Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) enzyme plays an important role in the metabolism of the lipids, thus the goal of this study was to investigate the influence of canola and soybean oilseeds on gene expression of SCD in adipose tissue, composition and yield of milk, fatty acid profile in Iranian Holstein cattle. Animals (n=20) were randomly selected to test experimental diets. Fatty acid composition was determined. After isolation of total RNA, cDNA was synthesized. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to amplify SCD and GAPDH. For analyzing the real-time PCR results, LinRegPCR, REST and SPSS softwares was employed. The animals fed canola seed in comparison animals fed soybean seed showed higher gene expression. The milk production, fat percentage, 4% fat corrected milk, body condition score and milk urea nitrogen showed a significant difference between two groups. The amount of a number of fatty acids extracted from adipose tissue including C18:3t, C18:0 and C16:1 in animals fed two different diets was variable and their amount was significantly different. SCD gene expression was not significantly different between animals fed two diets (canola and soybean). This may be due to the similarity of the fatty acid composition of the two compounds and their nutrient balance. Since canola seed are higher in fat and protein than soybean seed, it can be a good substitute for soybean seed in the diet of dairy cows. In addition, canola seed, with the effect of nutrition on the composition of milk fatty acids can be used to improve milk. تفاصيل المقالة

The aim of the present study was todeterminecharacteristics of Rheb gene and protein in Raini Cashmere goat. Comparative analyses of the nucleotide sequences were performed. Open reading frames (ORFs), theoretical molecular weights of deduced polypeptides, the protein isoelectric point, protein characteristics and three-dimensional structures was predicted using online standard softwares. The full cDNA nucleotide sequence shares 99%, 99%, 99% and 94% identity with Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat, cattle, horse and human, respectively. The deduced Rheb protein of Raini Cashmere goat consist of 184 amino acid residues and its predicted molecular weight was 20478 g/mol for the unmodified protein and the estimated isoelectric point (pI) was 5.59. Results showed that Rheb has a RAS domain starting at the amino acid 4 and ending at the amino acid 170. In conclusion, our data shows the Rheb cDNA is 555 bp in length, including a complete ORF corresponding to a polypeptide of 184 amino acids. Our results in Raini Cashmere goat showed that there are 1 N-glycosylation sites, 3 protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, 2 casein kinase II phosphorylation sites, 4 microbodies C-terminal targeting signals, 2 ATP/GTP binding sites motif A (P-loop) and a prenyl group binding site for predicted Psites of Rheb. Raini Cashmere goat Rheb protein also had an interaction with other predicted proteins. Hence, can suggest that Rheb has probably role in goat cells and must detect in future investigations. تفاصيل المقالة

The artificial neural networks (ANN) are the learning algorithms and mathematical models, which mimic the information processing ability of human brain and can be used to non linear and complex data. The aim of this study was to compare artificial neural network and regression models for prediction of body weight in Raini Cashmere goat. The data of 1389 goats for body weight, height at withers (HAW), body length (BL) and chest girth (CG) were used. Different regression models with all fixed factors were calculated for the most possible states and with different degrees and two artificial neural networks with different hidden layers, learning functions and transform functions were used. Finally, Multilayer perceptron model with one hidden layer along with neurons was selected and used. Correlation between body weight and its measurements showed that it is possible to use body measurements for prediction of body weight though prediction of body weight can be improved when more measurements are used. Based on R2 andmean square error (MSE) parameters, the best fitted regression equation for prediction of body weight using body measurements was selected. While all three measurements had a significant effect in the model (P<0.0001), height at wither had the highest correlation coefficient (0.65), hence may have the greatest effect on prediction. Comparing two models indicated that both models can predict body weight well and near to actual body weight, but the capability of artificial neural network model is higher (R2=0.86 for ANN and 0.76 for multiple regression analysis (MRA)) and closer to actual body weight. However, if more related measurements are recorded, ANN can give the desirable results. Therefore, it is possible to apply artificial neural networks, instead of customary procedures for prediction of actual body weight using body measurements. تفاصيل المقالة

Cattle supply an important source of nutrition for humans in the world. CpG islands (CGIs) are very important and useful, as they carry functionally relevant epigenetic loci for whole genome studies. As a matter of fact, there have been no formal analyses of CGIs at the DNA sequence level in cattle genomes and therefore this study was carried out to fill the gap. We used hidden markov model algorithm to detect CGIs. The total number of predicted CGIs for cattle was 90668. The number of detected CGIs and CGI densities downwardly varied across chromosomes. Chromosome 25 had the largest number of CGIs (4556) and the highest CGI density (106.20 CGIs/Mb).A significant positive correlation observed among CGI densities with guanine-cytosine (GC) content, ObsCpG/ExpCpG, recombination rate and gene density. When the size of chromosomes increased, the CGI densities decreased and a trend of higher CGI densities in the telomeric regions observed. This feature may be the reason of a positive correlation between CGI density and recombination rate. To detect information on CGI density differences between cattle and other vertebrate genomes, CGI density was also scanned in eleven vertebrate genomes. The CGI densities varied greatly among genomes. These discoveries may contribute to a better understanding of epigenomic role of CGIs and their molecular evolution in the cattle. تفاصيل المقالة

