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Iglesias Pastrana C, Navas González FJ, Macri M, Martínez Martínez MDA, Ciani E, Delgado Bermejo JV. Identification of novel genetic loci related to dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) morphometrics, biomechanics, and behavior by genome-wide association studies. BMC Vet Res 2024; 20:418. [PMID: 39294626 PMCID: PMC11409489 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-024-04263-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 09/03/2024] [Indexed: 09/21/2024] Open
Abstract
In the realm of animal breeding for sustainability, domestic camels have traditionally been valued for their milk and meat production. However, key aspects such as zoometrics, biomechanics, and behavior have often been overlooked in terms of their genetic foundations. Recognizing this gap, the present study perfomed genome-wide association analyses to identify genetic markers associated with zoometrics-, biomechanics-, and behavior-related traits in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). 16 and 108 genetic markers were significantly associated (q < 0.05) at genome and chromosome-wide levels of significance, respectively, with zoometrics- (width, length, and perimeter/girth), biomechanics- (acceleration, displacement, spatial position, and velocity), and behavior-related traits (general cognition, intelligence, and Intelligence Quotient (IQ)) in dromedaries. In most association loci, the nearest protein-coding genes are linkedto neurodevelopmental and sensory disorders. This suggests that genetic variations related to neural development and sensory perception play crucial roles in shaping a dromedary camel's physical characteristics and behavior. In summary, this research advances our understanding of the genomic basis of essential traits in dromedary camels. Identifying specific genetic markers associated with zoometrics, biomechanics, and behavior provides valuable insights into camel domestication. Moreover, the links between these traits and genes related to neurodevelopmental and sensory disorders highlight the broader implications of domestication and modern selection on the health and welfare of dromedary camels. This knowledge could guide future breeding strategies, fostering a more holistic approach to camel husbandry and ensuring the sustainability of these animals in diverse agricultural contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Martina Macri
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
- Animal Breeding Consulting S.L, Parque Científico Tecnológico de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | | | - Elena Ciani
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bari 'Aldo Moro', Bari, Italy
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Djenane D, Aider M. The one-humped camel: The animal of future, potential alternative red meat, technological suitability and future perspectives. F1000Res 2024; 11:1085. [PMID: 38798303 PMCID: PMC11128057 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.125246.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The 2020 world population data sheet indicates that world population is projected to increase from 7.8 billion in 2020 to 9.9 billion by 2050 (Increase of more than 25%). Due to the expected growth in human population, the demand for meats that could improve health status and provide therapeutic benefits is also projected to rise. The dromedary also known as the Arabian camel, or one-humped camel ( Camelus dromedarius), a pseudo ruminant adapted to arid climates, has physiological, biological and metabolic characteristics which give it a legendary reputation for surviving in the extreme conditions of desert environments considered restrictive for other ruminants. Camel meat is an ethnic food consumed across the arid regions of Middle East, North-East Africa, Australia and China. For these medicinal and nutritional benefits, camel meat can be a great option for sustainable meat worldwide supply. A considerable amount of literature has been published on technological aspects and quality properties of beef, lamb and pork but the information available on the technological aspects of the meat of the one humped camel is very limited. Camels are usually raised in less developed countries and their meat is as nutritionally good as any other traditional meat source. Its quality also depends on the breed, sex, age, breeding conditions and type of muscle consumed. A compilation of existing literature related to new technological advances in packaging, shelf-life and quality of camel meat has not been reviewed to the best of our knowledge. Therefore, this review attempts to explore the nutritional composition, health benefits of camel meat, as well as various technological and processing interventions to improve its quality and consumer acceptance. This review will be helpful for camel sector and highlight the potential for global marketability of camel meat and to generate value added products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Djamel Djenane
- Laboratory of Meat Quality and Food Safety, Department of Meat Science and Technology., University of Mouloud MAMMERI, Tizi-Ouzou, 15000, Algeria
| | - Mohammed Aider
- Department of Soil Sciences and Agri-Food Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods (INAF), Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
