Validation of selection signatures for coat color in the Podolica Italiana gray cattle breed.

Taurine and indicine gray cattle represent relevant livestock resources in many countries of the world. A gray coat color and pigmented skin, which are common in most of the gray cattle breeds, have been demonstrated to confer better adaptation to solar radiation and thermal stresses. In a previous study adopting the F-outlier approach with BayeScan v2.

Enhancement of culled ewes' meat quality: Effects of aging method and time.

This study assesses the impact of wet and dry aging, over 35 days, on various physico-chemical, colorimetric, oxidative, volatolomic, and sensory attributes of meat from culled ewes. Water holding capacity of dry-aged (DA) meat increased from day 28 and was significantly higher than wet-aged (WA) meat. Cooking loss of DA meat decreased, and it was lower than that of WA meat.

Analysis of ddRAD-seq data provides new insights into the genomic structure and patterns of diversity in Italian donkey populations.

With more than 150 recognized breeds, donkeys assume relevant economic importance, especially in developing countries. Even if the estimated number of heads worldwide is 53M, this species received less attention than other livestock species. Italy has traditionally been considered one of the cradles of European donkey breeding, and despite a considerable loss of biodiversity, today still counts nine autochthonous populations.

Variations in Casein Genes Are Associated with Milk Protein and Fat Contents in Sarda Goats (), with an Important Role of for Milk Yield.

This work aimed to assess the variability of casein genes in a population of 153 bucks and 825 lactating does of the Sarda breed, and to perform association analysis between polymorphic sites and milk yield and composition traits. To genotype the casein genes, we chose an SNP panel including 44 SNPs mapping to the four casein genes , , and . Genotyping (made by KASP™ genotyping assay, based on competitive allele-specific PCR) revealed the high variability of the Sarda goat, and haplotype analysis revealed linkage disequilibrium (LD) between and genes, in addition to two LD blocks within the and two LD blocks within the gene, in bucks and does.

Comprehensive Gene Expression Profiling Analysis of Adipose Tissue in Male Individuals from Fat- and Thin-Tailed Sheep Breeds.

It has been shown that tail fat content varies significantly among sheep breeds and plays a significant role in meat quality. Recently, significant efforts have been made to understand the physiological, biochemical, and genomic regulation of fat deposition in sheep tails in order to unravel the mechanisms underlying energy storage and adipose tissue lipid metabolism. RNA-seq has enabled us to provide a high-resolution snapshot of differential gene expression between fat- and thin-tailed sheep breeds.

New Insight into the Genome-Wide Diversity and Admixture of Six Colombian Sheep Populations.

Creole sheep represent a strategic genetic resource for populations living in marginal areas under financial restrictions on the American continent. Six Colombian sheep breeds (two wool (BCL-Boyacá and NCL-Nariño, 12 and 14 samples) and four hair (OPCE-Ethiopian, 54 samples; OPCS-Sudan, 74 samples; OPCP-Pelibeuy, 59 samples; OPCW-Wayúu, 24 samples) were genotyped using the Illumina Ovine SNP50 BeadChip. Data was also included from international 44 breeds from International Sheep Genomics Consortium (ISGC) and from data published in previous a previous work on the Caribbean and African breeds.

Refining the Myostatin Gene Polymorphism through Worldwide Whole-Genome Sequencing.

Myostatin () is a highly conserved negative regulator of skeletal muscle in mammals. Inactivating mutations results in a hyper-muscularity phenotype known as "double muscling" in several livestock and model species. In , the gene structure organization and the sequence polymorphisms have been previously investigated, using Sanger and Next-Generation Sequencing technologies on a limited number of animals.

Population Structure of Curraleiro Pé-Duro Cattle and its Relationship With the Serological Profile Against Pathogens of Economic and Zoonotic Interest.

Curraleiro Pé-Duro (CPD) cattle, a Brazilian local breed, are animals that are highly resistant to infectious and parasitic diseases. Strategies for the conservation of the breed and the genetic resistance to diseases should also consider the characteristics of the breed. The objective of this study was to analyze the diversity and population structure of the CPD breed using microsatellite markers and to correlate the serological profiles for causative agents of brucellosis, leptospirosis, neosporosis, leukosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, and bovine viral diarrhea.

Genomic patterns of homozygosity and inbreeding depression in Murciano-Granadina goats.

Background: Inbreeding depression can adversely affect traits related to fitness, reproduction and productive performance. Although current research suggests that inbreeding levels are generally low in most goat breeds, the impact of inbreeding depression on phenotypes of economic interest has only been investigated in a few studies based on genealogical data.

Results: We genotyped 1040 goats with the Goat SNP50 BeadChip.

An inter-laboratory study of DNA-based identity, parentage and species testing in animal forensic genetics.

