cattle breed introduction: Topics by WorldWideScience.org

Sample records for cattle breed introduction

Breeds of cattle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buchanan, David S.; Lenstra, Johannes A.

2015-01-01

This chapter gives an overview on the different breeds of cattle (Bos taurus and B. indicus). Cattle breeds are presented and categorized according to utility and mode of origin. Classification and phylogeny of breeds are also discussed. Furthermore, a description of cattle breeds is provided.
indigenous cattle breeds

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Received 31 August 1996; accepted 20 March /998. Mitochondrial DNA cleavage patterns from representative animals of the Afrikaner and Nguni sanga cattle breeds, indigenous to Southern Africa, were compared to the mitochondrial DNA cleavage patterns of the Brahman (zebu) and the Jersey. (taurine) cattle breeds.
National Breeding System of Dairy Cattle Husbandry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anneke Anggraeni

1999-05-01

Full Text Available The husbandry of domestic dairy cattle as one of the components of livestock sub-sector development is hopefully to increase numerously the capacity and the quality on its milk production, to gradually meet national milk demand and face the competitiveness at the global. The achievement of this purpose should be supported by the production of dairy breeding stock in good quality and sufficient number to increase efficiency of both quantity and quality of domestic milk production. One of important aspect that should be prepared is in determining national breeding system of dairy cattle that can function effectively as guidance and regulation for producing, distributing, and using dairy cattle as “domestic breeding stock”. As in other livestock, breeding system of dairy cattle basically constituted of three main subsystems, i.e. production , distribution and marketing, and quality establishment subsystem. The paper discusses some aspects of these three subsystems to give considerable input in preparing the national concept of dairy cattle breeding system. enterprise (Animal Production 1(2: 43-55 (1999 KeyWords: dairy cattle, breeding stock, milk production.
National Breeding System of Dairy Cattle Husbandry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Diwyanto

1999-05-01

Full Text Available The husbandry of domestic dairy cattle as one of the components of livestock sub-sector development is hopefully to increase numerously the capacity and the quality on its milk production, to gradually meet national milk demand and face the competitiveness at the global. The achievement of this purpose should be supported by the production of dairy breeding stock in good quality and sufficient number to increase efficiency of both quantity and quality of domestic milk production. One of important aspect that should be prepared is in determining national breeding system of dairy cattle that can function effectively as guidance and regulation for producing, distributing, and using dairy cattle as “domestic breeding stock”. As in other livestock, breeding system of dairy cattle basically constituted of three main subsystems, i.e. production , distribution and marketing, and quality establishment subsystem. The paper discusses some aspects of these three subsystems to give considerable input in preparing the national concept of dairy cattle breeding system. enterprise (Animal Production 1(2: 43-55 (1999 KeyWords: dairy cattle, breeding stock, milk production.
Adaptive traits of indigenous cattle breeds: The Mediterranean Baladi as a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shabtay, Ariel

2015-11-01

Generally taken, breeds of Bos taurus ancestry are considered more productive, in comparison with Bos indicus derived breeds that present enhanced hardiness and disease resistance, low nutritional requirements and higher capability of feed utilization. While breeds of B. taurus have been mostly selected for intensive production systems, indigenous cattle, developed mostly from indicine and African taurines, flourish in extensive habitats. Worldwide demographic and economic processes face animal production with new challenges - the increasing demand for animal food products. Intensification of animal husbandry is thus a desired goal in stricken parts of the world. An introduction of productive traits to indigenous breeds might serve to generate improved biological and economic efficiencies. For this to succeed, the genetic merit of traits like efficiency of feed utilization and product quality should be revealed, encouraging the conservation initiatives of indigenous cattle populations, many of which are already extinct and endangered. Moreover, to overcome potential genetic homogeneity, controlled breeding practices should be undertaken. The Baladi cattle are a native local breed found throughout the Mediterranean basin. Purebred Baladi animals are rapidly vanishing, as more European breeds are being introduced or used for backcrosses leading to improved production. The superiority of Baladi over large-framed cattle, in feedlot and on Mediterranean pasture, with respect to adaptability and efficiency, is highlighted in the current review. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Development of meat cattle breeding under respecialization programs in the Gomel area [Belarus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karpenko, A.F.; Mostovenko, A.L.; Radchikov, V.F.; Tsaj, V.P.

2011-01-01

In the conditions of the Republic of Belarus there was studied scientific management of introduction of 8 programmes of meat cattle breeding in regions of radioactive pollution in Gomel region. In course of the realized study there were analyzed land areas of the local farms, degree of soil contamination with radionuclides, coefficients of radionuclide transfer into plants and animal husbandry products, rate of production volumes, structure of arable lands and main herds, economic indexes of realized activities, etc. Introduction of programs of development of meat cattle breeding in the polluted areas made it possible to increase both the total and pedigree stock in the Gomel area, to create industrial base for reproduction of livestock and a wide circulation of specialized meat livestock in other farms of the polluted regions
Genomic Characterisation of the Indigenous Irish Kerry Cattle Breed

Science.gov (United States)

Browett, Sam; McHugo, Gillian; Richardson, Ian W.; Magee, David A.; Park, Stephen D. E.; Fahey, Alan G.; Kearney, John F.; Correia, Carolina N.; Randhawa, Imtiaz A. S.; MacHugh, David E.

2018-01-01

Kerry cattle are an endangered landrace heritage breed of cultural importance to Ireland. In the present study we have used genome-wide SNP array data to evaluate genomic diversity within the Kerry population and between Kerry cattle and other European breeds. Patterns of genetic differentiation and gene flow among breeds using phylogenetic trees with ancestry graphs highlighted historical gene flow from the British Shorthorn breed into the ancestral population of modern Kerry cattle. Principal component analysis (PCA) and genetic clustering emphasised the genetic distinctiveness of Kerry cattle relative to comparator British and European cattle breeds. Modelling of genetic effective population size (Ne) revealed a demographic trend of diminishing Ne over time and that recent estimated Ne values for the Kerry breed may be less than the threshold for sustainable genetic conservation. In addition, analysis of genome-wide autozygosity (FROH) showed that genomic inbreeding has increased significantly during the 20 years between 1992 and 2012. Finally, signatures of selection revealed genomic regions subject to natural and artificial selection as Kerry cattle adapted to the climate, physical geography and agro-ecology of southwest Ireland. PMID:29520297
Genomic Characterisation of the Indigenous Irish Kerry Cattle Breed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sam Browett

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Kerry cattle are an endangered landrace heritage breed of cultural importance to Ireland. In the present study we have used genome-wide SNP array data to evaluate genomic diversity within the Kerry population and between Kerry cattle and other European breeds. Patterns of genetic differentiation and gene flow among breeds using phylogenetic trees with ancestry graphs highlighted historical gene flow from the British Shorthorn breed into the ancestral population of modern Kerry cattle. Principal component analysis (PCA and genetic clustering emphasised the genetic distinctiveness of Kerry cattle relative to comparator British and European cattle breeds. Modelling of genetic effective population size (Ne revealed a demographic trend of diminishing Ne over time and that recent estimated Ne values for the Kerry breed may be less than the threshold for sustainable genetic conservation. In addition, analysis of genome-wide autozygosity (FROH showed that genomic inbreeding has increased significantly during the 20 years between 1992 and 2012. Finally, signatures of selection revealed genomic regions subject to natural and artificial selection as Kerry cattle adapted to the climate, physical geography and agro-ecology of southwest Ireland.
Characterization of recombination features and the genetic basis in multiple cattle breeds.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Botong; Jiang, Jicai; Seroussi, Eyal; Liu, George E; Ma, Li

2018-04-27

Crossover generated by meiotic recombination is a fundamental event that facilitates meiosis and sexual reproduction. Comparative studies have shown wide variation in recombination rate among species, but the characterization of recombination features between cattle breeds has not yet been performed. Cattle populations in North America count millions, and the dairy industry has genotyped millions of individuals with pedigree information that provide a unique opportunity to study breed-level variations in recombination. Based on large pedigrees of Jersey, Ayrshire and Brown Swiss cattle with genotype data, we identified over 3.4 million maternal and paternal crossover events from 161,309 three-generation families. We constructed six breed- and sex-specific genome-wide recombination maps using 58,982 autosomal SNPs for two sexes in the three dairy cattle breeds. A comparative analysis of the six recombination maps revealed similar global recombination patterns between cattle breeds but with significant differences between sexes. We confirmed that male recombination map is 10% longer than the female map in all three cattle breeds, consistent with previously reported results in Holstein cattle. When comparing recombination hotspot regions between cattle breeds, we found that 30% and 10% of the hotspots were shared between breeds in males and females, respectively, with each breed exhibiting some breed-specific hotspots. Finally, our multiple-breed GWAS found that SNPs in eight loci affected recombination rate and that the PRDM9 gene associated with hotspot usage in multiple cattle breeds, indicating a shared genetic basis for recombination across dairy cattle breeds. Collectively, our results generated breed- and sex-specific recombination maps for multiple cattle breeds, provided a comprehensive characterization and comparison of recombination patterns between breeds, and expanded our understanding of the breed-level variations in recombination features within an
Inventory analysis of West African cattle breeds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belemsaga, D.M.A.; Lombo, Y.; Sylla, S.; Thevenon, S.

2005-01-01

The improvement of livestock productivity and the preservation of their genetic diversity to allow breeders to select animals adapted to environmental changes, diseases and social needs, require a detailed inventory and genetic characterization of domesticated animal breeds. Indeed, in developing countries, the notion of breed is not clearly defined, as visual traits are often used and characterization procedures are often subjective. So it is necessary to upgrade the phenotypic approach using genetic information. At CIRDES, a regional centre for subhumid livestock research and development, such studies have been conducted. This paper focuses on cattle breed inventory in seven countries of West Africa as a tool for genetic research on cattle improvement. Data collection was done using a bibliographical study, complemented by in situ investigations. According to phenotypic description and concepts used by indigenous livestock keepers, 13 local cattle breeds were recognized: N'dama, Kouri, the Baoule-Somba group, the Lagoon cattle group, zebu Azawak, zebu Maure, zebu Touareg, zebu Goudali, zebu Bororo, zebu White Fulani, zebu Djelli, zebu Peuhl soudanien and zebu Gobra (Toronke). Nine exotic breeds, (American Brahman, Gir, Girolando, Droughtmaster, Santa Gertrudis, Holstein, Montbeliarde, Jersey and Brown Swiss) and five typical cross-breeds (Holstein x Goudali; Montbeliarde x Goudali; Holstein x Azawak; Brown Swiss x Azawak; and Brown Swiss x zebu peuhl soudanien) were also found. From this initial investigation, the areas of heavy concentration of herds and the most important breeds were described. The review has also indicated the necessity for a balance between improving livestock productivity and the conservation of trypanotolerant breeds at risk of extinction in West Africa. (author)
Genomic dairy cattle breeding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mark, Thomas; Sandøe, Peter

2010-01-01

the thoughts of breeders and other stakeholders on how to best make use of genomic breeding in the future. Intensive breeding has played a major role in securing dramatic increases in milk yield since the Second World War. Until recently, the main focus in dairy cattle breeding was on production traits...... it less accountable to the concern of private farmers for the welfare of their animals. It is argued that there is a need to mobilise a wide range of stakeholders to monitor developments and maintain pressure on breeding companies so that they are aware of the need to take precautionary measures to avoid...
Cattle breeding goals and production circumstances

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groen, A.F.

1989-01-01

This thesis gives the results of a study on the relationship between cattle breeding goals and production circumstances. The relationship between breeding goals and production circumstances mostly arises from the influences of production circumstances on the economic values of

Unique cultural values of Madura cattle: is cross-breeding a threat? NARCIS (Netherlands) Tri Satya Mastuti Widi, Tri; Udo, H.M.J.; Oldenbroek, J.K.; Budisatria, I.G.S.; Baliarti, E.; Zijpp, van der A.J. 2013-01-01 In Indonesia, cross-breeding local cattle with European beef breeds is widely promoted to stimulate beef production. This cross-breeding is threatening local breeds that have often different functions, including cultural roles. This study analysed the cultural values of Madura cattle and the effects Genetic Diversity of Seven Cattle Breeds Inferred Using Copy Number Variations Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Magretha D. Pierce 2018-05-01 Full Text Available Copy number variations (CNVs comprise deletions, duplications, and insertions found within the genome larger than 50 bp in size. CNVs are thought to be primary role-players in breed formation and adaptation. South Africa boasts a diverse ecology with harsh environmental conditions and a broad spectrum of parasites and diseases that pose challenges to livestock production. This has led to the development of composite cattle breeds which combine the hardiness of Sanga breeds and the production potential of the Taurine breeds. The prevalence of CNVs within these respective breeds of cattle and the prevalence of CNV regions (CNVRs in their diversity, adaptation and production is however not understood. This study therefore aimed to ascertain the prevalence, diversity, and correlations of CNVRs within cattle breeds used in South Africa. Illumina Bovine SNP50 data and PennCNV were utilized to identify CNVRs within the genome of 287 animals from seven cattle breeds representing Sanga, Taurine, Composite, and cross breeds. Three hundred and fifty six CNVRs of between 36 kb to 4.1 Mb in size were identified. The null hypothesis that one CNVR loci is independent of another was tested using the GENEPOP software. One hunded and two and seven of the CNVRs in the Taurine and Sanga/Composite cattle breeds demonstrated a significant (p ≤ 0.05 association. PANTHER overrepresentation analyses of correlated CNVRs demonstrated significant enrichment of a number of biological processes, molecular functions, cellular components, and protein classes. CNVR genetic variation between and within breed group was measured using phiPT which allows intra-individual variation to be suppressed and hence proved suitable for measuring binary CNVR presence/absence data. Estimate PhiPT within and between breed variance was 2.722 and 0.518 respectively. Pairwise population PhiPT values corresponded with breed type, with Taurine Holstein and Angus breeds demonstrating no between Progress in the molecular and genetic modification breeding of beef cattle in China. Science.gov (United States) Tong, Bin; Zhang, Li; Li, Guang-Peng 2017-11-20 The studies of beef cattle breeding in China have been greatly improved with the rapid development of the international beef cattle industrialization. The beef cattle breeding technologies have rapidly transformed from traditional breeding to molecular marker-assisted breeding, genomic selection and genetic modification breeding. Hundreds of candidate genes and molecular markers associated with growth, meat quality, reproduction performance and diseases resistance have been identified, and some of them have already been used in cattle breeding. Genes and molecular markers associated with growth and development are focused on the growth hormone, muscle regulatory factors, myostatin and insulin-like growth factors. Meat quality is mediated by fatty acid transport and deposition related signals, calpains and calpain system, muscle regulatory factors and muscle growth regulation pathways. Reproduction performance is regulated by GnRH-FSH-LH, growth differentiation factor 9, prolactin receptor and forkhead box protein O1. Disease resistance is modulated by the major histocompatibility complex gene family, toll-like receptors, mannose-binding lectin and interferon gene signals. In this review, we summarize the most recent progress in beef cattle breeding in marker-assisted selection, genome-wide selection and genetic modification breeding, aiming to provide a reference for further genetic breeding research of beef cattle in China. Across Breed QTL Detection and Genomic Prediction in French and Danish Dairy Cattle Breeds DEFF Research Database (Denmark) van den Berg, Irene; Guldbrandtsen, Bernt; Hozé, C Our objective was to investigate the potential benefits of using sequence data to improve across breed genomic prediction, using data from five French and Danish dairy cattle breeds. First, QTL for protein yield were detected using high density genotypes. Part of the QTL detected within breed was... Indigenous knowledge in cattle breeding in Sierra Leone | Abdul ... African Journals Online (AJOL) This study was conducted in order to document and preserve valuable indigenous knowledge in cattle breeding and production under traditional cattle production system in Sierra Leone. Data were collected from thirty (30) cattle farms from three locations: Gbindi (16 farms), Sackelereh (7 farms), and Flamansa (7 farms) in ... Conservation and Improvement Strategy for Fogera Cattle: A Lesson for Ethiopia Ingenious Cattle Breed Resource Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Assemu Tesfa 2017-01-01 Full Text Available The paper is initiated to design appropriate conservation strategies and breeding scheme for Fogera cattle breed that will be used as a guide for other Ethiopian indigenous cattle breed. Two types of data, on-farm and on-station, were used; the on-farm data was collected from three districts, namely, Fogera, Dera, and Bahir Dar Zuria; those are expected as the home of the breed. A total of 150 farmers, which are knowledgeable and having at least one cattle of Fogera phenotype in their herd, were purposively selected and interviewed. Additionally, farmer’s focus group discussion (FGD was conducted to capture the historical background, population, and distribution of the breed. SPSS (version 16 and index method was used to analyze the quantitative and scoring data’s, respectively. A meeting at national and regional level was also conducted to evaluate the existing conservation strategy and to identify the major stakeholders for the strategy. The main reasons to conserve Fogera breed are due to presence of interrelated constraints, presence of unique traits of the breed, better attitude of farmers, and decreasing population trend of the breed. Community-based in situ conservation strategy, to ensure the participation of the community, was designed for the breed. With the conservation strategy, related activities like feed development, animal health interventions, market linkage, and development of cooperatives will be implemented to improve the working environment. The stakeholders that are identified as an actor in the strategy should realize their honest participation for the sustainability of conservation and improvement of the breed. Production objectives, trait and breed preferences of farmers keeping N'Dama, Fulani Zebu and crossbred cattle and implications for breeding programs. Science.gov (United States) Traoré, S A; Markemann, A; Reiber, C; Piepho, H P; Valle Zárate, A 2017-04-01 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 Smallholder experiences with dairy cattle crossbreeding in the tropics: from introduction to impact. Science.gov (United States) Roschinsky, R; Kluszczynska, M; Sölkner, J; Puskur, R; Wurzinger, M 2015-01-01 Crossbreeding of indigenous tropical and improved western dairy cattle breeds as tool to improve dairy cattle performance on smallholder farms has been widely advocated, criticised and yet applied. The government of Ethiopia supported this technology for decades but adoption rate is low. Constraints are documented but there is little information about farm level introduction and development of crossbreeding. A total 122 smallholders with mixed crop livestock farms and at least 8 years of successful crossbreeding were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire in two contexts in Amhara Regional state in north-western Ethiopia. Crossbreeding initiator was either uncoordinated government extension or a coordinated development project, also implemented with governmental support. Qualitative and quantitative data on farmers' motivations, crossbreeding introduction, initiator support, breeding adaptation and impacts at farm level were analysed. Results show that even though motives vary between contexts the underlying reason to introduce crossbreeding was economic profit. To be able to introduce crossbreeding support of initiators (e.g. extension) and other farmers was essential. The crossbreeding introduction context had some influence. Governmental actors were the main source of support and supplier of exotic genetics but the farmer network acted as safety net filling gaps of government support. Breeding strategies focused on performance increase. A lack of basic understanding of crossbreeding has been identified. A surprising, probably biased, result was general satisfaction with initiator support and with breeding services. It was challenged by the high proportion of farmers unable to follow a breeding strategy due to insufficient bull and/or semen supply. Crossbreeding changed the smallholder production system to a high input - high output system. Except for crossbred adaptation problems, challenges were ranked context specific and influenced by the initiator

