African Sheep Research Articles

Refining the genomic profiles of North African sheep breeds through meta-analysis of worldwide genomic SNP data.

The development of reproducible tools for the rapid genotyping of thousands of genetic markers (SNPs) has promoted cross border collaboration in the study of sheep genetic diversity on a global scale. In this study, we collected a comprehensive dataset of 239 African and Eurasian sheep breeds genotyped at 37,638 filtered SNP markers, with the aim of understanding the genetic structure of 22 North African (NA) sheep breeds within a global context. We revealed asubstantial enrichment of the gene pool between the north and south shores of the Mediterranean Sea, which corroborates the importance of the maritime route in the history of livestock. The genetic structure of North African breeds mirrors the differential composition of genetic backgrounds following the breed history. Indeed, Maghrebin sheep stocks constitute a geographically and historically coherent unit with any breed-level genetic distinctness among them due to considerable gene flow. We detected a broad east-west pattern describing the most important trend in NA fat-tailed populations, exhibited by the genetic closeness of Egyptian and Libyan fat-tailed sheep to Middle Eastern breeds rather than Maghrebin ones. A Bayesian FST scan analysis revealed a set of genes with potentially key adaptive roles in lipid metabolism (BMP2, PDGFD VEGFA, TBX15, and WARS2), coat pigmentation (SOX10, PICK1, PDGFRA, MC1R, and MTIF) and horn morphology RXFP2) in Tunisian sheep. The local ancestry method detected a Merino signature in Tunisian Noire de Thibar sheep near the SULF1gene introgressed by Merino's European breeds. This study will contribute to the general picture of worldwide sheep genetic diversity.

Phenotypic Characterisation of Selected African Sheep Breeds: A Review

Phenotypic Characterisation of Selected African Sheep Breeds: A Review

Assessing the potential of a niche market for wool products in South Africa

<abstract> <p>Ethical consumerism has been on the rise since the early 1900s; thus, increasing discerning consumers. Consumers place greater importance on intangible attributes such as the origin and societal and environmental impacts of the products. Studies focus on agricultural niche marketing in the South African and sub-Saharan context, but none focus on niche markets within the South African sheep wool industry. In this study, we investigated the niche market for local, handmade and socially responsible wool products in South Africa. Our methodology included interviews, a choice-based conjoint analysis and a multinomial logit model. The results revealed that South African high-income consumers preferred locally produced wool products over imported wool products. This was followed by consumers' preferring handmade over machine-made products as well as socially responsible wool products over those that provided no information on social responsibility. The existence of a niche market in South Africa was demonstrated when consumers preferred ethical wool products. We defined consumers' demographic and psychographic factors for a niche market. The findings can assist the South African wool industry and small-scale woolgrowers to identify niche markets for wool products by considering intangible attributes.</p> </abstract>

Assessing the In Vitro and In Vivo Effect of Supplementation with a Garlic (Allium sativum) and Oregano (Origanum vulgare) Essential Oil Mixture on Digestibility in West African Sheep.

