West African Cattle Research Articles

Estimation of live bodyweight from linear body measurements and body condition score in the West African Savannah Shorthorn cattle in North-West Benin

This study was undertaken to provide easy and optimal live bodyweight (LW) estimate models for the West African Shorthorn Somba cattle breed under field conditions using morphometric traits. Based ...

Sex and site differences in urinary excretion of conjugated pyrene metabolites in the West African Shorthorn cattle.

Industrialization, economic and population growth rates in Ghana have increased the release of contaminants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into the environment through which humans and animals are exposed. Cattle is reported to be exposed to high levels of PAHs through feed and inhalation. Once exposed, PAHs are metabolized and excreted in urine, feces or bile. In a previous study, cattle in Ghana was reported to excrete high levels of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHPyr) due to high exposure to the parent compound, pyrene. 1-OHPyr is further metabolized to glucuronide and sulfate conjugates. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the sex and site differences in urinary excretion of conjugated pyrene metabolites using cattle urine collected from rural and urban sites of the Ashanti region, Ghana. From the results, geometric mean concentration adjusted by specific gravity indicated that 1-OHPyreneGlucuronide (PyG) was the most abundant conjugate followed by PyrenediolSulfate (M3). The sum of conjugated pyrene metabolites and sum of both conjugated and deconjugated pyrene metabolites correlated significantly with PyG, PydiolSulfate (M2) and PydiolSulfate (M3). The study revealed no significant difference in urinary excretion of conjugated pyrene metabolites between rural and urban sites. This indicated that similar to urban sites, cattle in rural sites were exposed to high levels of pyrene. There was no significant difference in urinary concentrations of conjugated pyrene metabolites between sexes.

Morphological assessment of the Zebu Bororo (Wodaabé) cattle of Niger in the West African zebu framework

Abstract. A total of 357 adult cows and 29 sires belonging to the long-horned Niger Zebu Bororo cattle population were assessed for 13 body measurements and 11 qualitative traits. Data were jointly analysed with 311 cows and 64 sires belonging to other four West African zebu cattle populations, sampled in Burkina Faso and Benin, representative of both the short-horned and the long-horned West African zebu groups using multivariate statistical methods. Besides the other long-horned zebu breed analysed (Zebu Mbororo of Burkina Faso), Zebu Bororo cattle tended to have the highest mean values for all body measurements. Mahalanobis distance matrices further informed that pairs involving Zebu Bororo cattle had the higher differentiation of the dataset. However, contour plots constructed using eigenvalues computed via principal component analysis (PCA) illustrated a lack of differentiation among West African zebu cattle populations at the body measurements level. Correspondence analysis carried out on the 11 qualitative traits recorded allowed for ascertaining a clear differentiation between the Zebu Bororo and the other zebu cattle populations analysed which, in turn, did not show a clear differentiation at the qualitative type traits level. In our data, Zebu Bororo cattle had in high frequency qualitative features such as dropped ears, lyre-shaped horns and red-pied coat colour that are not frequently present in the other West African zebu populations analysed. A directional selection due to a rough consensus of the stock-keepers may be hypothesised. Performance of further analyses to assess the degree in which such breeding differences may be related to genetic or production differences are advised.

