Indian Cattle Research Articles

Y-chromosome genetic diversity of Bos indicus cattle in close proximity to the centre of domestication

Y-chromosome genetic diversity in and around its domestication origin and a better understanding of indicine-specific microsatellite alleles are imperative concerns but less -targeted. We analysed Y-chromosome markers in 301 bulls representing 19 native Indian cattle (Bos indicus) and identified new alleles and haplotypes. Compared to other indicine studies, the high Y-haplotype diversity found in Indian cattle supports the hypothesis of greater genetic variability across the centre of origin decreasing along migratory routes with increasing distance. Hence, a considerable paternal genetic diversity of Indian cattle appears to have been lost in transboundary commercial indicine breeds. The Khillar and Gir are the most diversified populations where the first tends to be the well-differentiated traditional breed carrying strikingly distinct Y-lineages with typical BM861-158 bp allele, characteristics of taurine cattle, while retaining standard indicine lineages for all other markers. Geographical distribution found to be an unreliable predictor of parental variation, and Y-lineages seemed closely related to Indian breed function/utility. The comprehensive Y-chromosome information will be useful to examine the demographic expansion/spread of Bos indicus lineages from close proximity to the domestication centre across different countries worldwide and such diversity should be preserved through effective management and conservation programs.

Current status of research on linear type traits in Indian cattle and future strategies.

Linear type traits are of quite importance to animal breeders because of their significant influence on production performance as well as longevity and thus on overall profitability of the enterprise. To sustain the high milk production of dairy animals for a longer time without facing adverse consequences on animal health, it is important to include type traits in selection criteria. Besides, type traits have been found to have correlations with many economic traits. Dairy advanced countries are using linear type traits of cows in their selection programs, but due emphasis has not been given to type traits in Indian subcontinent. Very few studies have been undertaken for appraising linear type traits in dairy animals of Indian cattle breeds. The paper reviews the results of these studies and future strategies needed for type evaluation of Indian cattle. Given that a good type of dairy cow is efficient in production, as the research suggests, a systematic type recording system should be started for Indian breeds of cattle.

The effect of breed, sex, and drug concentration on the pharmacokinetic profile of ivermectin in cattle.

Ivermectin (IVM) is one of the most widely used antiparasitic drugs worldwide and has become the drug of choice for anthelmintic and tick treatment in beef cattle production. It is known that pharmacokinetic parameters are fundamental to the rational use of a drug and food safety and these parameters are influenced by different factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile of IVM in Bos indicus, Bos taurus, and crossbreed cattle (B.indicus×B.taurus) kept under same field conditions and the possible impacts of sex and IVM formulation (1% and 3.15%). It was observed that IVM concentration was significantly affected by breed. The plasma concentrations of IVM, AUC, Cmax , and t1/2β were significantly higher in B.indicus compared to B.taurus. Crossbreed animals showed an intermediate profile between European and Indian cattle. No alteration in pharmacokinetics parameters was detected when comparing different gender. Concerning the pharmacokinetic data of IVM formulation, it was verified that Tmax , AUC, and t1/2β were higher in 3.15% IVM animals than those from 1% IVM formulation. The results clearly indicated that the IVM plasma concentrations in B.indicus were higher than that in B.taurus.

Immunofluorescence and molecular diagnosis of bovine respiratory syncytial virus and bovine parainfluenza virus in the naturally infected young cattle and buffaloes from India

