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ThesisItem Open Access NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF APBN1 GRASS AND EFFECT OF PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF DECCANI SHEEP(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2005-06) JAGADISH, Ch; RAMANA REDDY, Y(MAJOR); NAGALAKSHMI, D; MAHENDER, MABSTRACT : Evaluation of the potential feeding value of APBN1, an improved variety of hybrid napier as the sole feed and in supplemented rations was carried out to develop a forage based feeding system for intensive rearing of sheep. APBN1 forage samples harvested at 30, 40, 45, 50 and 60 days of growth were subjected to chemical, in vitro and in sacco evaluation to determine the optimum stage of harvesting for maximization of forage utilization in terms of fodder yield and nutritional quality. The yield of green fodder, dry matter and crude protein (MT/ha/yr) of APBN1 forage harvested at 30, 40, 45, 50 and 60 days of growth was found to be 274.68, 47.35, 7.44; 291.34, 61.09, 9.08; 344.74, 76.39, 11.45; 368.45, 85.26, 11.36 and 387.95, 98.81 and 11.21, respectively. The leaf to stem ratio of APBN1 forage at 30, 40, 45, 50 and 60 days of growth was found to be 0.36, 0.46, 0.65, 0.95 and 1.36, respectively. The dry matter content of forage increased from 17.24 per cent at 30 days to 25.47 per cent at 60 days of growth. The CP and CF values were 15.72, 23.81; 14.86, 24.67; 14.35, 25.32; 13.68, 26.64 and 11.34 and 29.88 per cent, respectively on DM basis for the forage samples harvested at 30, 40, 45, 50 and 60 days of growth. Progressive increase in crude fibre level and gradual decline in crude protein content was observed with the advancement in maturity of forage. The NFE content (46.12 %) was highest at 45 days of growth. The IVDMD value was highest (57.87 %) at 30 days and lowest (51.40 %) at 60 days of growth, when the forage samples were incubated with sheep rumen liquor. The effective degradable dry matter (EDDM) as determined by nylon bag technique in fistulated rams was 55.80, 54.70, 53.50, 52.40 and 43.78 per cent at 30, 40, 45, 50 and 60 days of growth, respectively. The effective protein degradability (EPD) decreased from 38.30 per cent at 30 days to 33.17 per cent at 60 days of growth. The insoluble but degradable protein fraction „b‟ was highest (77.07 %) at 45 days of growth. Based on the biomass yield, leaf to stem ratio, chemical, in vitro and in sacco evaluation, the optimum stage of harvesting for APBN1 forage was found to be at 45 days of growth. When the forage harvested at 45 days alone was fed ad libitum in chopped form, the rams on an average consumed 50.74, 4.40 and 28.34 g/kg W0.75 of DM, DCP and TDN respectively. The average digestibility coefficients of 66.63, 68.52, 69.10, 58.82, 56.34 and 62.21 per cent were observed for DM, OM, CP, EE, CF and NFE, respectively and the DCP and TDN values as 8.68 and 56.38 per cent were observed for APBN1 forage in Deccani rams. The Deccani rams on an average retained 5.28 g nitrogen per day. Effect of supplementation through protein and energy sources to the APBN1 forage was studied in adult Deccani rams. There was a significant increase in DM intake (g/kg W0.75) of rams supplemented with concentrate premix containing GNC + maize (71.10), SFC + maize (69.82) and CSC + maize (66.71) in comparison to that of the rams fed APBN1 forage (51.62) as the sole feed. Irrespective of the protein source, supplementation has enhanced the nutrient digestibility of rations in rams with the resultant improvement in DCP content of the ration by 72.78% (GNC), 35.64% (CSC) and 34.95% (SFC) and TDN value of ration by 26.80% (GNC), 21.59% (CSC) and 13.66% (SFC) in comparison to DCP (8.68%) and TDN (56.38%) of the ration containing APBN1 forage alone. There was a marked improvement (P<0.05) in nitrogen utilization with the net nitrogen retention (g/d) in rams supplemented with GNC + maize (15.13), SFC + maize (12.16) and CSC + maize (10.71) when compared to that of rams fed APBN1 forage (5.28) as the sole feed. It is concluded that APBN1 forage at 45 days of growth with DCP (8.68%) and TDN (56.38%) can be utilized as a potential maintenance type (perennial) green fodder for feeding adult sheep. Supplementation, irrespective of protein source, improved the nutrient intake, nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilization of the rations containing APBN1 forage as the basal roughage and fulfilled the maintenance as well as growth requirements (70 g/d) of sheep. Supplementation through concentrate premix containing 125 g each of maize and GNC was found superior (P<0.05) in enhancing nutrient digestibility and nitrogen utilization of rams in comparison to other sources. Supplementation of critical nutrients to the basal roughage is a viable means of sustaining the optimum animal performance.ThesisItem Open Access ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY IN CHICKEN POPULATIONS USING GENOME MARKERS(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2006-06) RAJKUMAR, ULLENGALA; NIYAL AHMED, (MAJOR); SHEKHAR, C. MANDE; VENKTRAMAIAH, A; RAJASHEKHAR REDDY, AABSTRACT: A total of 155 birds representing eight populations, two layer strains of White Leghorn (WLH-IWD and WLH-IWF). two dual-purpose breeds (Dahlem Red and Rhode Island Red), a commercial layer (Babcock), a commercial broiler (Vencobb), a native breed (Aseel) and Non-descript (Desi) chicken were genotyped with twenty (mono, di and tri nucleotide repeats) microsatellite markers to assess the genetic diversity, genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships. All the microsatellite loci utilized for the analysis were polymorphic with a reasonable informativeness ranging from moderate to high. The total number of alleles obtained across all the populations was 285 with a size range from 76 for MCWO51 to 256 for MCWOOS locus. The total number of alleles per locus ranged from 7 at MCW001 to 26 at MCWOOS with an overall mean of 14.25 alleles per locus. The mean number of alleles across the loci and among the populations ranged from 3.50 (ADL158) to 8.63 (ADL176 and MCWOOS) and 4.70 (WLH-IWD) to 6.75 (Non-descript). The mean effective number of alleles am-ng the loci and the populations varied between 1.96 for ADL158 and 4.4 1 for ADL267 and 2.69 in Dahlem Red and 4.15 in Non-descript. A total of 103 alleles were unique to population/strain in