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Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) causes severe economic losses to many countries of the world where the disease is endemic. It has been targeted for global eradication by 2030 following the successful eradication of rinderpest in 2011. The proposed eradication program would benefit from efficient and relatively reliable diagnostic tools for early PPR virus (PPRV) detection. A total of 33 eight to 12 months old West African Dwarf (WAD) goats were used. Nineteen goats infected by comingling with two PPR virus positive animals formed the infected group (PPRV-infected goats) while 14 non-infected goats formed the control group (CTG). The suitability of a molecular method (Hydroxyl naphthol blue (HNB) staining of reverse transcription loop mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP)) and a non-molecular tool (haemagluttination assay (HA)) were compared for their sensitivity to detect the PPRV in PPRV-infected goats and non-infected CTG. PPR disease severity in WAD goats at different days post infection (dpi) was evaluated by clinical scoring and haemagluttination titre (HAT). HNB staining RT-LAMP reaction and HA showed sensitivities of 100% and 73.68%, respectively, for PPRV detection. Expression of PPR clinical signs began from 3 dpi, attained peak at 5 dpi, thereafter showed irregular patterns till 24 dpi. Evaluation of HAT in PPRV-infected goats at 12 dpi ranged from 2 to 64 haemagluttination units (HAU), while CTG goats had 0 HAU. In conclusion, HNB staining RT-LAMP assay demonstrated reasonable potential for accurate diagnoses of PPRV and as an important diagnostic tool in areas with poor electricity supply and less sophisticated laboratory equipment.

Infection due to Salmonella spp is one of the threatening diseases to poultry industry because it can cause economic losses through mortality, morbidity and reduction in egg production. One hundred and sixty poults comprising 80 local and 80 exotic (Nicholas white) were used to examine the variations in haematological response to Salmonella spp in local and exotic turkeys inoculated with attenuated Salmonella spp. Both genotypes were reared separately on deep litter, under the same management practices and wing tagged for proper identification. At 7th week of age, 1ml of blood sample was collected from each turkey into anticoagulant tubes and labeled accordingly for base-line haematological analysis. The turkeys were inoculated at 8th week by subcutaneous injection of attenuated Salmonella vaccine at 0.5ml per turkey. On the 2nd and 7th days after inoculation, 1ml of blood samples was collected from each turkey for haematological analyses. The un-coagulated blood was used to determine packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC) and its differential counts, and haemoglobin (Hb). The mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were calculated. The haematological data collected were analyzed using General Linear Model of SAS 9.0 software. The exotic turkey had higher (p

The survey of indigenous chicken was carried out in 8 states comprising 119 local government of South Western Nigeria between October 1994 and May 1995 to evaluate colour variation relative to performance characteristics as selection criteria for development of improved indigenous poultry types for the Nigerian market. The colours recorded were those of the skin of the shank, the earlobe, the comb and the beak as well as that of the feathers. Significant differences were recorded for the feather colour effect on the liveweight, breast girth and breast length (P < 0.05). The shank and earlobe colours significantly affected the birds shank length, comb height, live weight ad backbone length (P < 0.05) with a highly significant (P < 0.05) earlobe effect on the breast girth Out of the 2032 birds analysed with complete records, 45.9% had mottled feather colour. The black white and brown colours were 17.4; 16.4; and 19.98% respectively while only 0.34% were red. Birds with yellow shanks were 35% while black, white/ash, white and piebald (yellow or white laced with black spots) were 23.3; 28.1; 10.8 and .8% represented 28.4 and 29.9% of the population whilst white earlobe was found in 53.4% of the birds. Though 45.9% of the birds had mottled feather colour, highest shank length of 8.04 and 8.05cm and liveweight of 1.37 and 1.41kg were black feather colours respectively. Eggs laid varied from 30.5 to 37.4 for the black and white feathered chicken with 25.65 to 30.98 hatched (i.e % hathability of 81.06 – 88.78%) by the mottled and white feathered chickens. A highly significant (P < 0.001) positive correlation of 0.982 between eggs laid and eggs hatched and correlations of 0.517 and 0.497 between these variables and those of comb height indicate their usefulness as selection criteria. Coupled with a high heritability estimate of 0.597 and 0.513 for liveweight, and the phenotypic colour variance of feather and shank, selection based on these colour variances could be effective in breed development.

Reproductive data from 24 does (Chinchilla X New Zealand White) of twenty weeks, were analyzed to determine the effect of generation, housing systems and season on the reproductive performance of rabbits raised in the humid tropics. The experiment was carried out during four seasons namely: early dry season (EDS-September to November), late dry season (LDS-December to February), early rainy season (ERS-March to May) and late rainy season (LRS-June to August). The study was repeated in the second generation and the data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance in a 2x2x4 factorial arrangement. Factors considered were generations, housing systems, and seasons respectively. Highest breeding efficiency of 83.33% was obtained in the first generation and maximum litter size at birth (35) and weaning (28) were observed in caged-does that kindled in EDS of first and second generations respectively, while does housed on deep litter system produced the smallest litter size at birth (24) and weaning (18) in the ERS of the second generation. Highest (12) and least (4) pre-weaning losses were recorded in caged-does that kindled in ERS of the first and second generation respectively, whereas highest average birth weight (120.58g) was observed in litters of deep litter-does that kindled in EDS of the second generation. These results indicated that the production of rabbits for breeding purposes is better achieved during early dry season (September-November) and also revealed that deep litter system allows satisfactory performance and has comparative advantage over wooden cage system considering the reduction in housing cost and can be used to improve the nutritional status of the family and also to obtain some supplementary income.

