Composition Of Sheep Research Articles

Impact of wheat processing on growth, serum biochemistry, and ruminal microbiota in sheep (Ovis aries)

This study investigated the impact of wheat processing methods (wheat flour vs wheat pellets) on the growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, and rumen microbiome composition in sheep. Results indicated that feeding of wheat flour resulted in significantly higher terminal weight and average daily gain (P < 0.05) and lower cholesterol and ALP04 levels (P < 0.05) in sheep compared to those fed wheat pellets. Analysis of 16s rDNA high-throughput sequencing data revealed significantly higher microbial richness (Chao1 index) in the rumen of sheep fed wheat flour (P < 0.05), even though the phylum-level composition dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria was similar in both groups of sheep. Notably, sheep fed wheat flour were found to have a significantly higher relative abundance of Bacteroidetes (P < 0.05). At the genus level, Succinivibrionaceae_UCG-001 and Prevotella_1 were significantly more abundant in the rumen of sheep fed wheat flour (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis identified that both terminal weight and average daily gain were positively correlated with ruminal abundance of Bacteroidetes and Prevotella_1, while ALP04 was negatively correlated with the abundance of these taxa. Functional prediction using PICRUSt2 indicated enrichment of pathways related to the ABC-type glycerol-3-phosphate transport system, and periplasmic components in both wheat flour and pellet fed sheep. Overall, these findings suggest that dietary wheat flour modulates rumen microbiota composition, and improves growth performance in sheep.

Vitamin A regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and function through p38 MAPK-PGC-1α signaling pathway and alters the muscle fiber composition of sheep

BackgroundVitamin A (VA) and its metabolite, retinoic acid (RA), are of great interest for their wide range of physiological functions. However, the regulatory contribution of VA to mitochondrial and muscle fiber composition in sheep has not been reported.MethodLambs were injected with 0 (control) or 7,500 IU VA palmitate into the biceps femoris muscle on d 2 after birth. At the age of 3 and 32 weeks, longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle samples were obtained to explore the effect of VA on myofiber type composition. In vitro, we investigated the effects of RA on myofiber type composition and intrinsic mechanisms.ResultsThe proportion of type I myofiber was greatly increased in VA-treated sheep in LD muscle at harvest. VA greatly promoted mitochondrial biogenesis and function in LD muscle of sheep. Further exploration revealed that VA elevated PGC-1α mRNA and protein contents, and enhanced the level of p38 MAPK phosphorylation in LD muscle of sheep. In addition, the number of type I myofibers with RA treatment was significantly increased, and type IIx myofibers was significantly decreased in primary myoblasts. Consistent with in vivo experiment, RA significantly improved mitochondrial biogenesis and function in primary myoblasts of sheep. We then used si-PGC-1α to inhibit PGC-1α expression and found that si-PGC-1α significantly abrogated RA-induced the formation of type I myofibers, mitochondrial biogenesis, MitoTracker staining intensity, UQCRC1 and ATP5A1 expression, SDH activity, and enhanced the level of type IIx muscle fibers. These data suggested that RA improved mitochondrial biogenesis and function by promoting PGC-1α expression, and increased type I myofibers. In order to prove that the effect of RA on the level of PGC-1α is caused by p38 MAPK signaling, we inhibited the p38 MAPK signaling using a p38 MAPK inhibitor, which significantly reduced RA-induced PGC-1α and MyHC I levels.ConclusionVA promoted PGC-1α expression through the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, improved mitochondrial biogenesis, and altered the composition of muscle fiber type.Graphical

A revised model of energy transactions and body composition in sheep.