Pneumonia in bovines is a multifactorial disease manifestation leading to heavy economic losses. Infections of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) and bovine parainfluenza virus-3 (BPI-3) are among the important contributing factors for the development of pneumonia in young animals. These viral agents either primarily cause pneumonia or predispose animals to the development of pneumonia. Although, the role of BRSV and BPI-3 in the pathogenesis of pneumonia is well established, there are no reports of involvement of BRSV and BPI-3 from Indian cattle and buffaloes suffering from pneumonia. In the present investigation, we performed postmortem examinations of 406 cattle and buffaloes, which were below twelve months of age. Out of 406 cases, twelve (2.95%) cases were positive for BRSV and fifteen (3.69%) cases were positive for BPI-3, screened by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Further, positive cases were confirmed by sequence analysis of RT-PCR amplicons and direct immunofluorescence antibody test (d-FAT) in paraffin-embedded lung tissue sections. BRSV positive cases revealed characteristic findings of bronchiolar epithelial necrosis, thickened alveolar septa by mononuclear cells infiltration and edema; alveolar lumens were filled with mononuclear cells and numerous syncytial cells were seen having intracytoplasmic inclusions. The BRSV antigen distribution was found to be in bronchiolar and alveolar epithelium and syncytial cells in the lung sections. In fifteen cases, where BPI-3 was detected, bronchointerstitial pneumonia in the majority of cases with thickened alveolar septa by mild macrophage infiltration, hyperplasia of type-II pneumocytes and bronchiolar necrosis along with syncytial cells having intracytoplasmic inclusions in the majority of cases were observed. The BPI-3 antigen distribution was found to be in bronchiolar and alveolar epithelium and syncytial cells in the lung sections. RT-PCR amplicons of BRSV and BPI-3 obtained were sequenced and their analysis showed homology with already available sequences in the NCBI database. It is the first report of detection of BRSV and BPI-3 from pneumonic cases by RT-PCR and d-FAT from cattle and buffaloes of India, indicating the need for more epidemiological studies.

Antibiotic sensitivity and RAPD-PCR studies on cultivable gut bacteria from Indian Medicinal Leech\u2014Hirudinaria granulosa

BackgroundHirudo granulosa—an Indian cattle leech, is frequently used for the treatment of psoriasis and eczema. During treatment which followed by leech biting, it transfers some amount of gut microbes along with saliva. This may result in bacterial infection at the treatment site. Antibiotics used as post-surgical hirudotherapy is the reason for drug resistance. Drug resistance is the result of the change in the genetic makeup of bacteria. Therefore, it is necessary to study antibiotic sensitivity of gut bacteria and characterized them genetically.ResultsFourteen bacterial isolates were obtained from unused leech in which five were Gram-negative and the other nine were Gram-positive. Similarly from the used leech, thirteen were isolated in which five were Gram-negative and the other eight were Gram-positive. Biochemical analysis reveals that isolates from unused leech saliva belong to Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Streptococcus, and Vibrio species, while the used leech salivary bacteria were the member of genus Pseudomonas, Comamonas, Escherichia, Citrobacter, Aeromonas, Providencia, Enterobacter, and Yersinia. Antibiotic sensitivity tests for isolates indicated that chloramphenicol (30 μg) and norfloxacin (10 μg) were effective for unused leech isolates while sparfloxacin (5 μg) and Cefaclor (30 μg) were effective against used leech salivary isolates. Random primer (OPL-14)-based random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprint showed twenty amplified regions among all tested bacteria. Most of the bacteria contain the tested sequence except U2, T2, T9A, and T10 which showed no amplification indicated the absence of primers sequence.ConclusionChloramphenicol, norfloxacin, sparfloxacin, and Cefaclor antibiotics alone or in combination were possibly used to treat post-therapy infections. Bacteria from treated and untreated leeches were clustered at nearby branch in neighbor end-joining phylogenetic tree, which indicates the similar (but not exact) genetic makeup. Therefore, it can be concluded that these antibiotics were possibly used against most of them.

Genome-Wide Runs of Homozygosity Revealed Selection Signatures in Bos indicus.

