Body Weight Of Sheep Research Articles

Comparison of the data mining and machine learning algorithms for predicting the final body weight for Romane sheep breed.

The current study aimed to predict final body weight (weight of fourth months of age to select the future reproducers) by using birth weight, birth type, sex, suckling weight, age at suckling weight, weaning weight, age at weaning weight, and age of final body weight for the Romane sheep breed. For this purpose, classification and regression tree (CART), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), and support vector machine regression (SVR) algorithms were used for training (80%) and testing (20%) sets. Different data mining and machine learning algorithms were used to predict final body weight of 393 Romane sheep (238 female and 155 male animals) were used with different artificial intelligence algorithms. The best prediction model was obtained by CART model, both training and testing set. Constructed CART models indicated that sex, suckling weight, weaning weight, age of weaning weight, and age of final weight could be used as an indirect selection measure to get a superior sheep flock on the final body weight of Romane sheep. If genetically established, the Romane sheep whose sex is female, age of final weight is over 142 days, and weaning weight is over 28 kg could be chosen for affording genetic improvement in final body weight. In conclusion, the usage of CART procedure may be worthy of reflection for identifying breed standards and choosing superior sheep for meat yield in France.

Body weight prediction model analysis based on the body size of female Sakub sheep in Brebes District, Indonesia

Abstract. Jannah ZN, Atmoko BA, Ibrahim A, Harahap MA, Panjono. 2023. Body weight prediction model analysis based on the body size of female Sakub sheep in Brebes District, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 24: 3657-3664. Calculation of body weight is one of the important factors in seeing the performance of sheep (Ovis aries), breeding stock selection, and livestock management, such as the basis for consideration of feeding, medicine dosage, slaughter time, and growth evaluation. However, in smallholder farms, the availability of scales is an obstacle, not to mention the inadequacy of the pens’ construction, making the weighing process more difficult. The present study was conducted to analyze correlation and regression models and determine the best and most accurate regression model for predicting the body weight of female Sakub sheep using body sizes. Data on 150 female Sakub sheep kept by smallholder farmers and raised intensively in Paguyangan and Sirampog District, Brebes District, Central Java, Indonesia, were obtained. The Body Weight (BW) of Sakub sheep was weighed, and their body sizes, including body length (BL), chest girth (CG), and shoulder height (SH) were measured. The correlation was calculated using the Pearson correlation, regression models were analyzed and determined using simple, multiple, and automatic linear regression methods. Pooled means of 36.21±12.31 kg for BW and 67.13±7.97, 82.51±10.47, and 65.76±6.24 cm for BL, CG, and SH, respectively, were obtained in the present study. The body size has a positive and high correlation with BW, BL has the highest correlation with BW, which is 0.810, followed by CG (0.807) and SH (0.782). Meanwhile, the correlation of body size combination between BL, CG, and WH has the highest value, 0.883, followed by BL and CG (0.875), between CG and SH (0.875). The best body size and the most accurate (77.40%) to predict BW of female Sakub sheep is the combination of the three BL+CG+SH with regression equation model BW = 67,004+0.589BL+0.453CG+0.399SH. Meanwhile, the prediction of BW with a single body size is BL with the regression equation BW = -47,658 + 1,249BL with an accuracy of 65.40%. This study concludes that body size, namely BL, CG, and SH, can be used to predict BW of female Sakub sheep, either single or in 2 or 3 combinations. The prediction model BW using a combination of 3 body sizes has the highest accuracy, followed by a combination of 2 body sizes (BL+CG), and the last is BL as a single predictor.

