Abstract
This report is a review of some of the results obtained over the course of 20 years spent investigating hemoglobin phenotypes and the related functional effects on hematological patterns in ruminant breeds. Tests included qualitative and quantitative analyses of hemoglobins and qualitative and quantitative analyses of α and β globins, as well as hemochromocytometric analysis. Understanding the adaptive significance of the hemoglobin variants was the goal of most of these investigations. The advances presented in this review and the previously unpublished findings included here provide evidence that Mediterranean breeds exhibit a fair number of positively charged variants, whose possible adaptive significance is discussed.
Highlights
Southern Italy‟s native farm animals are generally characterized by tolerance to diseases, tolerance to fluctuations in food and water availability, and adaptation to poor management conditions.many of them have experienced a population decline and several are at risk of extinction
Research has progressively turned to focusing on molecular polymorphisms, which seem more suitable for selection and breeding strategies
Hemolysates belonging to 80 Chamois, 183 Garganica and 166 Jonica goats reared on 12 different farms were available after two different experimental trials whose aim was to hematologically characterize Apulian native goat breeds compared to a cosmopolitan breed
Summary
Southern Italy‟s native farm animals are generally characterized by tolerance to diseases, tolerance to fluctuations in food and water availability, and adaptation to poor management conditions. Studying the hematological picture is helpful for clinical diagnostics 4,5 , but it is essential to reflect the particular evolution of a breed or a population; the fact that some blood factors are related to the suitability of the breeds under particular environmental conditions has been repeatedly suggested 6-10. Research has progressively turned to focusing on molecular polymorphisms, which seem more suitable for selection and breeding strategies. Growing attention has been focused on functional genetics, an area that is recurrently included amongst animal breeding research priorities. Southern Italian native livestock are fairly polymorphic at either or both of the alpha and beta globin genes 13-19 ; the variability recorded cannot be reasonably compared with the data in the literature where the results obtained reflect different performances of various analytical procedures. Findings have been reviewed in the light of the functional effects of Hb and the common charged variants emphasized
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