Genomic evidence for human-mediated introgressive hybridization and selection in the developed breed.

BACKGROUND: The pig (Sus Scrofa) is one of the oldest domesticated livestock species that has undergone extensive improvement through modern breeding. European breeds have advantages in lean meat development and highly-productive body type, whereas Asian breeds possess extraordinary fat deposition and reproductive performance. Consequently, Eurasian breeds have been extensively used to develop modern commercial breeds for fast-growing and high prolificacy. However, limited by the sequencing technology, the genome architecture of some nascent developed breeds and the human-mediated impact on their genomes are still unknown. RESULTS: Through whole-genome analysis of 178 individuals from an Asian locally developed pig breed, Beijing Black pig, and its two ancestors from two different continents, we found the pervasive inconsistent gene trees and species trees across the genome of Beijing Black pig, which suggests its introgressive hybrid origin. Interestingly, we discovered that this developed breed has more genetic relationships with European pigs and an unexpected introgression from Asian pigs to this breed, which indicated that human-mediated introgression could form the porcine genome architecture in a completely different type compared to native introgression. We identified 554 genomic regions occupied 63.30 Mb with signals of introgression from the Asian ancestry to Beijing Black pig, and the genes in these regions enriched in pathways associated with meat quality, fertility, and disease-resistant. Additionally, a proportion of 7.77% of genomic regions were recognized as regions that have been under selection. Moreover, combined with the results of a genome-wide association study for meat quality traits in the 1537 Beijing Black pig population, two important candidate genes related to meat quality traits were identified. DNAJC6 is related to intramuscular fat content and fat deposition, and RUFY4 is related to meat pH and tenderness. CONCLUSIONS: Our research provides insight for analyzing the origins of nascent developed breeds and genome-wide selection remaining in the developed breeds mediated by humans during modern breeding.

Predicted genetic burden and frequency of phenotype-associated variants in the horse.

Disease-causing variants have been identified for less than 20% of suspected equine genetic diseases. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) allows rapid identification of rare disease causal variants. However, interpreting the clinical variant consequence is confounded by the number of predicted deleterious variants that healthy individuals carry (predicted genetic burden). Estimation of the predicted genetic burden and baseline frequencies of known deleterious or phenotype associated variants within and across the major horse breeds have not been performed. We used WGS of 605 horses across 48 breeds to identify 32,818,945 variants, demonstrate a high predicted genetic burden (median 730 variants/horse, interquartile range: 613-829), show breed differences in predicted genetic burden across 12 target breeds, and estimate the high frequencies of some previously reported disease variants. This large-scale variant catalog for a major and highly athletic domestic animal species will enhance its ability to serve as a model for human phenotypes and improves our ability to discover the bases for important equine phenotypes.

Removal of older males increases extra-pair siring success of yearling males.

In animals, reproductive performance typically improves over time early in life. Several ultimate and proximate mechanisms may contribute to such an age-related improvement and these mechanisms can act in a relative or in an absolute sense. Low performance of young individuals may be the consequence of a comparison or competition with older individuals (relative), or it may be due to specific traits of young individuals and be unrelated to the presence of older competitors (absolute). Here, we perform a test to disentangle whether the effect of age class (yearling or older) on male extra-pair siring success is relative or absolute. Male age is the most consistent predictor of male extra-pair siring success across bird species, yet the mechanisms underlying this pattern are not well understood. Low extra-pair siring success of yearling males may be a consequence of the presence of older ("adult") males (hypothesis 1), because adult males are more successful in intra- and intersexual interactions or because females prefer to copulate with adult males when available (relative preference). Alternatively, low extra-pair siring success of yearlings may be independent of the presence of adult males (hypothesis 2), for example, if yearling males on average invest less in extra-pair behavior or if females avoid them as extra-pair mates, independent of the availability of older males (absolute preference). To distinguish between these 2 hypotheses, we experimentally manipulated the age structure of a nest-box-breeding population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) by removing almost all adult males, and compared patterns of extra-pair paternity in the experimental year with those from the preceding 15 "control" years. Removal of adult males resulted in a substantial increase in the extra-pair siring success of yearling males compared to the "control" years, but did not affect the population-level frequency of extra-pair paternity or its spatial patterns. Our results provide clear evidence that extra-pair siring success of yearlings can increase and that it depends on the presence of older males in the population, indicating a relative effect of age on reproductive performance. These results suggest that older males outcompete yearling males in direct or indirect interactions, in sperm competition or as a result of differences in attractiveness to females.

