Studbook Research Articles

Multiple Bovine Thrombin Components

Abstract Purified thrombins are isolated from Parke-Davis thrombin topical and from bioactivated crude prothrombins obtained from single animal plasmas. Six thrombin components are present in the former by gel electrophoresis at pH 8.9, ionic strength 0.16, and 30°, but interband protein is high. Ultracentrifugation and gel filtration studies show that, as either ionic strength or temperature is decreased, reversible thrombin self-association and interaction with the gel matrix increase. Electrophoretic mobility and resolution decrease, the latter to give a single diffuse band. Partial fractionation of the six components, numbered according to increasing anodal mobility, was accomplished by differential elution from cellulose phosphate. T2 and T6 were isolated essentially in pure form. Specific activities and component abundances of fractions revealed that T1, T2, and T3 have significantly higher activities than T4, T5, and T6. Thrombins from 60 single animal plasmas contained only T1, T2, and T3, in two distribution types: I, having T1, T2, and T3 in a ratio of 1:2:1, or II, having T1 and T2 as a 1:1 ratio, with T3 absent or present at about 5% of total thrombin. Distribution type for pedigreed animals correlates (a) with age: below 8 months, only I was observed (5 animals); between 8 and 30 months, either I or II was observed (16 animals); and above 30 months, only II was observed (11 animals); and (b) with the two-stage clotting time of the original plasma, with the use of the corresponding serum to supply activators. Other correlations were not found. Component distribution is not a simple, genetically determined characteristic. During activation to produce Distribution I, T1 and T2 may first appear at a ratio of 1:2. An attractive model is as follows. Two prothrombins, P1 and P2, are present in equal amounts. P2 yields T2, and P1 yields T1 and T3, but not sequentially. As the animal ages, the pathway to T3 is lost. Reduction and alkylation of thrombin from thrombin topical results in a dispersion of five fragments between molecular weight of ∼32,000 and ∼5,000. Thrombins from single animal plasmas yield only these two. Probably T4, T5, and T6 are derived from T1, T2, and T3 as a result of peptide cleavages in the larger fragment.

On the swine improvement from the point of view on the herd book

On the swine improvement from the point of view on the herd book

The breed structure and genetic analysis of the pedigree cattle breeds in Australia. III. The Hereford

(i) The structure and genetic history of the pedigree Hereford breed in Australia are analysed by pedigree sampling methods. (ii) The pattern of the breed structure is generally similar to that found in other breeds, but it is extremely dynamic owing to the present rapid expansion of the breed. Changes are taking place in the herd composition of the major breeders' groups and there are many new herds yet to find their level in the structure. (iii) Considerable emphasis has been placed on the use of imported animals in the development of the breed. Of all herds registering in Volume 24 of the herd book, 31.6% used imported sires, and the percentage of genes in the breed in 1949 derived from animals imported since 1880 was 97.7, and from animals imported since 1930, 53.9%. (iv) The most important herd in 1949 made a genetic contribution to the breed of 33.1%, while the contributions of the four next most important herds were 17.4, 10.1, 7.4, and 6.1%. In the four-generation pedigrees from which these figures were derived, the contribution of imported animals was 56.1%. (v) The animal with the highest relationship to the breed was Free Town Director (Imp.), with direct relationships of 5.6 and 9.2% to the 1941 and 1949 samples respectively. Of the 16 sires and one dam whose direct relationships are 3.0% or more in any of the three sample years, 12 sires were imported. (vi) The total inbreeding in 1949 (base year 1880) was 2.6%. This comprised 0.2% current inbreeding, 1.6% long-term inbreeding, and 0.8% strain inbreeding. There was no evidence of subdivision of the breed into separate strains. (vii) The effective generation length has decreased since 1930 to about 5.5 years in the 1949–50 sample. Nearly 50% of the animals in this sample were sired by bulls 4 years old or younger, while about 33% were from dams 4 years old or younger. (viii) Bulls from major breeders' herds are used widely throughout the breed, while about 90% of sires and 45% of dams were bred in herds other than the one in which they were used. Therefore, it is unlikely that there is much genetic variation between herds.