A mechanistic, dynamic model was developed to calculate body composition in growing lambs by calculating heat production (HP) internally from energy transactions within the body. The model has a fat pool (f) and three protein pools: visceral (v), nonvisceral (m), and wool (w). Heat production is calculated as the sum of fasting heat production, heat of product formation (HrE), and heat associated with feeding (HAF). Fasting heat production is represented as a function of visceral and nonvisceral protein mass. Heat associated with feeding (HAF) is calculated as ((1 - km) x MEI), where km is partial efficiency of ME use for maintenance, and MEI = metabolizable energy intake) applies at all levels above and below maintenance. The value of km derived from data where lambs were fed above maintenance was 0.7. Protein change (dp/dt) is the sum of change in the m, v, and w pools, and change in fat is equal to net energy available for gain minus dp/dt. Heat associated with a change in body composition (HrE) is calculated from the change in protein and fat with estimated partial efficiencies of energy use of 0.4 and 0.7 for protein and fat, respectively. The model allows for individuals to gain protein while losing fat or vice versa. When evaluated with independent data, the model performed better than the current Australian feeding standards (Freer etal., 2007) for predicting protein gain in the empty body but did not perform as well as for gain of fat and fleece-free empty body weight. Models performed similarly for predicting clean wool growth. By explicit representation of the major energy using processes in the body, and through simplification of the way body composition is computed in growing animals, the model is more transparent than current feeding systems while achieving similar performance. An advantage of this approach is that the model has the potential for wider applicability across different growth trajectories and can explicitly account for the effects of systematic changes on energy transactions, such as the effects of selective breeding, growth manipulation, or environmental changes.

Effects of supplementary thyme on immunity responses, antioxidant indices, rumen enzymes concentrations and rumen bacteria composition in Hu sheep

The thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) plant contains volatile oils, flavonoids and monoterpenoids, which are reputed to possess medicinal properties. The present study examined the effects of supplementary thyme intake on immunity responses, antioxidant indices, rumen enzymes concentrations and rumen bacteria composition in sheep. Six rumen-fistulated, 12-month-old Hu rams (63.1 ± 8.54 kg) were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design in which three levels of air-dried thyme were offered: 0 g/d (CON), 16 g/d (T16) and 80 g/d (T80). The serum concentrations of albumin (p = 0.06), total proteins (p = 0.06) and β-hydroxybutyric acid (p = 0.07) tended to increase linearly with an increase in thyme intake. Concentration of serum non-esterified fatty acids increased (p = 0.03) and changed quadratically (p = 0.02) with an increase in thyme intake. Serum antioxidant indices were not affected by thyme intake. The concentration of rumen lipase increased linearly (p < 0.01) with an increase in thyme intake, and was greater in the T80 than the CON rams. Thyme intake increased (p < 0.05) the abundance of the rumen probiotics f__Lactobacillaceae, g__Lactobacillus and o__Lactobacillales, and the abundance of g__UCG-002 and g__Eubacterium_saphenum_group. It was concluded that thyme can: 1) promote protein synthesis and utilization; 2) enhance immunity responses; 3) mediate energy metabolism; and 4) increase the abundance of rumen probiotics in sheep. In the current study, the best response was observed at an intake of 80 g of air-dried thyme/d.

Genome-wide association study reveals candidate genes for traits related to meat quality in Colombian Creole hair sheep

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) allow identifying genomic regions related to traits of economic importance in animals of zootechnical interest. The objective of this research was to conduct a genome-wide association study on meat quality traits using the Illumina OvineSNPs50 BeadChip array. The animals were sampled in the departments of Córdoba, Cesar, and Valle del Cauca. The genotypes obtained with the Illumina OvineSNP50 BeadChip microarray were analyzed SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) data to conduct a GWAS for pH and water-holding capacity (WHC) traits measured after 7 days of maturation, in the Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle, in 167 Creole hair sheep of 12 months old belonging to Pelibuey (CHSP, n = 60), Ethiopian (CHSE, n = 44), and Sudan (CHSS, n = 63) breeds. The GWAS was done using a mixed linear model (MLMA) and based on the Ovis aries v3.1 genome. The CHSE showed the lowest meat juice release and, consequently, the highest water-holding capacity (WHC = 30.6 ± 0.1), suggesting that this breed has better performance in the meat industry compared with CHSS (WHC = 41.7 ± 0.1) and CHSP (WHC = 36.8 ± 0.1), since there is a relationship between WHC and juiciness. For the character pH, it was not possible to annotate genes related to meat quality, while, for the WHC, they have obtained 11 candidate genes associated (ELOVL2, ARAP2, LOC101102527, SHOC2, AIPL1, CSRNP3, IFRD, KDM8, NANS, DAPK1, IBN2, TPM2). Particularly, ELOVL2, ARAP2, IBN2, and TPM2 genes are involved in muscle contraction and fatty acid composition in sheep. In this study, we generated a baseline for GWAS related to meat quality traits in Colombian Creole hair sheep that can be used for future genomic selection plans.