Temporal dynamics of genetic parameters and SNP effects for performance and disorder traits in poultry undergoing genomic selection.

Accurate genetic parameters are crucial for predicting breeding values and selection responses in breeding programs. Genetic parameters change with selection, reducing additive genetic variance and changing genetic correlations. This study investigates the dynamic changes in genetic parameters for residual feed intake (RFI), gain (GAIN), breast percentage (BP), and femoral head necrosis (FHN) in a broiler population that undergoes selection, both with and without the use of genomic information. Changes in single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effects were also investigated when including genomic information. The dataset containing 200,093 phenotypes for RFI, 42,895 for BP, 203,060 for GAIN, and 63,349 for FHN was obtained from 55 mating groups. The pedigree included 1,252,619 purebred broilers, of which 154,318 were genotyped with a 60K Illumina Chicken SNP BeadChip. A Bayesian approach within the GIBBSF90 + software was applied to estimate the genetic parameters for single-, two-, and four-trait models with sliding time intervals. For all models, we used genomic-based (GEN) and pedigree-based approaches (PED), meaning with or without genotypes. For GEN (PED), heritability varied from 0.19 to 0.2 (0.31 to 0.21) for RFI, 0.18 to 0.11 (0.25 to 0.14) for GAIN, 0.45 to 0.38 (0.61 to 0.47) for BP, and 0.35 to 0.24 (0.53 to 0.28) for FHN, across the intervals. Changes in genetic correlations estimated by GEN (PED) were 0.32 to 0.33 (0.12 to 0.25) for RFI-GAIN, -0.04 to -0.27 (-0.18 to -0.27) for RFI-BP, -0.04 to -0.07 (-0.02 to -0.08) for RFI-FHN, -0.04 to 0.04 (0.06 to 0.2) for GAIN-BP, -0.17 to -0.06 (-0.02 to -0.01) for GAIN-FHN, and 0.02 to 0.07 (0.06 to 0.07) for BP-FHN. Heritabilities tended to decrease over time while genetic correlations showed both increases and decreases depending on the traits. Similar to heritabilities, correlations between SNP effects declined from 0.78 to 0.2 for RFI, 0.8 to 0.2 for GAIN, 0.73 to 0.16 for BP, and 0.71 to 0.14 for FHN over the eight intervals with genomic information, suggesting potential epistatic interactions affecting genetic trait architecture. Given rapid genetic architecture changes and differing estimates between genomic and pedigree-based approaches, using more recent data and genomic information to estimate variance components is recommended for populations undergoing genomic selection to avoid potential biases in genetic parameters.

Genetic parameters are used to predict breeding values for individuals in breeding programs undergoing selection. However, inaccurate genetic parameters can cause breeding values to be biased, and genetic parameters can change over time due to multiple factors. This study aimed to investigate how genetic parameters changed over time in a broiler population using time intervals and observing the behavior of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effects. We studied four traits related to production and disorders while also studying the impact of using genomic information on the estimates. Genetic variances showed an overall decreasing trend, whereas residual variances increased during each interval, resulting in decreasing heritability estimates. Genetic correlations between traits varied but with no major changes over time. Estimates tended to be lower when genomic information was included in the analysis. SNP effects showed changes over time, indicating changes to the genetic background of this population. Using outdated variance components in a population under selection may not represent the current population. Furthermore, when genomic selection is practiced, accounting for this information while estimating variance components is important to avoid biases.

White-crested elaenias (Elaenia albiceps chilensis) breeding across Patagonia exhibit similar spatial and temporal movement patterns throughout the year.

