Field Of Animal Breeding Research Articles

Comprehensive whole-genome resequencing unveils genetic diversity and selective signatures of the Xiangdong black goat.

Xiangdong black goats, indigenous to Hunan Province, China, exhibit remarkable adaptation to challenging environments and possess distinct black coat coloration alongside exceptional meat quality attributes. Despite their significance, comprehensive genomic investigations of this breed have been notably lacking. This study involved a comprehensive examination of population structure, genomic diversity, and regions of selection in Xiangdong black goats utilizing whole-genome sequencing data from 20 samples of this breed and 139 published samples from six other Chinese goat breeds. Our genomic analysis revealed a total of 19,133,125 biallelic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the Xiangdong black goat genome, primarily located in intergenic and intronic regions. Population structure analysis indicated that, compared with Jintang, Guizhou and Chengdu goats, Xiangdong black goats exhibit a reduced level of genetic differentiation but exhibit relatively greater divergence from Jining goats. An examination of genetic diversity within Xiangdong black goats revealed a moderate level of diversity, minimal inbreeding, and a substantial effective population size, which are more reflective of random mating patterns than other Chinese goat breeds. Additionally, we applied four distinct selective sweep methods, namely, the composite likelihood ratio (CLR), fixation index (F ST), θ π ratio and cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH), to identify genomic regions under positive selection and genes associated with fundamental biological processes. The most prominent candidate genes identified in this study are involved in crucial aspects of goat life, including reproduction (CCSER1, PDGFRB, IFT88, LRP1B, STAG1, and SDCCAG8), immunity (DOCK8, IL1R1, and IL7), lactation and milk production (SPP1, TLL1, and ERBB4), hair growth (CHRM2, SDC1, ITCH, and FGF12), and thermoregulation (PDE10A). In summary, our research contributes valuable insights into the genomic characteristics of the Xiangdong black goat, underscoring its importance and utility in future breeding programs and conservation initiatives within the field of animal breeding and genetics.

Unveiling maturation biomarker dynamics: A comprehensive review on In Vitro embryo production in cattle

In vitro embryo production (IVEP) is a revolutionary reproductive biotechnology in bovine species which enables rapid genetic gain and conservation of genetic resources. IVEP has numerous applications in field of animal breeding, conservation and research, making it a powerful tool for enhancing reproductive efficiency and genetic progress in livestock industry. The process involves manipulating gametes, including oocytes and sperm, in a laboratory setting. Success of IVEP largely relies on optimization of each step, including gamete quality, sperm preparation techniques, fertilization conditions and culture medium. Advancements in culture media formulations by additions of growth factors, antioxidants along with co-culture systems and advanced imaging techniques have improved efficiency and success rates. In this article, the authors have reviewed the importance as well as biomarkers associated with in vitro maturation for a more successful outcome of IVEP in bovines.

Genomic Approaches to Disease Resistance in Livestock

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to explore the use of genomics and selective breeding to enhance disease resistance in livestock populations.
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library.
 Findings: The findings revealed that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to genomic approaches to disease resistance in livestock. Preliminary empirical review revealed that genomic approaches to disease resistance in livestock have emerged as powerful tools in the field of animal breeding and management. Over the past few years, research and empirical studies have consistently demonstrated the immense potential of genomics to revolutionize the way we address disease challenges in livestock populations. These approaches have allowed for delving deep into the genetic makeup of animals, identifying specific markers and genetic traits associated with disease resistance. By doing so, we can now make more informed breeding decisions, selecting animals with superior resistance profiles and improving overall herd or flock health.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, Quantitative Genetics theory and the Genomic Selection theory may be used to anchor future studies on genomic approaches in disease resistance. The study made the following recommendations: implementing genomic selection programs, promoting collaborative research, focusing on sustainable breeding practices, enhancing biosecurity measure, investing in genomic education and training and monitoring long term impacts.

