Small Ruminant Research最新文献

{"title":"Genetic polymorphisms in Agouti signaling protein (ASIP) and melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) genes and their association with coat color in native Bulgarian sheep breeds.","authors":"Doytcho Dimov ,&nbsp;Milena Kostova ,&nbsp;Atanas Vuchkov ,&nbsp;Ivona Dimitrova ,&nbsp;Georgi Kalaydzhiev ,&nbsp;Genoveva Staykova ,&nbsp;Margarit Iliev ,&nbsp;Milena Bozhilova","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107517","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107517","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sheep coat color is an important visual trait for breed differentiation and characterization. In some native sheep breeds, coat color is a patterned phenotype that is the basis of selection. The diversity of coat color provides an important model phenotype for exploring gene roles and studying gene mutations. The present study investigates the genetic polymorphisms in the Agouti signaling protein (<em>ASIP</em>) and melanocortin 1 receptor (<em>MC1R</em>) genes and their association with coat colour in native Bulgarian sheep breeds. A total of 247 individuals belonging to 7 native sheep breeds from 38 herds were genotyped for the <em>ASIP</em> and <em>MC1R</em> genes. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the <em>MC1R</em> gene, and three haplotypes were identified in the studied sheep breeds. The <em>MC1R</em> dominant allele (<em>E</em>^<em>D</em>) allele could be the sole cause of fully pigmented sheep (either black or brown coat colour) in the Native Karnobatska population. However, in the population of Karakachanska and Cupper-red Shumenska breeds, the cause of pigmentation can be both <em>E</em>^<em>D</em> and recessive non-agouti (<em>A</em>^<em>a</em>) alleles. In the samples of the Patch-faced Maritza and Dubenska breeds, the <em>E</em>^<em>D</em> allele of the <em>MC1R</em> gene is absent, and therefore the fully pigmented and \"patch-faced\" phenotypes are due to the recessive <em>A</em>^<em>a</em> allele. Genetic mechanisms for white phenotypes exist to some extent in the White Maritza, Native Starazagorska and Dubenska breeds. However, the white phenotype in these breeds cannot be explained by a double copy of the <em>ASIP</em> allele alone. The results of this study provide new insights into the genetic causes of coat colour variation in populations of seven native Bulgarian sheep breeds. Further research is needed to elucidate the complex genetic mechanism of coat colour in native Bulgarian sheep breeds, particularly the role of the <em>Agouti</em> gene in coat colour expression. Therefore, the results of this study can be considered as a starting point for improving the management and conservation of genetic diversity of coat colour varieties in breeding programmes for native Bulgarian sheep breeds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107517"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143947592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic diversity of native Bulgarian sheep breeds based on the mitochondrial D-loop sequence analysis","authors":"Georgi Radoslavov ,&nbsp;Georgi Kalaydzhiev ,&nbsp;Georgi Yordanov ,&nbsp;Nadezhda Palova ,&nbsp;Delka Salkova ,&nbsp;Peter Hristov","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The geographical, geomorphological, and climatic characteristics of Bulgaria are particularly favorable for animal breeding and, above all, for pastoral farming and sheep breeding. These conditions created prerequisites for the creation of about 30 unique local breeds of sheep. In this study we investigated the genetic diversity of eight of the most popular Bulgarian native breeds, based on the sequence analysis of a part of the mitochondrial D-loop region. An almost entire mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region (1180 bp) was amplified and sequenced. The obtained results showed the presence of a large number of haplotypes – 192, belonging to three main haplogroups. The majority of samples showed a high prevalence of the European haplogroup B (89.6 %), followed by haplogroup A (8.6 %) and C (1.8 %). None of the other reported mitochondrial haplogroups were observed. The number of different haplotypes, nucleotide and haplotype diversity was high (192, 0.01286, and 0.996, respectively), which is evidence for multiple maternal origins in all populations. The Tajima D-test value in all the study populations was −1.774 (p &lt; 0.05), indicating that the abundance of rare alleles was most likely due to population expansion after a recent bottleneck. The high level of mtDNA polymorphism in the studied breeds of local sheep indicates the presence of a significant reserve of unique genotypes in Bulgaria, which is to be explored.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107527"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143946742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of selection signatures among five meat sheep breeds","authors":"Masoud Alipanah ,&nbsp;Faezeh Gharari ,&nbsp;Seyed Mostafa Mazloom","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107524","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107524","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Selection over the years has led to changes in the animal and plant genomes. Haplotypic blocks throughout the sheep genome are continuously under natural and artificial selection and may contain favorable mutations that cause genome-wide signatures. The present study aimed to compare selection signatures among five meat sheep breeds that were included Charmoise, Mouton Charollais, Lacaune meat, Suffolk, and Texel. selection signatures were identified using the XP-EHH and iHS. Genomic regions under selection in each breed, relative to others, were detected based