Udder Traits Research Articles

Morphometric characterization of udder and teat of Jennies

The present study was conducted in eight districts of Marathwada region, Maharashtra, India. A pre-survey was carried to find the maximum available population of donkeys in the respective area. Two hundred two (202) female donkeys were selected for the study. The data was collected based on morphometry of udder, teat, physiological status, pregnancy, lactation, and milk composition. Udder traits such as udder length, udder depth, udder width, udder circumference and teat traits such as teat length and teat diameter were found highly significant in lactating Jennies when compared with dry and pregnant females. The milk composition parameters were milk fat (MF), milk protein (MP), milk solid not fat (MSNF), total solid (TS), odour (O) and test (T): 1.31±0.08, 1±0.01, 6.93±0.03, 8.31±0.09% and 4593±120 per ml, respectively, for overall lactating jennet population.

High-precision scanning system for complete 3D goat udder and teat imaging, and analysis of morphological traits

Currently, udder scoring for goat udder phenotyping in France is made by a specialized technician trained to score 5 traits for the udder and 4 for teats, only one of which being measured (teat length). It is a hard work in big flocks, and only done one time in the life of goats. Recent works underlined a clear degradation of udder/teat shape with parity and an increasing proportion of morphological and functional unbalance of udders. Thus, for improved genetic selection, we must increase the number and quality of quantitative udder traits measured throughout the productive lifespan of dairy goats. To achieve this goal, we aimed to design a 3D Scanner device to scan the entire udder and to produce high definition numeric images. The device developed is easy to transport in a van and consists of a portable corridor cage in which the goats enter freely. Goats are then blocked less than 2 min while the images were taken. We used 4 Intel Realsense depth D415 cameras mounted on a mobile trolley situated 60 cm under and on the two sides of the cage and sliding from the front to the back of the animal in 10 s. The D415 has a baseline of 55 mm which allows the depth error to be less than 2% at 2 m. The device has an auto calibration internal software that ensure good evaluation of distances with one-millimeter depth precision at 50 cm. The reconstruction of the 3D Image from these 4 sources was done by the RecFusion® software. The image resolution obtained is 1280 * 720 pixels and real-time scene capture is done at up to 90 frames per second (900 images/camera/run/goat). The size of voxel generated was 2 mm. The first prototype was tested on 260 goats of different parity and udder shape and produced well-defined 3D images on which we can measure dimensions with Metrux2α® software after manual positioning of references points. The first validation steps wad done on a soccer ball and on 10 goats for comparison of manual scoring and Image analysis. Machine learning algorithms are currently being developed for the purpose of automatic measurement on these images. The actual precision of the automatic measurement will be assessed following the completion of this final phase. Nevertheless, this scanner shows great promise for future implementation within the goat selection scheme, as it enables swift, objective, and quantitative evaluation of udder and teat characteristics.

Tipo de ubre, características de la ubre y del pezón, y estructura fisicoquímica de la leche en ovejas Bafra (Chios × Karayaka)

It was aimed to determine the effects of udder type on udder traits, milk yield and some physicochemical properties of Bafra (Chios × Karayaka) ewes. The lactation length, daily milk yield, lactation milk yield, and daily average milk yield of ewes were determined. In addition the udder type were determined, udder and teat traits were measured. The fat, solid non–fat, protein, lactose, mineral, density, freezing point, and conductivity values of the milk were determined. Type 3 udder was observed at the highest rate (37.5%) and Type 5 udders were not detected in ewes. The lactation length, daily, and lactation milk yield values were calculated as 177.75 days, 868.60 g and 156.86 kg, respectively. Udder circumference, udder width, udder depth, right teat length, left teat length, right teat diameter, left teat diameter, the distance between teats and udder floor height from the ground was calculated as 40.95 ± 0.63, 12.36 ± 0.30, 16.24 ± 0.40, 2.85 ± 0.09, 2.76 ± 0.09, 1.49 ± 0.03, 1.43 ± 0.04, 15.35 ± 0.23, and 31.88 ± 0.70 cm, respectively. Rates of fat, protein, lactose, solid non–fat, mineral and also density, freezing point, and conductivity were calculated at 5.17 ± 0.30, 1039.08 ± 0.31, 6.24 ± 0.05, 11.51 ± 0.10, 0.88 ± 0.009, 1039.08 ± 0.31 g·mL-1, -0.80 ± 0.009°C and 5.26 ± 0.03 mS·cm-1, respectively. It has been determined that Bafra sheep can be a suitable breed for breeding in the conditions of Malatya, Province of Turkey. However, more scientific research should be done on this topic and the level of milk production should be improved.