Characterization and Association of CFHR5 Gene Polymorphism with Fatty Acid Composition and Cholesterol in Sheep

The Complement Factor H Related 5 (CFHR5) gene is speculated to have an important role in regulating fatty acid composition in sheep. The aim of this study was to investigate the polymorphism of the CFHR5 gene and its association with fatty acid composition and cholesterol of sheep in Indonesia. A total of 172 rams from 83 priangan sheep (PS), 20 sapudi sheep (SS), 19 Garut sheep (GS), 20 jonggol sheep (JS), 10 Garut composite sheep (GCS), 10 compass agrinac sheep (CAS), and 10 Barbados cross sheep (BCS) were used for this study. Identification of CFHR5 gene polymorphism were performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) using AciI restriction enzyme. The results showed that the CFHR5 gene in all sheep populations were polymorphic producing three genotypes, e.g. CC, CT and TT, respectively. The polymorphism had a significant effect (p&lt;0.05) on fatty acid composition (miristoleic [C14:1], ginkgolic [C17:1], tridecanoic [C13:0], and heptadecanoic [C17:0] acids) and cholesterol. The breed and polymorphism had a significant effect (p&lt;0.05) on fatty acid composition (JS with tridecanoic acid [C13:0] and BCS with miristoleic acid [C14:1]). The CC genotype is the preferred genotype and as it exhibits reduced levels of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol. The BCS sheep is the preferred genotype and as it exhibits high PUFA/SFA ratio. The CFHR5 gene (SNP c.1011C&gt;T) has the potential to be used as a genetic marker for the selection of low saturated fatty acid composition and cholesterol in sheep

Effect of genetic polymorphisms in LALBA and Prolactin genes on milk traits in Barki ewes

This study investigated the genetic polymorphisms in Alpha-lactalbumin (LALBA) and Prolactin (PRL) genes in the Egyptian Barki sheep. The investigated genes were previously identified to be associated with milk and reproductive traits in several livestock species. Nevertheless, little is known about their contribution to milk traits in Egyptian sheep. Milk traits of daily milk yield (DMY), protein percentage (PP), fat percentage (FP), lactose percentage, and total solid percentage (TSP) were available for 256 and 233 Barki ewes for LALBA and PRL, respectively. The association analysis between the phenotypes of milk traits was carried out using the general linear model implemented in SAS software. The single strand conformation polymorphism identified 3 (A, B and C) and 2 (G and C) distinctive alleles in LALBA and PRL, respectively. Allele frequencies for LALBA variants were 0.73 (A), 0.16 (B) and 0.11 (C), and 0.63 (G), and 0.37 (C) for PRL variants. Results showed that age and parity of the ewe significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the studied milk traits. Additionally, a significant (P < 0.05) effect of LALBA variants was reported on milk composition but not DMY. Likewise, a significant (P < 0.05) effect of PRL variants was observed on DMY and TSP. Interestingly, Animals with BB genotypes of LALBA gene produced milk with high FP (5.65 ± 1.25 %), PP (5.77 ± 1.17 %), LP (7.4 ± 1.22 %) and lower TSP (13.06 ± 5.1 %) compared with animals that carry other genotypes. Regarding the PRL polymorphisms, the heterozygote ewes (GC) tended to significantly produce more milk (368.57 ± 20.39 g/day) with higher TSP (19.81 ± 1.57) compared with the homozygotes. This study reported the LALBA and PRL as candidate genes with significant effects on milk yield and composition, which may be appropriate for a wide range of selection programs with breeding objectives that focus on milk yield and composition in sheep. However, further investigations with larger sample size are recommended to confirm these findings with higher accuracy.