The probative value of animal forensic genetic evidence relies on laboratory accuracy and reliability. Inter-laboratory comparisons allow laboratories to evaluate their performance on specific tests and analyses and to continue to monitor their output. The International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG) administered animal forensic comparison tests (AFCTs) in 2016 and 2018 to assess the limitations and capabilities of laboratories offering forensic identification, parentage and species determination services.

Genomic Association between SNP Markers and Diseases in the "Curraleiro Pé-Duro" Cattle.

Susceptibility to diseases is inherited and can be transmitted between populations. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in genes related to immune response is associated with diseases in cattle. This study investigated SNPs in the genomic region of cytokines in 702 samples of Curraleiro Pé-Duro cattle and associated them with the occurrence of antibodies in brucellosis, leptospirosis, neosporosis, leukosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), and bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) tests.

Evaluation of Different Test-Day Milk Recording Protocols by Wood's Model Application for the Estimation of Dairy Goat Milk and Milk Constituent Yield.

Goats have important social and economic roles in many countries because of their ability to survive and be productive in marginal areas. The overarching aim of this study was to compare the application of Wood's model to different test-day milk recording protocols for estimation of total milk, fat, and protein yield in dairy goats. A total of 465 goats were used (Garganica, 78; Girgentana, 81; Jonica, 76; Maltese, 77; Red Mediterranean, 76; Saanen, 77).

Genomic prediction for growth using a low-density SNP panel in dromedary camels.

For thousands of years, camels have produced meat, milk, and fiber in harsh desert conditions. For a sustainable development to provide protein resources from desert areas, it is necessary to pay attention to genetic improvement in camel breeding. By using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) method we produced over 14,500 genome wide markers to conduct a genome- wide association study (GWAS) for investigating the birth weight, daily gain, and body weight of 96 dromedaries in the Iranian central desert.

A genome-wide association analysis for body, udder, and leg conformation traits recorded in Murciano-Granadina goats.

Morphological traits are of great importance to dairy goat production given their effect on phenotypes of economic interest. However, their underlying genomic architecture has not yet been extensively characterized. Herein, we aimed to identify genomic regions associated with body, udder, and leg conformation traits recorded in 825 Murciano-Granadina goats.

Goat Milk Nutritional Quality Software-Automatized Individual Curve Model Fitting, Shape Parameters Calculation and Bayesian Flexibility Criteria Comparison.

SPSS syntax was described to evaluate the individual performance of 49 linear and non-linear models to fit the milk component evolution curve of 159 Murciano-Granadina does selected for genotyping analyses. Peak and persistence for protein, fat, dry matter, lactose, and somatic cell counts were evaluated using 3107 controls (3.91 ± 2.

Mitochondrial DNA Variations in Colombian Creole Sheep Confirm an Iberian Origin and Shed Light on the Dynamics of Introduction Events of African Genotypes.

The genetic origins and diversity of Creole sheep from five regions of Colombia were investigated based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variations across 89 sequences from five breeds: one wool Creole sheep (CL) and four hair Creole sheep, including Ethiopian (OPC), Sudan (OPC), Pelibuey (OPC) and (OPC). A global comparison was done using 62 haplotypes from Iberian, African, Indian, Caribbean, Mexican, Caucasian and European sheep based on sequences retrieved from GenBank. This study aimed to identify the maternal origin of Colombian Creole sheep and their genetic relationships at a global level.

Integrating Casein Complex SNPs Additive, Dominance and Epistatic Effects on Genetic Parameters and Breeding Values Estimation for Murciano-Granadina Goat Milk Yield and Components.

Assessing dominance and additive effects of casein complex single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (αS1, αS2, β, and κ casein), and their epistatic relationships may maximize our knowledge on the genetic regulation of profitable traits. Contextually, new genomic selection perspectives may translate this higher efficiency into higher accuracies for milk yield and components' genetic parameters and breeding values. A total of 2594 lactation records were collected from 159 Murciano-Granadina goats (2005-2018), genotyped for 48 casein loci-located SNPs.

Analyzing the genomic and transcriptomic architecture of milk traits in Murciano-Granadina goats.

Background: In this study, we aimed to investigate the molecular basis of lactation as well as to identify the genetic factors that influence milk yield and composition in goats. To achieve these two goals, we have analyzed how the mRNA profile of the mammary gland changes in seven Murciano-Granadina goats at each of three different time points, i.e.

Sexual Dimorphism and Breed Characterization of Creole Hens through Biometric Canonical Discriminant Analysis across Ecuadorian Agroecological Areas.

Despite Ecuador having a wide biodiversity of zootechnical species, characterization studies of these genetic resources are scarce. The objective of this research was to perform the biometric characterization of the Creole hen population through 14 quantitative zoometric measures. We evaluated 207 hens and 37 roosters from Ecuador's three agro-ecological regions: the Sierra (highlands) region (Bolivar, Chimborazo, Tungurahua and Cotopaxi provinces); the Costa (coastal) region (Guayas); and the Oriente Amazonian region (Morona Santiago).