Animal Bioscience最新文献

{"title":"Spirulina supplementation effects on small ruminants performance and product attributes: a meta-analysis.","authors":"Frediansyah Firdaus, Tanda Sahat Panjaitan, Malik Makmur, Bayu Andri Atmoko, Yudi Adinata, Noor Hudhia Krishna, Retno Widiyawati","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0835","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0835","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The research aims to conduct a meta-analysis evaluating the nutritional benefits of Spirulina supplementation on growth performance, rumen function, antioxidant status, blood biochemistry, fatty acid profile, meat quality, and eating quality in small ruminant, specifically goats and sheep.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to determine the impact of Spirulina supplementation on various aspects of small ruminant performance and product attributes. Electronic databases (Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar) were searched for relevant studies published between 2012 and 2023. From the 350 identified studies, 24 matched the inclusion criteria of original research. A meta-analysis was performed using OpenMEE software. Publication bias was assessed using the precisioneffect test (PET)-precision-effect estimate with standard errors method and Rosenthal's fail-safe N analysis, visualised through PET regression plots in JASP software. Standardised mean differences between Spirulina-supplemented and control groups were calculated to determine the effect magnitude.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Meta-analysis show that Spirulina supplementation significantly enhances growth performance, meat quality, and antioxidant status in small ruminants compared to controls. Supplementation increases average daily gain and reduces feed conversion ratio. Additionally, Spirulina supplementation elevates antioxidant enzyme activities, including catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione, and superoxide dismutase. Meat quality parameters, such as fat melting point, intramuscular fat percentage, and pH, are also positively affected. Blood biochemistry markers, including alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, cholesterol, haemoglobin, low-density lipoprotein, total protein, urea, and white blood cell counts, remain within normal physiological ranges. Moreover, Spirulina supplementation favorably alters fatty acid composition, increasing the proportion of eicosapentaenoic acid and decreasing the proportion of palmitic acid. Supplementation duration ranged from 14 to 182 days, with doses between 0.014 to 2.14 g/kg body weight/day.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Spirulina supplementation has potential effects on small ruminant productivity, especially growth performance, health and meat quality. Spirulina can be a valuable dietary addition for small ruminant. Further research is warranted to optimise supplementation strategies and understand underlying mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1680-1693"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229901/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143958734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correlation between ambient temperature and body weight of Hanwoo calves (Korean native cattle).","authors":"Hyun Sang Kim, Jungeun Kim, Pilnam Seong, Won-Young Lee, Seongshin Lee, Jisoo Wi, Hye Ran Kim, Sung Dae Lee, Yookyung Lee","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0489","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0489","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Changes in ambient temperature negatively impact livestock productivity, with thermal stress causing physiological changes that affect beef quality and quantity. The calf stage is critical, as thermal stress during this period can have lasting effects on productivity. This study examined the impact of weather conditions on calf growth, carcass traits, and their interrelationships in Korean native Hanwoo steers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data from 8,727 male Hanwoo calves were selected from 41,107 data points. Meteorological data were collected from 60 cities in Korea between 2016 and 2019. The input data included calf growth, carcass traits, and weather conditions at birth for each calf.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Temperature, relative humidity (RH), and temperature-humidity index (THI) increased from winter to summer and decreased from summer to winter. Summer-born calves had significantly lower birth body weight (BBW) than those born in winter. The average daily gain (ADG) of the calves was highest in winter and lowest in spring and fall. A high carcass weight (CW) was observed in steers born in summer and winter. BBW and ADG were negatively correlated with ambient temperature, RH, and THI. Positive relationships were observed between BBW, ADG, and CW. Only CW was positively correlated with the meat quality grade of steers. Thus, temperature negatively affects the BBW of male Hanwoo calves, in turn affecting the daily gain, CW, and meat quality grade.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study demonstrates that temperature, RH, and THI adversely affect the BBW of male Hanwoo calves, leading to reduced ADG and influencing CW and meat quality grade. Negative correlations were observed between BBW, ADG, and environmental factors, while CW showed positive correlations with BBW, ADG, and meat quality grade. These findings highlight the critical impact of climatic conditions on the growth performance and productivity of Hanwoo cattle.