• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.821-826
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• 2007

The aim of the experiment was to detect polymorphisms in the keratin-associated protein 8.2 (KAP8.2) gene to determine associations between the genotype and fibre traits in Chinese Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. The fibre traits data investigated were cashmere fibre diameter, combed cashmere weight, cashmere fibre length and guard hair length. Five hundred and forty-two animals were used to detect polymorphisms in the complete coding sequence of the hircine KAP8.2 gene by means of PCR-SSCP. The results identified six genotypes, AA, BB, DD, AB, AD and BD, coded for by three different alleles A, B and D. Two SNPs in the coding region were confirmed by sequencing, which were A214G and T218C respectively. The relationships between the genotypes and cashmere fibre diameter, combed cashmere weight, cashmere fibre length and guard hair length were analyzed. There were significant differences (p<0.01) between the associations of the different genotypes with cashmere fibre diameter, cashmere weight and hair length. Cashmere length was the only trait that was not associated with the genotypes. The genotype AA (0.73) was found to be predominant in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats and the animals with this genotype had the thinnest cashmere fibre diameter compared with the other genotypes. These results suggested that polymorphisms in the hircine KAP8.2 gene may be a potential molecular marker for cashmere fibre diameter in cashmere goats.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.177-182
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• 2012

To investigate the genetic diversity of seven Chinese indigenous meat goat breeds (Tibet goat, Guizhou white goat, Shannan white goat, Yichang white goat, Matou goat, Changjiangsanjiaozhou white goat and Anhui white goat), explain their genetic relationship and assess their integrity and degree of admixture, 302 individuals from these breeds and 42 Boer goats introduced from Africa as reference samples were genotyped for 11 microsatellite markers. Results indicated that the genetic diversity of Chinese indigenous meat goats was rich. The mean heterozygosity and the mean allelic richness (AR) for the 8 goat breeds varied from 0.697 to 0.738 and 6.21 to 7.35, respectively. Structure analysis showed that Tibet goat breed was genetically distinct and was the first to separate and the other Chinese goats were then divided into two sub-clusters: Shannan white goat and Yichang white goat in one cluster; and Guizhou white goat, Matou goat, Changjiangsanjiaozhou white goat and Anhui white goat in the other cluster. This grouping pattern was further supported by clustering analysis and Principal component analysis. These results may provide a scientific basis for the characteristization, conservation and utilization of Chinese meat goats.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.531-537
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• 2017

Objective: This experiment was conducted to explore the impact of diet on the ruminal microbial community in goats. Methods: Twelve goats were divided into two groups and fed complete feed (CF) or all forage (AF) diet. The total microbial DNAs in the rumen liquid were extracted. The V4 region of microbial 16S rRNA genes was amplified and sequenced using high-throughput. Information of sequences was mainly analyzed by QIIME 1.8.0. Results: The results showed that Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the most predominant microbial phyla in the rumen of all goats. At genus level, the abundance of fiber-digesting bacteria such as Ruminococcus and Lachnospiracea incertae sedis was significantly higher in AF than that in CF, while the levels of fat-degrading bacterium Anaerovibrio and protein-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas were opposite. The core shared genera, Prevotella and Butyrivibrio were widespread in the rumen of goats and no significant difference was observed in relative abundance between groups. Conclusion: We concluded that the richness of fiber-, protein-, and fat-digesting bacteria was affected by diet and tended to increase with the rise of their corresponding substrate contents in the ration; some bacteria shared by all goats maintained stable despite the difference in the ration, and they might be essential in maintaining the normal function of rumen.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2017

The present study was undertaken to clarify the changes in hematological values of Korean indigenous goats according to age. Blood samples were collected from 16 goats (5 females and 11 males) from birth up to the age of 6 weeks and the levels of various hematological values were analyzed. The body weight was increased from 2.54 kg at birth to 6.41 kg at 6 weeks age. The erythrocytes (RBC) counts and hemoglobin (Hb) values of goats were decreased at 2 weeks after birth, and increased gradually from 4 weeks after birth. The hematocrit (Ht) values were decreased until 4 weeks after birth, and increased at 6 weeks after birth. The mean cell volume (MCV) and mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) were decreased until 6 weeks after birth. The mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) was increased slightly from 2 weeks after birth. The red cell distribution width (RDW) was increased significantly at 2 weeks after birth, and decreased from 4 weeks after birth. The platelet (PLT) counts were increased significantly from 2 weeks after birth. The mean platelet volume (MPV) was decreased at 2 weeks after birth, and increased gradually from 4 weeks after birth. The total white blood cell (WBC) counts and the mean absolute numbers of neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte and eosinophil were increased from 2 weeks after birth. In conclusion, the data obtained from this study may be valuable as a standard for interpreting results of hematological analyses in Korean indigenous goats.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.439-446
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• 2016

Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan disease that is caused by Toxoplasma gondii in livestock and humans. Due to its medical and veterinary importance, it is essential to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among humans and animals in various parts of the world. The major objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants (sheep and goats) of north-eastern region, Pakistan. A total of 1,000 animals comprising of sheep (n=470) and goats (n=530) were examined for T. gondii infection by using ELISA. An epidemiological data was collected in the form of questionnaire. A surface has been generated by using method of interpolation in Arc GIS with the help of IDW (inverse distance weight). The results showed higher seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats (42.8%) as compared to sheep (26.2%). The seroprevalence was higher in females as compared to males in all examined ruminants. Similarly, there is a wide variation in the seroprevalence of T. gondii in different breeds of sheep and goats showing higher seroprevalence in Teddy (52.8%) and Damani breed (34.5%) of goat and sheep's, respectively. The geographical and spatial distribution of T. gondii shows that it is widely distributed in different parts of the north-eastern region of Pakistan. Our results suggest widespread environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts and that small ruminants could be a potentially important source of T. gondii infection if their infected meat is consumed undercooked.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.963-967
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• 2002

Eighteen crossbred goats were selected from the Institute's goat herd to determine the changes in hormones, blood metabolites and yield and composition of milk during lactation. The blood and milk samples were collected from each goat in a heparinized vacutainer tubes at fortnightly interval for a period of 150 days. In milk samples, fat, protein and lactose contents were estimated while in blood plasma hormones viz., prolactin, GH, cortisol, insulin, $T_4$ and $T_3$ were measured using radioimmunoassay methods. The plasma concentration of prolactin, GH and cortisol were high during early lactation when the goats acquired peak milk yield. During remainder of lactation their concentration varied. The high NEFA concentration during early lactation indicated mobilization of body reserves as the body weights also decrease during early lactation. However, with the advancement of lactation, the body weights of the goats and the concentration of NEFA declined which indicated utilization of NEFA for energy yielding purposes in addition to fatty acid synthesis. The ambient temperatures did not influence plasma concentration of prolactin, GH, insulin, $T_3$ and $T_4$ during the lactation cycle. The fat content of milk varied significantly (p<0.01) but protein and lactose content of milk remains unchanged during different stages of lactation. Growth hormone was positively correlated with insulin (p<0.05) during lactation while prolactin had a positive correlation with lactose and plasma NEFA (p<0.01) and negative correlation with $T_3$ (p<0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.1453-1457
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• 2002

The experiment was conducted to find out the effect of 4 feeding systems on growth, feed intake, eating behavior, lactation performance, gestation period, post-partum heat period, conception rate and parasitic infestation of Black Bengal goat. Twenty four does of approximately 1 year of age were randomly selected for 4 treatment (feeding systems) groups having 6 replications in each. Treatments were stall feeding ($T_1$), tethering ($T_2$), restricted grazing ($T_3$) and grazing ($T_4$). $T_1$ group was housed continuously and adequate amounts of natural grass were supplied for ad libitum feeding. $T_2$ group was tethered for grazing natural grass from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. being moved at one hour intervals. Goats of $T_3$ group were allowed grazing from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. $T_4$ group was grazed from 8 a. m. to 4 p.m. Concentrate supplement was given at the rate of 150 g per day per goat for all of the treatment groups. Duration of experiment was 219 days. Daily live weight gain was significantly (p<0.05) higher in case of stall fed goats than that of others. DM intake also significantly (p<0.05) differed among the treatment groups and was 3.40 3.95, 3.76 and 4.05 per cent of their live weight for stall feeding, tethering, restricted grazing and grazing groups, respectively. Rate of rumination was significantly (p<0.05) higher in case of tethering group of goats than that of others. Birth weight of kids, milk yield, lactation period and post-partum heat period were significantly higher in case of stall fed goats than others. Tethering group showed significantly (p<0.05) higher litter size than others. Infestation rate of Fasciola was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the grazing group. In conclusion, it may be stated that among these feeding groups overall performance of stall fed goats was more satisfactory, and that the tethering group showed better performance than the others.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.427-431
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• 1995

