Search

There are three main breeds of goat in Nigeria: The West African Dwarf (WAD), the Red Sokoto and the Sahel. Goats are renowned for their hardiness and can survive in most environments. The goats sampling was carried out from farms and markets across different states in Nigeria, according to the geographical distribution of the breeds published by Blench (1999). This experiment was carried out to analyse morphological variability among Nigerian goats. A total of 318 goats spread across the three Nigerian breeds were used in the following populations (57 Sahel, 187 Red Sokoto and 137 West African Dwarf). Data were collected on body weight, linear body measurements and heat tolerance traits and were subjected to analysis of variance using the fixed effects of breed, sex and location. Results showed that breed, sex and location significantly (P

A total of 150 pure strain broiler chicks comprising 50 each of Arbor Acre, Marshall and Ross were used for this experiment which lasted 10 weeks at the Poultry Breeding Unit of the Directorate of University Farms (DUFARMS) of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State Nigeria. The experiment was carried out to make comparative analyses of growth response and genetic parameter estimates of some quantitative traits (Body weight and linear body measurement) in Arbor Acre, Marshall and Ross broiler chicken strains in South-West, Nigeria. Growth performance data was collected from week 3 to week 10 and analysed using the Generalized Linear Model. Marshall broiler chicken strain had the highest growth rate and better growth performance followed by Ross and Arbor Acre in terms of body weight and linear body dimensions. Marshall and Ross attained mean weight of 1964.50±43.10 g and 1913.02±41.05 g, respectively, which were superior (p < 0.05) to Arbor Acre 1831.63±36.28 g at 10 weeks of age. Marshall Broiler chicken strain also had the highest estimates of heritability for body weight 0.46±0.04, followed by Arbor Acre and Ross with estimates of heritability of 0.38±0.12 and 0.26±0.06, respectively. However considering the linear body measurements, none of the broiler chicken strains maintained high estimates of heritability from 3rd to 10th week.

The interferon regulatory factor gene family encodes transcription factors with multiple biological functions, which include reproduction, cell differentiation and immunity. Interferon regulatory factor-5 (IRF-5) gene is involved in immune defence against virus, stress response, activation of type I interferon genes, cell differentiation and growth. This experiment was conducted to identify and characterise single nucleotide polymorphisms in exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene in Nigerian local chickens. Exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene were amplified and sequenced. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in exons 3, 4, 5 and 7 of IRF-5 gene were identified and analysed using Clustal W, DnaSp and SNAP2 software packages. Four SNPs, rs317511101, rs312902332, rs315149141 and rs739389464, were identified in exon 3 of IRF-5 gene in all the three genotypes. Exon 4 of the gene was conserved while three of the SNPs (rs736423928, 170C>T and rs740736761) identified in exon 7 were shared among the three genotypes. Linkage disequilibrium of 1.00 existed between rs317511101 and rs315149141 polymorphisms identified in exon 3 of normal feathered and frizzle feathered chickens. Mutation rs740736761 identified in exon 7 had the highest polymorphism information content obtainable for any biallelic marker. Most of the SNPs identified in exons 3, 5 and 7 were synonymous and singletons which could not be used for association study. The study concluded that only haplotypes in exons 3 and 7 of IRF-5 gene can be used in marker-assisted selection when improving Nigerian local chickens.

This experiment was conducted to assess the effect of chicken genotype on the growth performance, feed intake and feed efficiency of the progenies resulting from pure, straight and reciprocal cross of Giriraja (Gr) and Alpha chickens. Data obtained on body weight, body length, breast girth, keel length, feed intake and feed efficiency were analyzed using general linear models analysis of variance. Generally, all growth traits and feed consumption characteristics were significantly affected (P < 0.05) by chicken genotype. Growth traits and feed intake increased as birds advanced in age. Giriraja X Giriraja purebred chickens had the highest body weight, breast girth, feed intake and feed conversion efficiency through out the experimental period. However, the progenies resulting from the reciprocal crosses of Alpha X Gr had significant higher body weight and keel. Also, the feed conversion efficiency of the reciprocal crosses were better than the dihybrid cross progenies. The results therefore suggest that the superiority exhibited by the Giriraja could be utilized to improve the growth performance of the indigenous chicken thereby speed up desirable progress in the improvement of the indigenous broiler line. Key words: Chicken, Crossbred, Feed consumption, Genotype, Growth trait, Purebred