various chicken populations. The frequency of most of these alleles was very less. Only 30 per cent of the alleles had frequency of more than 10 per cent. The mean Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) values ranged from 0.39 for ADL158 to 0.71 for MCWOOS and ADL267 across the loci and 0.55 (Dahlem Red) to 0.71 (Non-descript) among the populations. The expected heterozygosity estimates ranged from 0.63 (Dahlem Red) to 0.77 (Non-descript) with an overall mean of 0.68. The observed heterozygosity estimates were the highest in Babcock (0.73) and the least in Dahlem Red (0.55) among the populations studied. The overall mean inbreeding coefficients (FIs) varied between -0.05 (Babcock) and 0.16 (Rhode lsland Red). Babcock, a commercial layer had negative Fls value (-0.05) indicating high genetic variation and outbreeding effects. The genetic distance was least between WLH-IWD and WLH-IWF (0.30) and highest between Dahlem Red and Babcock (0.80). The WLH-IWD and WLH-IWF strains were closer with maximum genetic identity index of 0.75 among all the populations and Dahlem Red and Babcock were wider apart with least identity index value of 0.45 indicating their high genetic divergence. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the eight populations were grouped in to two main clusters, one cluster representing Dahlem Red and Rhode Island Red, the pure breeds and the other cluster representing the remaining six populations/strains (two commercial, two synthetic strains and two native chickens). The second group was divided into three sub clusters i.e., Aseel and Non-descript; Babcock and Vencobb; WLH-IWD and WLH-IWF. All the loci departed from the equilibrium frequency in at least two of the eight populations studied. It may be concluded that the chicken populations studied were in the state of mild to moderate inbreeding except commercial birds. A planned breeding is suggested for purebreds to revive their genetic potential. High genetic diversity exists in Non-descript birds, which can be tapped to improve the birds suitable for backyard poultry.ThesisItem Open Access PHENOTYPIC AND MOLECULAR GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF DAHLEM RED LAYERS(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2006-03) SHIVA PRASAD, Ch.; Ramesh Gupta, B(MAJOR); Venkatramaiah, A; Chatterjee, R.NABSTRACT: Thc investigation was made on full sib, half sib and non-inbred groups of Dahlem Red birds maintained at the Project Directorate on Poultry. Hyderabad. to characterize then phenotypically and by RAPD markers. The phenotypic characterization war undertaken on a total of 328 Dahlem Red birds belonging to full sib mated (45). half sib mated (64) and non-inbred groups (219). The overall icast squares means of body weight at 4. 8. 20, 40. weeks of age. ASM. EP 40. EW 32 and EW 40 were 146.88. 374.28. 1150.70. 1678.57 g. 181.02 days, 71.06, 52.81g and 56.25 g. rcspectivoly. The mean performance of non-inbred group was in general. superior to inbred groups in dl the traits studied. The estimates of heritability obtained by half sib mehod for the full sib. half sib and non-inbred groups were 0.02. 0.61 and 0.49. respectively for BW 4 and 0.19, 0.20 and 0.53. rrspectrvely for BW 40. For egg weights. the highest heritabilities were obtained in half sib group and the lowest in non-inbred group. Majority of the genetic comlations of BW 20 md BW 40 wih egg weight were positive. The genetic comlii~ionosf ASM with EP 40 and egg weights were negative. The EP 40 was also found to be correlated negatively with EW 32 and EW 40. Majonfy of tht phcnotyp~cc omlations between the body weight and egg we~ghtw ere positive, while che comlations of ASM with EP 40 were negative. The phenotyp~c conrlarions of ASM with EW 32 and EW 40 mgcd from -0.18 to 0.17. where&\ the comlations between EP 40 and egg weights were negative in half sib and non-inbred grvups * - - - -- Fn an --A ,,, ...-:nt,, 0 13 The phenotypic comlations estimated by full sib method among the body weights were in general positive and ranged from -0.11 t 0.34 in full sib group. The BW 4 and BW 8 were comlated negatively with ASM. while BW 20 and BW 40 were also correlatd negatively with EP 40. The phenotypic correlations of BW 4. BW 8, and BW 40 with egg weights were found to be positive. The ASM was comlated negatively with EP 40 (-0.58). whereas, the correlations of EP 40 with EW 32 and EW 40 were positive. The phenotypic comlations among the body weights in half sib group ranged from -0.06 to 0.46; The phenotypic correlations between body weights and ASM varied from -0.19 to 0.30, whereas the comlations of body weights with EP 40 ranged from -0.10 to 0.34. The phenotypic correlations between body weights and egg weights at various ages were all positive. For molecular genetic characterization, a total of 48 Dahlem Red birds. ( 16 birds each of the group) with equal representation of sexes, were utilized. A total of 100 Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were tested, of which, 21 primers generated appreciable polymorphism. A total of 341 RAPD bands were produced, out of which 204 wen found to be polymorphic. The overall mean number of bands produced by the primer varied from 12 to 23. The size of amplified bands varied from 100 bp to 3409 bp. The analysis of the fingerprint patterns of individual DNA samples revealed that the full sib group was unique by the pre.xnce of one 1866 bp fingerprint when amplified by the primers PDP157F and 496 bp and 380 bp fingerprints only when amplified by the primer PDP176F. The half sib group wa\ unique by the presence of 1788 bp fingerprint when amplified by the primer PDPSOF. The non-inbred group could be distinguished by the prcsence of a unique 42 1 hp band bawd upon PCR amplification with primer PDP54F and PDP73F. The overall genetic sirn~lwitiesh a.sed on band sharing within the full sib, half sib and non-lnhred group were 87.90. 87.85 and 83.94 per cent. respectively, whereas the genetic similarities between full sib and half sib, half sib and non-inbred and full sib and non-inbred groups were 90.18. 88.51 and 88.07 percent, respectively. The overall genetic similarities based on band frequency within full sib, half sib and non-inbred groups were 85.25. 