ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated the differentiation of five different chicken ecotypes – Center, North, South, West, and East – of Saudi Arabia using discriminate analysis. The analysis was based on nine important morphological and phenotypic traits: body color, beak color, earlobe color, eye color, shank color, comb color, comb type, comb size, and feather distribution. There was a strong significant relationship between the phenotype and effect of geographic height in terms of comb type and earlobe color in […]

The genetic diversity was analyzed among spotted paca (Agouti paca) from three commercial flocks located in Brazil. As the genome of this species is unknown, the RAPD-PCR technique was used. Ten primers generated sixty polymorphic bands. The among and within population genetic variability estimated by analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) was 12.55 and 87.45%, respectively. The shortest Nei distance value was 11.76% among the Carangola (CG) and São Francisco do Glória (SF) populations. This value can be explained by the […]

Some arguments currently used to support breed conservation are examined. The central point is that we cannot conserve all breeds because we do not have financial resources enough to keep everything (mainly in developing countries) and in many cases we do not have special reasons to conserve breeds. A breed is a human product and it should not be confused with specie. A breed can be generated or transformed. We can create synthetic breeds with the best characteristics of several […]

Genetic diversity among breeds of cattle allows producers to select animals for specific environments or market conditions. Reproductive efficiency is a multi-component trait that is largely influenced by environmental influences such as health and nutritional status; however, there are clearly genetic components to reproductive efficiency, and breed differences in a number of indicator traits associated with fertility and cow productivity have been identified. Historical indicators of fertility include scrotal circumference, age at puberty, and postpartum interval. Both age at puberty […]