A Capra hircus chromosome 19 locus linked to milk production influences mammary conformation

Background:Economically important milk production traits including milk volume,milk fat and protein yield vary considerably across dairy goats in New Zealand.A significant portion of the variation is attributable to genetic variation.Discovery of genetic markers linked to milk production traits can be utilised to drive selection of highperformance animals.A previously reported genome wide association study across dairy goats in New Zealand identified a quantitative trait locus(QTL)located on chromosome 19.The most significantly associated single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)marker for this locus is located at position 26,610,610(SNP marker rs268292132).This locus is associated with multiple milk production traits including fat,protein and volume.The predicted effect of selection for the beneficial haplotype would result in an average production increase of 2.2 kg fat,1.9 kg protein and 73.6 kg milk yield.An outstanding question was whether selection for the beneficial allele would co-select for any negative pleiotropic effects.An adverse relationship between milk production and udder health traits has been reported at this locus.Therefore,a genome wide association study was undertaken looking for loci associated with udder traits.Results:The QTL and production associated marker rs268292132 was identified in this study to also be associated with several goat udder traits including udder depth(UD),fore udder attachment(FUA)and rear udder attachment(RUA).Our study replicates the negative relationship between production and udder traits with the high production allele at position 19:26,610,610(SNP marker rs268292132)associated with an adverse change in UD,FUA and RUA.Conclusions:Our study has confirmed the negative relationship between udder traits and production traits in the NZ goat population.We have found that the frequency of the high production allele is relatively high in the NZ goat population,indicating that its effect on udder conformation is not significantly detrimental on animal health.It will however be important to monitor udder conformation as the chromosome 19 locus is progressively implemented for marker assisted selection.It will also be of interest to determine if the gene underlying the production QTL has a direct effect on mammary gland morphology or whether the changes observed are a consequence of the increased milk volume.

Switches in transcriptome functions during seven skeletal muscle development stages from fetus to kid in Capra hircus

Skeletal muscle accounts for about 40% of mammalian body weight, the development of which is a dynamic, complex and precisely regulated process that is critical for meat production. We here described the transcriptome expression profile in 21 goat samples collected at 7 growth stages from fetus to kid, including fetal 45(F45), 65(F65), 90(F90), 120(F120), and 135(F135) days, and birth 1(B1) day and 90(B90) days kids. Paraffin sections combined with RNA-seq data of the 7 stages divided the transcriptomic functions of skeletal muscle into 4 states: before F90, F120, F135 and B1, and B90. And the dynamic expression of all 4 793 differentially expressed genes(DEGs) was identified. Furthermore, DEGs were clustered by weighted gene correlation network analysis into 4 modules(turquoise, grey, blue and brown) that corresponded to these 4 states. Functional and pathway analysis indicated that the active genes in the stages before F90(turquoise) were closely related to skeletal muscle proliferation. The DEGs in the F120-related module(grey) were found to participate in the regulation of skeletal muscle structure and skeletal muscle development by regulating t RNA. The brown module(F135 and B1) regulated fatty acid biological processes to maintain the normal development of muscle cells. The DEGs of B90 high correlation module(blue) were involved the strengthening and power of skeletal muscle through the regulation of actin filaments and tropomyosin. Our current data thus revealed the internal functional conversion of the goat skeletal muscle in the growth from fetus to kid. The results provided a theoretical basis for analyzing the involvement of m RNA in skeletal muscle development.

GC-MS Analysis of Amino Acids in Extract of Cornus Caprae Hircus

Amino acids are an important type of bioactive components in Chinese traditional medicines, especially animal drugs. However, few modern analytical methods targeted at amino acids have been developed for the quality control of animal drugs. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometric method was built for the quantification analysis of amino acids in the extracts of Comus Caprae Hircus which has been widely used in Chinese medicine compound prescriptions. The full method validation, including the linearity, limit of detection and quantification, repeatability, precision, stability, and recovery test, was examined. The results indicate that the developed method is suitable for the quantification of amino acids in the extracts of Comus Caprae Hircus. The developed method was applied to the quantification analysis of twelve amino acids in different batches of extracts of Comus Caprae Hircus.

