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Introduction: Body measurement traits are integral in cattle production, serving as pivotal criteria for breeding selection. Wenshan cattle, a local breed in China’s Yunnan province, exhibit remarkable genetic diversity. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating body measurement traits in Wenshan cattle remain unexplored.Methods: In this study, we performed a genome-wide association method to identify genetic architecture for body height body length hip height back height (BAH), waist height and ischial tuberosity height using the Bovine 50 K single nucleotide polymorphism Array in 1060 Wenshan cattles.Results: This analysis reveals 8 significant SNPs identified through the mixed linear model (MLM), with 6 SNPs are associated with multiple traits and 4 SNPs are associated with all 6 traits. Furthermore, we pinpoint 21 candidate genes located in proximity to or within these significant SNPs. Among them, Scarb1, acetoacetyl-CoA synthetase and HIVEP3 were implicated in bone formation and rarely encountered in livestock body measurement traits, emerge as potential candidate genes regulating body measurement traits in Wenshan cattle.Discussion: This investigation provides valuable insights into the genetic mechanisms underpinning body measurement traits in this unique cattle breed, paving the way for further research in this domain.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal disease in cattle caused by misfolded prion proteins and linked to indel polymorphisms in the promoter and intron 1 of the PRNP gene. The aim of this study was to determine the allele, genotype, and haplotype frequencies of PRNP indel polymorphisms and to investigate the effect of PRNP gene expressions of 23 bp and 12 bp indels via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in Zhongdian Yak (Bos-grunniens) (YK), Zhongdian Yellow cattle (Bos-taurus) (YC), and Zhongdian Yakow (Bos-primigenius taurus × Bos-grunniens) (PK). Resultant high allelic frequencies were found in 23− and 12+, while haplotype frequencies were very low in 23+/12 in YK, YC, and PK. PRNP expression was higher in the +−/−− diplotype of the PK and (mean ± SE) was 3.6578 ± 1.85964. Furthermore, two variable sites were investigated—a 23 bp indel polymorphism holding AP1 binding site and a 12 bp indel polymorphism holding SP1 binding site. Additionally, reporter gene assays revealed a link between two proposed transcription factors and lower expression levels of the +/+ allele compared with the −/− allele. The expression level of PRNP was shown to be dependent on two indel polymorphisms in the bovine PRNP promoter, which includes binding sites for RP58 and SP1 transcription factors. These findings raised the possibility that the PRNP genotype may contribute to the high variation in PRNP expression.

This study was conducted to evaluate the influences of supplementing Ampelopsis grossedentata flavonoids (AGF) on the rumen bacterial microbiome, plasma physiology and biochemistry, and growth performance of goats. Twenty-four Nubian kids were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments: the control (CON, basal diet), the 1.0 g/kg AGF treatment (AGF), and the 12.5 mg/kg monensin treatment (MN). This trial consisted of 10 days for adaptation and 90 days for data and sample collection. The results reveal that Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria are the dominant phyla in kids’ rumen. Compared with the CON group, the alpha diversity in the MN and AGF groups significantly increased (p < 0.01). Beta-diversity shows that rumen microbial composition is more similar in the MN and AGF groups. LEfSe analysis shows that Prevotella_1 in the AGF group were significantly higher than those in the MN and CON group. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glucose levels in the AGF group were significantly higher than those in the CON group (p < 0.05), whereas the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, and alkaline phosphatase levels exhibited the opposite trend. The average daily gains in the AGF and MN groups significantly increased, while the feed-to-gain ratios were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The results suggest that adding AGF to the diet improves microbial composition and has important implications for studying juvenile livestock growth and improving economic benefits.