For migratory birds, events happening during any period of their annual cycle can have strong carry-over effects on the subsequent periods. The strength of carry-over effects between non-breeding and breeding grounds can be shaped by the degree of migratory connectivity: whether or not individuals that breed together also migrate and/or spend the non-breeding season together. We assessed the annual cycle of the White-crested Elaenia (Elaenia albiceps chilensis), the longest-distance migrant flycatcher within South America, which breeds in Patagonia and spends the non-breeding season as far north as Amazonia. Using light-level geolocators, we tracked the annual movements of elaenias breeding on southern Patagonia and compared it with movements of elaenias breeding in northern Patagonia (1,365 km north) using Movebank Repository data. We found that elaenias breeding in southern Patagonia successively used two separate non-breeding regions while in their Brazilian non-breeding grounds, as already found for elaenias breeding in the northern Patagonia site. Elaenias breeding in both northern and southern Patagonia also showed high spread in their non-breeding grounds, high non-breeding overlap among individuals from both breeding sites, and similar migration phenology, all of which suggests weak migratory connectivity for this species. Elucidating the annual cycle of this species, with particular emphasis on females and juveniles, still requires further research across a wide expanse of South America. This information will be critical to understanding and possibly predicting this species' response to climate change and rapid land-use changes.

Genetic divergence accessed with microsatellite markers reflects the time of Crassostrea gigas genetic breeding in Brazil.

The Pacific Oyster was introduced on Santa Catarina Island in 1987, experiencing processes of selection and genetic breeding since then. Such procedures may have led to the establishment of specific strains, given the saltier and warmer conditions of the Atlantic Ocean. This study employed microsatellite markers to compare allelic patterns of oysters cultivated in Santa Catarina, the USA, and Asia. Specific allelic patterns were revealed in the Santa Catarina samples, reflecting the time of selection/breeding of the oyster in this region. This result supports the effectiveness of the selection/breeding procedures and the demand for protection of this commercially important genetic resource.

Fecal DNA metabarcoding helps characterize the Canada jay's diet and confirms its reliance on stored food for winter survival and breeding.

Accurately determining the diet of wild animals can be challenging if food items are small, visible only briefly, or rendered visually unidentifiable in the digestive system. In some food caching species, an additional challenge is determining whether consumed diet items have been previously stored or are fresh. The Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) is a generalist resident of North American boreal and subalpine forests with anatomical and behavioural adaptations allowing it to make thousands of arboreal food caches in summer and fall that are presumably responsible for its high winter survival and late winter/early spring breeding. We used DNA fecal metabarcoding to obtain novel information on nestling diets and compiled a dataset of 662 published and unpublished direct observations or stomach contents identifications of natural foods consumed by Canada jays throughout the year. We then used detailed natural history information to make informed decisions on whether each item identified to species in the diets of winter adults and nestlings was best characterized as 'likely cached', 'likely fresh' (i.e., was available as a non-cached item when it appeared in a jay's feces or stomach), or 'either possible'. Of the 87 food items consumed by adults in the winter, 39% were classified as 'likely cached' and 6% were deemed to be 'likely fresh'. For nestlings, 29% of 125 food items identified to species were 'likely cached' and 38% were 'likely fresh'. Our results support both the indispensability of cached food for Canada jay winter survival and previous suggestions that cached food is important for late winter/early spring breeding. Our work highlights the value of combining metabarcoding, stomach contents analysis, and direct observations to determine the cached vs. non-cached origins of consumed food items and the identity of food caches, some of which could be especially vulnerable to degradation through climate change.

Asymptomatic Leishmania infantum infection in dogs and dog owners in an endemic area in southeast France.

