Characterisation of fear response in turkey breeds could bring important beneficial information for future breeding, animal welfare and preservation of breeds. The two major turkey breeds raised ...presently in Nigeria are Hybrid Converter turkey (HCT) and Nigerian indigenous turkey (NIT). The HCT has been selected for fast growth and can adapt to different environmental and management conditions. In contrast, NIT is an unselected slow-growing bird that is hardy and well-adapted to the tropical climate of Nigeria. This study examined fear behaviour in turkey poults of fast and slow growing breeds to know how genetic selection for fast growth has shaped fear response in young turkeys. Twenty-five each of white NIT and HCT poults were used for this study. Fear tests such as tonic immobility, emergence, open field, inversion and attention bias tests were used to assess fear responses in the turkey poults during the first 16 days of life. A Wilcoxon Two-Sample test was used to determine the effect of the turkey breed on the poults’ fear responses. There was a significant breed effect on the duration of tonic immobility (Ws=482.00, z = −3.0138, p = 0.003) and latency to emerge from a dark box (Ws=382.00, z = −4.9521, p = 0.000). The HCT stayed in tonic immobility longer than NIT, while NIT emerged faster than HCT from the dark box. There was also a significant breed effect on vocalization duration (Ws=664.50, z = 3.65, p = 0.000) in the open field arena, with longer duration of vocalization in NIT compared with HCT. More escape attempts (Ws=598.00, z = 3.05, p = 0.004) and more explored floor squares (Ws=606.50, z = 2.43, p = 0.015) were observed in NIT compared with HCT during the open field test. The results obtained from this study showed significant breed differences in the fear responses of the turkey poults, with HCT poults being more fearful than NIT. The increased fear response observed in HCT poults appears to be an unintended consequence of selection for fast growth. Genetic selection programmes aimed at improving growth in turkeys should also consider their fear behaviour.
•Characterisation of fear response in turkey breeds is useful for understanding animal welfare.•This study examined fear behaviour in fast and slow growing turkeys.•There is a significant breed difference in the fear responses of the turkeys.•Hybrid Converter turkeys are more fearful than Nigerian indigenous turkeys.•Genetic selection programmes in turkeys should also consider their fear behaviour.
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) cause severe economic losses to many countries of the world where the disease is endemic. It has been targeted for global eradication by 2030 following the successful ...eradication of rinderpest in 2011. The proposed eradication program would benefit from efficient and relatively reliable diagnostic tools for early PPR virus (PPRV) detection. A total of 33 eight to 12 months old West African Dwarf (WAD) goats were used. Nineteen goats infected by commingling with two PPR virus–positive animals formed the infected group (PPRV-infected goats) while 14 non-infected goats formed the control group (CTG). The suitability of hydroxyl naphthol blue (HNB) staining of reverse transcription loop–mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) and haemagglutination (HA) assays was compared for their sensitivity to detect the PPRV in PPRV-infected goats and non-infected CTG. PPR disease severity in WAD goats at different days post infection (dpi) was evaluated by clinical scoring and haemagglutination titre (HAT). HNB staining RT-LAMP reaction and HA showed sensitivities of 100% and 73.68%, respectively, for PPRV detection. Expression of PPR clinical signs began from 3 dpi, attained peak at 5 dpi, thereafter showed irregular patterns till 24 dpi. Evaluation of HAT in PPRV-infected goats at 12 dpi ranged from 2 to 64 haemagglutination units (HAU), while CTG goats had 0 HAU. In conclusion, HA could be a good tool for rapid diagnosis of PPRV in a developing country setting. However, HNB staining RT-LAMP assay demonstrated high sensitivity for accurate diagnoses of PPRV and as an important diagnostic tool when precise phenotyping is desired.
The interferon regulatory factor gene family encodes transcription factors with multiple biological functions, which include reproduction, cell differentiation and immunity. Interferon regulatory ...factor-5 (IRF-5) gene is involved in immune defence against virus, stress response, activation of type I interferon genes, cell differentiation and growth. This experiment was conducted to identify and characterise single nucleotide polymorphisms in exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene in Nigerian local chickens. Exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene were amplified and sequenced. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene were identified and analysed using Clustal W, DnaSp and SNAP
software packages. Four SNPs, rs317511101, rs312902332, rs315149141 and rs739389464, were identified in exon 3 of IRF-5 gene in all the three genotypes. Exon 4 of the gene was conserved while three of the SNPs (rs736423928, 170C>T and rs740736761) identified in exon 7 were shared among the three genotypes. Linkage disequilibrium of 1.00 existed between rs317511101 and rs315149141 polymorphisms identified in exon 3 of normal feathered and frizzle feathered chickens. Mutation rs740736761 identified in exon 7 had the highest polymorphism information content obtainable for any biallelic marker. Most of the SNPs identified in exons 3, 5 and 7 were synonymous and singletons which could not be used for association study. The study concluded that only haplotypes in exons 3 and 7 of IRF-5 gene can be used in marker-assisted selection when improving Nigerian local chickens.