This study assessed the impact of a mixture of garlic (Allium sativum) and oregano (Origanum vulgare) essential oils (EOGOs) on in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and in vivo apparent nutrient digestibility. Different EOGO inclusion levels were evaluated to assess the dose response and potential effects of the mixture. Three EOGO inclusion levels (0.5, 0.75, and 1 mL/kg of incubated dry matter) were evaluated in vitro, while four treatments (0.5, 0.75, and 1 mL/day of EOGO and a control group) were tested in vivo on 12 West African sheep. A randomized controlled trial was conducted using a 4 × 4 design. Blood parameters (glucose, blood urea nitrogen, and β-hydroxybutyrate) were measured to observe the effect of EOGO on the metabolism. The results showed that the inclusion of EOGO significantly enhanced IVDMD at low levels (p < 0.052) compared with the highest levels in treatments containing 0.5 and 0.75 mL/kg of EOGO dry matter. A higher intake of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (p < 0.05) was observed in the in vivo diets with the inclusion of EOGO. In terms of in vivo apparent digestibility, significant differences were found among treatments in the digestibility coefficients of DM, CP, and NDF. EOGO inclusion increased the digestibility of DM. CP digestibility displayed a cubic effect (p < 0.038), with the lowest values of digestibility observed at 1 mL EOGO inclusion. Additionally, NDF digestibility showed a cubic effect (p < 0.012), with the highest value obtained at 0.75 mL of EOGO inclusion. The inclusion levels above 0.75 mL EOGO showed a cubic effect, which indicates that higher concentrations of EOGO may not be beneficial for the digestibility of CP and NDF. Although no significant difference was observed in total digestible nutrients, a linear trend was observed (p < 0.059). EOGO improved the intake of DM, CP, and NDF. EOGO supplementation improved the digestibility of DM and NDF, with optimal levels observed at 0.5 mL/day. No significant effects were observed in the blood parameters. These results suggest that EOGO has the potential as an additive in ruminal nutrition to improve food digestibility and serve as an alternative to antibiotic additives. The use of EOGO potentially improves fiber digestion and may reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock production. Garlic (A. sativum) and oregano (O. vulgare) essential oils effectively modulated fiber digestibility at 0.75 mL/day. Garlic (A. sativum) and oregano (O. vulgare) essential oils have the potential to improve digestibility at low inclusion levels and serve as an alternative to antibiotic additives. The effectiveness of essential oils is greater in a mixture and at lower doses.

Modelling and predicting fat deposition rates in various South African sheep crosses using ultrasound technology

Producers require an accurate predictive tool that can determine the optimal point of slaughter based on fat depth. The modelling of fat deposition with a simple mathematical model could supply in this need. Dohne Merino and Merino ewes were crossed with Dorper, Dormer and Ile de France rams or rams of their own breeds to create two purebred (Dohne Merino and Merino) and six crossbred groups (Dohne x Dorper, Dohne x Dormer, Dohne x Ile de France, Merino x Dorper, Merino x Dormer and Merino x Ile de France) of offspring. Fat deposition of four lambs of each sex per genotypic group was monitored from 80 to 360 days using ultrasound, and the data subsequently fitted to various equations and evaluated for goodness of fit. A linear fitting of fat depth to age (R2 > 0.77) and live weight (R2 > 0.56) were deemed to provide the best fit. The slope parameters of the equations indicated that ewes deposited fat faster than rams and that Dorper crosses had the highest fat deposition rate. An attempt was also made to model loin muscle growth, but the model fit was judged to be unsatisfactory. The predictive models developed here are deemed suitable for inclusion in feedlot management systems to aid in the production of optimally classified lamb carcasses.

Genetic polymorphism in European and African sheep breeds reared in Hungary based on 48 SNPs associated with resistance to gastrointestinal parasite infection using KASP-PCR technique

This pilot study used an alternative and economically efficient technique, the Kompetitive Allele-Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (KASP-PCR) to examine 48 SNPs from 11 parasite-resistance genes found on 8 chromosomes in 110 animals from five sheep breeds reared in Hungary; Hungarian Tsigai, White Dorper, Dorper, Ile de France, and Hungarian Merino. Allele and genotype frequencies, fixation index, observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, F statistic, and their relationship with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (WHE) and the polymorphic information content (PIC) were determined, followed by principal component analysis (PCA). As much as 32 SNPs out of the 48 initially studied were successfully genotyped. A total of 9 SNPs, 4 SNPs in TLR5, 1 SNP in TLR8, and 4 SNPs in TLR2 genes, were polymorphic. The variable genotype and allele frequency of the TLRs gene indicated genetic variability among the studied sheep breeds, with the Hungarian Merino exhibiting the most polymorphisms, while Dorper was the population with the most SNPs departing from the HWE. According to the PIC value, the rs430457884-TLR2, rs55631273-TLR2, and rs416833129-TLR5 were found to be informative in detecting polymorphisms among individuals within the populations, whereas the rs429546187-TLR5 and rs424975389-TLR5 were found to have a significant influence in clustering the population studied. This study reported a moderate level of genetic variability and that a low to moderate within-breed diversity was maintained in the studied populations.

