Background: Sheep is one of the important species of livestock in India contributing to meat production. India has 44 distinct breeds of sheep, out of which 10 are found in Tamil Nadu. The present study describes the molecular characterization of recently registered breed of sheep - Katchaikatty sheep, genetic variability and genetic structure of the population by microsatellite marker analyses. Methods: DNA from 50 unrelated Katchaikatty sheep was amplified with 25 FAO recommended fluorescent tagged ovine-specific microsatellite markers and genotyped on an automated Genetic Analyzer. In each locus, observed (no) and effective number of microsatellite alleles (ne), allele frequencies, observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity and heterozygosity deficit estimate (FIS), polymorphism information content (PIC) and Chi-square (χ2) test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) were assessed. Mode-shift analyses were performed. Result: The study revealed a total of 144 alleles across all the loci. The number of alleles at each locus varied from one to 10 with a mean of 5.76 alleles. The PIC values in the microsatellite loci ranged from 0.34 (OarAE129) to 0.83 (OarFCB48) with an average of 0.59, which showed a high genetic polymorphism. Six out of 25 microsatellite loci studied were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and 19/25 loci showed positive FIS values. The overall mean observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.50 and 0.65 respectively and the estimates elucidated a substantial genetic variability in Katchaikatty sheep population. Mode shift analysis revealed a normal L-shaped curve, describing that the Katchaikatty population had not experienced any genetic bottleneck and remained in mutation-drift equilibrium.

Non-small cell lung cancer is a type of lung cancer, where healthy cells in the lungs grow out of control forming a tumor or a nodule. Although small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer share few common symptoms and causes, their rate of spread or metastasis differs significantly. Targeted gene therapies involving uses of targeted drugs against specific gene or protein are increasingly being used for the treatment of lung cancer. This study aims at understanding the efficacy of the bioactive compounds over the already existing chemotherapy drug- Gemcitabine. For this study, the target receptor proteins of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) were retrieved from Protein Data Bank (PDB) and the ligand compounds were retrieved using PubChem NCBI. Based on various research studies, four target proteins from NSCLC and sixteen bioactive compounds of Curculigoorchioides (Black musale) were selected. And their effect of bioactive compounds has been studied by means of in-silico approach and further the identified potential active compounds have been compared with control. This comparative in-silico study has predicted that the bioactive principle of Curculigoorchioides has better efficacy against cancer receptors and can considered as an effective alternative drug for cancer treatment. Concluding, the present study will be useful in future for designing novel therapeutic plant-based drug with higher efficacy for the treatment of lung cancer.

Background: Supplementation of probiotics play an important role on the growth performance of native chicken to achieve early market weight. It has been observed that there was a development of resistance by pathogenic bacteria against antibiotic mixtures used in the feed as growth promoters. The major concern in using antibiotics is presence of residues in the egg and meat. Probiotics are found to be an alternative to antibiotics to reduce the disease incidences and to improve feed efficiency. Methods: Totally 100 numbers of day old Aseel cross chicks were selected and randomly divided into two groups of 50 chicks each. Chicks in control group (T1) were fed with commercially available feed without probiotic supplementation and chicks in treatment group (T2) were fed with probiotic supplemented commercial feed. Trial period was upto 10 weeks of age. Result: Fortnightly body weight and body weight gain were significantly (P less than 0.01) higher in treatment group (T2) compared to control group. Average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio also highly (P less than 0.01) significant in treatment group.

Background: Osteopontin (OPN) is an extracellular matrix protein with multifunctions and has been identified in the reproductive tract of both males and females. OPN from the seminal plasma (SP) has been closely associated with male fertility in several domestic animals. Different isoforms of OPN has been identified in the SP and sperm membrane in dogs but with unknown functions. The current study investigated the comparison of key canine sperm microscopic parameters and SP markers between dogs exhibiting different fertility potential.Methods: In this investigation during 2018-2019, 21 dogs coming for breeding soundness examination were selected and divided into fertile (Group I) and hypofertile (Group II). Evaluation included assessment of sperm microscopic characteristics and estimation of OPN, Malondialdehyde (MDA), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) concentration in the SP.Result: The OPN level showed positive correlation with all the sperm evaluated characteristics (p less than 0.01). Linear regression analysis depicted a significant (p less than 0.001) influence of OPN on the evaluated sperm characteristics. These findings suggest that OPN in the SP along with the microscopic characteristics of the spermatozoa can be used as a potential fertility marker in discriminating fertile from the hypofertile ones.