Genome-Wide Association Study of the Reproductive Traits of the Dazu Black Goat (Capra hircus) Using Whole-Genome Resequencing.

Reproductive traits are the basic economic traits of goats and important indicators in goat breeding. In this study, Dazu black goats (DBGs; n = 150), an important Chinese local goat breed with excellent reproductive performance, were used to screen for important variation loci and genes of reproductive traits. Through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), 18 SNPs were found to be associated with kidding traits (average litter size, average litter size in the first three parity, and average litter size in the first six parity), and 10 SNPs were associated with udder traits (udder depth, teat diameter, teat length, and supernumerary teat). After gene annotation of the associated SNPs and in combination with relevant references, the candidate genes, namely ATP1A1, LRRC4C, SPCS2, XRRA1, CELF4, NTM, TMEM45B, ATE1, and FGFR2, were associated with udder traits, while the ENSCHIG00000017110, SLC9A8, GLRB, GRIA2, GASK1B, and ENSCHIG00000026285 genes were associated with litter size. These SNPs and candidate genes can provide useful biological information for improvement of the reproductive traits of goats.

Genome-Wide Association Studies for Body Conformation Traits in Korean Holstein Population.

The objective of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) and nearby candidate genes that influence body conformation traits. Phenotypic data for 24 body conformation traits were collected from a population of 2329 Korean Holstein cattle, and all animals were genotyped using the 50 K Illumina bovine SNP chip. A total of 24 genome-wide significant SNPs associated with 24 body conformation traits were identified by genome-wide association analysis. The selection of the most promising candidate genes was based on gene ontology (GO) terms and the previously identified functions that influence various body conformation traits as determined in our study. These genes include KCNA1, RYBP, PTH1R, TMIE, and GNAI3 for body traits; ANGPT1 for rump traits; MALRD1, INHBA, and HOXA13 for feet and leg traits; and CDK1, RHOBTB1, and SLC17A1 for udder traits, respectively. These findings contribute to our understanding of the genetic basis of body conformation traits in this population and pave the way for future breeding strategies aimed at enhancing desirable traits in dairy cattle.

Predicting some Milk Constituents from Linear Body Measurements and Udder Characteristics of Bunaji Cows Utilizing Machine Learning Techniques

Machine Learning techniques are capable of being used in agriculture since they are powerful, fast and flexible tools for classification and predictions of traits of economic importance, particularly those involving nonlinear systems. This study aimed to show how well machine learning methods could predict milk's crude protein and fat content based on the Bunaji cows' linear body measurements and udder characteristics. Forty (40) lactating Bunaji cows from two dairy farms in Yola South Local Government Area, Adamawa State, were purposefully selected for the study. Milk samples were collected from the cows (one-off measurement). The crude protein and fat content of the milk were determined in percentage. An ensemble model consisting of the random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and neural network (NN) algorithms were created using the Orange Software. The models were cross-validated using five folds to assess their robustness. Mean squared error (MSE), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and coefficient of determination (R2 ) are the metrics utilized for the evaluation. Using the udder features, the approach was used to construct demonstrative models for the prediction of milk protein content. The SVM and RF learners had MSE that was lower than that of NN, showing that the two were superior to NN. The lower performance of NN in this study can be explained on the basis of extremely low data that was available for this study. RF learners exhibited a low likelihood of mistakes in predicting crude protein from udder traits despite the study's small data set. Large data sets were needed for machine learning techniques. As a result, these models must be improved with lots of data.

Effects of Parity on Udder and Teat Traits among Three Breeds of Cattle Raised Extensively in Nigeria