Coat colour contributes to physiological adaptation in mammals and mediates response to thermal stress. Twenty-four adult West African Dwarf sheep of both sexes and with different coat colour types ...were used in this study. We measured rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and pulse rate (PR) before sunrise and sunset during the late dry season (January–March) and early rainy season (April–June) as well as packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, plasma sodium (Na
+
) and potassium (K
+
). Animals with black coat colour had the highest (
P
< 0.05) mean values of 38.92 ± 0.03 °C, 65.09 ± 1.06 breaths/min, 81.35 ± 0.78 beats/min, 1.70 ± 0.01 for RT, RR, PR and heat stress index (HSI), respectively, followed by brown mouflon and brown with extensive white, while the Badger Face coloured sheep had the least mean values. There were significant (
P
< 0.05) differences between male and female sheep for RT, RR, PR and HSI. Season had a significant (
P
< 0.05) effect on RT, RR, PR and HSI. Coat colour and sex also significantly (
P
< 0.01) affected RBC, WBC, Na
+
and K
+
. Seasonal variation (
P
< 0.05) in all the blood parameters was observed, with the exception of PCV. Interaction effect of coat colour and sex was significant (
P
< 0.05) on RT and HSI. Correlation coefficients among the measured traits ranged from positive to negative values. These results indicate that selection of white-coloured sheep to attenuate heat stress is desirable in the hot humid tropics.
Background： Sheep is important in the socio-economic lives of people around the world. It is estimated that more than half of our once common livestock breeds are now endangered. Since genetic ...characterization of Nigerian sheep is still lacking, we analyzed ten morphological traits on 402 animals and 15 microsatellite DNA markers in 384 animals of the 4 Nigerian sheep breeds to better understand genetic diversity for breeding management and germplasm conservation. Results： Morphological traits of Uda and Balami were significantly （P 〈 0.05） higher than Yankasa, which were both higher than West African Dwarf （WAD） sheep. Stepwise discriminant analysis showed tail length, rump height, chest girth, ear length and chest depth as the most discriminating variables for classification. Mahalanobis distances show the least differentiation between Uda and Balami and the largest between WAD and Balami sheep. While 93.3% of WAD sheep were correctly assigned to their source genetic group, 63.9% of Yankasa, 61.2% of Balami and 45.2% of Uda were classified correctly by nearest neighbour discriminant analysis. The overall high Polymorphism Information Content （PIC） of all microsatellite markers ranged from 0.751 to 0.927 supporting their use in genetic characterization. Expected heterozygosity was high for all loci （0.783 to 0.93）. Mean heterozygote deficiency across all populations （0.17 to 0.534） possibly indicate significant inbreeding （P 〈 0.05）. Mean values for FST, FIT and F~s statistics across all loci were 0.088, 0.394 and 0.336 respectively. Yankasa and Balami are the most closely related breeds （DA = 0.184） while WAD and Balami are the farthest apart breeds （DA-- 0.665）, which is coincident with distance based on morphological analysis and population structure assessed by STRUCTURE. Conclusions： These results suggest that within-breed genetic variation in Nigerian sheep is higher than between-breeds and may be a valuable tool for genetic improvement and conservation. The higher genetic variability in Yankasa suggests the presence of unique ancestral alleles reflecting the presence of certain functional genes which may result in better adaptability in characteristics are potentially useful in planning indigenous sheep. more agro-ecological zones of Nigeria. These genetic mprovement and conservation strategies in Nigerian
To better understand susceptibility and/ or tolerance of locally adapted turkey to salmonellosis, we compared bodyweight, antibody titres and physiological traits based on genotype and sex of ...salmonella-infected turkeys. Three hundred poults from two genotypes (160 local and 140 exotic turkeys) were raised for twenty weeks. Bodyweight (BW), rectal temperature (RT), pulse rate (PR) and respiratory rate (RR) were measured weekly. Blood samples were collected from each turkey before and after inoculations at week 8 and 13 for serum antibody detection using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Genotype had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on all the parameters measured. Exotic turkey had higher weight than local while sexual dimorphism was in favour of toms despite challenge with Salmonella typhimurium. The RT was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in exotic turkeys except at week 2, 6 and 8. In like manner, PR was higher (p < 0.05) in exotic turkey except at week 4 (204.28±2.48 beats/minutes) and 8 (216.98±1.46 beats/minutes) where it was higher in local turkey. RR also followed the same trend while HSI was higher (p < 0.05) in week 2 (1.53±0.06 breaths/minutes) and 14 (1.17±0.07 breaths/minutes) in exotic turkeys. Local turkeys had higher (p < 0.05) antibodies against Salmonella organisms before and after inoculation while the hens of both genotypes had higher (p < 0.05) antibody titres at the 7th day after inoculations. The present results seemed not to be convincing enough to suggest differences in tolerance/susceptibility to Salmonella infection and therefore the two genotypes may be equally adapted.