Relationship of linear body measurements with live body weight in West African Dwarf sheep raised in Tropical Rainforest of Nigeria

The relationship between live body weight and some linear body measurements was studied in 130 (98 females and 32 males) West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep under field conditions in Obio Akpa. Body measurements studied included Body Length (BL), Hearth Girth (HG), Height of Wither (HAW), Neck Length (NL), Rump Width(RW), Ear Length (EL), Neck Width (NW), Shoulder Width (SW) and Tail Length(TL). The data collected were subjected to t-test analysis to determine the effect of sex on each of these parameters. The data were also fitted into linear and multiple regression models to predict live body weight from the body measurements. Correlations between body weight and linear body measurements were also calculated. The results indicated that the linear body measurement of the West African Dwarf sheep was significantly higher in males than in females except in shoulder width. In all the three categories studied; male, female and pooled male/female, the correlation coefficient (r) was significantly and positively high in the relationship between live body weight with BL and HG. The correlation coefficient (r) computed were 0.742, 0.842 and 0.579 for body length in pooled male/female, males, and females respectively, while between body weight and HG were 0.704, 0.811 and 0.539 for pooled male/female, males and females respectively. Based on the stepwise regression procedure, BL, HAW, HG, SW, and NL were better for predicting live body weight in linear regression model for males and pooled males/females while BL, SW, HG, TL, HL were best for females. It was concluded that BL and HG were of great importance in the selection program targeting the live body weight of WAD sheep especially, in the study area.

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum N-1 and Its Synergies with Oligomeric Isomaltose on the Growth Performance and Meat Quality in Hu Sheep.

Probiotics have gained tremendous attention as an alternative to antibiotics, while synbiotics may exhibit a greater growth promoting effect than their counterpart probiotics due to the prebiotics' promotion on the growth and reproduction of probiotics. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum N-1 and its synbiotic with oligomeric isomaltose on the growth performance and meat quality of Hu sheep. Hu sheep (0-3 days old) were fed with water, probiotics of N-1, or synbiotics (N-1 and oligomeric isomaltose) daily in three pens for 60 days and regularly evaluated to measure growth performance and collect serum (five lambs per group). Longissimus thoracis (LT) and biceps brachii (BB) muscle tissues were collected for the analysis of pH value, color, texture, nutrients, mineral elements, amino acids, volatile compounds, and antioxidant capacity. The results showed that dietary supplementation of N-1 tended to improve growth performance and meat quality of Hu sheep, while the synergism of N-1 with oligomeric isomaltose significantly improved their growth performance and meat quality (p < 0.05). Both the dietary supplementation of N-1 and synbiotics (p < 0.05) increased the body weight and body size of Hu sheep. Synbiotic treatment reduced serum cholesterol and improved LT fat content by increasing the transcription level of fatty acid synthase to enhance fat deposition in LT, as determined via RT-qPCR analysis. Moreover, synbiotics increased zinc content and improved LT tenderness by decreasing shear force and significantly increased the levels of certain essential (Thr, Phe, and Met) and non-essential (Asp, Ser, and Tyr) amino acids of LT (p < 0.05). Additionally, synbiotics inhibited the production of carbonyl groups and TBARS in LT and thus maintained antioxidant stability. In conclusion, it is recommended that the use of synbiotics in livestock breeding be promoted to improve sheep production and meat quality.

Exploring the growth trait molecular markers in two sheep breeds based on Genome-wide association analysis.

Growth traits are quantitative traits controlled by multiple micro-effect genes. we identified molecular markers related to sheep growth traits, which formed the basis of molecular breeding. In this study, we randomly selected 100 Qira Black sheep and 84 German Merino sheep for the blood collection the jugular vein to genotype by using the Illumina Ovine SNP 50K Bead Chip. quality control criteria for statistical analysis were: rejection detection rate < 90% and minimum allele frequency (MAF) < 5%. Then, we performed Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on sheep body weight, body height, body length, and chest circumference using mixed linear models. After getting 55 SNPs with significant correlation, they were annotated by reference genome of Ovis aries genome (Oar_v4.0) and We obtained a total of 84 candidate genes associated with production traits (BMPR1B, HSD17B3, TMEM63C, etc.). We selected BMPR1B for population validation and found a correlation between the FecB locus and body weight traits. Therefore, this study not only supplements the existing knowledge of molecular markers of sheep growth traits, but also has important theoretical significance and reference value for the mining of functional genes of sheep growth traits.

