Evaluation of basic and alternative breeding programs for Sahiwal cattle genetic resources in Kenya

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 682 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. D. Ilatsia ◽  
R. Roessler ◽  
A. K. Kahi ◽  
H.-P. Piepho ◽  
A. Valle Zárate
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Weight Basis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Breeding Program ◽  
Breeding Strategies ◽  
Nucleus Size ◽  
East African ◽  
Cattle Breeding ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Sahiwal Cattle

The Sahiwal cattle breeding program in Kenya has been operational on an interim basis for over 45 years. However, there have been no systematic efforts undertaken to evaluate its suitability, or to examine how competitive it is compared with other alternative programs in terms of genetic and economic merit. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the genetic and economic success of the current basic and alternative Sahiwal cattle breeding programs in Kenya. The breeding programs examined were the current closed nucleus with two breeding strategies: a purebreeding (CNPURE) and a crossbreeding system (CNCROSS) involving Sahiwal sires and East African Zebu dams. An open nucleus with a certain proportion of pastoral-born Sahiwal bulls introduced into the nucleus herds to produce cows was simulated as an alternative breeding program. In this program only a purebreeding strategy (ONPURE) was considered. The breeding strategies were evaluated under two breeding objective scenarios that addressed traditional markets where animals are sold on body size/weight basis and the Kenya Meat Commission where payment is based on carcass characteristics. Sensitivity analyses to changes in nucleus size and gene contribution were also performed. The annual monetary genetic gain and profit per cow for all investigated breeding programs varied within breeding objectives. Closed nucleus purebreeding program was the most attractive economically but less competitive in regard to genetic superiority compared with either CNCROSS or ONPURE. Returns and profits were generally higher for the carcass characteristic basis compared with the body size/weight basis for all evaluated breeding strategies. Expansion of the nucleus size was not attractive because of the associated reduction in genetic and economic benefits. However, gradual importation of pastoral-born sires into the nucleus farms at the current nucleus proportion of 14% was both genetically and economically beneficial. The CNCROSS plays a complimentary role of facilitating the exploitation of trade-offs that exist between the Sahiwal and the locally better adapted East African Zebu, it also represents an intermediate phase in the on-going upgrading program.

scholarly journals DNA Profiling, Pedigree Lineage Analysis and Monitoring in the Australian Breeding Program of Radiata Pine

2004 ◽  
Vol 53 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 130-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Bell ◽  
M. Powell ◽  
M. E. Devey ◽  
G. F. Moran
Keyword(s):  
Microsatellite Loci ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Radiata Pine ◽  
Breeding Program ◽  
Breeding Strategies ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Dna Profile ◽  
First And Second Generation ◽  
Dna Profiles ◽  
Lineage Analysis

Abstract Ten microsatellite loci were used to DNA profile 215 first and second generation breeding clones in the Australian radiata pine breeding program. The clones were essentially unique from one another and these DNA profiles were used to examine the sexual and asexual phases in the breeding program. Only 2.6% of ramets from 25 breeding clones were incorrect whereas 8.4% of progeny from 10 families were genetically incorrect. The lineages of second generation clones were checked for DNA profiles that were available for putative parents. Some parents appear to be incorrect on the basis of the DNA profiles and further sampling will be required to confirm these results across the breeding program. Microsatellite markers can now enable most questions to be resolved in breeding programs and also will allow novel breeding strategies to be used in the future.

Respiratory strategy is a major determinant of [3H]water and [14C]chlorpyrifos uptake in aquatic insects

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 1315-1322 ◽  
Author(s):  
D B Buchwalter ◽  
J J Jenkins ◽  
L R Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Aquatic Insects ◽  
Ecosystem Health ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Fluorescent Dye ◽  
Weight Basis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystem ◽  
Uptake Rates ◽  
Highly Correlated

Despite the extensive use of aquatic insects to evaluate freshwater ecosystem health, little is known about the underlying factors that result in sensitivity differences between taxa. Organismal characteristics (respiratory strategy and body size) were used to explore the rates of [3H]H2O and [14C]chlorpyrifos accumulation in aquatic insects. Ten aquatic insect taxa, including ephemeropteran, trichopteran, dipteran, hemipteran, and coleopteran species, were exposed to [14C]chlorpyrifos (240 ng·L–1) and [3H]H2O for up to 12 h. Because exchange epithelial surfaces on the integument are permeable to water, [3H]H2O was used as a quantitative surrogate for exposed cellular surface area. [14C]Chlorpyrifos uptake rates were highly correlated with water permeability in all 10 taxa tested and largely covaried with body size and respiratory strategy. Rates were highest among smaller organisms on a per-weight basis and in taxa with relatively large external cellular surfaces such as gills. Air-breathing taxa were significantly less permeable to both [3H]H20 and [14C]chlorpyrifos. A method for labeling exposed epithelial surfaces with a fluorescent dye was developed. This technique allowed discrimination between exchange epithelium and barrier tissue on the integument. Fluorescent dye distributions on the body surface provided a rapid method for estimating exposed epithelium consistent with [3H]H20 and [14C]chlorpyrifos accumulation.

