Small Ruminant Research最新文献

{"title":"Interrelationships between body weight, body condition score, and fat deposition in Katahdin ewe lambs managed under humid tropical conditions","authors":"Alvar Alonzo Cruz-Tamayo ,&nbsp;Maritza Zaragoza-Vera ,&nbsp;Claudia V. Zaragoza-Vera ,&nbsp;Guadalupe Arjona-Jiménez ,&nbsp;Germani Adrián Muñoz-Osorio ,&nbsp;Ricardo Alfonso García-Herrera ,&nbsp;Alfonso Juventino Chay-Canul","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2026.107705","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2026.107705","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Data from twenty-five Katahdin ewe lambs were used to evaluate the relationship between body condition score (BCS) and major body fat depots. Before slaughter, animals were weighed and BCS was recorded after 24 h of feed and water deprivation. At slaughter, internal fat (IF) was dissected, weighed, and classified as mesenteric (MF), omental (OF), and pelvic fat (PF). After refrigeration (1 °C for 24 h), the left half of each carcass was fully dissected to obtain subcutaneous and intermuscular fat, collectively defined as carcass fat (CF). Total body fat (TBF) was calculated as the sum of IF and CF. Shrunk body weight (SBW) ranged from 40.25 to 54.80 kg, empty BW (EBW) from 31.80 to 49.30 kg, and BCS from 2.0 to 4.5 and TBF from 6.62 and 15.96 kg. SBW showed weak to strong correlations with MF, PF, OM, CF, IF and TBF depots (0.45 ≤ r ≤ 0.82; P &lt; 0.05), whereas BCS and EBW exhibited moderate to strong correlations with most fat depots except MF. The coefficients of determination (r²) between SBW and fat depots ranged from 0.20 to 0.68. Except for MF (r²=0.07), BCS yielded r² values of 0.61–0.75, and EBW values of 0.51–0.62. SBW was the best predictor of MF, whereas EBW best predicted CF. BCS provided the strongest predictions for the remaining fat depots. Including BCS and SBW in multiple regression improved prediction only for IF, while combining BCS and EBW improved prediction for CF. No improvement was observed when BW and EBW were combined. These findings highlight the usefulness of BCS, SBW, and EBW as predictors of body fat distribution and support the development of practical tools for assessing body reserves in hair sheep.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 107705"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978897","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":"Unravelling the signatures of selection for climate adaptation in worldwide sheep breeds","authors":"K.A. Saravanan ,&nbsp;Jigyasha Tiwari ,&nbsp;Kashif Dawood Khan ,&nbsp;V.N. Sahana ,&nbsp;Ashish Yadav ,&nbsp;Rani Alex ,&nbsp;G.R. Gowane ,&nbsp;S.S. Misra ,&nbsp;Arun Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2026.107701","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2026.107701","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change poses significant challenges to global livestock systems, necessitating a deeper understanding of how sheep adapt to diverse environmental conditions. This study aimed to identify genomic regions associated with hot and cold climate adaptation in 3066 sheep from 90 breeds worldwide using medium-density SNP data. The breeds were categorized into hot and cold-adapted groups based on their environmental origins. Through pcadapt, 132 genomic regions were identified under selection across all breeds, with distinct signatures observed in hot (53 regions) and cold (49 regions) adapted groups. These regions encompassed genes crucial for thermoregulation (<em>DNAJB5, SYCP2, TCF7, TSHR, NPR1,</em> and <em>MSRB3</em>), coat colour (<em>MITF</em>, <em>DCTN2</em>) and immune response (<em>CCL26, CDH1, TCF7,</em> and <em>TNFSF12</em>). Functional enrichment analysis revealed biological processes and pathways associated with climate adaptation, including keratin filament organization and cytokine receptor binding in hot climate breeds, and calcium ion binding in cold climate breeds. Protein-protein interaction networks highlighted key hub genes like <em>TP53</em> and <em>S100A16</em>, implicating their roles in adaptation mechanisms. The findings contribute to the understanding of sheep resilience to climate change and provide genetic markers for future breeding strategies aimed at enhancing livestock sustainability and productivity under changing climatic conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 107701"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145927734","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":"Effects of season, temperature, and humidity on feeding behavior and feed conversion ratio in multiple sheep breeds monitored via an automated electronic feeding system","authors":"Guoxing Jia ,&nbsp;Weimin Wang ,&nbsp;Huibing Tian ,&nbsp;Xiaojuan Wang ,&nbsp;Yuan Zhao ,&nbsp;Yukun Zhang ,&nbsp;Kunchao Han ,&nbsp;Xioabing Yang ,&nbsp;Dan Xu ,&nbsp;Tong Cai ,&nbsp;Shiyu Zhao ,&nbsp;Hongmei Hou ,&nbsp;Peiliang Cao ,&nbsp;Mengru Pu ,&nbsp;Weiwei Wu ,&nbsp;Zhichao Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiaoxue Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2026.107702","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2026.107702","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated the effects of environmental factors on sheep feeding behavior and feed conversion ratio (FCR). We continuously monitored 180 weaned lambs (Australian White, Dorper and crossbred) across spring, summer, autumn and winter using an automated electronic feeding system combined with ambient temperature and humidity sensors. The research results show that sheep feeding behavior has obvious circadian rhythm, with peak periods occurring between 6:00 and 10:00 and 15:00 and 20:00. Season had a significant effect on sheep feeding behavior and FCR (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Sheep feeding behavior varies with the seasons, with feed conversion ratio (FCR) being significantly higher in summer and winter than in spring and autumn. Further analysis based on the temperature and humidity index (THI) showed that THI has a significant impact on feeding behavior and feed intake rate (FCR). High temperature stress significantly inhibited the daily feed intake and feeding rate of sheep and prolonged the feeding time; while low temperature stress increased the amount of feed consumed per feeding and the feeding rate, but reduced the feeding frequency. Furthermore, the feeding behavior of the three different breeds of sheep raised together under the same feeding conditions showed no significant difference (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05), but there was a significant difference in FCR. These findings provide a quantitative basis for developing precise feeding strategies, which can help alleviate environmental stress and optimize intensive farming management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 107702"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145927736","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":"Effects of concentrate levels with or without protected fat on intake, digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, and performance in feedlot lambs","authors":"Cláudia Loianny Souza Lima ,&nbsp;Douglas dos Santos Pina ,&nbsp;Henry Daniel Ruiz Alba ,&nbsp;Maria Leonor Garcia Melo Lopes de Araújo ,&nbsp;Susiane de Carvalho Matos ,&nbsp;Luis Fernando Batista Pinto ,&nbsp;José Esler de Freitas Júnior ,&nbsp;Manuela Silva Libânio Tosto ,&nbsp;José Augusto Gomes Azevedo ,&nbsp;Stefanie Alvarenga Santos ,&nbsp;Carlindo Santos Rodrigues ,&nbsp;Gleidson Giordano Pinto de Carvalho","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2026.107710","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2026.107710","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated the effects of different concentrate levels, with or without protected fat (PF), on intake, digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, and performance in feedlot lambs. Sixty-four Santa Inês male lambs (4 months old; 20.07 ± 0.250 kg) were assigned to a completely randomized block design in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement. Diets varied in concentrate-to-roughage (C:R) ratio - 400:600, 500:500, 600:400, and 700:300 g/kg of dry matter (DM) - with or without the inclusion of 35 g/kg DM of PF (calcium salts of fatty acids). Lambs fed diets without PF showed greater nutrient intake than those with PF, except for ether extract intake, which was higher with PF (P &lt; 0.05). As concentrate levels increased, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intake decreased linearly (P &lt; 0.05). An interaction between the C:R ratio and PF inclusion was observed for crude protein digestibility (P &lt; 0.05). Overall, PF inclusion improved nutrient digestibility (P &lt; 0.05), and quadratic responses were observed as concentrate levels increased (P &lt; 0.05). Lambs not receiving PF excreted more purine derivatives and synthesized more microbial protein (P &lt; 0.05). Allantoin excretion and microbial protein synthesis increased with concentrate (P &lt; 0.05). There were interactions between the C:R ratio and PF inclusion for final body weight and total weight gain (P &lt; 0.05). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) improved with PF inclusion (P &lt; 0.05). Higher concentrate levels improved weight gain and feed efficiency, whereas they decreased the FCR (P &lt; 0.05). Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that a dietary strategy combining 35 g of protected fat with approximately 600 g of concentrate per kg of diet DM enhances the performance of feedlot lambs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 107710"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146023570","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":"Assessing resilience capacities of the Small Ruminant farms in Spain: A static approach thanks to field interviews","authors":"Joseba Lizarralde ,&nbsp;Nerea Mandaluniz ,&nbsp;Alicia Prat-Benhamou ,&nbsp;Daniel Martín-Collado ,&nbsp;Paula Gaspar-García ,&nbsp;Andrés Horrillo ,&nbsp;Juan Manuel Mancilla-Leytón ,&nbsp;Yolanda Mena ,&nbsp;Roberto Ruiz ,&nbsp;Bárbara