The frequency of cows served twice which remain pregnant to first service: a study of results from parentage tests

In 1,347 parentage cases in cattle it was determined whether conception resulted from the first or second service. Among cows served twice within short intervals (1–11 days) about 20% remained pregnant from the previous service. At an interval of one day this proportion amounted to 37%.About three-quarters of the cows had service intervals of 18–24 days. In most of these the calving took place between the expected dates according to the two services. In 6% of the cases with intervals of 18–24 days pregnancy resulted from the first service. It was estimated that about 1% of all cows mated twice within these intervals had become pregnant from the first service.Rules are suggested for when blood grouping should be required for registration of pedigrees in the herd book.

Dependence of the Sex Ratio at Birth on the Age of the Father

SZILARD'S conjecture about the effect of paternal age on the sex ratio, which his figures for man support1, might perhaps be capable of further confirmation in horses. Unlike the ages of man and wife, those of mare and stallion are uncorrelated, and both are commonly bred into old age. I investigated the effects of paternal age on foal longevity2, which is also germane to Szilard's theory, and found no appreciable decline in the vigour of the fillies of old stallions, judged by life-spans in the “General Stud Book”—no records of colt longevity are available. My material gives some figures for the sex ratio, though the numbers are too small to do more than suggest the absence of any gross age effect. The ratio of males to females was exactly 100.00 for the 446 live progeny born during 1885–96 of a group of stallions known to be more than twenty years old at covering, against 100.47 for all foals in the same period. Masculinity in thoroughbred horses is less than in man, and the ratio has been reasonably stable for a century or more (1853–68 R = 100.32; 1869–80 R = 99.18; 1885–96 R = 100.47; 1925–40 R = 99.31).

Coat-Colour and Longevity in Thoroughbred Mares

AUTHORITIES differ on the reality and consistency of differences in temperament and performance between horses of different colours1,2. Scheiermann3, in a paper not available in Britain, has reported significant differences associated with colour in the working life of Rhenish horses. I have recently constructed life-tables for English thoroughbred mares, using the data contained in the General Stud Book, as part of a comparative study of the rates of actuarial ageing in mammals. Details of this work will appear elsewhere4: it was based on the 11 annual cohorts of brood mares foaled in 1860–64 and 1875–80 from the time of their entry at stud (average age 4 years). Of these 11 cohorts, 5 (1875–79) were scored for coat colour: of 1,271 mares composing them, 568 were bays, 181 browns, 262 chestnuts, 27 blacks, 5 greys, 3 roans and 2 grey roans, the balance being of doubtful or unstated colour. For comparison of the rarer coat-colours among thoroughbreds, further records of greys and blacks were taken by a search of the remainder of the Stud Book.

The significance of grading-up in the Ayrshire cattle population of Great Britain

The grading-up system, in the Ayrshire Cattle breed, whereby the descendants of non-pedigree cows enter the registered (Herd Book) population, is studied principally from three aspects: (1) its numerical importance in the population; (2) the breeding structure of herds practising grading-up, and (3) the possible genetic effect of grading-up on milk and fat yield.Cows at various stages of grading-up are noted in an Appendix to the Herd Book. The numerical importance of the grading-up system has varied with the rate of expansion of the breed as a whole—being greatest during the most rapid expansion—but, at all times, Appendix cows have had more registered female offspring than have pedigree cows. The volume of grading-up was regulated by the number of cows in Appendix B. Some 6% of the pedigree females registered in the last 30 years have Appendix A mothers and a further 5% or so owe their existence to grading-up during the last 30 years.On average, the proportion of herds registering bulls is not greatly different among the herds which grade-up and those which do not. Similarly, the ratio of males to pedigree females registered was about the same in both types of herd. None-theless, there appears to be considerable selection against Appendix animals in the ancestry of bulls compared with cows, and none of the large bullbreeding studs appear to pursue a grading-up policy. A greater proportion of Ayrshire herds were grading-up in Scotland than in England.Entry into Appendix B of the Herd Book is confined to cows reaching a qualifying yield. The daughters (A) of these B cows mated to unselected pedigree bulls were found to yield significantly more in their first lactation (36 gal. milk and 14 lb. butterfat) than contemporary pedigree Ayrshire heifers in the same Scottish milk recorded herds in 1955. Part, if not all, of this superiority is thought to be genetic.