An attempt was made in this study to estimate the relationship between body weight and body measurements of Madras Red sheep. The sample of the study consist of about 138 Madras red sheep under farm condition. Data pertaining to body weight and body measurements such as Withers height (WH), Body length (BL), Heart girth or chest girth (CG), and Paunch girth (PG) were taken. The results recorded from the body weight and body measurements were positively correlated and significant with each other except in 12 months. Chest girth had the highest correlation value between the body weight variable which was significant at all age groups and it will be the best to predict the body weight in correlations followed by Withers height. In the age of 6 months and 9 months only all the parameters were highly significant and highest R2 values among the equation. Paunch girth and body length which had been contribute low in body weight. From the regression equation 3 months age groups had the highest R2value of 74 per cent and 6 months age group which had the highest R2 value 92 per cent, whereas the 9 months of age R2 values was 87 per cent which were significant. For the 12 months age groups which R2 value was low value of 48 per cent. Among the four equations best predictor of body weight using body measurements can be between 6-9 months age and chest girth will be the best parameter to prediction of body weight accurately followed by withers height which can be inclusion with chest girth for best prediction body weight more accurately. Keywords : Body weight, Body measurements, Madras Red sheep,Prediction, Correlation

Rajapalayam, an important dog breed of southern India which are maintained for guarding of farm houses and protection from wild animals. The aim of the present investigation is to study the karyology of this important dog population for cytological profiling. Metaphase plates were prepared after culturing of lymphocytes isolated from heparinized blood collected from animals of both the sexes. Giemsa banding, centromeric index, arm ratio and relative length were estimated through standard protocol. The cytogenetic profile of Rajapalayam dog is different from that of Chinese Raccoon and Japanese Raccoon dogs which belongs to Canidae family with a basic chromosome number of 78 without B chromosome. The X chromosomes are longer in bitches than that of in dogs. Giemsa banding analysis revealed higher number of bands (272) distributed among the 38 chromosome in Indian dog breed as compared to that Chinese Raccoon dog. The results of the present study gave insight knowledge to the researchers, dog breeders and kennel clubs about the karyology of Indian dog breeds and to know about any chromosomal abnormalities which may leads to fertility, growth and phenotypic abnormality related problems in this dog breed.

The present study was conducted to ascertain the various profile characteristics of the Pulikulam cattle rearers in Madurai and Sivagangai districts of Tamil Nadu. A sample size of 90 Pulikulam cattle rearers (45 rearers from each district) who were actively involved in Pulikulam cattle rearing were selected randomly for the study. A well-structured, pre-tested interview schedule was used for the primary data collection for this study. Findings indicated that majority (55.56 per cent) of the respondents was landless farmers and 42.22 per cent of the respondents belonged to old age category. Majority (40.00 per cent) of the respondents were educated up to primary level of education. Majority (82.22 per cent) of the respondents had Animal Husbandry as main occupation. Nearly one-fifth (56.67 per cent) of the respondents had high level (above 20 years) of experience in Pulikulam cattle rearing. One-half (51.11 per cent) of the respondents had medium level of contact with extension agency with 56.67 percent of the respondents had low level of mass media exposure. Majority (57.78 per cent) of the respondents had high level of economic motivation. Finding of the study revealed that subject to the availability of drinking water and grazing land Pulikulam cattle rearing with zero input and management may be advocated among farmers for better income.

The present study was undertaken for phenotypic characterization of Rajapalayam, an important dog breed of southern India. Rajapalayam dog population originated from Rajapalayam taluk of Virudhunagar district of southern Tamil Nadu. Surveys on Rajapalayam dog were undertaken in Rajapalayam town, villages of Rajapalayam taluk and Dog Breeding Unit at Chennai (Govt. of Tamil Nadu). Sets of questionnaire and breed descriptor formats were developed to collect information on different aspects of phenotypic characterization. During the survey, 26 each of physical and morphometric traits were recorded on 88 adult and 21 puppies. Information on different aspects of management of animals was collected through interview of 20 Rajapalayam dog owners. Rajapalayam dogs were medium in size with compact body, tucked-up abdomen, white coat colour, pink skin, nostrils and eyelids, dropping ears, semi-curved tail and straight top line. The eyes were golden in colour and the nasal bridge was straight. Themean body weight was obtained as 24.69±0.43 and 21.42±0.47 kg for adult male and females, respectively. In bitches, age at first estrus ranged from 12–15 months with duration of estrus as 13 to 21 days after estrus bleeding. The main breeding season was from November to January and gestation length was 2 months. The age at first whelping ranged between 21-27 months with a whelping interval of 8-12 months and number of whelping in lifetime was 10 to 12. The litter size ranged from 4 to10 and age at weaning was 30-45 days. The dogs were maintained mostly on non-vegetarian food and feeding was done twice in a day, in majority of cases with milk, rice and egg. Breeders used to vaccinate the dogs regularly and deworming was also practiced. Rajapalayam dogs weremainly used for guarding of farm and farm houses. This unique canine germplasm needs to be documented and registered at National level for the benefit of the dog owners, dog breeders and Kennel clubs. The breed can be popularized through dog shows and other forms of documentation.