on XP-EHH scores between each breed and the others, as well as iHS scores within each breed, with thresholds set at the top 0.99. The results of this study showed that the comparison of selection signatures among sheep breeds revealed specific genes under selection in each breed. In Charmoise sheep, the genes HOXD3, MAP3K20, RAPGEF4, SP3, LPGAT1, DNAH8, KIF6, and ABCD3 were identified in selected regions. In Mouton Charollais, the genes DGKB, ADGRB3, and PITPNC1 were detected. In Lacaune meat sheep, the genes ANO4, GRID2, and DBF4B were found. In Suffolk sheep, the genes PTK2B, FNIP1, EYA4, UBASH3B, and SPPL2B were identified. Gene ontology analysis indicated that these genes were associated with cellular pathways. In addition, the results of the QTL report showed that selection in Charmoise sheep primarily targeted carcass traits compared to other breeds. In Mouton Charolais, selection was more focused on body weight, muscle development, and bone density. In Lacaune meat sheep, selection was primarily associated with daily weight gain, body weight, carcass traits, and bone density. In Suffolk sheep, selection targeted carcass weight and muscle density. Finally, in Texel sheep, selection was focused on carcass weight, bone traits, daily weight gain, and bone density. These findings suggest that, despite all breeding programs were focused on meat production in breeds, the direction and type of traits under selection varied among them. Additionally, even for shared traits, the specific selected genomic regions differed across breeds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107524"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143936981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome wide copy number diversity in Indian goat breeds scaled to world-wide breeds","authors":"Nidhi Sukhija ,&nbsp;Indrajit Ganguly ,&nbsp;K.K. Kanaka ,&nbsp;S.P. Dixit ,&nbsp;Sanjeev Singh ,&nbsp;Avnish Bhatia ,&nbsp;Rangasai Chandra Goli ,&nbsp;Pallavi Rathi","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107525","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Copy number variations (CNVs), heritable chromosomal structural changes characterized by deletions or insertions exceeding 50 base pairs, is an emerging area in genetic diversity research due to their significant roles in morphological, metabolic, and adaptive traits. Despite the global exploration of CNVs across various species, limited attention has been given to goats, particularly Indian breeds. This study utilized whole-genome resequencing (WGRS) data from Indian goat breeds in comparison to transboundary and global breeds/populations, including wild relatives, to investigate copy number variation regions (CNVRs) as markers of genetic diversity and population structure. A total of 103 sequences from indigenous breeds and nine publicly available trans-boundary sequences representing Black Bengal and Beetal goats were analyzed as Dataset-I, while Dataset-II comprised 262 whole genome sequences from global breeds and wild relatives. CNVRs were identified using CNVcaller, leveraging normalized read depth across sliding windows, resulting in 63,728 CNVRs in Dataset-I and 48,869 CNVRs in Dataset-II. These numbers surpass previous reports, attributed to refined resolution, larger sample sizes, and advanced detection algorithms. Principal component analysis (PCA) and admixture analyses leveraged by <em>CVerror</em> (<span><span>https://github.com/chau-mau/CVerror</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>) revealed clustering patterns, demonstrating genetic uniqueness among Indian breeds while highlighting admixture with transboundary populations. Phylogenetic analysis using custom pipeline named <em>Plink2Phylo</em> (<span><span>https://github.com/kkokay07/pq-genetics/tree/main/Plink2Phylo</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>; Kanaka 2025), identified distinct evolutionary nodes, with Uttarakhand Hill and Black Bengal showing unique clustering patterns, affirming rich genetic diversity. This research provides a comprehensive framework for understanding CNVR-based genetic diversity in Indian goats, positioning them within the global genetic landscape.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107525"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of prevalent tick species in the goat population of West Bengal state of India","authors":"M. Rafiqul Amin ,&nbsp;Sourabh Sulabh","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ticks are major ectoparasites of domestic animals, including small ruminants, and are responsible for the transmission of several tick-borne diseases. They can also damage hides, induce anemia, and cause tick paralysis. A study was conducted to investigate and identify ticks infesting goats from five districts in West Bengal, India. Ticks were collected from the bodies of goats in five districts of West Bengal. The two tick species that were collected were first identified based on morphological analysis as <em>Haemaphysalis bispinosa</em> and <em>Hyalomma kumari</em>. The mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequences of the ticks were also amplified using gene-specific primers. The lengths of the amplified 16S rRNA sequences of <em>H. bispinosa</em> and <em>H. kumari</em> ticks were 456 bp and 457 bp, respectively. The amplified fragments were sequenced and aligned with other sequences using NCBI BLAST. This further confirmed the results of the morphological analysis, as the two sequences were perfectly aligned with <em>the H. bispinosa</em> and <em>H. kumari</em> gene sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of gene sequences was performed using sequences similar to those found in the NCBI database. A regression model to determine the effects of age, sex, and season on the prevalence of tick infestation in goats was also tested on the collected data using Jamovi 2.5.3. Only two tick species, <em>Haemaphysalis bispinosa</em> and <em>Hyalomma kumari,</em> were found on the ears of goats, and infestation was significantly affected by variations in age and season.