Genetic polymorphism of the BMP15 gene in West African sheep (Fulani) breed in Sudan

Genetic polymorphism studies in domestic animals aim at assessing genetic variations within and across breeds mainly for preservation purposes. The bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP 15) gene is a growth factor and a member of the transforming growth factor (TGFβ) superfamily specifically expressed in oocytes. One of the very exciting and perhaps crucial actions of BMP-15 is its ability to inhibit Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) receptor expression. The West African sheep originated in the West African republics. Three strains were named after a person (Omer Uda) conveyed to Sudan in 1930. These breeds include (Uda, Sankara, and Weila) strains. They are habitually raised to gather as mixed pastoral flocks and trailed altered paths during the summer and autumn. Genetic polymorphism of the BMP 15 gene in Sudanese sheep is not reported. Consequently, this work aimed to study the genetic polymorphism in BMP-15 in West African sheep breeds. Blood samples were taken from thirty ewes of West African sheep. DNA samples were isolated from blood samples using the Guanidine chloroform method, and the quality of the DNA was checked on 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. Mutation in the BMP15 gene was screened using the forced PCR-RFLP technique. The fundamental discovery of the present study was the nonexistence of polymorphism at the BMP15 gene in West African sheep. The nucleotide sequence of the PCR product (141 bp) revealed that the C nucleotide has not changed to T at this locus (C-T) of the BMP15 gene in all samples.

Technological differences in South African sheep production: a stochastic meta-frontier analysis

ABSTRACT This study compared four South African sheep producing districts relative to each other and a common metafrontier to analyse within and between group efficiency and explored what could be learnt from this technique compared to simple frontiers. A sample was compiled from sources that were previously successfully used in local benchmarking exercises, and despite very modest sample sizes at the group level and minimal information on how groups differ, the group models performed adequately while the meta-model performed very well. The results revealed that while within group performances were comparable across districts, there were huge differences in between group performance. These differences are partly attributable to natural resource endowments, but institutional arrangements also contribute significantly to local success. This suggests that to achieve rural regeneration public–private partnerships are necessary to address this issue. State support is insufficient and producer organisations have a major role in promoting institutional innovation.

Physicochemical, volatile compounds, oxidative and sensory profiles of the Longissimus muscle of six South African sheep breeds

Context The scarcity of water and feed for sheep is a characteristic feature in the dryland areas of South Africa, and adversely affects meat production and quality. To address this challenge, breeds with high water, feed and production efficiencies must be used to produce meat of desirable quality. Aim The study aimed to compare physicochemical, volatile compounds, oxidative and sensory profiles of the Longissimus muscle from selected South African sheep breeds raised under intensive feeding conditions. Methods Physicochemical, oxidative, volatile compounds and sensory profiles of the Longissimus muscle from lambs of indigenous (Damara, n = 10; Pedi, n = 8), indigenous composite (Dorper, n = 10; Meatmaster, n = 9) and exotic composite (Dohne Merino, n = 10; South African Merino, n = 10) breeds that were penned individually and fed a lamb-finishing diet ad libitum over a 42-day test period were evaluated. Results Dohne Merino had the highest intramuscular fat content, whereas Damara and Pedi had the lowest (P ≤ 0.05). Meat lightness increased over time, with Pedi having the highest values on Day 7 of retail display at 4°C, followed by the Merinos (P ≤ 0.05). On Day 7, meat from the Merinos had the highest lipid oxidation values, whereas Damara and Pedi had the lowest (P ≤ 0.05). The lowest meat protein oxidation values on Day 7 were recorded for the Meatmaster, followed by Dohne Merino (P ≤ 0.05). Relative to the other breeds, Dohne Merino had the greatest concentrations of alcohols, aldehydes and acidic volatile compounds, and the lowest concentrations of esters (P ≤ 0.05). In addition, the Merinos had meat that was slightly more tender and juicy (P ≤ 0.05) than that of Damara and Dorper. Conclusions Even though indigenous breeds produced meat with comparable oxidative shelf-life and sensory quality attributes to composite breeds under intensive feeding conditions, they had leaner meat than the later breeds. Implications The observed variations in meat physicochemical and oxidative shelf-life parameters allow producers to select breeds that are best suited to their production systems, resources and market requirements.