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El-Bahy MM, Kamel NO, Auda HM, Ramadan RM. A smart economic way to control camel parasites and improve camel production in Egypt. Exp Parasitol 2023; 255:108650. [PMID: 37914150 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2023.108650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Treatment of the parasites in camels strategically by administration of the specific drugs (Ivomec 1% SC injection, Amprolium hydrochloride orally, Naganol SC injection and Deltamethrin, poure on) at a specially selected time concerning the transmission season of Nematodes, Coccidia, Trypanosoma, Ticks & mite infection respectively causes relief to the animal from the stress of the parasite, minimizes the number of eggs shedding, and improves its general health conditions. However, the present study designed and applied three selected treatment regimes to 300 parasitically infected and controlled camels in Middle Egypt. The first regime was performed by treating animals two times/year during the peak of infection; the first was in April against internal parasites, and in July against external parasites. The second program was conducted by treating animals three times/year; the first was in March against early-arrived internal parasites, the second was in June against external and internal ones, and the third treatment was in August against the rest of the external parasites. Furthermore, the last suggested regime was applied by applying 4 treatments/year: the first was in February against the internal parasites, the second was in May against the early infection by external parasites as well as the remaining internal parasites, and the third was in July against the external parasite. The fourth treatment was in September to eradicate the remaining internal parasite and keep the animal parasite-free during winter. Treatment was applied to the whole flock; however, the movement of treated and control animals was restricted. The study proved a significant decrease in the incidence and level of parasite burden in animals that received 3 and 4 treatments/year, associated with marked improvement in the mean body score, blood parameters, and rate of pregnancy and its related hormones, as well as enhancement in liver and kidney function parameters. The selection of 3 or 4 treatment regimens will be evaluated concerning their economic cost and total income after another year after each protocol's end.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed M El-Bahy
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, 12211, Giza, Egypt
| | - Nancy O Kamel
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, 6th October University, Egypt
| | - Hend M Auda
- Department of Veterinary Infectious & Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt
| | - Reem M Ramadan
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, 12211, Giza, Egypt.
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Using the artificial bee colony technique to optimize machine learning algorithms in estimating the mature weight of camels. Trop Anim Health Prod 2023; 55:86. [PMID: 36800125 DOI: 10.1007/s11250-023-03501-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
This paper aims to predict male and female camels' mature weight (MW) through various morphological traits using hybrid machine learning (ML) algorithms. For this aim, biometrical measurements such as birth weight (BW), length of face (FL), length of the neck (NL), a girth of the heart (HG), body length (BL), withers height (WH), and hind leg length (HLL) were used to estimate the mature weight for eight camel breeds of Pakistan. In this study, multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) were applied to develop prediction models. Furthermore, the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is employed to optimize ML models' internal parameters and improve prediction accuracy. The predictive performance of ML and hybrid models was evaluated on a testing dataset using goodness-of-fit measures such as mean absolute deviation (MAD), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), coefficient of determination (R2), and root mean square error (RMSE). The results of the study revealed the ABC-SVM model was the best predictive model. The experimental results of this study showed that the proposed ABC-SVM method could effectively improve the accuracy for MW prediction of camels, thus having a research and practical value.
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Akhmetsadykova S, Shertay E, Konuspayeva G, Torekhanov A, Faye B. Phenotypic biodiversity characterization of dromedary camels and hybrids in Kazakhstan. Trop Anim Health Prod 2023; 55:79. [PMID: 36781704 DOI: 10.1007/s11250-023-03496-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Kazakhstan is one of the rare camel countries with rich camel biodiversity where different dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, and hybrid types are cohabiting at the same territories during centuries. Several data on phenotype biodiversity of local camels are available, mostly published during Soviet Union time using few body quantitative measurements. Unfortunately, those data are not sufficient to place the local breeds among the world camel population. The aim of this study was to describe detailed phenotype parameters of dromedary camels and hybrids in Kazakhstan and to compare our animals with the other camel populations in the world. As the whole, six camel farms were visited, located in different regions of southern Kazakhstan. In total, 185 female camels (Aruana breed camels and hybrids) were described by the phenotype questionnaire. There was a significant effect of "breed" on the different parameters except udder depth and body length. Most of the measurements were lower in Aruana compared to hybrids. The discriminating factorial analysis confirmed the clear separation between the breed based on their body measurements with a total of 95% of well-classed. The main discriminating parameters (allowing distinguishing the populations) were in the order: (i) the length of the head, (ii) the neck length, (iii) the neck circumference, (iv) the teat length, and (v) the udder length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shynar Akhmetsadykova
- LLP «Kazakh Research Institute for Livestock and Fodder Production», Camel Breeding Department, 51, Zhandosov Str., 050035, Almaty, Kazakhstan.,Research and Production Enterprise "ANTIGEN" Co Ltd, Biochemistry Department, 4, Azerbayeva Str., Abai Village, Almaty Region, 050409, Karasai District, Kazakhstan
| | - Ersultan Shertay
- LLP «Kazakh Research Institute for Livestock and Fodder Production», Camel Breeding Department, 51, Zhandosov Str., 050035, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Gaukhar Konuspayeva
- LLP «Kazakh Research Institute for Livestock and Fodder Production», Camel Breeding Department, 51, Zhandosov Str., 050035, Almaty, Kazakhstan. .,Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Biotechnology Department, 71 Al-Farabi Avenue, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan.
