RESUMO -O presente estudo foi conduzido objetivando-se avaliar a influência do estresse climático sobre o desempenho produtivo e as respostas fisiológicas de ovinos da raça Santa Inês em confinamento. Foram avaliados dois ambientes (sombra e sol) e duas dietas com duas relações volumoso:concentrado (70C:30V: 70% de concentrado e 30% de volumoso; 30C:70V: 30% de concentrado e 70% de volumoso). Os animais mantidos à sombra e alimentados com dieta contendo alto teor de concentrado (70C:30V) apresentaram maior consumo de matéria seca (1258 g/animal/dia) e de proteína bruta (0,8% do peso vivo [PV] e 18 g/PV 0,75 ) e maior ganho de peso (247 g/animal/dia). A temperatura nos ambientes de sol e sombra durante a tarde foi de 32,1 e 30,6 o C e os valores do índice de temperatura e umidade (ITU), 82,3 e 81,1, respectivamente. Os animais alimentados com alto teor de concentrado (70C:30V) apresentaram maior freqüência respiratória (FR), tanto à sombra quanto ao sol (87 e 71 mov/min, respectivamente). Durante a tarde, a temperatura retal (TR) dos animais foi maior (39,1 o C) que pela manhã (38,9 o C). Porém, a TR mais elevada (39,3 o C) foi observada nos animais mantidos à sombra e alimentados com alto percentual de concentrado (70C:30V). Independentemente do ambiente, os animais alimentados com alto teor de concentrado (70C:30V) apresentaram maior TR (39,2 o C) do que aqueles alimentados com reduzido teor de concentrado (30C:70V) (38,8 o C). O tipo de dieta teve efeito sobre a susceptibilidade dos animais ao estresse causado pelas condições ambientais críticas durante o experimento. Os animais da raça Santa Inês mostraram-se sensíveis ao estresse ambiental, uma vez que apresentaram menor desempenho produtivo, quando expostos a condições de ausência de sombra. Palavras-chave: ambiente, cordeiros, desempenho, estresse térmico Effects of Environmental Stress on Physiological Parameters of Feedlot Sheep in the Northeast of BrazilABSTRACT -A study was conducted to determine the effect of environmental stress on physiological criteria of feedlot sheep. Treatments consisted of two different housing conditions (shade and no shade) and two levels of concentrate in the diet: high concentrate (70% of concentrate and 30% of roughage-70C:30R); low concentrate (30% of concentrate and 70% of roughage-30C:70R). Animals raised under shade and fed a high concentrate diet (70C:30R) had greater dry mater intake (1258 g/animal/day) and crude protein (0.8% of body weight (BW) and 18 g/BW 0.75 ), as well as weight gain (247 g/animal/day). Air temperature in the afternoon was 30.6 o C, under shade, and 32.1 o C, under sun and values of temperature humidity index(THI), 82.3 and 81.1, respectively. Animals fed more concentrate (70C:30R) had also higher respiratory frequency (RF), either raised under shade (87 mov/min) or under the sun (71 mov/min.). Rectal temperature (RT) was higher in the afternoon (39.1 o C) than in the morning (38.9 o C), but animals raised under shade and fed diets with 70% concentrate (70C:30R) had the highest value of RT (39.3...

The identification of regions that have undergone selection is one of the principal goals of theoretical and applied evolutionary genetics. Such studies can also provide information about the evolutionary processes involved in shaping genomes, as well as physical and functional information about genes/genomic regions. Domestication followed by breed formation and selection schemes has allowed the formation of very diverse livestock breeds adapted to a wide variety of environments and with special characteristics. The advances in genomics in the last five years have enabled the development of several methods to detect selection signatures and have resulted in the publication of a considerable number of studies involving livestock species. The aims of this review are to describe the principal effects of natural/artificial selection on livestock genomes, to present the main methods used to detect selection signatures and to discuss some recent results in this area. This review should be useful also to research scientists working with wild animals/non-domesticated species and plant biologists working with breeding and evolutionary biology.

The genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population were estimated by applying the Average Information Restricted Maximum Likelihood method to an animal model. Data from a flock supported by the Programa de Melhoramento Genético de Caprinos e Ovinos de Corte (GENECOC) were used. The traits studied included birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), slaughter weight (SW), yearling weight (YW), weight gain from birth to weaning (GBW), weight gain from weaning to slaughter (GWS), weight gain from weaning to yearling (GWY), age at first lambing (AFL), lambing interval (LI), gestation length (GL), lambing date (LDnumber of days between the start of breeding season and lambing), litter weight at birth (LWB) and litter weight at weaning (LWW). The direct heritabilities were 0.35, 0.81, 0.65, 0.49, 0.20, 0.15 and 0.39 for BW, WW, SW, YW, GBW, GWS and GWY, respectively, and 0.04, 0.06, 0.10, 0.05, 0.15 and 0.11 for AFL, LI, GL, LD, LWB and LWW, respectively. Positive genetic correlations were observed among body weights. In contrast, there was a negative genetic correlation between GBW and GWS (-0.49) and GBW and GWY (-0.56). Positive genetic correlations were observed between AFL and LI, LI and GL, and LWB and LWW. These results indicate a strong maternal influence in this herd and the presence of sufficient genetic variation to allow mass selection for growth traits. Additive effects were of little importance for reproductive traits, and other strategies are necessary to improve the performance of these animals.

RESUMO -Foram utilizados 35.732 registros de peso do nascimento aos 660 dias de idade de 8.458 animais da raça Tabapuã para estimar funções de covariância utilizando modelos de regressão aleatória sobre polinômios de Legendre. Os modelos incluíram: como aleatórios, os efeitos genético aditivo direto, materno, de ambiente permanente de animal e materno; como fixos, os efeitos de grupo de contemporâneo; como covariáveis, a idade do animal à pesagem e a idade da vaca ao parto (linear e quadrática); e sobre a idade à pesagem, polinômio ortogonal de Legendre (regressão cúbica) foi considerado para modelar a curva média da população. O resíduo foi modelado considerando sete classes de variância e os modelos foram comparados pelos critérios de informação Bayesiano de Schwarz e Akaike. O melhor modelo apresentou ordens 4, 3, 6, 3 para os efeitos genético aditivo direto e materno, de ambiente permanente de animal e materno, respectivamente. As estimativas de covariância e herdabilidades, obtidas utilizando modelo bicaracter, e de regressão Estimation of covariance functions for growth traits in Tabapuã cattle using random regression modelsABSTRACT -In order to estimate covariance functions by using random regression models on Legendre polynomials, 35,732 weight records from birth to 660 days of age of 8,458 animals of Tabapuã cattle were used. The models included: as random effects, direct additive genetic effect, maternal effect, and animal and maternal permanent environmental effets; contemporary groups were included as fixed effects; and as covariables, animal age at weighing and age of dam at calving (linear and quadratic effects) and on age at weighing,, the orthogonal Legendre polynomial (cubic regression) was considered to model the mean curve of the population. Residuals effects were modeled considering seven classes of variance. The models were compared by Akaike criterion and Bayesian information criterion. The best model showed orders 4, 3, 6, and 3 for maternal and direct additive genetic effect, and maternal and animal permanent enviroment, respectively. Estimates of (co)variance and heritability obtained with the bi-trait and random regression models were similar. The heritability estimates for direct additive genetic effect obtained by the random regression models increased from birth (0.15) to 660 days of age (0.45). The greatest estimates of maternal heritability were obtained for weights measured right after birth. In general, the genetic correlation estimates were moderate to high, and they decreased as the distance between weights increased. Selection for higher weights at any age will promote weight gain from birth to 660 days of age.

No abstract