Search results for "HEE"
showing 10 items of 1797 documents
Development of new dairy products using raw ewe’s milk to produce a “Swiss” type cheese
2022
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 …
High-density SNP markers elucidate the genetic divergence and population structure of Noticiana sheep breed in the Mediterranean context
2023
Among livestock species, sheep have played an early major role in the Mediterranean area. Italy has a long history of sheep breeding and, despite a dramatic contraction in numbers, still raise several local populations that may represent a unique source of genetic diversity. The Noticiana is a breed of the south-eastern part of Sicily appreciated both for its dairy products and for its resistance to harsh environment. In this study, the high-density Illumina Ovine SNP600K BeadChip array was used for the first genome-wide characterization of 48 individuals of Noticiana sheep to investigate its diversity, the genome structure and the relationship within the context of worldwide and Italian br…
Linkage disequilibrium and genetic diversity estimation in three Sicilian autochthonous dairy sheep breeds
2014
Understanding genetic structure is essential for achieving genetic improvement through genome-wide association studies, genomic selection and the dissection of quantitative traits. In the present study, we used the OvineSNP50K BeadChip to characterize LD, identify haplotype blocks and to analyze genetic diversity in the Valle del Belice (VDB), Comisana (COM) and Pinzirita (PIN) dairy sheep breeds. LD between adjacent SNPs and for all pairwise combinations of SNPs on each chromosome was measured using r2. Haplotype blocks were estimated using D’ based method. Genetic diversity and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were calculated using PLINK. Small differences in average LD value for adjace…
Microbiological and physicochemical profile of sugar added ewe’s Ricotta during storage
2022
The microbiological and physicochemical traits of fresh ewe’s Ricotta made with (40% w/w) and without sucrose were investigated. Sugar added Ricotta (SAR) andcontrol Ricotta (CTR) were packaged and stored at 4°C for 90 d. Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes,Escherichia coli, coagulase positive staphylococci, Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms, Pseudomonas, yeasts, moulds and clostridia were undetectable during the entire monitoring. Total mesophilic and psychrotrophic microorganisms and mesophilic cocci lactic acid bacteria increased over time,but their development was limited in SAR production. The acidificationwas observed only for CTR. Water activity was consistently low(0.897 on av…
Genetic structure and assignment test in five sheep breeds reared in Sicily using microsatellites
2011
A total of 331 individuals from five sheep breeds reared in Sicily (Barbaresca (BAR, n=57), Comisana (COM, n=65), Pinzirita (PIN, n=75), Sarda (SAR, n=64), and Valle del Belice (VdB, n=70)) were analysed to investigate genetic structure and perform an assignment test. A panel of 20 microsatellite markers was used, and a total of 259 alleles were observed. The polymorphic information content (PIC) all over loci was equal to 0.757, showing that the microsatellites panel used was highly informative. Estimates of observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.655 in the BAR breed to 0.751 in the COM breed. The low value of genetic differentiation among breeds (FST=0.048) may indicate that these breeds a…
Genome-wide scan for Runs of Homozygosity in Valle del Belice sheep
2017
The current availability of very large numbers of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout the genome makes these markers particularly suitable for the detection of genomic regions where a reduction in heterozygosity occurred and offers new opportunities to improve the accuracy of inbreeding (F) estimates. Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are contiguous lengths of homozygous segments of the genome where the two haplotypes inherited from the parents are identical. Here, we investigated the occurrence and the distribution of ROH in medium-density SNP genotypes (~ 50 000) in order to characterize autozygosity in 512 individuals of Valle del Belice sheep and identify the regions of the genom…
Suitability of simplified milk recording methods for genetic evaluations using test-day models in dairy sheep
2008
Nowadays in dairy sheep, test-day records are collected monthly under an alternate morning/evening system. This alternate system was implemented because of the steady increase in recording cost per sheep observed in the last few decades. Furthermore, additional modifications to the testing schemes have been proposed to reduce the costs of milk recording. In dairy sheep, the cost for milk recording is indeed too high compared both with individual outputs and with other dairy species. Therefore, the purposes of the present study were: i) to compare estimated breeding values (EBVs) for milk yield using different simplified testing schemes with a test-day sire model; ii) to evaluate the effect …
Genetic parameters for somatic cell score according to udder infection status in Valle del Belice dairy sheep
2010
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…