Morphological assessment of Niger Kuri cattle using multivariate methods

A total of 406 adult cows and 34 bulls belonging to the Niger Kuri cattle population were assessed for 16 body measurements and 11 qualitative traits to contribute to the characterization of this unique cattle breed. Body measurements included facial, horn, ear and rump lengths; facial, cranial, shoulder, pelvic and ischium widths; height at withers and at hips; muzzle circumference; heart girth; body and tail lengths; and thorax depth. Qualitative traits included cephalic profile, ear shape, muzzle pigmentation, eyelid pigmentation, hoof pigmentation, horn colour, dewlap size, backline profile, horn shape, spotting pattern, and coat colour pattern. Data were analysed jointly with 377 individuals from four other West African taurine cattle breeds (N’Dama, Lagunaire, Lobi and Somba) using multivariate statistical methods, including canonical and correspondence analyses. Among the breeds analysed, Kuri cattle had the highest mean values for all body measurements: height at withers and body length had mean values of 124.0 ± 0.4 and 146.8 ± 1.0 cm in Kuri cows, respectively, and 126.0 ± 2.2 and 155.7 ± 3.6 cm, respectively, in Kuri bulls. Canonical analysis allowed the construction of contour plots to illustrate the high differentiation between Kuri cattle and the other breeds, regardless of the sex of the individuals. Further, the Mahalanobis distance matrices showed that pairs involving Kuri cattle had the higher differentiation of these populations. Correspondence analysis carried out on these 11 qualitative traits allowed the researchers to ascertain a clear differentiation between the Kuri and the other taurine cattle breeds. The N’Dama, Lagunaire, Lobi, and Somba breeds did not show clear differentiation at qualitative-type trait level with 75% confidence regions computed for these four breeds being highly intermingled. In the current data, Kuri cattle had the highest frequency in qualitative features, such as concave cephalic profile, dropped ears, non-pigmented muzzle and grey-coloured horns, which are absent in West African taurine and zebu cattle breeds, according to the literature. The current evidence would suggest that unique Kuri cattle type features may result from breeding decisions rather than from zebu admixture. This work confirms that at type trait level Kuri cattle is a unique population within the West African taurine cattle group. The implementation of genetic analyses aiming at ascertaining the degree of uniqueness of the breed is advised. Keywords: Body measurements, Bos taurus , multivariate analyses, qualitative traits, West African cattle

Differences in genetic structure assessed using Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA markers do not shape the contributions to diversity in African sires.

Up to 173 African sires belonging to 11 different subpopulations representative of four cattle groups were analysed for six Y-specific microsatellite loci and a mitochondrial DNA fragment. Differences in Y-chromosome and mtDNA haplotype structuring were assessed. In addition, the effect of such structuring on contributions to total genetic diversity was assessed. Thirty-five Y-chromosome and 71 mtDNA haplotypes were identified. Most Y-chromosomes analysed (73.4%) were of zebu origin (11 haplotypes). Twenty-two Y-haplotypes (44 samples) belonged to the African taurine subfamily Y2a. All mtDNA haplotypes belonged to the "African" taurine T1 haplogroup with 16 samples and nine haplotypes belonging to a recently identified subhaplogroup (T1e). Median-joining networks showed that Y-chromosome phylogenies were highly reticulated with clear separation between zebu and taurine clusters. Mitochondrial haplotypes showed a clear star-like shape with small number of mutations separating haplotypes. Mitochondrial-based FST -statistics computed between cattle groups tended to be statistically non-significant (p>.05). Most FST values computed among groups and subpopulations using Y-chromosome markers were statistically significant. AMOVA confirmed that divergence between cattle groups was only significant for Y-chromosome markers (ΦCT =0.209). At the mitochondrial level, African sires resembled an undifferentiated population with individuals explaining 94.3% of the total variance. Whatever the markers considered, the highest contributions to total Nei's gene diversity and allelic richness were found in West African cattle. Genetic structuring had no effect on patterns of contributions to diversity.

P5062 Comparative genomics reveal common diversity and signature of positive selection in West African taurine cattle populations

P5062 Comparative genomics reveal common diversity and signature of positive selection in West African taurine cattle populations

Multivariate characterization of morphological traits in West African cattle sires