Genome-wide runs of homozygosity (ROH) are suitable for understanding population history, calculating genomic inbreeding, deciphering genetic architecture of complex traits and diseases as well as identifying genes linked with agro-economic traits. Autozygosity and ROH islands, genomic regions with elevated ROH frequencies, were characterized in 112 animals of seven Indian native cattle breeds (B. indicus) using BovineHD BeadChip. In total, 4138 ROH were detected. The average number of ROH per animal was maximum in draft breed, Kangayam (63.62 ± 22.71) and minimum in dairy breed, Sahiwal (24.62 ± 11.03). The mean ROH length was maximum in Vechur (6.97 Mb) and minimum in Hariana (4.04 Mb). Kangayam revealed the highest ROH based inbreeding (FROH > 1Mb = 0.113 ± 0.059), whereas Hariana (FROH > 1Mb = 0.042 ± 0.031) and Sahiwal (FROH > 1Mb = 0.043 ± 0.048) showed the lowest. The high standard deviation observed in each breed highlights a considerable variability in autozygosity. Out of the total autozygous segments observed in each breed except Vechur, > 80% were of short length (< 8 Mb) and contributed almost 50% of the genome proportion under ROH. However, in Vechur cattle, long ROH contributed 75% of the genome proportion under ROH. ROH patterns revealed Hariana and Sahiwal breeds as less consanguineous, while recent inbreeding was apparent in Vechur. Maximum autozygosity observed in Kangayam is attributable to both recent and ancient inbreeding. The ROH islands were harbouring higher proportion of QTLs for production traits (20.68% vs. 14.64%; P≤ 0.05) but lower for reproductive traits (11.49% vs. 15.76%; P≤ 0.05) in dairy breeds compared to draft breed. In draft cattle, genes associated with resistant to diseases/higher immunity (LYZL1, SVIL, and GPX4) and stress tolerant (CCT4) were identified in ROH islands; while in dairy breeds, for milk production (PTGFR, CSN1S1, CSN2, CSN1S2, and CSN3). Significant difference in ROH islands among large and short statured breeds was observed at chromosome 3 and 5 involving genes like PTGFR and HMGA2 responsible for milk production and stature, respectively. PCA analysis on consensus ROH regions revealed distinct clustering of dairy, draft and short stature cattle breeds.

Genetic polymorphism in the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) gene and its association with the production and reproduction traits of Indian dairy cattle

Genetic polymorphism in the adiponectin (ADIPOQ) gene and its association with the production and reproduction traits of Indian dairy cattle

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in CLEC7A, CD209 and TLR4 gene and their association with susceptibility to paratuberculosis in Indian cattle

The aim of this study was to identify the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in bovine candidate genes CLEC7A, CD209 and TLR4, and explore the association between these SNPs with the occurrence of bovine paratuberculosis (PTB) disease. For this purpose, 549 animals were screened by a panel of four diagnostic tests, namely Johnin PPD test, ELISA test, faecal microscopy and IS900 blood PCR against Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) to develop case-control populations. SNPs were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Genotypic-phenotypic associations were assessed by the PROCLOGISTIC procedure of SAS 9.3. Of the seven SNPs; rs110353594 in CLEC7A gene and rs8193046 in TLR4 gene were found to be associated with PTB. For SNP rs110353594, odds of CC and CT genotypes vs TT genotype was 1.543 (0.420-5.667; 95% CI) and 0.284 (0.104-0.774; 95% CI), respectively which means that CT genotype was more resistant than TT and CC genotypes against bovine PTB. For SNP rs8193046, odds of AA and AG genotypes versus GG genotype was 0.947 (0.296-3.034; 95% CI) and 3.947 (1.555-10.022; 95% CI), respectively, i.e. probability for getting an infection in animals with AG genotype was 3.94 times more as compared to GG genotype. Hence, a selection programme favouring CT genotype for rs110353594 and against AG genotype for rs8193046 may be beneficial for conferring resistance against bovine PTB.