The pituitary-specific transcription factor (PIT1) gene is responsible for pituitary development and hormone secreting gene expression in mammals. PIT-1 is studied as a candidate genetic marker for growth, carcass and also for milk yield traits. In dairy farm animals, the principal goal of the selection is the improvement of milk yield and composition. The genes of milk proteins and hormones are excellent candidate genes for linkage analysis with quantitative trait loci (QTL) because of their biological significance on the quantitative traits of interest. Thus, in this study association between polymorphism of the pituitary transcription factor 1 (PIT1) gene and milk fat percentage of Holstein cattle in Khorasan Razavi province of Iran were analyzed. A total of 100 dairy cows from a herd containing 1000 animals were included in the study. Genomic DNA was extracted from the whole blood. One pair primers were used for amplification of PIT1 gene and PCR products were electrophoresed on 1% agarose gel. Then, PCR products were digested with HinfI restriction enzyme. Results were analyzed using PopGene software and allele frequencies A and B were 0.25 and 0.75, respectively. Frequencies of AA, AB and BB genotypes, number of observed alleles, number of effective alleles, expected heterozygosity, observed heterozygosity, mean of heterozygosity, expected hemozygosity, observed hemozygosity, Nei’s index and Shanon’s index were 6, 40 and 54%, 2, 1.6, 0.37, 0.40, 0.37, 0.62, 0.59, 0.37 and 0.56, respectively. Results of k-square shown that population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. SAS software with GLM procedure was used for calculation of association between milk fat percentage and observed genotypes and results indicated that the effect of genotype on fat percentage was significant (P<0.01) and AB genotype had the highest effect on milk fat percentage. These results imply that the PIT1 genotypes affected milk fat percentage, suggesting that this polymorphism can be used as a molecular marker for this trait. تفاصيل المقالة

The aim of this research was to investigate the changes in milk yield and its composition, fatty acid profile and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma (PPARG) gene expression in adipose tissue of Iranian Holstein cattle in response to feeding isonitrogenousandisocaloric diets but formulated based on different oilseeds (soybean or canola seeds). Twenty cows were tested randomly with experimental diets. Sampling from subcutaneous adipose tissue was performed. Moreover, fatty acid composition was analyzed, total RNA was isolated, cDNA synthesized and samples were amplified. SPSS 16.0, LinRegPCR and REST software were used to analyze real-time polymerase chain reaction results of gene expression. The amount of PPARG gene expression in the adipose tissue for canola seed treatment, in comparison with the soybean seed was higher. The milk production, 4% fat corrected milk, fat percentage, milk urea nitrogen and body condition score between two treatments was significant (P<0.05). The results showed that the amount of some fatty acids extracted from adipose tissue was changed by altering the diet. As, for C16:1, C18:0 and C18:3t fatty acids, there was a significant effect between the two treatments (P<0.05). In general, the PPARG gene expression was not significant in canola that can be due to the similarity of most of the fatty acids between canola and soybean, and the similarity and nutrient balance of the diet. Therefore, canola seed can be a good option for dairy cattle diet due to high levels of fat and protein and lower prices than soybean seed. It can also be used to improve milk, with the effect of feeding on the fatty acid composition of the milk. تفاصيل المقالة

Growth hormone (GH) has an effect on a broad variety of physiological parameters such as lactation, reproduction, growth and metabolism. Thus, the aim of this study was to detect GH gene polymorphism and its association with breeding values of production and reproduction traits in Raini Cashmere goat. Breeding values were estimated using records on 26731 Raini Cashmere goats. To study GH gene polymorphism, 300 animals were selected based on their estimated breeding values (EBVs) for these traits. Then the animal’s genotype was determined using PCR-RFLP. The genotype frequencies for AA, AB and BB were 0.15, 0.85 and 0, respectively. The number of observed alleles, number of effective alleles, expected heterozygosity, observed heterozygosity, mean of heterozygosity, expected homozygosity, observed homozygosity, Nei’s index, Shanon’s index and Fixation index (Fis) were 2, 1.96, 0.49, 0.85, 0.49, 0.51, 0.15, 0.49, 0.69 and -0.74, respectively. Results showed that mean estimated breeding values for birth type, fleece weight and birth weight traits in different genotypes varies, of course these differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). However, for fleece weight and birth type traits AB genotype had higher EBV. Due to the relatively high diversity of growth hormone gene in Raini Cashmere goat and its association with important economic traits, using growth hormone gene in breeding programs of this breed can lead to acceptable genetic progress and applying AA genotype for birth weight trait and AB genotype for fleece weight and birth type traits can be used as an indirect marker for selection of superior animals. تفاصيل المقالة