Indigenous Knowledge Used in Breeding and Management of Capra hircus Populations in Kajiado and Makueni Counties, Kenya

The aim of this project was to study indigenous breeding practices used in management of Capra hircus (Galla and Small East African goats) populations in Kajiado County in Rift valley province and Makueni County in Eastern province. Data were obtained through a field survey using questionnaires (Appendix I) and personal observations between 1st September, 2013 and 2nd December, 2013. This study covered key characteristics of goats production and areas of goat breeding, such as general farm details, number of goats, main activities of the farmers, farming types, breeds, flock structure, feeding, housing, catastrophes, selection, mating systems, breeding systems, average age at parturition, breeding problems, and the importance of goats. Results showed that the average number of goats in Kajiado was 100.65 ± std 49.88 while in Makueni it was 12.28 ± std 6.46. The main activity of the people interviewed was farming as 58 people (96.67%) in Kajiado and 42 people (61.60%) chose farming as their main activity because this was their main source of livelihood. Flocks were dominated by breeding females at a mean of 39.06 ± std 16.75 in Kajiado and a mean of 5.62 ± std 3.50 in Makueni because females were kept to reproduce to increase the size of the flock and the males were kept majorly for cash and only one or two were left to reproduce with the females. Drought was the major catastrophe as it killed an average number of goats of 6.33 ± std 4.36. Pneumonia and diarrhoea were the major diseases according to 28 farmers (46.66%) in Kajiado and 31 farmers (51.66%) in Makueni. Ticks and fleas were the major parasites according to 42 farmers (70%) in Kajiado and 4 farmers (63.34%) in Makueni. Treatment was mostly done by the farmers individually as 54 farmers (90%) in Kajiado and 46 farmers (76.67%) in Makueni treated the animals by themselves. This was so because it was either not easy to get a veterinarian or expensive for them to hire veterinarian doctors. Some farmers used traditional medicine like mavuavui;Steganotaenia araliacea was used to treat pneumonia. Farmers also devised feeding methods during drought as 48 farmers (80.00%) in Kajiado and 23 farmers (38.33%) in Makueni cut leaves from up trees to feed the goats. When doing selection of breed, 58 farmers (96.67%) and 57 farmers (95%) considered large body size and drought resistance respectively in Kajiado. The farmers in Makueni considered age and drought resistance at equal chances of 59 farmers (98.33%). The main mating system was naturally uncontrolled as 113 farmers (95.17%) of the overall 120 farmers interviewed in Kajiado and Makueni chose this as the main mating method. The major breeding system was pure breeding at 85 farmers (70.83%). The average age at parturition of the goats was 1.435 ± 0.125 years in Kajiado and 1.44 ± 0.121 years in Makueni. Abortion was the major breeding problem because it was caused by environmental stressors like drought and diseases as 54 farmers (93.92%) in Kajiado and 55 farmers (95.66%) claimed that it was a problem. Goats were majorly kept for cash (100%) and meat (100%) in Kajiado and for cash (100%) and dowry (100%) in Makueni. In conclusion, the study showed that crossbreeding was encouraged by mating that occurred at the markets, water points, free ranging feeding method, pastoralism due to drought, selection methods and translocation of female goats from Makueni County to be mated with the males in Kajiado County. Environmental problems like drought and diseases caused several deaths and reduced the level of existing gene pool of the goats.

