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Introduction[1]: Over the years, animals have been exposed to various factors such as natural selection, genetic drift, and multiple mutations, so such factors have caused changes between and within species. The genetic mutations that occur in the populations of domestic animals, will be added to the merits of animals who contain these genetic mutations and they will have more breeds. These mutations are also repeated in their breeds. If a new SNP in a population increases the competence of its carriers compared to other members of society, this choice will make the more deserving individual more involved in shaping the next generation. The most important statistical tests based on demographic differentiation are the FST statistics, which identify distinct positions under positive selection, which are of particular importance for economic characteristics. One of the best ways to understand physiological processes is to analyze gene regulation networks. Identification of genes involved in economic traits as molecular markers in breeding is of special importance. Gene regulation networks enable the researcher to study all of the genes together. The aim of this study was to identify selection signature regions and candidate genes related to economic traits.Materials and Methods: The necessary data for this research were acquired from two sources, namely NEXTGEN and HAPMAP. The dataset encompassed breeds such as Afshari (41 individuals), Ghezel (35 individuals), Moghani (35 individuals), and eight wild sheep. The initial objective was to assess data quality and perform filtration on raw data. For the remaining single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), those not conforming to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were considered indicative of genotyping errors. A stringent probability level of 10⁻⁶, determined through Bonferroni correction, was applied. Various stages of quality control were meticulously executed using PLINK v1.9. Additionally, the study involved identifying animals positioned outside their respective groups, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the population structure within the two groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) were done in R software. The FST index was proposed to study the distinction between subpopulations and identification of selection signature. the population structure of wild and domestic sheep breeds was analyzed. PCA analysis was performed using genotype information of the samples to investigate how the animals were grouped Investigation of identified genes using SNPs in the upper 1% range of FST were identified by Plink v1.9 software. In addition, the DAVID database (http://david.abcc.ncifcrf.gov) was used to determine biological routes. At this stage, it is assumed that genes that belong to a functional class can be considered as a group of genes that have some specific and common characteristics. GeneCards (http://www.genecards.org) and UniProtKB (http://www.uniprot.org) databases were also used to interpret the function of the obtained genes.Results and Discussion: The results showed that adjacent SNPs are highly dispersed in several genomic regions. From 34556 SNPs after filtration above 1%, SNPs with higher FST stabilization index (340 SNP) with FST range from 0.304 to 0.472 were selected. Selected SNPs consisted of 95 genomic regions on 23 chromosomes between domestic and wild sheep. Most regions were located on chromosomes 13 and 7 had 14 and 9 gene regions, respectively. Examination of the relationship between QTLs and important genes in selected areas showed that 95 genes related to economic traits were identified. QTLs with important economic characteristics including quality and quantity of meat, milk, fat, bone, immune system and parasite resistance were reported. Most QTLs were located on chromosomes 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7, indicating that the most positive mutations occurred on these chromosomes. Most of the identified biological pathways related to ion channels through cell membranes are neuromuscular processes, Brain and cerebellum growth, metencephalon growth, membrane ion membrane transport, and pathways involved in regulating ion transport in cell membranes. Genes identified in different genomic regions can be considered as selective candidates. A number of genes studied as selection signatures reported were consistent with previous studies. Important genes were included: GABRB1, GRM3, HERC1, HERC3 and KCND2.Conclusion: The study of genomic regions showed that these regions are directly and indirectly related to the quality and quantity of meat, milk, fat, bone, immune system and parasite resistance. Identifying important economic traits and locating parts of the genome that have changed as a result of selection could be used in sheep breeding programs. However, in this research we had limitations such as the incompleteness of information related to functional annotation of genes in sheep species and also the small sample size of this study. Therefore, in subsequent studies with more samples and more breeds of domestic and wild sheep in Iran, a better understanding of candidate genes for important economic traits in domestic and wild species would be achieved.

Contagious Ecthyma is an infectious disease of sheep and goats that causes dermatitis primarily on the lips, mouth and muzzle. In this article, we describe a case report of Contagious Ecthyma in a wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) in Fars province of Iran. One wild lamb was found in the border of Bamou National Park near human communities. The lamb died during the transfer to the rehabilitation center. Gross lesions were characterized by multifocal scabs, proliferative and crusty wart-like multiple lesions on the muzzle, nose, between the eyes, ears, neck and coronary band. Skin samples were taken from lesions and sent to the collaborator laboratory of Veterinary Organization for DNA extraction and analysis by PCR tests. Laboratory results confirmed Contagious Ecthyma (Orf) virus in the wild sheep. This is the first documented report of Orf in wild sheep from Bamou National Park.