Delta-like 1 homolog or pre-adipocyte factor 1 (Dlk1) is one of the most significant genes and widely expresses all over mammal’s development. Some of the functions identified for Dlk1gene are development of muscle, healing of wound, adipocytes proliferation, liver, lung and pancreas development. It also prevents Notch gene conducting toward to govern several operations such like cellular proliferation and differentiation. The aim of this study was to assay the expression of Dlk1 gene in liver, humeral and femur muscles, brain, adipose, testis and rumen tissues of Kermani lambs. Tissue samples from thirty male lambs of Kermani sheep with approximately the similar weight and age from the Animal Science Research and Training Station of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman were picked up. Total RNA was isolated, cDNA was synthesized and Real-Time PCR was performed. SAS and REST softwares were used for analyzing the results. The Dlk1 gene was expressed in all studied tissues of Kermani sheep. The highest expression of Dlk1 gene expression was observed in liver tissue. There was no statistically significant difference between rumen and femur (leg) muscle, between humeral muscle and liver and between adipose and brain tissue (P>0.05). The lowest expression was related to testicular tissue. Based on results of current study, it can be concluded that this gene has pleiotropic effects with different major and minor outcomes in different tissues. But, for reaching to more decisive conclusion for any tissue, it is necessary to carry out further research noticing various physiological, epigenetic and genetic conditions. تفاصيل المقالة

The avianuncoupling protein (avUCP) is a member of the mitochondrial transporter superfamily that uncouples proton entry in the mitochondrial matrix from ATP synthesis. The polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used to estimate the allele and genotype frequencies of the UCP/HhaI polymorphisms and to determine associations between these polymorphisms and the growth traits, breeding value of growth and reproductive traits in the Fars indigenous chicken. For this purpose phenotype information of 18 successive generations from 200 birds were analyzed using a univariate animal model in ASREML procedure. The evaluation of the association between this single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with reproductive traits suggests a positive effect of TC genotype with age at first egg (ASM) compared with CC genotype. In addition, TC genotype was significantly associated with the breeding value of age at first egg compared with the CC genotype (P<0.05). In conclusion, our results suggest that the TC genotype of the UCP gene is associated with age at sexual maturity (ASM) and breeding value of age at sexual maturity and UCP polymorphisms may be used as DNA markers for selection in the breeding process of the Fars indigenous chicken. تفاصيل المقالة

The purpose of the research was to examine the behaviour of five hundred forty-two dairy cows in the 2 × 16 DeLaval parallel milking parlour. During ten milking sessions the consistency of the entrance order in the milking parlour was investigated, in particular group preference, side preference and standing position during milking and relationships of these behavioural elements with milk production and type of nervous activity (NA) of cows. The highest repeatability was characteristic of group preference (repeatability coefficient 0.47, Р<0.001), lower repeatability was for side preference and standing position (0.17, Р<0.001 and 0.09, Р<0.05). Young cows preferred generally to be milked in the first group (average lactation number 1.7), they had lower milk yield compared with the average milk yield in the herd (305-d milk yield-7552 kg) and reactive type of NA.The third group for milking was preferable for older cows (2,3lactations) with higher milk yield (7827 kg) and inert type of NA. It has been established that 8-12% of cows consistently chose the right or left side in the milking parlour, 42% of cows did not show any side preference. There have not been found significant differences in age and milk production of cows depending on the side preference and standing position in the milking parlour. Using the own methodology, that based on the consistency of group preference and standing position in the milking parlour, cows were divided into three types of NA: reactive, balanced and inert. In the studied herd, reactive type of NA, balanced and inert contained 34%, 29% and 37% of cows, respectively. In cows of inert type of NA indicated some advantage in milk production. It can be assumed that with age the type of NA of cows changes from active (reactive) to calmer (inert). The proposed method of estimation of cows behavior in the milking parlour allows to group cows by type of NA, can improve cows welfare in the herd and optimize milk production. تفاصيل المقالة

Clostridium perfringens is an important pathogen that provokes numerous different diseases. This bacterium is classified into five various types, each of which capable of causing a distinct disease. There are various methods for the bacterial identification, many are labor-intensive, time-consuming, expensive and also show low sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this research was to identify the unlike types of Clostridium perfringens using PCR method. In this study, 120 ostrich-dung samples were randomly collected from areas around the city of Kerman, southeastern Iran. After processing and culturing of samples, the produced colonies were morphologically studied, gram stain test was also carried out and the genera of these bacteria were identified through biochemical tests. DNA extracted from isolated bacteria for genotyping was tested by multiplex PCR with specific primers. Based on length of synthesized fragments by PCR, toxin types and bacterial strains were detected. Clostridium perfringens isolated types were divided as follows: 100% type A, 0% type B, 0% type C and 0% type D. It should be emphasized that, up to now, Clostridium perfringens type A has not been reported in Iran. تفاصيل المقالة