An investigations was carried out to determine the effect of the major genes of frizzling and naked neck on the external and internal egg quality traits of the Nigerian local chicken. Egg weight significantly (P < 0.01) favoured the frizzled local chicken and the naked-necked local chicken over the fully feathered (normal ) local chicken. The frizzling gene, F, caused an increase of 8.13% in weight while the naked neck gene Na, increased egg weight by 5.85%. The Na gene caused the production of better egg shape index (0.73) when compared to F and nana, ff genotypes. Eggs of frizzed and naked-neck locals also had significantly (P < 0.05) better Haugh unit, percent shell, percent albumen and percent yolk than the normal feathered counterpart. It is therefore reasonable to incorporate the major genes frizzling and naked-neck in producing a locally-adapter commercial egg strain

A comparative study of the gametes of two species of Giant African Land Snails; Archachatinu marginata and Achatina achatina was carried out. Three groups of snails weighing 80-100,101-150 and 151-250 g were used in a 3x2 factorial design, with 5 replicates, involving a total of 30 snails. Albumen gland, little hermaphrodite duct, spermotheca and ovo-testis were examined for the presence of ova and spermatozoa. The morphology of the spermatozoa and ova of both species Was studied. Ova were found in the albumen gland and ovo-testis. Spermatozou were only found in the little hermaphrodite duct. Spermatozoa head and tail lengths were not significantly (P>0.05) different between species, while the mid-piece length was significantly (P

This study focused on the evaluation of the effect of soil moisture on the feed intake and weight gain of the Giant African Land snails, Achatina achatina and Archachatina marginata in different seasons using a 2 x 2 x 4 factorial experiment with soil moisture at two levels (low 25ml of water/ week and high 100ml water/week), species at two levels (Achatina achatina and Archachatina marginata) and season at four levels (cold dry, hot dry, hot wet and cold wet) constituting the three factors. Result showed that there was a significant seasonal differences (P

In a completely randomized design, sixteen (16) West African Dwarf (WAD) rams aged between 10-15 months with an average pre-trial body weight of 14.5 kg were used to study the influence of a compounded concentrate diet (Diet 1), malted sorghum sprout (MSP) (Diet 2), shrimp waste meal (SWM) (Diet 3) and Tephrosia bracteolata hay (Diet 4) as supplement to soybean stover (SBS) + Panicum maximum hay for 13 weeks. The total DM intake was highest (P

The interferon regulatory factor gene family encodes transcription factors with multiple biological functions, which include reproduction, cell differentiation and immunity. Interferon regulatory factor-5 (IRF-5) gene is involved in immune defence against virus, stress response, activation of type I interferon genes, cell differentiation and growth. This experiment was conducted to identify and characterise single nucleotide polymorphisms in exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene in Nigerian local chickens. Exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene were amplified and sequenced. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene were identified and analysed using Clustal W, DnaSp and SNAP2 software packages. Four SNPs, rs317511101, rs312902332, rs315149141 and rs739389464, were identified in exon 3 of IRF-5 gene in all the three genotypes. Exon 4 of the gene was conserved while three of the SNPs (rs736423928, 170C>T and rs740736761) identified in exon 7 were shared among the three genotypes. Linkage disequilibrium of 1.00 existed between rs317511101 and rs315149141 polymorphisms identified in exon 3 of normal feathered and frizzle feathered chickens. Mutation rs740736761 identified in exon 7 had the highest polymorphism information content obtainable for any biallelic marker. Most of the SNPs identified in exons 3, 5 and 7 were synonymous and singletons which could not be used for association study. The study concluded that only haplotypes in exons 3 and 7 of IRF-5 gene can be used in marker-assisted selection when improving Nigerian local chickens.

The effect of coat pigmentation on live weight and various body measurements (body length, shoulder width, head width, leg length, neck girth, heart girth, abdominal girth, heart depth and height al withers) of the West African Dwarf (WAD) goats were studied Coat pigmentation significantly (P

This study focused on comparing growth traits (body weights at birth, 3-month weaning and 6-month post-weaning) as well as growth curves of Kalahari Red (KR), a newly introduced goat breed in Nigeria and West African Dwarf (WAD) goat semi-intensively managed. Data on growth traits and weekly live weights were collected from 124 kids consisting of 61 KR and 63 WAD goats. The data were subjected to least squares analysis of variance to evaluate the effects of breed, sex, season, birth type and parity. The results showed that KR kids exceeded WAD kids in body weights at birth (2.30±0.06 kg vs 1.56±0.06 kg), 3-month weaning (8.88±0.57 kg vs 3.88±0.20 kg) and 6-month post-weaning (13.97±0.86 kg vs 5.05±0.37 kg). Corresponding pre-weaning average daily gain (ADG) estimates were 84.44±2.44 g and 31.73±1.16 g and post-weaning ADG were 61.88±1.81g and 24.84±1.21 g. Growth patterns of the two breeds were described using four different non-linear models: Brody, Gompertz, Logistic and Von Bertalanffy. Models were compared using parameter estimates (asymptotic weight 'A', integration constant 'B' and rate of maturity 'k'). Model with good fit was adjudged using coefficient of determination (R2) and residual mean squares (RMS). The KR goats had higher parameter estimates than WAD goats. Von Bertalanffy model had the highest 'A' estimates (24.24±0.94 kg vs 11.99±0.54 kg for KR and WAD goats). Gompertz had highest 'B' and 'k' estimates (5.37±0.20 vs 3.38±0.09) and (0.19±0.01 vs 0.13±0.01) for KR and WAD goats. All four growth models generally had R2 exceeding 99% and low RMS, hence giving good fit to the observed growth data. They can be used to implement feeding and management decisions that will optimize productivity. Information on superior growth performance of the Kalahari Red goat can be utilized to further investigate genetic improvement of the indigenous West African Dwarf population through crossbreeding. Cette étude s'est concentrée sur la comparaison des traits de croissance (poids corporel à la naissance, sevrage à 3 mois et 6 mois après le sevrage) ainsi que les courbes de croissance du Kalahari Red (KR), une race de chèvre nouvellement introduite au Nigéria et West AfricanDwarf (WAD) chèvre gérée de manière semi-intensive. Des données sur les traits de croissance et le poids vif hebdomadaire ont été collectées auprès de 124 chevreaux comprenant 61 chèvres KR et 63 chèvres WAD. Les données ont été soumises à une analyse des moindres carrés de la variance pour évaluer les effets de la race, du sexe, de la saison, du type de naissance et de la parité. Les résultats ont montré que les enfants KR dépassaient les enfants WAD en poids corporel à la naissance (2.30 ± 0.06 kg vs 1.56 ± 0.06 kg), au sevrage de 3 mois (8.88 ± 0.57 kg vs 3.88 ± 0.20 kg) et 6 mois après le sevrage (13.97 ± 0.86 kg contre 5.05 ± 0.37 kg). Les estimations correspondantes du gain quotidien moyen (ADG) présevrage étaient de 84.44 ± 2.44 g et 31.73 ± 1.16 g et l'ADG post-sevrage était de 61.88 ± 1.81 g et 24.84 ± 1.21 g. Les modèles de croissance des deux races ont été décrits à l'aide de quatre modèles non linéaires différents :Brody, Gompertz, Logistic et Von Bertalanffy. Les modèles ont été comparés à l'aide d'estimations de paramètres (poids asymptotique « A », constante d'intégration « B » et taux de maturité « k »). Le modèle avec un bon ajustement a été évalué en utilisant le coefficient de détermination (R2) et les carrés moyens résiduels (RMS). Les chèvres KR avaient des estimations de paramètres plus élevées que les chèvres WAD. Le modèle de Von Bertalanffy présentait les estimations « A » les plus élevées (24.24 ± 0.94 kg contre 11.99 ± 0.54 kg pour les chèvres KR et WAD). Gompertz avait les estimations « B » et « k » les plus élevées (5.37 ± 0.20 vs 3.38 ± 0.09) et (0.19 ± 0.01 vs 0.13 ± 0.01) pour les chèvres KR et WAD. Les quatre modèles de croissance avaient généralement un R2 supérieur à 99% et un RMS faible, ce qui correspondait bien aux données de croissance observées. Ils peuvent être utilisés pour mettre en œuvre des décisions d'alimentation et de gestion qui optimiseront la productivité. Les informations sur la performance de croissance supérieure de la chèvre rouge du Kalahari peuvent être utilisées pour étudier plus avant l'amélioration génétique de la population indigène de nains d'Afrique de l'Ouest par croisement.

