Search Results (5)

Background/Objectives: Orenburg goats are renowned for their soft down that acts as a substrate for warm clothing, particularly shawls that have an international reputation. As with many local livestock breeds, however, the Orenburg is presently at risk of extinction, an issue that can be addressed by assessing population genetic diversity and, thereafter, encouraging as much outbreeding as possible. Using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based data, therefore, we analyzed the genetic diversity and population structure of modern Orenburg goats using samples collected from an expedition to Orenburg Oblast in 2024. Methods: We applied the Goat SNP50 BeadChip (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA) for the genotyping of Orenburg goats from modern and archived populations. SNP genotypes of three Orenburg populations sampled in 2017 and 2019, Altai Mountain, Altai White, and Soviet Mohair breeds, were added to the dataset. Results: Principal component analysis and network and admixture analyses demonstrated that the genetic background inherent to the archived group of Orenburg goats was maintained in all modern populations. Values of genetic diversity indicators in modern populations were compatible with those obtained in comparison groups. Runs of homozygosity (ROH) were found in all the Orenburg goat populations (with a mean ROH length of 72.6–108.9 Mb and mean ROH number of 28–36). Genomic inbreeding based on ROH was low in all the Orenburg populations (F_ROH = 0.03–0.045). Conclusions: We showed that the ancestral background is retained in present-day Orenburg goats sampled in 2024. We provide the genetic basis through which certain breeder animals may be selected and bred traditionally or ex situ through a conservation program of gamete preservation. Full article

In diabetic patients, optimised plantar health necessitates meticulously designed hosiery. These specialised socks facilitate a healthy microclimate at the skin–textile interface. This requires that stable conditions of temperature and humidity are maintained during wear. This study investigated the thermal resistance and moisture management properties of socks for diabetics. Fabrics and socks were evaluated on the Alambeta and thermal foot manikin instruments and in wear trials. A novel in vitro method, mimicking in-use conditions, was employed to validate findings and assess sock performance during wear. Fabric structure, especially thickness, had a greater impact on thermal resistance than fibre composition, suggesting that socks with different levels of thermal resistance can be customised according to individual preferences. In terms of moisture management, mohair–wool socks outperformed polyester socks, maintaining significantly lower humidity between the skin and the sock, and meeting the requirement to prevent the drying out of the microclimate significantly better. The enhanced moisture vapour sorption exhibited by the mohair–wool fabric contributes to this effect. Overall, the findings suggest that mohair–wool is an excellent fibre choice for diabetic socks, due to its unique moisture management properties and the possibility to tailor thermal properties through fabric structural design. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the effect of feeding level on the growth and slaughter performance, and allometric growth of tissues and organs in female growing dairy goats. The trial included 10–20 and 20–30 kg weight stages with 48 female goat kids. The 24 goat kids in each stage were divided into 8 blocks based on weight, with 3 kids per block. Then, three kids from each block were randomly assigned to one of the three treatments, namely ad libitum (AL100), 70% of ad libitum (AL70), or 40% of ad libitum (AL40). The slaughter trial was conducted when the AL100 kids reached the target weight of 20 or 30 kg. The results showed that the ADG and feed conversion rate showed a linear decline as the feed level decreased (p < 0.05). Compared with the AL70 and AL100 groups, the AL40 group exhibited lower shrunk body weight, empty body weight, hot carcass weight, net meat rate, carcass meat rate, and visceral fat weight (p < 0.05) in both stages. Moreover, the AL40 group showed lower weights for skin and mohair, blood, rumen, small intestine, large intestine, mammary gland, and uterus than the AL70 and AL100 groups (p < 0.05) in both stages. However, feeding level did not affect organ indices in the two stages (p > 0.05). The bone, skin and mohair were isometric (b ≈ 1), but the muscle, visceral fat, and most internal organs were positive (b > 1) in both stages. In conclusion, feeding level affects the growth and development of dairy goats, which vary depending on the body weight stage and specific tissues and organs. Full article

Nearly 5 billion farm animals, including waterfowl, cattle, sheep, goats, and alpacas, are being affected by the fashion industry. There is an urgent need for a system that evaluates their welfare. The rise in public interest on the topic of animal welfare is leading to the creation of different textile standards or certification schemes, which can give us an overview of the general state of expectations in terms of animal welfare within the textile industry. We therefore created a risk assessment tool and applied it to 17 different textile standards. Our results showed that only one of the standards reached a score in the “Acceptable” animal welfare risk category, and the rest of the standards had even lower scores of risks for animal welfare. In general, industry standards have not demanded sufficient requirements for higher levels of animal welfare. While the current risk assessment gave us a good idea of what is considered acceptable within the industry, it is also not necessarily representative of the risks for the majority of farm animals that are part of the textile industry. Only a small number of animal-derived materials are certified with some form of animal welfare standards, even though these standards can play an important role in improving the standard of care for animals. To evaluate the actual welfare states of the animals in fibre production, further research is needed to apply the proposed tool to actual farms. Full article

The territory of modern Russia lies on the crossroads of East and West and covers various geographical environments where diverse groups of local goats originated. In this work, we present the first study on the maternal origin of Russian local goats, including Altai Mountain (n = 9), Dagestan Downy (n = 18), Dagestan Local (n = 12), Dagestan Milk (n = 15), Karachaev (n = 21), Orenburg (n = 10), and Soviet Mohair (n = 7) breeds, based on 715 bp D-loop mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. Saanen goats (n = 5) were used for comparison. Our findings reveal a high haplotype (HD = 0.843–1.000) and nucleotide diversity (π = 0.0112–0.0261). A total of 59 haplotypes were determined in the Russian goat breeds, in which all differed from the haplotypes of the Saanen goats. The haplotypes identified in Altai Mountain, Orenburg, Soviet Mohair, and Saanen goats were breed specific. Most haplotypes (56 of 59) were clustered together with samples belonging to haplogroup A, which was in accordance with the global genetic pattern of maternal origin seen in most goats worldwide. The haplotypes that were grouped together with rare haplogroups D and G were found in the Altai Mountain breed and haplogroup C was detected in the Soviet Mohair breed. Thus, our findings revealed that local goats might have been brought to Russia via various migration routes. In addition, haplotype sharing was found in aboriginal goat populations from overlapping regions, which might be useful information for their official recognition status. Full article