Browsing by Author "Snyman, M. A."

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    The adaption of the South Africa sheep industry to new trends in animal breeding and genetics : a review
    (South African Society for Animal Science, 2014-10-11) Cloete, S. W. P. (Schalk Willem Petrus van der Merwe); Olivier, J. J.; Sandenbergh, L.; Snyman, M. A.
    The history of sheep breeding research in South Africa can be divided roughly into four eras, namely the research and development phase, the commencement of recording and evaluation, the expansion of recording schemes, and, most recently, the adaptation of schemes to international benchmarks. The most recent era has presented scientists with the greatest challenges, namely the inclusion of genomic breeding values in routine sheep recording and of disease-resistance traits during routine evaluation. The establishment of reference populations for the major South African sheep breeds to estimate genomic breeding values is an immediate challenge. This process may be facilitated by a number of genetic resource flocks that are phenotyped for traits that are not routinely recorded in the national evaluation. A limited number of these animals are also genotyped. There is strong evidence that resistance of sheep to external and internal parasites is heritable, and may be improved by purposeful selection. Efforts should be concentrated on the inclusion of disease resistance traits in national analyses where appropriate. However, seen against the background that South African investment in research is appreciably less than in developed countries, lack of funding and high-capacity manpower may impede rapid progress. There thus seem to be many challenges for future generations of sheep breeding scientists.
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    Evaluation of production and reproduction of three South African Angora goat CYP17 genotypes
    (South African Society for Animal Science, 2017-06-05) Snyman, M. A.; Storbeck, K-H.; Swart, P.
    Two CYP17 genes, located on different loci and expressing enzymes with significantly different activities, have been identified in the South African Angora goat population. Three unique genotypes (named He, Hu, and Ho), which differed not only in the genes encoding CYP17, but also in copy number were subsequently identified in the Angora goat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the production and reproduction performance of these three genotypes. Bodyweight, fleece and reproduction data, and blood samples from 466 Angora ewes from three flocks were obtained from the GADI-Biobank. Data had been collected on Flock 1 from 2000 to 2015, Flock 2 from 2000 to 2014 and Flock 3 from 2000 to 2010. Bodyweight data included birth weight, weaning weight, 8-, 12-, and 16-month bodyweight, as well as bodyweight recorded annually for the ewe flock before mating. Fleece data included fleece weight and fibre diameter recorded at the second and third shearings at 12 and 18 months old, respectively. Fleece weight, fibre diameter, style and character were also recorded annually for the ewe flocks during the winter shearing. Individual reproduction records included information on whether the ewe had kidded, whether the ewe had aborted, number of kids born, stillborn kids, kids that died soon after birth, kids reared by a foster mother, kids reared as orphans, number of kids weaned and total weight of kids weaned. Total lifetime reproductive performance of genotyped ewes was calculated for number of kids born, number of kids weaned, and total weight of kids weaned. Blood samples were also collected from 100 sexually active Angora rams from four sources. CYP17 genotyping was carried out using an ARMS-qPCR (amplification refractory mutation system qPCR) assay. Serum testosterone was quantified using high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The distribution of the ewes across the three CYP17 genotypes was 36.7% He, 51.5% Hu, and 11.8% Ho, and was in accordance with the distribution of the Angora veld rams (38.0% He, 46.4% Hu, and 15.6% Ho). In this study, animals of the Hu genotype were heavier from weaning age onwards, although this difference in bodyweight was significant only at 8 months old and in the adult ewes. No differences were observed between the He and Ho animals. Adult ewes of the He genotype (1.35 kg) produced heavier (P <0.05) fleeces than the Hu (1.27 kg) and Ho (1.24 kg) genotypes. Fibre diameter of the fleeces of the Ho ewes (33.0 μm) was higher than that of the fleeces of the He ewes (32.2 μm; P <0.05) and the Hu ewes (32.7 μm; P >0.05). No significant differences were recorded in reproductive performance among the genotypes, although the Ho ewes had the lowest (1.03 and 0.89) and the He ewes the highest (1.07 and 0.93) number of kids born and weaned per year respectively. Results on the rams indicated that the CYP17 genotype had no effect on testosterone production by Angora rams. From the results of this study no evidence could be found that selection for any of the three genotypes would adversely affect any growth, mohair production or reproduction function of Angora ewes. A breeding strategy incorporating selection for productive traits and the CYP17 genotype, aimed at increasing the frequency of the ACS+ gene and thus the He genotype in the population, could be followed without having a negative effect on the genetic progress of productive traits.
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    Evaluation of the OvineSNP50 chip for use in four South African sheep breeds : short communication
    (South African Society for Animal Science, 2016) Sandenbergh, L.; Cloete, S. W. P. (Schalk Willem Petrus van der Merwe); Roodt-Wilding, R.; Snyman, M. A.; Bester-Van Der Merwe, A. E.
    Relatively rapid and cost-effective genotyping using the OvineSNP50 chip holds great promise for the South African sheep industry and research partners. However, SNP ascertainment bias may influence inferences from the genotyping results of South African sheep breeds. Therefore, samples from Dorper, Namaqua Afrikaner (NA), South African Merino (SA Merino) and South African Mutton Merino (SAMM) were genotyped to determine the utility of the OvineSNP50 chip for these important South African sheep breeds. After quality control measures had been implemented, 85 SA Merino, 20 Dorper, 20 NA and 19 SAMM samples remained, with an average call rate of 99.72%. A total of 49 517 (91.30%) SNPs on the chip met quality control measures and were included in downstream analyses. The NA had the fewest polymorphic loci, 69.20%, while the SAMM, Dorper and SA Merino had between 81.16% and 86.85% polymorphic loci. Most loci of the SA Merino, Dorper and SAMM had a MAF greater than or equal to 0.3. In contrast, the NA exhibited a large number of rare alleles (MAF < 0.1) and a uniform distribution of other loci across the MAF range (0.1 < MAF ≤ 0.5). The NA exhibited the least genetic diversity and had the greatest inbreeding coefficient among the four breeds. The results of the Dorper, SA Merino, and SAMM compare favourably with those of international breeds and thus demonstrate the utility of the OvineSNP50 chip for these breeds. Effects of SNP ascertainment bias, however, could be seen in the number of non-polymorphic loci and MAF distribution of the three commercial breeds in comparison with those of the NA. The implementation of methods to reduce the effect of SNP ascertainment bias and to ensure unbiased interpretation of genotype results should therefore be considered for future studies using OvineSNP50 chip genotype results.