Genetic variation from a combination of four breeds of chickens (Anak Titan, Alpha, Giriraja and Normal indigenous chickens) were examined for importance of sire, dam, season and sex on growth traits using a Mixed-model Least-Squares and Maximum LIkelihood computer program. The results show that sire and dam genotypes significantly (P

A total of 48 New Zealand White (NZW) rabbit was used for the phenotypic estimation study. After two weeks of birth, the kittens were introduced to commercial grower mash (CGM) and were fed solely on the commercial grower mash diets with the following characteristics; 17.5% crude protein, 16% crude fibre and 2500 kcal/kg diet digestible energy ad libitum. Morphometric traits such as Fore Limb (FL), Hind Limb (HL), Body Length (BL), Thigh Girth (TG), Abdominal Circumference (AC) and Leg Length (LL) in NZW rabbit were measured on the rabbit with the aid of measuring tape in centimetre (cm) at 4, 8 and 12 weeks of age. The first measurement was taken on the day of weaning (4 weeks). The data obtained was analysed using the simple linear correlation procedure of SAS analytical package to obtain the correlation between the various morphometric traits studied. The study lasted for 12 weeks. From the study the phenotypic correlations obtained were all positive and ranged between moderate (0.47, the lowest value) and high (0.89, the highest value) correlated value for all ages considered for the NZW rabbit. The result further showed that BL was highly correlated (

This study assessed the reproductive performance of indigenous and crossbred parent stocks and the influence of sire genotype on the growth and efficiency of feed utilization by their progenies. A total of 300 poults, 150 for each genotype were generated from two crosses (Nicholas white x Indigenous and Indigenous x Indigenous turkeys). Data were collected on the reproductive performance of the parents while body weight and feed intake from day old to the 20th week of age were also collected from the progenies generated. The experiment was a complete randomized design with data generated subjected to two way analysis of variance using SAS. The result of the study showed that sire genotype had significant effect (p0.05) on all female reproductive traits such as fertility, hatchability, dead in-germ, weak in-shell and dead in-shell. However, the indigenous turkey had higher fertility percentage (85%) while 80% hatchability was observed in crossbred turkey. Crossbred turkey significantly (p

Newcastle disease and heat stress reduce the productivity of local chickens of Nigeria (LCN). This study compared the antibody response to Newcastle disease and heat tolerance among different LCN genotypes in hot humid tropics using multivariate discriminant analysis. A total of 299 birds were used for the study. Geometric mean titre against Newcastle disease before vaccination (GMTB), geometric mean titre against Newcastle disease after vaccination (GMTA), rectal temperature at week 4 (RT4), pulse rate at week 4 (PR4), respiratory rate at week 4 (RR4), heat stress index at week 4 (H4), rectal temperature at week 13 (RT13), pulse rate at week 13 (PR13), respiratory rate at week 13 (RR13) and heat stress index at week 13 (H13) were measured. All the traits were significantly (p

A total of ninety-six (96) weaner rabbits (Chinchilla and New Zealand White crossbred) were use for this study and were divided into forty-eight (48) per generation. These fortyeight weaner rabbits were further divided into three replicates of four males (12) and four females each (12) housed in cage (24) and deep litter system (24).This experiment was carried out for two generations to determine the effect of generation interval, housing systems and sex on the haematological and serum profile of rabbits. Data obtained were analyzed using Analysis of Variance test in a 2x2x2 factorial arrangement. The study showed that Packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cells (RBC) and haemoglobin (HB) were not significant in both generations while higher significant(p0.05) effect on most of the biochemical parameters studied except for RBC and glucose which had 4.12 x1012/L and 69.23 mg/dl, for males and 3. 8 x1012/L and 78.78mg/dl for females, respectively in the second generation. In addition, the AST and ALT values were also higher in the females than in the males in the first generation but with no significant (p>0.05) difference. Housing system result showed that WBC (6.29 x109/L) and glucose (78.35 mg/dl) of rabbits were significantly (p