19 How can Artificial Intelligence Accelerate Phenotyping Efforts in Animal Breeding?

Abstract With the development of high-throughput technologies, biology has become a large-scale and data-rich field, especially for genomics and phenomics. Concurrent with this expansion in the availability of high-throughput technologies, their use in the livestock sectors has accordingly increased. This expansion has occurred most notably in the field of animal breeding, where high-throughput technologies hold promise as a means for more efficiently connecting animal phenotypes with pedigree and genomics to drive genetic improvement of production and health-related traits. The rate of genetic gain is closely related to the quantity and quality of phenotyping data. However, there are still considerable manual tasks that are involved in phenotyping processes. Precision livestock farming or smart farming uses sensing technology that is supported by artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor morphometric changes in animal growth dynamics and animal activity status. In particular, the development of two sensing technologies, computer vision and wearable sensor systems, plays a pivotal role in accelerating phenotyping efforts by providing non-intrusive measurements of animals with high temporal and spatial resolution. The presentation will provide a recent update on current approaches to artificial intelligence and machine learning in computer vision and wearable sensor systems to monitor the body mass and behaviors of animals.

ASSESSMENT OF NANO-DERIVED PARTICLES, DEVICES, AND SYSTEMS IN ANIMAL SCIENCE: A REVIEW

Nanotechnology is an innovative discipline of science that has revolutionized the way we perceive the dimension and size of a molecule. The micrometric molecules accessed under the nanometric level generate nano-derived particles through which other nanodevices and nano-systems are contrived. Those nano-derived appliances are accommodable in effectuating copious different functions like physiological and biochemical processes in livestock species. The wide application of nanotechnology in animal science seems to be fateful unless and until nano-derived implements are recognized for execution in the field of animal breeding, production, health and management, and so on. The fundamental motivation behinds this article is to provide an insight into the application of nanostructures in the field of animal science to enhance the current frameworks. This review points out the current applications with appropriate measures of divergent nanotechnological particles, devices, and systems in the periphery of animal science.

PSXV-9 Transgenerational epigenetic variance for production and reproduction traits in maternal-line pigs

Abstract Modeling epigenetic factors impacting phenotypic expression of economically important traits has become a hot-topic in the field of animal breeding due to the variability in genetic expression caused by environmental stressors (e.g., heat stress). This variability may be due, in part, to in-utero epigenomic remodeling, which has been reported to be passed from parent to offspring. We aimed to estimate transgenerational epigenetic variance for various production and reproduction traits measured in a maternal-line pig population, using a Bayesian approach. The phenotypes for production [n = 10,862; i.e., weaning weight (WW), birth weight (BW) and ultrasound-backfat thickness (BF)] and reproduction [n = 5,235, i.e., number of piglets born alive (NBA) and total number of piglets born (TB)] traits from a purebred Landrace population were provided by Smithfield Premium Genetics (NC, USA). The pedigree information traced back to 10 generations. Single-trait genetic analyses were performed using mixed models that included additive genetic, common environmental, and epigenetic random effects. The Gibbs sampler algorithm based on Markov chain Monte Carlo was used to estimate the variance components. The epigenetic relationship matrix was constructed using a recursive parameter (λ) related to the transmissibility coefficient of epigenetic markers. A grid search approach was used to define the optimal λ value (λ values ranged from 0.1 to 0.5, with an interval of 0.1). The optimal λ value was determined based on the deviance information criterion, and it was used to estimate the additive and epigenetic variances. For instance, based on preliminary results, the optimal λ value estimated for TB was 0.3 with an additive genetic variance of 0.94 (0.19 PSD) and epigenetic variance of 0.67 (0.18 PSD). The additive genetic heritability was 0.076 (0.015 PSD) and the estimated epigenetic heritability was 0.053 (0.015 PSD). This preliminary result suggests that epigenetics contribute to the non-Mendelian variability in pigs.

Emerging Genetic Tools to Investigate Molecular Pathways Related to Heat Stress in Chickens: A Review.

