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Introduction. A herd of zeboid cattle was created by the Snegiri Scientific and Experimental Farm (Moscow region, Russia) as a result of long-term selection and crossbreeding zebu (Bos indicus L.) with cattle (Bos Taurus L.). These hybrid cows have good physiological parameters, high resistance to diseases, and a significant adaptive potential. The quality of milk produced by zebu cows at different lactation and milking times has not been studied as well as their milking capacity. Therefore, we aimed to assess the variability of specific physicochemical indicators of milk produced by Snegiri’s zeboid dairy herd. Study objects and methods. The milk of 193 zeboid cows (6–12% of zebu blood) from the Snegiri Farm was analyzed by standard methods for quality indicators such as fat, nonfat milk solids, density, bound water, freezing point, protein, and lactose. Then, we determined how these indicators changed depending on the lactation number and the time of milking (morning/evening). Statistical analysis was applied to process the data. Results and discussion. Such indicators as nonfat milk solids, density, bound water, freezing point, protein, and lactose of zeboid cow milk were consistent with the normal indicators for raw cow’s milk. Only its fat content (4.39%) exceeded the norm. We found no correlation between the quality of milk and the number of lactations. However, the evening milk was more concentrated, with a significant increase in nonfat milk solids and density, as well as with a lower freezing point. Conclusion. Zeboid cows, which can be bred in suboptimal conditions, produce milk suitable for dairy products since it has a high fat content regardless of lactation and milking time.

Based on 16 STR-loci, the allele pool and interbreed differentiation of goat breeds of Russian and foreign breeding were investigated in this study. These breeds included Karachai (KRCH-K, n=73, mountain zone; KRCH-Z, n=33, foothill zone), Dagestan Downy (DAGD, n=30), Dagestan Wool (DAGW, n=30), Soviet Wool (SOVW, n=30), Saanen (SAAN, n=34), Murciano-Granadina (MURS, n=37), as well as wild goats, represented by three species of mountain goats (n=52): Siberian Capricorn (Capra sibirica) of Altai (CSIB-S, n=6), Tajikistan (CSIB-T, n=4), Kyrgyzstan (CSIB-K, n=6), and the Himalayas (CSIB-H, n=4); Bezoar goat (Capa aegagrus) of Turkey (CAEG, n=3) and Pakistan (CAEG-S, n=3); West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica): western Caucasian (Kuban, CCAU-K, n=10), central Caucasian (CCAU-M, n=8), and eastern Caucasian (Dagestan, CCAU-D, n=8). The highest genetic diversity was observed in the North Caucasus breeds, such as Karachai, Dagestan Downy, and Dagestan Wool. The mean numbers of alleles per locus and allelic diversity were 7.385-9.154 and 7.353-7.713, respectively. The genetic proximity of Caucasian breeds was confirmed by cluster analysis, and they formed a common branch with the highest genetic affinity, while the Orenburg and Soviet Wool breeds formed another branch, and the third branch with the least affinity was the dairy breed of foreign selection. The analysis of the phylogenetic tree of domestic and wild species established the formation of three clusters formed by the subspecies of the West Caucasian tur, Siberian ibex, and breeds of domestic goats. At the same time, populations of the Bezoar goats were localized at the root of the last cluster, which confirmed their role as the ancestors of domestic goats.

Rangifer tarandus L. 1758 is one of the few modern hoofed species in which domestic and wild forms coexist in the same territory. The genetic differentiation of domestic and wild reindeer in Northern Eurasia was examined using microsatellite data. А total of 780 animals were studied at 16 microsatellite loci. Samples of wild reindeer were taken from seven populations inhabiting different natural areas, and samples of domestic animals were selected from the Evenki, Evens, Chukchi and Nenets breeds, including two ecotypes, Tofalar and Todzha reindeer. The levels of genetic diversity and variation in wild reindeer were higher than in domestic ones. Bayesian clustering analysis allowed us to distinguish domesticated reindeer populations by the degree of taming, but failed to detect differences in genetic structure between wild reindeer populations. These differences were found using the pairwise Fst values. Overall, the microsatellite analysis revealed a significant genetic differentiation between domestic and wild forms and the structuring of populations within each form, which may be important for the development of strategies for animal conservation.