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107526"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143936984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Discovery of novel insertion SNPs in the ADRB2 gene associated with sheep growth performance","authors":"Zaid M. Jassim ,&nbsp;Thamer R.S. Aljubouri ,&nbsp;Mohammed Baqur S. Al-Shuhaib","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107523","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107523","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The beta-adrenergic receptor-2 (ADRB2) is a crucial gene known to directly influence growth and metabolic traits; however, this association has not yet been investigated in sheep. The potential association between ADRB2 and growth traits in two commercially important sheep breeds with differing growth characteristics, the Iraqi Awassi and Iranian Karakul was investigated to evaluate the biomarker potential of ADRB2. A total of 172 lambs (88 Awassi and 84 Karakul) were included in the study. In both breeds, various growth traits were correlated with ADRB2 gene variations at three-month intervals from birth to one year of age. All samples were genotyped by amplifying up to 91 % of the coding regions within the ADRB2 gene, followed by Sanger sequencing. Out of twenty-seven SNPs identified in the <em>ADRB2</em> gene, fourteen novel insertion SNPs were detected constituting 51.9 % of the total polymorphism. Whereas nine (33.3 %) silent SNPs and four (14.8 %) missense SNPs were respectively identified. Three of the identified insertions (105–106insT, 1024–1025insA, and 1065–1066insA) demonstrated various intensities of associations with the growth traits measured. While 105–106insT and 1024–1025insA showed consistent significant effects on most growth traits, the 1065–1066insA SNP’s influence was confined to a few key metrics. The linkage disequilibrium plot data showed little to no co-inheritance between these SNPs with their neighbors, as the three insertion SNPs demonstrated a relatively independent transmission tendency across generations. The variable levels of significant associations observed between the three SNPs and growth traits are primarily attributed to a translation frameshift, suggesting that these novel insertions could serve as valuable markers for evaluating growth traits in both breeds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107523"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143936983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tracing roots: A study on phylogenetic and genetic diversity in indigenous sheep breeds of Southwestern Türkiye","authors":"Nezih Ata ,&nbsp;Zühal Gündüz ,&nbsp;Duygu Kaşıkçı ,&nbsp;Tülay Canatan ,&nbsp;İbrahim Cemal ,&nbsp;Onur Yılmaz","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aimed to elucidate the genetic diversity and population structures of indigenous sheep breeds in the southwestern region of Türkiye, thereby addressing the existing gap in molecular genetic information for these breeds. The animal materials used in the study were selected based on the sampling criteria established by the FAO (2011). It included a total of 331 sheep, comprising Dağlıç (48), Eşme (80), Pırlak (29), Pırıt (103), Sakız (37), and Kıvırcık (37), breeds, raised in 6 different provinces of Western Anatolia. A comprehensive analysis of 18 microsatellite loci revealed a diverse range, detecting a total of 493 alleles in the study. The average allele number (Na), effective allele number (Ne), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (He), polymorphic information content (PIC), and F_IS values were 27.39, 9.54, 0.70, 0.88, 0.87, and 0.158, respectively. In this study, F_ST and G_ST analyses indicate that genetic diversity is predominantly distributed within breeds, whereas genetic differences between populations are minimal. Indeed, the G_ST value indicated that only 6.1 % of the total genetic variation was attributable to differences between populations. Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) analyses suggest that genetic balance has been disrupted in all populations due to intense artificial selection pressures. These deviations are believed to result from factors such as a lack of random mating, inbreeding, and genetic drift. Especially strong gene flow was detected between the Pırlak-Kıvırcık and Eşme-Pırıt population pairs. The unique alleles of the Pırıt breed highlight its genetically distinct structure. This study offers significant findings for sustainable animal breeding and the conservation of genetic resources. These results serve as a valuable foundation for the genetic management of sheep breeds in Türkiye.