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1817-1825"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229907/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143565720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selection signature analysis using whole genome resequencing data reveals candidate genes for white plumage color in Korean native ducks.","authors":"Jaewon Kim, Jaegwon Kim, Eunjin Cho, Sunghyun Cho, Minjun Kim, Won-Hyung Chung, Jung-Woo Choi, Hyo Jun Choo, Jun Heon Lee","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0718","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0718","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Domestication alters the phenotypes of wild animals to meet human demands and leaves characteristic patterns in their genomes. Various selection signature analysis methods have been developed to identify these characteristic patterns left in the genome. The Korean native duck (KND) is one of the domesticated species in Korea. KND is categorized into two populations based on plumage color; colored KND (KNDC) and white KND (KNDW). To enhance the competitiveness of native ducks, it is necessary to establish a KNDW line. In this study, we conducted selection signature analysis to identify candidate genes associated with white plumage color in KNDs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We generated whole genome resequencing data from 22 KNDCs, 22KNDWs, and 10 Pekin ducks (PKDs). To detect distinct genomic regions between KND populations with different plumage colors, we analyzed three types of selection signature analysis: the fixation index (Fst), nucleotide diversity(π), and cross-population extended haplotype heterozygosity (XP-EHH).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Population structure analysis showed that although KNDC and KNDW are distinct from PKD, they form a single group sharing a common ancestor. The results of Fst and π analyses revealed that compared to KNDC, there were strong selection signals in the MITF gene in KNDW, with a 6,641 bp insertion in the intron 2 region. This variant is a transposable element insertion that causes white plumage in PKD. In addition, XP-EHH analysis identified DCT, KIT, TYR, and ADCY9 as major candidate genes associated with pigmentation in the KND population.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>White plumage in KNDW is caused by a transposable element insertion in the MITF gene. This finding improves our understanding of plumage color in KND and supports the establishment of KNDW breeding programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1594-1604"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229940/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143565724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"CircEPDR1 regulates proliferation and differentiation of goat skeletal muscle satellite cells through miR-345-3p/Akirin1 axis.","authors":"Song Shi, Diansong Duan, Jing Luo, Zihao Zhao, Tao Ma, Dinghui Dai, Siyuan Zhan, Jiaxue Cao, Jiazhong Guo, Tao Zhong, Linjie Wang, Hongping Zhang, Li Li","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0845","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0845","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play pivotal roles in regulating the growth and development of mammalian skeletal muscle This study aims to provide new insights into the molecu-lar regulatory network that underlies skeletal muscle development, presenting valuable targets to enhance and optimize livestock production performance.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this study, we anchored a novel circRNA from previous circRNA sequencing data from goat skeletal muscle and named it circEPDR1, which was confirmed through en-zymatic digestion and Sanger sequencing. Functional investigation of circEPDR1 included overexpression experiments in goat muscle satellite cells (MuSCs), and its subcellular localization was determined using nuclear-cytoplasmic separation. Bioinformatics analysis was employed to reveal a circRNA-miRNA-RNA regulatory pathway involving circEPDR1. This process was further validated through Dual-luciferase reporter assay, real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, EdU incorporation, CCK-8 cell viability tests, and immunofluorescence experiments.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We newly identified circEPDR1, which is produced by reverse splicing the second and third exons of the EPDR1 gene. circEPDR1 was enriched in skeletal muscle and dynamically expressed during the growth of goat MuSCs. In addition, circEPDR1 significantly inhibited the proliferation while promoting myogenic differentiation of goat MuSCs. The dominant cytoplasm distribution and enrichment by the AGO2 protein imply that circEPDR1 potentially works as a competitive endogenous RNA. Mechanically, miR-345-3p directly targeted circEPDR1, and its function in myogenesis was completely reversed to that of circEPDR1. Meanwhile, miR-345-3p negatively regulated Akirin1 mRNA through their base-pairing. Similar to circEPDR1, Akirin1 suppressed proliferation while also promoting differentiation.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study demonstrates that circEPDR1 controls a vital role in regulating the prolifera-tion and differentiation of goat MuSCs through the circEPDR1/miR-345-3p/Akirin1 axis.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1605-1621"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229913/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143956483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimal dietary vitamin B1 content enhanced egg production, eggshell thickness, and serum antioxidant status in breeder geese.","authors":"Lin Dai, Baowei Wang, Qian Li, Mingai Zhang, Jing Zhang, Bin Yue, Min Kong, Binghan Wang, Wenlei Fan","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0751","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0751","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the effects of vitamin B1 (VB1) supplementation on laying performance, egg quality, serum biochemical parameters, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestion in breeder geese.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 150 geese (30 males and 120 females, aged 34 weeks) were randomly assigned to 6 dietary treatment groups, each 5 replicates of 5 birds (1 male and 4 females). The geese were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0 (control), 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 mg/kg of VB1 for 10 weeks.