Soriano","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107688","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107688","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing number of challenges faced by small ruminant farms underlines the relevance of studying their capacity to cope with such challenges, i.e. their resilience. Grounded on farmers' perceptions, the aim of this research is to identify the challenges threating the small ruminants farms and the attributes that make them resilient. The study is focused on the case study of the small ruminant farming system in Spain. A mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis is followed, based on structured and semi-structured interviews. The results show that the small ruminants farms are generally threatened by institutional challenges in the long term (e.g. policies, bureaucracy and control mechanisms). There are also farm-type-specific challenges such as the increasing input and energy prices, labour conflicts and sick leaves in the short term; and stable/falling production prices, high level of investment, low attractiveness of the sector, lack of labour and succession in the long term. The attributes that commonly foster the resilience of the small ruminant farms are the autonomy, functional diversity, knowledge and innovation, and economic and human capital. Finally, there are resilience attributes that are farm-type-specific, such as the infrastructure capital, being coupled with local and natural capital and the spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Therefore, when designing resilience-enabling policies, the diversity of small ruminant farms and the challenges they face, as well as the combination of common and farm-type-specific resilience attributes should be considered.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"256 ","pages":"Article 107688"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145845529","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":"Neutral detergent fiber as a limiting factor in replacing corn silage with cactus cladodes (Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw) plus sugarcane bagasse and urea","authors":"Caio Cesar Carneiro dos Santos ,&nbsp;Darlan Silva dos Santos ,&nbsp;Kaique Renan da Silva Salvador ,&nbsp;Yasmin dos Santos Silva ,&nbsp;Silas Boaventura Felix ,&nbsp;Thayane Vitória Monteiro Santos ,&nbsp;Milena Nóbrega Rabelo ,&nbsp;Michelle Christina Bernardo de Siqueira ,&nbsp;José Augusto Bastos Afonso da Silva ,&nbsp;Francisco Fernando Ramos de Carvalho ,&nbsp;João Paulo Ismério dos Santos Monnerat ,&nbsp;Marcelo de Andrade Ferreira","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107689","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107689","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The objective of this study was to see how replacing corn silage with cactus cladodes (<em>Opuntia stricta</em> (Haw.) Haw), sugarcane bagasse, and urea affect dry matter intake, digestibility, eating behavior, and rumen activity in sheep, while keeping the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) levels the same. Five different replacement levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 %) were tested using five Santa Inês sheep males fitted with rumen fistulas (body weight 37.5 ± 5.57 kg), in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. Dry matter (DM) intake, NDF corrected for ash and protein (NDFap) intake, and total digestible nutrients (TDN) intake decreased linearly with the replacement level (P &lt; 0.03, P &lt; 0.02 and P &lt; 0.01, respectively), while intake of undigestible NDF (iNDF) increased linearly (P &lt; 0.04). Apparent digestibility of diet DM, organic matter (OM), and NDF also showed a linear decline (P &lt; 0.01 for all variables). There was a linear increase in the ruminal pool of iNDF (P &lt; 0.01) and the retention time of NDFap (Rt) (P &lt; 0.01). Conversely, the ruminal pool of potentially degradable NDF (pdNDF), as well as NDFap passage (kp) and degradation (kd) rates, decreased (P &lt; 0.01 for all variables). Replacement of corn silage with the mixture cactus, sugarcane bagasse and urea did not affect feeding efficiency for DM and NDFap; however, rumination efficiency for both DM and NDFap declined (P &lt; 0.02 and P &lt; 0.01, respectively). It is concluded that the combination of cactus cladodes, sugarcane bagasse, and urea had not adequately replaced corn silage, as it reduced the passage rates and degradation of NDFap in the rumen, increasing retention time and consequently reducing nutrient consumption. It is recommended to consider not only total NDF content when formulating diets for sheep but also the levels of iNDF and pdNDF.