Effect of dietary cation-anion difference on dry matter intake, digestibility, body weight gain, blood parameters, and carcass traits in Zandi lambs.

The dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) has gotten much attention recently; however, there is not much evidence on organic matter digestibility, blood parameters, dry matter intake, body weight, and carcass features of male sheep fed with different DCAD diets. The effects of dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) on these traits in male lambs under the environmental high temperatures were investigated in this study. Forty male lambs (average body weight of 39 kg) were randomly assigned to one of five treatments with eight replicates. Lambs were fed diets with DCAD levels ranging from 150 (control group) to 300, 450, 600, and 750 mEq/kg dry matter. This study lasted 100 d and used a 21-d adaptation. The results showed that the control group had the highest dry matter intake, dry matter digestibility, and crude protein digestibility (P = 0.02). Also, the lowest amount of average body weight was observed in the control group (P = 0.01). The results showed the different DCAD levels affected the statistical significance in terms of live weight, carcass weight, length and width of muscle cross section, lung weight, spleen weight, and abdominal fat (P = 0.04). As well, the highest ruminal pH was observed in the control group (P = 0.4). The results of the blood glucose parameter showed that control group had a significant effect on the blood glucose level (P = 0.04). Furthermore, the highest abdominal fat weight was observed in the control group (P = 0.04). There was no statistically significant difference between other traits, including skin weight, head weight, leg weight, carcass length, liver weight, kidney weight, heart weight, testicle weight, tail weight, rumen weight, and lactation weight. In summary, increasing DCAD in the diet could improve the production and carcass quality in lambs under environmental high temperatures.

PLAG1 g.8795C>T Mutation Regulates Early Body Weight in Hu Sheep by Weakening miR-139 Binding.

Sheep birth and weaning weights indicate their growth and survival. Thus, identifying molecular genetic markers for early body weight is important in sheep breeding. Pleomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1) is important for regulating birth weight and body length in mammals; however, its relationship with sheep body weight remains unknown. Here, the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the Hu sheep PLAG1 gene was cloned, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were screened, genotype-early body weight relationships were analyzed, and the possible molecular mechanism was explored. PLAG1 3'-UTR sequences with five forms of base sequences plus poly(A) tails were detected in Hu sheep and the g.8795C>T mutation was identified. Luciferase reporter assay indicated that the g.8795C>T mutation influenced PLAG1 post-transcriptional activity. miRBase prediction showed that the g.8795C>T mutation was located in the miR-139 seed sequence binding region, and miR-139 overexpression significantly decreased both PLAG1-CC and PLAG1-TT activities. Moreover, the luciferase activity of PLAG1-CC was significantly lower than that of the PLAG1-TT, but miR-139 inhibition substantially increased both PLAG1-CC and PLAG1-TT luciferase activities, suggesting that PLAG1 is the target gene of miR-139. Thus, the g.8795C>T mutation upregulates PLAG1 expression by weakening its binding with miR-139, promoting PLAG1 expression, and increasing Hu sheep birth and weaning weights.

Different proportions of dried Vernonia amygdalina leaves and wheat bran mixture supplementation on feed intake, digestibility and body weight change of Arsi-Bale sheep fed with natural pasture hay as basal diet.

