Search

Crossbreds of low-producing indigenous cattle and high-producing exotic dairy bulls (Holstein Friesian and Jersey) have contributed in ensuring that India continues to be the world's top milk-producing country. However, subfertility observed in crossbred male progenies has been a major obstacle in exploitation of heterosis due to crossbreeding. There is sufficient scientific evidence in support of genetic and epigenetic regulation of key physiological processes including spermatogenesis. Bovine Vasa Homology (Bvh) is considered a molecular marker for the study of gametogenesis. Significant negative correlation between DNA methylation and gene expression has been reported in cattle-yaks hybrids and their parents. The present study analyzed promoter methylation status and expression profile of Bvh gene in spermatozoa from exotic Holstein Friesian cattle, indigenous Sahiwal cattle and their crossbreds with varying semen motility parameters. The degree of methylation of the Bvh promoter region was significantly higher in poor motility crossbred bulls (13.3%) as compared to good motility crossbreds (5.3%), Sahiwal (3%) and Holstein Friesian bulls (1%) (P < 0.05). Gene expression analysis revealed significantly higher mRNA abundance of Bvh in purebreds (Holstein Friesian and Sahiwal) as compared to crossbred counterparts (P < 0.001). Inverse correlation observed in this study between promoter methylation and gene expression of Bvh gene in spermatozoa from crossbred bulls with poor motility phenotype as compared to purebred parents provides an important insight into understanding the graded fertility of crossbred bulls., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Tibetan is a valuable Himalayan sheep breed classified as endangered. Knowledge of the level and distribution of genetic diversity in Tibetan sheep is important for designing conservation strategies for their sustainable survival and to preserve their evolutionary potential. Thus, for the first time, genetic variability in the Tibetan population was accessed with twenty five inter-simple sequence repeat markers. All the microsatellites were polymorphic and a total of 148 alleles were detected across these loci. The observed number of alleles across all the loci was more than the effective number of alleles and ranged from 3 (BM6506) to 11 (BM6526) with 5.920 ± 0.387 mean number of alleles per locus. The average observed heterozygosity was less than the expected heterozygosity. The observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.150 (BM1314) to 0.9 (OarCP20) with an overall mean of 0.473 ± 0.044 and from 0.329 (BM8125) to 0.885 (BM6526) with an overall mean 0.672 ± 0.030, respectively. The lower heterozygosity pointed towards diminished genetic diversity in the population. Thirteen microsatellite loci exhibited significant (P < 0.05) departures from the Hardy-Weinberg proportions in the population. The estimate of heterozygote deficiency varied from - 0.443 (OarCP20) to 0.668 (OarFCB128) with a mean positive value of 0.302 ± 0.057. A normal 'L' shaped distribution of mode-shift test and non-significant heterozygote excess on the basis of different models suggested absence of recent bottleneck in the existing Tibetan population. In view of the declining population of Tibetan sheep (less than 250) in the breeding tract, need of the hour is immediate scientific management of the population so as to increase the population hand in hand with retaining the founder alleles to the maximum possible extent.

New, quick, and inexpensive methods for genotyping novel caprine Fec gene polymorphisms through tetra-primer ARMS PCR were developed in the present investigation. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping needs to be attempted to establish association between the identified mutations and traits of economic importance. In the current study, we have successfully genotyped three new SNPs identified in caprine fecundity genes viz. T(-242)C (BMPR1B), G1189A (GDF9) and G735A (BMP15). Tetra-primer ARMS PCR protocol was optimized and validated for these SNPs with short turn-around time and costs. The optimized techniques were tested on 158 random samples of Black Bengal goat breed. Samples with known genotypes for the described genes, previously tested in duplicate using the sequencing methods, were employed for validation of the assay. Upon validation, complete concordance was observed between the tetra-primer ARMS PCR assays and the sequencing results. These results highlight the ability of tetra-primer ARMS PCR in genotyping of mutations in Fec genes. Any associated SNP could be used to accelerate the improvement of goat reproductive traits by identifying high prolific animals at an early stage of life. Our results provide direct evidence that tetra-primer ARMS-PCR is a rapid, reliable, and cost-effective method for SNP genotyping of mutations in caprine Fec genes.

Osteopontin, a glycoprotein, is expressed in several tissues including the mammary gland. The gene has been reported to be associated with milk and its constituents in various livestock species. This gene was sequenced in buffalo and it coded for the protein of 280 amino acids with the conserved GRGDS domain. The sequence was confirmed from the cDNA sequence derived from the mammary gland of buffalo. The earlier-reported 9T/10T variation in the upstream region of the gene was investigated for its effect on milk in buffalo and it was found to be non-significant.