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Recent Developments in Domestic Buffalo Breeding, Selection and Management

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 20788

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alfredo Pauciullo

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural, Forests and Food Science, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Interests: animal science; genetics; genomics; gene expression and transcriptomics; dairy traits; casein; cytogenetics of domestic animals; cytogenetics of reproduction

Prof. Dr. Gianfranco Cosenza

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricolture, University of Naples Federico II, via Università 100 Portici (NA), Naples, Italy
Interests: animal science; molecular genetics; genomics; milk proteins; quantitative trait analysis; candidate genes; association studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Domestic buffalo (the swamp and river type) is an important animal resource all around the world with the capacity to live on marginal resources in an austere environment. Being a multipurpose animal, it contributes to the cultural image and economy of many countries, represents an important source of food for humans, and in certain cases is also linked to certified dairy products, such as the Italian Mozzarella PDO. Despite the great potential of this animal, studies on many topics are limited compared with other farm animals. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to publish original research papers and reviews on domestic buffalo genetics, genomics, reproduction, nutrition, behavior, and welfare.

We invite you to share your recent findings through this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Alfredo Pauciullo
Prof. Dr. Gianfranco Cosenza
Guest Editors

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Keywords

domestic buffalo
genetics
genomics
nutrition
milk
meat
health
reproduction
behavior
welfare

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 539 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Different Synchronization Regimens on Reproductive Variables of Crossbred (Swamp × Riverine) Nulliparous and Multiparous Buffaloes during Peak and Low Breeding Seasons

by Adili Abulaiti, Zahid Naseer, Zulfiqar Ahmed, Dong Wang, Guohua Hua and Liguo Yang

Animals 2022, 12(4), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12040415 - 09 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1546

Abstract

The present study was conducted to examine the effect of conventional the Ovsynch protocol (OVS) and a modified Ovsynch synchronization (GPGMH) protocol on the follicular dynamics, estrus, ovulation, and pregnancy in nulliparous and multiparous crossbred (swamp × riverine) buffaloes during different seasons. GPGMH or OVS protocols were used to synchronize nulliparous (n = 128; GPGMH = 94, OVS = 34) and multiparous (n = 154; GPGMH = 122, OVS = 32) buffaloes during the peak (n = 186; GPGMH = 143, OVS = 43) and low breeding (n = 96; GPGMH = 73, OVS = 23) seasons. Buffaloes were monitored for follicular dynamics, estrus response, ovulation, and pregnancy rates. The results showed that protocol, parity, and season had significant effects on estrus, ovulation, and pregnancy variables, and interactions among parity and protocol, season and protocol, and season and parity were observed for few of reproductive indices in the crossbred buffaloes. There were no significant (p > 0.05) interaction for protocol, parity and season. In multiparous buffaloes, the application of the GPGMH protocol significantly (p < 0.05) increased the interaction to the interval to estrus onset after the second GnRH, estrus response, ovulation rate, and pregnancy rate, and lowered (p < 0.05) the silent estrus when compared with the conventional OVS protocol. During the peak breeding season, the application of the GPGMH protocol significantly (p < 0.05) improved the interaction to the estrus response, ovulation rate, and pregnancy rate, while it lowered (p < 0.05) the silent estrus incidence when compared to the conventional OVS protocol. In conclusion, the GPGMH protocol, in comparison to the OVS protocol, improves the follicular dynamics, estrus response, ovulation, and pregnancy rates in crossbred multiparous buffaloes during the peak breeding seasons. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Domestic Buffalo Breeding, Selection and Management)

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12 pages, 293 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Milk Production Responses and Digestibility of Dairy Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) Partially Supplemented with Forage Rape (Brassica napus) Silage Replacing Corn Silage

by Di Zhou, Mohamed Abdelrahman, Xinxin Zhang, Shuai Yang, Jing Yuan, Zhigao An, Kaifeng Niu, Yanxia Gao, Jianguo Li, Bo Wang, Guangsheng Zhou, Liguo Yang and Guohua Hua

Animals 2021, 11(10), 2931; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102931 - 10 Oct 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1931

