Background: Heat shock protein is one of the most abundant and best characterized heat shock protein family that consists of highly conserved stress proteins. Amongst these heat shock protein family, HSP70 is expressed in response to stress and plays crucial roles in environmental stress tolerance and adaptation. Thermal stress alters the normal body homeostasis and causes severe detrimental effects on production and productivity of animals and impairs growth, immune status of animal. Therefore, the present study is proposed to study HSP70 gene expression pattern in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Methods: The present study was conducted to study the relative mRNA expression pattern of HSP70 gene in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) during different seasons in Padharpuri buffaloes. 10 Apparently healthy, non - pregnant Pandharpuri buffaloes (above 2 years of age) were taken for study. Blood samples were collected thrice i.e. once in winter season, once in summer season and once in rainy season. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was applied to investigate mRNA expression of HSP70 gene during different seasons. Specificity of the desired products was documented using analysis of the melting temperature and high resolution gel electrophoresis to verify that the transcripts are of the exact molecular size predicted. Result: To investigate the variation in relative mRNA expression profile of HSP70 gene, Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH gene) was used as a housekeeping gene. The relative expression values of HSP70 during summer and rainy seasons were found statistically significant in comparison to winter. These results suggest that HSP70 gene expression varies with season and this variation may play an imperative role in conferring thermo tolerance against heat stress during different seasons.

The present study examined the variability of oxidative stress levels and NRF2 gene expression between blood samples of piglet and adult pigs of indigenous origin. Among various stressors, higher oxidative stress is one of the most important factors associated with multiple health and managemental problems commonly observed in piglets. NRF2 is a key regulator of transcriptional activation of antioxidant response genes and oxidative stress. Therefore, the present research work was conducted to study NRF2 gene expression in blood samples of indigenous piglets (N=8) and adult pigs (N=8) using de novo synthesized primers specific to Sus Scrofa species. Further, lipid peroxidation levels in RBC hemolysate samples were compared between piglets and adult pigs by measuring Malondialdehyde levels by thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) assay. Association of NRF2 gene expression with MDA lipid peroxidation levels in indigenous pigs were calculated by Pearson's correlation method. In present study we found, significantly lower levels (P <0.01) of NRF2 gene expression and higher levels (P <0.01) of MDA lipid peroxidation in RBC hemolysate were present in piglets as compared to adult pigs. Further, MDA lipid peroxidation levels were found to significant (P <0.01) negative correlation with NRF2 fold gene expression levels. Low levels of NRF2 expression adversely impacting piglet's health and makes them prone to higher oxidative stress. Present findings suggest that NRF2 gene expression levels are effective molecular markers for determining, modulating and improving the antioxidant capacity of indigenous piglets.

The present study entitled Constraints faced by beneficiary goat farmers under Navinya Purna Yojana (NPY) was carried out in western region Maharashtra to know the constraints faced by beneficiary goat farmers. Total 120 beneficiary goat farmers were selected purposively from Pune, Solapur and Satara district of Maharashtra. The data was collected by interview schedule on four point agreement scale. Constraints were categorized under financial, operational, extension support, socio-cultural, and marketing constraints. Initially heavy investment for the construction of the shed and purchase of kids and Unavailability of credit from banks and other financial institutions to support the scheme were main financial constraints. In operational constraints Difficulty in construction of goat shed was main constraint. However, No training provision under NPY and No exposure visit of selected beneficiaries to nearby successful farms were major extension support constraints. As concern to socio-cultural constraints, Rapidly reducing grazing land for goats was major constraints of goat farmers. Whereas, High bargaining of goat prices by middlemen and High transportation costs to distant marketplaces were the main marketing constraints faced by beneficiary goat farmers. It was suggested that the above said most important constraints must be considered for developing remedial package for goat farmers in study area.