Animal feed shortage in quality and quantity, and escalating costs of agro-industrial by-products to supplement crop residues and natural pasture hay urged to look for alternative feed supplements. Vernonia amygdalina leaf is one of the potential feed resources to supplement poor quality feeds in ruminant feeding. This experiment was designed to evaluate effects of supplementing dried V. amygdalina leaves (DVL) and wheat bran (WB) mixture on feed intake, digestibility, body weight change and economic feasibility of Arsi-Bale sheep fed with natural pasture hay as basal diet. Twenty intact yearling male sheep with an initial body weight (IBW) of 18.85±0.95kg (mean±SD) were stratified into five blocks (four animals per block) based on their IBW and kept for 90 days of feeding and 10 days of digestibility trials. Four treatment diets comprised ad libitum hay (control, T1) and ad libitum hay plus daily supplementation of 300g dry matter (DM) in a ratio of 2DVL:1WB (T2), 1DVL:1WB (T3) and 1DVL:2WB (T4), and the treatment feeds were randomly assigned to each animal within a block. Data were subjected to the analysis of variance using the GLM procedure of SAS (version 9.1). The results showed that the crude protein contents of hay, DVL and WB were 9.4%, 21.5% and 15.5%, respectively. Supplementation improved (p<0.0001) DM intake (DMI), apparent nutrient digestibility, average daily gain (ADG) and economic return. Sheep supplemented with two parts of DVL and one part of WB resulted significantly (p<0.0001) the highest DMI, DM and nutrient digestibility and a better feed conversion ratio. Consequently, they resulted highest ADG and net return. Sheep fed with a basal diet of natural pasture hay supplemented with two parts of DVL and one part of WB is economical to improve body weight of Arsi-Bale sheep.

Effect of Energy Provision Strategy on Rumen Fermentation Characteristics, Bacterial Diversity and Community Composition.

This study was conducted to explore the rumen fermentation characteristics, bacterial diversity, and community composition of Hu sheep under four energy provision strategies. Ninety-six Hu sheep (body weight: 17.78 ± 1.24 kg) were equally assigned to four energy provision strategies: (1) low-energy diet for the whole finishing stage (LL); (2) high-energy diet for the whole finishing stage (HH); (3) low-energy diet in the early finishing stage and high-energy diet in the late finishing stage (LH); (4) high-energy diet in the early finishing stage and low-energy diet in the late finishing stage (HL). The results showed that the proportion of acetate was lower in the HH group than that in the HL group, whereas the opposite result was observed for the butyrate proportion (p &lt; 0.05). The Chao 1, observed species, PD whole tree, and Shannon index of the rumen bacteria were higher in the LL group than that in the HH group (p &lt; 0.05). The taxonomic annotations revealed that the Patescibacteria, Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group, Christensenellaceae R-7 group, and Anaeroplasma abundances were higher in the HL group than that in the HH group, and the opposite results were observed regarding the relative abundances of Selenomonas and Anaerovibrio (p &lt; 0.05). The relative abundances of Spirochaetota and Treponema were higher in the LH group than that in the HH group (p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, the analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed significant differences between groups (R = 0.6792 and p = 0.001). This study indicates that the energy provision strategy had little impact on the rumen fermentation characteristics, while it heavily affected the rumen bacterial diversity and community composition. This study may provide insight into the rumen fermentation characteristics and bacterial community under routine finishing models and contribute to the optimization of energy provision strategies of Hu sheep.

Polymorphisms in SHISA3 and RFC3 genes and their association with feed conversion ratio in Hu sheep.

In animal husbandry, feed efficiency is a crucial economic trait. In this study, the general linear model was used to perform association analysis for various genotypes and feed conversion ratio (FCR)-related traits. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of SHISA3 and RFC3 mRNA levels in 10 tissues from 6 sheep. The results showed that SNPs in the NC_040257.1:c.625 T > C and NC_040261.1:g.9905 T > C were analyzed whether they were associated to feed efficiency parameters in Hu sheep (body weight, feed intake, average daily growth, and feed conversion ratio). NC_040257.1:c.625 T > C was shown to be significantly associated with body weight at 80, 100, and 120 days as well as feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05), whereas NC_040261.1:g.9905 T > C was found to be significantly associated with average daily weight gain from 80-140 days (ADG80-140) and FCR (P < 0.05). In Hu sheep, the CC genotypes of SHISA3 and RFC3 were the most common genotypes related to feed efficiency traits. Furthermore, the feed conversion ratio of the combined genotypes TT SHISA3-CC RFC3, TT SHISA3-CT RFC3, TT SHISA3-TT RFC3, CT SHISA3-CC RFC3 and CT SHISA3-CT RFC3 was significantly better than the FCR of CC SHISA3-TT RFC3. RT-qPCR results showed that the expression levels of SHISA3 were lower in the lung than in spleen, kidney, muscle and lymph (P < 0.05), and RFC3 was the lung had a highly significant higher expression level than the heart, liver, spleen, and muscle (P < 0.01). In conclusion, SHISA3 and RFC3 polymorphisms can be used as genetic markers for improving feed conversion efficiency in Hu sheep.