The prevalence of asymptomatic leishmaniasis in dogs and their owners in the main endemic areas of France has not been studied to date. The objective of this study was to quantify asymptomatic Leishmania infantum infection in southeast France in healthy people and their dogs using molecular and serological screening techniques. We examined the presence of parasitic DNA using specific PCR targeting kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) and specific antibodies by serology (ELISA for dogs and Western blot for humans) among immunocompetent residents and their dogs in the Alpes-Maritimes. Results from 343 humans and 607 dogs were included. 46.9% (n = 161/343) of humans and 18.3% (n = 111/607) of dogs were PCR positive; 40.2% of humans (n = 138/343) and 9.9% of dogs (n = 60/607) were serology positive. Altogether, 66.2% of humans (n = 227) and 25.7% of dogs (n = 156) had positive serologies and/or positive PCR test results. Short-haired dogs were more frequently infected (71.8%, n = 112) than long-haired dogs (12.2%, n = 19) (p = 0.043). Dogs seemed to be more susceptible to asymptomatic infection according to their breed types (higher infection rates in scenthounds, gun dogs and herding dogs) (p = 0.04). The highest proportion of dogs and human asymptomatic infections was found in the Vence Region, corresponding to 28.2% (n = 20/71) of dogs and 70.5% (n = 31/44) of humans (4.5/100,000 people). In conclusion, the percentage of infections in asymptomatic humans is higher than in asymptomatic dogs in the studied endemic area. It is questionable whether asymptomatic infection in humans constitutes a risk factor for dogs.

Title: Infection asymptomatique à Leishmania infantum chez les chiens et propriétaires de chiens dans une zone endémique du sud-est de la France. Abstract: La prévalence de la leishmaniose asymptomatique chez les chiens et leurs propriétaires dans les principales zones d'endémie françaises n'a pas été étudiée à ce jour. L'objectif de cette étude était de quantifier l'infection asymptomatique à Leishmania infantum dans le sud-est de la France chez des personnes saines et leurs chiens à l'aide de techniques de dépistage moléculaire et sérologique. Nous avons examiné chez des résidents immunocompétents et leurs chiens dans les Alpes-Maritimes la présence d'ADN parasitaire par PCR spécifique ciblant l'ADN du kinétoplaste (ADNk) et d'anticorps spécifiques par sérologie (ELISA pour le chien et Western Blot pour l'homme). Les résultats de 343 humains et 607 chiens ont été inclus; 46,9 % (n = 161/343) des humains et 18,3 % (n = 111/607) des chiens étaient positifs à la PCR et 40,2 % des humains (n = 138/343) et 9,9 % des chiens (n = 60/607) avaient une sérologie positive. Au total, 66,2 % des humains (n = 227) et 25,7 % des chiens (n = 156) avaient des sérologies positives et/ou des résultats de tests PCR positifs. Les chiens à poils courts étaient plus fréquemment infectés (71,8 %, n = 112) que les chiens à poils longs (12,2 %, n = 19) (p = 0,043). Les chiens semblaient plus sensibles à l'infection asymptomatique selon leurs races (taux supérieurs chez les chiens de chasse et chiens de berger) (p = 0,04). La plus forte proportion d'infections asymptomatiques chez les chiens et les humains a été observée dans la Région de Vence, correspondant à 28,2 % (n = 20/71) des chiens et 70,5 % (n = 31/44) des humains (4,5/100 000). personnes). En conclusion, le pourcentage d'infections chez les humains asymptomatiques est plus élevé que chez les chiens asymptomatiques dans la zone d'endémie étudiée. On peut se demander si une infection asymptomatique chez l'homme constitue un facteur de risque pour les chiens.

Relatedness-based mate choice and female philopatry: inbreeding trends of wolf packs in a human-dominated landscape.

Inbreeding can reduce offspring fitness and has substantial implications for the genetic diversity and long-term viability of populations. In social cooperative canids, inbreeding is conditioned by the geographic proximity between opposite-sex kin outside natal groups and the presence of related individuals in neighbouring groups. Consequently, challenges in moving into other regions where the species is present can also affect inbreeding rates. These can be particularly problematic in areas of high human density, where movement can be restricted, even for highly vagile species. In this study, we investigate the socio-ecological dynamics of Iberian wolf packs in the human-dominated landscape of Alto Minho, in northwest Portugal, where wolves exhibit a high prevalence of short-distance dispersal and limited gene flow with neighbouring regions. We hypothesise that mating occurs regardless of relatedness, resulting in recurrent inbreeding due to high kin encounter rates. Using data from a 10-year non-invasive genetic monitoring programme and a combination of relatedness estimates and genealogical reconstructions, we describe genetic diversity, mate choice, and dispersal strategies among Alto Minho packs. In contrast with expectations, our findings reveal relatedness-based mate choice, low kin encounter rates, and a reduced number of inbreeding events. We observed a high prevalence of philopatry, particularly among female breeders, with the most common breeding strategy involving the pairing of a philopatric female with an unrelated immigrant male. Overall, wolves were not inbred, and temporal changes in genetic diversity were not significant. Our findings are discussed, considering the demographic trend of wolves in Alto Minho and its human-dominated landscape.