Background: Osmanabadi is the premium meat type goat breed of Maharashtra, known for its adaptability and reproductive efficiency. Identification of superior germplasm and incorporating them into breeding programme is the need of hour for augmenting productivity of Osmanabadi as well as other indigenous goat breeds. Hence, the present research was aimed to study Pituitary Specific Transcription Factor I (POU1F1) gene polymorphism and its associations with body weight of Osmanabadi goat. Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from 217 blood samples of randomly selected Osmanabadi goats. The 450 bp fragment of POU1F1 gene encompassing exon-6 and its flanking region (3’UTR) was PCR amplified. The PCR amplicon was subjected to RFLP using AluI and PstI restriction enzymes to identify polymorphism at nucleotide position 174 (T greater than C) in exon 6 and at nucleotide position 110 (T greater than C) in the 3’UTR of POU1F1 gene, respectively. The association of the observed allelic variants / genotypes with body weight of the animals was performed using One-way ANOVA. Result: The AluI PCR-RFLP of 450 bp amplicon of POU1F1 gene in Osmanabadi goats revealed polymorphism with three different genotypes viz., ‘CC’, ‘TT’ and ‘TC’. The observed frequencies for TT, TC and CC genotypes were 0.604, 0.355 and 0.041 respectively. The frequencies of T and C alleles were found to be 0.781 and 0.219, respectively. However, PstI PCR-RFLP revealed monomorphic 3’UTR of POU1F1 gene with single TT genotype. We observed significant differences (P less than 0.01) between various genotypes at AluI exon-6 locus of POU1F1 gene and body weights at birth, 3 and 6 months of Osmanabadi goat. Highest body weight was recorded for TT genotype followed by TC and CC genotypes in all three age groups. Our findings indicate that the AluI PCR-RFLP locus of the exon-6 of POU1F1 gene can be used as a potent molecular marker for selection of superior stock of Osmanabadi goats.

Myocarditis is a predominant cause of congestive heart failure and sudden death in children and young adolescents that can lead to dilated cardiomyopathy. Lymphocytic myocarditis mediated by T cells can result from the recognition of cardiac antigens that may involve CD4 or CD8 T cells or both. In this report, we describe the generation of T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mice on a C57BL/6 genetic background specific to cardiac myosin heavy chain (Myhc)-α 334–352 and make the following observations: First, we verified that Myhc-α 334–352 was immunogenic in wild-type C57BL/6 mice and induced antigen-specific CD4 T cell responses despite being a poor binder of IAb; however, the immunized animals developed only mild myocarditis. Second, TCRs specific to Myhc-α 334–352 in transgenic mice were expressed in both CD4 and CD8 T cells, suggesting that the expression of epitope-specific TCR is common to both cell types. Third, although T cells from naïve transgenic mice did not respond to Myhc-α 334–352, both CD4 and CD8 T cells from animals immunized with Myhc-α 334–352 responded to the peptide, indicating that antigen priming is necessary to break tolerance. Fourth, although the transgenic T cells could produce significant amounts of interferon-γ and interleukin-17, the immunized animals developed only mild disease, indicating that other soluble factors might be necessary for developing severe myocarditis. Alternatively, the C57BL/6 genetic background might be a major contributing factor for resistance to the development of myocarditis. Taken together, our model permits the determination of the roles of both CD4 and CD8 T cells to understand the disease-resistance mechanisms of myocarditis in a single transgenic system antigen-specifically.

This cross-sectional study was conducted to explore the extent of use of mobile based ICT tools by dairy farmers and constraints faced by them while its use. Respondents were randomly selected from two districts of western Maharashtra namely Satara and Pune and study was undertaken during June – November, 2020. A total of 120 respondents (60 each from Satara and Pune districts) were randomly selected and interviewed with the help of structured schedule. Analysis of data was done and frequency and percentage were calculated accordingly. Almost all the variables studied like age group (68.32%), family size (39.17%), land holding (48.33%), herd size (45.00%), experience (69.17%), social participation (75.84%), extension contacts (70.00%) and knowledge level (72.50%) could be grouped under medium level. Dairy farmers were mostly aware about voice calls (90.83%), whatsapp (82.50%) and financial apps for e-transaction (65%). However, they were totally unaware about use of Twitter, Skype, Instagram, Bluetooth and GIS applications. Similarly, most of the respondents never used video calls (73.34%), SMS facility (70.84%), and mobile for taking photographs (64.16%) related to dairy farming. Whats app found to be used on daily basis, and mobile based ICT tools were used primarily for social purposes with less involvement for its use in order to improve dairy farming activities. Major constraints faced by dairy farmers were unavailability of relevant information in local language, lack of reliable, useful and location specific contents, lack of repairing services and centers in the village. Based on the observations, it is concluded that actual utilization of mobile based ITC tools by dairy farmers is poor in terms of its use for the purpose of dairy related activities. There is need to popularized use of mobile based ICT tools and impart competence and skills in its use among the dairy farmers.

The POU1F1 gene has been identified as one of the major gene for productivity, and its polymorphism is known to be associated with important production traits of various livestock. The present study was designed to investigate POU1F1 (exon-3) gene polymorphism and its association with body weight in Osmanabadi goat (n=217). The PCRSSCP and DNA sequencing revealed single ‘C’ > ‘T’ transition at nucleotide position 42 in the third exonic region (225 bp) POU1F1 gene of Osmanabadi goat. Genotyping revealed ‘TT’ and ‘CC’ genotypes with predominance of ‘C’ allele in the Osmanabadi goat population. Though no association between the said SNP and body weight was observed, these findings can be extended to find the genetic variability of POU1F1 gene associated with growth traits of various Indian goat breeds.