Simple SummaryNew genomic tools have been used as an instrument in order to assess the molecular pathway involved in heat stress resistance. Local chicken breeds have a better attitude to face heat stress. This review aims to summarize studies linked to chickens, heat stress, and heat shock protein.Chicken products are the most consumed animal-sourced foods at a global level across greatly diverse cultures, traditions, and religions. The consumption of chicken meat has increased rapidly in the past few decades and chicken meat is the main animal protein source in developing countries. Heat stress is one of the environmental factors which decreases the productive performance of poultry and meat quality. Heat stress produces the over-expression of heat shock factors and heat shock proteins in chicken tissues. Heat shock proteins regulate several molecular pathways in cells in response to stress conditions, changing the homeostasis of cells and tissues. These changes can affect the physiology of the tissue and hence the production ability of chickens. Indeed, commercial chicken strains can reach a high production level, but their body metabolism, being comparatively accelerated, has poor thermoregulation. In contrast, native backyard chickens are more adapted to the environments in which they live, with a robustness that allows them to survive and reproduce constantly. In the past few years, new molecular tools have been developed, such as RNA-Seq, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), and bioinformatics approaches such as Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS). Based on these genetic tools, many studies have detected the main pathways involved in cellular response mechanisms. In this context, it is necessary to clarify all the genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in heat stress response. Hence, this paper aims to review the ability of the new generation of genetic tools to clarify the molecular pathways associated with heat stress in chickens, offering new perspectives for the use of these findings in the animal breeding field.

Using The Response Surface Method to Determine Optimum Temperature and Gam Usage in Egg Storage

Response surface method (RSM) is a form of optimization based on the creation of an empirical model for evaluating the relationship between factor levels and the responses obtained therefrom. RSM is a multivariate analysis created by applying multiple regression and space geometry together. This optimization method can also be used as a preliminary stage of factorial experiments, since factor levels determine the optimum points before a factorial experiment. In this way, since the difference between the factor levels will be less, it provides more healthy results. In other words, optimization is used to increase the significance and sensitivity of factor levels. In this study, 130 table chicken eggs were divided into 9 groups according to their storage temperatures and percentages of coating gam arabic matter. Weight losses during the 28-day storage period of eggs were calculated. The eggs were weighed on the 7th day, the 14th day, the 21st day, and the 28th day. After the study was completed, the differences of the weights on the first day and 28th day were calculated. While applying RSM, Central Composite Design trial pattern was used. As a result of the analysis, optimum storage temperature and gam arabic composition were determined for egg storage with RSM. According to the results of the statistical analysis, at the end of the 4 th week, it was determined that the optimum storage temperature and gum substance composition for the minimum egg weight loss (1.58 g) were 7.64-8.24 o C and 15%. When the results of the study and the results obtained from the analysis are compared, it is thought that RSM has obtained an intermediate dose estimation for the minimum egg weight loss in optimization of egg preservation conditions and this may be beneficial in the field of animal breeding.

The Myth of Race and Racism

Among the myths that have shaped our modern world, the myth of ‘race’, which lacks any rational foundation, is surely the most tragic. One need only think of the abuses experienced by many populations throughout history. Therefore, it is important to trace how this concept arose and to examine why it continues to exist today.The word ‘race’ first appeared in Europe during the XIV century. Possibly, it derived from the Latin word radix=root, or from the Arabic razza, or from generatio=generation, descent, or more simply from ratio=reason, which in the scholastic language of the XV century meant, amongst other things, the order of succession according to which a living being was placed on a date line of ascendants and descendants. Initially used in the field of animal breeding (probably originating from the ancient French ‘haraz’, horse breeder, which through common usage then became ‘race’). This term was first used and applied to Man by Bernier (1688) and entered into everyday speech following the philosophical works of Emanuel Kant (1775). Notwithstanding, the term is misleading and without sense, particularly when it tends to confuse the physical characteristics of Man with those of cultures, religions or economies, or rather, when the historical and cultural characteristics of ‘ethnic groups’ are confused with the biological characteristics of the diverse human populations.

The specifics of ethnic interaction in the Middle Volga region through Russian dialect data

«Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Язык и литература» — научно-теоретический журнал, публикующий научно-исследовательские статьи и критические научные рецензии на русском и английском языках, призванные отразить актуальную проблематику современной лингвистики, литературоведения и междисциплинарных гуманитарных исследований, а также представить многообразие существующих здесь подходов и плюрализм мнений исследователей.

An 11-bp Indel Polymorphism within the CSN1S1 Gene Is Associated with Milk Performance and Body Measurement Traits in Chinese Goats.