Abstract. A total of 183 adult sires belonging to nine West African cattle breeds sampled in 67 villages of Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin were assessed for 16 body measurements and 18 qualitative traits. Within type of cattle (zebu, sanga or taurine), the different breeds analysed showed large differences in body measurements. In general, taurine breeds had lower average values than the zebu breeds while sanga cattle tended to have intermediate values. Principal component analysis identified three factors characterising body measurements. Factor 1 summarised the information provided by those traits characterising the size of the individuals and explained 59.0 % of the variability. Factor 2 tended to gather information characterising the body width and explained 8.0 % of the variation. Less representative, Factor 3 (6.6 % of the variability) had no clear interpretation. Qualitative traits did not allow to distinguish among either cattle groups or breeds. Two Correspondence Analysis Dimensions computed on qualitative traits (explaining 26.2 and 15.5 % of the variability, respectively) did not allow to differentiate between zebu, sanga or taurine cattle breeds. Our results confirm that, in the framework of a general appearance, body measurements are the main criteria for differentiating West African cattle breeds. Furthermore, the current research has not allowed to identify breeding preferences on qualitative type traits in West African cattle sires. Therefore, homogenisation of the appearance of individuals within cattle breed is not expected.

Lack of specific alleles for the bovine chemokine (C-X-C) receptor type 4 (CXCR4) gene in West African cattle questions its role as a candidate for trypanotolerance

A panel of 81 Asian, African and European cattle (Bos taurus and B. indicus) was analysed for the whole sequence of the CXCR4 gene (3844bp), a strong candidate for cattle trypanotolerance. Thirty-one polymorphic sites identified gave 31 different haplotypes. Neutrality tests rejected the hypothesis of either positive or purifying selection. Bayesian phylogenetic tree showed differentiation of haplotypes into two clades gathering genetic variability predating domestication. Related with clades definition, linkage disequilibrium analyses suggested the existence of one only linkage block on the CXCR4 gene. Two tag SNPs identified on exon 2 captured 50% of variability. Whatever the analysis carried out, no clear separation between cattle groups was identified. Most haplotypes identified in West African taurine cattle were also found in European cattle and in Asian and West African zebu. West African taurine samples did not carry unique variants on the CXCR4 gene sequence. The current analysis failed in identifying a causal mutation on the CXCR4 gene underlying a previously reported QTL for cattle trypanotolerance on BTA2.

Community structure, seasonal variations and interactions between native and invasive cattle tick species in Benin and Burkina Faso.

BackgroundThe variation of tick abundance on ruminants had received little attention in West Africa before Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus started to invade this region in the early 2000s. Ten years later, R. microplus was suspected to have replaced the native ticks. In addition to testing this hypothesis, this study investigated the interactions between native and invasive ticks and the relative role of climatic and geographical variables in the variations of tick community composition (beta diversity) on cattle herds.MethodsA one-year-long survey was performed in Benin and Burkina Faso during which adult ticks were collected from 144 steers from 12 localities in four different areas once a month. Morphological features were used to assign the collected ticks to different species (A. variegatum, R. annulatus, R. decoloratus, R. microplus and R. geigyi). Beta diversity analyses and generalized linear models allowed characterizing the geographical variations in species assemblage and the effect of co-infestation patterns on the seasonal variations in the abundance and incidence rates of each taxon.ResultsAbout 68 % (22,491/32,148) of all the adult ticks collected in one year were R. microplus. The most heterogeneously distributed taxa were Hyalomma spp and R. microplus and the lowest specific diversity was found in Central Burkina Faso. Although climatic variables did not provide any additional information on the variation in species assemblages compared with the sampling geography, adult tick abundance tended to peak during the late (Boophilus subgenus) or early (other taxa) rainy season. In most taxon-per-locality analyses, the abundance and incidence rate of a given tick taxon significantly increased when the host was co-infested by other taxa. The comparison with previous estimates (when possible) did not support the hypothesis that R. microplus invasion led to a decrease in native tick species abundance.ConclusionsThe co-infestation patterns among native and invasive tick species are key factors for the determination of the community structure and the infestation dynamics of each tick taxon in West African cattle.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1305-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

African Cattle do not Carry Unique Mutations on the Exon 9 of the ARHGAP15 Gene

ABSTRACTA panel of 81 Asian, African and European cattle (Bos taurus and B. indicus) was sequenced for the exon 9 of the ARHGAP15, a strong candidate for cattle trypanotolerance on BTA2. The analyses provided five different haplotypes defined by four (two nonsynonymous) mutations. Neutrality tests suggest a recent sweep in the studied bovine sequences. The two most frequent haplotypes (H1 and H3) gathered 88% of the chromosomes analyzed and were present in all the cattle groups analyzed, including Asian zebu and European cattle. The current results question the sole association of the polymorphism identified, including mutation c.53317501A > C, with the trypanotolerant response in West African cattle.