Polymorphism of Bovine Forebrain Embryonic Zinc Finger Like (FEZL) Gene Associated with Resistance to Mastitis in Indian Cattle

Polymorphism of Bovine Forebrain Embryonic Zinc Finger Like (FEZL) Gene Associated with Resistance to Mastitis in Indian Cattle

Superficial acral fibromyxoma of horn : A rare neoplasm and histomorphological entity in an Indian bullock

A four year non-descript bullock was presented to Veterinary Clinical Complex, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Orathanadu, TANUVAS, Tamilnadu with a history of slow growing mass near the base of the left horn. On examination, a protruding, whitish grey, smooth and soft, unlobulated mass was noticed on the body of the left horn. Biopsy specimen was collected and preserved. Histologically, the tissue consisted of mixed population of repetitively arranged fibroblast in whorls with prominent nuclei and stellate cells with cytoplasmic tails. Abundant collagenous and mucinous stroma were present. Abnormal mitotic figures were absent. On special staining, collagenous stroma was more prominent in Masson’s trichrome and blue stained mucinous stroma was seen in Alcian blue technique. Based on the histological features the case was diagnosed as acral fibromyxoma. The case describes the first incidence of fibromyxoma in horn of Indian cattle.

Determination of milk intake by calf suckling during lactation in Kankrej cows

The research work was carried out on Kankrej cattle at Livestock Research Station, S. D. Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Gujarat. The quantity of milk suckled by the calves was estimated by weigh-suckle-weigh technique (Williams et al ., 1979). Kankrej calves were selected for the present study (for the period of lactation maximum up to 305 days). A total of 741 observations were considered for analysis. The results revealed that overall suckling allowance was 725.9 liters per lactation. The average milk suckled by the calves in a single time was 1.26±0.04, 1.20±0.06, 1.11±0.05, 1.13±0.05, 1.18±0.05, 1.12±0.05, 1.22±0.08, 1.38±0.09, 1.33±0.08, 1.17±0.08 and 1.19 ±0.02 liters during first, second, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten month of age and during lactation, respectively. According to the milk production capacity of dam, milk suckled by the calves per time was 1.21±0.05, 1.20±0.02, 1.13±0.05 liters in the cows producing 0-3, 3-6 and more than 6 liters of milk per time, respectively. Similarly, milk suckled by the calves at one time during early, mid and late lactation was 1.20±0.03, 1.14±0.03 and 1.32±0.05 liters, respectively. While, as per the body weight of the calves (up to 50 kg, 50 to 100 kg and more than 100 kg) the milk suckled was 1.21±0.03, 1.15±0.03 and 1.27±0.05 liters, respectively. The milk suckled by the calves in this study was comparatively higher than other Indian cattle breeds, because of powerful mothering instincts of Kankrej cows which ultimately responsible for the least calf mortality in this breed. From the above study, it is concluded that the average milk suckled by the calves per time is 1.19 ±0.02 litres and total 725.9 liters per lactation which could be added to the milk collected in pail while calculating total lactation yield in Kankrej cattle while comparing the production potential especially with crossbreds.

Isolation and characterization of Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 and other verotoxin-producing E. coli in healthy Indian cattle.

Background and Aim:Cattle are the main reservoir of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and other verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC); therefore, there is an increased risk of infection to humans by either direct or indirect mode of transmissions. However, the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in the healthy cattle population of India is yet to be ascertained. This study aimed to screen the dairy cattle in and around Pune, Maharashtra, India, for verotoxin-producing E. coli O157:H7.Materials and Methods:A total of 257 rectal swabs were collected from 15 different organized and unorganized dairy farms of Pune during the period, January-March 2015. The screening involved enrichment in EC broth followed by differential identification on MacConkey sorbitol agar. The presumptive positive isolates were further confirmed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers specific to rfbE (O157), fliC (H7), VT1 (MK1), and VT2 (MK2). Vero-toxicity and antibiotic sensitivity were examined in PCR confirmed isolates.Results:Out of the 257 samples analyzed, 1.9% (2/105) were positive for O157:H7 and 39% (41/105) were positive for VTEC. Two PCR confirmed positive O157:H7 strains and two randomly selected PCR-positive VT strains exhibited in vitro cytopathic effect on Vero cells on day-7 post-inoculation. Antibiotic sensitivity profiling of O157:H7 strains exhibited resistance against penicillin G, kanamycin, ampicillin, tetracycline, gentamycin, cefotaxime, streptomycin, and piperacillin.Conclusion:These findings reveal the presence of pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 in the healthy cattle of Pune; in a situation, wherein regular surveillance for O157:H7 is not a norm. Therefore, the findings presented herein warrant routine surveillance and public awareness to prevent the transfer of such pathogens and manage health risks to the public.

