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Burkina Faso relies on its substantial bovine population for meat and milk production, ensuring food security. The country hosts three primary taurine cattle populations: Lobi, Gourounsi Nahouri, and Gourounsi Ténado. These cattle are adapted to local conditions and exhibit valuable trypan tolerant traits, playing a crucial role in sustaining local communities and holding cultural and socio-economic significance. This study aimed to assess the genetic diversity and structure of Burkina’s primary taurine cattle populations using 27 microsatellite markers. Blood samples from 143 cattle representing these populations were genotyped. The analysis included assessing genetic diversity, deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, calculating genetic distances, and population structure. The results revealed that all loci were polymorphic, indicating high allelic diversity. The overall mean FIS was moderate (0.028), ranging from -0.36 (CSRM60) to 0.73 (INRA035). Genetic differentiation between populations was moderate, accounting for 4% of the total differences. The highest pairwise FST was observed between Lobi and Gourounsi Ténado. The neighbor-joining tree displayed high admixture levels between Gourounsi populations, while Lobi cattle clustered as a distinct population. The population structure analysis indicated significant zebu gene introgression in Burkina taurine populations with relatively higher levels of admixtures in Gourounsi cattle compared to Lobi. The study provided a thorough genetic analysis of Burkina Faso's taurine cattle populations, uncovering the diversity and population structure. The study also revealed the differences in the prevalence of tsetse flies and associated trypanosomosis across the native tracts of Burkinabe taurine cattle populations had shaped the level of zebu introgression in them.

Local genetic resources have an important place in poultry production in Africa. However, knowledge of these genetic resources and their breeding systems is quite often limited. This study was carried out in Seno province/Burkina Faso and aimed to characterize the local chicken production system, the genetic resources used and their management in this area. A survey was conducted including 185 chicken farmers in a rural area. The snowball sampling method was used to co-opt interviewees and, face-to-face interviews were done. The questionnaire includes closed and open-ended questions. Production system characteristics showed that local chickens were bred in free-range production system with few inputs. There were multiple production purposes such as self-consumption (meat and eggs), saving, sale, making donation to strangers. The sale of chickens was ranked as the main purpose with 0.48 as the index, and self-consumption of chicken meat came in second position with 0.34 as the index. According farmers, three phenotypes of chickens ("breed or ecotypes") are encountered in the area. However, these phenotypes are raised together with uncontrolled mating practice, leading to a tendency towards uniformity of phenotypes. Almost all farmers (98.9%) stated they select breeding roosters. This selection is mainly based on growth performance (96.6%). Nevertheless, they ranked "resistance to diseases" as the characteristic they would improve primarily if they had all the possibilities (index 0.43). In general, the production system was extensive with low input, whereas the local chicken genetic resources were under poor management which can lead to genetic erosion.

A total of 184 Djallonké lambs from Burkina Faso with phenotypes for packed-cell volume (PCV), log-transformed fecal egg count (lnFEC), and FAffa MAlan CHArt (FAMACHA©) eye scores were typed with the OvineSNP50 BeadChip of Illumina to contribute to the knowledge of the genetic basis of gastrointestinal (GIN) parasite resistance in sheep. Association analysis identified a total of 22 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related with PCV (6 SNPs), lnFEC (7), and FAMACHA scores (9) distributed among 14 Ovis aries chromosomes (OAR). The identified SNPs accounted for 18.76 % of the phenotypic variance for PCV, 21.24 % for lnFEC, and 34.38 % for FAMACHA scores. Analyses pointed out the importance of OAR2 for PCV, OAR3 for FAMACHA scores, and OAR6 for lnFEC. The 125 kb regions surrounding the identified SNPs overlapped with seven previously reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for the traits analyzed in the current work. The only chromosome harboring markers associated with the three traits studied was OAR2. In agreement with the literature, two different chromosomal areas on OAR2 can play a major role in the traits studied. Gene-annotation enrichment analysis allowed us to identify a total of 34 potential candidate genes for PCV (6 genes), lnFEC (4), and FAMACHA scores (24). Annotation analysis allowed us to identify one functional term cluster with a significant enrichment score (1.302). The cluster included five genes (TRIB3, CDK4, CSNK2A1, MARK1, and SPATA5) involved in immunity-related and cell-proliferation processes. Furthermore, this research suggests that the MBL2 gene can underlie a previously reported QTL for immunoglobulin A levels on OAR22 and confirms the importance of genes involved in growth and size (such as the ADAMTS17 gene on OAR18) for GIN resistance traits. Since association studies for the ascertainment of the genetic basis of GIN resistance may be affected by genotype–environment interactions, obtaining information from local sheep populations managed in harsh environments contributes to the identification of novel genomic areas of functional importance for GIN resistance for that trait.