The Effect of Milking Frequency, Breed, and Stage of Lactation on the Milk Fat Globule Size and Fatty Acid Composition in Sheep's Milk.

This study examined the effects of milking frequency, breed, and stage of lactation on the milk fat globules (MFG) size and fatty acids (FA) composition of sheep milk. Milk from Karagouniko (n = 13) and Chios (n = 13) ewes was sampled postpartum on the 93rd, 101st, 108th, 121st, 156th, and 188th days of lactation. On the 108th day, the ewes were divided randomly into two milking groups: Once daily at 06:00 a.m. or twice daily at 06:00 a.m. and 16:00 p.m. Morphometric characteristics of MFG and FA composition were determined for each sample. Once versus twice daily milking had no effect on MFG dimensions, which tended to vary according to breed (smaller MFG were secreted from Chios with p = 0.065), while the stage of lactation had a significant effect (p < 0.001). FA composition differed significantly according to the stage of lactation and breed. The FA profile of the Karagouniko breed showed higher concentrations of short-chain FA. The milk samples from late lactation were characterized by higher concentrations of mono-unsaturated FA (MUFA) compared to early and mid-lactation. Moreover, correlations were found between the average diameter of MFG and FA concentrations, where the size of MFG was positively correlated with saturated FA (SFA) and negatively correlated with MUFA.

Effects of non-protein nitrogen on buffel grass fiber and ruminal bacterial composition in sheep

This study aimed to evaluate different concentrations of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) ruminal infusion in sheep fed buffel grass hay on nutrient intake and digestibility, ruminal parameters, nitrogen balance, and rumen bacterial composition. Five rumen-fistulated adult wethers, weighing 58 ± 5.1 kg were distributed according to a 5 × 5 Latin square design. The control treatment consisted of a 5.5% crude protein (CP) buffel grass hay basal diet only, while the other four treatments consisted of the addition, via ruminal infusion, of increasing amounts of NPN to gradually raise the level of CP in the basal diet (7.44, 9.39, 11.33 and 13.27% CP). There was a quadratic effect for the intake of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), CP, ether extract (EE) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Values of pH, volatile fatty acids, microbial protein, microbial efficiency and digestibility coefficients were not affected by CP levels in basal diet. On the other hand, there was a linear effect for the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (NNH3) and nitrogen (N) in urine, and a quadratic effect for ingested and excreted N in feces, as well as for N balance. There was no effect of the different CP levels on the ruminal microbial composition. While the 5.5% CP basal diet provided sufficient NPN supply for the maintenance of ruminal bacterial activity, increased CP concentrations from 7.34 to 8.66% by means of ruminal infusion with NPM optimized the utilization of buffel grass nutrients by sheep.

Breed and ruminal fraction effects on bacterial and archaeal community composition in sheep