Habitat eradication and loss of animal species have created a new international hazard for wildlife conservation. National parks are considered as suitable places that can serve dual functions of biodiversity conservation and ecotourism. As recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), microsatellites have been used for animal biodiversity assessment. For this reason, Iranian urials population genetic diversity was studied by analyzing of 10 microsatellite markers in 75 skeletal muscle samples that were collected from Tandooreh National Park, Northeastern of Iran. Species of samples validated by sequencing of the control region from mtDNA. Allelic frequencies for each locus in the population and different measurements of within-breed genetic variations were computed by the POPGENE32 software. The number of alleles per locus counted from 5 to 8, with an average of 6.1. The polymorphism information content was calculated between 0.66-0.74 with the average of 0.7. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.223 (MaF214) to 0.776 (OarFCB128) with an average about 0.584 while the average expected heterozygosity for all studied loci was 0.785 ranging from 0.765 (BM8125) to 0.807 (MaF36). High levels of expected heterozygosity can be attributed to some factors such as low level of inbreeding, low selection pressure, and high allele number. However, findings of the present study of the high variability of the Iranian urials showed the presence of a possible ‘hot spot’ genetic diversity for wild urial population in the Northeast of Iran. In conclusion, values of genetic diversity revealed that the Iranian urial population harbor unique and appreciable reservoirs of diversity.

We describe temporal and spatial patterns of seasonal space-use and migration by 16 GPS-collared Stone’s sheep (Ovis dalli stonei) from nine bands in the Cassiar Mountains of northern British Columbia, Canada. Our objectives were to identify the timing of spring and fall migrations, characterize summer and winter ranges, map and describe migration routes and use of stopover sites, and document altitudinal change across seasons. Our last objective was to assess individual migration strategies based on patterns of geographic migration, altitudinal migration, or residency. Median start and end dates of the spring migration were 12 and 17 Jun (range: 20 May to 05 Aug), and of the fall migration were 30 Aug and 22 Sep (range: 21 Aug to 07 Jan). The median area of winter and summer ranges for geographic migrants were 630.8 ha and 2,829.0 ha, respectively, with a broad range from about 233.6 to 10,196.2 ha. Individuals showed high fidelity to winter ranges over the limited duration of the study. The winter and summer ranges of most individuals (n = 15) were at moderate to high elevations with a median summer elevation of 1,709 m (1,563–1,827 m) and 1,673 m (1,478–1,751 m) that varied 150 m), and then gradually moved up to higher-elevation summer ranges (Δ > 150 m). In the fall, they descended to lower elevations (Δ > 100 m) before returning to their higher winter ranges. The median distance travelled along geographic migration routes was 16.3 km (range: 7.6–47.4 km). During the spring migration, most geographic migrants (n = 8) used at least one stopover site (median = 1.5, range: 0–4), while almost all migrants (n = 11) used stopover sites more frequently in the fall (median = 2.5, range: 0–6). Of the 13 migratory individuals that had at least one other collared individual in their band, most migrated at about the same time, occupied the same summer and winter ranges, used similar migration routes and stopover sites, and exhibited the same migration strategy. We found collared females exhibited four different migration strategies which mostly varied across bands. Migration strategies included long-distance geographic migrants (n = 5), short-distance geographic migrants (n = 5), vacillating migrants (n = 2), and abbreviated altitudinal migrants (n = 4). Different migratory strategies occurred within one band where one collared individual migrated and two did not. We conclude that female Stone’s sheep in the Cassiar Mountains displayed a diverse assemblage of seasonal habitat use and migratory behaviors. By delineating seasonal ranges, migration routes and stopover sites, we identify potential areas of priority that can help inform land-use planning and preserve the native migrations of Stone’s sheep in the region.