In this study, partial exon 3 of TLR4 gene (T4CRBR2) of Indian crossbred cattle was characterized using PCR and bioinformatics tools. Analysis revealed that T4CRBR2 of Indian crossbred cattle had 100% identity with Bubalus bubalis, Bos taurus and Sahiwal breed sequences (both at nucleotide and amino acid level). At nucleotide level, high identity of T4CRBR2 (more than 99%) was also seen with Vechur cattle, Bos indicus x Bos taurus crossbreed cattle, Tharparkar cattle, bison and gayal sequences. At amino acid level 100% identity of T4CRBR2 was also seen with Vechur cattle, Bos indicus x Bos taurus crossbreed cattle, Tharparkar cattle, bison and gayal sequences. Nilgai T4CRBR2 had lowest identity compared to T4CRBR2 sequences of Indian crossbred cattle. In phylogenetic tree analysis T4CRBR2 of Indian crossbred cattle, Bubalus bubalis, Bos taurus and Sahiwal fall in one group, both at nucleotide and amino acid level.

The present study entitled “Development of ‘GoatVision’- An Android Based Mobile Application for Goat Farmers” was conceptualized with the objective of developing an android based mobile application in local language. An exploratory research design was used for the present study. A total of 60 respondents were selected by purposive random sampling from Pune and Satara districts of Maharashtra to assess the information needs of the goat farmers and to study the effectiveness, perceived utility of developed mobile application. The data was collected through structured questionnaire and was administered to the respondents through personal interview method. On the basis of information needs of goat farmers, ‘GoatVision’- an android based mobile application was developed on feeding and health care practices. After development of mobile application, it was again tested to see its effectiveness. The results revealed that the majority of goat farmers had perceived the information to be very effective in enhancing their knowledge regarding feeding and health care practices (56.67%), about 50 percent of the respondents opined that the content was appropriate to the topic presented, 85 percent perceived it to be presented in a precise way, 65 percent felt that it was ‘very simple’ to understand and 50 percent of the respondents opined that the overall look was good and, has the ability to arouse curiosity and interest (75%). It was perceived to be highly useful by 70.00 percent of the respondents. The android based mobile application was viewed as a useful tool by the goat farmers and many such apps can be designed in local language to deliver the information in the field of animal husbandry in the simplest manner which would be proved to be benignant for the livestock owner.

Effect of supplementation of combination of two feed additives, inulin from Chicory root powder (Cichorium intybus L.) and saponin from Sapindaceae plant powder on egg qualities in laying hens of “BV300”strain was studied from 21-52 week of age (32 weeks period). Total 300 laying hens at 21 week of age were randomly assigned to three equal groups (A, B and C) of 100 hens each. Group A received control basal diet. Group B received basal diet with combination of 0.1g inulin and 0.005g of saponin /kg of feed Group C received basal diet with combination of 0.167 g inulin and 0.0083 g saponin/kg of feed. Egg quality parameters like Egg Weight (EW), Yolk Weight (YW), Albumen Weight (AW) and Shell Weight (SW), Shape Index (SI) and Shell Thickness (ST) were recorded at monthly interval from 21 to 52 week of age. Results of the study indicated that the EW, AW and SW were improved significantly (p less than 0.05) in group B compared to group C and group A without any adverse effect. However, there was no adverse effect of additives on these egg quality parameters at higher dose level in the diet.

The aim of the present study was to determine the stress enzyme level during different seasons in Pandharpuri Buffalo. The study was conducted on 10 healthy Pandharpuri buffaloes more than 2 years of age. All the animals were maintained under standard feeding and management practices. Temperature Humidity Index (THI) was calculated from meteorological data for the different seasons. Five ml blood was collected from each buffalo aseptically from jugular vein once in the Month of May, August and December. Serum was separated by centrifugation from each blood sample and was used for estimation of activity of stress enzymes. Mean ± S.E. THI was 76.97 ± 0.38, 73.32 ± 0.38 and 68.81 ± 0.49 for summer, rainy and winter season, respectively. Mean ± S.E. activity of SOD (U/ mg of protein), CAT and GPx was 52.41± 1.49, 39.55± 1.92 and 32.54± 0.70; 61.84 ± 2.23, 43.98 ± 3.57 and 29.304 ± 1.51 and 0.374 ± 0. 05, 0.232 ± 0.01 and 0.128 ± 0.20 during summer, rainy and winter seasons, respectively. All the serum antioxidant enzymes were found to be significantly (P less than 0.05) higher in the summer season compared to the rainy and winter seasons.