While the breed of cattle can impact on the composition and structure of microbial communities in the rumen, breed-specific effects on rumen microbial communities have rarely been examined in sheep. In addition, rumen microbial composition can differ between ruminal fractions, and be associated with ruminant feed efficiency and methane emissions. In this study, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was used to investigate the effects of breed and ruminal fraction on bacterial and archaeal communities in sheep. Solid, liquid and epithelial rumen samples were obtained from a total of 36 lambs, across 4 different sheep breeds (Cheviot (n = 10), Connemara (n = 6), Lanark (n = 10) and Perth (n = 10)), undergoing detailed measurements of feed efficiency, who were offered a nut based cereal diet ad-libitum supplemented with grass silage. Our results demonstrate that the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was lowest for the Cheviot (most efficient), and highest for the Connemara breed (least efficient). In the solid fraction, bacterial community richness was lowest in the Cheviot breed, while Sharpea azabuensis was most abundant in the Perth breed. Lanark, Cheviot and Perth breeds exhibited a significantly higher abundance of epithelial associated Succiniclasticum compared to the Connemara breed. When comparing ruminal fractions, Campylobacter, Family XIII, Mogibacterium, and Lachnospiraceae UCG-008 were most abundant in the epithelial fraction. Our findings indicate that breed can impact the abundance of specific bacterial taxa in sheep while having little effect on the overall composition of the microbial community. This finding has implications for genetic selection breeding programs aimed at improving feed conversion efficiency of sheep. Furthermore, the variations in the distribution of bacterial species identified between ruminal fractions, notably between solid and epithelial fractions, reveals a rumen fraction bias, which has implications for sheep rumen sampling techniques.

Host genetic control on rumen microbiota and its impact on dairy traits in sheep

BackgroundMilk yield and fine composition in sheep depend on the volatile and long-chain fatty acids, microbial proteins, vitamins produced through feedstuff digestion by the rumen microbiota. In cattle, the host genome has been shown to have a low to moderate genetic control on rumen microbiota abundance but a high control on dairy traits with heritabilities higher than 0.30. There is little information on the genetic correlations and quantitative trait loci (QTL) that simultaneously affect rumen microbiota abundance and dairy traits in ruminants, especially in sheep. Thus, our aim was to quantify the effect of the host genetics on rumen bacterial abundance and the genetic correlations between rumen bacterial abundance and several dairy traits, and to identify QTL that are associated with both rumen bacterial abundance and milk traits.ResultsOur results in Lacaune sheep show that the heritability of rumen bacterial abundance ranges from 0 to 0.29 and that the heritability of 306 operational taxonomic units (OTU) is significantly different from 0. Of these 306 OTU, 96 that belong mainly to the Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae bacterial families show strong genetic correlations with milk fatty acids and proteins (absolute values ranging from 0.33 to 0.99). Genome-wide association studies revealed a QTL for alpha-lactalbumin concentration in milk on Ovis aries chromosome (OAR) 11, and six QTL for rumen bacterial abundances i.e., for two OTU belonging to the genera Prevotella (OAR3 and 5), Rikeneleaceae_RC9_gut_group (OAR5), Ruminococcus (OAR5), an unknown genus of order Clostridia UCG-014 (OAR10), and CAG-352 (OAR11). None of these detected regions are simultaneously associated with rumen bacterial abundance and dairy traits, but the bacterial families Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae and F082 show colocalized signals on OAR3, 5, 15 and 26.ConclusionsIn Lacaune dairy sheep, rumen microbiota abundance is partially controlled by the host genetics and is poorly genetically linked with milk protein and fatty acid compositions, and three main bacterial families, Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae and F082, show specific associations with OAR3, 5, 15 and 26.

42. Evaluation of a revised model of body composition in sheep

42. Evaluation of a revised model of body composition in sheep

O3 An alternative approach to estimation of energy transactions and body composition in sheep

O3 An alternative approach to estimation of energy transactions and body composition in sheep

Association study and expression analysis of olfactomedin like 3 gene related to meat quality, carcass characteristics, retail meat cut, and fatty acid composition in sheep.