Natural adaptation and human selection of northeast African sheep genomes

African sheep manifest diverse but distinct physio-anatomical traits, which are the outcomes of natural- and human-driven selection. Here, we generated 34.8 million variants from 150 indigenous northeast African sheep genomes sequenced at an average depth of ∼54× for 130 samples (Ethiopia, Libya) and ∼20× for 20 samples (Sudan). These represented sheep from diverse environments, tail morphology and post-Neolithic introductions to Africa. Phylogenetic and model-based admixture analysis provided evidence of four genetic groups corresponding to altitudinal geographic origins, tail morphotypes and possible historical introduction and dispersal of the species into and across the continent. Running admixture at higher levels of K (6 ≤ K ≤ 25), revealed cryptic levels of genome intermixing as well as distinct genetic backgrounds in some populations. Comparative genomic analysis identified targets of selection that spanned conserved haplotype structures overlapping clusters of genes and gene families. These were related to hypoxia responses, ear morphology, caudal vertebrae and tail skeleton length, and tail fat-depot structures. Our findings provide novel insights underpinning morphological variation and response to human-driven selection and environmental adaptation in African indigenous sheep.

Meat production, feed and water efficiencies of selected South African sheep breeds

The study compared water intake, balance and efficiency, nutrient intake, digestibility and utilisation, growth performance, carcass attributes and income over feed costs for six South African sheep breeds; Pedi, Damara, Meatmaster, Dorper, Dohne Merino and Merino. Wether lambs (4–5 mo) were adapted to a pelleted total mixed diet containing 143.5 g crude protein/ kg DM and 10.29 MJ/ kg DM metabolisable energy for 21 d followed by 7 d and 42 d of digestibility and performance data collection, respectively. Water and nutrient intakes were lowest in Pedi and highest in Meatmaster (P ≤ 0.05). Compared to other breeds, Damara and Meatmaster had higher (P ≤ 0.05) DM digestibility, nitrogen balance and average daily gain, while Dorper and Damara had higher (P ≤ 0.05) neutral detergent fibre and ether extract digestibility, respectively. Pedi had lower (P ≤ 0.05) water balance than the rest of the breeds. Water and feed conversion ratios were lowest for the Pedi and Damara and highest for Dohne Merino (P ≤ 0.05). Damara and Pedi had lower (P ≤ 0.05) dressing percentages, hot and cold carcass weights than the other breeds. The lowest and highest income over feed costs were reported for Pedi and Dohne Merino, respectively. It was concluded that although Damara and Pedi had the most inferior meat production attributes, they were the most feed and water efficient breeds.

The Genetic Assessment of South African Nguni Sheep Breeds Using the Ovine 50K Chip

The indigenous sheep breeds of South Africa, such as the Nguni, are well adapted to different ecological regions throughout the country. This has resulted into different ecotypes. However, it is not clear if the differences among Nguni sheep are genetically distinct. The present study aimed to use the latest technology to assess the genetic relationship between Nguni sheep ecotypes and the relationship to other selected South African breeds using SNP markers. In the current study, 144 South African sheep samples (75 Nguni sheep and 69 mixed-breed sheep as a reference) were genotyped using the OvineSNP50 Bead Chip assay from Illumina. The Nguni consisted of 25 Pedi, 25 Swazi, and 25 Zulu sheep, with the reference group comprising 25 Namaqua, 23 Dorper, and 21 Damara sheep. After quality control of 54,241 SNPs, 48,429 SNPs remained for analysis (MAF &gt; 0.05). There were genetic differences in the Nguni sheep population; notably, the Zulu and Swazi populations clustered together, but with a clear distinction from the Pedi ecotype. Genetic admixtures were detected in the Damara and Dorper sheep. This is most likely a consequence of recent intermixing between indigenous and commercial breeds. The levels of genetic diversity within individual types were generally lower compared to commercial breeds. This study revealed an understanding regarding genetic variation within and among indigenous sheep breeds, which can be used as baseline information for establishing conservation and breeding programmes.

