific assay. In agreement with findings in humans and other species, we found that there is a decline in AMH concentrations with advancing age in bitches. Finally, the significant positive correlation between AMH concentrations and litter size indicates that AMH may be a useful management tool for the selection of bitches in breeding programmes.

Abstract: Hematologic analysis provides reliable information on the health status of animals. It is an important variable in the assessment of adaptive and productive capacity of breeds under unfavorable environmental conditions. It is an assessment that combined with other genetic and environmental factors and management can become useful for the future sustainability of mainstream agriculture in a hot environment. Adaptive capacity is affected by some factors such as breed, pregnancy and lactation. Therefore, hematological profile is an important indicator of animal health and production. The objective of this study was to perform the comparative hematological analysis of Santa Ines and Morada Nova breeds (native ewes from Brazil) in all different reproductive stages. Twenty Santa Ines and 20 Morada Nova sheep distributed in a completely randomized design in a split-plot arrangement over time were used. To obtain blood counts, blood samples were collected by jugular venipuncture every 14 days, always in the morning, before the animals were released into the pasture. The Morada Nova breed had higher hemoglobin and total leukocyte count than Santa Ines breed. Regarding the influence of pregnancy and puerperium on the eritrogram, there was an increment in red blood cell, hemoglobin and packed cell volume of both breeds in middle pregnancy. However, had a reduction in late pregnancy. There were a reestablishment of the blood cell counts during the puerperium period. It was verified an increase on neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio indicated that ewes in the late pregnancy, postpartum and puerperium were under stress conditions compared to others reproductive stages. The total plasma proteins also increased during this period to compensate for the high nutritional requirements of the fetus, and these levels remained high until the end of the puerperal phase, when the lambs were weaned. The pregnancy and puerperium influenced all erythrocyte indices and changed the total leukocyte count.

Abstract: The present chapter describes all the initiatives, ready or in progress, which have been and/or are being implemented to ensure the competitiveness of the Murciano-Granadina goat breed, so as to maintain its leadership in Spain, as the most representative dairy goat breed of the country at a national and an international level. After an intense introduction concerning the history and the present status of the breed, we started with the description of the presently ongoing official breeding program. Selection objectives and their associated criteria are presented together with a summary of the information used in the last genetic evaluation. This information is accompanied by the genetic parameters of the main selection criteria, i.e., milk production and content (fat, protein, and usable dry matter), and morphology, (through official milk yield control and linear morphological qualification, respectively) and an evaluation of the genetic response selection over 15 years of experience. In a different section, we present the results on the meat productivity with the aim to characterize all the process of meat production of the breed. Kid performance (daily gains, commercial weight, carcass characteristics, and quality) is defined under intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive management systems. A special interest is paid to the fatty acid profile of the meat from each tested management system. We conclude the chapter describing the future ongoing challenges to maintain the efficiency of the breed. On the one hand, we describe the study of lactation curve parameters, especially peak and persistence, as candidates for the selection criteria of the breed with the intention to increase the maximum production and its maintenance in an enlarged lactation. On the other hand, we described our dedication to develop the improvement of the case in profiles by using marker-assisted selection.

Abstract: This study investigated the effect of feedlot production on lamb growth characteristics of three common South African breeds: Merino, South African Mutton Merino (SAMM) and Dorper. Lambs were supplied with a balanced diet (16% crude protein, 9.41 MJ ME/kg feed) ad libitum and had free access to water. Lambs from each breed were divided into six groups. One group of each breed was slaughtered every three weeks until 105 days under feedlot production were reached. The weights of the lambs were recorded weekly, along with feed intake, to obtain the individual daily intake, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) for each lamb. The ADG for the SAMM 2007 and Dorper lambs increased throughout their production period, while that of the SAMM 2008 and Merino lambs tended to decrease with time, although the SAMM 2008 group achieved the highest ADG of 350.2 g/lamb/day of all the breeds. The Dorper and SAMM 2007 lambs had higher FCR (7.52 and 7.58, respectively). The average FCR achieved by the SAMM 2008 and Merino lambs was 5.54 and 5.14, respectively. However, the FCR of Merino and SAMM 2008 lambs increased throughout the production period. The Dorper lambs produced fatter carcasses and therefore exhibited the highest average dressing percentage of 49.7% compared with the SAMM 2007 (48.4%) and 2008 lambs (45.6%), followed by the Merino lambs (43.9%). The results confirm that the Merino is a late maturing breed that is recognised for its wool rather than meat production, and therefore exhibits weaker growth characteristics. The SAMM is a dual-purpose breed that has also been selected for growth and meat production, and therefore exhibits desirable production characteristics, while the Dorper is an early maturing breed that deposits localized fat at an earlier age as it grows, thereby producing fatter carcasses than SAMM and Merino lambs. Therefore, Dorper lambs should be slaughtered at lower live weights so that carcasses are not graded as over-fat.

