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Background Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated. They are raised all over the world and produce a major scale of animal-based protein for human consumption and play an important role in agricultural economy. Iran is one of the important locations for sheep genetic resources in the world. Here, we compared the Illumina Ovine SNP50 BeadChip data of three Iranian local breeds (Moghani, Afshari and Gezel), as a population that does not undergone artificial breeding programs as yet, and five other sheep breeds namely East Friesian white, East Friesian brown, Lacaune, DorsetHorn and Texel to detect genetic mechanisms underlying economical traits and daptation to harsh environments in sheep. Results To identify genomic regions that have been targeted by positive selection, we used fixation index (Fst) and nucleotide diversity (Pi) statistics. Further analysis indicated candidate genes involved in different important traits such as; wool production included crimp of wool (PTPN3, NBEA and KRTAP20–2 genes), fiber diameter (PIK3R4 gene), hair follicle development (LHX2 gene), the growth and development of fiber (COL17A1 gene)), adaptation to hot arid environments (CORIN gene), adaptive in deficit water status (CPQ gene), heat stress (PLCB4, FAM107B, NBEA, PIK3C2B and USP43 genes) in sheep. Conclusions We detected several candidate genes related to wool production traits and adaptation to hot arid environments in sheep that can be applicable for inbreeding goals. Our findings not only include the results of previous researches, but also identify a number of novel candidate genes related to studied traits. However, more works will be essential to acknowledge phenotype- genotype relationships of the identified genes in our study.

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Delta-Like Non-Canonical Notch Ligand 1 (DLK1) is one of the key genes involved in the development of muscle, liver, pancreas, and lung cells; adipocytes production; and the improvement of digestion, growth performance, and meat quality. It has been documented that fennel is effective on increasing the DLK1 gene ( DLK1 ) expression in the testis, liver, and muscle tissues, which may consequently have important implications for sheep production. Hence, the aim of the current investigation was to evaluate the fennel seed powder's effect on DLK1 expression in testis, liver, and humeral muscle tissues in growing lambs. For the purpose of this study, 30 male Kermani sheep were fed with three different group of diets (number of animals in each group was 10), including control (without any fennel seed powder), treatment 1 (with 10 g/kg of dry matter (DM) fennel seed powder), and treatment 2 (with 20 g/kg of DM fennel seed powder) during a 3-month period. Thereafter, total RNA was extracted, cDNA was synthesized, and Real-Time PCR was performed. The addition of fennel seed powder (in the treatment 1 and treatment 2 groups) in the growing lambs diets consequently resulted in greater expression of DLK1 in both the liver and humeral muscle tissues compared to the testis tissue (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the increased DLK1 expression was higher in the tissue of humeral muscle (P < 0.05) in comparison to the other two tissues. As well, the concentration of blood testosterone was greater (P < 0.05) for the animals fed with fennel powder compared to growing lambs fed with the control diet. However, the concentrations of blood liver enzymes, including serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), decreased by the addition of 10 g/kg DM fennel to diets of lambs compared to the control diet (no fennel). Therefore, it can be concluded that using fennel seed powder in the diet of growing lamb by affecting the expression of DLK1, can improve the concentrations of blood testosterone, SGOT, SGPT, and muscle structure (increased mass of muscle and size of muscle fiber).

Myogenin is a protein in the myogenic regulatory factor family that plays an important role in determining carcass and meat traits and is vital for the growth and development of livestock muscles. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of Origanum majorana leaf (MOL) on the myogenin gene expression of lambs. Twenty-four male Kermani lambs were used in a completely randomized design using two experimental groups (0% Origanum majorana L. = MOL0 and 4% Origanum majorana L. = MOL4). Final weight, average daily gain, hot and cold carcass weight, feed conversion ratio, empty body weight, hot and cold dressing percentage, the weight of the shoulder, loin, leg, and lean meat, and the lean/bone ratio were measured. A standard kit was used for extracting total RNA from the loin, leg, and shoulder muscles of the lambs’ tissues. The cDNA was synthesized, a real-time PCR was performed, and the obtained data were analyzed. The results of this study showed that the effect of MOL4 on dry matter intake is not significant. The MOL4 diet increased final weight by 8.22%, average daily gain by 28.57%, hot carcass weight by 11.38%, cold carcass weight by 13.43%, feed conversion ratio by 31.03%, empty body weight by 9.38%, hot dressing percentage by 2.92%, cold dressing percentage by 3.75%, shoulder weight by 56.70%, loin weight by 8.98%, leg weight by 10.90%, lean meat weight by 14.62%, and the lean/bone ratio by 2.85% (p < 0.05) compared to the MOL0. Along with adding MOL4 in the lambs’ diets, in comparison with MOL0, there was higher expression of myogenin in the loin (3.5 times), leg (3.9 times), and shoulder (3.6 times) muscles of the lambs. Due to the fact that adding Origanum majorana to the diet of the lambs enhanced the expression of the myogenin gene in the loin, leg, and shoulder muscles and increased parameters related to growth, it can be used to improve the parameters related to growth and to increase myogenin gene expression in the muscle of lambs.

Background and objectives: Today, medicinal plants and phytobiotics that contain flavonoids, alkaloids, and essential oils are widely used in animal feed. These additives have many benefits, including increasing liver function and preventing certain diseases. The liver is one of the organs that plays a key role in insulin-mediated regulation of metabolism as well as in glucose, whole-body, and lipid homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seed powder consumption on insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) gene expression in the liver tissue of growing lambs.Methods: Three groups (including 0, 10, and 20 g/kg dry matter of fennel) of animals, with 10 animals in each group, were studied. The Pfaffl method was applied to assess the real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) output.Results: Mixing fennel into the feed of lambs increased the weights of their testis and gallbladder and decreased the weight of their liver in comparison to feed without fennel. It was also found that by increasing the fennel level in the feed, the expression level of IGF1 in the liver increased significantly (p < 0.05). Conclusions:Fennel had a useful effect on the expression of IGF1 in the liver tissue of sheep and may be applied to their diet to attain better liver function.

із перспективних напрямів підвищення якості, безпечності, харчової цінності та засвоювання, розширення асортименту, збагачення нутрієнтами хліба та хлібобулочних виробів є використання нових нетрадиційних видів рослинної сировини, яка містить збалансований комплекс мінеральних речовин, вітамінів та інших біологічно цінних сполук, а також характеризується високими поживними, смаковими та іншими властивостями. Водночас важливе значення мають органолептичні властивості виробів, що одержані за новими рецептурами. Особливого значення набуває флейвор -комплексне відчуття у порожнині рота людини, яке виникає під час дегустації і зумовлене смаком, запахом і текстурою. За профілем флейвору можна визначити вплив складу сировини, умов зберігання, технології виготовлення на смаковитість хлібобулочних виробів. Метою дослідження була розробка рецептури та оцінка показників споживних властивостей хлібобулочного виробу функціонального призначення з рослинними добавками. Особливість даного дослідження -вивчення різних різновидів і сортів гарбуза, а також можливість їх застосування для збагачення хлібобулочних виробів пектиновими речовинами, вітамінами, зокрема ß -каротином. Для визначення впливу напівфабрикатів, виготовлених із гарбуза, на показники якості хліба пшеничного проводили пробне випікання за загальноприйнятою методикою наукових досліджень в акредитованій лабораторії якості зерна Полтавської державної аграрної академії.