Selection of dairy cows traditionally among farmers using phenotypic traits is a major problem in the northern part of Nigeria. This work studied udder and teat traits of cows based on three parities (parity 1, 2 and 3). The knowledge of the relationship between the physical characteristics of the udder and teats with milk yield as selection indices would improve performance in dairy cattle. A total of 270 cows comprising 90 each of Sokoto Gudali, White Fulani and Red Bororo were used in this study. Each breed was further divided into 3 groups of thirty cows according to parity (Parity 1, 2, and 3). Udder traits measured were udder width (UW), udder length (UL) and udder depth (UD) while teat traits were front teat length (FTL), hind teat length (HTL), distance between front and hind teat (DBFHT), distance within front teat (DWFT), distance within hind teat (DWHT). Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and significant means were separated using the Duncan Multiple Range Test. The results showed that in Sokoto Gudali, Parity 2 and 3 were similar and significantly (p<0.05) superior in FTL (6.570.43cm and 6.710.42cm) and DBFHT (9.500.50cm and 9.280.47cm) respectively whereas parity 1 was significantly (p<0.05) low in FTL (5.330.32cm) and DBFHT (8.300.49cm). Parity 1 was significantly (p<0.05) low in HTL (5.250.31cm) and UD (42.900.54cm) whereas parity 3 was significantly (p<0.05) superior in HTL (7.070.60cm) and UD (49.140.34cm). In White Fulani cows, Parity 3 was significantly (p<0.05) higher in DWFT (9.900.37cm), UW (29.100.43cm) and UL (28.300.44cm). Parity 1 and parity 2 were statistically similar and significantly (p<0.05) lower in DWFT, UW and UL as 7.400.40cm and 8.100.27cm, 26.000.59cm and 27.000.49cm and 26.000.59cm and 26.800.41cm respectively. In Red Bororo cows, Parity 2 and Parity 3 were statistically similar and significantly (p<0.05) higher in FTL and HTL as 6.200.29cm 5.60030cm and 6.130.52cm and 5.500.43cm respectively whereas Parity 1 was significantly (p<0.05) lower in FTL (4.500.31cm) and HTL (4.00021cm). Parity 3 was significantly (p<0.05) superior in UW 27.630.03cm whereas Parity 1 was significantly (p<0.05) low in UW 23.800.47cm. The study discovered that Parity had a significant effect on udder and teat traits in all three breeds studied.

Division of Cow Production Groups Based on SOLOv2 and Improved CNN-LSTM

Udder conformation traits interact with cow milk yield, and it is essential to study the udder characteristics at different levels of production to predict milk yield for managing cows on farms. This study aims to develop an effective method based on instance segmentation and an improved neural network to divide cow production groups according to udders of high- and low-yielding cows. Firstly, the SOLOv2 (Segmenting Objects by LOcations) method was utilized to finely segment the cow udders. Secondly, feature extraction and data processing were conducted to define several cow udder features. Finally, the improved CNN-LSTM (Convolution Neural Network-Long Short-Term Memory) neural network was adopted to classify high- and low-yielding udders. The research compared the improved CNN-LSTM model and the other five classifiers, and the results show that CNN-LSTM achieved an overall accuracy of 96.44%. The proposed method indicates that the SOLOv2 and CNN-LSTM methods combined with analysis of udder traits have the potential for assigning cows to different production groups.