The influence of some factors on the production effects of Sjenica sheep

Gene expression at the phenotypic level varies due to a number of influences from the environment in which the animals are reared. Ignoring this reality or due to insufficient knowledge, farmers are often disappointed when choosing a population of sheep when they do not get the production results that the breed achieves where they bought it. The investigation of the reproductive and production characteristics of parent herds of Sjenica sheep was conducted on four farms. In the research, it included a total of 921 lambs and 474 sheep. The influence of sheep body weight on the weight of lambs at birth within a farm was analyzed. Based on the research conducted on the sheep population and after the obtained and processed data, we can state the following: certain differences were found in the fertility of sheep depending on the farm and body weight. We also perceived that certain differences in the body weight of the lambs are evident depending on the weight group of the sheep and the farm where the sheep were raised. All of the above leads us to the general conclusion that management is extremely important in sheep farming. If the selection of the breeding population is carried out correctly and adequate measures of keeping, nutrition and reproduction are applied, success is guaranteed.

Multi-trait Bayesian analysis and genetic parameter estimates in production characters of Mecheri sheep of India

The present study was carried out to estimate the genetic parameters for direct and maternal influences on Mecheri sheep (Ovis aries) growth traits using Bayesian multi-trait animal model. The genetic parameters were calculated using data from 2825 Mecheri lambs born between 2010 and 2020 that were kept in semi-arid tropical climate. Mecheri sheep body weight (mean ± SE) at various stages, viz. BW, WW, and BW12, were 2.6 ± 0.01, 11.1 ± 0.05, and 20.7 ± 0.13kg, respectively. The Mecheri sheep gained 71.5 percent of their body weight at the age of 6months. With the exception of birth weight, the weights of the animals varied considerably (P < 0.01) by the year of birth. The fixed effect of sex significantly (P < 0.01) influenced all the growth traits examined. The direct estimates of heritability (± SD) for BW, WW, BW6, and BW12 was 0.21 ± 0.041, 0.21 ± 0.041, 0.12 ± 0.052, and 0.13 ± 0.053, respectively, and the maternal heritability for BW, WW, BW6, and BW12 was 0.18 ± 0.021, 0.08 ± 0.023, 0.11 ± 0.022, and 0.13 ± 0.033, respectively. Significant variance was indicated by moderately larger direct heritability estimates for BWT and WWT, indicating that there will be more opportunities for selection response during the genetic improvement programme. For the majority of the variables examined, direct heritability values were higher than maternal heritability values. The additive genetic correlation between WW and BW6, BW9, and BW12 was 0.70 ± 0.145, 0.57 ± 0.171, and 0.50 ± 0.194, respectively. The maternal genetic correlations ranged from 0.06 ± 0.152 (BW-BW12) to 0.86 ± 0.046 (BW6-BW9), and the residual correlation varied from 0.18 ± 0.034 (BW-WW) to 0.85 ± 0.013 (BW9-BW12). The BW had a stronger genetic relationship with WW and a weaker relationship with other growth traits. The WW and BW6 showed a favourable genetic relationship, even if the tendency was decreasing in the latter stages of maturation. The BW6 and BW9 demonstrated the strongest positive genetic relationship (0.90 ± 0.052) of all the variables analysed. After examining the heritabilities and genetic correlation between WW and BW6, it was established that selection based on at WW was beneficial, since it manifests early in life and would result in moderate genetic progress through selection.