Provincialising the Cow: Buffalo–Human Relationships

This paper examines the ritual and everyday practices of a family of buffalo-keeping Yadavs in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Water buffalo and indigenous Indian cattle are described as biologically and socially distinct beings: buffalo are economic animals, favoured for milk production, but ritually devalued and legally killable; cattle are sacred, protected from slaughter. Cows have historically been the animals central to public imaginations of Hindu belonging in scholarship and popular politics. But buffalo, not cows, are the animals central to Yadav self-making. This paper shows how heterodox bovine beliefs and everyday practices knit buffalo into a capacious Hindu interspecies world that subverts contemporary cow politics.

Marker discovery and associations with β-carotene content in Indian dairy cattle and buffalo breeds

Vitamin A is essential for human health, but current intake levels in many developing countries such as India are too low due to malnutrition. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 250 million preschool children are vitamin A deficient globally. This number excludes pregnant women and nursing mothers, who are particularly vulnerable. Efforts to improve access to vitamin A are key because supplementation can reduce mortality rates in young children in developing countries by around 23%. Three key genes, BCMO1, BCO2, and SCARB1, have been shown to be associated with the amount of β-carotene (BC) in milk. Whole-genome sequencing reads from the coordinates of these 3 genes in 202 non-Indian cattle (141 Bos taurus, 61 Bos indicus) and 35 non-Indian buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) animals from several breeds were collected from data repositories. The number of SNP detected in the coding regions of these 3 genes ranged from 16 to 26 in the 3 species, with 5 overlapping SNP between B. taurus and B. indicus. All these SNP together with 2 SNP in the upstream part of the gene but already present in dbSNP (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/SNP/) were used to build a custom Sequenom array. Blood for DNA and milk samples for BC were obtained from 2,291 Indian cows of 5 different breeds (Gir, Holstein cross, Jersey Cross, Tharparkar, and Sahiwal) and 2,242 Indian buffaloes (Jafarabadi, Murrah, Pandharpuri, and Surti breeds). The DNA was extracted and genotyped with the Sequenom array. For each individual breed and the combined breeds, SNP with an association that had a P-value <0.3 in the first round of linear analysis were included in a second step of regression analyses to determine allele substitution effects to increase the content of BC in milk. Additionally, an F-test for all SNP within gene was performed with the objective of determining if overall the gene had a significant effect on the content of BC in milk. The analyses were repeated using a Bayesian approach to compare and validate the previous frequentist results. Multiple significant SNP were found using both methodologies with allele substitution effects ranging from 6.21 (3.13) to 9.10 (5.43) μg of BC per 100 mL of milk. Total gene effects exceeded the mean BC value for all breeds with both analysis approaches. The custom panel designed for genes related to BC production demonstrated applicability in genotyping of cattle and buffalo in India and may be used for cattle or buffalo from other developing countries. Moreover, the recommendation of selection for significant specific alleles of some gene markers provides a route to effectively increase the BC content in milk in the Indian cattle and buffalo populations.