LINEAR EVALUATION OF HOLSTEIN BULLS BY THE EXTERIOR TYPE OF THEIR DAUGHTERS IN "OSTRIYKOVSKE" LLC

Introduction. In the context of intensive milk production technologies, the dairy farming industry faces high demands on animal health, constitutional strength and manufacturability due to mechanization and full automation of production processes. Modern methods of breeding involve the creation of highly productive animals that are well adapted to the least costly production technologies, taking into account an objective assessment of their breeding qualities and the application of population genetics.
 Materials and methods of research. The study was conducted based on the materials of primary breeding records in the farm "Ostriykivske" LLC, Kyiv region. Evaluation of the milk production of cows was carried out for 305 days of the last completed lactation on the basis of the database of the dairy farming management system (Intersel-Orsek). An eyeball assessment of the exterior of the firstborn heifers was carried out according to the instructions for boning in the modification of Y. P. Polupan and the method of linear classification by type. The exterior of the animals was studied by taking the main 17 measurements at 2–5 months of lactation.
 The cow type was evaluated using two systems: a linear description of individual exterior traits; evaluation of complex traits on a 100-point scale. The total score was calculated based on complex traits, which in turn were based on linear descriptive traits. In the process of evaluating the animals, the results were recorded in the evaluation sheet for dairy and dairy-meat cows by body type, pre-recording the animal's identification number, nickname, date of birth, date of calving, and lactation number. A total of 114 first-born Holstein cows were evaluated at Ostriykivske LLC.
 Research results In the herd of Ostriykivske LLC, the best score for the complex of traits was obtained by the daughters of the bull sire Lobby 101916210 of the Eleweishna 1491007 line (83.2 points), which corresponds to "good with a plus". The daughters of the bull sire Kingly 101409948 of the H. H. Starbuck 352790 line received the lowest score – 78.0. The lowest score for the complex of limb traits was observed in the daughters of the bull Sleman 7817774 of the Valiant 1650414 line (70.5 points), and the highest in the descendants of Lobby 101916210 – 79.3 points. The variability of scores for udder traits ranged from 76.2 points in the daughters of Tandem 9434213 to 80.8 points in the daughters of Lobby 101916210 with a difference of 4.6 points between these extreme variants.
 In addition, the evaluated cows have undesirable development of certain appearance traits, such as additional teats, close proximity of the hind teats, rudiments behind the teats, underdeveloped udder lobes, and diseased limbs. Thus, the use of the linear classification methodology allows you to obtain information about the features of the body structure, identify the advantages and disadvantages of cattle.
 Such quantitative traits as milk yield, milk fat and protein yield are economically important for dairy producers. The obtained results of the research show that the best score for the complex of traits (83.2 points) and the highest milk yield (milk yield – 10560 kg; fat – 3.92%; protein – 3.15%) are observed in daughters of the bull of the sire Lobby 101916210 of the line Eleveishna 1491007.65. It was found that the firstborn cows with the best type indices are characterized by high milk production. Selection of the best performers by linear evaluation by type for the repair of the dairy herd of firstborn cows will provide more functional reliability and high milk production.
 Conclusions. Thus, the use of the linear classification methodology in dairy cattle breeding allows to objectively determine the characteristics of cows by type of appearance, and the existence of a relationship between milk production and group linear traits is the key to the effectiveness of animal selection by type of appearance.

Ewe udder and teat traits as potential selection criteria for improvement of Merino lamb survival and growth

Neonatal lamb mortality is a major economic and welfare issue for Australian sheep producers. The contribution of udder and teat traits of the dam to the survival and subsequent growth of the lamb is relatively unknown. This study aimed to estimate phenotypic and genetic parameters associated with objectively measured and visually scored udder and teat traits in Australian Merino sheep, and to evaluate the impacts of udder and teat traits of the dam on survival and growth of their lambs to weaning. Ewes from the New England Merino Lifetime Productivity flock (n = 1341 ewes) were assessed for udder and teat traits, and phenotypic and genetic parameters for individual traits and relationships among them were estimated using linear mixed models. Odds ratios were calculated to investigate the influence of udder soundness on lamb mortality. Further, the influence of udder traits on variation in lamb weaning weight was explored. Measured udder and teat size traits were estimated to have moderate to high heritabilities (0.32 (0.09) to 0.56 (0.10)), while the heritabilities of visually scored traits were lower (0.09 (0.05) to 0.17 (0.07)). Measured traits were highly correlated genetically with their equivalent visually scored traits. The odds ratio of mortality for lambs born to ewes with unsound versus sound udders was 1.54 (95 %CI 1.1–2.2, P < 0.05). The odds ratio of lamb mortality from starvation compared to all other causes of death for lambs born to ewes with unsound versus sound udders was 4.62 (95 %CI 2.4–8.9, P < 0.001). Dam udder and teat traits collectively contributed 8 % of the variation in lamb weaning weight observed. Results suggest that targeting optimal ewe udder and teat characteristics in sheep breeding programs has the potential to significantly improve lamb survival and growth in extensive production systems.

The High Level of RANKL Improves IκB/p65/Cyclin D1 Expression and Decreases p-Stat5 Expression in Firm Udder of Dairy Goats.

Udder traits, influencing udder health and function, are positively correlated with lactation performance. Among them, breast texture influences heritability and impacts on the milk yield of cattle; however, there is a lack of systematic research on its underlying mechanism in dairy goats in particular. Here, we showed the structure of firm udders with developed connective tissue and smaller acini per lobule during lactation and confirmed that there were lower serum levels of estradiol (E2) and progesterone (PROG), and higher mammary expression of estrogen nuclear receptor (ER) α and progesterone receptor (PR), in dairy goats with firm udders. The results of transcriptome sequencing of the mammary gland revealed that the downstream pathway of PR, the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) ligand (RANKL) signal, participated in the formation of firm mammary glands. During the culture of goat mammary epithelial cells (GMECs), high RANKL level additions promote the Inhibitor kappaB (IκB)/p65/Cyclin D1 expression related to cell proliferation and decrease the phosphorylated signal transduction and transcription activator 5 (Stat5) expression related to milk-protein synthesis of GMECs, which is consistent with electron microscope results showing that there are fewer lactoprotein particles in the acinar cavity of a firm mammary. Furthermore, co-culturing with adipocyte-like cells for 7 d is beneficial for the acinar structure formation of GMECs, while there is a slightly negative effect of high RANKL level on it. In conclusion, the results of this study revealed the structure of firm udders structure and confirmed the serum hormone levels and their receptor expression in the mammary glands of dairy goats with firm udders. The underlying mechanism leading to firm udders and a decrease in milk yield were explored preliminarily, which provided an important foundation for the prevention and amelioration of firm udders and improving udder health and milk yield.