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« 1 2 3 4 5 » Characterization of beef cattle breeds by virtue of their performances ... African Journals Online (AJOL) young bulls of l6 breeds were obtained fiorn the National Beef Cattle Performance and Progeny Testing Scheme and used in this re-analysis to characterize ... breeds for their effective use in either straight breeding or cross- breeding programmes. ... Scheme as the only data source for breed characterization pur- poses. Biochemical polymorphism in Egyptian Baladi cattle and their relationship with other breeds. Science.gov (United States) Graml, R; Ohmayer, G; Pirchner, F; Erhard, L; Buchberger, J; Mostageer, A 1986-01-01 Gene frequencies were estimated in a sample of Baladi cattle for milk proteins, blood proteins and blood groups. Gene frequency estimates of Bos taurus, Bos indicus and Sanga breeds were assembled from the literature. The gene frequencies were utilized for estimating the genetic distance between the breeds and breed groups. The Egyptian Baladi cattle appeared to be closer to Bos taurus breeds than to the Sanga. They are far removed from Zebus. Genetic Diversity of Bali Cattle Based on Microsatellite Marker in Indonesian Breeding Centre Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) W. A. Septian 2015-04-01 Full Text Available Genetics characterization in livestock based on microsatellite has been widely implemented including for Bali cattle in three different breeding centres in Indonesia. This study aimed to determine diversity of Bali cattle microsatellites in three breeding centers namely BPTU Bali cattle in Bali, BPT-HMT Serading Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara, and Village Breeding Center in South Sulawesi. The number of animals used in this study was 95 head of cattle consisted of 32 heads from BPTU Bali Province, 32 heads from BPT-HMT Serading Sumbawa, and 31 heads from Village Barru Breeding Center Barru distric. Microsatellite loci used to determine the diversity was the locus SPS115, INRA037, MM12, and ETH185 based on flourescently labeled fragment method. Data analysis of microsatellite in Bali cattle at three different locations was performed by using POPGEN 1.2, Cervus, and POPTREE2 programs. The results showed that microsatellite diversity in Bali cattle detected 32 alleles from three different locations, and there were specific alleles at each location. Average values of observed heterozygosity (Ho and expected heterozygosity (He were 0.418 and 0.604 respectively, while the average value of polymorphism informative content (PIC was 0.579. The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in general suggested that the loci used in the Bali cattle in three populations were in equilibrium, except INRA037 and ETH185. The genetic diversity between populations of Bali cattle was 0.033 (3%, while the inbreeding coefficient index in all populations was 0.296 (29.6 %. Bali cattle phylogeny tree with three populations showed that the populations of Bali cattle in BPTU Bali and VBC Barru had close genetic distance compared to the population of Bali cattle in BPT-HMT Serading Sumbawa. The results of this study provide information that the characteristics of Bali cattle breeding centers in three locations are different, so we need a directed breeding program in each population. Genetic diversity and population structure among six cattle breeds in South Africa using a whole genome SNP panel Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Sithembile Olga Makina 2014-09-01 Full Text Available Information about genetic diversity and population structure among cattle breeds is essential for genetic improvement, understanding of environmental adaptation as well as utilization and conservation of cattle breeds. This study investigated genetic diversity and the population structure among six cattle breeds in South African (SA including Afrikaner (n=44, Nguni (n=54, Drakensberger (n=47, Bonsmara (n=44, Angus (n=31 and Holstein (n=29. Genetic diversity within cattle breeds was analyzed using three measures of genetic diversity namely allelic richness (AR, expected heterozygosity (He and inbreeding coefficient (f. Genetic distances between breed pairs were evaluated using Nei’s genetic distance. Population structure was assessed using model-based clustering (ADMIXTURE. Results of this study revealed that the allelic richness ranged from 1.88 (Afrikaner to 1.73 (Nguni. Afrikaner cattle had the lowest level of genetic diversity (He=0.24 and the Drakensberger cattle (He=0.30 had the highest level of genetic variation among indigenous and locally-developed cattle breeds. The level of inbreeding was lower across the studied cattle breeds. As expected the average genetic distance was the greatest between indigenous cattle breeds and Bos taurus cattle breeds but the lowest among indigenous and locally-developed breeds. Model-based clustering revealed some level of admixture among indigenous and locally-developed breeds and supported the clustering of the breeds according to their history of origin. The results of this study provided useful insight regarding genetic structure of South African cattle breeds. THE BREEDING OF BEEF CATTLE IN soUTH AFRICA: PAST ... African Journals Online (AJOL) which I prefer, "breeding" is seen as the utilisation of total genetic variation ... was useful for preserving food and for the candle industry. (Evans and ... replaced by more productive types as mother stock while sires are .... Classification of cattle breeds used mainly for beef production in South Africa. Breeds ... maintenance. Hematological and male hormonal profile of two cattle breeds ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Baseline data on the hematology of White Fulani and Muturu breeds of Cattle have been reported. However, very few documented studies have been carried out with regards to the reproductive hormonal profile of these breeds. Satisfactory reproductive performance is important to effective management and production as a ... Differences in innate and adaptive immune response traits of Pahari (Indian non-descript indigenous breed) and Jersey crossbred cattle. Science.gov (United States) Verma, Subhash; Thakur, Aneesh; Katoch, Shailja; Shekhar, Chander; Wani, Aasim Habib; Kumar, Sandeep; Dohroo, Shweta; Singh, Geetanjali; Sharma, Mandeep 2017-10-01 Cattle are an integral part of the largely agrarian economy of India. Indigenous breeds of cattle comprise about 80% of total cattle population of the country and contribute significantly to the overall milk production. There are 40 recognized indigenous breeds of cattle and a number of uncharacterized non-descript cattle. Pahari cattle of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India are one such non-descript indigenous breed. Here we describe a comprehensive evaluation of haematobiochemical parameters and innate and adaptive immune response traits of Pahari cattle and a comparison with Jersey crossbred cattle. The study shows demonstrable differences in the two breeds with respect to some innate and adaptive immunological traits. This is a first attempt to characterize immune response traits of Pahari cattle and the results of the study provide an understanding of breed differences in immune status of cattle which could be useful for their breeding and conservations programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Whole-genome sequencing reveals mutational landscape underlying phenotypic differences between two widespread Chinese cattle breeds OpenAIRE Xu, Yao; Jiang, Yu; Shi, Tao; Cai, Hanfang; Lan, Xianyong; Zhao, Xin; Plath, Martin; Chen, Hong 2017-01-01 Whole-genome sequencing provides a powerful tool to obtain more genetic variability that could produce a range of benefits for cattle breeding industry. Nanyang (Bos indicus) and Qinchuan (Bos taurus) are two important Chinese indigenous cattle breeds with distinct phenotypes. To identify the genetic characteristics responsible for variation in phenotypes between the two breeds, in the present study, we for the first time sequenced the genomes of four Nanyang and four Qinchuan cattle with 10 ... Microsatellite based genetic diversity and relationships among ten Creole and commercial cattle breeds raised in Brazil Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Almeida Leonardo D 2007-12-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Brazil holds the largest commercial cattle populations worldwide. Local cattle breeds can be classified according to their origin, as exotic or Creole. Exotic breeds imported in the last 100 years, both zebuine and taurine, currently make up the bulk of the intensively managed populations. Locally adapted Creole breeds, originated from cattle introduced by the European conquerors derive from natural selection and events of breed admixture. While historical knowledge exists on the Brazilian Creole breeds very little is known on their genetic composition. The objective of this study was to assess the levels of genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships and patterns of taurine/zebuine admixture among ten cattle breeds raised in Brazil. Results Significant reduction of heterozygosity exists due both to within-population inbreeding and to breed differentiation in both subspecies (taurine and zebuine. For taurine breeds the number of markers that contribute to breed differentiation is larger than for zebuine. A consistently similar number of alleles was seen in both subspecies for all microsatellites. Four Creole breeds were the most genetically diverse followed by the zebuine breeds, the two specialized taurine breeds and the Creole Caracu. Pairwise genetic differentiation were all significant indicating that all breeds can be considered as genetically independent entities. A STRUCTURE based diagram indicated introgression of indicine genes in the local Creole breeds and suggested that occasional Creole introgression can be detected in some Zebuine animals. Conclusion This study reports on a comprehensive study of the genetic structure and diversity of cattle breeds in Brazil. A significant amount of genetic variation is maintained in the local cattle populations. The genetic data show that Brazilian Creole breeds constitute an important and diverse reservoir of genetic diversity for bovine breeding and conservation. The Developing a typology for local cattle breed farmers in Europe NARCIS (Netherlands) Soini, K.; Diaz, C.; Gandini, G.; Haas, de Y.; Lilja, T.; Martin-Collado, D.; Pizzi, F.; Hiemstra, S.J. 2012-01-01 Recognizing cultural diversity among local breed farmers is crucial for the successful development and implementation of farm animal genetic resources FAnGr conservation policies and programmes. In this study based on survey data collected in the EUropean REgional CAttle breeds project from six Optimization of dairy cattle breeding programs for different environment with genotype by environment interaction NARCIS (Netherlands) Mulder, H.A.; Veerkamp, R.F.; Ducro, B.J.; Arendonk, van J.A.M.; Bijma, P. 2006-01-01 Dairy cattle breeding organizations tend to sell semen to breeders operating in different environments and genotype × environment interaction may play a role. The objective of this study was to investigate optimization of dairy cattle breeding programs for 2 environments with genotype × environment Preliminary Report on CSN3 and LGB genes Polymorphism Among Two Romanian Cattle Breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Daniela Elena Ilie 2017-05-01 Full Text Available The aim of the current study was to evaluate the genetic polymorphism of A and B variants at the CSN3 (κ-casein and LGB (β-lactoglobulin loci in Romanian Spotted and Romanian Brown breeds using PCR-RFLP and PCR-HRM genotyping methods. Altogether, 280 cattle from Arad county were genotyped. The most frequent allele at the CSN3 locus was A in Romanian Spotted breed (0.723 while the B allele was the most common in the Romanian Brown (0.694. For LGB locus the A and B alleles recorded similar frequencies for Romanian Spotted (0.5141 and 0.4859 compared to Romanian Brown breed where the B allele was the most prevalent (0.5970. Knowledges regarding genetic information of breeds related to milk protein are valuable for economic reassertion of cattle breeds, particularly autochthonous ones. Further, the results would be useful in future breeding programs for the studied population, aimed to improve cattle genetic structure for milk quality traits. Characterisation of White Fulani and Sokoto Gudali cattle breeds in ... African Journals Online (AJOL) The study was conducted in Bauchi state between January, and July, 1997 to characterize White Fulani and Sokoto Gudali cattle breeds. Thirty animals of both sexes from each breed were randomly selected from fifteen farms/herds. Observations were carried out on both quantitative and qualitative characters. Sokoto ... Recent developments in cattle, pig, sheep and horse breeding - a review Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Alena Svitáková 2014-01-01 Full Text Available The aim of this review was to summarize new genetic approaches and techniques in the breeding of cattle, pigs, sheep and horses. Often production and reproductive traits are treated separately in genetic evaluations, but advantages may accrue to their joint evaluation. A good example is the system in pig breeding. Simplified breeding objectives are generally no longer appropriate and consequently becoming increasingly complex. The goal of selection for improved animal performance is to increase the profit of the production system; therefore, economic selection indices are now used in most livestock breeding programmes. Recent developments in dairy cattle breeding have focused on the incorporation of molecular information into genetic evaluations and on increasing the importance of longevity and health in breeding objectives to maximize the change in profit. For a genetic evaluation of meat yield (beef, pig, sheep, several types of information can be used, including data from performance test stations, records from progeny tests and measurements taken at slaughter. The standard genetic evaluation method of evaluation of growth or milk production has been the multi-trait animal model, but a test-day model with random regression is becoming the new standard, in sheep as well. Reviews of molecular genetics and pedigree analyses for performance traits in horses are described. Genome – wide selection is becoming a world standard for dairy cattle, and for other farm animals it is under development. Integrating genomic selection into dairy cattle breeding programmes: a review. Science.gov (United States) Bouquet, A; Juga, J 2013-05-01 Extensive genetic progress has been achieved in dairy cattle populations on many traits of economic importance because of efficient breeding programmes. Success of these programmes has relied on progeny testing of the best young males to accurately assess their genetic merit and hence their potential for breeding. Over the last few years, the integration of dense genomic information into statistical tools used to make selection decisions, commonly referred to as genomic selection, has enabled gains in predicting accuracy of breeding values for young animals without own performance. The possibility to select animals at an early stage allows defining new breeding strategies aimed at boosting genetic progress while reducing costs. The first objective of this article was to review methods used to model and optimize breeding schemes integrating genomic selection and to discuss their relative advantages and limitations. The second objective was to summarize the main results and perspectives on the use of genomic selection in practical breeding schemes, on the basis of the example of dairy cattle populations. Two main designs of breeding programmes integrating genomic selection were studied in dairy cattle. Genomic selection can be used either for pre-selecting males to be progeny tested or for selecting males to be used as active sires in the population. The first option produces moderate genetic gains without changing the structure of breeding programmes. The second option leads to large genetic gains, up to double those of conventional schemes because of a major reduction in the mean generation interval, but it requires greater changes in breeding programme structure. The literature suggests that genomic selection becomes more attractive when it is coupled with embryo transfer technologies to further increase selection intensity on the dam-to-sire pathway. The use of genomic information also offers new opportunities to improve preservation of genetic variation. However Genotype x Nutritional Environment Interaction in a Composite Beef Cattle Breed Science.gov (United States) Environmental effects have been shown to influence several economically important traits in beef cattle. In this study, genetic x nutritional environment interaction has been evaluated in a composite beef cattle breed(50% Red Angus, 25% Charolais, 25% Tarentaise).Cows were randomly assigned to be fe... Technological Innovation in Dutch Cattle Breeding and Dairy Farming, 1850-2000 NARCIS (Netherlands) Bieleman, J. 2005-01-01 This article attempts to present the broad outlines of technological change in Dutch cattle breeding and dairy farming over the last 150 years. After 1850, Dutch dairy farmers and cattle breeders profited from the rapidly increasing opportunities offered by expanding foreign markets. Herd book Cholistan and Cholistani Breed of Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) U. Farooq, H. A. Samad*, F. Sher1, M. Asim1 and M. Arif Khan2 2010-04-01 Full Text Available Cholistan, once a green and prosperous land with the source of water being the ancient Hakra River, was also the cradle of great Hakra Valley Civilization. It is sprawled at an area of 26,000 Km2, located between the latitudes 27º42´and 29º45´North and longitudes 69º52´and 75º24´East. The bioclimatic system of Cholistan falls under the category of “tropical desert” with very scanty rainfall. Geomorphologically, the soils of Cholistan are a complex blend of river alluvium and Aeolin sands. Based on topography, type of soil and vegetation, this desert is divided into two geomorphic regions: the Lesser Cholistan (the Northern 7,770 Km² region and the Greater Cholistan (the Southern 18,130 Km² region. The primary source of water is rainfall which is utilized through natural depressions or man-made ponds called “Tobas” and “Dahars.” The secondary source is underground water which is brackish and salty and not fit for human/animal consumption. Two livestock production systems prevail under pastoralism in Cholistan viz. transhumanie and nomadic. Despite an uncertain, unpredictable rainfall, low humidity and extremes in temperatures, Cholistan has long been famous for raising different breeds of livestock, contributing a significant share to national milk, meat and wool output. The total livestock population estimated during 2006 was 12,09528, out of which 47% were cattle. Cholistani cattle are considered to be ancestor of the Sahiwal and are a thermo-tolerant, tick-resistant breed. Preliminary data on some productive and reproductive traits of Cholistani cows maintained at Govt. Livestock Station, Jugait Peer, Bahawalpur during the period 2005 to 2009 revealed the avergae values for the productive traits i.e. lactation length, lactation yield, dry period, service period and fat percentage in milk as 165 days, 1235 liters, 155 days, 121 days and 4.8%, respectively. Similarly, the average values for reproductive traits i.e. age at MtDNA diversity and genetic lineages of four cattle breeds in Malaysia Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Somarny, W.W.M.Z. 2015-06-01 Full Text Available There is lack of comprehensive studies on the genetic diversity or phylogenetic analysis of beef cattle breeds in Malaysia. In this study, the partial sequence of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene (cyt b was analysed from blood samples obtained from 25 Chinese Yellow Cattle (CY, 33 Kedah-Kelantan (KK, 32 Brakmas (BM and 30 Bali cattle (BC. Based on these 120 individuals, 19 mtDNA haplotypes (GenBank Accession No. GU67340 - GU67358 were identified by polymorphisms at 31 sites. Hap19 was predominant in BM (78%, KK (82% and CY (100% indicating similar origin or gene flow between breeds whilst Hap11 was exclusively for BC. However, there were only two nucleotide differences between these two major haplotypes. These results can be interpreted that these representative cattle in these haplotypes are admixtures of B. indicus or B. javanicus through maternal ancestry. Conversely, the CY cattle investigated are highly inbred where no variation could be observed in the short segment investigated. The key elements for genetic response in Finnish dairy cattle breeding Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Jarmo Juga 1998-01-01 Full Text Available This paper reviews some key elements of Finnish animal breeding research contributing to the Finnish dairy cattle breeding programme and discusses the possibilities and problems in collecting data for genetic evaluation, prediction of breeding values both within and across countries, estimation of the economic value of important traits, and selection of bulls and cows. Economic values are calculated for fertility, udder health and production traits when one genetic standard deviation unit (gen. sd. is changed in each trait independently and the financial returns from selection response in the Finnish dairy cattle breeding programme are estimated. The following components were used to calculate the economic value of mastitis treatments: 1 cost of mastitis including discarded milk and treatment costs, 2 reduction in milk price due to higher somatic cell count, 3 replacement costs and 4 lower production level of the herd due to involuntary culling of cows because of udder problems. A high somatic cell count lowers the price of milk and eventually leads to involuntary culling. For treatments for fertility disorders the following costs were included: 1 treatment costs 2 higher replacement costs and 3 decreased milk production in the herd. Days open included the following costs: 1 extra insemination, 2 reduced annual milk yield and 3 fewer calves born. Animal breeding was found to be a very cost effective investment, yielding returns of FIM 876.9 per cow from one round of selection when the gene flow was followed for over 25 years in the Finnish dairy cattle breeding programme. « 1 2 3 4 5 » « 1 2 3 4 5 » Developing a typology for local cattle breed farmers in Europe. Science.gov (United States) Soini, K; Diaz, C; Gandini, G; de Haas, Y; Lilja, T; Martin-Collado, D; Pizzi, F; Hiemstra, S J 2012-12-01 Recognizing cultural diversity among local breed farmers is crucial for the successful development and implementation of farm animal genetic resources FAnGr conservation policies and programmes. In this study based on survey data collected in the EUropean REgional CAttle breeds project from six European countries, a typology of local breed farmers was designed and profiles for each of the farmer types were developed to assist these policy needs. Three main farmer types were constructed: production-oriented, product and service-oriented and hobby-oriented farmers. In addition, seven subtypes were characterized under the main types: sustainable producers, opportunists, multi-users, brand makers, traditionalists, pragmatists and newcomers. These types have many similarities to the 'productivist', 'multifunctional' and 'post-productivist' farmer types. The typology not only reveals the high level of diversity among local cattle breed farmers in Europe, which presents an opportunity for the in situ conservation of animal genetic resources, but also a challenge for policy to meet the differing requirements of the farmer types. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. DGAT1 and ABCG2 polymorphism in Indian cattle (Bos indicus and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Mishra Bina 2006-11-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Indian cattle (Bos indicus and riverine buffalo (Bubalus bubalis give a poor yield of milk but it has a high fat and protein percentage compared to taurine cattle. The identification of QTLs (Quantitative Trait Loci on BTA14 and BTA6 and its subsequent fine mapping has led to identification of two non conservative mutations affecting milk production and composition. Our objective was to estimate the frequency of K232A (DGAT1 – diacylglycerol – acyltransferase 1 and Y581S (ABCG2 – ATP binding cassette sub family G member 2 polymorphisms in diverse cattle and buffalo breeds of India having large variation in terms of milk production. Results We screened the reported missense mutations in six cattle and five buffalo breeds. The DGAT1K and ABCG2Y alleles were found to be fixed in Indian cattle and buffalo breeds studied. Conclusion This study provides an indirect evidence that all the Indian cattle and buffalo breeds have fixed alleles with respect to DGAT1 and ABCG2 genes reported to be responsible for higher milk fat yield, higher fat and protein percent. Genetic diversity and population structure of 20 North European cattle breeds DEFF Research Database (Denmark) kantanen, J; Olsaker, Ingrid; Holm, Lars-Erik 2000-01-01 Blood samples were collected from 743 animals from 15 indigenous, 2 old imported, and 3 commercial North European cattle breeds. The samples were analyzed for 11 erythrocyte antigen systems, 8 proteins, and 10 microsatellites, and used to assess inter- and intrabreed genetic variation and genetic......, allelic diversity has been reduced in several breeds, which was explained by limited effective population sizes over the course of man-directed breed development and demographic bottlenecks of indigenous breeds. A tree showing genetic relationships between breeds was constructed from a matrix of random...... drift-based genetic distance estimates. The breeds were classified on the basis of the tree topology into four major breed groups, defined as Northern indigenous breeds, Southern breeds, Ayrshire and Friesian breeds, and Jersey. Grouping of Nordic breeds was supported by documented breed history... Breeding programs for the main economically important traits of zebu dairy cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Ariosto Ardila Silva 2010-06-01 Full Text Available In tropical regions, Gyr and Guzerat breeds (Bos indicus are most explored for dairy industry and are much more adapted to climate. Gyr and Guzerat are Zebu breeds very common in Brazil and they are being used to generate Bos taurus x Bos indicus crosses in order to combine good production, heat and parasite tolerance on the tropics. Breeding programs for the main economically important traits of Zebu dairy cattle have been recently introduced in Brazil and is based on the use of genetically superior sires in the herds. A major objective of QTL (Quantitative Trait Loci and candidate genes is to find genes and markers that can be implemented in breeding programs across marker assisted selection (MAS. In Zebu dairy cattle MAS could be used to pre-select young candidate bulls to progeny testing, thus increasing selection differentials, shortening generation interval and increasing genetic gain Frequencies of genes for coat colour and horns in Nordic cattle breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Lien Sigbjørn 2000-11-01 Full Text Available Abstract Gene frequencies of coat colour and horn types were assessed in 22 Nordic cattle breeds in a project aimed at establishing genetic profiles of the breeds under study. The coat colour loci yielding information on genetic variation were: extension, agouti, spotting, brindle, dun dilution and colour sided. The polled locus was assessed for two alleles. A profound variation between breeds was observed in the frequencies of both colour and horn alleles, with the older breeds generally showing greater variation in observed colour, horn types and segregating alleles than the modern breeds. The correspondence between the present genetic distance matrix and previous molecular marker distance matrices was low (r = 0.08 – 0.12. The branching pattern of a neighbour-joining tree disagreed to some extent with the molecular data structure. The current data indicates that 70% of the total genetic variation could be explained by differences between the breeds, suggesting a much greater breed differentiation than typically found at protein and microsatellite loci. The marked differentiation of the cattle breeds and observed disagreements with the results from the previous molecular data in the topology of the phylogenetic trees are most likely a result of selection on phenotypic characters analysed in this study. Molecular genetic analysis of a cattle population to reconstitute the extinct Algarvia breed Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Rangel-Figueiredo Teresa 2010-06-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Decisions to initiate conservation programmes need to account for extant variability, diversity loss and cultural and economic aspects. Molecular markers were used to investigate if putative Algarvia animals could be identified for use as progenitors in a breeding programme to recover this nearly extinct breed. Methods 46 individuals phenotypically representative of Algarvia cattle were genotyped for 27 microsatellite loci and compared with 11 Portuguese autochthonous and three imported breeds. Genetic distances and factorial correspondence analyses (FCA were performed to investigate the relationship among Algarvia and related breeds. Assignment tests were done to identify representative individuals of the breed. Y chromosome and mtDNA analyses were used to further characterize Algarvia animals. Gene- and allelic-based conservation analyses were used to determine breed contributions to overall genetic diversity. Results Genetic distance and FCA results confirmed the close relationship between Algarvia and southern Portuguese breeds. Assignment tests without breed information classified 17 Algarvia animals in this cluster with a high probability (q > 0.95. With breed information, 30 cows and three bulls were identified (q > 0.95 that could be used to reconstitute the Algarvia breed. Molecular and morphological results were concordant. These animals showed intermediate levels of genetic diversity (MNA = 6.0 ± 1.6, Rt = 5.7 ± 1.4, Ho = 0.63 ± 0.19 and He = 0.69 ± 0.10 relative to other Portuguese breeds. Evidence of inbreeding was also detected (Fis = 0.083, P st = 0.028, P > 0.05. Algarvia cattle provide an intermediate contribution (CB = 6.18, CW = -0.06 and D1 = 0.50 to the overall gene diversity of Portuguese cattle. Algarvia and seven other autochthonous breeds made no contribution to the overall allelic diversity. Conclusions Molecular analyses complemented previous morphological findings to identify 33 animals that Prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis in some cattle breeds in the aids ... African Journals Online (AJOL) M. bovis was identified by growth rate, pigment production, colony and cell morphology and biochemical characteristics. A total of 41 heads of cattle comprising of 9 bulls and 32 cows from 7 breeds were positive for M. bovis. No isolate of M. bovis was obtained from Keteku breed and no seasonal distribution of the organism ... Economic assessment of the performance of trypanotolerant cattle breeds in a pastoral production system in Kenya Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) M.W. Maichomo 2009-05-01 Full Text Available Cattle are the major source of food security and income for pastoral farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. However, infectious and parasitic diseases remain a major constraint to improved cattle productivity in the region. The use of animal health economics to support decision-making on cost-effective disease control options is increasingly becoming important in the developing world. Trypano-tolerant indigenous Orma / zebu cattle in a trypanosomosis-endemic area of Kenya were evaluated for economic performance using gross-margin analysis and partial-farm budgeting. Orma / zebu and Sahiwal / zebu cross-bred cattle were exposed to similar husbandry practices and monitored for growth rate, incidence of common infections (trypanosomosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, East Coast Fever and helminthosis and the cost of treatment assessed. Interview questionnaires were also used to assess the preference rating of the 2 breeds. Results indicated that incidence of infection was trypanosomosis 3 %, anaplasmosis 58 %, babesiosis 11 %, East Coast Fever 22 % and helminthosis 28 %, with no significant difference between breeds. The Orma / zebu and Sahiwal / zebu breeds had comparable economic benefits, hence a pastoralist in Magadi division is likely to get similar returns from both breeds. This study therefore recommends adoption of not only the Sahiwal / zebu but also the Orma / zebu breed for cattle improvement in trypanosomosis endemic areas and conservation of indigenous genetic resources. Population Structure and Genomic Breed Composition in an Angus-Brahman Crossbred Cattle Population. Science.gov (United States) Gobena, Mesfin; Elzo, Mauricio A; Mateescu, Raluca G 2018-01-01 Crossbreeding is a common strategy used in tropical and subtropical regions to enhance beef production, and having accurate knowledge of breed composition is essential for the success of a crossbreeding program. Although pedigree records have been traditionally used to obtain the breed composition of crossbred cattle, the accuracy of pedigree-based breed composition can be reduced by inaccurate and/or incomplete records and Mendelian sampling. Breed composition estimation from genomic data has multiple advantages including higher accuracy without being affected by missing, incomplete, or inaccurate records and the ability to be used as independent authentication of breed in breed-labeled beef products. The present study was conducted with 676 Angus-Brahman crossbred cattle with genotype and pedigree information to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of using genomic data to determine breed composition. We used genomic data in parametric and non-parametric methods to detect population structure due to differences in breed composition while accounting for the confounding effect of close familial relationships. By applying principal component analysis (PCA) and the maximum likelihood method of ADMIXTURE to genomic data, it was possible to successfully characterize population structure resulting from heterogeneous breed ancestry, while accounting for close familial relationships. PCA results offered additional insight into the different hierarchies of genetic variation structuring. The first principal component was strongly correlated with Angus-Brahman proportions, and the second represented variation within animals that have a relatively more extended Brangus lineage-indicating the presence of a distinct pattern of genetic variation in these cattle. Although there was strong agreement between breed proportions estimated from pedigree and genetic information, there were significant discrepancies between these two methods for certain animals. This was most likely due Population Structure and Genomic Breed Composition in an Angus–Brahman Crossbred Cattle Population Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Mesfin Gobena 2018-03-01 Full Text Available Crossbreeding is a common strategy used in tropical and subtropical regions to enhance beef production, and having accurate knowledge of breed composition is essential for the success of a crossbreeding program. Although pedigree records have been traditionally used to obtain the breed composition of crossbred cattle, the accuracy of pedigree-based breed composition can be reduced by inaccurate and/or incomplete records and Mendelian sampling. Breed composition estimation from genomic data has multiple advantages including higher accuracy without being affected by missing, incomplete, or inaccurate records and the ability to be used as independent authentication of breed in breed-labeled beef products. The present study was conducted with 676 Angus–Brahman crossbred cattle with genotype and pedigree information to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of using genomic data to determine breed composition. We used genomic data in parametric and non-parametric methods to detect population structure due to differences in breed composition while accounting for the confounding effect of close familial relationships. By applying principal component analysis (PCA and the maximum likelihood method of ADMIXTURE to genomic data, it was possible to successfully characterize population structure resulting from heterogeneous breed ancestry, while accounting for close familial relationships. PCA results offered additional insight into the different hierarchies of genetic variation structuring. The first principal component was strongly correlated with Angus–Brahman proportions, and the second represented variation within animals that have a relatively more extended Brangus lineage—indicating the presence of a distinct pattern of genetic variation in these cattle. Although there was strong agreement between breed proportions estimated from pedigree and genetic information, there were significant discrepancies between these two methods for certain animals Effect of Cattle Breeds on Milk Composition and Technological Characteristics in China Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) T. X. Yang 2013-06-01 Full Text Available Cattle breeds have a striking effect on milk, including milk composition and technological characteristics. This study aims to compare milk composition, acidification activity, viscosity, milk dispersion system stability and casein molecular weight among three buffalo breeds in China. The technological characteristics of milk produced by three cattle breeds of river buffalo (Murrah, crossbreed 1st generation (F1, crossbreed multiple generation (FH, H≥3 buffaloes were investigated. Cattle breeds showed evident effect on milk protein, fat and total solids content, but little effect on most of buffalo casein molecular weight. Milk fat, protein content and the viscosity of buffalo milk from river buffalo were lower than those of F1 and FH, so was the buffer capacity. The viscosity was negatively correlated to temperature and concentration. Results of stability coefficient showed that milk dispersion system had the best dynamic stability characteristics under pH 6.6 and 6 times dilution, while zeta potential of Murrah milk was slightly higher than that of hybrid offspring (F1, FH. SDS-PAGE results showed that buffalo αs-casein had a slightly faster mobility than standard αs-casein; while buffalo β-casein showed a slightly slower mobility than standard β-casein. There is no clear differences in molecular weight of αs-, β-, and κ-casein among Murrah, F1 and FH. Genetic diversity measures of local European beef cattle breeds for conservation purposes Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Pereira Albano 2001-05-01 Full Text Available Abstract This study was undertaken to determine the genetic structure, evolutionary relationships, and the genetic diversity among 18 local cattle breeds from Spain, Portugal, and France using 16 microsatellites. Heterozygosities, estimates of Fst, genetic distances, multivariate and diversity analyses, and assignment tests were performed. Heterozygosities ranged from 0.54 in the Pirenaica breed to 0.72 in the Barrosã breed. Seven percent of the total genetic variability can be attributed to differences among breeds (mean Fst = 0.07; P Using breed composition, breed differences, selection tools, and new technologies to optimize commercial cattle production and allocation of beef cattle in research programs Science.gov (United States) Indicators of breed composition such as hair color and ear length often result in increased or decreased prices of young calves marketed into feedlots. Similarly, feedlot research trials are often initiated with blended cattle from multiple sources with little more than coat color used as a blockin... Preliminary study on MC1R polymorphism in some cattle breeds raised in Italy Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) C. Renieri 2011-03-01 Full Text Available Most of the Western European cattle breeds consist of standardised breeds with a definite coat colour (Renieri et al., 1984. Thus coat colour could be useful to detect genetic markers for cattle breed identification. In cattle the pigmentation is determined by the distribution of two pigments: eu- and pheomelanin, producing brown or black and red to yellow pigmentation respectively. Tyrosinase, the rate-limiting enzyme involved in the synthesis of both melanins, is regulated by the melanocyte stimulating hormone (αMSH. This hormone and several other melanotropic peptides stimulate melanin formation in melanocytes by binding to the melanocortin-1-receptor (MC1R, a G-protein-coupled receptor encoded by the Extension gene (Robbins et al., 1993. In addition, the amounts of eu- and pheomelanin in the melanocyte are controlled by the agouti gene encoding the Agouti Signal Protein (ASP, that acts as an antagonist of MSH signalling through the MC1R, even if its mechanism of action is controversial (Furumura et al., 1998.......... Impacts of Nutrition and Feeding Programs on Farmers’ Management Decisions Affecting the Success of Dairy Farms with Culture Breed Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Yavuz Topcu 2016-02-01 Full Text Available The aim of the study is to evaluate all the factors determining the milk production and yield decisions with regard to the nutrition and feeding programs affecting the integrated management strategies on the success of the dairy farms with culture breed cattle under the pasture-based and indoor barn-based production systems. For these aims, data obtained from the individual interviews conducted at the dairy farms with 100 culture breed cattle were used for Principal Component and Multiple Regression Analyses. The results of the study highlighted that while there were linear positive relationships among liquid assets of farms value, concentrate feed and fodder intake of dairy cattle, milk sale price, forage crop support, additional feeding and their types at pasture and milk yields per dairy cattle at the dairy farms; there were inverse relationships among hay intake of dairy cattle, lactation period, pasture planning, culture breed cattle support and those. The farmers could increase the successes of the dairy farms by increasing the technical and economic effectiveness under the integrated management pattern approaches at those with culture breed cattle. The comprehensive liver transcriptome of two cattle breeds with different intramuscular fat content. Science.gov (United States) Wang, Xi; Zhang, Yuanqing; Zhang, Xizhong; Wang, Dongcai; Jin, Guang; Li, Bo; Xu, Fang; Cheng, Jing; Zhang, Feng; Wu, Sujun; Rui, Su; He, Jiang; Zhang, Ronghua; Liu, Wenzhong 2017-08-26 Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is an important determinant factor of meat quality in cattle. There is significant difference in IMF content between Jinnan and Simmental cattle. Here, to identify candidate genes and networks associated with IMF deposition, we deeply explored the transcriptome architecture of liver in these two cattle breeds. We sequenced the liver transcriptome of five Jinnan and three Simmental cattle, yielding about 413.9 million sequencing reads. 124 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected, of which 53 were up-regulated and 71 were down-regulated in Jinnan cattle. 1282 potentially novel genes were also identified. Gene ontology analysis revealed these DEGs (including CYP21A2, PC, ACACB, APOA1, and FADS2) were significantly enriched in lipid biosynthetic process, regulation of cholesterol esterification, reverse cholesterol transport, and regulation of lipoprotein lipase activity. Genes involved in pyruvate metabolism pathway were also significantly overrepresented. Moreover, we identified an interaction network which related to lipid metabolism, which might be contributed to the IMF deposition in cattle. We concluded that the DEGs involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism could play an important role in IMF deposition. Overall, we proposed a new panel of candidate genes and interaction networks that can be associated with IMF deposition and used as biomarkers in cattle breeding. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Leukocyte profile of different breeds of the Nigerian cattle in ... African Journals Online (AJOL) The total white blood cell (WBC) count and differential counts of WBC were determined using Neubauer Chamber and Thin blood smear techniques. Data generated were analysed using Genstat statistical software, with sex, breed and haemparasite species detected as factors. Results showed that 22% of the cattle were ... Nest trampling and ground nesting birds: Quantifying temporal and spatial overlap between cattle activity and breeding redshank. Science.gov (United States) Sharps, Elwyn; Smart, Jennifer; Mason, Lucy R; Jones, Kate; Skov, Martin W; Garbutt, Angus; Hiddink, Jan G 2017-08-01 Conservation grazing for breeding birds needs to balance the positive effects on vegetation structure and negative effects of nest trampling. In the UK, populations of Common redshank Tringa totanus breeding on saltmarshes declined by >50% between 1985 and 2011. These declines have been linked to changes in grazing management. The highest breeding densities of redshank on saltmarshes are found in lightly grazed areas. Conservation initiatives have encouraged low-intensity grazing at nest trampling. If livestock distribution is not spatially or temporally homogenous but concentrated where and when redshank breed, rates of nest trampling may be much higher than expected based on livestock density alone. By GPS tracking cattle on saltmarshes and monitoring trampling of dummy nests, this study quantified (i) the spatial and temporal distribution of cattle in relation to the distribution of redshank nesting habitats and (ii) trampling rates of dummy nests. The distribution of livestock was highly variable depending on both time in the season and the saltmarsh under study, with cattle using between 3% and 42% of the saltmarsh extent and spending most their time on higher elevation habitat within 500 m of the sea wall, but moving further onto the saltmarsh as the season progressed. Breeding redshank also nest on these higher elevation zones, and this breeding coincides with the early period of grazing. Probability of nest trampling was correlated to livestock density and was up to six times higher in the areas where redshank breed. This overlap in both space and time of the habitat use of cattle and redshank means that the trampling probability of a nest can be much higher than would be expected based on standard measures of cattle density. Synthesis and applications : Because saltmarsh grazing is required to maintain a favorable vegetation structure for redshank breeding, grazing management should aim to keep livestock away from redshank nesting habitat between mid Breeding programs for the main economically important traits of zebu dairy cattle OpenAIRE Ariosto Ardila Silva 2010-01-01 In tropical regions, Gyr and Guzerat breeds (Bos indicus) are most explored for dairy industry and are much more adapted to climate. Gyr and Guzerat are Zebu breeds very common in Brazil and they are being used to generate Bos taurus x Bos indicus crosses in order to combine good production, heat and parasite tolerance on the tropics. Breeding programs for the main economically important traits of Zebu dairy cattle have been recently introduced in Brazil and is based on the use of genetically... Evaluation of Bovine High-Density SNP Genotyping Array in Indigenous Dairy Cattle Breeds. Science.gov (United States) Dash, S; Singh, A; Bhatia, A K; Jayakumar, S; Sharma, A; Singh, S; Ganguly, I; Dixit, S P 2018-04-03 In total 52 samples of Sahiwal ( 19 ), Tharparkar ( 17 ), and Gir ( 16 ) were genotyped by using BovineHD SNP chip to analyze minor allele frequency (MAF), genetic diversity, and linkage disequilibrium among these cattle. The common SNPs of BovineHD and 54K SNP Chips were also extracted and evaluated for their performance. Only 40%-50% SNPs of these arrays was found informative for genetic analysis in these cattle breeds. The overall mean of MAF for SNPs of BovineHD SNPChip was 0.248 ± 0.006, 0.241 ± 0.007, and 0.242 ± 0.009 in Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Gir, respectively, while that for 54K SNPs was on lower side. The average Reynold's genetic distance between breeds ranged from 0.042 to 0.055 based on BovineHD Beadchip, and from 0.052 to 0.084 based on 54K SNP Chip. The estimates of genetic diversity based on HD and 54K chips were almost same and, hence, low density chip seems to be good enough to decipher genetic diversity of these cattle breeds. The linkage disequilibrium started decaying (r 2 < 0.2) at 140 kb inter-marker distance and, hence, a 20K low density customized SNP array from HD chip could be designed for genomic selection in these cattle else the 54K Bead Chip as such will be useful. « 1 2 3 4 5 » « 2 3 4 5 6 » Variation in pestivirus growth in testicle primary cell culture is more dependent on the individual cell donor than cattle breed Science.gov (United States) Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) affects cattle from all breeds living in all regions. However, different breeds of cattle appear to have different susceptibilities to developing BRDC. The causes of BRDC are multifactorial and include infection with both viral and bacterial pathogens. Infec... [The muzzle and biochemical genetic markers as supplementary breed characteristics in cattle]. Science.gov (United States) Tarasiuk, S I; Glazko, V I; Trofimenko, A L 1997-01-01 The comparative analysis of characteristics of three different cattle breeds (Brown Carpathian, Pinzgauer, Red Polish) on the 5 molecular-genetic markers and 5 muzzle dermatoglyphic types was carried out. It was indicated, that one characteristic can not be use as a breed-specific one but only their complex. The main aspect of search of this complex is the use of characteristics which mark different structure-functional systems of whole organism. Sensitivity of Different Cattle Breeds to the Infestation of Cattle Ticks Amblyomma variegatum, Rhipicephalus microplus, and Hyalomma spp. on the Natural Pastures of Opkara Farm, Benin Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Roland Eric Yessinou 2018-01-01 Full Text Available A study was carried out on the Opkara (Benin cattle farm on 64 cattle of four different breeds (16 individuals per breed from June to December 2016. During this study, three tick species were found in different numbers, Amblyomma variegatum (732, Rhipicephalus microplus (8079, and Hyalomma spp. (208, with parasitic intensity of 11.90, 126.23, and 3.25, respectively. The interracial comparison of the tick infestation between the cattle showed a significant difference (P<0.001. However, Girolando was more infested than all the cattle breeds. Infestation of A. variegatum, R. microplus, and Hyalomma spp. on the Girolando was, respectively, 19.43 ± 2.71, 171.25 ± 23.50, and 7.12 ± 0.63, but the Borgou were less infested. Borgou breed females were more infested by A. variegatum (4.41 ± 1.14 than females Girolando (4.20 ± 0.90. The Crossbred and Azawak females were less infested (P<0.01. The mean of A. variegatum on Borgou, Azawak, Crossbred, and Girolando calves was 1.29 ± 0.35, 0.66 ± 0.26, 1.37 ± 0.37, and 2.25 ± 0.48 (P<0.01, respectively. The results of this study can be exploited to include genetic and nongenetic approaches to tick control. Whole-genome sequencing reveals mutational landscape underlying phenotypic differences between two widespread Chinese cattle breeds. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Yao Xu Full Text Available Whole-genome sequencing provides a powerful tool to obtain more genetic variability that could produce a range of benefits for cattle breeding industry. Nanyang (Bos indicus and Qinchuan (Bos taurus are two important Chinese indigenous cattle breeds with distinct phenotypes. To identify the genetic characteristics responsible for variation in phenotypes between the two breeds, in the present study, we for the first time sequenced the genomes of four Nanyang and four Qinchuan cattle with 10 to 12 fold on average of 97.86% and 98.98% coverage of genomes, respectively. Comparison with the Bos_taurus_UMD_3.1 reference assembly yielded 9,010,096 SNPs for Nanyang, and 6,965,062 for Qinchuan cattle, 51% and 29% of which were novel SNPs, respectively. A total of 154,934 and 115,032 small indels (1 to 3 bp were found in the Nanyang and Qinchuan genomes, respectively. The SNP and indel distribution revealed that Nanyang showed a genetically high diversity as compared to Qinchuan cattle. Furthermore, a total of 2,907 putative cases of copy number variation (CNV were identified by aligning Nanyang to Qinchuan genome, 783 of which (27% encompassed the coding regions of 495 functional genes. The gene ontology (GO analysis revealed that many CNV genes were enriched in the immune system and environment adaptability. Among several CNV genes related to lipid transport and fat metabolism, Lepin receptor gene (LEPR overlapping with CNV_1815 showed remarkably higher copy number in Qinchuan than Nanyang (log2 (ratio = -2.34988; P value = 1.53E-102. Further qPCR and association analysis investigated that the copy number of the LEPR gene presented positive correlations with transcriptional expression and phenotypic traits, suggesting the LEPR CNV may contribute to the higher fat deposition in muscles of Qinchuan cattle. Our findings provide evidence that the distinct phenotypes of Nanyang and Qinchuan breeds may be due to the different genetic variations including SNPs A comparison of phenotypic traits related to trypanotolerance in five west african cattle breeds highlights the value of shorthorn taurine breeds. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) David Berthier Full Text Available Animal African Trypanosomosis particularly affects cattle and dramatically impairs livestock development in sub-Saharan Africa. African Zebu (AFZ or European taurine breeds usually die of the disease in the absence of treatment, whereas West African taurine breeds (AFT, considered trypanotolerant, are able to control the pathogenic effects of trypanosomosis. Up to now, only one AFT breed, the longhorn N'Dama (NDA, has been largely studied and is considered as the reference trypanotolerant breed. Shorthorn taurine trypanotolerance has never been properly assessed and compared to NDA and AFZ breeds.This study compared the trypanotolerant/susceptible phenotype of five West African local breeds that differ in their demographic history. Thirty-six individuals belonging to the longhorn taurine NDA breed, two shorthorn taurine Lagune (LAG and Baoulé (BAO breeds, the Zebu Fulani (ZFU and the Borgou (BOR, an admixed breed between AFT and AFZ, were infected by Trypanosoma congolense IL1180. All the cattle were genetically characterized using dense SNP markers, and parameters linked to parasitaemia, anaemia and leukocytes were analysed using synthetic variables and mixed models. We showed that LAG, followed by NDA and BAO, displayed the best control of anaemia. ZFU showed the greatest anaemia and the BOR breed had an intermediate value, as expected from its admixed origin. Large differences in leukocyte counts were also observed, with higher leukocytosis for AFT. Nevertheless, no differences in parasitaemia were found, except a tendency to take longer to display detectable parasites in ZFU.We demonstrated that LAG and BAO are as trypanotolerant as NDA. This study highlights the value of shorthorn taurine breeds, which display strong local adaptation to trypanosomosis. Thanks to further analyses based on comparisons of the genome or transcriptome of the breeds, these results open up the way for better knowledge of host-pathogen interactions and Analysis of genetic and cultural conservation value of three indigenous Croatian cattle breeds in a local and global context. Science.gov (United States) Ramljak, J; Ivanković, A; Veit-Kensch, C E; Förster, M; Medugorac, I 2011-02-01 It is widely accepted that autochthonous cattle breeds can be important genetic resources for unforeseeable environmental conditions in the future. Apart from that, they often represent local culture and tradition and thus assist in the awareness of ethnic identity of a country. In Croatia, there are only three indigenous cattle breeds, Croatian Buša, Slavonian Syrmian Podolian and Istrian Cattle. All of them are threatened but specialized in a particular habitat and production system. We analysed 93 microsatellites in 51 animals of each breed to get thorough information about genetic diversity and population structure. We further set them within an existing frame of additional 16 breeds that have been genotyped for the same marker set and cover a geographical area from the domestication centre near Anatolia, through the Balkan and alpine regions, to the north-west of Europe. The cultural value was evaluated regarding the role in landscape, gastronomy, folklore and handicraft. The overall results recognize Croatian Buša being partly admixed but harbouring an enormous genetic diversity comparable with other traditional unselected Buša breeds in the Anatolian and Balkan areas. The Podolian cattle showed the lowest genetic diversity at the highest genetic distance to all remaining breeds but are playing an important role as part of the cultural landscape and thus contribute to the tourist industry. The genetic diversity of the Istrian cattle was found in the middle range of this study. It is already included in the tourist industry as a local food speciality. Current and future conservation strategies are discussed. © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. The value of embryo transfer to cattle breeding in Britain. Science.gov (United States) Wilmut, I; Hume, A 1978-08-05 An analysis is made of the maximum expenditure which could be justified in embryo transfer in cattle is used to: increase the rate of genetic improvement of dairy or beef cattle; increase the frequency of twin-pregnancies; and expedite a change of breed. Estimates of maximum justifiable expenditure have been compared with an estimate of the cost of non-surgical transfer. Embryo transfer should be used in elite beef herds to increase selection intensity, particularly if bulls from such herds can be used for artificial insemination. Other commercial applications will not be economically justifiable until the cost of transfer has fallen by 50 to 80 per cent. Effect of sex, age, and breed on genetic recombination features in cattle Science.gov (United States) Meiotic recombination is a fundamental biological process which generates genetic diversity, affects fertility, and influences evolvability. Here we investigate the roles of sex, age, and breed in cattle recombination features, including recombination rate, location and crossover interference. Usin... Genetic progress in multistage dairy cattle breeding schemes using genetic markers. Science.gov (United States) Schrooten, C; Bovenhuis, H; van Arendonk, J A M; Bijma, P 2005-04-01 The aim of this paper was to explore general characteristics of multistage breeding schemes and to evaluate multistage dairy cattle breeding schemes that use information on quantitative trait loci (QTL). Evaluation was either for additional genetic response or for reduction in number of progeny-tested bulls while maintaining the same response. The reduction in response in multistage breeding schemes relative to comparable single-stage breeding schemes (i.e., with the same overall selection intensity and the same amount of information in the final stage of selection) depended on the overall selection intensity, the selection intensity in the various stages of the breeding scheme, and the ratio of the accuracies of selection in the various stages of the breeding scheme. When overall selection intensity was constant, reduction in response increased with increasing selection intensity in the first stage. The decrease in response was highest in schemes with lower overall selection intensity. Reduction in response was limited in schemes with low to average emphasis on first-stage selection, especially if the accuracy of selection in the first stage was relatively high compared with the accuracy in the final stage. Closed nucleus breeding schemes in dairy cattle that use information on QTL were evaluated by deterministic simulation. In the base scheme, the selection index consisted of pedigree information and own performance (dams), or pedigree information and performance of 100 daughters (sires). In alternative breeding schemes, information on a QTL was accounted for by simulating an additional index trait. The fraction of the variance explained by the QTL determined the correlation between the additional index trait and the breeding goal trait. Response in progeny test schemes relative to a base breeding scheme without QTL information ranged from +4.5% (QTL explaining 5% of the additive genetic variance) to +21.2% (QTL explaining 50% of the additive genetic variance). A Strategies for use of reproductive technologies in genomic dairy cattle breeding programs DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Thomasen, Jørn Rind; Sørensen, Anders Christian A simulation study was performed for testing the effect of using reproductive technologies in a genomic dairy cattle young bull breeding scheme. The breeding scheme parameters: 1) number of donors, 2) number of progeny per donor, 3) age of the donor, 4) number of sires, and 5) reliability...... of genomic breeding values. The breeding schemes were evaluated according to genetic gain and rate of inbreeding. The relative gain by use of reproductive technologies is 11 to 84 percent points depending on the choice of other breeding scheme parameters. A large donor program with high selection intensity...... of sires provides the highest genetic gain. A relatively higher genetic gain is obtained for higher reliability of GEBV. Extending the donor program and number of selected bulls has a major effect of reducing the rate of inbreeding without compromising genetic gain.... The use of SWOT analysis to explore and prioritize conservation and development strategies for local cattle breeds. Science.gov (United States) Martín-Collado, D; Díaz, C; Mäki-Tanila, A; Colinet, F; Duclos, D; Hiemstra, S J; Gandini, G 2013-06-01 SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is a tool widely used to help in decision making in complex systems. It suits to exploring the issues and measures related to the conservation and development of local breeds, as it allows the integration of many driving factors influencing breed dynamics. We developed a quantified SWOT method as a decision-making tool for identification and ranking of conservation and development strategies of local breeds, and applied it to a set of 13 cattle breeds of six European countries. The method has four steps: definition of the system, identification and grouping of the driving factors, quantification of the importance of driving factors and identification and prioritization of the strategies. The factors were determined following a multi-stakeholder approach and grouped with a three-level structure. Animal genetic resources expert groups ranked the factors, and a quantification process was implemented to identify and prioritize strategies. The proposed SWOT methodology allows analyzing the dynamics of local cattle breeds in a structured and systematic way. It is a flexible tool developed to assist different stakeholders in defining the strategies and actions. The quantification process allows the comparison of the driving factors and the prioritization of the strategies for the conservation and development of local cattle breeds. We identified 99 factors across the breeds. Although the situation is very heterogeneous, the future of these breeds may be promising. The most important strengths and weaknesses were related to production systems and farmers. The most important opportunities were found in marketing new products, whereas the most relevant threats were found in selling the current products. The across-breed strategies utility decreased as they gained specificity. Therefore, the strategies at European level should focus on general aspects and be flexible enough to be adapted to the country and breed Open-nucleus theory for beef cattle breeding systems: A revisitation International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Recami, E.; Packer, I.U.; Tenorio Vasconselos, M. 1990-07-01 A theoretical model for Open-Nucleus Systems is herein described in the case of beef cattle breeding. One of the starting points is the observation that the majority of the standard theoretical models for open-nucleus breeding systems were constructed for the case of discrete generations, i.e. for the cases in which the dam average fertility coefficient is f>2. In the case of cattle herds, when only a fraction of the breeding dams can be replaced, it is therefore worthwhile to build up anew a rather rigorous theoretical model, with overlapping generations, and check its predictions. Namely, we apply the new formulae - explicitly depending on β F , ν F , ν M , K and R - to the system in which all breeding sires are in the Nucleus (and are reared in the nucleus itself), and are mated to both Nucleus and Base dams via artificial insemination. Optimal system design has been looked for by the NAG and MINOS computation programs, operated on Vax computers. Opening the nucleus in this situation results to be very effective since the (optimum) asymptotic genetic gain per generation for ''closed nucleus'' systems (x=0) results to be, when e.g. R≡F/M≅200, more than 40% lower than the (optimum) asymptotic genetic gain, G*, for open nucleus systems. Optimal design corresponds to: (i) having a fraction p≅16% of the female population in the nucleus; (ii) replacing practically all the (nucleus) breeding sires by the best (nucleus born) males: ν M =97/98%; (iii) using for dam replacement all (b≅100%) the (base and nucleus born) females; (iv) implementing a high upward gene migration (x≅80%), while all the surplus nucleus-born females are to be used as base replacements. This corresponds to replace, at each generation, also almost all the nucleus dams (ν F ≅95/100%), and the largest possible fraction of base dams (β F ≅30%, a value changing with p). 17 refs Importance of cattle breeding in the nourishment safety of families in the rural area of Paipa, Boyaca Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Diana Milena Soler Fonseca 2011-05-01 Full Text Available In the rural municipality of Paipa, Boyaca many families rely on cattle breeding to obtain from this activity, suficient income and resources to meet their basic needs, however little is known about the true role of this species in the nourishment safety of rural families in the municipality of Paipa in Boyacá, for that reason, this study aimed to analyze the importance of general breeding cattle in the nourishment safety of thirty peasant families in the municipality of Paipa, Boyacá and get to know the social and cultural roles that are generated by this livestock activity. The obtained result was that the cale are raised as a second choice in the pursuit of economic resources, after the birds. In cattle production an average of five animals per farm are raised, the widely used breeds are the Normando, Holstein and crosses between them; milk production dominates with an average yield of 150 liters/week per family; income and costs production depend on the number of cattle raised, the gained income is used to purchase food for home, but savings are not encouraged; the consumption of dairy products is very low and beef cattle is not consumed within the household; animals management is in charge of all family members (both genders. In general, cattle farming make interesting economic contributions to the countryside families, but these revenues are used to purchase food of high nutritional value, also a2ecting the nourishment safety of the studied families. Genotyping of β-Lactoglobulin gene by PCR-RFLP in Sahiwal and Tharparkar cattle breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Gupta Neelam 2006-05-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Improvement of efficiency and economic returns is an important goal in dairy farming, as in any agricultural enterprise. The primary goal of dairy industry has been to identify an efficient and economical way of increasing milk production and its constituents without increasing the size of the dairy herd. Selection of animals with desirable genotypes and mating them to produce the next generation has been the basis of livestock improvement and this would continue to remain the same in the coming years. The use of polymorphic genes as detectable molecular markers is a promising alternative to the current methods of trait selection once these genes are proven to be associated with traits of interest in animals. The point mutations in exon IV of bovine β-Lactoglobulin gene determine two allelic variants A and B. These variants were distinguished by Polymerase Chain Reaction and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP analysis in two indigenous Bos indicus breeds viz. Sahiwal and Tharparkar cattle. DNA samples (228 in Sahiwal and 86 in Tharparkar were analyzed for allelic variants of β-Lactoglobulin gene. Polymorphism was detected by digestion of PCR amplified products with Hae III enzyme, and separation on 12% non-denaturing gels and resolved by silver staining. Results The allele B of β-Lactoglobulin occurred at a higher frequency than the allele A in both Sahiwal and Tharparkar breeds. The genotypic frequencies of AA, AB, and BB in Sahiwal and Tharparkar breeds were 0.031, 0.276, 0.693 and 0.023, 0.733, 0.244 respectively. Frequencies of A and B alleles were 0.17 and 0.83, and 0.39 and 0.61 in Sahiwal and Tharparkar breeds respectively. The Chi-square test results (at one degree of freedom at one per cent level revealed that the Tharparkar population was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium as there was a continuous migration of animals in the herd studied, where as, the results are not significant for the Sahiwal Improvement of indigenous cattle to modern Japanese Black (Wagyu) cattle Science.gov (United States) Oikawa, T. 2018-02-01 Wagyu cattle have been improved from indigenous cattle raised in Japan since the country was opened 100 years ago. Characteristics of the breed were formed during that period. Here, the process of the breeding is described, and recent topics about breeding studies are discussed. Whole-Genome Analyses of Korean Native and Holstein Cattle Breeds by Massively Parallel Sequencing Science.gov (United States) Stothard, Paul; Chung, Won-Hyong; Jeon, Heoyn-Jeong; Miller, Stephen P.; Choi, So-Young; Lee, Jeong-Koo; Yang, Bokyoung; Lee, Kyung-Tai; Han, Kwang-Jin; Kim, Hyeong-Cheol; Jeong, Dongkee; Oh, Jae-Don; Kim, Namshin; Kim, Tae-Hun; Lee, Hak-Kyo; Lee, Sung-Jin 2014-01-01 A main goal of cattle genomics is to identify DNA differences that account for variations in economically important traits. In this study, we performed whole-genome analyses of three important cattle breeds in Korea—Hanwoo, Jeju Heugu, and Korean Holstein—using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing platform. We achieved 25.5-, 29.6-, and 29.5-fold coverage of the Hanwoo, Jeju Heugu, and Korean Holstein genomes, respectively, and identified a total of 10.4 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), of which 54.12% were found to be novel. We also detected 1,063,267 insertions–deletions (InDels) across the genomes (78.92% novel). Annotations of the datasets identified a total of 31,503 nonsynonymous SNPs and 859 frameshift InDels that could affect phenotypic variations in traits of interest. Furthermore, genome-wide copy number variation regions (CNVRs) were detected by comparing the Hanwoo, Jeju Heugu, and previously published Chikso genomes against that of Korean Holstein. A total of 992, 284, and 1881 CNVRs, respectively, were detected throughout the genome. Moreover, 53, 65, 45, and 82 putative regions of homozygosity (ROH) were identified in Hanwoo, Jeju Heugu, Chikso, and Korean Holstein respectively. The results of this study provide a valuable foundation for further investigations to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying variation in economically important traits in cattle and to develop genetic markers for use in cattle breeding. PMID:24992012 Genetic covariance components within and among linear type traits differ among contrasting beef cattle breeds. Science.gov (United States) Doyle, Jennifer L; Berry, Donagh P; Walsh, Siobhan W; Veerkamp, Roel F; Evans, Ross D; Carthy, Tara R 2018-05-04 Linear type traits describing the skeletal, muscular, and functional characteristics of an animal are routinely scored on live animals in both the dairy and beef cattle industries. Previous studies have demonstrated that genetic parameters for certain performance traits may differ between breeds; no study, however, has attempted to determine if differences exist in genetic parameters of linear type traits among breeds or sexes. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine if genetic covariance components for linear type traits differed among five contrasting cattle breeds, and to also investigate if these components differed by sex. A total of 18 linear type traits scored on 3,356 Angus (AA), 31,049 Charolais (CH), 3,004 Hereford (HE), 35,159 Limousin (LM), and 8,632 Simmental (SI) were used in the analysis. Data were analyzed using animal linear mixed models which included the fixed effects of sex of the animal (except in the investigation into the presence of sexual dimorphism), age at scoring, parity of the dam, and contemporary group of herd-date of scoring. Differences (P covariance parameters estimated from the CH breed with a linear function of breeding values computed conditional on covariance parameters estimated from the other breeds was estimated. Replacing the genetic covariance components estimated in the CH breed with those of the LM had least effect but the impact was considerable when the genetic covariance components of the AA were used. Genetic correlations between the same linear type traits in the two sexes were all close to unity (≥0.90) suggesting little advantage in considering these as separate traits for males and females. Results for the present study indicate the potential increase in accuracy of estimated breeding value prediction from considering, at least, the British breed traits separate to continental breed traits. Analysis of melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R gene polymorphisms in some cattle breeds: their usefulness and application for breed traceability and authentication of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Roberta Davoli 2010-01-01 Full Text Available In cattle, the MC1R gene has been the subject of several studies with the aim to elucidate the biology of coat colour. Then, polymorphisms of this gene have been proposed as tools for breed identification and animal products authentication. As a first step to identify breed specific DNA markers that can be used for the traceability of mono-breed dairy cattle products we investigated, using PCR-RFLP and PCR-APLP protocols, the presence and distribution of some alleles at the MC1R locus in 18 cattle breeds for a total of 1360 animals. For each of seven breeds (Italian Holstein, Italian Brown, Italian Simmental, Rendena, Jersey, Reggiana and Modenese a large number of animals (>70 was genotyped so the obtained results can be considered with more confidence. Allele ED was identified only in black pied cattle (Italian Holstein and Black Pied Valdostana. Allele E (this nomenclature includes all alleles except ED, E1 and e was observed in Italian Brown, Rendena, Jersey, Modenese, Italian Simmental, Grigio Alpina, Piedmontese, Chianina, Romagnola, Marchigiana, Swedish Red and White and Danish Red. Allele E1 was identified in Italian Brown, Rendena, Grigio Alpina, Piedmontese, Swedish Red and White and Danish Red. The recessive allele e, known to cause red coat colour, was fixed in Reggiana and almost fixed in Italian Simmental. This allele was observed also in Italian Holstein, Italian Brown, Rendena, Jersey and Modenese albeit with low frequency. Moreover, this allele was detected in Valdostana, Pezzata Rossa d’Oropa, Piedmontese, Romagnola, Swedish Red and White, Danish Red, Charoleis and Salers. In the case of the Reggiana breed, which is fixed for allele e, the MC1R locus is highly informative with respect to breeds that carry other alleles or in which allele e is at very low frequency. In theory, using the MC1R locus it is possible to identify the presence of milk from some other breeds in Parmigiano Reggiano cheese labelled as exclusively from Differences in milk fat composition predicted by mid-infrared spectrometry among dairy cattle breeds in the Netherlands NARCIS (Netherlands) Maurice - Van Eijndhoven, M.H.T.; Bovenhuis, H.; Soyeurt, H.; Calus, M.P.L. 2013-01-01 The aim of this study was to estimate breed differences in milk fatty acid (FA) profile among 5 dairy cattle breeds present in the Netherlands: Holstein-Friesian (HF), Meuse-Rhine-Yssel (MRY), Dutch Friesian (DF), Groningen White Headed (GWH), and Jersey (JER). For this purpose, total fat percentage Genomic Footprints in Selected and Unselected Beef Cattle Breeds in Korea. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Dajeong Lim Full Text Available Korean Hanwoo cattle have been subjected to intensive artificial selection over the past four decades to improve meat production traits. Another three cattle varieties very closely related to Hanwoo reside in Korea (Jeju Black and Brindle and in China (Yanbian. These breeds have not been part of a breeding scheme to improve production traits. Here, we compare the selected Hanwoo against these similar but presumed to be unselected populations to identify genomic regions that have been under recent selection pressure due to the breeding program. Rsb statistics were used to contrast the genomes of Hanwoo versus a pooled sample of the three unselected population (UN. We identified 37 significant SNPs (FDR corrected in the HW/UN comparison and 21 known protein coding genes were within 1 MB to the identified SNPs. These genes were previously reported to affect traits important for meat production (14 genes, reproduction including mammary gland development (3 genes, coat color (2 genes, and genes affecting behavioral traits in a broader sense (2 genes. We subsequently sequenced (Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform 10 individuals of the brown Hanwoo and the Chinese Yanbian to identify SNPs within the candidate genomic regions. Based on allele frequency differences, haplotype structures, and literature research, we singled out one non-synonymous SNP in the APP gene (APP: c.569C>T, Ala199Val and predicted the mutational effect on the protein structure. We found that protein-protein interactions might be impaired due to increased exposed hydrophobic surfaces of the mutated protein. The APP gene has also been reported to affect meat tenderness in pigs and obesity in humans. Meat tenderness has been linked to intramuscular fat content, which is one of the main breeding goals for brown Hanwoo, potentially supporting a causal influence of the herein described nsSNP in the APP gene. « 2 3 4 5 6 » « 3 4 5 6 7 » Genomic Footprints in Selected and Unselected Beef Cattle Breeds in Korea. Science.gov (United States) Lim, Dajeong; Strucken, Eva M; Choi, Bong Hwan; Chai, Han Ha; Cho, Yong Min; Jang, Gul Won; Kim, Tae-Hun; Gondro, Cedric; Lee, Seung Hwan 2016-01-01 Korean Hanwoo cattle have been subjected to intensive artificial selection over the past four decades to improve meat production traits. Another three cattle varieties very closely related to Hanwoo reside in Korea (Jeju Black and Brindle) and in China (Yanbian). These breeds have not been part of a breeding scheme to improve production traits. Here, we compare the selected Hanwoo against these similar but presumed to be unselected populations to identify genomic regions that have been under recent selection pressure due to the breeding program. Rsb statistics were used to contrast the genomes of Hanwoo versus a pooled sample of the three unselected population (UN). We identified 37 significant SNPs (FDR corrected) in the HW/UN comparison and 21 known protein coding genes were within 1 MB to the identified SNPs. These genes were previously reported to affect traits important for meat production (14 genes), reproduction including mammary gland development (3 genes), coat color (2 genes), and genes affecting behavioral traits in a broader sense (2 genes). We subsequently sequenced (Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform) 10 individuals of the brown Hanwoo and the Chinese Yanbian to identify SNPs within the candidate genomic regions. Based on allele frequency differences, haplotype structures, and literature research, we singled out one non-synonymous SNP in the APP gene (APP: c.569C>T, Ala199Val) and predicted the mutational effect on the protein structure. We found that protein-protein interactions might be impaired due to increased exposed hydrophobic surfaces of the mutated protein. The APP gene has also been reported to affect meat tenderness in pigs and obesity in humans. Meat tenderness has been linked to intramuscular fat content, which is one of the main breeding goals for brown Hanwoo, potentially supporting a causal influence of the herein described nsSNP in the APP gene. National surveillance plan for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) in autochthonous Italian cattle breeds: Results of first year of activity. Science.gov (United States) Maresca, Carmen; Scoccia, Eleonora; Dettori, Annalisa; Felici, Andrea; Guarcini, Roberta; Petrini, Stefano; Quaglia, Andrea; Filippini, Giovanni 2018-06-01 Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR)/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis (IPV) caused by Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) is a significant disease in domestic and wild cattle. In June 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in Italy approved a national surveillance plan to control and eradicate IBR in beef cattle breeds. The objective of this study was to evaluate the results of the first year of the IBR voluntary surveillance plan in Italy. The aim of the plan is to eradicate IBR in all bovines recorded in the National Herd Book for Italian beef cattle breeds over six years. Monetary incentives are used to encourage breeders to achieve the annual seroprevalence ranges stated in the plan. A Ministerial decree states that all bovines in breeding herds and aged older than 12 months should be serologically tested. Serum samples were tested for presence of the antibody to glycoprotein E of BoHV-1 using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The national herd seroprevalence was 55.49% (95% confidence interval [CI] 52.01-58.92). Of 25,121 bovines tested for antibodies against BoHV-1, 8014 were positive. The seroprevalence in animals from autochthonous Italian cattle breeds was 31.89% (95% CI 31.31-32.47). Seroprevalence was highest in Podolica cattle (55.14%; 95% CI 54.07-56.21), lowest in Maremmana cattle (9.95%; 95% CI 7.99-12.31), and intermediate in Chianina (22.01%; 95% CI 21.03-23.01), Marchigiana (24.85%; 95% CI 23.52-26.23), and Romagnola (15.60%; 95% CI 14.62-16.64) cattle. These seroprevalence rates indicate a need for intervention to decrease the inevitable severe economic losses arising from BoHV-1 infection. Although some regions in Italy have a long history of combatting BoHV-1 infection, only the province of Bolzano has eradicated IBR. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Recent and historical recombination in the admixed Norwegian Red cattle breed Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Grove Harald 2011-01-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Comparison of recent patterns of recombination derived from linkage maps to historical patterns of recombination from linkage disequilibrium (LD could help identify genomic regions affected by strong artificial selection, appearing as reduced recent recombination. Norwegian Red cattle (NRF make an interesting case study for investigating these patterns as it is an admixed breed with an extensively recorded pedigree. NRF have been under strong artificial selection for traits such as milk and meat production, fertility and health. While measures of LD is also crucial for determining the number of markers required for association mapping studies, estimates of recombination rate can be used to assess quality of genomic assemblies. Results A dataset containing more than 17,000 genome-wide distributed SNPs and 2600 animals was used to assess recombination rates and LD in NRF. Although low LD measured by r2 was observed in NRF relative to some of the breeds from which this breed originates, reports from breeds other than those assessed in this study have described more rapid decline in r2 at short distances than what was found in NRF. Rate of decline in r2 for NRF suggested that to obtain an expected r2 between markers and a causal polymorphism of at least 0.5 for genome-wide association studies, approximately one SNP every 15 kb or a total of 200,000 SNPs would be required. For well known quantitative trait loci (QTLs for milk production traits on Bos Taurus chromosomes 1, 6 and 20, map length based on historic recombination was greater than map length based on recent recombination in NRF. Further, positions for 130 previously unpositioned contigs from assembly of the bovine genome sequence (Btau_4.0 found using comparative sequence analysis were validated by linkage analysis, and 28% of these positions corresponded to extreme values of population recombination rate. Conclusion While LD is reduced in NRF compared to some of the Impacts of Nutrition and Feeding Programs on Farmers’ Management Decisions Affecting the Success of Dairy Farms with Culture Breed Cattle OpenAIRE Yavuz Topcu; Mehmet Toparlak; Muhlis Macit 2016-01-01 The aim of the study is to evaluate all the factors determining the milk production and yield decisions with regard to the nutrition and feeding programs affecting the integrated management strategies on the success of the dairy farms with culture breed cattle under the pasture-based and indoor barn-based production systems. For these aims, data obtained from the individual interviews conducted at the dairy farms with 100 culture breed cattle were used for Principal Component and Multiple Reg... Genetic variation of milk fatty acid composition between and within dairy cattle breeds NARCIS (Netherlands) Maurice - Van Eijndhoven, M.H.T. 2014-01-01 Abstract Maurice – Van Eijndhoven, M.H.T. (2014). Genetic variation of milk fatty acid composition between and within dairy cattle breeds. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, the Netherlands Fat is one of the main components in bovine milk and comprises a large Detection of Theileria annulata carriers in Holstein–Friesian (Bos taurus taurus) and Sistani (Bos taurus indicus) cattle breeds by polymerase chain reaction in Sistan region, Iran OpenAIRE Majidiani, Hamidreza; Nabavi, Reza; Ganjali, Maryam; Saadati, Dariush 2015-01-01 Theileria annulata is common in tropical and subtropical regions especially in Iran and causes great economic losses in cattle industry. In Iran the epidemiological aspects of bovine theileriosis in different breeds of cattle is poorly understood. The aim of present study is comparison of the number of T. annulata carriers in the two major cattle breeds (Holstein–Friesian and Sistani) in Sistan of Iran by giemsa and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. During winter 2013, 160 native cattl... Characterization of Genetic Variation in Icelandic Cattle DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Holm, Lars-Erik; Das, Ashutosh; Momeni, Jamal Identification of genetic variation in cattle breeds using next-generation sequencing technology has focused on the modern production cattle breeds. We focused on one of the oldest indigenous breeds, the Icelandic cattle breed. Sequencing of two individuals enabled identification of more than 8... Quantitative trait loci for milk production and functional traits in two Danish Cattle breeds DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Mai, M D; Rychtarova, J; Zink, V 2010-01-01 Quantitative trait loci (QTL) in Danish Jersey and Danish Red cattle were independently mapped by least squares regression analysis. For Jersey breed, five grandsire families were genotyped for 186 markers on 16 chromosomes (BTAs). Eight traits analysed were milk yield (MY), fat percentage (FP), ... INTRODUCTION OF EXOTIC BREEDS IN EXTENSIVE LIVESTOCK FARMING SYSTEM OF BURKINA FASO: ASSESSMENT AND PROSPECTS. OpenAIRE Albert Soudre; Moustapha Grema; Stephane A. R. Tapsoba; Moumouni Sanou; Amadou Traore; Hamidou Hamadou Tamboura. 