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to identify polymorphism in olfactomedin like 3 (OLFML3) gene, and association analysis with meat quality, carcass characteristics, retail meat cut, and fatty acid composition in sheep, and expression quantification of OLFML3 gene in phenotypically divergent sheep.MethodsA total of 328 rams at the age of 10 to 12 months with an average body weight of 26.13 kg were used. A novel polymorphism was identified using high-throughput sequencing in sheep and genotyping of OLFML3 polymorphism was performed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Among 328 rams, 100 rams representing various sheep genotypes were used for association study and proc general linear model was used to analyse association between genotypes and phenotypic traits. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used for the expression analysis of OLFML3 mRNA in phenotypically divergent sheep population.ResultsThe findings revealed a novel polymorphism in the OLFML3 gene (g.90317673 C>T). The OLFML3 gene revealed three genotypes: CC, CT, and TT. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was found to be significantly (p<0.05) associated with meat quality traits such as tenderness and cooking loss; carcass characteristics such as carcass length; retail meat cut such as pelvic fat in leg, intramuscular fat in loin and tenderloin, muscle in flank and shank; fatty acids composition such as tridecanoic acid (C13:0), palmitoleic acid (C16:1), heptadecanoic acid (C17:0), ginkgolic acid (C17:1), linolenic acid (C18:3n3), arachidic acid (C20:0), eicosenoic acid (C20:1), arachidonic acid (C20:4n6), heneicosylic acid (C21:0), and nervonic acid (C24:1). The TT genotype was associated with higher level of meat quality, carcass characteristics, retail meat cut, and some fatty acids composition. However, the mRNA expression analysis was not different among genotypes.ConclusionThe OLFML3 gene could be a potential putative candidate for selecting higher quality sheep meat, carcass characteristics, retail meat cuts, and fatty acid composition in sheep.

Hepatic transcriptome analysis identifies genes, polymorphisms and pathways involved in the fatty acids metabolism in sheep.

Fatty acids (FA) in ruminants, especially unsaturated FA (USFA) have important impact in meat quality, nutritional value, and flavour quality of meat, and on consumer's health. Identification of the genetic factors controlling the FA composition and metabolism is pivotal to select sheep that produce higher USFA and lower saturated (SFA) for the benefit of sheep industry and consumers. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the transcriptome profiling in the liver tissues collected from sheep with divergent USFA content in longissimus muscle using RNA deep-sequencing. From sheep (n = 100) population, liver tissues with higher (n = 3) and lower (n = 3) USFA content were analysed using Illumina HiSeq 2500. The total number of reads produced for each liver sample were ranged from 21.28 to 28.51 million with a median of 23.90 million. Approximately, 198 genes were differentially regulated with significance level of p-adjusted value <0.05. Among them, 100 genes were up-regulated, and 98 were down-regulated (p<0.01, FC>1.5) in the higher USFA group. A large proportion of key genes involved in FA biosynthesis, adipogenesis, fat deposition, and lipid metabolism were identified, such as APOA5, SLC25A30, GFPT1, LEPR, TGFBR2, FABP7, GSTCD, and CYP17A. Pathway analysis revealed that glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis- keratan sulfate, adipokine signaling, galactose metabolism, endocrine and other factors-regulating calcium metabolism, mineral metabolism, and PPAR signaling pathway were playing important regulatory roles in FA metabolism. Importantly, polymorphism and association analyses showed that mutation in APOA5, CFHR5, TGFBR2 and LEPR genes could be potential markers for the FA composition in sheep. These polymorphisms and transcriptome networks controlling the FA variation could be used as genetic markers for FA composition-related traits improvement. However, functional validation is required to confirm the effect of these SNPs in other sheep population in order to incorporate them in the sheep breeding program.

The current state and future outlook for development of sheep breeding in Ukraine