85.09 and 8 1.14 per cent, respectively, whereas those between full sib and half sib, half sib and non-inbred and full sib and non-inbred groups were 79.53, 74.34 and 72.78 per cent, respectively. The genetic distance between full sib and non-inbred groups was found to be the maximum (0.3 176). while the minimum genetic distance (0.2290) was observed between full sib and half sib groups. The RAPD markers in the present study were able to detect the polymorph~sm between the three groups of Dahlem Red i.e., full sib mated, half sib mated and non-inbred and could establish the genetic relationshipsThesisItem Open Access GENETIC STUDIES ON PRODUCTION AND REPRODUCTION TRAITS OF ONGOLE CATTLE(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2006-02) SUSHMA, G; Ramesh Gupta, B(MAJOR); Vinoo, R; Narasa Reddy, G.V.ABSTRACT : The data on Ongole cattle at Cattle Project, Livestock Research Station, Lam farm, Guntur and Cattle Breeding Farm, Chadalawada, Prakasam district from 1987 to 2005 were analyzed for studying the mean performance and estimation of genetic parameters of various production and reproduction traits. The overall least squares means of body weights at birth, 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of age were 26.27, 47.77, 69.38, 102.81, 147.77, 197.43 and 251.15 kg, respectively. The body weights of Ongole cattle were significantly affected by the period of birth from 1 to 24 months of age whereas season of birth influenced the body weights at birth and one month age only. The sex of the animal influenced the body weights of the animals at all the ages studied. The overall least squares means for height at withers, chest girth and body length of Ongole cattle from birth to 24 months of age ranged from 73.09 to 133.30 cm, 69.24 to 145.73 cm, and 59.54 to 125.58 cm, respectively. The overall least squares means for total lactation milk yield, 305-days lactation milk yield, lactation length, peak yield, days to reach peak yield, milk yield per day of lactation and milk yield per day of calving interval were 620.49 kg, 607.91 kg, 232.26 days, 3.90 kg, 49.94 days, 2.77 kg and 1.37 kg, respectively. The effect of farm was significant on all the production traits studied, except on milk yield per day of calving interval. Period of calving and order of lactation influenced all the production traits, except days to reach peak yield, while season of calving had no significant influence on any of the production traits studied. The overall least squares means of age at first calving, gestation period, service period, dry period, calving interval, number of inseminations per conception and breeding efficiency by Jain’s formula, Tomar’s formula and Wilcox’s formula were 1448.48 days, 221.24 days, 242.92 days, 294.04 days, 534.82 days, 1.78 and 87.07 %, 77.36 % and 72.07 %, respectively. The farm and period of calving significantly influenced the age at first calving, service period, dry period, calving interval and breeding efficiency by all the three formulae. Season of calving had no significant influence on any of the reproduction traits studied. Order of lactation significantly affected the gestation period, service period, dry period, calving interval and breeding efficiency estimated by all the three methods. The heritabilities of body weights ranged from 0.05 + 0.05 at birth to 0.51 + 0.24 at 12 months age in males and from 0.04 + 0.06 at 6 months age to 0.25 + 0.16 at 24 months age in females. The heritabilities of height at withers, chest girth and body length ranged from 0.02 to 0.35, 0.04 to 0.44 and 0.05 to 0.63, respectively in males and from 0.17 to 0.33, 0.07 to 0.39 and 0.15 to 0.30, respectively in females. The genetic correlations of body weight with height at withers, chest girth and body length ranged from 0.56 to 0.82, 0.33 to 0.89 and –0.06 to 0.84 in males and from 0.06 to 0.82, 0.47 to 0.96 and –0.38 to 0.60, respectively in females. The chest girth was highly correlated with body weight at various ages. The magnitude of such correlations varied from 0.15 to 0.39 in males and 0.13 to 0.39 in females. The phenotypic correlations of height at withers with chest girth and body length at various ages ranged from 0.07 to 0.27 in males and from –0.22 to 0.34 in females. The phenotypic correlations between the chest girth and body length ranged from 0.07 to 0.33 in males and 0.02 to 0.36 in females. The heritabilities of calving interval, total lactation milk yield and breeding efficiencies based on Jain’s, Tomar’s and Wilcox’s formulae were 0.49, 0.61, 0.43, 0.75 and 0.40, respectively. The genetic correlations of calving interval and total lactation milk yield with all the measures of breeding efficiency were negative. The calving interval was generally positively correlated with total lactation milk yield (0.46 + 0.05). The genetic correlations among the three formulae of breeding efficiency ranged from 0.46 to 0.84. The phenotypic correlations of calving interval and total lactation milk yield with breeding efficiency by all the three formulae ranged between –0.62 to 0.14, whereas these correlations between three formulae of breeding efficiency were all positive and ranged from 0.28 to 0.37. The estimates of heritability based on overall lactations for total lactation milk yield, 305-days lactation milk yield, lactation length, peak yield, days to reach peak yield, milk yield per day of lactation and milk yield per day of calving interval were 0.46, 0.48, 0.33, 0.45, 0.10, 0.45 and 0.46, respectively. The heritabilities for gestation period, service period, dry period and calving interval were 0.18, 0.10, 0.23 and 0.12, respectively. The genetic correlations of total lactation milk yield with other production traits ranged from 0.40 to 1.00. Its correlation with reproduction traits varied from –0.63 to 0.07 The genetic correlations of 305-days lactation milk yield ranged from 0.38 to 0.97 with other production traits and from –0.63 to 0.05 with reproduction traits. The genetic correlations of lactation length varied from 0.47 to 0.97 with other milk production traits and with the reproduction traits the estimates ranged between–0.78 and -0.11. The phenotypic correlations of total lactation milk yield with other production and reproduction traits varied from –0.26 to 0.50 and 305-days lactation milk yield with other traits ranged from –0.26 to 0.47. The lactation length was correlated positively with all the other production traits and negatively with gestation period (-0.12) and dry period (-0.28). The milk yield per day of