scholarly journals Variations in Behavioral and Physiological Traits in Yearling Tibetan Sheep (Ovis aries)

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1676
Author(s):  
Yibo Yu ◽  
Yun Wang ◽  
Liang Zhong ◽  
Hongjuan Zhu ◽  
Jiapeng Qu

Temperament is a consistent behavioral difference among individuals over time or in different contexts. A comprehensive understanding of temperament and complex behavioral interactions enhances knowledge on animal evolution, welfare, and productivity. However, reports on the development of behavioral consistency over ontogeny are vague. Here, we tested the ontogeny of the temperament and physiological traits of Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) in three crucial age stages. The mean level of the risk-taking variable increased, while that of the vocalizations variable decreased. The exploration variable was stable over ontogeny. The novelty decreased and the heart rate increased from the juvenile to the adolescent stage but stabilized at the adult stage. The fecal cortisol concentration (CORT) variable was stable at the juvenile and adolescent stages but decreased at the adult stage. Stable correlations were reported for the juvenile and adolescent stages and for the behavioral variables and heart rate. However, some correlations emerged only after maturation, whereas others disappeared over ontogeny. Moreover, CORT was independent of temperament and heart rate at different ages. These results demonstrate that age affects temperament and physiology and their correlations. Hence, developmental aspects should be incorporated into future temperament studies.

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 556-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Orihuela ◽  
J. C. Omaña ◽  
R. Ungerfeld
Keyword(s):  

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.M. Baldock ◽  
R.M. Sibly ◽  
P.D. Penning

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1200-1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Han ◽  
M. Yang ◽  
Y.J. Yue ◽  
T.T. Guo ◽  
J.B. Liu ◽  
...  

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1362
Author(s):  
Lin-sheng Gui ◽  
Sayed Haidar Abbas Raza ◽  
Li Zhou ◽  
Matthew Garcia ◽  
Ayman Hassan Abd El-Aziz ◽  
...  

Silent information regulator 1 and 2 (SIRT1, 2) were NAD+-dependent histone or non-histone deacetylase, which emerged as key metabolic sensors in several tissues of mammals. In the present study, the search for polymorphisms within the ovine SIRT1 and SIRT2 loci as well as association analyses between SNPs and growth-related traits were performed in Tibetan sheep. To determine the expression pattern of SIRT1 and SIRT2 genes in Tibetan sheep, the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis revealed that those two genes were widely expressed in diverse tissues. Expression of SIRT1 was less in abomasum of lamb, whereas it was greater in duodenum within adult stage. In the case of SIRT2, the greatest expression was observed in reticulum (lamb) and in muscle (adult), whereas the least expression was in liver for lamb and in kidney for adult animals. The association analysis demonstrated that g.3148 C > T polymorphism of SIRT1 affected heart girth (p = 0.002). The g.8074 T > A SNP of SIRT2 had a significant correlation with body weight (p = 0.011) and body length (p = 0.008). These findings suggested that the SIRT1 and SIRT2 polymorphism was involved in growth-related traits in Tibetan sheep, which may be considered to be genetic markers for improving the growth traits of Tibetan sheep.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1177
Author(s):  
Jianbin Liu ◽  
Zengkui Lu ◽  
Chao Yuan ◽  
Fan Wang ◽  
Bohui Yang

To date, molecular genetics and population studies in Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) have been limited, and little is known about the phylogenetic evolution and phylogeography of Tibetan sheep populations. The aim of the present research was to explore phylogeography and phylogenetic evolution of Tibetan sheep populations, on the basis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene MT-CYB (1140 base pairs). Our dataset consisted of 641 MT-CYB sequences from the same amount of animals belonging to 15 populations of Tibetan sheep living in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China. Haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 0.748 ± 0.010 and 0.003 ± 0.001, respectively. The analysis of phylogeography revealed the presence of two formerly described haplogroups in 15 populations of Tibetan sheep, however only one haplogroup was present in Awang sheep. Moreover, 641 Tibetan sheep were distributed into a minimum of two clusters by clustering analysis. The 15 Tibetan sheep populations and 19 reference populations of 878 individuals were separated into six main groups based on their substitutions per site, from which we constructed a phylogenetic tree. Minor differences in branching order of various taxa between trees acquired from either gene were observed. This study provides insights on the origins and phylogenetic evolution of populations residing in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, which will aid information of future conservation programs aimed at conserving this valuable genetic resource.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (12) ◽  
pp. 859-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiongxiong Cui ◽  
Zhaofeng Wang ◽  
Tianhai Yan ◽  
Shenghua Chang ◽  
Hong Wang ◽  
...  