Breeding of African sheep reared under low-input/output smallholder production systems for trypanotolerance.

Trypanosomiasis is a disease caused by unicellular protozoan parasites. Small ruminants succumb to trypanosomiasis in areas of high tsetse fly challenge, resulting in serious economic loss often to farmers in low-input smallholder systems. At present, trypanosomiasis is treated with trypanocidal drugs, but access to these can be limited, and increasing parasite resistance raises questions about their efficacy. The development of trypanotolerance in small ruminant flocks through targeted breeding strategies is considered a sustainable and economical option for controlling African trypanosomiasis. Recently, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with trypanotolerance traits in sheep have been reported. The results of these studies form the basis for more studies to identify QTLs associated with trypanosomiasis resistance, particularly in African livestock species. For example, signatures of positive selection for trypanotolerance have been identified using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism data. However, there are several challenges in performing genetic analyses using data from low-input smallholder systems, including a lack of recorded pedigree and production records and the need for large sample sizes when flock sizes are often fewer than 50 animals. Breeding strategies to improve trypanotolerance should also preserve existing genetic diversity as well as minimize excessive genetic introgression by trypanosusceptible breeds. This review discusses the possibilities of breeding for trypanosome tolerance/resistance in low-input/low-output small ruminant production systems. Potential challenges are outlined, and potential available genetic resources are described as a foundation for future work.

Producer prices, carcass classification and consumers’ willingness to pay for different sheep meat grades: an experimental auction approach

ABSTRACT South African sheep farmers receive different prices for animals of different age, carcass form and fat level. Older animals trade at a substantive discount to the younger animals due to the perceived tenderness and juiciness of the younger animal. There is however a question whether the size of the discount is warranted given that certain cuts from older animals are preferred by consumers for specific purposes. This paper applies an experimental auction combined with sensory tests to establish the consumers’ willingness to pay for sheep meat products from carcasses with different age categories. In this way the paper endeavours to test whether the price differentiation in the mind of the consumer (through its perceived intrinsic value) corresponds with the price differentiation at the abattoir level. Consumers’ sensory assessment results and average bid prices via the experimental auction indicated a difference in preference towards the three age classes for the stew meat, loin, and leg cuts respectively. The results validate previous results with trained panels and confirm the specific consumer preferences for specific cuts of different age categories. It was also found that the difference in the bids for different age categories was far smaller than the difference in abattoir prices for the different age categories.

Using ultrasound to predict fat deposition in growing lambs of different South African sheep breed types

Subcutaneous fat (SF) and Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle (LM) depths of growing lambs from six breeds were monitored. Ram and ewe lambs from Dohne Merino, Dormer, Dorper, Meatmaster, South African Mutton Merino and White Dorper breeds were reared together under optimal feedlot management conditions and were subjected to ultrasound scans every fortnight from the point when the lambs attained 20 kg body weight up until 300 days of age. Exponential and linear functions were fitted to describe the change in SF depth, using body weight and age respectively, while the power curve was fitted to describe the change in LM depth. Moderate to good fits were achieved for the models describing the increase in SF depth of the various production groups with weight (R2 = 0.48–0.72) or age (R2 = 0.53–0.78) as predictor. These curves showed that hair sheep breeds are early maturing relative to wool sheep breeds, and should thus be slaughtered at lower live weights to achieve uniform levels of carcass fatness.

Maternal Relationships among Ancient and Modern Southern African Sheep: Newly Discovered Mitochondrial Haplogroups.