The retail cuts, gut characteristics and morphology of rabbits fed with varying dietary fibre and digestible energy (DE) levels were measured in a 70-d feeding trial using 135 weaner rabbits. The experiment was designed as a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments having 3 levels of dietary fibre (low, optimum and high) and 3 levels of DE (low, optimum and high). The rabbits were allotted to 9 dietary groups consisting of 15 rabbits each. Main effect of fibre and DE showed that dressing out percentage (P < 0.05), chilled carcass weight (P

This study assessed the reproductive performance of indigenous and crossbred parent stocks and the influence of sire genotype on the growth and efficiency of feed utilization by their progenies. A total of 300 poults, 150 for each genotype were generated from two crosses (Nicholas white x Indigenous and Indigenous x Indigenous turkeys). Data were collected on the reproductive performance of the parents while body weight and feed intake from day old to the 20th week of age were also collected from the progenies generated. The experiment was a complete randomized design with data generated subjected to two way analysis of variance using SAS. The result of the study showed that sire genotype had significant effect (p0.05) on all female reproductive traits such as fertility, hatchability, dead in-germ, weak in-shell and dead in-shell. However, the indigenous turkey had higher fertility percentage (85%) while 80% hatchability was observed in crossbred turkey. Crossbred turkey significantly (p

Improvement in fertility is possible through gene assisted selection. Cattle fertility and genes underlying it should be thoroughly studied and exploited to find solution to declining cattle fertility. Reprimo (RPRM) gene is a pleiotropic gene involved in suppression of cancer, regulation of mitotic cell cycle, cell cycle arrest and regulation of survival. Comparison of protein tertiary structures is important in inferring functional characteristics of new proteins. This study used computational approach to identify some fertility functions of bovine RPRM gene using motif prediction and protein structure comparison. Amino acid sequences of bovine RPRM gene and some other cattle fertility genes were retrieved from GenBank. Motifs in the amino acid sequence of bovine RPRM gene were predicted using PROSITE software. The domain structure of bovine RPRM protein was predicted using simple modular architecture research tool (SMART). Protein tertiary structures (3D structures) of bovine RPRM gene and other cattle fertility genes were predicted with Phyre 2 software. To have structural and functional similarity, it has been found that protein structure after superimposition should have Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) value less than or equal to 2A. The protein 3D structures of other cattle fertility genes were superposed against the protein 3D structure of bovine RPRM gene using SuperPose web server and the proteins with RMSD value of 2A or less were predicted as proteins with similar functions and structures as bovine RPRM gene. The predicted motifs (N-glycosylation site, N-myristoylation site, and cAMP and cGMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation site) and protein structure comparison revealed that, bovine RPRM gene and bovine growth hormone gene have the same fertility function with alpha carbon and backbone root mean square deviations of 1.94 A and 1.81 A, respectively. It follows therefore that other fertility functions of bovine RPRM gene included sexual maturation, steroidogenesis, gametogenesis, gonadal differentiation and gonadotrophin secretion which are the functions of growth hormone gene. Keywords : Reprimo gene, fertility, growth hormone gene, motifs, root mean square deviation