Matoa (Pometia Pinata Foster): Local Fruit Papua and Strategy Development

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julius D. Nugroho
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Fruit Tree ◽  
Breeding Program ◽  
Strategy Development ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Irian Jaya ◽  
Forest Exploitation ◽  
Program Strategy

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> <w:UseFELayout /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <mce:style><! /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} --> <!--[endif]--> <p class="Style2" style="text-indent: 0cm;">Matoa (<em>Pometia pinnata</em>) is a local fruit of<span>&nbsp; </span>Papua (formerly called Irian Jaya) which has high potensial to develop as comercial fruit. Highly significant genetic resources of matoa potentially for breeding program in Papua are being threatened as a result of cutting down trees for fruit harvesting and of forest exploitation for timber. Besides the loss of genetic resources facing now, other major problems should be consider for conservation and domestication of this fruit tree species i.e. lack of silviculture and agronomy knowledge for further breeding programs; matoa production only for local market; and inadequate government policy for matoa breeding program. Strategy developed for matoa conservation and domestication should also concern about time limited due to the fast loss of genetic poll. This paper provides a general overview of strategy for conservation and domestication of <em>Pometia pinnata</em> with special reference to Papua.</p>

The Body Size of Headstarted and Wild Juvenile European Pond Turtles (Emys orbicularis)

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Sławomir Mitrus ◽  
Bartłomiej Najbar ◽  
Adam Kotowicz ◽  
Anna Najbar
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
Emys Orbicularis

scholarly journals A Novel 13 bp Deletion within the NR6A1 Gene Is Significantly Associated with Growth Traits in Donkeys

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiya Fang ◽  
Zhenyu Lai ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
Chunlan Zhang ◽  
Shipeng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Receptor ◽  
Growth Traits ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
The Body ◽  
Economic Traits ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Intron 1 ◽  
Group A ◽  
Nuclear Receptor Family

Nuclear receptor subfamily 6, group A, member 1 (NR6A1), as an important member of the nuclear receptor family, plays an important role in regulating growth, metabolism, and differentiation of embryonic stem cells. For this reason, the NR6A1 gene is considered to be a promising candidate for economic traits and was found to be associated with body size traits in many livestock. However, no studies have been conducted on NR6A1 in donkeys so far. Thus, in this research, we focused on donkeys and identified a 13 bp deletion in intron-1 of the NR6A1 gene among 408 individuals from Guanzhong and Dezhou donkeys using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Three genotypes were identified, namely II, ID, and DD. The association analysis indicated that the body lengths and body heights5f genotype II individuals were significantly different to those of genotype ID in Dezhou donkeys. Conclusively, the 13 bp deletion was associated with growth traits in both Guanzhong donkeys and Dezhou donkeys, indicating that the NR6A1 gene could be a possible candidate gene in marker-assisted selection for donkey breeding programs.

scholarly journals First record of Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Gervais, 1850) from Ukraine on the background of the European occurrence of the species

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Marciszak ◽  
Yuriy Semenov ◽  
Piotr Portnicki ◽  
Tamara Derkach
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
First Record ◽  
The Body ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Eastern Asia ◽  
South Eastern

AbstractCranial material ofPachycrocuta brevirostrisfrom the late Early Pleistocene site of Nogaisk is the first record of this species in Ukraine. This large hyena was a representative of the Tamanian faunal complex and a single specialised scavenger in these faunas. The revisited European records list ofP.brevirostrisdocumented the presence of this species in 101 sites, dated in the range of 3.5–0.4 Ma. This species first disappeared in Africa, survived in Europe until ca. 0.8–0.7 Ma, and its last, relict occurrence was known from south-eastern Asia. The main reason of extinction ofP.brevirostrisprobably was the competition withCrocuta crocuta. The cave hyena was smaller, but its teeth were proportionally larger to the body size, better adapted to crushing bones and slicing meat, and could also hunt united in larger groups.

scholarly journals Convolutional Neural Networks to Estimate Dry Matter Yield in a Guineagrass Breeding Program Using UAV Remote Sensing

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 3971
Author(s):  
Gabriel Silva de Oliveira ◽  
José Marcato Junior ◽  
Caio Polidoro ◽  
Lucas Prado Osco ◽  
Henrique Siqueira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Breeding Program ◽  
Yield Traits ◽  
Dry Matter Yield ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Ground Truth Data