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"255 ","pages":"Article 107689"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145884633","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":"Assessing resilience of small ruminant farms in Spain: A longitudinal analysis based on FADN","authors":"Alicia Prat-Benhamou ,&nbsp;Alberto Bernués ,&nbsp;Bárbara Soriano ,&nbsp;Ana M. Olaizola ,&nbsp;Daniel Martín-Collado","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107684","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107684","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the last decades, increasingly complex challenges are threatening the viability of European small ruminant farming systems. Thus, studying the resilience of small ruminant farms is key to strengthen their ability to face the current global scenario and guarantee their long-term viability. This study uses FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) data from 2014 to 2022 to explore how the three resilience capacities (i.e., robustness, adaptation and transformation) contribute to the resilience of Spanish small ruminant farms and examines which farm characteristics are associated with higher resilience outcomes. Each resilience capacity is quantified by considering changes over time in a set of selected indicators. We defined best and worst performers per year for each resilience capacity and used Elastic Net regression models to understand the probability of farms to belong to the best and worst performers based on a set of farm indicators. Overall, farms were more robust than adaptable or transformable, and that their adaptation and transformation was limited. The probability to belong the best performing group was variable in the case studies. Still, some indicators increased farms probability of belonging to the best performing group: <em>Production efficiency</em> for robustness, and <em>Hectares per livestock</em> and <em>On-farm feed ratio</em> for adaptation. By contrast, <em>Family labour ratio</em> was negatively related to the best performers in terms of adaptation. In these regards, strengthening the resilience of small ruminant farms would require strategies building adaptation and transformation considering the farm indicators that contribute to perform better in these capacities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"255 ","pages":"Article 107684"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791486","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":"Assessing methane production and feed efficiency in both growing and mature ovine animals in six countries across Europe, South America and Oceania","authors":"Fiona.M. McGovern ,&nbsp;Patricia L. Johnson ,&nbsp;Noirin McHugh ,&nbsp;Flavie Tortereau ,&nbsp;Christel Marie-Etancelin ,&nbsp;Elly A. Navajas ,&nbsp;Ignacio De Barbieri ,&nbsp;Bente Aspeholen Åby ,&nbsp;Suzanne J. Rowe ,&nbsp;Joanne Conington ,&nbsp;Gabriel Ciappesoni ,&nbsp;Ingjerd Dønnem ,&nbsp;Mehmet Kizilaslan ,&nbsp;Kevin McDermott ,&nbsp;Nicola R. Lambe","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107677","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107677","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding key animal performance and nuisance factors associated with methane (CH₄) output and feed intake is crucial in developing greenhouse gas mitigation strategies and incorporating these traits into international sheep breeding goals. The objectives of the current study were to: 1) investigate animal and nuisance (environmental + management) factors associated with CH₄ output and feed intake; and 2) determine relationships between CH₄ output and feed efficiency in sheep and whether or not they differ by country. Methane output was measured in sheep in Ireland, Norway, New Zealand (NZ) and Uruguay using portable accumulation chambers (PAC), and in France using GreenFeed technology. Individual feed intake was quantified using various techniques across six countries (Ireland, United Kingdom, Norway, France, Uruguay, NZ), on sheep housed indoors, grazing outdoors, and consuming forage or a total mixed ration. Studies varied by sheep breed and age, as well as feed types and measurement methods; factors associated with the variability in CH₄ output and feed intake therefore differed by country. Despite variation between studies, phenotypic relationships among CH₄, carbon dioxide (CO₂), feed intake, feed efficiency, and live weight, were broadly similar across countries. Correlations with CH₄ output (g/d) were consistent and moderate with live weight (r = 0.41–0.55); variable with dry matter intake (DMI), ranging from 0.24 (France) to 0.88 (Norway); and consistently weak with residual feed intake (RFI). Correlations with CO₂ output (g/d) were consistent with live weight gain (r = 0.57) where estimated (France, Uruguay); variable with DMI, from moderate (r = 0.48 for France to r = 0.54 for NZ) to high (r = 0.71, Uruguay); and weak (r = 0.12, Uruguay) to moderately weak (r = 0.21, France) with RFI. Despite disparate datasets, combining data facilitates comparison and discussion on methodologies and interpretation of results. Results support the hypothesis that specific biological processes govern some trait relationships, being independent of factors like breed, age and feed, but that other relationships (e.g. between CO₂ and feed intake) are potentially strongly influenced by methodology and warrant further investigation. This is pertinent as we seek feed intake proxies to allow the estimation of CH₄ yield, an