Cloned goats (Gapra hircus) from foetal fibroblast cell lines

Mammalian cloning has been one of the most active research topics in the world. Cioning with in vitro culured foetal fibroblast cells, in comparison with embryonic cells, can be used not only to theoretically study the embryonic or cellular development and differentiation in mammals, but also to utilize the unlimited fibroblast cells to produce large numbers of clonings. The preliminary results are as follows: (i) The division and development of the cloned embryos with embryonic donor cells and goat foetal fibroblast donor cells were 55%, 77% and 35%, 31%, respectively. There is no significant statistical difference between them. (? These studies result in the birth of two cloned goats derived from two 30-day foetal fibroblast celi lines, which are the first cloned mammals from somatic cells in China. This project has established a technological data base for the furture research on adult mammalian somatic cloning and nucleocytoplasmic interactions in animal development, and a novel technique for the

黄河下游家绵羊与家山羊遗传关系的微卫星分析

为了探讨家养绵羊与山羊的属间遗传关系,我们利用13个定位于绵羊染色体上的微卫星基因座,分析了黄河下游4个地方绵羊品种、4个地方山羊品种和1个杂交绵羊类群的遗传结构及其系统发生关系。经Hardy-Weinberg平衡检验和中性测试,发现地方绵羊和山羊种群均处于不平衡状态(P<0.01),61.53%的基因座属于中性位点,说明所研究种群属于非随机交配,可能受到选择、迁移等进化因素的影响。对有效等位基因数、多态信息含量、Shannon信息指数、观察杂合度和期望杂合度等遗传多样性参数进行比较,发现绵羊种群的遗传变异程度明显(P<0.01或P<0.05)高于山羊种群,但不同基因座上的差异效应不一致;结合F统计量和亲缘关系等参数,可推测绵羊和山羊虽然均存在不同程度的近交现象(He>Ho,FIS>0),但分别属于杂交和近交繁殖。通过群体遗传分化和系统发育拓扑结构分析,证明绵羊属由共同祖先分化而来的时间晚于山羊属,两属间的遗传距离为1.0708-1.5927,遗传分化时间约为19,807-28,955年;绵羊属内品种间的遗传分化程度(FST<0.05)均低于山羊属内品种间的分化(FST>0.15)。本研究揭示了人工选择对同域家养绵羊与山羊交配系统的形成及群体遗传分化具有深刻的影响。

Morphological characterization and habitat suitability modeling of the goat population of Benin under climate change scenarios

Background:Insufficient knowledge of the genetic and phenotypic diversity in the local Beninese goat population combined with the lack of understanding of its adaptive capacity to ongoing environmental and societal changes hampers the development of strategies for better management and genetic improvement.The objective of this study was to establish the current geographical distribution of goats in Benin based on their morphology and model the potential habitat suitability of the three known main goat phenotypes(i.e.,Djallonkégoat or TypeⅠ,Sahelian goat or TypeⅡ,and their Crossbreeds or TypeⅢ)under climate change scenarios.Ten qualitative and 26 linear body measurements were taken on 2114 adult female goats sampled across the three vegetation zones of the country.Fifteen ratios were generated from the quantitative variables.The data were analyzed using generalized linear model procedures followed by multiple comparisons of least-squares means and multivariate analytical methods,including canonical discrimination analysis and hierarchical ascendant classification.Each goat was then assigned to one of the three aforementioned main goat phenotypes following its morphological characteristics and according to the a priori cluster membership defined in the previous step.The Maximum Entropy algorithm was used to model the current and future distribution of the three goat phenotypes under climate change scenario using the Representative Conservation Pathways 4.5 and 8.5.Results:All linear body measurements varied among vegetation zones.In the discriminant function analysis,71%of the measured individuals were correctly classified in their vegetation zone of origin by seven measured variables and three ratios.The cluster procedure analysis revealed two groups of goats subdivided into the three main phenotypes.The modeling results showed that the currently highly favorable habitats were distributed in the South for TypeⅠ,in the North for TypeⅡ,and both South and North for TypeⅢ.However,under climate change scenarios,the favorable habitats for TypeⅠdecreased while those of TypesⅡandⅢincreased.Conclusions:The results of this study confirm the spatial variation of the goat population in Benin.The habitat suitability model can be used to support decision-making toward better management of goat genetic diversity in Benin.