Aspects of breed structure in pedigree British shorthorn cattle

The objects of this investigation were to discover the amount of current inbreeding, the extent of any genetic divergence between the beef and dairy types, and whether the breed was dominated by an élite group of herds as for example, in the British Friesian (Robertson, 1953). An extensive investigation by Sewall Wright (1923a), (1923b) and McPhee and Wright (1925), (1926) established that there was at that time little current inbreeding and that genetic divergence between Dairy and Beef Shorthorns was negligible. This work adds to and corroborates their findings and throws some light on breed structure.The sampling technique in this investigation is based upon Wright (1925). If consisted of noting the number, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents of a randomly selected sample of 128 females registered in Coates’ Herd Book, Vol. 94, 1948. Simple random lines were traced back from each great-grandparent as far as 1900, a toss of a coin deciding whether to record a sire or a dam. The information contained in Coates’ Herd Book made it a simple matter to record in addition the mate of the randomly selected ancestor, thus providing 16 random lines behind the eight great-grandparents.

The influence of age of sire on quality of progeny in Swaledale sheep

An inquiry has been made to determine whether shearling rams sire more good-quality offspring than would be expected from the proportion of them used in Swaledale flocks in northern England, 1951–3.Quality was assessed at two levels, both concerning shearling rams: those passed for registration in the Flock Book, and those making £50 or more at Kirkby Stephen ram sale.The expected percentage of lambs, and hence good-quality offspring, by shearling rams was estimated from the practice on a sample group of farms, using the formulawhere E is the estimated percentage of lambs by shearlings, x the proportion of shearlings to all rams in use, and y the fractional value in numbers of ewes served where aged rams are regarded as having unit value.The estimated percentage of lambs by shearlings is 28·7, with s.e. = 2·444.The actual percentage of registered shearlings sired by shearlings in 1951–3 was 35·7 with s.e. = 0·764, and the actual percentage of shearlings sold for £50 or more in the same years was 32·8 with s.e. = 3·313.That shearlings sire a slightly, but significantly, higher number of registered shearlings than would be expected is probably due to the transmission of earlymaturing qualities, since shearlings of high quality are consistently used in early-maturing, and therefore shearling-producing, flocks. Those likely to sire ‘£50’ shearlings often remain in early-maturing flocks throughout life and, by continuing to sire this high-quality progeny, depress the percentage of such shearlings sired by shearlings to a figure not significantly higher than the ‘expected’ figure.

Determinação da idade do puro sangue de carreira na época das mudas

A statistical study is presented dealing with the average time at which the replacement of the temporary incisor teeth by the permanent ones is performed in Throughbred kept under training conditions at Jockey Club of S; Paulo, Brazil. For this purpose, 356 horses were examined. From these, 82 were excluded and the remainders 274 (147 males and 127 females) divided in four groups in accordance with the eruption of their incisor teeth: a) without permanent incisors - 68 horses (36 males and 32 females); b) with either one, two, three or four permanent pincers - 86 horses (41 males and 45 females). c) with all the permanent pincers, and either one, two, three or four permanents intermediates - 77 horses (42 males and 35 females); d) with all the permanent pincers and intermediates and either one, two, three or four permanent corners - 43 horses (28 males and 13 females). The actual age of each horse was controlled by the Stud Book records; 30.4 days was the period considered as month average. Sex differences showed no statistical signification at age for teeth replacement. For this reason males and females were computed all together.

Is Age of Parents Important in Sheep?

