Publications by authors named "T M McWhorter"

The African leopard () has lost a significant proportion of its historical range, notably in north-western Africa and South Africa. Recent studies have explored the genetic diversity and population structure of African leopards across the continent. A notable genetic observation is the presence of two divergent mitochondrial lineages, PAR-I and PAR-II.

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Gastrointestinal dysbiosis is a disturbance in mucosal homeostasis, producing low-grade chronic intestinal inflammation and impaired intestinal barrier function. It is induced by several factors, including nutrition and stress, which are both significant factors when considering current broiler breeder practices. A great grandparent (GGP) chicken meat line was identified displaying clinical signs characteristic of potential dysbiosis, including wet droppings and litter, in addition to reduced reproductive performance when compared to a consistently high performing line.

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Article Synopsis
  • Johne's disease (JD) is a major infectious disease affecting ruminants like cattle, leading to significant economic losses globally; this study focused on assessing the genetic traits related to JD susceptibility in Holstein cows in the U.S.* -
  • Using extensive data from 365,980 Holstein cows, researchers analyzed milk samples to determine JD incidence, which averaged 4.72%, and estimated the heritability of susceptibility to JD with varying results depending on the models used.* -
  • The findings revealed a negative genetic trend for JD susceptibility despite no previous genetic selection efforts, and the genetic correlations between JD susceptibility and important traits like milk yield were notably low.*
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Hyperthermia and exertional heat illness (EHI) are performance and welfare issues for all exercising horses. Monitoring the thermoregulatory response allows for early recognition of metabolic heat accumulation during exercise and the possibility of taking prompt and effective preventative measures to avoid a further increase in core body temperature (T) leading to hyperthermia. Skin temperature (T) monitoring is most used as a non-invasive tool to assess the thermoregulatory response pre- and post-exercise, particularly employing infrared thermographic equipment.

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The physiological stress caused by excessive heat affects dairy cattle health and production. This study sought to investigate the effect of heat stress on test-day yields in US Holstein and Jersey cows and develop single-step genomic predictions to identify heat tolerant animals. Data included 12.

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