Sheep is the second most important dairy species after cow worldwide, and especially in the Mediterranean and Middle East regions. In some countries, the difficult environmental conditions require a peculiar adaptation and, in these contexts, sheep are able to provide higher quality protein than cattle. In the least-developed countries, the amount of dairy sheep and ovine milk production is progressively increasing. In order to improve dairy productions, in particular those with local connotations, it is necessary to obtain in-depth information regarding milk quality and rheological properties. The genetic polymorphisms of milk proteins are often associated with quantitative and qualitative parameters in milk and are potential candidate markers that should be included in breeding strategies similar to those already available for cattle. Due to the current and growing interest in this topic and considering the large amount of new information, the aim of this study was to review the literature on sheep milk protein polymorphisms with a particular emphasis on recent findings in order to give scientists useful support. Moreover, the effects of different protein variants on milk yield and composition are discussed.

Milk and dairy products are very important in Mediterranean diet because of their health promoting and organoleptic properties. In many developing countries, goat rearing has a key role in livestock production. What makes goats so popular is their ability to provide high quality food under diverse climatic conditions and resilience to extreme and capricious environments. In the last years, the interest concerning caprine milk has been increasing also to find a new exploitation for local breeds. To promote the goat dairy products there is a clear need to know the quality and the technological aspects of milk produced. That being so, the purpose of this study was to review the available literature on the major goat milk proteins with a particular attention to recent findings on their genetic variability. Moreover, the main effects of different protein variants on milk yield and composition were also discussed.

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Growth, known as the relation between liveweight and age, is explained mathematically by functions that have parameters with biological meaning. These parameters are used to describe growth pattern over time and to estimate the expected weight of animals at specific ages. Animal growth generally follows a sigmoidal pattern and several nonlinear functions have been used to describe it. This study was carried out to estimate the parameters of logistic, Gompertz and Richards growth curve models in a nondescript chicken breed population from southern Italy to determine the goodness of fit. Male and female birds were weighed weekly starting from two to twenty-four weeks of age. Based on our dataset, chickens showed a slow-growth pattern. All the growth functions evaluated were easily fitted to the observed data by nonlinear regression; our findings showed that Gompertz model fitted liveweight data very well both for male and female birds being the best model for studying the growth of our animals. Nevertheless, the four-parameter Richards function provided also a good fit of the data. Success in studying the growth characteristics of our nondescript chicken breed will contribute to define appropriate feeding regimens and to develop selection programme.

Modern commercial broilers appear to have compromised immunocompetence, higher mortality and lower resistance to stressors. To overcome these, dietary manipulation seems to be the easiest approach, and this has been supported by research investigations conducted over the last few decades. The goal of enhancing the immune system of broilers is laudable for both economic and welfare reasons. Vitamin E (VE) is now well accepted as nature's most effective lipid-soluble, chain-breaking antioxidant. This antioxidant vitamin has been shown to improve both cell-mediated and humoral immunity in broiler chicks. However, the effect of this vitamin depends upon dose, age and genetics of the broiler chicks. Several mechanisms have been postulated for the beneficial effects of this vitamin. In this review, several aspects of the immunomodulatory effects of VE are reviewed