Search results for " valle del Belice"

Association study between beta-defensin gene polymorphisms and mastitis resistance in Valle del Belice dairy sheep breed

2016

Abstract Mastitis is generally caused by bacteria, and it is the most common disease in livestock species. Defensins are peptides with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity and β-defensin genes have been studied in several livestock species due to their important role in the innate immune response. The aim of this study was to establish an association between polymorphisms in the β-defensin 1 and 2 genes and mastitis resistance in the Valle del Belice dairy sheep. Data consisted of 1855 and 2804 observations for case and control group, respectively. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms and seven haplotypes were selected for association studies with mastitis. In particular, polymorphism …

Full-length sequencing and identification of novel polymorphisms in the ACACA gene of Valle del Belice sheep breed

2017

The essential role of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACACA) enzyme in milk fatty acid (FA) synthesis suggests that it may be responsible for the phenotypic variability observed in milk. Before attempting association analyses between this gene and/or enzyme and phenotypic traits, a study on the genetic variability within this locus is required. The aim of this work was to sequence the entire coding region of ACACA gene in Valle del Belice sheep breed to identify polymorphic sites. A total of 51 coding exons of ACACA gene were sequenced in 32 individuals of Valle del Belice sheep breed. Sequencing analysis and alignment of obtained sequences showed the presence of 23 polymorphic sites. The most …

Determination of milk production losses and variations of fat and protein percentages according to different levels of somatic cell count in Valle de…

2018

The somatic cell count (SCC) of milk is widely used to monitor udder health and the milk quality and because of its positive genetic correlation with mastitis this trait was included in breeding schemes of dairy sheep. The aim of this study was to estimate the loss in milk yield (MY) and related composition resulting from different levels of somatic cell count in Valle del Belice dairy sheep. Data were collected between 2006 and 2016 in 15 flocks following an A4 recording scheme. Somatic cell count (SCC), fat and protein percentage (F% and P%) were determined using mid-infrared spectroscopy. To evaluate loss in test day MY, F% and P%, five different classes of SCC were arbitrarily defined: …

L'architettura di Francesco Venezia nella ricostruzione post-sismica del Belice

2014

Una breve descrizione dei progetti realizzati da Francesco Venezia nei luoghi della tragedia sismica del Belice Questo breve testo si pone l’obiettivo di restringere il campo d’analisi nella descrizione di alcune opere realizzate dall’architetto campano, probabilmente il più grande interprete dei temi legati alla ricostruzione intesa come metafora e memoria del paesaggio della tragedia. Grazie alle esperienze di progetto maturate nel Belice, Francesco Venezia ha affermato il proprio profilo professionale catturando l’attenzione della critica internazionale che da allora lo ha seguito costantemente nella sua importante carriera di progettista, arrivando a segnalare alcune opere siciliane nel…

Detection of genomic regions underlying milk production traits in Valle del Belice dairy sheep using regional heritability mapping

2021

The aim of this study was to identify genomic regions underlying milk production traits in the Valle del Belice dairy sheep using regional heritability mapping (RHM). Repeated measurements for milk yield (MY), fat percentage and yield (F% and FY) and protein percentage and yield (P% and PY), collected over a period of six years (2006-2012) on 481 Valle del Belice ewes, were used for the analysis. Animals were genotyped with the Illumina 50k SNP chip. Variance components, heritabilities, and repeatability within and across lactations were estimated, fitting parity, litter size, season of lambing, and fortnights in milk, as fixed; and additive genetic, permanent environment within and across …

Comparison of Genome Wide Association Studies for milk production traits in Valle del Belice dairy sheep

The great achievements in livestock species selection during the last 50 years largely relied on quantitative genetic theory and infinitesimal genetic model. In the last 20 years, due to the application of advanced techniques in molecular genetics and statistics, several chromosomal regions that influence quantitative traits have been discovered. Combinations of molecular and classical quantitative information in a composite selection index have been proposed to increase the accuracy of selection. Nowadays, many genotyping arrays for thousands of SNPs are available for several livestock species, such as: cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, goat and chickens. The overall aim of this thesis is the c…

Genome-wide association study for milk production traits in Valle del Belice sheep

2017

Over the last years, high-throughput technologies have provided the opportunity to explore the genomes of livestock species to identify regions influencing traits of economic interest. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have been widely used to disentangle the genetic variation in complex phenotypes, such as milk production traits in sheep. The study presented here investigated the possible association of genome-wide SNPs and breeding values for milk production traits in the Valle del Belice sheep. The studied population consisted of a total of 481 ewes belonging to 9 half-sib families with available records for milk yield (MY), protein and fat percentage (P% and F%, respectively). All …

Analysis of acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene polymorphisms in Valle del Belice dairy breeds

2015

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase is the flux-determining enzyme in the regulation of fatty acid synthesis within animal tissues. The expression of the mammary gland isoform of this enzyme, during lactation, is regulated by the acetyl-CoA carboxylase-α (ACACA) gene. The ovine ACACA gene, with 51 coding exons, is responsible for phenotypic variability observed in milk fat content and milk fatty acids (FAs) composition. However, before attempting association analyses between this enzyme and phenotypic traits of interest, a study on the genetic variability within this locus is required. The aim of this work was to sequence the encoding region of ACACA gene in Valle del Belice dairy ewes in order to ident…

Pecorino Siciliano DOP; Vastedda della valle del Belice DOP

2016

The author gives a description of two Sicilian PDO cheeses: "Pecorino Siciliano" and "Vastedda della valle del Belice"

Analysis of microbiological variation in PDO Vastedda della valle del Belìce cheese during the storage period

2011

The PDO “Vastedda della valle del Belìce” is a Sicilian pasta filata sheep cheese, made from raw milk without starter addition. It is a small round cheese without rind, weighing about 500-700 g. It is cheese is marketed also out of Sicily to allow its marketing and to prolong its shelf-life. The aim of this work was to evaluate the variation of microbiological parameters during the shelf-life period. Then 162 Vastedda cheeses from 18 cheese-making processes in 7 farms have been analysed at different times of storage at 4°C (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120 days). Coliforms and E. coli were detected into 7/18 cheese-making processes and their count decreased during the storage period. Ent…