A SITUATION provoking speculation has been found during the course of a preliminary investigation of one-shear (1½-year old) rams offered for sale at tho Feilding Stud Ram Fair. Stock entered in the Fair, the most important of its kind in New Zealand, come from the Manawatu and neighbouring Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay districts and are purchased by breeders throughout New Zealand, Australia and South America. Data used in these analyses were derived from the catalogues of the 1948, 1949 and 1950 sales and the 1948 Flock Book of the New Zealand Romney Marsh Breed Society.

Contribuição para o estudo da cronologia dentária no zebu

A statistical study is presented in this paper dealing with the average time at which the replacement of the temporary incisors teeth by the permanent ones is performed in Brahman (Zebu) cattle. Observations were made inicially during the Shows of Bauru (S. Paulo State, April 1946), Uberaba (Minas Gerais State, April 1946) and Ribeirao Preto (S. Paulo State, July 1946). Various examinations were accomplished on private farms at Taquaritinga (S. Paulo State, July 1946), Bauru (S. Paulo State, November 1946) and in the cattle exhibited during the Nacional Shows of S. Paulo (S. Paulo State, October 1946) and Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais State, August 1947). Data were taken of 708 cattle, from which 428 were considered fitable for examination. Animals without change, at less than 18 months of age; those with eight teeth and more than five years, finally, individuals out of the Herd Book were eliminated. The limits of age were taken from MAGLIANO’s table because of its current use. With the purpose of establishing the time at which the first temporary incisors are replaced, all the specimens having 18 months or older, without change, were picked out. Individual records indicating breed, name, sex and permanent incisors erupted were organized. The change was considered done, since one of the incisors corresponding to her, of any side, had erupted. The real age was obtained through the examination of Herd Books and private record books. Among the 428 cattle gathered for the study, 237 were Gir: 113 males and 124 females; 191 were Nellore (Ongole) from which 51 males and 140 females.The data were catalogued as to breed, change and sex; by means of a statistical study, the AA verified that the breed, and sex differences were of no statistical significance, thus, permiting the addition of all variants into one mean. The conclusions are the following: 1.°) The replacement of the deciduous first incisors does not occurs until 661.3 ± 11.5 days (22 months) in Gir and before 690.9 ± 8.4 days (23 months) in the Nellore (Ongole), males and females considered all together. Gir and Nellore (Ongole) breeds offered a general mean equal to: 671.7 ± 2.6 days (22.4 months). 2.°) The change of the first temporary incisors in Gir cattle averaged 843.1 ± 36.5 days in males (28.1 months) and 827.8 ± 30.7 days (27.6 months) in females; i. e. jointly 833.9 ± 28.4 days (27.8 months). The Nellore (Ongole) changes the first temporary incisors at 809.6 ± 21.3 days (27 months) in males and at 875.7 ± 16.4 days (29.2 months) in females; the general mean reaches 859.9 ± 13.5 days (28.7 months). The whole mean for Gir and Nellore breeds, both males and females, was 845.2 ± 11.6 days (28.2 months). 3.°) Following the same order, the values concerning the replacement of the second incisors were: Gir — Males: 1013.4 ± 27.2 days (33.8 months); females: 1099.4 ± 39.2 days (36.6 months); total: 1056.4 ± 24.5 days (35.2 months). Nellore — Males: 1049.5 ± 21.1 days (35 months); females: 1069.5 ± 27.4 days (35.6 months); global: 1065.6 ± 22.4 days (35.5 months). Both breeds, jointly, presented: 1061.3 ± 8.2 days (35.4 months). 4.°) The change of the second incisors occurs as follows: Gir — Males: 1229.6 ± 39.0 days (41 months); females: 1202.9 ± 49.9 days (40.1 months); global: 1218.0 ± 30.6 days (40.6 months). Nellore — Males: 1221.8 ± 63.1 days (40.7 months); females: 1333.6 ± 35.8 days (44.5 months); global: 1304.1 ± 31.8 days (43.5 months). Both breeds, jointly, presented: 1257.0 ± 22.8 days (41.9 months). 5.°) The substitution of the corners can be summed up thus: Gir — Males: 1440.2 ± 80.5 days (48 months); females: 1634.5 ± 88.1 days (54.5 months); global: 1555.0 ± 64.9 days (51.8 months). Nellore — Males: 1536.6 ± 33.6 days (51.2 months); females: 1474.3 ± 35.5 days (40.1 months); global: 1498.0 ± 25.6 days (49.9 months). Both breeds, jointly, presented: 1522.0 ± 31.0 days (50.8months). 6.°) The teething precocity considered independently of the economic production was appreciated under three different aspects refering to beginning, duration and limit of the changing period: a) the beginning of the substitution of the deciduous by the permanent teeth attains a delay unknown in any other breed; b) the average duration of the changing period in Gir and Nellore cattle shows the same lenght as those of precocious cattle classified in different grades; c) the limit of the changing period occurs in Gir and Nellore cattle with a worthy gain of time as compared with the tardy individual cattle. Briefly, the Gir and Nellore cattle begin with valuable delay the change of the first temporary incisors and through a process of acceleration in the following changes, restores the equilibrium, showing eight teeth with gain of time in comparison to tardy individual cattle.