lactation and milk yield per day of calving interval were phenotypically correlated negatively with all the reproduction traits studied. The overall phenotypic correlations of gestation period were 0.01, 0.09 and 0.02 with service period, dry period and calving interval, respectively while these estimates of service period with dry period and calving interval were 0.39 and 0.50, respectively.ThesisItem Open Access CYTOGENETIC STUDIES ON DECCANI SHEEP(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2005-08) GNANA PRAKASH, M; NARASIMHA RAO, G(MAJOR); RAMESH GUPTA, B; VENKATRAMAIAH, A; NARASA REDDY, G.VABSTRACT: A study was carribd out on 30 Deccani sheep for cytogenetic characterization. The modal diploid chmosome number was found to be 54 (2~54X, Y). The first three pairs of the autosomes were sub-metacentric and the remaining 23 pairs of autosomes wac acrocentric. The X-chromosome was the longest acrocentric, while Y-chromosome was the smallest biarmed chromosome. Sex of the animal had a nonsignificant influence on the morphomeh-ic measurements of all the &omosomes, whik the diffmcts among the chromosomes wae significant for most of thc mwphomctric measurements. The mean relative kngth of autosomes varied from 1.78 _+ 0.006 to 9.35 + 0.022 per cent. The Xchromosome contributed 5.05 4 0.006 per cent to the total genome, while the Y-chromosomc formed 1.70 + 0.007 per cent of the total genome. The means for the cum ratio, centromeric index and morphological index of the sub-metacentric autosomes 1, 2 and 3 varied from I. 17 to 1.20, 0.55 to 0.55 and 9-40 to 1 1.57, respectively. The G-banding pattern of the chromosomes obtained in the present study more or less matched with the standard karyotypes. All the autosomes revealed centromeric C-bands. The Xthromosomc did not reveal any centromeric C-bands, while the Y- chromosome did not stain differently from its arms. The nucloolar organizer regions were detected on chromosomes 1.2.3.4 and 25. The cytogenetic studies on Deccani sheep revealed similarities with other breeds of sheep.ThesisItem Open Access MOLECULAR GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF BROILER STRAINS(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2003-09) KRISHNA LATHA, K.V.; RAMESH GUPTA, B(MAJOR); SHARMA, R.P; HAZARY, R.C; NARASIMHA RAO, GABSTRACT : The potential use of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was evaluated as a source of genetic markers for characterization of five genetically distinct broiler strains of chicken to establish genetic relationship among these lines based on the genomic variation observed and to identify strain specific markers, if any. A total of 40 decamer primers were used to amplify the DNA fingerprints in 48 genomic DNA samples of five broiler lines – Cornish High (10), Cornish Mid (10), Cornish Low (5), PB2 (12), a synthetic broiler parent strain and Px (11), a heavy commercial breeder line, maintained at the Project Directorate on Poultry (PDP), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The Cornish breed was classified as Cornish High (6.57 0.23), Cornish Mid (5.77 0.11) and Cornish Low (3.63 0.37) based on their antibody titers against Sheep Red Blood Cells (SRBC). Out of 40 oligonucleotide primers screened, 11 primers generated appreciable polymorphism, which were subjected to further analysis. Among a total of 196 bands amplified, 118 (60.2 %) were found to be polymorphic and the number of bands generated per primer varied from 14 to 22. The polymorphism generated by the primers ranged from 35.7 to 81.8 per cent and the size of the amplicons varied from 100 bp to 2600 bp. Analysis of the pooled DNA samples revealed that some of the polymorphic fingerprint profiles generated by the individual DNA samples were found to be absent in the fingerprint profiles generated by the same primer when pooled samples were used, indicating the genetic information of the population rather than the individuals. The analysis of fingerprints generated by the individual genomic DNA samples revealed that the Cornish High line could be distinguished from the others by the presence of a unique 568 bp fragment upon amplification using primer PDP 50F. Cornish Low group was characterized by the absence of 400 bp and 600 bp fragments when amplified by the primers PDP 50F and PDP 73F, respectively. A unique 400 bp fragment was found to be specific to PB2 line when amplified by primer PDP 64F, while the Px line could be characterized by the absence of 100 bp and 580 bp fragments amplified by the primers PDP 73F and PDP 50F, respectively. In addition, the 600 bp and 750 bp fragments were absent specifically in Px line when amplified by the primer PDP 58F. The overall mean genetic similarity within the strains estimated using the individual DNA samples based on Nei’s coefficient method ranged from 81.0 per cent in Px line to 85.53 per cent in Cornish Low and the genetic similarities within the Cornish High, Cornish Mid, Cornish Low, PB2 and Px lines ranged from 59.58 to 82.62, 72.17 to 94.01, 70.01 to 91.50, 64.80 to 92.03 and 63.51 to 86.12 per cent, respectively. The overall mean genetic similarity between the lines using the pooled DNA samples ranged from 77.86 per cent between PB2 and Cornish Mid to 89.54 per cent between Cornish Mid and Cornish Low. The overall mean genetic similarities based on the band frequency (WFi) method in Cornish High, Cornish Mid, Cornish Low, PB2 and Px lines were 61.11, 67.09, 69.44, 64.02 and 67.38 per cent, respectively. The genetic identity indices (BFij) between the five lines varied from 0.63 0.03 between Cornish Low and Px to 0.77 0.04 between Cornish Mid and Cornish Low. The genetic distance between Cornish Low and Px was maximum (0.48 0.05), while the genetic distance between Cornish Low and Cornish Mid was minimum (0.27 0.04). Results of the present study revealed the existence of low genetic variation within the lines and high genetic similarity between the five broiler lines studied. From the present study, it may be concluded that RAPD markers are effective in detecting polymorphisms between and within broiler populations, which is sufficient enough to throw light on their genetic constitution (through sampling) and population structure. This technology provides enough scope for making intermittent genetic assessment of the closed broiler populations of chicken vis-a-vis their selection and breeding