Genetic variation in three Croatian donkey populations, Istrian (IS), North Adriatic (NA) and Littoral-Dinaric (LD), was analysed using eight microsatellite loci and by sequence and SSCP analysis of the proximal portion of the mtDNA D-loop region. The analysis of microsatellite loci revealed observed heterozygosities in the range of 0.37 (MPZ002 in LD) to 0.85 (AHT21 in LD) and polymorphic information content values in the range of 0.36 (MPZ002 in NA) to 0.78 (AHT21 in LD). The overall probability of exclusion was 0.991. Two populations (IS and NA) were closely related (Fst=0.0034), whereas genetic distances between IS and LD (Fst=0.021) and NA and LD (Fst=0.027) were higher. Using AMOVA, 97.6% of the total genetic variance was portioned within populations, while 2.7% was portioned between the Littoral-Dinaric population and the Istrian/North Adriatic population group. Sequencing of the proximal part of the mtDNA D-loop region revealed 36 polymorphic sites representing 19 haplotypes which clustered into three haplotype groups (Y, W, Ws). Only the Y haplotype was found in the IS population which is characterized by a large body size. Haplotypes W and Ws were found in the NA and LD populations which include smaller animals. All three haplotypes were found in the LD population, indicating sporadic migration events from the IS into LD donkey population.
This experiment investigated the effect of olive cake in the feed of weaned Pramenka lambs on their daily gain, carcass traits and on the chemical composition of different groups of muscles. For that purpose, 45 male lambs were divided into three groups with 15 lambs each and fed separately for 50 days. The first group (control) was fed a commercial concentrate, while the second and third (test) groups were fed a concentrate with the addition of 15% and 30% olive cake, respectively. The results showed that the high level of olive cake inclusion (30%) decreased (P < 0.01) daily gain, final weight, empty carcass weight and (P < 0.05) dressing percentage of lambs. The olive cake resulted in a significantly higher (P < 0.01) proportion of stomach and intestines in the carcass compared to the control. The content of fat, proteins and dry matter in all the analyzed groups of muscles was lowest in the carcasses of lambs fed olive cake. The results of this research suggest that the addition of 15% of olive cake to the concentrate had no significant negative effect on daily gain, carcass weight and dressing percentage of lambs.
Heavy metals cause serious problems in the environment, and they can be accumulated in organisms, especially in the higher fungi. The concentration of Ni, Cr, Pb, Cd, and Hg in 10 species of edible mushrooms in Medvednica Nature Park, Croatia was therefore determined. In addition, the similarity between the studied species was determined by cluster analysis based on concentrations of the aforementioned metals in the fruiting bodies. The contents of nickel, chromium, lead, cadmium, and mercury in the fruiting bodies of mushrooms were obtained by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The highest concentrations of Ni (3.62 mg kg(-1)), Cr (3.01 mg kg(-1)), and Cd (2.67 mg kg(-1)) were determined in Agaricus campestris. The highest concentration of Pb (1.67 mg kg(-1)) was determined in Macrolepiota procera, and the highest concentration of Hg (2.39 mg kg(-1)) was determined in Boletus edulis. The concentration of all heavy metals significantly differed (p < 0.001) between examined saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. Considering anatomical part of the fruiting body (cap-stipe), a considerably higher concentration of the analyzed elements was found in the cap for all mushroom species. According to calculated bioconcentration factors, all the examined species were found to be bioexclusors of Ni, Cr, and Pb and bioaccumulators of Cd and Hg. Cluster analysis performed on the basis of the accumulation of the studied metals revealed great phenotypic similarity of mushroom species belonging to the same genus and partial similarity of species of the same ecological affiliation.
The aim was to determine the effect of substituting pumpkin seed cake (PSC) or extruded linseed (ELS) for soya bean meal in goats' diets on milk yield, milk composition and fatty acids profile of milk fat. In total, 28 dairy goats were divided into three groups. They were fed with concentrate mixtures containing soya bean meal (Control; n=9), ELS (n=10) or PSC (n=9) as main protein sources in the trial lasting 75 days. Addition of ELS or PSC did not influence milk yield and milk gross composition in contrast to fatty acid profile compared with Control. Supplementation of ELS resulted in greater branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA) and total n-3 fatty acids compared with Control and PSC (P<0.05). Total n-3 fatty acids were accompanied by increased α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3n-3; 0.56 g/100 g fatty acids) and EPA (C20:5n-3; 0.12 g/100 g fatty acids) proportions in milk of the ELS group. In contrast, ELS and PSC resulted in lower linoleic acid (LA, C18:2n-6; 2.10 and 2.28 g/100 g fatty acids, respectively) proportions compared with Control (2.80 g/100 g fatty acids; P<0.05). Abovementioned resulted in lower LA/ALA ratio (3.81 v. 7.44 or 6.92, respectively; P<0.05) with supplementation of ELS compared with Control or PSC. The PSC diet decreased total n-6 fatty acids compared with the Control (2.96 v. 3.54 g/100 g fatty acids, P<0.05). Oleic acid (c9-C18:1), CLA (c9,t11-18:2) and t10-,t11-C18:1 did not differ between treatments (P⩾0.08), although stearic acid (C18:0) increased in ELS diets compared with Control (12.7 v. 10.2 g/100 g fatty acids, P<0.05). Partially substituted soya bean meal with ELS in hay-based diets may increase beneficial n-3 fatty acids and BCFA accompanied by lowering LA/ALA ratio and increased C18:0. Pumpkin seed cake completely substituted soya bean meal in the diet of dairy goats without any decrease in milk production or sharp changes in fatty acid profile that may have a commercial or a human health relevancy.
BackgroundThe mode of inheritance of horn status in sheep is far more complex than a superficial analysis might suggest. Observations, which were mostly based on crossbreeding experiments, indicated that the allele that results in horns is dominant in males and recessive in females, and some authors even speculated about the involvement of more than two alleles. However, all recent genome-wide association analyses point towards a very strong effect of a single autosomal locus on ovine chromosome 10, which was narrowed down to a putatively causal insertion polymorphism in the 3′-untranslated region of the relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor 2 gene (RXFP2). The main objective of this study was to test this insertion polymorphism as the causal mutation in diverse sheep breeds, including breeds with a variable and/or sex-dependent horn status.ResultsAfter re-sequencing a region of about 246 kb that covered the RFXP2 gene and its flanking regions for 24 sheep from six completely horned and six completely polled breeds, we identified the same insertion polymorphism that was previously published as segregating with horn status in these breeds. Multiplex PCR genotyping of 489 sheep from 34 breeds and some crosses between sheep breeds showed a nearly perfect segregation of the insertion polymorphism with horn status in sheep breeds of Central and Western European origin. In these breeds and their crossings, heterozygous males were horned and heterozygous females were polled. However, this segregation pattern was not, or at least not completely, reproducible in breeds with sex-dependent and/or variable horn status, especially in sheep that originated from even more southern European regions and from Africa. In such breeds, we observed almost all possible combinations of genotype, sex and horn status phenotype.ConclusionsThe 1.78-kb insertion polymorphism in the 3′-untranslated region of RXFP2 and SNPs in the 3′-UTR, exon 14 and intron 11 of this gene that we analyzed in this study cannot be considered as the only cause of polledness in sheep and are not useful as a universal marker to define the genetic horn status in sheep.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12711-016-0256-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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