2018-01-01 A study on the situation of exotic cattle breeds introduced in Burkina Faso was conducted in the province of Soum (Djibo) located in the north of the country, a Sahel area of West Africa. The aim of the study was to i) assess the adaptation of exotic breeds with high productive potential in a difficult climatic context and ii) evaluate their productivity in comparison with the native breeds. A participatory survey associated with field visits were conducted to assess the survival and adaptati... Assessment of Genetic Diversity, Relationships and Structure among Korean Native Cattle Breeds Using Microsatellite Markers Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Sangwon Suh 2014-11-01 Full Text Available Four Korean native cattle (KNC breeds—Hanwoo, Chikso, Heugu, and Jeju black—are entered in the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO. The objective of this study was to assess the genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships and population structure of these KNC breeds (n = 120 and exotic breeds (Holstein and Charolais, n = 56. Thirty microsatellite loci recommended by the International Society for Animal Genetics/FAO were genotyped. These genotypes were used to determine the allele frequencies, allelic richness, heterozygosity and polymorphism information content per locus and breed. Genetic diversity was lower in Heugu and Jeju black breeds. Phylogenetic analysis, Factorial Correspondence Analysis and genetic clustering grouped each breed in its own cluster, which supported the genetic uniqueness of the KNC breeds. These results will be useful for conservation and management of KNC breeds as animal genetic resources. Adaptability and suitability of local cattle breeds in Egypt: Farmers and actors’ perceptions and practices of the cattle value chain Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) M. A. Osman 2017-02-01 Full Text Available Egypt, where the mean temperature is expected to increase by 1−1.5°C over the next two decades, is particularly concerned with climate change in the Mediterranean. Most of the research works on adaptive animal traits have focused on sheep and goats in non-irrigated areas, with little interest in livestock systems in irrigated areas. However, meat and dairy products in Egypt are mainly supplied by large ruminants − cattle and buffaloes. In addition, research on genetic improvement to increase production has neglected local cattle breeds such as the Baladi, which appears to be endangered. Based on individual and collective interviews conducted in two governorates of Egypt, this study aimed to describe the situation of this local breed based on the perceptions and practices of the actors in the sector (including farmers, traders and service suppliers, and to draw perspectives for its future. From the interviews, the Baladi appeared adapted and more resistant to harsh conditions, especially to extreme warm temperatures, feed shortage periods, and some diseases, in particular foot-and-mouth disease. However, there is no organization or collective action to preserve or promote this breed because of its low level of dairy production, although its meat is highly valued in rural areas and could be the source of a potential niche market. Genetic improvement of beef cattle in the United States: cattle, people and their interaction. Science.gov (United States) Willham, R L 1982-03-01 The purpose of this essay is to develop a historic perspective of the beef cattle population and the legion of people directing its genetic change so that future leadership can increase the rate of breeding technology assimilation. Use of cattle for beef to feed millions is relatively recent. The beef industry of the United States has a rich, romantic heritage that combined Spanish exploitation with British tradition. Spanish cattle became adapted as the Texas longhorn and the European cattle became indigenous. Breeds developed in Britain replaced both. The Zebu was introduced to produce cattle adapted to the Gulf Coast. Selection for early maturity in the British breeds promoted by livestock shows was ended by the dwarf gene. The Charolais breed demonstrated growth potential. Then in 1967, Continental European breeds were imported, given an array of biological types from which to select. Beef cattle breeding research expanded after the second world war through the three regional projects. Performance Registry International was the focal point for performance. The Beef Improvement Federation produced guidelines for recording beef performance including those for national sire evaluation. U.S. Meat Animal Research Center evaluated the several newly introduced breeds. To date, breeding researchers have developed breeding technology for the use by breeder. The major breed association are keeping and utilizing performance records. The genetic structure of the beef breeds is being altered by the use of AI such that genetic change can be made rapidly by the use of superior sires evaluated on their progeny in many herds. Variation in pestivirus growth in testicle primary cell culture is more dependent on the individual cell donor than cattle breed. Science.gov (United States) Weber, Matheus N; Bauermann, Fernando V; Gómez-Romero, Ninnet; Herring, Andy D; Canal, Cláudio W; Neill, John D; Ridpath, Julia F 2017-03-01 The causes of bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) are multifactorial and include infection with both viral and bacterial pathogens. Host factors are also involved as different breeds of cattle appear to have different susceptibilities to BRDC. Infection with bovine pestiviruses, including bovine viral diarrhea virus 1 (BVDV1), BVDV2 and 'HoBi'-like viruses, is linked to the development of BRDC. The aim of the present study was to compare the growth of different bovine pestiviruses in primary testicle cell cultures obtained from taurine, indicine and mixed taurine and indicine cattle breeds. Primary cells strains, derived from testicular tissue, were generated from three animals from each breed. Bovine pestivirus strains used were from BVDV-1a, BVDV-1b, BVDV-2a and 'HoBi'-like virus. Growth was compared by determining virus titers after one passage in primary cells. All tests were run in triplicate. Virus titers were determined by endpoint dilution and RT-qPCR. Statistical analysis was performed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey's Multiple Comparison Test (P˂0.05). Significant differences in virus growth did not correlate with cattle breed. However, significant differences were observed between cells derived from different individuals regardless of breed. Variation in the replication of virus in primary cell strains may reflect a genetic predisposition that favors virus replication. Challenges of captive breeding and re-introduction of selected ... African Journals Online (AJOL) -introduction of selected primate species in the wild using Centre for Education, Research and Conservation of Primates and Nature (CERCOPAN) and Drill Rehabilitation and Breeding Center (PANDRILLUS) of Cross Rivers State as case ... Invited review: Breeding and ethical perspectives on genetically modified and genome edited cattle. Science.gov (United States) Eriksson, S; Jonas, E; Rydhmer, L; Röcklinsberg, H 2018-01-01 The hot topic of genetic modification and genome editing is sometimes presented as a rapid solution to various problems in the field of animal breeding and genetics. These technologies hold potential for future use in agriculture but we need to be aware of difficulties in large-scale application and integration in breeding schemes. In this review, we discuss applications of both classical genetic modifications (GM) using vectors and genome editing in dairy cattle breeding. We use an interdisciplinary approach considering both ethical and animal breeding perspectives. Decisions on how to make use of these techniques need to be made based not only on what is possible, but on what is reasonable to do. Principles of animal integrity, naturalness, risk perception, and animal welfare issues are examples of ethically relevant factors to consider. These factors also influence public perception and decisions about regulations by authorities. We need to acknowledge that we lack complete understanding of the genetic background of complex traits. It may be difficult, therefore, to predict the full effect of certain modifications in large-scale breeding programs. We present 2 potential applications: genome editing to dispense with dehorning, and insertion of human genes in bovine genomes to improve udder health as an example of classical GM. Both of these cases could be seen as beneficial for animal welfare but they differ in other aspects. In the former case, a genetic variant already present within the species is introduced, whereas in the latter case, transgenic animals are generated-this difference may influence how society regards the applications. We underline that the use of GM, as well as genome editing, of farm animals such as cattle is not independent of the context, and should be considered as part of an entire process, including, for example, the assisted reproduction technology that needs to be used. We propose that breeding organizations and breeding companies Development of Czech Software for Managing of Cattle Breeding Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Iveta Novotná 2016-10-01 Full Text Available Cattle breeding, a traditional sector of agricultural production, is currently recording a very intensive development caused by the effort of farmers to maximize production and especially their profit. Rapid implementation of new technologies, that help to achieve this goal, cannot be reliably carried out without the use of modern computer and transmission technology controlled by a quality control program. Absence of a similar system on our market led the company Agrosoft to develop a system sorting according to register designed for all types of farming, regardless of the amount of housed animals. The product was created in a Czech company, respects traditional local customs and his undisputable contribution is the subsequent connection to superior organizations operating in the Czech Republic. Complexity of this newly developed product is brought almost to perfection and allows producers to work with the files of needed information fundamentally anywhere and anytime. The new software improves and accelerates the managing work in breeding companies and consequently helps to improve the quality of final products to increase their profitability. Dystocia in dairy cattle breeding [:with special attention to sire evaluation for categorical traits NARCIS (Netherlands) Meijering, A. 1986-01-01 Field data recorded in the early seventies showed that dystocia (calving difficulty) in the main Dutch cattle breeds occurred at a rate of 15-17% in heifers and 5-6% in cows. Corresponding stillbirth rates were 9-12% and 2.5-3.5% respectively. In the sixties and seventies many research papers on Research on Spontaneously Emerged Chromosomal Aberrations in the Periphery Blood Lymphocytes in Cattle (‘Buša’ Breed Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Danica Hasanbašić 2007-11-01 Full Text Available Knowledge of spontaneous aberrations, namely, of their frequency in non-irradiated cells is of paramount importance not only in cytogenetic research, but also in contemporary animal production.The paper deals with research on spontaneously emerged chromosomal aberrations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes in the cattle of ‘Buša’ breed.To obtain metaphase chromosomes the conventional method of lymphocyte cultivation was used, albeit slightly modified and adapted to the examined animals and the laboratory conditions.The research findings indicate that a certain percent of spontaneously emerged chromosomal aberrations of chromatid type (gap and break have been found in the peripheral blood lymphocytes in the cattle of ‘Buša’ breed. Breed and selection line differences in the temperament of beef cattle - doi: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v35i2.16426 Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Mateus José Rodrigues Paranhos da Costa 2013-03-01 Full Text Available Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The temperament of four beef cattle breeds were measured using a flight time test (FT and a behavior score test (BST. FT was defined as the time taken by animals to cross a distance of 2 m after weight scale. The BST used a visual assessment of cattle behavior in which the results of four categories defined the score: movements, breathing intensity, vocalization and kicking. FT and BST coefficients of heritability were estimated using the restricted maximum likelihood, considering half siblings. Caracu presented a lower BST value than the other breeds. Nellore presented intermediate results, followed by Guzerat and Gyr with similar and higher means (p p= -0.36; p s = -0.63; p Bos indicus cattle. A method to define breeding goals for sustainable dairy cattle production. Science.gov (United States) Nielsen, H M; Christensen, L G; Odegård, J 2006-09-01 The objective of this study was to present a method to define breeding goals for sustainable dairy cattle production by adding nonmarket values to market economic values for functional traits in the breeding goal. A nonmarket value can represent the value of improved animal welfare or societal influences for animal production. The nonmarket value for mastitis resistance, conception rate, and stillbirth were derived based on how much farmers or breeding companies were willing to lose in selection response for milk yield to improve functional traits. The desired response for milk yield corresponding to a given percent loss was obtained using desired gain indices. By allowing a 5% loss in the selection response for milk yield, the nonmarket value was found to be 40.4 euro for mastitis resistance, 16.1 euro for conception rate, and 9.7 euro for stillbirth. The nonmarket value increased proportionally with increasing loss in the selection response for milk yield, but the selection response was lower for conception rate than for mastitis resistance because of differences in market economic value and heritability. To increase the response for conception rate, the nonmarket value was also derived for 2 situations, in which the desired responses for milk yield, mastitis resistance, and conception rate were specified. The method can be used to define breeding goals for sustainable production and to increase the response for traits that are at critically low levels. When defining breeding goals for sustainable production, breeding organizations should predict the selection response based on market economic value and add non-market value for traits with unacceptable selection responses. « 3 4 5 6 7 » « 4 5 6 7 8 » Conservation of the genetic material of Macedonian Busha cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Bunevski Gjoko 2016-01-01 Full Text Available The Busha is an indigenous breed of cattle in many Balkan countries. It has been bred for centuries. It belongs to primitive shorthorn cattle (Bos brachyceros europaeus. These cattle used to be the dominant and most important breed in almost all Balkan countries until the 1950s and 1960s, but today in lowland areas where intensive farming is practiced they have already been replaced by more productive and specialized breeds of cattle. In Macedonia this breed has officially been classified as a triple purpose breed (raised for meat, milk and draft but considering its low production capabilities it is more similar to some primitive draft breeds. This breed is part of the National Biodiversity Program for the conservation of indigenous breeds of animals in the Republic of Macedonia. Economic, cultural and scientific reasons underlie the need to protect the biological diversity of autochthonous breeds of cattle such as the Busha. The aim of the research was to establish a gene bank for different strains of adult Busha cattle in the Republic of Macedonia. To this end, 998 samples of blood, 1100 hair coat samples and 958 doses of semen were collected from adult Busha cattle. Also, a phenotypic characterization was done on adult Busha cattle for their major productive and morphological traits. During the last few years, there have been certain negative trends in the population size of Busha cattle in accordance with the decline of the rural population in the hills and uplands and young people's disinterest in rearing indigenous breeds of cattle such as the Busha. Study on the introgression of beef breeds in Canchim cattle using single nucleotide polymorphism markers. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Marcos Eli Buzanskas Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of introgression of breeds in the Canchim (CA: 62.5% Charolais-37.5% Zebu and MA genetic group (MA: 65.6% Charolais-34.4% Zebu cattle using genomic information on Charolais (CH, Nelore (NE, and Indubrasil (IB breeds. The number of animals used was 395 (CA and MA, 763 (NE, 338 (CH, and 37 (IB. The Bovine50SNP BeadChip from Illumina panel was used to estimate the levels of introgression of breeds considering the Maximum likelihood, Bayesian, and Single Regression method. After genotype quality control, 32,308 SNPs were considered in the analysis. Furthermore, three thresholds to prune out SNPs in linkage disequilibrium higher than 0.10, 0.05, and 0.01 were considered, resulting in 15,286, 7,652, and 1,582 SNPs, respectively. For k = 2, the proportion of taurine and indicine varied from the expected proportion based on pedigree for all methods studied. For k = 3, the Regression method was able to differentiate the animals in three main clusters assigned to each purebred breed, showing more reasonable according to its biological viewpoint. Analyzing the data considering k = 2 seems to be more appropriate for Canchim-MA animals due to its biological interpretation. The usage of 32,308 SNPs in the analyses resulted in similar findings between the estimated and expected breed proportions. Using the Regression approach, a contribution of Indubrasil was observed in Canchim-MA when k = 3 was considered. Genetic parameter estimation could account for this breed composition information as a source of variation in order to improve the accuracy of genetic models. Our findings may help assemble appropriate reference populations for genomic prediction for Canchim-MA in order to improve prediction accuracy. Using the information on the level of introgression in each individual could also be useful in breeding or crossing design to improve individual heterosis in crossbred cattle. Genotype x prenatal and post-weaning nutritional environment interaction in a composite beef cattle breed using reaction norms and multi-trait model Science.gov (United States) Environmental effects have been shown to influence several economically important traits in beef cattle. In this study, genetic x nutritional environment interaction has been evaluated in a composite beef cattle breed (50% Red Angus, 25% Charolais, 25% Tarentaise). Four nutritional environments (MAR... Introduction and Breeding of Rhododendrons in Latvia Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Kondratovičs Rihards 2017-06-01 Full Text Available Rhododendrons are relatively new beautiful ornamental plants in Latvia forming an essential part of public and private gardens, although they were introduced in Latvian territory already during the first half of 19th century. Rhododendrons deserve their immense popularity due to the diversity of their habitat, size and type of blossoms and leaves and their flowering season. There are about 1000 rhododendron species in the wild up to now whereas breeders in various countries have created more than 30 000 cultivars. Intensive rhododendrons introduction and acclimatization in Latvia started in 1957 when Rihards Kondratovičs, at the time director of the Botanical Garden, University of Latvia, started his research on the introduction and acclimatization of rhododendrons. Winterhardiness of about 400 wild species in Latvia was tested and 76 species were found to be suitable. Following the development of an extensive collection of wild rhododendron species and cultivars, the Rhododendron Breeding and Experimental Nursery “Babīte”, University of Latvia, was established at 1980 and the active breeding of new winterhardy cultivars was started. In 2017, the collection of outdoor rhododendrons of the University of Latvia consists of 76 species and 265 cultivars, including 109 cultivars bred in Latvia by Professor Rihards Kondratovičs. Sequence variation of bovine mitochondrial ND-5 between haplotypes of composite and Hereford Breeds of beef cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) SUTARNO 2002-07-01 Full Text Available The aims of the study were to: Investigate polymorphisms in the ND-5 region of bovine mitochondrial DNA in the composite and purebred Hereford herds from the Wokalup selection experiment, sequencing and compare the sequences between haplotypes and published sequence from Genebank. A total of 194 Hereford and 235 composite breed cattle from Wokalup Research Station were used in this study. The mitochondrial DNA was extracted using Wizard genomic DNA purification system from Promega. ND-5 fragment of mitochondrial DNA was amplified using PCR and continued with RFLP. Each haplotypes were sequenced. PCR products of each haplotype were cloned into pCR II, transformed, colonies selection, plasmid DNA extraction continued with cycle sequencing. Polymorphisms were found in both breeds of cattle in ND-5 region of mitochondrial DNA by PCR-RFLP analysis. Sequencing analysis confirmed the RFLPs data. Economic selection index development for Beefmaster cattle II: General-purpose breeding objective. Science.gov (United States) Ochsner, K P; MacNeil, M D; Lewis, R M; Spangler, M L 2017-05-01 An economic selection index was developed for Beefmaster cattle in a general-purpose production system in which bulls are mated to a combination of heifers and mature cows, with resulting progeny retained as replacements or sold at weaning. National average prices from 2010 to 2014 were used to establish income and expenses for the system. Genetic parameters were obtained from the literature. Economic values were estimated by simulating 100,000 animals and approximating the partial derivatives of the profit function by perturbing traits 1 at a time, by 1 unit, while holding the other traits constant at their respective means. Relative economic values for the objective traits calving difficultly direct (CDd), calving difficulty maternal (CDm), weaning weight direct (WWd), weaning weight maternal (WWm), mature cow weight (MW), and heifer pregnancy (HP) were -2.11, -1.53, 18.49, 11.28, -33.46, and 1.19, respectively. Consequently, under the scenario assumed herein, the greatest improvements in profitability could be made by decreasing maintenance energy costs associated with MW followed by improvements in weaning weight. The accuracy of the index lies between 0.218 (phenotypic-based index selection) and 0.428 (breeding values known without error). Implementation of this index would facilitate genetic improvement and increase profitability of Beefmaster cattle operations with a general-purpose breeding objective when replacement females are retained and with weaned calves as the sale end point. Incorporation of aurochs into a cattle herd in Neolithic Europe: single event or breeding? Science.gov (United States) Schibler, Jörg; Elsner, Julia; Schlumbaum, Angela 2014-07-01 Domestication is an ongoing process continuously changing the lives of animals and humans and the environment. For the majority of European cattle (Bos taurus) genetic and archaeozoological evidence support initial domestication ca. 11'000 BP in the Near East from few founder aurochs (Bos primigenius) belonging to the mitochondrial DNA T macro-haplogroup. Gene flow between wild European aurochs of P haplogroup and domestic cattle of T haplogroup, coexisting over thousands of years, appears to have been sporadic. We report archaeozoological and ancient DNA evidence for the incorporation of wild stock into a domestic cattle herd from a Neolithic lake-dwelling in Switzerland. A complete metacarpus of a small and compact adult bovid is morphologically and genetically a female. With withers height of ca. 112 cm, it is comparable in size with small domestic cattle from contemporaneous sites in the area. The bone is directly dated to 3360-3090 cal BC and associated to the Horgen culture, a period of the secondary products revolution. The cow possessed a novel mtDNA P haplotype variant of the European aurochs. We argue this is either a single event or, based on osteological characteristics of the Horgen cattle, a rare instance of intentional breeding with female aurochs. Diagnostic and control functions of the radioisotope methods for the reproduction management of cattle and sheep breeding International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Dimitrov, M.; Georgiev, P.; Vasilev, K. 1988-01-01 The following applications of radioimmunoassay were studied: 1) for early diagnosis of pregnance in caws and sheep by determination of progesterone (PG) in milk and blood plasma via veterinary radioimmunological test STERON - RM 125 ; 2) for diagnosis and treatment of ovarian disturbances in cows by RIA of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and PG in blood plasma; 3) for control of the biological efficiency of sheep estrus synchronisation with MAP (vaginal tampons) and Estrophan (PgF 2 α); 4) for control of the reproductive condition of rams and effect of Tribestan in treatment of different forms of impotention by RIA of testosterone in blood. It was established that the use of RIA objectified the process of decision-making in regulation of the reproduction deviations in ruminating farm animals by veterinary means. Conclusions are drawn and suppositions are made for introduction of the radioisotope methods in the reproduction control of cattle and sheep breeding in practice. 4 tabs.; 15 refs Selection and Breeding of Cattle in Asia: Strategies and Criteria for Improved Breeding. Prepared under the Framework of an RCA Project with the Technical Support of the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture International Nuclear Information System (INIS) 2009-10-01 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Asia and the Pacific Region (RCA), with the technical support of the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, implemented a Technical Cooperation (TC) project entitled Integrated Approach for Improving Livestock Production Using Indigenous Resources and Conserving the Environment (RAS/5/044). The 23 project counterparts and the IAEA technical officer, based on the lack of standard practices in the region with regard to selection of cattle for breeding purposes, and the need to properly manage the genetic resources within each country for improving the productivity of the existing stock while maintaining the unique and beneficial genetic characteristics of the indigenous breeds, agreed during the first meeting to request the IAEA to recruit a group of experts with the task of preparing guidelines for the selection and breeding of cattle and buffalo on the Asian continent. To address these recommendations, an experts meeting on Selection Criteria for Breeding Heifers was organized and held in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The meeting was hosted by the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) from 6 to 10 February 2006. It was attended by six foreign experts and two local experts, and was supported by the technical officer of RAS/5/044. The experts from countries participating in RAS/5/044 gave presentations on the current state of cattle breeding in their countries and two experts working in industrialized countries within the region (New Zealand and Australia) informed the participants about the existing cattle breeding programmes in their respective countries and offered their perspectives on how similar approaches could be transferred to the Member States participating in RAS/5/044. All experts also made a field visit to a prominent dairy-producing region, to experience at first-hand some of the current programmes Cattle phenotypes can disguise their maternal ancestry. Science.gov (United States) Srirattana, Kanokwan; McCosker, Kieren; Schatz, Tim; St John, Justin C 2017-06-26 Cattle are bred for, amongst other factors, specific traits, including parasite resistance and adaptation to climate. However, the influence and inheritance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are not usually considered in breeding programmes. In this study, we analysed the mtDNA profiles of cattle from Victoria (VIC), southern Australia, which is a temperate climate, and the Northern Territory (NT), the northern part of Australia, which has a tropical climate, to determine if the mtDNA profiles of these cattle are indicative of breed and phenotype, and whether these profiles are appropriate for their environments. A phylogenetic tree of the full mtDNA sequences of different breeds of cattle, which were obtained from the NCBI database, showed that the mtDNA profiles of cattle do not always reflect their phenotype as some cattle with Bos taurus phenotypes had Bos indicus mtDNA, whilst some cattle with Bos indicus phenotypes had Bos taurus mtDNA. Using D-loop sequencing, we were able to contrast the phenotypes and mtDNA profiles from different species of cattle from the 2 distinct cattle breeding regions of Australia. We found that 67 of the 121 cattle with Bos indicus phenotypes from NT (55.4%) had Bos taurus mtDNA. In VIC, 92 of the 225 cattle with Bos taurus phenotypes (40.9%) possessed Bos indicus mtDNA. When focusing on oocytes from cattle with the Bos taurus phenotype in VIC, their respective oocytes with Bos indicus mtDNA had significantly lower levels of mtDNA copy number compared with oocytes possessing Bos taurus mtDNA (P cattle with a Bos taurus phenotype. The phenotype of cattle is not always related to their mtDNA profiles. MtDNA profiles should be considered for breeding programmes as they also influence phenotypic traits and reproductive capacity in terms of oocyte quality. Effect of heat stress on rumen temperature of three breeds of cattle Science.gov (United States) Lees, A. M.; Lees, J. C.; Lisle, A. T.; Sullivan, M. L.; Gaughan, J. B. 2018-02-01 Thirty-six steers (12 of each Angus, Charolais, and Brahman) with an initial BW of 318.5 ± 6.7 kg were used in a 130-day study. Two treatments were imposed: un-shaded and shaded (3 m2/animal; 90% solar block shade cloth). On day 1, steers were administered with rumen temperature boluses. Rumen temperatures ( T RUM) were obtained at 10 min intervals over the duration of the study to determine differences in T RUM between Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle. Six feedlot pens (162 m2) were used with six steers (2/breed) per pen with three pens/treatment. Ambient dry bulb temperature ( T A; °C), relative humidity (RH; %), wind speed (WS; m/s) and direction, and solar radiation (SR; W/m2) were recorded at 10 min intervals. Rainfall (mm) was collected daily at 0900 h. From these data, black globe temperature (BGT; °C), temperature humidity index (THI), heat load index (HLI), and accumulated heat load (AHL) were calculated. Individual T RUM were converted to an hourly average and then mean hourly T RUM were converted to a mean within hour T RUM across the 130 days. Rumen temperatures were analyzed using an autoregressive repeated measures model. The model analyzed the effect of breed ( P < 0.0002), treatment ( P = 0.3543), time of day (hour, h; P < 0.0001), breed × treatment ( P < 0.3683), breed × h ( P < 0.0001), treatment × h ( P < 0.0001), breed × treatment × h ( P = 0.0029), pen within treatment ( P = 0.0195), and animal × breed × treatment within pen ( P = 0.1041). Furthermore, there were breed × treatment × hour differences in T RUM ( P = 0.0036), indicating that Bos indicus and Bos taurus regulate T RUM differently. Methodological Aspects in Forecasting Innovation Development of Dairy Cattle Breeding in the Region Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Natal’ya Aleksandrovna Medvedeva 2016-07-01 Full Text Available Due to the fact that Russia is now a member of the World Trade Organization, long-term forecasting becomes an objectively necessary condition that helps choose an effective science-based long-term strategy for development of dairy cattle breeding that would take into consideration intellectual and innovative characteristics. Current structure of available statistical information does not meet modern challenges of innovation development and does not reflect adequately the trends of ongoing changes. The paper suggests a system of indicators to analyze the status, development and prospects of dairy cattle breeding in the region; this system provides timely identification of emerging risks and threats of deviation from the specified parameters. The system included indicators contained in the current statistical reporting and new indicators of innovation development of the industry, the quality of human capital and the level of government support. When designing the system of indicators, we used several methodological aspects of the Oslo Manual, which the Federal State Statistics Service considers to be an official methodological document concerning the collection of information about innovation activities. A structured system of indicators shifts the emphasis in the analysis of the final results to the conditions and prerequisites that help achieve forecast performance indicators in the functioning of Russia’s economy under WTO rules and make substantiated management decisions Initial insights on the performances and management of dairy cattle herds combining two breeds with contrasting features. Science.gov (United States) Magne, M A; Thénard, V; Mihout, S 2016-05-01 Finding ways of increasing animal production with low external inputs and without compromising reproductive performances is a key issue of livestock systems sustainability. One way is to take advantage of the diversity and interactions among components within livestock systems. Among studies that investigate the influence of differences in animals' individual abilities in a herd, few focus on combinations of cow breeds with contrasting features in dairy cattle herds. This study aimed to analyse the performances and management of such multi-breed dairy cattle herds. These herds were composed of two types of dairy breeds: 'specialist' (Holstein) and 'generalist' (e.g. Montbeliarde, Simmental, etc.). Based on recorded milk data in southern French region, we performed (i) to compare the performances of dairy herds according to breed-type composition: multi-breed, single specialist breed or single generalist breed and (ii) to test the difference of milk performances of specialist and generalist breed cows (n = 10 682) per multi-breed dairy herd within a sample of 22 farms. The sampled farmers were also interviewed to characterise herd management through multivariate analysis. Multi-breed dairy herds had a better trade-off among milk yield, milk fat and protein contents, herd reproduction and concentrate-conversion efficiency than single-breed herds. Conversely, they did not offer advantages in terms of milk prices and udder health. Compared to specialist dairy herds, they produce less milk with the same concentrate-conversion efficiency but have better reproductive performances. Compared to generalist dairy herds, they produce more milk with better concentrate-conversion efficiency but have worse reproductive performances. Within herds, specialist and generalist breed cows significantly differed in milk performances, showing their complementarity. The former produced more milk for a longer lactation length while the latter produced milk with higher protein and fat The Agersoe cattle DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Withen, K.B.; Brüniche-Olsen, A.; Pedersen, Bo Vest 2011-01-01 A phenotypically interesting strain of cattle existed on the small island of Agersoe, on the west coast of Zealand, Denmark, in the beginning of the last decade. The cattle share a great resemblance to the extinct Danish breed, the Island cattle. The objective of this study was to genetically... New phenotypes for new breeding goals in dairy cattle. Science.gov (United States) Boichard, D; Brochard, M 2012-04-01 Cattle production faces new challenges regarding sustainability with its three pillars - economic, societal and environmental. The following three main factors will drive dairy cattle selection in the future: (1) During a long period, intensive selection for enhanced productivity has deteriorated most functional traits, some reaching a critical point and needing to be restored. This is especially the case for the Holstein breed and for female fertility, mastitis resistance, longevity and metabolic diseases. (2) Genomic selection offers two new opportunities: as the potential genetic gain can be almost doubled, more traits can be efficiently selected; phenotype recording can be decoupled from selection and limited to several thousand animals. (3) Additional information from other traits can be used, either from existing traditional recording systems at the farm level or from the recent and rapid development of new technologies and precision farming. Milk composition (i.e. mainly fatty acids) should be adapted to better meet human nutritional requirements. Fatty acids can be measured through a new interpretation of the usual medium infrared spectra. Milk composition can also provide additional information about reproduction and health. Modern milk recorders also provide new information, that is, on milking speed or on the shape of milking curves. Electronic devices measuring physiological or activity parameters can predict physiological status like estrus or diseases, and can record behavioral traits. Slaughterhouse data may permit effective selection on carcass traits. Efficient observatories should be set up for early detection of new emerging genetic defects. In the near future, social acceptance of cattle production could depend on its capacity to decrease its ecological footprint. The first solution consists in increasing survival and longevity to reduce replacement needs and the number of nonproductive animals. At the individual level, selection on rumen Development of breeding objectives for beef cattle breeding ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Mnr J F Kluyts However, to solve the simultaneous equations the ... The aggregate breeding value represents a fundamental concept, the breeding objective, which is ..... Two properties characterise a linear programming problem. The first is additivity, ... Phylogenetic relationships among the European and American bison and seven cattle breeds recon structed using the Bovine SNP50 Illumina Genotyping BeadChip DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Pertoldi, Cino; Wójcik, Jan M; Kawalko, Agata 2010-01-01 amongst bison subspecies and cattle, and (3) de tect loci under positive or stabilizing selection. A Bayesian clustering procedure (STRUCTURE) detected ten genetically distinct clusters, with separation among all seven cattle breeds and European and American bison, but no separation be tween plain......Here we present the first at tempt to use the BovineSNP50 Illumina genotyping BeadChip for genome-wide screening of European bison Bisonbonasus bonasus (EB), two subspecies of American bison: the plains bison (EB), two sub species of American bison: the plains bison Bison bison bison (PB), the wood...... bison Bi on bison athabascae (WB) and seven (PB), the wood bison (WB) and seven cattle Bostaurus breeds. Our aims were to (1) reconstruct their evolutionary relationships, (2) detect any genetic signature of past bottlenecks and to quantify the con sequences of bottle necks on the genetic distances... Genetic diversity and differentiation of Mongolian indigenous cattle populations Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) Lkhagva, B [International Livestock Research Institute - ILRI, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi (Kenya) and Mongolian State Agricultural University, Zaisan, Ulaanbaatar 210153 (Mongolia); Ochieng, J W; Hanotte, O; Jianlin, H [International Livestock Research Institute - ILRI, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi (Kenya); Yoon, D H [National Livestock Research Institute, RDA, 441-350, Suwon (Korea) 2003-07-01 Livestock production plays an important role in Mongolian economy. Over the last decade it has contributed to around 80-90% of the gross domestic agricultural products and to 30% of the revenues generated from exportations. Cattle is one of the five traditional and most important livestock species of Mongolia together with horse, sheep, goat and camel. Out of a total of 1.57 millions Mongolian cattle, 1.55 millions supposedly belong to three indigenous Bos taurus cattle breeds, namely Mongol, Selenge and Khalkhun Golun, all herded under extensive pastoral systems. Indigenous Mongolian cattle are generally small but look sturdy and strong. They have a well-off coat of hair, solid forward looking shoulders and short stubby snouts, and they are used for meat, milk and transport. Beef production contributes to 30% of the total meat supply in Mongolia. The Mongol breed is by the far the commonest with 1.53 million animals and it is found almost throughout the country. The Selenge breed, found in Selenge province and numbering 9000 heads, was developed in middle of the 20th century by crossing the Kazakh Whiteheaded with the local Mongol cattle. The Khalkhun Golun breed was developed from local Mongol cattle and it is distributed in Eastern and Suhbaatar provinces with about 10,000 heads. Until now, to the best of our knowledge, only a single population of Mongolian cattle has been studied with microsatellite DNA markers and no information is available on the genetic relationship between the Mongolian indigenous cattle breeds. In this study, we collected samples from two populations of the Mongol cattle (sampled at Ikhtamir soum in North Hangay province and Tsogt soum in Govi Altay province) and one population of the Khalkhun Golun cattle (sampled at Tumentsogt soum in Suhbaatar province). Samples were characterised with nine microsatellite markers MGTG4B, ILSTS005, ILSTS006, ILSTS008, ILSTS023, ILSTS028, ILSTS036, ILSTS050 and ILSTS103. To assess the genetic diversity Assisted reproductive techniques for cattle breeding in developing countries: a critical appraisal of their value and limitations. Science.gov (United States) Rodriguez-Martinez, H 2012-01-01 Commercialization of animal biotechnologies, including those related to reproduction [also known as assisted reproductive techniques (ARTS)], is an increasing reality in developing countries, following the enormous flow of information around us and the increasing global commercial interests in areas where cattle production has its major assets. The present review discusses the achievements of various biotechnological tools for reproduction in cattle including semen handling for artificial insemination (AI), superovulation and embryo transfer (MOET), in vitro handling of oocytes and production of embryos, reproductive cloning and emerging technologies (sex selection, gene targeting and nuclear transfer for livestock transgenesis, genomics for marker-assisted selection, etc.). The application of these technologies for cattle breeding is critically discussed in relation to their impact in the improvement of the efficiency of dairy and beef production in developed and - particularly - in developing countries, which ultimately rule the possibilities of a competitive and sound production of food for human consumption. Despite the remarkable progress made and the punctual importance of some of the above-mentioned technologies, AI remains the most important assisted reproductive technology (ART) in developing countries. Any attempt to gain widespread of any other ART under the predominant economical conditions in developing countries ought to match the simplicity and the success of AI as a breeding tool. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. A validated genome wide association study to breed cattle adapted to an environment altered by climate change. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Ben J Hayes Full Text Available Continued production of food in areas predicted to be most affected by climate change, such as dairy farming regions of Australia, will be a major challenge in coming decades. Along with rising temperatures and water shortages, scarcity of inputs such as high energy feeds is predicted. With the motivation of selecting cattle adapted to these changing environments, we conducted a genome wide association study to detect DNA markers (single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the sensitivity of milk production to environmental conditions. To do this we combined historical milk production and weather records with dense marker genotypes on dairy sires with many daughters milking across a wide range of production environments in Australia. Markers associated with sensitivity of milk production to feeding level and sensitivity of milk production to temperature humidity index on chromosome nine and twenty nine respectively were validated in two independent populations, one a different breed of cattle. As the extent of linkage disequilibrium across cattle breeds is limited, the underlying causative mutations have been mapped to a small genomic interval containing two promising candidate genes. The validated marker panels we have reported here will aid selection for high milk production under anticipated climate change scenarios, for example selection of sires whose daughters will be most productive at low levels of feeding. « 4 5 6 7 8 » « 5 6 7 8 9 » Determination of Toll-Like Receptor 1 Gene Polymorphisms in Zavot, Turkish Grey, East Anatolian Red, Anatolian Black and South Anatolian Red Cattle Breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Mehmet Ulaş Çınar 2016-05-01 Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs play an important role in non-specific immunity against different infectious agents such as bacterium or parasite. The aim of this work was to investigate the allele and genotype frequencies of three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in bovine TLR1 gene in native Turkish cattle breeds. DNA samples were extracted using the phenol chloroform protocol from 77 Zavot, 60 Turkish Grey, 51 East Anatolian Red, 69 Anatolian Black and 46 South Anatolian Red cattle. Target regions of the TLR1 gene were digested BsII and HpyI88III restriction enzymes. Results showed that the (A allele frequency had higher in all native Turkish cattle breeds of the TLR1-G1409A locus. The (F allele frequency was found to be higher compared to (E allele in the TLR1-G1550A site. The frequencies of both (C and (T alleles were close to each other in the TLR1-C632T site. In conclusion genetic polymorphisms exist in Turkish native cattle populations in terms of known TLR1 variants. New perspectives and opportunities for improving reproduction in dual purpose cattle Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) Galina, C S; Rubio, I [Departamento de Reproduccion Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico) 2001-05-01 Traditionally, cattle raised under the tropical conditions of the lowland tropics have been dedicated to beef production. However, in the last years, considerable interest has been given to milk production. Hence, the logical step has been the development of dual purpose cattle, thus avoiding losing the income generated by the sale of beef. This concept is particularly important, as the introduction of specialised dairy breeds has mainly proved an unsatisfactory solution to increase milk production in the area. Dual purpose systems, however, have been limited due to poor reproductive performance and are facing considerable dilemmas such as: a) degree of heterosis needed in the cattle for optimal production and adaptability to the tropics; b) suitable management systems, i.e. dual purpose cattle where the main income is beef and milk production is just an added bonus, or conversely, where milk is the main income for the farmer; c) insufficient economical resources of the farmer, those with only subsistence levels as opposed to farmers with certain investment capacity; d) choice of breeding systems, artificial insemination versus natural mating; e) implementation of feeding practices, capacity to implement strategic supplementation in contrast to cattle raised almost exclusively at pasture; and f) adequate marketing of dairy products in the tropics. These considerations related to the strength and weaknesses of dual systems are discussed in this review. (author) New perspectives and opportunities for improving reproduction in dual purpose cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Galina, C.S.; Rubio, I. 2001-01-01 Traditionally, cattle raised under the tropical conditions of the lowland tropics have been dedicated to beef production. However, in the last years, considerable interest has been given to milk production. Hence, the logical step has been the development of dual purpose cattle, thus avoiding losing the income generated by the sale of beef. This concept is particularly important, as the introduction of specialised dairy breeds has mainly proved an unsatisfactory solution to increase milk production in the area. Dual purpose systems, however, have been limited due to poor reproductive performance and are facing considerable dilemmas such as: a) degree of heterosis needed in the cattle for optimal production and adaptability to the tropics; b) suitable management systems, i.e. dual purpose cattle where the main income is beef and milk production is just an added bonus, or conversely, where milk is the main income for the farmer; c) insufficient economical resources of the farmer, those with only subsistence levels as opposed to farmers with certain investment capacity; d) choice of breeding systems, artificial insemination versus natural mating; e) implementation of feeding practices, capacity to implement strategic supplementation in contrast to cattle raised almost exclusively at pasture; and f) adequate marketing of dairy products in the tropics. These considerations related to the strength and weaknesses of dual systems are discussed in this review. (author) Single nucleotide variants and InDels identified from whole-genome re-sequencing of Guzerat, Gyr, Girolando and Holstein cattle breeds. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Nedenia Bonvino Stafuzza Full Text Available Whole-genome re-sequencing, alignment and annotation analyses were undertaken for 12 sires representing four important cattle breeds in Brazil: Guzerat (multi-purpose, Gyr, Girolando and Holstein (dairy production. A total of approximately 4.3 billion reads from an Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencer generated for each animal 10.7 to 16.4-fold genome coverage. A total of 27,441,279 single nucleotide variations (SNVs and 3,828,041 insertions/deletions (InDels were detected in the samples, of which 2,557,670 SNVs and 883,219 InDels were novel. The submission of these genetic variants to the dbSNP database significantly increased the number of known variants, particularly for the indicine genome. The concordance rate between genotypes obtained using the Bovine HD BeadChip array and the same variants identified by sequencing was about 99.05%. The annotation of variants identified numerous non-synonymous SNVs and frameshift InDels which could affect phenotypic variation. Functional enrichment analysis was performed and revealed that variants in the olfactory transduction pathway was over represented in all four cattle breeds, while the ECM-receptor interaction pathway was over represented in Girolando and Guzerat breeds, the ABC transporters pathway was over represented only in Holstein breed, and the metabolic pathways was over represented only in Gyr breed. The genetic variants discovered here provide a rich resource to help identify potential genomic markers and their associated molecular mechanisms that impact economically important traits for Gyr, Girolando, Guzerat and Holstein breeding programs. Evolution of the genetic variability of eight French dairy cattle breeds assessed by pedigree analysis. Science.gov (United States) Danchin-Burge, C; Leroy, G; Brochard, M; Moureaux, S; Verrier, E 2012-06-01 A pedigree analysis was performed on eight French dairy cattle breeds to assess their change in genetic variability since a first analysis completed in 1996. The Holstein, Normande and Montbéliarde breeds are selected internationally with over hundreds of thousands cows registered in the performance recording system. Three breeds are internationally selected but with limited numbers of cows in France (Brown Swiss, French Simmental and French Red Pied). The last two remaining breeds (Abondance and Tarentaise) are raised at regional level. The effective numbers of ancestors of cows born between 2004 and 2007 varied between 15 (Abondance and Tarentaise) and 51 (French Red Pied). The effective population sizes (classical approach) varied between 53 (Abondance) and 197 (French Red Pied). This article also compares the genetic variability of the ex situ (collections of the French National Cryobank) and in situ populations. The results were commented in regard to the recent history of gene flows in the different breeds as well as the existence of more or less stringent bottlenecks. Our results showed that whatever the size of the breeds, their genetic diversity impoverished quite rapidly since 1996 and they all could be considered as quite poor from a genetic diversity point of view. It shows the need for setting up cryobanks as gene reservoirs as well as sustainable breeding programmes that include loss of genetic diversity as an integrated control parameter. © 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. Genetic parameters for carcass weight, conformation and fat in five beef cattle breeds. Science.gov (United States) Kause, A; Mikkola, L; Strandén, I; Sirkko, K 2015-01-01 Profitability of beef production can be increased by genetically improving carcass traits. To construct breeding value evaluations for carcass traits, breed-specific genetic parameters were estimated for carcass weight, carcass conformation and carcass fat in five beef cattle breeds in Finland (Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, Simmental, Charolais and Limousin). Conformation and fat were visually scored using the EUROP carcass classification. Each breed was separately analyzed using a multitrait animal model. A total of 6879-19 539 animals per breed had phenotypes. For the five breeds, heritabilities were moderate for carcass weight (h 2=0.39 to 0.48, s.e.=0.02 to 0.04) and slightly lower for conformation (h 2=0.30 to 0.44, s.e.=0.02 to 0.04) and carcass fat (h 2=0.29 to 0.44, s.e.=0.02 to 0.04). The genetic correlation between carcass weight and conformation was favorable in all breeds (r G=0.37 to 0.53, s.e.=0.04 to 0.05), heavy carcasses being genetically more conformed. The phenotypic correlation between carcass weight and carcass fat was moderately positive in all breeds (r P=0.21 to 0.32), implying that increasing carcass weight was related to increasing fat levels. The respective genetic correlation was the strongest in Hereford (r G=0.28, s.e.=0.05) and Angus (r G=0.15, s.e.=0.05), the two small body-sized British breeds with the lowest conformation and the highest fat level. The correlation was weaker in the other breeds (r G=0.08 to 0.14). For Hereford, Angus and Simmental, more conformed carcasses were phenotypically fatter (r P=0.11 to 0.15), but the respective genetic correlations were close to zero (r G=-0.05 to 0.04). In contrast, in the two large body-sized and muscular French breeds, the genetic correlation between conformation and fat was negative and the phenotypic correlation was close to zero or negative (Charolais: r G=-0.18, s.e.=0.06, r P=0.02; Limousin: r G=-0.56, s.e.=0.04, r P=-0.13). The results indicate genetic variation for the genetic Differential Expression of , , and Genes in Various Adipose Tissues and Muscle from Yanbian Yellow Cattle and Yan Yellow Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Shuang Ji 2014-01-01 Full Text Available The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between cattle breeds and deposit of adipose tissues in different positions and the gene expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ, fatty acid synthase (FASN, and Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACADM, which are associated with lipid metabolism and are valuable for understanding the physiology in fat depot and meat quality. Yanbian yellow cattle and Yan yellow cattle reared under the same conditions display different fat proportions in the carcass. To understand this difference, the expression of PPARγ, FASN, and ACADM in different adipose tissues and longissimus dorsi muscle (LD in these two breeds were analyzed using the Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction method (qRT-PCR. The result showed that PPARγ gene expression was significantly higher in adipose tissue than in LD in both breeds. PPARγ expression was also higher in abdominal fat, in perirenal fat than in the subcutaneous fat (p<0.05 in Yanbian yellow cattle, and was significantly higher in subcutaneous fat in Yan yellow cattle than that in Yanbian yellow cattle. On the other hand, FASN mRNA expression levels in subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat in Yan yellow cattle were significantly higher than that in Yanbian yellow cattle. Interestingly, ACADM gene shows greater fold changes in LD than in adipose tissues in Yan yellow cattle. Furthermore, the expressions of these three genes in lung, colon, kidney, liver and heart of Yanbian yellow cattle and Yan yellow cattle were also investigated. The results showed that the highest expression levels of PPARγ and FASN genes were detected in the lung in both breeds. The expression of ACADM gene in kidney and liver were higher than that in other organs in Yanbian yellow cattle, the comparison was not statistically significant in Yan yellow cattle. Ecological Safety of the Internal Space of the Cattle-Breeding Facility (Cowshed) Science.gov (United States) Potseluev, A. A.; Nazarov, I. V.; Tolstoukhova, T. N.; Kostenko, M. V. 2018-01-01 The article emphasizes the importance of observing the ecology of the internal airspace. The factors affecting the state of the air in the internal space of the cattle-breeding facility (cowshed) are revealed. Technical and technological solutions providing for a reduction in the airspace contamination of the livestock facility are proposed. The results of investigations of a technological operation for treating skin integuments of cows with activated water are disclosed, as well as the constructive solution of a heat and power unit that ensures a change in the hydrogen index of the treated water. The justification of the efficiency of the proposed technical and technological solutions is given. Effect of some candidate genes on meat characteristics of three cattle breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Alessio Valentini 2010-01-01 Full Text Available With the aim to assess if some molecular markers can help to select animals for meat characteristics, we studied 84 individuals equally representing the Marchigiana, Maremmana, and Holstein Friesian cattle breeds genotyped at 288 SNPs located within candidate genes. Several SNPs were found associated with meat quality parameters but with P which was higher than the Bonferroni threshold. However, several SNPs had a low P at different times during meat maturation, suggesting their involvement in the meat quality variation. Of particular interest for the biological role and potential for selection were: cathepsin G affecting MFI, IGF1R affecting pH and collagen XVIII affecting colour. Variation at the Calpain 3 gene is associated with meat tenderness in zebu and composite breeds of cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Bunch Rowan J 2008-07-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL affecting meat tenderness have been reported on Bovine chromosome 10. Here we examine variation at the Calpain 3 (CAPN3 gene in cattle, a gene located within the confidence interval of the QTL, and which is a positional candidate gene based on the biochemical activity of the protein. Results We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP in the genomic sequence of the CAPN3 gene and tested three of these in a sample of 2189 cattle. Of the three SNP genotyped, the CAPN3:c.1538+225G>T had the largest significant additive effect, with an allele substitution effect in the Brahman of α = -0.144 kg, SE = 0.060, P = 0.016, and the polymorphism explained 1.7% of the residual phenotypic variance in that sample of the breed. Significant haplotype substitution effects were found for all three breeds, the Brahman, the Belmont Red, and the Santa Gertrudis. For the common haplotype, the haplotype substitution effect in the Brahman was α = 0.169 kg, SE = 0.056, P = 0.003. The effect of this gene was compared to Calpastatin in the same sample. The SNP show negligible frequencies in taurine breeds and low to moderate minor allele frequencies in zebu or composite animals. Conclusion These associations confirm the location of a QTL for meat tenderness in this region of bovine chromosome 10. SNP in or near this gene may be responsible for part of the overall difference between taurine and zebu breeds in meat tenderness, and the greater variability in meat tenderness found in zebu and composite breeds. The evidence provided so far suggests that none of these tested SNP are causative mutations. Extent of linkage disequilibrium and effective population size in four South African Sanga cattle breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Sithembile Olga Makina 2015-12-01 Full Text Available Knowledge on the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD in livestock populations is essential to determine the minimum distance between markers required for effective coverage when conducting genome-wide association studies. This study evaluated the extent of LD, persistence of allelic phase and effective population size (Ne for four Sanga cattle breeds in South Africa including the Afrikaner (n=44, Nguni (n=54, Drakensberger (n=47 and Bonsmara breeds (n=46, using Angus (n=31 and Holstein (n=29 as reference populations. We found that moderate LD extends up to inter-marker distances of 40-60 kb in Angus (0.21 and Holstein (0.21 and up to 100 kb in Afrikaner (0.20. This suggests that genomic selection and association studies performed within these breeds using an average inter-marker r2 ≥ 0.20 would require about 30,000 -50,000 SNPs. However, r2 ≥ 0.20 extended only up to 10-20 kb in the Nguni and Drakensberger and 20-40 kb in the Bonsmara indicating that 75,000 to 150,000 SNPs would be necessary for genome-wide association studies in these breeds. Correlation between alleles at contiguous loci indicated that phase was not strongly preserved between breeds. This suggests the need for breed-specific reference populations in which a much greater density of markers should be scored to identify breed specific haplotypes which may then be imputed into multi-breed commercial populations. Analysis of effective population size based on the extent of LD, revealed Ne=95 (Nguni, Ne=87 (Drakensberger, Ne=77 (Bonsmara and Ne=41 (Afrikaner. Results of this study form the basis for implementation of genomic selection programs in the Sanga breeds of South Africa. Morphological characterization ofMadura Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Bambang Setiadi 1998-12-01 Full Text Available Morphological characterization of Madura cattle in Madura islands was done as an input for "action plans" of national animals genetic resources management according to the global system ofFAO. Assessments were done in Sumenep District and Pamekasan District, East Java. According to the body measurements, Madura cattle can be classified as a small to medium type with withers height of about 120 cm. Because of potential productivity in the limitation of environmental resources, Madura cattle can be classified as a "superior" cattle . Body measurements of Madura cattle in the present study were relatively the same with those of 50 years ago, indicating that there is no breeding improvement activities except natural selection . The variability of body measurements is relatively narrow . Improving productivity by outbreeding is needed . To conserve the unique germ plasm of the Indonesian genotype, such as Madura cattle and a possibility to improve their productivity by a complete prevention of cross breeding in the Madura islands needs further evaluation . Multiple criteria decision-making process to derive consensus desired genetic gains for a dairy cattle breeding objective for diverse production systems NARCIS (Netherlands) Kariuki, C.M.; Arendonk, van J.A.M.; Kahi, A.K.; Komen, H. 2017-01-01 Dairy cattle industries contribute to food and nutrition security and are a source of income for numerous households in many developing countries. Selective breeding can enhance efficiency in these industries. Developing dairy industries are characterized by diverse production and marketing Genetics of animal health and disease in cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Berry Donagh P 2011-03-01 Full Text Available Abstract There have been considerable recent advancements in animal breeding and genetics relevant to disease control in cattle, which can now be utilised as part of an overall programme for improved cattle health. This review summarises the contribution of genetic makeup to differences in resistance to many diseases affecting cattle. Significant genetic variation in susceptibility to disease does exist among cattle suggesting that genetic selection for improved resistance to disease will be fruitful. Deficiencies in accurately recorded data on individual animal susceptibility to disease are, however, currently hindering the inclusion of health and disease resistance traits in national breeding goals. Developments in 'omics' technologies, such as genomic selection, may help overcome some of the limitations of traditional breeding programmes and will be especially beneficial in breeding for lowly heritable disease traits that only manifest themselves following exposure to pathogens or environmental stressors in adulthood. However, access to large databases of phenotypes on health and disease will still be necessary. This review clearly shows that genetics make a significant contribution to the overall health and resistance to disease in cattle. Therefore, breeding programmes for improved animal health and disease resistance should be seen as an integral part of any overall national disease control strategy. PCR diagnosis of tick-borne pathogens in Maharashtra state, India indicates fitness cost associated with carrier infections is greater for crossbreed than native cattle breeds. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Sunil W Kolte Full Text Available Tick-borne pathogens (TBP are responsible for significant economic losses to cattle production, globally. This is particularly true in countries like India where TBP constrain rearing of high yielding Bos taurus, as they show susceptibility to acute tick borne disease (TBD, most notably tropical theileriosis caused by Theileria annulata. This has led to a programme of cross breeding Bos taurus (Holstein-Friesian or Jersey with native Bos indicus (numerous breeds to generate cattle that are more resistant to disease. However, the cost to fitness of subclinical carrier infection in crossbreeds relative to native breeds is unknown, but could represent a significant hidden economic cost. In this study, a total of 1052 bovine blood samples, together with associated data on host type, sex and body score, were collected from apparently healthy animals in four different agro-climatic zones of Maharashtra state. Samples were screened by PCR for detection of five major TBPs: T. annulata, T. orientalis, B. bigemina, B. bovis and Anaplasma spp.. The results demonstrated that single and co-infection with TBP are common, and although differences in pathogen spp. prevalence across the climatic zones were detected, simplistic regression models predicted that host type, sex and location are all likely to impact on prevalence of TBP. In order to remove issues with autocorrelation between variables, a subset of the dataset was modelled to assess any impact of TBP infection on body score of crossbreed versus native breed cattle (breed type. The model showed significant association between infection with TBP (particularly apicomplexan parasites and poorer body condition for crossbreed animals. These findings indicate potential cost of TBP carrier infection on crossbreed productivity. Thus, there is a case for development of strategies for targeted breeding to combine productivity traits with disease resistance, or to prevent transmission of TBP in India for economic PCR diagnosis of tick-borne pathogens in Maharashtra state, India indicates fitness cost associated with carrier infections is greater for crossbreed than native cattle breeds. Science.gov (United States) Kolte, Sunil W; Larcombe, Stephen D; Jadhao, Suresh G; Magar, Swapnil P; Warthi, Ganesh; Kurkure, Nitin V; Glass, Elizabeth J; Shiels, Brian R 2017-01-01 Tick-borne pathogens (TBP) are responsible for significant economic losses to cattle production, globally. This is particularly true in countries like India where TBP constrain rearing of high yielding Bos taurus, as they show susceptibility to acute tick borne disease (TBD), most notably tropical theileriosis caused by Theileria annulata. This has led to a programme of cross breeding Bos taurus (Holstein-Friesian or Jersey) with native Bos indicus (numerous) breeds to generate cattle that are more resistant to disease. However, the cost to fitness of subclinical carrier infection in crossbreeds relative to native breeds is unknown, but could represent a significant hidden economic cost. In this study, a total of 1052 bovine blood samples, together with associated data on host type, sex and body score, were collected from apparently healthy animals in four different agro-climatic zones of Maharashtra state. Samples were screened by PCR for detection of five major TBPs: T. annulata, T. orientalis, B. bigemina, B. bovis and Anaplasma spp.. The results demonstrated that single and co-infection with TBP are common, and although differences in pathogen spp. prevalence across the climatic zones were detected, simplistic regression models predicted that host type, sex and location are all likely to impact on prevalence of TBP. In order to remove issues with autocorrelation between variables, a subset of the dataset was modelled to assess any impact of TBP infection on body score of crossbreed versus native breed cattle (breed type). The model showed significant association between infection with TBP (particularly apicomplexan parasites) and poorer body condition for crossbreed animals. These findings indicate potential cost of TBP carrier infection on crossbreed productivity. Thus, there is a case for development of strategies for targeted breeding to combine productivity traits with disease resistance, or to prevent transmission of TBP in India for economic benefit. Short tandem repeat (STR based genetic diversity and relationship of indigenous Niger cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) M. Grema 2017-11-01 Full Text Available The diversity of cattle in Niger is predominantly represented by three indigenous breeds: Zebu Arabe, Zebu Bororo and Kuri. This study aimed at characterizing the genetic diversity and relationship of Niger cattle breeds using short tandem repeat (STR marker variations. A total of 105 cattle from all three breeds were genotyped at 27 STR loci. High levels of allelic and gene diversity were observed with an overall mean of 8.7 and 0.724 respectively. The mean inbreeding estimate within breeds was found to be moderate with 0.024, 0.043 and 0.044 in Zebu Arabe, Zebu Bororo and Kuri cattle respectively. The global F statistics showed low genetic differentiation among Niger cattle with about 2.6 % of total variation being attributed to between-breed differences. Neighbor-joining tree derived from pairwise allele sharing distance revealed Zebu Arabe and Kuri clustering together while Zebu Bororo appeared to be relatively distinct from the other two breeds. High levels of admixture were evident from the distribution of pairwise inter-individual allele sharing distances that showed individuals across populations being more related than individuals within populations. Individuals were assigned to their respective source populations based on STR genotypes, and the percent correct assignment of Zebu Bororo (87.5 to 93.8 % was consistently higher than Zebu Arabe (59.3 to 70.4 % and Kuri (80.0 to 83.3 % cattle. The qualitative and quantitative tests for mutation drift equilibrium revealed absence of genetic bottleneck events in Niger cattle in the recent past. High genetic diversity and poor genetic structure among indigenous cattle breeds of Niger might be due to historic zebu–taurine admixture and ongoing breeding practices in the region. The results of the present study are expected to help in formulating effective strategies for conservation and genetic improvement of indigenous Niger cattle breeds. Conservation genetics of an endangered Catalonian cattle breed ("Alberes" Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) J. Jordana 1999-09-01 Full Text Available We biochemically analyzed and characterized the genetic structure of a population in danger of extinction ,"Alberes", a local cattle breed of the Catalonian Pyrenees (Spain and France. Ninety-two individuals were analyzed for five polymorphic genetic loci (Hb, Alb, Tf, Gc and Ptf2. The animals were grouped according to coat color: Fagina Alberes variety (N = 39 and Black Alberes variety (N = 53. The genetic structures and relationships between these subpopulations and one "outgroup" breed ("Bruna dels Pirineus" were analyzed and compared by using F-statistics. We determined that inbreeding in the Alberes breed is not significant, since negative and nonsignificant FIT and FIS values were obtained. The average genetic differentiation between subpopulations within the Alberes breed was 1.5% (FST = 0.015; P A estrutura génetica de uma população de Alberes, uma raça de gado dos Pirineus catalônicos (Espanha e França em risco de extinção, foi analisada e caracterizada bioquimicamente. Noventa e dois indivíduos foram analisados para 5 loci genéticos polimórficos (Hb, Alb, Tf, Gc e Ptf2. Os animais foram agrupados de acordo com a cor do pêlo: variedade Fagina Alberes (N = 39 e Black Alberes (N = 53. As estruturas genéticas e as relações entre estas subpopulações e uma raça extra ("Bruna dels Pirineus" foram analisadas e comparadas pela estatística F. A endogamia na raça Alberes não foi significante, pois foram obtidos valores FIT e FIS negativos e não significantes. A diferenciação genética média entre as subpopulações dentro da raça Alberes foi 1,5% (FST = 0,015; P < 0,05, com um número efetivo de 4,1 indivíduos trocados entre as subpopulações por geração (fluxo de gene. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo confirmaram o perigo potencial de extinção da raça. A variedade Black Alberes é sugerida como o principal núcleo de conservação genética para esta raça, pois parece mostrar maior grau de isolamento gen A quantitative risk-analysis for introduction of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus in the Netherlands through cattle imports. Science.gov (United States) Santman-Berends, I M G A; Mars, M H; Van Duijn, L; Van den Broek, K W H; Van Schaik, G 2017-10-01 Many countries have implemented control programmes aiming to eradicate Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV). After obtaining the free status, a risk of re-introduction of the virus through import may remain. Therefore the risk of introduction of BVDV through cattle imports in the Netherlands was quantified and the effectiveness of subsequent intervention measures was assessed. Data, literature and expert opinion were used to estimate values for input parameters to feed a stochastic simulation model. The probability that BVDV was imported was differentiated into persistently infected (PI) cattle, trojan cows that transmitted the virus vertically resulting in a PI foetus (TR) and transient infected cattle (TI). The import risk was stratified to beef, dairy, small scale, suckler, trade, veal and young stock herds. The intervention scenarios that were evaluated consisted of virus testing, a combination of virus testing and antibody testing in pregnant cows, abolishment of imports from high risk countries (i.e. countries with a BVDV prevalence >15%) and a combination of import restrictions and testing prior to import. Each year, 334 (5th and 95th percentile: 65-902) Dutch cattle herds were estimated to be infected with BVDV through import. Veal herds account for most infections associated with import (87%), whereas in the other herd types, only 9 beef, 6 dairy, 2 small scale, 16 suckler, 10 trade and 2 young stock herds are infected through imports per year. Import of PI cattle is the most important risk for introduction in veal herds, while import of TR cows is the main source of BVDV introduction in dairy, small scale and suckler herds. With the intervention scenarios, the number of BVDV infected herds in the Netherlands could be reduced to 81 and 58 herds per year when respectively virus testing or a combination of virus and antibody testing was applied or to 108 herds when import from high risk countries was abolished. With the scenario in which both import from high Worldwide Patterns of Ancestry, Divergence, and Admixture in Domesticated Cattle Science.gov (United States) Decker, Jared E.; McKay, Stephanie D.; Rolf, Megan M.; Kim, JaeWoo; Molina Alcalá, Antonio; Sonstegard, Tad S.; Hanotte, Olivier; Götherström, Anders; Seabury, Christopher M.; Praharani, Lisa; Babar, Masroor Ellahi; Correia de Almeida Regitano, Luciana; Yildiz, Mehmet Ali; Heaton, Michael P.; Liu, Wan-Sheng; Lei, Chu-Zhao; Reecy, James M.; Saif-Ur-Rehman, Muhammad; Schnabel, Robert D.; Taylor, Jeremy F. 2014-01-01 The domestication and development of cattle has considerably impacted human societies, but the histories of cattle breeds and populations have been poorly understood especially for African, Asian, and American breeds. Using genotypes from 43,043 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphism markers scored in 1,543 animals, we evaluate the population structure of 134 domesticated bovid breeds. Regardless of the analytical method or sample subset, the three major groups of Asian indicine, Eurasian taurine, and African taurine were consistently observed. Patterns of geographic dispersal resulting from co-migration with humans and exportation are recognizable in phylogenetic networks. All analytical methods reveal patterns of hybridization which occurred after divergence. Using 19 breeds, we map the cline of indicine introgression into Africa. We infer that African taurine possess a large portion of wild African auroch ancestry, causing their divergence from Eurasian taurine. We detect exportation patterns in Asia and identify a cline of Eurasian taurine/indicine hybridization in Asia. We also identify the influence of species other than Bos taurus taurus and B. t. indicus in the formation of Asian breeds. We detect the pronounced influence of Shorthorn cattle in the formation of European breeds. Iberian and Italian cattle possess introgression from African taurine. American Criollo cattle originate from Iberia, and not directly from Africa with African ancestry inherited via Iberian ancestors. Indicine introgression into American cattle occurred in the Americas, and not Europe. We argue that cattle migration, movement and trading followed by admixture have been important forces in shaping modern bovine genomic variation. PMID:24675901 « 5 6 7 8 9 » « 6 7 8 9 10 » Determination of Toll-Like Receptor 1 Gene Polymorphisms in Zavot, Turkish Grey, East Anatolian Red, Anatolian Black and South Anatolian Red Cattle Breeds OpenAIRE Mehmet Ulaş Çınar; Korhan Arslan; Esma Gamze Ilgar; Bilal Akyüz 2016-01-01 Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an important role in non-specific immunity against different infectious agents such as bacterium or parasite. The aim of this work was to investigate the allele and genotype frequencies of three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in bovine TLR1 gene in native Turkish cattle breeds. DNA samples were extracted using the phenol chloroform protocol from 77 Zavot, 60 Turkish Grey, 51 East Anatolian Red, 69 Anatolian Black and 46 South Anatolian Red cattle. Targe... Mitochondrial DNA single nucleotide polymorphism associated with weight estimated breeding values in Nelore cattle (Bos indicus Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Fernando Henrique Biase 2007-01-01 Full Text Available We sampled 119 Nelore cattle (Bos indicus, 69 harboring B. indicus mtDNA plus 50 carrying Bos taurus mtDNA, to estimate the frequencies of putative mtDNA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs and investigate their association with Nelore weight and scrotal circumference estimated breeding values (EBVs. The PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP method was used to detect polymorphisms in the mitochondrial asparagine, cysteine, glycine, leucine and proline transporter RNA (tRNA genes (tRNAasn, tRNAcys, tRNAgly, tRNAleu and tRNApro. The 50 cattle carrying B. taurus mtDNA were monomorphic for all the tRNA gene SNPs analyzed, suggesting that they are specific to mtDNA from B. indicus cattle. No tRNAcys or tRNAgly polymorphisms were detected in any of the cattle but we did detect polymorphic SNPs in the tRNAasn, tRNAleu and tRNApro genes in the cattle harboring B. indicus mtDNA, with the same allele observed in the B. taurus sequence being present in the following percentage of cattle harboring B. indicus mtDNA: 72.46% for tRNAasn, 95.23% for tRNAleu and 90.62% for tRNApro. Analyses of variance using the tRNAasn SNP as the independent variable and EBVs as the dependent variable showed that the G -> T SNP was significantly associated (p < 0.05 with maternal EBVs for weight at 120 and 210 days (p < 0.05 and animal's EBVs for weight at 210, 365 and 455 days. There was no association of the tRNAasn SNP with the scrotal circumference EBVs. These results confirm that mtDNA can affect weight and that mtDNA polymorphisms can be a source of genetic variation for quantitative traits. On the History of Cattle Genetic Resources Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Marleen Felius 2014-11-01 Full Text Available Cattle are our most important livestock species because of their production and role in human culture. Many breeds that differ in appearance, performance and environmental adaptation are kept on all inhabited continents, but the historic origin of the diverse phenotypes is not always clear. We give an account of the history of cattle by integrating archaeological record and pictorial or written sources, scarce until 300 years ago, with the recent contributions of DNA analysis. We describe the domestication of their wild ancestor, migrations to eventually all inhabited continents, the developments during prehistory, the antiquity and the Middle Ages, the relatively recent breed formation, the industrial cattle husbandry in the Old and New World and the current efforts to preserve the cattle genetic resources. Surveying the available information, we propose three main and overlapping phases during the development of the present genetic diversity: (i domestication and subsequent wild introgression; (ii natural adaptation to a diverse agricultural habitat; and (iii breed development. Effects of crossing of domestic breed with beef breeds on the quality of meat in PR China and Republic of Serbia OpenAIRE Aleksić, S.; Fang, Sun; Di, Liu; Petrović, M.M.; Pantelić, V.; Stanišić, N.; Ostojić-Andrić, D.; Petričević, M.; Nikšić, D.; Delić, N. 2013-01-01 This paper presents the results of crossing Domestic Spotted breed with beef cattle breeds in the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Serbia. China is a big country of beef production and consumption. In 2012, beef production in China was 5,540,000 tons, which accounted for 9.7% of the global beef production, ranking the third in the world. The main sources of China’s beef are from crossbreeding cattle (native breed crossbred with foreign beef ca... Indigenous Bali cattle is most suitable for sustainable small farming in Indonesia. Science.gov (United States) Martojo, H 2012-01-01 Livestock husbandry is essential for Indonesia. This study reviews cattle characteristics and husbandry methods in the country with special interest in describing the importance of indigenous breeds of cattle. As a conclusion, the Bali cattle ought to be considered the most suitable indigenous cattle breed for the low-input, high stress production system still practised by millions of families in Indonesia. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. Banteng and Bali cattle in Indonesia: status and forecasts. Science.gov (United States) Purwantara, B; Noor, R R; Andersson, G; Rodriguez-Martinez, H 2012-01-01 Bali cattle still represents 27% of the total cattle population in Indonesia, and it is considered the pillar breed for small farmers. Moreover, it is a breed of evolutionary importance regarding its direct ancestry from Banteng. However, there is a need for the establishment of a rational system for the evaluation of breeding soundness for indigenous Bali bulls to be used as sires for artificial insemination breeding programmes. Moreover, there is a need for cryobanking of well-identified genetic resources pertaining their use in evolutionary research and application as essential germplasm in breeding programmes. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. Worldwide patterns of ancestry, divergence, and admixture in domesticated cattle Science.gov (United States) The domestication and development of cattle has considerably impacted human societies, but the histories of cattle breeds have been poorly understood especially for African, Asian, and American breeds. Using genotypes from 43,043 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphism markers scored in 1,543 anima... The Polymorphism of Pituitary Factor 1 (POU1F1 in Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Teodora Crina Carsai 2012-05-01 Full Text Available The development and function of mammary gland is mainly controlled by growth hormone and prolactin, twoprotein hormones secreted by the anterior pituitary gland. Their synthesis is under regulatory influence of pituitaryfactor 1 (PIT1 or POU1F1, a protein factor produced in hypothalamic nuclei. In cattle, it was shown that a HinfIpolymorphism located in exon 6 of PIT1 gene may have significant influence on milk quantity. In particular A allelewas associated with a higher milk yield and could be a valuable genetic marker for improving milk quantity in cattle.In an effort to better understand the possible influence of this polymorphism on mammary gland development andfunction in cattle, we have studied the frequency this polymorphism in Romanian Black and White breed, a highmilk production cattle breed versus Romanian Grey Steppe breed, a primitive breed with very low milk production.In both breeds the frequency of B allele is much higher as compared with the frequency of A allele. The study ofPIT1 polymorphism in Romanian cattle breeds is a part of a more complex study targeting several key genesinvolved in mammary gland function. Determination of non-market values to inform conservation strategies for the threatened Alistana-Sanabresa cattle breed. Science.gov (United States) Martin-Collado, D; Diaz, C; Drucker, A G; Carabaño, M J; Zander, K K 2014-08-01 Livestock breed-related public good functions are often used to justify support for endangered breed conservation despite the fact that little is known about such non-market values. We show how stated preference techniques can be used to assess the non-market values that people place on livestock breeds. Through the application of a case study choice experiment survey in Zamora province, Spain, the total economic value (TEV) of the threatened Alistana-Sanabresa (AS) cattle breed was investigated. An analysis of the relative importance of the non-market components of its TEV and an assessment of the socio-economic variables that influence people's valuation of such components is used to inform conservation strategy design. Overall, the findings reveal that the AS breed had significant non-market values associated with it and that the value that respondents placed on each specific public good function also varied significantly. Functions related with indirect use cultural and existence values were much more highly valued than landscape maintenance values. These high cultural and existence values (totalling over 80% of TEV) suggest that an AS in situ conservation strategy will be required to secure such values. As part of such a strategy, incentive mechanisms will be needed to permit farmers to capture some of these public good values and thus be able to afford to maintain breed population numbers at socially desirable levels. One such mechanism could be related to the development of breed-related agritourism initiatives, with a view to enhancing private good values and providing an important addition to continued direct support. Where linked with cultural dimensions, niche product market development, including through improving AS breed-related product quality and brand recognition may also have a role to play as part of such an overall conservation and use strategy. We conclude that livestock breed conservation strategies with the highest potential to maximise Accuracies of genomic breeding values in American Angus beef cattle using K-means clustering for cross-validation. Science.gov (United States) Saatchi, Mahdi; McClure, Mathew C; McKay, Stephanie D; Rolf, Megan M; Kim, JaeWoo; Decker, Jared E; Taxis, Tasia M; Chapple, Richard H; Ramey, Holly R; Northcutt, Sally L; Bauck, Stewart; Woodward, Brent; Dekkers, Jack C M; Fernando, Rohan L; Schnabel, Robert D; Garrick, Dorian J; Taylor, Jeremy F 2011-11-28 Genomic selection is a recently developed technology that is beginning to revolutionize animal breeding. The objective of this study was to estimate marker effects to derive prediction equations for direct genomic values for 16 routinely recorded traits of American Angus beef cattle and quantify corresponding accuracies of prediction. Deregressed estimated breeding values were used as observations in a weighted analysis to derive direct genomic values for 3570 sires genotyped using the Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip. These bulls were clustered into five groups using K-means clustering on pedigree estimates of additive genetic relationships between animals, with the aim of increasing within-group and decreasing between-group relationships. All five combinations of four groups were used for model training, with cross-validation performed in the group not used in training. Bivariate animal models were used for each trait to estimate the genetic correlation between deregressed estimated breeding values and direct genomic values. Accuracies of direct genomic values ranged from 0.22 to 0.69 for the studied traits, with an average of 0.44. Predictions were more accurate when animals within the validation group were more closely related to animals in the training set. When training and validation sets were formed by random allocation, the accuracies of direct genomic values ranged from 0.38 to 0.85, with an average of 0.65, reflecting the greater relationship between animals in training and validation. The accuracies of direct genomic values obtained from training on older animals and validating in younger animals were intermediate to the accuracies obtained from K-means clustering and random clustering for most traits. The genetic correlation between deregressed estimated breeding values and direct genomic values ranged from 0.15 to 0.80 for the traits studied. These results suggest that genomic estimates of genetic merit can be produced in beef cattle at a young age but Conservation of indigenous cattle genetic resources in Southern Africa's smallholder areas: turning threats into opportunities - A review. Science.gov (United States) Nyamushamba, G B; Mapiye, C; Tada, O; Halimani, T E; Muchenje, V 2017-05-01 The current review focuses on characterization and conservation efforts vital for the development of breeding programmes for indigenous beef cattle genetic resources in Southern Africa. Indigenous African cattle breeds were identified and characterized using information from refereed journals, conference papers and research reports. Results of this current review reviewed that smallholder beef cattle production in Southern Africa is extensive and dominated by indigenous beef cattle strains adaptable to the local environment. The breeds include Nguni, Mashona, Tuli, Malawi Zebu, Bovino de Tete, Angoni, Landim, Barotse, Twsana and Ankole. These breeds have important functions ranging from provision of food and income to socio-economic, cultural and ecological roles. They also have adaptive traits ranging from drought tolerant, resistance to ticks and tick borne diseases, heat tolerance and resistance to trypanosomosis. Stakeholders in the conservation of beef cattle were also identified and they included farmers, national government, research institutes and universities as well as breeding companies and societies in Southern Africa. Research efforts made to evaluate threats and opportunities of indigenous beef cattle production systems, assess the contribution of indigenous cattle to household food security and income, genetically and phenotypically characterize and conserve indigenous breeds, and develop breeding programs for smallholder beef production are highlighted. Although smallholder beef cattle production in the smallholder farming systems contributes substantially to household food security and income, their productivity is hindered by several constraints that include high prevalence of diseases and parasites, limited feed availability and poor marketing. The majority of the African cattle populations remain largely uncharacterized although most of the indigenous cattle breeds have been identified. Balkan brachicerous cattle - the first domesticated cattle in Europe. Science.gov (United States) Hristov, Peter; Sirakova, Daniela; Mitkov, Ivan; Spassov, Nikolai; Radoslavov, Georgi 2018-01-01 The present study aimed to compare mitochondrial diversity among Balkan Neolithic/Chalcolithic cattle and present day Shorthorn Rhodopean cattle (Busha) to throw a new insight into European cattle domestication. The results showed that both ancient- and present-day samples belonged to the macrohaplogroup T. From the 28 sequences (8 ancient and 20 modern), the T1 and T2 haplogroup represent about 3.6% (1/28; 1/28). The T3 haplogroup was with the highest frequency - 57% (16/28). Based on the SNPs on 16057A and 16133C, the new T6 haplogroup was proposed. This haplogroup represents 75% from the ancient and 20% from the present day Bulgarian brachicerous cattle population. The survey in GenBank data base did not find a similar motif, except for the recent Serbian Busha cattle. Overall, these results showed that: (i) The newly named T6 haplogroup is Balkan specific; (ii) The T6 haplogroup survives in present day Bulgarian rhodopean cattle; (iii) The Balkan brachicerous cattle is the oldest European cattle breed. Differences in Voluntary Cow Traffic between Holstein and Illawarra Breeds of Dairy Cattle in a Pasture-based Automatic Milking System. Science.gov (United States) Clark, C E F; Kwinten, N B P; van Gastel, D A J M; Kerrisk, K L; Lyons, N A; Garcia, S C 2014-04-01 Automatic milking systems (AMS) rely upon voluntary cow traffic (the voluntary movement of cattle around a farm) for milk harvesting and feed consumption. Previous research on conventional milking systems has shown differences between dairy cow breeds for intake and milk production, however, the ability to manipulate voluntary cow traffic and milking frequency on AMS farms through breed selection is unknown. This study investigated the effect of breed (Holstein Friesian versus Illawarra) on voluntary cow traffic as determined by gate passes at the Camden AMS research farm dairy facility. Daily data on days in milk, milk yield, gate passes and milking frequency for 158 Holstein Friesian cows and 24 Illawarra cows were collated by month for the 2007 and 2008 years. Illawarra cows had 9% more gate passes/day than Holstein cows over the duration of the study; however, the milking frequency and milk yield of both breeds were similar. Gate passes were greatest for both breeds in early lactation and in the winter (June to August) and summer (December to February) seasons. These findings highlight an opportunity to translate increased voluntary cow movement associated with breed selection into increased milking frequencies, milk production and overall pasture-based AMS performance. Assessment of adaptability of zebu cattle (Bos indicus) breeds in two different climatic conditions: using cytogenetic techniques on genome integrity. Science.gov (United States) Kumar, Anil; Waiz, Syma Ashraf; Sridhar Goud, T; Tonk, R K; Grewal, Anita; Singh, S V; Yadav, B R; Upadhyay, R C 2016-06-01 The aim of this study was to evaluate the genome integrity so as to assess the adaptability of three breeds of indigenous cattle reared under arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan (Bikaner) and Haryana (Karnal) India. The cattle were of homogenous group (same age and sex) of indigenous breeds viz. Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Kankrej. A total of 100 animals were selected for this study from both climatic conditions. The sister chromatid exchanges (SCE's), chromosomal gaps and chromatid breaks were observed in metaphase plates of chromosome preparations obtained from in vitro culture of peripheral blood lymphocytes. The mean number of breaks and gaps in Sahiwal and Tharparkar of semi-arid zone were 8.56 ± 3.16, 6.4 ± 3.39 and 8.72 ± 2.04, 3.52 ± 6.29, respectively. Similarly, the mean number of breaks and gaps in Tharparkar and Kankrej cattle of arid zone were 5.26 ± 1.76, 2.74 ± 1.76 and 5.24 ± 1.84, 2.5 ± 1.26, respectively. The frequency of SCEs in chromosomes was found significantly higher (P 0.05) was observed in the same zone. The analysis of frequency of CAs and SCEs revealed significant effects of environmental conditions on the genome integrity of animals, thereby indicating an association with their adaptability. Prediction of Breeding Values for Dairy Cattle Using Artificial Neural Networks and Neuro-Fuzzy Systems Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Saleh Shahinfar 2012-01-01 Full Text Available Developing machine learning and soft computing techniques has provided many opportunities for researchers to establish new analytical methods in different areas of science. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of two types of intelligent learning methods, artificial neural networks and neuro-fuzzy systems, in order to estimate breeding values (EBV of Iranian dairy cattle. Initially, the breeding values of lactating Holstein cows for milk and fat yield were estimated using conventional best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP with an animal model. Once that was established, a multilayer perceptron was used to build ANN to predict breeding values from the performance data of selection candidates. Subsequently, fuzzy logic was used to form an NFS, a hybrid intelligent system that was implemented via a local linear model tree algorithm. For milk yield the correlations between EBV and EBV predicted by the ANN and NFS were 0.92 and 0.93, respectively. Corresponding correlations for fat yield were 0.93 and 0.93, respectively. Correlations between multitrait predictions of EBVs for milk and fat yield when predicted simultaneously by ANN were 0.93 and 0.93, respectively, whereas corresponding correlations with reference EBV for multitrait NFS were 0.94 and 0.95, respectively, for milk and fat production. Signatures of positive selection in African Butana and Kenana dairy zebu cattle. Science.gov (United States) Bahbahani, Hussain; Salim, Bashir; Almathen, Faisal; Al Enezi, Fahad; Mwacharo, Joram M; Hanotte, Olivier 2018-01-01 Butana and Kenana are two types of zebu cattle found in Sudan. They are unique amongst African indigenous zebu cattle because of their high milk production. Aiming to understand their genome structure, we genotyped 25 individuals from each breed using the Illumina BovineHD Genotyping BeadChip. Genetic structure analysis shows that both breeds have an admixed genome composed of an even proportion of indicine (0.75 ± 0.03 in Butana, 0.76 ± 0.006 in Kenana) and taurine (0.23 ± 0.009 in Butana, 0.24 ± 0.006 in Kenana) ancestries. We also observe a proportion of 0.02 to 0.12 of European taurine ancestry in ten individuals of Butana that were sampled from cattle herds in Tamboul area suggesting local crossbreeding with exotic breeds. Signatures of selection analyses (iHS and Rsb) reveal 87 and 61 candidate positive selection regions in Butana and Kenana, respectively. These regions span genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with biological pathways that are important for adaptation to marginal environments (e.g., immunity, reproduction and heat tolerance). Trypanotolerance QTL are intersecting candidate regions in Kenana cattle indicating selection pressure acting on them, which might be associated with an unexplored level of trypanotolerance in this cattle breed. Several dairy traits QTL are overlapping the identified candidate regions in these two zebu cattle breeds. Our findings underline the potential to improve dairy production in the semi-arid pastoral areas of Africa through breeding improvement strategy of indigenous local breeds. The cattle farming activities in Aǧrı province Science.gov (United States) Şahinler, Zeki; Demir, Yücel 2016-04-01 This study aims to present the current data in the existing situation and potential of the cattle breeding. East Anatolia has an important place in Turkey's cattle breeding sector. Thus, Aǧrı is one of the key cities in the region and livestock breeding is a major resource of income for the population. According to Turkish Statistical Institute's data, the city of Aǧrı has the 8th place with its 321 710 head of cattle currently. In cattle gene types, with 170 583 head in local breeds it is in the first place, while it is in the 10thplace with a total of 131 195 head in crossbreeding and it stands in 63th place with 19 932 head culture race. Once again, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute's data, cattle farming brought in 382 987 750 TL as a result of 259 011 tons of the milk, 5 665 tons of meat and 8 887 skins. In 2014, Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock subsidized cattle farming in the city by paying 20 551 816 TL. Therefore, it is important to determine the existing conditions of livestock sector of the city, especially cattle farming, with regard to its potential and problems. Consequently, it would be possible to develop short term, mid-term, long term goals and solutions for the problems. As a conclusion, the city has a remarkable place in the region with its cattle population, characteristics of animal production and its position in the employment. Aǧrı represents a small model in local level for Turkey's overall livestock farming. Genetic diversity and relationship of Indian cattle inferred from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers. Science.gov (United States) Sharma, Rekha; Kishore, Amit; Mukesh, Manishi; Ahlawat, Sonika; Maitra, Avishek; Pandey, Ashwni Kumar; Tantia, Madhu Sudan 2015-06-30 Indian agriculture is an economic symbiosis of crop and livestock production with cattle as the foundation. Sadly, the population of indigenous cattle (Bos indicus) is declining (8.94% in last decade) and needs immediate scientific management. Genetic characterization is the first step in the development of proper management strategies for preserving genetic diversity and preventing undesirable loss of alleles. Thus, in this study we investigated genetic diversity and relationship among eleven Indian cattle breeds using 21 microsatellite markers and mitochondrial D loop sequence. The analysis of autosomal DNA was performed on 508 cattle which exhibited sufficient genetic diversity across all the breeds. Estimates of mean allele number and observed heterozygosity across all loci and population were 8.784 ± 0.25 and 0.653 ± 0.014, respectively. Differences among breeds accounted for 13.3% of total genetic variability. Despite high genetic diversity, significant inbreeding was also observed within eight populations. Genetic distances and cluster analysis showed a close relationship between breeds according to proximity in geographic distribution. The genetic distance, STRUCTURE and Principal Coordinate Analysis concluded that the Southern Indian Ongole cattle are the most distinct among the investigated cattle populations. Sequencing of hypervariable mitochondrial DNA region on a subset of 170 cattle revealed sixty haplotypes with haplotypic diversity of 0.90240, nucleotide diversity of 0.02688 and average number of nucleotide differences as 6.07407. Two major star clusters for haplotypes indicated population expansion for Indian cattle. Nuclear and mitochondrial genomes show a similar pattern of genetic variability and genetic differentiation. Various analyses concluded that the Southern breed 'Ongole' was distinct from breeds of Northern/ Central India. Overall these results provide basic information about genetic diversity and structure of Indian cattle which Genomic selection in dairy cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Roos, de A.P.W. 2011-01-01 The objectives of this Ph.D. thesis were (1) to optimise genomic selection in dairy cattle with respect to the accuracy of predicting total genetic merit and (2) to optimise a dairy cattle breeding program using genomic selection. The study was performed using a combination of real data sets and The current status and future of commercial embryo transfer in cattle. Science.gov (United States) Hasler, John F 2003-12-15 A commercially viable cattle embryo transfer (ET) industry was established in North America during the early 1970s, approximately 80 years after the first successful embryo transfer was reported in a mammal. Initially, techniques for recovering and transferring cattle embryos were exclusively surgical. However, by the late 1970s, most embryos were recovered and transferred nonsurgically. Successful cryopreservation of embryos was widespread by the early 1980s, followed by the introduction of embryo splitting, in vitro procedures, direct transfer of frozen embryos and sexing of embryos. The wide spread adoption of ethylene glycol as a cryoprotectant has simplified the thaw-transfer procedures for frozen embryos. The number of embryos recovered annually has not grown appreciably over the last 10 years in North America and Europe; however, there has been significant growth of commercial ET in South America. Within North America, ET activity has been relatively constant in Holstein cattle, whereas there has been a large ET increase in the Angus breed and a concomitant ET decrease in some other beef breeds. Although a number of new technologies have been adopted within the ET industry in the last decade, the basic procedure of superovulation of donor cattle has undergone little improvement over the last 20 years. The export-import of frozen cattle embryos has become a well-established industry, governed by specific health regulations. The international movement of embryos is subject to sudden and dramatic disturbances, as exemplified by the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Great Britain. It is probable that there will be an increased influence of animal rights issues on the ET industry in the future. Several companies in North America are currently commercially producing cloned cattle. The sexing of bovine semen with the use of flow cytometry is extremely accurate and moderate pregnancy rates in heifers have been achieved in field trials, but sexed semen « 6 7 8 9 10 » « 7 8 9 10 11 » Differences in Voluntary Cow Traffic between Holstein and Illawarra Breeds of Dairy Cattle in a Pasture-based Automatic Milking System Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) C. E. F. Clark 2014-04-01 Full Text Available Automatic milking systems (AMS rely upon voluntary cow traffic (the voluntary movement of cattle around a farm for milk harvesting and feed consumption. Previous research on conventional milking systems has shown differences between dairy cow breeds for intake and milk production, however, the ability to manipulate voluntary cow traffic and milking frequency on AMS farms through breed selection is unknown. This study investigated the effect of breed (Holstein Friesian versus Illawarra on voluntary cow traffic as determined by gate passes at the Camden AMS research farm dairy facility. Daily data on days in milk, milk yield, gate passes and milking frequency for 158 Holstein Friesian cows and 24 Illawarra cows were collated by month for the 2007 and 2008 years. Illawarra cows had 9% more gate passes/day than Holstein cows over the duration of the study; however, the milking frequency and milk yield of both breeds were similar. Gate passes were greatest for both breeds in early lactation and in the winter (June to August and summer (December to February seasons. These findings highlight an opportunity to translate increased voluntary cow movement associated with breed selection into increased milking frequencies, milk production and overall pasture-based AMS performance. The genetic variability of the Podolica cattle breed from the Gargano area. Preliminary results Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Dario Cianci 2010-01-01 Full Text Available The Podolica cattle breed is autochthonous of Southern Italy and denoted by its particular rusticity. This study presents the preliminary results of the genetic characterization of the Podolica breed using DNA STR markers. A total of 20 microsatellite loci were analysed in 79 individuals reared in the Gargano area. Number of polymorphisms, allele fre- quencies, deviations from Hardy-Weinberg proportions, linkage disequilibrium between loci and genetic similarities between animals were calculated. The results showed a high deficiency of heterozygotes, the observed mean of het- erozygosis being 0.449, whereas the expected mean was 0.766. Many markers showed also deviations from the Hardy- Weinberg proportions and significant linkage disequilibrium between loci. However the genetic similarity within the pop- ulation was low (0.281 and the average number of alleles per locus was high (10, representing a high genetic vari- ability. In order to explain these results, a stratification of the breed in sub-populations with a high interior genetic homo- geneity but markedly differentiated one from each other could be hypothesized; this situation probably derived from non- random mating within each herd (consanguinity and from the lack of exchange of genetic material between the herds. A further study is needed on a wider sample and extending the analysis to FAO-ISAG microsatellite panel in order to con- firm this hypothesis. This could eventually provide the information necessary for the correct management of the repro- ductive schemes and for genomic traceability of meat production. Accuracies of genomic breeding values in American Angus beef cattle using K-means clustering for cross-validation Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Saatchi Mahdi 2011-11-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Genomic selection is a recently developed technology that is beginning to revolutionize animal breeding. The objective of this study was to estimate marker effects to derive prediction equations for direct genomic values for 16 routinely recorded traits of American Angus beef cattle and quantify corresponding accuracies of prediction. Methods Deregressed estimated breeding values were used as observations in a weighted analysis to derive direct genomic values for 3570 sires genotyped using the Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip. These bulls were clustered into five groups using K-means clustering on pedigree estimates of additive genetic relationships between animals, with the aim of increasing within-group and decreasing between-group relationships. All five combinations of four groups were used for model training, with cross-validation performed in the group not used in training. Bivariate animal models were used for each trait to estimate the genetic correlation between deregressed estimated breeding values and direct genomic values. Results Accuracies of direct genomic values ranged from 0.22 to 0.69 for the studied traits, with an average of 0.44. Predictions were more accurate when animals within the validation group were more closely related to animals in the training set. When training and validation sets were formed by random allocation, the accuracies of direct genomic values ranged from 0.38 to 0.85, with an average of 0.65, reflecting the greater relationship between animals in training and validation. The accuracies of direct genomic values obtained from training on older animals and validating in younger animals were intermediate to the accuracies obtained from K-means clustering and random clustering for most traits. The genetic correlation between deregressed estimated breeding values and direct genomic values ranged from 0.15 to 0.80 for the traits studied. Conclusions These results suggest that genomic estimates Development, standardization and validation of purine excretion technique for measuring microbial protein supply for Yerli Kara cross-breed cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Cetinkaya, N.; Ozdemir, H.; Gucus, A.I.; Ozcan, H.; Sogut, A.; Yaman, S. 2002-01-01 Three experiments were conducted to evaluate of the developed techniques for uric acid, allantoin and creatinine in Yerli Kara cross-breed cattle on farm at different feeding level locally available feed resources and linking the observed information to feed intake and to assess of protein nutrition status of Yerli Kara cross-breed dairy cattle using urinary PD and creatinine excretion. In Experiment I. Response of daily PD excretion to feed intake in Yerli Kara cross-breed on state farm was measured. Animals were fed a mixed diet containing 30 % wheat straw and 70 % compounded feed. The diet contained 90 % DM, its N and OM contents were 124 and 950 g/kg DM, respectively. In Experiment II. Spot urine sampling techniques was applied at state farm. Four Yerli Kara cross-breed bulls live weight with a mean of 211±41.3 kg were used. Experimental design, feeding and diet were the same as in Experiment I. The treatments were [located according to a 4x4 Latin Square design. In Experiment III. Spot urine sampling techniques was applied at smallholder farms. Compound feed containing 65 % barley, 25 % bran, 6 % sunflower seed meal, 3 % manner dust and 1 % mineral and vitamin mixture (120 g/kg DM-Crude Protein and 950 g/kg DM-Organic Matter)- was offered total in between 2 to 3 kg in two parts one in the morning (07:30 h) and one in the afternoon (17:00 h). Compound feed ingredients were similar given to all animals but Groups I, II and III animals were receiving 1 to 2 kg/d of straw (30 g CP/kg DM, 93Og OM/kg DM), grass hay (70g CP/kg DM, 915 g OM/kg DM), straw and grass hay respectively. There were significant correlations (R 2 =0.99) between PD excretion (mmol/d) and DOMI (kg/d) for YK-C cattle. PD execration (mmol/L) was plotted against PD: Creatinine W 0.75 to obtain slope and use as constant for the estimation of daily PD excretion from spot sampling from animals held by small holders. The equation could be expressed as: PD (mmol/d)=8.27+0.960 (PD:CxW 0.75 ). The Conservation of indigenous cattle genetic resources in Southern Africa’s smallholder areas: turning threats into opportunities — A review Science.gov (United States) Nyamushamba, G. B.; Mapiye, C.; Tada, O.; Halimani, T. E.; Muchenje, V. 2017-01-01 The current review focuses on characterization and conservation efforts vital for the development of breeding programmes for indigenous beef cattle genetic resources in Southern Africa. Indigenous African cattle breeds were identified and characterized using information from refereed journals, conference papers and research reports. Results of this current review reviewed that smallholder beef cattle production in Southern Africa is extensive and dominated by indigenous beef cattle strains adaptable to the local environment. The breeds include Nguni, Mashona, Tuli, Malawi Zebu, Bovino de Tete, Angoni, Landim, Barotse, Twsana and Ankole. These breeds have important functions ranging from provision of food and income to socio-economic, cultural and ecological roles. They also have adaptive traits ranging from drought tolerant, resistance to ticks and tick borne diseases, heat tolerance and resistance to trypanosomosis. Stakeholders in the conservation of beef cattle were also identified and they included farmers, national government, research institutes and universities as well as breeding companies and societies in Southern Africa. Research efforts made to evaluate threats and opportunities of indigenous beef cattle production systems, assess the contribution of indigenous cattle to household food security and income, genetically and phenotypically characterize and conserve indigenous breeds, and develop breeding programs for smallholder beef production are highlighted. Although smallholder beef cattle production in the smallholder farming systems contributes substantially to household food security and income, their productivity is hindered by several constraints that include high prevalence of diseases and parasites, limited feed availability and poor marketing. The majority of the African cattle populations remain largely uncharacterized although most of the indigenous cattle breeds have been identified. PMID:27004814 Conservation of indigenous cattle genetic resources in Southern Africa’s smallholder areas: turning threats into opportunities — A review Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) G. B. Nyamushamba 2017-05-01 Full Text Available The current review focuses on characterization and conservation efforts vital for the development of breeding programmes for indigenous beef cattle genetic resources in Southern Africa. Indigenous African cattle breeds were identified and characterized using information from refereed journals, conference papers and research reports. Results of this current review reviewed that smallholder beef cattle production in Southern Africa is extensive and dominated by indigenous beef cattle strains adaptable to the local environment. The breeds include Nguni, Mashona, Tuli, Malawi Zebu, Bovino de Tete, Angoni, Landim, Barotse, Twsana and Ankole. These breeds have important functions ranging from provision of food and income to socio-economic, cultural and ecological roles. They also have adaptive traits ranging from drought tolerant, resistance to ticks and tick borne diseases, heat tolerance and resistance to trypanosomosis. Stakeholders in the conservation of beef cattle were also identified and they included farmers, national government, research institutes and universities as well as breeding companies and societies in Southern Africa. Research efforts made to evaluate threats and opportunities of indigenous beef cattle production systems, assess the contribution of indigenous cattle to household food security and income, genetically and phenotypically characterize and conserve indigenous breeds, and develop breeding programs for smallholder beef production are highlighted. Although smallholder beef cattle production in the smallholder farming systems contributes substantially to household food security and income, their productivity is hindered by several constraints that include high prevalence of diseases and parasites, limited feed availability and poor marketing. The majority of the African cattle populations remain largely uncharacterized although most of the indigenous cattle breeds have been identified. The great diversity of major histocompatibility complex class II genes in Philippine native cattle Science.gov (United States) Takeshima, S.N.; Miyasaka, T.; Polat, M.; Kikuya, M.; Matsumoto, Y.; Mingala, C.N.; Villanueva, M.A.; Salces, A.J.; Onuma, M.; Aida, Y. 2014-01-01 Bovine leukocyte antigens (BoLA) are extensively used as markers for bovine disease and immunological traits. However, none of the BoLA genes in Southeast Asian breeds have been characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-sequence-based typing (SBT). Therefore, we sequenced exon 2 of the BoLA class II DRB3 gene from 1120 individual cows belonging to the Holstein, Sahiwal, Simbrah, Jersey, Brahman, and Philippine native breeds using PCR-SBT. Several cross-breeds were also examined. BoLA-DRB3 PCR-SBT identified 78 previously reported alleles and five novel alleles. The number of BoLA-DRB3 alleles identified in each breed from the Philippines was higher (71 in Philippine native cattle, 58 in Brahman, 46 in Holstein × Sahiwal, and 57 in Philippine native × Brahman) than that identified in breeds from other countries (e.g., 23 alleles in Japanese Black and 35 in Bolivian Yacumeño cattle). A phylogenetic tree based on the DA distance calculated from the BoLA-DRB3 allele frequency showed that Philippine native cattle from different Philippine islands are closely related, and all of them are closely similar to Philippine Brahman cattle but not to native Japanese and Latin American breeds. Furthermore, the BoLA-DRB3 allele frequency in Philippine native cattle from Luzon Island, located in the Northern Philippines was different from that in cattle from Iloilo, Bohol, and Leyte Islands, which are located in the Southern Philippines. Therefore, we conclude that Philippine native cattle can be divided into two populations, North and South areas. Moreover, a neutrality test revealed that Philippine native cattle from Leyte showed significantly greater genetic diversity, which may be maintained by balancing selection. This study shows that Asian breeds have high levels of BoLA-DRB3 polymorphism. This finding, especially the identification of five novel BoLA-DRB3 alleles, will be helpful for future SBT studies of BoLA-DRB3 alleles in East Asian cattle. PMID:25606401 Accuracy of genomic breeding value prediction for intramuscular fat using different genomic relationship matrices in Hanwoo (Korean cattle). Science.gov (United States) Choi, Taejeong; Lim, Dajeong; Park, Byoungho; Sharma, Aditi; Kim, Jong-Joo; Kim, Sidong; Lee, Seung Hwan 2017-07-01 Intramuscular fat is one of the meat quality traits that is considered in the selection strategies for Hanwoo (Korean cattle). Different methods are used to estimate the breeding value of selection candidates. In the present work we focused on accuracy of different genotype relationship matrices as described by forni and pedigree based relationship matrix. The data set included a total of 778 animals that were genotyped for BovineSNP50 BeadChip. Among these 778 animals, 72 animals were sires for 706 reference animals and were used as a validation dataset. Single trait animal model (best linear unbiased prediction and genomic best linear unbiased prediction) was used to estimate the breeding values from genomic and pedigree information. The diagonal elements for the pedigree based coefficients were slightly higher for the genomic relationship matrices (GRM) based coefficients while off diagonal elements were considerably low for GRM based coefficients. The accuracy of breeding value for the pedigree based relationship matrix (A) was 13% while for GRM (GOF, G05, and Yang) it was 0.37, 0.45, and 0.38, respectively. Accuracy of GRM was 1.5 times higher than A in this study. Therefore, genomic information will be more beneficial than pedigree information in the Hanwoo breeding program. Pedigree analysis of an ostrich breeding flock African Journals Online (AJOL) p2492989 among dairy cattle breeds in the US was reported to be 161, 61, 65, 39 and 30 for the Ayrshire, Brown ... Knowledge of these parameters could help the industry when formulating breeding programmes. ..... In 'Ratites in a competitive world. Genomic prediction across dairy cattle populations and breeds DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Zhou, Lei Genomic prediction is successful in single breed genetic evaluation. However, there is no achievement in acoress breed prediction until now. This thesis investigated genomic prediction across populations and breeds using Chinese Holsterin, Nordic Holstein, Norwgian Red, and Nordic Red. Nordic Red... Technical Efficiency of Beef Cattle Breeding Business in East Java Province Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) L. S. Kalangi 2014-08-01 Full Text Available The objectives of this research were to compare technical efficiency of beef cattle business operating in lowland and upland areas of East Java and to identify and analyze factors affecting the technical efficiency as well as inefficiency of that business. A survey was conducted to 89 farmers in the lowland area of Probolinggo District and 97 farmers in the upland areas of Malang Districts during the period of February-March 2013. Results of stochastic frontier production function with MLE method showed that the average technical efficiency in lowland area was higher (80% compared to that in upland area (64%. The results indicated that beef cattle production was highly significant and positively influenced by total of grasses and forages, rice straw, feed supplements, stock of cattle, labor time allocation and service per conception. However, location of the business, whether in lowland and upland areas was a significant factor that could increase the efficiency. Some factors that could significantly reduce the technical inefficiency of beef cattle business were: labor force in family, education level, proportion of beef cattle income to total household income, age of cattle sold, cattle health examination, ownership status of the cattle, and gender. Therefore, (1 the existing farmers group should be improved their role to facilitate trading of cattle feed, and (2 the government should facilitate the farmers in the provision of funding tu buy beef cattle with a subsidized interest rate, so the farmers will be more enthusiast in taking care of their cattle, thus could improve their production efficiency. Genetic parameters on Bali cattle progeny test population Science.gov (United States) Hariansyah, A. R.; Raharjo, A.; Zainuri, A.; Parwoto, Y.; Prasetiyo, D.; Prastowo, S.; Widyas, N. 2018-03-01 Bali cattle (Bos javanicus) is Indonesian indigenous cattle with having superior genetics potential on fitness traits in tropical environment and low feed quality. Bali Cattle Breeding Center Pulukan Indonesia conducted progeny test per annum in order to select bulls using offspring’s phenotype. This paper aimed to estimate the genetic parameters of yearling weight in Bali cattle progeny test populations and to observe the variation between periods in the above breeding center. Data were collected from the year of 2013 to 2014. There were four bulls (3 tests, 1 AI control) in 2013 and five bulls (4 tests, 1 AI) in 2014. Thirty breeding females were allocated per paddock per bull and allowed to mate naturally. In total 80 and 104 offspring’s records were obtained from 2013 and 2014 data, respectively. We built half-sib family model to estimate the additive genetic variance due to the sire and later estimate the breeding value (EBV) of each sire. Results showed that in 2013 the heritability (h2) for yearling weight was 0.19 while in 2014 was 0.79. In both years, tested bulls had higher EBV compared to the control bulls. The remarkable difference of heritability between years was due to the variations among bull candidates which might differ every year with regards to their origins. The fact that the EBV of tested bulls were higher than the control bulls gave us insight that despite the conservation policy and the continuous departure of Bali cattle bulls outside the Island, the population could still maintain its genetic quality. Meta-analysis of sequence-based association studies across three cattle breeds reveals 25 QTL for fat and protein percentages in milk at nucleotide resolution. Science.gov (United States) Pausch, Hubert; Emmerling, Reiner; Gredler-Grandl, Birgit; Fries, Ruedi; Daetwyler, Hans D; Goddard, Michael E 2017-11-09 Genotyping and whole-genome sequencing data have been generated for hundreds of thousands of cattle. International consortia used these data to compile imputation reference panels that facilitate the imputation of sequence variant genotypes for animals that have been genotyped using dense microarrays. Association studies with imputed sequence variant genotypes allow for the characterization of quantitative trait loci (QTL) at nucleotide resolution particularly when individuals from several breeds are included in the mapping populations. We imputed genotypes for 28 million sequence variants in 17,229 cattle of the Braunvieh, Fleckvieh and Holstein breeds in order to compile large mapping populations that provide high power to identify QTL for milk production traits. Association tests between imputed sequence variant genotypes and fat and protein percentages in milk uncovered between six and thirteen QTL (P < 1e-8) per breed. Eight of the detected QTL were significant in more than one breed. We combined the results across breeds using meta-analysis and identified a total of 25 QTL including six that were not significant in the within-breed association studies. Two missense mutations in the ABCG2 (p.Y581S, rs43702337, P = 4.3e-34) and GHR (p.F279Y, rs385640152, P = 1.6e-74) genes were the top variants at QTL on chromosomes 6 and 20. Another known causal missense mutation in the DGAT1 gene (p.A232K, rs109326954, P = 8.4e-1436) was the second top variant at a QTL on chromosome 14 but its allelic substitution effects were inconsistent across breeds. It turned out that the conflicting allelic substitution effects resulted from flaws in the imputed genotypes due to the use of a multi-breed reference population for genotype imputation. Many QTL for milk production traits segregate across breeds and across-breed meta-analysis has greater power to detect such QTL than within-breed association testing. Association testing between imputed sequence variant genotypes and Application of Technology on Improving Beef Cattle Productivity in East Nusa Tenggara Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Wirdahayati R B 2010-03-01 Full Text Available The Province of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT had been one of the major beef cattle suppliers under traditional management system in Indonesia. The beef cattle farming that based on grazing native pasture and the introduction of shrub legumes (Leucaena leucocephala may contribute to around 15 – 50% of the farmers’ household income. In the last few years, supply of beef cattle tended to decline due to the decrease in cattle population in NTT. Some basic improvements in management and feeding toward increasing beef cattle productivities had been carried out in Nusa Tenggara, such as a baseline survey on Cattle Health and Productivity Survey (CHAPS conducted in 1990 – 1992. The objective of the program was to identify the existing beef cattle productivity and health condition throughout Nusa Tenggara. A collaborative research with the Ministry of Research and Technology (Integrated Prime Research had also been carried out and the result showed that early weaning in Bali calves that can be practised as early as 3 – 6 months to prevent calves losses during the dry season. A program of the Assessment on Beef Cattle Base Farming Activities had also been conducted to improve fattening and breeding practices through the improvement in beef cattle management and feeding systems. At the latest development, fattening scheme has been introduced under a partnership approach involving private sectors and cooperatives. This needs to be facilitated by the government to accelerate the program such as access to capital and intensive extension services to build farmers awareness toward profit oriented beef cattle farming. Optimalization of the available potential resources and technology in NTT, will be an opportunity to enhance beef cattle production and gains back the reputation as one of the major producing beef cattle in the past. This will also support the national livestock program nowadays, called Beef Cattle Self Sufficiency Program 2014. Genomic selection in small dairy cattle populations DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Thomasen, Jørn Rind on optimization of genomc selction for a small dairy cattle breed such as Danish Jersey. Implementing genetic superior breeding schemes thus requires more accurate genomc predictions. Besides international collaboration, genotyping of cows is an efficient way to obtain more accurate genomic predictions... FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS OF PARASITIASIS CALVES TREATMENT ON CATTLE BREEDING OF SMALLHOLDER IN MAGELANG REGENCY CENTRAL JAVA PROVINCE Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Purwaningsih Purwaningsih 2017-05-01 Full Text Available This research was aimed to identify the financial feasibility of parasitiasis treatment for calves in the small holder breeding farm in Piji Subdistrict, Podosoko Village, Magelang Regency. Farmer was taken purposively, considering their objective of keeping cattle (breeding. Eight calves naturally infected gastrointestinal parasites were selected based on consideration of the uniformity of the age (4 months breeds of Limousin-PO (LimPO male 120-125 kg of body weight. They were divided into two groups, consisting of four calves for each group (Group I without treatment and Group II with improved health management. Farmers income was calculated based on the input and output data gathered from interview. The data were compared between Group I and II. Result showed that the value of additional revenue of the calves was IDR 4,230,000 and the selling price of one head of the treated antiparasitic calf was IDR 6,047,000. The calves net benefit in Group II was IDR 142,661/head/year, while group with improved health management (Group II achieved the net income of IDR 283,621/head/year. Novel Graphical Analyses of Runs of Homozygosity among Species and Livestock Breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Laura Iacolina 2016-01-01 Full Text Available Runs of homozygosity (ROH, uninterrupted stretches of homozygous genotypes resulting from parents transmitting identical haplotypes to their offspring, have emerged as informative genome-wide estimates of autozygosity (inbreeding. We used genomic profiles based on 698 K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs from nine breeds of domestic cattle (Bos taurus and the European bison (Bison bonasus to investigate how ROH distributions can be compared within and among species. We focused on two length classes: 0.5–15 Mb to investigate ancient events and >15 Mb to address recent events (approximately three generations. For each length class, we chose a few chromosomes with a high number of ROH, calculated the percentage of times a SNP appeared in a ROH, and plotted the results. We selected areas with distinct patterns including regions where (1 all groups revealed an increase or decrease of ROH, (2 bison differed from cattle, (3 one cattle breed or groups of breeds differed (e.g., dairy versus meat cattle. Examination of these regions in the cattle genome showed genes potentially important for natural and human-induced selection, concerning, for example, meat and milk quality, metabolism, growth, and immune function. The comparative methodology presented here permits visual identification of regions of interest for selection, breeding programs, and conservation. On the origin of Indonesian cattle. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Kusdiantoro Mohamad Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Two bovine species contribute to the Indonesian livestock, zebu (Bos indicus and banteng (Bos javanicus, respectively. Although male hybrid offspring of these species is not fertile, Indonesian cattle breeds are supposed to be of mixed species origin. However, this has not been documented and is so far only supported by preliminary molecular analysis. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Analysis of mitochondrial, Y-chromosomal and microsatellite DNA showed a banteng introgression of 10-16% in Indonesian zebu breeds. East-Javanese Madura and Galekan cattle have higher levels of autosomal banteng introgression (20-30% and combine a zebu paternal lineage with a predominant (Madura or even complete (Galekan maternal banteng origin. Two Madura bulls carried taurine Y-chromosomal haplotypes, presumably of French Limousin origin. In contrast, we did not find evidence for zebu introgression in five populations of the Bali cattle, a domestic form of the banteng. CONCLUSIONS: Because of their unique species composition Indonesian cattle represent a valuable genetic resource, which potentially may also be exploited in other tropical regions. Salmonella in peripheral lymph nodes of healthy cattle at slaughter Science.gov (United States) To more fully characterize the burden of Salmonella enterica in bovine peripheral lymph nodes (PLN), PLN (n=5,450) were collected from healthy cattle at slaughter in 12 commercial abattoirs that slaughtered feedlot-fattened (FF) cattle exclusively (n=7), cattle removed (or culled) from breeding herd... Comparative Study on the Genetic Diversity of GHR Gene in Tibetan Cattle and Holstein Cows. Science.gov (United States) Deng, Feilong; Xia, Chenyang; Jia, Xianbo; Song, Tianzeng; Liu, Jianzhi; Lai, Song-Jia; Chen, Shi-Yi 2015-01-01 Due to the phenotype-based artificial selection in domestic cattle, the underlying functional genes may be indirectly selected and show decreasing diversity in theory. The growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene has been widely proposed to significantly associate with critical economic traits in cattle. In the present study, we comparatively studied the genetic diversity of GHR in Tibetan cattle (a traditional unselected breed, n = 93) and Chinese Holstein cow (the intensively selected breed, n = 94). The Tibetan yak (n = 38) was also included as an outgroup breed. A total of 21 variants were detected by sequencing 1279 bp genomic fragments encompassing the largest exon 9. Twelve haplotypes (H1∼H12) constructed by 15 coding SNPs were presented as a star-like network profile, in which haplotype H2 was located at the central position and almost occupied by Tibetan yaks. Furthermore, H2 was also identical to the formerly reported sequence specific to African cattle. Only haplotype H5 was simultaneously shared by all three breeds. Tibetan cattle showed higher nucleotide diversity (0.00215 ± 0.00015) and haplotype diversity (0.678 ± 0.026) than Holstein cow. Conclusively, we found Tibetan cattle have retained relatively high genetic variation of GHR. The predominant presence of African cattle specific H2 in the outgroup yak breed would highlight its ancestral relationship, which may be used as one informative molecular marker in the phylogenetic studies. « 7 8 9 10 11 » « 8 9 10 11 12 » Genetic parameters for reproductive traits in a beef cattle herd ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Unknown Keywords: beef cattle, breeding, genetics, heritability, reproduction .... nature of the female reproductive traits or to the large influence of unidentified environmental effects on ..... Factors affecting some performance traits in Friesian cattle. Analysis of polymorphisms in candidate’s genes for meat quality in Lidia cattle Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) Pelayo, P.; Valera, M.; Molina, A.; Avilés, C.B. 2016-07-01 The aim of this paper was to analyze the segregation of some polymorphisms in three genes (CAPN1, CAST and DGAT1) related to meat quality in the Lidia cattle breed and some of its main lineages. To that effect, 119 individuals from the Lidia breed were analyzed. Although the association between the polymorphisms and the phenotype has never been demonstrated in this breed, the absence of fixed genotypes for these polymorphisms in the studied population makes the Lidia cattle a good candidate to develop selection objectives. The clear differentiation among lineages for most of the genes studied reinforces the high reproductive isolation presented in the Lidia cattle as revealed by previous studies on the structure of the population within the Lidia breed using microsatellite markers. Considering both issues in the design of breeding schemes will be necessary to save the lineages and not to lose this valuable genetic resource. Finally, it would be necessary to carry out an in depth search for new polymorphisms in genes associated with meat quality and to perform needed association analyses between the SNPs segregating in Lidia cattle and traits of economic interest. Analysis of polymorphisms in candidate’s genes for meat quality in Lidia cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Pelayo, P.; Valera, M.; Molina, A.; Avilés, C.B. 2016-01-01 The aim of this paper was to analyze the segregation of some polymorphisms in three genes (CAPN1, CAST and DGAT1) related to meat quality in the Lidia cattle breed and some of its main lineages. To that effect, 119 individuals from the Lidia breed were analyzed. Although the association between the polymorphisms and the phenotype has never been demonstrated in this breed, the absence of fixed genotypes for these polymorphisms in the studied population makes the Lidia cattle a good candidate to develop selection objectives. The clear differentiation among lineages for most of the genes studied reinforces the high reproductive isolation presented in the Lidia cattle as revealed by previous studies on the structure of the population within the Lidia breed using microsatellite markers. Considering both issues in the design of breeding schemes will be necessary to save the lineages and not to lose this valuable genetic resource. Finally, it would be necessary to carry out an in depth search for new polymorphisms in genes associated with meat quality and to perform needed association analyses between the SNPs segregating in Lidia cattle and traits of economic interest. Associations of GBP2 gene copy number variations with growth traits and transcriptional expression in Chinese cattle. Science.gov (United States) Zhang, Gui-Min; Zheng, Li; He, Hua; Song, Cheng-Chuang; Zhang, Zi-Jing; Cao, Xiu-Kai; Lei, Chu-Zhao; Lan, Xian-Yong; Qi, Xing-Lei; Chen, Hong; Huang, Yong-Zhen 2018-03-20 Copy number variations (CNVs) recently have been recognized as another important genetic variability followed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The guanylate binding protein 2 (GBP2) gene plays an important role in cell proliferation. This study was performed to determine the presence of GBP2 CNV (relative to Angus cattle) in 466 individuals representing six main cattle breeds from China, identify its relationship with growth, and explore the biological effects of gene expression. There were two CNV regions in the GBP2 gene, for three types, CNV1 loss type (relative to Angus cattle) was more frequent in XN than other breeds, and CNV2 loss type (relative to Angus cattle) was more frequent in XN and CDM than other breeds. Though the GBP2 gene copy number presented no correlation with the transcriptional expression of JX (P > .05), but the transcriptional expression in heart is higher than other tissues, and the copy number in muscles and fat of JX is higher than others breeds. Statistical analysis revealed that the GBP2 gene CNV1 and CNV2 were significantly associated with growth traits (P cattle breeds, and our results suggested that the CNVs in GBP2 gene may be considered markers for the molecular breeding of Chinese beef cattle. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. Comparison of SNP Variation and Distribution in Indigenous Ethiopian and Korean Cattle (Hanwoo Populations Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Zewdu Edea 2012-09-01 Full Text Available Although a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs have been identified from the bovine genome-sequencing project, few of these have been validated at large in Bos indicus breeds. We have genotyped 192 animals, representing 5 cattle populations of Ethiopia, with the Illumina Bovine 8K SNP BeadChip. These include 1 Sanga (Danakil, 3 zebu (Borana, Arsi and Ambo, and 1 zebu × Sanga intermediate (Horro breeds. The Hanwoo (Bos taurus was included for comparison purposes. Analysis of 7,045 SNP markers revealed that the mean minor allele frequency (MAF was 0.23, 0.22, 0.21, 0.21, 0.23, and 0.29 for Ambo, Arsi, Borana, Danakil, Horro, and Hanwoo, respectively. Significant differences of MAF were observed between the indigenous Ethiopian cattle populations and Hanwoo breed (p < 0.001. Across the Ethiopian cattle populations, a common variant MAF (≥0.10 and ≤0.5 accounted for an overall estimated 73.79% of the 7,045 SNPs. The Hanwoo displayed a higher proportion of common variant SNPs (90%. Investigation within Ethiopian cattle populations showed that on average, 16.64% of the markers were monomorphic, but in the Hanwoo breed, only 6% of the markers were monomorphic. Across the sampled Ethiopian cattle populations, the mean observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.314 and 0.313, respectively. The level of SNP variation identified in this particular study highlights that these markers can be potentially used for genetic studies in African cattle breeds. Epidemiology of Cryptosporidium infection in cattle in China: a review. Science.gov (United States) Gong, Chao; Cao, Xue-Feng; Deng, Lei; Li, Wei; Huang, Xiang-Ming; Lan, Jing-Chao; Xiao, Qi-Cheng; Zhong, Zhi-Jun; Feng, Fan; Zhang, Yue; Wang, Wen-Bo; Guo, Ping; Wu, Kong-Ju; Peng, Guang-Neng 2017-01-01 The present review discusses the findings of cryptosporidiosis research conducted in cattle in China and highlights the currently available information on Cryptosporidium epidemiology, genetic diversity, and distribution in China, which is critical to understanding the economic and public health importance of cryptosporidiosis transmission in cattle. To date, 10 Cryptosporidium species have been detected in cattle in China, with an overall infection rate of 11.9%. The highest rate of infection (19.5%) was observed in preweaned calves, followed by that in juveniles (10.69%), postweaned juveniles (9.0%), and adult cattle (4.94%). The dominant species were C. parvum in preweaned calves and C. andersoni in postweaned, juvenile, and adult cattle. Zoonotic Cryptosporidium species (C. parvum and C. hominis) were found in cattle, indicating the possibility of transmission between humans and cattle. Different cattle breeds had significant differences in the prevalence rate and species of Cryptosporidium. This review demonstrates an age-associated, breed-associated, and geographic-related occurrence of Cryptosporidium and provides references for further understanding of the epidemiological characteristics, and for preventing and controlling the disease. © C. Gong et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2017. Influence of sire breed on the interplay among rumen microbial populations inhabiting the rumen liquid of the progeny in beef cattle. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Emma Hernandez-Sanabria Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate whether the host genetic background impact the ruminal microbial communities of the progeny of sires from three different breeds under different diets. Eighty five bacterial and twenty eight methanogen phylotypes from 49 individuals of diverging sire breed (Angus, ANG; Charolais, CHA; and Hybrid, HYB, fed high energy density (HE and low energy density (LE diets were determined and correlated with breed, rumen fermentation and phenotypic variables, using multivariate statistical approaches. When bacterial phylotypes were compared between diets, ANG offspring showed the lowest number of diet-associated phylotypes, whereas CHA and HYB progenies had seventeen and twenty-three diet-associated phylotypes, respectively. For the methanogen phylotypes, there were no sire breed-associated phylotypes; however, seven phylotypes were significantly different among breeds on either diet (P<0.05. Sire breed did not influence the metabolic variables measured when high energy diet was fed. A correlation matrix of all pairwise comparisons among frequencies of bacterial and methanogen phylotypes uncovered their relationships with sire breed. A cluster containing methanogen phylotypes M16 (Methanobrevibacter gottschalkii and M20 (Methanobrevibacter smithii, and bacterial phylotype B62 (Robinsoniella sp. in Angus offspring fed low energy diet reflected the metabolic interactions among microbial consortia. The clustering of the phylotype frequencies from the three breeds indicated that phylotypes detected in CHA and HYB progenies are more similar among them, compared to ANG animals. Our results revealed that the frequency of particular microbial phylotypes in the progeny of cattle may be influenced by the sire breed when different diets are fed and ultimately further impact host metabolic functions, such as feed efficiency. Carcass Production of Cattle Slaughtered at Salatiga City Slaughter House, Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia Science.gov (United States) Purbowati, E.; Lestari, C. M. S.; Ma'ruf, M. J.; Sutaryo, S. 2018-02-01 The objective of this study was to evaluate the breed, age, sex, slaughter weight, carcass weight, and carcass percentage of cattle which was slaughtered at Slaughter House in Salatiga, Central Java. The materials used in the study were 156 head of catlle. The sampling used was incidental sampling to identify the breed, age, sex, slaughter weight and carcass weight. The data gathered were analyzed descriptively. The result showed that the sex of all the cattle slaughtered were male. The breeds of the cattle were Frisian Holstein Grade (70.51%), Simmental (15.38+3.21), Simmental-Ongole Grade (5.13%), and Limousine-Ongole Grade (5.77%). The average age of the cattle were 2.34 year old, with an average of slaughter weight of 529.34 kg, while the averages of carcass weight were 277.61 kg. The average of carcass percentage was as high as 52.56%. The conclusion of the study was the highest number of breeds of the cattle slaughtered at Slaughter House in Salatiga were young Frisian Holstein, the body weights were included in large frame score, and the carcass percentage were moderate. Whole genome detection of signature of positive selection in African cattle reveals selection for thermotolerance. Science.gov (United States) Taye, Mengistie; Lee, Wonseok; Caetano-Anolles, Kelsey; Dessie, Tadelle; Hanotte, Olivier; Mwai, Okeyo Ally; Kemp, Stephen; Cho, Seoae; Oh, Sung Jong; Lee, Hak-Kyo; Kim, Heebal 2017-12-01 As African indigenous cattle evolved in a hot tropical climate, they have developed an inherent thermotolerance; survival mechanisms include a light-colored and shiny coat, increased sweating, and cellular and molecular mechanisms to cope with high environmental temperature. Here, we report the positive selection signature of genes in African cattle breeds which contribute for their heat tolerance mechanisms. We compared the genomes of five indigenous African cattle breeds with the genomes of four commercial cattle breeds using cross-population composite likelihood ratio (XP-CLR) and cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH) statistical methods. We identified 296 (XP-EHH) and 327 (XP-CLR) positively selected genes. Gene ontology analysis resulted in 41 biological process terms and six Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. Several genes and pathways were found to be involved in oxidative stress response, osmotic stress response, heat shock response, hair and skin properties, sweat gland development and sweating, feed intake and metabolism, and reproduction functions. The genes and pathways identified directly or indirectly contribute to the superior heat tolerance mechanisms in African cattle populations. The result will improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms of heat tolerance in African cattle breeds and opens an avenue for further study. © 2017 Japanese Society of Animal Science. Investigation of haemoglobin polymorphism in Ogaden cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Sanjoy Kumar Pal 2014-04-01 Full Text Available Background and Aim: The Ogaden cattle is one among the tropical cattle breeds (Bos indicus widely distributed in eastern and south eastern part of Ethiopia. The breed has been evolved in arid and semi arid agro-ecological setup, but later on distributed and adapted to the wide agro-ecological zones. Because of its multi-purpose role, the Ogaden cattle have been used for milk, beef, and income generation. Information on the inherent genetic diversity is important in the design of breeding improvement programmes, making rational decisions on sustainable utilization and conservation of Animal Genetic Resources. Limited information is available about genetic variation of Ogaden breed at molecular level. The present investigation was aimed to study the biochemical polymorphism at the Hemoglobin (Hb locus. Materials and Methods: Blood samples collected from 105 Ogaden cattle maintained at Haramaya beef farm by jugular vein puncture were subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis [pH range 8.4-8.5] to study the polymorphic activities of haemoglobin. Results: Three types of phenotypes were detected i.e. a slow moving (AA band, fast moving (BB band and a combination of slow + fast moving bands (AB. The frequency of the fast moving band was less [13 (12.3%] than the slow moving band [57 (54.2%]. Both slow & fast moving phenotype was observed in 35 (33.3% animals. The gene frequency of HBA allele was 0.709 and that of HBB allele 0.291. Conclusion: The distribution of phenotypes was in agreement with codominant single gene inheritance. The Chi-square (χ2 test revealed that the population is under Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Morphological assessment of Niger Kuri cattle using multivariate ... African Journals Online (AJOL) This work confirms that at type trait level Kuri cattle is a unique population within the West African taurine cattle group. The implementation of genetic analyses aiming at ascertaining the degree of uniqueness of the breed is advised. Keywords: Body measurements, Bos taurus, multivariate analyses, qualitative traits, West ... Genetic background of claw health in dairy cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Spek, van der D. 2015-01-01 Abstract Van der Spek, D. (2015). Genetic background of claw health in dairy cattle. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Claw disorders affect cow welfare and profitability of farms and as such are important traits relevant to dairy cattle breeding. Revisiting AFLP fingerprinting for an unbiased assessment of genetic structure and differentiation of taurine and zebu cattle Science.gov (United States) 2014-01-01 Background Descendants from the extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius), taurine (Bos taurus) and zebu cattle (Bos indicus) were domesticated 10,000 years ago in Southwestern and Southern Asia, respectively, and colonized the world undergoing complex events of admixture and selection. Molecular data, in particular genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, can complement historic and archaeological records to elucidate these past events. However, SNP ascertainment in cattle has been optimized for taurine breeds, imposing limitations to the study of diversity in zebu cattle. As amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers are discovered and genotyped as the samples are assayed, this type of marker is free of ascertainment bias. In order to obtain unbiased assessments of genetic differentiation and structure in taurine and zebu cattle, we analyzed a dataset of 135 AFLP markers in 1,593 samples from 13 zebu and 58 taurine breeds, representing nine continental areas. Results We found a geographical pattern of expected heterozygosity in European taurine breeds decreasing with the distance from the domestication centre, arguing against a large-scale introgression from European or African aurochs. Zebu cattle were found to be at least as diverse as taurine cattle. Western African zebu cattle were found to have diverged more from Indian zebu than South American zebu. Model-based clustering and ancestry informative markers analyses suggested that this is due to taurine introgression. Although a large part of South American zebu cattle also descend from taurine cows, we did not detect significant levels of taurine ancestry in these breeds, probably because of systematic backcrossing with zebu bulls. Furthermore, limited zebu introgression was found in Podolian taurine breeds in Italy. Conclusions The assessment of cattle diversity reported here contributes an unbiased global view to genetic differentiation and structure of taurine and zebu cattle Breeding value estimation for somatic cell score in South African ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Breeding value estimation for somatic cell score in South African dairy cattle. ... are not unity, the RM-model estimates more competitive variances and requires ... are therefore recommended for breeding value estimation on a national basis. Reserves of Dairy Cattle Breeding Growth in the Vologda Oblast in the Context of Solving State Strategic Tasks to Develop the Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Aleksandr Nikolaevich Chekavinskii 2015-09-01 Full Text Available The article substantiates the expediency of conducting research to assess the state of the agrofood system in the regions of the European North of Russia due to the increased geopolitical risks and the need to achieve strategic objectives of the Arctic territories development. Based on the analysis of statistical information, materials of the Department of Agriculture and Food Resources of the Vologda Oblast the author analyzes the change in the value of milk production, identifies municipal regions where agricultural producers boost agricultural economics, describes trends in the structure of livestock in 2000–2014. The work shows that the major resource potential for the dairy cattle breeding development in the region is concentrated in Vologdsky District, Gryazovetsky District and Cherepovetsky District. The analytical grouping helps determine that given current market conditions, state of material and technical base of the industry and level of state support it is economically feasible to increase the productivity of cows to 7083 kg, as it allows to reduce unit costs and enhance profitability. However, for agricultural producers to raise the productivity of dairy cattle, it is necessary to implement systematic measures for their promotion on the part of public authorities. The article draws special attention to the scale of modern technological means used by agricultural enterprises for keeping, milking and feeding cows, as well as to the measures undertaken to improve breeding and productive qualities of cattle. The conclusion of the article proves that the dramatic changes in agrarian policy of the Vologda Oblast can make the region an “outpost” providing the population of Arctic areas with quality agricultural products Analysis of the population structure of Uruguayan Creole cattle as inferred from milk major gene polymorphisms Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Gonzalo Rincón 2006-01-01 Full Text Available The ancestors of Uruguayan Creole cattle were introduced by the Spanish conquerors in the XVII century, following which the population grew extensively and became semi-feral before the introduction of selected breeds. Today the Uruguayan Creole cattle genetic reserve consists of 575 animals. We used the tetra primer amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR to analyze the kappa-casein, beta-casein, alphaS1-casein and alpha-lactoalbumin gene polymorphisms and restriction fragment length polymorphism PCR (RFLP-PCR for the beta-lactoglobulin and the acylCoA:diacyl glycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1 genes. The kappa-casein and beta-lactoglobulin genes presented very similar A and B allele frequencies, while the alphas1-casein and alpha-lactoalbumin gene B alleles showed much higher frequencies than the corresponding A alleles. The beta-casein B allele was not found in the population sampled. There was a very high frequency of the DGAT1 gene A allele which is associated with low milk fat content and high milk yield. All loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and the level of heterozygosity agreed with the high genetic diversity observed in a previous analysis of this population. Preservation of the allelic richness observed in the Uruguayan Creole cattle should be considered for future dairy management and livestock genetic improvement. The results also emphasize the value of the tetra primers ARMS-PCR technique as a rapid, easy and economical way of genotyping cattle breeds for milk gene single nucleotide polymorphisms. Predicting Breeding Values in Animals by Kalman Filter DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Karacaoren, B; Janss, L L G; Kadarmideen, H N 2012-01-01 The aim of this study was to investigate usefulness of Kalman Filter (KF) Random Walk methodology (KF-RW) for prediction of breeding values in animals. We used body condition score (BCS) from dairy cattle for illustrating use of KF-RW. BCS was measured by Swiss Holstein Breeding Association during... On the Breeds of Cattle - Historic and Current Classifications DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Felius, Marleen; Koolmees, Peter A; Theunissen, Bert 2011-01-01 . This is largely in agreement with the breed clusters indicated by a biochemical and molecular genetic analysis, which reflect either groups of breeds with a common geographic origin or single breeds that have expanded by export and/or crossbreeding. We propose that this information is also relevant for managing... Diversity and population-genetic properties of copy number variations and multicopy genes in cattle Science.gov (United States) Bickhart, Derek M.; Xu, Lingyang; Hutchison, Jana L.; Cole, John B.; Null, Daniel J.; Schroeder, Steven G.; Song, Jiuzhou; Garcia, Jose Fernando; Sonstegard, Tad S.; Van Tassell, Curtis P.; Schnabel, Robert D.; Taylor, Jeremy F.; Lewin, Harris A.; Liu, George E. 2016-01-01 The diversity and population genetics of copy number variation (CNV) in domesticated animals are not well understood. In this study, we analysed 75 genomes of major taurine and indicine cattle breeds (including Angus, Brahman, Gir, Holstein, Jersey, Limousin, Nelore, and Romagnola), sequenced to 11-fold coverage to identify 1,853 non-redundant CNV regions. Supported by high validation rates in array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and qPCR experiments, these CNV regions accounted for 3.1% (87.5 Mb) of the cattle reference genome, representing a significant increase over previous estimates of the area of the genome that is copy number variable (∼2%). Further population genetics and evolutionary genomics analyses based on these CNVs revealed the population structures of the cattle taurine and indicine breeds and uncovered potential diversely selected CNVs near important functional genes, including AOX1, ASZ1, GAT, GLYAT, and KRTAP9-1. Additionally, 121 CNV gene regions were found to be either breed specific or differentially variable across breeds, such as RICTOR in dairy breeds and PNPLA3 in beef breeds. In contrast, clusters of the PRP and PAG genes were found to be duplicated in all sequenced animals, suggesting that subfunctionalization, neofunctionalization, or overdominance play roles in diversifying those fertility-related genes. These CNV results provide a new glimpse into the diverse selection histories of cattle breeds and a basis for correlating structural variation with complex traits in the future. PMID:27085184 MtDNA diversity among four Portuguese autochthonous dog breeds: a fine-scale characterisation Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Santa-Rita Pedro 2005-06-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background The picture of dog mtDNA diversity, as obtained from geographically wide samplings but from a small number of individuals per region or breed, has revealed weak geographic correlation and high degree of haplotype sharing between very distant breeds. We aimed at a more detailed picture through extensive sampling (n = 143 of four Portuguese autochthonous breeds – Castro Laboreiro Dog, Serra da Estrela Mountain Dog, Portuguese Sheepdog and Azores Cattle Dog-and comparatively reanalysing published worldwide data. Results Fifteen haplotypes belonging to four major haplogroups were found in these breeds, of which five are newly reported. The Castro Laboreiro Dog presented a 95% frequency of a new A haplotype, while all other breeds contained a diverse pool of existing lineages. The Serra da Estrela Mountain Dog, the most heterogeneous of the four Portuguese breeds, shared haplotypes with the other mainland breeds, while Azores Cattle Dog shared no haplotypes with the other Portuguese breeds. A review of mtDNA haplotypes in dogs across the world revealed that: (a breeds tend to display haplotypes belonging to different haplogroups; (b haplogroup A is present in all breeds, and even uncommon haplogroups are highly dispersed among breeds and continental areas; (c haplotype sharing between breeds of the same region is lower than between breeds of different regions and (d genetic distances between breeds do not correlate with geography. Conclusion MtDNA haplotype sharing occurred between Serra da Estrela Mountain dogs (with putative origin in the centre of Portugal and two breeds in the north and south of the country-with the Castro Laboreiro Dog (which behaves, at the mtDNA level, as a sub-sample of the Serra da Estrela Mountain Dog and the southern Portuguese Sheepdog. In contrast, the Azores Cattle Dog did not share any haplotypes with the other Portuguese breeds, but with dogs sampled in Northern Europe. This suggested that the « 8 9 10 11 12 » « 9 10 11 12 13 » South-East Asia bovine populations and the Japanese cattle breeds do not harbour the E211K variant of the PRNP Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) George Msalya 2014-02-01 Full Text Available An important outcome of intensive worldwide Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE obtained with the surveillance by The National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit (http://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/figures. htm, has been the detection of atypical BSE in cattle. The discovery of a prion protein gene (PRNP E211K variant in an atypical BSE case is particularly remarkable because it is analogous to the most common pathogenic mutation in humans (E200K, which causes hereditary Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD. Knowledge of the distribution and frequency of PRNP E211K variants in cattle populations is critical for understanding and managing atypical BSE. This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of the E211K variant in the South-East Asia bovine populations and in the Japanese cattle breeds. It was discovered that E211K variant was monomorphic for a G allele and the GG genotype in the 745 animals analyzed in this study. Therefore, neither the Bos indicus nor the Bos taurus animals analyzed are presently known to harbor the 211K variant predicting that the number of carriers for this variant will also be vanishingly low. Evidence of Bos javanicus x Bos indicus hybridization and major QTLs for birth weight in Indonesian Peranakan Ongole cattle. Science.gov (United States) Hartati, Hartati; Utsunomiya, Yuri Tani; Sonstegard, Tad Stewart; Garcia, José Fernando; Jakaria, Jakaria; Muladno, Muladno 2015-07-04 Peranakan Ongole (PO) is a major Indonesian Bos indicus breed that derives from animals imported from India in the late 19(th) century. Early imports were followed by hybridization with the Bos javanicus subspecies of cattle. Here, we used genomic data to partition the ancestry components of PO cattle and map loci implicated in birth weight. We found that B. javanicus contributes about 6-7% to the average breed composition of PO cattle. Only two nearly fixed B. javanicus haplotypes were identified, suggesting that most of the B. javanicus variants are segregating under drift or by the action of balancing selection. The zebu component of the PO genome was estimated to derive from at least two distinct ancestral pools. Additionally, well-known loci underlying body size in other beef cattle breeds, such as the PLAG1 region on chromosome 14, were found to also affect birth weight in PO cattle. This study is the first attempt to characterize PO at the genome level, and contributes evidence of successful, stabilized B. indicus x B. javanicus hybridization. Additionally, previously described loci implicated in body size in worldwide beef cattle breeds also affect birth weight in PO cattle. The scurs inheritance: new insights from the French Charolais breed Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Gautier Mathieu 2009-07-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Polled animals are valued in cattle industry because the absence of horns has a significant economic impact. However, some cattle are neither polled nor horned but have so-called scurs on their heads, which are corneous growths loosely attached to the skull. A better understanding of the genetic determinism of the scurs phenotype would help to fine map the polled locus. To date, only one study has attempted to map the scurs locus in cattle. Here, we have investigated the inheritance of the scurs phenotype in the French Charolais breed and examined whether the previously proposed localisation of the scurs locus on bovine chromosome 19 could be confirmed or not. Results Our results indicate that the inheritance pattern of the scurs phenotype in the French Charolais breed is autosomal recessive with complete penetrance in both sexes, which is different from what is reported for other breeds. The frequency of the scurs allele (Sc reaches 69.9% in the French Charolais population. Eleven microsatellite markers on bovine chromosome 19 were genotyped in 267 offspring (33 half-sib and full-sib families. Both non-parametric and parametric linkage analyses suggest that in the French Charolais population the scurs locus may not map to the previously identified region. A new analysis of an Angus-Hereford and Hereford-Hereford pedigree published in 1978 enabled us to calculate the frequency of the Sc allele in the Hereford breed (89.4% and to study the penetrance of this allele in males heterozygous for both polled and scurs loci (40%. This led us to revise the inheritance pattern of the scurs phenotype proposed for the Hereford breed and to suggest that allele Sc is not fully but partially dominant in double heterozygous males while it is always recessive in females. Crossbreeding involving the Charolais breed and other breeds gave results similar to those reported in the Hereford breed. Conclusion Our results suggest the existence of The scurs inheritance: new insights from the French Charolais breed. Science.gov (United States) Capitan, Aurélien; Grohs, Cécile; Gautier, Mathieu; Eggen, André 2009-07-06 Polled animals are valued in cattle industry because the absence of horns has a significant economic impact. However, some cattle are neither polled nor horned but have so-called scurs on their heads, which are corneous growths loosely attached to the skull. A better understanding of the genetic determinism of the scurs phenotype would help to fine map the polled locus. To date, only one study has attempted to map the scurs locus in cattle. Here, we have investigated the inheritance of the scurs phenotype in the French Charolais breed and examined whether the previously proposed localisation of the scurs locus on bovine chromosome 19 could be confirmed or not. Our results indicate that the inheritance pattern of the scurs phenotype in the French Charolais breed is autosomal recessive with complete penetrance in both sexes, which is different from what is reported for other breeds. The frequency of the scurs allele (Sc) reaches 69.9% in the French Charolais population. Eleven microsatellite markers on bovine chromosome 19 were genotyped in 267 offspring (33 half-sib and full-sib families). Both non-parametric and parametric linkage analyses suggest that in the French Charolais population the scurs locus may not map to the previously identified region. A new analysis of an Angus-Hereford and Hereford-Hereford pedigree published in 1978 enabled us to calculate the frequency of the Sc allele in the Hereford breed (89.4%) and to study the penetrance of this allele in males heterozygous for both polled and scurs loci (40%). This led us to revise the inheritance pattern of the scurs phenotype proposed for the Hereford breed and to suggest that allele Sc is not fully but partially dominant in double heterozygous males while it is always recessive in females. Crossbreeding involving the Charolais breed and other breeds gave results similar to those reported in the Hereford breed. Our results suggest the existence of unknown genetics factors modifying the expression of the Runs of homozygosity and distribution of functional variants in cattle genome DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Zhang, Qianqian; Guldbrandtsen, Bernt; Bosse, Mirte Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are identified in four dairy cattle breeds using NGS data. Cattle populations have been exposed to strong artificial selection for some generations. Genomic regions under selection will show increased levels of ROH. By investigating the relationship between ROH and dist......Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are identified in four dairy cattle breeds using NGS data. Cattle populations have been exposed to strong artificial selection for some generations. Genomic regions under selection will show increased levels of ROH. By investigating the relationship between ROH...... and distribution of predicted deleterious and tolerated variants, we can gain insight into how selection shapes the distribution of functional variants in inbred regions. We observe that predicted deleterious variants are more enriched in ROHs than predicted tolerated variants. Moreover, increase of enrichment... Improvement of beef cattle genetics provided increasing sustainability of beef cattle production and protein consumption in Thailand Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) Boonyanuwat, K. [Beef Cattle Research and Development Group, Division of Animal Husbandry, Department of Livestock Development, Bangkok (Thailand)], E-mail: kalayabo@yahoo.com; Sirisom, P [Tak Livestock Breeding and Research Center, Meung (Thailand); Putharatanung, A [Nongkwang Livestock Research and Breeding Center, Photharam (Thailand) 2009-07-01 The rural innovation research and development (R and D) in beef cattle genetics, biotechnology, climate science and production systems, supported profitable and sustainable beef cattle production in Thailand. Department of Livestock Development (DLD) undertakes R and D to achieve continuous improvement in genetics, production technologies to improve productivity, profitability and sustainability of beef cattle production and quality of products. Efficiencies were achieved through improvements in genetics, nutrition and grazing management, use of information, meat science, and reduction in ruminant methane production. This function was essential to maintain long-term production competitiveness and achieve sustained economic growth in rural Thailand, where the beef cattle production was the important livestock production, accounting for 36.99% of the value of livestock production in Thailand. Molecular, quantitative genetics, and biotechnology tool were being combined in the development of genetic improvement. In 2006, beef meat was imported 1,842.53 thousand tons (0.41% of all consumption, 120.84 baht/kg). For the big size cattle, such as Tak cattle, Kabinburi cattle (Thai synthetic breeds by DLD, Tak = 62.5 Charoles-Brahman, Kabinburi = 50 Simental- Brahman), and cross breed cattle, they were in fattening period for 6-12 month. Fattening group, they were raised for restaurant, hotel, super market, and steak house. Data were collected from 2 parts: 1) 354 cattle of experimental trial in DLD part, and 2) 492 fattening cattle of small holders in Tak province and Nakorn Pathom province during October 2004-September 2007. Data collecting was separated into 2 parts (performance data and reference). Data were adjusted by group location month and year to analyze for growth, carcass performance and economic performances). There were 5 breeds of fattening beef cattle: 1) Thai Native, 2) Thai Brahman, 3) Kabinburi, 4) Tak, and 5) Tajima-Native. The first group was around 41 Proliferation Rates of Bovine Primary Muscle Cells Relate to Liveweight and Carcase Weight in Cattle Science.gov (United States) Coles, Chantal A.; Wadeson, Jenny; Leyton, Carolina P.; Siddell, Jason P.; Greenwood, Paul L.; White, Jason D.; McDonagh, Matthew B. 2015-01-01 Muscling in cattle is largely influenced by genetic background, ultimately affecting beef yield and is of major interest to the beef industry. This investigation aimed to determine whether primary skeletal muscle cells isolated from different breeds of cattle with a varying genetic potential for muscling differ in their myogenic proliferative capacity. Primary skeletal muscle cells were isolated and cultured from the Longissimus muscle (LM) of 6 month old Angus, Hereford and Wagyu X Angus cattle. Cells were assessed for rate of proliferation and gene expression of PAX7, MYOD, MYF5, and MYOG. Proliferation rates were found to differ between breeds of cattle whereby myoblasts from Angus cattle were found to proliferate at a greater rate than those of Hereford and Wagyu X Angus during early stages of growth (5–20 hours in culture) in vitro (P cattle (P cattle (P cattle. PMID:25875203 Traditional cattle grazing in a mosaic alkali landscape: effects on grassland biodiversity along a moisture gradient. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Péter Török Full Text Available Extensively managed pastures are of crucial importance in sustaining biodiversity both in local- and landscape-level. Thus, re-introduction of traditional grazing management is a crucial issue in grassland conservation actions worldwide. Traditional grazing with robust cattle breeds in low stocking rates is considered to be especially useful to mimic natural grazing regimes, but well documented case-studies are surprisingly rare on this topic. Our goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional Hungarian Grey cattle grazing as a conservation action in a mosaic alkali landscape. We asked the following questions: (i How does cattle grazing affect species composition and diversity of the grasslands? (ii What are the effects of grazing on short-lived and perennial noxious species? (iii Are there distinct effects of grazing in dry-, mesophilous- and wet grassland types? Vegetation of fenced and grazed plots in a 200-ha sized habitat complex (secondary dry grasslands and pristine mesophilous- and wet alkali grasslands was sampled from 2006-2009 in East-Hungary. We found higher diversity scores in grazed plots compared to fenced ones in mesophilous- and wet grasslands. Higher cover of noxious species was typical in fenced plots compared to their grazed counterparts in the last year in every studied grassland type. We found an increasing effect of grazing from the dry- towards the wet grassland types. The year-to-year differences also followed similar pattern: the site-dependent effects were the lowest in the dry grassland and an increasing effect was detected along the moisture gradient. We found that extensive Hungarian Grey cattle grazing is an effective tool to suppress noxious species and to create a mosaic vegetation structure, which enables to maintain high species richness in the landscape. Hungarian Grey cattle can feed in open habitats along long moisture gradient, thus in highly mosaic landscapes this breed can be the most suitable Population structure and genomic inbreeding in nine Swiss dairy cattle populations. Science.gov (United States) Signer-Hasler, Heidi; Burren, Alexander; Neuditschko, Markus; Frischknecht, Mirjam; Garrick, Dorian; Stricker, Christian; Gredler, Birgit; Bapst, Beat; Flury, Christine 2017-11-07 Domestication, breed formation and intensive selection have resulted in divergent cattle breeds that likely exhibit their own genomic signatures. In this study, we used genotypes from 27,612 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms to characterize population structure based on 9214 sires representing nine Swiss dairy cattle populations: Brown Swiss (BS), Braunvieh (BV), Original Braunvieh (OB), Holstein (HO), Red Holstein (RH), Swiss Fleckvieh (SF), Simmental (SI), Eringer (ER) and Evolèner (EV). Genomic inbreeding (F ROH ) and signatures of selection were determined by calculating runs of homozygosity (ROH). The results build the basis for a better understanding of the genetic development of Swiss dairy cattle populations and highlight differences between the original populations (i.e. OB, SI, ER and EV) and those that have become more popular in Switzerland as currently reflected by their larger populations (i.e. BS, BV, HO, RH and SF). The levels of genetic diversity were highest and lowest in the SF and BS breeds, respectively. Based on F ST values, we conclude that, among all pairwise comparisons, BS and HO (0.156) differ more than the other pairs of populations. The original Swiss cattle populations OB, SI, ER, and EV are clearly genetically separated from the Swiss cattle populations that are now more common and represented by larger numbers of cows. Mean levels of F ROH ranged from 0.027 (ER) to 0.091 (BS). Three of the original Swiss cattle populations, ER (F ROH : 0.027), OB (F ROH : 0.029), and SI (F ROH : 0.039), showed low levels of genomic inbreeding, whereas it was much higher in EV (F ROH : 0.074). Private signatures of selection for the original Swiss cattle populations are reported for BTA4, 5, 11 and 26. The low levels of genomic inbreeding observed in the original Swiss cattle populations ER, OB and SI compared to the other breeds are explained by a lesser use of artificial insemination and greater use of natural service. Natural service Genetic analysis of Mexican Criollo cattle populations. Science.gov (United States) Ulloa-Arvizu, R; Gayosso-Vázquez, A; Ramos-Kuri, M; Estrada, F J; Montaño, M; Alonso, R A 2008-10-01 The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic structure of Mexican Criollo cattle populations using microsatellite genetic markers. DNA samples were collected from 168 animals from four Mexican Criollo cattle populations, geographically isolated in remote areas of Sierra Madre Occidental (West Highlands). Also were included samples from two breeds with Iberian origin: the fighting bull (n = 24) and the milking central American Criollo (n = 24) and one Asiatic breed: Guzerat (n = 32). Genetic analysis consisted of the estimation of the genetic diversity in each population by the allele number and the average expected heterozygosity found in nine microsatellite loci. Furthermore, genetic relationships among the populations were defined by their genetic distances. Our data shows that Mexican cattle populations have a relatively high level of genetic diversity based either on the mean number of alleles (10.2-13.6) and on the expected heterozygosity (0.71-0.85). The degree of observed homozygosity within the Criollo populations was remarkable and probably caused by inbreeding (reduced effective population size) possibly due to reproductive structure within populations. Our data shows that considerable genetic differentiation has been occurred among the Criollo cattle populations in different regions of Mexico. Two Novel SNPs of PPARγ Significantly Affect Weaning Growth Traits of Nanyang Cattle. Science.gov (United States) Huang, Jieping; Chen, Ningbo; Li, Xin; An, Shanshan; Zhao, Minghui; Sun, Taihong; Hao, Ruijie; Ma, Yun 2018-01-02 Peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a key transcription factor that controls adipocyte differentiation and energy in mammals. Therefore, PPARγ is a potential factor influencing animal growth traits. This study primarily evaluates PPARγ as candidate gene for growth traits of cattle and identifies potential molecular marker for cattle breeding. Per previous studies, PPARγ mRNA was mainly expressed at extremely high levels in adipose tissues as shown by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Three novel SNPs of the bovine PPARγ gene were identified in 514 individuals from six Chinese cattle breeds: SNP1 (AC_000179.1 g.57386668 C > G) in intron 2 and SNP2 (AC_000179.1 g.57431964 C > T) and SNP3 (AC_000179.1 g.57431994 T > C) in exon 7. The present study also investigated genetic characteristics of these SNP loci in six populations. Association analysis showed that SNP1 and SNP3 loci significantly affect weaning growth traits, especially body weight of Nanyang cattle. These results revealed that SNP1 and SNP3 are potential molecular markers for cattle breeding. Genetic relationships between three indigenous cattle breeds in ... African Journals Online (AJOL) ... and both the Bovine de Tete and the Angone breeds, whereas the smallest genetic distance was observed between the Bovine de Tete and the Angone. These results show the intermediate relationship of Bovine de Tete with the Angone and Landim breeds and show that the Bovine de Tete is an admixture of taurine and ... A model of litter size distribution in cattle. Science.gov (United States) Bennett, G L; Echternkamp, S E; Gregory, K E 1998-07-01 Genetic increases in twinning of cattle could result in increased frequency of triplet or higher-order births. There are no estimates of the incidence of triplets in populations with genetic levels of twinning over 40% because these populations either have not existed or have not been documented. A model of the distribution of litter size in cattle is proposed. Empirical estimates of ovulation rate distribution in sheep were combined with biological hypotheses about the fate of embryos in cattle. Two phases of embryo loss were hypothesized. The first phase is considered to be preimplantation. Losses in this phase occur independently (i.e., the loss of one embryo does not affect the loss of the remaining embryos). The second phase occurs after implantation. The loss of one embryo in this stage results in the loss of all embryos. Fewer than 5% triplet births are predicted when 50% of births are twins and triplets. Above 60% multiple births, increased triplets accounted for most of the increase in litter size. Predictions were compared with data from 5,142 calvings by 14 groups of heifers and cows with average litter sizes ranging from 1.14 to 1.36 calves. The predicted number of triplets was not significantly different (chi2 = 16.85, df = 14) from the observed number. The model also predicted differences in conception rates. A cow ovulating two ova was predicted to have the highest conception rate in a single breeding cycle. As mean ovulation rate increased, predicted conception to one breeding cycle increased. Conception to two or three breeding cycles decreased as mean ovulation increased because late-pregnancy failures increased. An alternative model of the fate of ova in cattle based on embryo and uterine competency predicts very similar proportions of singles, twins, and triplets but different conception rates. The proposed model of litter size distribution in cattle accurately predicts the proportion of triplets found in cattle with genetically high twinning Genome-Enabled Prediction of Breeding Values for Feedlot Average Daily Weight Gain in Nelore Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Adriana L. Somavilla 2017-06-01 Full Text Available Nelore is the most economically important cattle breed in Brazil, and the use of genetically improved animals has contributed to increased beef production efficiency. The Brazilian beef feedlot industry has grown considerably in the last decade, so the selection of animals with higher growth rates on feedlot has become quite important. Genomic selection (GS could be used to reduce generation intervals and improve the rate of genetic gains. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prediction of genomic-estimated breeding values (GEBV for average daily weight gain (ADG in 718 feedlot-finished Nelore steers. Analyses of three Bayesian model specifications [Bayesian GBLUP (BGBLUP, BayesA, and BayesCπ] were performed with four genotype panels [Illumina BovineHD BeadChip, TagSNPs, and GeneSeek High- and Low-density indicus (HDi and LDi, respectively]. Estimates of Pearson correlations, regression coefficients, and mean squared errors were used to assess accuracy and bias of predictions. Overall, the BayesCπ model resulted in less biased predictions. Accuracies ranged from 0.18 to 0.27, which are reasonable values given the heritability estimates (from 0.40 to 0.44 and sample size (568 animals in the training population. Furthermore, results from Bos taurus indicus panels were as informative as those from Illumina BovineHD, indicating that they could be used to implement GS at lower costs. Cattle identification based in biometric features of the muzzle OpenAIRE Monteiro, Marta; Cadavez, Vasco; Monteiro, Fernando C. 2015-01-01 Cattle identification has been a serious problem for breeding association. Muzzle pattern or nose print has the same characteristic with the human fingerprint which is the most popular biometric marker. The identification accuracy and the processing time are two key challenges of any cattle identification methodology. This paper presents a robust and fast cattle identification scheme from muzzle images using Speed-up Robust Features matching. The matching refinement technique based on the mat... Standardized analysis of German cattle mortality using national register data. Science.gov (United States) Pannwitz, Gunter 2015-03-01 In a retrospective cohort study of national register data, 1946 randomly selected holdings, with 286,912 individual cattle accumulating 170,416 animal-years were analyzed. The sample was considered to represent the national herd in Germany 2012. Within each holding, individual cattle records were stratified by current age (≤21 days, 3-6 weeks, 6-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-2, 2-4, 4-8, and >8 years), sex, breed (intensive milk, less intensive milk, and beef), and mean monthly air temperature (rate, slaughter rate, and federal state. 8027 on-site deaths (excluding slaughter for human consumption) were recorded, with cattle aged 2 years contributing 50.0%, 15.4%, and 34.6% of deaths, respectively. Poisson regression and generalized estimating equations (gee) accounting for intra-herd clustering were used to model the number of deaths. In both models, most age bands differed significantly, with highest rates in calves ≤21 days, falling to lowest rates in 1-2 year olds, and rising again thereafter in females. Males exhibited higher mortality than females from birth to 2 years. All breed categories differed significantly with lowest rates in beef and highest in intensive milk breeds. Larger holdings, temperatures ≤10°C, calving rates >0-0.5 per animal year were all associated with higher mortality. Via interaction, intensive and less intensive milk breed cattle aging 6 weeks to 6 months and intensive milk breed females >4 years were associated with higher mortality. There were no significant differences between federal states and slaughter rates. The standardized deviations of modeled dead cattle numbers from occurred deaths per calendar year per holding were calculated and a 95% reference range of deviations constructed. This approach makes a standardized active monitoring and surveillance system regardless of herd size possible, offering a useful, inexpensive and easy implementable aid in the detection of holdings deviant from mortality levels of the Environmental sensitivity in dairy cattle with focus on fertility traits DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Ismael, Ahmed; Løvendahl, Peter; Strandberg, Erling 2012-01-01 Dairy cattle differ in production, fertility, health, and other important traits in the different environment as both the phenopypic and genetic level (Winding et la., 2005 and Calus et al., 2005). Fertility of Nordic dairy cattle breeds (Holstein, Red, Jersey) is a complex trait and the heritabi... Productivity of Indigenous and Exotic Cattle on Kenya Ranches ... African Journals Online (AJOL) A comparison of productivity and adaptability of indigenous (Boran and Small East African Zebu) and the exotic (Sahiwal and Ayrshire) cattle on Kenyan ranches located in semi-arid areas of the Rift Valley Provinces was done. Data sets of the cattle breeds over the 1979-1993 period on Deloraine, Elkarama, Ilkerin, ... Factors affecting the shape of the lactation curve in Reggiana cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) P. Franceschi 2011-03-01 Full Text Available Reggiana is a local breed of cattle, reared in Northern Italy, with a low population size (916 milk recorded cows during 2001. The breed is appreciated because of milk composition characteristics for transformation, particularly for colloidal Ca and P content, rheological properties and k-CASB gene frequency (Mariani et al., 1998.Mean productive levels are 5401 kg milk, 3.51% fat, 3.38% protein (AIA, 2001. The breed is selected mainly for protein yield (kg, but literature about lactation curve is not available. Objectives of the research are to describe the lactation curve of Reggiana cattle by applying the Wood model and to evaluate some factors affecting its shape. REVIEW: The Characteristics of Genetic Resource of Bali Cattle (Bos-bibos banteng and the Alternative of It's Conservation Methods Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) ACHMAD NUR CHAMDI 2005-01-01 Full Text Available Bali cattle is an Indonesian native beef cattle, the result of domestication of Banteng (Bos-bibos banteng. The main problem faced in the development of Bali cattle is the low quality of breed, which is predicted as the effect of inbreeding or raising management. The affects of genetic and cross breeding which usually inflict a loss are the decreasing of cattle’s endurance, fertility and birth weight. Seeing the fact, the government effort to introduce a quality bull to the breed source areas, the determination of cattle release including the controll on the cutting of productive female cattle, and to exactly count the number of Bali cattle which can be released in order to do not disturb its population balance, so it is necessary to do conservation attempt by in-situ and ex-situ. The result of this study shows that the characteristics on genetic resource of Bali cattle which comprises documentation, evaluation on reproduction and production, and attempt in increasing Bali cattle’s genetic quality in Indonesia have been done, eventhough those are still limited. « 9 10 11 12 13 » « 10 11 12 13 14 » Chromosome changes in cattle on the farms in Serbia Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Košarčić Slavica 2005-01-01 Full Text Available In the paper we presented five-year investigations of numeric and structural changes in cattle karyotype on five farms and two centers for reproduction in Serbia. There were 371 breeding animals (215 male and 156 female, out of which 267 Holstein Friesian breed (193 male and 74 female, 62 Simmental (17 male and 45 female and 42 Grey Steppe breed (5 male and 37 female. Cultivating of lymphocytes and karyotype analyses, according to the international standards for karyotypization of domestic animals, were applied. The aim of the investigation was to test genetic material on chromosome level of animals introduced into reproduction. The following changes were discovered in the karyotype: 6 animals of Holstein-Friesian breed were with chimeras 2n=60XX/XY and there was one Robertson's translocation in Simmental breed. Structural changes as breakage and a ring were discovered in two animals of Holstein-Friesian and Simmental breed raised in the area of bombing in Serbia. The animals of Grey Steppe breed had normal karyotype. There is a total of 9 animals with changes (2.42%, while 362 were with normal karyotype, total 97.57%. According to the results, it may be concluded that cytogenetical attestation of the breeding animals will have to be continued for the purpose of protecting the genofond on cattle farms. Variation in blood serum proteins and association with somatic cell count in dairy cattle from multi-breed herds. Science.gov (United States) Bobbo, T; Fiore, E; Gianesella, M; Morgante, M; Gallo, L; Ruegg, P L; Bittante, G; Cecchinato, A 2017-12-01 Blood serum proteins are significant indicators of animal health. Nevertheless, several factors should be considered to appropriately interpret their concentrations in blood. