An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of a polyherbal mixture based onWithania somnifera,Ocimum tenuiflorum,Tinospora cordifoliaandEmblica officinalis, on lamb's growth and blood metabolites. Thirty-two lambs (initial body weight BW 25 +/- 4.1 kg) were randomly assigned to the treatments which consisted of the polyherbal ImmuPlus at dietary concentrations of 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% of dry matter (DM) for 60 days. There was a quadratic response to polyherbal in average daily gain (p < 0.01) and feed conversion (p< 0.05). The optimal concentration estimated by regression for maximum ADG was 0.14 +/- 0.08% DM of ImmuPlus. Ruminal DM digestibility was not affected but pH was reduced linearly (p < 0.05). Ruminal N-NH3 (p< 0.01) and total VFA concentration showed a quadratic increment (p< 0.05) whereas butyrate proportion was increased linearly (p< 0.05). There was no effect in most blood metabolites related to energy metabolism, but uric acid was linearly reduced (p< 0.01) and bilirubin showed a quadratic decrement (p< 0.05). Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (p< 0.01) increased linearly (p < 0.10), lymphocytes and segmented neutrophils showed a quadratic response (p< 0.01) and platelets showed a linear reduction (linearp< 0.05). The inclusion of ImmuPlus improved the daily gain in finishing lambs and feed efficiency at 0.1% DM without altering blood chemistry and blood biometry.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the productive performance, apparent digestibility, and carcass and longissimus dorsi muscle characteristics of lambs fed diets supplemented with four levels of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Thirty-two male Hampshire lambs (25.82±1.95 kg body weight) were distributed in four treatments: basal diet (20:80, forage:concentrate), and the inclusion of 0, 3, 5, and 10 g animal−1 d−1Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The variables evaluated were dry matter intake, daily weight gain, feed conversion, apparent digestibility, dorsal fat thickness, longissimus [...] ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the productive performance, apparent digestibility, and carcass and longissimus dorsi muscle characteristics of lambs fed diets supplemented with four levels of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Thirty-two male Hampshire lambs (25.82±1.95 kg body weight) were distributed in four treatments: basal diet (20:80, forage:concentrate), and the inclusion of 0, 3, 5, and 10 g animal−1 d−1Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The variables evaluated were dry matter intake, daily weight gain, feed conversion, apparent digestibility, dorsal fat thickness, longissimus

Understanding the functional mechanisms of genes influencing economically important traits in the domestic pig is essential for optimizing marker-assisted selection (MAS). This study aimed to characterize the biological functions, molecular mechanisms, and metabolic pathways of genes associated with morphological, productive, reproductive, and carcass quality traits through a functional bioinformatics approach. Genes were compiled from 116 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2024, and subsequently grouped according to trait. A de novo functional bioinformatics analysis was performed on this dataset. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted using DAVID and the clusterProfiler package in R, applying FDR correction (≤0.05). Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were explored using STRING. No individual gene was consistently reported with high frequency. Among the most frequently reported genes were VRTN (17 studies) for teat number, HOMER1 (3 studies) for leg strength, and BMPR1B (3 studies) for litter size. Enriched GO terms included processes such as positive regulation of transcription (GO:0045944), chondrocyte differentiation (GO:0032331), and SMAD signaling (GO:0060391; an FDR = 7.34 × 10⁻⁷). The PPI networks revealed key genes involved in signaling and immune regulation. In conclusion, this bioinformatics analysis provides an integrated functional overview of the genes underlying key economic traits in pigs, identifying pleiotropic pathways such as SMAD/TGF-β signaling, which supports the development of more effective MAS strategies in pig breeding programs.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary calcium propionate (CaPr) and monensin (MON) on lamb growth performance, ruminal volatile fatty acids (VFAs), methane (CH₄) production, and ruminal bacteria and archaea populations. Forty crossbred ram lambs (initial weight 23.4 ± 2.8 kg) were randomly assigned to one of four diets (n = 10 per treatment): (a) control diet (CONT); (b) MON diet, which contained 30 mg/kg dry matter (DM) of monensin + CONT; (c) CaPr diet, which contained 10 g/kg DM of CaPr + CONT; and (d) MCA diet, which contained both additives (30 mg/kg DM of monensin plus 10 g/kg DM of CaPr) + CONT. Dietary MON or CaPr in lamb diets did not affect (p ≥ 0.05) dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), or DMI/ADG. The main effect (p ≥ 0.05) of CaPr supplementation was observed in acetate concentration and CH₄ production. The addition of calcium propionate increased (p < 0.05) Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus albus, and Selenomonas ruminantium, whereas CaPr reduced (p < 0.05) methanogenic archaea. The addition of MON and CaPr did not affect lamb performance; however, CaPr improved fermentation kinetics towards more efficient routes, reflected by a reduction in the proportion of methane and methanogenic archaea.