| | - Aibyn Torekhanov
- LLP «Kazakh Research Institute for Livestock and Fodder Production», Camel Breeding Department, 51, Zhandosov Str., 050035, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Bernard Faye
- Agronomic research and international cooperation organization for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions - CIRAD, Campus International de Baillarguet, 34398, Cedex 5, Montpellier, France
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Yakubu A, Okpeku M, Shoyombo AJ, Onasanya GO, Dahloum L, Çelik S, Oladepo A. Exploiting morphobiometric and genomic variability of African indigenous camel populations-A review. Front Genet 2022; 13:1021685. [PMID: 36579332 PMCID: PMC9791103 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1021685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Africa are adapted to arid and the semi-arid environmental conditions, and are valuable for meat, milk and fiber production. On account of the growing demand for camels in this continent, there is a need for knowledge on their phenotypic and genetic diversity. This is fundamental to sustainable herd management and utilization including the design of appropriate breeding and conservation strategies. We reviewed studies on the phenotypic and genetic characterization, breeding objectives, systems of production, productive and reproductive performances, and pathways for the sustainable rearing and use of camels in Africa. The morphological and genetic diversity, productive and reproductive abilities of African camels suggest the existence of genetic variations that can be utilized for breeds/ecotypes' genetic improvement and conservation. Possible areas of intervention include the establishment of open nucleus and community-based breeding schemes and utilization of modern reproductive technologies for the genetic improvement of milk and meat yields, sustainable management of rangelands, capacity building of the pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, institutional supports, formation of centralized conservation centres and efficient and effective marketing systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulmojeed Yakubu
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, Shabu-Lafia Campus, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria
| | - Moses Okpeku
- Discipline of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | | | - Gbolabo O. Onasanya
- Department of Animal Science, Federal University Dutse, Dutse, Nigeria
- Deparment of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, India
| | - Lahouari Dahloum
- Départment of Agronomy, Faculty of Natural Science and Life, Abdelhamid Ibn Badis, University, Mostaganem, Algeria
| | - Senol Çelik
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bingöl University, Bingöl, Turkey
| | - Abolade Oladepo
- Discipline of Genetics, School of Life Sciences, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
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Nowier AM, Ramadan SI. Association of β-casein gene polymorphism with milk composition traits of Egyptian Maghrebi camels ( Camelus dromedarius). Arch Anim Breed 2020; 63:493-500. [PMID: 33473374 PMCID: PMC7810228 DOI: 10.5194/aab-63-493-2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to detect the polymorphism of 2126A/G
SNP in the β-casein (CSN2) gene among Egyptian Maghrebi camels and
to investigate the association of 2126A/G SNP genotypes, parity,
lactation stage, and temperature–humidity index (THI) with the milk
composition traits of Maghrebi camels. Sixty-eight hair samples were
collected from three different populations of Maghrebi camels for DNA
extraction. Fat, protein, total solids, solids-not-fat, and lactose
percentages were determined in Maghrebi camel milk using an automatic milk
analyzer device. Three different genotypes – A/A, A/G, and G/G – were identified
in the 5′ flanking region of β-casein gene by using PCR-RFLP
method with the A/G genotype showing the highest frequency. Association
among these three genotypes with milk composition traits suggests a positive
effect of A/A genotype on acidity and protein percentage. Higher protein and
acidity values were observed in the milk of individuals carrying the A/A
genotype. The protein percentage of this study significantly increased from
the first till the fourth parity and then decreased. Fat and total solid
percentages were significantly higher in the late stage of lactation, while
lactose showed a decreasing trend from the early till the late stages of
lactation. Fat and protein percentages were highest in the low THI class.
Our results encourage the utilization of Maghrebi camel milk for cheese and
butter processing at the late lactation stages of the middle parities of
their productive life. Moreover, the A/G SNP of the CSN2 gene may be used as a
DNA marker in selection programs for the improvement of camel milk
composition. Further studies are needed in order to fully explore the
variation in the chemical composition of camel milk due to the effect of
CSN2 gene, parity, lactation stage, and THI factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amira M Nowier
- Biotechnology Research Department, Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Dokki, Egypt
| | - Sherif I Ramadan
- Animal Wealth Development Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Toukh, Egypt
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