Diet is the great determinant of bacterial composition in the rumen. However, little is known about the rumen bacterial community of Tibetan sheep living in the special ecological environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) of China. In the present study, we used high-throughput sequencing to investigate the rumen bacterial community of Tibetan sheep associated with two primary diets: alpine pasture diet (a continuation of the sheep’s natural grazing diet) and oat (Avena sativa) hay diet on the QTP. The results showed that bacterial community richness and species diversity of the oat hay diet group were significantly greater than that of the native pasture diet group (p < 0.05). Principal co-ordinate analysis and analysis of similarities revealed that the bacterial community of the oat hay diet group was distinctly different from that of the native pasture diet group (p < 0.05). Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the predominant microbial phyla in the rumen. The rumen of oat-hay-fed sheep had higher proportions of Proteobacteria and novel bacteria species than the rumen of native-pasture-fed sheep. Actinobacteria, an uncommon bacterial phylum, occurred only in the oat-hay-fed group. At the genus level, Komagataeibacter, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, and Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214 showed significantly higher relative abundance in the oat-hay-fed sheep than in the native-pasture-fed sheep (p < 0.05). This study is the first of the QTP to employ high-throughput sequencing to examine the influence of diet on the rumen microbiome of Tibetan sheep.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (8) ◽  
pp. 2021-2027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry J. Harlow ◽  
E. Tom Thorne ◽  
Elizabeth S. Williams ◽  
E. Lee Belden ◽  
William A. Gern

The concept of stress and the general adaptive syndrome as advanced by Hans Selye has received considerable attention during the past decade primarily in its interpretation of physiological changes associated with chronic stress. Our work with domestic sheep (Ovis aries) habituated to stalls and fitted with halters carrying indwelling electrocardiogram leads and jugular vein cannulas allowed us to remotely test heart rate and blood cortisol responses of these animals to graded stressors. A radioimmunoassay was validated on domestic sheep plasma. We were unable to identify significant alterations of the adrenal response test by sheep exposed to synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone after 34 days of chronic stress, suggesting neither adrenal exhaustion nor hypersensitivity. As an indicator of acute stress, we obtained a correlation coefficient of 0.91 between heart rate and blood cortisol, which suggests that heart rate has a strong potential of being a reliable predictor of cortisol values. With a regression equation, the heart rate of observed free-living sheep monitored by telemetry could be used to predict plasma cortisol levels and that, in turn, to predict potential stress-induced changes in animal production, including immunity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruoshuang Liu ◽  
Jianbin Shi ◽  
Susanne Shultz ◽  
Dongsheng Guo ◽  
Dingzhen Liu

Mammal gastrointestinal tracts harbor diverse bacterial communities that play important roles in digestion, development, behavior, and immune function. Although, there is an increasing understanding of the factors that affect microbial community composition in laboratory populations, the impact of environment and host community composition on microbiomes in wild populations is less understood. Given that the composition of bacterial communities can be shaped by ecological factors, particularly exposure to the microbiome of other individuals, inter-specific interactions should impact on microbiome community composition. Here, we evaluated inter-population and inter-specific similarity in the fecal microbiota of Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii), an endangered endemic ruminant around Qinghai Lake in China. We compared the fecal bacterial communities of three Przewalski’s gazelle populations, with those of two sympatric ruminants, Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata) and Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries). The fecal bacterial community richness (Chao1, ACE) did not vary across the three Przewalski’s gazelle populations, nor did the composition vary between species. In contrast, the managed Przewalski’s gazelle population had higher bacterial diversity (Shannon and Simpson) and was more similar to its sympatric Tibetan sheep in beta diversity than the wild Przewalski’s gazelle populations. These results suggest that ecological factors like host community composition or diet affect Przewalski’s gazelle’s gastrointestinal bacterial community. The role of bacterial community composition in maintaining gastrointestinal health should be assessed to improve conservation management of endangered Przewalski’s gazelle. More broadly, captive breeding and reintroduction efforts may be impeded, where captive management results in dysbiosis and introduction of pathogenic bacteria. In free ranging populations, where wildlife and livestock co-occur, infection by domestic pathogens and diseases may be an underappreciated threat to wild animals.


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