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to assess the effect of herd productivity, breed, age and stage of lactation on serum proteins and (2) to investigate association between serum proteins and somatic cell count (SCC) in dairy cattle. Milk and blood samples were collected from 1508 cows of six different breeds (Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss, Jersey, Simmental, Rendena and Alpine Grey) that were housed in 41 multi-breed herds. Milk samples were analyzed for composition and SCC, while blood samples were analyzed for serum proteins (i.e. total protein, albumin, globulin and albumin-to-globulin ratio (A : G)). Herds were classified as low or high production, according to the cow's average daily milk energy yield adjusted for breed, days in milk (DIM) and parity. Data were analyzed using a linear mixed model that included the fixed effects of DIM, parity, SCS, breed, herd productivity and the random effect of the Herd-test date within productivity level. Cows in high producing herds (characterized also by greater use of concentrates in the diet) had greater serum albumin concentrations. Breed differences were reported for all traits, highlighting a possible genetic mechanism. The specialized breed Jersey and the two dual-purpose local breeds (Alpine Grey and Rendena) had the lowest globulin concentration and greatest A : G. Changes in serum proteins were observed through lactation. Total protein reached the highest concentration during the 4th month of lactation. Blood albumin increased with DIM following a quadratic pattern, while globulin decreased linearly. As a consequence, A : G increased linearly during lactation. Older cows had greater total protein and globulin concentrations, while albumin concentration seemed to be not particularly affected by age. A linear relationship Importance of adaptation and genotype × environment interactions in tropical beef breeding systems. Science.gov (United States) Burrow, H M 2012-05-01 This paper examines the relative importance of productive and adaptive traits in beef breeding systems based on Bos taurus and tropically adapted breeds across temperate and (sub)tropical environments. In the (sub)tropics, differences that exist between breeds in temperate environments are masked by the effects of environmental stressors. Hence in tropical environments, breeds are best categorised into breed types to compare their performance across environments. Because of the presence of environmental stressors, there are more sources of genetic variation in tropical breeding programmes. It is therefore necessary to examine the genetic basis of productive and adaptive traits for breeding programmes in those environments. This paper reviews the heritabilities and genetic relationships between economically important productive and adaptive traits relevant to (sub)tropical breeding programmes. It is concluded that it is possible to simultaneously genetically improve productive and adaptive traits in tropically adapted breeds of beef cattle grazed in tropical environments without serious detrimental consequences for either adaptation or production. However, breed-specific parameters are required for genetic evaluations. The paper also reviews the magnitude of genotype × environment (G × E) interactions impacting on production and adaptation of cattle, where 'genotype' is defined as breed (within a crossbreeding system), sire within breed (in a within-breed selection programme) or associations between economically important traits and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs - within a marker-assisted selection programme). It is concluded that re-ranking of breeds across environments is best managed by the use of the breed type(s) best suited to the particular production environment. Re-ranking of sires across environments is apparent in poorly adapted breed types across extreme tropical and temperate environments or where breeding animals are selected in a temperate Molecular Characterization of Selected Local and Exotic Cattle Using RAPD Marker Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) M. Mahfuza Khatun 2012-06-01 Full Text Available In order to develop specific genetic markers and determine the genetic diversity of Bangladeshi native cattle (Pabna, Red Chittagong and exotic breeds (Sahiwal, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD analysis was performed using 12 primers. Genomic DNA was extracted from 20 cattle (local and exotic blood samples and extracted DNA was observed by gel electrophoresis. Among the random primers three were matched and found to be polymorphic. Genetic relations between cattle’s were determined by RAPD polymorphisms from a total of 66.67%. Statistical analysis of the data, estimating the genetic distances between cattle and sketching the cluster trees were estimated by using MEGA 5.05 software. Comparatively highest genetic distance (0.834 was found between RCC-82 and SL-623. The lowest genetic distance (0.031 was observed between M-1222 and M-5730. The genetic diversity of Red Chittagong and Sahiwal cattle was relatively higher for a prescribed breed. Adequate diversity in performance and adaptability can be exploited from the study results for actual improvement accruing to conservation and development of indigenous cattle resources. A novel point mutation within the EDA gene causes an exon dropping in mature RNA in Holstein Friesian cattle breed affected by X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Pariset Lorraine 2011-07-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia is a disorder characterized by abnormal development of tissues and organs of ectodermal origin caused by mutations in the EDA gene. The bovine EDA gene encodes the ectodysplasin A, a membrane protein expressed in keratinocytes, hair follicles and sweat glands, which is involved in the interactions between cell and cell and/or cell and matrix. Four mutations causing ectodermal dysplasia in cattle have been described so far. Results We identified a new single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP at the 9th base of exon 8 in the EDA gene in two calves of Holstein Friesian cattle breed affected by ectodermal dysplasia. This SNP is located in the exonic splicing enhancer (ESEs recognized by SRp40 protein. As a consequence, the spliceosome machinery is no longer able to recognize the sequence as exonic and causes exon skipping. The mutation determines the deletion of the entire exon (131 bp in the RNA processing, causing a severe alteration of the protein structure and thus the disease. Conclusion We identified a mutation, never described before, that changes the regulation of alternative splicing in the EDA gene and causes ectodermal dysplasia in cattle. The analysis of the SNP allows the identification of carriers that can transmit the disease to the offspring. This mutation can thus be exploited for a rational and efficient selection of unequivocally healthy cows for breeding. Deciphering signature of selection affecting beef quality traits in Angus cattle. Science.gov (United States) Taye, Mengistie; Yoon, Joon; Dessie, Tadelle; Cho, Seoae; Oh, Sung Jong; Lee, Hak-Kyo; Kim, Heebal 2018-01-01 Artificial selection towards a desired phenotype/trait has modified the genomes of livestock dramatically that generated breeds that greatly differ in morphology, production and environmental adaptation traits. Angus cattle are among the famous cattle breeds developed for superior beef quality. This paper aimed at exploring genomic regions under selection in Angus cattle that are associated with meat quality traits and other associated phenotypes. The whole genome of 10 Angus cattle was compared with 11 Hanwoo (A-H) and 9 Jersey (A-J) cattle breeds using a cross-population composite likelihood ratio (XP-CLR) statistical method. The top 1% of the empirical distribution was taken as significant and annotated using UMD3.1. As a result, 255 and 210 genes were revealed under selection from A-H and A-J comparisons, respectively. The WebGestalt gene ontology analysis resulted in sixteen (A-H) and five (A-J) significantly enriched KEGG pathways. Several pathways associated with meat quality traits (insulin signaling, type II diabetes mellitus pathway, focal adhesion pathway, and ECM-receptor interaction), and feeding efficiency (olfactory transduction, tight junction, and metabolic pathways) were enriched. Genes affecting beef quality traits (e.g., FABP3, FTO, DGAT2, ACS, ACAA2, CPE, TNNI1), stature and body size (e.g., PLAG1, LYN, CHCHD7, RPS20), fertility and dystocia (e.g., ESR1, RPS20, PPP2R1A, GHRL, PLAG1), feeding efficiency (e.g., PIK3CD, DNAJC28, DNAJC3, GHRL, PLAG1), coat color (e.g., MC1-R) and genetic disorders (e.g., ITGB6, PLAG1) were found to be under positive selection in Angus cattle. The study identified genes and pathways that are related to meat quality traits and other phenotypes of Angus cattle. The findings in this study, after validation using additional or independent dataset, will provide useful information for the study of Angus cattle in particular and beef cattle in general. Management practices followed for draught cattle in the southern part of India. Science.gov (United States) Akila, Natarajan; Chander, Mahesh 2010-02-01 A study was conducted to determine the management practices followed by the farmers for draught cattle in Tamil Nadu state, India. Methods of procurement of animals, use of female animals, breeds preferred, housing, health, disposal of animals, feeding, shoeing, purchase of animal-drawn implements and their maintenance were all assessed with 210 farmers from seven districts across different agro-climatic zones in Tamil Nadu. The results revealed that 86 % of the respondents purchased the draught cattle from the livestock markets, most were bullocks but 20 small farmers and 5 medium farmers used female animals for ploughing. Among the indigenous breeds, Kangeyam (33 %) and Hallikar (30 %) breeds were the most popular for work. Most farmers (69 %) provided a mixed type of housing (provision of housing only during the night time and the rainy season) for their draught cattle. The major health problem reported by 63 % of respondents was pyrexia. Almost all farmers sold their animals at the age of 8-10 years. The feeding practices for draught cattle were poor especially with the small farmers. The cattle were fed with mainly paddy straw and rice bran. Oilcakes and cotton seeds were given to the animals which work throughout the year mainly for ploughing and carting. The draught cattle were first shod at around 2.5 years of age. The majority of the farmers (71 %) used the traditional animal-drawn implements made by local artisans, and the farmers were not aware of the new implements to reduce the drudgery of work cattle, designed by the Agricultural Machinery Research Centre and Agricultural Engineering Departments located in India. Genetic variance and covariance and breed differences for feed intake and average daily gain to improve feed efficiency in growing cattle. Science.gov (United States) Retallick, K J; Bormann, J M; Weaber, R L; MacNeil, M D; Bradford, H L; Freetly, H C; Hales, K E; Moser, D W; Snelling, W M; Thallman, R M; Kuehn, L A 2017-04-01 Feed costs are a major economic expense in finishing and developing cattle; however, collection of feed intake data is costly. Examining relationships among measures of growth and intake, including breed differences, could facilitate selection for efficient cattle. Objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters for growth and intake traits and compare indices for feed efficiency to accelerate selection response. On-test ADFI and on-test ADG (TESTADG) and postweaning ADG (PWADG) records for 5,606 finishing steers and growing heifers were collected at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, NE. On-test ADFI and ADG data were recorded over testing periods that ranged from 62 to 148 d. Individual quadratic regressions were fitted for BW on time, and TESTADG was predicted from the resulting equations. We included PWADG in the model to improve estimates of growth and intake parameters; PWADG was derived by dividing gain from weaning weight to yearling weight by the number of days between the weights. Genetic parameters were estimated using multiple-trait REML animal models with TESTADG, ADFI, and PWADG for both sexes as dependent variables. Fixed contemporary groups were cohorts of calves simultaneously tested, and covariates included age on test, age of dam, direct and maternal heterosis, and breed composition. Genetic correlations (SE) between steer TESTADG and ADFI, PWADG and ADFI, and TESTADG and PWADG were 0.33 (0.10), 0.59 (0.06), and 0.50 (0.09), respectively, and corresponding estimates for heifers were 0.66 (0.073), 0.77 (0.05), and 0.88 (0.05), respectively. Indices combining EBV for ADFI with EBV for ADG were developed and evaluated. Greater improvement in feed efficiency can be expected using an unrestricted index versus a restricted index. Heterosis significantly affected each trait contributing to greater ADFI and TESTADG. Breed additive effects were estimated for ADFI, TESTADG, and the efficiency indices. Effect of breed and non-genetic factors on percentage milk ... African Journals Online (AJOL) This study was done to determine the effect of breed and non-genetic factors on percentage milk composition of smallholders' dual-purpose cattle on-farm in the Ashanti Region. Fresh milk samples from various breeds of cows were assessed for percentage components of protein, fat, lactose, cholesterol, solidnon- fat and ... A Meta-Assembly of Selection Signatures in Cattle Science.gov (United States) Randhawa, Imtiaz A. S.; Khatkar, Mehar S.; Thomson, Peter C.; Raadsma, Herman W. 2016-01-01 Since domestication, significant genetic improvement has been achieved for many traits of commercial importance in cattle, including adaptation, appearance and production. In response to such intense selection pressures, the bovine genome has undergone changes at the underlying regions of functional genetic variants, which are termed “selection signatures”. This article reviews 64 recent (2009–2015) investigations testing genomic diversity for departure from neutrality in worldwide cattle populations. In particular, we constructed a meta-assembly of 16,158 selection signatures for individual breeds and their archetype groups (European, African, Zebu and composite) from 56 genome-wide scans representing 70,743 animals of 90 pure and crossbred cattle breeds. Meta-selection-scores (MSS) were computed by combining published results at every given locus, within a sliding window span. MSS were adjusted for common samples across studies and were weighted for significance thresholds across and within studies. Published selection signatures show extensive coverage across the bovine genome, however, the meta-assembly provides a consensus profile of 263 genomic regions of which 141 were unique (113 were breed-specific) and 122 were shared across cattle archetypes. The most prominent peaks of MSS represent regions under selection across multiple populations and harboured genes of known major effects (coat color, polledness and muscle hypertrophy) and genes known to influence polygenic traits (stature, adaptation, feed efficiency, immunity, behaviour, reproduction, beef and dairy production). As the first meta-assembly of selection signatures, it offers novel insights about the hotspots of selective sweeps in the bovine genome, and this method could equally be applied to other species. PMID:27045296 Novel optimum contribution selection methods accounting for conflicting objectives in breeding programs for livestock breeds with historical migration. Science.gov (United States) Wang, Yu; Bennewitz, Jörn; Wellmann, Robin 2017-05-12 Optimum contribution selection (OCS) is effective for increasing genetic gain, controlling the rate of inbreeding and enables maintenance of genetic diversity. However, this diversity may be caused by high migrant contributions (MC) in the population due to introgression of genetic material from other breeds, which can threaten the conservation of small local populations. Therefore, breeding objectives should not only focus on increasing genetic gains but also on maintaining genetic originality and diversity of native alleles. This study aimed at investigating whether OCS was improved by including MC and modified kinships that account for breed origin of alleles. Three objective functions were considered for minimizing kinship, minimizing MC and maximizing genetic gain in the offspring generation, and we investigated their effects on German Angler and Vorderwald cattle. In most scenarios, the results were similar for Angler and Vorderwald cattle. A significant positive correlation between MC and estimated breeding values of the selection candidates was observed for both breeds, thus traditional OCS would increase MC. Optimization was performed under the condition that the rate of inbreeding did not exceed 1% and at least 30% of the maximum progress was achieved for all other criteria. Although traditional OCS provided the highest breeding values under restriction of classical kinship, the magnitude of MC in the progeny generation was not controlled. When MC were constrained or minimized, the kinship at native alleles increased compared to the reference scenario. Thus, in addition to constraining MC, constraining kinship at native alleles is required to ensure that native genetic diversity is maintained. When kinship at native alleles was constrained, the classical kinship was automatically lowered in most cases and more sires were selected. However, the average breeding value in the next generation was also lower than that obtained with traditional OCS. For local Prevalence of Theileria annulata in dairy cattle in Nyala, South Darfur State, Sudan. Science.gov (United States) Abaker, Ismail A; Salih, Diaeldin A; Haj, Lima M El; Ahmed, Rawia E; Osman, Manal M; Ali, Awadia M 2017-12-01 This study was conducted in dairy cattle in Nyala, South Darfur State, during the period from June to September 2015, to study the prevalence of bovine tropical theileriosis. Apparently, healthy cattle of different age groups, different breeds, and from both sexes were randomly selected from seven locations. Three age groups of cattle were selected, group one Darfur region. MILK COAGULATION PROPERTIES OF CATTLE BREEDS REARED IN ALPINE AREA Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Giulio Visentin 2015-09-01 Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to apply mid-infrared spectroscopy prediction models developed for milk coagulation properties (MCP to a spectral dataset of 123,240 records collected over a 2-year period in the Alpine area, and to investigate sources of variation of the predicted MCP. Mixed linear models included fixed effects of breed, month and year of sampling, days in milk, parity, and the interactions between the main effects. Random effects were herd nested within breed, cow nested within breed, and the residual. All fixed effects were significant (P<0.05 in explaining the variation of MCP. In particular, milk clotting characteristics varied significantly among breeds, and local Alpine Grey breed exhibited the most favourable processing characteristics. Milk coagulation properties varied across lactation and were at their worst after the peak. Abundant mtDNA diversity and ancestral admixture in Colombian criollo cattle (Bos taurus). Science.gov (United States) Carvajal-Carmona, Luis G; Bermudez, Nelson; Olivera-Angel, Martha; Estrada, Luzardo; Ossa, Jorge; Bedoya, Gabriel; Ruiz-Linares, Andrés 2003-11-01 Various cattle populations in the Americas (known as criollo breeds) have an origin in some of the first livestock introduced to the continent early in the colonial period (16th and 17th centuries). These cattle constitute a potentially important genetic reserve as they are well adapted to local environments and show considerable variation in phenotype. To examine the genetic ancestry and diversity of Colombian criollo we obtained mitochondrial DNA control region sequence information for 110 individuals from seven breeds. Old World haplogroup T3 is the most commonly observed CR lineage in criollo (0.65), in agreement with a mostly European ancestry for these cattle. However, criollo also shows considerable frequencies of haplogroups T2 (0.9) and T1 (0.26), with T1 lineages in criollo being more diverse than those reported for West Africa. The distribution and diversity of Old World lineages suggest some North African ancestry for criollo, probably as a result of the Arab occupation of Iberia prior to the European migration to the New World. The mtDNA diversity of criollo is higher than that reported for European and African cattle and is consistent with a differentiated ancestry for some criollo breeds. Breeding without Mendelism: theory and practice of dairy cattle breeding in the Netherlands NARCIS (Netherlands) Theunissen, L.T.G. 2008-01-01 In the 1940s and 1950s, Dutch scientists became increasingly critical of the practices of commercial dairy cattle breeders. Milk yields had hardly increased for decades, and the scientists believed this to be due to the fact that breeders still judged the hereditary potential of their animals on the Beef Cattle: Selection and Evaluation. Science.gov (United States) Clemson Univ., SC. Vocational Education Media Center. Designed for secondary vocational agriculture students, this text provides an overview of selecting and evaluating beef cattle in Future Farmers of America livestock judging events. The first of four major sections addresses topics such as the ideal beef animal, selecting steers, selecting breeding animals, studying the animal systematically, and… Genetic diversity studies of Kherigarh cattle based on microsatellite ... Indian Academy of Sciences (India) agricultural plant species, most or all genetic diversity in live- stock exists within ..... African cattle breeds (0.506–0.697; Ibeagha-Awemu et al. 2004). However .... relationships among populations of Asian goats (Capra hircus). J. Anim. Breed. ... 120,. 73–87. Kim K. S., Yeo J. S. and Choi C. B. 2002 Genetic diversity of north-. Prehistoric contacts over the Straits of Gibraltar indicated by genetic analysis of Iberian Bronze Age cattle. Science.gov (United States) Anderung, Cecilia; Bouwman, Abigail; Persson, Per; Carretero, José Miguel; Ortega, Ana Isabel; Elburg, Rengert; Smith, Colin; Arsuaga, Juan Luis; Ellegren, Hans; Götherström, Anders 2005-06-14 The geographic situation of the Iberian Peninsula makes it a natural link between Europe and North Africa. However, it is a matter of debate to what extent African influences via the Straits Gibraltar have affected Iberia's prehistoric development. Because early African pastoralist communities were dedicated to cattle breeding, a possible means to detect prehistoric African-Iberian contacts might be to analyze the origin of cattle breeds on the Iberian Peninsula. Some contemporary Iberian cattle breeds show a mtDNA haplotype, T1, that is characteristic to African breeds, generally explained as being the result of the Muslim expansion of the 8th century A.D., and of modern imports. To test a possible earlier African influence, we analyzed mtDNA of Bronze Age cattle from the Portalón cave at the Atapuerca site in northern Spain. Although the majority of samples showed the haplotype T3 that dominates among European breeds of today, the T1 haplotype was found in one specimen radiocarbon dated 1800 calibrated years B.C. Accepting T1 as being of African origin, this result indicates prehistoric African-Iberian contacts and lends support to archaeological finds linking early African and Iberian cultures. We also found a wild ox haplotype in the Iberian Bronze Age sample, reflecting local hybridization or backcrossing or that aurochs were hunted by these farming cultures. Transcriptional profiling of cattle infected with Trypanosoma congolense highlights gene expression signatures underlying trypanotolerance and trypanosusceptibility Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Naessens Jan 2009-05-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT caused by tsetse fly-transmitted protozoa of the genus Trypanosoma is a major constraint on livestock and agricultural production in Africa and is among the top ten global cattle diseases impacting on the poor. Here we show that a functional genomics approach can be used to identify temporal changes in host peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC gene expression due to disease progression. We also show that major gene expression differences exist between cattle from trypanotolerant and trypanosusceptible breeds. Using bovine long oligonucleotide microarrays and real time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR validation we analysed PBMC gene expression in naïve trypanotolerant and trypanosusceptible cattle experimentally challenged with Trypanosoma congolense across a 34-day infection time course. Results Trypanotolerant N'Dama cattle displayed a rapid and distinct transcriptional response to infection, with a ten-fold higher number of genes differentially expressed at day 14 post-infection compared to trypanosusceptible Boran cattle. These analyses identified coordinated temporal gene expression changes for both breeds in response to trypanosome infection. In addition, a panel of genes were identified that showed pronounced differences in gene expression between the two breeds, which may underlie the phenomena of trypanotolerance and trypanosusceptibility. Gene ontology (GO analysis demonstrate that the products of these genes may contribute to increased mitochondrial mRNA translational efficiency, a more pronounced B cell response, an elevated activation status and a heightened response to stress in trypanotolerant cattle. Conclusion This study has revealed an extensive and diverse range of cellular processes that are altered temporally in response to trypanosome infection in African cattle. Results indicate that the trypanotolerant N'Dama cattle respond more rapidly and with a Use of progesterone radioimmunoassay techniques for improving reproduction performances in dary cattles International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Benyoucef, M.T.; Benabdelaziz, A.; Khelili, R. 1990-07-01 This report deals with the first measurements of progesterone, by radioimmunoassay (P4-PIA) in blood samples, to assess fertility in livestock (cattle) in Algeria, by improvement of the level of reproduction management. For this purpose, the results obtained throughout first analysis of P4 on a sample of 15 bovines females, composed by 12 heifers and 3 cows confirm the efficiency of the techniques in improving dary cattle reproduction performances. Ovarian activity can be determined for cows at the moment of post partum and for heifers before breeding as well as, pregnancy confirmation on breeding heifers. It is interesting to extend the experiments using these techniques to a higher number of livestocks (breeds and species) and to develop new research subjects in this field « 10 11 12 13 14 » « 11 12 13 14 15 » Comparative analysis of myostatin gene and promoter sequences of Qinchuan and Red Angus cattle. Science.gov (United States) He, Y L; Wu, Y H; Quan, F S; Liu, Y G; Zhang, Y 2013-09-04 To better understand the function of the myostatin gene and its promoter region in bovine, we amplified and sequenced the myostatin gene and promoter from the blood of Qinchuan and Red Angus cattle by using polymerase chain reaction. The sequences of Qinchuan and Red Angus cattle were compared with those of other cattle breeds available in GenBank. Exon splice sites were confirmed by mRNA sequencing. Compared to the published sequence (GenBank accession No. AF320998), 69 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the Qinchuan myostatin gene, only one of which was an insertion mutation in Qinchuan cattle. There was a 16-bp insertion in the first 705-bp intron in 3 Qinchuan cattle. A total of 7 SNPs were identified in exon 3, in which the mutation occurred in the third base of the codon and was synonymous. On comparing the Qinchuan myostatin gene sequence to that of Red Angus cattle, a total of 50 SNPs were identified in the first and third exons. In addition, there were 18 SNPs identified in the Qinchuan cattle promoter region compared with those of other cattle compared to the Red Angus cattle myostatin promoter region. breeds (GenBank accession No. AF348479), but only 14 SNPs when compared to the Red Angus cattle myostatin promoter region. Genomic selection needs to be carefully assessed to meet specific requirements in livestock breeding programs. Science.gov (United States) Jonas, Elisabeth; de Koning, Dirk-Jan 2015-01-01 Genomic selection is a promising development in agriculture, aiming improved production by exploiting molecular genetic markers to design novel breeding programs and to develop new markers-based models for genetic evaluation. It opens opportunities for research, as novel algorithms and lab methodologies are developed. Genomic selection can be applied in many breeds and species. Further research on the implementation of genomic selection (GS) in breeding programs is highly desirable not only for the common good, but also the private sector (breeding companies). It has been projected that this approach will improve selection routines, especially in species with long reproduction cycles, late or sex-limited or expensive trait recording and for complex traits. The task of integrating GS into existing breeding programs is, however, not straightforward. Despite successful integration into breeding programs for dairy cattle, it has yet to be shown how much emphasis can be given to the genomic information and how much additional phenotypic information is needed from new selection candidates. Genomic selection is already part of future planning in many breeding companies of pigs and beef cattle among others, but further research is needed to fully estimate how effective the use of genomic information will be for the prediction of the performance of future breeding stock. Genomic prediction of production in crossbreeding and across-breed schemes, costs and choice of individuals for genotyping are reasons for a reluctance to fully rely on genomic information for selection decisions. Breeding objectives are highly dependent on the industry and the additional gain when using genomic information has to be considered carefully. This review synthesizes some of the suggested approaches in selected livestock species including cattle, pig, chicken, and fish. It outlines tasks to help understanding possible consequences when applying genomic information in breeding scenarios. Genomic selection needs to be carefully assessed to meet specific requirements in livestock breeding programs Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Elisabeth eJonas 2015-02-01 Full Text Available Genomic selection is a promising development in agriculture, aiming improved production by exploiting molecular genetic markers to design novel breeding programs and to develop new markers-based models for genetic evaluation. It opens opportunities for research, as novel algorithms and lab methodologies are developed. Genomic selection can be applied in many breeds and species. Further research on the implementation of genomic selection in breeding programs is highly desirable not only for the common good, but also the private sector (breeding companies. It has been projected that this approach will improve selection routines, especially in species with long reproduction cycles, late or sex-limited or expensive trait recording and for complex traits. The task of integrating genomic selection into existing breeding programs is, however, not straightforward. Despite successful integration into breeding programs for dairy cattle, it has yet to be shown how much emphasis can be given to the genomic information and how much additional phenotypic information is needed from new selection candidates. Genomic selection is already part of future planning in many breeding companies of pigs and beef cattle among others, but further research is needed to fully estimate how effective the use of genomic information will be for the prediction of the performance of future breeding stock. Genomic prediction of production in crossbreeding and across-breed schemes, costs and choice of individuals for genotyping are reasons for a reluctance to fully rely on genomic information for selection decisions. Breeding objectives are highly dependent on the industry and the additional gain when using genomic information has to be considered carefully. This review synthesizes some of the suggested approaches in selected livestock species including cattle, pig, chicken and fish. It outlines tasks to help understanding possible consequences when applying genomic information in Genetic improvements to productivity of cattle in tropical Africa International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Frisch, J.E.; Vercoe, J.E. 1986-01-01 Improvement in productivity of cattle in some areas of tropical Africa is likely to be related mainly to improvement in environmental conditions, including the implementation of effective vaccination programmes and an increased availability of feed. In other areas, scope also exists to increase output by increasing the genetic potential of indigenous breeds and animals. The variation within indigenous breeds in resistance to environmental stresses and in genetic potentials could be exploited by within-breed selection but responses are likely to be slow. Initial attempts at genetic improvements should therefore concentrate on utilizing between-breed variation in these traits by identifying breeds with the required attributes and crossing them to the breed under improvement. Increases in milk yield and size are mainly dependent on the successful implementation of cross-breeding programmes aimed at maintaining high resistance to environmental stresses while also increasing genetic potentials up to the level that can be supported by the available nutrition. The most suitable combination of breeds to be used in these crosses is not known at present. However, in areas of high trypanosome challenge, crosses between trypanotolerant breeds from East and West Africa may be the best option. In areas of lower trypanosome challenge but where high levels of other environmental stresses exist, crosses between indigenous and Indian breeds may be the most appropriate. Only in those areas where parasite and disease challenge is low and the plane of nutrition is high will crosses to higher yielding European Bos taurus breeds be suitable. Improved standards of living of sections of society and increases in population have contributed to increased demand for cattle products. If this demand is to be met from African sources, output must be increased. Some of the ways in which this may be achieved are considered in the paper. (author) Identification of polymorphism in the SCL24A5 gene of cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Paola Crepaldi 2010-01-01 Full Text Available The SLC24A5 (Solute Carrier family 24, member 5 gene is implicated in skin pigmentation in zebrafish and humans as it regulates the morphogenesis of melanosomes, specialized lysosomes involved in melanin deposit. In humans, the ancestral allele predominates in African and East Asian populations, while the allelic variant is nearly fixed in European populations and correlates with lighter pigmentation. Considering the role of melanin in the protecting of DNA from ultraviolet radiation, the lack of information in cattle and the importance of polymorphisms associated with pigmentation phenotypes, we investigated the SLC24A5 gene in cattle with light and dark skin pigmentation. To identify SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in this gene and their association to dark skin pigmentation in cattle, each of the nine SLC24A5 exons, three introns (1, 3 and 8 and a portion of intron 5, were sequenced in a set of sixteen animals belonging to four Italian cattle breeds, two African zebu breeds and two African sanga breeds. The region spanning exons 3 and 4 was sequenced in fifteen animals belonging to seven additional breeds. A total of sixteen SNPs were identified: eleven positioned in introns (six in intron 1, one in intron 5 and four in intron 8 and five in exons (one in exon 1, two in exon 6 and two in exon 7. Three SNPs (located in exons 1, 6 and 7 were non synonymous, determining Pro19Leu, Ala238Val, and Met341Ile amino acid changes, respectively. All the SNPs identified were polymorphic between Bos taurus, Bos indicus and Sanga, while none of them resulted associated with the studied phenotype and discriminated the three breeds (Chianina, Mucubal and Goudali characterized by dark pigmented skin from the others. [Genomic selection of milk cattle. The practical application over five years]. Science.gov (United States) Smaragdov, M G 2013-11-01 Genomic selection is a method based on the use of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as markers for detecting animal or plant genotype values. The review describes the genomic selection of milk cattle 5 years after the design of dense SNP chips. References to the application of genomic selection to other animal and plant species are given. The main principles of constructing linear and nonlinear mathematical models that allow one to determine genomic estimates in animals are briefly described. Particular attention is focused on the accuracy and the phenomenon of the additivity ofgenomic estimates, as well as to the prospective use of various genomic selection schemes that consider it over dozens of generations. Information including international organizations that provide the consolidation of genomic information from different countries aimed at designing global reference populations of milk cattle is reported. The results of the practical application of genomic selection to detecting of the breeding value of milk cattle over 5 years are demonstrated in the table, which makes it possible to visually assess the achievements of this highly technological field of cattle breeding. NEW RESEARCHES REGARDING THE FEEDING SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR HOLSTEIN-FRISIAN CATTLE FARMS Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) LAVINIA MOISE 2008-05-01 Full Text Available In the organization and development of production activity, which has like result economical efficiency into a cattle farm, the application of viable breeding technologies it’s the best way to obtain positives results.The feeding system of Holstein-Frisian cattle, applied in the Dambovita farms it’s a model can be extended and applied in all the cattle farms, in the same climate and soil conditions, even if the farm dimensions and working organization are different.At the studied farms the cattle don’t paste; the arable land it’s used for perennial and annual fodder culture, that assure the necessary in green forage during the summer and raw material for fibroses and silo-forage preparing. At these farms it isn’t a practice to feed the cattle only with green fodder in the summer period (for milk production but with a balanced quantity of dry substances represented by fibrouses, industrial succulent and wet corn, near by green fodder.One of the reason that assure a big quantity of milk of Holstein-Frisian cattle it is represented by different feeding, depending on milk quantity and physical estate of each cow.An essential condition for a profitable activity of cattle farms is the presence of arable land to assure, at least, the production of base forage, respectively green and succulent forage, silo corn and hay; without this surfaces can’t speak about efficient breeding of cattle in a farm or agricultural exploitation. Trypanosomosis: Potential driver of selection in African cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Anamarija eSmetko 2015-04-01 Full Text Available Trypanosomosis is a serious cause of reduction in productivity of cattle in tsetse-fly infested areas. Baoule and other local Taurine cattle breeds in Burkina Faso are trypanotolerant. Zebuine cattle, which are also kept there are susceptible to trypanosomosis but bigger in body size. Farmers have continuously been intercrossing Baoule and Zebu animals to increase production and disease tolerance. The aim of this study was to compare levels of zebuine and taurine admixture in genomic regions potentially involved in trypanotolerance with background admixture of composites to identify differences in allelic frequencies of tolerant and non tolerant animals. The study was conducted on 214 animals (90 Baoule, 90 Zebu and 34 composites, genotyped with 25 microsatellites across the genome and with 155 SNPs in 23 candidate regions. Degrees of admixture of composites were analyzed for microsatellite and SNP data separately. Average Baoule admixture based on microsatellites across the genomes of the Baoule-Zebu composites was 0.31, which was smaller than the average Baoule admixture in the trypanosomosis candidate regions of 0.37 (P=0.15. Fixation index FST measured in the overall genome based on microsatellites or with SNPs from candidate regions indicates strong differentiation between breeds. Nine out of 23 regions had FST ≥ 0.20 calculated from haplotypes or individual SNPs. The levels of admixture were significantly different from background admixture, as revealed by microsatellite data, for six out of the nine regions. Five out of the six regions showed an excess of Baoule ancestry. Information about best levels of breed composition would be useful for future breeding activities, aiming at trypanotolerant animals with higher productive capacity. Genetic trends for growth in the Gudali and Wakwa cattle breeds of ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Unknown two-breed synthetic beef breed, the Wakwa, from mating the American Brahman to the local Gudali and ... response to selection in the Gudali and a two-breed synthetic Wakwa beef breeds has been done by Ebangi (1999). .... Clay Center. Analysis of cattle breeder’s income in South Kualuh sub-district of Labuhan Batu Utara Regency Science.gov (United States) Hasnudi; Berutu, I. S.; Daulay, A. H.; Ginting, N.; Sembiring, I. 2018-02-01 Beef cattle breeding is a business of the majority people in South Kualuh Subdistrict among others business. Therefore it is necessary to know the people income of beef cattle farms in the district. This research was conducted in South Kualuh Subdistrict of Labuhan Batu Utara Regency of North Sumatera Province from October to December 2016. This research used survey method with family respondent unit that raising beef cattle. The sample was obtained through Proportional Stratified Random Sampling method and obtained by 97 farmers such as, from Tanjung Pasir village, 64 respondents, Simangalam village was 24 respondents and Lobu Huala village was 9 respondents. Data was analysed by multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed that scale of business, education of farmers positively affect the income of beef cattle farms while the age, breeding experience and the number of family dependents negatively affect to the income of beef cattle farms. APPROACH REGARDING SOME CONFORMATION AND MILK PRODUCTION TRAITS IN ROMANIAN SIMMENTAL CATTLE FORM HARGHITA AREA INCLUDED IN THE OFFICIAL CONTROLL Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) V. CIGHI 2009-10-01 Full Text Available Analysis of performance data regarding the conformation traits (withers height, body weight, thoracic perimeter, including the traits that concur to milk production (total milk production per normal lactation, fat percent, total fat amount from milk, in mothers-cattle of bulls, candidate mothers-cattle of bulls and active population of Romanian Spotted Simmental breed from Harghita region, allow us to ascertain the followings: The body weight of mothers-cattle of bulls, candidate mothers-cattle for bulls and also of those from the active population of Harghita region, prove the existence of a valuable genetic material with a high superiority of 30 kg of the mothers-cattle of bulls related the candidate mothers-cattle of bulls and of 50 kg related the active population; all of these emphasize the stringency of the selection performed. Analyzing the waistline of the three populations, it was possible to ascertain that the mothers-cattle of bulls values over class those of the candidate mothers-cattle of bulls and of the active population with 1 cm, respectively 4,1 cm. This difference indicates the researchers concern for raising the waistline in the Romanian Spotted Simmental breed from Harghita region. The thoracic perimeter values were adjacent those of the mothers-cattle of bulls and of the candidate mothers-cattle of bulls (200,00±3,70 cm respectively 199,30±1,24 cm and 185,70±0,61 cm in the active population. The values of circa 7000 kg milk realized in normal lactation of the mothers-cattle of bulls and candidate mothers-cattle of bulls, are showing a very good intensity of the selection, proved by the selection difference registered between the active population and the above two categories. These high milk productions registered for the mothers-cattle of bulls and candidate mothers-cattle of bulls are indicating a high productivity potential. The 250 kg of total milk fat achieved are showing a high potential of the Romanian Spotted Genetic variability of five indigenous Ethiopian cattle breeds using ... African Journals Online (AJOL) SERVER 2007-10-04 Oct 4, 2007 ... (2002) reported that people living in central Africa developed cattle ... attributes such as body size, horn shape and size, coat color and hump size and their ... into Africa from West Asia, and probably developed from a group of. Recovery of native genetic background in admixed populations using haplotypes, phenotypes, and pedigree information--using Cika cattle as a case breed. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Mojca Simčič Full Text Available The aim of this study was to obtain unbiased estimates of the diversity parameters, the population history, and the degree of admixture in Cika cattle which represents the local admixed breeds at risk of extinction undergoing challenging conservation programs. Genetic analyses were performed on the genome-wide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP Illumina Bovine SNP50 array data of 76 Cika animals and 531 animals from 14 reference populations. To obtain unbiased estimates we used short haplotypes spanning four markers instead of single SNPs to avoid an ascertainment bias of the BovineSNP50 array. Genome-wide haplotypes combined with partial pedigree and type trait classification show the potential to improve identification of purebred animals with a low degree of admixture. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated unique genetic identity of Cika animals. Genetic distance matrix presented by rooted Neighbour-Net suggested long and broad phylogenetic connection between Cika and Pinzgauer. Unsupervised clustering performed by the admixture analysis and two-dimensional presentation of the genetic distances between individuals also suggest Cika is a distinct breed despite being similar in appearance to Pinzgauer. Animals identified as the most purebred could be used as a nucleus for a recovery of the native genetic background in the current admixed population. The results show that local well-adapted strains, which have never been intensively managed and differentiated into specific breeds, exhibit large haplotype diversity. They suggest a conservation and recovery approach that does not rely exclusively on the search for the original native genetic background but rather on the identification and removal of common introgressed haplotypes would be more powerful. Successful implementation of such an approach should be based on combining phenotype, pedigree, and genome-wide haplotype data of the breed of interest and a spectrum of reference breeds which Maternal variant in the upstream of FOXP3 gene on the X chromosome is associated with recurrent infertility in Japanese Black cattle. Science.gov (United States) Arishima, Taichi; Sasaki, Shinji; Isobe, Tomohiro; Ikebata, Yoshihisa; Shimbara, Shinichi; Ikeda, Shogo; Kawashima, Keisuke; Suzuki, Yutaka; Watanabe, Manabu; Sugano, Sumio; Mizoshita, Kazunori; Sugimoto, Yoshikazu 2017-12-06 Repeat breeding, which is defined as cattle failure to conceive after three or more inseminations in the absence of clinical abnormalities, is a substantial problem in cattle breeding. To identify maternal genetic variants of repeat breeding in Japanese Black cattle, we selected 29 repeat-breeding heifers that failed to conceive following embryo transfer (ET) and conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the traits. We found that a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; g.92,377,635A > G) in the upstream region of the FOXP3 gene on the X chromosome was highly associated with repeat breeding and failure to conceive following ET (P = 1.51 × 10 -14 ). FOXP3 is a master gene for differentiation of regulatory T (T reg ) cells that function in pregnancy maintenance. Reporter assay results revealed that the activity of the FOXP3 promoter was lower in reporter constructs with the risk-allele than in those with the non-risk-allele by approximately 0.68 fold. These findings suggest that the variant in the upstream region of FOXP3 with the risk-allele decreased FOXP3 transcription, which in turn, could reduce the number of maternal T reg cells and lead to infertility. The frequency of the risk-allele in repeat-breeding heifers is more than that in cows, suggesting that the risk-allele could be associated with infertility in repeat-breeding heifers. This GWAS identified a maternal variant in the upstream region of FOXP3 that was associated with infertility in repeat-breeding Japanese Black cattle that failed to conceive using ET. The variant affected the level of FOXP3 mRNA expression. Thus, the results suggest that the risk-allele could serve as a useful marker to reduce and eliminate animals with inferior fertility in Japanese Black cattle. Modeling growth from weaning to maturity in beef cattle breeds Science.gov (United States) To better understand growth trajectory and maturity differences between beef breeds, three models – Brody, spline, and quadratic – were fit to cow growth data, and resulting parameter estimates were evaluated for 3 breed categories – British, continental, and Brahman-influenced. The data were weight... Breeding experiments and genome-wide association analysis elucidate two genetically different forms of non-syndromic congenital cleft lip and jaw in Vorderwald × Montbéliarde cattle. Science.gov (United States) Reinartz, S; Distl, O 2017-10-01 Non-syndromic congenital cleft lip and jaw (CLJ) is a condition reported in Vorderwald × Montbéliarde cattle. The objective of the present study was to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for 10 CLJ-affected and 50 unaffected Vorderwald × Montbéliarde cattle using the bovine Illumina high density bead chip to identify loci for this condition. Phenotypic classification of CLJ was based on a detailed recording of orofacial structures using computed tomography. A breeding experiment among CLJ-affected Vorderwald × Montbéliarde cattle and CLJ-affected Vorderwald × Montbéliarde cattle with unaffected Holsteins confirmed recessive inheritance and different loci for bilateral or left-sided versus right-sided CLJ. The GWAS for the five cases with right-sided CLJ gave a genome-wide signal on bovine chromosome (BTA) 29 at 16 Mb. For the four left-sided and one bilateral CLJ case, a genome-wide significant association was identified on BTA4 at 32 Mb. Two different loci are very likely to be involved in CLJ in Vorderwald × Montbéliarde cattle because experimental matings among affected cows and bulls with different types of CLJ did not result in CLJ-affected progeny, and in addition, two different loci were also found through GWAS and mapped on two different bovine chromosomes. Validation in 346 Vorderwald × Montbéliarde cattle for the highly associated SNPs on BTA4 and 29 gave ratios of 33/346 (0.095, BTA4) and 6/346 (0.017, BTA29) homozygous mutant genotypes. Further studies should elucidate the responsible mutations underlying the different types of CLJ in Vorderwald × Montbéliarde cattle. © 2017 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics. Selection for body weight in dairy cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Koenen, E.P.C. 2001-01-01 This thesis deals with selection for body weight (BW) in dairy cattle. The economic efficiency of present breeding schemes might increase further when selection decisions also consider information on BW as BW relates to feed costs and revenues from beef production. However, the practical Genetic analyses involving microsatellite ETH10 genotypes on bovine chromosome 5 and performance trait measures in Angus- and Brahman-influenced cattle. Science.gov (United States) DeAtley, K L; Rincon, G; Farber, C R; Medrano, J F; Luna-Nevarez, P; Enns, R M; VanLeeuwen, D M; Silver, G A; Thomas, M G 2011-07-01 ETH10 is a dinucleotide microsatellite within the promoter of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) gene on bovine chromosome 5. ETH10 is included in the panel of genetic markers used in parentage testing procedures of cattle breed associations. Allelic sizes of ETH10 PCR amplicons range from 199 to 225 bp. Objectives of this study were to use microsatellite data from beef cattle breed associations to investigate genetic distance and population stratification among Angus- and Brahman-influenced cattle and to use ETH10 genotypes and growth and ultrasound carcass data to investigate their statistical relationships. Three series of genotype to phenotype association analyses were conducted with 1) Angus data (n=5,094), 2) Brangus data (3/8 Brahman × 5/8 Angus; n=2,296), and 3) multibreed data (n=4,426) of Angus and Brangus cattle. Thirteen alleles and 38 genotypes were observed, but frequencies varied among breed groups. Tests of genetic identity and distance among 6 breed composition groups increasing in Brahman influence from 0 to 75% revealed that as Brahman-influence increased to ≥50%, genetic distance from Angus ranged from 18.3 to 43.5%. This was accomplished with 10 microsatellite loci. A mixed effects model involving genotype as a fixed effect and sire as a random source of variation suggested that Angus cattle with the 217/219 genotype tended to have 2.1% heavier (P=0.07) 205-d BW than other genotypes. In Brangus cattle, allele combinations were classified as small (≤215 bp) or large (≥217 bp). Brangus cattle with the small/large genotype had 2.0% heavier (PAngus and Brangus cattle. Results from this study provide support for STAT6 as one of the candidate genes underlying cattle growth QTL on chromosome 5. © 2011 American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. Domestic Cattle in the Romanised Southeast of the Alps: An Archeozoological View Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Borut Toškan 2013-07-01 Full Text Available This study of the role played by cattle (Bos taurus – Linnaeus, 1758 in the Romanised southeast of the Alps has included 8,579 remains of the species. Dating from the mid-1st century BC to the 6th century AD, they originate from 22 samples with at least 100 taxonomically identified bones or teeth (Table 1; Figure 1. In addition to these, seven additional minor samples are occasionally considered as well (Table 2, but their use was limited to the role of independent reference points in the testing of hypotheses, which were based on results yielded by the analysis of the 22 ‘major’ samples. The differences between sites in the methodology of archaeological excavations and of gathering the finds, in the approach to their taxonomic identification, in the extent of taphonomical differences and in the degree of fragmentation (Figure 2 were generally small. A survey of the share of various mammals reveals an evident predominance of the bones and teeth of cattle, sheep/goats and pigs, with a marginal role delegated to wild game. From about the mid-1st century BC to the 4th century AD, the most numerous is in fact the cattle (Figure 3. It was only with the beginning of late antiquity that major changes took place: the political instability and insecurity, as well as the accompanying settlement changes, heavily reduced the extent of cattle-breeding, while preference was given to the far less demanding sheep/goat and/or pig. These circumstances also correspond with the simultaneous increase in poultry. An analysis of the hierarchy of cattle-breeding aims reveals that while cattle certainly represented the central source of red meat for the population, cattle-breeders were primarily interested in exploiting the strength of the animals and possibly in acquiring milk (the latter especially in the context of the economically ever more self-sufficient settlements of late antiquity. The preferred slaughter age was four years and more (Figure 5; Table 3 Bali Cattle Carcass Characteristic of Different Butt Shape Condition Science.gov (United States) Hafid, H.; Nuraini; Inderawati; Kurniawan, W. 2018-02-01 Carcass was main product on cattle slaughtering which contain beef for human consumption and it has high nutritional and economical value. Carcass production on cattle has been influenced by several factors, such as cattle breed, feed, and body conformation. Cattle Butt Shape was one of part cattle body conformation which allegedly has have positive correlation on produced carcass. This research was aimed to evaluate Butt Shape condition influenced on Bali cattle carcass characteristic. The research was using Bali cattle which slaughter in Kendari Slaughtering House (Rumah Potong Hewan/RPH - Kendari). The observation includes weighing, and measuring parts of carcass was conducted on 60 heads of Halal process slaughtered Bali cattle which traditionally maintained. The research parameters were carcass productivity parameters i.e: slaughtering weight, carcass weight and length, leg length and circumstances. Obtained data were analyzed using Complete Randomized Design and post hoc analyzed using Least Significant Different if have any influence. The research result showed that cattle Butt Shape condition have significant (pBali cattle carcass productivity parameters. Butt shape with B category was result the best carcass productivity compare the others, while C category was better than D. It can be concluded that body and carcass weight were linearly influenced by cattle butt shape. « 11 12 13 14 15 » « 12 13 14 15 16 » Mukhabarah as Sharia Financing Model in Beef Cattle Farm Entrepise Science.gov (United States) Asnawi, A.; Amrawaty, A. A.; Nirwana 2018-02-01 Financing constraints on beef cattle farm nowadays have received attention by the government through distributed various assistance programs and program loans through implementing banks. The existing financing schemes are all still conventional yet sharia-based. The purpose of this research is to formulate financing pattern for sharia beef cattle farm. A qualitative and descriptive approach is used to formulate the pattern by considering the profit-sharing practices of the beef cattle farmers. The results of this study have formulated a financing pattern that integrates government, implementing banks, beef cattle farmers group and cooperative as well as breeders as its members. This pattern of financing is very accommodating of local culture that develops in rural communities. It is expected to be an input, especially in formulating a business financing policy Sharia-based beef cattle breeding. Genetic variability and population structure in loci related to milk production traits in native Argentine Creole and commercial Argentine Holstein cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Golijow C.D. 1999-01-01 Full Text Available Many cattle breeds have been subjected to high selection pressure for production traits. Consequently, population genetic structure and allelic distribution could differ in breeds under high selection pressure compared to unselected breeds. Analysis of k-casein, aS1-casein and prolactin gene frequencies was made for Argentine Creole (AC and Argentine Holstein (AH cattle herds. The calculated FST values measured the degree of genetic differentiation of subpopulations, depending on the variances of gene frequencies.The AC breed had considerably more variation among herds at the aS1-casein and k-casein loci. Conservation strategies should consider the entire AC population in order to maintain the genetic variability found in this native breed. Ultra-low-density genotype panels for breed assignment of Angus and Hereford cattle. Science.gov (United States) Judge, M M; Kelleher, M M; Kearney, J F; Sleator, R D; Berry, D P 2017-06-01 Angus and Hereford beef is marketed internationally for apparent superior meat quality attributes; DNA-based breed authenticity could be a useful instrument to ensure consumer confidence on premium meat products. The objective of this study was to develop an ultra-low-density genotype panel to accurately quantify the Angus and Hereford breed proportion in biological samples. Medium-density genotypes (13 306 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) were available on 54 703 commercial and 4042 purebred animals. The breed proportion of the commercial animals was generated from the medium-density genotypes and this estimate was regarded as the gold-standard breed composition. Ten genotype panels (100 to 1000 SNPs) were developed from the medium-density genotypes; five methods were used to identify the most informative SNPs and these included the Delta statistic, the fixation (F st) statistic and an index of both. Breed assignment analyses were undertaken for each breed, panel density and SNP selection method separately with a programme to infer population structure using the entire 13 306 SNP panel (representing the gold-standard measure). Breed assignment was undertaken for all commercial animals (n=54 703), animals deemed to contain some proportion of Angus based on pedigree (n=5740) and animals deemed to contain some proportion of Hereford based on pedigree (n=5187). The predicted breed proportion of all animals from the lower density panels was then compared with the gold-standard breed prediction. Panel density, SNP selection method and breed all had a significant effect on the correlation of predicted and actual breed proportion. Regardless of breed, the Index method of SNP selection numerically (but not significantly) outperformed all other selection methods in accuracy (i.e. correlation and root mean square of prediction) when panel density was ⩾300 SNPs. The correlation between actual and predicted breed proportion increased as panel density increased. Using Morphological assessment of Niger Kuri cattle using multivariate ... African Journals Online (AJOL) felixgg breed. Body measurements included facial, horn, ear and rump lengths; facial, cranial, shoulder, pelvic and ... matrices showed that pairs involving Kuri cattle had the higher differentiation of these populations. .... width between facial tuberosities), cranial width (minimum width of the frontal bone), muzzle circumference,. Assessment of the probability of introduction of bovine tuberculosis to Danish cattle farms via imports of live cattle from abroad and immigrant workers DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Foddai, Alessandro; Nielsen, Liza Rosenbaum; Krogh, Kaspar 2015-01-01 obtained from data analysis, expert opinion, the questionnaire and literature were fed into three stochastic scenario tree models used to simulate the effect of import trade patterns, and contact between immigrant workers and cattle. We also investigated the opportunity of testing animals imported from OTF...... cattle herds. Data from 2000 to 2013 with date, number and origin of imported live cattle were obtained from the Danish Cattle Federation. Information on immigrants working in Danish cattle herds was obtained through a questionnaire sent by email to a sample of Danish cattle farmers (N = 460). Inputs...... of introducing M. bovis into the Danish cattle population by either imported live cattle or infectious immigrant workers, ranged from 0.3% (90% prediction interval (P.I.): 0.04%:1.4%) in 2001 to 4.9% (90% P.I.: 0.6%; 19.2%) in 2009. The median of the median PIntro estimates from the 14 years was 0.7% (median... Empowering women to tackle cattle lung disease International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada) A new vaccine being developed will address these shortcomings. The vaccine is produced using novel, molecular technologies and bioinformatic tools in Canada and clinical trials in local Boran and Zebu cattle breeds in Kenya. The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization. (VIDO) of Canada has so far generated 69. THE PREVALENCE OF GASTROINTESTINAL NEMATODES OF BALI CATTLE BREEDERS IN NUSA PENIDA Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Putu Agus Trisna Kusuma Antara 2017-08-01 Full Text Available Nusa Penida is a pure breeding area of bali cattle, in which the cattle are mainly kept in conventional maintenance system and potentially infected by parasite, especially gastrointestinal nematodes. This study aims were to determine the prevalence and type of gastrointestinal nematodes in bali cattle breeders in Nusa Penida. Fecal samples were taken from 50 bali cattle breeders kept in cages (simantri and another 50 samples were from cattle not kept in cage. The floating method was used for morphological examination and prevalence, the data was analyzed with descriptive analysis. The results showed, the prevalence of bovine gastrointestinal nematodes in Nusa Penida was 25%. The prevalence of nematode infection in bali cattle that kept cages was lower compared to the cattle that were not kept in cage. Strongyloides papillosus and Capillaria bovis were the gastrointestinal nematodes found in the infected cattle. Estimation of genotype × environment interaction for yield, health and fertility in dairy cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Calus, M.P.L. 2006-01-01 In dairy cattle breeding,health and fertility traits have recently been included in a large number of national breeding goals. Polymorphisms within the Toll-Like Receptor (TLR-2, -4, and -6 Genes in Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Marco Mariotti 2009-07-01 Full Text Available In mammals, members of the TLR gene family play a primary role in the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns from bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi. Recently, cattle TLR genes have been mapped to chromosomes using a radiation hybrid panel. Nucleotide sequences of bovine TLR2, TLR4 and TLR6 genes were screened to identify novel SNPs that can be used in studies of cattle resistance to diseases. In total, 8 SNPs were identified and were submitted to the NCBI dbSNP database. The frequencies of the SNPs were assessed in 16 different bovine European cattle breeds and a phylogenetic analysis carried out to describe the relationships between the breeds. Even if from our analysis the SNPs do not appear located in loci under selection, a deviation of three SNPs from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium was observed, and we hypothesize that some of the polymorphisms may be fixated since many generations. The described variations in immune function related genes will contribute to research on disease response in cattle. In fact, the SNPs can be used in association studies between polymorphisms and cattle resistance to diseases. DNA polymorphisms in the Sahiwal breed of Zebu cattle revealed by synthetic oligonucleotide probes International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Shashikanth; Yadav, B.R. 2005-01-01 Genomic DNA of 15 randomly selected unrelated animals and from two sire families (11 animals) of the Sahiwal breed of Zebu cattle were investigated. Four oligonucleotide probes - (GTG) 5 , (TCC) 5 , (GT) 8 and (GT) 12 - were used on genomic DNA digested with restriction enzymes AluI, HinfI, MboI, EcoRI and HaeIII in different combinations. All four probes produced multiloci fingerprints with differing levels of polymorphisms. Total bands and shared bands in the fingerprints of each individual were in the range of 2.5 to 23.0 KB. Band number ranged from 9 to 17, with 0.48 average band sharing. Probes (GT) 8 , (GT) 12 and (TCC) 5 produced fingerprinting patterns of medium to low polymorphism, whereas probe (GTG) 5 produced highly polymorphic patterns. Probe (GTG) 5 in combination with the HaeIII enzyme was highly polymorphic with a heterozygosity level of 0.85, followed by (GT) 8 , (TCC) 5 and (GT) 12 with heterozygosity levels of 0.70, 0.65 and 0.30, respectively. Probe GTG 5 or its complementary sequence CAC 5 produced highly polymorphic fingerprints, indicating that the probe can be used for analysing population structure, parentage verification and identifying loci controlling quantitative traits and fertility status. (author) Determinants Of Cattle Farmers Particiaption In Farmers ... African Journals Online (AJOL) the activities of the farmer organizations in Hamadan province of Iran. All the members of the cattle-breeding cooperative in Hamadan province (N= 550) were included in the study. By use of simple random method 75 respondents were selected. The study was a descriptive-exploration, survey research. A questionnaire ... Ornamental Plant Breeding Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Flávia Barbosa Silva Botelho 2015-04-01 Full Text Available World’s ornamental plant market, including domestic market of several countries and its exports, is currently evaluated in 107 billion dollars yearly. Such estimate highlights the importance of the sector in the economy of the countries, as well as its important social role, as it represents one of the main activities, which contributes to income and employment. Therefore a well-structured plant breeding program, which is connected with consumers’ demands, is required in order to fulfill these market needs globally. Activities related to pre-breeding, conventional breeding, and breeding by biotechnological techniques constitute the basis for the successful development of new ornamental plant cultivars. Techniques that involve tissue culture, protoplast fusion and genetic engineering greatly aid conventional breeding (germplasm introduction, plant selection and hybridization, aiming the obtention of superior genotypes. Therefore it makes evident, in the literature, the successful employment of genetic breeding, since it aims to develop plants with commercial value that are also competitive with the ones available in the market. Evaluation of PRNP Expression Based on Genotypes and Alleles of Two Indel Loci in the Medulla Oblongata of Japanese Black and Japanese Brown Cattle Science.gov (United States) Msalya, George; Shimogiri, Takeshi; Ohno, Shotaro; Okamoto, Shin; Kawabe, Kotaro; Minezawa, Mitsuru; Maeda, Yoshizane 2011-01-01 Background Prion protein (PrP) level plays the central role in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) susceptibility. Increasing the level of PrP decreases incubation period for this disease. Therefore, studying the expression of the cellular PrP or at least the messenger RNA might be used in selection for preventing the propagation of BSE and other prion diseases. Two insertion/deletion (indel) variations have been tentatively associated with susceptibility/resistance of cattle to classical BSE. Methodology/Principal Findings We studied the expression of each genotype at the two indel sites in Japanese Black (JB) and Japanese Brown (JBr) cattle breeds by a standard curve method of real-time PCR. Five diplotypes subdivided into two categories were selected from each breed. The two cattle breeds were considered differently. Expression of PRNP was significantly (p0.05). Conclusion Our results suggest that the del/del genotype or at least its del allele may modulate the expression of PRNP at the 23-bp locus in the medulla oblongata of these cattle breeds. PMID:21611160 Microsatellite and Mitochondrial DNA Study of Native Eastern European Cattle Populations: The Case of the Romanian Grey. Science.gov (United States) Ilie, Daniela Elena; Cean, Ada; Cziszter, Ludovic Toma; Gavojdian, Dinu; Ivan, Alexandra; Kusza, Szilvia 2015-01-01 The Eastern European Grey cattle are regarded as the direct descendants of the aurochs (Bos taurus primigenius). Nowadays in Romania, less than 100 Grey animals are being reared and included in the national gene reserve. We examined the genetic diversity among Romanian Grey, Brown, Spotted and Black and White cattle breeds, with a particular focus on Romanian Grey through the use of (i) 11 bovine specific microsatellite markers on 83 animals and (ii) 638 bp length of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region sequence data from a total of 81 animals. Both microsatellite and mtDNA analysis revealed a high level of genetic variation in the studied breeds. In Romanian Grey a total of 100 alleles were found, the mean number of observed alleles per locus was 9.091; the average observed heterozygosity was 0.940; the Wright's fixation index (FIS) was negative (-0.189) and indicates that there is no inbreeding and no selection pressure. MtDNA analysis revealed 52 haplotypes with 67 variable sites among the Romanian cattle breeds without any insertion or deletion. Haplotype diversity was 0.980 ± 0.007 and ranged from 0.883 ± 0.056 (Brown) to 0.990 ± 0.028 (Spotted and Black and White). The highest genetic variability of the mtDNA was recorded in the Grey breed, where 18 haplotypes were identified. The most frequent mtDNA D-loop region belonged to T3 haplogroup (80.247%), which was found across all studied breeds, while T2 haplotypes (16.049%) was only found in Grey, Spotted and Black and White genotypes. The T1 haplotypes (3.704%) were found in the Grey and Spotted. The current results contribute to the general knowledge on genetic diversity found in Eastern European cattle breeds and could prove a valuable tool for the conservation efforts of animal genetic resources (FAnGR). Characterization of promoter sequence of toll-like receptor genes in Vechur cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) R. Lakshmi 2016-06-01 Full Text Available Aim: To analyze the promoter sequence of toll-like receptor (TLR genes in Vechur cattle, an indigenous breed of Kerala with the sequence of Bos taurus and access the differences that could be attributed to innate immune responses against bovine mastitis. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from Jugular vein of Vechur cattle, maintained at Vechur cattle conservation center of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, using an acid-citrate-dextrose anticoagulant. The genomic DNA was extracted, and polymerase chain reaction was carried out to amplify the promoter region of TLRs. The amplified product of TLR2, 4, and 9 promoter regions was sequenced by Sanger enzymatic DNA sequencing technique. Results: The sequence of promoter region of TLR2 of Vechur cattle with the B. taurus sequence present in GenBank showed 98% similarity and revealed variants for four sequence motifs. The sequence of the promoter region of TLR4 of Vechur cattle revealed 99% similarity with that of B. taurus sequence but not reveals significant variant in motifregions. However, two heterozygous loci were observed from the chromatogram. Promoter sequence of TLR9 gene also showed 99% similarity to B. taurus sequence and revealed variants for four sequence motifs. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that significant variation in the promoter of TLR2 and 9 genes in Vechur cattle breed and may potentially link the influence the innate immunity response against mastitis diseases. Recent research into the production potential of indigenous cattle ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Africa. The high calving rate of Sanga cattle (89,6%) compared to an average of 77,4% of four other breeds was the ... The former group is tax- onomically .... growth rate, the differences in feed conversion ratios ..... The economic importance. Does genomic selection have a future in plant breeding? Science.gov (United States) Jonas, Elisabeth; de Koning, Dirk-Jan 2013-09-01 Plant breeding largely depends on phenotypic selection in plots and only for some, often disease-resistance-related traits, uses genetic markers. The more recently developed concept of genomic selection, using a black box approach with no need of prior knowledge about the effect or function of individual markers, has also been proposed as a great opportunity for plant breeding. Several empirical and theoretical studies have focused on the possibility to implement this as a novel molecular method across various species. Although we do not question the potential of genomic selection in general, in this Opinion, we emphasize that genomic selection approaches from dairy cattle breeding cannot be easily applied to complex plant breeding. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Genomic heritabilities and genomic estimated breeding values for methane traits in Angus cattle. Science.gov (United States) Hayes, B J; Donoghue, K A; Reich, C M; Mason, B A; Bird-Gardiner, T; Herd, R M; Arthur, P F 2016-03-01 Enteric methane emissions from beef cattle are a significant component of total greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. The variation between beef cattle in methane emissions is partly genetic, whether measured as methane production, methane yield (methane production/DMI), or residual methane production (observed methane production - expected methane production), with heritabilities ranging from 0.19 to 0.29. This suggests methane emissions could be reduced by selection. Given the high cost of measuring methane production from individual beef cattle, genomic selection is the most feasible approach to achieve this reduction in emissions. We derived genomic EBV (GEBV) for methane traits from a reference set of 747 Angus animals phenotyped for methane traits and genotyped for 630,000 SNP. The accuracy of GEBV was tested in a validation set of 273 Angus animals phenotyped for the same traits. Accuracies of GEBV ranged from 0.29 ± 0.06 for methane yield and 0.35 ± 0.06 for residual methane production. Selection on GEBV using the genomic prediction equations derived here could reduce emissions for Angus cattle by roughly 5% over 10 yr. Genomic Selection Improves Heat Tolerance in Dairy Cattle Science.gov (United States) Garner, J. B.; Douglas, M. L.; Williams, S. R. O; Wales, W. J.; Marett, L. C.; Nguyen, T. T. T.; Reich, C. M.; Hayes, B. J. 2016-01-01 Dairy products are a key source of valuable proteins and fats for many millions of people worldwide. Dairy cattle are highly susceptible to heat-stress induced decline in milk production, and as the frequency and duration of heat-stress events increases, the long term security of nutrition from dairy products is threatened. Identification of dairy cattle more tolerant of heat stress conditions would be an important progression towards breeding better adapted dairy herds to future climates. Breeding for heat tolerance could be accelerated with genomic selection, using genome wide DNA markers that predict tolerance to heat stress. Here we demonstrate the value of genomic predictions for heat tolerance in cohorts of Holstein cows predicted to be heat tolerant and heat susceptible using controlled-climate chambers simulating a moderate heatwave event. Not only was the heat challenge stimulated decline in milk production less in cows genomically predicted to be heat-tolerant, physiological indicators such as rectal and intra-vaginal temperatures had reduced increases over the 4 day heat challenge. This demonstrates that genomic selection for heat tolerance in dairy cattle is a step towards securing a valuable source of nutrition and improving animal welfare facing a future with predicted increases in heat stress events. PMID:27682591 Development of a breeding objective for Estonian Holstein cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) E. PÄRNA 2008-12-01 Full Text Available Economic weights for milk carrier (water plus lactose, fat and protein yields, calving interval, age at first service, interval between the first service and conception of heifers and length of productive life of Estonian Holsteins were estimated under assumed milk production quota and for non-quota conditions. A bio-economic model of an integrated production system of a closed herd was used. Economic values of milk carrier yield and length of productive life differed between quota and non-quota conditions, but there were only minor differences between those marketing systems in economic values for functional traits. The standardised economic values of the most important traits varied in magnitude between18 to 81% of the economic value for milk yield. Discounting had a substantial impact on the economic value of length of productive life. When defining the breeding objective for Estonian Holstein, the interval between the first service and conception of heifers, and the length of productive life should be included in the breeding goal along with the traits with the highest economic value, milk, fat and protein yield. In the optimum breeding objective, relative weights of production vs. functional traits were 79 and 21%, respectively.; « 12 13 14 15 16 » « 13 14 15 16 17 » Analysis of SNPs in the KIT gene of cattle with different coat colour patterns and perspectives to use these markers for breed traceability and authentication of beef and dairy products Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Vincenzo Russo 2010-04-01 Full Text Available The identification of the breed of origin of farm animals has recently assumed particular relevance as increasing interests in marketing mono-breed labelled lines of beef and dairy products have created the need to protect them from frauds. In order to develop DNA based breed traceability and authentication protocols, the first step is the identification of breed specific markers with high discriminatory power among breeds. We analysed two single nucleotide polymorphisms identified in exon 2 (g.72779776C>T and exon 3 (g.72783182A>G of the KIT gene (a candidate gene for the spotting locus in seven cattle breeds with different coat colour patterns (Italian Holstein-Friesian, no. = 61; Italian Brown, no. = 60; Italian Simmental, no. = 78; Jersey, no. = 60; Rendena, no. = 51; Reggiana, no. = 128; and Modenese, no. = 52. The two alleles of both SNPs were detected in all analysed breeds making their use unsuitable in breed traceabilty with a deterministic approach. Italian Simmental was almost fixed for the most common alleles (g.72779776C and g.72783182A. Haplotype analysis showed that spotted breeds (Italian Holstein-Friesian and Italian Simmental had only two haplotypes with one of them ([C:A] with high frequency (~90% and ~99%, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA averaged over the two loci indicated that genetic variation between spotted and non-spotted groups of breeds amounted to 25.3% (P<0.05 supporting a possible involvement of the KIT gene in influencing the spotted phenotype, but probably not determining it, as we previously suggested. Pairwise Fst values indicated significant differences between almost all pair of investigated breeds. The high discriminatory power of the analysed SNPs is an important characteristic for the inclusion of these markers in SNP panels useful for breed allocation and traceability based on probabilistic approaches. Cattle Tick Rhipicephalus microplus-Host Interface: A Review of Resistant and Susceptible Host Responses Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Ala E. Tabor 2017-12-01 Full Text Available Ticks are able to transmit tick-borne infectious agents to vertebrate hosts which cause major constraints to public and livestock health. The costs associated with mortality, relapse, treatments, and decreased production yields are economically significant. Ticks adapted to a hematophagous existence after the vertebrate hemostatic system evolved into a multi-layered defense system against foreign invasion (pathogens and ectoparasites, blood loss, and immune responses. Subsequently, ticks evolved by developing an ability to suppress the vertebrate host immune system with a devastating impact particularly for exotic and crossbred cattle. Host genetics defines the immune responsiveness against ticks and tick-borne pathogens. To gain an insight into the naturally acquired resistant and susceptible cattle breed against ticks, studies have been conducted comparing the incidence of tick infestation on bovine hosts from divergent genetic backgrounds. It is well-documented that purebred and crossbred Bos taurus indicus cattle are more resistant to ticks and tick-borne pathogens compared to purebred European Bos taurus taurus cattle. Genetic studies identifying Quantitative Trait Loci markers using microsatellites and SNPs have been inconsistent with very low percentages relating phenotypic variation with tick infestation. Several skin gene expression and immunological studies have been undertaken using different breeds, different samples (peripheral blood, skin with tick feeding, infestation protocols and geographic environments. Susceptible breeds were commonly found to be associated with the increased expression of toll like receptors, MHC Class II, calcium binding proteins, and complement factors with an increased presence of neutrophils in the skin following tick feeding. Resistant breeds had higher levels of T cells present in the skin prior to tick infestation and thus seem to respond to ticks more efficiently. The skin of resistant breeds also Evaluation of Genetic Diversity, Population Structure, and Relationship Between Legendary Vechur Cattle and Crossbred Cattle of Kerala State, India. Science.gov (United States) Radhika, G; Aravindakshan, T V; Jinty, S; Ramya, K 2018-01-02 The legendary Vechur cattle of Kerala, described as a very short breed, and the crossbred (CB) Sunandini cattle population exhibited great phenotypic variation; hence, the present study attempted to analyze the genetic diversity existing between them. A set of 14 polymorphic microsatellites were chosen from FAO-ISAG panel and amplified from genomic DNA isolated from blood samples of 30 Vechur and 64 unrelated crossbred cattle, using fluorescent labeled primers. Both populations revealed high genetic diversity as evidenced from high observed number of alleles, Polymorphic Information Content and expected heterozygosity. Observed heterozygosity was lesser (0.699) than expected (0.752) in Vechur population which was further supported by positive F IS value of 0.1149, indicating slight level of inbreeding in Vechur population. Overall, F ST value was 0.065, which means genetic differentiation between crossbred and Vechur population was 6.5%, indicating that the crossbred cattle must have differentiated into a definite population that is different from the indigenous Vechur cows. Structure analysis indicated that the two populations showed distinct differences, with two underlying clusters. The present study supports the separation between Taurine and Zebu cattle and throws light onto the genetic diversity and relationship between native Vechur and crossbred cattle populations in Kerala state. Urinary catecholamine concentrations in three beef breeds at ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Handling and transport of live animals is a stressful experience for animals. The temperaments of cattle affect their behaviour and differ between breeds, i.e. studies have shown that Bos indicus types are more temperamental than Sanga and Bos taurus types. Catecholamines (CAT's) are considered as indicators of stress, ... Effect of heat stress on the expression profile of Hsp90 among Sahiwal (Bos indicus) and Frieswal (Bos indicus × Bos taurus) breed of cattle: a comparative study. Science.gov (United States) Deb, Rajib; Sajjanar, Basavaraj; Singh, Umesh; Kumar, Sushil; Singh, Rani; Sengar, G; Sharma, Arjava 2014-02-25 We evaluated the effect of thermal challenge on the expression profile of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) among Sahiwal (Bos indicus) and Frieswal (Bos indicus × Bos taurus) breeds of cattle. The present investigation was focused on the comparative studies on Hsp90 expression among Frieswal and Sahiwal under in vitro and environmental heat stress. Measured immediately after the in vitro heat shock to the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), the relative expression of Hsp90 mRNA was significantly (Pcows consistently recorded higher rectal temperatures than the Sahiwal breed. Further during this peak summer stress, Sahiwal showed significantly higher levels of mRNA transcripts as well as protein concentration compared to the Frieswal breed. Our findings also interestingly showed that, the cell viability of PBMC are significantly higher among the Sahiwal than Frieswal. Taken together, the experiments of both induced in vitro and environmental stress conditions indicate that, Sahiwal may express higher levels of Hsp90 then Frieswal to regulate their body temperature and increase cell survivality under heat stressed conditions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1000 Bull Genomes - Toward genomic Selectionf from whole genome sequence Data in Dairy and Beef Cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Hayes, B.; Daetwyler, H.D.; Fries, R.; Guldbrandtsen, B.; Mogens Sando Lund, M.; Didier A. Boichard, D.A.; Stothard, P.; Veerkamp, R.F.; Hulsegge, B.; Rocha, D.; Tassell, C.; Mullaart, E.; Gredler, B.; Druet, T.; Bagnato, A.; Goddard, M.E.; Chamberlain, H.L. 2013-01-01 Genomic prediction of breeding values is now used as the basis for selection of dairy cattle, and in some cases beef cattle, in a number of countries. When genomic prediction was introduced most of the information was to thought to be derived from linkage disequilibrium between markers and causative 26 CFR 1.1231-2 - Livestock held for draft, breeding, dairy, or sporting purposes. Science.gov (United States) 2010-04-01 ... 26 Internal Revenue 11 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Livestock held for draft, breeding, dairy, or... Losses § 1.1231-2 Livestock held for draft, breeding, dairy, or sporting purposes. (a)(1) In the case of cattle, horses, or other livestock acquired by the taxpayer after December 31, 1969, section 1231 applies... Nutritional and organoleptic quality of Beni-Guil lamb meat breeding in eastern Morocco OpenAIRE Belhaj, Kamal; Mansouri, Farid; Sindic, Marianne; Boukharta, M; Fauconnier, Marie-Laure; Abid, M; Serghini; Elamrani, A 2017-01-01 Nowadays in Morocco, 98% of red meat production is ensured by cattles, sheeps and goast. The eastern Morocco represents one of the main sheep farming areas, characterized by the specificity of its production systems. So it is well known by the quality of the sheep meat produced. The Beni-Guil breed is a dominate breed in this breeding area, labeled Protected Geographical Indication (PIG). Thus, it’s an important protein source for the population in this geographical site and highly appreciate... Bill E. Kunkle Interdisciplinary Beef Symposium: Temperament and acclimation to human handling influence growth, health, and reproductive responses in Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle. Science.gov (United States) Cooke, R F 2014-12-01 Temperament in cattle is defined as the fear-related behavioral responses when exposed to human handling. Our group evaluates cattle temperament using 1) chute score on a 1 to 5 scale that increases according to excitable behavior during restraint in a squeeze chute, 2) exit velocity (speed of an animal exiting the squeeze chute), 3) exit score (dividing cattle according to exit velocity into quintiles using a 1 to 5 scale where 1=cattle in the slowest quintile and 5=cattle in the fastest quintile), and 4) temperament score (average of chute and exit scores). Subsequently, cattle are assigned a temperament type of adequate temperament (ADQ; temperament score≤3) or excitable temperament (EXC; temperament score>3). To assess the impacts of temperament on various beef production systems, our group associated these evaluation criteria with productive, reproductive, and health characteristics of Bos taurus and Bos indicus-influenced cattle. As expected, EXC cattle had greater plasma cortisol vs. ADQ cattle during handling, independent of breed type (B. indicus×B. taurus, Preproduction, EXC females had reduced annual pregnancy rates vs. ADQ cohorts across breed types (B. taurus, P=0.03; B. indicus, P=0.05). Moreover, B. taurus EXC cows also had decreased calving rate (P=0.04), weaning rate (P=0.09), and kilograms of calf weaned/cow exposed to breeding (P=0.08) vs. ADQ cohorts. In regards to feedlot cattle, B. indicus EXC steers had reduced ADG (P=0.02) and G:F (P=0.03) during a 109-d finishing period compared with ADQ cohorts. Bos taurus EXC cattle had reduced weaning BW (P=0.04), greater acute-phase protein response on feedlot entry (P≤0.05), impaired feedlot receiving ADG (P=0.05), and reduced carcass weight (P=0.07) vs. ADQ cohorts. Acclimating B. indicus×B. taurus or B. taurus heifers to human handling improved temperament (P≤0.02), reduced plasma cortisol (Preproductive, and health characteristics of beef cattle independent of breed type. Hence, strategies Effect of cattle exclosures on Columbia Spotted Frog abundance Science.gov (United States) Adams, Michael J.; Pearl, Christopher; Chambert, Thierry; Mccreary, Brome; Galvan, Stephanie; Rowe, Jennifer 2018-01-01 Livestock grazing is an important land use in the western USA and can have positive or negative effects on amphibians. Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris) often use ponds that provide water for cattle. We conducted a long-term manipulative study on US Forest Service land in northeastern Oregon to determine the effects of full and partial exclosures that limited cattle access to ponds used by frogs. We found weak evidence of a short-term increase in abundance that did not differ between full and partial exclosures and that diminished with continuing exclusion of cattle. The benefit of exclosures was small relative to the overall decline in breeding numbers that we documented. This suggests that some protection can provide a short-term boost to populations. Genotyping Cryptosporidium andersoni in cattle in Shaanxi Province, Northwestern China. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Guang-Hui Zhao Full Text Available The present study examined the prevalence and genotypes of Cryptosporidium andersoni in cattle in Shaanxi province, China. A total of 2071 fecal samples (847 from Qinchuan cattle and 1224 from dairy cattle were examined for the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts, and 70 samples (3.4% were C. andersoni-positive and those positive samples were identified by PCR amplification of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA and the Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein (COWP genes. C. andersoni was the only species found in the examined cattle in this province. Fifty-seven C. andersoni isolates were characterized into 5 MLST subtypes using multilocus sequence typing analysis, including a new subtype in the native beef breed Qinchuan cattle. All of these C. andersoni isolates presented a clonal genetic structure. These findings provide new insights into the genetic structure of C. andersoni isolates in Shaanxi province and basic data of Cryptosporidium prevalence status, which in turn have implications for controlling cryptosporidiosis in this province. Breed traceability of buffalo meat using microsatellite genotyping technique. Science.gov (United States) Kannur, Bheemashankar H; Fairoze, Md Nadeem; Girish, P S; Karabasanavar, Nagappa; Rudresh, B H 2017-02-01 Although buffalo has emerged as a major meat producing animal in Asia, major research on breed traceability has so far been focused on cattle (beef). This research gap on buffalo breed traceability has impelled development and validation of buffalo breed traceability using a set of eight microsatellite (STR) markers in seven Indian buffalo breeds (Bhadawari, Jaffaarabadi, Murrah, Mehsana, Nagpuri, Pandharpuri and Surti). Probability of sharing same profile by two individuals at a specific locus was computed considering different STR numbers, allele pooling in breed and population. Match probabilities per breed were considered and six most polymorphic loci were genotyped. Out of eight microsatellite markers studied, markers CSSMO47, DRB3 and CSSM060 were found most polymorphic. Developed technique was validated with known and unknown, blood and meat samples; wherein, samples were genetically traced in 24 out of 25 samples tested. Results of this study showed potential applications of the methodology and encourage other researchers to address the problem of buffalo traceability so as to create a world-wide archive of breed specific genotypes. This work is the first report of breed traceability of buffalo meat utilizing microsatellite genotyping technique. Seroprevalence of brucellosis among cattle slaughtered in three municipal abattoirs of Gombe state, Northeastern Nigeria Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Saleh Mohammed Jajere 2016-10-01 Full Text Available Aim: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of bovine brucellosis among cattle slaughtered at three municipal abattoirs of Gombe State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 blood samples collected from slaughtered cattle of different breeds (Sokoto Gudali - 50, White Fulani - 102, Red bororo – 34, and Crossbreeds - 14, sex (males - 19 and females - 181, and from different locations (Billiri - 30, Yamaltu Deba – 50, and Gombe - 120 were screened for brucellosis using rose bengal plate test (RBPT, serum agglutination test (SAT, and microtiter agglutination test (MAT. Results: Of the 200 serum samples analyzed, 7 (3.5%, 10 (5.0% and 18 (9.0% were positive by RBPT, SAT and MAT, respectively. The results showed no statistically significant association between sex and seropositivity to bovine brucellosis. However, seropositivity of bovine brucellosis was higher in females than in males. Similarly, no statistically significant association was observed between breed and occurrence of bovine brucellosis. Moreover, the prevalence of brucellosis was higher in Sokoto Gudali as compared with the other breeds. Based on the study locations, higher seroprevalence was observed in animals screened from Billiri as compared with those from other locations (p<0.05. Conclusion: The presence of Brucella abortus antigen in the sera of slaughtered cattle in Gombe state poses a significant public health risk. Therefore, it is important to carry out further epidemiological studies on fulani herdsmen and cattle herds in the study area, in order to explore the risk factors associated with the occurrence and perpetuation of brucellosis among cattle herds, ascertain the prevalence and status of the disease among both farms and nomadic herds. The impact of sharing arrangement institution on beef cattle breeding performance in Kupang District, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia Science.gov (United States) Nono, O. H.; Natawidjaja, R.; Arief, B.; Suryadi, D.; Kapa, M. M. J. 2018-02-01 The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of sharing arrangement systems to performance of beef cattle breeding. This research was conducted in Kupang Regency - East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The study used multi stage cluster random sampling method to determine the sample area and respondents. The sample areas consisted of 2 sub-districts and 6 villages, while the total respondents were 117 people comprised 74 Participant Farmers (PF) of sharing arrangement systems (SAS) and 43 non-participant farmers (NPF). 