Our research aimed to analyse the current state of the sheep industry in Ukraine, to highlight the geographical location of genetic resources, to describe the state of the breeding work, and to form the proposals for the development of this branch in the future. The date from the State register of breeding farms for 2005-2019 and statistical reporting were used for analysis. It is shown that Ukraine has good natural and climatic preconditions, as well as customer demands for the development of the sheep industry. In addition to the domestic market, it is necessary to look for opportunities to enter foreign markets. Over the last 15 years, the sheep industry in Ukraine has undergone significant changes: the form of ownership has changed, the number of livestock has decreased and the breed composition of sheep has changed. At present time, there are 0.7 million sheep in Ukraine, 26.7 thousand are registered like breeding animals belonging to 10 breeds. Breeding work in the sheep industry in Ukraine does not meet modern requirements: the total number of breeding stock of 26.7 thousand is insufficient for production needs. The number of farms engaged in sheep breeding has critically decreased. The situation is critical for such breeds as the Latvian dark-headed, Ukrainian mountain Carpathian and Sokilska. There is no organized breeding workin Ukraine regarding many popular breeds of sheep, which are popular among producers and are already available in the country. Ukrainian mountain Carpathian and Sokilska breeds belong to local breeds, but due to the lack of organized selection work they may be lost. The largest number of sheep is concentrated in the south and west of the country, where the climatic conditions are favourable for this branch in the past. The leaders in terms of numbers are Odesa and Transcarpathia, Chernivtsi and Zaporizhia regions. Breeding pedigree animals are concentrated in Odesa and Kherson oblasts. The most numerous breeds are the Askanian meat-wool breed with crossbred wool and the Askanian Karakul breed. Taking into consideration the big potential of the sheep breeding, it is proposed to perform some steps to stimulate its development in Ukraine. To improve the sheep industry in Ukraine it is necessary to implement a set of measures, in particular: to extend the system of state support to the sheep industry; to promote the construction of slaughterhouses, including the use of the slaughter system HALAL; to assist in finding new markets for fattened animals or meat in abroad, especially in countries with Muslim population; to use state support mechanisms to facilitate breeding work; to allow to keep registers of breeding animals by producer associations and other interested organizations; to simplify the procedure for registration of production facilities for the production of local cheeses and other products; to impose a duty on the export of adult animals not for breeding purposes. The implementation of these measures will promote the development of sheep breeding in Ukraine and will serve as a basis for the production of a sufficient amount of high-quality food products and the preservation of traditional food preferences of different regions of the country. Key words: sheep breeding, breed, local breed type.

PSIV-11 Effects of feeding a 50% cranberry vine pellet on milk components during lactation in sheep

Abstract The objective of this study was to examine the effect of feeding cranberry vine (CV) on milk components during early lactation as part of a larger study on the antiparasitic efficacy of CV supplementation on ewes during the periparturient period. Ewes were fed a 50% CV pellet (CVP; n = 12) or a control pellet (CON; n = 13) beginning at 102±1 d of pregnancy until d 65±1 postpartum. The CV pellet fed was formulated to be equivalent in digestible dry matter to the control pellet. BW was determined weekly during the study and milk samples were collected weekly during lactation. Data were analyzed in SAS with repeated measures. Ewe BW were similar at the start of study (180.36lbs ± 4.70lbs; P = 0.43) however by wk 8 postpartum CVP ewes weighed less than CON ewes (CON: 212.31lbs±7.86lbs; CVP: 185.58lbs±8.00lbs; P = 0.04). There was a treatment*wk effect observed for milk fat, protein and MUN (P ≤ 0.05). Ewes fed CVP exhibited reduced milk fat at wks 2 (CON: 6.75%±0.63%; CVP: 6.06%±0.58%; P = 0.03) and 5 (CON: 6.66%±0.37%; CVP: 5.54%±0.26%; P = 0.05), milk protein was reduced in CVP ewes at wk 2 (CON: 4.92%±0.12%; CVP: 4.72%±0.19%; P = 0.05) and MUN was greater at weeks 4 (CON: 22.89±0.7mg/dL; CVP: 27.93±0.85mg/dL; P = 0.01) and 8 (CON: 24.80±0.51mg/dL; CVP: 26.64±0.86mg/dL; P &amp;lt; 0.01) in CVP ewes. Somatic cell analysis is pending. In conclusion, CVP supplementation during lactation affects milk composition in sheep. Studies are underway to determine the effect of CV supplementation on additional metabolic parameters in pregnant and lactating ewes.

