scholarly journals Relationships between Hha1 Calpastatin Gene Polymorphism, Growth Performance, and Meat Characteristics of Awassi Sheep

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 667
Author(s):  
Khaleel I. Jawasreh ◽  
Ahmad H. Al-Amareen ◽  
Pauline Y. Aad

Advances in molecular genetics have allowed the identification of genes that can enhance livestock production. The aim of this study was to investigate possible relationships between the calpastatin (CAST) Hha1 gene polymorphisms and growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality in Awassi sheep. A total of 87 blood samples were collected from two-week-old Awassi ram lambs. The amplification of the CAST Hha1 gene yielded a fragment of 622 bp. Three CAST genotypes were found in Awassi sheep: MM for two fragments (385 bp and 281 bp), MN for three fragments (622 bp, 385 bp, and 281 bp), and NN for only one fragment (622 bp). The M and N allele frequencies of the CAST Hha1 genotypes were 0.765 and 0.235, respectively, while the genotypic frequencies of MM, MN, and NN were 0.586, 0.356, and 0.057, respectively. Based on CAST Hha1 gene polymorphisms, three groups of lambs (MM: n = 8; MN: n = 6; and NN: n = 3 genotypes) were subjected to a fattening period of 70 days to investigate growth performance and meat characteristics. Only the final body weight and longissimus muscle width were significantly different between the three genotypes, while no significant differences were detected in any other carcass characteristics and meat quality parameters. In this study, new variants were observed in CAST using the Hha1 restriction site, potentially assisting in Awassi sheep breeding and selection programs to improve final body weight and longissimus muscle width.

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-303
Author(s):  
Benbati Mohammed ◽  
Keli Abdelhafid ◽  
Haddioui Abdelmajid ◽  
Boufarik Wiam ◽  
ElFazazi Kaoutar ◽  
...  

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of incorporating different levels of carob pulp (CP) on fattening performance, carcass characteristics and meat qualityof the Moroccan sheep breed Deroua. Thirty-six entire maleMoroccan breed Deroua lambs with aninitial body weight of 23.5±3.1 kg and age 120±10 days, were randomly divided into three diet’streatmentsof 12 animals: T0(0%CP), T1(10%CP) and T2(20%CP) containing 0, 10 and 20 % of CP, respectively. The experiment lasted 80 days, including 5 days of adaptation to different diets. Lambs were weighed every 15 days, while feed intake was determineddaily. At the end of the experiment, 27 lambs (9per treatment) were slaughtered to determinecarcass characteristics and meat quality. Final body weight and average daily gain (P<0.05) were affected by treatment diet. The inclusion of 10% CP led to a decrease in feed conversion ratio and feeding costs. Carcass characteristics were not affected by diets (P>0.05),except, in case of mesenteric fat (P<0.05) with superiority recorded in treatment diet T1(10%CP). Meat quality parameters were not affected by diets. The meat of lambs feddiets T1 and T2 tended to be lighter in color and less red than those fed diet T0. The results of this work showed that carob pulp can be used as an alternative feedstuff from fattening lambs to reduce feeding costs without affecting fattening performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan A Johnson ◽  
Brittney D Sutherland ◽  
John J McKinnon ◽  
Tim A McAllister ◽  
Gregory B Penner

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the source of silage, cereal grain, and their interaction on growth performance, digestibility, and carcass characteristics of finishing beef cattle. Using a completely randomized design within an 89-d finishing study, 288 steers were randomly assigned to 1 of 24 pens (12 steers/pen) with average steer body weight (BW) within a pen of 464 kg ± 1.7 kg (mean ± SD). Diets were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial with corn silage (CS) or barley silage (BS) included at 8% (dry matter [DM] basis). Within each silage source, diets contained dry-rolled barley grain (BG; 86% of DM), dry-rolled corn grain (CG; 85% of DM), or an equal blend of BG and CG (BCG; 85% of DM). Total tract digestibility of nutrients was estimated from fecal samples using near-infrared spectroscopy. Data were analyzed with pen as the experimental unit using the Mixed Model of SAS with the fixed effects of silage, grain, and the two-way interaction. Carcass and fecal kernel data were analyzed using GLIMMIX utilizing the same model. There were no interactions detected between silage and grain source. Feeding CG increased (P &lt; 0.01) DM intake by 0.8 and 0.6 kg/d relative to BG and BCG, respectively. Gain-to-feed ratio was greater (P = 0.04) for BG (0.172 kg/kg) than CG (0.162 kg/kg) but did not differ from BCG (0.165 kg/kg). Furthermore, average daily gain (2.07 kg/d) and final body weight did not differ among treatments (P ≥ 0.25). Hot carcass weight (HCW) was 6.2 kg greater (372.2 vs. 366.0 kg; P &lt; 0.01) and dressing percentage was 0.57 percentage units greater (59.53 vs. 58.96 %; P = 0.04) for steers fed CS than BS, respectively. There was no effect of dietary treatment on the severity of liver abscesses (P ≥ 0.20) with 72.0% of carcasses having clear livers, 24.4% with minor liver abscesses, and 3.6% with severe liver abscesses. Digestibility of DM, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and starch were greater for BG (P &lt; 0.01) than CG or BCG. As expected, grain source affected the appearance of grain kernels in the feces (P ≤ 0.04). Feeding CS silage increased the appearance of fractured corn kernels (P = 0.04), while feeding BS increased fiber appearance in the feces (P = 0.02). Current results indicate that when dry rolled, feeding BG resulted in improved performance and digestibility compared with CG and BCG. Even at low inclusion levels (8% of DM), CS resulted in improved carcass characteristics relative to BS.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1487-1491
Author(s):  
M. Ata ◽  
Belal S. Obeidat