Amiata donkey body conformation, udder characteristics, and their relationship with milk yield and quality

To date, no selective actions have been taken to improve milk traits in dairy donkeys, and the characteristics of the udder are not well defined in relation to the productive characteristics. This study aimed at increasing knowledge on Amiata dairy donkey body conformation, udder traits, and their relationship with milk yield and quality. Morphological, udder, and teat measurements and milk evaluations of 45 pluriparous jennies were carried out. The average wither height of the jennies was 126 cm and the chest girth was 148 cm; a large standard deviation of some body measurements was found. Forty-nine percent of the animals showed a moderately developed udder, while most of the jennies had symmetrical half-udders (96%) and the intermammary cleft was clearly visible in 53% of subjects. Correlation analysis indicated that bigger animals tend to have bigger udders, higher teat diameter, and greater distance between teat tips. A positive correlation between the teat length and the milk fat was found ( p &lt; 0.01), which suggests that jennies with longer teats have a better ability to release milk fat. The results of this paper may be useful to define the characteristics of the milking device and address selective choices of the animals.

A Study on Changes in Udder Traits of Korean Holstein Dairy Cattle according to Various Environmental Factors

A Study on Changes in Udder Traits of Korean Holstein Dairy Cattle according to Various Environmental Factors

Relationships between body- and udder-related type traits with somatic cell counts and potential use for an early selection method for water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis).

Water buffalo milk is a reliable source of high-quality nutrients; however, the susceptibility of mastitis in buffaloes must be taken into consideration. An animal with somatic cell count (SCC) of greater than 250,000 cells/mL is reported to be likely to have mastitis which has serious adverse effects on animal health, reproduction, milk yield, and milk quality. Type traits (TTs) of water buffalo can affect SCC in animal milk to some extent, but few reports on the correlation between SCC and TTs are available. In this study, a total of 1908 records collected from 678 water buffaloes were investigated. The general linear model was used to identify factors associated with phenotypic variation of the somatic cell score (SCS) trait, including parity, lactation length, calving year, and calving season as fixed effects. Using PROC CORR analysis method, taking calving year and lactation length as covariates, the correlation co-efficient between TT and SCS was obtained. Our results showed that correlation co-efficients between the 45 TTs with SCS ranged from 0.003 to 0.443 (degree of correlation). The correlation between udder traits and SCS was greater than that between body structure traits and SCS. Among udder traits, distance between teats (including front and rear teat distance [r = 0.308], front teat distance [r = 0.211], and teat crossing distance [r = 0.412]) and teat circumference (r = 0.443) had the highest correlation with SCS, followed by the leg traits including rear leg height (r = -0.354) and hock bend angle (r = -0.170). Animal with high rear legs (>48 cm) and short teat crossing distance (<17 cm), and narrow teat circumference (<11 cm) exhibited low SCS. Using four nonlinear models (Von Bertalanffy, Brody, Logistic, and Gompertz), the optimal growth curves of the TTs highly correlated with the SCS (rear leg height and teat crossing distance) were fitted, and the correction co-efficients of these two TTs rear leg height and teat crossing distance of animal from young age (2 mo old) to first lactation (35 mo old) were attained for establishment of early selection method for water buffaloes with low SCS. This study provides theoretical support for early selection of low-SCS water buffaloes and lays a foundation for improving milk quality and promoting healthy development of water buffalo's dairy industry.