A Tri-colour (Mosaic) Shorthorn Cow

Records of colour mosaicism in the Mammalia are rare1 and among cattle especially so there being only four in the literature2. Moreover, in pedigree herds such anomalies would not be recorded in the herd books. In view of this, the following case of a pedigree Dairy Shorthorn cow is of interest. The animal, Gwersyllt Lucy 17th, had a patch of black hair, about 14 in. × 12 in., on the shoulder extending on to the neck. The rest of the coat was a typical roan colour. The sire of G. Lucy 17th was a pure-bred Shorthorn bull, Iford Lord Laurel 13th, 258054 (the number is the registration number in Coates' Shorthorn Herd-book, from which the pedigree may be obtained; this applies also to the two bulls noted below). On the dam's side, the pedigree extends back for three generations to a non-pedigree red-and-white Shorthorn cow. This cow has not been seen, nor was her daughter, but the owner states that no trace of black could be observed in either. I have myself examined the grand-daughter, the mother of G. Lucy 17th; and she was a typical red-and-white Shorthorn with no black on the coat. The sires on the dam's side were all pure-bred Shorthorns (vide Iford Royal Waterloo 26th, 231016, the maternal grand-sire of G. Lucy 17th). The tri-colour has given one offspring, a white male, by Plaspower Tamini, 239473, white.

Eräitä näkökohtia perinnöllisten tekijäin vaikutuksesta nautakarjan hedelmällisyyteen

Eräitä näkökohtia perinnöllisten tekijäin vaikutuksesta nautakarjan hedelmällisyyteen

American Dairy Cattle

CLAIMS have been made that certain American breeds of dairy cattle are of immemorial antiquity in their modern form. These claims are set out in herd books, the earliest of which were published in America, and even in publications having the cachet of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. History cannot substantiate these claims, and Mr. Parmalee Prentice has successfully demolished them by his careful examination of the evidence and this record of his conclusions. American Dairy Cattle Their Past and Future. By E. Parmalee Prentice ; with Chapters on Dairy Cattle in America, by Ernest L. Anthony, Lloyd Burlingham, Clifford L. Clevenger, Clifford T. Conklin, Lynn Copeland, Herbert P. Davis, Rockefeller Prentice and Edwin G. Woodward. Pp. xix + 453 + 51 plates. (New York and London: Harper and Brothers, 1942.) 3 dollars.