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107521"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143936982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of propolis extract on performance, health and immune parameters in lambs","authors":"Ozge Kabiloglu ,&nbsp;Ismail Abas ,&nbsp;Neşe Kocabaglı","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107522","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107522","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aimed to investigate the effects of the ethanol extract of propolis (EEP), a natural substance derived from bees, on growth performance, selected health parameters, and immune responses in weaned lambs. A total of 30 male Trakya Kıvırcık lambs (14 ± 2 weeks old; 24.2 ± 1 kg) were randomly divided into three groups: EEP0 (control), EEP3 (3 mL/day), and EEP6 (6 mL/day). The treatments were administered orally each morning before feeding for a duration of 42 days. Growth performance parameters (body weight, body measurements, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and weight gain) and health indicators (heart rate, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, and cough score) were monitored weekly. Immune parameters, including serum levels of IgA, IgG, and IgM, were evaluated on days 0, 21, and 42 of the trial. The results showed that EEP supplementation had no significant effect on body weight or body measurements (P &gt; 0.05). Although total weight gain differences among groups were not statistically significant (P = 0.056), a pairwise comparison revealed a significant increase in weight gain in the EEP6 group compared to the control (P = 0.029). No significant differences were observed in total dry matter intake (P = 0.331), while the feed conversion ratio was significantly improved by EEP supplementation (P = 0.002). EEP had no significant effect on health parameters except for cough score (P &gt; 0.05). Notably, the EEP6 group demonstrated a significantly lower the cough frequency following tracheal stimulation (P &lt; 0.001). Serum IgG levels did not differ between groups (P &gt; 0.05), whereas both IgA and IgM levels tended to be higher in the EEP6 group on days 21 and 42 (P &lt; 0.05). In conclusion, the daily administration of 6 mL EEP (equivalent to 1800 mg propolis) in weaned lambs showed potential benefits in terms of weight gain, feed efficiency, cough response, and certain immune parameters (IgA and IgM).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107522"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143916335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lamb survival and ewe longevity in a crossbreeding program between indigenous and exotic sheep in semi-arid lands","authors":"E. Oyieng ,&nbsp;J.M.K. Ojango ,&nbsp;M. Gauly ,&nbsp;R. Mrode ,&nbsp;A.M. Okeyo ,&nbsp;S. König","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107520","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107520","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The survival of lambs and longevity of ewes within flocks are important for the sustainability of sheep populations especially in arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL). In this study we conducted pre- and post-weaning survival analysis of lambs and the longevity of ewes of indigenous pure Red Maasai (RRRR), pure Dorper (DDDD), and their crosses comprising F1 (DDRR) and 75 %Dorper-25 %Red Maasai (DDDR) using Cox and Weibull proportional hazard models. The objective was to determine the genetic and non-genetic factors affecting lamb survival to yearling as well as ewe longevity. Data comprised records on 6313 lambs and 2003 ewes. Overall pre-weaning mortality was lower (5 %) compared to post-weaning mortality rate (17 %). Lambs born during the long dry season had a higher risk of dying than those born during the wet seasons. For both lambs and ewes, the Dorper had the highest risk of dying or being culled. Among the crossbreds, the DDDR lambs and ewes had higher risks of dying or being culled relative to F1 lambs and ewes. The risk of ewes being culled reduced with increasing age at first lambing and parity. Heritability estimates for pre-weaning mortality were higher (0.10–0.14) than post-weaning mortality (0.01–0.05). The higher heritability for pre-weaning lamb survival in indicates greater genetic variation, presenting an opportunity for selection for lamb survival. Interventions to improve the production environment in the ASAL areas would also improve the survival of lambs and longevity of ewes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107520"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143907569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Milk pregnancy-associated glycoprotein concentration as an early detection biomarker of multiparous pregnancies in alpine goats","authors":"Y.T. Chen ,&nbsp;M.K. Yang ,&nbsp;H.T. Hong ,&nbsp;J.M. Li ,&nbsp;C.P. Wu ,&nbsp;Y.H. Yeh ,&nbsp;Y.H. Chen ,&nbsp;J.W. Shiau ,&nbsp;P.A. Tu","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107519","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107519","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study analyzed weekly milk samples from 348 pregnant goats among 550 multiparous Alpine goats after artificial insemination, measuring pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (PAG) concentrations. Fetal numbers were recorded postpartum. PAG levels progressively increased from mid-gestation, peaking before delivery. From day 49, goats carrying multiple fetuses exhibited PAG concentrations approximately 2.5 times higher than those carrying single or twin fetuses. Multivariate linear analysis showed that milk PAG levels during early and mid-gestation were influenced by both fetal number and gestational age, whereas late gestation levels were only affected by fetal number. Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified a PAG threshold of 2.643 on day 57, effectively distinguishing goats carrying multiple fetuses (Sensitivity: 100 %, 95 % CI = 91.0–100 %; Specificity: 100 %, 95 % CI = 95.5–100 %). Canonical discriminant analysis further confirmed significant differences in PAG concentrations between days 49 and 57 for single, twin, and multiple pregnancies. These findings demonstrate that milk PAG concentration is a reliable biomarker for detecting multiple pregnancies in early pregnancy, allowing timely management interventions to prevent metabolic diseases in goats with multiple fetuses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 107519"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143911684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}