Coat Color in Local Goats: Influence on Environmental Adaptation and Productivity, and Use as a Selection Criterion.

This paper aims to review, systematically synthesize, and analyze fragmented information about the importance of coat color in local goats and its relationship with productivity and other important traits. Topics on current research on color expression are addressed, the relationship that has as a mechanism of environmental adaptation, its relationship with the production of meat, milk, and derivates, and the economic value of this characteristic. The use of this attribute as a tool to establish selection criteria in breeding programs based on results reported in the scientific literature is significant, particularly for low-income production systems, where the implementation of classic genetic improvement schemes is limited due to the lack of productive information, which is distinctive of extensive marginal or low scaled production systems around the world.

Effect of Supranutritional Dosage Selenium in Neonatal Goat Kids on Productive Performance, Physicochemical Profiles in Meat, Selenium Levels in Tissues, and Histopathological Findings.

Selenium (Se) is an essential element and antioxidant that catalyzes the destruction of hydrogen peroxide formed during cellular oxidative metabolism. Doses of Se as selenomethionine (SeMe) by oral route are 0.1-0.3 mgSe/kg DM, while the dose by parenteral route with sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) is 0.1 mgSe/BW. The effects of supranutritional Se supplementation on normal kids have rarely been studied. The objective of the study was to evaluate both Se sources on growth performance, Se in tissues, histopathological findings, and meat characteristics. Forty-five kids of the Pastoreña breed with 25-day age were distributed (4.7 ± 1.13 kg) in three treatments: a) control group, C: consumption with goat milk (GM: containing 0.135 mgSe/g); b) NaSe: GM plus Na2SeO3 injectable, 0.25 mgSe/kg BW; c) SeMe: GM plus oral dosage, 0.3 mgSe as SeMe daily. Fifteen animals per treatment were slaughtered at 7, 14, and 21 days. Feed conversion improved (P < 0.05) with Se supplement (P < 0.05) at 7 and 14 days. SeMe had higher protein and fat meat content (P < 0.05). SeMe increased Se liver at 14 and 21 days. NaSe and SeMe had higher (P < 0.05) levels of Se kidney. SeMe-21d showed 42% mononuclear and periportal cell infiltration lesions. In conclusion, Se administered through milk in goat kids was insufficient to prevent nutritional muscular dystrophy. The supranutritional dose of 0.25 mg/kg as NaSe was sufficient to maintain the Se level in tissues. SeMe increased Se liver and kidney efficiently. Both Se sources improved the bioavailability of the mineral in kids.

Phenotypic, Anatomical, and Diel Variation in Sugar Concentration Linked to Cell Wall Invertases in Common Bean Pod Racemes under Water Restriction.

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) pod wall is essential for seed formation and to protect seeds. To address the effect of water restriction on sugar metabolism in fruits differing in sink strength under light-dark cycles, we used plants of cv. OTI at 100% field capacity (FC) and at 50% FC over 10 days at the beginning of pod filling. Water restriction intensified the symptoms of leaf senescence. However, pods maintained a green color for several days longer than leaves did. In addition, the functionality of pods of the same raceme was anatomically demonstrated, and no differences were observed between water regimes. The glucose and starch concentrations were lower than those of sucrose, independent of pod wall size. Remarkably, the fructose concentration decreased only under water restriction. The cell wall invertase activity was twofold higher in the walls of small pods than in those of large ones in both water regimes; similar differences were not evident for cytosolic or vacuolar invertase. Using bioinformatics tools, six sequences of invertase genes were identified in the P. vulgaris genome. The PvINVCW4 protein sequence contains substitutions for conserved residues in the sucrose-binding site, while qPCR showed that transcript levels were induced in the walls of small pods under stress. The findings support a promising strategy for addressing sink strength under water restriction.

Genetic Diversity of Creole Sheep Managed by Indigenous Communities of the Central Region of Veracruz, Mexico.

In the indigenous communities of central Veracruz, herds of creole sheep have been established and managed through traditional practices of crossing, but their genetic characteristics have never been examined in order to evaluate their state of endogamy, and to help the management programs to protect this genetic resource. The objective of the present study was to characterize the genetic diversity of three populations of creole sheep managed by indigenous communities in the central region of Veracruz, Mexico. Indigenous family producers of creole sheep were located and blood samples taken from 90 individual sheep from the municipalities of Tehuipango, Astacinga and Tlaquilpa, Veracruz. In the laboratory, the genomic DNA was extracted and genetic diversity characterized using four microsatellites (ILSTS11, ILSTS5, SRCRSP9 and OarFCB128) amplified by PCR and visualized on polyacrylamide gels. The four microsatellites were highly informative (PIC = 85%) and presented values of 0.6 to 0.81 of heterozygosity, with an average number of 16 alleles. According to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium model, three of the loci were not significant (p < 0.05), presumably this means that they do not deviate significantly from H-W predictions and there was slight genetic differentiation (FST = 0.025), along with a slight decrease in homozygotes (FIS = -0.021). According to the analysis of variance, 99% of the total variation was hosted at the individual level. It is concluded that the three creole sheep populations still present genetic diversity at the four loci and non-random pairings have occurred.