Simultaneous Estimation of Risk and Time Preferences among Small‐scale Cattle Farmers in West Africa

This article reports results from economic field experiments with cattle‐dependent small‐scale farmers in West Africa. We simultaneously estimate both risk and time preferences and examine how demographic and socio‐economic characteristics are correlated with each preference. The empirical basis for our analysis is a panel data survey of 211 households conducted in Mali and Burkina Faso in 2007 and 2011, and economic experiments conducted with the heads of these households in 2011. The theoretical basis for our analysis is a discounted utility model. We apply prospect theory and quasi‐hyperbolic discounting to estimate the present values of future utility streams. We apply a maximum likelihood approach to jointly estimate risk and time preferences, and to investigate the correlations among the preference parameters and observable characteristics. We find that, on average, the West African cattle farmer is generally more risk averse and more patient than similarly‐situated respondents from Asia. Additionally, risk and time preferences are correlated with wealth, education, and religion. We find that constraints in wealth and education are associated with greater risk aversion and impatience. Furthermore, time spent in a Koranic school is positively related to the overweighting of small probabilities, greater risk‐taking behavior, and patience.

Importance of identification and typing of Brucellae from West African cattle: A review

Bovine brucellosis is an endemic infectious disease which can impact cattle productivity and welfare negatively, as well as human health. Sufficient knowledge on its epidemiology, particularly on species and biotypes of Brucella at national and/or regional scale are important to set up and implement efficient control measures against brucellosis in a "One health" perspective. The main objective of this review was to investigate available literature on strains of Brucella in order to provide a state of art-knowledge on species and biovars reported in cattle from West Africa. A literature search was conducted to identify relevant data on species and biovars of Brucella in cattle from Western African countries. This search included studies presenting bacteriological and/or molecular results of identification and typing, relied on international classification methods with no time limit and no language restrictions. Studies reporting results of identification at genus level only were not considered for this review. This review revealed that Brucella abortus was the most prevalent species in cattle from West Africa, in line with host preference for Brucellae. So far, biovars 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and intermediate biovar 3/6 of B. abortus were reported in cattle in the region. Among these strains, biovars 3, recently identified in The Gambia and Ivory Coast, was the most commonly isolated. Brucella melitensis and/or B. suis have not been mentioned yet in cattle in this part of Africa. The public health significance of prevailing strains is discussed and a regional collaborative control program of brucellosis is suggested.

Importance of infectious bovine reproductive diseases: an example from Ghana

REPRODUCTIVE diseases of cattle are of great economic importance to the rural sector of developing countries, particularly in Africa (Obese and others 1999, Fekadu and others 2007). Although infectious conditions...

Association studies in QTL regions linked to bovine trypanotolerance in a West African crossbred population

African animal trypanosomosis is a parasitic blood disease transmitted by tsetse flies and is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. West African taurine breeds have the ability, known as trypanotolerance, to limit parasitaemia and anaemia and remain productive in enzootic areas. Several quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying traits related to trypanotolerance have been identified in an experimentally infected F(2) population resulting from a cross between taurine and zebu cattle. Although this information is highly valuable, the QTL remain to be confirmed in populations subjected to natural conditions of infection, and the corresponding regions need to be refined. In our study, 360 West African cattle were phenotyped for the packed cell volume control under natural conditions of infection in south-western Burkina Faso. Phenotypes were assessed by analysing data from previous cattle monitored over 2 years in an area enzootic for trypanosomosis. We further genotyped for 64 microsatellite markers mapping within four previously reported QTL on BTA02, BTA04, BTA07 and BTA13. These data enabled us to estimate the heritability of the phenotype using the kinship matrix between individuals computed from genotyping data. Thus, depending on the estimators considered and the method used, the heritability of anaemia control ranged from 0.09 to 0.22. Finally, an analysis of association identified an allele of the MNB42 marker on BTA04 as being strongly associated with anaemia control, and a candidate gene, INHBA, as being close to that marker.