histories for facilitating the development of line or breed or trait specific markers for further exploitation.ThesisItem Open Access GENETIC STUDIES ON ECONOMIC TRAITS OF ONGOLE CATTLE(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2003-08) VINOO, R; Narasimha rao, G(MAJOR)ABSTRACT: A study was undertaken to know the extent of genetic and phenotypic variation present in the growth, production and reproduction characters, number of days for change of coat colour and age till survival of Ongole cattle in four farms in Andhra Pradesh, covering the period 1978 – 2002. An attempt was also made to predict the body weight based on body measurements. The draught ability of Ongole cattle under thermal stress conditions was evaluated and sire evaluation by different methods based on 305-day lactation milk yield was studied. The effects of farm, period of birth, season of birth and sex on body weights and measurements at different ages and age at first calving and the effects of farm, period of calving, season of calving, sex and parity on other production and reproduction traits were studied by subjecting the data to least squares analysis. The genetic parameters were estimated after adjusting the data for the effects of farm, period and season. The overall least squares mean body weights at birth, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months were 26.08 + 0.26, 46.70 + 0.96, 72.92 + 0.95, 112.38 + 1.39, 137.77 + 3.37, 164.34 + 3.01, 222.68 + 3.93 and 271.78 + 4.81 kg, respectively. The calves born in Lam farm had the highest body weights at all the ages studied. The body weights at birth, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months were significantly affected by the farms. Period of birth had significant influence on the body weights of Ongoles at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months of age. Season of birth significantly influenced the body weight at 6 months age only, whereas the effect of sex was significant on the body weights of Ongoles at all ages studied. The overall means of height at withers at birth, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months were 70.90 + 0.89, 84.02 + 0.62, 90.48 + 0.52, 102.64 + 0.54, 107.14 + 1.43, 123.77 + 0.71, 122.29 + 0.77 and 129.11 + 0.68 cm, respectively. The overall means of chest girth at birth, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months were 70.80 + 0.76, 83.74 + 0.64, 93.58 + 0.56, 106.89 + 0.59, 115.98 + 1.81, 124.14 + 0.89, 137.72 + 0.95 and 148.32 + 0.99 cm, respectively and the overall means for body length at these ages were 60.58 + 0.81, 72.54 + 0.55, 82.74 + 0.70, 96.89 + 0.61, 105.21 + 1.94, 109.06 + 0.85, 119.08 + 0.85 and 127.42 + 0.94 cm, respectively. The effect of farm was significant on height at withers in all ages studied, except at 12 months, whereas it was significant on chest girth and body length at all the ages studied. The period of birth had significant influence on height at withers at all ages studied except at one and 12 months of age, whereas it had significant effect on chest girth from one to 24 months of age and on body length at all ages studied. The season of birth had significant influence on height at withers only at birth, whereas it had significant influence on body length at 3, 6, 18 and 24 months of age. The sex effects were significant on height at withers in all ages studied except at 12 months, whereas they were significant on chest girth in all age groups except at nine months of age and on body length at 9 and 18 months of age only. The R2 values of the step-down multiple regression equations fitted for predicting the body weights at birth, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months of age based on the height at withers, chest girth and body length at the same ages were 65.96, 53.13, 82.48, 67.82, 87.75 and 82.05 per cent, respectively. The overall least squares mean total lactation milk yield and 305-day lactation milk yields were 712.27 + 23.14 and 707.77 + 22.16 kg, respectively. The farm, period of calving and parity significantly influenced these traits, whereas season of calving had no significant influence. The overall least squares mean lactation length was 237.71 + 5.78 days. Lactation length was significantly affected by farm and period of calving while season of calving and parity had no significant effect. The overall average peak yield was 3.84 + 0.13 kg. The effects of farm, period of calving and parity exerted significant influence, whereas the season of calving did not influence the peak yield. The overall mean days to reach peak yield was 42.28 + 3.08 days and only the effect of farm exerted significant influence on this trait. The overall mean milk yield per day of lactation and milk yield per day of calving interval were 3.02 + 0.05 and 1.48 + 0.06 kg, respectively. The farm, period of calving and parity significantly affected these traits, while the effect of season was not significant. The overall mean fat and SNF were 4.89 + 0.09 and 8.44 + 0.01 per cent, respectively. The effects of period and season of calving studied at Lam farm were significant on fat percentage but not on SNF percentage. The overall least squares mean age at first calving was 52.95 + 2.21 months. The effects of farm and period of birth were significant while the effect of season of birth was not significant on age at first calving. The overall mean gestation period in the present study was 287.78 + 0.84 days and it was significantly affected by farm and period of calving but not by season of calving. The overall means for service period, dry period and calving interval were 270.19 + 11.81, 311.88 + 11.90 and 561.55 + 11.82 days, respectively. The effects of farm, period of calving and parity were significant, while the effect of seasons was not significant on these traits. The overall least squares mean number of inseminations per conception was 1.81 + 0.11. The farm and period of calving exerted significant influence on this trait but not the season of calving and parity. The overall mean number of days taken for change of coat colour was 315.13 + 12.53 days. The number of days for change of coat colour at Lam farm studied was significantly affected only by the period of birth but not by the season of birth and sex. The overall mean age till survival was 64.37 + 4.70 months. The effects of farm, period of birth and sex significantly influenced the