D-loop haplotype diversity in Brazilian horse breeds

Abstract The first horses were brought to Brazil by the colonizers after 1534. Over the centuries, these animals evolved and adapted to local environmental conditions usually unsuitable for exotic breeds, thereby originating locally adapted Brazilian breeds. The present work represents the first description of maternal genetic diversity in these horse breeds based on D-loop sequences. A D-Loop HSV-I fragment of 252 bp, from 141 horses belonging to ten Brazilian breeds / genetic groups (locally adapted and specialized breeds) were analysed. Thirty-five different haplotypes belonging to 18 haplogroups were identified with 33 polymorphic sites. Haplotype diversity (varying from 0.20 to 0.96) and nucleotide diversity (varying from 0.0039 to 0.0239) was lower for locally adapted than for specialized breeds, with the same pattern observed for FST values. Haplogroups identified in Brazilian breeds are in agreement with previous findings in South American samples. The low variability observed mainly in locally adapted breeds, indicates that, to ensure conservation of these breeds, careful reproductive management is needed. Additional genetic characterization studies are required to support accurate decision-making.

Distribution of goat breeds in brazil and their relationship with environmental controls / Distribuição de raças de caprinos no brasil e sua relação com controles ambientais

A localização de todos os rebanhos de cabras de raça pura no Brasil foi espacializada de acordo com os controles climáticos (Índice de Temperatura e Umidade, precipitação, topografia, umidade relativa do ar) e controles ambientais (altitude, tipo de pastagem). Os dados foram analisados através de uma análise de regressão, variância, logistica e cluster. Matrizes de distância foram construídas de acordo com a longitude/ latitude e os controles ambientais foram correlacionados por meio do teste de Mantel. O ponto médio para a maioria das raças foi encontrado no estado da Bahia, mas no estado de Pernambuco encontraram-se os pontos médias das raças localmente adaptadas. A Anglonubiana foi a raça comercial com o ponto médio mais ao norte, enquanto as raças Toggenburg, Saanen e Alpina tiveram o ponto médio de produção mais ao sul do país. Houve pouca diferença entre os controles ambientais para as raças localamente adaptadas e comerciais, mas raças dupla aptidão encontraram-se nas regiões com menor precipitação e Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano , mas com as temperaturas e área de mata mais elevadas . As raças comerciais são mais difundidas no Brasil do que raças locais, sendo que as últimas ocorrem um maior risco de extinção devido a doenças, seca ou cruzamento com outras raças.

The localization of all flocks of purebred goats in Brazil was spatialized in ARCGIS along with climatic (THI, precipitation, topography, relative humidity) and physical environmental controls (altitude, pasture type). Data were analysed using analysis of variance, logisitic regression and cluster analyses. Distance matrices were constructed using longitude/latitude and those from environmental controls and these were correlated using Mantel test. Midpoint for most breeds was in Bahia State, but in Pernambuco for locally adapted breeds. The Anglonubian was the commercial breed with the northernmost midpoint. Toggenburg, Saanen and Apline breeds had the southernmost midpoint. There was little difference between environmental controls for locally adapted and commercial breeds, but dual purpose breeds were in regions with lower rainfall and HDI but higher temperatures and shrubland. Commercial herds are more widespread in Brazil than local breeds putting the latter at higher risk of extinction through drought, disease or crossing with other breeds.

Phenotypic characterization of naturalized swine breeds in Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia

Morphometric data was collected on 859 naturalized swine in Brazil (Piau, Tatu, Nilo, Caruncho, Casco de Burro, Moura, Monteiro and Rabo de Peixe), Colombia (Criolla Zungo, Sanpedreño and Casco de Mula) and Uruguay (Mamellado), both on farm and in published material. Information was collected on breed, sex and age, as well as various morphometric measurements. Analysis of variance was carried out using PROC MIXED of SAS ® on phenotypic data. The coefficients of variance varied between 11.50 and 83.81 percent, and the coefficient of determination was medium to high. Females were in general smaller for most measurements than males, showing sexual dimorphism. The Moura was the closest naturalized breed to the commercial breeds, followed by the Piau, while the Monteiro was the furtherest. The dendrogram obtained from morphological information showed a division of the pigs into three groups. Characterization was possible using morphological and morphometric data.

Foram colhidos dados morfométricos de 859 suínos naturalizados do Brasil (Piau, Tatu, Nilo, Caruncho, Casco de Burro, Moura, Monteiro e Rabo de Peixe), Colômbia (Criolla Zungo, Sanpedreño e Casco de Mula) e Uruguai (Mamellado) Dados sobre raça, sexo e idade foram coletados, assim como varias avaliações morfométricas. A análise de variância foi realizada utilizando-se o procedimento PROC GLM do SAS sobre os dados morfométricos. Os coeficientes de variância oscilaram de 11,50 a 83,81 por cento e o coeficiente de determinação foi de moderado a alto. As fêmeas foram em geral menores na maioria das avaliações em relação aos machos, indicando dimorfismo sexual. A Moura foi a raça naturalizada mais próxima das raças comerciais, seguida da Piau, enquanto a Monteiro apresentou-se mais distante. O dendograma obtido a partir de informações morfológicas apresentou divisão dentro de três grupos. A caracterização foi possível utilizando-se dados morfológicos e morfométricos.

