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Animals
Special Issues
Genetics and Breeding in Ruminants
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Genetics and Breeding in Ruminants

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 February 2025 | Viewed by 2253

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Huaiping Shi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: biotechnology; animal breeding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ruminants provide meat, milk, wool, and skins, indicating strong economic and ecological value worldwide. When preparing to meet the demand for high-quality livestock products, it is essential to breed animals with desired production characteristics, such as enhanced milk yield, and to develop more potential and productive livestock. Genetics and breeding in ruminants are crucial areas in animal husbandry, involving how to utilize animal genetic resources to improve variety and increase yield and quality, as well as how to effectively manage the breeding process to achieve expected goals. Genetics and modern technological means can improve key functional traits, which opens up new possibilities for genetics studies and breeding programs. The scientific practice of genetics and breeding can improve the production efficiency of ruminant husbandry and protect and inherit precious genetic resources.

We invite original research papers and review articles on genetic improvement, breeding management, reproductive physiology, conservation of genetic diversity, and genetic variability of traits related to the milking ability of dairy ruminants such as cows and dairy goats.

Prof. Dr. Huaiping Shi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ruminants
  • genetics
  • variety improvement
  • reproductive physiology
  • genetic diversity
  • genetic variability
  • product quality

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 1525 KiB  
Article
Characterisation of Ovine KRTAP19-3 and Its Impact on Wool Traits in Chinese Tan Sheep
by Lingrong Bai, Huitong Zhou, Jinzhong Tao and Jon G. H. Hickford
Animals 2024, 14(19), 2772; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14192772 - 25 Sep 2024
Viewed by 553
Abstract
Wool, a natural fibre derived from sheep, can present a challenge to wool processing and manufacturing industries because of the variation in fibre traits. Genetic improvement offers one solution to this challenge, and having a better understanding of the genes that affect wool [...] Read more.
Wool, a natural fibre derived from sheep, can present a challenge to wool processing and manufacturing industries because of the variation in fibre traits. Genetic improvement offers one solution to this challenge, and having a better understanding of the genes that affect wool fibre traits is therefore important. Here, we describe ovine KRTAP19-3, a new member of the KAP19 gene family. Phylogenetic analysis revealed its relationship to other known KRTAP19 gene sequences, and an analysis of the nucleotide sequence variation in KRTAP19-3 from 288 sheep of a variety of breeds revealed six unique variant sequences. Among these variants, eleven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected, with six located in the coding region. Three of these coding region SNPs were non-synonymous and would result in amino acid changes. Associations were observed between the presence of specific sequence variants in Chinese Tan sheep and wool trait variation, particularly an increase in fibre diameter variability in the heterotypic hair fibres. These findings enhance our understanding of the genes that encode sheep wool proteins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding in Ruminants)
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18 pages, 3790 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Association Analyses and Population Verification Highlight the Potential Genetic Basis of Horned Morphology during Polled Selection in Tibetan Sheep
by Dehong Tian, Zian Zhang, Bin Huang, Buying Han, Xue Li and Kai Zhao
Animals 2024, 14(15), 2152; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14152152 - 24 Jul 2024
Viewed by 707
Abstract
The types and morphology of sheep horns have been extensively researched, yet the genetic foundation underlying the emergence of diverse horn characteristics during the breeding of polled Tibetan sheep has remained elusive. Genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) was performed on 103 subtypes (normal large [...] Read more.
The types and morphology of sheep horns have been extensively researched, yet the genetic foundation underlying the emergence of diverse horn characteristics during the breeding of polled Tibetan sheep has remained elusive. Genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) was performed on 103 subtypes (normal large horn, scurs, and polled) differentiated from G2 (offspring (G2) of parent (G1) of polled) of the polled core herd. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on chromosome 10 of the relaxin family peptide receptor 2 (RXFP2) gene exhibited positive correlations with horn length, horn base circumference, and horn base interval. Furthermore, in genotyping 382 G2 individuals, significant variations were observed for each specific horn type. Three additional mutations were identified near the target SNP upstream of the amplification product. Finally, the RXFP2-specific haplotype associated with the horned trait effectively maintained horn length, horn base circumference, and horn base interval in Tibetan sheep, as confirmed by population validation of nine loci in a sample size of 1125 individuals. The present study offers novel insights into the genetic differentiation of the horned type during improvement breeding and evolution, thereby establishing a robust theoretical foundation for polled Tibetan sheep breeding and providing valuable guidance for practical production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding in Ruminants)
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26 pages, 1079 KiB  
Perspective
Genetics of Wool and Cashmere Fibre: Progress, Challenges, and Future Research
by Huitong Zhou, Lingrong Bai, Shaobin Li, Wenhao Li, Jiqing Wang, Jinzhong Tao and Jon G. H. Hickford
Animals 2024, 14(22), 3228; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14223228 - 11 Nov 2024
Viewed by 649
Abstract
Wool (sheep) and cashmere (goat) fibres have unique biological, physical, and chemical properties and these fibres are becoming more important as the demand for natural products increases. However, these complex protein fibres are at times compromised by natural variability in their properties, and [...] Read more.
Wool (sheep) and cashmere (goat) fibres have unique biological, physical, and chemical properties and these fibres are becoming more important as the demand for natural products increases. However, these complex protein fibres are at times compromised by natural variability in their properties, and this can impact their use and value. Genetic improvement via selection and breeding can partly overcome this problem, enabling the farming of sheep and goats that produce more desirable fibre. This review explores the challenges in improving wool and cashmere fibre characteristics using genetics, with a focus on improving our understanding of the key protein components of fibres, wool keratins and keratin-associated proteins (KAPs). Despite progress in our knowledge of these proteins, gaining a better understanding of them and how they affect these fibres remains an ongoing challenge. This is not straight-forward, given the large number of similar yet unique genes that produce the proteins and the gaps that remain in their identification and characterisation. More research is required to clarify gene and protein sequence variability and the location and patterns of gene expression, which in turn limits our understanding of fibre growth and variation. Several aspects that currently hinder our progress in this quest include the incomplete identification of all the genes and weaknesses in the approaches used to characterise them, including newer omics technologies. We describe future research directions and challenges, including the need for ongoing gene identification, variation characterisation, and gene expression analysis and association studies to enable further improvement to these valuable natural fibres. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding in Ruminants)
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