Population validation of reproductive gene mutation loci and association with the litter size in Nubian goat

Candidate genes associated with reproductive traits in rabbits

In the era of scientific advances and genetic progress, opportunities in the livestock sector are constantly growing. The application of molecular-based methods and approaches in farm animal breeding would accelerate and improve the expected results. The current work aims to comprehensively review the most important causative mutations in candidate genes that affect prolificacy traits in rabbits. Rabbits are a source of excellent-tasting meat that is high in protein and low in fat. Their early maturity and intensive growth are highly valued all over the world. However, improving reproductive traits and prolificacy in rabbits could be very tricky with traditional selection. Therefore, traditional breeding programs need new methods based on contemporary discoveries in molecular biology and genetics because of the complexity of the selection process. The study and implementation of genetic markers related to production in rabbits will help to create populations with specific productive traits that will produce the desired results in an extremely short time. Many studies worldwide showed an association between different genes and productive traits in rabbits. The study of these polymorphisms and their effects could be useful for molecular-oriented breeding, particularly marker-assisted selection programs in rabbit breeding.

Association between the cashmere production performance, milk production performance, and body size traits and polymorphism of COL6A5 and LOC102181374 genes in Liaoning cashmere goats

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between COL6A5 (collagen type VI alpha 5 chain) and LOC102181374 (alcohol dehydrogenase 1) genes and the production performance of Liaoning cashmere goats by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). We have searched for SNP loci of COL6A5 and LOC102181374 genes through sequence alignment and PCR experiments, and have used SPSS and SHEsis software to analyze production data. We obtained five SNP loci in total, including three SNP loci (G50985A, G51140T, G51175A) in COL6A5 gene and two SNP loci (A10067G, T10108C) in LOC102181374 gene. The genotypes G50985A (AG), G51140T (GT), G51175A (AA), A10067G (AA), and T10108C (CC) of these loci have certain advantages in improving the production performance of Liaoning cashmere goats. The haplotype combinations that can improve production performance in COL6A5 gene were H1H5:AGGGAG, H4H4:GGGGAA, and H4H4:GGGGAA. H3H3:GGCC and H2H4:AGTT were the dominant combinations in LOC102181374 gene. At G51175A and A10067G loci, we found that H1H2:AAAG and H1H3:AGAA have dominant effects. These results may provide some support for the molecular breeding of production traits in Liaoning cashmere goats.

Study of Local Black Iraqi Goats Genotypes for the Cytb Gene

Goats are the earliest domesticated ruminants. The local goat, Capra hircus, is considered one of the most important animals globally to provide good livestock production under harsh environmental conditions. This study aimed to detect the genetic structures of the local Iraqi goats bred in the central and southern regions of the country and investigate the possibility of benefiting from their genetic structures to construct improvement programs for increasing the productivity of these animals. To this end, blood samples were taken from 15 domestic black goats. A total of 10 ml of each animal's blood was placed in plastic containers of 10 ml. The DNA was extracted and sent to the laboratories of Juan Ju University, People's Republic of China, to analyze the sequences of the nitrogenous bases of the Cytochrome b (Cytb) gene. The results showed the presence of a genetic morphology for a segment of 670 base pairs for all the studied samples, and 15 sequences of this strain were recorded in the gene bank under the following accession numbers (LC496353.1:1-LC496367.1:1). The sequences of the nitrogenous bases of this segment of the gene, which were registered in the gene bank of some international goat breeds, were used for comparison with the sequences of black Iraqi goats to analyze the phylogenetic tree, calculate the genetic distance, study haplotypes, and calculate neutrality. The results showed the presence of one mutation in the studied segment of the Cytb gene, with a size of 670 bp. The mutation in base 46 of the studied gene converted from the purine group to the pyrimidine group (the shift from the nitrogen leaders A Collapse

Key Words

• Iraqi goats genotypes
• local black
• Cytb gene

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MESH Headings

• Humans
• Animals
• Goats/genetics
• Phylogeny
• Cytochromes b/genetics
• Iraq
• Genotype
• Amino Acids/genetics

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Affiliation(s)

J M Owaid Animal Production Department, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
M Y Yousief Animal Production Department, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
A J Abdulrda Animal Production Department, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq
A Y Ayied Animal Production Department, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq

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Applications of Omics Technology for Livestock Selection and Improvement

Conventional animal selection and breeding methods were based on the phenotypic performance of the animals. These methods have limitations, particularly for sex-limited traits and traits expressed later in the life cycle (e.g., carcass traits). Consequently, the genetic gain has been slow with high generation intervals. With the advent of high-throughput omics techniques and the availability of multi-omics technologies and sophisticated analytic packages, several promising tools and methods have been developed to estimate the actual genetic potential of the animals. It has now become possible to collect and access large and complex datasets comprising different genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and phonemics data as well as animal-level data (such as longevity, behavior, adaptation, etc.,), which provides new opportunities to better understand the mechanisms regulating animals’ actual performance. The cost of omics technology and expertise of several fields like biology, bioinformatics, statistics, and computational biology make these technology impediments to its use in some cases. The population size and accurate phenotypic data recordings are other significant constraints for appropriate selection and breeding strategies. Nevertheless, omics technologies can estimate more accurate breeding values (BVs) and increase the genetic gain by assisting the section of genetically superior, disease-free animals at an early stage of life for enhancing animal productivity and profitability. This manuscript provides an overview of various omics technologies and their limitations for animal genetic selection and breeding decisions.