Abstract

Worldwide, silage is considered the main component in dairy animal diets; however, this portion is mainly dominated by corn silage, which raises availability challenges in some agricultural production systems. The present study evaluated a partial replacement of corn silage with forage rape silage (FRS) and its effect on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, milk production, and blood metabolites in buffalo. Thirty-six lactating buffaloes were randomly assigned to four different groups, according to supplementation of FRS (only corn silage, FRS₀) or with 15% (FRS₁₅), 25% (FRS₂₅), and 35% (FRS₃₅) of forage rape silage instead of corn silage. The results showed that, compared to corn silage, forage rape silage has a lower carbohydrate but a higher protein concentration. The buffalo intake of dry matter and organic matter were improved linearly with the FRS increasing in the diet. The apparent total-tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter, organic matter, nitrogen, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber also increased by the FRS supplementation compared with FRS₀. Conversely, FRS supplementation decreased the propionic, butyric, and valeric acid contents and increased the acetic:propionic ratio and microbial protein content. Furthermore, FRS inclusion led to a significantly higher milk urea and non-fat milk solid content, higher blood glucose, total globulins, blood urea nitrogen, and lower blood high-density lipoprotein. These results suggested that FRS has high a nutritional value and digestibility, is a good feed resource, and showed favorable effects when supplemented with dairy buffalo ration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Domestic Buffalo Breeding, Selection and Management)

13 pages, 560 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermoregulatory and Feeding Behavior under Different Management and Heat Stress Conditions in Heifer Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in the Tropics

by Maykel Andrés Galloso-Hernández, Mildrey Soca-Pérez, Devon Dublin, Carlos Armando Alvarez-Díaz, Jesús Iglesias-Gómez, Cipriano Díaz-Gaona and Vicente Rodríguez-Estévez

Animals 2021, 11(4), 1162; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11041162 - 18 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2608

Abstract

In the wake of climate change and global warming, the production systems of water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) are receiving increasing attention in the tropics, where the silvopastoral systems can improve animal welfare and production conditions. The objective of this study was to characterize the behavior of heifer buffaloes in a silvopastoral system (SPS) with Leucaena leucocephala (600 trees/ha) and in a conventional system (CVS), under intense heat stress and moderate heat stress in Cuba. We observed nine animals, with an average weight of 167.9 kg at the beginning of the study, during the daylight period, from 6:00 to 18:00 h, at 10 min intervals, for 12 days. Activities recorded were grazing, ingestion of tree leaves, rumination, water intake, walking, lying, standing, sheltering in the shade of trees, and wallowing. Sheltering in the shade of trees and wallowing were collectively considered as thermoregulatory behavior (TB). TB was different in both systems and conditions of heat stress (p < 0.05), with 4.06 in CVS and 3.81 h in SPS in the intense heat stress period, while it was 2.91 and 1.08 h for SPS and CVS, respectively, during the moderate heat stress period. The wallowing activity showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the intense heat stress season with 1.18 and 2.35 h for SPS and CVS, respectively. Time spent on feeding behavior was highest in the SPS system (p < 0.05). Longer times of thermoregulatory and feeding behavior indicate the importance of trees in animal welfare for this species in tropical conditions, thus supporting avoided deforestation and the replanting of trees in existing production systems and landscapes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Domestic Buffalo Breeding, Selection and Management)

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11 pages, 2241 KiB

Open AccessArticle

LC-MS/MS Based Metabolomics Reveal Candidate Biomarkers and Metabolic Changes in Different Buffalo Species

by Wen Shi, Xiang Yuan, Kuiqing Cui, Hui Li, Penghui Fu, Saif-Ur Rehman, Deshun Shi, Qingyou Liu and Zhipeng Li

Animals 2021, 11(2), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020560 - 20 Feb 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2929

