Understanding the genetic diversity and structure of domesticated horse (Equus caballus) populations is critical for long-term herd management and breeding programs. This study examines 435 horses from Kazakhstan, covering seven groups in three geographic areas using 11 STR markers. Identified are 136 alleles, with the mean number of alleles per locus ranging from 9 to 19. VHL20 is the most variable locus across groups, while loci HTG4, AHT4, AHT5, HTG7, and HMS3 are variable in most populations. The locus AHT5 in the Emba population shows the highest frequency of rare alleles, while the lowest frequency, 0.005, is observed in the Kulandy population. All loci were highly informative for the Kazakhstani populations of E. caballus, with PIC values higher than 0.5. Pairwise variations in Wright’s F_ST distances show that the examined varieties have little genetic differentiation (0.05%), indicating a high degree of admixture and a continuing lineage sorting process. Phylogenetic and population structure analyses reveal three major clusters of Kazakh horses, representing (I) the Uralsk population of the Kushum breed and the monophyly of two groups: (II) the Kozhamberdy population of the Mugalzhar breed, and (III) the Mugalzhar–Kushum breed populations. Kazakhstani horse populations, while being regionally isolated, were recently in contact with each other.

Increasing the fertility of sheep remains one of the crucial issues of modern sheep breeding. The Kazakh meat–wool sheep is an excellent breed with high meat and wool productivity and well adapted to harsh conditions. Nowadays, runs of homozygosity (ROHs) are considered a suitable approach for studying the genetic characteristics of farm animals. The aims of the study were to analyze the distribution of ROHs, describe autozygosity, and detect genomic regions with high ROH islands. In this study, we genotyped a total of 281 Kazakh meat–wool sheep using the Illumina iScan^® system (EquipNet, Canton, MA, USA) via Ovine SNP50 BeadChip array. As a results, a total of 15,069 ROHs were found in the three Kazakh meat–wool sheep populations. The mean number of ROH per animal across populations varied from 40.3 (POP1) to 42.2 (POP2) in the category 1+ Mb. Furthermore, the number of ROH per animal in ROH_{1–2 Mb} were much higher than ROH_{2–4 Mb} and ROH_{8–16 Mb} in the three sheep populations. Most of individuals had small number of ROH_{>16 Mb}. The highest and lowest genomic inbreeding coefficient values were observed in POP2 and POP3, respectively. The estimated F_ROH presented the impact that recent inbreeding has had in all sheep populations. Furthermore, a set of interesting candidate genes (BMP2, BMPR2, BMPRIB, CLOCK, KDM2B, TIAM1, TASP1, MYBPC1, MYOM1, and CACNA2D1), which are related to the productive traits, were found. Collectively, these findings will contribute to the breeding and conservation strategies of the Kazakh meat–wool sheep breed.

Camels have been essential to human survival and development across the arid Central Asian steppes, particularly in Kazakhstan, where the breeding of one-humped and two-humped camels is a longstanding tradition supporting the nomadic lifestyle. This study aimed to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of these camels across their distribution range in Kazakhstan. Blood samples from 100 individuals were collected from five locations, Almaty (ALA), Atyrau (ATR), Shymkent (SHK), Kyzylorda (KZL), and Taraz (TRZ), and genotyped using 17 microsatellite markers. All loci were polymorphic, with a mean observed heterozygosity of 0.707 in C. dromedarius and 0.643 in C. bactrianus. The highest expected heterozygosity (He = 0.939) was observed at VOLP67 in C. bactrianus and at VOLP03 in C. dromedarius. Genetic differentiation was low (FST = 0.021), indicating a weak population structure between the two species with substantial gene flow (Nm = 19.972). The hybrid analysis identified 31% hybrids, including F1, F2, and backcrosses, with the highest frequencies in KZL and TRZ, moderate frequencies in ATR, and lowest frequencies in SHK and ALA. These patterns, consistent with STRUCTURE clustering, reflect widespread but regionally variable hybridization. The phylogenetic analysis revealed three clades, separating Bactrian camels (ALA), dromedaries (SHK), and a hybrid group (ATR, KZL, and TRZ). These findings enhance our understanding of the genetic diversity of Kazakhstan’s camels and support effective conservation, breeding strategies, and genotyping applications in camel husbandry.

Вариации позвонков являются важной характеристикой у сельскохозяйственных животных. Целью данного исследования является изучение вариаций позвонков и их связи с длиной и массой туши у овец. В статье приведены результаты рентген исследовании у овец мясо-сальных, тонкорунных и полутонкорунных пород различных половозрастных групп. Анализ полученных рентген-снимков показал, что у баранов, овцематок и 4-х месячных ягнят встречаются дополнительные 14 пар ребер и 7 позвонков. Приведены результаты контрольного убоя 4-х месячных баранчиков казахской курдючной грубошерстной породы (КХ «Токан 1») и Етті меринос (КХ «Мерей») от подбора длиннотелых баранов к стандартным овцематкам в сравнении с сверстниками полученных от подбора стандартных баранов к стандартным овцематкам. Результаты контрольного убоя показали, что в обоих породах баранчики от подбора длиннотелых баранов превосходили сверстников от подбора стандартных баранов по выходу туши на 0,89-2,22%, по убойному выходу на 0,41-1,80%, также у потомства длиннотелых баранов были лучшие показатели по коэффициенту мясности 3,46-3,62 и лучшие показатели соотношения белка и жира 1/0,94 и 1/1,11. На основании проведенной работы сделаны предварительные выводы о том, что подбор длиннотелых баранов на стандартных овцематках улучшает мясную продуктивность полученного потомства, что дает возможность рекомендовать баранов с более длинным телом для дальнейшей селекции по увеличению мясной продуктивности как в мясосальном, так и в тонкорунном овцеводстве.