Every week, 1–2 breeds of farm animals, including local cattle, disappear in the world. As the keepers of rare allelic variants, native breeds potentially expand the range of genetic solutions to possible problems of the future, which means that the study of the genetic structure of these breeds is an urgent task. Providing nomadic herders with valuable resources necessary for life, domestic yaks have also become an important object of study. In order to determine the population genetic characteristics, and clarify the phylogenetic relationships of modern representatives of 155 cattle populations from different regions of the world, we collected a large set of STR data (10,250 individuals), including unique native cattle, 12 yak populations from Russia, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, as well as zebu breeds. Estimation of main population genetic parameters, phylogenetic analysis, principal component analysis and Bayesian cluster analysis allowed us to refine genetic structure and provided insights in relationships of native populations, transboundary breeds and populations of domestic yak. Our results can find practical application in conservation programs of endangered breeds, as well as become the basis for future fundamental research.

Biodiversity of farm animals is a highly valuable resource for sustainable development of humanity especially when faced environmental and economic changes. Intensification of farm industry destabilizes animal’s genetic diversity. Farm animals’ behaviour shaped during the long period off domestication might be of the specific risk being poorly investigated due to the difficulties in measuring behavioural traits. Here we use translational approach by identifying goat orthologues of human personality-related genes as in the recent study of Tamu Yokomori et al. (2023) that dealt with racing horses’ personality. We extended this approach by using a huge dataset covering goat populations through all the World, that allowed to investigate populational distribution of alleles in personality related genes. We identified 41 SPN in 18 genes that were previously shown to be polymorphic both in human and horses in the study of Yokomori et al. Many of them showed highly asymmetric distribution that suggest an important role for these genes in goat evolution and domestication.

Increasing the efficiency of natural gas storage in geological formations is possible by transferring gas from a free state to a gas hydrate state, since gas hydrates have a number of unique properties. For example, 1 m3 of methane hydrate contains 164 m3 of gas under normal conditions. It is possible to store a sufficiently large amount of gas in a small volume at a relatively low pressure. To study the regularities of the process of formation of underground gas hydrate gas storage, this article presents a mathematical model of the process of methane injection into a natural reservoir saturated with methane and water, accompanied by the formation of gas hydrate. Unlike previous works, the constructed mathematical model additionally takes into account a number of factors: the filtration flow of water, the real gas properties, the Joule–Thomson effects and adiabatic compression. The process of gas hydrate formation is considered as a non-equilibrium phase transition. Numerical solutions of the problem are constructed that describe the distributions of parameters (temperature, pressure, phase saturations) in a reservoir. Dependences are obtained that reveal the regularities of the process of non-equilibrium formation of gas hydrate in a natural reservoir during gas injection. The influence of gas injection pressure and temperature, as well as reservoir porosity and permeability, on the distributions of pressure, temperature, water saturation and hydrate saturation in the reservoir, as well as on the dynamics of changes in these parameters and the mass of gas hydrate formed in the reservoir over time, are analyzed.

Approbation of a new method of soil fertility testing is given in the article. To identify the biological activity of soils, it is proposed to take into account the morphometric reactions of the phytotest and to compare them with the normal mathematical distribution characteristic of the rate of reaction of a plant population homogeneous in genotype against stable cultivation conditions. Seeds of Triticum durum are used as a test object. The soils processed by biological preparations: Flora-with, Fitop-Floras in a combination with natural zeolites were tested. A hypothesis is put forward: factors that cause the normalization of the distribution of morphometric characteristics of seedlings in the phytotest contribute to the conservation of the gene pool and the full realization of the reproductive potential of the population. The new testing method is based on the use of the authorial computer matrix based on MS Excel and statistical criteria. The validity of the method was determined by the correlation of ranks obtained by summarizing the signs of optimization of cultivation conditions in laboratory and field experiments. The article points out high validity of the method, and the statistical indicators that allow an objective assessment of the mathematical characteristics of the plant population.