Abstract: Field observations on food tolerance have repeatedly shown that when fed an identical diet, large breed (>25 kg) dogs present softer and moister faeces than small breed ones (<15 kg). The purpose of this review is to highlight the findings of four PhD theses, carried out between 1998 and 2013, whose objectives were to investigate the anatomical and physiological peculiarities that would explain, at least in part, this observation, as well as their nutritional implication. This work showed that large breed dogs, in contrast with smaller breeds, present a highly developed caecum and colon, which could explain the relatively longer colonic transit time. A prolonged colonic transit time could explain higher colonic fermentative activity, as supported by higher faecal concentrations of fermentative by-products. This effect would be reinforced by increased intestinal permeability and reduced sodium net-absorption. Taken together, these elements could be a possible cause of higher digestive sensitivity in large breed dogs. When prescribing a diet to a small or large breed dog, several aspects of the formulation must be taken into account. For a large breed dog, the general goal is to limit any ingredient that could increase the level of fermentable undigested residues and, in fine, exacerbate colonic fermentation. Highly digestible sources of proteins and starches are therefore strongly recommended to maintain an optimal digestive tolerance. Fermentable fibre sources (i.e. beet pulp and FOS) must also be used in limited quantity in their diet. Conversely, the incorporation of non-fermentable fibre (i.e. cellulose) appears useful to increase their stool quality. For a small breed dog, the general objective is to minimize any ingredient that could excessively limit colonic fermentation and induce in fine constipation. Purified starches and cellulose are therefore not really suitable for them. In contrast, cereals flours as well as non-fermentable fibre provided by cereals are recommended.

Abstract: Live performances and carcase quality of Padovana (n = 81) and Polverara (n = 76) chickens were investigated considering breed, gender and their interaction (B × G). Birds were reared until 183 d o...

Abstract: Information on the genetic diversity and population structure of cattle breeds is useful when deciding the most optimal, for example, crossbreeding strategies to improve phenotypic performance by exploiting heterosis. The present study investigated the genetic diversity and population structure of the most prominent dairy and beef breeds used in Ireland. Illumina high-density genotypes (777 962 single nucleotide polymorphisms; SNPs) were available on 4623 purebred bulls from nine breeds; Angus (n=430), Belgian Blue (n=298), Charolais (n=893), Hereford (n=327), Holstein-Friesian (n=1261), Jersey (n=75), Limousin (n=943), Montbeliarde (n=33) and Simmental (n=363). Principal component analysis revealed that Angus, Hereford, and Jersey formed non-overlapping clusters, representing distinct populations. In contrast, overlapping clusters suggested geographical proximity of origin and genetic similarity between Limousin, Simmental and Montbeliarde and to a lesser extent between Holstein, Friesian and Belgian Blue. The observed SNP heterozygosity averaged across all loci was 0.379. The Belgian Blue had the greatest mean observed heterozygosity (HO=0.389) among individuals within breed while the Holstein-Friesian and Jersey populations had the lowest mean heterozygosity (HO=0.370 and 0.376, respectively). The correlation between the genomic-based and pedigree-based inbreeding coefficients was weak (r=0.171; P<0.001). Mean genomic inbreeding estimates were greatest for Jersey (0.173) and least for Hereford (0.051). The pair-wise breed fixation index (F st) ranged from 0.049 (Limousin and Charolais) to 0.165 (Hereford and Jersey). In conclusion, substantial genetic variation exists among breeds commercially used in Ireland. Thus custom-mating strategies would be successful in maximising the exploitation of heterosis in crossbreeding strategies.

Abstract: This study explores polymorphisms in the growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) gene (exon 1) with respect to fertility in Egyptian sheep. Blood samples were collected, and genomic DNA was extracted from 24 Saidi and 13 Ossimi ewes. A 710 bp portion of the GDF9 gene, was amplified using specific primers, and the sequence was analyzed to clarify the phylogenetic relationship of Egyptian breed sheep. In addition, the PCR-RFLP method using Pst1 or Msp1 restriction enzymes was used to mask polymorphisms of partial exon 1 of GDF9 gene to establish molecular markers for twinning. The lambing rate percentage and litter size showed significant difference between ewes, which produce single and twin lamb for each breed individually, whereas the coefficient of variation of the Saidi breed is greater than that of the Ossimi breed. The results suggested that the GDF9 gene shared a similarity in sequence compared to six accession numbers of Ovis aries found in GenBank. Molecular phylogenetic analyses were performed based on nucleotide sequences in order to examine the position of the Egyptian breeds among many other sheep breeds. The results indicate that accession number AF078545 of O. aries is closely related with Saidi and Ossimi ewes that produce single or twin lamb using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) analysis. Results showed that Msp1 enzyme digestion revealed polymorphic restriction pattern consisting of one band with 710 bp for ewes producing single lamb and two bands with 710 and 600 bp for ewes producing twin lamb in Saidi sheep breed. Sequence analysis and diversity of polymorphisms in the GDF9 gene (exon 1) have a novel base substitution (A–T) for detection of FecG mutations that serve as a molecular marker for twinning.