Data on production and reproduction performances of 373 Jersey cows born and reared at the Exotic Cattle Breeding Farm, Eachenkottai, Tamil Nadu, India, pertaining to 27 years were collected. They were analysed to study the effects of various non-genetic factors on milk production and reproduction traits. The least-squares means (± SE) for 305-day and total lactation milk yields for all the parities were 1491.6 ± 25.9 and 1560.9 ± 29.9 kg respectively. The averages for lactation length, service period, calving interval and dry period for all lactations were 303.1 ± 4.0, 177.0 ± 10.0, 461.0 ± 9.7 and 160.2 ± 9.7 days respectively. Years grouped into five periods had significant (P<0.01) influence on all the traits studied. Season of calving showed a significant (P<0.01) source of variation in milk yield traits and calving interval. Parity was found to influence 305-day milk yield, service period, dry period and calving interval significantly (P<0.01). The study revealed that the performance of the Jersey cattle was much lower than those maintained under high altitude conditions in Tamil Nadu and other places in India.

The diseases in poultry cause huge losses in the form of mortality in acute infections or as substandard performance due to chronic illness. Biosecurity and vaccination are considered as two important primary strategies for disease prevention in poultry. On the other hand, breeding for disease resistance is an alternate strategy to combat the damages of diseases. Although, attempts were initiated to develop disease resistant poultry by breeding almost a century before, this branch of science renewed the interest among scientists because of catastrophic emerging and reemerging diseases like Avian influenza. It has proven over a period of time that poultry  exhibits genetic resistance to viral diseases like avian leukosis complex, Marek’s disease, avian influenza and Newcastle disease, bacterial disease like salmonellosis and may parasitic infestations. The key genes responsible for resistance to specific diseases have also been demonstrated. The breeding attempts for developing disease resistant poultry has yielded positive results with varying degree of success. The advent of sophisticated molecular methods like genomic selection using highdensity SNP chips, RNA-seq technique and identification of key marker genes and transgenesis could complement the conventional breeding methods to a larger extent in developing disease resistant poultry.

The diseases in poultry cause huge losses in the form of mortality in acute infections or as substandard performance due to chronic illness. Biosecurity and vaccination are considered as two important primary strategies for disease prevention in poultry. On the other hand, breeding for disease resistance is an alternate strategy to combat the damages of diseases. Although, attempts were initiated to develop disease resistant poultry by breeding almost a century before, this branch of science renewed the interest among scientists because of catastrophic emerging and reemerging diseases like Avian influenza. It has proven over a period of time that poultry  exhibits genetic resistance to viral diseases like avian leukosis complex, Marek’s disease, avian influenza and Newcastle disease, bacterial disease like salmonellosis and may parasitic infestations. The key genes responsible for resistance to specific diseases have also been demonstrated. The breeding attempts for developing disease resistant poultry has yielded positive results with varying degree of success. The advent of sophisticated molecular methods like genomic selection using highdensity SNP chips, RNA-seq technique and identification of key marker genes and transgenesis could complement the conventional breeding methods to a larger extent in developing disease resistant poultry.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of perinuclear antineutrophilic cytoplasmic autoantibodies (pANCA) in the serum of healthy Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers (SCWTs) in the United Kingdom and to identify potential risk factors and heritability patterns associated with a positive result for pANCA. Animals: 188 SCWTs (age range, 18 months to 14.3 years). Procedures: Blood samples were obtained from SCWTs in various locations in England. Serum was tested for pANCA by use of an immunofluorescence assay, and total protein and albumin concentrations were determined. Pedigrees were evaluated to identify close relatives that had protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) or protein-losing nephropathy (PLN). Results: 39 of 188 (20.7%) dogs, including young dogs, had positive results for pANCA. Dogs had significantly higher odds of having positive results for pANCA if they had at least 1 littermate that had PLE or PLN (odds ratio, 12.1) or if they had at least 1 full sibling from another litter known to be affected with PLE or PLN (odds ratio, 4.0). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: This study revealed a high prevalence of pANCA in the serum of a representative sample of healthy SCWTs in the United Kingdom and a significant association between positive results for pANCA and a diagnosis of PLE or PLN in a sibling.