Improvement in fertility is possible through gene assisted selection. Cattle fertility and genes underlying it should be thoroughly studied and exploited to find solution to declining cattle fertility. Reprimo (RPRM) gene is a pleiotropic gene involved in suppression of cancer, regulation of mitotic cell cycle, cell cycle arrest and regulation of survival. Comparison of protein tertiary structures is important in inferring functional characteristics of new proteins. This study used computational approach to identify some fertility functions of bovine RPRM gene using motif prediction and protein structure comparison. Amino acid sequences of bovine RPRM gene and some other cattle fertility genes were retrieved from GenBank. Motifs in the amino acid sequence of bovine RPRM gene were predicted using PROSITE software. The domain structure of bovine RPRM protein was predicted using simple modular architecture research tool (SMART). Protein tertiary structures (3D structures) of bovine RPRM gene and other cattle fertility genes were predicted with Phyre 2 software. To have structural and functional similarity, it has been found that protein structure after superimposition should have Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) value less than or equal to 2A. The protein 3D structures of other cattle fertility genes were superposed against the protein 3D structure of bovine RPRM gene using SuperPose web server and the proteins with RMSD value of 2A or less were predicted as proteins with similar functions and structures as bovine RPRM gene. The predicted motifs (N-glycosylation site, N-myristoylation site, and cAMP and cGMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation site) and protein structure comparison revealed that, bovine RPRM gene and bovine growth hormone gene have the same fertility function with alpha carbon and backbone root mean square deviations of 1.94 A and 1.81 A, respectively. It follows therefore that other fertility functions of bovine RPRM gene included sexual maturation, steroidogenesis, gametogenesis, gonadal differentiation and gonadotrophin secretion which are the functions of growth hormone gene. Keywords : Reprimo gene, fertility, growth hormone gene, motifs, root mean square deviation

Understanding the level of genetic diversity in any population is an important requisite towards strategizing measures for conservation and improvement of stocks. This study focused on the assessment of phylogenetics and molecular divergence of tilapia fish species obtained from two populations (Domita in South-South and Odeda in South-West, Nigeria) using the displacement loop (D-loop) and cytochrome b region of the mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA). A total of 28 samples (15 from South-South and 13 from South-West) were used for the genetic analysis. DNA was extracted from the tissue of all the samples using Quik-gDNATM miniPrep kit. The D-loop containing the hypervariable region was sequenced for all samples from the two populations, while cytochrome b (Cyt b) region of mtDNA was only sequenced for samples from South-South population. Chromatograms of the sequences were viewed and edited using Bioedit software. Multiple sequence alignment was carried out using molecular evolutionary genetic analysis (MEGA) software before subsequent genetic analyses. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the samples into two clusters based on population. Also, when the two mitochondrial regions were pooled together, they clustered into two major groups based on mitochondrial regions. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed 37.32% variation within population and 62.68% variation among population with a significant fixation index of 0.627 (p < 0.05). The genetic distance inferred between D-loop regions of South-South and South-West populations was 0.243. Maternal lineage analysis revealed that the origin of tilapia fish from both populations could be traced to Oreochromis spirilus and Oreochromis leucostictus based on mitochondrial D-loop region. The findings of this study revealed molecular divergence among the tilapia populations and may serve as pivot information for the genetic improvement of this important species.

The effects of plumage colour on different behaviours have been reported in several avian species, but there are only few studies for Nigerian indigenous turkeys (NIT). Fear is a negative affective state that is indicative of suffering and associated with adverse effects on welfare and productivity of livestock species. This study compared fear behaviours in NIT with different plumage colours during early life (first 16 days of life). Seventy-five birds (25 each of white, black and lavender) were used in this study. The three colour phenotypes were derived from the same genetic line. Tonic immobility, emergence, open field, inversion and attention bias tests were done at 7, 9, 12, 14 and 16 days old, respectively. Data were analysed with Kruskal-Wallis tests. The durations of tonic immobility and freezing during the attention bias test were not significantly associated with plumage colour (χ2 =1.7592, df=2, p = 0.42 and χ2 =3.9421, df=2, p = 0.14, respectively). The latency to emerge from a dark box was significantly related to plumage colour (χ2 =8.9229, df=2, p = 0.01), with the shortest emergence latency observed in black NIT. There was a significant plumage colour effect on the duration of ambulation (χ2 =9.6013, df=2, p = 0.01) and a significant effect on the percentage of floor squares explored by the birds in the open field test (χ2 =6.1191, df=2, p = 0.05). The least ambulation time was observed in black NIT (p = 0.02). Lavender turkeys explored fewer floor squares compared to black and white NIT (p = 0.04). The frequency of escape attempts was significantly associated with the plumage colour of the birds (χ2 =11.6810, df=2, p = 0.00). The highest frequency of escape attempts during the open field test was observed in black birds, while there was no significant difference in the frequency of escape attempts of white and lavender birds. There were no plumage colour effects on the duration of preening (χ2 =1.5896, df=2, p = 0.45), wall pecking (χ2 =3.3346, df=2, p = 0.19) and floor pecking (χ2 =1.7483, df=2, p = 0.42) of NIT in the open field test. The results from this study applied to the early life stage. It can be concluded that plumage colour influenced the level of fear in young NIT, with lavender turkeys being the most fearful in three out of the four statistically significant fear indicators (longer emergence duration, lower number of escape attempts and lower percentage of floor squares explored in an open field test), followed by white, whereas black turkeys were least fearful.