Genome-wide unraveling SNP pairwise epistatic effects associated with sheep body weight

Epistatic effects are an important part of the genetic effect of complex traits in livestock. In this study, we used 218 synthetic ewes from the Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Reclamation in China to identify interacting paired with genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with birth weight, weaning weight, and one-yearling weight. We detected 2 and 66 SNP-SNP interactions of sheep birth weight and weaning weight, respectively. No significant epistatic interaction of one-year-old body weight was detected. The genetic interaction of sheep body weight is dynamic and time-dependent. Most significant interactions of weaning body weight contributed 1% or higher. In the weaning weight trait, 66 significant SNP pairs consisted of 98 single SNPs covering 23 chromosomes, 5 of which were nonsynonymous SNPs (nsSNPs), resulting in single amino acid substitution. We found that genes that interact with transcription factors (TFs) are target genes for the corresponding TFs. Four epitron networks affecting weaning weight, including subnetworks of HIVEP3 and BACH2 transcription factors, constructed using significant SNP pairs, were also analyzed and annotated. These results suggest that transcription factors may play an important role in explaining epistatic effects. It provides a new idea to study the genetic mechanism of weight developing.

Effect of methionine hydroxy analog (MHA) or dextrose supplementation on physiological responses and behaviours of sheep under transportation stress

Transportation causes sheep to experience stress and body weight loss due to physical stress during the process. This study aimed to evaluate the administration of protected methionine hydroxy analog (MHA) or dextrose before transportation on body weight loss, physiological responses, and post-transportation behaviours of sheep. The study used 42 thin-tailed sheep (body weight 18.28±2.11 kg) that were divided into three treatments, i.e., without MHA/dextrose supplementation (P1, control), supplementation of MHA 0.24 g/kg body weight (P2), and supplementation of dextrose 0.24 g/kg body weight (P3). Sheep were transported for a 6-hour journey in commercial vehicles. The results showed that P2 and P3 significantly reduced (P<0.05) the length of time for the sheep to reach their initial body weight before transportation. The P2 and P3 significantly decreased (P<0.05) pulse and respiratory rates as compared to P1. The resting behaviour of P1 was significantly higher (P<0.05) than P2 and P3, while the standing behaviour of P2 and P3 was significantly higher (P<0.05) than P1, which indicated an improvement of sheep condition in the P2 and P3. It can be concluded that the supplementation of MHA or dextrose before transportation improves the bodyweight recovery time, physiological conditions, and behaviours of sheep under transportation stress.

SNP- and haplotype-based single-step genomic predictions for body weight, wool, and reproductive traits in North American Rambouillet sheep.

Rambouillet sheep are commonly raised in extensive grazing systems in the US, mainly for wool and meat production. Genomic evaluations in US sheep breeds, including Rambouillet, are still incipient. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility of performing genomic prediction of breeding values for various traits in Rambouillet sheep based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) or haplotypes (fitted as pseudo-SNP) under a single-step GBLUP approach. A total of 28,834 records for birth weight (BWT), 23,306 for postweaning weight (PWT), 5,832 for yearling weight (YWT), 9,880 for yearling fibre diameter (YFD), 11,872 for yearling greasy fleece weight (YGFW), and 15,984 for number of lambs born (NLB) were used in this study. Seven hundred forty-one individuals were genotyped using a moderate (50 K; n=677) or high (600 K; n=64) density SNP panel, in which 32 K SNP in common between the two SNP panels (after genotypic quality control) were used for further analyses. Single-step genomic predictions using SNP (H-BLUP) or haplotypes (HAP-BLUP) from blocks with different linkage disequilibrium (LD) thresholds (0.15, 0.35, 0.50, 0.65, and 0.80) were evaluated. We also considered different blending parameters when constructing the genomic relationship matrix used to predict the genomic-enhanced estimated breeding values (GEBV), with alpha equal to 0.95 or 0.50. The GEBV were compared to the estimated breeding values (EBV) obtained from traditional pedigree-based evaluations (A-BLUP). The mean theoretical accuracy ranged from 0.499 (A-BLUP for PWT) to 0.795 (HAP-BLUP using haplotypes from blocks with LD threshold of 0.35 and alpha equal to 0.95 for YFD). The prediction accuracies ranged from 0.143 (A-BLUP for PWT) to 0.330 (A-BLUP for YGFW) while the prediction bias ranged from -0.104 (H-BLUP for PWT) to 0.087 (HAP-BLUP using haplotypes from blocks with LD threshold of 0.15 and alpha equal to 0.95 for YGFW). The GEBV dispersion ranged from 0.428 (A-BLUP for PWT) to 1.035 (A-BLUP for YGFW). Similar results were observed for H-BLUP or HAP-BLUP, independently of the LD threshold to create the haplotypes, alpha value, or trait analysed. Using genomic information (fitting individual SNP or haplotypes) provided similar or higher prediction and theoretical accuracies and reduced the dispersion of the GEBV for body weight, wool, and reproductive traits in Rambouillet sheep. However, there were no clear improvements in the prediction bias when compared to pedigree-based predictions. The next step will be to enlarge the training populations for this breed to increase the benefits of genomic predictions.

