Heat stress impacts ruminant livestock production on varied levels in this alarming climate breakdown scenario. The drastic effects of the global climate change-associated heat stress in ruminant livestock demands constructive evaluation of animal performance bordering on effective monitoring systems. In this climate-smart digital age, adoption of advanced and developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is gaining traction for efficient heat stress management. AI has widely penetrated the climate sensitive ruminant livestock sector due to its promising and plausible scope in assessing production risks and the climate resilience of ruminant livestock. Significant improvement has been achieved alongside the adoption of novel AI algorithms to evaluate the performance of ruminant livestock. These AI-powered tools have the robustness and competence to expand the evaluation of animal performance and help in minimising the production losses associated with heat stress in ruminant livestock. Advanced heat stress management through automated monitoring of heat stress in ruminant livestock based on behaviour, physiology and animal health responses have been widely accepted due to the evolution of technologies like machine learning (ML), neural networks and deep learning (DL). The AI-enabled tools involving automated data collection, pre-processing, data wrangling, development of appropriate algorithms, and deployment of models assist the livestock producers in decision-making based on real-time monitoring and act as early-stage warning systems to forecast disease dynamics based on prediction models. Due to the convincing performance, precision, and accuracy of AI models, the climate-smart livestock production imbibes AI technologies for scaled use in the successful reducing of heat stress in ruminant livestock, thereby ensuring sustainable livestock production and safeguarding the global economy.

Climate change is anticipated to have significant adverse effects on both human and animal health. Changes in temperature of the air, precipitation, relative humidity, frequency and the intensity of extreme events are among the environmental factors that can directly or indirectly affect the health of the animal. A wide range of animal species can act as pollution indicators which includes farm and domestic animals. Animals act according to physiological patterns of behavioural changes in response to changing climate and environmental pollutants. Environmental pollutants represent negative stimuli and stressors. Among environmental pollutants air pollution can contaminate all surfaces and poses a significant threat to the environment and all living things. In addition, water pollution also poses a significant environmental issue caused by various human activities and natural sources such as soil erosion, mineral leaching from rocks, and organic matter decay. Exposure to certain pollutants can affect the behavioural changes in animals and humans, such as causing disorientation, difficulty connecting with others, reproductive, digestive and respiratory difficulties. Data on behavioural changes in animals following brief or prolonged exposure to different environmental contaminants have been collected from a number of studies for this review. The focus is to understand the effects of environmental pollutants and stressors on haematological parameters and immune system of animals that affects the productivity, reproduction and normal health of the animals.

A study was designed to explore the possibility of using herbal supplementation to sustain growth performance during heat stress exposure in Kenguri sheep. This 60-day study was conducted on 24 Kenguri ewes (1–2 years old), randomly assigned to four treatment groups (n = 6 per group) as follows: KC (n = 6; Kenguri Control), KHS (n = 6; Kenguri Heat Stress), KCS (n = 6; Kenguri Control and herbal supplement), and KHSS (n = 6; Kenguri Heat Stress and herbal supplement). The herbal mixture of Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi), Emblica officinalis (Amla), Morinda citrifolia (Noni), Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha), and Phyllostachys edulis (Bamboo) was used in this study. The herbal supplement used in the present study was given to the KCS and KHSS groups’ animals in dry powder form at a dose of 0.8 g/Kg BW/Day. All variables were recorded fortnightly, and gene expression analysis was performed at the end of the experiment. The results indicated that the recorded temperature–humidity index (THI) provided thermal comfort for KC and KCS while inducing extremely severe heat stress to the KHS and KHSS groups. Heat stress did not alter the feed intake, while the herbal supplement during heat stress increased the feed intake from day 30 onwards. Furthermore, heat stress significantly (p < 0.001) increased the water intake, while the herbal supplement did not alter the heat stress-induced water intake. In addition, neither heat stress nor herbal supplements influenced the body weight and allometric measurements studied. Furthermore, heat stress significantly (p < 0.01) decreased the level of plasma tri-iodo-thyronine (T₃) and thyroxin (T₄) and had a non-significant effect on plasma growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), while the herbal supplements significantly (p < 0.01) increased the levels of all these hormones studied. Likewise, in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) the expression patterns of growth hormone receptor (GHR), Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and prolactin receptor (PRLR) were significantly (p < 0.001) downregulated during heat stress (0.25, 0.3, and 0.48-fold change, respectively). However, the herbal supplement significantly (p < 0.01) increased the heat stress-induced reduction in the expression pattern of these three genes (0.65, 0.61, and 0.61-fold change, respectively). Therefore, from this study, it could be concluded that although the herbal supplements did not bring positive changes in body weight and allometric measurements, it still had a beneficial impact on the endocrinology and genes governing growth performance in Kenguri ewes. Thus, the herbal feed additive used in the study shows promise for relieving heat stress in Kenguri ewes.