Objective-To evaluate whether additive genetic correlations existed between certain aspects of the radiographic appearance of the distal sesamoid (navicular) bones (RNB) or between RNB and other types of radiographic changes in the limbs of Hanoverian Warmblood horses. Animals-5,157 horses. Procedures-Quasi-linear and binary traits were defined by the appearance of canales sesamoidales (CSs) and the structure and contour of the forelimb navicular bones (NBs). Prevalences of osseous fragments in the metacarphophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal (fetlock) and tarsocrural joints and deforming arthropathy in tarsal joints were analyzed as binary traits. Genetic parameters were estimated by use of multivariate linear models. Results-Heritability estimates for the RNB traits ranged from 0.10 to 0.34. Additive genetic correlations among those traits were usually close to unity. Extensive radiographic changes in the NBs, including changes in CSs and alterations in structure and contour, had correlations with less distinct radiographic changes. Negative additive genetic correlations were observed between small numbers of short and conical CSs in the central portion of the distal border of the NB and osseous fragments and arthropathy, and between most types of radiographic findings in the NBs and osseous fragments in tarsal joints. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-The genetic bases for different types of RNB were not identical. The detection of correlations between normal RNB and findings of short and conical CSs versus deformed CSs and structural and contour changes warrants further study. Genetically justified distinction between physiologic and pathologic NB changes will increase the efficiency of selecting against NBs with radiographically apparent alterations.

Objective-To determine mortality rate over time, risk factors for death, and heritability of life expectancy in Boxers. Animals-1,733 purebred Boxers born in The Netherlands between January 1994 and March 1995. Procedure-Dogs were followed up from weaning (ie, 49 days of age) to 10 years of age through use of a written questionnaire sent to owners every 6 months. Mortality rate over time, risk factors potentially associated with death, and heritability of life expectancy were examined by use of a proportional hazards model based on the Weibull distribution. Results Estimated mortality rate during the 10-year study period for this birth cohort of Boxers was 45%. The probability of surviving to 5 years of age was 88%; the probability of surviving to 10 years of age was 55%. Estimated effective heritability of life expectancy was 0.076, meaning that in this population, an estimated 76% of the observed variation in life expectancy could be attributed to genetic differences among dogs that were passed from parents to their offspring. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Results suggest that cumulative incidence of death from weaning to 10 years of age among this birth cohort of Boxers was 45%. The estimated heritability of life expectancy suggested that life expectancy can be improved by use of selective breeding.

Ocular examination, including gonioscopy and ultrasonographic biometry (biological measurement), was performed in healthy, purebred Samoyeds. When the dogs were subclassified according to the degree of kinship with cases of primary angle-closure glaucoma, it was found that the opening of the ciliary cleft was wider in dogs less related to dogs with primary angle-closure glaucoma than in more closely related dogs. Furthermore, multivariate analysis of the material indicated that parentage of a dog has a substantial effect on the intraocular distances studied in this investigation (relative depth of the opening of the ciliary cleft, relative corneal thickness, relative anterior chamber depth, relative lens thickness, and relative length of the vitreous body). Finally, heritability of the relative depth of the opening of the ciliary cleft was estimated at 56% and that of the common environmental factor at 19%. The results are indicative of a hereditary component in primary angle-closure glaucoma in the Samoyed breed.

Data on 5,711 Duroc-sired, 2,227 Landrace-sired, and 2,494 Yorkshire-sired male pigs born over a 9-year period were used to evaluate the genetic influence on scrotal herniation. Differences in frequency of this defect among boar breeds (Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire) were significant (P < 0.01). Differences among sires within the Duroc and Landrace boar groups were significant (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively), but differences within the Yorkshire group were not significant. Frequency of scrotal hernia among male full siblings of affected males was consistently higher than the overall frequency of the defect among progeny in each of their respective breed of boar groups. Percentage of affected pigs among male full siblings of affected males for Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire groups, respectively, was 3.0, 3.0, and 2.7 times greater than the overall percentage affected in their respective breed groups. Heritability of susceptibility to scrotal hernia development was estimated to be 0.29 +/- 0.17, 0.34 +/- 0.23, and 0.34 +/- 0.19 in Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire-sired pig groups, respectively.

aim of this study was to estimated genetic parameters of dystocia variable in Holsteindairy cows in Iran. For this purpose we used of data set that related to 734 herds of Holsteincows in Iran that was collected from 24 years ago (between 1990-2014) by breeding centerand improve livestock production of Iran country. To study the structure of the data,descriptive statistics and observations to correction effects we used of the SAS 9.1 statisticalsoftware and GLM procedure. To obtain genetic parameters attribute dystocia we used of AIREML procedures of WOMBAT software to analyzed univariate linear model and the resultsobtained are as follows: Additive variance, residual variance, phenotypic variance andheritability (&plusmn;SE) for the first period of lactation, are 0.0045103, 0.029629, 0.034139,0.132&plusmn;0.003 respectively, for the second period of lactation are 0.00063452, 0.073695,0.074329, 0.009&plusmn;0.002 respectively and for third period of lactation are 0.00036919,0.073817, 0.074187, 0.005&plusmn;0.001 respectively was estimated. In all three lactation periodswe can seen that lowest percentage of dystocia was occurred at age 27 to 28 months 18.66%,between the ages of 28 to 38 months 10.14% and for ages 40 to 51 months 9.61% and by&nbsp;considering Cochran Armitage test results we can determined that the difference between the classes for this trend is significant statistically(p&lt;0.0001).