Detection of Surra (trypanosomiasis) positivity in humans in an outbreak area of Indonesia

BACKGROUND Surra is an infection caused by a blood protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma evansi, and transmitted by blood-sucking insects. The parasite generally infects only animals; however, it was reported to infect an Indian cattle farmer in 2004, followed by reports of other human cases. The most severe Surra outbreak in Indonesia occurred in Sumba Island during 2010–2012, resulting in the death of more than 2,000 livestock. This study was conducted to explore the serological status of farmers who have intensive contact with their livestock against T. evansi infection in Southwest Sumba district.&#x0D; METHODS A total of 24 serum samples were collected from farmers living in the Surra outbreak area. All sera were tested using both card agglutination test for trypanosomiasis/T. evansi (CATT/T. evansi) and field enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (FELISA).&#x0D; RESULTS Of the 24 serum samples, 4 (16.7%) samples were seropositive for the antigen T. evansi using both tests. This is the first report of human trypanosomiasis (Surra) in Indonesia. Unfortunately, the clinical manifestations of farmers with positive Surra infection were not reported because all sera samples used in this study were obtained from the Public Health Service with no reports of clinical signs from the respondents.&#x0D; CONCLUSIONS Farmers living in the Surra outbreak area have a high risk of being infected with T. evansi due to their potential frequent contact with Surra vectors. Therefore, T. evansi infection in humans requires attention as it might have the potential to develop as a new emerging zoonotic disease in Indonesia.

Transcriptomic analysis to affirm the regulatory role of long non-coding RNA in horn cancer of Indian zebu cattle breed Kankrej (Bos indicus).

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) was previously considered as a non-functional transcript, which now established as part of regulatory elements of biological events such as chromosome structure, remodeling, and regulation of gene expression. The study presented here showed the role of lncRNA through differential expression analysis on cancer-related coding genes in horn squamous cell carcinoma of Indian zebu cattle. A total of 10,360 candidate lncRNAs were identified and further analyzed for its coding potential ability using three tools (CPC, CPAT, and PLEK) that provide 8862 common lncRNAs. Pfam analysis of these common lncRNAs gave 8612 potential candidates for lncRNA differential expression analysis. Differential expression analysis showed a total of 59 significantly differentially expressed genes and 19 lncRNAs. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to identify co-expressed mRNA-lncRNAs to established relation of the regulatory role of lncRNAs in horn cancer. We established a positive relation of seven upregulated (XLOC_000016, XLOC_002198, XLOC_002851, XLOC_ 007383, XLOC_010701, XLOC_010272, and XLOC_011517) and one downregulated (XLOC_011302) lncRNAs with eleven genes that are related to keratin family protein, keratin-associated protein family, cornifelin, corneodesmosin, serpin family protein, and metallothionein that have well-established role in squamous cell carcinoma through cellular communication, cell growth, cell invasion, and cell migration. These biological events were found to be related to the MAPK pathway of cell cycle regulation indicating the role of lncRNAs in manipulating cell cycle regulation during horn squamous cell carcinomas that will be useful in identifying molecular portraits related to the development of horn cancer.

ASSESSMENT OF ANIMAL WELFARE STATUS DURING TRANSPORTATION AND SLAUGHTERING OF RUMINANT ANIMALS AT LOCAL SLAUGHTER HOUSES IN BANGLADESH