Simple SummaryIn the field of animal breeding, selection using molecular genetic markers, such as insertions/deletions (indels), is a novel method to reduce the generation interval and more accurately improve performance. The casein alpha s1 (CSN1S1) gene is one of the major genes regulating the milk performance of mammals, and it is also relevant to body development. Previous studies have shown that an 11-bp indel in this gene was strongly associated with goat litter size, however, its effects on milk performance and body measurement traits have not been studied. In this study, this indel was genotyped in three Chinese goat breeds, and further analysis results revealed that this indel polymorphism was significantly associated with milk performance in dairy goats, as well as affecting the body measurement traits in all three breeds. These findings hint that the 11-bp indel within CSN1S1 gene could be utilized for effectively selecting goats with excellent performances in terms of production and breeding.The casein alpha s1 (CSN1S1) gene encodes α-s1 casein, one of the proteins constituting milk, which affects milk performance, as well as improving the absorption of calcium and bone development in mammals. A previous study found that an 11-bp insertion/deletion (indel) of this gene strongly affected litter size in goats. However, to our knowledge, the relationships between this polymorphism and the milk performance and body measurement traits of goats have not been reported. In this paper, the previously identified indel has been recognized in three Chinese goat breeds, namely the Guanzhong dairy goat (GZDG; n = 235), Shaanbei white cashmere goat (SBWC; n = 1092), and Hainan black goat (HNBG; n = 278), and the following three genotypes have been studied for all of the breeds: insertion/insertion (II), deletion/deletion (DD), and insertion/deletion (ID). The allele frequencies analyzed signified that the frequencies of the “D” allele were higher (47.8%–65.5%), similar to the previous report, which indicates that this polymorphism is genetically stable in different goat breeds. Further analysis showed that this indel was markedly associated with milk fat content, total solids content, solids-not-fat content, freezing point depression, and acidity in GZDG (p < 0.05), and also affected different body measurement traits in all three breeds (p < 0.05). The goats with II genotypes had superior milk performance, compared with the others; however, goats with DD genotypes had better body measurement sizes. Hence, it may be necessary to select goats with an II or DD genotype, based on the desired traits, while breeding. Our study provides information on the potential impact of the 11-bp indel polymorphism of the CSN1S1 gene for improving the milk performance and body measurement traits in goats.

Genetic variance of metabolomic features and their relationship with body weight and body weight gain in Holstein cattle1.

In recent years, metabolomics has been used to clarify the biology underlying biological samples. In the field of animal breeding, investigating the magnitude of genetic control on the metabolomic profiles of animals and their relationships with quantitative traits adds valuable information to animal improvement schemes. In this study, we analyzed metabolomic features (MFs) extracted from the metabolomic profiles of 843 male Holstein calves. The metabolomic profiles were obtained using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. We investigated 2 alternative methods to control for peak shifts in the NMR spectra, binning and aligning, to determine which approach was the most efficient for assessing genetic variance. Series of univariate analyses were implemented to elucidate the heritability of each MF. Furthermore, records on BW and ADG from 154 to 294 d of age (ADG154-294), 294 to 336 d of age (ADG294-336), and 154 to 336 d of age (ADG154-336) were used in a series of bivariate analyses to establish the genetic and phenotypic correlations with MFs. Bivariate analyses were only performed for MFs that had a heritability significantly different from zero. The heritabilities obtained in the univariate analyses for the MFs in the binned data set were low (<0.2). In contrast, in the aligned data set, we obtained moderate heritability (0.2 to 0.5) for 3.5% of MFs and high heritability (more than 0.5) for 1% of MFs. The bivariate analyses showed that ~12%, ~3%, ~9%, and ~9% of MFs had significant additive genetic correlations with BW, ADG154-294, ADG294-336, and ADG154-336, respectively. In all of the bivariate analyses, the percentage of significant additive genetic correlations was higher than the percentage of significant phenotypic correlations of the corresponding trait. Our results provided insights into the influence of the underlying genetic mechanisms on MFs. Further investigations in this field are needed for better understanding of the genetic relationship among the MFs and quantitative traits.