espanolLas cabras constituyen el mayor grupo de ganado rumiante en Nigeria y desempenan un papel estrategico en el aporte de proteina animal y en la mejora de la economia de los hogares rurales. Se investigo acerca de la region hipervariable 1 (HVR1) del genoma mitocondrial caprino con el fin de comprender mejor la importancia de la diversidad genetica para mejorar la seleccion en los programas de mejora y conservacion animal. Se secuencio y se analizo la region hipervariable 1 del ADN mitocondrial (HVR1) en 291 cabras autoctonas de Nigeria no relacionadas (Enana de Africa Occidental (EAO), Roja de Sokoto (RS) y Sahel (S)), seleccionadas aleatoriamente a lo largo del pais y comparadas con las secuencias HVR1 de 336 cabras indias y con otras 12 secuencias de 5 especies diferentes del generoCapra (C. falconeri, C. ibex nubiana, C. aegagrus, C. cylindricornis yC. sibirica). Un total de 139 sitios polimorficos de 291 individuos se concentraron en 204 haplotipos. La variacion intra- e interpoblacional fue de 77,25 por ciento y de 22,74 por ciento, respectivamente. Las cabras nigerianas mostraron una elevada diversidad genetica (0,87) y unos valores de FST elevados, distintos de los de las cabras indias y de los de las otras especies salvajes. De acuerdo con los haplogrupos, la cabra EAO se desliga de poblaciones concomitantes de RS y S con una historia demografica diferente. Se identifico una estructura genetica clara entre las razas caprinas de Nigeria, con una variacion apreciable en la region HVR1 del ADN mitocondrial. Este estudio agrupo las razas caprinas nigerianas en dos grupos principales, sugiriendo asi dos origenes demograficos distintos para las razas septentrionales y meridionales. El alto grado de mezcla genetica denota origenes maternos distintos, a diferencia de lo observado en cabras del Levante y Asia Central, donde se domesticaron originalmente las cabras. Palabras clave: diversidad genetica, cabras, region hipervariable, ADN mitocondrial, Nigeria EnglishGoats make up the largest group of ruminant livestock in Nigeria and are strategic in bridging animal protein supply gap and improving the economy of rural households. The hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of the caprine mitochondrial genome was investigated to better understand genetic diversity important for improving selection for animal breeding and conservation programs. We sequenced and analysed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) HVR1 in 291 unrelated indigenous Nigerian goats (West African Dwarf (WAD), Red Sokoto (RSO) and Sahel (SAH)), randomly sampled from around the country, and compared them with the HVR1 sequences of 336 Indian goats and 12 other sequences in five different species in the genusCapra (C. falconeri, C. ibex nubiana, C. aegagrus, C. cylindricornis andC. sibirica). A total of 139 polymorphic sites from 291 individuals were captured in 204 haplotypes. Within and among population variations were 77.25 and 22.74 percent, respectively. Nigerian goats showed high genetic diversity (0.87) and high FST values, and separate from Indian goats and other wild species. Haplogroups in WAD separates it from RSO and SAH concomitant with a differentdemographic history. Clear genetic structure was found among Nigerian goat breeds with appreciable variation in mtDNA HVR1 region. This study grouped Nigerian goat breeds into two major groups suggesting two different demographic origins for Northern and Southern breeds. High genetic admixing denotes different maternal origins and in contrast to evidence from goats from Levant and Central Asia, where goats were originally domesticated. Keywords: genetic diversity, goats, hypervariable region, mitochondrial DNA, Nigeria francaisLes caprins constituent le plus grand groupe de ruminants domestiques au Nigeria et jouent un role strategique dans l’approvisionnement en proteines animales et dans l’amelioration de l’economie des menages ruraux. Une recherche a ete menee a propos de la region hypervariable 1 (HVR1) du genome mitochondrial caprin dans le but de mieux comprendre l’importance de la diversite genetique pour ameliorer la selection dans les programmes d’amelioration genetique et de conservation des animaux. La region hypervariable 1 de l’ADN mitochondrial (HVR1) a ete sequencee et analysee chez 291 chevres indigenes du Nigeria, sans rapport entre elles (Naine d’Afrique Occidentale (NAO), Rouge de Sokoto (RS) et Sahel (S)), echantillonnees de maniere aleatoire a travers le pays et comparees avec les sequences HVR1 de 336 chevres indiennes et avec 12 autres sequences de 5 especes differentes du genre Capra (C. falconeri, C. ibex nubiana, C. aegagrus, C. cylindricornis et C. sibirica). Un total de 139 sites polymorphes de 291 individus a ete rassemble en 204 haplotypes. La variation intra- et inter-populationnelle a ete de 77,25 pour cent et de 22,74 pour cent, respectivement. Les caprins nigerians ont montre une grande diversite genetique (0,87) et des valeurs de FST elevees et differentes de celles des chevres indiennes et de celles des autres especes sauvages. D’apres les haplogroupes, la chevre NAO serait a separer des populations concomitantes de RS et S avec une histoire demographique differente. Une structure genetique claire a ete decelee entre les races caprines du Nigeria, avec une variation substantielle dans la region HVR1 de l’ADN mitochondrial. Cette etude a regroupe les races caprines nigerianes en deux groupes principaux, ce qui suggere deux origines demographiques differentes pour les races du Nord et du Sud. Le fort degre de melange genetique denote des origines maternelles differentes, contrairement a ce qui a ete observe chez les chevres du Levant et d’Asie Centrale, ou les caprins furent d’abord domestiques. Mots-cles: diversite genetique, caprins, region hypervariable, ADN mitochondrial, Nigeria

This study focused on the assessment of genetic diversity in African tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) obtained from two populations (Domita in South-South and Odeda in South-West, Nigeria) using the displacement loop (D-loop) and cytochrome B region of the mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA). A total of 28 samples (15 from South-South and 13 from South-West) were used for the genetic analysis. DNA was extracted from the tissue of all the samples using Quik-gDNATM miniPrep kit. The D-loop region was sequenced for all samples from the two populations, while cytochrome b (cyt b) region of mtDNA was only sequenced for samples from South-South population Multiple sequence alignment was carried out using molecular evolutionary genetic analysis (MEGA) software before subsequent genetic analyses. There were 176, 162 and 144 polymorphic sites for D-loop of South-South, South-West and cyt b of South-South populations, respectively. Haplotype diversities (Hd) were 1.00 ± 0.024 and 1.00 ± 0.030 while nucleotide diversities were 0.168 ± 0.086 and 0.161 ± 0.084 for D-loop of South-South and South-West populations, respectively. For the cyt b, haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 0.91 ± 0.003 and 0.051 ± 0.016. The genetic distance inferred between D-loop regions of South-South and South-West populations was 0.243. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the samples into two clusters based on population. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed 37.32% variation within population and 62.68% variation among population with a significant fixation index of 0.627 (P < 0.05). The findings of this study revealed high level of genetic diversity among the tilapia populations and may serve as pivot information for the genetic improvement of this important species.

