1. Protease and deaminase activities and the metabolism of peptides were measured in rumen fluid from ciliate-free sheep and from sheep with a limited population of small entodinia. The same measurements were repeated following inoculation of the latter group with a more typical mixed ciliate population. 2. Protease and dialanine uptake activities of mixed rumen micro-organisms were not signifi...

BACKGROUND Susceptibility of sheep to scrapie infection is known to be modulated by the PrP genotype of the animal. In the Netherlands an ambitious scrapie control programme was started in 1998, based on genetic selection of animals for breeding. From 2002 onwards EU regulations required intensive active scrapie surveillance as well as certain control measures in affected flocks.Here we analyze...

in this study, production, reproduction, managerial, and economic parameters obtained from data recorded for lori-bakhtiari flock of sheep (500 heads of breeding ewe) stationed at the sheep's breeding station, were employed to determine the relative economic values of and breeding objectives for an annual cycle of production, in village system in this breed of sheep. economic value for a t...

Arid climates have unpredictable precipitation patterns, and wildlife managers often provide supplemental water to help desert ungulates endure the hottest, driest periods. When surface water is unavailable, the only source of water for ungulates comes from the forage they consume, and they must make resourceful foraging decisions to meet their requirements. We compared two desert bighorn sheep...

baluchi sheep is considered as the most common breed in iran, constituting about 30% of total sheep population, approximately 15 million heads. this research was designed to study the incidence of mutation in two loci of igf-i (exon 3) and adrb3 (intron) along with their association with body weight traits in baluchi sheep population. following dna extraction from 190 baluchi sheep, two pairs o...

Brucellosis is one of the major zoonotic diseases in China, especially in Inner Mongolia where occurs the largest number of human brucellosis cases of Mainland China, which can be attributed to the large number of sheep kept there, since at least 90% of the human brucellosis cases are caused by sheep. Therefore, given the characteristics of the brucellosis infection in Inner Mongolia Autonomous...

Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes are foodborne pathogens of global importance. We assessed their risks and associated factors in a highly dynamic population of animals. Animal and environmental samples were collected from dairy cattle, sheep, camel and chickens at either the farms or the abattoirs. The pathogens were detected using a combination of bacterial enrichment culture and rea...

Background Ghezel sheep are highly prolific and one of the local sheep breeds in Iran and Turkey. Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF9) gene has been found to be essential for growth and differentiation of early ovarian follicles. Novel mutations in GDF9 have been associated with increased ovulation rates and high litter sizes in heterozygous carriers. Therefore, fecundity gene for GDF9 (FecGH...

Susceptibility of sheep erythrocytes to Babesia divergens was investigated in vitro and a high inter-individual variability in their ability to support parasite population development was demonstrated, with some individuals having refractory red blood cells (RBC). As neither changes in growth conditions nor the use of different B. divergens strains influenced the level of susceptibility, the ma...