Estimation of Genetic Parameters for Conformation Traits and Milk Production Traits in Chinese Holsteins

The objective of this study was to explore the genetic parameters of conformation traits and milk production traits in Chinese Holstein cattle and to provide a reference for dairy cattle breeding. We collected the phenotypic data of 23 conformation traits and five milk production traits of Chinese Holsteins and used animal models to estimate the genetic parameters of conformation traits and milk production traits. The estimated heritability of conformation traits ranged from 0.11 (angularity) to 0.37 (heel depth) and the genetic correlation between conformation traits ranged from -0.73 (bone quality and rear leg-rear view) to 0.76 (chest width and loin strength). The heritability of milk production traits ranged from 0.23 (somatic cell score) to 0.50 (305-d milk yield). The estimated values of genetic correlation between conformation traits and milk production traits ranged from -0.56 (heel depth and 305-d milk yield) to 0.57 (udder texture and milk fat percentage). There was a positive genetic correlation between most conformation traits and milk fat percentage, but a weak negative genetic correlation with milk yield. Strengthening the moderately and highly heritable milk production and conformation traits, especially the selection of rear udder traits and body shape total score, will be beneficial in improving the performance of dairy cows.

Novel polymorphisms of the KCNB1 gene and their association with production traits in Indian Sahiwal cattle

Mastitis in cattle is a prevalent mammary gland disease that contributes significantly to the increase in veterinary expenditures in the dairy sector. KCNB1 (Potassium voltage-gated channel, subfamily B member 1) gene is involved in regulating apoptosis, cell proliferation and differentiation, udder epithelial tissue maintenance and repair, mammary gland development and recommended as a candidate gene for production related traits in cattle. The purpose of this research was to detect the genetic variants of KCNB1 gene in Sahiwal cattle and to analyze the association between polymorphisms with milk production traits, udder traits, and teat traits in Sahiwal cattle. A total of 87 cattle were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms within the non-coding sequence of KCNB1 gene were identified (g.78216220G&gt;A and g.78216335A&gt;G). Analysis of productivity traits within the genotyped animals revealed that the SNP1-Msp1 locus (g.78216220G&gt;A) located at intron 1 was associated with milk production traits, but the SNP2-BspHI locus (g.78216335A&gt;G) had no association with milk production. Significant associations were also observed between SNP1-Msp1 and SNP2-BspHI loci with both udder and teat traits. Our results demonstrate that polymorphisms in the cattle KCNB1 gene were associated with milk production, udder and teat traits and might be utilized as a genetic marker for marker-assisted selection in cattle breeding programs.

Exterior of Сows of the Ukrainian Black-Spotted Dairy Breed, Obtained under Various Selection Options

Analysis of the effectiveness of evaluating inline and inter-line variants of combinations by type and finding their best variants in practical selective breeding is a relevant task that allows obtaining offspring of the desired quality. The purpose of this study is to figure out the specific features of the body structure of the firstborn cows of the Ukrainian blackspotted dairy breed of the western inbred type, depending on their origin, as well as to establish the type of inheritance of these indicators in line crosses based on the results of the evaluation by type. The study found the types of selection through genealogical analysis of pedigrees, linear evaluation of cows by type according to two evaluation systems – linear description of individual articles of the exterior on a 9-point scale and evaluation of complexes of exterior features of the animal type on a 100-point scale, obtained results were evaluated according to Student’s t-test. Using the scheme, it was found that the firstborn cows obtained as a result of the inline selection are characterized by optimal scores by type. However, animals from the Valianta 1650414 line received the highest ratings for linear traits of height at the withers, width of chest and rear, body depth. The study analysed the evaluation of firstborn cows by type, obtained in the interline selection, and it was found that the indicators of linear evaluation by type of cross lines correspond to and prevail over the average values for the breed. Cross cows ♂Valianta 1650414 x ♀Eleveishna 1491007 received the highest score for milk type on a 100-point scale. It was proved that most of the evaluated traits in line crosses were inherited according to the intermediate type. However, in the cross ♂Chifa 1427381 x ♀Eleveishna 1491007, the evaluation of individual traits (height, chest width, angle of withers, rear attachment, and depth of udder) statistically probably exceeded the values of the corresponding evaluations of the firstborns of the paternal and maternal lines, and the dominance of the maternal line was observed in the cross-breed cows ♂Chifa 1427381 x ♀Valianta 1650414 according to the value of the assessment of individual udder traits. The obtained results will allow performing optimal selection of parent pairs from animals evaluated by type for selection and breeding work with cattle herds to consolidate them by type