Abstract

Consumers have shown more and more interest in high-quality and healthy dairy products and buffalo milk is commercially more viable than other milks in producing superior dairy products due to its higher contents of fat, crude protein, and total solids. Metabolomics is one of the most powerful strategies in molecular mechanism research however, little study has been focused on the milk metabolites in different buffalo species. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the underlying molecular mechanism of the fatty synthesis and candidate biomarkers by analyzing the metabolomic profiles. Milk of three groups of buffaloes, including 10 Mediterranean, 12 Murrah, and 10 crossbred buffaloes (Murrah × local swamp buffalo), were collected and UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS was used to obtain the metabolomic profiles. Results showed that milk fatty acid in Mediterranean buffalo was significantly higher than Murrah buffalo and crossbred buffalo. A total of 1837/726 metabolites was identified in both positive and negative electrospray ionization (ESI±) mode, including 19 significantly different metabolites between Mediterranean and Murrah buffalo, and 18 different metabolites between Mediterranean and crossbred buffalo. We found 11 of the different metabolites were both significantly different between Mediterranean vs. Murrah group and Mediterranean vs crossbred group, indicating that they can be used as candidate biomarkers of Mediterranean buffalo milk. Further analysis found that the different metabolites were mainly enriched in fat synthesis related pathways such as fatty acid biosynthesis, unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis, and linoleic acid metabolism, indicating that the priority of different pathways affected the milk fat content in different buffalo species. These specific metabolites may be used as biomarkers in the identification of milk quality and molecular breeding of high milk fat buffalo. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Domestic Buffalo Breeding, Selection and Management)

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Review

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20 pages, 448 KiB

Open AccessReview

Current Knowledge on River Buffalo Meat: A Critical Analysis

by Liliana Di Stasio and Alberto Brugiapaglia

Animals 2021, 11(7), 2111; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072111 - 15 Jul 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4280

Abstract

The estimated world population of water buffalo counts around 204 million head, mostly reared for milk production. However, buffaloes also largely contribute to the meat sector, with around 4.3 million tonnes produced in 2019, mainly derived from old animals at the end of their productive or working life and only to a small extent from young animals. Therefore, buffalo meat production has been generally considered unsatisfactory for both quantity and quality. In fact, the dressing percentage is generally lower than 50% and the meat is considered of poor quality mainly due to its dark colour and reduced tenderness. However, in recent years, the healthy properties highlighted by some studies have led to a renewed interest in buffalo meat, with a parallel increase in research. Therefore, this review aims at providing an updated picture on carcass and meat quality traits in river buffalo, with special attention to the intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributing to their variability. The research done so far has demonstrated that river buffaloes can efficiently contribute to the quanti-qualitative production of meat, provided that the meat supply chain is specifically organised for this purpose. The analysis of the available data also showed that further research is needed on the factors affecting meat production in order to gain greater knowledge essential for planning more targeted interventions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Domestic Buffalo Breeding, Selection and Management)

20 pages, 1972 KiB

Open AccessReview

Whole-Genome Sequencing and Characterization of Buffalo Genetic Resources: Recent Advances and Future Challenges

by Saif ur Rehman, Faiz-ul Hassan, Xier Luo, Zhipeng Li and Qingyou Liu

Animals 2021, 11(3), 904; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030904 - 22 Mar 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4957

Abstract

The buffalo was domesticated around 3000–6000 years ago and has substantial economic significance as a meat, dairy, and draught animal. The buffalo has remained underutilized in terms of the development of a well-annotated and assembled reference genome de novo. It is mandatory to explore the genetic architecture of a species to understand the biology that helps to manage its genetic variability, which is ultimately used for selective breeding and genomic selection. Morphological and molecular data have revealed that the swamp buffalo population has strong geographical genomic diversity with low gene flow but strong phenotypic consistency, while the river buffalo population has higher phenotypic diversity with a weak phylogeographic structure. The availability of recent high-quality reference genome and genotyping marker panels has invigorated many genome-based studies on evolutionary history, genetic diversity, functional elements, and performance traits. The increasing molecular knowledge syndicate with selective breeding should pave the way for genetic improvement in the climatic resilience, disease resistance, and production performance of water buffalo populations globally. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Domestic Buffalo Breeding, Selection and Management)

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