Polymorphism detection of DGAT1 and Lep genes in Anatolian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) populations in Turkey.

Acyl-CoA: diacylglycerol-acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) enzyme plays a key role in controlling the synthesis rate triglyceride from diacylglycerol. Leptin (LP, OB, obese) is an important hormone that synthesizes mostly from adipose tissue and regulates glucose metabolism and homeostasis. DGAT1 and Lep genes are closely related to reproduction, growth, milk yield and composition in water buffalo breeds. This study aimed to identify genetic variation in the DGAT1 and Lep gene regions in 150 water buffalo individuals from five different provinces of Turkey using DNA sequencing. A total of 38 nucleotide variations and indels have identified 761 bp long partial intron 2 and exon 3 and 5 ' UTR regions of the Lep gene in Anatolian water buffalo populations; 422 bp long partial exon 7-9 and exon 8 regions of DGAT1 gene were amplified and two mutations were defined in the point of 155 and 275 nucleotide that is three genotypes for S allele and Y allele of DGAT1 gene in intron 7 in Anatolian buffalo populations, respectively. These SNPs may have an effect on reproduction, growth, milk yield and composition in water buffalo populations and may prove to be useful for water buffalo breeding.

Effect of Different Kefir Source on Fermentation, Aerobic Stability, and Microbial Community of Alfalfa Silage.

The present study has been one of the first attempts to thoroughly examine the effects of different kefir sources on fermentation characteristics, aerobic stability, and microbial communities of alfalfa silages. The effects of commercial kefir (CK) and homemade kefir culture (HK) applied with untreated a common control (CON) and three different application doses (5.0, 5.7, and 6.0 log cfu g-1) on wilted alfalfa and stored at an ambient temperature of 25-30 °C are studied. After 45 days of ensiling, fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability of silages were measured, and bacterial diversity was investigated by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing using the GenomeLab™ GeXP platform. Both CK and HK accelerate more lactic acid production and reduced ammonia nitrogen concentration. Factor analysis of kefir sources suggests that the addition of kefir improves the aerobic stability of silages, even the initial water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content is inadequate via its antimicrobial effect on yeast and mold formation. Enterococcus faecium, Pediococcus pentosaceous and Lactobacillus brevis were dominant bacterial species among the treated groups at silo opening, while Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis became dominant bacterial species after 7 days of aerobic exposure. In conclusion, the application of kefir on alfalfa silages improves fermentation quality and aerobic stability even with low WSC content.

Phylogenetic Relationships of Turkish Indigenous Donkey Populations Determined by Mitochondrial DNA D-loop Region.

In this study, to analyze the mtDNA D-loop region and the origin of the maternal lineages of 16 different donkey populations, and to assess the domestication of Turkish indigenous donkeys in seven geographical regions, we investigated the DNA sequences of the D-loop region of 315 indigenous donkeys from Turkey. A total of 54 haplotypes, resulting from 35 polymorphic regions (27 parsimoniously informative and 6 singleton sites), were defined. Twenty-eight of these haplotypes are unique (51.85%), and 26 are shared among different Turkish indigenous donkey populations. The most frequent haplotype was Hap 1 (45.71%), followed by two haplotypes (Hap 4, 15.55% and Hap 7, 5.39%). The breed genetic diversity, evaluated by the haplotype diversity (HD) and nucleotide diversity (πD), for the Turkish donkey populations ranged from 0.533 ± 0.180 (Tekirdag-Malkara, MAL) to 0.933 ± 0.122 (Aydin, AYD), and from 0.01196 ± 0.0026 (Antalya, ANT) to 0.02101 ± 0.0041 (Aydin, AYD), respectively. We observed moderate-to-high levels of haplotype diversity and moderate nucleotide diversity, indicating plentiful genetic diversity in all of the Turkish indigenous donkey populations. Phylogenetic analysis (NJT) and median-joining network analysis established that all haplotypes were distinctly grouped into two major haplogroups. The results of AMOVA analyses, based on geographic structuring of Turkish native donkey populations, highlighted that the majority of the observed variance is due to differences among samples within populations. The observed differences between groups were found to be statistically significant. Comparison among Turkish indigenous donkey mtDNA D-loop regions and haplotypes, and different countries' donkey breeds and wild asses, identified two clades and which is named Somali (Clade IV) and Nubian (Clade V) lineages. The results can be used to understand the origin of Turkish donkey populations clearly, and to resolve the phylogenetic relationship among all of the different regions.