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In this study, keratin-associated proteins gene (KRTAP8-1) from five different sheep breeds and breed-crosses (n = 310) was genotyped using a Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single Strand confirmation Polymorphism (PCR-SSCP). Six unique genotypes were observed: AA, AC, AD, AE, DD and EE, with AA being the most common in the different breeds and crosses. Twelve wool characteristics: yield, mean staple length (MSL), bulk, mean fiber diameter (MFD), fiber diameter standard deviation (FDSD), coefficient of variation of fiber diameter (CVFD), medullation, standard deviation of medullation (MeSD), coefficient of variation of medullation (CVMed), opacity, standard deviation of opacity (OpSD), and coefficient of variation of opacity (CVOp) were measured on wool derived from the sheep. Variation in KRTAP8-1 was found to have strong association with MSL, OpSD and CVOp (p ≤ 0.027). The MSL of sheep of genotype AE was greater (p = 0.027) than for sheep of genotype AA. The OpSD of sheep of genotype AA was less (p = 0.017) than sheep with the AE genotype, and the CVOp of sheep with genotype AA was less (p = 0.018) than sheep with genotype AE. Further studies are required to confirm the role of variation in KRTAP8-1 in improving quality wool production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Phylogenetic studies on foot‐and‐mouth disease viruses (FMDVs) circulating in the West Eurasian region have largely focused on the genomic sequences encoding the structural proteins that determine the serotype. The present study has compared near‐complete genome sequences of FMDVs representative of the viruses that circulate in this region. The near‐complete genome sequences (ca. 7,600 nt) were generated from multiple overlapping RT‐PCR products. These amplicons were from FMDVs belonging to serotypes O, A and Asia‐1, including members of the O‐PanAsia‐II and the A‐Iran05 lineages, and of Group‐II and Group‐VII (Sindh‐08) within serotype Asia‐1, which are currently predominant and widespread in West Eurasia. These new sequences were analysed together with other sequences obtained from GenBank. Comparison of different regions of the FMDVs genomes revealed evidence for multiple, inter‐serotypic, recombination events between FMDVs belonging to the serotypes O, A and Asia‐1. It is concluded from the present study that dramatic changes in virus sequences can occur in the field through recombination between different FMDV genomes. These analyses provide information about the ancestry of the serotype O, A and Asia‐1 FMDVs that are currently circulating within the West Eurasian region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are structural components of wool fibers and variation in the genes encoding the KAPs can affect wool traits. In this study, sequence variation in the ovine KAP7-1 gene (KRTAP7-1) was investigated in 222 sheep across 5 different Pakistani breeds and breed crosses. Two previously identified variants (A and B) of the KRTAP7-1 coding sequence were identified. The frequency of the genotypes AA and AB was 76% and 23%, respectively, and that of BB was 1%. The association of sequence variation with various wool traits and measurements included yield (the proportion of greasy fleece weight that is clean fleece), mean staple length (MSL), wool bulk, mean fiber diameter, fiber diameter SD, the coefficient of variation of fiber diameter, medullation, the SD of medullation, the coefficient of variation of medullation, fiber opacity, the SD of opacity, and the coefficient of variation of opacity. Variation in KRTAP7-1 was found to be associated with yield (P = 0.017). The adjusted mean yield of sheep of genotype AA (n = 169) was 79.9 ± 2.72%, while that of genotype AB (n = 51) was 81.9 ± 3.37%. There was also an association between variation in KRTAP7-1 and MSL (P = 0.024), with sheep of genotype AA (n = 169) having an adjusted mean MSL of 47.3 ± 0.57 mm compared with sheep of genotype AB (n = 51, 50.9 ± 0.65 mm). Yield and MSL are both important wool production traits, hence variation in KRTAP7-1 needs to be further investigated in more sheep of differing breed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]