Argali (Ovis ammon), the largest species among all wild sheep, is native to mountainous regions of Central and East Asia, spreading mainly throughout such countries as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Russia and China. Intraspecific taxonomy of argali remains unclear, and currently, most researchers recognize up to nine subspecies. The aim of our work was to investigate the phylogenetic relationship between populations of O. ammon based on genome-wide SNP analysis. Five subspecies, Altai (O. a. ammon) (n = 6), Gobi (O. a. darwini) (n = 5), Pamir (O. a. polii) (n = 12), Tian Shan (O.a. karelini) (n = 15) and Kyzylkum (O. a. severtzovi) (n = 4), were genotyped using Illumina OvineHD BeadChip. In addition, complete mitogenome sequences from 30 of those samples were obtained. After quality control procedures, 65,158 SNPs were selected for the subsequent analyses. Neighbor-Net dendrogram and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the five subspecies could be grouped into four clusters. It was shown that a population from Altai formed a cluster with Gobi subspecies. The highest pairwise FST genetic distance was between O. a. ammon and O. a. severtzovi (0.421) and the lowest were between O. a. polii and O.a. karelini (0.083) and between O. a. ammon and O. a. darwini (0.040) subspecies. Genetic diversity was higher in Central Asian argali as compared to East Asian populations. O. a. severtzovi had an admixed origin and consisted of two genetic components—73.5 ± 0.2% of O. a. polli and 26.5 ± 0.2% of urial (O. vignei). TreeMix analysis revealed a migration event from urial to O. a. severtzovi argali. The analysis of complete mitogenomes supported the results based on whole-genome genotyping. Considering that all the mtDNA sequences of O. a severtzovi belonged to O. ammon and not to O. vignei, we concluded that gene flow in this group was associated with urial males. As this is only the first work on intraspecific taxonomy and genetic diversity of argali based on genome-wide SNP genotyping and the analysis of complete mitogenomes, we suggest that more genetic studies are needed to clarify the status of Gobi and Tian Shan argali.

Haftad-Gholleh Area has recently encountered many changes. In this study, by using landsat images of the years 1996 and 2016, landuse maps were classified into four classes including: agriculture, rangeland, residential areas, and rocks. Land Change Modeler (LCM) and Habitat and Biodiversity Modeler (HBM) modules in the Idrisi GIS software were used to analyze the land use changes and habitat evaluation for the prediction of the land uses status in 2016, based on the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Markov Chain analysis and logistic regression. The results showed that most of the changes in the landscape of the region between 1996 and 2016 were related, respectively, to attrition, aggregation and creation indicators; between the years 2016 to 2041, they can be related, respectively, to the creation and dissection indicators. The habitat evaluation showed that 4.5% of the habitat was decreased in 2016, as compared to 1996. With the continuation of this trend, 6.5% of the habitat will fall in 2041, as compared to 2016. Receiver Operating Characteridtic (ROC) of the model also specified that the desirability model validity was equal to 0.9558, showing the excellent performance of logistic regression method. In general, this can be an important principle approach preventing from changes in the habitat of wild sheep to other land uses.

Currently, the intraspecific taxonomy of snow sheep (Ovis nivicola) is controversial and needs to be specified using DNA molecular genetic markers. In our previous work using whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, we found that the population inhabiting Kharaulakh Ridge was genetically different from the other populations of Yakut subspecies to which it was usually referred. Here, our study was aimed at the clarification of taxonomic status of Kharaulakh snow sheep using mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. A total of 87 specimens from five different geographic locations of Yakut snow sheep as well as 20 specimens of other recognized subspecies were included in this study. We identified 19 haplotypes, two of which belonged to the population from Kharaulakh Ridge. Median-joining network and Bayesian tree analyses revealed that Kharaulakh population clustered separately from all the other Yakut snow sheep. The divergence time between Kharaulakh population and Yakut snow sheep was estimated as 0.48 ± 0.19 MYA. Thus, the study of the mtDNA cytb sequences confirmed the results of genome-wide SNP analysis. Taking into account the high degree of divergence of Kharaulakh snow sheep from other groups, identified by both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers, we propose to classify the Kharaulakh population as a separate subspecies.

This study employs the maximum entropy modelling technique to investigate the geographic distribution pattern of wild sheep (Ovis Orientalis) on Tangeh Sayyad Proteced Area. A set of eight environmental predictors is employed together with presence-only records of wild sheep. Two methods has been used to improve the performance of modeling: density-based occurrence thinning and performance-based predictor selection. Using the four different thresholds (Fixed cumulative value 10, 10 Percentile training presence, Minimum training presence, Equal training sensitivity and specificity), potential distribution of species was estimated. Results were evaluated using the threshold-dependent Statistics (Sensivity, Specifity, Kappa, TSS), a binomial test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Area Under Curve (AUC). Relative variable importance was assessed using Maxent’s built-in Jacknife functionality. The results showed that the distributions fitted the provided occurrence data very well (at least AUCs = 0.77 for predictors with randomly selected spots and at most AUC=0.82 for random predictors with random sampling) and threshold-dependent Statistics results showed that prediction success for wild sheep were acceptable. Slope and distance to village were found to be the most important predictors. Generally, results showed that the model performance markedly improved by appropriate predictor selection and occurrence thinning.