Data on body weight of Large White Yorkshire (56%) crosses (n=590) were recorded at weekly intervals from birth to weaning (8 weeks) for five filial generations and were and analysed by least-squares method. The overall mean birth weight was 1.03 +/- 0.01 kg. The birth weight gained significantly (P<0.05) over generations and at F-5, it was 1.10 +/- 0.04 kg. The pooled mean body weights at 2,4 and 6 weeks and at weaning (8 weeks) were 2.62 +/- 0.04, 4.15 +/- 0.07, 5.94 +/- 0.10 and 8.01 +/- 0.10 kg, respectively. The periodical pre-weaning body weights were increased significantly over the generations and at F-4, the respective values were 3.06 +/- 0.06, 5.00 +/- 0.10, 7.26 +/- 0.14 and 9.61 +/- 0.19 kg. The effect of sex was not found as a significant source of variation on the body weights from birth to weaning. The heritability and genetic correlations found out by sib-analyses for the pre-weaning body weights revealed that the estimates were positive and moderate to high, showing the presence of sufficient genetic variation and favourable associations for these body weights and suggestive of better scope for improvement through selective breeding.

The average value (in %) for abnormal birth, male birth, female birth, death of female calves, culling of female calves, replacement rate on basis of total pregnancies and total female calves born were 2.82, 51.4, 48.6, 38.8, 21.2, 19.4 and 40.0 respectively. On an average 4 to 5 pregnancies were required for one female calf to reach milking herd. Among the non-genetic factors, period of birth contributed for major variation in replacement rate and its components. The effects of different non-genetic factors (viz. season, periods and parity) affecting replacement rate and its components revealed that period of birth affected the replacement rate and its components highly significantly (P<0.01). Beyond fifth lactation the efficacy of cows to replace a heifer decreased gradually.

Growth is one of the important economic traits, in which the Japanese quail may serve as a model bird for growth, body weight and feed conversion efficiency studies. Hence, the present study was aimed to study the effect of non-genetic factors on growth in quails by collecting data from an organized slaughter house. The quails were fed with standard starter and finisher ration up to 5 or 6 weeks of age and slaughtered. The data on total live and dressed weight, weight gain, Average Daily Gain (ADG) and Ready to Cook Yield (RCY) were recorded. Season of hatching had a highly significant (P

A survey was conducted in 93 flocks of Coimbatore sheep in the breeding and migratory tracts to assess the socio-economic status of the flock owners and economics of rearing them. Data on household size, sex ratio, literacy and agricultural land holdings of owners as well as the fixed and variable costs and returns on different aspects were collected. The survey revealed that the Coimbatore sheep were owned almost exclusively by Kurumba/Kuruba community residing in Coimbatore and Dindigul districts of Tamil Nadu. The flock owners were mostly (90%) landless and among those who owned land, the average holding size was 5.29 acres of mostly dry land. The average household size of the flock owners, male: female ratio and literacy rate were 4.4, 1:0.87 and 54.34%, respectively. The families remained in the villages and did not move with the flock. Moreover, a single flock owner with more than one flock (27.1%) and more than one flock owner for a flock (33.3%) had been observed. Marketing of animals was unorganized involving middlemen and commission agents. The sale of surplus lambs at the age of two months was the major source of returns followed by sale of adults which contributed respectively 64.32 and 20.32% of total returns. Penning charges paid by the land owners during migration and sale of wool also added to the returns by 14.42 and 0.94%, respectively. The cost of rearing Coimbatore sheep was accounted through wages (57.64%) and food (33.67%) to shepherds, veterinary care (6.83%) and transport between migrating places (1.86%). The estimated overall average annual net return was Rs. 412 per adult sheep.

An experiment was conducted with 32 weaned rabbits, comprising 16 White Giant and 16 Soviet Chinchilla. The animals were divided into 4 groups consisting of eight animals in each group to find out the effect of different systems of housing on their growth. Among these, 2 groups were reared under modern raised platform shed while the other 2 groups under conventional tile roofed shed. The microclimatic variables and growth performance were recorded. Maximum and minimum temperature was found to be lower (p<0.05) and the light intensity both in the morning and evening was higher (p<0.01) in raised platform shed than in conventional tile roofed shed. No difference was observed in air velocity and relative humidity. Rabbits under raised platform shed had better feed conversion efficiency (3.10±0.20) than the conventional tile roofed shed (3.42±0.31) at 15th week of age. Among the breeds, White Giant had significantly (p<0.05) better feed conversion efficiency during the growing period. Though the housing system had no significant impact on body weight, the final weight at 15th week of age was higher in rabbits from modern raised platform shed than conventional tile roofed shed. Throughout the growing period Soviet Chinchilla rabbits showed significantly (p<0.01) more body weight than White Giant rabbits.