Understanding the level of genetic diversity in any population is an important requisite towards strategizing measures for conservation and improvement of stocks. This study focused on the assessment of phylogenetics and molecular divergence of tilapia fish species obtained from two populations (Domita in South-South and Odeda in South-West, Nigeria) using the displacement loop (D-loop) and cytochrome b region of the mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA). A total of 28 samples (15 from South-South and 13 from South-West) were used for the genetic analysis. DNA was extracted from the tissue of all the samples using Quik-gDNATM miniPrep kit. The D-loop containing the hypervariable region was sequenced for all samples from the two populations, while cytochrome b (Cyt b) region of mtDNA was only sequenced for samples from South-South population. Chromatograms of the sequences were viewed and edited using Bioedit software. Multiple sequence alignment was carried out using molecular evolutionary genetic analysis (MEGA) software before subsequent genetic analyses. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the samples into two clusters based on population. Also, when the two mitochondrial regions were pooled together, they clustered into two major groups based on mitochondrial regions. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed 37.32% variation within population and 62.68% variation among population with a significant fixation index of 0.627 (p < 0.05). The genetic distance inferred between D-loop regions of South-South and South-West populations was 0.243. Maternal lineage analysis revealed that the origin of tilapia fish from both populations could be traced to Oreochromis spirilus and Oreochromis leucostictus based on mitochondrial D-loop region. The findings of this study revealed molecular divergence among the tilapia populations and may serve as pivot information for the genetic improvement of this important species.

Deciphering genomic information requires markers that are polymorphic and sufficient enough to capture its vast array of genetic data. Polymorphic loci can differ greatly between breeds of the same species and the exclusion of the Nigerian and some African sheep breeds during the development of the OvineSNP50 chip necessitated the validation of SNPs included on the chip to allow for genomic applications of the excluded breeds. A total of sixty sheep samples were genotyped [10 each of the Balami, Uda, West African Dwarf and Yankasa from Nigeria, Dorper and Red Maasai from Kenya (East Africa)] using the Ovine 50k Illumina SNP bead chip. Results revealed that 33,994 SNPs (97.47%) of the called 34,876 SNPs were validated for downstream analysis. Mean heterozygosity values of 0.154 and 0.153 were obtained for polymorphic SNPs on sex and autosomal chromosomes respectively, while the values of 0.662 and 0.054 were obtained on the sex and autosomal chromosomes respectively for the mean identity-bystate (IBS). Six and three individuals violated the per ID and identity-by-state (IBS) thresholds, respectively. It was observed that the Ovine 50k Illumina SNP bead chip was informative in the Nigerian and East African sheep that were studied, and should be useful in examining the underlying genetic variation. Keywords: Sheep, OvineSNP50, genome-wide, call rate, minor allele frequency

In this study, the maternal genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationship and effect of natural selection on indigenous chickens from Nigeria were assessed. A total of 397-bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region of 171 indigenous chickens from four populations of Nigeria and four commercial egg line strains (two Anak titan, one Giriraja and one Yaffa) as out-groups were analysed. Thirty-one haplotypes (28 from Nigerian chickens and three from commercial strains) and 34 polymorphic sites were identified. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.39 ± 0.05 and 0.02 ± 0.02, respectively. Majority of Nigerian chicken haplotypes observed were grouped into haplogroup D which originated from Indian subcontinent, suggesting a single maternal lineage. Genetic variation within and between populations accounted for 97.30 and 2.70% of the total genetic variation, respectively, which is in agreement with a recent and maternal founding effect. High number (4) of negatively selected sites observed based on single likelihood ancestral counting (SLAC) model indicated that the sampled Nigerian chicken populations were undergoing purifying selection. This study concluded that there was relatively high genetic diversity and differentiation, thus, this information will probably paveway for further evaluation studies, preservation and improvement of Nigerian chickens as genetic resources towards ensuring food security.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable region 1 ( HV1) sequences of three Nigerian indigenous goat breeds; West African Dwarf (WAD), Red Sokoto (RS) and Sahel were used to investigate the genetic diversity and effect of selection between and among these populations. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of Nigerian indigenous chicken was extracted from blood samples collected and preserved on Fast Technology for Analysis (FTA) paper. The extracted DNA were amplified and sequenced with predefined mitochondria (mtDNA) primer sets for HV1. Eighty-seven (87) polymorphic sites were found in 115 sequences which were grouped into 92 haplotypes. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.996±0.002 and 0.092±0.04 respectively. Genetic variation within population and between populations accounted for 97.26% and 2.74% of the total maternal variation respectively, with FST value of 0.0274. The Tajima's (D) and Fu's (F) test of neutrality were significant (P

