Host preference of the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis : short communication

Sheep scab mites, Psoroptes ovis, collected from a Merino donor sheep, were used to infest Merino and Dorper sheep, and Angora and Boer goats. Mites were placed on the sheep on 1 or 2 occasions and on 5 occasions on the goats. All the animals were examined at regular intervals for the presence of scab lesions and living mites. Both sheep breeds developed lesions, but those on the Merino sheep were always larger than those on the Dorper sheep at the same intervals after infestation. None of the goats developed lesions or showed signs of irritation, or harboured any mites.

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The rate of spread of sheep scab within small groups of Merino and Dorper sheep : short communication

Journal of the South African Veterinary Association ◽

10.4102/jsava.v73i3.578 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 73 (3) ◽

Author(s):

T. Meintjies ◽

L.J. Fourie ◽

I.G. Horak

Keyword(s):

Small Groups ◽

Short Communication ◽

Psoroptes Ovis ◽

Sheep Scab ◽

Merino Sheep ◽

Rate Of Spread ◽

Dorper Sheep

A single Merino sheep, artificially infested with the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis, and a similarly infested Dorper sheep were placed with 9 uninfested Merino or 9 uninfested Dorper sheep respectively during winter and the rate of spread of infestation on the uninfested sheep observed. The same procedure was repeated in summer. It took 14 and 8 weeks respectively in winter before all sheep in the 2 groups displayed lesions of sheep scab, whereas in summer it took 10 and 12 weeks before all sheep had lesions.

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Screening for antibodies against the sheep scab mite (Psoroptes ovis) Pso o 2 antigen in experimentally infested Swifter sheep may fail to identify affected animals

Vlaams Diergeneeskundig Tijdschrift ◽

10.21825/vdt.v90i5.20903 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 90 (5) ◽

pp. 231-234

Author(s):

R. Meyermans ◽

K. Bartley ◽

S. Janssens ◽

S. T. G. Burgess ◽

N. Buys

Keyword(s):

Mite Allergen ◽

Routine Screening ◽

The Novel ◽

Serum Antibodies ◽

Psoroptes Ovis ◽

Sheep Scab ◽

Sheep Breeds ◽

Serum Igg

Sheep scab, caused by Psoroptes ovis mites, represents a significant threat to sheep health and welfare. Infestations are diagnosed by parasite identification in skin scrapings, and more recently with a commercial ELISA against serum antibodies to the Pso o 2 mite allergen. However, little is known about the performance of the ELISA in non-UK sheep populations. In this study, six Swifter sheep were experimentally infested with P. ovis. Lesion sizes were monitored and serum IgG against Pso o 2 and the novel Pso-EIP-1 antigens were measured by ELISA. Although all sheep showed signs of infestation, serum from two animals failed to react with Pso o 2. However, they did react to Pso-EIP-1. This indicates that cases of sheep scab in (Swifter) sheep may remain undetected using the Pso o 2 ELISA, which may have implications for routine screening of non- UK sheep breeds.

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Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. XLVI. Oestrid fly larvae of sheep, goats, springbok and black wildebeest in the Eastern Cape Province

Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research ◽

10.4102/ojvr.v72i4.188 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 72 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

I.G. Horak

Keyword(s):

Eastern Cape Province ◽

Eastern Cape ◽

Merino Sheep ◽

Inland Valley ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Black Wildebeest ◽

Summer Temperatures ◽

Dorper Sheep ◽

Angora Goats ◽

Boer Goats

Merino sheep in Thornveld, Dorper sheep and Angora goats in inland Valley Bushveld, Angora goats and Boer goats in Valley Bushveld on the coastal plateau, and springbok, Antidorcas marsupialis, and black wildebeest, Connochaetes gnou, in Karroid Mountainveld, all in the Eastern Cape Province, were examined for the larvae of nasal bot flies. The sheep and goats were infested with the larvae of Oestrus ovis, and Dorper sheep and Boer goats harboured more larvae than Angora goats on the same farms. Most infestation was present from November to May in Merino sheep in Thornveld, from February to June in Dorper sheep in inland Valley Bushveld, and from May to September in Angora and Boer goats in Valley Bushveld on the coastal plateau. These patterns of seasonality appeared to be regulated by the severity of the summer temperatures at the various localities. The springbok were infested with the larvae of Rhinoestrus antidorcitis, most of which seemed to mature from June to August. All larval sages of Oestrus variolosus and Gedoelstia hässleri were present in the black wildebeest, and large numbers of 1st instar larvae of G. hässleri appeared to accumulate on the dura of the wildebeest from June to August.