age of animals at death but not season of birth. The heritability estimates for the body weights at birth, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months were 0.05 + 0.05, 0.05 + 0.05, 0.36 + 0.12, 0.40 + 0.33 and 0.02 + 0.25, respectively. Higher heritability estimates of body weights at 6 and 12 months of age could be relied upon for selecting the animals for faster growth. The heritability estimates for height at withers at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months were 0.15 + 0.07, 0.18 + 0.08, 0.15 + 0.07, 0.41 + 0.03 and 0.27 + 0.30, respectively, while the estimate was negative for the measurement at 18 months of age. The heritability estimates for body length at birth, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months were 0.18 + 0.08, 0.06 + 0.05, 0.20 + 0.09, 0.50 + 0.34, 0.69 + 0.37 and 0.96 + 0.40, respectively. The heritability estimates for chest girth were 0.25 + 0.10, 0.10 + 0.06, 0.23 + 0.09, 0.03 + 0.26 and 0.30 + 0.31 at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age, respectively. The heritability for chest girth at 18 months of age was negative. The estimates of heritability of age at first calving, total lactation milk yield, 305- day lactation milk yield, lactation length, milk yield per day of lactation, milk yield per day of calving interval, gestation period, service period, dry period and calving interval were 0.95 + 0.24, 0.26 + 0.09, 0.24 + 0.08, 0.27 + 0.09, 0.12 + 0.06, 0.25 + 0.08, 0.24 + 0.08, 0.17 + 0.07, 0.22 + 0.08 and 0.18 + 0.07, respectively. Higher heritability estimate of age at first calving indicated that it could be reduced by selective breeding. The heritability estimates for number of inseminations per conception and number of days for change of coat colour were negative due to negative sire components of variance. The estimate of heritability for age till survival was 0.37 + 0.27. The genetic correlation among the body weights at different ages varied from 0.57 to 0.96 and those between the body weights and measurements ranged from –0.79 to 0.99 at birth and –0.24 to 0.98 at 12 months of age. The age at first calving was correlated negatively with all the traits studied except with dry period. The genetic correlations for the other production and reproduction traits studied, were positive among themselves except with gestation period and dry period. The phenotypic correlations between body weights and measurements were in general, positive. The phenotypic correlations among the production and reproduction traits studied were in general, lower in magnitude but similar in direction when compared to the genetic correlations. The draught ability of Ongole bulls was evaluated by overall draught ability and horse power generation methods. The overall draught ability of the bulls was measured in terms of carting and ploughing abilities. The overall means for per cent increase in respiration rate, pulse rate and rectal temperature were 55.84, 22.76 and 1.71, respectively in carting ability and 92.7, 30.38 and 2.07, respectively in ploughing ability. The overall per cent increase in the respiration rate, pulse rate and rectal temperature after work in horse power generation method were 101.36, 25.17 and 1.20, respectively and the overall mean for the speed, draught force and horse power generated were 1.59 meters per second, 28.19 kg and 0.57 horse power, respectively. The phenotypic correlations between the age, body weight and body measurements of the bulls included in draught ability studies were observed to be highly positive and significant. The bulls were ranked by overall draught ability and horse power generation methods and the rank correlation was negative and not significant. The sire indices obtained by simple daughter average index, dairy search index and adjusted least squares method for 305-day first lactation milk yield ranged from 341 to 668, 363 to 577 and 367 to 547 kg, respectively. Positive and highly significant rank correlation coefficients indicated that these three methods of sire evaluation could be used with equal efficiency.ThesisItem Open Access GENETIC STUDIES ON ECONOMIC TRAITS OF ONGOLE CATTLE(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2003-08) VINOO, R; NARASIMHA RAO, G(MAJOR)ABSTRACT: A study was undertaken to know the extent of genetic and phenotypic variation present in the growth, production and reproduction characters, number of days for change of coat colour and age till survival of Ongole cattle in four farms in Andhra Pradesh, covering the period 1978 – 2002. An attempt was also made to predict the body weight based on body measurements. The draught ability of Ongole cattle under thermal stress conditions was evaluated and sire evaluation by different methods based on 305-day lactation milk yield was studied. The effects of farm, period of birth, season of birth and sex on body weights and measurements at different ages and age at first calving and the effects of farm, period of calving, season of calving, sex and parity on other production and reproduction traits were studied by subjecting the data to least squares analysis. The genetic parameters were estimated after adjusting the data for the effects of farm, period and season. The overall least squares mean body weights at birth, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months were 26.08 + 0.26, 46.70 + 0.96, 72.92 + 0.95, 112.38 + 1.39, 137.77 + 3.37, 164.34 + 3.01, 222.68 + 3.93 and 271.78 + 4.81 kg, respectively. The calves born in Lam farm had the highest body weights at all the ages studied. The body weights at birth, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months were significantly affected by the farms. Period of birth had significant influence on the body weights of Ongoles at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months of age. Season of birth significantly influenced the body weight at 6 months age only, whereas the effect of sex was significant on the body weights of Ongoles at all ages studied. The overall means of height at withers at birth, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months were 70.90 + 0.89, 84.02 + 0.62, 90.48 + 0.52, 102.64 + 0.54, 107.14 + 1.43, 123.77 + 0.71, 122.29 + 0.77 and 129.11 + 0.68 cm, respectively. The overall means of chest girth at birth, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months were 70.80 + 0.76, 83.74 + 0.64, 93.58 + 