important metric in international CH₄ accounting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"255 ","pages":"Article 107677"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145738699","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":"Sex-specific differences in expression of pluripotency-related transcription factors in sheep embryos produced in vitro","authors":"Anupama Karimpat ,&nbsp;Ashish Mishra ,&nbsp;Arindam Dhali ,&nbsp;Sudhir Chandra Roy","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107682","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107682","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Embryonic developmental potential and stem cell differentiation are regulated by different pluripotency-related transcription factors (TFs), which are sensitive to micromilieu oxidative status. Embryos lacking these factors have low developmental potential and lose pluripotency. Numerous studies report sex-specific differences in embryo development in relation to oxidative status. However, information on the sexual dimorphism in the oxidative stress-induced expression levels of pluripotency markers in embryos is not available. Thus, the current study was designed to elucidate the sexual dimorphism in the relative expression levels of ROS-regulated pluripotency-related TFs (<em>SOX2, NANOG</em>, <em>OCT4, c-MYC, FGF4, KLF4, DPPA3, LIFR, and SOCS1)</em> in sheep embryos produced <em>in vitro</em>. Most of the TFs were significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) downregulated in female embryos as compared to male embryos. Significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) lower levels of ROS, higher levels of GSH, and fewer total cell numbers were observed in female embryos than in male embryos. The study concluded that male embryos produced <em>in vitro</em> have greater pluripotency ability than female embryos. In contrast, the female embryos <em>in vitro</em> are more stressed due to ROS-mediated suppression of energy metabolism, resulting in ATP depletion and jeopardizing their developmental potential, which in turn affects the pluripotency ability in association with downregulation of related TFs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"255 ","pages":"Article 107682"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790950","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":"Diet composition, digestibility and forage consumed by Moxotó goats fed different concentrate levels in a dry tropical agroforestry system","authors":"Valdi de Lima Júnior ,&nbsp;Divan Soares da Silva ,&nbsp;Carlo Aldrovandi Torreão Marques ,&nbsp;Jacira Neves da Costa Torreão ,&nbsp;Tairon Pannunzio Dias-Silva ,&nbsp;Ângela Maria Vieira Batista ,&nbsp;Ariosvaldo Nunes de Medeiros","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107683","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2025.107683","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the dry tropical agroforestry scenario, especially in native pasture areas, animals have access to a great diversity of plant species. Based on this, we aimed to investigate the effect of different levels of concentrate supplementation on chemical composition and <em>in vitro</em> digestibility of the extrusa, as well as forage consumed by Moxotó goats in a dry tropical agroforestry system. Eight male castrated Moxotó goats, (aged around 20 ± 4 months and weighting 33.4 ± 2.3 kg), fistulated in the esophagus, were distributed in a simultaneous double Latin square design with four treatments (0, 5, 10 and 15 g/kg of concentrate supplementation based on body weight) and four evaluation periods (each period lasting 28 days). Data were subjected to polynomial analysis of variance and tested for linear and quadratic orthogonal contrasts using the CONTRAST command. Among the available forages, Panasco grass (<em>Aristida setifolia</em>), malva (<em>Sida cordifolia and Urena lobata</em>) and catingueira (<em>Caesalpina pyramidalis</em>) were the most forage consumed by goats. The herbaceous stratum was preferred by the animals. The level of concentrate supplementation did not affect (P &gt; 0.05) the chemical composition of the forage consumed by the animals, except for total tannin. Goats subjected to higher levels of concentrate supplementation reduced (P &lt; 0.05) the consumption of condensed tannins. Increasing the level of concentrate supplementation promoted (P &lt; 0.05) an improvement in the <em>in vitro</em> dry matter digestibility <em>and in vitro</em> organic matter digestibility. We conclude that the goats showed a higher consumption of the herbaceous stratum. Panasco grass, malva and catingueira were the forages most consumed by goats, and the diet composition was not influenced by concentrate supplementation. However, an increase in digestibility was observed of the preferred forage by Moxotó goats in the dry tropical agroforestry system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"255 ","pages":"Article 107683"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791487","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}