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Sheep scab spatial distribution: the roles of transmission pathways

Parasites & Vectors ◽

10.1186/s13071-021-04850-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Emily Joanne Nixon ◽

Ellen Brooks-Pollock ◽

Richard Wall

Keyword(s):

Disease Transmission ◽

Movement Control ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Infected Sheep ◽

Disease Spread ◽

Psoroptes Ovis ◽

Long Distance ◽

Sheep Scab ◽

The Uk ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Ovine psoroptic mange (sheep scab) is a highly pathogenic contagious infection caused by the mite Psoroptes ovis. Following 21 years in which scab was eradicated in the UK, it was inadvertently reintroduced in 1972 and, despite the implementation of a range of control methods, its prevalence increased steadily thereafter. Recent reports of resistance to macrocyclic lactone treatments may further exacerbate control problems. A better understanding of the factors that facilitate its transmission are required to allow improved management of this disease. Transmission of infection occurs within and between contiguous sheep farms via infected sheep-to-sheep or sheep–environment contact and through long-distance movements of infected sheep, such as through markets. Methods A stochastic metapopulation model was used to investigate the impact of different transmission routes on the spatial pattern of outbreaks. A range of model scenarios were considered following the initial infection of a cluster of highly connected contiguous farms. Results Scab spreads between clusters of neighbouring contiguous farms after introduction but when long-distance movements are excluded, infection then self-limits spatially at boundaries where farm connectivity is low. Inclusion of long-distance movements is required to generate the national patterns of disease spread observed. Conclusions Preventing the movement of scab infested sheep through sales and markets is essential for any national management programme. If effective movement control can be implemented, regional control in geographic areas where farm densities are high would allow more focussed cost-effective scab management. Graphical Abstract

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PSXII-2 Identification of candidate SNPs associated with high prolificacy in Romanov sheep

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skab235.465 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽

pp. 254-255

Author(s):

Alexey V Shakhin ◽

Arsen V Dotsev ◽

Tatiana E Deniskova ◽

Gottfried Brem ◽

Natalia A Zinovieva

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Genetic Basis ◽

Reference Genome ◽

Unique Property ◽

Candidate Snps ◽

Merino Sheep ◽

Sheep Breeds ◽

Important Trait ◽

Very High ◽

Selection Of

Abstract Prolificacy is a very important trait in sheep. Romanov sheep, the well-known Russian sheep breed, are characterized by very high prolificacy; however, the genetic basis of this unique property of Romanov sheep is still unknown. It was reported that Ovine BMPR1B gene, located on the OAR6, is associated with prolificacy in several sheep breeds. The aim of our study was to identify candidate SNPs within BMPR1B gene, related to prolificacy. To achieve this goal, using NGS technology, we sequenced ovine BMPR1B gene in Romanov sheep (n = 6), which are characterized by high prolificacy (about 270 lambs per 100 ewes). The sequences of BMPR1B gene of Noire du Velay, Tan, Southdown and Australian Horned Merino sheep breeds as well as Asiatic mouflon (n = 1), which are characterized by significantly lower prolificacy (from 110 to 180 lambs per 100 ewes) were derived from publicly available sources and used for comparison. FST analysis performed in PLINK 1.9 program revealed 10 SNPs with values higher than 0.8. The majority of candidate SNPs under putative selection were localized in the region from 29,382,098 to 29,430,387 on OAR6 of Ovine reference genome (Oar_v3.1 (Ensembl release 98). Thus, we can suggest, that this region of the BMPR1B gene can be considered as the putative region, associated with high prolificacy of Romanov sheep. Additional studies will be needed to confirm the effect of identified candidate SNPs on prolificacy traits. The research results will be useful for artificial selection of sheep with higher prolific capacity, including the introduction of desired alleles in sheep populations using genome editing technologies. This work was supported by the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education No. 0445-2019-0024 and RFBR No. 20-516-56002.