Simple SummaryThe genetic diversity of southern African sheep remains under-studied. We present here the complete mitochondrial genomes of archaeological southern African sheep, as well as the genomes from three indigenous southern African breeds—Damara, Namaqua Afrikaner, and Ronderib Afrikaner. We show that southern African sheep exhibit limited genetic diversity which is consistent with our understanding of their migration south from northernmost Africa. Intriguingly, many of the modern sheep show close relationships with the archaeological sheep, implying an ancestor-descendant relationship. Similarly, the sheep that do not exhibit a close relationship with the archaeological sheep nonetheless cluster closely with each other and do not show a close relationship with European and Asian sheep. This suggests that they too are descendants of indigenous sheep and not the product of historic introductions of exotic breeds.We investigated the genetic diversity and historic relationships among southern African sheep as well as the relationships between them and sheep outside the continent by sourcing both archaeological and modern sheep samples. Archaeological sheep samples derived from the site Die Kelders 1, near Cape Town, date to approximately 1500 years ago. The modern samples were taken as ear snips from Damara, Namaqua Afrikaner, and Ronderib Afrikaner sheep on a farm in Prieska in the Northern Cape. Illumina sequencing libraries were constructed for both ancient and modern specimens. Ancient specimens were enriched for the mitochondrial genome using an in-solution hybridization protocol and modern specimens were subjected to shotgun sequencing. Sequences were mapped to the Ovis aries reference genome, assigned to haplogroups and subhaplogroups, and used to calculate a phylogenetic tree using previously published, geographically dispersed mitochondrial genome sheep sequences. Genetic diversity statistics show that southern African sheep have lower diversity than sheep in other regions. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that many modern southern African sheep are likely descended from prehistoric indigenous sheep populations and not from sheep imported from Europe during the historic period.

Genome variation in tick infestation and cryptic divergence in Tunisian indigenous sheep

BackgroundTicks are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites considered second to mosquitos as vectors and reservoirs of multiple pathogens of global concern. Individual variation in tick infestation has been reported in indigenous sheep, but its genetic control remains unknown.ResultsHere, we report 397 genome-wide signatures of selection overlapping 991 genes from the analysis, using ROH, LR-GWAS, XP-EHH, and FST, of 600 K SNP genotype data from 165 Tunisian sheep showing high and low levels of tick infestations and piroplasm infections. We consider 45 signatures that are detected by consensus results of at least two methods as high-confidence selection regions. These spanned 104 genes which included immune system function genes, solute carriers and chemokine receptor. One region spanned STX5, that has been associated with tick resistance in cattle, implicating it as a prime candidate in sheep. We also observed RAB6B and TF in a high confidence candidate region that has been associated with growth traits suggesting natural selection is enhancing growth and developmental stability under tick challenge. The analysis also revealed fine-scale genome structure indicative of cryptic divergence in Tunisian sheep.ConclusionsOur findings provide a genomic reference that can enhance the understanding of the genetic architecture of tick resistance and cryptic divergence in indigenous African sheep.

The genomic structure of isolation across breed, country and strain for important South African and Australian sheep populations

BackgroundSouth Africa and Australia shares multiple important sheep breeds. For some of these breeds, genomic breeding values are provided to breeders in Australia, but not yet in South Africa. Combining genomic resources could facilitate development for across country selection, but the influence of population structures could be important to the compatability of genomic data from varying origins. The genetic structure within and across breeds, countries and strains was evaluated in this study by population genomic parameters derived from SNP-marker data. Populations were first analysed by breed and country of origin and then by subpopulations of South African and Australian Merinos.ResultsMean estimated relatedness according to the genomic relationship matrix varied by breed (-0.11 to 0.16) and bloodline (-0.08 to 0.06) groups and depended on co-ancestry as well as recent genetic links. Measures of divergence across bloodlines (FST: 0.04–0.12) were sometimes more distant than across some breeds (FST: 0.05–0.24), but the divergence of common breeds from their across-country equivalents was weak (FST: 0.01–0.04). According to mean relatedness, FST, PCA and Admixture, the Australian Ultrafine line was better connected to the SA Cradock Fine Wool flock than with other AUS bloodlines. Levels of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between adjacent markers was generally low, but also varied across breeds (r2: 0.14–0.22) as well as bloodlines (r2: 0.15–0.19). Patterns of LD decay was also unique to breeds, but bloodlines differed only at the absolute level. Estimates of effective population size (Ne) showed genetic diversity to be high for the majority of breeds (Ne: 128–418) but also for bloodlines (Ne: 137–369).ConclusionsThis study reinforced the genetic complexity and diversity of important sheep breeds, especially the Merino breed. The results also showed that implications of isolation can be highly variable and extended beyond breed structures. However, knowledge of useful links across these population substructures allows for a fine-tuned approach in the combination of genomic resources. Isolation across country rarely proved restricting compared to other structures considered. Consequently, research into the accuracy of across-country genomic prediction is recommended.