Growth is explained mathematically by models that have parameters with biological interpretations. This study was conducted to compare five non-linear growth models (Gompertz, Brody, Logistics, Von ...Bertalanffy and Negative exponential) in order to describe growth in the three genotypes (normal feather, naked neck and frizzle feather) of the dual purpose FUNAAB Alpha chickens (n=332). Doesn’t Use Derivative iterative method of nonlinear procedure in SAS was used to estimate the model parameters. Computational difficultly, goodness of fit and residuals of the five models were also evaluated. Negative exponential model predicted the highest mature weight for the three genotypes while Logistics model predicted the highest coefficient of intensity of growth. The fitting of the five models presented no computational difficulty for normal feather chickens while Logistics failed to converge for male, naked neck and frizzle feather chickens. Based on goodness of fit (coefficient of determination, Bayesian information criterion, mean square error and residuals), Gompertz model was observed to have the best fit for normal feather and naked neck chickens while Brody model have the best fit for frizzle feather chickens and Von Bertalanffy for male chickens. From subjective approach (comparison of observed and predicted body weights), Logistics and Negative exponential models fitted well for normal feather than other models while Negative exponential model was the fittest among the models for naked neck and frizzle feather chickens and Gompertz for female chickens. It can be concluded that choice of appropriate model in description of growth depends on genotype and sex of dual purpose FUNAAB Alpha chickens.
Abstract
This study focused on the assessment of genetic diversity in African tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) obtained from two populations (Domita in South-South and Odeda in South-West, ...Nigeria) using the displacement loop (D-loop) and cytochrome B region of the mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA). A total of 28 samples (15 from South-South and 13 from South-West) were used for the genetic analysis. DNA was extracted from the tissue of all the samples using Quik-gDNATM miniPrep kit. The D-loop region was sequenced for all samples from the two populations, while cytochrome b (cyt b) region of mtDNA was only sequenced for samples from South-South population Multiple sequence alignment was carried out using molecular evolutionary genetic analysis (MEGA) software before subsequent genetic analyses. There were 176, 162 and 144 polymorphic sites for D-loop of South-South, South-West and cyt b of South-South populations, respectively. Haplotype diversities (Hd) were 1.00 ± 0.024 and 1.00 ± 0.030 while nucleotide diversities were 0.168 ± 0.086 and 0.161 ± 0.084 for D-loop of South-South and South-West populations, respectively. For the cyt b, haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 0.91 ± 0.003 and 0.051 ± 0.016. The genetic distance inferred between D-loop regions of South-South and South-West populations was 0.243. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the samples into two clusters based on population. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed 37.32% variation within population and 62.68% variation among population with a significant fixation index of 0.627 (P < 0.05). The findings of this study revealed high level of genetic diversity among the tilapia populations and may serve as pivot information for the genetic improvement of this important species.
This study focused on the assessment of genetic diversity in African tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) obtained from two populations (Domita in South-South and Odeda in South-West, Nigeria) using ...the displacement loop (D-loop) and cytochrome B region of the mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA). A total of 28 samples (15 from South-South and 13 from South-West) were used for the genetic analysis. DNA was extracted from the tissue of all the samples using Quik-gDNATM miniPrep kit. The D-loop region was sequenced for all samples from the two populations, while cytochrome b (cyt b) region of mtDNA was only sequenced for samples from South-South population Multiple sequence alignment was carried out using molecular evolutionary genetic analysis (MEGA) software before subsequent genetic analyses. There were 176, 162 and 144 polymorphic sites for D-loop of South-South, South-West and cyt b of South-South populations, respectively. Haplotype diversities (Hd) were 1.00 ± 0.024 and 1.00 ± 0.030 while nucleotide diversities were 0.168 ± 0.086 and 0.161 ± 0.084 for D-loop of South-South and South-West populations, respectively. For the cyt b, haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 0.91 ± 0.003 and 0.051 ± 0.016. The genetic distance inferred between D-loop regions of South-South and South-West populations was 0.243. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the samples into two clusters based on population. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed 37.32% variation within population and 62.68% variation among population with a significant fixation index of 0.627 (P < 0.05). The findings of this study revealed high level of genetic diversity among the tilapia populations and may serve as pivot information for the genetic improvement of this important species.
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