Background and Aim: Grains, such as barley (BAR) and corn (CORN), are major energy sources for small ruminants. This study aimed to assess the impact of feeding either BAR or CORN-based diets on growth performance and carcass characteristics. Materials and Methods: Awassi male lambs, average body weight of 20.4±0.49 kg, were chosen randomly. Lambs were acclimated for 10 days and assigned to one of two diets (1) BAR and (2) CORN. Feeding continued for 70 days with 60 days of data collection. Daily intake was recorded. Measurements of body weight were taken starting from day 1 then once per week throughout the study period. On day 40, six lambs were randomly chosen from each group and placed in metabolism cages to assess digestibility and N balance. Lambs were slaughtered on the last day of the study to evaluate carcass characteristics and meat quality. Results: Neutral and acid detergent fiber and ether extract intake were greater (p≤0.05) for lambs fed the BAR diets. Nitrogen loss in feces tended to be greater (p=0.09) for the CORN diet. Eye muscle depth (mm) tended to be greater (p=0.07) for the BAR diet. Nutrient digestibility, daily weight gain, carcass characteristics, and meat quality were not different (p≥0.1) between diets. Conclusion: The results herein demonstrate that feeding BAR grain improved nutrient intake efficiency and consistency and did not affect weight gain and carcass traits. BAR-based diets might be a useful alternative to CORN for feeding growing lambs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1136-1141
Author(s):  
Kamran KHAN ◽  
Inam ULLAH ◽  
Nazir Ahmad KHAN ◽  
Sarzamin KHAN

Mulberry (Morus alba) leaves contain a high amount of digestible carbohydrates, protein and minerals, making it an attractive, natural, low-cost feed ingredient in rabbit rations. The present study evaluated the effect of stepwise replacement of a concentrate diet with wilted M. alba leaves on growth performance and meat quality of rabbits. Sixty indigenous rabbits (age, 36 ± 2 days) were assigned to 5 diets (12 rabbits per diet). The 5 diets consisted of a commercial concentrate diet (control; WML0), and stepwise replacement of the concentrate with 25% (WML25), 50% (WML50), 75% (WML75), and 100% (WML100) wilted M. alba leaves. Final body weight (1238 g/rabbit), and total (904.1 g/rabbit) and daily (18.8 g/day/rabbit) weight gains were higher (P < 0.05) in rabbits fed with WML50. The WML50 also supported the best (P < 0.05) feed to gain ratio (4.50). Moreover, higher (P < 0.05) reference carcass weight (571.7 g) and a higher dressing percentage (55.8%) were recorded for WML50. Composition of the diets did not alter (P > 0.05) meat pH, water release and cooking loss. In conclusion, M. alba successfully replaced 50% of concentrate in rabbit diet and supported a higher growth performance and carcass yield without negative effects on meat quality