Leptin is a candidate gene for growth rate in mammals. The worldwide studies on various livestock species have identified various point mutations in Leptin gene, which are found to be influencing important economic traits including growth rate. The main objective of present study was to determine Leptin gene polymorphism and its association with body weights in Madgyal sheep using PCR-SSCP technique. PCR-SSCP is a reproducible, rapid and quite simple method for the detection of mutations through electrophoretic mobility differences in PCR amplified DNA. We have successfully amplified 180 bp and 275bp amplicons representing exon 1/2 and exon 3 of LEP gene, respectively. The PCR-SSCP analysis of these amplicons revealed a uniform band pattern in all 100 Madgyal sheep. The occurrence of monomorphic nature of Leptin gene in the present study indicates the lack of Leptin gene mutation in Madgyal sheep.

Brucellosis is a widespread, economically devastating and highly infectious zoonotic disease of animals prevalent throughout the world (Dawood, 2008).The causative agents of brucellosis are facultative intracellular gram-negative, non-spore forming, minute International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 10 (2017) pp. 2853-2864 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

Rabies is a highly fatal viral infection of central nervous system affecting all warm blooded animals including humans. The virus belongs to the Rhabdoviridae family, genus Lyssa virus. Several techniques have been standardized internationally for the diagnosis of rabies. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of Seller's staining test (SST) and Direct Fluorescent Antibody Test (dFAT) for diagnosis of rabies antigen, Mouse Innoculation Test (MIT) and real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used as the Gold Standards. Antibodies against the N Nucleoprotein were used for the dFAT, whereas the nucleoprotein gene was targeted in the qRT-PCR assay. A total of 10 rabies suspected dog brain samples received at the Department of Microbiology at Bombay Veterinary College, Mumbai, were tested by Seller's staining test (SST), Direct Fluorescent Antibody Test (dFAT) and Mouse Innoculation Test (MIT) as per the protocol described by WHO (2007). Out of 10 brain specimens Negri bodies were observed in 05 (50%) brain samples by SST. dFAT tested positive for 06 (60%) samples, rabies virus was isolated in 07 samples by intra-cerebral inoculation in Swiss-albino mice and 07 (70%) samples positive for rabies using qRT-PCR. Compared to the qRT-PCR, the sensitivities of SST and dFAT were 71.42 % and 85.71%, respectively. It was concluded that qRT-PCR is a more sensitive and better molecular approach for diagnosis of rabies from brain of rabid suspected cases as compare to SST and dFAT.

Buffaloes are known for their productivity as compared to average yielding cows due to higher fat percentage, better feed conversion ability and disease resistance. On the other hand, the reproductive performances of buffaloes are often considered as poor owing to late sexual maturity, weak/silent oestrus, repeat breeder and prolonged intercalving interval. The study of cascade of events during oestrus and oestrous cycle can be useful for the improvement of reproductive efficiency of buffaloes. More precisely, the hormonal changes initiated at the molecular level within the animal determine the reproductive nature of the species. Nucleotide/protein sequence analysis serves as a vital tool in analysing the binding of the hormones for their effect or functions. In this study, we have reported cloning and characterization of the complete coding (cDNA) sequence of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) in buffaloes. Buffalo OXTR gene contains an uninterrupted ORF of 1176 nucleotides corresponding to an inferred polypeptide length of 391 amino acids (aa). The molecular weight of the deduced aa sequence was found to be 43 kDa with an isoelectric point of 9.253 and 16.328 charge at pH 7.0. The deduced protein sequence consists of 38 strongly basic (+) (K,R), 22 strongly acidic (-) (D,E), 186 hydrophobic (A, I, L, F, W, V) and 95 Polar (N, C, Q, S, T, Y) aa. Results indicated that aspartate (D) at aa position 85 and D, R and C at aa positions 136, 137 and 138, respectively, are conserved in buffaloes. The buffalo OXTR gene shared a per cent similarity ranging from 84.7 to 98.1 and 88.5 to 97.7 at nucleotide and deduced aa sequence levels, respectively, with that of other species. Phylogram constructed on the basis of either nucleotide or deduced aa sequences of buffalo OXTR gene showed that buffalo, cattle and sheep have diverged from human and swine and formed a separate clad. The buffalo sequence has shown maximum similarity and closeness with cattle followed by sheep both at nucleotide and at aa level.