Complexity of animal breeding choice making

The last decades of developments in animal breeding, genetics, genomics and data recording technologies have allowed the evaluation of larger numbers of animal and animal traits than ever before. This should help make animal breeding choices more informed, but it also makes them far more complex. This complexity may be overwhelming farmers, thus compromising realization of potential genetic gain in livestock industries. However, the effect of complexity of animal breeding choices on farmers' selection of animals has received very little theoretical consideration to date. This paper reviews the theoretical principles of complex decisions, contextualizes the findings to the field of animal breeding, and analyses how farmers and the animal breeding industry are currently dealing with complexity. According to the findings of the analyses of complex decisions in other fields, the complexity of animal breeding choices is likely to lead to farmers using conscious or unconscious simplifying strategies (heuristics) to handle such complexity. When these heuristics are ineffective, poor selection decisions and a potential loss of genetic progress can be expected. Further, studies using survey experiments to understand farmer behaviour and selection preferences may be compromised by the complexity of the survey´s choice tasks. Thus, while many animal breeding industries recognize the complexity of animal breeding choices for farmers and attempts are made to assist farmers in their choice making, the effectiveness of these attempts is not well quantified and understood. We discuss three areas of research that could be key to disentangling how, and by how much, animal breeding choice complexity affects farmers' decisions.

The myostatin gene: an overview of mechanisms of action and its relevance to livestock animals.

Myostatin, also known as growth differentiation factor 8, a member of the transforming growth factor-beta super-family, is a negative regulator of muscle development. Myostatin acts at key points during pre- and post-natal life of amniotes that ultimately determine the overall muscle mass of an animal. Mutations have already demonstrated the impact of attenuating myostatin activity on muscle development. A number of large animals, including cattle, sheep, dogs and humans, display the 'double muscled' phenotype due to mutations in the myostatin gene. Here, we firstly give an overview of the molecular pathways regulated by myostatin that control muscle development. Then we describe the natural mutations and their associated phenotypes as well as the physiological influence of altering myostatin expression in livestock animals (cattle, sheep, goat, horse, pig, rabbit and chicken). Knowledge of null alleles and polymorphisms in the myostatin gene are of great interest in the animal breeding field, and it could be utilized to improve meat production in livestock animals.

ACADEMICIAN V. BURKAT – PUBLICIST, HISTORIAN AND POPULARIZER OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN UKRAINE

The author has proved that doctor of agricultural sciences, professor, academician V. Burkat was a talented publicist, a promoter of national agricultural science achievements.The author has used general scientific, interdisciplinary and historical research methods. She has also used methods of archive and literature source analysis. The basis of the literature source base is scientific papers of doctor of agricultural sciences, professor, academician V. Burkat.The article shows that V. Burkat is a co-founder of the historical-biographical series, encyclopedic, reference and bibliographic publications, editor of the scientific-themed digests, author of fundamental scientific papers. One of the greatest achievements of the scientist is active participation in the intensive deployment of encyclopedic work in Ukraine. He was a member of the main editorial board of the "Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine" from 1997. During the life years he published eight volumes of this edition. In the last years Institute of Encyclopedic Research started preparing another encyclopedic edition – Universal Encyclopedia of Ukraine. V. Burkat prepared dictionary of agricultural section. He believed the leading field of research on the history of domestic agricultural science should become agricultural biographу studies. The first step in this direction was the establishment of historical and biographical series "Ukrainian Agrarian Scientists of the Twentieth Century" in 1997. He produced nine books in the series, which highlighted the life, scientific and public activities of 1270 Ukrainian agrarian scientists. V. Burkat took an active part in the preparation of publications on the activities of scientists in the field of animal husbandry to their anniversaries. These are conference theses, monographs on the life and work of F. Faltz-Fein, I. Ivanov, M. Ivanov, I. Smirnov, O. Yatsenko, F. Eisner, M. Kravchenko, O. Kvasnytsky and others. The scientist contributed to the establishment and development of national agricultural bibliography. Bibliographies of leading scientists in the field of animal breeding, corresponding members of NAAS F. Eisner and M. Efymenko, professors I. Smirnov and V. Konovalov, doctors I. Petrenko and B. Podoba were issued by his scientific edition.The author has justified that academician V. Burkat is one of the drafters of the branch thematic bibliography "The Beef Cattle: Past, Present and Future. 1950-2004". He proposed to establish new serial publication "Scientific Agricultural School". V. Burkat provided special attention to popularization of some research scientific and industrial institutions that considered as the main link towards building of national agricultural experimantal work on animal husbandry. In particular, he prepared a series of publications which summarized the main stages of NAAS and IABG activities.V. Burkat`s contribution to the popularization of Ukrainian scientists’ achievements on animal husbandry is particularly significant. He prepared the reference editions "Breeding Work" (1995), "Breeding Resources of Ukraine" (1998), "Selection Achievements in Animal Breeding" (2000). The documentaries "Brown Dairy Breed", "Red Breed", "Red-and-White Breed", "Black-and-White Breed" prepared by academician V. Burkat in 1989 profit presentation of breeding achievements of Ukrainian scientists in the field of animal husbandry.V. Burkat initiated the publication of scientific and practical bulletin "Selection", which provided systematic information on development of the selection process of the improvement of existing and creation of new highly productive breeds and types of farm animals.V. Burkat was a member of the editorial board of the journals «Animal Husbandry of Ukraine" (1978-2009), "Journal of Agricultural Sciences" (1986-1989), "Biology of Animals" (1999-2009), "Fisheries Science" (2007); scientific thematic collections of "Dairy and Beef Cattle" (1982-1987), "Journal of Cherkassy Institute of Agroindustrial Production" (2000-2009), "Bulletin of the Ukrainian Society of Geneticists and Breeders" (2003-2009), abstract journal "Agriculture of Ukraine "(1999-2009), interdepartmental thematic scientific digest "Animal Breeding and Genetics" and others.

