The Change of Plasm a very Low Density Lipoprotein Concentration Pre-or Post-Feeding and in Conrrelation with Body Fatness Traits in Broiler Chickens

Blood samples were taken from birds,from a commercial line of broiler chicken,being in a fully fed state and in fasting state for 2,4,6 hours respectively at 49 d of age and plasma very low density lipoprotein(VLDL) concentration was measured with turbidimetric assay.The experiment results showed that the variation coefficients of plasma VLDL concentration mersured at four different times were 58.11%,74.39%,69.70%,47.83%,respectively for male broilers,and 41.82%,60.87%.59.26%,50.0%for female broilers respectively.Plasma VLDL concentration decreased with the fasting time.There was a significant positive phenotypic correlation between abdominal fat weight,percentage of abdominal fat and plasma VLDL concentration for the birds being in fully feeding state,and the correlation decreased or no longer existed for the bired being in fasting state.The conclusion was that for practically application of plasma VLDL content selected in broiler chicken breeding,blood samples should be collected from birds being in feeding state.

An Investigation of Polymorphism in <i>SMO</i>and <i>LMF</i>1 Genes and Their Association with Body Size in White Fulani and Muturu Cattle Breeds

Cattle production is integral to the people of Africa and her economy. To improve cattle productivity, there is a need to inculcate molecular marker-assisted selection into current breeding practices. In this study, we investigated, in White Fulani and Muturu cattle breeds, polymorphism of two candidate genes (Smoothened—SMO and Lipase Maturation Factor 1—LMF1) that have been reported to influence body size in cattle. The SMO gene encodes for the SMO (smoothened) receptor protein;a membrane signal transducer that plays a role in the control of bone formation and adipogenesis. LMF1 encodes for the LMF1 protein which regulates post-translational maturation of vascular lipases. Desired regions of the genes were amplified and genotyped by direct DNA sequencing or Polymerase chain reaction—Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism. For association study, linear body measurements traits (BMTs) that can be used to predict body size were measured on each animal and values of BMTs measured were compared between both breeds. Very significant (P < 0.001) differences, in favour of White Fulani, were observed for all the BMTs compared. Six (6) previously reported SNP (G21234C, C22424T and C22481T, T22939C, C23329T and T23458G) were found on the SMO while LMF1 was monomorphic at the expected (T > C) exon 4 mutation site. Association analysis revealed that polymorphism on G21234C, C22424T, T22939C and T23458G loci significantly affected BMTs (P < 0.05 or 0.01) in both cattle breeds. The outcome of this study showed that SMO gene could be a useful candidate gene to facilitate marker assisted selection for body size while LMF1 is monomorphic in the cattle breeds.