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>VB1 supplementation had no significant effects on average feed intake, average egg weight, feed-to-egg ratio, egg shape index, eggshell strength, protein height, and Haugh unit (p>0.05). However, it increased egg-laying rate, eggshell thickness, and yolk color (p<0.05) in a quadratic manner, with the maximum values observed at 2 mg/kg VB1. Supplementing 2 mg/kg VB1 reduced serum aspartate transaminase activity (p<0.05), but did not affect serum alanine transaminase activity, lipid and protein concentrations (p>0.05). Serum glutathione peroxidase and total superoxide dismutase activities were enhanced by VB1 supplementation (p<0.05), while total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde concentration remained unchanged (p>0.05). Additionally, VB1 supplementation at 2 mg/ kg increased crude ash digestibility, but did not affect the digestibility of ether extract, crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Dietary supplementing VB1 improved egg-laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant status, and mineral absorption in breeder geese. The optimal dietary VB1 concentration ranged from 3.83 to 4.81 mg/kg for improving egg production and quality, while higher concentrations of 4.99 to 6.51 mg/kg were needed to boost serum antioxidant status.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1746-1755"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229916/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143565722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Change in adipose tissue characteristics and lipid metabolism in natural grazing Mongolian cattle with age.","authors":"Xueting Yu, Lu Chen, Xige He, Yunfei Han, Yajuan Huang, Rina Sha, Gerelt Borjigin","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0706","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0706","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to elucidate the lipid composition, characteristics, and metabolic mechanisms of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in natural grazing Mongolian cattle during its development.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The experimental animals consisted of castrated Mongolian cattle, divided into two groups: 10 months old (10 M, n = 12, average weight: 113.26±0.87 kg) and 34 months old (34 M, n = 12, average weight: 390.44±1.23 kg). All animals were selected from the same herd in the Eren Nur grasslands, Xilingol, Inner Mongolia, China. Browning-related genes in SAT were determined using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with 3 replicates for each cattle, and six animals from each group were randomly selected for non-targeted lipidomic techniques to analyze the changes in lipid metabolism with 6 replicates.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The yellowness value and relative expression of mitochondrial biogenesis-specific markers, thermogenic markers, uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2), and beige adipocyte marker genes in the SAT increased with age. Multivariate analysis revealed 172 significantly different lipids (SDLs). Triacylglycerols and phosphatidylcholines showed high relative contents. Glycerol and sterol lipid levels were predominantly upregulated during development, whereas phospholipids and sphingolipids were primarily upregulated at 10 M. Developmental time greatly influenced the fatty acid composition of neutral lipids, phospholipids, and free fatty acids. Pathway analysis demonstrated that the 172 SDLs were primarily involved in glycerophospholipid, glycerolipid, ether lipid, and sphingolipid metabolism.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The developmental stage significantly affected the lipid quantity, composition, and metabolism of SAT in Mongolian cattle. Certain functional lipids, such as mediumlong-chain triglycerides, fatty acid ester of hydroxyl fatty acid, and vitamin D, were detected in the yellow fat of natural grazing Mongolian cattle. These findings provide a comprehensive reference for the metabolic characteristics of yellow fat in Mongolian cattle, contributing to the meat industry chain.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1784-1797"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229929/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143565779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of low-purine diet supplemented with Sida acuta Burm. f. on growth performance, purine deposition, and biomolecules in slow-growing chickens.","authors":"Orapin Jantasaeng, Michel Jacques Duclos, Kanjana Thumanu, Supattra Okrathok, Sutisa Khempaka","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0798","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0798","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study investigated the effects of a low-purine (Pu) diet supplemented with Sida acuta Burm. f. (SA) on growth performance, serum uric acid (SUA), and meat quality, including chemical composition, biomolecules, and purine deposition, in slow-growing Korat chickens (KRC).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 480 mixed-sex one-d-old KRC were randomly allocated into five groups with six replicates each (16 chicks/replicate) using a 1+2×2 augmented factorial experiment in a completely randomized design. Five experimental diets were as follows: a control (basal diet), two diets with 30% and 45% lower purine levels than the control (-30% and -45% Pu), each supplemented with two levels of SA (0.3% and 0.6% SA), respectively. After sex determination, all subsequent analyses were conducted exclusively on female birds.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>KRC fed a -30% Pu diet supplemented with 0.6% SA showed reduced hypoxanthine and total purine deposition in major breast muscle (Pectoralis majora) without negative effects on growth performance, SUA levels, meat quality, chemical composition, biomolecules, and protein secondary structures comparable to the control group. Birds fed a -45% Pu diet, supplemented with either 0.3% or 0.6% SA, exhibited impaired growth performance and without significant changes in major breast muscle hypoxanthine or total purine content. Correlation analysis revealed that the -30% Pu diet supplemented with 0.6% SA was positively correlated with reduced hypoxanthine and total purine content, while showing negative correlations with lipid content and β-turn structure.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A 30% reduction in dietary purines combined with 0.6% SA supplementation effectively decreased purine deposition in chicken meat, contributing to the production of healthier chicken meat product. Further studies are needed to investigate the molecular mechanisms and metabolic pathways, which will enable breeders to advance the development of Pu chicken meat production.