The diversity of cattle in Niger is predominantly represented by three indigenous breeds: Zebu Arabe, Zebu Bororo and Kuri. This study aimed at characterizing the genetic diversity and relationship of Niger cattle breeds using short tandem repeat (STR) marker variations. A total of 105 cattle from all three breeds were genotyped at 27 STR loci. High levels of allelic and gene diversity were observed with an overall mean of 8.7 and 0.724 respectively. The mean inbreeding estimate within breeds was found to be moderate with 0.024, 0.043 and 0.044 in Zebu Arabe, Zebu Bororo and Kuri cattle respectively. The global F statistics showed low genetic differentiation among Niger cattle with about 2.6 % of total variation being attributed to between-breed differences. Neighbor-joining tree derived from pairwise allele sharing distance revealed Zebu Arabe and Kuri clustering together while Zebu Bororo appeared to be relatively distinct from the other two breeds. High levels of admixture were evident from the distribution of pairwise inter-individual allele sharing distances that showed individuals across populations being more related than individuals within populations. Individuals were assigned to their respective source populations based on STR genotypes, and the percent correct assignment of Zebu Bororo (87.5 to 93.8 %) was consistently higher than Zebu Arabe (59.3 to 70.4 %) and Kuri (80.0 to 83.3 %) cattle. The qualitative and quantitative tests for mutation drift equilibrium revealed absence of genetic bottleneck events in Niger cattle in the recent past. High genetic diversity and poor genetic structure among indigenous cattle breeds of Niger might be due to historic zebu–taurine admixture and ongoing breeding practices in the region. The results of the present study are expected to help in formulating effective strategies for conservation and genetic improvement of indigenous Niger cattle breeds.

A total of 357 adult cows and 29 sires belonging to the long-horned Niger Zebu Bororo cattle population were assessed for 13 body measurements and 11 qualitative traits. Data were jointly analysed with 311 cows and 64 sires belonging to other four West African zebu cattle populations, sampled in Burkina Faso and Benin, representative of both the short-horned and the long-horned West African zebu groups using multivariate statistical methods. Besides the other long-horned zebu breed analysed (Zebu Mbororo of Burkina Faso), Zebu Bororo cattle tended to have the highest mean values for all body measurements. Mahalanobis distance matrices further informed that pairs involving Zebu Bororo cattle had the higher differentiation of the dataset. However, contour plots constructed using eigenvalues computed via principal component analysis (PCA) illustrated a lack of differentiation among West African zebu cattle populations at the body measurements level. Correspondence analysis carried out on the 11 qualitative traits recorded allowed for ascertaining a clear differentiation between the Zebu Bororo and the other zebu cattle populations analysed which, in turn, did not show a clear differentiation at the qualitative type traits level. In our data, Zebu Bororo cattle had in high frequency qualitative features such as dropped ears, lyre-shaped horns and red-pied coat colour that are not frequently present in the other West African zebu populations analysed. A directional selection due to a rough consensus of the stock-keepers may be hypothesised. Performance of further analyses to assess the degree in which such breeding differences may be related to genetic or production differences are advised.