Background: The fertility of the flock depends largely on the male, so the selection of studs with high genetic potential and good semen quality is essential. The frequency of collection directly influences sperm parameters such as volume, concentration, motility, and viability, with variations depending on species and breed. Objective: To evaluate the effects of the number and frequency of ejaculate collection on pre- and post-freezing semen characteristics in Katahdin sheep. Methodology: Fifteen one-year-old males were used, divided into three groups according to collection frequency: high (every 2 days), medium (every 4 days), and low (every 8 days). Semen parameters such as volume, motility, concentration, vitality, and DNA fragmentation were analyzed in both fresh and post-thaw semen. Results: Motility was significantly lower in the high frequency group (67.4 ± 6.5%) compared to the medium (73.9 ± 6.0%) and low (72.3 ± 8.7%) frequency groups (p ≤ 0.05), with no differences between the latter two groups. Sperm concentration decreased in the high frequency group (3001.66 ± 709.7 * 10⁶/mL) compared to the medium (4024.15 ± 595.1 * 10⁶/mL) and low (4035.44 ± 420.7 * 10⁶/mL) frequency groups (p ≤ 0.05). Vitality was lower in the high frequency (72.6 ± 6.5%) compared to the medium (78.6 ± 4.7%) and low (78.3 ± 5.9%) (p ≤ 0.05). DNA fragmentation increased in the second ejaculate of the high frequency group (16.3 ± 4.2%) compared to the medium (11.5 ± 3.7%) and low (10.4 ± 2.8%) frequency groups (p ≤ 0.05). After cryopreservation, motility of the second ejaculate was lower in the high frequency group (39.2 ± 6.3%) compared to the medium (45.7 ± 5.9%) and low (46.3 ± 5.2%) frequency groups (p ≤ 0.05). Implications: High collection frequency reduces semen quality in Katahdin sheep, negatively affecting critical parameters such as motility, concentration, vitality, and DNA stability. Optimizing extraction frequency not only promotes semen preservation and reproductive program efficiency, but also contributes to animal welfare by avoiding excessive collections that compromise semen quality. Conclusion: Collection frequency and number of ejaculates significantly influence semen quality in Katahdin sheep. Too frequent collections decrease sperm motility, concentration, and vitality, in addition to increasing DNA fragmentation, especially in the second ejaculate. Key words: Seminal parameters; Katahdin sheep; DNA fragmentation; cryopreservation.

Heritability ( h ² ) is a key parameter in animal breeding, but its magnitude and consistency across pure‐bred (PB) and cross‐bred (CB) pig populations remain poorly understood. This study aimed to compare heritability estimates between PB and CB populations for economically relevant traits through a systematic review and meta‐analysis. A total of 28 studies (75 independent h ² estimates) were identified through searches in PubMed, Mendeley, Springer, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar (2000–2024). Multilevel random‐effects models with logit transformation were applied. Traits were grouped into reproductive, growth, conformation and carcass categories. Reproductive traits showed low heritability (e.g., litter size: 0.06 in PB and 0.20 in CB; number born alive [NBA]: 0.07 in CB), whereas growth and carcass traits exhibited moderate values (e.g., average daily gain: 0.21 in PB and 0.31 in CB; intramuscular fat: 0.31 in PB and 0.29 in CB; pH: 0.23–0.26). Meta‐regression did not detect a significant effect of population type ( β = 0.124, p = 0.630), whereas studies accounting for non‐additive genetic effects showed significantly different heritability estimates (QM = 4.35, p = 0.037), and high heterogeneity was observed across traits ( I ² > 90%). These results indicate that cross‐breeding does not systematically increase additive heritability. Instead, differences depend on trait type, likely reflecting differences in genetic architecture and the relative contribution of additive and non‐additive genetic effects. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of population‐specific genetic evaluations and context‐dependent breeding strategies in pig production, supporting the complementary interpretation of heritability and pure‐bred–cross‐bred genetic correlation (rPC) within Combined Cross‐bred and Pure‐bred Selection (CCPS) programmes.