In this study, the maternal genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationship and effect of natural selection on indigenous chickens from Nigeria were assessed. A total of 397-bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region of 171 indigenous chickens from four populations of Nigeria and four commercial egg line strains (two Anak titan, one Giriraja and one Yaffa) as out-groups were analysed. Thirty-one haplotypes (28 from Nigerian chickens and three from commercial strains) and 34 polymorphic sites were identified. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.39 ± 0.05 and 0.02 ± 0.02, respectively. Majority of Nigerian chicken haplotypes observed were grouped into haplogroup D which originated from Indian subcontinent, suggesting a single maternal lineage. Genetic variation within and between populations accounted for 97.30 and 2.70% of the total genetic variation, respectively, which is in agreement with a recent and maternal founding effect. High number (4) of negatively selected sites observed based on single likelihood ancestral counting (SLAC) model indicated that the sampled Nigerian chicken populations were undergoing purifying selection. This study concluded that there was relatively high genetic diversity and differentiation, thus, this information will probably paveway for further evaluation studies, preservation and improvement of Nigerian chickens as genetic resources towards ensuring food security.

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Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable region 1 ( HV1) sequences of three Nigerian indigenous goat breeds; West African Dwarf (WAD), Red Sokoto (RS) and Sahel were used to investigate the genetic diversity and effect of selection between and among these populations. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of Nigerian indigenous chicken was extracted from blood samples collected and preserved on Fast Technology for Analysis (FTA) paper. The extracted DNA were amplified and sequenced with predefined mitochondria (mtDNA) primer sets for HV1. Eighty-seven (87) polymorphic sites were found in 115 sequences which were grouped into 92 haplotypes. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.996±0.002 and 0.092±0.04 respectively. Genetic variation within population and between populations accounted for 97.26% and 2.74% of the total maternal variation respectively, with FST value of 0.0274. The Tajima's (D) and Fu's (F) test of neutrality were significant (P<0.05) and negative with the mean value of -1.12 and -21.34 respectively which is an indication of population expansion. The result further revealed that the WAD and RS goats are closely related with less genetic distance value of 0.01, and high genetic distance value (0.02) was observed between RS and Sahel goats and WAD and Sahel goats. Selection analysis result shows that there is more positive selection site (6 sites) to negative site (5 sites) among the Nigerian goats, which signifies how diverse they are as well as how nature has being trying to confer genetic fitness to these breeds.

In this study, the maternal genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship of Nigerian duck populations were assessed. A total of 591 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region of 87 indigenous ducks from two populations in Nigeria were analyzed. Seven haplotypes and 70 polymorphic sites were identified. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.381±0.058 and 0.315±0.155 respectively. The phylogeny revealed two divergent haplotype clades, suggesting two possible maternal lineage in Nigerian duck population, with the most commonly shared haplotype belonging to Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos). Genetic variation within and between populations accounted for 63.32% and 36.68% of the total genetic variation respectively. This study concluded that there was relatively high genetic diversity and differentiation, thus, this information will probably pave way for further evaluation studies, preservation and improvement of Nigerian ducks as genetic resources.

An experiment was carried out to investigate the performance and nutrient digestibility of­Wcst African dwarf growing rams*/ mixture of Panicum maximum and Tridax procumbens supplemented with Cajanus cajan leaves for 56 days feeding trial. A total of twelve WAD rams were randomly allocated to three treatments with four animals per treatment while two animals served as replicate. The experimental diet was fed at 3% body weight of individual animals while Cajanus cajan leaves were supplemented at varied inclusion levels. The results revealed that animals led T, recorded the least weight gain* (36.96g/day) while the highest weight gain (56.42g/day) was recorded for T­3 The daily weight gain of animals wa.s. significantly different across all treatments (P<0. 05). The highest DMI (18.30kg) was recorded on the T1, and the least value of DM1(17,40kg) was recorded in T3. The highest led efficiency ratio (0.18) and the lowest value (0.11) were observed in animals fed T, and T, diet respectively. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the nutrient digestibility parameters of the experimental animals. The results showed that T1(100% sole Cajanus cajan leaves) promoted the best thy matter (DM) digestibility (89.56%) which was enough to meet the production and maintenance requirement of small ruminants while the lowest value (88.67%) of DMD was recorded in T2. The highest crude protein (CP) digestibility (13.20%) was observed in T, diet. The highest value for crude, fibre digestibility (38.95%) and the lowest value (35.35%) were observed in animals. T, and 'litho` respectively. In conclusion, supplementation of Cajanus cajan1 leaves with mixture of-Tridar procumbens and Punicum maximum as basal diet for feeding sheep enhanced nutrient intake, growth performance and improved nutrient digestibility without health challenges to the animals

Browse legume plants particularly pigeon pea forage generates a lot of underutilized leaves which if properly harnessed can be a cheaper source of nutrients for small ruminant animal production, during dry season feed shortages. In this study, the nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilization of West African dwarf growing rams fed differently processed Cajanus cajan leaves and Panicum maximum basal diet for 56 days feeding trial. A total of sixteen(16) growing WAD rams between 6 - 9 months with an average body weight of 7.00 - 12.00k were randomly allocated to 4 treatments with 4 rams each and 2 rams per replicate. The experimental diet was fed at 3% body weight of individual ram while fresh, wilted, and dried forms of Cajanus cajan leaves supplemented at varied inclusion levels (0%, 30% fresh, 30% wilted and 30% dried) with Panicum maximum. There were significant (P<0.05) differencesin all parameters determined on nutrient digestibility across the dietary treatments. Animals maintained on T (70% Panicum maximum and 30% dried Cajanus cajan leaves) had the 4 highest dry matter digestibility (60.46%), while the lowest value (48.56%) for DMD was recorded in T diet. Rams fed T diet had the highest mean crude protein digestibility (CPD) 1 2 value of 11.30%, followed by T (10.68%), 10.02% for T , while T diet had the lowest mean 2 1 4CPD of 9.21%. Rams fed T diet had the highest mean crude fibre digestibility (CFD) value of 1 37.65%, while 35.03, 33.18 and 32.71 were recorded for T , T and T diet respectively. T was 4 2 3 4 observed to have the highest mean ash digestibility value of 17.07% with T , T and T having 3 1 2 the value of 16.02, 14.28 and 13.36 respectively. There were significant (P<0.05) differences in all parameters determined on nitrogen utilization across the dietary treatments. Rammaintained on T diet had the highest mean intake of 4.42g/d while T diet had the lowest 2 1 mean value of 2.64g/d. The lowest mean nitrogen balance (NB) of 0.43g/d was observed in rams fed T diet while rams on T diet had the highest NB value of 2.18g/d. Rams fed T diet 1 2 4 had the highest faecal nitrogen value of 2.14g/d. However, rams maintained on T diet had 4 the highest value urinary nitrogen of 1.07g/d. The nitrogen utilization fluctuatedsignificantly (P<0.05) across the dietary treatments. It can be concluded that supplementation of fresh Cajanus cajan forages at 30% inclusion with Panicum maximum at 70% for growing rams can enhance nutrient utilization in terms of crude protein digestibility and nitrogen utilization without any deleterious effects on the animals.