23 investors were selected for the survey. The result of the study indicated that the performance of NPF in terms of revenue, net profit, and return on investment (ROI) was better than PF respondents. The value of ROI was between 16.69-32.23 %. This indicated that utilization of farm asset was not optimum yet. It was found that farm efficiency was 1.73 which indicated that SAS does not increase farm productivity. Epidemiology and Molecular Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Cattle Slaughtered in Zahedan and Zabol Districts, South East of Iran Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Davood ANVARI 2018-03-01 Full Text Available Background: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate, intracellular parasite which causes the toxoplasmosis in humans and warm-blooded animals. Red meat is an important source for transmission of the infection to humans. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma among imported and indigenous cattle in the Sistan region.Methods: One hundred samples from slaughtered cattle were collected from two abattoirs of Zabol and Zahedan, South East of Iran in 2015. Each sample was a mixture of three muscle, including tongue, cardiac, and triceps. Additional data of each cattle, including sex, breed, age, indigenous or imported, location of slaughter, management practices, and feeding system were obtained through observations and interviews. Infection by T. gondii was determined by PCR method.Results: The prevalence of Toxoplasma in indigenous cattle was 6% and in imported cattle was 26%, and this difference was statistically significant (P=0.006. Moreover, the prevalence of Toxoplasma was statistically associated with management practices (P=0.01 and feeding system (P=0.001. However, relationship between the prevalence of Toxoplasma with age, breed, sex, and location of slaughter was not statistically significant.Conclusion: Since the prevalence of Toxoplasma among imported cattle is higher than indigenous cattle, so strict supervision for importing livestock from neighboring countries is necessary. Body measures and milk production, milk fat globules granulometry and milk fatty acid content in Cabannina cattle breed Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Ricardo Communod 2013-03-01 Full Text Available Aim of the study was to achieve scientific information about body measures and milk production of Cabannina cattle, a local breed reared in northern Italy. Fourteen body measures and five morphologic indexes were recorded from 86 heads enrolled in the herd book. Low differences between males and females of the same age-class were shown. Body measures were generally greater than those reported in previous studies, probably due to recent crosses. With reference to milk production, 991 test-day records from 128 lactations of 59 cows were analysed. Average milk daily production was 8 kg/d in 1st lactation to 10.61 in 3rd (P<0.05; the parameters of the Wood equation draw atypical curves with the exception of curves from spring calving cows. Only 74.5% of lactations with an adjusted R2 >0.75 showed a standard curve, with low persistence (7.7%, high value of d at peak (103 d and peak production of 20.18 kg of milk. Moreover, 100 milk samples (40 to 220 d of lactation were submitted to a granulometric survey by laser scatter technique in order to evaluate the dimensions of fat globules; then milk fat was analyzed by gas chromatography, and desaturase indexes were determined. Cabannina cows showed small fat globules with high specific surface. Furthermore mean diameter of milk fat globules decreased during lactation then rose. Milk fat contained high levels of cis-MUFA, and high desaturase indexes. In conclusion, the low size of Cabannina cattle orients for a limited meat production. Instead milk production has a higher economic potential, aimed at cheese production and human nutrition. Molecular Study of the Amazonian Macabea Cattle History. Science.gov (United States) Vargas, Julio; Landi, Vincenzo; Martínez, Amparo; Gómez, Mayra; Camacho, María Esperanza; Álvarez, Luz Ángela; Aguirre, Lenin; Delgado, Juan Vicente 2016-01-01 Macabea cattle are the only Bos taurus breed that have adapted to the wet tropical conditions of the Amazon. This breed has integrated into the culture of the indigenous Shuar-Asuar nations probably since its origins, being one of the few European zoogenetic resources assimilated by the deep-jungle Amazon communities. Despite its potential for local endogenous sustainable development, this breed is currently endangered. The present study used molecular genetics tools to investigate the within- and between-breeds diversity, in order to characterize the breed population, define its associations with other breeds, and infer its origin and evolution. The within-breed genetic diversity showed high values, as indicated by all genetic parameters, such as the mean number of alleles (MNA = 7.25±2.03), the observed heterozygosity (Ho = 0.72±0.02) and the expected heterozygosity (He = 0.72±0.02). The between-breeds diversity analysis, which included factorial correspondence analysis, Reynolds genetic distance, neighbor-joining analysis, and genetic structure analysis, showed that the Macabea breed belongs to the group of the American Creoles, with a Southern-Spain origin. Our outcomes demonstrated that the Macabea breed has a high level of purity and null influences of exotic cosmopolitan breeds with European or Asiatic origin. This breed is an important zoogenetic resource of Ecuador, with relevant and unique attributes; therefore, there is an urgent need to develop conservation strategies for the Macabea breed. Methods and impact of genetic selection in dairy cattle: From daughter-dam comparisons to deep learning algorithms Science.gov (United States) In the early 1900s, breed society herdbooks had been established, and milk recording programs were in their infancy. Farmers were interested in improving the productivity of dairy cattle, but the foundations of population genetics, quantitative genetics, and animal breeding had not yet been laid. Li... Cattle breeding, trypanosomosis prevalence and drug resistance in Northern Togo. Science.gov (United States) Tchamdja, E; Kulo, A E; Vitouley, H S; Batawui, K; Bankolé, A A; Adomefa, K; Cecchi, G; Hoppenheit, A; Clausen, P H; De Deken, R; Van Den Abbeele, J; Marcotty, T; Delespaux, V 2017-03-15 African Animal Trypanosomosis (AAT) is a major disease of cattle in Togo and its control is essentially based on chemotherapy. However, because of excessive use of trypanocides during the past decades, chemo-resistance in the parasites has developed. In order to assess the current situation of AAT and resistance to trypanocidal drugs in Northern Togo, a study was conducted on cattle from December 2012 to August 2013 in the regions of Kara and Savanes. An initial cross-sectional survey was carried out in 40 villages using the Haematocrit Centrifugation Technique (HCT). Out of these, 5 villages with a trypanosome prevalence of >10% were selected for a block treatment study (BT) with diminazene diaceturate (DA: 3.5mg/kg for a 14-day follow-up) and isometamidium chloride (ISM: 0.5mg/kg for a 28-day follow-up). Positive blood samples collected during the parasitological surveys and an equivalent number of negatives were further analyzed by PCR-RFLP for trypanosome species confirmation and molecular diagnosis of resistance to DA in Trypanosoma congolense. The results from 1883 bovine blood samples confirmed a high overall trypanosome prevalence of 10.8% in Northern Togo. PCR-RFLP revealed that T. congolense is the dominant pathogenic trypanosome species (50.5%) followed by T. vivax (27.3%), and T. brucei (16.2%). The BT showed varying levels of treatment failures ranging from 0 to 30% and from 0 to 50% for DA and for ISM respectively, suggesting the existence of resistant trypanosome populations in the study area. Our results show that AAT still represents a major obstacle to the development of cattle husbandry in Northern Togo. In areas of high AAT risk, a community-based integrated strategy combining vector control, rational use of trypanocidal drugs and improving the general condition of the animals is recommended to decision makers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. SUPPORTS FOR LOCAL BREEDS IN THE EUROPEAN REGION – AN OVERVIEW Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Danijela Bojkovski 2015-09-01 Full Text Available This study analysed the incentives for conservation of local breeds in 35 European countries, with the particular reference to the situation in Slovenia. In order to collect all necessary data in different countries, detailed questionnaire was developed and sent out to National coordinators for Animal Genetic Resources in the European Region. Data were edited and analysed using MS Excel program where basic descriptive statistics was performed to show differences among countries in incentive payments. Incentives for local breeds in Slovenia were paid from the Agri-environmental payments. The amount of payment for one livestock unit was 89.38 € per year. Subsidies for adult cattle and horses of local breeds were therefore 89.38 € per animal, while for pigs there were 44.69 € per animal and for sheep and goats 13.41 € per animal. Comparing data from different countries, the highest subsides were received for cattle ranging from 45 € to 520 € for bulls. From all 35 countries, 16 countries have subsidies for horses. Despite two breeds of sheep and one breed of goat in Slovenia highly endangered, the level of subsides for sheep and goats for local breeds included in the environmental payments were equal i.e., 13.41 € per animal. Compared to 21 countries reported the financial support for sheep, only two countries had lower support than in Slovenia. The EC Regulations can explain differences in payments where the Member States are free when determining the payments level. Another reason could be since out of 35 countries, eleven are not EU members. National coordinators from all countries agreed that financial support per head is very important tool for breed conservation and such a practice should be continued. However, the current level of support does not compensate loss of income due to lower productivity. « 13 14 15 16 17 » « 14 15 16 17 18 » Complex pedigree analysis to detect quantitative trait loci in dairy cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Bink, M.C.A.M. 1998-01-01 In dairy cattle, many quantitative traits of economic importance show phenotypic variation. For breeding purposes the analysis of this phenotypic variation and uncovering the contribution of genetic factors is very important. Usually, the individual gene effects contributing to the Association between FASN gene polymorphisms ultrasound carcass traits and intramuscular fat in Qinchuan cattle. Science.gov (United States) Raza, Sayed Haidar Abbas; Gui, Linsheng; Khan, Rajwali; Schreurs, Nicola M; Xiaoyu, Wang; Wu, Sen; Mei, Chugang; Wang, Li; Ma, Xueyao; Wei, Dawei; Guo, Hongfang; Zhang, Song; Wang, Xingping; Kaleri, Hubdar Ali; Zan, Linsen 2018-03-01 Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is an enzyme involved with fat deposition and fatty acid composition in cattle. This study was conducted to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the FASN gene and explore their relationships with ultrasound carcass traits in order to assess the potential use of the FASN gene for the breeding selection of Qinchuan cattle for desirable carcass traits. The frequencies of SNP g.12740C>T, g.13192T>C and g.13232C>T were identified in 525 individual Qinchuan cattle which were also assessed for backfat depth, eye muscle area and intramuscular fat by ultrasound. According to the PIC values, g.13192T>C possessed an intermediate polymorphism (0.25T, g.12740C>T possessed low polymorphism (PICC were in Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (c2C was associated with a greater eye muscle area and the TT genotype at g.13232C>T was associated with greater intramuscular fat. When these genotypes were combined there was no difference in eye muscle area and intramuscular fat between the diplotypes. The H 2 H 2 diplotype was associated with carcass traits that are likely to provide economic advantage in Qinchuan cattle. Variations in the FASN genes and their corresponding genotypes may be considered as molecular markers for economic traits in cattle breeding. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Genotype analysis of partial growth hormone gene (GH891│MspI in Pesisir cattle and Simmental-Pesisir crossbred cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) T. Hartatik 2018-03-01 Full Text Available Growth hormone gene that controls metabolism and body size of animals and polymorphism of the gene is known related to performance of livestock. Identification of gene polymorphisms was important to get early information to determine genetic markers associated with economically desirable traits. Genetic mapping is one of important characterizations in the selection process. Pesisir cattle is one of local cattle in Indonesia that are reared in West Sumatera and have become adaptive to local environment. The present study aimed to identify the genotype of Growth Hormone gene (GH891│MspI of the Pesisir cattle and crossbred Simmental-Pesisir cattle (designated as SimPes and relationship between growth performance (body weight and body size. The present study was conducted to 30 blood samples consisted of 15 Pesisir cattle and 15 SimPes cattle. Body weight and body size were measured at 12-18 months of age. The Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP method was used in this research. The results showed that there exist three variant genotypes (MspI-/-, MspI+/-, MspI+/+ and that allele frequencies of MspI- and MspI+ were 53.3% and 46.7%, respectively. Non-significant effect has found between GH’s genotype and growth traits (Body measurement and body weight in both of breed cattle. In conclusion, three variant genotypes (GH891│MspI in Pesisir and SimPes (Simmental x Pesisir cattle population were found and no significant effect on growth trait performance. Sero-epidemiological survey and risk factors associated with bovine brucellosis among slaughtered cattle in Nigeria Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Victor O. Akinseye 2016-05-01 Full Text Available Bovine brucellosis is endemic in Nigeria; however, limited data exist on nationwide studies and risk factors associated with the disease. Using a cross-sectional sero-epidemiological survey, we determined the prevalence of and risk factors for brucellosis in slaughtered cattle in three geographical regions of Nigeria. Serum samples from randomly selected unvaccinated cattle slaughtered over a period of 3 years (between December 2010 and September 2013 from northern, southern and south-western Nigeria were tested for antibodies to Brucella abortus using the Rose Bengal test. Data associated with risk factors of brucellosis were analysed by Stata Version 12. In all, 8105 cattle were screened. An overall seroprevalence of 3.9% (315/8105 was recorded by the Rose Bengal test, with 3.8%, 3.4% and 4.0% from the northern, southern and south-western regions, respectively. Bivariate analysis showed that cattle screened in northern Nigeria were less likely to be seropositive for antibodies to Brucella spp. than those from south-western Nigeria (odds ratio = 0.94; 95% confidence interval: 0.73–1.22. However, logistic regression analysis revealed that breed ( p = 0.04 and sex ( p £ 0.0001 of cattle were statistically significant for seropositivity to Brucella spp. The study found that brucellosis was endemic at a low prevalence among slaughtered cattle in Nigeria, with sex and breed of cattle being significant risk factors. Considering the public health implications of brucellosis, we advocate coordinated surveillance for the disease among diverse cattle populations in Nigeria, as is carried out in most developed countries. Keywords: Bovine brucellosis, RBT, Epidemiology, Public Health, Nigeria Evaluation of novel SNPs and haplotypes within the ATBF1 gene and their effects on economically important production traits in cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) H. Xu 2017-08-01 Full Text Available AT motif binding factor 1 (ATBF1 gene can promote the expression level of the growth hormone 1 (GH1 gene by binding to the enhancers of the POU1F1 and PROP1 genes; thus, it affects the growth and development of livestock. Considering that the ATBF1 gene also has a close relationship with the Janus kinase–signal transductor and activator of transcription (JAK–STAT pathway, the objective of this work was to identify novel single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP variations and their association with growth traits in native Chinese cattle breeds. Five novel SNPs within the ATBF1 gene were found in 644 Qinchuan and Jinnan cattle for first time using 25 pairs of screening and genotyping primers. The five novel SNPs were named as AC_000175:g.140344C>G (SNP1, g.146573T>C (SNP2, g.205468C>T (SNP3, g.205575A>G (SNP4 and g.297690Cbreeds, and three and five closely linked loci were revealed in Qinchuan and Jinnan breeds, respectively. Association analysis revealed that SNP1 was significantly associated with the height across the hip in Qinchuan cattle. SNP2 was found to be significantly related to chest circumference and body side length traits in Jinnan cattle. SNP3 was found to have significant associations with four growth traits in Qinchuan cattle. Moreover, the different combined genotypes, SNP1–SNP3, SNP1–SNP4 and SNP2–SNP5 were significantly associated with the growth traits in cattle. These findings indicated that the bovine ATBF1 gene had marked effects on growth traits, and the growth-trait-related loci can be used as DNA markers for maker-assisted selection (MAS breeding programs in cattle. Organic and Conventional Dairy Farmers Prefer Different Improvements in Breeding Goal Traits DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Slagboom, Margot; Kargo, Morten; Edwards, David software 1000Minds. These pairwise rankings were based on equal economic worth of trait improvements. The survey was filled in by 106 organic and 290 conventional farmers. The most preferred trait improvement for both production systems was in cow fertility, and the least preferred improvement......In dairy cattle breeding, breeding goals (BG) are developed and subsequently a selection index that farmers want to use. Therefore it is important to take their preferences for BG traits into account. Two production systems that are expected to influence farmer preferences for BG traits are organic...... and conventional systems. The aim of this study was to characterize preferences of organic and conventional Danish dairy farmers for improvements in BG traits for Holstein cattle. A survey was established to characterize preferences for improvements in ten traits, by means of pairwise rankings using the online... Prevalence of Theileria annulata in dairy cattle in Nyala, South Darfur State, Sudan Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Ismail A. Abaker 2017-12-01 Full Text Available Aim: This study was conducted in dairy cattle in Nyala, South Darfur State, during the period from June to September 2015, to study the prevalence of bovine tropical theileriosis. Materials and Methods: Apparently, healthy cattle of different age groups, different breeds, and from both sexes were randomly selected from seven locations. Three age groups of cattle were selected, group one <1 year old, group two 1-3 years old, and group three older than 3 years. These cattle were indigenous and cross (Friesian X zebu. A total of 150 blood samples were collected for blood smears, blood in EDTA tubes, and serum samples as well as ticks infesting cattle. Three diagnostic techniques were used such as blood smear, indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR. Results: Of 150 samples, 11 (7.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.1-5.5 were positive for Theileria spp. piroplasms in the blood smears, 70 (46.7%, 95% CI: 35.7-57.7 were positive for Theileria annulata antibodies in the IFAT, and of 100 samples, 39 (39%, 95% CI: 46.6-31.4 were positive for T. annulata using PCR. The prevalence of T. annulata was higher in indigenous breed than cross cattle by the three diagnostic techniques. The highest prevalence of T. annulata was recorded among cattle older than 3 years old. There were three genera and ten species of ticks found feeding on cattle. These were Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus decoloratus, Rhipicephalus annulatus, Hyalomma dromedrii, Hyalomma impeltatum, Hyalomma rufipes, Hyalomma anatolicum, Hyalomma truncatum, Amblyomma variegatum, and Amblyomma lepidum. Conclusion: The study concluded that tropical theileriosis is prevalent among dairy cattle in Nyala. H. anatolicum was found in very low numbers, suggesting other ticks may play a role in the transmission of the disease. Molecular characterization of T. annulata is recommended for accurate mapping of the disease and evaluates the magnitude problem of Genetic and environmental variance and covariance parameters for some reproductive traits of Holstein and Jersey cattle in Antioquia (Colombia Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Juan Carlos Zambrano 2014-03-01 Full Text Available The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic, phenotypic and environmental parameters for calving interval (CI, days open (DO, number of services per conception (NSC and conception rate (CR in Holstein and Jersey cattle in Antioquia (Colombia. Variance and covariance component estimates were obtained by an animal model that was solved using the derivative-free restricted maximum likelihood method. The means and standard deviations for CI, DO, NSC and CR were: 430.32±77.93 days, 127.15±76.96 days, 1.58±1.03 services per conception and 79.88±28.66% in Holstein cattle, and 409.33±86.48 days, 125.62±86.09 days, 1.48±0.98 services per conception and 84.08±27.23% in Jersey cattle, respectively. The heritability estimates (standard errors were: 0.088(0.037, 0.082(0.037, 0.040(0.025 and 0.030(0.026 in Holstein cattle and 0.072(0.098, 0.090(0.104, 0.093(0.097 and 0.147(0.117 in Jersey cattle, respectively. The results show that the genetic, phenotypic and permanent environmental correlations in the two evaluated breeds were favorable for CI × DO, CI × NSC and DO × NSC, but not for CI × CR, DO × CR and NSC × CR. Genetic and permanent environmental correlations were high in most cases in Holstein cattle, whereas in Jersey cattle they were moderate. In contrast, phenotypic correlations were very low in both breeds, except for CI × DO and NSC × CR, which were high. Overall, the genetic component found was very low (<8% in both evaluated breeds and this implies that their selection would take long time and that a good practical management of the herd will be essential in order to improve the reproductive performance. Congenital syndactyly in cattle: four novel mutations in the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 gene (LRP4 Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Höltershinken Martin 2007-02-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background Isolated syndactyly in cattle, also known as mulefoot, is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait with variable penetrance in different cattle breeds. Recently, two independent mutations in the bovine LRP4 gene have been reported as the primary cause of syndactyly in the Holstein and Angus cattle breeds. Results We confirmed the previously described LRP4 exon 33 two nucleotide substitution in most of the affected Holstein calves and revealed additional evidence for allelic heterogeneity by the identification of four new LRP4 non-synonymous point mutations co-segregating in Holstein, German Simmental and Simmental-Charolais families. Conclusion We confirmed a significant role of LRP4 mutations in the pathogenesis of congenital syndactyly in cattle. The newly detected missense mutations in the LRP4 gene represent independent mutations affecting different conserved protein domains. However, the four newly described LRP4 mutations do still not explain all analyzed cases of syndactyly. Studies on the transmission of malignant catarrhal fever in experimental animals: A serial infection of cattle and buffalo by means of whole blood inoculation Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Agus Wiyono 1999-12-01 Full Text Available Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF is a fatal disease especially affecting cattle and buffaloes. A study on the serial blood transmission of MCF was conducted by injecting whole blood of MCF animals into 9 experimental animals. Diagnosis of MCF was based on the clinico-pathological fmdings and polymerase chain reaction (PCR test. The disease has successfully, been achieved in six animals of three Bali cattle and three buffaloes but not in a Bali-cross breed and two Bos indicus (Ongole cattle. Wide range of clinical signs and gross-pathological features were observed. The study showed the degree of susceptibility of experimental animals: Bali cattle and buffalo were highly susceptible (3 out of 3 affected with MCF, Bali-cross breed and Bos indicus (Ongole cattle seemed not susceptible to whole blood experimental transmission. It shows that when Bali cattle acted as inoculum donor, buffalo tended to be clinically more severe than Bali cattle. On the other hand, when buffalo acted as inoculum donor, Bali cattle suffered from MCF more severe than buffalo. The diagnosis of MCF by histopathological examination and the PCR test bad positive correlation (100% in the first experiment, while in the second experiment the PCR test tends to be more sensitive. Based on the restriction endonuclease (RE test, the MCF causal agent in this study appeared to be genetically similar in each case. It is concluded that the serial experimental transmission of MCF by means of whole blood inoculation has been successfully achieved in Bali cattle and buffalo but not in Bali-cross breed and Ongole cattle, and there is a positive correlation between the PCR test and histopathological examination with the PCR test tends to be more sensitive. Breeding for mechanised sesame production in Australia International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Beech, D.F.; Imrie, B.C. 2001-01-01 Introduction of sesame germplasm from Myanmar and Mexico was not satisfactory for successful development of the Australian sesame industry. Therefore, a national breeding programme was undertaken by CSIRO and the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries (NTDPIF). The main traits considered for selection were latitudinal adaptation, temperature response, growth habit, determinacy, palatability, capsules per leaf axil, seed shattering and seed dormancy. The CSIRO breeding efforts started in 1989 with a hybridization programme using germplasm from Japan, Mexico, Myanmar, Rep. of Korea and Venezuela. This programme resulted in selection in the F 6 generation of branched types released under the names 'Beech's choice' and 'Aussie Gold'. The NTDPIF sesame breeding programme started in 1993 with hybridization of introductions. The Mexican cultivar 'Yori 77' was selected for release, and after several years of intraline selection the uniculm cultivar 'Edith' was released in 1996. Further breeding continues to improve seed retention and resistance to charcoal rot. (author) Introduction to mutation breeding and genetic research of soybean in China International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Zhan Mingkui; Zhao Jingrong 1988-01-01 This paper summarized the achievements and developments in mutation breeding and genetic research of soybean. The optimal irradiation dosage was determined for 22 varieties of soybean which have been released and popularized so far. Analyses of mutants, mutant characters and mutation frequency in the generations of M 1 , M 2 and M 3 of soybean were carried out and a procedure of mutation breeding was described. Discussion of the effect of different radiant agents, the selection of progeny induced by radiation, the breeding method by combining mutation with hybridization and resistant varieties with good quality ones have been conducted Marker-assisted selection in dairy cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Weller, J.I. 2007-01-01 Considering the long generation interval, the high value of each individual, the very limited female fertility and the fact that nearly all economic traits are expressed only in females, it would seem that cattle should be a nearly ideal species for application of marker-assisted selection (MAS). As genetic gains are cumulative and eternal, application of new technologies that increase rates of genetic gain can be profitable even if the nominal annual costs are several times the value of the nominal additional annual genetic gain. Complete genome scans for quantitative trait loci (QTL) based on the granddaughter design have been completed for most commercial dairy cattle populations, and significant across-study effects for economic traits have been found on chromosomes 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 14 and 20. Quantitative trait loci associated with trypanotolerance have been detected in a cross between the African N'Dama and the Boran breeds as the first step in the introgression of these genes into breeds susceptible to trypanosomosis. In dairy cattle, the actual DNA polymorphism has been determined twice, for QTL on BTA 6 and BTA 14. In both cases the polymorphism caused a non-conservative amino acid change, and both QTL chiefly affect fat and protein concentration. Most theoretical studies have estimated the expected gains that can be obtained by MAS to be in the range of a 5 to 20 percent increase in the rates of genetic gain obtained by traditional selection programmes. Applied MAS programmes have commenced for French and German Holsteins. In both programmes genetic evaluations including QTL effects are computed by variants of marker-assisted best linear unbiased prediction (MA-BLUP). (author) Double insemination and gonadotropin-releasing hormone treatment of repeat-breeding dairy cattle. Science.gov (United States) Stevenson, J S; Call, E P; Scoby, R K; Phatak, A P 1990-07-01 Our objective was to determine if double inseminations during the same estrous period of dairy cattle eligible for their third or fourth service (repeat breeders) would improve pregnancy rates equivalent to injections of GnRH given at the time of AI. Repeat-breeding, lactating cows from six herds (five herds in the San Joaquin Valley of central California and one herd in northeast Kansas) were assigned randomly to four treatment groups when detected in estrus: 1) single AI plus no injection, 2) single AI plus 100 micrograms GnRH at AI, 3) double AI plus no injection, or 4) double AI plus 100 micrograms of GnRH at AI. Inseminations were performed according to the a.m.-p.m. rule. The second AI for the double AI treatment was given 12 to 16 h after the first AI. Injections of GnRH were given intramuscularly immediately following the single AI or the first AI of the double AI. Pregnancy rates of cows given a single AI and hormone injection were numerically higher in all six herds than those of their herdmates given only a single AI. In five of six herds, the pregnancy rates of cows given a double AI and hormone injection were numerically higher than pregnancy rates of their herdmates given only a double AI. Overall pregnancy rates for the four treatments were 1) 112/353 (32.1%), 2) 165/406 (41.6%), 3) 119/364 (33.5%), and 4) 135/359 (37.5%). Gonadotropin-releasing hormone increased pregnancy rates of repeat breeders compared with controls given only a single AI. No further benefit beyond the single AI was accrued from the double AI treatment, with or without concurrent hormone administration. Predicting Madura cattle growth curve using non-linear model Science.gov (United States) Widyas, N.; Prastowo, S.; Widi, T. S. M.; Baliarti, E. 2018-03-01 Madura cattle is Indonesian native. It is a composite breed that has undergone hundreds of years of selection and domestication to reach nowadays remarkable uniformity. Crossbreeding has reached the isle of Madura and the Madrasin, a cross between Madura cows and Limousine semen emerged. This paper aimed to compare the growth curve between Madrasin and one type of pure Madura cows, the common Madura cattle (Madura) using non-linear models. Madura cattles are kept traditionally thus reliable records are hardly available. Data were collected from small holder farmers in Madura. Cows from different age classes (5years) were observed, and body measurements (chest girth, body length and wither height) were taken. In total 63 Madura and 120 Madrasin records obtained. Linear model was built with cattle sub-populations and age as explanatory variables. Body weights were estimated based on the chest girth. Growth curves were built using logistic regression. Results showed that within the same age, Madrasin has significantly larger body compared to Madura (plogistic models fit better for Madura and Madrasin cattle data; with the estimated MSE for these models were 39.09 and 759.28 with prediction accuracy of 99 and 92% for Madura and Madrasin, respectively. Prediction of growth curve using logistic regression model performed well in both types of Madura cattle. However, attempts to administer accurate data on Madura cattle are necessary to better characterize and study these cattle. Prevalence of major skin diseases of cattle and associated risk ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Dermatophilosis was significantly (p<0.05) higher in animals 2-5 years of age, cross breed and semi-intensively managed cattle. Generally, the prevalence of tick was high, that of lice and mange mite was moderate prevalence whereas the prevalence of dermatophillosis, skin wart, LSD and photosensitization was low. Endometrial cytology as an indicator of subclinical endometritis of dairy cattle Holstein Friesian and Jersey breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Reátegui J 2016-12-01 Full Text Available In order to evaluate the presence of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (% PMN-N as an indicator of endometritis sub clinic in dairy cattle Holstein Friesian and Jersey breeds, by the method of endometrial cytology. 94 dairy cows were sampled, and were grouped by genotypic characteristics as: Group 1: 47 Holstein Friesian cows; Group 2: 47 Jersey cows, both between 21 and 56 days postpartum. It were evaluated: age, body condition, lactation number, number of birth, date of birth and days in milk to obtain the sample data were evaluated with a test of homogeneity based on statistical Chi square (p 0.05 was found in any of the variables studied, the% PMN-N reached a range between 0.4% and 4.4%, with an average of 2.2% still below the values indicating the present investigation reports the% PMN-N by genetic group both as multiparous or primiparous cows showed no significant differences between them. It has be concluded that the overall frequency for SE in different genotype cows did show statistically significant differences (p>0.05, however the presence of PMN-N as an indicator of subclinical endometritis in dairy cows of different genotype with 2 and 4 lactations showed differences statistically significant (p<0.05. Prevalence of cattle flukes infection at Andassa Livestock Research Center in north-west of Ethiopia Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Asressa Yeneneh 2012-06-01 Full Text Available A cross sectional study was carried out from October 2010 to March 2011 at Andassa Livestock Research Center, North-West Ethiopia. The objective was to determine the prevalence of cattle flukes infection. Faecal samples were collected from a total of 384 cattle, cross breed (n= 39 and Fogera breed (n=345 of all age groups and sex. Sedimentation technique was employed for the recovery of fluke eggs from freshly collected fecal sample. The results indicated that the overall prevalence of bovine flukes infection was 60.42%. In this study, the highest prevalence was recorded from Paramphistomosis (45.83% followed by Fasciolosis (23.96%, and Schistosomosis (9.89%. The prevalence of flukes infection was higher in age group 1- 2 years old. There was significant difference in case of Paramphistomosis among age groups. No significant association was found between crossed breeds and sex groups for fluke’s infection. The prevalence of Paramphistomosis was high in cross breed (58.97% than Fogera breed (44.35%. However, in both cases, there was no significant difference. The result of the present study revealed that the prevalence of major bovine fluke infection in the study area was relatively low and is the definite proof of active infection. Is crossbreeding of cattle beneficial for mixed farming systems in Central Java? NARCIS (Netherlands) Widi, T.S.M.; Udo, H.M.J.; Oldenbroek, J.K.; Budisatria, I.G.S.; Baliarti, E.; Zijpp, van der A.J. 2015-01-01 From 1980s onwards, Indonesia's government has been implementing crossbreeding with European beef breeds through artificial insemination to improve the beef performance of local cattle, in response to the increasing demand for meat. Crossbreeding is promoted and implemented throughout the country, Abundant mtDNA diversity and ancestral admixture in Colombian criollo cattle (Bos taurus). OpenAIRE Carvajal-Carmona, Luis G; Bermudez, Nelson; Olivera-Angel, Martha; Estrada, Luzardo; Ossa, Jorge; Bedoya, Gabriel; Ruiz-Linares, Andrés 2003-01-01 Various cattle populations in the Americas (known as criollo breeds) have an origin in some of the first livestock introduced to the continent early in the colonial period (16th and 17th centuries). These cattle constitute a potentially important genetic reserve as they are well adapted to local environments and show considerable variation in phenotype. To examine the genetic ancestry and diversity of Colombian criollo we obtained mitochondrial DNA control region sequence information for 110 ... « 14 15 16 17 18 » « 15 16 17 18 19 » The Impact of Crossbreeding in The Artificial Insemination Program on Reproductive Performance of Beef Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Kusuma Diwyanto 2009-06-01 Full Text Available Artificial Insemination (AI in beef cattle in Indonesia is widely practised. Nowadays, the goal of AI program is not clear; whether to produce: composite breed; terminal cross or as a commercial animal. In fact, farmer assisted by inseminator do the grading up toward Simmental or Limousine. In this paper, crossbreeding impact on reproductive performance of beef cattle in Indonesia is discussed. Farmers prefer the crossbred cattle resulted from AI because its male offspring has higher price than that of local breed. However, 50% of the offspring are female and are used as replacement stock. This AI practice resulted bigger cattle that need more feed. In the scarce feed condition, this bigger cattle become skinny and in bad shape. This leads to bad reproductive performance such as high ‘service per conception’ (S/C, 'long calving interval' and 'low calf crop'. Moreover, it produces less milk and results in high mortality rate of the offspring. In good management condition, crossbred cattle shows good performance, but often ‘day open’ is longer, since weaning time is postponed. That is why long calving interval still exists eventhough the S/C is low. Local cattle are very adaptive, resistant to tropical diseases and have high reproductive rate, high quality of leather and good quality of carcass. In scarce feed condition, local cattle are skinny but still can show estrous and get pregnant. In bad condition, they produce very small offsprings that die because of lack of milk from the cow. The availability of feed supply both in quantity and quality is the key factor in AI practices to maintain good body condition of crossbred and to produce good quality of offspring. SNP and haplotype analysis reveal IGF2 variants associated with growth traits in Chinese Qinchuan cattle. Science.gov (United States) Huang, Yong-Zhen; Zhan, Zhao-Yang; Li, Xin-Yi; Wu, Sheng-Ru; Sun, Yu-Jia; Xue, Jing; Lan, Xian-Yong; Lei, Chu-Zhao; Zhang, Chun-Lei; Jia, Yu-Tang; Chen, Hong 2014-02-01 Insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) is a potent cell growth and differentiation factor and is implicated in mammals' growth and development. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the mutations in the bovine IGF2 with growth traits in Chinese Qinchuan cattle. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected of the bovine IGF2 by DNA pool sequencing and forced polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (forced PCR-RFLP) methods. We also investigated haplotype structure and linkage disequilibrium (LD) coefficients for four SNPs in 817 individuals representing two main cattle breeds from China. The result of haplotype analysis showed eight different haplotypes and 27 combined genotypes within the study population. The statistical analyses indicated that the four SNPs, combined genotypes and haplotypes are associated with the withers height, body length, chest breadth, chest depth and body weight in Qinchuan cattle population (P growth traits; the heterozygote diplotype was associated with higher growth traits compared to wild-type homozygote. Our results provide evidence that polymorphisms in the IGF2 gene are associated with growth traits, and may be used for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding program. Prevalence and diagnostic test comparison of brucellosis in cattle in pabna and mymensingh districts of bangladesh International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Rahman, M.S.; Azad, M.K.; Ahasan, M.S.; Sarker, R.R.; Uddin, M.J. 2013-01-01 Present study was undertaken to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis in cattle of Pabna and Mymensingh districts in Bangladesh. A total of 260 cattle sera samples were collected from Pahna and Mymensingh districts. The epidemiological data were collected by structured questionnaire. RBT and SAT were used as screening tests and further confirmed by 1-ELISA. The seroprevalence of Bruce/Ia ill cattle was estimated to be 4.23%, 3.07% and 2.31% by RBT, SAT and 1-ELISA, respectively. The comparison of the serological tests result revealed the highest prevalence in RBT than SAT and 1-EL ISA. The prevalence of Brucella was 2.5% in Pabna and 2.14% in Mymensingh. It was observed that, a higher prevalence of Bruce/la was found in female (2.67%) than in male (1.82%), natural breeding (2.67%) than artificial breeding (1.81%), in aged animals (3.33%) than young (1.25 degree percent). But these differences were not statistically significant. There exists significant difference between prevalence of Bruce/II in cattle with history of abortion than without history of abortion (P value=0.013). (author) Strontium-90 and cesium-137 migration in trophic chain of cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Zotov, V.G.; Sirotkin, A.N.; Isamov, N.N. 1983-01-01 Technique for determination of factors of radionuclide migration in cattle trophic chain, which can be used for forecasting probable contamination of food and cattle breeding products Under Uzbekistan conditions is suggested. It is shown that the factor of biological absorption (FBA) of strontiUm 90 by plants from grey desert soils is 3.7 times higher, than of cesium 137. Mentioned differences in soil-plants migration link are leveled and their FBA in food-milk, food-bone, food-mUscles links remain practically the same during radionuclide migration from food to milk and meat. During radionuclide migration in trophic chain of cattle in food-bone and food-muscles chains the concentration of strontium 90 in bone tissUe and cesium 137 in muscle tissue takes place Cattle mortality due to poisoning in Spain: a cross-sectional epidemiological study Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) García-Arroyo, R.; Míguez, M.P.; Hevia, M.L.; Quiles, A. 2015-07-01 The lack of nationwide public databases on poisoning in cattle makes it difficult to investigate this issue. Hence, we conducted an epidemiological study using the data on cattle poisoning provided by an insurance company (2000-2005), to determine the mortality rate due to poisoning in cattle in Spain and to assess the influence of the following variables: type of farming, age, sex, time of year, year and region. We observed a mortality rate of 23.25 per 100,000 animals in Spain with a higher rate in beef than dairy cattle (32.14 vs. 4.51 per 100,000 animals). There were also differences in the mortality rate between breeding cattle and future breeders, affecting dairy and beef cattle in a different way. In dairy cattle, we found differences between the years analysed. In beef cattle, the time of year with highest risk of poisoning was the last quarter (19.45 per 100,000 animals), while the lowest mortality rate was observed in the first quarter (1.33 per 100,000). There were pronounced differences between regions in beef cattle, differences being non-significant in dairy cattle. Lastly, in beef cattle, no differences were found between sexes. In summary, the mortality rate due to poisoning in cattle in Spain is low, and the risk of poisoning is determined by the farming system, animals’ stage of development, time of year and region. (Author) Use of an immunodominant p17 antigenic fraction of Neospora caninum in detection of antibody response in cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Gema Álvarez García 2006-08-01 Full Text Available A Neospora caninum 17 kDa protein fraction (p17 has been described as an immunodominant antigen (IDA under reducing and non-reducing conditions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the diagnostic utility of p17 in cattle. In order to achieve this, p17 was purified by electroelution from whole N. caninum tachyzoite soluble extract and a p17-based Western blot (WB-p17 was developed. The p17 recognition was measured by densitometry and expressed as OD values to check the validity of the WB-p17. A total of 131 sera including sequential samples from naturally- and experimentally-infected calves and breeding cattle were analysed by WB-p17 and compared with IFAT using whole formalin-fixed tachyzoites as a reference test. The results obtained highlight the feasibility of using the N. caninum p17 in a diagnostic test in cattle. Firstly, the assay based on the p-17 antigen discriminated between known positive and negative sera from different cattle populations, breeding cattle and calves. Secondly, the p17 antigen detected fluctuations in the antibody levels and seroconversion in naturally- and experimentally-infected cattle. Significant differences in p-17 antigen recognition were observed between naturally infected aborting and non-aborting cattle, as well as significant antibody fluctuations over time in experimentally infected cattle, which varied between groups. Furthermore, the results obtained with WB-p17 are in accordance with the results obtained with the IFAT, as high agreement values were obtained when all bovine subpopulations were included (kappa = 0.86. Association of plasma ghrelin concentrations with feed intake in beef cattle Science.gov (United States) Active ghrelin is an acylated peptide produced in the gastrointestinal tract of animals that is thought to stimulate appetite. Cattle used in this experiment were sired by bulls representing five breeds in the U.S. including: Hereford, Angus, Limousin, Charolais, and Gelbvieh. Steers (n=128) and hei... Mapping the impact of crossbreeding in smallholder cattle systems in Indonesia NARCIS (Netherlands) Tri Satya Mastuti Widi, Tri 2015-01-01 ABSTRACT In response to increasing demand for meat, Indonesia’s government has been implementing crossbreeding with European beef breeds to improve the meat production of local cattle. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the benefits and consequences of Mining of lethal recessive genetic variation in Danish cattle DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Das, Ashutosh 2015-01-01 in fertility. The primary objective of this PhD projekt was to identify recessive lethal gentic variants in the main Danish dairy cattle breed. Holstein-Friesian utilzing next generation sequencing (NGS) data. This study shows a potential for the use of the NGS-based reverse genetic approach in identifying...... lethal or semi-lethal recessive gentic variation... The potential for modification in cloning and vitrification technology to enhance genetic progress in beef cattle in Northern Australia. Science.gov (United States) Taylor-Robinson, Andrew W; Walton, Simon; Swain, David L; Walsh, Kerry B; Vajta, Gábor 2014-08-01 Recent advances in embryology and related research offer considerable possibilities to accelerate genetic improvement in cattle breeding. Such progress includes optimization and standardization of laboratory embryo production (in vitro fertilization - IVF), introduction of a highly efficient method for cryopreservation (vitrification), and dramatic improvement in the efficiency of somatic cell nuclear transfer (cloning) in terms of required effort, cost, and overall outcome. Handmade cloning (HMC), a simplified version of somatic cell nuclear transfer, offers the potential for relatively easy and low-cost production of clones. A potentially modified method of vitrification used at a centrally located laboratory facility could result in cloned offspring that are economically competitive with elite animals produced by more traditional means. Apart from routine legal and intellectual property issues, the main obstacle that hampers rapid uptake of these technologies by the beef cattle industry is a lack of confidence from scientific and commercial sources. Once stakeholder support is increased, the combined application of these methods makes a rapid advance toward desirable traits (rapid growth, high-quality beef, optimized reproductive performance) a realistic goal. The potential impact of these technologies on genetic advancement in beef cattle herds in which improvement of stock is sought, such as in northern Australia, is hard to overestimate. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Determinants Affecting on Smallholder Madura Cattle Farming at Pamekasan Regency, East Java, Indonesia Science.gov (United States) Utami, H. D.; Yakin, A.; Seruni, A. P. 2018-02-01 Study was case study at Pamekasan Regency of Madura Island, East Java, Indonesia. The research aimed to examine income of smallholder beef cattle farming and its influencing factors. The research used 30 members of the Pancong Jaya group farmer that obtained by purposive sampling method. Research regarded descriptive analysis using economic formulation and multiple regression technique. Results found that R2 Adjusted obtained 73.70% and F-calculation (12.625) indicated significant (Pexperience in raising cattle and their education revealed a positive and high significant (Ppurchasing breeding stock appeared a negative and significant (P experience in handling cattle strongly influenced on increasing income. However, the contrast view come from farmers’ age, the number of family members, and purchasing feeder cattle in which these seemed to reduce farmers’ income. Temporal Fluctuation in North East Baltic Sea Region Cattle Population Revealed by Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosomal DNA Analyses Science.gov (United States) Niemi, Marianna; Bläuer, Auli; Iso-Touru, Terhi; Harjula, Janne; Nyström Edmark, Veronica; Rannamäe, Eve; Lõugas, Lembi; Sajantila, Antti; Lidén, Kerstin; Taavitsainen, Jussi-Pekka 2015-01-01 Background Ancient DNA analysis offers a way to detect changes in populations over time. To date, most studies of ancient cattle have focused on their domestication in prehistory, while only a limited number of studies have analysed later periods. Conversely, the genetic structure of modern cattle populations is well known given the undertaking of several molecular and population genetic studies. Results Bones and teeth from ancient cattle populations from the North-East Baltic Sea region dated to the Prehistoric (Late Bronze and Iron Age, 5 samples), Medieval (14), and Post-Medieval (26) periods were investigated by sequencing 667 base pairs (bp) from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and 155 bp of intron 19 in the Y-chromosomal UTY gene. Comparison of maternal (mtDNA haplotypes) genetic diversity in ancient cattle (45 samples) with modern cattle populations in Europe and Asia (2094 samples) revealed 30 ancient mtDNA haplotypes, 24 of which were shared with modern breeds, while 6 were unique to the ancient samples. Of seven Y-chromosomal sequences determined from ancient samples, six were Y2 and one Y1 haplotype. Combined data including Swedish samples from the same periods (64 samples) was compared with the occurrence of Y-chromosomal haplotypes in modern cattle (1614 samples). Conclusions The diversity of haplogroups was highest in the Prehistoric samples, where many haplotypes were unique. The Medieval and Post-Medieval samples also show a high diversity with new haplotypes. Some of these haplotypes have become frequent in modern breeds in the Nordic Countries and North-Western Russia while other haplotypes have remained in only a few local breeds or seem to have been lost. A temporal shift in Y-chromosomal haplotypes from Y2 to Y1 was detected that corresponds with the appearance of new mtDNA haplotypes in the Medieval and Post-Medieval period. This suggests a replacement of the Prehistoric mtDNA and Y chromosomal haplotypes by new types of cattle. PMID:25992976 Review. Promises, pitfalls and challenges of genomic selection in breeding programs Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) Ibanez-Escriche, N.; Gonzalez-Recio, O. 2011-07-01 The aim of this work was to review the main challenges and pitfalls of the implementation of genomic selection in the breeding programs of different livestock species. Genomic selection is now one of the main challenges in animal breeding and genetics. Its application could considerably increase the genetic gain in traits of interest. However, the success of its practical implementation depends on the selection scheme characteristics, and these must be studied for each particular case. In dairy cattle, especially in Holsteins, genomic selection is a reality. However, in other livestock species (beef cattle, small ruminants, monogastrics and fish) genomic selection has mainly been used experimentally. The main limitation for its implementation in the mentioned livestock species is the high geno typing costs compared to the low selection value of the candidate. Nevertheless, nowadays the possibility of using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips of low density to make genomic selection applications economically feasible is under study. Economic studies may optimize the benefits of genomic selection (GS) to include new traits in the breeding goals. It is evident that genomic selection offers great potential; however, a suitable geno typing strategy and recording system for each case is needed in order to properly exploit it. (Author) 50 refs. Deterministic Simulation of Alternative Breeding Objectives and Schemes for Pure Bred Cattle in Kenya International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Kahi, A.K. 2002-01-01 Alternative breeding objectives and schemes for milk production were evaluated for their economic efficiency using deterministic simulation. A two-tier open nucleus breeding scheme and a young bull system (YBS) were assumed with intensive recording and 100% artificial insemination (AI) in the nucleus and 35% AI in the commercial population, which was assumed to comprise of the smallholder herds. Since most production systems are dual purpose, breeding objectives were defined, which represented different scenarios. These objectives represented the present (objective 1- dual purpose), smallholder (objective 2- dual purpose with limited mature live weight) and future production situations (objective 3- dual purpose with fat based milk price). Breeding objectives differed in the trials included and their economic values while the breeding schemes differed in records available for use as selection criteria as well as in the costs and investment parameters. since the main question for establishing a breeding and recording programme is that of efficiency of investment, the monetary genetic response and profit per cow in the population were used as evaluation criteria. All breeding objectives and schemes realized profits. The objectives and schemes that ranked highly for annual monetary genetic response and total return per cow did not rank the same in profit per cow in all cases. In objective 3, the scheme that assumed records on fat yield (FY) were available for use as selection criterion and that, which assumed no records on FY,differed very little in profit per cow (approximately 4%). Therefore, under the current production and marketing conditions, a breeding scheme that requires measuring of the fat content does not seem to be justified from an economic point of view. There is evidence that a well-organised breeding programme utilizing an open nucleus, a YBS and the smallholder farms as well as commercial population could sustain itself Genetic diversity and bottleneck studies in the Marwari horse breed Indian Academy of Sciences (India) Unknown [Gupta A. K., Chauhan M., Tandon S. N. and Sonia 2005 Genetic diversity and bottleneck studies in the Marwari horse breed. J. Genet. 84, 295–301] ... developed to carry out studies of genetic variation (Brad- ley et al. 1996; Canon et al. ..... 1996 Mitochondrial diversity and the origins of African and. European cattle. Proc. Seizure disorders in 43 cattle. Science.gov (United States) D'Angelo, A; Bellino, C; Bertone, I; Cagnotti, G; Iulini, B; Miniscalco, B; Casalone, C; Gianella, P; Cagnasso, A 2015-01-01 Large animals have a relatively high seizure threshold, and in most cases seizures are acquired. No published case series have described this syndrome in cattle. To describe clinical findings and outcomes in cattle referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Turin (Italy) because of seizures. Client-owned cattle with documented evidence of seizures. Medical records of cattle with episodes of seizures reported between January 2002 and February 2014 were reviewed. Evidence of seizures was identified based on the evaluation of seizure episodes by the referring veterinarian or 1 of the authors. Animals were recruited if physical and neurologic examinations were performed and if diagnostic laboratory test results were available. Forty-three of 49 cases fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 8 months. Thirty-one animals were male and 12 were female. Piedmontese breed accounted for 39/43 (91%) animals. Seizures were etiologically classified as reactive in 30 patients (70%) and secondary or structural in 13 (30%). Thirty-six animals survived, 2 died naturally, and 5 were euthanized for reasons of animal welfare. The definitive cause of reactive seizures was diagnosed as hypomagnesemia (n = 2), hypocalcemia (n = 12), and hypomagnesemia-hypocalcemia (n = 16). The cause of structural seizures was diagnosed as cerebrocortical necrosis (n = 8), inflammatory diseases (n = 4), and lead (Pb) intoxication (n = 1). The study results indicate that seizures largely are reported in beef cattle and that the cause can be identified and successfully treated in most cases. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Hemoparasites in Cattle and Goats at the Edge of Kibale National Park, Western Uganda. Science.gov (United States) Weny, Geoffrey; Okwee-Acai, James; Okech, Samuel George; Tumwine, Gabriel; Ndyanabo, Susan; Abigaba, Salvatory; Goldberg, Tony L 2017-02-01 Livestock production is a major sector of the Ugandan economy. Ugandan ruminant livestock (principally cattle and goats) are susceptible to hemoparasites that can cause serious clinical disease and production losses. Kibale National Park, in western Uganda, is a protected forest ecosystem surrounded by small-scale farms where cattle and goats are raised. We conducted a cross-sectional study of cattle and goats in this area and diagnosed hemoparasite infections by microscopy. We collected data on animal characteristics and management practices to assess risk factors associated with infection. We studied 186 cattle and 317 goats from 20 villages, including 16 villages directly adjacent to Kibale and 4 villages ≥3 km from the park boundary. Hemoparasites detected in cattle and goats were of the genera Theileria, Anaplasma, and Trypanosoma with a prevalence of 15.1%, 1.6%, and 4.3% respectively in cattle, and 10%, 6.0%, and 0.0%, respectively in goats. Trypanosomes infected approximately 8% of cattle in villages bordering Kibale but were never detected in cattle in "control" villages ≥3 km from the park. Trypanosomes were approximately 7 times more likely to infect animals in households that did not provide veterinary care to their animals than in households that provided routine veterinary care. Within cattle, Theileria infections were approximately 7 times more likely to occur in cross-bred cattle than in indigenous pure breeds. Anaplasma infections were approximately 3.5 times more likely to occur in cattle than in goats (no goats were diagnosed with Trypanosoma infection). These data suggest that proximity to the park, provision of veterinary care, and breed are significant risk factors for hemoparasites in this population of ruminants, and that, in general, cattle are more susceptible than goats. Porovnání senzorické jakosti masa z konvenčního a ekologického chovu OpenAIRE Fiebichová, Aneta 2014-01-01 Bachelor thesis presents a comparison of the sensory quality of meat from conventional and ecological breeding. The introduction describes the main characteristics of conventional and ecological agriculture and their basic differences. In the next chapter are defined the basic breeds of beef cattle used in ecological and also on conventional agriculture. It describes the main characteristics, origin, meat efficiency and breeding requirements. Futhermore, the work focuses on breeding of beef c... Combining selection for carcass quality, body weight and milk traits in dairy cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Liinamo, A.E.; Arendonk, van J.A.M. 1999-01-01 Alternative selection strategies were evaluated for breeding for carcass quality, body weight, and milk traits in dairy cattle. The efficiency of different alternatives was evaluated by comparing predicted genetic responses in individual traits as well as in the aggregate genotype. Particular Sustaining N'dama cattle for the resource-poor farmers in the Gambia African Journals Online (AJOL) This study assesses the genetic improvement, sustainable production, utilization and conservation of this breed of cattle in order to strengthen them through relevant technical strategies and policy measures. Review of relevant literature and policy documents, participatory group discussions were used while the information ... « 15 16 17 18 19 » « 16 17 18 19 20 » Heat-tolerant versus heat-sensitive Bos taurus cattle: influence of air temperature and breed on the acute phase response to a provocative immune challenge. Science.gov (United States) Carroll, J A; Burdick Sanchez, N C; Chaffin, R; Chase, C C; Coleman, S W; Spiers, D E 2013-10-01 The difference in the acute phase response of a heat-tolerant and a heat-sensitive Bos taurus breed to a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge when housed at different air temperatures (Ta) was studied. Angus (ANG; heat-sensitive; n = 11; 306 ± 26 kg BW) and Romosinuano (RO; heat-tolerant; n = 10; 313 ± 32 kg BW) heifers were transported from the USDA Agricultural Research Service SubTropical Agricultural Research Station in Florida to the Brody Environmental Chambers at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Heifers were housed in stanchions in 4 temperature-controlled environmental chambers. Initially, Ta in the 4 chambers was cycling at thermoneutrality (TN; 18.5°C-23.5°C) for a 1-wk adjustment period, followed by an increase in 2 of the 4 chambers to cycling heat stress (HS; 24°C-38°C) for 2 wk. On day 19, heifers were fitted with jugular catheters and rectal temperature (RT) recording devices. On day 20, heifers were challenged with LPS (0.5 μg/kg BW; 0 h), sickness behavior scores (SBSs) were recorded, and blood samples were collected at 0.5-h intervals from -2 to 8 h and again at 24 h relative to LPS challenge at 0 h. Serum was isolated and stored at -80°C until analyzed for cortisol and cytokine concentrations. A breed by Ta interaction (P heat-tolerant RO and heat-sensitive ANG heifers under different Ta which may aid in elucidating differences in productivity, disease resistance, and longevity among cattle breeds. Published by Elsevier Inc. Sequencing and Characterization of Divergent Marbling Levels in the Beef Cattle ( Muscle Transcriptome Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Dong Chen 2015-02-01 Full Text Available Marbling is an important trait regarding the quality of beef. Analysis of beef cattle transcriptome and its expression profile data are essential to extend the genetic information resources and would support further studies on beef cattle. RNA sequencing was performed in beef cattle using the Illumina High-Seq2000 platform. Approximately 251.58 million clean reads were generated from a high marbling (H group and low marbling (L group. Approximately 80.12% of the 19,994 bovine genes (protein coding were detected in all samples, and 749 genes exhibited differential expression between the H and L groups based on fold change (>1.5-fold, p<0.05. Multiple gene ontology terms and biological pathways were found significantly enriched among the differentially expressed genes. The transcriptome data will facilitate future functional studies on marbling formation in beef cattle and may be applied to improve breeding programs for cattle and closely related mammals. Efforts In Conserving Purebred Bali Cattle As Draught And Beef Type In Bali Island, Indonesia. (UPAYA PELESTARIAN SAPI BALI SEBAGAI TABUNGAN DAN TIPE PEDAGING DI PULAU BALI INDONESIA Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) I Wayan Kasa 2015-02-01 Full Text Available Bali cattle (Bos javanicus d’Alton is a part of the complex evolution of all cattle over a longtime in Indonesia. Little is known of the origin of bali cattle in Southeast Asia. The geographicaldistribution of Bos (Bibos types of cattle suggests that the centre of domestication was Indo-China and Malaysia, then spreading to Bali. Due to such several unique characters of bali cattle, someefforts have been conducting with main purpose to conserve purebred, draught as well as meat typecattle on Bali in particular and Indonesia in general. Method has been employed in this study areliterature explore, visiting, interview with questionnaire sheet. Set of efforts have been conductingin order to conserve purebred bali cattle by the government. For examples, establishment of balicattle Breeding centre of Pulukan village, establishment of bali cattle Breeding centre of Sobanganvillage, establishment of bali cattle Conservation centre of Nusa Penida Island, essense of UdayanaUniversity, Bali and role of Department of Animal Husbandry. It could be concluded thatgovernment as a whole have played an important role in conserving the purebred bali cattle asdraught and meat type cattle at certain suitable places in Bali to fulfill local and national daily meatrequirement by establishing good collaboration with related government agency as well as farmers. COMPARISON OF NON-COLIFORM BACTERIA IN BALI CATTLE FAECES BASED ON LEVEL OF MATURITY AND MAINTENANCE PATTERN Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Kadek Andre Sulaksana 2017-08-01 Full Text Available This study aim was to determine the effect of maintenance type and maturity level of bali cattle to the total of non coliform bacteria in bali cattle. A total of 24 samples of bali cattle’s feces were used. This study was a Factorial 2 x 3 of group-randomised design, contained of two type maintenance (TPA Suwung and Sobangan and three levels of cattle maturity (calves, heifers, and adult. The groups were based on time sampling. The data then analyzed using Analysis of Variance Test and continued by using Least Significant Different test. The results showed that the amount of non-coliform bacteria in adult bali cattle feces were higher then heifers and calves. Total of non coliform bacteria in bali cattle in landfill was higher then the cattle that reared in captivity in Bali Cattle Breeding Center, the Sobangan village of Mengwi Badung regency. Human and cattle population changes in deltaic West Bengal, India between 1977-1987 Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) Odend' hal, S. 1988-03-01 In 1967-1970, 3.81 km/sup 2/ of a densely populated deltaic area of Hooghly district in West Bengal, India was intensively studied. This same area was resurveyed in 1977 and 1987. From 1977-1987, the human population has increased 10.1%, while the number of households has increased 25%. The total number of children below 10 years of age has diminished. The cattle have increased 26.5%. The number of working-age male cattle has dropped significantly with reliance, primarily on hand tractor power for field cultivation. The number of female cattle has increased substantially. Artificial insemination and the use of temperate breeds of bulls have had an obvious impact. Improvements in the general environment were observed. Genetic polymorphisms at the leptin receptor gene in three beef cattle breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Sabrina E.M. Almeida 2008-01-01 Full Text Available The genetic diversity of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP at the exon 20 (T945M of the leptin receptor gene (LEPR and of three short tandem repeats (STRs BM7225, BMS694, and BMS2145 linked to LEPR was investigated in three beef cattle herds (Brangus Ibagé, Charolais, and Aberdeen Angus. A cheap and effective new method to analyze the T945M polymorphism in cattle populations was developed and the possible role of these polymorphisms in reproduction and weight gain of postpartum cows was evaluated. High levels of genetic diversity were observed with the average heterozygosity of STRs ranging from 0.71 to 0.81. No significant association was detected between LEPR markers and reproductive parameters or daily weight gain. These negative results suggest that the LEPR gene polymorphisms, at least those herein described, do not influence postpartum cows production. Genetic differentiation among geographically isolated populations of Criollo cattle and their divergence from other Bos taurus breeds. Science.gov (United States) Russell, N D; Rios, J; Erosa, G; Remmenga, M D; Hawkins, D E 2000-09-01 The microsatellites HEL5, HEL9, INRA063, and BM2113 were used to analyze genetic similarities and differences of geographically isolated Criollo cattle herds in Mexico. Criollo cattle from five counties within the state of Chihuahua and one county from the state of Tamaulipas (n = 60) were sampled. The five counties in Chihuahua included Cerocahui (n = 14), Chinipas (n = 10), Guachochi (n = 15), Morelos (n = 30), and Temoris (n = 9). Samples of DNA were amplified by PCR and separated on a 7% polyacrylamide gel. Microsatellite size was established by comparison to M13mp18 DNA ladder and a documented set of four bovine controls. Allele frequencies and genotypic deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were tested using the GENEPOP program. Eleven alleles were generated at HEL5 for the populations sampled (149 to 169 bp). Allele frequencies were greatest for the 163-bp allele in Criollo cattle from Cerocahui, Chinipas, Moralos, and Tamaulipas (0.23 to 0.5). Cattle from Guachochi had an allele frequency of 0.38 for the 151-bp allele, and cattle from Temoris had an allele frequency of 0.25 for the 149- and 167-bp alleles, with no 163-bp allele. Amplification with HEL9 produced 12 alleles (145, 149 to 169 bp) and showed common high-frequency alleles at 149, 157, and 159 bp for animals from all regions. The Chinipas population showed a moderate allele frequency at 145 bp; no other regions contained this allele. For INRA063 there were five alleles with 182 and 184 bp in low frequency. For BM2113 there were 10 alleles in the Criollo cattle (125 to 143 bp), with an equal distribution of frequencies for all alleles. In two regions, Guachochi and Morelos, genotypic frequencies deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Cattle from the Temoris region were genetically most distant from Criollo cattle of the other five regions. Tick resistance and heat tolerance characteristics in cattle. III. Sweating rate Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Cecília José Veríssimo 2012-12-01 Full Text Available Cattle in a sustainable tropical livestock should be heat tolerant and resistant to ticks. The relationship between Rhipicephalus (Boophilus microplus infestation and sweating rate, an important heat tolerance characteristic, was studied in six Nellore and four Holstein steers of seven-month-old. They were artificial infested (a.i. with 10,000 (Holstein and 20,000 (Nellore larvae in 16/Apr/2011. In days 20, 23 and 24 after the infestation, the 10 bigger females ticks found in whole animal were weighed and put in a chamber (27 oC and 80% RH, weighing the egg mass of each female tick fourteen days after. The sweating rate (SRskin, measured by Scheleger and Turner, 1963, method, in a shaved area of shoulder skin was evaluated in 14/Apr (2 days before the a.i. and in 05/May (19 days after a.i.. In 14/Apr the Scheleger and Turner, 1963, method was done on the coat not shaved (SRcoat. The sweating rate was measured in the afternoon (from 2 P.M., after 30 minutes of direct sunlight, on April. On May, the animals remained 60 minutes in direct sunlight because this day was colder. The experimental design was a non-probability sample restricted to the 10 available animals. Data from the steers’ sweating rate were analyzed using the General linear models of the SPSS® statistical package (version 12.0 using SRskin as dependent variable and breed and sampling date as independent variables. For SRcoat breed was the independent variable. Nellore, a tropical cattle breed, had higher SRskin (1,000.82 ± 64.59 g m-2 h-1, P< 0.001 than Holstein (620.45 ± 79.10 g m-2 h-1. SRskin was higher on May (1,187.33 ± 71.49 g m-2 h-1, P< 0.001 than on April (433.93 ± 71.49 g m-2 h-1. The correlation between the two different measurements of SR was positive and significant (r= 0,545, P<0,01, Pearson correlation. But in SRcoat the breed effect disappeared because the Holstein SRcoat increased (Holstein: 884.95 ± 472.12 g m-2 h-1 and Nellore: 1,060.72 ± 318.21 g m-2 h-1 Gastrointestinal Strongyle Egg Output and its Relationship with Tick Burden in Gambian N'dama and Gobra Zebu Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Mattioli, RC. 1995-01-01 Full Text Available Fortnightly quantitative analysis of rectal faecal samples for the presence of strongyle eggs were carried out from May 1992 to April 1993 on 11 Gambian N'dama Bos taurus and 11 Gobra zebu Bos indicus cattle. Significantly (P <0.001 lower strongyle egg outputs were found in N'dama in comparison with zebu cattle. No correlation was found between individual cumulative tick burden and strongyle egg output in either breed, although individual variations in parasite burdens were lower in N'dama than in zebu cattle. This study strenghtens the evidence for the presence of a natural resistant trait to strongyle infection in N'dama cattle. Morphological assessment of the Zebu Bororo (Wodaabé cattle of Niger in the West African zebu framework Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) M. M. A. Moussa 2017-10-01 Full Text Available A total of 357 adult cows and 29 sires belonging to the long-horned Niger Zebu Bororo cattle population were assessed for 13 body measurements and 11 qualitative traits. Data were jointly analysed with 311 cows and 64 sires belonging to other four West African zebu cattle populations, sampled in Burkina Faso and Benin, representative of both the short-horned and the long-horned West African zebu groups using multivariate statistical methods. Besides the other long-horned zebu breed analysed (Zebu Mbororo of Burkina Faso, Zebu Bororo cattle tended to have the highest mean values for all body measurements. Mahalanobis distance matrices further informed that pairs involving Zebu Bororo cattle had the higher differentiation of the dataset. However, contour plots constructed using eigenvalues computed via principal component analysis (PCA illustrated a lack of differentiation among West African zebu cattle populations at the body measurements level. Correspondence analysis carried out on the 11 qualitative traits recorded allowed for ascertaining a clear differentiation between the Zebu Bororo and the other zebu cattle populations analysed which, in turn, did not show a clear differentiation at the qualitative type traits level. In our data, Zebu Bororo cattle had in high frequency qualitative features such as dropped ears, lyre-shaped horns and red-pied coat colour that are not frequently present in the other West African zebu populations analysed. A directional selection due to a rough consensus of the stock-keepers may be hypothesised. Performance of further analyses to assess the degree in which such breeding differences may be related to genetic or production differences are advised. The economics of Raramuri Criollo versus British crossbred cattle production in the Chihuahuan Desert Science.gov (United States) Preliminary research indicates Raramuri Criollo cattle may range significantly further and forage in areas where traditional breeds rarely venture. They are thought to impose a lighter environmental footprint compared to their mainstream British crossbred counterparts. These small-frame animals are ... Including gene networks to predict calving ease in Holstein, Brown Swiss and Jersey cattle Science.gov (United States) Background Calving difficulty or dystocia has a great economic impact in the US dairy industry. Reported risk factors associated with calving difficulty are feto-pelvic disproportion, gestation length and conformation. Different dairy cattle breeds have different incidence of calving difficulty, wit... Georeferenced evaluation of genetic breeding value patterns in Brazilian Holstein cattle. Science.gov (United States) Costa, N S; Hermuche, P; Cobuci, J A; Paiva, S R; Guimaraes, R F; Carvalho, O A; Gomes, R A T; Costa, C N; McManus, C M 2014-11-27 The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between environmental and genetic values for milk production and type traits in Holstein cattle in Brazil. The genetic value of 65,383 animals for milk production and 53,626 for type classification were available. Socioeconomic and environmental data were obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Institute of Meteorology. Five to six clusters were generated for each of the groups of type traits and production levels. The relationships between these traits were assessed using the STEPDISC, DISCRIM and CANDISC procedures in SAS(®). Traits within the clusters behaved differently, but, in general, animals with lower genetic values were found in environments that were more stressful for animal production. These differences were mainly associated with temperature, humidity, precipitation and the Normalized Difference Vegetative Index. Genetic values for milk production showed best discrimination between different environments, while type traits showed poor discrimination, possibly because farmers mainly select for milk production. Environmental variations for genetic values in dairy cattle in Brazil should be further examined. The identification of a putative mutation for SLICK hair coat in Senepol cattle Science.gov (United States) The slick hair coat (SLICK) is a dominantly inherited trait typically associated with tropically adapted, Criollo-derived cattle breeds. The trait is of interest relative to climate change, due to its association with improved thermo-tolerance and subsequent increased productivity. The goal of thi... Development and characterization of a high density SNP genotyping assay for cattle. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Lakshmi K Matukumalli Full Text Available The success of genome-wide association (GWA studies for the detection of sequence variation affecting complex traits in human has spurred interest in the use of large-scale high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP genotyping for the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL and for marker-assisted selection in model and agricultural species. A cost-effective and efficient approach for the development of a custom genotyping assay interrogating 54,001 SNP loci to support GWA applications in cattle is described. A novel algorithm for achieving a compressed inter-marker interval distribution proved remarkably successful, with median interval of 37 kb and maximum predicted gap of <350 kb. The assay was tested on a panel of 576 animals from 21 cattle breeds and six outgroup species and revealed that from 39,765 to 46,492 SNP are polymorphic within individual breeds (average minor allele frequency (MAF ranging from 0.24 to 0.27. The assay also identified 79 putative copy number variants in cattle. Utility for GWA was demonstrated by localizing known variation for coat color and the presence/absence of horns to their correct genomic locations. The combination of SNP selection and the novel spacing algorithm allows an efficient approach for the development of high-density genotyping platforms in species having full or even moderate quality draft sequence. Aspects of the approach can be exploited in species which lack an available genome sequence. The BovineSNP50 assay described here is commercially available from Illumina and provides a robust platform for mapping disease genes and QTL in cattle. Polymorphisms in the Prion Protein Gene of cattle breeds from Brazil Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Cristiane C. Sanches Full Text Available ABSTRACT: One of the alterations that occur in the PRNP gene in bovines is the insertion/deletion (indel of base sequences in specific regions, such as indels of 12-base pairs (bp in intron 1 and of 23- bp in the promoter region. The deletion allele of 23 bp is associated with susceptibility to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE as well as the presence of the deletion allele of 12 bp. In the present study, the variability of nucleotides in the promoter region and intron 1 of the PRNP gene was genotyped for the Angus, Canchim, Nellore and Simmental bovine breeds to identify the genotype profiles of resistance and/or susceptibility to BSE in each animal. Genomic DNA was extracted for amplification of the target regions of the PRNP gene using polymerase chain reaction (PCR and specific primers. The PCR products were submitted to electrophoresis in agarose gel 3% and sequencing for genotyping. With the exception of the Angus breed, most breeds exhibited a higher frequency of deletion alleles for 12 bp and 23 bp in comparison to their respective insertion alleles for both regions. These results represent an important contribution to understanding the formation process of the Brazilian herd in relation to bovine PRNP gene polymorphisms. Stable hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur isotopes composition in different tissues of cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Sun Fengmei; Shi Guangyu; Wang Huiwen; Yang Shuming 2012-01-01 In order to research on stable hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur isotopes composition in different tissues of cattle, as well as the breed, δ 2 H and δ 34 S values of different defatted muscle, cattle tail hair, blood, liver, also δ 2h and δ 18 O values of water from muscle were determined by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The stable sulfur isotope composition was not affected by cattle variety, meanwhile the hydrogen was uncertain; the δ 2 H and δ 34 S values between different defatted muscle, blood, liver, cattle hair were significantly different, at the same time the δ 34 S and δ 2 H values between each tissue were not significantly correlated; the δ 2 H values were strongly correlated with the δ 18 O values of muscle water. The above results indicated that stable sulfur and hydrogen isotopes fractionation in the various tissues were discrepant, thus the proper tissue should be selected according to the purpose and object in the beef traceability. (authors) Prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in beef feedlot of Borena cattle by ... African Journals Online (AJOL) cattle, 24.2 million sheep, 22.6 million goats, 987, 000 camels, 44.9 million poultry and nearly ... animals and in extensive traditional and pastoralist production system. ... farms were mainly from the Borena zone, South Ethiopia and the breed were ..... goes to Dr. Shimelis Bekele and W/t Frehiwot Ayele for assisting us during. Blood Protein Polymorphism of Small Cattle Bred in Armenia Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Gayane Marmaryan 2017-05-01 Full Text Available ABSTRACT Biochemical and genetic markers have not yet been used in selection and breeding of agricultural animals in Armenia. The objective behind the experiments was to assess the small cattle bred in Armenia- the semi-coarse wool and semi-fine wool sheep, as well as goats of different genotypes characterized by different milk productivity, polymorphic blood proteins-transferrin, ceruloplasmin, aiming to use them in breeding. Another objective was to study the genetic distance between the researched breeds and crossbreeds aiming to reveal the genetic similarity. The findings of research studies come to show that goats with polymorphic transferrin locus and a big set of genotypes are characterized by higher milk productivity; therefore it is recommended that they be used in selection as a supplementary milk productivity marker. The genetic distance between the researched goats comprised 0,60 which comes to show that semi-fine wool sheep were also bred with the help of semi-coarse wool crossbreeds. The high coefficients of genetic distance of crossbreed goats compared to both the highly milk producing imported breeds and the locals are indicative of inherited high adaptability qualities of locals and high milk producing quality of pure breeds. Convergent Evolution of Slick Coat in Cattle through Truncation Mutations in the Prolactin Receptor Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Laercio R. Porto-Neto 2018-02-01 Full Text Available Evolutionary adaptations are occasionally convergent solutions to the same problem. A mutation contributing to a heat tolerance adaptation in Senepol cattle, a New World breed of mostly European descent, results in the distinct phenotype known as slick, where an animal has shorter hair and lower follicle density across its coat than wild type animals. The causal variant, located in the 11th exon of prolactin receptor, produces a frameshift that results in a truncated protein. However, this mutation does not explain all cases of slick coats found in criollo breeds. Here, we obtained genome sequences from slick cattle of a geographically distinct criollo breed, namely Limonero, whose ancestors were originally brought to the Americas by the Spanish. These data were used to identify new causal alleles in the 11th exon of the prolactin receptor, two of which also encode shortened proteins that remove a highly conserved tyrosine residue. These new mutations explained almost 90% of investigated cases of animals that had slick coats, but which also did not carry the Senepol slick allele. These results demonstrate convergent evolution at the molecular level in a trait important to the adaptation of an animal to its environment. « 16 17 18 19 20 » « 17 18 19 20 21 » Assessing the nutritional status of beef cattle: current practices and ... African Journals Online (AJOL) SERVER 2007-12-17 Dec 17, 2007 ... Key words: Body condition scoring, blood metabolites, nutritional status, cattle. INTRODUCTION ... reproductive performance and good walking and foraging ..... the gastrointestinal tract while mobilization is increased in. Molecular Factors Underlying the Deposition of Intramuscular Fat and Collagen in Skeletal Muscle of Nellore and Angus Cattle. Science.gov (United States) Martins, Taiane S; Sanglard, Letícia M P; Silva, Walmir; Chizzotti, Mário L; Rennó, Luciana N; Serão, Nick V L; Silva, Fabyano F; Guimarães, Simone E F; Ladeira, Márcio M; Dodson, Michael V; Du, Min; Duarte, Marcio S 2015-01-01 Studies have shown that intramuscular adipogenesis and fibrogenesis may concomitantly occur in skeletal muscle of beef cattle. Thus, we hypothesized that the discrepancy of intramuscular fat content in beef from Nellore and Angus was associated with differences in intramuscular adipogenesis and fibrogenesis during the finishing phase. To test our hypothesis, longissimus muscle samples of Nellore (n = 6; BW = 372.5 ± 37.3 kg) and Angus (n = 6; BW = 382.8 ± 23.9 kg) cattle were collected for analysis of gene and protein expression, and quantification of intramuscular fat and collagen. Least-squares means were estimated for the effect of Breed and differences were considered at P ≤ 0.05. A greater intramuscular fat content was observed in skeletal muscle of Angus compared to Nellore cattle (P≤0.05). No differences were observed for mRNA expression of lipogenic and lipolytic markers ACC, FAS, FABP4, SERBP-1, CPT-2, LPL, and ACOX (P > 0.05) in skeletal muscle of Nellore and Angus cattle. Similarly, no differences were observed in mRNA expression of adipogenic markers Zfp423, PPARγ, and C/EBPα (P>0.05) However, a greater PPARγ protein content was observed in skeletal muscle of Angus compared to Nellore cattle (P≤0.05). A greater abundance of adipo/fibrogenic cells, evaluated by the PDGFRα content, was observed in skeletal muscle of Angus than Nellore cattle (P≤0.05). No differences in fibrogenesis were observed in skeletal muscle of Angus and Nellore cattle, which is in accordance with the lack of differences in intramuscular collagen content in beef from both breeds (P>0.05). These findings demonstrate that difference in intramuscular fat content is associated with a slightly enhanced adipogenesis in skeletal muscle of Angus compared to Nellore cattle, while no difference in fibrogenesis. Molecular Characterization of Bovine SMO Gene and Effects of Its Genetic Variations on Body Size Traits in Qinchuan Cattle (Bos taurus). Science.gov (United States) Zhang, Ya-Ran; Gui, Lin-Sheng; Li, Yao-Kun; Jiang, Bi-Jie; Wang, Hong-Cheng; Zhang, Ying-Ying; Zan, Lin-Sen 2015-07-27 Smoothened (Smo)-mediated Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway governs the patterning, morphogenesis and growth of many different regions within animal body plans. This study evaluated the effects of genetic variations of the bovine SMO gene on economically important body size traits in Chinese Qinchuan cattle. Altogether, eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: 1-8) were identified and genotyped via direct sequencing covering most of the coding region and 3'UTR of the bovine SMO gene. Both the p.698Ser.>Ser. synonymous mutation resulted from SNP1 and the p.700Ser.>Pro. non-synonymous mutation caused by SNP2 mapped to the intracellular C-terminal tail of bovine Smo protein; the other six SNPs were non-coding variants located in the 3'UTR. The linkage disequilibrium was analyzed, and five haplotypes were discovered in 520 Qinchuan cattle. Association analyses showed that SNP2, SNP3/5, SNP4 and SNP6/7 were significantly associated with some body size traits (p 0.05). Meanwhile, cattle with wild-type combined haplotype Hap1/Hap1 had significantly (p cattle, and the wild-type haplotype Hap1 together with the wild-type alleles of these detected SNPs in the SMO gene could be used to breed cattle with superior body size traits. Therefore, our results could be helpful for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding programs. A SUPPORTING AID FOR BEEF CATTLE INVESTMENT OF FARM HOUSEHOLD IN CENTRAL JAVA Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) T. Ekowati 2014-10-01 Full Text Available The research was conducted to analyze some factors influencing production, income, farmhousehold consumption and investment of farm household beef cattle in Central Java. Five districts werepurposively chosen for research location based on the number of beef cattle population, namelyRembang, Blora, Grobogan, Boyolali and Wonogiri. Forty respondents of each district were chosenrandomly using quota sampling. Data were analyzed through Simultaneous Regression and estimated byTwo Stage Least Square (TSLS. The results showed that independent variables were simultaneouslysignificant to dependent variables (production, income, farm household consumption and investmentwith the Probability F test 0.0000 and adjusted R2 were 91%; 89%; 96%; 62%, respectively. Thesimulation’s analysis of agribusiness implementation consisted of 1 decreasing 15% of service perconception, 2 increasing of beef cattle breed and number of beef cattle 15% respectively, 3 raising ofprice of rice and number of household member 15% respectively and 4 increasing of income and priceof beef cattle 10% respectively influenced to farm household consumption and investment 0.446% and5.14%, respectively, meanwhile production and income did not change. The research can be concludedthat the independent variables simultaneously significant influenced to production, income, farmhousehold consumption and beef cattle investment. The simulation of changing usage of input factor andprice significantly influenced to farm household consumption and beef cattle investment. Perspectives of fetal dystocia in cattle and buffalo Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Govind Narayan Purohit 2012-04-01 Full Text Available We review the causes of fetal dystocia in cows and buffalo. Two fetal causes are distinct fetal oversize and fetal abnormalities. Fetal oversize is common in heifers, cows of beef cattle breeds, prolonged gestations, increased calf birth weight, male calves and perinatal fetal death with resultant emphysema. Fetal abnormalities include monsters, fetal diseases and fetal maldispositions, and it is difficult to deliver such fetuses because of their altered shape. Although monsters are rare in cattle, a large number of monstrosities have been reported in river buffalo; yet also here, overall incidence is low. Diseases of the fetus resulting in dystocia include hydrocephalus, ascites, anasarca and hydrothorax. The most common cause of dystocia in cattle seems to be fetal maldispositions, of which limb flexion and head deviation appear to be the most frequent. We provide a brief description of the management of dystocia from different causes in cattle and buffalo. A case analysis of 192 and 112 dystocia in cattle and buffalo, respectively, at our referral center revealed that dystocia is significantly higher (P<0.05 in first and second parity cows and buffalo, and that dystocia of fetal origin is common in cows (65.62% but less frequent (40.17% in buffalo. In buffalo, the single biggest cause of dystocia was uterine torsion (53.57%. Fetal survival was significantly (P<0.05 higher both in cows and buffalo when delivery was completed within 12 h of second stage of labor. Left displacement of the abomasum in dairy cattle: recent developments in epidemiological and etiological aspects NARCIS (Netherlands) Winden, van S.C.L.; Kuiper, R. 2003-01-01 The research with respect to displacement of the abomasum (DA) in dairy cattle is reviewed. Evaluated articles describe epidemiological and experimental studies. The occurrence is elevated with regard to breed, gender, age, concurrent diseases, environmental aspects and production levels as CATTLE FEEDER BEHAVIOR AND FEEDER CATTLE PLACEMENTS OpenAIRE Kastens, Terry L.; Schroeder, Ted C. 1994-01-01 Cattle feeders appear irrational when they place cattle on feed when projected profit is negative. Long futures positions appear to offer superior returns to cattle feeding investment. Cattle feeder behavior suggests that they believe a downward bias in live cattle futures persists and that cattle feeders use different expectations than the live cattle futures market price when making placement decisions. This study examines feeder cattle placement determinants, comparing performance of expec... Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitism of cattle in Banskhali upazilla, Chittagong, Bangladesh Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Rokeya Ahmed 2015-12-01 Full Text Available The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitism (GP, and to determine the effects of age, sex, breed, body score and body weight in the occurrences of GP of cattle in Banskhali Upazilla, Chittagong, Bangladesh. A total of 50 fecal samples were randomly collected directly from rectum of cattle. The samples were examined by routine coproscopical methods for the presence of different parasites and oocysts. Overall prevalence of GP infestation was 72% (n=36/50. Prevalence of Paramphistomum spp. infestation was found to be the highest (30%; n=15/50 followed by Toxocara spp. (12%; n=6/50, Fasciola spp. (10%; n=5/50, Oesophagostomum spp. (8%; n=4/50, Moniezia spp. (6%; n=3/50 and Trichostrongylus spp. (2%; n=1/50. Young cattle were mostly infested as compared to adult and calf. The results of this study provides an epidemiological forecast showing the prevalence of GP in cattle, which can be helpful for the clinician in diagnosis of such infections. BEEF CATTLE MUSCULARITY CANDIDATE GENES Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Irida Novianti 2010-04-01 Full Text Available Muscularity is a potential indicator for the selection of more productive cattle. Mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL for traits related to muscularity is useful to identify the genomic regions where the genes affecting muscularity reside. QTL analysis from a Limousin-Jersey double backcross herd was conducted using QTL Express software with cohort and breed as the fixed effects. Nine QTL suggested to have an association with muscularity were identified on cattle chromosomes BTA 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 14 and 17. The myostatin gene is located at the centromeric end of chromosome 2 and not surprisingly, the Limousin myostatin F94L variant accounted for the QTL on BTA2. However, when the myostatin F94L genotype was included as an additional fixed effect, the QTL on BTA17 was also no longer significant. This result suggests that there may be gene(s that have epistatic effects with myostatin located on cattle chromosome 17. Based on the position of the QTL in base pairs, all the genes that reside in the region were determined using the Ensembl data base (www.ensembl.org. There were two potential candidate genes residing within these QTL regions were selected. They were Smad nuclear interacting protein 1 (SNIP1 and similar to follistatin-like 5 (FSTL5. (JIIPB 2010 Vol 20 No 1: 1-10 Diversity and population-genetic properties of copy number variations and multicopy genes in cattle Science.gov (United States) The diversity and population-genetics of copy number variation (CNV) in domesticated animals are not well understood. In this study, we analyzed 75 genomes of major taurine and indicine cattle breeds (including Angus, Brahman, Gir, Holstein, Jersey, Limousin, Nelore, Romagnola), sequenced to 11-fold... Targeted and untargeted profiling of biological fluids to screen for anabolic practices in cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Pinel, G.; Weigel, S.; Antigac, P.; Mooney, M.H.; Elliott, C.; Nielen, M.W.F.; Bizec, le B. 2010-01-01 This review deals with the potential of profiling approaches as valuable tools for combating the illegal use of growth promoters in cattle breeding. Detection of illegal practices classically relies on residue monitoring in a targeted approach and methods based on gas or liquid chromatography Gross margin losses due to Salmonella Dublin infection in Danish dairy cattle herds estimated by simulation modelling DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Nielsen, Torben Dahl; Kudahl, Anne Braad; Østergaard, S. 2013-01-01 and dynamic simulation model. The model incorporated six age groups (neonatal, pre-weaned calves, weaned calves, growing heifers, breeding heifers and cows) and five infection stages (susceptible, acutely infected, carrier, super shedder and resistant). The effects of introducing one S. Dublin infectious......Salmonella Dublin affects production and animal health in cattle herds. The objective of this study was to quantify the gross margin (GM) losses following introduction and spread of S. Dublin within dairy herds. The GM losses were estimated using an age-structured stochastic, mechanistic...... with poorer management and herd size, e.g. average annual GM losses were estimated to 49 euros per stall for the first year after infection, and to 8 euros per stall annually averaged over the 10 years after herd infection for a 200 cow stall herd with very good management. In contrast, a 200 cow stall herd... Typing late prehistoric cows and bulls--osteology and genetics of cattle at the Eketorp ringfort on the Öland island in Sweden. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Ylva Telldahl Full Text Available Human management of livestock and the presence of different breeds have been discussed in archaeozoology and animal breeding. Traditionally osteometrics has been the main tool in addressing these questions. We combine osteometrics with molecular sex identifications of 104 of 340 morphometrically analysed bones in order to investigate the use of cattle at the Eketorp ringfort on the Öland island in Sweden. The fort is dated to 300-1220/50 A.D., revealing three different building phases. In order to investigate specific patterns and shifts through time in the use of cattle the genetic data is evaluated in relation to osteometric patterns and occurrence of pathologies on cattle metapodia. Males were genotyped for a Y-chromosomal SNP in UTY19 that separates the two major haplogroups, Y1 and Y2, in taurine cattle. A subset of the samples were also genotyped for one SNP involved in coat coloration (MC1R, one SNP putatively involved in resistance to cattle plague (TLR4, and one SNP in intron 5 of the IGF-1 gene that has been associated to size and reproduction.The results of the molecular analyses confirm that the skeletal assemblage from Eketorp is dominated by skeletal elements from females, which implies that dairying was important. Pathological lesions on the metapodia were classified into two groups; those associated with the use as draught animals and those lesions without a similar aetiology. The results show that while bulls both exhibit draught related lesions and other types of lesions, cows exhibit other types of lesions. Interestingly, a few elements from females exhibit draught related lesions. We conclude that this reflects the different use of adult female and male cattle.Although we note some variation in the use of cattle at Eketorp between Iron Age and Medieval time we have found little evidence for the use of different types of animals for specific purposes. The use of specific (genetic breeds seems to be a phenomenon that developed Typing late prehistoric cows and bulls--osteology and genetics of cattle at the Eketorp ringfort on the Öland island in Sweden. Science.gov (United States) Telldahl, Ylva; Svensson, Emma; Götherström, Anders; Storå, Jan 2011-01-01 Human management of livestock and the presence of different breeds have been discussed in archaeozoology and animal breeding. Traditionally osteometrics has been the main tool in addressing these questions. We combine osteometrics with molecular sex identifications of 104 of 340 morphometrically analysed bones in order to investigate the use of cattle at the Eketorp ringfort on the Öland island in Sweden. The fort is dated to 300-1220/50 A.D., revealing three different building phases. In order to investigate specific patterns and shifts through time in the use of cattle the genetic data is evaluated in relation to osteometric patterns and occurrence of pathologies on cattle metapodia. Males were genotyped for a Y-chromosomal SNP in UTY19 that separates the two major haplogroups, Y1 and Y2, in taurine cattle. A subset of the samples were also genotyped for one SNP involved in coat coloration (MC1R), one SNP putatively involved in resistance to cattle plague (TLR4), and one SNP in intron 5 of the IGF-1 gene that has been associated to size and reproduction.The results of the molecular analyses confirm that the skeletal assemblage from Eketorp is dominated by skeletal elements from females, which implies that dairying was important. Pathological lesions on the metapodia were classified into two groups; those associated with the use as draught animals and those lesions without a similar aetiology. The results show that while bulls both exhibit draught related lesions and other types of lesions, cows exhibit other types of lesions. Interestingly, a few elements from females exhibit draught related lesions. We conclude that this reflects the different use of adult female and male cattle.Although we note some variation in the use of cattle at Eketorp between Iron Age and Medieval time we have found little evidence for the use of different types of animals for specific purposes. The use of specific (genetic) breeds seems to be a phenomenon that developed later than the Typing Late Prehistoric Cows and Bulls—Osteology and Genetics of Cattle at the Eketorp Ringfort on the Öland Island in Sweden Science.gov (United States) Telldahl, Ylva; Svensson, Emma; Götherström, Anders; Storå, Jan 2011-01-01 Human management of livestock and the presence of different breeds have been discussed in archaeozoology and animal breeding. Traditionally osteometrics has been the main tool in addressing these questions. We combine osteometrics with molecular sex identifications of 104 of 340 morphometrically analysed bones in order to investigate the use of cattle at the Eketorp ringfort on the Öland island in Sweden. The fort is dated to 300–1220/50 A.D., revealing three different building phases. In order to investigate specific patterns and shifts through time in the use of cattle the genetic data is evaluated in relation to osteometric patterns and occurrence of pathologies on cattle metapodia. Males were genotyped for a Y-chromosomal SNP in UTY19 that separates the two major haplogroups, Y1 and Y2, in taurine cattle. A subset of the samples were also genotyped for one SNP involved in coat coloration (MC1R), one SNP putatively involved in resistance to cattle plague (TLR4), and one SNP in intron 5 of the IGF-1 gene that has been associated to size and reproduction. The results of the molecular analyses confirm that the skeletal assemblage from Eketorp is dominated by skeletal elements from females, which implies that dairying was important. Pathological lesions on the metapodia were classified into two groups; those associated with the use as draught animals and those lesions without a similar aetiology. The results show that while bulls both exhibit draught related lesions and other types of lesions, cows exhibit other types of lesions. Interestingly, a few elements from females exhibit draught related lesions. We conclude that this reflects the different use of adult female and male cattle. Although we note some variation in the use of cattle at Eketorp between Iron Age and Medieval time we have found little evidence for the use of different types of animals for specific purposes. The use of specific (genetic) breeds seems to be a phenomenon that developed later than Molecular genetics of coat colour variations in White Galloway and White Park cattle. Science.gov (United States) Brenig, B; Beck, J; Floren, C; Bornemann-Kolatzki, K; Wiedemann, I; Hennecke, S; Swalve, H; Schütz, E 2013-08-01 White Galloway cattle exhibit three different white coat colour phenotypes, that is, well marked, strongly marked and mismarked. However, mating of individuals with the preferred well or strongly marked phenotype also results in offspring with the undesired mismarked and/or even fully black coat colour. To elucidate the genetic background of the coat colour variations in White Galloway cattle, we analysed four coat colour relevant genes: mast/stem cell growth factor receptor (KIT), KIT ligand (KITLG), melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) and tyrosinase (TYR). Here, we show that the coat colour variations in White Galloway cattle and White Park cattle are caused by a KIT gene (chromosome 6) duplication and aberrant insertion on chromosome 29 (Cs29 ) as recently described for colour-sided Belgian Blue. Homozygous (Cs29 /Cs29 ) White Galloway cattle and White Park cattle exhibit the mismarked phenotype, whereas heterozygous (Cs29 /wt29 ) individuals are either well or strongly marked. In contrast, fully black individuals are characterised by the wild-type chromosome 29. As known for other cattle breeds, mutations in the MC1R gene determine the red colouring. Our data suggest that the white coat colour variations in White Galloway cattle and White Park cattle are caused by a dose-dependent effect based on the ploidy of aberrant insertions and inheritance of the KIT gene on chromosome 29. © 2013 The Authors, Animal Genetics © 2013 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics. Genetic dissection of milk yield traits and mastitis resistance QTL on chromosome 20 in dairy cattle DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Kadri, Naveen Kumar; Guldbrandtsen, Bernt; Lund, Mogens Sandø 2015-01-01 Intense selection to increase milk yield has had negative consequences for mastitis incidence in dairy cattle. Due to low heritability of mastitis resistance and an unfavorable genetic correlation with milk yield, a reduction in mastitis through traditional breeding has been difficult to achieve....... Here, we examined quantitative trait loci (QTL) that segregate for clinical mastitis (CM) and milk yield (MY) on Bos taurus autosome 20 (BTA20) to determine whether both traits are affected by a single polymorphism (pleiotropy) or by multiple closely linked polymorphisms. In the latter...... (RDC) and Danish Jersey cattle (JER) with the goal of determining whether these QTL identified in Holsteins were segregating across breeds. Genotypes for 12,566 animals (5,966 HOL, 5,458 RDC, and 1,142 JER) were determined by using the Illumina Bovine SNP50 BeadChip (50k), which identifies 1,568 single... Serological investigation of bovine brucellosis in three cattle production systems in Yewa Division, south-western Nigeria Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Simeon I.B. Cadmus 2013-04-01 Full Text Available Limited data are available on the risk factors responsible for the occurrence of brucellosis amongst different cattle production systems in Nigeria despite its significant impact on livestock production. Consequently, a cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bovine brucellosis in three cattle production systems in Yewa Division of Ogun State, south-western Nigeria. A total of 279 blood samples (sedentary = 88; transhumance = 64; trade = 127 were examined for antibodies to Brucella sp. using the Rose Bengal test (RBT and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA. Overall, 24 (8.6% and 16 (5.7% of the animals tested seropositive for Brucella using RBT and cELISA, respectively. The herd seroprevalences based on RBT and cELISA were 31.6% and 15.8%, respectively. The results using cELISA reveal higher seroprevalence in the trade cattle (7.9%; confidence intervals [CI] = 3.2% – 12.6% and those in a sedentary system (5.7%; CI = 0.9% – 10.5% than in cattle kept under a transhumant management system (1.6%; CI = 1.5% – 4.7%. Age (> 3 years; p = 0.043 and breed (Djali; p = 0.038 were statistically significant for seropositivity to brucellosis based on cELISA, but sex (female, p = 0.234, production system (trade and sedentary; p = 0.208 or herd size (> 120; p = 0.359 was not. Since breeding stock is mostly sourced from trade and sedentary cattle, it is important that routine serological screening should be conducted before introducing any animal into an existing herd. Genome-wide association study for behavior, type traits, and muscular development in Charolais beef cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Vallée, A.; Daures, J.; Arendonk, van J.A.M.; Bovenhuis, H. 2016-01-01 Behavior, type traits, and muscular development are of interest for beef cattle breeding. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) enable the identification of candidate genes, which enables genebased selection and provides insight in the genetic architecture of these traits. The objective of the Effects of 3 Topical Plant Extracts on Wound Healing in Beef Cattle ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Eleven heifers of the Purunã cattle breed were used to evaluate wound healing by second intention. An experimental wound excision model in bovines was created by means of a skin punch of diameter 2cm. The animals were topically treated for 17 days with a saline control or decoctions of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi ... « 17 18 19 20 21 » « 18 19 20 21 22 » Preliminary Results for Ways to Increase Meat Production in Cattle OpenAIRE Doina Popa; Dorina Cotarlea; Doina Sprinjean 2010-01-01 In order to improve the quality and quantity of meat production in cattle in the ICDM Cristian institute and two private farms, Beef Technology and Artificial Insemination was applied. Artificial Insemination was performed with semen from bulls of meat breeds (Charolaise, Bleu Belge, Aberdeen Angus). The average daily gains obtained were between 0.40-1.30 kg / head / day, varying based on race, sex, technology applied, etc. When and how did Bos indicus introgress into Mongolian cattle? Science.gov (United States) Yue, Xiangpeng; Li, Ran; Liu, Li; Zhang, Yunsheng; Huang, Jieping; Chang, Zhenhua; Dang, Ruihua; Lan, Xianyong; Chen, Hong; Lei, Chuzhao 2014-03-10 The Mongolian cattle are one of the most widespread breeds with strictly Bos taurus morphological features in northern China. In our current study, we presented a diversity of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region and Y chromosome SNP markers in 25 male and 8 female samples of Mongolian cattle from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in Western China, and detected 21 B. taurus and four Bos indicus (zebu) mtDNA haplotypes. Among four B. indicus mtDNA haplotypes, two haplotypes belonged to I1 haplogroup and the remaining two haplotypes belonged to I2 haplogroup. In contrast, all 25 male Mongolian cattle samples revealed B. taurus Y chromosome haplotype and no B. indicus haplotypes were found. Historical and archeological records indicate that B. taurus was introduced to Xinjiang during the second millennium BC and B. indicus appeared in this region by the second century AD. The two types of cattle coexisted for many centuries in Xinjiang, as depicted in clay and wooden figurines unearthed in the Astana cemetery in Turfan (3rd-8th century AD). Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the earliest B. indicus introgression in the Mongolian cattle may have occurred during the 2nd-7th centuries AD through the Silk Road around the Xinjiang region. This conclusion differs from the previous hypothesis that zebu introgression to Mongolian cattle happened during the Mongol Empire era in the 13th century. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. The body constitution type influence on charolais breeds cattle meat production and quality OpenAIRE Jukna V.; Jukna Č.; Pečiulaitienė N.; Meškinytė-Kaušilienė E. 2011-01-01 The article presents data the most common body constitution types and their impact on meat production and quality on Charolais breed. Four body constitution types were researched in the breed: large, small, muscular and lightweight (commercial) type. For each type were selected in 15-16 uncastrated bulls, which were reared Control feeding station in identical feeding and storage conditions of up to 500 days age. Feeding control has been carried out from 210... Prevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG antibody to Neospora caninum in dairy cattle of Hamedan province, west of Iran Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Jamal Gharekhani 2014-06-01 Full Text Available Bovine neosporosis caused by the apicomplexan protozoan parasite N. caninum, was initially recognized in 1989 and is now reported as a leading infectious cause of reproductive failure in dairy cattle in world wide. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of N. caninum infection in industrial dairy cattle of Hamedan province (west of Iran by ELISA method. Blood samples were collected from 492 cattle in 41 farms. Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 63(12.80% sera. A Significant difference was observed between seropositive cattle and dog presence in farm, dog contact with herd, abortion history and herd population. No significant differences were found between seropositive cattle and age as well as breed. This study is the first report of N. caninum infection in dairy cattle farms in Hamedan province. As per our knowledge, Neospora is an important factor in abortion of cattle in this region. Therefore, comprehensive studies for control strategies and improving management of dairy farms is necessary. Adiposity, lipogenesis, and fatty acid composition of subcutaneous and intramuscular adipose tissues of Brahman and Angus crossbred cattle. Science.gov (United States) Campbell, E M G; Sanders, J O; Lunt, D K; Gill, C A; Taylor, J F; Davis, S K; Riley, D G; Smith, S B 2016-04-01 The objective of this study was to demonstrate differences in aspects of adipose tissue cellularity, lipid metabolism, and fatty and cholesterol composition in Angus and Brahman crossbred cattle. We hypothesized that in vitro measures of lipogenesis would be greater in three-fourths Angus progeny than in three-fourths Brahman progeny, especially in intramuscular (i.m.) adipose tissue. Progeny ( = 227) were fed a standard, corn-based diet for approximately 150 d before slaughter. Breed was considered to be the effect of interest and was forced into the model. There were 9 breed groups including all 4 kinds of three-fourths Angus calves: Angus bulls Angus-sired F cows ( = 32), Angus bulls Brahman-sired F cows ( = 20), Brahman-sired F bulls Angus cows ( = 24), and Angus-sired F bulls Angus cows ( = 20). There were all 4 kinds of three-fourths Brahman calves: Brahman bulls Brahman-sired F cows ( = 21), Brahman bulls Angus-sired F cows ( = 43), Brahman-sired F bulls Brahman cows ( = 26), and Angus-sired F bulls Brahman cows ( = 13). Additionally, F calves (one-half Brahman and one-half Angus) were produced only from Brahman-sired F bulls Angus-sired F cows ( = 28). Contrasts were calculated when breed was an important fixed effect, using the random effect family(breed) as the error term. Most contrasts were nonsignificant ( > 0.10). Those that were significant ( Angus > F, three-fourths Brahman > F, and three-fourths crossbred progeny combined > F), s.c. adipocyte volume (three-fourths Angus > F and three-fourths bloods combined > F), lipogenesis from acetate in s.c. adipose tissue (three-fourths Brahman calves from Brahman dams > three-fourths Brahman calves from F dams), and percentage 18:3-3 in s.c. adipose tissue (three-fourths Brahman calves from Brahman-sired F dams Angus-sired F dams). Intramuscular adipocyte volume ( Angus cattle. Additionally, several differences were observed in i.m. adipose tissue that were consistent with this being a less-developed adipose Classic selective sweeps revealed by massive sequencing in cattle. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Saber Qanbari 2014-02-01 Full Text Available Human driven selection during domestication and subsequent breed formation has likely left detectable signatures within the genome of modern cattle. The elucidation of these signatures of selection is of interest from the perspective of evolutionary biology, and for identifying domestication-related genes that ultimately may help to further genetically improve this economically important animal. To this end, we employed a panel of more than 15 million autosomal SNPs identified from re-sequencing of 43 Fleckvieh animals. We mainly applied two somewhat complementary statistics, the integrated Haplotype Homozygosity Score (iHS reflecting primarily ongoing selection, and the Composite of Likelihood Ratio (CLR having the most power to detect completed selection after fixation of the advantageous allele. We find 106 candidate selection regions, many of which are harboring genes related to phenotypes relevant in domestication, such as coat coloring pattern, neurobehavioral functioning and sensory perception including KIT, MITF, MC1R, NRG4, Erbb4, TMEM132D and TAS2R16, among others. To further investigate the relationship between genes with signatures of selection and genes identified in QTL mapping studies, we use a sample of 3062 animals to perform four genome-wide association analyses using appearance traits, body size and somatic cell count. We show that regions associated with coat coloring significantly (P<0.0001 overlap with the candidate selection regions, suggesting that the selection signals we identify are associated with traits known to be affected by selection during domestication. Results also provide further evidence regarding the complexity of the genetics underlying coat coloring in cattle. This study illustrates the potential of population genetic approaches for identifying genomic regions affecting domestication-related phenotypes and further helps to identify specific regions targeted by selection during speciation, domestication and ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF THE LOCAL DUAL-PURPOSE CATTLE Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Zuzana Krupová 2015-09-01 Full Text Available Base economic characteristics (total revenues, total costs, profit and profitability ratio of the Slovak Pinzgau breed were calculated in this study. Under the actual production and economic conditions of the breed, production system is operated with loss (-457 € per cow and per year and with negative profitability ratio (-20%. Optimisation of the production parameters on the level defined in the breed standard (5,200 kg milk per cow and year, 92% for conception rate of cows, 404 days of calving interval and 550 g in daily gain of reared heifers and improved udder health traits (clinical mastitis incidence and somatic cells score was of positive impact on the total revenues (+34%, on the effective utilisation of costs (+105% and balanced profit of dairy systems. Next to the positive profitability of the system, higher quality and security of dairy milk products should be mentioned there. Moreover, direct subsidies as an important factor of positive economic result of dairy cattle systems has to be pointed as well. Subsidies should be provided to compensate the real biological limitation of the local breed farmed in marginal areas. However, improvement of the production parameters of the Slovak Pinzgau breed is recommended with the same attention to reach the economic sustainability of dairy production system. To reach economic sustainability of the breed from practical point of view, the farmer activity should be aimed especially to the enhanced herd management. Genotyping of the Holstein-Friesian crossbred cattle for CD18 gene using PCR-RFLP Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) A. S. Khade 2014-05-01 Full Text Available Aim: The present study was undertaken in Holstein-Friesian (HF crossbred cattle with the objective to find out genotype of HF crossbred cattle for Bovine Leucocyte Adhesion Deficiency (BLAD by using PCR-RFLP. Materials and Methods: 50 blood samples were collected from HF crossbred cattle and subjected to PCR. The amplified PCR products were digested using Taq I restriction enzyme at 65 oC overnight. After restriction digestion, the final PCR products were electrophoresed on 2.5 % agarose gel. Results: All the 50 animals under present investigation were found to be normal as the amplified PCR product upon digestion with Taq I restriction enzyme, revealed two bands of 313 bp and 54 bp for normal animals. Conclusions: In the present investigation D128G carrier frequency was found to be 0 %. However, recent reports suggest that the mutant gene has already been observed in the HF crossbred cattle population of India, which makes it necessary to screen the animals to avoid the risk of spreading BLAD in the breeding cattle population. Community-based livestock breeding programmes: essentials and examples. Science.gov (United States) Mueller, J P; Rischkowsky, B; Haile, A; Philipsson, J; Mwai, O; Besbes, B; Valle Zárate, A; Tibbo, M; Mirkena, T; Duguma, G; Sölkner, J; Wurzinger, M 2015-04-01 Breeding programmes described as community-based (CBBP) typically relate to low-input systems with farmers having a common interest to improve and share their genetic resources. CBBPs are more frequent with keepers of small ruminants, in particular smallholders of local breeds, than with cattle, pigs or chickens with which farmers may have easier access to alternative programmes. Constraints that limit the adoption of conventional breeding technologies in low-input systems cover a range of organizational and technical aspects. The analysis of 8 CBBPs located in countries of Latin-America, Africa and Asia highlights the importance of bottom-up approaches and involvement of local institutions in the planning and implementation stages. The analysis also reveals a high dependence of these programmes on organizational, technical and financial support. Completely self-sustained CBBPs seem to be difficult to realize. There is a need to implement and document formal socio-economic evaluations of CBBPs to provide governments and other development agencies with the information necessary for creating sustainable CBBPs at larger scales. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH. Effect of species, breed, and age on bacterial load in bovine and bubaline semen Science.gov (United States) Sannat, Chandrahas; Nair, Ajit; Sahu, S. B.; Sahasrabudhe, S. A.; Kumar, Ashish; Gupta, Amit Kumar; Shende, R. K. 2015-01-01 Aim: The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of species, breed and age on bacterial load in fresh and frozen semen of Cattle and Buffalo bull. Materials and Methods: Present study covered 56 cow and 10 buffalo bulls stationed at Central Semen Station Anjora, Durg (Chhattisgarh). Impact of breeds on bacterial load in semen was assessed using six breeds of cattle viz. Sahiwal, Gir, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar, Jersey and Holstein Friesian (HF) cross. Cow bulls were categorized into four different groups based on their age ( 6 years) to study variation among age groups. Bacterial load was measured in fresh and frozen semen samples from these bulls using the standard plate count (SPC) method and count was expressed as colony forming unit (CFU) per ml of semen. Results: Higher bacterial load was reported in fresh (2.36 × 104 ± 1943 CFU/ml) and frozen (1.00 × 10 ± 90 CFU/ml) semen of cow bulls as compared to buffalo bulls (1.95 × 104 ± 2882 and 7.75 × 102 ± 160 CFU/ml in fresh and frozen semen, respectively). Jersey bull showed significantly higher bacterial count (p semen followed by HF cross, Sahiwal, Gir, Red Sindhi and Tharparkar bull. Bulls aged semen. Although a minor variation was reported between species and among age groups, no significant differences were measured. Conclusion: Bacterial load in semen did not differ significantly between species and age groups; however significant variation was reported among different breeds. Bulls of Jersey breed showed significantly higher bacterial load in semen as compared to the crossbred and indigenous bull. PMID:27047115 Field observations during the Bluetongue serotype 8 epidemic in 2006 II. Morbidity and mortality rate, case fatality and clinical recovery in sheep and cattle in the Netherlands NARCIS (Netherlands) Elbers, A.R.W.; Backx, A.; Mintiens, K.; Gerbier, G.; Staubach, C.; Hendrickx, G.; Spek, van der A.N. 2008-01-01 Data collected in the Netherlands during the Bluetongue serotype 8 (BTV-8) epidemic indicated that in outbreak cattle herds, predominantly dairy and nursing cows were clinically affected and not young stock, beef cattle, beef calves, or breeding animals. In outbreak sheep flocks, mainly ewes and ¿ Genomic selection strategies in a small dairy cattle population evaluated for genetic gain and profit DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Thomasen, Jørn Rind; Egger-Danner, C; Willam, A 2014-01-01 progeny testing. Strong positive interaction effects between increased reliability of genomic predictions and more intensive use of young bulls exist. From an economic perspective a juvenile scheme is always advantageous. The main future focus area for the smaller dairy cattle breeds is to join forces... The indigenous Somba cattle of the hilly Atacora region in North-West Benin: threats and opportunities for its sustainable use. Science.gov (United States) Dossa, Luc Hippolyte; Vanvanhossou, Fridaïus Ulrich Sèyi 2016-02-01 The objective of this study was to characterize the declining Somba cattle population in its production system context. Two-hundred-twenty-four (224) cattle farm-households were surveyed in the Boukombe district, the natural habitat of the breed in North-West Benin. Information on their socioeconomic characteristics and on their herd management practices were recorded using a semi-structured questionnaire. In addition, 15 body measurements were recorded from 102 adult cattle. Three types of breeders were distinguished: the owners-herders (54.0 %); the absentee owners (40.2 %) and the professional herders (5.8 %). The average cattle herd sizes were 4.7 ± 3.70 and 58.6 ± 22.83 heads for owner-managed and entrusted herds, respectively. Offtakes were more associated with sociocultural purposes (75.5 %) than market. While crop farming was the main occupation and income source of their owners, the Somba cattle were used for ploughing during the rainy season. In contrast to the widely accepted belief that this indigenous genetic resource is mainly threatened by crossbreeding and/or replacement, our findings suggest high mortalities due to diseases, feed and water shortages and poor reproduction management as the main causes of the decline of this cattle population. Somba cattle generally have short horns and a small body size. However, bulls have significantly (P ≤ 0.05) longer horns (21.2 ± 16.44 cm against 13.9 ± 7.21 cm), higher height at withers (99.7 ± 6.97 cm against 95.9 ± 5.76 cm) and body length (149.7 ± 12.87 cm against 146.8 ± 11.01 cm) than cows. All surveyed farmers expressed their willingness and readiness to participate in and contribute materially or financially to any program towards a sustainable use and preservation of this breed which they perceived as hardy and embedded in their culture. We therefore argue that strategies for its sustainable use and conservation should consist of simultaneously Diet and fertility in cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Petrujkić Tihomir 2003-01-01 Full Text Available The diet of high-yield dairy cows process a very complex and acute problem. Much new knowledge in the area of production and preparation of feedstuffs, diet technology, and the interactions that occur between the components of the nutritive feed ration are required in order to resolve this problem. It is necessary constantly to coordinate feed norms with genetic potential which is ever changing and advanced. The observed problems must be resolved using multidisciplinary methods so that a diet can yield good health, and that health contribute to better reproduction and possibilities for more successful breeding and improved performance in cattle farming. In certain countries, thanks to their geographic position and climatic conditions which allow rainfall throughout the year, a natural green diet can be applied, which provides large numbers of green mass components, and with additives which can be supplemented relatively easily. This type of diet is not possible in our farms. It is very important to know which feedstuff components are laking for certain categories of cattle. The used ration must be constant and administered to animals of certain age or production characteristics in order to improve production results at cattle farms. A great problem occurs when diet is reduced due to dried grass and the resulting stress in animals. A 50% diet reduction in young cattle often results in the occurrence of respiratory diseases. Following 10-14 days of treatment, the disease disappears in young animals, but the energy deficit leads to the weakening (depression of the immune system. Even a so-called high-energy diet often causes respiratory diseases. A diet deficient in proteins also affects cows after lactation, as opposed to a normative diet, and a reduced protein diet disturbs the microbial activity in the rumen and the synthesis of compounds which are important for both the cow and the calf, making room for the incidence of metabolic diseases, most A preliminary study of genetic factors that influence susceptibility to bovine tuberculosis in the British cattle herd. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Erin E Driscoll 2011-04-01 Full Text Available Associations between specific host genes and susceptibility to Mycobacterial infections such as tuberculosis have been reported in several species. Bovine tuberculosis (bTB impacts greatly the UK cattle industry, yet genetic predispositions have yet to be identified. We therefore used a candidate gene approach to study 384 cattle of which 160 had reacted positively to an antigenic skin test ('reactors'. Our approach was unusual in that it used microsatellite markers, embraced high breed diversity and focused particularly on detecting genes showing heterozygote advantage, a mode of action often overlooked in SNP-based studies. A panel of neutral markers was used to control for population substructure and using a general linear model-based approach we were also able to control for age. We found that substructure was surprisingly weak and identified two genomic regions that were strongly associated with reactor status, identified by markers INRA111 and BMS2753. In general the strength of association detected tended to vary depending on whether age was included in the model. At INRA111 a single genotype appears strongly protective with an overall odds ratio of 2.2, the effect being consistent across nine diverse breeds. Our results suggest that breeding strategies could be devised that would appreciably increase genetic resistance of cattle to bTB (strictly, reduce the frequency of incidence of reactors with implications for the current debate concerning badger-culling. Comparing profitability of Burlina and Holstein Friesian cattle breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Martino Cassandro 2010-01-01 Full Text Available Aim of this study was to compare profitability of Burlina and Holstein Friesian cows in northern Italy. Cow’s profitability was calculated for each breed, with consideration of economic incentive programs and alternative milk pricing scenarios. The difference in annual profitability between Burlina and Holstein Friesian ranged from −€719 to −€274 per cow per year. In a low-input management level with a cow’s incentive payment and a specific cheese market strategy the low milk yield of Burlina can be compensate respect to Holstein Friesian. Occurrences of Indigestible Foreign Bodies in Cattle Slaughtered at Morogoro Municipal Slaughterhouse, Tanzania Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) S. F. Bwatota 2018-01-01 Full Text Available A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the occurrence of indigestible foreign bodies (IFB in cattle slaughtered at Morogoro Municipal Slaughterhouse, Tanzania. A total of 387 slaughter cattle were examined for presence of IFB. Out of 387 examined cattle, 93 (24.03% had IFB in their forestomachs. The observed IFB were plastic bags, fruit seeds, clothing materials, ropes, hairballs, leather materials, stones, metallic nails, and wire. Plastic bags were the most frequently (50.5% observed IFB followed by fruit seeds (18.3%. A significantly (p<0.05 high proportion of old animals (31.7% had IFB compared to the young animals (21.2%. Similarly, the frequency of occurrence of IFB was significantly high (p<0.05 in crossbred dairy cattle (42.3% compared to local breeds (22.7%. Cattle that appeared with poor body condition (37.8% were found to be more affected (p<0.05 by IFB than those with good body condition (15.9%. In 91.4% of animals which had IFB, all the materials were located in the rumen. This study showed that presence of IFB is a common problem in cattle slaughtered at Morogoro Municipal Slaughterhouse and may significantly cause poor production and mortality in affected animals. Therefore, appropriate solid waste disposal should be implemented. Occurrences of Indigestible Foreign Bodies in Cattle Slaughtered at Morogoro Municipal Slaughterhouse, Tanzania. Science.gov (United States) Bwatota, S F; Makungu, M; Nonga, H E 2018-01-01 A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the occurrence of indigestible foreign bodies (IFB) in cattle slaughtered at Morogoro Municipal Slaughterhouse, Tanzania. A total of 387 slaughter cattle were examined for presence of IFB. Out of 387 examined cattle, 93 (24.03%) had IFB in their forestomachs. The observed IFB were plastic bags, fruit seeds, clothing materials, ropes, hairballs, leather materials, stones, metallic nails, and wire. Plastic bags were the most frequently (50.5%) observed IFB followed by fruit seeds (18.3%). A significantly ( p < 0.05) high proportion of old animals (31.7%) had IFB compared to the young animals (21.2%). Similarly, the frequency of occurrence of IFB was significantly high ( p < 0.05) in crossbred dairy cattle (42.3%) compared to local breeds (22.7%). Cattle that appeared with poor body condition (37.8%) were found to be more affected ( p < 0.05) by IFB than those with good body condition (15.9%). In 91.4% of animals which had IFB, all the materials were located in the rumen. This study showed that presence of IFB is a common problem in cattle slaughtered at Morogoro Municipal Slaughterhouse and may significantly cause poor production and mortality in affected animals. Therefore, appropriate solid waste disposal should be implemented. Effects of cattle and manure management on the nutrient economy of mixed farms in East Africa: A scenario study OpenAIRE Snijders, P.J.M.; Meer, van der, H.G.; Onduru, D.D.; Ebanyat, P.; Ergano, K.; Zake, J.Y.K.; Wouters, A.P.; Gachimbi, L.N.; Keulen, van, H. 2013-01-01 This paper explores effects of animal and manure management in a dairy unit on the nutrient economy of crop-livestock farms in East Africa. For this purpose, 8 cattle management scenarios have been developed based on farming systems in Mbeere, Kenya (extensive), Wakiso, Uganda (semi-intensive) and Kibichoi, Kenya (intensive). Three baseline scenarios represent present-day cattle management; five improved scenarios use the same dairy breeds but have improved nutrition, using younger grass, mor... Preliminary Results for Ways to Increase Meat Production in Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Doina Popa 2010-10-01 Full Text Available In order to improve the quality and quantity of meat production in cattle in the ICDM Cristian institute and two private farms, Beef Technology and Artificial Insemination was applied. Artificial Insemination was performed with semen from bulls of meat breeds (Charolaise, Bleu Belge, Aberdeen Angus. The average daily gains obtained were between 0.40-1.30 kg / head / day, varying based on race, sex, technology applied, etc. « 18 19 20 21 22 » « 19 20 21 22 23 » Current status of cattle production system in Nyagatare District-Rwanda. Science.gov (United States) Mazimpaka, Eugene; Mbuza, Francis; Michael, Tukei; Gatari, Eugene N; Bukenya, E M; James, Okwee-Acai 2017-12-01 A study was conducted to characterize the cattle production systems in Nyagatare District, Eastern Province of Rwanda using pre-tested questionnaires, interviews with key informants as well as focus group discussions in a period of 2 months. The respondents were selected by multi-stage sampling at sector and cell levels. Based on the procedure of Krejcie and Morgan (Educational and Psychological Measurement 30:607-610, 1970) to determine the overall sample size, the result indicated that the majority (98.3%) of farms were privately owned by large families of five to seven members, and most farmers (53.9%) had only primary education. Most respondents (52.6%) were in the age bracket of 41-50 years and were mainly (48.3%) located within 3 km from trading centers. The farm size averaged 6.5 ± 0.8 ha and most farms (64.7%) were fenced except in Rukomo Sector (50%) where zero grazing prevailed. Natural pastures (savanna grass land) were the main feed resource; tethering (9%) and communal grazing had diminished. Napier grass was the main planted forage (93.2%), followed by Chloris guyana (3.1%) and Brachiara (1.2%). Leguminous forages were rarely (2.5%) reported. Vita-mineral and salt block supplements, hay, and crop residues were the predominant supplementary feed stuffs used except in Karangazi and Rwemiyaga Sectors where only vita-mineral block predominated. However, maize and rice brans were reported to be the main feed stuffs used in supplementary feeding of lactating cows. Most farmers (89.7%) reported shortage of water as most of the farmers trekked their cattle to the nearest valley dams (59.2%), rivers (21.1%), and a few 6% had water on farms. Indigenous cattle were predominant (67.03%) followed by cross-breeds (28.37%) and exotics (4.6%) while all farmers kept small ruminants. Natural breeding predominated (74.9%) and most farms (60.6%) had animal houses most of which were temporary (52.8%). The reported mean age at first calving (AFC) was highest (40.2� Understanding roles and functions of cattle breeds for pastoralists in Benin NARCIS (Netherlands) Tamou, Charles; Boer, de Imke J.M.; Ripoll-Bosch, Raimon; Oosting, Simon J. 2018-01-01 Animal genetic resources (AnGR) are essential for food security and the livelihoods of many pastoralists. However, the AnGR diversity is currently being eroded, as well as the traditional ecological knowledge associated to the use of indigenous breeds and their environment. The objectives of this Physical and morphometric characterization of indigenous cattle of Assam Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) A. Haque 2011-01-01 Full Text Available The present investigation was undertaken to study the physical and morphometric characteristics in indigenous cattle of Assam. The data pertain to 339 indigenous cattle of different categories. The physical characteristics included colour pattern of body coat, muzzle, tail switch, hoof and horn. Body length, height at wither, heart girth, pouch girth, length of tail, switch, neck, ear and head were taken up for morphometric characterization. The main body coat colour of indigenous cattle was brown (31.18% followed by white (28.53%, fawn (15.29%, grey (13.53%, black (4.41% and mixed (7.06%. The prominent colour of tail switch was black (74.53%. Most of animals had black muzzle (86.47%, black hooves (84.71% and black horn (100%. Morphometric characteristics data obtained were classified according to location, age group and sex of the animal. The means for body length, height at wither, heart girth, pouch girth, length of tail, switch, neck, ear and head were 83.668±0.590, 91.942±0.55, 113.146±0.738, 121.181±0.761, 54.196±0.527, 26.098±0.186, 32.705±0.166, 18.131±0.111 and 35.035±0.195 cm respectively. Age and sex had significant effect on all the morphometric characters however, location effect was non significant. The indigenous cattle of Assam are comparatively smaller in size than most of the recognized breeds of cattle however coat colour showed sizeable variation. The data generated for indigenous cattle of Assam would be useful to characterize them. Index selection of beef cattle for growth and milk production using ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Index selection of beef cattle for growth and milk production using computer simulation modelling. ... South African Journal of Animal Science ... into the model allowed for the introduction of variation between individuals and generations. Determinants of choice of market-oriented indigenous Horo cattle production in Dano district of western Showa, Ethiopia. Science.gov (United States) Alemayehu, Befikadu; Bogale, Ayalneh; Wollny, Clemens; Tesfahun, Girma 2010-12-01 Based on a survey data collected from 150 farming households in Dano district of western Showa of Ethiopia, this paper analyzes determinants of smallholders' choice for market oriented indigenous Horo cattle production and tries to suggest policy alternatives for sustainable use of animal genetic resource in the study area. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic model were employed to analyze the data. Eight explanatory variables including age of the household head, size of the grazing land, total size of cultivated land, farmer's experience in indigenous cattle production, farmer's attitude towards productivity of local breed, off-farm income, fattening practice, and availability of information and training of the head of the household regarding conservation, management and sustainable use indigenous cattle were found to be statistically significant variables to explain farmers' choice for market oriented indigenous cattle production activities. Besides, possible policy implications were made in order to improve conservation, management and sustainable use of market oriented indigenous cattle genetic resources. Determination of Stearoyl-Coenzyme A Desaturase 1 Gene Variants in South Anatolian Red and East Anatolian Red Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) İjlal İpek PAYA 2015-07-01 Full Text Available Fat composition in ruminant’s milk is one of the factors that can affect human health in positive or adverse ways. Optimizing ruminant feed to achieve ideal fatty acid composition in milk has been an ongoing area of research in recent years, without satisfactory results to date. It has been argued that in addition to changes in feed, genetic information can also be utilized to improve milk fatty acid composition. The aim of the study is to investigate the incidence of stearoyl-CoA-desaturase 1 (SCD gene variants, which are claimed to affect fat content and quality of milk in Turkish native cattle breeds. Fifty South Anatolian Red (SAR and 50 East Anatolian Red (EAR cattle were used in the study. The 5th exon of SCD gene was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR and the PCR products were subjected to sequencing analysis. Among the samples sequenced polymorphism at three nucleotide positions have been observed on the 5th exon of the SCD gene, namely A702G, T762C and C878T. Of these three, the polymorphic position C878T was utilized to determine peptide variants of A (293Ala or the V (293 Val of individual samples. Frequency of A variant and AA genotype in SAR and EAR cattle breeds was 0.91 and 0.77 as well as 0.43 and 0.29, respectively. In particular the SAR exhibits a very low frequency of the V allele, believed to have been an ancestral allele. In both samples, 2 individuals were identified to have the VV genotype. The results suggested that high frequency of A allele and AA genotype which confers great advantage on milk composition and meat fatty acid composition was present in SAR and EAR cattle breeds Population-genetic properties of differentiated copy number variations in cattle. Science.gov (United States) Xu, Lingyang; Hou, Yali; Bickhart, Derek M; Zhou, Yang; Hay, El Hamidi Abdel; Song, Jiuzhou; Sonstegard, Tad S; Van Tassell, Curtis P; Liu, George E 2016-03-23 While single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is typically the variant of choice for population genetics, copy number variation (CNV) which comprises insertion, deletion and duplication of genomic sequence, is an informative type of genetic variation. CNVs have been shown to be both common in mammals and important for understanding the relationship between genotype and phenotype. However, CNV differentiation, selection and its population genetic properties are not well understood across diverse populations. We performed a population genetics survey based on CNVs derived from the BovineHD SNP array data of eight distinct cattle breeds. We generated high resolution results that show geographical patterns of variations and genome-wide admixture proportions within and among breeds. Similar to the previous SNP-based studies, our CNV-based results displayed a strong correlation of population structure and geographical location. By conducting three pairwise comparisons among European taurine, African taurine, and indicine groups, we further identified 78 unique CNV regions that were highly differentiated, some of which might be due to selection. These CNV regions overlapped with genes involved in traits related to parasite resistance, immunity response, body size, fertility, and milk production. Our results characterize CNV diversity among cattle populations and provide a list of lineage-differentiated CNVs. Survey of smallholder beef cattle production systems in different agro-ecological zones of Cambodia. Science.gov (United States) Samkol, Pok; Sath, Keo; Patel, Mikaela; Windsor, Peter Andrew; Holtenius, Kjell 2015-10-01 A survey was conducted to better understand the contribution of farm productivity to rural household income and identify differences in production systems, feeding practices and development constraints to smallholder beef cattle producers in the four agro-ecological zones (AEZs) of Cambodia. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 360 households in the four AEZs: I, the Great Lake Floodplain; II, the Mekong Floodplain; III, the Coastal and IV, the Plateau/Mountainous. In addition, samples of common nutritional resources used for cattle feed were collected for nutrient composition analysis, plus cattle were scored for body condition. Rice farming and cattle production were the most common sources of income in all AEZs. The average cattle herd size was 3.7 (SD = 2.4), but the majority of households raised 1-3 animals. The most common cattle management system was grazing with supplementation, mainly with rice straw and 'cut-and-carry' natural grasses fed during the wet season in all AEZs. The body condition score of all cattle types was 3.2 (SD = 0.8), except for cows in lactation that were 1.8. Major constraints to cattle production in AEZs I, II and III were lack of quality feed resources, capital for cattle production and concerns on breed quality, whereas in AEZ IV, diseases were identified as the main constraint. This survey confirms the importance of cattle to smallholders in the four AEZs. Interventions including farmer education to improve husbandry skills, increase the utilisation of forages and crop residues and address disease issues are necessary to enhance cattle production and rural livelihoods in Cambodia. Plant Breeding by Using Radiation Mutation International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Kang, Si Yong; Kim, Dong Sub; Lee, Geung Joo 2007-06-01 A mutation breeding is to use physical or chemical mutagens to induce mutagenesis, followed by individual selections with favorable traits. The mutation breeding has many advantages over other breeding methods, which include the usefulness for improving one or two inferior characteristics, applications to broad species with different reproductive systems or to diverse plant materials, native or plant introduction with narrow genetic background, time and cost-effectiveness, and valuable mutant resources for genomic researches. Recent applications of the radiation breeding techniques to developments of flowering plants or food crops with improved functional constituents heightened the public's interests in agriculture and in our genetic resources and seed industries. The goals of this project, therefore, include achieving advances in domestic seed industries and agricultural productivities by developing and using new radiation mutants with favored traits, protecting an intellectual property right of domestic seeds or germplasm, and sharing the valuable mutants and mutated gene information for the genomic and biotech researches that eventually leads to economic benefits Plant Breeding by Using Radiation Mutation Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) Kang, Si Yong; Kim, Dong Sub; Lee, Geung Joo (and others) 2007-06-15 A mutation breeding is to use physical or chemical mutagens to induce mutagenesis, followed by individual selections with favorable traits. The mutation breeding has many advantages over other breeding methods, which include the usefulness for improving one or two inferior characteristics, applications to broad species with different reproductive systems or to diverse plant materials, native or plant introduction with narrow genetic background, time and cost-effectiveness, and valuable mutant resources for genomic researches. Recent applications of the radiation breeding techniques to developments of flowering plants or food crops with improved functional constituents heightened the public's interests in agriculture and in our genetic resources and seed industries. The goals of this project, therefore, include achieving advances in domestic seed industries and agricultural productivities by developing and using new radiation mutants with favored traits, protecting an intellectual property right of domestic seeds or germplasm, and sharing the valuable mutants and mutated gene information for the genomic and biotech researches that eventually leads to economic benefits. Evaluation of Carcass Production of PO Cattle Based on Heart Girth Measurement, Body Condition Score and Slaughter Weight OpenAIRE Haryoko, I; Suparman, P 2009-01-01 The objective of study was to evaluate of carcass production of PO beef cattle based on measurement of heart girth, body condition score (BCS), and slaughter weight. It was conducted in the slaughtering house at Mersi Purwokerto city. The materials for this study were 60 heads of male PO breed cattle. Simple random sampling was used for taking samples. Data was analyzed by using multiple regression equation to determine the effects of heart girth, BCS, and slaughter weight on carcass weig... Genetic architecture of clinical mastitis traits in dairy cattle DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Sahana, Goutam; Guldbrandtsen, Bernt; Lund, Mogens Sandø 2012-01-01 investigate the genetic architecture of clinical mastitis and somatic cell score traits in dairy cattle using a high density (HD) SNP panel. Mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland most commonly caused by bacterial infection, is a frequent disease in dairy cattle. Clinical mastitis and somatic cell...... score from first three lactations were studied for association with SNP markers in 4,200 progeny-tested Nordic Holstein bulls. Single trait breeding values were used as phenotypes. All the individuals were genotyped with BovineSNP50 Beadchip. Part of this population was also genotyped with the Bovine...... mixed model analysis. After Bonferroni correction 12, 372 SNP exhibited genome-wide significant associations with mastitis related traits. A total 61 QTL regions on 22 chromosomes associated with mastitis related traits were identified. The SNP with highest effect explained 5.6% of the variance... Molecular Characterization of Bovine SMO Gene and Effects of Its Genetic Variations on Body Size Traits in Qinchuan Cattle (Bos taurus) Science.gov (United States) Zhang, Ya-Ran; Gui, Lin-Sheng; Li, Yao-Kun; Jiang, Bi-Jie; Wang, Hong-Cheng; Zhang, Ying-Ying; Zan, Lin-Sen 2015-01-01 Smoothened (Smo)-mediated Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway governs the patterning, morphogenesis and growth of many different regions within animal body plans. This study evaluated the effects of genetic variations of the bovine SMO gene on economically important body size traits in Chinese Qinchuan cattle. Altogether, eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: 1–8) were identified and genotyped via direct sequencing covering most of the coding region and 3ʹUTR of the bovine SMO gene. Both the p.698Ser.>Ser. synonymous mutation resulted from SNP1 and the p.700Ser.>Pro. non-synonymous mutation caused by SNP2 mapped to the intracellular C-terminal tail of bovine Smo protein; the other six SNPs were non-coding variants located in the 3ʹUTR. The linkage disequilibrium was analyzed, and five haplotypes were discovered in 520 Qinchuan cattle. Association analyses showed that SNP2, SNP3/5, SNP4 and SNP6/7 were significantly associated with some body size traits (p 0.05). Meanwhile, cattle with wild-type combined haplotype Hap1/Hap1 had significantly (p < 0.05) greater body length than those with Hap2/Hap2. Our results indicate that variations in the SMO gene could affect body size traits of Qinchuan cattle, and the wild-type haplotype Hap1 together with the wild-type alleles of these detected SNPs in the SMO gene could be used to breed cattle with superior body size traits. Therefore, our results could be helpful for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding programs. PMID:26225956 The accuracies of DNA-based estimates of genetic merit derived from Angus or multibreed beef cattle training populations. Science.gov (United States) Weber, K L; Drake, D J; Taylor, J F; Garrick, D J; Kuehn, L A; Thallman, R M; Schnabel, R D; Snelling, W M; Pollak, E J; Van Eenennaam, A L 2012-12-01 Several organizations have developed prediction models for molecular breeding values (MBV) for quantitative growth and carcass traits in beef cattle using Bovine SNP50 genotypes and phenotypic or EBV data. Molecular breeding values for Angus cattle have been developed by IGENITY, Pfizer Animal Genetics, and a collaboration between researchers from Iowa State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia (ISU/UMC). The U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC; Clay Center, NE) has also developed MBV for 16 cattle breeds using 2 multibreed populations, the Germplasm Evaluation (GPE) Program and the 2,000 Bull Project (2K(ALL)), and 2 single breed subpopulations of the 2,000 Bull Project, Angus (2K(AN)) and Hereford (2K(HH)). In this study, these MBV were assessed relative to commercial ranch EBV estimated from the progeny phenotypes of Angus bulls naturally mated in multisire breeding pastures to commercial cows: 121 for USMARC MBV, 99 for ISU/UMC MBV, and 29 for IGENITY and Pfizer MBV (selected based on number of progeny carcass records). Five traits were analyzed: weaning weight (WW), HCW, marbling score (MS), rib-eye muscle area (RE), and, for IGENITY and Pfizer only, feedlot ADG. The average accuracies of MBV across traits were 0.38 ± 0.05 for IGENITY, 0.61 ± 0.12 for Pfizer, 0.46 ± 0.12 for ISU/UMC, 0.16 ± 0.04 for GPE, 0.26 ± 0.05 for 2K(ALL), 0.24 ± 0.04 for 2K(AN), and 0.02 ± 0.12 for 2K(HH). Angus-based MBV (IGENITY, Pfizer, ISU/UMC, and 2K(AN)) explained larger proportions of genetic variance in this population than GPE, 2K(ALL), or 2K(HH) MBV for the same traits. In this data set, IGENITY, Pfizer, and ISU/UMC MBV were predictive of realized performance of progeny, and incorporation of that information into national genetic evaluations would be expected to improve EPD accuracy, particularly for young animals. Short communication: Genomic selection in a crossbred cattle population using data from the Dairy Genetics East Africa Project. Science.gov (United States) Brown, A; Ojango, J; Gibson, J; Coffey, M; Okeyo, M; Mrode, R 2016-09-01 Due to the absence of accurate pedigree information, it has not been possible to implement genetic evaluations for crossbred cattle in African small-holder systems. Genomic selection techniques that do not rely on pedigree information could, therefore, be a useful alternative. The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of using genomic selection techniques in a crossbred cattle population using data from Kenya provided by the Dairy Genetics East Africa Project. Genomic estimated breeding values for milk yield were estimated using 2 prediction methods, GBLUP and BayesC, and accuracies were calculated as the correlation between yield deviations and genomic breeding values included in the estimation process, mimicking the situation for young bulls. The accuracy of evaluation ranged from 0.28 to 0.41, depending on the validation population and prediction method used. No significant differences were found in accuracy between the 2 prediction methods. The results suggest that there is potential for implementing genomic selection for young bulls in crossbred small-holder cattle populations, and targeted genotyping and phenotyping should be pursued to facilitate this. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Radiographical evaluation of bone maturation in Japanese black beef cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Oishi, A.; Hamada, S.; Sakamoto, H.; Kamiya, S.; Yanagida, K.; Kubota, C.; Watanabe, Y.; Shimizu, R. 1996-01-01 Epiphyseal ossification in the radius, ulna, metacarpus, proximal phalanx and tuber calcaneous was examined radiographically in Japanese Black beef cattle. The grade of standard ossification was assessed monthly for each epiphysis. Bone maturations could be divided into 8 grades for the distal radius and distal ulna, 7 grades for the distal metacarpus, 5 grades for the proximal phalanx, and 8 grades for the tuber calcaneous, respectively. The closure of the epiphyseal line completed at the earliest on the proximal phalanx, and at the latest on the distal ulna. Changes in gradings were steep at 0 to 5 months of age but became almost constant after 10 months of age in all the epiphysis. There were no significant differences in bone maturation between the cattle with different sex and breeding conditions Breed distribution of the nt230(del4) MDR1 mutation in dogs. Science.gov (United States) Gramer, Irina; Leidolf, Regina; Döring, Barbara; Klintzsch, Stefanie; Krämer, Eva-Maria; Yalcin, Ebru; Petzinger, Ernst; Geyer, Joachim 2011-07-01 A 4-bp deletion mutation associated with multiple drug sensitivity exists in the canine multidrug resistance (MDR1) gene. This mutation has been detected in more than 10 purebred dog breeds as well as in mixed breed dogs. To evaluate the breed distribution of this mutation in Germany, 7378 dogs were screened, including 6999 purebred and 379 mixed breed dogs. The study included dog breeds that show close genetic relationship or share breeding history with one of the predisposed breeds but in which the occurrence of the MDR1 mutation has not been reported. The breeds comprised Bearded Collies, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Greyhound, Belgian Tervuren, Kelpie, Borzoi, Australian Cattle Dog and the Irish Wolfhound. The MDR1 mutation was not detected is any of these breeds, although it was found as expected in the Collie, Longhaired Whippet, Shetland Sheepdog, Miniature Australian Shepherd, Australian Shepherd, Wäller, White Swiss Shepherd, Old English Sheepdog and Border Collie with varying allelic frequencies for the mutant MDR1 allele of 59%, 45%, 30%, 24%, 22%, 17%, 14%, 4% and 1%, respectively. Allelic frequencies of 8% and 2% were determined in herding breed mixes and unclassified mixed breeds, respectively. Because of its widespread breed distribution and occurrence in many mixed breed dogs, it is difficult for veterinarians and dog owners to recognise whether MDR1-related drug sensitivity is relevant for an individual animal. This study provides a comprehensive overview of all affected dog breeds and many dog breeds that are probably unaffected on the basis of ∼15,000 worldwide MDR1 genotyping data. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Expectations of Cattle Feeding Investors in Feeder Cattle Placements OpenAIRE Kastens, Terry L.; Schroeder, Ted C. 1993-01-01 Cattle feeders appear irrational when they place cattle on feed when projected profits are negative. Long futures positions appear to offer superior returns to cattle feeding investment. Cattle feeder behavior suggests that they believe a downward bias in live cattle futures persists and that cattle feeders use different information than the live cattle futures market price when making placement decisions. This paper examines feeder cattle placement determinants and compares performance of ex... Multiple criteria decision-making process to derive consensus desired genetic gains for a dairy cattle breeding objective for diverse production systems. Science.gov (United States) Kariuki, C M; van Arendonk, J A M; Kahi, A K; Komen, H 2017-06-01 Dairy cattle industries contribute to food and nutrition security and are a source of income for numerous households in many developing countries. Selective breeding can enhance efficiency in these industries. Developing dairy industries are characterized by diverse production and marketing systems. In this paper, we use weighted goal aggregating procedure to derive consensus trait preferences for different producer categories and processors. We based the study on the dairy industry in Kenya. The analytic hierarchy process was used to derive individual preferences for milk yield (MY), calving interval (CIN), production lifetime (PLT), mature body weight (MBW), and fat yield (FY). Results show that classical classification of production systems into large-scale and smallholder systems does not capture all differences in trait preferences. These differences became apparent when classification was based on productivity at the individual animal level, with high and low intensity producers and processors as the most important groups. High intensity producers had highest preferences for PLT and MY, whereas low intensity producers had highest preference for CIN and PLT; processors preferred MY and FY the most. The highest disagreements between the groups were observed for FY, PLT, and MY. Individual and group preferences were aggregated into consensus preferences using weighted goal programming. Desired gains were obtained as a product of consensus preferences and percentage genetic gains (G%). These were 2.42, 0.22, 2.51, 0.15, and 0.87 for MY, CIN, PLT, MBW, and FY, respectively. Consensus preferences can be used to derive a single compromise breeding objective for situations where the same genetic resources are used in diverse production and marketing circumstances. The Authors. Published by the Federation of Animal Science Societies and Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Computerized management support for swine breeding farms NARCIS (Netherlands) Huirne, R.B.M. 1990-01-01 1. INTRODUCTION The investigations described in this thesis have been directed towards computerized management support for swine breeding farms, focused on sow productivity and profitability. The study is composed of three basic parts: (1) basic description and « 19 20 21 22 23 » « 20 21 22 23 24 » Drivers of Live Cattle Price in the Livestock Trading System of Central Cameroon Science.gov (United States) Motta, Paolo; Handel, Ian G.; Rydevik, Gustaf; Hamman, Saidou M.; Ngwa, Victor Ngu; Tanya, Vincent N.; Morgan, Kenton L.; Bronsvoort, Barend M. deC.; Porphyre, Thibaud 2018-01-01 Livestock production and trade are critical for the food security and welfare of rural households in sub-Saharan Africa. In Cameroon, animal trade consists mainly of live cattle commercialized through livestock markets. Identifying the factors contributing to cattle price formation is critical for designing effective policies for sustainable production and for increasing food availability. In this study, we evaluated the influence of a range of individual- and market-level factors on the price of cattle that were sold in all transactions (n = 118,017) recorded over a 12-month period from 31 livestock markets in the main cattle production area of the country. An information-theoretic approach using a generalized additive mixed-effect model was implemented to select the best explanatory model as well as evaluate the robustness of the identified drivers and the predictive ability of the model. The age and gender of the cattle traded were consistently found to be important drivers of the price (p livestock market and the price of the traded live cattle (p < 0.01). Although our analysis did not account for factors informing on specific phenotypic traits nor breed characteristics of cattle traded, nearly 50% of the observed variation in live cattle prices was explained by the final model. Ultimately, our model gives a large scale overview of drivers of cattle price formation in Cameroon and to our knowledge is the first study of this scale in Central Africa. Our findings represent an important milestone in designing efficient and sustainable animal health management programme in Cameroon and ensure livelihood sustainability for rural households. PMID:29387687 Factors influencing growth hormone levels of Bali cattle in Bali, Nusa Penida, and Sumbawa Islands, Indonesia. Science.gov (United States) Suwiti, N K; Besung, I N K; Mahardika, G N 2017-10-01 Bali cattle ( Bos javanicus ) are an Indonesian's native cattle breed that distributed in Asia to Australia. The scientific literature on these cattle is scarce. The growth hormone (GH) of Bali cattle is investigated from three separated islands, namely, Bali, Nusa Penida, and Sumbawa. Forty plasma samples were collected from each island, and the GH was measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The data were analyzed based on the origin, sex, and cattle raising practices. We found that the GH level (bovine GH [BGH]) of animal kept in stall 1.72±0.70 µg/ml was higher than free-grazing animal 1.27±0.81 µg/ml. The GH level was lower in female (1.22±0.62 µg/ml) compared to male animals (1.77±0.83 µg/ml). We conclude that the level of BGH in Bali cattle was low and statistically equal from all origins. The different level was related to sex and management practices. Further validation is needed through observing the growth rate following BGH administration and discovering the inbreeding coefficient of the animal in Indonesia. Climate and cattle farms. Insights from Wageningen UR research partly referring to the documentary 'Meat the Truth'; Klimaat en veehouderij. Inzichten vanuit het onderzoek van Wageningen UR, mede naar aanleiding van de film 'Meat the Truth' 15 p. Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB) Sebek, L.; Kuikman, P.; Vriesekoop, P. 2008-04-15 The documentary 'Meat the Truth' of the Dutch Party for the Animals addresses the relation between cattle breeding and climate. In this memorandum the authors address the relation between cattle breeding, agriculture ad emissions of greenhouse gases and climate change. This way they want to give impetus to better understanding of the factual situation in cattle breeding, both worldwide and in the Netherlands. [mk]. [Dutch] In de documentaire 'Meat the Truth' van de Partij voor de Dieren wordt de relatie tussen veehouderij en klimaat behandeld. In deze notitie gaan de auteurs in op de relatie tussen veehouderij, landbouw en emissies van broeikasgassen en klimaatverandering. Daarmee willen ze een aanzet geven tot een beter begrip van de feitelijke situatie in de veehouderij, wereldwijd en in Nederland. Identification of QTL for UV-protective eye area pigmentation in cattle by progeny phenotyping and genome-wide association analysis. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Hubert Pausch Full Text Available Pigmentation patterns allow for the differentiation of cattle breeds. A dominantly inherited white head is characteristic for animals of the Fleckvieh (FV breed. However, a minority of the FV animals exhibits peculiar pigmentation surrounding the eyes (ambilateral circumocular pigmentation, ACOP. In areas where animals are exposed to increased solar ultraviolet radiation, ACOP is associated with a reduced susceptibility to bovine ocular squamous cell carcinoma (BOSCC, eye cancer. Eye cancer is the most prevalent malignant tumour affecting cattle. Selection for animals with ACOP rapidly reduces the incidence of BOSCC. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTL underlying ACOP, we performed a genome-wide association study using 658,385 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs. The study population consisted of 3579 bulls of the FV breed with a total of 320,186 progeny with phenotypes for ACOP. The proportion of progeny with ACOP was used as a quantitative trait with high heritability (h(2 = 0.79. A variance component based approach to account for population stratification uncovered twelve QTL regions on seven chromosomes. The identified QTL point to MCM6, PAX3, ERBB3, KITLG, LEF1, DKK2, KIT, CRIM1, ATRN, GSDMC, MITF and NBEAL2 as underlying genes for eye area pigmentation in cattle. The twelve QTL regions explain 44.96% of the phenotypic variance of the proportion of daughters with ACOP. The chromosomes harbouring significantly associated SNPs account for 54.13% of the phenotypic variance, while another 19.51% of the phenotypic variance is attributable to chromosomes without identified QTL. Thus, the missing heritability amounts to 7% only. Our results support a polygenic inheritance pattern of ACOP in cattle and provide the basis for efficient genomic selection of animals that are less susceptible to serious eye diseases. Geneflow and Cumulative discounted Revenues of Dairy Cattle Cross-Breeding Schemes International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Kosgey, I.S.; Bebe, B.O.; Kahi, A.K.; Arendonk, J.A.M.V. 1999-01-01 A simulation study Using Matrix formulation was used to asses the flow of genes from the nucleus to the commercial population for three nucleus dairy cattle crossbreeding schemes involving indigenous (Zebu or native ) and exotic (European) animals under Kenyan conditions: Artificial insemination (A.I.) or natural mating F 1 production, continuous crossbred (F 2 inter se) production and multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET) F 1 production. The latter two schemes used MOET in the nucleus. cumulative discounted expressions (CDES) and cumulative discounted Revenues (CDR) were calculated to rank these schemes. The Pathways considered were sires and dams to produce sires and dams. The evaluation Criterion was milk production measured in age class 3 through 10 in F 1 and F 2 cow populations. the schemes were evaluated over a 30-year projected period with assumed interest rates of 0% and 10%. Further, the genetic level between the indigenous nucleus animals, the F 1 males and commercial female population was calculated by defining the incidence vector h as the difference between the three groups. The F 1 A.I. or natural scheme had higher CDES of 0.978 and 0.161 at 0% and 10% interest rates respectively. The corresponding values for F 1 MOET scheme were 0.735 and 0.070 and those of F 2 inter se were 0.676 and 0.079 at 0% and 10% interest rates, respectively. For a nucleus with 64 dams, CDR (US$) were 95.50 and 15.80 at 0% and 10% interest rates, respectively for F 1 A.I. or natural scheme. The F 1 MOET scheme had corresponding values of 62.05 and 6.90 while F 2 inter se had 66.10 and 7.75. Under both interest rates, the F 1 A.I. or natural mating schemes had higher CDES and CDR than the other two schemes and is faster in dissemination of genes to the commercial population. F 2 inter se was intermediate. The genetic level of nucleus animal is higher than of F 1 male and females because indigenous nucleus females contribute 50% of the genes. F 2 cows are expected to Prevalence of bovine brucellosis in slaughtered cattle and barriers ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Introduction: Brucellosis is a neglected zoonosis of public health importance. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors of brucellosis among slaughtered cattle as well as challenges to the protection of abattoir workers in Nigeria. Methods: A slaughterhouse study was conducted in a major ... Retrospective study on the occurrence of canine lymphoma and associated breed risks in a population of dogs in NSW (2001-2009). Science.gov (United States) Yau, Ppy; Dhand, N K; Thomson, P C; Taylor, R M 2017-05-01 To identify risk factors for canine lymphoma in dogs from New South Wales, Australia, and to compare factors affecting remission duration. Client-owned dogs diagnosed with lymphoma presented to the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (UVTH), University of Sydney, between 2001 and 2009 (n = 134) were compared with a control population of dogs seen in that period of time with a diagnosis other than lymphoma to evaluate association of explanatory variables (breed, age and sex) with the outcome (case or control status). The Australian Cattle Dog (odds ratio (OR) = 4.71; 95% confidence interval (Cl) 2.31-9.62; P Border Collie (OR = 3.38; 95% Cl 1.52-7.53; P = 0.008) and Boxer (OR = 3.85; 95% Cl 1.65-8.95; P = 0.006) also have increased odds of lymphoma among the pure-breed dogs attending the UVTH when compared with crossbred dogs. The results of this study confirmed a breed predilection for lymphoma in dogs, with the Australian Cattle Dog and Doberman having increased odds of lymphoma. © 2017 Australian Veterinary Association. Cow genotyping strategies for genomic selection in a small dairy cattle population. Science.gov (United States) Jenko, J; Wiggans, G R; Cooper, T A; Eaglen, S A E; Luff, W G de L; Bichard, M; Pong-Wong, R; Woolliams, J A 2017-01-01 This study compares how different cow genotyping strategies increase the accuracy of genomic estimated breeding values (EBV) in dairy cattle breeds with low numbers. In these breeds, few sires have progeny records, and genotyping cows can improve the accuracy of genomic EBV. The Guernsey breed is a small dairy cattle breed with approximately 14,000 recorded individuals worldwide. Predictions of phenotypes of milk yield, fat yield, protein yield, and calving interval were made for Guernsey cows from England and Guernsey Island using genomic EBV, with training sets including 197 de-regressed proofs of genotyped bulls, with cows selected from among 1,440 genotyped cows using different genotyping strategies. Accuracies of predictions were tested using 10-fold cross-validation among the cows. Genomic EBV were predicted using 4 different methods: (1) pedigree BLUP, (2) genomic BLUP using only bulls, (3) univariate genomic BLUP using bulls and cows, and (4) bivariate genomic BLUP. Genotyping cows with phenotypes and using their data for the prediction of single nucleotide polymorphism effects increased the correlation between genomic EBV and phenotypes compared with using only bulls by 0.163±0.022 for milk yield, 0.111±0.021 for fat yield, and 0.113±0.018 for protein yield; a decrease of 0.014±0.010 for calving interval from a low base was the only exception. Genetic correlation between phenotypes from bulls and cows were approximately 0.6 for all yield traits and significantly different from 1. Only a very small change occurred in correlation between genomic EBV and phenotypes when using the bivariate model. It was always better to genotype all the cows, but when only half of the cows were genotyped, a divergent selection strategy was better compared with the random or directional selection approach. Divergent selection of 30% of the cows remained superior for the yield traits in 8 of 10 folds. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by MLST subtypes and population genetic structure of Cryptosporidium andersoni from dairy cattle and beef cattle in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Wei Zhao Full Text Available Cattle are the main reservoir host of C. andersoni, which shows a predominance in yearlings and adults of cattle. To understand the subtypes of C. andersoni and the population genetic structure in Heilongjiang Province, fecal specimens were collected from 420 dairy cattle and 405 beef cattle at the age of 12-14 months in eight cattle farms in five areas within this province and were screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts by microscopy after Sheather's sugar flotation technique. The average prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. was 19.15% (158/825 and all the Cryptosporidium isolates were identified as C. andersoni by the SSU rRNA gene nested PCR-RFLP using SspI, VspI and MboII restriction enzymes. A total of 50 C. andersoni isolates were randomly selected and sequenced to confirm the RFLP results before they were subtyped by multilocus sequence typing (MLST at the four microsatellite/minisatellite loci (MS1, MS2, MS3 and MS16. Four, one, two and one haplotypes were obtained at the four loci, respectively. The MLST subtype A4,A4,A4,A1 showed an absolute predominance and a wide distribution among the six MLST subtypes obtained in the investigated areas. Linkage disequilibrium analysis showed the presence of a clonal population genetic structure of C. andersoni in cattle, suggesting the absence of recombination among lineages. The finding of a clonal population genetic structure indicated that the prevalence of C. andersoni in cattle in Heilongjiang Province is not attributed to the introduction of cattle. Thus, prevention and control strategies should be focused on making stricter measures to avoid the occurrence of cross-transmission and re-infection between cattle individuals. These molecular data will also be helpful to explore the source attribution of infection/contamination of C. andersoni and to elucidate its transmission dynamics in Heilongjiang Province, even in China. Seroprevalence and factors associated with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection in dairy cattle in three milksheds in Ethiopia. Science.gov (United States) Aragaw, Kassaye; Sibhat, Berhanu; Ayelet, Gelagay; Skjerve, Eystein; Gebremedhin, Endrias Z; Asmare, Kassahun 2018-05-31 This work was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence, to identify potential factors that influence seroprevalence of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), and to investigate the association between BVDV serostatus and occurrence of reproductive disorders in dairy cattle in three milksheds in Ethiopia. A total of 1379 serum samples were obtained from cattle randomly selected from 149 herds from three milksheds representing central, southern, and western Ethiopia. Sera samples were examined for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) antibodies using commercial competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Logistic regression analysis was employed to investigate associations between risk factors and the risk of BVDV seroprevalence, and BVDV serostatus and reproductive disorders. Seroreaction to BVDV antigens was detected in 32.6% of the 1379 cattle and 69.8% of the 149 herds sampled. Factors associated with BVDV seroplevalence were age, breed, and herd size (P 0.05). Risk of reproductive disorders was not affected by BVDV serostatus, except for repeat breeding (P > 0.05). The present study demonstrated that BVDV has wide distribution in the country being detected in all the 15 conurbations and 69.8% of herds involved in the study. Campylobacter as a venereal disease in cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Dijkstra, T.; Wagenaar, J.A.; Visser, I.J.; Bergen, van M.A.P.; Pastoor, P.W.; Strampel, J.; Kock, P.A. 2005-01-01 Since the introduction of AI, venereal diseases caused by Tritrichomonas fetus and Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis haved been eradicated in The Netherlands. Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus can cause sporadic abortion and early embryonic death. When natural breeding is practised, venereal Cysticercosis in cattle and its public health implications in Mekelle ... African Journals Online (AJOL) animals highlights the public health significance of this infection. Key words: Cysticercosis, Cysticercus bovis, occurrence, taeniasis, Taenia saginata,. Introduction. Bovine cysticercosis is the infection of the cattle caused by Cysticercus bovis and consumption of the raw or undercooked meat results in human taeniasis. Also ... Heterosis and Breed Effects for Milk Production, Udder Health and Fertility in Danish Herds applying Systematic Crossbreeding DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Norberg, Elise; Sørensen, Lydia Henriette; Byskov, Kenneth Use of systematic crossbreeding in dairy cattle has been increasing the last decades. The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of breed and heterosis on protein yield (PY), somatic cell score (SCS) and days from calving to first insemination (CFI) in first lactation crosses between Danish... Rapid and Sensitive Detection of BLAD in Cattle Population Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Daniela Elena Ilie 2014-05-01 Full Text Available Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD is an autosomal recessive disorder with negative impact on dairy cattle breeding. The molecular basis of BLAD is a single point mutation (A→G, resulting in a single amino acid substitution (aspartic acid → glycine at amino acid 128 in the adhesion molecule CD18. The object of this study was to establish a fast and sensitive molecular genotyping assay to detect BLAD carriers using high-resolution melting (HRM curve analysis. We tested animals with known genotypes for BLAD that were previously confirmed by PCR-RFLP method, and then examined the sensitivity of mutation detection using PCR followed by HRM curve analysis. BLAD carriers were readily detectable using HRM assay. Thus, the PCR-HRM genotyping method is a rapid, easily interpretable, reliable and cost-effective assay for BLAD mutant allele detection. This assay can be useful in cattle genotyping and genetic selection. Serological prevalence of leptospirosis in cattle slaughtered in the Zango abattoir in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Emmanuel O. Ngbede 2012-06-01 Full Text Available Leptospirosis is an occupational zoonosis caused by pathogenic leptospires. In this study, the presence and prevalence of antibodies specific to Leptospira spp. serovar Hardjo in 142 cattle slaughtered between June and July 2011 was investigated using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA. Five (3.50% of the 142 cattle sampled were seropositive for antibodies to Leptospira spp. serovar Hardjo. Despite the fact that there was no significant difference (p>0.05 in seropositivity between sexes and between breeds sampled, there was a significant difference (p<0.05 in sero-positivity between the different age groups examined. Leptospirosis is present in cattle slaughtered in the Zango abattoir; butchers and abattoir workers are exposed to infected animals and are at risk of being infected by Leptospira spp. serovar Hardjo. Milk Yield and Quality of Holstein and Jersey Breeds of Cattle in ... African Journals Online (AJOL) Friesian cows were used to evaluate the effects of breed, month of lactation and milking time on the milk yield and quality of commercial dairy cows under the tropical climate of Nigeria. Mean milk yield and milk protein were significantly higher ... Endocrine evaluation of puberty and post-partum ovarian function in indigenous and imported Brahman cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Tan, H.S.; Ismaya, K.H.; Sulong, A. 1990-01-01 A study was conducted to monitor the reproductive performance of Kedah Kelantan (KK) and Brahman cattle maintained under similar environmental and management conditions on commercial farms in Malaysia. This allowed the physiological differences affecting reproductive efficiency to be identified in both pubertal and adult stock. The results revealed that the Brahman breed exhibited a better growth rate but poorer post-partum fertility than the KK. It appears that Brahman cattle require feed supplementation around the time of calving in order to reduce the duration of post-partum anoestrus. Both breeds exhibited late onset of puberty (on average at 25-36 months of age), although some animals initiated sexual activity at a much earlier age; this suggests that better selection as well as nutritional supplementation and possibly endocrine manipulation are necessary management inputs. Although the Brahman shows excellent potential in terms of performance per animal, the greater carrying capacity of the KK and its greater adaptiveness to local conditions indicate that this indigenous animal still has a major role to play in livestock production in Malaysia. (author). 20 refs, 1 fig., 6 tabs Sexual behaviour in cattle International Nuclear Information System (INIS) King, G.J. 1990-01-01 Short duration or weak expression of oestrus are frequently cited as major reasons for poor results when artificial insemination of Bos indicus breeds is attempted. The existing literature on sexual behaviour certainly indicates that oestrus sometimes lasts for only a few hours in Bos indicus, but similar patterns are also reported in Bos taurus animals. The period of sexual receptivity in suckled Hereford or Hereford-dairy cross-breds maintained in small, totally confined groups ranged from 1 to 18 h, with a mean of 4.4 h and a median of 3.5 h. In totally confined Holstein cows the onset of the LH surge always followed the beginning of homosexual activity by 1 or 2 h even when the period of receptivity was very short. Thus, the beginning rather than the end of oestrus should be used for estimating ovulation time. The expression of sexual behaviour is modified by many factors, including environmental conditions, the number of peri-oestrous females in the group and the presence of observers. In Hereford beef, Holstein dairy and probably all other cattle breeds, the variability in duration and intensity of oestrous activity is very large, so generalizations on a typical individual behavioural pattern are not possible. (author). 