Determination of Linear Udder Traits of Norduz Sheep

Background: A limited number of studies in non-dairy sheep breeds have investigated the assessment of udder morphology on a linear scale. The aim of this study was to use the linear scoring approach to determine the morphological udder traits of non-dairy Norduz ewes. Methods: Udder traits were measured once in mid-lactation (approximately 90 days) for each ewe before the milking. Udder measurements included the following traits: udder width, udder circumference, udder length, udder depth, teat diameter, teat length, the distance between two teats and teat height from the ground. Linear scoring was done after the udder measurements were taken. Result: Linear udder scores for teat placement, udder depth, the degree of separation of two halves and the degree of udder suspension were found as 4.10, 6.88, 3.15 and 7.54, respectively. Measurements related to udder size were positively and significantly correlated with each other. As a result, the 9-point linear scale utilized in this study was found to be appropriate for evaluating the udder shape of Norduz ewes. However, it would be beneficial to develop an uncomplicated, easy and practical linear scale that accurately evaluates udder morphology for non-dairy breeds.

Genome-Wide Association Study for Udder Conformation Traits in Chinese Holstein Cattle.

Simple SummaryUdder conformation traits are economically important for dairy animals in the dairy industry. Milk production loss can be reduced via a better udder structure in dairy cattle. Udder traits are related to milk production and the somatic cell count, which is a sign of mammary infections (mastitis); as such, it is vital to understand the genetic architecture underlying udder traits in Holstein Friesian cattle for genetic development and long-term selection. Through a GWAS on udder structure traits in Chinese Holstein cattle, we identified several significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and candidate genes associated with udder traits. The results could provide useful information regarding the genetics architecture of udder structure traits, thus improving the genetic information, health, longevity, and production of dairy cattle.Udder conformation traits are one of the most economic traits in dairy cows, greatly affecting animal health, milk production, and producer profitability in the dairy industry. Genetic analysis of udder structure and scores have been developed in Holstein cattle. In our research, we conducted a genome-wide association study for five udder traits, including anterior udder attachment (AUA), central suspensory ligament (CSL), posterior udder attachment height (PUAH), posterior udder attachment width (PUAW), and udder depth (UD), in which the fixed and random model circulating probability unification (FarmCPU) model was applied for the association analysis. The heritability and the standard errors of these five udder traits ranged from 0.04 ± 0.00 to 0.49 ± 0.03. Phenotype data were measured from 1000 Holstein cows, and the GeneSeek Genomic Profiler (GGP) Bovine 100 K SNP chip was used to analyze genotypic data in Holstein cattle. For GWAS analysis, 984 individual cows and 84,407 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) remained after quality control; a total of 18 SNPs were found at the GW significant threshold (p < 5.90 × 10−7). Many candidate genes were identified within 200kb upstream or downstream of the significant SNPs, which include MGST1, MGST2, MTUS1, PRKN, STXBP6, GRID2, E2F8, CDH11, FOXP1, SLF1, TMEM117, SBF2, GC, ADGRB3, and GCLC. Pathway analysis revealed that 58 Gene Ontology (GO) terms and 18 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were enriched with adjusted p values, and these GO terms and the KEGG pathway analysis were associated with biological information, metabolism, hormonal growth, and development processes. These results could give valuable biological information for the genetic architecture of udder conformation traits in dairy Holstein cattle.

Optimized Deep-Learning-Based Method for Cattle Udder Traits Classification

We propose optimized deep learning (DL) models for automatic analysis of udder conformation traits of cattle. One of the traits is represented by supernumerary teats that is in excess of the normal number of teats. Supernumerary teats are the most common congenital heritable in cattle. Therefore, the major advantage of our proposed method is its capability to automatically select the relevant images and thereafter perform supernumerary teat classification when limited data are available. For this purpose, we perform experimental analysis on the image dataset that we collected using a handheld device consisting of a combined depth and RGB camera. To disclose the underlying characteristics of our data, we consider the uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) technique. Furthermore, for comprehensive evaluation, we explore the impact of different data augmentation techniques on the performances of DL models. We also explore the impact of only RGB data and the combination of RGB and depth data on the performances of the DL models. For this purpose, we integrate the three channels of RGB data with the depth channel to generate four channels of data. We present the results of all the models in terms of four performance metrics, namely accuracy, F-score, precision, and sensitivity. The experimental results reveal that a higher level of data augmentation techniques improves the performances of the DL models by approximately 10%. Our proposed method also outperforms the reference methods recently introduced in the literature.