Morphological features of chicken genetic resources must be carefully identified and considered in developing breeding strategies. The study was carried out to determine the frequencies of morphological features in indigenous chickens of South-Western Nigeria, using Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo States as case study. Five major chicken markets (Mushin in Lagos State, Itoku and Ipokia in Ogun State, Olu-ode in Osun State and Molete in Oyo State) were used as study locations and three thousand, three hundred and thirteen chickens were observed in the five locations. Ipokia had the highest number (1,549) of chickens and Molete had the least (307) number of chickens. The traits observed included: feather structure, feather distribution, feather morphology, plumage colour, ear lobe colour, skin colour and shank colour. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics and inferential statistical analysis was also done for the results using chi-square test. It was observed that for those traits that recorded significant variation, there had been selection for these traits due to the high market value attached to them by attaching preference to some of its variants which were observed. Knowledge and well documentation of the potentials of indigenous chickens can help provide crucial information for a comprehensive breeding policy and full utilization of the animal. Keywords : Characterization, conservation, indigenous chickens, morphological features

In this study, the maternal genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship of Nigerian duck populations were assessed. A total of 591 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region of 87 indigenous ducks from two populations in Nigeria were analyzed. Seven haplotypes and 70 polymorphic sites were identified. The mean haplotypic and nucleotide diversity were found to be 0.381±0.058 and 0.315±0.155 respectively. The phylogeny revealed two divergent haplotype clades, suggesting two possible maternal lineage in Nigerian duck population, with the most commonly shared haplotype belonging to Mallard ducks ( Anas platyrhynchos ). Genetic variation within and between populations accounted for 63.32% and 36.68% of the total genetic variation respectively. This study concluded that there was relatively high genetic diversity and differentiation, thus, this information will probably pave way for further evaluation studies, preservation and improvement of Nigerian ducks as genetic resources. Keywords : Genetic Diversity, MtDNA, Nigerian duck, phylogeny