Se realizo este estudio para determinar el efecto del tamano del huevo sobre el rendimiento posterior a la incubacion de pollos de las lineas Dominant Black (DB) y Yaffa Brown (YB). Un total de ochocientos diez huevos para incubacion (405 por linea), fueron agrupados en tres tamanos (pequenos, medios y grandes) para cada linea, lo que resulto en seis grupos experimentales que fueron replicados tres veces (48 huevos por repeticion). El rendimiento posterior a la incubacion fue controlado sobre 162 pollos de ambas cepas hasta la puesta del primer huevo. El agua y los alimentos fueron suministrados ad libitum durante todo el periodo experimental. Se emplearon tres huevos por repeticion para determinar su calidad externa e interna. Los datos fueron sometidos a analisis de varianza en un esquema factorial 2 x 3. Los resultados mostraron que los valores medios de peso corporal, ingestion de alimento y proteina durante la fase de iniciacion aumento significativamente (p 0,05). La edad a la primera puesta, el peso del ave al primer huevo y los parametros de calidad del huevo tampoco fueron afectados (p>0,05) por el tamano del huevo o la linea. El tamano del huevo aumento con la edad al entrar en puesta. La linea aviar no afecto (p>0,05) a ninguno de los parametros estudiados. Se concluyo que el tamano del huevo puede ser beneficioso, solamente si el objetivo es vender los pollos al final de la fase de crecimiento. Sin embargo, la puesta de huevos de diferentes tamanos puede ser aceptada ya que el efecto a la madurez (puesta) no es significativo.

This study aimed at using a multivariate approach to describe the body structure of Djallonke sheep in northern Ghana and to determine which approach explains better the variation in body composition. Live weight (LW) and linear body measurements including heart girth (HG), neck girth (NG), chest depth (CD), height at withers (HW), rump height (RH), body length (BL) and pin-bone width (PBW) were obtained from 172 sheep aged between two and three years. The fixed effects of sex and age were tested using the general linear model (GLM) while the Nearest Neighbor method of Hierarchical Cluster Analysis was used to group body traits into clusters. Principal Component Factor Analysis was used to describe the variation in body traits where extracted factors were varimax rotated to enhance interpretability. The analysis of variance revealed significant (P 0.05). Age had no significant influence (P > 0.05) on the body traits. The sheep weighed 26.92 ± 0.89 kg averagely and had averages of other body measurements to be: 71.74 ± 1.23, 40.52 ± 0.79, 27.73 ± 0.52, 60.72 ± 0.86, 59.61 ± 0.87, 58.87 ± 1.06 and 12.81 ± 0.23 cm for HG, NG, CD, HW, RH, BL and PBW, respectively. The product moments of correlation were positive and significant (P

The aim of the study is to determine the effect of generational differences, housing systems, sex and seasonal variations and their interactions on the growth and linear body parameters of rabbits. A total of ninety-six (96) weaner rabbits (Chinchilla and New Zealand White crossbred) were used for this study and were divided into forty-eight (48) per generation. These forty-eight weaner rabbits were further divided into four males in three replicates (12) as well as four females in three replicates (12) for cage (24) and also repeated in deep litter system (24). This experiment was carried out in four seasons with seasonal divisions being made according to the climatic conditions prevalent in southwest Nigeria namely early dry season (EDS) from September to November, late dry season (LDS) from December to February, early rainy season (ERS) from March to May and late rainy season (LRS) from June to August. This experiment was carried out for two generations and data obtained were analysed using Analysis of Variance in a 2 x 2 x 2 x 4 factorial arrangement. The study showed that most of the body linear measurements investigated increased significantly in the first than the second generation and during the

The exposure of sheep to elevated ambient temperatures induces an increase in the dissipation of excess body heat, in order to overcome this excessive environmental heat load. Dissipation of excess body heat is emitted by evaporation of water from the respiratory tract and skin surface via panting and sweating.The following heat stress traits were measured; body temperature, rectal temperature, pulse rate and respiratory rate after the sunrise and before the sunset. While blood and serum biochemical indices measured were blood glucose, total serum protein, globulin, cholesterol and triglycerides. No significant relationship(P>0.05) was recorded between heat stress traits and blood biochemical indices studied. However, we observed a positively significant (P

Trypanosomosis remains a major challenge to livestock production in much of tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, while diagnosis and treatment still depend on inefficient parasitological techniques. Endemic infections depend on animal reservoirs with subclinical parasitemia. We report molecular diagnosis of subclinical Trypanosoma vivax (T. vivax) infection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the first time in Nigerian goats and associate parasite presence with gross physiological traits and serum metabolites in extensively managed Nigerian goats. PCR was used to amplify a 400 bp DNA fragment of the parasite genome in 205 goats across three geographical zones of the country. Results showed a high subclinical infection rate (SCIR) of 71.7% in the total goats examined. Overall SCIRs of 71%, 75.9% and 55.6% were recorded in West African Dwarf, Red Sokoto and Sahel goats respectively, while geographical SCIRs were 71.2% (Southwest), 75% (Northwest) and 70% (Northeast). T. vivax presence had significant (P 0.05) effect on respiratory rate and is associated with higher creatinine levels in sera. Logistic regression analyses with Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit showed that respiratory rate is the most important predictive trait for the presence of T. vivax infection (P 0.05). Goats appear to be a viable reservoir for T. vivax infection of other livestock. Molecular diagnosis of subclinical trypanosomosis using PCR could be useful for large scale epidemiological studies, early diagnosis of subclinical infection and treatment of the disease in extensively managed tropical goats.

