The stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) A293V and acyl CoA: diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) K232A polymorphisms have been associated with significant variation in bovine milk fatty acid composition and unsaturation indices in western cattle breeds. This study aimed to estimate the milk fatty acid variability in indigenous Borgou and White Fulani cattle breeds of Benin, and the effects of the SCD1 A293V and DGAT1 K232A polymorphisms on milk and fatty acid composition and unsaturation indices. Thus, 85 Borgou and 96 White Fulani cows were genotyped for the SCD1 A293V and DGAT1 K232A polymorphisms and their milk and fatty acid composition and unsaturation indices were determined. Borgou presented milk with higher linoleic acid (P < 0.001), oleic acid (P < 0.05), C18 index (P < 0.001), total unsaturation index (P < 0.05), and lower total saturated fatty acid (SFA) compared to White Fulani. The SCD1 VV genotype was associated with higher protein and lactose contents in White Fulani (P < 0.05). In Borgou, the SCD1 AV genotype was associated with higher C14 and total unsaturation indices (P < 0.01), while the SCD1 V allele was associated with decrease in C14 index (P < 0.05). In White Fulani, the SCD1 VV genotype was associated with lower C18:1 cis-9 content (P < 0.05) while the DGAT1 K allele was associated with increased total SFA (P < 0.05), and decreased C18 index (P < 0.05), total unsaturation index (P < 0.01) and total monounsaturated fatty acid (P < 0.01). The SCD1 A293V and DGAT1 K232A may serve as genetic markers to improve milk fatty acid traits in Borgou and White Fulani breeds.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11033-018-4331-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of local chicken ecotypes from Burkina Faso using microsatellite markers. A total of 71 individuals representing local chicken populations from the Centre-East (18), Centre-North (17), Sahel (18) and South-West (18) were used to estimate genetic diversity indices, population structure and phylogenetic relationships using 20 selected polymorphic microsatellite markers. The number of alleles, mean number of alleles, mean of observed and expected heterozygosity and polymorphic information content were 127, 6.35, 0.391, 0.521, 0.539 and 0.541, respectively. The estimated overall fixation index between loci (F), among populations (FIS) and inbreeding coefficient within chicken ecotypes were 0.239, 0.267 and 0.243, respectively. Analysis of the molecular variance revealed that 77% of the total genetic diversity was attributed to within-population variation and the remaining 1% and 22% were attributed to among-regions differentiation (FST) and among-individual differentiation (FIT), respectively. The highest pairwise genetic distance (0.026) was found between the local Konde ecotype and those from the Centre-North region while the lowest distance was observed between local chickens from the Sahel and the Centre-North regions (0.003). Neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree and principal component discriminant analyses confirmed the observed genetic distances between populations. The results show that local chickens in Burkina Faso have a rich genetic diversity with little differentiation between the studied populations. This study provides important information on measures of genetic diversity that could help in the design and implementation of future genetic improvement and conservation programs for local chickens in Burkina Faso.

Background and Objective: Local chickens in Burkina Faso play a crucial role in income generation and food security, especially to the rural community and the most vulnerable groups. Genetic and phenotypic characterization of these local chicken ecotypes is sketchy. The objective of this study was to determine the morpho-biometric characteristics of local chicken "Konde" from the Centre-East and local ecotypes in the Sahel, Centre-North and South-West regions of Burkina Faso. Materials and Methods: A total of 1179 adult local chickens at six months of age were used for the study and sampled as followed: 406, 352, 285 and 136 chickens respectively from South-West, Centre-North, Sahel and Centre-East region. Results: The mean body weight of chicken was 1204.80±344.9 g and significantly affected by region and sex (p<0.05). Konde Chickens (1651.85±378.57g) were heavier than those of the birds from the Centre-North (1163.66±259.39 g) and South-West regions (1217.92±322.31 g), which did not differ from each other but they were heavier than those of the birds from Sahel region (1023.59±250.99 g). For all ecotypes, males were significantly heavier (Konde = 2006.27±412.17 g; Centre-North = 1301.28±269.90 g; Sahel = 1123.82±294.22 g; South-West = 1470.35±349.62 g) compared to female (Konde = 1498.89±234.74 g; Centre-North = 1080.08±213.67 g; South-West = 1096,31±223,17 g; Sahel = 956.77±190.98 g). The multivariate analysis revealed three types of (03) populations: large heavy chickens (1976±273 g), medium chickens (1296±163 kg) and small light chicken (909±119 kg). Dominant plumages were white (15.86%), partridge (11.96%), multicolors (11.79%) and hermine (10.09%). Naked neck, curly plumage, yellow legs, crested and rose comb mutations were identified in the studied ecotypes. Conclusion: Data from this study shows sufficient phenotypic variability in moderately heritable traits supporting the possibility for genetic improvement of local chicken ecotypes in Burkina Faso.

Background:The Gobra zebu and N'dama taurine cattle breeds are important genetic animal resources for Senegal. For several decades, genetic breeding programmes have been devoted to them at the Centre de Recherches Zootechniques de Dahra and Kolda.Since then, these animals have been subjected to mass selection, mainly in closed selection nuclei.Objective: This study aims to assess the genetic diversity within these selection nuclei in order to orient future selection strategies. Material and methods:The study was carried out on the Gobra zebu and N'dama taurine populations from selection nuclei of Dahra and Kolda respectively, which were compared to 5 other populations of the main cattle breeds in Senegal. One hundred eighty (180) animals were genotyped with 21 microsatellite markers recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organisation.Results: All populations were found to be polymorphic with a PIC of over 55%. However, animals from the CRZ-Dahra (indigenous) and CRZ-Kolda stations had the lowest mean heterozygosity (0.643 and 0.591 respectively). The other populations had an average heterozygosity between 0.650 and 0.737. Conclusion:The cattle populations maintained at the different CRZs show a lower genetic diversity than the other populations described in our study. The main reasons for this are reproductive isolation and selection pressure on these populations.

Objectif : La qualité de la viande prend en compte la qualité technologique, la qualité organoleptique, la qualité nutritionnelle et la qualité hygiénique. Le but de cette étude est d'évaluer les qualités technologiques et organoleptiques de la viande de bovins de races Borgou, Lagunaire et Zébu Peulh, élevés sur pâturage naturels. Méthodologie et résultat : Des données ont été collectées de février à mars 2012 sur 10 Lagunaire, 10 Borgou et 10 Zébu Peulh. Les Zébu Peulh ont une température de refroidissement supérieure aux Borgou et les Lagunaire ont les températures les plus faibles tout au long de la maturation. La viande de bovin de race Borgou a été plus claire (P<0,001) que celle des Lagunaire et des Zébu Peulh pendant que la viande des Lagunaire a une luminosité identique à celle des Zébu. Au jour d'abattage, l'indice du rouge le plus faible a été obtenu chez les zébus (P<0,001). A deux jours post mortem, les Borgou ont l'indice du rouge le plus élevé (P<0,001). Au 8 e jour post mortem, les Lagunaires ont un indice du rouge plus élevé que les Zébu alors que l'indice du rouge de la race Borgou ne diffère pas de ceux des deux autres races. Les zébus ont les plus faibles indice du jaune alors que les Borgou ont les indices du jaune les plus élevés quel que soit le jour de mesure (P<0,01). Le pH à l'abattage n'a pas varié significativement d'une race à l'autre (P>0,05). La capacité de rétention d'eau de la viande de Lagunaire a été plus élevée que celles des autres races (P<0,05). La viande