ACADEMICIAN V. P. BURKAT – RECOGNIZED SCIENTIST IN ANIMAL BREEDING, AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE ORGANIZER, PUBLIC FIGURE

The authors have argued that doctor of agricultural sciences, professor and academician of Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences V. P. Burkat made a significant contribution to the development of agricultural science in Ukraine as an outstanding scientist in the field of animal breeding, organizer of agricultural research work, public figure. His greatest achievement is development of the conceptual aspects of breed formation in cattle-breeding, which was implemented in creation of a few highly specialized cattle breeds. The scientist is co-author of the first created in Ukraine Ukrainian Red-and-White Dairy, Ukrainian Black-and-White Dairy, Ukrainian Red Dairy, Ukrainian Brown Dairy, Volyn Beef, Polesian Beef, Southern Beef breeds and their structural units (interbreed types, lines and families).&#x0D; The article shows that the scientist substantiated the feasibility of comprehensive genetic monitoring as one of the main conditions in creating new and improving existing breeds of cattle. He developed biotechnological and genetic principles of farm animal breeding. He laid foundation of a new comprehensive science – biotech breeding, identified the main components of its structural status and applied new theoretical approaches to the selection process, taking into account the practical use of biotechnological methods. The scientist first raised ethical, social and legal aspects of introduction of biotechnology in agriculture.&#x0D; V. P. Burkat`s achievement is development of the theory of conservation of the gene pool of farm animals. He initiated development of concept of gene objects creation and placing, defined their purpose in the system of conservation of the farm animal breeding resources. He explained importance of the gene pool banks as the main link of farm animal conservation.&#x0D; The authors have proven that scientific heritage of academician V. P. Burkat didn`t lose its importance and relevance in the current development of animal husbandry. Some parts of it, including the theory of breed creation; methodical bases of management of breed genealogy; theory of consolidation of breed units; bases of breeding, evaluation and sustainable use of sires; genetic, biotechnological and technological bases of selection; methods of conservation and sustainable use of animal gene pool should be used as a theoretical and methodological basis for development of further strategies in cattle breeding.&#x0D; Academician V. P. Burkat is prominent organizer of agricultural research work in animal husbandry of Ukraine. He made significant efforts to obtain status of main methodological and coordination center of agriculture of Ukraine by Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences. Almost 30 years he devoted to the establishment of branch guidance and coordination center – Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics. One of the most important achievements of scientist was organization of scientific school "Breeding and Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry" at Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics in 1980. His disciples are famous scientists, including academicians of NAAS M. Baschenko, V. Ladyka, Yu. Melnik, corresponding members of the NAAS S. Ruban, S. Kovtun, doctor of agricultural sciences A. Havruk, V. Antonenko, S. Voitenko, A. Dubin, V. Smetanin, V. Dzitsyuk, Yu. Polupan, K. Kopylov and others.&#x0D; The article shows that V. P. Burkat is known public figure who defended the national idea at all levels of exposure, as a co-founder of the historical-biographical series "Ukrainian Agrarian Scientists of the Twentieth Century", initiator of a number of encyclopedic, reference and bibliographic publications, editor of scientific journals, author of fundamental scientific generalizing papers and others.

