Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.2
3.0
Journals
Animals
Special Issues
Current Status and Challenges for Dairy Sheep/Goat Farming Worldwide
share announcement

Current Status and Challenges for Dairy Sheep/Goat Farming Worldwide

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Small Ruminants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 2807

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francisco G. Véliz-Deras

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Unidad Laguna, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Periférico Raúl López Sánchez y Carretera a Santa Fe, Torreon 27054, Coahuila, Mexico
Interests: goat; hormone; goat reproduction; dairy goats
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Viridiana Contreras Villarreal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Unidad Laguna, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Periférico Raúl López Sánchez y Carretera a Santa Fe, Torreon 27054, Coahuila, Mexico
Interests: small ruminants; production; reproduction; behavior
Dr. Javier Moran Martinez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Biologia Celular y Ultraestructura del Centro de Investigacion Biomedica, Facultad de Medicina. Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila, Torreon 27000, Mexico
Interests: reproduction; toxicology; epigenetics; DNA; molecular biology; genetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The human population is in constant growth, a phenomenon which generates a constant need for protein sources at a high environmental cost. This process of finding more efficient production systems which are also cheap and environmentally friendly, combined with climate change, constitutes a major challenge to the scientific community and humanity more generally. Sheep and goat are species with great production potential that are commonly managed in rangelands with few resources. This overview represents an opportunity area to increase the knowledge of small ruminant production and finding of new cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and efficient advances regarding small ruminant management.

We invite you to submit your research for publication. This Special Issue will be a compilation where current research regarding small ruminants will be published, especially regarding ARTs, nutrition–reproduction interactions, socio-sexual behaviors, estrus synchronization, hormonal treatments, social behavior, and milk production, among others.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Small ruminant production
  • Small ruminant reproduction
  • Behavior
  • Endocrinology
  • ARTs
  • Nutrition

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Francisco G. Véliz-Deras
Dr. Viridiana Contreras Villarreal
Dr. Javier Moran Martinez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sheep
  • goats
  • production
  • reproduction
  • behavior
  • nutrition

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 4812 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Association Study of Milk Composition in Karachai Goats
by Marina Selionova, Vladimir Trukhachev, Magomet Aibazov, Alexander Sermyagin, Anna Belous, Marianna Gladkikh and Natalia Zinovieva
Animals 2024, 14(2), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020327 - 21 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1057
Abstract
This study is first to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to investigate the milk quality traits in Karachai goats. The objective of the study was to identify candidate genes associated with milk composition traits based on the identification and subsequent analysis of [...] Read more.
This study is first to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to investigate the milk quality traits in Karachai goats. The objective of the study was to identify candidate genes associated with milk composition traits based on the identification and subsequent analysis of all possible SNPs, both genome-wide (high-confidence) and suggestive (subthreshold significance). To estimate the milk components, 22 traits were determined, including several types of fatty acids. DNA was extracted from ear tissue or blood samples. A total of 167 Karachai goats were genotyped using an Illumina GoatSNP53K BeadChip panel (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). Overall, we identified 167 highly significant and subthreshold SNPs associated with the milk components of Karachai goats. A total of 10 SNPs were located within protein-coding genes and 33 SNPs in close proximity to them (±0.2 Mb). The largest number of genome-wide significant SNPs was found on chromosomes 2 and 8 and some of them were associated with several traits. The greatest number of genome-wide significant SNPs was identified for crude protein and lactose (6), and the smallest number—only 1 SNP—for freezing point depression. No SNPs were identified for monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Functional annotation of all 43 SNPs allowed us to identify 66 significant candidate genes on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 26, and 27. We considered these genes potential DNA markers of the fatty acid composition of Karachai goat milk. Also, we found 12 genes that had a polygenic effect: most of them were simultaneously associated with the dry matter content and fatty acids (METTL, SLC1A 8, PHACTR1, FMO2, ECI1, PGP, ABCA3, AMDHD2). Our results suggest that the genes identified in our study affecting the milk components in Karachai goats differed from those identified in other breeds of dairy goats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Status and Challenges for Dairy Sheep/Goat Farming Worldwide)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

31 pages, 7484 KiB  
Article
Data on Mapping 444 Dairy Small Ruminant Farms during a Countrywide Investigation Performed in Greece
by Daphne T. Lianou, Charalambia K. Michael and George C. Fthenakis
Animals 2023, 13(12), 2044; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13122044 - 20 Jun 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1180
Abstract
The small ruminant industry is the most important branch of Greek agriculture. Nevertheless, despite the importance of small ruminant farming for Greece, no detailed mapping of the respective farms has been undertaken and published. The present work refers to mapping the dairy sheep [...] Read more.
The small ruminant industry is the most important branch of Greek agriculture. Nevertheless, despite the importance of small ruminant farming for Greece, no detailed mapping of the respective farms has been undertaken and published. The present work refers to mapping the dairy sheep and goat industry in Greece through an extensive, countrywide cross-sectional study, in which information was obtained from 325 sheep and 119 goat farms. The objectives were the collection, the classification and the presentation of data obtained from all these farms through interviews, using a questionnaire and through examination of samples collected during the visits. All the farms enrolled in the study were visited by the investigators. Initially, information was obtained by means of a detailed, structured questionnaire with 442 questions. Moreover, samples of milk were collected from the bulk-tank of each farm and faecal samples were collected from female animals in each farm. The milk samples were processed for cytological and microbiological examination. Staphylococcus spp. and Listeria spp. isolates were recovered and identified at a species level; furthermore, a full antibiotic sensitivity pattern assessment was conducted. Faecal samples were processed by standard parasitological tests for the identification of protozoan, trematode, cestode and gastrointestinal and respiratory nematode parasites. The paper presents the cumulative findings of the study, i.e., the answers to the questions during the interviews and the results of the laboratory examinations performed in the samples; the findings are presented separately for sheep and goat farms. The findings can be used as baseline measurements; individual farms and cohorts of farms can be compared against the current results to draw conclusions against the countrywide situation. Moreover, the current results can be used as reference points for the future, in order to assess changes that might have occurred in the meantime. The study also described the differences between farms with sheep or goats; in total, differences in 137 parameters were identified. Some of these can be attributed to the different management systems practiced; sheep flocks are managed mostly under the intensive or semi-intensive system, whilst goat herds are managed mostly under the semi-extensive or extensive system. These findings can be useful in the health management of small ruminants, in providing evidence-based support and within the scope of precise livestock medicine and health management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Status and Challenges for Dairy Sheep/Goat Farming Worldwide)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop