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Highlights • The population structure of Morada Nova sheep breed using pedigree analysis was described. • Data was available on 10,015 Morada Nova animals born between 1973 and 2014. • Only 53.03% and 52.98% of the animals have sire and dam known, respectively. • Generation interval in this breed was approximately 3.6 years. • Reduction in registration of animals may become a problem to genetic variability. Abstract The aim of this study was to describe the population structure of Morada Nova sheep breed using pedigree analysis to support development strategies for conservation and breeding programs. Data was available on 10,015 Morada Nova animals born between 1973 and 2014, registered by ARCO (Brazilian Association of Sheep Breeders). The animals were divided into three categories: (1) Base: animals of unknown origin showing strong breed morphology; (2) Prov: animals with genealogy control for one (Prov I), two (Prov II) or three (Prov III) complete generations; (3) PO: animals with four or more complete generations of controlled genealogy. Data was analyzed using the ENDOG software v4.8 to determine individual inbreeding (F), effective population size (Ne), effective number of founders (fe), effective number of ancestors (fa) and number of founder genome equivalents (fg), generation intervals (Int) and genetic conservation index (GCI), of the Morada Nova sheep breed. The Base population (one or more unknown parents) contained 4,709 animals. Only 53.03% and 52.98% had known sire and dam, respectively. Most animals were found in the Brazilian Northeast, but in recent years numbers have increased in São Paulo State. Generation interval in this breed was approximately 3.6 years. Most farms buy rams or semen which helps maintain low inbreeding levels, as well as using their own rams. There is a need to increase registration beyond Base animals and use pedigree to avoid crosses between related animals. Nevertheless, no immediate problems were seen for maintenance of genetic diversity within the Morada Nova sheep breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morada Nova hair sheep show traits desirable for lamb production especially in extensive production systems in Northeastern Brazil, representing an important genetic resource for producing lamb in semi-arid climates in Brazil and elsewhere. Performance testing has been carried out annually with this breed since 2008. In the present study, Morada Nova sheep from two Brazilian states: Ceará (140 animals) and São Paulo (112 animals) were genotyped for a SNP associated with litter size, which is almost only found in Brazilian locally adapted sheep breeds ( FecG E ). The total observed frequency of FecG E was 0.65, while an increased number of observed heterozygotes was also observed ( χ 2 = 7.274, p< 0.01). No significant FecG E allele frequency differences were observed (p = 0.3708) in 139 performance-tested rams classified as Elite/Superior or Regular/Inferior in the states of Ceará and São Paulo. Considering that litter size has been shown to positively affect farm profitability in medium to high input systems, we suggest that inclusion of FecG E genotyping information in future selection indexes estimated with basis on performance test data, fine-tuned to regional production systems may contribute to increase profitability gains observed in the Morada Nova community-based breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The challenges that Brazil faces to set down real genetic improvement programs for goats are enormous, due to the vast range of its territory, along with the peculiar characteristics of the Northeast Region, which concentrate 93% of the goat population. This is the most extensive semiarid region of the country, where environmental resources are limited, with poor and irregular rainfall, with direct implications on scarcity and quality of forage, lack of a supply chain structured. Adding to this, the most of the herds are small, without appropriate management, run by small producers with scarce financial resources, and little technical assistance. The objective of this paper is to present a view of policies and technical-scientific activities regarding genetic improvement programs for goats in developing countries, establishing a parallel with actions of improvement carried out in Brazil in recent years, centered on the production of meat and dairy. The major experiences, challenges, needs and priorities will also be discussed to make possible, in the shortest time the consolidation of solid improvement programs for goats in Brazil. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Economic values were estimated for meat sheep raised in a pasture based production system in semi-arid Brazil using data on the Morada Nova hair sheep breed. The traits considered were lambing percentage (LP), litter size (LS), lamb mortality (LM), yearling mortality (YM), ewe and ram mortality (AM), female slaughter weight (FSW), male slaughter weight (MSW), ewe adult weight (EAW), ram adult weight (RW), carcass yield (CY), number of lambings per year (NLY), age at first lambing (AFL) and number of anthelminthic doses used per year (AC). The economic values were estimated using the profit equation (profit=revenue−costs) after a one unit and 1% increase of each trait, keeping all other traits at their mean value. With a 1% increase in the traits, the economic values (US$ per ewe per year) for LP, LM, MSW, CY and NLY were 0.781, −0.138, 0.416, 0.827 and 0.781, respectively. The production system with Morada Nova sheep grazing native “caatinga” pasture in Brazilian Northeast, exclusively for meat production, is profitable when taking into account all costs of production, including that of family labour. Carcass yield was shown to be an important selection objective. As it is expressed when the animal is slaughtered, further studies need to be carried out with this population to aid in the choice of appropriate selection criteria for the improvement of this trait. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights • We propose bovine cheese whey (serum) as a substitute for traditional food concentrates. • The use of bovine cheese whey contributes to the integration of dairy and sheep production chains, with reduction of costs. • On-farm hay can also decrease feedlot costs. • In a total diet, bovine cheese whey provides adequate animal performance with economic profitability. Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the economic viability of finishing Morada Nova in two feedlot systems: with and without inclusion of bovine cheese whey in the diet. Extrapolation was performed to a module of 240 lambs per year based on a three-cycle production system (each cycle with 100 days). The use of bovine cheese whey resulted in better economic viability. Reduction of labor costs and improvement of the lambs' sale price at the end of the finishing phase were major factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of locally adapted breeds has the potential to underpin the discovery of genes involved in economically and ecologically important traits. Brazilian locally adapted sheep breeds have distinctive characteristics that could be of value for specialized production systems. Therefore, the main objective of the present study was to identify genomic regions that may have been under selection and therefore may explain ecological and production differences observed among three important Brazilian locally adapted sheep breeds. Animals from the Brazilian Creole, Morada Nova and Santa Ines breeds were genotyped using the Illumina Ovine SNP50 BeadChip. The identification of selection signatures was based on two groups of methodologies: differentiation among populations (F ST ) and linkage disequilibrium (iHS and RsB). Taken together, these analyses allowed for the identification of 86 candidate genes. Functional analysis revealed genes related to immunity, nervous system development, reproduction and sensory perception. A number of genes are of particular interest including: RXFP2 , which has recently been associated with the presence/absence and morphology of horns in sheep; the TRPM8 gene, involved in regulation of body temperature at low temperatures; DIS3L2 , PLAG1 and NIPBL , associated with height variation; and finally, SPEF2 and SPAG6 , important for spermatogenesis. Selective sweeps were identified using multiple methods, and in a number of cases sweep regions contained genes with a demonstrated role in phenotypic variation. The genomic distribution of the sweep regions differed between populations, suggesting that breed specific signatures were successfully identified that may reflect the consequence of local adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian Sheep Breeders' Association recognizes two varieties of the Morada Nova hair breed, white and red. However, the black variety and/or animals with a pigmented nose has frequently been disqualified from genealogical records. Previous studies suggest that this genetic group might be similar to the red variety. Thus, the aim of this study was to conduct a Genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genomic regions related to hair color and confirm the position of black relative to other Morada Nova varieties. After quality controls, 48 animals were genotyped for 45.982 SNPs using the OvineSNP50k BeadChip. Estimated Fst values between white and red animals, white and black, and red and black were 10.78% ( p <0.00001), 9.23% ( p <0.00001), and 2.93% ( p <0.00001), respectively. The comparison between white and red (n=30) versus black (n=18) animals revealed 10 highly significant SNPs, most located in a 6.8 Mb window in Oar 14 which contains the MC1R gene. Differences between black and red coats are the result of the expression of different alleles of the same gene without directly affecting productive/reproductive characteristics. These two varieties showed low genetic variation, insufficient to define them as different groups, and to increase the breeding herd, the animals with black hair and/or pigmentation of the nose should be used breeding purposes. The results of this study contribute to the discussion of the importance in reconciling conservation, traditional breed standards and breeding of farm animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present study was to estimate genetic parameters for growth and reproductive traits of Morada Nova sheep reared by smallholder farmers in the semi-arid northeastern region of Brazil. Data from 11 participating flocks, between 2007 and 2011, were used for the estimation of (co)variance components and genetic parameters for birth weight (BW), weight at weaning adjusted for 112 days of age (WW), average daily weight gain from birth to weaning (ADG), days to lambing (DL), lambing interval (LI), total litter weight at birth (LWB), total litter weight at weaning (LWW) and the ratio between total litter weight at birth and weaning and metabolic weight of the dam (LWB/MW and LWW/MW, respectively). The direct heritabilities obtained by one-trait analysis were 0.19, 0.14, 0.11, 0.13, 0.0, 0.44, 0.19, 0.41, 0.15, respectively for BW, WW, ADG, DL, LI, LWB, LWW, LWB/MW and LWW/MW. The direct heritabilities for BW and WW obtained by two-trait analysis were similar to those estimated by one-trait analysis. However, the direct heritabilities for LWB, LWW and LWW/MW obtained by two-trait analysis were higher than those estimated by one-trait analysis. The genetic correlation between BW and WW were 0.75 and between LWB, LWW and LWW/MW were 0.8, 0.9 and 1.0, respectively. In conclusion, except for LI, there is genetic variability that can be explored by direct and indirect selection to obtain genetic gains in the flocks participating in the Nucleus of Participatory Breeding of Morada Nova Sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to identify traits of socio-economic relevance for intensive and semi-intensive dairy goat production system, to derive economic weights for the breeding goals and to propose selection indices whose criteria are easily collected by dairy goat breeders. The economic value of each trait was calculated as the difference between the average profit before and after the improvement of criteria, after increasing each trait by 1%, keeping the average of other traits unchanged. Eight selection indices were proposed. Four indices (I–IV) were determined for the intensive system and four (V–VIII) for the semi-intensive system. The traits included in each index were: milk production (MP) and lactation length (LL) (I and V); MP, LL, and age at first kidding (AFC) (II and VI); MP, LL, AFC and kidding interval (CI) (III and VII); and MP, LL, AFC, CI, somatic cell count (SCC) and total solids (TS) (IV and VIII). The average profit of the semi-intensive system was higher than the intensive system, R$ 0.18 and R$ 0.14, respectively. The use of indices III and VI promoted simultaneous improvement in both productive and reproductive traits. With differential payment for better quality milk, TS and SCC levels, use of indices IV and VIII are indicated. The choice and use of these indices depend on the definition of objectives and of the measurement ease of selection criteria. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present here a method for the regeneration of the prickly-pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) through somatic embryogenesis (SE). Direct SE was induced by cultivating shoot apices devoid of leaf primordia on semisolid Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with 4-amino 3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (picloram) at 4mgl−1. Somatic embryogenesis was influenced by the type, age, physiological and developmental stage of the explants, and also by light conditions, wounding, and the sucrose concentration in the induction medium. A histological analysis confirmed SE by revealing the presence of a closed vascular system in the developing embryos and the absence of a vascular connection between the somatic embryos and the explant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]