Forage dry matter is the main source of nutrients in the diet of ruminant animals. Thus, this trait is evaluated in most forage breeding programs with the objective of increasing the yield. Novel solutions combining unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and computer vision are crucial to increase the efficiency of forage breeding programs, to support high-throughput phenotyping (HTP), aiming to estimate parameters correlated to important traits. The main goal of this study was to propose a convolutional neural network (CNN) approach using UAV-RGB imagery to estimate dry matter yield traits in a guineagrass breeding program. For this, an experiment composed of 330 plots of full-sib families and checks conducted at Embrapa Beef Cattle, Brazil, was used. The image dataset was composed of images obtained with an RGB sensor embedded in a Phantom 4 PRO. The traits leaf dry matter yield (LDMY) and total dry matter yield (TDMY) were obtained by conventional agronomic methodology and considered as the ground-truth data. Different CNN architectures were analyzed, such as AlexNet, ResNeXt50, DarkNet53, and two networks proposed recently for related tasks named MaCNN and LF-CNN. Pretrained AlexNet and ResNeXt50 architectures were also studied. Ten-fold cross-validation was used for training and testing the model. Estimates of DMY traits by each CNN architecture were considered as new HTP traits to compare with real traits. Pearson correlation coefficient r between real and HTP traits ranged from 0.62 to 0.79 for LDMY and from 0.60 to 0.76 for TDMY; root square mean error (RSME) ranged from 286.24 to 366.93 kg·ha−1 for LDMY and from 413.07 to 506.56 kg·ha−1 for TDMY. All the CNNs generated heritable HTP traits, except LF-CNN for LDMY and AlexNet for TDMY. Genetic correlations between real and HTP traits were high but varied according to the CNN architecture. HTP trait from ResNeXt50 pretrained achieved the best results for indirect selection regardless of the dry matter trait. This demonstrates that CNNs with remote sensing data are highly promising for HTP for dry matter yield traits in forage breeding programs.

scholarly journals Insect body size changes under future warming projections: a case study of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera)

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rungtip Wonglersak ◽  
Phillip B. Fenberg ◽  
Peter G. Langdon ◽  
Stephen J. Brooks ◽  
Benjamin W. Price
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
The Body ◽  
Mesocosm Experiments ◽  
Future Warming ◽  
Increasing Temperature ◽  
Emergence Date ◽  
Average Body

AbstractChironomids are a useful group for investigating body size responses to warming due to their high local abundance and sensitivity to environmental change. We collected specimens of six species of chironomids every 2 weeks over a 2-year period (2017–2018) from mesocosm experiments using five ponds at ambient temperature and five ponds at 4°C higher than ambient temperature. We investigated (1) wing length responses to temperature within species and between sexes using a regression analysis, (2) interspecific body size responses to test whether the body size of species influences sensitivity to warming, and (3) the correlation between emergence date and wing length. We found a significantly shorter wing length with increasing temperature in both sexes of Procladius crassinervis and Tanytarsus nemorosus, in males of Polypedilum sordens, but no significant relationship in the other three species studied. The average body size of a species affects the magnitude of the temperature-size responses in both sexes, with larger species shrinking disproportionately more with increasing temperature. There was a significant decline in wing length with emergence date across most species studied (excluding Polypedilum nubeculosum and P. sordens), indicating that individuals emerging later in the season tend to be smaller.

scholarly journals Potential host ranges of three Asian larval parasitoids of Drosophila suzukii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent M. Daane ◽  
Xingeng Wang ◽  
Brian N. Hogg ◽  
Antonio Biondi
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Classical Biological Control ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
The Body ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Egg Load ◽  
Drosophila Suzukii ◽  
Larval Parasitoids ◽  
Female Body Size

AbstractAsobara japonica (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Ganaspis brasiliensis and Leptopilina japonica (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) are Asian larval parasitoids of spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). This study evaluated these parasitoids’ capacity to attack and develop from 24 non-target drosophilid species. Results showed that all three parasitoids were able to parasitize host larvae of multiple non-target species in artificial diet; A. japonica developed from 19 tested host species, regardless of the phylogenetic position of the host species, L. japonica developed from 11 tested species; and G. brasiliensis developed from only four of the exposed species. Success rate of parasitism (i.e., the probability that an adult wasp successfully emerged from a parasitized host) by the two figitid parasitoids was low in hosts other than the three species in the melanogaster group (D. melanogaster, D. simulans, and D. suzukii). The failure of the figitids to develop in most of the tested host species appears to correspond with more frequent encapsulation of the parasitoids by the hosts. The results indicate that G. brasiliensis is the most host specific to D. suzukii, L. japonica attacks mainly species in the melanogaster group and A. japonica is a generalist, at least physiologically. Overall, the developmental time of the parasitoids increased with the host’s developmental time. The body size of female A. japonica (as a model species) was positively related to host size, and mature egg load of female wasps increased with female body size. We discuss the use of these parasitoids for classical biological control of D. suzukii.

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