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The status of the Hungarian Merino sheep breed compared to the other merino breeds

Acta Agraria Debreceniensis ◽

10.34101/actaagrar/69/1804 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 151-156

Author(s):

Mária Szabó ◽

Szilvia Kusza ◽

István Csízi ◽

István Monori

Keyword(s):

Gene Pool ◽

Genetic Resource ◽

Sheep Breed ◽

The Other ◽

Drastic Reduction ◽

Merino Sheep ◽

Sheep Breeds ◽

The World ◽

The Status ◽

Over Time

Merino and Merino-derived sheep breeds have been widely known and distributed across the world, both as purebred and admixed populations. They represent a diverse genetic resource which over time has been used as the basis for the development of new breeds. In spite of this, their gene-pool potential is still unexplored. The Merino sheep represent the most important sheep resource of the Hungarian husbandry. It has the largest amount of individuals between both of the stock and commercial flocks. But in Europe the Merino stocks went through a drastic reduction in number. Thus these breeds became endangered in several countries as well as in Hungary. In this study we would like to present the recent status of different Merino breeds of the world to ground our further phylogenetic research with the Hungarian Merino breed.

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Analysis of Genetic Diversity in three Kazakh Sheep using 12 Microsatellites

International Journal of Engineering & Technology ◽

10.14419/ijet.v7i4.38.24336 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (4.38) ◽

pp. 122

Author(s):

Kairat Dossybayev ◽

Aizhan Mussayeva ◽

Bakytzhan Bekmanov ◽

Beibit Kulataev

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Genetic Variability ◽

Mean Value ◽

Fixation Index ◽

Merino Sheep ◽

Str Markers ◽

Sheep Breeds ◽

Str Loci ◽

High Level ◽

Two Populations

The genetic structure of three Kazakh sheep breeds was examined by using 12 microsatellite loci. A total of 144 alleles were detected from the 12 STR loci, with a mean value of 12.0. The highest allele diversity was found at the locus CSRD247 (16 alleles). PIC value showed that all studied STR markers are more informative and appropriate for genetic analysis of three Kazakh sheep populations. Beside of INRA006, all markers had high level of genetic variability. As Fixation index shows, the excess of the heterozygosity was observed only in loci MAF065. Obtained number of private alleles in Edilbai, Kazakh Arkhar Merino and Kazakh Fine-wool sheep were 25, 17 and 15 respectively. Genetic diversity was higher in Edilbai population than in other two populations. The genetic variability was lower in Kazakh Arkhar Merino sheep than in the Edilbai and Kazakh Fine-wool sheep breeds. The genetic distance was the largest between Edilbai and Kazakh Arkhar Merinos. Also, the moderate differentiation was observed between Edilbai and Kazakh Arkhar Merinos.

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Comparative study of rumen activity in churra and merino sheep

Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) ◽

10.1017/s030822960002496x ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 1993 ◽

pp. 174-174

Author(s):

M.D. Carro ◽

F.J. Giráldez ◽

M.J. Ranilla ◽

J.S. González ◽

A.R. Mantecón

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Live Weight ◽

Experimental Period ◽

Ammonia Nitrogen ◽

Free Access ◽

Merino Sheep ◽

Sheep Breeds ◽

Alfalfa Hay ◽

N Concentration ◽

Access To Water

Some recent studies (Frutos et al., 1992) comparing Spanish sheep breeds have indicate possible differences between breeds in the digestive diet utilization. The aim of this experiment was to compare the activity of microbies in the rumens of Churra and Merino sheep which were kept in the same environment and received the same diets. The pH and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration in rumen liquor were also determined in all animals.The experiment was conducted with 5 mature Churra sheep (47.2 ± 2.74 kg live weight (LW)) and 5 mature Merino sheep (45.0 ± 0.91 kg LW), which had been fitted with a rumen cannula of 35 mm diameter 4 months before the start of the experiment. All animals were housed in individual pens and had free access to water and mineral blocks. The animals received alfalfa hay at maintenance level through the experimental period, which was distributed in two equal amounts at 10:00 and 18:00 h.

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