The genotoxic effect of dye effluents was assessed in indigenous goats inhabiting textile industry areas encompassing dyeing and bleaching units by means of mitotic drive, mitotic index, chromosome aberrations and the mean SCEs frequency. Peripheral blood leucocyte cultures were set up with culture medium and pokeweed mitogen. The cultures were supplemented without bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) for chromosome aberrations and with BrdU for the mean SCEs frequency for 2 cell cycles. Air-dried slides were stained with Giemsa for chromosome aberrations and the fluorescent plus Giemsa (FPG) technique was adopted for the display of sister chromatid differentiation and the estimation of the mean SCEs frequency. No gross structural and numerical chromosome abnormalities were noticed in all animals screened based on G-banding and karyotyping. The mitotic drive for the control and exposed populations was 37.58±1.29 and 26.13±0.78%, respectively. The mitotic drive in exposed population was significantly (p<0.01) lower when compared to control animals. The mitotic index for the control and exposed populations was 12.49±0.42 and 11.49±0.43%, respectively. Though there was a decrease in mitotic index in the exposed population, it was not statistically significant. The frequency of SCEs did not follow the Poisson distribution in both the control and exposed populations of goats. The pooled mean±S.E (range) of SCEs frequency for the control and exposed populations of goats were 4.83±0.16 (1–11) and 12.98±0.16 (8–19), respectively. There was significant (p<0.01) increase in the mean SCEs frequency of goats (exposed) reared in industrial areas. The number of SCEs in chromosome 1 was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that expected from relative chromosomal length.

Rearing environment and husbandry practices of Coimbatore sheep in the field were studied through a detailed survey. The climate of the breeding and migratory tracts was hot, semi-arid and tropical in nature with matching vegetation and cultivated crops. Housing was not provided for the migratory flocks and they were penned in the open harvested fields during nights with the help of nylon nets. New-born lambs were housed in the lamb hut up to 15 days and were then allowed for grazing along with their dams. Coimbatore sheep were raised solely on grazing irrespective of the physiological status. Pure breeding was generally practised in most of the flocks. However, 19.7% of the flocks introduced meat-type hair breeds, viz. Ramnad-type (Pattanam) and Mecheri rams for crossing to improve body weight. Shearing of fleece was done annually during May–June and the wool was sorted and transported to the villages of the flock owners for weaving kamblis or sold as raw wool. The sheep were vaccinated against anthrax, peste des petits ruminants, and sheep pox. Deworming with anthelmintics was done regularly. The study revealed that Coimbatore sheep were reared under traditional method of rearing with less scientific management practices.

A study was conducted to assess the hematological and blood-biochemical status of six and nine months old Coimbatore sheep. The mean hemoglobin level (g/dl), PCV (%), RBC (106/μl) and WBC (103/μl) counts in Coimbatore lambs were 9.53 ± 0.36, 28.78 ± 1.30, 6.79 ± 0.37 and 8.02 ± 0.74, respectively. The RBC count increased significantly while the WBC count decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in nine months than in six months. The mean blood glucose (mg/dl) and protein (g/dl) levels were 70.39 ± 6.13 and 7.28 ± 0.35, respectively. The mean serum cholesterol (mg/dl) and triglycerides (mg/dl) levels were 81.81 ± 5.17 and 14.31 ± 2.00, which increased significantly from six months to nine months age. The plasma calcium and phosphorus levels were high in Coimbatore lambs and the mean values were 14.08 ± 0.78 and 6.42 ± 0.58 mg/dl, respectively.

The present study was conducted to assess the chromosome profile and morphometric characteristics of Coimbatore sheep. The diploid chromosome number was found to be 54 (2n). The first three pairs of autosomes were bi-armed, metacentric and the remaining 23 pairs of autosomes were acrocentric. The X-chromosome was the largest acrocentric and the Y-chromosome was the smallest metacentric. The mean relative length varied between 1.83 and 9.18. The biarmed autosomes contributed 24.9% of the total genome while X- and Y-chromosomes contributed 5.12 and 1.80%, respectively. The morphometric characteristics viz. arm ratio, centromeric indices (CI1 and CI2) and morphological index confirmed the metacentric nature of biarmed chromosomes. The GTG-banding patterns of chromosomes were similar and on par with the standard karyotype (ISCNDB, 2000) and facilitated easy pairing and identification of chromosomes.