Onchocerca armillata contains the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia and elicits a limited inflammatory response

Human onchocerciasis, also known as River Blindness, is a debilitating disease caused by the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus. Many, but not all, filarial nematodes carry within their tissues endosymbiotic, Rickettsia-like bacteria of the genus Wolbachia. Onchocerca spp. infections in cattle offer the most relevant, analogous host–parasite model system. West African cattle are commonly co-infected with four Onchocerca spp.; two of these are Wolbachia-positive (Onchocerca gutturosa and Onchocerca ochengi), and the remainder are of unknown Wolbachia status (Onchocerca dukei and Onchocerca armillata). Previous studies have suggested that worm survival is dependent on this bacterium. O. armillata, an abundant parasite of African cattle that has received little attention, is a primitive species that may lack Wolbachia. The objectives of this study were to determine if O. armillata carries Wolbachia and to provide preliminary descriptions of the host inflammatory cell environment around the adult worms. The findings may support or refute the hypothesis that a prime contribution of Wolbachia is to permit long-term survival and reproduction of certain Onchocerca spp. (including O. volvulus in humans). O. armillata adult worms were found in the aorta of 90.7% of cattle (n=54) slaughtered at an abattoir in Ngaoundéré, Adamawa Region, Cameroon. The presence of Wolbachia in O. armillata was confirmed by a specific anti-Wolbachia surface protein antibody detected using a peroxidase conjugate (immunohistochemistry) and PCR for detection of Wolbachia-specific sequences within DNA extracts from frozen worms. Tissue sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin showed the host cell response to be dominated by macrophages and fibroblasts. This is unusual compared with nodule-dwelling Wolbachia-positive Onchocerca spp., where the host response is typically characterised by granulocytes, and suggests that the mechanisms for worm survival employed by this species (which is probably motile) may differ.

Multiple paternal origins of domestic cattle revealed by Y-specific interspersed multilocus microsatellites

In this study, we show how Y-specific interspersed multilocus microsatellites, which are loci that yield several amplified bands differing in size from the same male individual and PCR reaction, are a powerful source of information for tracing the history of cattle. Our results confirm the existence of three main groups of sires, which are separated by evolutionary time and clearly predate domestication. These three groups are consistent with the haplogroups previously identified by Götherström et al. (2005) using five Y-specific segregating sites: Y1 and Y2 in taurine (Bos taurus) cattle and Y3 in zebu (Bos indicus) cattle. The zebu cattle cluster clearly originates from a domestication process that was geographically and temporally separated from that of taurine clusters. Our analyses further suggest that: (i) introgression of wild sire genetic material into domesticated herds may have a significant role in the formation of modern cattle, including the formation of the Y1 haplogroup; (ii) a putative domestication event in Africa probably included local Y2-like wild sires; (iii) the West African zebu cattle Y-chromosome may have partially originated from an ancient introgression of humped cattle into Africa; and (iv) the high genetic similarity among Asian zebu sires is consistent with a single domestication process.

A whole genome Bayesian scan for adaptive genetic divergence in West African cattle.

