Sheep and goats differ in diet selection, which may reflect different abilities to deal with the ingestion of plant secondary metabolites. Although saliva provides a basis for immediate oral information via sensory cues and also a mechanism for detoxification, our understanding of the role of saliva in the pre-gastric control of the intake of herbivores is rudimentary. Salivary proteins have important biological functions, but despite their significance, their expression patterns in sheep and goats have been little studied. Protein separation techniques coupled to mass spectrometry based techniques have been used to obtain an extensive comprehension of human saliva protein composition but far fewer studies have been undertaken on animals' saliva. We used twodimensional electrophoresis gel analysis to compare sheep and goats parotid saliva proteome. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were used to identify proteins. From a total of 260 sheep and 205 goat saliva protein spots, 117 and 106 were identified, respectively. A high proportion of serum proteins were found in both salivary protein profiles. Major differences between the two species were detected for proteins within the range of 25-35 kDa. This study presents the parotid saliva proteome of sheep and goat and highlights the potential of proteomics for investigation relating to intake behavior research.

Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-ionizing, non-invasive technique that permits evaluating the comfort levels of animals, a topic of concern due to the growing interest in determining the state of health and welfare of production animals. The operating principle of IRT is detecting the heat irradiated in anatomical regions characterized by a high density of near-surface blood vessels that can regulate temperature gain or loss from/to the environment by modifying blood flow. This is essential for understanding the various vascular thermoregulation mechanisms of different species, such as rodents and ruminants’ tails. The usefulness of ocular, nasal, and vulvar thermal windows in the orbital (regio orbitalis), nasal (regio nasalis), and urogenital (regio urogenitalis) regions, respectively, has been demonstrated in cattle. However, recent evidence for the river buffalo has detected discrepancies in the data gathered from distinct thermal regions in these large ruminants, suggesting a limited sensitivity and specificity when used with this species due to various factors: the presence of hair, ambient temperature, and anatomical features, such as skin thickness and variations in blood supplies to different regions. In this review, a literature search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and PubMed, using keyword combinations that included “infrared thermography”, “water buffalo”, “river buffalo” “thermoregulation”, “microvascular changes”, “lacrimal caruncle”, “udder”, “mastitis”, and “nostril”. We discuss recent findings on four thermal windows—the orbital and nasal regions, mammary gland in the udder region (regio uberis), and vulvar in the urogenital region (regio urogenitalis)—to elucidate the factors that modulate and intervene in validating thermal windows and interpreting the information they provide, as it relates to the clinical usefulness of IRT for cattle (Bos) and the river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

The aim of the present study was to assess the heat tolerance of animals of two Portuguese (Alentejana and Mertolenga) and two exotic (Frisian and Limousine) cattle breeds, through the monitoring of physiological acclimatization reactions in different thermal situations characterized by alternate periods of thermoneutrality and heat stress simulated in climatic chambers. In the experiment, six heifers of the Alentejana, Frisian and Mertolenga breeds and four heifers of the Limousine breed were used. The increase in chamber temperatures had different consequences on the animals of each breed. When submitted to heat stress, the Frisian animals developed high thermal polypnea (more than 105 breath movements per minute), which did not prevent an increase in the rectal temperature (from 38.7 degrees C to 40.0 degrees C). However, only a slight depression in food intake and in blood thyroid hormone concentrations was observed under thermal stressful conditions. Under the thermal stressful conditions, Limousine animals decreased food intake by 11.4% and blood triiodothyronine (T3) hormone concentration decreased to 76% of the level observed in thermoneutral conditions. Alentejana animals had similar reactions. The Mertolenga cattle exhibited the highest capacity for maintaining homeothermy: under heat stressful conditions, the mean thermal polypnea increased twofold, but mean rectal temperature did not increase. Mean food intake decreased by only 2% and mean T3 blood concentration was lowered to 85,6% of the concentration observed under thermoneutral conditions. These results lead to the conclusion that the Frisian animals had more difficulty in tolerating high temperatures, the Limousine and Alentejana ones had an intermediate difficulty, and the Mertolenga animals were by far the most heat tolerant.

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a b s t r a c tThis study's main goal was to evaluate the thermoregulatory responses velocity through the variation of rectal temperature (RT), related to the thermolytic pathways, respiratory rate (RR) and sweating rate (SR) among different sheep breeds. Ninety female sheep, eighteen of each breed: Santa Ines and Morada Nova (Brazilian hair breeds), Texel, Suffolk and Ile de France (wool breeds) were challenged during three non-consecutive summer days (22• 42 S, 47• 18 W, and 570 m of altitude, maximum air temperature of 33.5• C, average relative humidity of 52 ± 6.9%). The physiological variables were registered at 0800 h (T1), 1300 h (T2: after 2 h of shade rest), 1400 h (T3) (after one hour of sun exposure) and in the shade at 1415 h (T4), 1430 h (T5), 1445 h (T6) and 1500 h (T7) and a thermotolerance index (TCI) was calculated as (10-(T7 to T4)-T1). The statistical analysis was performed by a mathematical model including the fixed effects of breeds and time frames, and the interaction between these effects, besides random effects such as animal and day. The Santa Ines breed presented the lowest RT after sun exposure (39.3 ± 0.12• C; P < 0.05) and it was the only one to recover morning RT 60 min after heat stress (38.7 and 38.9 for 1300 h and 1500 h; P > 0.05). Hair breeds presented RR lower (P < 0.05) than wool breeds. Although thick wool or hair thickness differs among and within hair and wool breeds (P < 0.05), SR did not differ among breeds and time (227.7 ± 16.44 g m −2 h −1 ; P > 0.05). The thermotolerance index did not differ among breeds, but it showed similar response (P > 0.05) 45 min or 1 h of shade after sun exposure. One week post shearing is not enough to wool breeds present to show thermotolerance similar to hair breeds.

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To evaluate reactivity to assess the temperament of Nellore steers in two feedlot housing systems (group pen or individual pen) and its relationship with plasmatic cortisol, 36 experimental units were observed five times at 28-day intervals of weight management during a 112-day feedlot confinement. A reactivity score scale ranging from 1 to 5 was applied when an animal was in the chute system. To the calmest animal, a reactivity score of 1 was ascribed and to the most agitated, 5. Blood samples were collected for cortisol analysis. No differences were found in reactivity and feedlot system. There was a relationship noted between reactivity and feedlot time in both housing systems (P b 0.01). There was a relation between reactivity and cortisol levels for group animals (P = 0.0616) and for individual ones (P b 0.01). Cortisol levels varied among housing systems (P b 0.01). Feedlot time influenced the cortisol levels (P b 0.09 individual; P b 0.01 group) and when variable time was included, these levels changed, decreasing in the group pen and increasing in individual pens. The continuous handling reduces reactivity and plasmatic cortisol, and group pen system seems to be less stressfully than individual pens.