39 refs, 1 fig., 2 tabs Confirmation of acute nitrate poisoning differentiating from anthrax in three Indian indigenous cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Kumaresan Nagarajan 2015-03-01 Full Text Available This article reports cases of nitrate poisoning in Indian indigenous cattle breeds comprising two Gir cows aging 4 years each, and one Barugur cow at 1.5 years of age. The cattle with case history of sudden death and oozing of partially clotted blood from the anal opening were brought to the Central University Laboratory (CUL, Center for Animal Health Studies (CAHS, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS for diagnostic investigation with a suspicion of anthrax. According to anamnesis, all the animals were clinically normal and did not reveal any abnormality on the previous day. The animals were fed with recently harvested sorghum leaves and stalks. Smears examined for anthrax were found negative. Biological test (mice inoculation for anthrax was also negative. Gross lesions on necropsy examination of the carcases were suggestive of nitrate intoxication. Finally, nitrate intoxication of these cattle was confirmed by chemical and toxicological analysis of fodder, rumen content, aqueous humor, liver, kidney and urine. Genetic dissection of milk yield traits and mastitis resistance quantitative trait loci on chromosome 20 in dairy cattle. Science.gov (United States) Kadri, Naveen K; Guldbrandtsen, Bernt; Lund, Mogens S; Sahana, Goutam 2015-12-01 Intense selection to increase milk yield has had negative consequences for mastitis incidence in dairy cattle. Due to low heritability of mastitis resistance and an unfavorable genetic correlation with milk yield, a reduction in mastitis through traditional breeding has been difficult to achieve. Here, we examined quantitative trait loci (QTL) that segregate for clinical mastitis and milk yield on Bos taurus autosome 20 (BTA20) to determine whether both traits are affected by a single polymorphism (pleiotropy) or by multiple closely linked polymorphisms. In the latter but not the former situation, undesirable genetic correlation could potentially be broken by selecting animals that have favorable variants for both traits. First, we performed a within-breed association study using a haplotype-based method in Danish Holstein cattle (HOL). Next, we analyzed Nordic Red dairy cattle (RDC) and Danish Jersey cattle (JER) with the goal of determining whether these QTL identified in Holsteins were segregating across breeds. Genotypes for 12,566 animals (5,966 HOL, 5,458 RDC, and 1,142 JER) were determined by using the Illumina Bovine SNP50 BeadChip (50K; Illumina, San Diego, CA), which identifies 1,568 single nucleotide polymorphisms on BTA20. Data were combined, phased, and clustered into haplotype states, followed by within- and across-breed haplotype-based association analyses using a linear mixed model. Association signals for both clinical mastitis and milk yield peaked in the 26- to 40-Mb region on BTA20 in HOL. Single-variant association analyses were carried out in the QTL region using whole sequence level variants imputed from references of 2,036 HD genotypes (BovineHD BeadChip; Illumina) and 242 whole-genome sequences. The milk QTL were also segregating in RDC and JER on the BTA20-targeted region; however, an indication of differences in the causal factor(s) was observed across breeds. A previously reported F279Y mutation (rs385640152) within the growth hormone « 20 21 22 23 24 » « 21 22 23 24 25 » A proposed new classification for the renal collecting system of cattle. Science.gov (United States) Pereira-Sampaio, Marco A; Bagetti Filho, Helio J S; Carvalho, Francismar S; Sampaio, Francisco J B; Henry, Robert W 2010-11-01 To evaluate the intrarenal anatomy of kidneys obtained from cattle and to propose a new classification for the renal collecting system of cattle. 37 kidneys from 20 adult male mixed-breed cattle. Intrarenal anatomy was evaluated by the use of 3-D endocasts made of the kidneys. The number of renal lobes and minor renal calyces in each kidney and each renal region (cranial pole, caudal pole, and hilus) was quantified. The renal pelvis was evident in all casts and was classified into 2 types (nondilated [28/37 {75.7%}] or dilated [9/37 {24.3%}]). All casts had a major renal calyx associated with the cranial pole and the caudal pole. The number of minor renal calices per kidney ranged from 13 to 64 (mean, 22.7). There was a significant correlation between the number of renal lobes and the number of minor renal calices for the entire kidney, the cranial pole region, and the hilus region; however, there was not a similar significant correlation for the caudal pole region. Major and minor renal calices were extremely narrow, compared with major and minor renal calices in pigs and humans. The renal collecting system of cattle, with a renal pelvis and 2 major renal calices connected to several minor renal calices by an infundibulum, differed substantially from the renal collecting system of pigs and humans. From a morphological standpoint, the kidneys of cattle were not suitable for use as a model in endourologic research and training. Risk from cattle trampling to nests of an endangered passerine evaluated using artificial nest experiments and simulations Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Brian W. Rolek 2016-06-01 Full Text Available Grasslands are often grazed by cattle and many grassland birds nest on the ground, potentially exposing nests to trampling. We tested for trampling risk introduced by cattle to nests of endangered Florida Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus using experimentally paired grids of artificial nests (i.e., clay targets similar in size to nests of Florida Grasshopper Sparrows and counted the number of clay targets that were broken in paired grazed and ungrazed enclosures. Clay targets in grazed grids were trampled 3.9% more often than their respective ungrazed grids, and measurements of cattle presence or density were correlated with the number of broken clay targets, suggesting that excluding cattle during breeding is an important management recommendation for the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Trampling rates within grazed enclosures were spatially homogeneous with respect to cattle infrastructure such as supplemental feeding troughs and fences, and forests and stocking density were poor predictors of trampling rates when excluding ungrazed grids. We used population viability analysis to compare quasi-extinction rates, intrinsic growth rates, and median abundance in grazed and ungrazed Florida Grasshopper Sparrow aggregations to further understand the biological significance of management aimed at reducing trampling rates during the breeding season. Simulations indicated that trampling from grazing increased quasi-extinction rates by 41% while reducing intrinsic growth rates by 0.048, and reducing median abundance by an average of 214 singing males after 50 years. Management should avoid grazing enclosures occupied by Florida Grasshopper Sparrows during the nesting season to minimize trampling rates. Our methods that combine trampling experiments with population viability analysis provide a framework for testing effects from trampling on other grassland ground-nesting birds, and can directly inform conservation and management of the Genetic Diversity and Sequence Variations at Growth Hormone Loci among Composite and Hereford Populations of Beef Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) ALAN J. LYMBERY 2000-07-01 Full Text Available A total of 194 Hereford and 235 composite breed cattle from Wokalup Research Station were used in this study. The aims of the study were to: Investigate polymorphisms in the growth hormone gene in the composite and purebred Hereford herds from the Wokalup selection experiment, compare genetic diversity in the growth hormone gene of the breeds, sequencing and compare the sequences of growth hormone loci between composite and purebred Hereford herds with published sequence from Genebank. The genomic DNA was extracted using Wizard genomic DNA purification system from Promega. Two fragments of growth hormone gene were amplified using PCR and continued with RFLP. Each genotype in both loci was sequenced. PCR products of each genotypes were cloned into PCR II, transformed, colonies selection, plasmid DNA extraction continued with cycle sequencing. Polymorphisms were found in both breeds of cattle in both loci of GH-L1 and GH-L2 of the growth hormone gene by PCR-RFLP analysis. Sequencing analysis confirmed the RFLPs data, polymorphism detected using AluI at GH-L1 is due to substitution between leusin/ valine at position 127, while polymorphism at the MspI restriction site was caused by transition of C to T at +837 position. Influence of model specifications on the reliabilities of genomic prediction in a Swedish-Finnish red breed cattle population DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Rius-Vilarrasa, E; Strandberg, E; Fikse, W F 2012-01-01 Using a combined multi-breed reference population, this study explored the influence of model specification and the effect of including a polygenic effect on the reliability of genomic breeding values (DGV and GEBV). The combined reference population consisted of 2986 Swedish Red Breed (SRB) and ... Changes in sunflower breeding over the last fifty years Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Vear Felicity 2016-03-01 Full Text Available This article discusses changes in sunflower breeding objectives since the introduction of hybrid varieties 50 years ago. After a reminder of the importance of some early programmes, Canadian in particular, the present situation for each breeding objective is compared with those encountered earlier. Breeding for yield has changed from maximum possible yield under intensive agriculture to yield with resistance to abiotic stresses, moderate droughts and shallow soils in particular, helped by collaboration with agronomists to produce crop models. Breeding for oil has changed from quantity to quality and the value of seed meal is again becoming economically important. Necessary disease resistances vary with agronomic practises and selection pressure on pathogens according to varietal genetics. The possibilities of new types of sunflower are also discussed. Advances in genomics will change breeding procedures, but with rapidly changing molecular techniques, international collaboration is particularly important. Achievements in NS rapeseed hybrids breeding Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Marjanović-Jeromela Ana 2016-01-01 Full Text Available The increased production of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. is evident on a global scale, but also in Serbia in the last decade. Rapeseed is used primarily for vegetable oil and processing industry, but also as a source of protein for animal feed and green manure. Following the cultivation of varieties, breeding and cultivation of hybrid rapeseed started in the 1990's, to take advantage of heterosis in F1 generation, while protecting the breeder's rights during seed commercialization. The breeding of hybrid oilseed rape requires high quality starting material (lines with good combining abilities for introduction of male sterility. Ogura sterility system is primarily used at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia. To use this system, separate lines are modified with genes for cytoplasmic male sterility (cms female line - mother line and restoration of fertility (Rf male lines - father line. In order to maintain the sterility of the mother line it is necessary to produce a maintainer line of cytoplasmic male sterility. Creation of these lines and hybrids at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops was successfully monitored with intense use of cytogenetic laboratory methods. The structure and vitality of pollen, including different phases during meiosis were checked so that cms stability was confirmed during the introduction of these genes into different lines. Rapeseed breeding program in Serbia resulted in numerous varieties through collaboration of researchers engaged in breeding and genetics of this plant species. So far, in addition to 12 varieties of winter rapeseed and two varieties of spring rapeseed, a new hybrid of winter rapeseed NS Ras was registered in Serbia. NS Ras is an early-maturing hybrid characterized by high seed yield and oil content. Average yield of NS Ras for two seasons and three sites was 4256 kg ha-1 of seed and 1704 kg ha-1 of oil. Three promising winter rapeseed hybrids are in the process of Heat Tolerance in Curraleiro Pe-Duro, Pantaneiro and Nelore Cattle Using Thermographic Images Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Caio Cesar Cardoso 2016-01-01 Full Text Available The objective of this study was to compare physiological and thermographic responses to heat stress in three breeds of cattle. Fifteen animals of each of the Nelore, Pantaneiro and Curraleiro Pe-Duro breeds, of approximately two years of age, were evaluated. Heart and respiratory rates, rectal and surface temperature of animals as well as soil temperature were recorded at 8:30 and 15:30 on six days. Variance, correlation, principal factors and canonical analyses were carried out. There were significant differences in the rectal temperature, heart and respiratory rate between breeds (p < 0.001. Nelore and Pantaneiro breeds had the highest rectal temperatures and the lowest respiratory rate (p < 0.001. Breed was also significant for surface temperatures (p < 0.05 showing that this factor significantly affected the response of the animal to heat tolerance in different ways. The Curraleiro Pe-Duro breed had the lowest surface temperatures independent of the period evaluated, with fewer animals that suffered with the climatic conditions, so this may be considered the best adapted when heat challenged under the experimental conditions. Thermography data showed a good correlation with the physiological indexes, and body area, neck and rump were the main points. Detection of haplotypes associated with prenatal death in dairy cattle and identification of deleterious mutations in GART, SHBG and SLC37A2 OpenAIRE Fritz, Sebastien; Capitan, Aurelien; Djari, Anis; Rodriguez, Sabrina; Barbat, Anne; Baur, Aurélia; Grohs, Cecile; Weiss, Bernard; Boussaha, Mekki; Esquerre, Diane; Klopp, Christophe; Rocha, Dominique 2013-01-01 The regular decrease of female fertility over time is a major concern in modern dairy cattle industry. Only half of this decrease is explained by indirect response to selection on milk production, suggesting the existence of other factors such as embryonic lethal genetic defects. Genomic regions harboring recessive deleterious mutations were detected in three dairy cattle breeds by identifying frequent haplotypes (>1%) showing a deficit in homozygotes among Illumina Bovine 50k Beadchip haplot... Detection of haplotypes associated with prenatal death in dairy cattle and identification of deleterious mutations in GART, SHBG and SLC37A2. Science.gov (United States) Fritz, Sébastien; Capitan, Aurelien; Djari, Anis; Rodriguez, Sabrina C; Barbat, Anne; Baur, Aurélia; Grohs, Cécile; Weiss, Bernard; Boussaha, Mekki; Esquerré, Diane; Klopp, Christophe; Rocha, Dominique; Boichard, Didier 2013-01-01 The regular decrease of female fertility over time is a major concern in modern dairy cattle industry. Only half of this decrease is explained by indirect response to selection on milk production, suggesting the existence of other factors such as embryonic lethal genetic defects. Genomic regions harboring recessive deleterious mutations were detected in three dairy cattle breeds by identifying frequent haplotypes (>1%) showing a deficit in homozygotes among Illumina Bovine 50k Beadchip haplotyping data from the French genomic selection database (47,878 Holstein, 16,833 Montbéliarde, and 11,466 Normande animals). Thirty-four candidate haplotypes (pHH3 in Holstein breed were identified. Haplotype length varied from 1 to 4.8 Mb and frequencies from 1.7 up to 9%. A significant negative effect on calving rate, consistent in heifers and in lactating cows, was observed for 9 of these haplotypes in matings between carrier bulls and daughters of carrier sires, confirming their association with embryonic lethal mutations. Eight regions were further investigated using whole genome sequencing data from heterozygous bull carriers and control animals (45 animals in total). Six strong candidate causative mutations including polymorphisms previously reported in FANCI (Brachyspina), SLC35A3 (CVM), APAF1 (HH1) and three novel mutations with very damaging effect on the protein structure, according to SIFT and Polyphen-2, were detected in GART, SHBG and SLC37A2 genes. In conclusion, this study reveals a yet hidden consequence of the important inbreeding rate observed in intensively selected and specialized cattle breeds. Counter-selection of these mutations and management of matings will have positive consequences on female fertility in dairy cattle. Prospect development of local beef cattle from South Kalimantan as supporting to food sovereignty in Indonesia Science.gov (United States) Rahmatullah, S. N.; Sulaiman, A.; Askalani; Azizi, N. M. K. 2018-04-01 Development production of Indonesia local cattle didn’t balance increasing of consumption livestock in Indonesian so that’s makes imports are still high both local beef production. Indonesian local cattle is one of cattle the largest contributed the national meat production of ruminant particular group of cattle so that the livestock has the potential to be developed as a profitable business if doing of farmer. One of advantages is potential areas in South Kalimantan mainly swamp lands was very large. It’s one effort in national promoting food sovereignty programme and the provinces especially about introduction of Indonesian local cattle in the swamp area are also important. Availability of region in South Kalimantan spacious and great forage production, then prospects for cattle productivity there is huge so that’s can even increase income for farmers. The programme more serious support from the governance of South Kalimantan province to develop Indonesian local cattle in swamp area and in that’s a real policy for encouraging farmers to maintain Indonesian local cattle to make sustainable food in Indonesia. Novel polymorphisms in UTR and coding region of inducible heat shock protein 70.1 gene in tropically adapted Indian zebu cattle (Bos indicus) and riverine buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Science.gov (United States) Sodhi, M; Mukesh, M; Kishore, A; Mishra, B P; Kataria, R S; Joshi, B K 2013-09-25 Due to evolutionary divergence, cattle (taurine, and indicine) and buffalo are speculated to have different responses to heat stress condition. Variation in candidate genes associated with a heat-shock response may provide an insight into the dissimilarity and suggest targets for intervention. The present work was undertaken to characterize one of the inducible heat shock protein genes promoter and coding regions in diverse breeds of Indian zebu cattle and buffaloes. The genomic DNA from a panel of 117 unrelated animals representing 14 diversified native cattle breeds and 6 buffalo breeds were utilized to determine the complete sequence and gene diversity of HSP70.1 gene. The coding region of HSP70.1 gene in Indian zebu cattle, Bos taurus and buffalo was similar in length (1,926 bp) encoding a HSP70 protein of 641 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight (Mw) of 70.26 kDa. However buffalo had a longer 5' and 3' untranslated region (UTR) of 204 and 293 nucleotides respectively, in comparison to Indian zebu cattle and Bos taurus wherein length of 5' and 3'-UTR was 172 and 286 nucleotides, respectively. The increased length of buffalo HSP70.1 gene compared to indicine and taurine gene was due to two insertions each in 5' and 3'-UTR. Comparative sequence analysis of cattle (taurine and indicine) and buffalo HSP70.1 gene revealed a total of 54 gene variations (50 SNPs and 4 INDELs) among the three species in the HSP70.1 gene. The minor allele frequencies of these nucleotide variations varied from 0.03 to 0.5 with an average of 0.26. Among the 14 B. indicus cattle breeds studied, a total of 19 polymorphic sites were identified: 4 in the 5'-UTR and 15 in the coding region (of these 2 were non-synonymous). Analysis among buffalo breeds revealed 15 SNPs throughout the gene: 6 at the 5' flanking region and 9 in the coding region. In bubaline 5'-UTR, 2 additional putative transcription factor binding sites (Elk-1 and C-Re1) were identified, other than three common sites Dating the onset of some mutations in myostatin gene determining the double muscled phenotype in beef cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) A. Nardone 2011-03-01 Full Text Available Growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF8 or myostatin is a member of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β superfamily, which includes proteins that mediate key events in cell growth and development through signal transduction. In the absence of myostatin, the skeletal musculature of mice is two to three times greater in mass than that of wild-type mice (McPherron et al., 1997. Several cattle breeds are characterized by double muscling phenotype and GDF8 has been extensively investigated in cattle.A large number of variants have been identified in these species,most of which are silent or neutral......... Reproductive efficiency and herd demography of Nguni cattle in village-owned and group-owned enterprises under low-input communal production systems. Science.gov (United States) Tada, Obert; Muchenje, Voster; Dzama, Kennedy 2013-08-01 The objective of the study was to determine the herd demography and reproductive efficiency of the Nguni cattle in village-owned and group-owned enterprises under low-input communal production systems. Data on husbandry practices, reason of cattle entry/exist, herd structure, bulling rates, breeding females, age at first calving and calving interval were obtained from 22 village-owned and 19 group-owned enterprises in a cross-sectional survey of an ecologically controlled low-input cattle production system. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests of association were computed on enterprise ownership patterns, husbandry practices and herd demography. An AN(C)OVA was used to determine significant factors affecting herd structure, mortality, age at first calving and calving interval in the enterprises. Village-owned enterprises had higher (p 0.05). Significant differences were observed on the calving interval (p bulling rate was higher in village-owned enterprises, while the proportion of breeding females was higher in group-owned enterprises. Farmers with a college education had Nguni animals with the shortest calving interval. It was concluded that group-owned enterprises had significantly better calving intervals, mortality rates and overall herd structure than village-owned enterprises. Changes in feed intake, growth, feed efficiency, and body composition of beef cattle fed forage then concentrate diets Science.gov (United States) The objective of this experiment was to determine changes in production traits and body composition of beef steers and heifers when fed a forage-based ration followed by a concentrate-based ration. Cattle were progeny of composite breed cows bred to Charolais, Simmental, and Red Angus bulls. Appro... Technical note: An approach to derive breeding goals from the preferences of decision makers. Science.gov (United States) Alfonso, L 2016-11-01 This paper deals with the use of the Choquet integral to identify breeding objectives and construct an aggregate genotype. The Choquet integral can be interpreted as an extension of the aggregate genotype based on profit equations, substituting the vector of economic weights by a monotone function, called capacity, which allows the aggregation of traits based, for instance, on the preferences of decision makers. It allows the aggregation of traits with or without economic value, taking into account not only the importance of the breeding value of each trait but also the interaction among them. Two examples have been worked out for pig and dairy cattle breeding scenarios to illustrate its application. It is shown that the expression of stakeholders' or decision makers' preferences, as a single ranking of animals or groups of animals, could be sufficient to extract information to derive breeding objectives. It is also shown that coalitions among traits can be identified to evaluate whether a linear additive function, equivalent of the Hazel aggregate genotype where economic values are replaced by Shapley values, could be adequate to define the net merit of breeding animals. Salmonella in Peripheral Lymph Nodes of Healthy Cattle at Slaughter Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Hattie E. Webb 2017-11-01 Full Text Available To more fully characterize the burden of Salmonella enterica in bovine peripheral lymph nodes (PLN, PLN (n = 5,450 were collected from healthy cattle at slaughter in 12 commercial abattoirs that slaughtered feedlot-fattened (FF cattle exclusively (n = 7, cattle removed (or culled from breeding herds (n = 3, or both FF and cull cattle (n = 2. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to estimate prevalence and concentration of Salmonella in PLN. Isolates were subjected to a variety of phenotypic, serological, and molecular assays. Overall, Salmonella prevalence in PLN from FF and cull cattle was 7.1 and 1.8%. However, burden varied by season in that observed prevalence in PLN collected in cooler or warmer seasons was 2.4 and 8.2%, respectively. Prevalence in PLN from cull cattle in the southwest region of the US was 2.1 and 1.1% for cool and warm seasons, respectively; however, prevalence in FF PLN was far greater in that it was 6.5 and 31.1%, respectively. Salmonella was recovered from 289 (5.6% PLN and 2.9% (n = 160 of all PLN tested had quantifiable concentrations that varied from 1.6 to 4.9 log10 colony forming units/PLN. The most common serotypes isolated from PLN were Montevideo (26.9%, Lille (14.9%, Cerro (13.0%, Anatum (12.8%, and Dublin (6.9%. In all, 376 unique isolates were collected from the 289 Salmonella-positive PLN. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed the majority (80.6% of these isolates were pansusceptible; however, 10.7% of isolates were found to be resistant to two or more antimicrobial classes. We were able to document an observed increased in prevalence of Salmonella in PLN during the warmer season, particularly in FF cattle from the southwest region of the US. The mechanisms underlying the observed association between season, region, and production source have yet to be elucidated. Nevertheless, these findings increase our understanding of the sources of contamination of beef products and shed light on Genome-Wide Analysis of the World's Sheep Breeds Reveals High Levels of Historic Mixture and Strong Recent Selection Science.gov (United States) Kijas, James W.; Lenstra, Johannes A.; Hayes, Ben; Boitard, Simon; Porto Neto, Laercio R.; San Cristobal, Magali; Servin, Bertrand; McCulloch, Russell; Whan, Vicki; Gietzen, Kimberly; Paiva, Samuel; Barendse, William; Ciani, Elena; Raadsma, Herman; McEwan, John; Dalrymple, Brian 2012-01-01 Through their domestication and subsequent selection, sheep have been adapted to thrive in a diverse range of environments. To characterise the genetic consequence of both domestication and selection, we genotyped 49,034 SNP in 2,819 animals from a diverse collection of 74 sheep breeds. We find the majority of sheep populations contain high SNP diversity and have retained an effective population size much higher than most cattle or dog breeds, suggesting domestication occurred from a broad genetic base. Extensive haplotype sharing and generally low divergence time between breeds reveal frequent genetic exchange has occurred during the development of modern breeds. A scan of the genome for selection signals revealed 31 regions containing genes for coat pigmentation, skeletal morphology, body size, growth, and reproduction. We demonstrate the strongest selection signal has occurred in response to breeding for the absence of horns. The high density map of genetic variability provides an in-depth view of the genetic history for this important livestock species. PMID:22346734 Genome-wide analysis of the world's sheep breeds reveals high levels of historic mixture and strong recent selection. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) James W Kijas 2012-02-01 Full Text Available Through their domestication and subsequent selection, sheep have been adapted to thrive in a diverse range of environments. To characterise the genetic consequence of both domestication and selection, we genotyped 49,034 SNP in 2,819 animals from a diverse collection of 74 sheep breeds. We find the majority of sheep populations contain high SNP diversity and have retained an effective population size much higher than most cattle or dog breeds, suggesting domestication occurred from a broad genetic base. Extensive haplotype sharing and generally low divergence time between breeds reveal frequent genetic exchange has occurred during the development of modern breeds. A scan of the genome for selection signals revealed 31 regions containing genes for coat pigmentation, skeletal morphology, body size, growth, and reproduction. We demonstrate the strongest selection signal has occurred in response to breeding for the absence of horns. The high density map of genetic variability provides an in-depth view of the genetic history for this important livestock species. Reducing hazards for animals from humans Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Paul-Pierre Pastoret 2012-06-01 Full Text Available If animals may be a source of hazards for humans, the reverse is equally true. The main sources of hazards from humans to animals, are the impact of human introduction of transboundary animal diseases, climate change, globalisation, introduction of invasive species and reduction of biodiversity.There is also a trend toward reducing genetic diversity in domestic animals, such as cattle; there are presently around 700 different breeds of cattle many of which at the verge of extinction (less than 100 reproductive females. The impact of humans is also indirect through detrimental effects on the environment. It is therefore urgent to implement the new concept of “one health".... Genome–wide association study of carcass weight in commercial Hanwoo cattle Science.gov (United States) Edea, Zewdu; Jeoung, Yeong Ho; Shin, Sung-Sub; Ku, Jaeul; Seo, Sungbo; Kim, Il-Hoi; Kim, Sang-Wook 2018-01-01 Objective The objective of the present study was to validate genes and genomic regions associated with carcass weight using a low-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Chip in Hanwoo cattle breed. Methods Commercial Hanwoo steers (n = 220) were genotyped with 20K GeneSeek genomic profiler BeadChip. After applying the quality control of criteria of a call rate ≥90% and minor allele frequency (MAF) ≥0.01, a total of 15,235 autosomal SNPs were left for genome-wide association (GWA) analysis. The GWA tests were performed using single-locus mixed linear model. Age at slaughter was fitted as fixed effect and sire included as a covariate. The level of genome-wide significance was set at 3.28×10−6 (0.05/15,235), corresponding to Bonferroni correction for 15,235 multiple independent tests. Results By employing EMMAX approach which is based on a mixed linear model and accounts for population stratification and relatedness, we identified 17 and 16 loci significantly (pcarcass weight for the additive and dominant models, respectively. The second most significant (p = 0.000049) SNP (ARS-BFGL-NGS-28234) on bovine chromosome 4 (BTA4) at 21 Mb had an allele substitution effect of 43.45 kg. Some of the identified regions on BTA2, 6, 14, 22, and 24 were previously reported to be associated with quantitative trait loci for carcass weight in several beef cattle breeds. Conclusion This is the first genome-wide association study using SNP chips on commercial Hanwoo steers, and some of the loci newly identified in this study may help to better DNA markers that determine increased beef production in commercial Hanwoo cattle. Further studies using a larger sample size will allow confirmation of the candidates identified in this study. PMID:29103288 « 21 22 23 24 25 » « 21 22 23 24 25 » Effectiveness of a 95 SNP panel for the screening of breed label fraud in the Chinese meat market. Science.gov (United States) Rogberg-Muñoz, A; Wei, S; Ripoli, M V; Guo, B L; Carino, M H; Lirón, J P; Prando, A J; Vaca, R J A; Peral-García, P; Wei, Y M; Giovambattista, G 2016-01-01 Breed assignment has proved to be useful to control meat trade and protect the value of special productions. Meat-related frauds have been detected in China; therefore, 95 SNPs selected from the ISAG core panel were evaluated to develop an automated and technologically updated tool to screen breed label fraud in the Chinese meat market. A total of 271 animals from four Chinese yellow cattle (CYC) populations, six Bos taurus breeds, two Bos indicus and one composite were used. The allocation test distinguished European, Japanese and Zebu breeds, and two Chinese genetic components. It correctly allocated Japanese Black, Zebu and British breeds in 100, 90 and 89% of samples, respectively. CYC evidenced the Zebu, Holstein and Limousin introgression. The test did not detect CYC components in any of the 25 samples from Argentinean butchers. The method could be useful to certify Angus, Hereford and Japanese Black meat, but a modification in the panel would be needed to differentiate other breeds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Antral follicles population in heifers and cows of Nelore and Girolando breeds Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Jair Sábio de Oliveira Junior 2015-12-01 Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate ovarian antral follicle populations (OAFP of Nelore and Girolando breed heifers (12–18 months old and cows (24–60 months old. Animals were assigned to four groups: (1 Nelore cows (n = 18, (2 Girolando cows (n = 20, (3 Nelore heifers (n = 7, and (4 Girolando heifers (n = 7. Cows were treated to synchronize follicular wave emergence by implantation of an intravaginal device containing 1.9 g of progesterone, as well as intramuscular administration of 2 mg of estradiol benzoate and 25 mg of dinoprost. This synchronization treatment was administered at a random day of the estrous cycle of each cow, designated D0. Intravaginal devices were removed on D7, and on D11, OAFP counts were performed by transvaginal ovarian ultrasound. For each cow, all follicles ?3 mm in diameter were counted in both ovaries and counts were performed three times at 35-day intervals. Counts were also obtained from heifers, but these animals were not treated for synchronization of follicular wave emergence. Analysis of variance (ANOVA with Tukey’s test and Pearson’s correlation test were used to compare mean OAFPs between counts as well as mean OAFPs between breed and age groups. No differences were observed in mean OAFPs between Nelore and Girolando cows (30.9 vs. 26.7, respectively; P > 0.05 or heifers (16.2 vs. 18.1, respectively; P > 0.05. However, within each breed, there were differences in mean OAFPs between heifers and cows (for Nelore cattle: 16.2 and 30.9, respectively; for Girolando cattle: 18.1 and 26.7, respectively; both P < 0.05. In conclusion, OAFPs were similar between Nelore and Girolando breeds and were influenced by age. Furthermore, we observed a high correlation for individual animals between the mean numbers of follicles counted in both ovaries and total number of follicles counted in either the right or left ovary, indicating that the evaluation of a single ovary is sufficient to estimate the OAFP of an Improvement of prediction ability for genomic selection of dairy cattle by including dominance effects. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Chuanyu Sun Full Text Available Dominance may be an important source of non-additive genetic variance for many traits of dairy cattle. However, nearly all prediction models for dairy cattle have included only additive effects because of the limited number of cows with both genotypes and phenotypes. The role of dominance in the Holstein and Jersey breeds was investigated for eight traits: milk, fat, and protein yields; productive life; daughter pregnancy rate; somatic cell score; fat percent and protein percent. Additive and dominance variance components were estimated and then used to estimate additive and dominance effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs. The predictive abilities of three models with both additive and dominance effects and a model with additive effects only were assessed using ten-fold cross-validation. One procedure estimated dominance values, and another estimated dominance deviations; calculation of the dominance relationship matrix was different for the two methods. The third approach enlarged the dataset by including cows with genotype probabilities derived using genotyped ancestors. For yield traits, dominance variance accounted for 5 and 7% of total variance for Holsteins and Jerseys, respectively; using dominance deviations resulted in smaller dominance and larger additive variance estimates. For non-yield traits, dominance variances were very small for both breeds. For yield traits, including additive and dominance effects fit the data better than including only additive effects; average correlations between estimated genetic effects and phenotypes showed that prediction accuracy increased when both effects rather than just additive effects were included. No corresponding gains in prediction ability were found for non-yield traits. Including cows with derived genotype probabilities from genotyped ancestors did not improve prediction accuracy. The largest additive effects were located on chromosome 14 near DGAT1 for yield traits for both Genetic data analysis for plant and animal breeding Science.gov (United States) This book is an advanced textbook covering the application of quantitative genetics theory to analysis of actual data (both trait and DNA marker information) for breeding populations of crops, trees, and animals. Chapter 1 is an introduction to basic software used for trait data analysis. Chapter 2 ... EFFECTIVENESS OF USING POLYURETHANE FOAM TO REDUCE HEAT LOSS IN THE PREMISES FOR BREEDING Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Medvedev A.Y. 2013-10-01 Full Text Available It is proved that the use of polyurethane foam insulation for the purpose of walling premises for breeding allows them to halve the deficit of heat in winter. Because of this more efficient use of feed, increases the intensity and the level of growth of young comprehensive energp $rocess in the energy of live weight gain of cattle while increasing the profitability of its cultivation for meat. Detection of haplotypes associated with prenatal death in dairy cattle and identification of deleterious mutations in GART, SHBG and SLC37A2. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Sébastien Fritz Full Text Available The regular decrease of female fertility over time is a major concern in modern dairy cattle industry. Only half of this decrease is explained by indirect response to selection on milk production, suggesting the existence of other factors such as embryonic lethal genetic defects. Genomic regions harboring recessive deleterious mutations were detected in three dairy cattle breeds by identifying frequent haplotypes (>1% showing a deficit in homozygotes among Illumina Bovine 50k Beadchip haplotyping data from the French genomic selection database (47,878 Holstein, 16,833 Montbéliarde, and 11,466 Normande animals. Thirty-four candidate haplotypes (p<10(-4 including previously reported regions associated with Brachyspina, CVM, HH1, and HH3 in Holstein breed were identified. Haplotype length varied from 1 to 4.8 Mb and frequencies from 1.7 up to 9%. A significant negative effect on calving rate, consistent in heifers and in lactating cows, was observed for 9 of these haplotypes in matings between carrier bulls and daughters of carrier sires, confirming their association with embryonic lethal mutations. Eight regions were further investigated using whole genome sequencing data from heterozygous bull carriers and control animals (45 animals in total. Six strong candidate causative mutations including polymorphisms previously reported in FANCI (Brachyspina, SLC35A3 (CVM, APAF1 (HH1 and three novel mutations with very damaging effect on the protein structure, according to SIFT and Polyphen-2, were detected in GART, SHBG and SLC37A2 genes. In conclusion, this study reveals a yet hidden consequence of the important inbreeding rate observed in intensively selected and specialized cattle breeds. Counter-selection of these mutations and management of matings will have positive consequences on female fertility in dairy cattle. Detection of Haplotypes Associated with Prenatal Death in Dairy Cattle and Identification of Deleterious Mutations in GART, SHBG and SLC37A2 Science.gov (United States) Fritz, Sébastien; Capitan, Aurelien; Djari, Anis; Rodriguez, Sabrina C.; Barbat, Anne; Baur, Aurélia; Grohs, Cécile; Weiss, Bernard; Boussaha, Mekki; Esquerré, Diane; Klopp, Christophe; Rocha, Dominique; Boichard, Didier 2013-01-01 The regular decrease of female fertility over time is a major concern in modern dairy cattle industry. Only half of this decrease is explained by indirect response to selection on milk production, suggesting the existence of other factors such as embryonic lethal genetic defects. Genomic regions harboring recessive deleterious mutations were detected in three dairy cattle breeds by identifying frequent haplotypes (>1%) showing a deficit in homozygotes among Illumina Bovine 50k Beadchip haplotyping data from the French genomic selection database (47,878 Holstein, 16,833 Montbéliarde, and 11,466 Normande animals). Thirty-four candidate haplotypes (p<10−4) including previously reported regions associated with Brachyspina, CVM, HH1, and HH3 in Holstein breed were identified. Haplotype length varied from 1 to 4.8 Mb and frequencies from 1.7 up to 9%. A significant negative effect on calving rate, consistent in heifers and in lactating cows, was observed for 9 of these haplotypes in matings between carrier bulls and daughters of carrier sires, confirming their association with embryonic lethal mutations. Eight regions were further investigated using whole genome sequencing data from heterozygous bull carriers and control animals (45 animals in total). Six strong candidate causative mutations including polymorphisms previously reported in FANCI (Brachyspina), SLC35A3 (CVM), APAF1 (HH1) and three novel mutations with very damaging effect on the protein structure, according to SIFT and Polyphen-2, were detected in GART, SHBG and SLC37A2 genes. In conclusion, this study reveals a yet hidden consequence of the important inbreeding rate observed in intensively selected and specialized cattle breeds. Counter-selection of these mutations and management of matings will have positive consequences on female fertility in dairy cattle. PMID:23762392 Dual Origins of Dairy Cattle Farming – Evidence from a Comprehensive Survey of European Y-Chromosomal Variation DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Edwards, Ceiridwen J; Genja, Catarina; Kantanen, Juha 2011-01-01 , with limited breed panels, identified two Bos taurus (taurine) haplogroups (Y1 and Y2; both composed of several haplotypes) and one Bos indicus (indicine/zebu) haplogroup (Y3), as well as a strong phylogeographic structuring of paternal lineages. Methodology and Principal Findings: Haplogroup data were......, the Nordic region and Russia, with the highest Ychromosomal diversity seen in the Iberian Peninsula. Conclusions: We propose that the homogeneous Y1 and Y2 regions reflect founder effects associated with the development and expansion of two groups of dairy cattle, the pied or red breeds from the North Sea... Anesthetic effects of different volumes of lidocaine for spermatic cord block in cattle. Science.gov (United States) Neves, Ana C; Santos Júnior, Juracy Cb; Marucio, Rodrigo L; Midon, Monica; Luna, Stelio Pl 2017-03-01 To evaluate three volumes of lidocaine for spermatic cord block to perform castration in cattle. Randomized blinded clinical study. Thirty mixed-breed Nellore cattle, aged 28-40 months and weighing 395±21 (352-452) kg [mean±standard deviation (range)]. Cattle were restrained in a chute and allowed to stand without sedation. Three milliliters of 2% lidocaine without epinephrine were infiltrated subcutaneously at each site of scrotal incision in all animals. The animals were allocated to three groups of 10 animals each. Lidocaine 2% was injected into each spermatic cord using a volume of 2, 3 or 4 mL in groups A, B, or C, respectively. The total volumes of lidocaine used were 10, 12, and 14 mL in groups A, B, and C, respectively. The duration of surgery and the retraction of the testicle (scored as positive or negative according to retraction of the testicle) during the procedure were recorded. The data were statistically analyzed by one-way anova followed by Tukey's and chi-square tests. Differences were considered significant when pcastration and following incisional infiltration of lidocaine, in adult cattle weighing about 400 kg. Copyright © 2017 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Impressions of cattle farming in the landscape of Uruguay Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Leonardo Gómez Sena 2012-03-01 Full Text Available The development of cattle farming has influenced and modeled the social and economic organization of Uruguay along history and has culturally acquired several expressions, including decisive evidence in the historical organization of its territory and the conformation of its rural landscape. The historic marks of cattle farming are key to understand the logics of land use planning and the natural-culturalconstruction of the Uruguayan landscape and have exerted great influence on the country’s internal policy organization, the division of land, the organization of roads and trails, its toponymy, etc. From the modifications of flora and fauna caused by the first introduction of cattle in the country, the conformation of the rural landscape of our territory has been linked to cattle farming, especially to the economic unit represented by the “estancia ganadera” (cattle farm. Its historic evolution delineated processes for land occupancy, holding and exploitation which lasted very long periods and with the so called “modernization of cattle farming” established the way and typology of rural architecture as well as forestry treatment and equipment which defined the predominant profile of rural areas in the country. The estate systems related to the industrialization of meat, which resulted from the productive situation of the country in the 70’s are also as significant, although their territorial dimension is much less. These industrial remains (unequally preserved, recognized and restored require to be approached as cultural landscapes and demand the set up of their links with the territory and the productive chain. This approach focuses on recognizing and activating the most significant elements of this cultural heritage, integrating its management to cattle farming today and to sustainable strategies of local and regional productive development. Maternal offspring behaviour in Curraleiro Pé Duro naturalized cattle in Brazil Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Marlos Castanheira 2013-08-01 Full Text Available The objective of the present study consisted of describing dam and calf suckling behaviour of Curraleiro Pé Duro cattle. In this study, 38 mother-offspring pairs and one mother-offspring-orphan trio were observed for 10 hours daily during three consecutive days spaced every four months over a period of one year. After identification, the animals were observed under field conditions where calf posture and the number of suckling episodes (NS, mean suckling duration (MSD, total suckling duration per day (TSD as well as natural weaning of these animals were recorded. The model assessed the effects of calf sex and age as well as feeding time. Suckling episodes (70.6% had a duration of one to five minutes and the calf that suckled in the inverted parallel position had greater chances of success during suckling (99.5%; the younger animals had a shorter mean suckling duration (4.0±0.6 minutes than the older ones (7.5±1.2 minutes but they showed a higher number of suckling episodes (6.29±1.00 vs. 1.33±0.04 feeds in 10 hours for young and older calves. Only the factor age in the first three months was significant for NS, MSD, and TSD; males and females had similar suckling episode length and distribution. While these animals show some traits similar to other cattle breeds such as feeding their calves early in the morning and late in the afternoon, the dams spend large periods of the day away from their calves and suckling is more frequent but for shorter periods of time compared with other breeds. Other unique features such as allo-suckling and formation of day-long crèches are observed in this breed. Characterisation of the Repeat Breeding Syndrome in Swedish Dairy Cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Emanuelson U 2002-06-01 Full Text Available Repeat breeding (RB, defined as cows failure to conceive from 3 or more regularly spaced services in the absence of detectable abnormalities, is a costly problem for the dairy producer. To elucidate the occurrence of RB in Swedish dairy herds and to identify risk factors of the syndrome totally 57,616 dairy cows in 1,541 herds were investigated based on data from the official Swedish production-, AI- and disease- recording schemes. The characteristics of the RB syndrome were studied on both herd and individual cow level. The effects of risk factors on the herd frequency of RB were studied by logistic regression. A generalised linear mixed model with logit link, and accounting for herd-level variation by including a random effect of herd, was used to study the individual animal risk for RB. The total percentage of RB animals was 10.1% and the median proportion of RB animals in the herds studied was 7.5%. The proportion of RB cows in herds increased with decreased herd sizes with decreased average days from calving to first AI, with increased herd incidence of clinical mastitis, with decreased reproductive disorders, and increased other diseases treated by a veterinarian. On animal level, the risk factors were milk yield, lactation number, difficult calving or dystocia, season at first service, days in milk at first service and veterinary treatment for reproductive disorders before the first service. Cows being an RB animal in the previous lactation had a higher risk of becoming an RB animal also in the present lactation. In conclusion our results show that the repeat breeding syndrome is a multifactorial problem involving a number of extrinsic factors as well as intrinsic factors coupled to the individual animal. Refining QTL with high-density SNP genotyping and whole genome sequence in three cattle breeds DEFF Research Database (Denmark) Sahana, Goutam; Guldbrandtsen, Bernt; Lund, Mogens Sandø 2012-01-01 Genome-wide association study was carried out in Nordic Holsteins, Nordic Red and Jersey breeds for functional traits using BovineHD Genotyping BreadChip (Illumina, San Diego, CA). The association analyses were carried out using both linear mixed model approach and a Bayesian variable selection...... method. Principal components were used to account for population structure. The QTL segregating in all three breeds were selected and a few of the most significant ones were followed in further analyses. The polymorphisms in the identified QTL regions were imputed using 90 whole genome sequences... The ecological production of cleans stock-breeding problems International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Meldebekov, A.M. 2002-01-01 KazSRTIS have made researches on study of maintenance in cows' milk developed in Almaty's region, determination of heavy metal salts and radionuclides. It has been noted that maintenance of mercury, lead, cupper and zinc increased in suburb's housekeeping cows' milk, which was disposed nearly international highway and industry activities. It is known that entering radionuclides human organism happens by food chain 'soil - vegetable cover - animals product stock-breeding -person'. Animals transformer stern's plants energy at the in conclusion it allows to take the compare with initial vegetable exponent more ecological tidy products limits stream toxic elements in food series of person. It lets to study agricultural animals, how 'biological filter' in production ecological clean and healthy product of food. Changing structure and set stern's rationals, method contents the limit of animals stream manufacturing pollution from soil vegetable cover agricultural used in milk and in mead from 2 till 5 times. Utilisation tidy stern's in final period fatten meat cattle give possibility to clean the organs and tissue of animals which representative food's value from admixture to level, corresponding medical - hygienic standards. It is necessary to make analysis on compound investigation on the effect of radionuclides in agricultural animals, namely to utilize them, that really barrier migrate toxic elements in captured chain of person. The ways of solutions in ecological stock-breeding problems are next: to show up ecological tidy and ecological unsuccessful places; to study rules of transition in basic pollutions of food chains; toxic elements limitation rules in stock-breeding production; utilization manufactory-polluted territories from technological elements for stock-breeding Application of a computer model to predict optimum slaughter end points for different biological types of feeder cattle. Science.gov (United States) Williams, C B; Bennett, G L 1995-10-01 A bioeconomic model was developed to predict slaughter end points of different genotypes of feeder cattle, where profit/rotation and profit/day were maximized. Growth, feed intake, and carcass weight and composition were simulated for 17 biological types of steers. Distribution of carcass weight and proportion in four USDA quality and five USDA yield grades were obtained from predicted carcass weights and composition. Average carcass value for each genotype was calculated from these distributions under four carcass pricing systems that varied from value determined on quality grade alone to value determined on yield grade alone. Under profitable market conditions, rotation length was shorter and carcass weights lighter when the producer's goal was maximum profit/day, compared with maximum profit/rotation. A carcass value system based on yield grade alone resulted in greater profit/rotation and in lighter and leaner carcasses than a system based on quality grade alone. High correlations ( > .97) were obtained between breed profits obtained with different sets of input/output prices and carcass price discount weight ranges. This suggests that breed rankings on the basis of breed profits may not be sensitive to changes in input/output market prices. Steers that were on a grower-stocker system had leaner carcasses, heavier optimum carcass weight, greater profits, and less variation in optimum carcass weights between genotypes than steers that were started on a high-energy finishing diet at weaning. Overall results suggest that breed choices may change with different carcass grading and value systems and postweaning production systems. This model has potential to provide decision support in marketing fed cattle. Breeding wheat for disease resistance in Kenya International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Njau, P.N.; Kinyua, M.G.; Karanja, L.; Maling'a, J. 2001-01-01 Yellow rust caused by Puccinia striformis and stem rust caused by Puccinia graminis tritici are most destructive diseases in Kenya. In wheat improvement, development of varieties of wheat with resistance to these diseases has been among the foremost contributions in wheat breeding. In breeding programs each disease is considered as a separate problem. Attention has been given to varieties resistant to stem rust, yellow rust and leaf rust among other diseases. In the year 2001 program stem rust and yellow rust were recorded in all the sites where NPT was performed. Breeding for resistance for the two diseases is approached through the Introductions and Hybridisation. The Doubled Haploid Technique is used to quicken the time of homozygous lines production. The introduction and the homozygous lines are then evaluated for yield and disease resistance in the field under preliminary yield trials and the National Performance Trials (NPT) in 2001, 18 lines and 2 check varieties were included in the NPT. The results show that there were some differences in reaction to the three diseases where lines R946, K7972-1 and R899 had the lowest score of the diseases in all sites. In the commercial variety trial the results show that all the varietieshave become susceptible to stem rust and so the need to develop new cultivars which will be resistance to the rusts. Yombi a newly developed variety showed a substantially high level resistance. (author) OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY CATTLE BREEDERS ON HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONS AND THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH ANIMALS ARE KEPT Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Beata SITKOWSKA 2012-03-01 Full Text Available The survey included 69 Polish farmers running private farms which focus on cattle breeding. Based on the survey results, and answers given by dairy and beef cattle breeders, it was found that the majority of respondents present the right attitude towards animals, and that they understand the influence of the person being in charge of a herd on the behaviour of animals and production results. The majority of the surveyed breeders continue to keep their cattle in stall barns, with more than 70% believing that this system provides good conditions for animals, and approximately 10% believe this is the best system possible. Approximately 80% of breeders is of the opinion that the animal housing system used has an effect on the condition of animals’ legs. The majority of breeders say that their animals are kept in either good or very good environmental conditions. Genetic by environment interaction for post weaning growth traits in tropical cattle OpenAIRE Navès, Michel; Menendez Buxadera, Alberto; Farant, Alain; Mandonnet, Nathalie 2006-01-01 Genetic by environment interactions for post weaning traits were studied in a local breed of cattle, well adapted to tropical conditions. After weaning, 444 beef calves of both sexes were separated within two management systems, either in intensive fattening or at pasture. The traits analysed included weights at standard age, of 365 days (W12), 455 days (W15) and 545 days (W18), and post weaning growth rates from weaning until 15 months (PWG15) or 18 months (PWG18). (Co)varianc... STUDY OF GIVING FEED SUPPLEMENT ON PRODUCTIVITY PO CATTLE IN SUBANG DISTRICT Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Erni Gustiani 2014-02-01 Full Text Available Decreasing of population and productivity of beef cattle due to low of post partus reproduction capability. Feeding at the last of pregnancy and early lactation period has not appropriate with the needs of cattle that caused this condition. Need the right strategy and technology to support that condition. Improvement of feed quality intake at the period is one attempt to increase of productivition capability. Assessment aims to determine the performance of beef cattle productivity capability through the improvement of feed quality. Research was conducted at Family Jaya livestock farmers group in Ponggang Village, Serangpanjang District, Subang Regency, and carried out from June to November 2013. Feed quality improvement by introduction feed supplementation (concentrates and UMB that is given at the last of pregnancy period and the early lactation period during 2 months before partus and 2 months after partus(flushing. While animal control / comparison fed in accordance with the habits of farmers is only given forage and agricultural waste which is not given every day. Provision of drinking water is done ad-libitum. Livestock productivity parameters measured were body weight calf; daily weight gain of cattle calf and post-partum estrus parent. Data collected were tabulated and analyzed by t-test. The study showed that cattle treated with additional feed gives a better effect on birth weight, weight gain of cattle and post-partum estrus. Composite selection signals can localize the trait specific genomic regions in multi-breed populations of cattle and sheep Science.gov (United States) 2014-01-01 Background Discerning the traits evolving under neutral conditions from those traits evolving rapidly because of various selection pressures is a great challenge. We propose a new method, composite selection signals (CSS), which unifies the multiple pieces of selection evidence from the rank distribution of its diverse constituent tests. The extreme CSS scores capture highly differentiated loci and underlying common variants hauling excess haplotype homozygosity in the samples of a target population. Results The data on high-density genotypes were analyzed for evidence of an association with either polledness or double muscling in various cohorts of cattle and sheep. In cattle, extreme CSS scores were found in the candidate regions on autosome BTA-1 and BTA-2, flanking the POLL locus and MSTN gene, for polledness and double muscling, respectively. In sheep, the regions with extreme scores were localized on autosome OAR-2 harbouring the MSTN gene for double muscling and on OAR-10 harbouring the RXFP2 gene for polledness. In comparison to the constituent tests, there was a partial agreement between the signals at the four candidate loci; however, they consistently identified additional genomic regions harbouring no known genes. Persuasively, our list of all the additional significant CSS regions contains genes that have been successfully implicated to secondary phenotypic diversity among several subpopulations in our data. For example, the method identified a strong selection signature for stature in cattle capturing selective sweeps harbouring UQCC-GDF5 and PLAG1-CHCHD7 gene regions on BTA-13 and BTA-14, respectively. Both gene pairs have been previously associated with height in humans, while PLAG1-CHCHD7 has also been reported for stature in cattle. In the additional analysis, CSS identified significant regions harbouring multiple genes for various traits under selection in European cattle including polledness, adaptation, metabolism, growth rate, stature « 21 22 23 24 25 » « 21 22 23 24 25 » Breeding to Optimize Agriculture in a Changing World Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Jiankang Wang 2015-06-01 Full Text Available Breeding to Optimize Chinese Agriculture (OPTICHINA was a three-year EU–China project launched in June of 2011. As designed, the project acted as a new strategic model to reinforce systematic cooperation on agricultural research between Europe and China. The OPTICHINA International Conference “Breeding to Optimize Agriculture in a Changing World” was held in Beijing, May 26–29, 2014. The conference included six thematic areas: (1 defining and protecting the yield potential of traits and genes; (2 high-throughput precision phenotyping in the field; (3 molecular technologies in modern breeding; (4 plant ideotype; (5 data analysis, data management, and bioinformatics; and (6 national challenges and opportunities for China. The 10 articles collected in this special issue represent key contributions and topics of this conference. This editorial provides a brief introduction to the OPTICHINA project, followed by the main scientific points of articles published in this special issue. Finally, outcomes from a brainstorming discussion at the end of the conference are summarized, representing the authors' opinions on trends in breeding for a changing world. Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for cattle stature identifies common genes that regulate body size in mammals NARCIS (Netherlands) Bouwman, Aniek C.; Daetwyler, Hans D.; Chamberlain, Amanda J.; Ponce, Carla Hurtado; Sargolzaei, Mehdi; Schenkel, Flavio S.; Sahana, Goutam; Govignon-Gion, Armelle; Boitard, Simon; Dolezal, Marlies; Pausch, Hubert; Brøndum, Rasmus F.; Bowman, Phil J.; Thomsen, Bo; Guldbrandtsen, Bernt; Lund, Mogens S.; Servin, Bertrand; Garrick, Dorian J.; Reecy, James; Vilkki, Johanna; Bagnato, Alessandro; Wang, Min; Hoff, Jesse L.; Schnabel, Robert D.; Taylor, Jeremy F.; Vinkhuyzen, Anna A.E.; Panitz, Frank; Bendixen, Christian; Holm, Lars Erik; Gredler, Birgit; Hozé, Chris; Boussaha, Mekki; Sanchez, Marie Pierre; Rocha, Dominique; Capitan, Aurelien; Tribout, Thierry; Barbat, Anne; Croiseau, Pascal; Drögemüller, Cord; Jagannathan, Vidhya; Vander Jagt, Christy; Crowley, John J.; Bieber, Anna; Purfield, Deirdre C.; Berry, Donagh P.; Emmerling, Reiner; Götz, Kay Uwe; Frischknecht, Mirjam; Russ, Ingolf; Sölkner, Johann; Tassell, van Curtis P.; Fries, Ruedi; Stothard, Paul; Veerkamp, Roel F.; Boichard, Didier; Goddard, Mike E.; Hayes, Ben J. 2018-01-01 Stature is affected by many polymorphisms of small effect in humans1. In contrast, variation in dogs, even within breeds, has been suggested to be largely due to variants in a small number of genes2,3. Here we use data from cattle to compare the genetic architecture of stature to those in humans and Using diverse U.S. beef cattle genomes to identify missense mutations in EPAS1, a gene associated with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension Science.gov (United States) The availability of whole genome sequence (WGS) data has made it possible to discover protein variants in silico. However, bovine WGS databases comprised of related influential sires from relatively few breeds tend to under represent the breadth of genetic diversity in U.S. beef cattle. Thus, our ... A comparison study of the inflammatory response in Holstein Friesian versus a local cattle breed (Rendena Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Joel Fernando Soares Filipe 2017-06-01 Full Text Available The selective pressure for increased milk production brought about great difficulties in the adaptation of cows to their environment. However, not much is known about the biological mechanisms behind the relationship between genetic selection and higher risk of metabolic and infectious diseases (Oltenacu, P.A., and Broom, D.M., 2010. It is well known that during the calving period, high-yielding dairy cattle are more susceptible to common environmental stressors, affecting disease occurrence and milk production levels (Bach, A., 2011. In this study we compared innate immune response of 6 Holstein Friesian (HF and 4 Rendena (R cows reared in the same farm and under the same management conditions. Milk and blood samples were collected at dry-off (T1, 1 day after calving (T2, 7-10 days after calving (T3, and 30 days after calving (T4. Milk samples were subjected to measurement of the inflammation marker cathelicidin and assessment of different innate immune-related mediators; blood samples were used for the analysis of plasma metabolites indicators of systemic inflammation. HF cows showed a more severe systemic inflammatory response at T2 and T3 in comparison with R cows (fig.1. Concerning the milk protein abundance profile, higher levels in R cows were observed in the colostrum (T2. Moreover, at all time points HF showed higher levels of the inflammation marker cathelicidin in milk (fig.2. In addition, the expression of innate immune related genes were different in HF compared with R (fig.3. Our results suggest that HF cows develop a systemic and local mammary inflammatory response that confirms their higher susceptibility to disease compared with R cows. Our findings reveal that fundamental effector activities of innate immunity in the mammary gland could be included in the breeding programs of HF cows and suggest the spread of autochthonous cow farming in order to maintain the biodiversity, reduce the antibiotic consumption and production of Principal component analysis of biometric traits to reveal body confirmation in local hill cattle of Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Science.gov (United States) Verma, Deepak; Sankhyan, Varun; Katoch, Sanjeet; Thakur, Yash Pal 2015-12-01 In the present study, biometric traits (body length [BL], heart girth [HG], paunch girth (PG), forelimb length (FLL), hind limb length (HLL), face length, forehead width, forehead length, height at hump, hump length (HL), hook to hook distance, pin to pin distance, tail length (TL), TL up to switch, horn length, horn circumference, and ear length were studied in 218 adult hill cattle of Himachal Pradesh for phenotypic characterization. Morphological and biometrical observations were recorded on 218 hill cattle randomly selected from different districts within the breeding tract. Multivariate statistics and principal component analysis are used to account for the maximum portion of variation present in the original set of variables with a minimum number of composite variables through Statistical software, SAS 9.2. Five components were extracted which accounted for 65.9% of variance. The first component explained general body confirmation and explained 34.7% variation. It was represented by significant loading for BL, HG, PG, FLL, and HLL. Communality estimate ranged from 0.41 (HL) to 0.88 (TL). Second, third, fourth, and fifth component had a high loading for tail characteristics, horn characteristics, facial biometrics, and rear body, respectively. The result of component analysis of biometric traits suggested that indigenous hill cattle of Himachal Pradesh are small and compact size cattle with a medium hump, horizontally placed short ears, and a long tail. The study also revealed that factors extracted from the present investigation could be used in breeding programs with sufficient reduction in the number of biometric traits to be recorded to explain the body confirmation. Studies on the growth and reproduction of cattle in the tropics International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Frisch, J.E. 1990-01-01 The results of a number of studies that had the long term aim of increasing the productivity of cattle in the tropics are reported. The studies were conducted on the B (Brahman), HS (interbred Hereford x Shorthorn), F 1 BX (first cross B x HS) and F n BX (interbred B x HS) lines. These breeds were used to demonstrate the origins of the heterosis that occurs in both the realized growth and the reproductive rate of Bos indicus x Bos taurus. Genetic and environmental factors that limit the realized reproductive rates were also investigated. The reproductive rate of cows of each breed that differed in lactation status during the breeding season was compared in contrasting environments. It was shown that the main limitation to HS achieving high realized reproductive rates was of environmental origin. For B cows, the main limitation was associated with the stress of lactation. Unsuccessful attempts were made to overcome this limitation by using progesterone releasing intravaginal devices alone or in combination with temporary calf weaning to try to induce a fertile oestrus. Improvement of the realized reproductive rates in the HS line was achieved by increasing their resistance to environmental stresses. The prospects for increasing the realized reproductive rate of maiden heifers by increasing their live weight at the start of their first breeding season were also investigated. About half of the heifers of each breed were implanted with the synthetic growth promotant Synovex 'H' on three occasions before the start of the breeding season. Although the live weight of all breeds increased in response to Synovex 'H', the magnitude of the response was dependent on the presence or absence of parasite control. Previously implanted heifers had a lower pregnancy rate than non-implanted heifers. 4 refs, 6 tabs Seroprevalence of Schmallenberg virus in dairy cattle in Ethiopia. Science.gov (United States) Sibhat, Berhanu; Ayelet, Gelagay; Gebremedhin, Endrias Zewdu; Skjerve, Eystein; Asmare, Kassahun 2018-02-01 Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a recently identified member of the genus Orthobunyavirus of the family Bunyaviridae. It is an arbovirus transmitted by different members of Culicoides spp of biting midges. The virus is more recognized for its effect on reproductive disorders in ruminants characterised by abortion, stillbirth and birth of congenitally defective newborns with hydranencephaly-arthrogryposis syndrome. The current study was undertaken with the objectives of exploring the presence of SBV exposure and identification of factors affecting its distribution among dairy cattle in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1379 dairy cattle sampled from 149 dairy herds in central, southern and western Ethiopia during September 2011 to May 2012. Serum samples were examined using competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). Data on hypothesised risk factors were collected from farm records where available and semi-structured questionnaire-based interview. The apparent seroprevalence of exposure to SBV was 56.6% (95% confidence interval (CI): 53.9-59.3). True prevalence adjusted for sensitivity and specificity of the cELISA kit used was 58.3% (95% CI 55.7-60.9). Among the sampled herds, 82.6% (95% CI: 75.5-88.3) had at least one seropositive animal. Seropositive cattle were found in all of the 15 conurbations studied. Adult dairy cows [odds ratio (OR)=1.6] were more commonly affected than young heifers. Dairy cattle kept in commercial (OR=1.6) and breeding farms (OR=3.5) and Midland agroecology (OR=2.5) showed statistically significant seroconversion than cattle kept under small-holder dairy farms and Highland agroecology respectively (p<0.05). Reproductive disorders including abortion, retention of the fetal membranes, and metritis were associated with serostatus of SBV. In conclusion, the seroprevalence of SBV is high and widely distributed in the studied parts of Ethiopia. This being the first study of its kind on SBV in Ethiopia, further Genome sequencing of the extinct Eurasian wild aurochs, Bos primigenius, illuminates the phylogeography and evolution of cattle. Science.gov (United States) Park, Stephen D E; Magee, David A; McGettigan, Paul A; Teasdale, Matthew D; Edwards, Ceiridwen J; Lohan, Amanda J; Murphy, Alison; Braud, Martin; Donoghue, Mark T; Liu, Yuan; Chamberlain, Andrew T; Rue-Albrecht, Kévin; Schroeder, Steven; Spillane, Charles; Tai, Shuaishuai; Bradley, Daniel G; Sonstegard, Tad S; Loftus, Brendan J; MacHugh, David E 2015-10-26 Domestication of the now-extinct wild aurochs, Bos primigenius, gave rise to the two major domestic extant cattle taxa, B. taurus and B. indicus. While previous genetic studies have shed some light on the evolutionary relationships between European aurochs and modern cattle, important questions remain unanswered, including the phylogenetic status of aurochs, whether gene flow from aurochs into early domestic populations occurred, and which genomic regions were subject to selection processes during and after domestication. Here, we address these questions using whole-genome sequencing data generated from an approximately 6,750-year-old British aurochs bone and genome sequence data from 81 additional cattle plus genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data from a diverse panel of 1,225 modern animals. Phylogenomic analyses place the aurochs as a distinct outgroup to the domestic B. taurus lineage, supporting the predominant Near Eastern origin of European cattle. Conversely, traditional British and Irish breeds share more genetic variants with this aurochs specimen than other European populations, supporting localized gene flow from aurochs into the ancestors of modern British and Irish cattle, perhaps through purposeful restocking by early herders in Britain. Finally, the functions of genes showing evidence for positive selection in B. taurus are enriched for neurobiology, growth, metabolism and immunobiology, suggesting that these biological processes have been important in the domestication of cattle. This work provides important new information regarding the origins and functional evolution of modern cattle, revealing that the interface between early European domestic populations and wild aurochs was significantly more complex than previously thought. Enhanced mitogenesis in stromal vascular cells derived from subcutaneous adipose tissue of Wagyu compared with those of Angus cattle. Science.gov (United States) Wei, S; Fu, X; Liang, X; Zhu, M J; Jiang, Z; Parish, S M; Dodson, M V; Zan, L; Du, M 2015-03-01 Japanese Wagyu cattle are well known for their extremely high marbling and lower subcutaneous adipose tissue compared with Angus cattle. However, mechanisms for differences in adipose deposition are unknown. The objective of this paper was to evaluate breed differences in the structure of subcutaneous adipose tissue, adipogenesis, and mitogenesis of stromal vascular (SV) cells between Wagyu and Angus cattle. Subcutaneous biopsy samples were obtained from 5 Wagyu (BW = 302 ± 9 kg) and 5 Angus (BW = 398 ± 12 kg) heifers at 12 mo of age, and samples were divided into 3 pieces for histological examination, biochemical analysis, and harvest of SV cells. Adipogenesis of SV cells was assessed by the expression of adipogenic markers and Oil Red-O staining, while mitogenesis was evaluated by an MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium dromide) test, phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and protein kinase B (PKB; AKT). Based on histological analysis, Wagyu had larger adipocytes compared with Angus. At the tissue level, protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARG) in Wagyu was much lower compared with that of Angus. Similarly, a lower mRNA expression of PPARG was found in Wagyu SV cells. No significant difference was observed for the zinc finger protein 423 (ZNF423) expression between Wagyu and Angus. As assessed by Oil Red-O staining, Wagyu SV cells possessed a notable trend of lower adipogenic capability. Interestingly, higher mitogenic ability was discovered in Wagyu SV cells, which was associated with an elevated phosphorylation of ERK1/2. There was no difference in AKT phosphorylation of SV cells between Wagyu and Angus. Moreover, exogenous fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) enhanced mitogenesis and ERK1/2 phosphorylation of SV cells to a greater degree in Angus compared with that in Wagyu. Expression of transforming growth factor β 3 (TGFB3) and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) in Wagyu SV Relationship between haemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume in cattle blood samples Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Paa-Kobina Turkson 2015-02-01 Full Text Available A convention that has been adopted in medicine is to estimate haemoglobin (HB concentration as a third of packed cell volume (PCV or vice versa. The present research set out to determine whether a proportional relationship exists between PCV and Hb concentration in cattle blood samples, and to assess the validity of the convention of estimating Hb concentration as a third of PCV. A total of 440 cattle in Ghana from four breeds (Ndama, 110; West African Short Horn, 110; Zebu, 110 and Sanga, 110 were bled for haematological analysis, specifically packed cell volume, using the microhaematocrit technique and haemoglobin concentration using the cyanmethaemoglobin method. Means, standard deviations, standard errors of mean and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Trendline analyses generated linear regression equations from scatterplots. For all the cattle, a significant and consistent relationship (r = 0.74 was found between Hb concentration and PCV (%. This was expressed as Hb concentration (g/dL = 0.28 PCV + 3.11. When the Hb concentration was estimated by calculating it as a third of PCV, the relationship was expressed in linear regression as Hb concentration (g/dL = 0.83 calculated Hb + 3.11. The difference in the means of determined (12.2 g/dL and calculated (10.9 g/dL Hb concentrations for all cattle was significant (p < 0.001, whereas the difference in the means of determined Hb and corrected calculated Hb was not significant. In conclusion, a simplified relationship of Hb (g/dL = (0.3 PCV + 3 may provide a better estimate of Hb concentration from the PCV of cattle. Application of site and haplotype-frequency based approaches for detecting selection signatures in cattle Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Moore Stephen 2011-06-01 Full Text Available Abstract Background 'Selection signatures' delimit regions of the genome that are, or have been, functionally important and have therefore been under either natural or artificial selection. In this study, two different and complementary methods--integrated Haplotype Homozygosity Score (|iHS| and population differentiation index (FST--were applied to identify traces of decades of intensive artificial selection for traits of economic importance in modern cattle. Results We scanned the genome of a diverse set of dairy and beef breeds from Germany, Canada and Australia genotyped with a 50 K SNP panel. Across breeds, a total of 109 extreme |iHS| values exceeded the empirical threshold level of 5% with 19, 27, 9, 10 and 17 outliers in Holstein, Brown Swiss, Australian Angus, Hereford and Simmental, respectively. Annotating the regions harboring clustered |iHS| signals revealed a panel of interesting candidate genes like SPATA17, MGAT1, PGRMC2 and ACTC1, COL23A1, MATN2, respectively, in the context of reproduction and muscle formation. In a further step, a new Bayesian FST-based approach was applied with a set of geographically separated populations including Holstein, Brown Swiss, Simmental, North American Angus and Piedmontese for detecting differentiated loci. In total, 127 regions exceeding the 2.5 per cent threshold of the empirical posterior distribution were identified as extremely differentiated. In a substantial number (56 out of 127 cases the extreme FST values were found to be positioned in poor gene content regions which deviated significantly (p ST values were found in regions of some relevant genes such as SMCP and FGF1. Conclusions Overall, 236 regions putatively subject to recent positive selection in the cattle genome were detected. Both |iHS| and FST suggested selection in the vicinity of the Sialic acid binding Ig-like lectin 5 gene on BTA18. This region was recently reported to be a major QTL with strong effects on productive life The Nutritive value of mulberry leaves (Morus Alba) and partial replacement of cotton seed in rations on the performance of growing Vietnamese cattle NARCIS (Netherlands) Vu, C.C.; Verstegen, M.W.A.; Hendriks, W.H.; Pham, K.T. 2011-01-01 The in vivo digestibility of mulberry leaves (Morus alba) and the effects of the partial replacement of cotton seed with fresh mulberry leaf in rations on the performance of growing Vietnamese cattle was investigated. For the in vivo digestibility trial, twenty castrated rams of Phanrang breed (a Deep intronic mutation and pseudo exon activation as a novel muscular hypertrophy modifier in cattle. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Claire Bouyer Full Text Available Myostatin is essential for proper regulation of myogenesis, and inactivation of Myostatin results in muscle hypertrophy. Here, we identified an unexpected mutation in the myostatin gene which is almost fixed in Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle. In skeletal muscle, the mutant allele was highly expressed leading to an abnormal transcript consisting of a 41-bp inclusion and premature termination codons and to residual levels of a correctly spliced transcript. This expression pattern, caused by a leaky intronic mutation with regard to spliceosome activity and its apparent stability with regard to surveillance mechanisms, could contribute to the moderate muscle hypertrophy in this cattle breed. This finding is of importance for genetic counseling for meat quantity and quality in livestock production and possibly to manipulate myostatin pre-mRNA in human muscle diseases. Meta-analysis of genome wide association studies for the stature of cattle reveals numerous common genes that regulate size in mammals Science.gov (United States) Stature is affected by many polymorphisms of small effect in humans but in contrast variation in dogs, even within breeds is largely due to variants in six genes. Here we use data from cattle to compare genetic architecture of stature to that in humans and dogs. We conducted a meta-analysis for stat... Evaluation of bovine chemerin (RARRES2 gene variation on beef cattle production traits Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Amanda K Lindholm-Perry 2012-03-01 Full Text Available A previous study in cattle based on >48,000 markers identified markers on chromosome 4 near the chemerin gene associated with average daily feed intake (ADFI in steers (P<0.008. Chemerin is an adipokine associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome in humans, representing a strong candidate gene potentially underlying the observed association. To evaluate whether the bovine chemerin gene is involved in feed intake, 16 markers within and around the gene were tested for association in the same resource population. Eleven were nominally significant for ADFI (P<0.05 and two were significant after Bonferroni correction. Two and five SNP in this region were nominally significant for the related traits of average daily gain (ADG and residual feed intake (RFI, respectively. All markers were evaluated for effects on meat quality and carcass phenotypes. Many of the markers associated with ADFI were associated with hot carcass weight (HCW, adjusted fat thickness (AFT, and marbling (P<0.05. Marker alleles that were associated with lower ADFI were also associated with lower HCW, AFT, and marbling. Markers associated with ADFI were genotyped in a validation population of steers representing 14 breeds to determine predictive merit across populations. No consistent relationships for ADFI were detected. To determine whether cattle feed intake or growth phenotypes might be related to chemerin transcript abundance, the expression of chemerin was evaluated in adipose of 114 heifers that were siblings of the steers in the discovery population. Relative chemerin transcript abundance was not correlated with ADFI, ADG, or RFI, but associations with body condition score and yearling weight were observed. We conclude that variation in the chemerin gene may underlie observed association in the resource population, but that additional research is required to determine if this variation is widespread among breeds and to develop robust markers with predictive merit across Molecular regulation of high muscle mass in developing Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle foetuses Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Isabelle Cassar-Malek 2017-10-01 Full Text Available The Blonde d'Aquitaine (BA is a French cattle breed with enhanced muscularity, partly attributable to a MSTN mutation. The BA m. Semitendinosus has a faster muscle fibre isoform phenotype comprising a higher proportion of fast type IIX fibres compared to age-matched Charolais (CH. To better understand the molecular network of modifications in BA compared to CH muscle, we assayed the transcriptomes of the m. Semitendinosus at 110, 180, 210 and 260 days postconception (dpc. We used a combination of differential expression (DE and regulatory impact factors (RIF to compare and contrast muscle gene expression between the breeds. Prominently developmentally regulated genes in both breeds reflected the replacement of embryonic myosin isoforms (MYL4, MYH3 with adult isoforms (MYH1 and the upregulation of mitochondrial metabolism (CKMT2, AGXT2L1 in preparation for birth. However, the transition to a fast, glycolytic muscle phenotype in the MSTN mutant BA is detectable through downregulation of various slow twitch subunits (TNNC1, MYH7, TPM3, CSRP3 beyond 210 dpc, and a small but consistent genome-wide reduction in mRNA encoding the mitoproteome. Across the breeds, NRIP2 is the regulatory gene possessing a network change most similar to that of MSTN. Preliminary analysis on hybrid vigor in Indonesian indigenous and crossbred cattle population using data from published studies Science.gov (United States) Prastowo, S.; Widi, TSM; Widyas, N. 2017-04-01 Hybrid vigor or heterosis is the phenomenon where a crossbreed progeny has better performance compared to its parents. Heterosis can be quantified relative to the mid-parents value or relative to one of its parent’s population average by crossing two breeds. Crossbreeding is aimed to increase the production performance of local breeds. According to the Indonesian government policy, crossbreeding program is one of main strategies to achieve meat self-sufficiency. We explore the possibilities observing of heterosis exhibited by crossing Bali and Peranakan Onggole (PO) cattle as local breed with the exotic breed based on the published data. In this paper, growth and reproductive traits from Bali and PO from year 2000-2010 were used for analysis. Moreover, Limousine and Simmental exotic breed data were collected from official information of artificial insemination (AI) centre. Data in growth trait (chest girth, mature weight, weaning weight and yearling weight) in all breeds and their crosses were then analysed using standard heterosis estimation method. Result, shows that crossbred offspring perform better in the growth trait in relative to Bali and PO as local breed. Specifically in Bali crossed with PO, the offspring shown better estimated heterosis effect in yearling weight compared to both parents. Despite heterosis were observed in some traits, careful planning of crossbreeding program is a must in order to avoid the loss of genetic variance. Widespread movement of invasive cattle fever ticks (Rhipicephalus microplus) in southern Texas leads to shared local infestations on cattle and deer Science.gov (United States) 2014-01-01 Background Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is a highly-invasive tick that transmits the cattle parasites (Babesia bovis and B. bigemina) that cause cattle fever. R. microplus and Babesia are endemic in Mexico and ticks persist in the United States inside a narrow tick eradication quarantine area (TEQA) along the Rio Grande. This containment area is threatened by unregulated movements of illegal cattle and wildlife like white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus). Methods Using 11 microsatellite loci we genotyped 1,247 R. microplus from 63 Texas collections, including outbreak infestations from outside the TEQA. We used population genetic analyses to test hypotheses about ecological persistence, tick movement, and impacts of the eradication program in southern Texas. We tested acaricide resistance with larval packet tests (LPTs) on 47 collections. Results LPTs revealed acaricide resistance in 15/47 collections (32%); 11 were outside the TEQA and three were resistant to multiple acaricides. Some collections highly resistant to permethrin were found on cattle and WTD. Analysis of genetic differentiation over time at seven properties revealed local gene pools with very low levels of differentiation (FST 0.00-0.05), indicating persistence over timespans of up to 29 months. However, in one neighborhood differentiation varied greatly over a 12-month period (FST 0.03-0.13), suggesting recurring immigration from distinct sources as another persistence mechanism. Ticks collected from cattle and WTD at the same location are not differentiated (FST = 0), implicating ticks from WTD as a source of ticks on cattle (and vice versa) and emphasizing the importance of WTD to tick control strategies. We identified four major genetic groups (K = 4) using Bayesian population assignment, suggesting multiple introductions to Texas. Conclusions Two dispersal mechanisms give rise to new tick infestations: 1) frequent short-distance dispersal from the TEQA; and 2) rare long Potential risk of regional disease spread in West Africa through cross-border cattle trade. Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden) Anna S Dean Full Text Available Transboundary animal movements facilitate the spread of pathogens across large distances. Cross-border cattle trade is of economic and cultural importance in West Africa. This study explores the potential disease risk resulting from large-scale, cross-border cattle trade between Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria for the first time.A questionnaire-based survey of livestock movements of 226 cattle traders was conducted in the 9 biggest cattle markets of northern Togo in February-March 2012. More than half of the traders (53.5% operated in at least one other country. Animal flows were stochastically simulated based on reported movements and the risk of regional disease spread assessed. More than three quarters (79.2%, range: 78.1-80.0% of cattle flowing into the market system originated from other countries. Through the cattle market system of northern Togo, non-neighbouring countries were connected via potential routes for disease spread. Even for diseases with low transmissibility and low prevalence in a given country, there was a high risk of disease introduction into other countries.By stochastically simulating data collected by interviewing cattle traders in northern Togo, this study identifies potential risks for regional disease spread in West Africa through cross-border cattle trade. The findings highlight that surveillance for emerging infectious diseases as well as control activities targeting endemic diseases in West Africa are likely to be ineffective if only conducted at a national level. A regional approach to disease surveillance, prevention and control is essential. Potential Risk of Regional Disease Spread in West Africa through Cross-Border Cattle Trade Science.gov (United States) Dean, Anna S.; Fournié, Guillaume; Kulo, Abalo E.; Boukaya, G. Aboudou; Schelling, Esther; Bonfoh, Bassirou 2013-01-01 Background Transboundary animal movements facilitate the spread of pathogens across large distances. Cross-border cattle trade is of economic and cultural importance in West Africa. This study explores the potential disease risk resulting from large-scale, cross-border cattle trade between Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria for the first time. Methods and Principal Findings A questionnaire-based survey of livestock movements of 226 cattle traders was conducted in the 9 biggest cattle markets of northern Togo in February-March 2012. More than half of the traders (53.5%) operated in at least one other country. Animal flows were stochastically simulated based on reported movements and the risk of regional disease spread assessed. More than three quarters (79.2%, range: 78.1–80.0%) of cattle flowing into the market system originated from other countries. Through the cattle market system of northern Togo, non-neighbouring countries were connected via potential routes for disease spread. Even for diseases with low transmissibility and low prevalence in a given country, there was a high risk of disease introduction into other countries. Conclusions By stochastically simulating data collected by interviewing cattle traders in northern Togo, this study identifies potential risks for regional disease spread in West Africa through cross-border cattle trade. The findings highlight that surveillance for emerging infectious diseases as well as control activities targeting endemic diseases in West Africa are likely to be ineffective if only conducted at a national level. A regional approach to disease surveillance, prevention and control is essential. PMID:24130721 « 21 22 23 24 25 » Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site. 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