A total of 150 meat type chickens comprising 50 each of Arbor Acre, Marshall and Ross were used for this study which lasted for 10 weeks at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Growth performance data were collected from the third week through week 10 and data obtained were analysed using the Generalized Linear Model Procedure. Heritability estimates (h2) for body dimensions carried out on the chicken strains ranged from low to high. Marshall broiler chicken strain had the highest h2 for body weight 0.46±0.04, followed by Arbor Acre and Ross with h2 being 0.38±0.12 and 0.26±0.06, respectively. The repeatability estimates for body weight in the three broiler strains were high, and it ranged from 0.70 at week 4 to 0.88 at week 10. Relationships between the body weight and linear body measurements in the broiler chicken strains were positive and highly significant (p > 0.05)., {"references":["Adebambo, A.O., Faybenvo, O.I., Fragite, S.O., Ikeobi C.O.N. and\nAdebambo, O.A. (2005). Preliminary assessment of growth and\nreproductive data of three strain of chickens for broiler development in\nNigeria. Proceedings of 1st Nigeria International Poultry Summit, Ota,\nOgun State, Nigeria. Pp: 9-11.","Adeleke, M.A., Ozoje, M.O., Olufunmilayo A. Adebambo, Peters, S.O.\nand Bamgbose, A.M. (2004). Estimation of body weight from linear\nbody measurements among crossbred egg-type chickens. Proceedings of\nthe 29th Annual Conference of the Genetics Society of Nigeria,\nUniversity of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, Pp 88-91.","Ajayi, F.O., Ejiofor, O. and Ironkwe, M. O. (2008). Estimation of\nbodyweight from body measurements in two commercial meat type\nchickens. Global Journal of Agricultural Science. 7(1): 57-59.","Akanno, E.C., Ole, P.K., Okoli, I.C. and Ogundu, U.E. (2007).\nPerformance characteristics and prediction of body weight of broiler\nstrains using linear body measurements. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual\nConference of Nigerian Society for Animal Production, Calabar, Cross\nRiver State, Nigeria, Pp: 162-164.","Amao, S.R., Ojedapo, L.O., Oyewumi, S.O. and Ameen, S.A. (2011).\nEstimation of body weight from linear body measurements in Wadi Ross\nmeat type chicken in derived savannah zone of Nigeria. Proceedings of\nthe 16th Annual Conference of the Animal Science Association of\nNigeria, Anyigba, Nigeria. Pp 9-12.","Argenta˜o, C., Michelan Filho, T., Marques, J.B., Souza, E.M., Eler, J.P.\nand Ferraz, J.B.S. (2002). Genetic and phenotypic parameters of growth\nand carcass traits of a male line of broilers raised in tropical conditions.\nIn Proceedings of 7th Congress of Genetics Applied to Livestock\nProduction, Montpellier, France. Pp: 333-336.","Banerjee, S. (2011). Estimation of body weight at different ages using\nlinear and some non-linear regression equations in a duck breed reared\nin hot and humid climate of Eastern India. American-Eurasian Journal\nof Scientific Research. 6 (4): 201-204.","Cahaner, A. and Nitsan, Z. (1985). Evaluation of simultaneous selection\nfor live body weight and against abdominal fat in broilers. Poultry\nScience. 64: 1257-1263.","Havenstein, G.B., Ferket, P.R. and Qureshi, M.A. (2003). Growth,\nlivability and feed conversion of 1957 versus 2001 broiler when fed\nrepresentative and 2001 broiler diets. Poultry Science. 82: 1500-1508.\n[10] Kabir, M.T., Yakudu, H., Akpa, G.N., Jokthan, G.E., Abdul, S.B.,\nAbdulrashid, M. and Adamu, Y.H. (2008). Repeatability for body\nweight and body conformation traits in Anak 2000 strains of Broiler\nchickens. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 112: 17-21.\n[11] Ledur, M.C., Schmidt, G.S. Figueiredo, E.P. A´vila, V.S. and Fiorentin,\nL. (1994). Paraˆmetros gene´ticos e fenotı´picos em linhagens de aves\nselecionadas para corte. Pesq. Agropec. Bras. 29: 503-508.\n[12] Le Bihan-Duval, E., Mignon-Grasteau, S., Millet, N. and Beaumont, C.\n(1998). Genetic analysis of a selection experiment on increased body\nweight and breast muscle weight as well as on limited abdominal fat\nweight. British Poultry Science. 39: 346-353.\n[13] Mignon-Grasteau, S., Beaumont, C., Le Bihan-Duval, E., Poivey, J.P.,\nde Rochambeau, H. and Ricard, F.H. (1999). Genetic parameters of\ngrowth curve parameters in male and female chickens. British Poultry\nScience. 40: 44-51.\n[14] Nesamvuni, A.E., Malandzii, J., Zamanyimi, N.D. and Taylor, G.J.\n(2000). Estimates of body weight in Nguru type cattle under commercial\nmanagement conditions. South African Journal of Animal Science. 13:\n114-116.\n[15] Olowofeso, O. (2009). Phenotypic correlations and prediction of body\nweight and body size parameters in broiler chickens. Journal of Applied\nAgricultural Research. I: 71-76.\n[16] Oluyemi, J.A. and Roberts, S.A. (1979). Poultry Production in Warm\nWet Climates. 2nd Edition, Macmillan Press Ltd., London.\n[17] Pundir, R.K., Singh, P.K. and Dangi, P.S. (2011). Factor analysis of\nbiometric traits of kankrej cows to explain body conformation. Asian-\nAustralian Journal of Animal Science. 24 (4): 449-456.\n[18] Rance, K.A., McEntee, G.M. and McDevitt, R.M. (2002). Genetic and\nphenotypic relationships between and within support and demand tissues\nin a single line of broiler chicken. British Poultry Science. 43: 518–527.\n[19] Yalcin, S., Settar, P., Ozkan S. and Cahaner, A. (1997). Comparative\nevaluation of three commercial broiler stocks in hot versus temperate\nclimates. Poultry Science. 76: 921-929."]}

