Morphometric and physical characteristics of Indonesian beef cattle.

To assess their potential for beef production, this study describes the morphometrics, physical traits, and body weight of 1034 Indonesian beef cattle from eight breeds, namely Bali, Rambon, Madura, Ongole Grade, Kebumen Ongole Grade, Sasra, Jabres, and Pasundan. An analysis of variance in addition to cluster, Euclidean distance, dendrogram, discriminant function, stepwise linear regression, and morphological index analyses were performed to describe the differences in traits among breeds. The morphometric proximity analysis revealed two distinct clusters with a common ancestor, where the first cluster included Jabres, Pasundan, Rambon, Bali, and Madura cattle and the second included Ongole Grade, Kebumen Ongole Grade, and Sasra cattle, with an average suitability value of 93.20 %. This showed that the classification and validation methods can be used to distinguish breeds. The most important factor in estimating body weight was the heart girth circumference. Ongole Grade cattle had the highest cumulative index, followed by Sasra, Kebumen Ongole Grade, Rambon, and Bali cattle. A cumulative index value >3 can be used as a threshold for determining the type and function of beef cattle.

Comparison of growth curve models for Ongole Grade cattle.

Growth curves are important for understanding the growth phase and specific characteristics of farm animals. This study evaluated growth curve models to predict the age at puberty and growth rate of Ongole Grade cattle. The study used the weights of cattle from birth to 5 years old in 2011 to 2019 obtained from the Beef Cattle Research Station. The data were analyzed using four non-linear growth curve models: Brody, von Bertalanffy, logistic, and Gompertz. The coefficients of determination (R2) of the growth equation for the respective models were in the high range. The lowest Akaike's information criterion (AIC) value for males and females was obtained by the Brody and logistic models, respectively. Males with the von Bertalanffy, logistic, and Gompertz models had an estimated age and body weight at puberty of 12.56 months and 198.93 kg, 21.46 months and 298.43 kg, and 15.71 months and 235.49 kg, respectively, while females had an estimated age and body weight of 11.79 months and 166.44 kg, 13.94 months and 164.08 kg, and 11.76 months and 169.57 kg, respectively. The Brody function best fit the growth rate and exhibited the smallest mean deviation.

An insight into the evolutionary history of Indonesian cattle assessed by whole genome data analysis.

The domestication of Indonesian cattle was investigated through a study of their genetic diversity, up to the genome level. Little documentation exists regarding the history of domestication of Indonesian cattle and questions remain despite a growing body of molecular evidence. In this study, we genotyped seven Indonesian cattle breeds using an Illumina BovineSNP50 Bead Chip to provide insight into their domestication and demographic history in a worldwide population context. Our analyses indicated the presence of hybrid cattle, with Bos javanicus and Bos indicus ancestries being most prevalent, as well as purebred cattle. We revealed that all the breeds were interconnected through several migration events. However, their demographic status varied widely. Although almost all the Indonesian cattle had an effective population size higher than the minimum level required to ensure breed fitness, efforts are still needed to maintain their genetic variability and purity.