In 2014–2016, >1,000 wild goats and sheep in 4 northern and central provinces of Iran died from peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) infection. Partial nucleoprotein sequencing of PPRV from 3 animals showed a close relationship to lineage 4 strains from China. Control measures are needed to preserve vulnerable ruminant populations.

Sperm cryopreservation protocols are not well defined in many wild species such as the mouflon. The aim was to study the effect of different concentrations of EY on mouflon epididymal sperm cryosurvival. Samples were collected by the flushing method and cryopreserved by the conventional freezing technique in straws using a TEST (TES, Tris, glucose) 5% v/v glycerol medium containing either 6% v/v (n=16) or 12% v/v (n=13) clarified EY. The membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, motility, and morphological abnormalities were assessed in fresh and frozen/thawed samples. Fresh sperm quality parameters did not differ between groups except for the acrosome integrity that was lower in the TEST-6% EY than in the TEST-12% EY group (88.9 ± 2.1% vs 94.7 ± 0.8%). Membrane integrity (31.6 ± 4.6% vs 11.6 ± 4.5%), total motility (32.8 ± 4.6% vs 17.2 ± 5.6%), progressive motility (13.3 ± 2.7% vs 6.1 ± 2.9) were higher in frozen-thawed sperm with TEST-6% EY than with TEST-12% EY (p

Wild sheep is belonging to Bovidae family and genus ovis which living in the most regions of Iran. There are many challenges between researchers about Wild Sheep species taxonomy. This study aims to investigate genetic and phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome b region of ovis orientalis's mtDNA in the Buruieh wildlife refuge in order to determine the correct taxonomy. With this regard, 17 samples of ovis orientalis stool and tissue were collected from Buruieh Wildlife Refuge in Khatam Township. After DNA extraction 1140, 741, 765 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b was amplified with primers Cytb F-Cytb R, Cytb F- Cytbin R and Cytb R-Cytbin F under polymerase chain reaction .Amplified fragments were sequenced by ABI 3130 automated device with Sanger method. The results were compared with sequences from other studies to determine the genetic distances. Hoplotype variations were not observed in the nucleotide sequences obtained in this study. Using the Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic test results showed that the Buruieh Wildlife Refuge wild sheep is placed in the group of ovis orientalis and is different from other ovis orientalis populations all around Iran in the terms of Hoplotype. Our results demonstrated that the Buruieh Refuge Wildlife Sheeps have low genetic diversity which should be considered at the long-time managment activities in the future.

Forty-one wild sheep (Ovis ammon orintalis) from Kabodan Island of National Park of UrmiaLake (North-West of Iran), were examined during a period of six months from October 2002 toMarch 2003, for helminthes and coccidian infection. The numbers of oocyst and eggs per gram offaeces (OPG & EPG) were determined by the centrifuge flotation technique using saturated sugarsolution. The rate of infection for Strongylid form, Marshalagia, Trichuris eggs, and lung wormlarvae were 8 (19.5%), 12 (29.5%), 17 (41.5%) and 14 (34.1%), respectively. Thirty-three(80.48%) of the examined wild animals were infected to one or more Eimeria species including E.parva, E. ahsata, E. ovinoidalis and E. faurei. This study suggested that the rate of parasiticinfection in wild sheep were very low but it would seem that in unsuitable condition such asdrought and starvation, parasitic infection can be cause a serious problem in wild sheep population.

Protozoa species were identified in rumen contents of four domestic sheep (Ovis aries) from South Africa. All animals were fed a forage diet which consisted of 50% lucerne and 50% teff hay. Ten new host records were identified, bringing the total number of species and forms observed in sheep in South Africa to 30. The occurrence and geographic distribution of ciliate protozoa in both domestic and wild sheep from around the world are summarised. It was found that 15 genera and 131 species occur in domestic sheep globally.