This study was carried out to investigatigate feed cost of com-manure silage and growth performance of Korean native goats which was fed com-manure silage. The average weight about 11.6 kg of twenty one Korean native male goats (4 months used to determine the effect of the feeding trial. The goats were individually reared in metabolism cages and fed diet daily of 2% of the body weight on the dry matter basis. The treatments were divided into whole crop com silage(CS silage), whole crop com ensiled with cage layer manure (CLM; Com-manure silage or MS silage) and whole crop com silage supplemented with urea at feeding time (US silage). The content of crude protein, lactic acid and the ratio of ammonia nitrogen to total nitrogen ($NH_3-N/Total$ N) in MS silage were increased from 7.7 to 14.9%, 5.7 to 7.5% and 8.2 to 16.6%, and the differences were significantly (p < 0.05) different in all observations. Total body weight gain of those goats for 90 days was 6.0 kg (66.7 g/day; MS silage 4.3 kg (47.8 g/day; US silage) and 3.9 kg (43.4 g/day; CS silage), and feed conversion of MS silage (5.98) for 90 days was increased by far the best in the other groups and decreased about 30% in proportion to CS silage. Feed cost per 1 kg MS silage (1,606 won) was the lowest (p < 0.05) in the body weight gain and cut down expenses than fed CS silage by 37% of feed cost.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1291-1298
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• 2010

The aim of this research was to investigate the dynamic changes of the level of total prolactin receptor (PRLR) mRNA and the short form prolactin receptor (S-PRLR) mRNA in skin of cashmere goats from the initiation of cashmere fibre growth to active growth. Eighteen half-sib wethers were allocated randomly to two groups. Melatonin implants were used in order to initiate growth of cashmere fibre before the normal time and reduce blood plasma prolactin (PRL) concentration. Real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) was used to determine PRLR mRNA expression levels of skin from June to November. The results showed that, in Chinese Inner Mongolia cashmere goats, there were seasonal variations in expression of total PRLR mRNA in skin with levels decreasing from June to October. Synchronously, the cashmere fibre growth rate gradually increased during this period, but the expression levels of S-PRLR mRNA did not decrease along with seasonal variation from initiation to active growth of cashmere fibre. These results suggest that expression levels of S- PRLR mRNA might be involved in the process of cashmere growth. It was also possible that the change of alternative splicing of PRLR occurred in the skin of cashmere goats from proanagen to anagen.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.913-917
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• 2000

Sixteen adult Barbari bucks were divided into 4 homogeneous groups, each group was offered wheat straw (WS) at levels 75, 100, 125 and 150 per cent of ad libitum intake in a factorial randomized complete block design. All goats were uniformly fed a supplement ($13.5g\;DM/kg\;W^{0.75}$) to fulfill their requirement for protein at maintenance level. The experimental feeding of goats at different levels for 21 days was followed by a digestion trial of 6 days and determination of rate of passage of digesta for 144 h duration, respectively. Intake ($g/kg\;W^{0.75}$) of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), digestible DM and digestible OM increased with increase in amount of WS offered. The levels of WS refusals for obtaining upper limit of intake was found to be above 30% of DMO. Concentration of ADF and lignin was significantly lower and CP was higher (p>0.05) in food ingested relative to food offered or refused in response to increasing allowance of WS. Dietary means of particulate rate of passage from rumen, transit time and total mean retention time ranged from 0.032 to 0.036/h, 19.10 to 21.72/h and 58.61 to 61.53/h respectively and did not show significant differences (p>0.05) irrespective of dietary level of WS. The results suggest that DMI and quality of ingested WS would improve with higher rates of offer and refusals (${\geq}30%$ of DMO) without any pronounced effect on passage kinetics of digesta, because of the greater opportunity afforded to goats for selective feeding.