Inactivation of the MSTN gene expression changes the composition and function of the gut microbiome in sheep

BackgroundMyostatin (MSTN) negatively regulates the muscle growth in animals and MSTN deficient sheep have been widely reported previously. The goal of this study was to explore how MSTN inactivation influences their gut microbiota composition and potential functions.ResultsWe compared the slaughter parameters and meat quality of 3 MSTN-edited male sheep and 3 wild-type male sheep, and analyzed the gut microbiome of the MSTN-edited sheep (8 female and 8 male sheep) and wild-type sheep (8 female and 8 male sheep) through metagenomic sequencing. The results showed that the body weight, carcass weight and eye muscle area of MSTN-edited sheep were significantly higher, but there were no significant differences in the meat quality indexes. At the microbial level, the alpha diversity was significantly higher in the MSTN-edited sheep (P < 0.05), and the microbial composition was significantly different by PCoA analysis in the MSTN-edited and wild-type sheep. The abundance of Firmicutes significantly increased and Bacteroidota significantly decreased in the MSTN-edited sheep. At genus level, the abundance of Flavonifractor, Subdoligranulum, Ruthenibacterium, Agathobaculum, Anaerotignum, Oribacterium and Lactobacillus were significantly increased in the MSTN-edited sheep (P < 0.05). Further analysis of functional differences was found that the carotenoid biosynthesis was significantly increased and the peroxisome, apoptosis, ferroptosis, N-glycan biosynthesis, thermogenesis, and adipocytokines pathways were decreased in the MSTN-edited sheep (P < 0.05). Moreover, carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) results certified the abundance of the GH13_39, GH4, GH137, GH71 and PL17 were upregulated, and the GT41 and CBM20 were downregulated in the MSTN-edited sheep (P < 0.05).ConclusionsOur study suggested that MSTN inactivation remarkably influenced the composition and potential function of hindgut microbial communities of the sheep, and significantly promoted growth performance without affecting meat quality.

Novel polymorphism at KLF15 gene and its association with growth traits in Hu sheep

Growth traits are important economic characteristics of livestock and poultry. In the present study, the expression features of KLF15 and the relationship between KLF15 gene polymorphisms and growth traits in Hu sheep were investigated by using real-time quantitative PCR technology (qPCR), Sanger sequencing, and Kaspar genotyping technology. The qPCR results showed that the KLF15 gene is expressed widely in the tested tissues of Hu sheep, and the expression level of the KLF15 gene in the heart and the muscle was significantly higher than in other tissues (p < 0.05). Missense mutation c.62565119 A > G was found in KLF15, and an association analysis showed that it was correlated with the growth traits (body weight, body height, and body length) of Hu sheep (p < 0.05). The body weight, body height, and body length of the sheep carrying the AA genotype were remarkably higher than those of the GG and AG genotypes (p < 0.05). These results showed that novel polymorphisms at the KLF15 gene can be used as a genetic marker of growth traits of Hu sheep.

Identification of body size characteristic points based on the Mask R-CNN and correlation with body weight in Ujumqin sheep.