Breeding

Laying Capacity in Germany. Leistungs-fähigkeiten in der deutschen Gelügelzucht. R. Römer. Dtsch. landw. Tierzucht 37, 33. 1933 (Ref.: Züchtungskunde 1933, p. 463).Römer gives a review of the increase in laying capacity since 1921. At a model farm where the average capacity in the years 1921 and 1922 was 50 to 51 eggs, this was 212 in 1931. The average for the ·whole country for 1931 was, however, only 120 eggs. Römer refers to the various poultry stud books in Germany and reviews the results of the German laying tests in 1930–31. In various tests during that year there were various large groups of different breeds which produced an average of more than 200 eggs per hen. The Leghorns at Metgethen showed the best results with an average of 208·0 eggs of an average weight of 58·4 gr. The best breed of the combined laying tests in 1930–31 was a Leghorn breed at the test held at Hamm. This group showed an average of 235·0 eggs of a weight of 59·9 gr. Then followed groups at Farmsen and Erding with from 226·8 to 224·8 eggs, and fawn coloured Indian Runner Ducks at Metgethen with 223·7 eggs. These figures were surpassed in the following year. It would appear from what Römer has experienced that German trade poultry keeping has increased considerably during the last ten years. Römer also proves that pedigree breeding has also increased considerably.

Mr. T. G. Sloane

THOMAS GIBSON SLOANE, of Moorilla Station, Young, New South Wales, who died on October 20, combined the unusual association of sheep-breeder, philosopher, naturalist in general and entomologist in particular. One of five sons of Alexander Sloane, of Mulwala, Murray River, a well-known merino expert, he was educated partly at the Scot's College, Melbourne, partly by tutor at home. There was a strong literary taste in the family, and a fine knowledge of the English poets was a background of his well-stored mind. He was sent to Sydney to learn business methods and returned to manage Moorilla for the firm of Alexander Sloane and Sons, which he inherited as his life-long home. Here he won numerous prizes for sheep at various shows; had a stud of his own registered in the flock book; kept accurate records of wool weights and was a regular attendant at Sydney sheep sales.

40. Heredity and Milking Function: The Inheritance of Milk and Butterfat in Red Poll Cattle

This study is a continuation of the investigations of Prof. Agar, Professor of Zoology, University of Melbourne, entitled “Heredity and milking function,” which appeared in the Journal of Agriculture of Victoria in January, 1926; and it deals with the inheritance of milk, butterfat percentage, and butterfat in the Victoria Stud of Red Poll Cattle owned by the Department of Agriculture of Victoria, at the State Research Farm, Werribee. The milk and butterfat records used in these investigations are the 273 day records performed under the regulations governing the Victorian Government Pure-bred Herd Test, published annually, and included in the successive volumes of the Red Poll Herd Book of Australia. They cover the period since the establishment of the Government Herd Test—1912–13 to 1929–30.

The Average ages of Cows and Bulls in Six Breeds of Cattle

From the herd book records of six leading breeds of cattle in Great Britain (Shorthorn, Aberdeen-Angus, Hereford, Ayrshire, Jersey and British Friesian) the ages of the parents of 2618 pedigree calves born in 1925 were tabulated.The average age of cows at calving is found to be 5·722 years ± 0·04, with a standard deviation of 2·816. In four dairy breeds the average age is 5·485 years ± 0·05, while for the three beef breeds it is 6·022 ± 0·05.The “annual replacement percentage” is the number of heifers drafted annually into a herd or breed as first calvers expressed as a percentage of the total number of actively producing cows in the herd or breed. It is in effect the number required annually to make good the losses, and can be calculated from the average age of the cows at calving. This is found to be at least 27 per cent. and agrees substantially with the work of other investigators.

Some Observations on the Secondary Sex Ratio in a Group of Dairy Shorthorn and Welsh Black Cattle

The heavy wastage occurring in many dairy herds adds importance to the question of sex ratio in cattle, and it becomes an important factor in herds where it is desired to use only home bred cattle, as in herds free from tuberculosis and contagious abortion. The information required for the present investigation was obtained from Private Herd Books, particulars being taken as to sex of calf, month of birth and whether or not it was a first calf. Herds ravaged by contagious abortion were excluded, and also others if it was considered that there might have been neglect in entering births in the private herd book.