0.56, 106.89 + 0.59, 115.98 + 1.81, 124.14 + 0.89, 137.72 + 0.95 and 148.32 + 0.99 cm, respectively and the overall means for body length at these ages were 60.58 + 0.81, 72.54 + 0.55, 82.74 + 0.70, 96.89 + 0.61, 105.21 + 1.94, 109.06 + 0.85, 119.08 + 0.85 and 127.42 + 0.94 cm, respectively. The effect of farm was significant on height at withers in all ages studied, except at 12 months, whereas it was significant on chest girth and body length at all the ages studied. The period of birth had significant influence on height at withers at all ages studied except at one and 12 months of age, whereas it had significant effect on chest girth from one to 24 months of age and on body length at all ages studied. The season of birth had significant influence on height at withers only at birth, whereas it had significant influence on body length at 3, 6, 18 and 24 months of age. The sex effects were significant on height at withers in all ages studied except at 12 months, whereas they were significant on chest girth in all age groups except at nine months of age and on body length at 9 and 18 months of age only. The R2 values of the step-down multiple regression equations fitted for predicting the body weights at birth, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months of age based on the height at withers, chest girth and body length at the same ages were 65.96, 53.13, 82.48, 67.82, 87.75 and 82.05 per cent, respectively. The overall least squares mean total lactation milk yield and 305-day lactation milk yields were 712.27 + 23.14 and 707.77 + 22.16 kg, respectively. The farm, period of calving and parity significantly influenced these traits, whereas season of calving had no significant influence. The overall least squares mean lactation length was 237.71 + 5.78 days. Lactation length was significantly affected by farm and period of calving while season of calving and parity had no significant effect. The overall average peak yield was 3.84 + 0.13 kg. The effects of farm, period of calving and parity exerted significant influence, whereas the season of calving did not influence the peak yield. The overall mean days to reach peak yield was 42.28 + 3.08 days and only the effect of farm exerted significant influence on this trait. The overall mean milk yield per day of lactation and milk yield per day of calving interval were 3.02 + 0.05 and 1.48 + 0.06 kg, respectively. The farm, period of calving and parity significantly affected these traits, while the effect of season was not significant. The overall mean fat and SNF were 4.89 + 0.09 and 8.44 + 0.01 per cent, respectively. The effects of period and season of calving studied at Lam farm were significant on fat percentage but not on SNF percentage. The overall least squares mean age at first calving was 52.95 + 2.21 months. The effects of farm and period of birth were significant while the effect of season of birth was not significant on age at first calving. The overall mean gestation period in the present study was 287.78 + 0.84 days and it was significantly affected by farm and period of calving but not by season of calving. The overall means for service period, dry period and calving interval were 270.19 + 11.81, 311.88 + 11.90 and 561.55 + 11.82 days, respectively. The effects of farm, period of calving and parity were significant, while the effect of seasons was not significant on these traits. The overall least squares mean number of inseminations per conception was 1.81 + 0.11. The farm and period of calving exerted significant influence on this trait but not the season of calving and parity. The overall mean number of days taken for change of coat colour was 315.13 + 12.53 days. The number of days for change of coat colour at Lam farm studied was significantly affected only by the period of birth but not by the season of birth and sex. The overall mean age till survival was 64.37 + 4.70 months. The effects of farm, period of birth and sex significantly influenced the age of animals at death but not season of birth. The heritability estimates for the body weights at birth, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months were 0.05 + 0.05, 0.05 + 0.05, 0.36 + 0.12, 0.40 + 0.33 and 0.02 + 0.25, respectively. Higher heritability estimates of body weights at 6 and 12 months of age could be relied upon for selecting the animals for faster growth. The heritability estimates for height at withers at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months were 0.15 + 0.07, 0.18 + 0.08, 0.15 + 0.07, 0.41 + 0.03 and 0.27 + 0.30, respectively, while the estimate was negative for the measurement at 18 months of age. The heritability estimates for body length at birth, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months were 0.18 + 0.08, 0.06 + 0.05, 0.20 + 0.09, 0.50 + 0.34, 0.69 + 0.37 and 0.96 + 0.40, respectively. The heritability estimates for chest girth were 0.25 + 0.10, 0.10 + 0.06, 0.23 + 0.09, 0.03 + 0.26 and 0.30 + 0.31 at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of age, respectively. The heritability for chest girth at 18 months of age was negative. The estimates of heritability of age at first calving, total lactation milk yield, 305- day lactation milk yield, lactation length, milk yield per day of lactation, milk yield per day of calving interval, gestation period, service period, dry period and calving interval were 0.95 + 0.24, 0.26 + 0.09, 0.24 + 0.08, 0.27 + 0.09, 0.12 + 0.06, 0.25 + 0.08, 0.24 + 0.08, 0.17 + 0.07, 0.22 + 0.08 and 0.18 + 0.07, respectively. Higher heritability estimate of age at first calving indicated that it could be reduced by selective breeding. The heritability estimates for number of inseminations per conception and number of days for change of coat colour were negative due to negative sire components of variance. The estimate of heritability for age till survival was 0.37 + 0.27. The genetic correlation among the body weights at different ages varied from 0.57 to 0.96 and those between the body weights and measurements ranged from –0.79 to 0.99 at birth and –0.24 to 0.98 at 12 months of age. The age at first calving was correlated negatively with all the traits studied except with dry period. The genetic correlations for the other production and reproduction traits studied, were positive among themselves except with gestation period and dry period. The phenotypic correlations between body weights