Gastrointestinal parasitism places serious constraints on small ruminant production. The situation has been exacerbated by development of drug resistance in many parasite populations, leading to interest in identification of animals with genetically mediated resistance or tolerance to nematode infections. This study assessed the response to natural infection with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) in Djallonké sheep during the rainy season in the Sudan-Guinea Savannah region of Burkina Faso. Haemonchus contortus is the most prevalent GIN at this site and time. Djallonké lambs (n=434) were sampled from 40 households and evaluated at a common location in southern Burkina Faso. Lambs were dewormed with levamisole at 2 to 6 months of age and returned to infected pastures. Fecal egg counts (FEC), packed cell volumes (PCV), and FAffa Malan CHArt (FAMACHA©) scores were determined 28 and 35 days after deworming. Lamb mortality was monitored throughout the experiment. Least-squares means for BW increased from 13.8±0.2 kg at 28 days to 14.0±0.2 kg at 35 days (P

Farm animal genetic resources are threatened worldwide. Participation in markets, while representing a crucial way out of poverty for many smallholders, affects genetic management choices with associated sustainability concerns. This paper proposes a contextualized study of the interactions between markets and animal genetic resources management, in the case of sheep markets in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It focusses on the organization of marketing chains and the valuation of genetic characteristics by value chain actors. Marketing chain characterization was tackled through semi-structured interviews with 25 exporters and 15 butchers, both specialized in sheep. Moreover, revealed preference methods were applied to analyse the impact of animals’ attributes on market pricing. Data were collected from 338 transactions during three different periods: Eid al-Adha, Christmas and New Year period, and a neutral period. The neutral period is understood as a period not close to any event likely to influence the demand for sheep. The results show that physical characteristics such as live weight, height at withers and coat colour have a strong influence on the animals’ prices. Live weight has also had an increasing marginal impact on price. The different markets (local butcher, feasts, export market, sacrifices) represent distinct demands for genetic characteristics, entailing interesting consequences for animal genetic resource management. Any breeding programme should therefore take this diversity into account to allow this sector to contribute better to a sustainable development of the country.

Abstract Acridocarpus monodii Arène & Jaeger is an endemic plant species to the ‘’Dogon Country’’ in Mali. This species is highly popular in Dogon ethnic groups, but no scientific data on its medicinal and biochemical properties are available in Mali. This work aimed to list its medicinal uses and assess its phytochemical composition and antioxidant power. An ethnobotanical investigation based on semi structured questionnaire was used to identify the traditional uses of A. monodii among the local population in three villages (Ireli, Youdiou and Yon-biré) inside ‘’Dogon country’’ in Mali. The phytochemical composition was determined using qualitative tests, while the antioxidant potency was performed using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydazyl (DPPH) and phosphomolybdate (TAC) tests. A total of 45 people were interviewed, the majority of whom were male (82.20%) and over 52 years of age. A. monodii is used to treat a dozen pathologies or diseases, dominated by malaria (71.10%), yellow fever (24.40%) and dysuria (20%). Although, all parts of this species are used to treat these pathologies, leaves (88.90%) were the most coveted followed by roots (37.80%). The use of these parts was significantly (p = 0.016

A total of 183 adult sires belonging to nine West African cattle breeds sampled in 67 villages of Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin were assessed for 16 body measurements and 18 qualitative traits. Within type of cattle (zebu, sanga or taurine), the different breeds analysed showed large differences in body measurements. In general, taurine breeds had lower average values than the zebu breeds while sanga cattle tended to have intermediate values. Principal component analysis identified three factors characterising body measurements. Factor 1 summarised the information provided by those traits characterising the size of the individuals and explained 59.0 % of the variability. Factor 2 tended to gather information characterising the body width and explained 8.0 % of the variation. Less representative, Factor 3 (6.6 % of the variability) had no clear interpretation. Qualitative traits did not allow to distinguish among either cattle groups or breeds. Two Correspondence Analysis Dimensions computed on qualitative traits (explaining 26.2 and 15.5 % of the variability, respectively) did not allow to differentiate between zebu, sanga or taurine cattle breeds. Our results confirm that, in the framework of a general appearance, body measurements are the main criteria for differentiating West African cattle breeds. Furthermore, the current research has not allowed to identify breeding preferences on qualitative type traits in West African cattle sires. Therefore, homogenisation of the appearance of individuals within cattle breed is not expected.