This study was conducted to investigate milk yield and rectal temperature in West African Dwarf (WAD) goats as affected by wattle and litter size. A total of 28 lactating does were used for the experiment. 13 does had wattle (bilateral) while 15 had no wattle. 14 does had twin birth while the other 14 had single birth. The goats were fed at 5% body weight with combination of concentrate and grass (Panicum maximum and Pennisetum purpureum) in ratio 50:50 twice per day in the morning and evening (zero grazing). The lactating does were hand milked once per day (08.00) and thrice per week for the period of 12 weeks. The goats were housed in cross ventilated pens with slatted floor. Rectal temperature was taken after milking of each animals using digital thermometer. Data collected were analysed using SAS (2010) in a randomized complete block design. The results showed that wattle and litter size had significant effect on milk yield and rectal temperature in WAD goats. Wattled animals produce significantly (P

Este estudio examina la capacidad para distinguir los rasgos morfologicos y de tolerancia al calor en pavos autoctonos, exoticos y cruzados en Nigeria mediante el analisis discriminante multivariado. Un total de 228 pavos de 20 semanas de edad fueron utilizados en el estudio. Los parametros corporales medidos fueron el peso corporal (BW), diametro longitudinal (BL), longitud del tarso (SL), longitud del muslo (TL), longitud de quilla (KL), perimetro toracico (BG), temperatura rectal (RT), frecuencia del pulso (PR), frecuencia respiratoria (FR) y el indice de estres termico (HI). El analisis de la varianza revelo que los pavos exoticos mostraban valores significativamente ( p < 0,05) mayores que los pavos autoctonos de Nigeria y que los cruzados para todos los rasgos morfologicos, con la excepcion de la TL. Sin embargo, los pavos autoctonos y los cruzados parecian tener mas capacidad de adaptacion que los exoticos en base a valores de HI mas bajos. El dimorfismo sexual se observo solo en los caracteres morfologicos, donde los machos presentaron de forma significativa ( p < 0,05) un mayor BW, BL, SL, TL y KL que en las hembras. Sin embargo, el analisis discriminante por pasos revelo que BW, TL y HI, fueron las variables mas discriminantes a la hora de separar los tres grupos geneticos. La mayor distancia de Mahalanobis se observo entre los pavos autoctonos y exoticos (36,68), mientras que la distancia mas corta se registro entre los pavos autoctonos y los cruzados (7,97). El diagrama canonico puso de manifiesto la heterogeneidad de las poblaciones de pavo, agrupando las aves por separado. En el nivel de asignacion mas cercano del analisis discriminante, el 100,00%, el 98,73%y el 96,43%de pavos exoticos, cruzados y autoctonos fueron asignados correctamente en sus grupos de origen genetico. Los presentes hallazgos podrian ayudar a la implementacion de una estrategia de conservacion y mejora de los pavos autoctonos hacia el desarrollo sostenible de los recursos zoogeneticos.

Los recursos ganaderos autoctonos son de caracter estrategico en los aspectos socioeconomicos de los sistemas agricolas para garantizar la seguridad alimentaria en los paises de escasos recursos. Por lo tanto, conocer mejor la importancia de la variabilidad genetica es vital para su futura utilizacion, por medio de la conservacion. Se presenta el primer analisis de la diversidad genetica en ovejas de Nigeria basado en la region de control (D-loop) del Ovis aries del genoma mitocondrial, utilizando 1.179 bases entre las posiciones 15.437 y 16.616 de pares de bases. Una muestra de 290 animales, compuesta por las razas Balami, West African Dwarf (WAD), Uda y Yankasa, fue tomada al azar de toda Nigeria. Se observaron noventa y seis (96) haplotipos, con una alta diversidad media en cuanto a estos de 0,899 ± 0,148. La diversidad genetica fue mayor en la raza Uda (0,921 ± 0,021) y menor en la raza WAD (0,852 ± 0,061). Los indices de poblacion especificos FST variaron de 0.00133 en la raza Uda a 0,00335 en la razaWAD. La raza Yankasa presento el mayor numero de posiciones polimorficas (201), mientras que el menor lo mostro la raza Uda (96). Analisis de la varianza molecular revelo que 0,23% de la variacion se encuentra entre las poblaciones, en comparacion con el 99,77% de variacion que se encuentra dentro de las poblaciones. El arbol filogenetico indica que los linajes mitocondriales de las razas ovinas partieron de un origen comun en conformidad con la primera divergencia de la raza Yankasa, seguida por WAD, mientras que las razas Balami y Uda se encuentran mas estrechamente relacionadas. Estos resultados demuestran que la divergencia evolutiva de las poblaciones ovinas de Nigeria, basados en el ADN mitocondrial de la region control, puede coincidir con la distribucion geografica en Nigeria e indican una tasa importante de cruzamiento entre ellas. Esto podria tener ventajas desde el punto de vista de la gestion de la mejora y las estrategias de conservacion y preservacion a largo plazo de las ovejas autoctonas de Nigeria.

Coat colour contributes to physiological adaptation in mammals and mediates response to thermal stress. Twenty-four adult West African Dwarf sheep of both sexes and with different coat colour types were used in this study. We measured rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and pulse rate (PR) before sunrise and sunset during the late dry season (January–March) and early rainy season (April–June) as well as packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, plasma sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+). Animals with black coat colour had the highest (P

Reduction in livestock productivity from internal parasites remains a major problem including the roundworm Haemonchus contortus. Treatment is rather expensive in most resource poor regions of the world, and the use of genetically resistant genotypes have been advocated. Our preliminary study investigated the association of coat colour types and tolerance to H. contortus infection in West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep. Twenty-four WAD sheep (12 males and 12 females) representing five coat colour types were orally dosed with 1000 H. contortus third-stage infective larvae, and data were collected over a 3-week period on initial and post-infection body weight (IBW and PIBW), packed cell volume (PCV), total serum proteins (TSP), albumin (ALB), globulin (GLB) and faecal egg counts (FEC). Coat colour was significantly associated with tolerance to H. contortus infection (p