and measurements were in general, positive. The phenotypic correlations among the production and reproduction traits studied were in general, lower in magnitude but similar in direction when compared to the genetic correlations. The draught ability of Ongole bulls was evaluated by overall draught ability and horse power generation methods. The overall draught ability of the bulls was measured in terms of carting and ploughing abilities. The overall means for per cent increase in respiration rate, pulse rate and rectal temperature were 55.84, 22.76 and 1.71, respectively in carting ability and 92.7, 30.38 and 2.07, respectively in ploughing ability. The overall per cent increase in the respiration rate, pulse rate and rectal temperature after work in horse power generation method were 101.36, 25.17 and 1.20, respectively and the overall mean for the speed, draught force and horse power generated were 1.59 meters per second, 28.19 kg and 0.57 horse power, respectively. The phenotypic correlations between the age, body weight and body measurements of the bulls included in draught ability studies were observed to be highly positive and significant. The bulls were ranked by overall draught ability and horse power generation methods and the rank correlation was negative and not significant. The sire indices obtained by simple daughter average index, dairy search index and adjusted least squares method for 305-day first lactation milk yield ranged from 341 to 668, 363 to 577 and 367 to 547 kg, respectively. Positive and highly significant rank correlation coefficients indicated that these three methods of sire evaluation could be used with equal efficiency.ThesisItem Open Access GENETIC EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF SOVIET CHINCHILLA AND CALIFORNIAN WHITE RABBITS(SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517 502. (A.P.) INDIA, 2003-08) SRIVIDYA DEVI, D; RAMESH GUPTA, B(MAJOR); NARASIMHA RAO, G; SATYANARAYANA, AABSTRACT : The present study was conducted on 171 Soviet Chinchilla (SC) and 122 Californian White (CW) bunnies born during the years 1996 to 2001 in the Rabbit Production for Meat Scheme of the Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Veterinary Science, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The influence of season of birth, year of birth, litter size at birth and sex of bunny on various traits from birth to 16 weeks of age was studied by the least squares analysis. Step-down multiple regression equations were developed to predict the body weights based on biometrical measurements. The heritabilities and genetic and phenotypic correlations were estimated by half-sib correlation method based on the adjusted data. Season of birth had significant effect on pre-weaning litter weights of SC bunnies, while year of birth had no significant influence on litter weights of SC and CW breeds. Litter size at birth significantly influenced the litter weights. The pre-weaning body weights of SC bunnies at birth and 1week of age were significantly influenced by the season of birth, while the body weight of SC bunnies at one week and CW bunnies at 4 weeks of age were affected significantly by the year of birth. Litter size at birth exerted significant influence on the birth and weaning weights of SC and one and 2 week weights of CW bunnies. The post weaning body weights (5 to 16 weeks of age) of SC rabbits were affected significantly by the season of birth at 14 weeks of age, the year of birth at 6 weeks of age and the sex of bunny at 10 and 16 weeks of age but the influence of these effects were not significant in CW rabbits. The pre-weaning Average Daily Gain (ADG) and Cumulative ADG (CADG) of SC and CW bunnies were unaffected by the season of birth but the ADG during 3 weeks of age and CADG up to 3 and up to 4 weeks of age were affected significantly by the year of birth. Litter size at birth influenced the ADG and CADG of SC and CW bunnies significantly. The post weaning ADG at 7 and 8 weeks of age in SC was affected significantly by the season of birth and the ADG during 5 and 6 and 9 and 10 weeks of age in SC and during 5 and 6 and 11 and 12 weeks of age in CW rabbits were significantly influenced by the year of birth. Sex of bunny had no significant effect on post weaning ADG in the two breeds studied. The variations in the carcass traits between the various seasons and years of birth were insignificant in SC and CW breeds, except the significant effect of year of birth on edible offals weight in SC rabbits. Sex of bunny did not exert any significant influence on carcass traits of SC but this effect was significant on the weights of hot carcass, head, pelt mid-cut and hind cut of hot carcass in CW rabbits. The season and year of birth exhibited significant influence on biometrical measurements at various post weaning ages in SC and CW rabbits and with an exception on the chest girth at 6 weeks age in CW rabbits, sex of bunny had no significant influence on various body measurements of SC and CW rabbits. The R2-values of the step-down multiple regression equations for predicting the body weights based on biometrical measurements were low, indicating the low reliability of utilization of body measurements as indicators of the body weights. The heritability estimates of pre-weaning body weights, ADGs and CADGs ranged from low (up to 0.30) to medium (0.31 to 0.60) in SC and varied from low to high (more than 0.60) in CW bunnies and the genetic and phenotypic correlations varied from low to high in magnitude. The post weaning body weights and ADGs had heritabilities ranging from low to high in SC and from low to medium in CW and the corresponding genetic and phenotypic correlations were positive and ranged from low to high in SC rabbits. The carcass traits had heritabilities ranging from low to high in magnitude in SC and CW breeds. The genetic and phenotypic associations between various carcass traits varied from low to high in magnitude. The biometrical measurements had heritabilities ranging from low (0.13 for ear length at 8 weeks age in SC and 0.01 for paunch girth at 12 weeks age in CW) to high (0.92 for height at 12 weeks age in SC and 0.80 for height at 16 weeks age in CW). The genetic and phenotypic correlations among the biometrical measurements and between the body weights and biometrical measurements were, in general, positive and ranged from low to high.