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1756-1772"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229930/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143565809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A longitudinal investigation of gut microbiota dynamics in laying hens from birth to egg-laying stages.","authors":"Seojin Choi, Eun Bae Kim","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0889","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0889","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Laying hens are a critical resource in global agriculture, valued for their egg production, which provides an economical and nutritious source of protein. This study aims to comprehensively characterize the developmental changes in the gut microbiota of Hy-Line Brown laying hens from birth to post-laying stages.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 100 Hy-Line Brown laying hens were reared under controlled conditions, and feces and ileal contents were collected at three post-laying stages (151, 302, and 422 days). DNA was extracted from the samples and the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced using an Illumina MiSeq platform. The Random Forest algorithm was applied to identify microbial predictors and explore their relationships with age.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The rapid increase in body weight continued until day 151, after which it stabilized through day 422. Fecal microbiome diversity increased until day 302, whereas in the ileal content, it grew until day 101 before declining. Throughout all stages, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the predominant phyla. Lactobacillus abundance peaked on day 10 (33.75%) across all sampling sites, whereas Escherichia-Shigella reached its maximum on day 21 but gradually diminished to 2.88% by day 422 (p<0.05). Machine learning analysis revealed that Candidatus Arthromitus and Clostridia vadinBB60 group consistently had the highest importance scores across all sample sites. At 302 day, body weight exhibited negative relationships with feces Brevibacterium (R = -0.87; p<0.05) and Brachybacterium (R = -0.79; p<0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study examined gut microbiota changes in Hy-Line Brown hens from birth to one-year post-laying, highlighting the impact of calcium-rich layer diets. The findings provide insights into microbiota dynamics and their relationship with age, which can be applied to optimize dietary strategies and improve laying hen productivity and health.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1773-1783"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229937/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143956568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with litter size in goats using genotyping-by-sequencing and association analysis.","authors":"Satoshi Kubota, Thara Wongdee, Pramote Paengkoum","doi":"10.5713/ab.24.0533","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.24.0533","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Improving fertility is a key goal in goat production. This study aimed to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with female goat reproductive performance for use in selection processes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Nine reproductive traits were evaluated, including litter size and age at the first, second, and third parities, as well as intervals between parities, in 31 female goats (2 purebred and 29 crossbred goats in various combinations of seven breeds). DNA was extracted from blood, and SNP data were obtained using the genotyping by sequencing method. After filtering for allele depth and missing genotype data, the retained SNPs were subjected to population structure analysis and association analysis with the nine traits. For the association analysis, SNPs with false discovery rates ≤ 0.05 were considered significant. Polymerase chain reaction allele competitive extension (PACE) genotyping assay was applied to develop genetic markers.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>An average of 304,852 SNPs were initially detected in the 31 female goats. After filtering, 21,665 SNPs were retained. The first two principal components obtained from individual genotypes classified the 31 goats into three clusters. In the association analysis, six SNPs on four chromosomes were significantly associated with the litter size at first parity. The most significant SNP was detected on chromosome 4, and three genes-IKAROS family zinc finger 1 (IKZF1), fidgetin-like 1 (FIGNL1), and dopa decarboxylase (DDC)-were found within 100 kb downstream and upstream of the SNP. The PACE genotyping assay confirmed genotypes at this SNP with a 96% concordance rate.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>SNPs significantly associated with litter size at first parity, candidate genes, and the PACE genotyping methods applied in this study can be used for selecting female goats in future genetic improvement programs. However, further study on the frequency of genetic mutation with a larger sample size and functional studies of the candidate genes are required.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1580-1593"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229939/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Common factors and nutrients affecting intestinal villus height-A review.","authors":"Jialu Wang, Yuying Wu, Tiantian Zhou, Yingying Feng, Liu-An Li","doi":"10.5713/ab.25.0002","DOIUrl":"10.5713/ab.25.0002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The villus of the small intestine plays an essential role in the digestion and absorption of nutrients. They mix chyme with digestive secretions and absorb nutrients by assisting in food agitation and adherence in the intestinal lumen. The height of villi is a critical indicator of the effective absorptive area of the small intestine, which will be greatly reduced if the villi are shortened. Many factors influence the height of intestinal villi, including age, diet, disease, and environmental conditions. This review summarizes the common factors affecting intestinal villus height to provide theoretical guidelines for enhancing intestinal health.</p>","PeriodicalId":7825,"journal":{"name":"Animal Bioscience","volume":" ","pages":"1557-1569"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12229927/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144075550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}