Background: Most of the developing countries including Bangladesh where humane treatment of slaughter animals is not satisfactorily practiced mainly due to poorly developed and implemented animal welfare legislation resulting in stress conditions and excessive suffering of animals. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the animal welfare knowledge and attitudes of animal transporters and butchers during transportation and slaughtering animals in local slaughter houses in Bangladesh Materials and Methods: This study was carried out from July to October 2017 at 40 local slaughter houses of 10 Upazilas in Mymensingh district. A pre-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from butchers at pre- and during slaughtering animals. The welfare data of 123 ruminant animals (84 cattle, 31 goats and 8 sheep) which were subjected to slaughter was collected by direct observation and examination. Results: Meat animals are usually purchased from the local market, some from farms and even from imported Indian cattle are usually transported from far away to slaughter houses. Significantly (p &lt; 0.01) highest percentage of animals were transported by walking (42.28%), followed by truck (22.76%), pick-up van (20.33%), local vehicle (11.38%) and lowest by auto-rickshaw (3.25%). Small ruminants were kept in a lair-age for 1 to 2 days but most of the cattle were slaughtered upon arrival. Out of 123 animals investigated, 0.81 to 4.07% had lameness, 0.81 to 10.57% had skin lesions and 4.06 to 18.69% had dirty conditions in the different body regions. Diarrhea was recorded in 4.88% animals whereas 7.32% had nasal and 4.07% had ocular discharges. Lair-age was found in 85% slaughter houses with pacca (15.0%), kaccha (45.0%) and semi-pacca (40.0%) conditions but 80% had no bedding materials and 92.5% dirty floor condition. Mostly jute rope (89.43%) and halal method (100%) were used for casting and slaughtering of animals respectively without regular veterinary inspection. The stress caused by transportation and slaughtering of animals were not minimized due to lack of practice of animal welfare legislation in Bangladesh. Conclusions: The insufficient knowledge of animal transporters and butchers about animal behavior and animal welfare suggests that there is a need to improve animal welfare situation through training to the concerned people. Humane slaughter of animals may reduce the incidence of injury to the animals and less bruise to the carcasses that improve the meat quality. Keywords: Transportation, Slaughter house, Animal welfare, Animal handling, Butchers

Characterization of meat from three Indian native cattle breeds and cross-bred cows

The current study was undertaken to evaluate various quality attributes of meat from three Indian native cattle breeds and cross-bred cows using Principal Component Analysis. Three muscles each from eight Vechur, Kasargod Dwarf, Gir and cross-bred cows of 10 years of age were utilized and analyzed for 13 variables such as physico-chemical and compositional attributes. The coefficients of variation of each parameter were in the range from 1.04 to 42.54 per cent. PCA transformed the variables into five principal components (PC), which explained about 75 per cent of total variability. PC1 was comprised of Warner-Bratzler shear force, collagen content, collagen solubility and sarcomere length. PC2 was characterized by a*, b*, cooking loss and fat content. Loading plots of the first two PCs revealed high correlation for objective measures of meat tenderness. In score plot, meat samples from cross-breds and native cattle breeds were organized into two distinct groups.

Fixation of T allele in G&gt;T Polymorphism in Exon 7 Region of Secreted Phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) Gene in Indian Cattle Breeds

Fixation of T allele in G&gt;T Polymorphism in Exon 7 Region of Secreted Phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) Gene in Indian Cattle Breeds

Genetic association of polymorphisms in bovine TLR2 and TLR4 genes with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection in Indian cattle population.

Toll like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition molecules involved in cellular recognition of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), the infectious agent causing Paratuberculosis (PTB), a notified disease of domestic and wild ruminants. The present study was undertaken to investigate the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TLR2 and TLR4 gene and to evaluate association of these SNPs with occurrence of PTB in Indian cattle. A total of 213 cattle, were subjected to multiple diagnostic tests viz. Johnin PPD, ELISA test (Indigenous and Parachek kit method), fecal microscopy and fecal culture for detection of MAP infection. Based on screening results 51 animals each were assigned to case and control population. Two SNPs viz. rs55617172, rs41830058 in TLR2 gene and two SNPs viz. rs8193046, rs8193060 in TLR4 gene and were genotyped by PCR-RFLP method. All SNPs were found to be polymorphic except rs41830058 in the case-control population. Both SNPs in TLR4 gene but none in TLR2 genes were significantly associated with the occurrence of PTB in our population. The genotypes in SNP rs8193046 and SNP rs8193060 were significantly (P < 0.01) different in case-control population. These findings suggest that SNPs rs8193046 and rs8193060 are likely a potential marker against MAP infection and a selection programme eliminating AG genotype for rs8193046 and CT genotype for rs8193060 might be beneficial in conferring resistance to MAP infection in Indian cattle population.