Análisis de la composición corporal mediante impedancia bioeléctrica octopolar en pacientes hospitalizados en Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Estudio piloto / Body composition by octopolar bioelectrical impedance in hospitalized patients in Bogotá D.C., Colombia: Pilot study

Resumen Introducción. El uso de métodos confiables contribuye a diagnosticar de forma precisa el estado nutricional de individuos hospitalizados y, de esta manera, orientar el tratamiento nutricional. Objetivo. Describir la composición corporal mediante impedancia bioeléctrica (BIA) octopolar en pacientes hospitalizados en el Hospital Universitario Clínica San Rafael de Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Materiales y métodos. Estudio piloto de corte transversal. Se obtuvo información sociodemográfica, clínica y antropométrica. La composición corporal fue determinada con equipo portátil de BIA tipo SECA mBCA 514. La información fue analizada a través de medidas de tendencia central y dispersión, y frecuencias absolutas y relativas. Resultados. Se incluyeron 44 pacientes del servicio de hospitalización. Según el índice de masa corporal, hubo mayor proporción de pacientes con preobesidad (46.5%). En el grupo de mujeres se observó mayor cantidad de masa grasa y porcentaje de grasa estadísticamente significativa (p<0.028), a diferencia de la masa grasa visceral que fue significativamente mayor en los hombres (p<0.000). El ángulo de fase fue mayor en hombres que en mujeres (media 5.4° vs. 4.9°). Conclusión. El contenido de la masa músculoesquelética estuvo por debajo de los valores de referencia, lo cual se podría relacionar con desenlaces clínicos no favorables como aumento en la estancia hospitalaria y desarrollo de complicaciones, tanto infecciosas como no infecciosas.

Abstract Introduction: The use of reliable methods contributes to diagnosing the nutritional status of hospitalized individuals accurately and, consequently, guiding nutritional management. Objective: To describe body composition using octopolar bioelectrical impedance (BIA) in patients hospitalized at Hospital Universitario Clínica San Rafael in Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional pilot study. Sociodemographic, clinical and anthropometric information was collected. Body composition was measured using the BIA seca mBCA 514 portable equipment. The information was analyzed through measures of central tendency and dispersion, as well as absolute and relative frequencies. Results: A total of 44 hospitalized patients were included in the study. According to the body mass index, there was a higher proportion of patients with preobesity (46.5%). In the women's group, a greater amount of fat mass and percentage of statistically significant fat (p<0.028) were observed, in contrast to visceral fat mass, which was significantly higher in men (p<0.000). The phase angle was greater in men than in women (mean 5.4° vs. 4.9°). Conclusion: The content of the skeletal muscle mass was below the reference values, which could be related to unfavorable clinical outcomes such as longer hospital stays and the development of medical complications, both infectious and noninfectious.

Seed development and inheritance studies in apomictic maize-Tripsacum hybrids reveal barriers for the transfer of apomixis into sexual crops.

Apomixis in plants covers a variety of cloning systems through seeds of great potential for plant breeding. Among long-standing approaches for crop improvement is the attempt to exploit wild relatives as natural, vast reservoirs for novel genetic variation. With regard to apomixis, maize possesses an apomictic wild relative, Tripsacum, which we used to produce advanced maize-Tripsacum hybrid generations. However, introgression of apomixis in maize has failed so far. In order to understand the hows and whys, we undertook characterization of seed development and inheritance studies in these materials. We show that apomictic seeds suffer from epigenetic loads. Both seed tissues, the endosperm and the embryo, displayed developmental defects resulting from imbalanced parental genomic contributions and aberrant methylation patterns, respectively. Progeny characterization of several maize-Tripsacum hybrid generations allowed significant progress toward the unraveling of the genetics of apomixis. First, chromosome deletion mapping showed that expression of apomixis requires one single Tripsacum chromosome. However, inheritance studies revealed that female gametes inheriting this segment were unequivalent carriers depending on their origin: unreduced gametes transmit a functional segment, whereas progeny derived from reduced ones reproduced sexually. Finally, chromosomal or genomic dosage variation barely affected the apomictic phenotype suggesting no dependency for ploidy in these materials. We conclude that epigenetic information imposes constraints for apomictic seed development and seems pivotal for transgenerational propagation of apomixis. The nature of the triggering mechanisms remains unknown as-yet, but it certainly explains the modest success relative to the development of apomictic maize thus far.