BackgroundThe recent settlement of cattle in West Africa after several waves of migration from remote centres of domestication has imposed dramatic changes in their environmental conditions, in particular through exposure to new pathogens. West African cattle populations thus represent an appealing model to unravel the genome response to adaptation to tropical conditions. The purpose of this study was to identify footprints of adaptive selection at the whole genome level in a newly collected data set comprising 36,320 SNPs genotyped in 9 West African cattle populations.ResultsAfter a detailed analysis of population structure, we performed a scan for SNP differentiation via a previously proposed Bayesian procedure including extensions to improve the detection of loci under selection. Based on these results we identified 53 genomic regions and 42 strong candidate genes. Their physiological functions were mainly related to immune response (MHC region which was found under strong balancing selection, CD79A, CXCR4, DLK1, RFX3, SEMA4A, TICAM1 and TRIM21), nervous system (NEUROD6, OLFM2, MAGI1, SEMA4A and HTR4) and skin and hair properties (EDNRB, TRSP1 and KRTAP8-1).ConclusionThe main possible underlying selective pressures may be related to climatic conditions but also to the host response to pathogens such as Trypanosoma(sp). Overall, these results might open the way towards the identification of important variants involved in adaptation to tropical conditions and in particular to resistance to tropical infectious diseases.

Effects of loading behaviour and road transport stress on traumatic injuries in cattle transported by road during the hot-dry season

The welfare of cattle during loading and unloading, and injuries sustained during road transportation of 150 indigenous West African cattle breeds belonging to the Bos indicus breeds of White Fulani (WF), Red Bororo (RB) and Sokoto Gudale (SG) were investigated. The injuries were determined using standard clinical examination methods. The result showed that cattle with higher points of behavioural activities and loading time had higher ( P < 0.01) number of injuries. The highest percentages of injuries were inflicted by their horns, stockholders and vehicle obstructions. Wound contusions and lacerations were the most frequent types of injuries sustained in all the breeds. The thoracic and abdominal walls were the areas of the body most affected by the injuries. Severe injuries and the number of internal muscular hemorrhage sustained at slaughter were significantly ( P < 0.05) higher in breeds with massive long horns (RB and WF). The longer the duration of the journey, the higher the incidence of injuries sustained. In conclusion, the transported cattle were exposed to serious stress factors adversely affecting their health, productivity and market value.

Pharmacokinetics of ivermectin in zebu Gobra ( Bos indicus)

Plasma disposition kinetics of ivermectin was evaluated in a West African cattle breed. Five clinically healthy zebu Gobra cattle ( Bos indicus) weighing 220–270 kg were treated (0.2 mg kg −1) with a commercially available ivermectin formulation for cattle. Blood samples were collected by jugular puncture at different times between 0.5 h and 40 days post-treatment. After plasma extraction and derivatization, samples were analysed by HPLC with fluorescence detection. Ivermectin was detected in plasma between 30 min and 20 days post-treatment. The observed peak plasma concentration ( C max) was 46.3 ± 13.8 ng ml −1 and the time to reach C max ( t max) was 0.9 ± 0.2 day. The values for the absorption half-life ( t 1/2ab) and the elimination half-life ( t 1/2el) were 0.3 ± 0.2 and 2.8 ± 0.7 days, respectively. The calculated area under the concentration–time curve (AUC) was 185.2 ± 12.1 ng day ml −1 and the mean residence time (MRT) was 4.2 ± 1.3 days. The availability of ivermectin is low in zebu Gobra in comparison to other breeds cattle but equivalent to that reported in the yak and is likely to be due to physiological characteristics of this breed.

Admixture and diversity in West African cattle populations.

We present a population genetic analysis of microsatellite variation in 16 West African cattle populations. West Africa represents a unique juxtaposition of different climatic and ecological zones in a relatively small geographical area. While more humid coastal regions are inhabited by the tsetse fly, a vector which spreads trypanosomiasis among cattle, the disease is not transmitted in the drier areas outside this zone. This is the most thorough study of genetic diversity in cattle within this area, which contains genetically important trypanotolerant Bos taurus breeds. Genetic relationships among the many breeds are examined and levels of diversity are assessed. Admixture levels were determined using a variety of methods. Ancestry informative or population-associated alleles (PAAs) were selected using populations from India, the Near East and Europe. Multivariate analysis, the admix program and model-based Bayesian admixture analysis approaches were also employed. These analyses reveal the direct impact of ecological factors and the profound effect of admixture on the cattle of this region. They also highlight the importance of efforts to prevent further dilution of African taurine breeds by B. indicus cattle.