Aromatase gene and its effects on growth, reproductive and maternal ability traits in a multibreed sheep population from Brazil

We determined the polymorphism C242T of the aromatase gene (Cyp19) and its allelic frequency, as well as the effect of the variants on productive and reproductive traits in 71 purebred Santa Inês sheep, 13 purebred Brazilian Somali sheep, nine purebred Poll Dorset sheep, and 18 crossbred 1/2 Dorper sheep. The animals were genotyped using the PCR-RFLP technique. The influence of the animal's genotype on its performance or on the performance of its lambs was analyzed by the least square method. Another factor assessed was the importance of the animal's genotype in analysis models for quantitative breeding value estimates, and whether there were differences among the averages of breeding values of animals with different genotypes for this gene. In the sample studied, no AA individuals were observed; the AB and BB frequencies were 0.64 and 0.36, respectively. All Brazilian Somali sheep were of genotype BB. All 1/2 Dorper BB animals presented a lower age at first lambing, and the Santa Inês BB ewes presented a lower lambing interval. In these same genetic groups, AB ewes presented higher litter weight at weaning. This is evidence that BB ewes have a better reproductive performance phenotype, whereas AB ewes present a better maternal ability phenotype. However, in general, animals with genotype AB presented better average breeding values than those with genotype BB.

Genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population

The genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population were estimated by applying the Average Information Restricted Maximum Likelihood method to an animal model. Data from a flock supported by the Programa de Melhoramento Genético de Caprinos e Ovinos de Corte (GENECOC) were used. The traits studied included birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), slaughter weight (SW), yearling weight (YW), weight gain from birth to weaning (GBW), weight gain from weaning to slaughter (GWS), weight gain from weaning to yearling (GWY), age at first lambing (AFL), lambing interval (LI), gestation length (GL), lambing date (LD - number of days between the start of breeding season and lambing), litter weight at birth (LWB) and litter weight at weaning (LWW). The direct heritabilities were 0.35, 0.81, 0.65, 0.49, 0.20, 0.15 and 0.39 for BW, WW, SW, YW, GBW, GWS and GWY, respectively, and 0.04, 0.06, 0.10, 0.05, 0.15 and 0.11 for AFL, LI, GL, LD, LWB and LWW, respectively. Positive genetic correlations were observed among body weights. In contrast, there was a negative genetic correlation between GBW and GWS (-0.49) and GBW and GWY (-0.56). Positive genetic correlations were observed between AFL and LI, LI and GL, and LWB and LWW. These results indicate a strong maternal influence in this herd and the presence of sufficient genetic variation to allow mass selection for growth traits. Additive effects were of little importance for reproductive traits, and other strategies are necessary to improve the performance of these animals.

Association between G316A growth hormone polymorphism and economic traits in pigs

The association between G316A growth hormone polymorphism and quantitative traits was investigated in an F2 population of pigs. Association analyses were performed using a statistical model that included genotype, sex, batch and sex by genotype interaction as fixed effects and sire as random effect. The polymorphism was associated with the number of right teats (p = 0.03), heart weight (p = 0.04), lung weight (p = 0.05), carcass length determined by the Brazilian carcass classification method (p = 0.04), picnic shoulder weight (p = 0.07), jowl weight (p = 0.01), pH 24 h after slaughtering (p = 0.03) and drip loss (p = 0.01). Interaction between genotype and sex was observed for six performance traits. The additive effect was significant (p < 0.10) for heart weight, jowl weight and pH 24 h after slaughtering. The effect of dominance was significant (p < 0.05) for number of right teats, heart weight, carcass length, picnic shoulder weight and pH 24 h after slaughtering. This study shows that the growth hormone gene is a potential candidate for investigating the phenotypic variation of quantitative traits in pigs, and suggests its possible application in breeding programs.

Análise morfométrica de populações do caranguejo-uçá(Ucides Cordatus L. (Crustacea – Decapoda) em manguezais do litoral do Espírito Santo / Morphometric analysis of mangrove crab (Ucides Cordatus L. ) ( Crustacea –Decapoda) populations in Espírito Santo mangroves coastline

O caranguejo-uçá (Ucides cordatus) é um crustáceo (Decápoda: Brachyura) de grande valor cultural, biológico e comercial em todo Espírito Santo. Contudo, ainda há uma grande lacuna de conhecimentos acerca de sua biologia. Com o intuito de minimizar essa carência, o presente trabalho realizou um estudo sobre a caracterização morfológica de três populações do caranguejo-uçá (Ucides cordatus L.) em manguezais do Espírito Santo. Foram analisadas quatro características morfométricas em 172 indivíduos machos, coletados nas cidades de São Mateus (N=62), Vitória (N=60) e Anchieta (50). Foi observada diferença significativa entre as três populações (p<0,01) por meio de uma Análise de Variância Multivariada. O maior grau de similaridade foi encontrado entre as populações de São Mateus (Norte) e Anchieta (Sul), de modo que a população de Vitória (Centro) foi agrupada separadamente, evidenciando-se divergência entre essa população e as demais. Os resultados sugerem pressões de seleção diferentes nas populações do interior em relação à população da capital, o que pode estar relacionado a uma maior ação antrópica nas populações da capital.