Invited review: Breeding and ethical perspectives on genetically modified and genome edited cattle

The hot topic of genetic modification and genome editing is sometimes presented as a rapid solution to various problems in the field of animal breeding and genetics. These technologies hold potential for future use in agriculture but we need to be aware of difficulties in large-scale application and integration in breeding schemes. In this review, we discuss applications of both classical genetic modifications (GM) using vectors and genome editing in dairy cattle breeding. We use an interdisciplinary approach considering both ethical and animal breeding perspectives. Decisions on how to make use of these techniques need to be made based not only on what is possible, but on what is reasonable to do. Principles of animal integrity, naturalness, risk perception, and animal welfare issues are examples of ethically relevant factors to consider. These factors also influence public perception and decisions about regulations by authorities. We need to acknowledge that we lack complete understanding of the genetic background of complex traits. It may be difficult, therefore, to predict the full effect of certain modifications in large-scale breeding programs. We present 2 potential applications: genome editing to dispense with dehorning, and insertion of human genes in bovine genomes to improve udder health as an example of classical GM. Both of these cases could be seen as beneficial for animal welfare but they differ in other aspects. In the former case, a genetic variant already present within the species is introduced, whereas in the latter case, transgenic animals are generated-this difference may influence how society regards the applications. We underline that the use of GM, as well as genome editing, of farm animals such as cattle is not independent of the context, and should be considered as part of an entire process, including, for example, the assisted reproduction technology that needs to be used. We propose that breeding organizations and breeding companies should take an active role in ethical discussions about the use of these techniques and thereby signal to society that these questions are being responsibly addressed.

Conceptual Incongruence between Prion Disease and Genetic Diversity in Ovine Species within European Union defined by Informational Statistics Terms

Biodiversity and the studies of spongiform encephalopathies in the farm animals are highly topical concerns of the contemporary scientific world. Both themes are very interesting for the life sciences and very important for the application field of animal breeding. The implementation of these two concepts creates an antithetical paradigm: the achievement of genetic prophylaxis joins with the decrease of genetic diversity. The paper examines the genetic diversity and its evolution in sheep livestock from the European space in the context in which the European Community has developed very laborious and costly programs targeted both for conservation and enhancement of biodiversity and to eradicate the scrapie in small ruminants. This paper utilises a precise method to quantify the genetic biodiversity in all sheep populations in Europe by a modern concept derived from informational statistics - informational energy. In addition, the paper proposes concrete and viable solutions to achieve these two desiderata at optimal levels in connection with a perfect perspicacity of sheep breeder which consists in accuracy of the reproduction process and correct application of the selection criteria.

Heritability of pulmonary function estimated from pedigree and whole-genome markers.

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are major worldwide health problems. Pulmonary function testing is a useful diagnostic tool for these diseases, and is known to be influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Previous studies have demonstrated that a substantial proportion of the variation in pulmonary function phenotypes can be explained by familial relationships. The availability of whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data enables us to further evaluate the extent to which genetic factors account for variation in pulmonary function and to compare pedigree- to SNP-based estimates of heritability. Here, we employ methods developed in the animal breeding field to estimate the heritability of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and the ratio of these two measures (FEV1/FVC) among subjects in the Framingham Heart Study dataset. We compare heritability estimates based on pedigree-based relationships to those based on genome-wide SNPs. We find that, in a family-based study, estimates of heritability using SNP data are nearly identical to estimates based on pedigree information, and range from 0.50 for FEV1 to 0.66 for FEV1/FVC. Therefore, we conclude that genetic factors account for a sizable proportion of inter-individual differences in pulmonary function, and that estimates of heritability based on SNP data are nearly identical to estimates based on pedigree data. Finally, our findings suggest a higher heritability for FEV1/FVC compared to either FEV1 or FVC.

A frailty modeling approach for parental effects in animal breeding

Survival models involving frailties are commonly applied in studies where correlated event time data arise due to natural or artificial clustering. In this paper we present an application of such models in the animal breeding field. Specifically, a mixed survival model with a multivariate correlated frailty term is proposed for the analysis of data from over 3611 Brazilian Nellore cattle. The primary aim is to evaluate parental genetic effects on the trait length in days that their progeny need to gain a commercially specified standard weight gain. This trait is not measured directly but can be estimated from growth data. Results point to the importance of genetic effects and suggest that these models constitute a valuable data analysis tool for beef cattle breeding.