Egeria radiata is a benthic species of bivalves which inhabits freshwater bodies along the coast of Nigeria. It’s an edible species with shells of nutrient value used in animal feeds and healthcare industries. This research was undertaken to investigate its species diversity in some coastal populations in Nigeria. Partial sequence of Cytochrome b region of mitochondrial DNA extracted from 53 samples from three locations (Itu 17, Southern Ijaw 18 and Burutu 18) in the Niger delta region of Nigeria were sequenced, aligned and subjected to haplotype network analysis. Afterwards, MEGA 6.06 was used in the analysis of genetic distance, selection and some diversity-based parameters. Results showed high transversion and non-synonymous substitution in Itu population. Polymorphic sites and haplotype diversity was high across the populations (0.88 [Image: see text] ” 0.96), indicating considerable diversity of the sequences. Nucleotide diversity was highest in Itu population. Graphical display of relationship among the haplotypes of pooled samples did not show population-based discrimination. Within-population genetic distance was least in Burutu (0.003), while between-population genetic distance was least between Burutu and Southern Ijaw (0.014). In addition, diversity indicated by genetic distance and diversity indices was not severe. Phylogenetics and median-joining network analyses did not segregate the populations into well-defined clades. Selection analysis revealed large site indices for both positive and negative selection in Itu, but more of neutral selection in the other two populations. Tajima’s D and Fu’s F values for neutrality test showed no significance difference (P>0.01) in each case. However, negative D value was obtained for the three populations. The rate of population growth or expansion was higher in Burutu than Itu and Southern Ijaw. Egeria radiata showed no maternal relationship with the other bivalve species based on the cytochrome b gene region used in this study.

Pregnancy associated glycoptotein-1 (PAG-1) gene belong to a large family of aspartic peptidases expressed exclusively by different placental cells of mammalian species. This study was conducted to characterize exon 4 (the most polymorphic exon) of PAG-l gene in White Fulani, Muturu and N’Dama breeds of cattle. Blood samples from seventy-four (74) animals (25 Muturu, 25 White Fulani and 24 from N’Dama) were collected from two farms in Southwest, Nigeria. Exon 4 and the surrounding intron 5 of bovine PAG-l gene were amplified and sequenced. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene were detected using codon code aligner. Estimates of population genetic statistics and diversity were obtained using Arlequin 2.0 and DnaSP respectively. The protein motifs and its secondary structure were predicted. Four SNPs: 173G>A (χ2 =1.75), 244C>A (χ2=11.11), 377C>A, (χ2=0.89) and 392G>A (χ2=0.51) were observed in exon 4 of White Fulani, while two, 620A>G (χ2=0.01) and 630G>A (χ2=17.38), were observed in intron 5 of Muturu. Mutation 244C>A (χ2=10.41) was shared by White Fulani and N’Dama. Eight haplotypes were identified in exon 4 and the surrounding intron 5 of bovine PAG-l gene with White Fulani having the highest haplotype diversity (0.82), nucleotide diversity (2.7 x 10–3) and average number of nucleotide differences (1.74). The AMOVA results revealed that the percentage of variation within the population for gene in the three breeds was greater than variation among the populations. The result indicated no genetic differentiation between Muturu and N’Dama. Three motifs (Protein kinase C-phosphorylation, N-myristoylation and Casein Kinase II phosphorylation sites) were shared by the three cattle breeds. Protein structure prediction analysis classified exon 4 of bovine PAG-l as mixed folding consisting of 25.97% alpha helix among the three cattle breeds. The SNPs observed in these cattle breeds could be used for association studies with pregnancy related traits.