The measurements of body size data not only reflect the physical fitness, carcass structure, excellent growth condition, and developmental relationship among tissues and organs of animals but are also critical indicators to measure the growth and development of sheep. Computer vision-based body size identification is a non-contact and stress-free method. In this study, we analyzed different body size traits (height at wither, body slanting length, chest depth, chest circumference, shank circumference, hip height, shoulder width, and rump width) and the body weight of 332 Ujumqin sheep and significant correlations (P < 0.05) were obtained among all traits in Ujumqin sheep. Except for shoulder width, rump width, and shank circumference, all were positively correlated, and the effect of sex on Ujumqin sheep was highly significant. The main body size indexes affecting the body weight of rams and ewes were obtained through stepwise regression analysis of body size on body weight, in order of chest circumference, body slanting length, rump width, hip height, height at wither, and shoulder width for rams and body slanting length, chest circumference, rump width, hip height, height at wither and shoulder width for ewes. The body slanting length, chest circumference, and hip height of ewes were used to construct prediction equations for the body weight of Ujumqin sheep of different sexes. The model's prediction accuracy was 83.9% for the rams and 79.4% for ewes. Combined with a Mask R-CNN and machine vision methods, recognition models of important body size parameters of Ujumqin sheep were constructed. The prediction errors of body slanting length, height at wither, hip height, and chest circumference were ~5%, chest depth error was 9.63%, and shoulder width, rump width, and shank circumference errors were 14.95, 12.05, and 19.71%, respectively. The results show that the proposed method is effective and has great potential in precision management.

A novel model for estimating the body weight of Pelibuey sheep through Gray Wolf Optimizer algorithm

ABSTRACT Weight prediction in live animals remains challenging. Several studies have been carried out trying to predict the body weight in livestock through morphometric measurements, the Schaeffer's model is one of them. However, the fit of those studies in small ruminants is not well covered. Therefore, a novel model to predict the weight of Pelibuey sheep through morphometric measurements and the Gray Wolf Optimizer algorithm is presented. The model involves calculating the volume of the specimen through a truncated cone and leaving density as an estimation parameter of the algorithm. Also, two alternative models were made where the original Schaeffer's model was optimized. The modified models from the original Schaeffer's formula showed improvements up to 22.61% in R-squared and decreases up to 33.48% in RMSE. However, the truncated cone model had the best estimates, with an RMSE of 2.57, R-squared of 89.02%, and the lowest AIC. This represented a 25.13% improvement in R-squared and a 38.31% reduction in the RMSE. The model is expected to improve its efficiency if the cattle sample is larger, and it is also intended to be implemented in animals of other proportions.

Substitusi Batang Lunak Pada Produksi Pelet Katuk Depolarisasi Untuk Perbaikan Produktifitas Domba

Depolarized katuk pellets (Sauropus androgynus) as a growth trigger in ruminants have been produced, but are constrained by the adequacy of leaf raw materials. This study aims to utilize the soft stems (BL) of the katuk plant as a substitute for leaf raw materials (D) as much as 15%, and its effect on the productvitas of rams growing. Katuk leaf pellets (100%) and pellets mixed between D (85%) and BL (15%) or DBL, were prepared through a depolarization process. The male rams (21) were divided into 7 groups, 3 heads each, with different pellet-giving treatments. The treatment was the control group, leaf pellets 5 g (D-5), 10 g (D-10), and 15 g (D-15), and also the DBL pellet group 5 g (DBL-5), 10 g (DBL-10), and 15 g (DBL-15) per head daily. Each sheep gets adequate treatment and feed for 3 months. TheDBL-15 and D-15 sheep group showed an improvement in the average percentage of growth in sheep body weight and carcass (p&lt;0.05), which were 54% and 43%, respectively, as well as 74% and 43%, compared to the control group, which was only 46% and 40%. The application of DBL-15 pellets showed a greater percentage of fat deposits, which was 3.4% (p&lt;0.05) than the administration of D-15 pellets, which was only 2.4% and the control group (2.1%). It was concluded that the 15% soft stem to the pellets is still very good as a substitute for the raw material of katuk leaves for the production of depolarized pellets.&#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: carcass, depolarization, katuk, pellet, sheep