The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships between body weight and morpho-structural indices to predict body weight from their orthogonal body shape characters using principal component analysis and to morphologically classify the chicken genotypes using multivariate discriminant analysis. Data used were from 273 randomly selected 12-weeks-old indigenous chickens of normal-feathered (NF), frizzle-feathered (FF), naked-neck (NN) and Anak Titan (AT) genotypes. Phenotypic correlation among body weight and most biometric traits ranged from 0.227-0.876, -0.7-0.901, 0.034-0.968 and -0.207-0.849 for NF, NN and AT chickens, respectively. Factor analysis with varimax rotation of interrelated traits revealed three principal components which accounted for 83.1%, 74.4%, 78.8% and 76.5% of the total variance in NF, FF, NN and AT chickens in the order listed. Breast girth, keel length, thigh length, shank length and wing length were found to be the most discriminating variables to separate the chicken genotypes. The longest distance (72.54) occurred between AT and NF genotypes while the shortest distance (4.27) was recorded for FF and NN genotypes. Classification results showed that 85.2% of AT genotype was correctly classified into their source population. However, 22.7% of NF was misclassified as NN, while 33.3% of NN was misclassified as NF chickens. These results suggest that there is high rate of gene flow between these two indigenous chicken genotypes. Information obtained from this study may be considered useful in breed improvement programmes for selection, characterization, conservation and better management of Nigerian indigenous chickens.

A total of 300 birds consisting of 120 local, 120 crossbred and 60 exotic turkeys were used to compare physiological adaptation of birds raised under the high-heat stress environment of Nigerian tropical humid climate. Genotype significantly (P

To better understand natural genetic variation in indigenous livestock resources, as well as formulate conservation policies, better genetic characterization is required to balance the competing needs of genetic improvement and conservation of native germplasm, primarily in rural agricultural systems in developing countries. Genetic diversity of goats in southern Nigeria was assessed using 295 indigenous goats with ten microsatellite DNA markers. The breeds are West African Dwarf (WAD), Red Sokoto (RS) and Sahel (SA) sampled from farms, market places and rural homesteads. The mean expected heterozygosity (HE) ranged from 0.608 to 0.784 in two sub-populations of WAD goats. Deviations from Hardy�Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) were statistically significant ( p < 0.05) indicating that these populations are under various forces stemming from the management choices of rural dwellers. Polymorphic information content of these markers averaged 0.803 and mean GST index was 0.176. The measure of genetic distance between pairs of breeds indicated that the lowest distance was between WAD and RS (0.268) and the highest distance was between WAD and SA (0.662) goats, respectively. The estimated dendogram clustered these Nigerian goats into nine sub-populations and two major genetic groups. The study suggests that indigenous goat populations in southern Nigeria may be collapsed from three breeds into two distinct genetic groups, possibly due to extensive cross-breeding and gene flow between them, which are symptomatic of uncontrolled crossing across much of the country.

Five thousand one hundred and nineteen chicks were obtained from a diallel combination of four breeds of chickens; (Anak Titan (A), Alpha (B), Giriraja (G) and Normal indigenous (N) chickens) in a broiler improvement program. The chicks were reared to 12 weeks in which data on weekly body weight (BW), breast girth (BG) and tibia length (TL) were recorded. Sire and dam genotype significantly (p

A total of 970 eggs were collected from matings involving three genotypes of Nigerian local chickens (Normal-feathered, Frizzle-feathered and Naked neck) and one exotic broiler breeder strain (Anak Titan) to evaluate the effect of crossbreeding on fertility, hatchability and embryonic mortality. Mating was achieved through artificial insemination. Sire genotype significantly (P

Fueron tomadas muestras de sangre para el analisis proteico en tres variedades de gallinas autoctonas nigerianas (de plumaje normal, de plumaje rizado y de cuello desnudo) y una variedad exotica (Anak Titan). Cada una de estas poblaciones representa un genotipo. Se usaron muestras de sangre de 50 animales por genotipo para valorar la diversidad genetica de las gallinas autoctonas nigerianas. Fueron observados un total de 18 grupos a partir de las cuatro variedades durante la resolucion de la proteina utilizando electroforesis en gel de poliacrilamida con dodecilsulfato sodico (pagina de SDS). El dendograma desarrollado desde los diferentes grupos observados revelo que las variedades se encontraban claramente separadas unas de otras y con una semejanza genetica media entre las cuatro variedades del 55 percent, siendo la variedad de cuello desnudo las mas separada.

Six-hundred-and-seven-day-old chicks were generated from Nigerian local chickens consisting of three genotypes (Normal-feathered; Frizzled-feathered; Naked neck) and an exotic broiler breeder (Anak Titan) to evaluate growth performance for possible meat-type chicken development. Growth parameters measured were body weight, breast girth and keel length on weekly basis for 20 weeks. Effects of sire, dam and chick genotypes were significant (P0.001) on growth traits. At week 20, chickens sired by the Anak Titan weighed 1,614.82 g followed by Normal-feathered local chickens with body weight of 1,211.32 g. Progenies of Anak Titan and Naked neck dams weighed 1,761.96 and 1,292.80 g at week 20, respectively. Among purebreds, Anak Titan weighed 35.05 g at day-old and had heaviest body weight of 2,360.29 g at 20 weeks compared to the three local strains. The average body weights for the crossbred, Normal-feathered × Anak Titan at day-old and week 20 were 36.39 and 1,577.63 g, respectively. This was followed by Anak Titan × Naked neck with 33.32 g at day-old and 1,514.14 g at week 20. Sex had significant effect (P0.05) at weeks 16 and 20 with the males having higher mean values than their female counterparts. This study revealed that crosses involving Anak Titan sire × Naked neck dam had highest growth performance, and there was no strain differences among the growth performance of purebred Nigerian local chickens.

4 Abstract: Three hundred poults consisting of 120 local, 120 local x exotic crossbred and 60 exotic poults were generated from matings between indigenous and exotic turkeys. Feed and water intake, body weight and other linear body measurements were evaluated on weekly basis. These were used to compare the performance of pure and crossbred turkeys raised under natural heat stress environment. Growth parameters studied were significantly affected by turkey genotype (p