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjun Jin ◽  
Hao Yang ◽  
Fangju Liu ◽  
Xinping Diao ◽  
Qian Pang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: With increasing of duck meat among consumers, the demand for growth performance and the meat quality health of ducks in increasing. Dietary curcumin altered the growth performance and meat quality. However, study on the effect of dietary curcumin on the growth performance, serum antioxidation and meat quality of ducks. This study invested effects of dietary curcumin given to ducks on the growth performance, antioxidation capacity in plasma, meat quality, lipid oxidation and the concentration of volatile compounds in duck breast muscle. A total of 600 healthy ducks with similar body weight were randomly allotted into 4 groups with 10 replicates per group and 15 ducks per replicate. Ducks were fed experimental diets which the curcumin supplemental levels were 0, 300, 400 and 500 mg curcumin/kg basic fed, respectively. The experiment lasted for 10 weeks. Results: Results showed that dietary supplementation of curcumin at levels 300, 400 and 500 mg/kg dietary (P < 0.05) improved the average final body weight. The ducks fed the basal diet without curcumin supplementation had the lowest FI (P > 0.05) and highest FCR (P > 0.05) among all ducks. Feeding ducks on diets supplemented with curcumin at each level significantly increased (P < 0.05) plasma activity of T-SOD and GSH-Px, and significantly reduced plasma MDA concentration compared to the control group. The dietary curcumin significantly increased the growth performance and the antioxidation capacity in plasma of ducks. Dietary curcumin improved the meat quality of ducks by significantly increasing pH45, pH24 (P < 0.05) and color of duck meat (P < 0.05), and significantly decreasing cooking loss (P < 0.05), shear force (P < 0.05), and the lipid oxidation of duck meat. 56 volatile compounds were identified and quantified. Interestingly, cantharidin among volatile compounds was firstly found in duck muscle, and only existed in the group of 500 mg curcumin/kg diet. Conclusions: In conclusion, the supplementation of duck diets with curcumin at 300, 400, and 500 mg/kg diet improved growth performance, antioxidant status and meat quality of ducks. The cantharidin was firstly found in duck breast muscle when the dietary curcumin inclusion of 500 mg/kg.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 607-616
Author(s):  
Olusegun O. Ikusika ◽  
Andrew B. Falowo ◽  
Conference T. Mpendulo ◽  
Titus J. Zindove ◽  
Anthony I. Okoh

AbstractThis study examined strain, sex and slaughter weight effect on performance, meat quality and yield of broiler chicken. One hundred and fifty-day-old chicks (broilers) were distributed randomly in a 3 × 2 × 4 factorial experiment, with 50 birds per strain (Ross, Aboaca and Anak) and 25 birds per sex. After trial, 32 birds per strain and 16 per sex were slaughtered at 4 different body weights (1,000, 1,500, 2,000, and 2,500 g) to determine carcass yield and meat quality. The results revealed significant strain and sex effect (P < 0.05) on growth performance of the broiler chicken. Ross strain had the highest feed intake (4883.25 g) and final body weight (2440.25 g) compared to Aboaca and Anak strains. Female broiler having heavier body weight (2431.66 g) and feed intake (4864.83 g) than the males for all strains. Aboaca birds had the highest carcass yields for all slaughter weight than Anak and Ross. The slaughter weight, irrespective sex and strains significantly influenced the carcass yield (P < 0.001) with birds slaughtered at 2,500 g having (P < 0.001) highest values compared to other slaughtered weights. As slaughter weight increases, cooking loss and thermal shortening decreases while water holding capacity and shear force values increases. Overall, Aboaca strain was considered to have best performances for production.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 783-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaleel I. Z. Jawasreh ◽  
A. H. Al-Amareen ◽  
P. Y. Aad

Aim: This study was designed to introduce the callipyge (CLPG) and 50% of Rambouillet sheep genes to improve meat quality and quantity of Awassi (AW) sheep. Materials and Methods: The CLPG mutation was introduced into the AW sheep through frozen semen of homozygous Rambouillet rams for the CLPG mutation. Four ram lambs from the first-generation Rambouillet callipyge Awassi (F1-RCA) and five from pure AW were recruited for a fattening trial conducted in individual pens using standard ration, following which ram lambs were slaughtered for carcass and meat evaluation. Results: Final body weight, dry matter intake, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio were significantly higher in F1-RCA than AW. Hot and cold carcass weights and the other carcass cuts' weights, except for the fat tail, were heavier in F1-RCA than AW. There was no difference in dressing percentage between the two genetic groups (p>0.05). All non-carcass components' weights, except spleen, kidney, and testis, were higher in F1-RCA. Total lean, total bone, and intermuscular fat weight were greater in F1-RCA, but bone-to-lean ratio was lower in F1-RCA when compared with AW (p<0.01). No differences (p>0.05) were observed in all meat quality parameters for muscle longissimus with the exception of pH, redness color, and tenderness that were lower (p<0.05) in F1-RCA than AW. F1-RCA lambs had larger longissimus muscle area (30.9 vs. 16.9 cm2) and less leg fat depth (11.1 vs. 17.4 mm). Conclusion: The implications of this research show the potential of 50% of Rambouillet genes and the CLPG mutation to improve growth and meat characteristics in AW-Rambouillet crosses and can be used further to develop a meat-type AW with improved productivity and muscle mass.


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