Genetic diversity of the Cameroon Western Highlands’ Djallonke sheep assessed by Mitochondrial d-loop

Indigenous livestock resources are strategic in the socio-economic of rural agricultural systems to ensure food and nutritional security in resource-poor countries. In Cameroon, small ruminant farming significantly contributes to food security and income generation. Given its great ecological variety, Cameroon hosts a large genetic diversity of sheep, but the knowledge on these is scanty. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the genetic diversity of Cameroon's Ovine genetic resources for their better use and conservation, an analysis of the Djallonke sheep genetic diversity based on the D loop of the ovine mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was performed on the highlands of West Cameroon Djallonke breed. To achieve this, analyses of 16 sequences of a 989bp fragment of the mtDNA D-loop region from the population were conducted in conjunction with previously published sequences from African, European, Japanese and Chinese ovine genotypes. Fourteen haplotypes were observed with a high mean haplotype diversity of 1.0000±0.027, nucleotide diversity (π) of order of 0.11082±0.062. The average nucleotide difference between sequences taken two by two was 62.945. Population specific FST indices showed a negative and significant result for the whole data set. The phylogenetic tree indicates that the mitochondrial lineages of these sheep breeds originated from a common source, the Haplogroup B. This confirms the hypothesis that the domestication of African sheep was carried out in successive waves from Asia. The results of this study contribute to the knowledge of Cameroon sheep breeds and the plan conservation programs on Djallonke sheep.

Performance, blood chemistry, carcass and economic evaluation of sheep on dietary supplements of cabbage and carrot wastes

The study was conducted to determine the effect of cabbage and carrot wastes supplementation on performance, blood chemistry, carcass and economic evaluation of sheep. Twenty four West African dwarf male sheep of about 8 – 9 months old with average initial weight of 9.00 ± 0.94kg were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments with six sheep per treatment, in a completely randomized design. The sheep received 60% guinea grass and 40% concentrate diet for TD1 (control group), while 50% guinea grass and 40% concentrate diet with either 10% cabbage waste, 5% cabbage plus 5% carrot wastes or 10% carrot waste were for diets TD2, TD3 and TD4 respectively. The results showed that sheep on TD1 were significantly (p&lt;0.05) higher in feed conversion ratio, creatinine, urea, rumen with intestine and total fixed cost. Diet TD2 was significantly (p&lt;0.05) improved in daily weight gain, digestibility of dry matter, crude protein with fiber and nitrogen free extract, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, white blood cell, lymphocyte, neutrophil, total protein, albumin, glucose, dressing percentage, sale of sheep, total revenue and net profit. Red blood cell, cholesterol and triglyceride were increased significantly (p&lt;0.05) in TD3, while daily feed intake, digestibility of ash, feed cost and total variable cost were better in TD4. Meanwhile, no significant difference (p&gt;0.05) was found in initial body weight, ether extract digestibility, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, monocyte, eosinophil, basophil, globulin and some relative organs weight among sheep on treatments. It can be concluded that inclusion level of 10% cabbage waste as supplement to 50% guinea grass and 40% concentrate diet (TD2) improved performance, health status and carcass indices of sheep with reduced cost that resulted in higher net profit.