The concept of water movement across cell membranes eventually lead to identification of water channels, known as ‘Aquaporins’. The transport function exerted by aquaporins (AQPs) is carried out efficiently by 13 distinct isoforms of AQPs in mammals. AQPs help in regulation of physiological functions of various organ systems and have a functional role in stress associated with various pathological conditions. This review summarises the involvement of AQPs in transport of ROS and oxidative stress regulation in various organ systems. AQP1, AQP4, AQP7 and AQP9 are the major AQPs in the cardiac tissues of various animals, playing vital role in the patho-physiology of congestive heart failure, myocardial oedema, myocardial ischemia and polymicrobial sepsis. In digestive system, AQP1, AQP3, AQP4, AQP7, AQP8, AQP10 and AQP11 are localised in gastro-intestinal tract, modulating patho-physiology of pseudomembranous colitis, bile induced diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome and intestinal ulcers. AQPs in enteric tissues are engaged in metabolism of H2O2, providing a protective mechanism against oxidative stress. AQP1, AQP2, AQP3, AQP4 and AQP11 are major renal AQPs involved in ureteral obstruction, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus and kidney injury. In respiratory system, AQP1, AQP2, AQP4 and AQP5 are expressed in various pathological circumstances like lung injury and pulmonary inflammation due to oxidative stress. Thus, the evidences regarding the role of AQPs in oxidative stress offer a foundation for comprehending the adaptive mechanisms to oxidative injury at cellular level, which helps in strategizing breeding programmes and serves as biomarkers for efficient diagnosis.

A review of the results reported by different research workers has been compiled; with the aim to focus on various aspects encompassing the application of the important areas of research work on milk kappa casein. The major whey proteins in cow milk are alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin. Casein is a slow-digesting protein in contrast to whey protein that is rapid digesting. Milk Casein is of 3 or 4 types and each type has a similar structure but distinct molecules with different compositions, genetic variations, and functional properties. The main components of the cow milk casein complex are αs1 (CSN₁S₁), αs₂ (CSN₁S₂), β (CSN₂), and κ-caseins (CSN₃) with each one of them occurring in two or more variants. Transgenic technologies could be used to alter milk composition in cows. Kappa-casein has been associated with differences in milk yield, composition and processing. Research work on casein has been attempted in different species (cow, buffalo, sheep, goat, horse, camel), yet it needs be extended to the remaining species and breeds of animals. The accurate and early identification of milk protein genotypes can have a direct impact on reviewing and developing dairy cattle breeding programs, to achieve the target of increasing production of milk and quality of its constituents on an economic footing. The review details the applied aspects of casein, classification and structure, polymorphism of kappa casein gene in different species of animals.

Pheromones, the semiochemicals are of great interest in animal husbandry and medical sciences due to their applications in food production, stock management and pest control activities. While several reviews on the subject are available, the present work is an attempt to summarise the advances in the area of aquatic animals, especially fishes.