Interactions between Teladorsagia circumcincta Infections and Microbial Composition of Sheep with or without Successful Monepantel Treatment—A Preliminary Study

Nematodes are one of the main impactors on the health, welfare and productivity of farmed animals. Teladorsagia circumcincta are endemic throughout many sheep-producing countries, particularly in the northern hemisphere, and contribute to the pathology and economic losses seen on many farms. Control of these nematode infections is essential and heavily reliant on chemotherapy (anthelmintics), but this has been compromised by the development of anthelmintic resistance. In mammals, the composition of the intestinal microbiota has been shown to have a significant effect on overall health. The interactions between host, microbiota and pathogens are complex and influenced by numerous factors. In this study, comparisons between intestinal and faecal microbiota of sheep infected with sensitive or resistant strains of T. circumcincta, with or without monepantel administration were assessed. The findings from both faecal samples and terminal ileum mucosal scrapings showed clear differences between successfully treated animals and those sheep that were left untreated and/or those carrying resistant nematodes. Specifically, the potentially beneficial genus Bifidobacterium was identified as elevated in successfully treated animals. The detection of these and other biomarkers will provide the basis for new therapeutic reagents particularly relevant to the problems of emerging multidrug anthelmintic resistance.

Assessment of Hepatic Mineral Composition in Sheep, Cattle, Chicken, and Fish in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region-Iraq

Liver mineral concentrations of 232 samples from slaughtered animals, including lamb, yearling, sheep, and cattle, checkin, and fish were detrmined, using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, to provide data regarding to the liver mineral concentrations (mg/kg dry weight). The mean liver Zn and Co liver conentrations of lambs (286, 1.9), yearling (233, 1.7), sheep (254, 1.8), and cattle (276, 1.8) in majority samples were adequate, while liver Pb concentrations of mentioned animals (45.3, 48.1, 46.4, 39.6) mg/kg respectively were high and exceeded toxic levels. In checkin, the mean liver Cu, Zn, and Co were also adequate, with the mean values of (26.4), (298.8), and (1.8) mg/kg respectively. Though, the mean liver Fe concentration (2257.0 mg/kg) was high, and liver Pb concentration (6.2 mg/kg) was reched toxic level. In fish, for majority liver samples, the mean concentration of Cu (191.8), Fe (6800.0), Zn (202.8), Co (3.3), Pb (8.6), and Ni (6.3) were high and toxic. In conclusion, liver Pb (and Ni only in fish) concentration in all studied animals for the majority of examined sample were higher than normal and toxic. Wherese, other studied minerals in majority of liver samples were adequate. Therefore, it can be concluded that there are problems on animal and human health (due to high concentration of Pb and Ni) would be raised at present from the consumption of ovine, bovine, checkin, and fish slaughtered from the city of Erbil.

Oar-miR-16b and oar-miR-27a: negatively correlated with milk yield and milk protein in sheep

The characterization of miRNAs from sheep milk and their effect on milk yield and composition in sheep are remain unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the expression pattern of several important miRNAs, which are associated with lactation in the sheep milk between high and low lactating-yield ewe groups. In addition to experimentally obtained miRNA expression results, the miRNA target genes were determined by bioinformatics analysis to identify biological pathways involved. miRNAs found to differ significantly in the expression level between the groups were oar-miR-181a, oar-miR-23a, oar-miR-27a, oar-miR-16b and oar-miR-374. Also, oar-miR-27a was shown negative correlation with milk protein and lactose contents while oar-miR-16b was shown negative correlation with milk yield in the high milk yield group. The highest connected hub genes for miR-27a target genes were determined as MAPK14 and PPARG. Also, six genes (HSPA4L, DNAJA2, ATP6V1B2, PPP2R1A, PPP2R1B, and PRKAR2A) were detected as hub genes for miR-16b. In this study, the relationship between expression profiles of several important miRNAs in sheep milk and milk yield and milk composition were investigated for the first time in high and low lactating yield groups.