Human infrastructures correspond to higher Adélie penguin breeding success and growth rate.

Anthropogenic activities generate increasing disturbance in wildlife especially in extreme environments where species have to cope with rapid environmental changes. In Antarctica, while studies on human disturbance have mostly focused on stress response through physiological and behavioral changes, local variability in population dynamics has been addressed more scarcely. In addition, the mechanisms by which breeding communities are affected around research stations remain unclear. Our study aims at pointing out the fine-scale impact of human infrastructures on the spatial variability in Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colonies dynamics. Taking 24 years of population monitoring, we modeled colony breeding success and growth rate in response to both anthropic and land-based environmental variables. Building density around colonies was the second most important variable explaining spatial variability in breeding success after distance from skua nests, the main predators of penguins on land. Building density was positively associated with penguins breeding success. We discuss how buildings may protect penguins from avian predation and environmental conditions. The drivers of colony growth rate included topographical variables and the distance to human infrastructures. A strong correlation between 1-year lagged growth rate and colony breeding success was coherent with the use of public information by penguins to select their initial breeding site. Overall, our study brings new insights about the relative contribution and ecological implications of human presence on the local population dynamics of a sentinel species in Antarctica.

Improving the latency for 5G/B5G based smart healthcare connectivity in rural area.

Smart hospitals are poised to greatly enhance life quality by offering persistent health monitoring capabilities. Remote healthcare and surgery, which are highly dependent on low latency, have seen a transformative improvement with the advent of 5G technology. This has facilitated a new breed of healthcare services, including monitoring and remote surgical procedures. The enhanced features of 5G, such as Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), have enabled the development of advanced healthcare systems. These systems reduce the need for direct patient contact in hospitals, which is especially pertinent as 5G becomes more widespread. This research presents novel hybrid detection algorithms, specifically QR decomposition with M-algorithm maximum likelihood-minimum mean square error (QRM-MLD-MMSE) and QRM-MLD-ZF (zero forcing), for use in Massive MIMO (M-MIMO) technology. These methods aim to decrease the latency in MIMO-based Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) waveforms while ensuring optimal bit error rate (BER) performance. We conducted simulations to evaluate parameters like BER and power spectral density (PSD) over Rician and Rayleigh channels using both the proposed hybrid and standard algorithms. The study concludes that our hybrid algorithms significantly enhance BER and PSD with lower complexity, marking a substantial improvement in 5G communication for smart healthcare applications.

Prevalence, toxin-genotype distribution, and transmission of Clostridium perfringens from the breeding and milking process of dairy farms.

This study aimed to elucidate the distribution, transmission, and cross-contamination of Clostridium perfringens during the breeding and milking process from dairy farms. The prevalence of 22.3% (301/1351) yielded 494 C. perfringens isolates; all isolates were type A, except for one type D, and 69.8% (345/494) of the isolates carried atyp. cpb2 and only 0.6% (3/494) of the isolates carried cons. cpb2. C. perfringens detected throughout the whole process but without type F. 150 isolates were classified into 94 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) genotypes; among them, six clusters contained 34 PFGE genotypes with 58.0% isolates which revealed epidemic correlation and genetic diversity; four PFGE genotypes (PT57, PT9, PT61, and PT8) were the predominant genotypes. The isolates from different farms demonstrated high homology. Our study confirmed that C. perfringens demonstrated broad cross-contamination from nipples and hides of dairy cattle, followed by personnel and tools and air-introduced raw milk during the milking process. In conclusion, raw milk could serve as a medium for the transmission of C. perfringens, which could result in human food poisoning. Monitoring and controlling several points of cross-contamination during the milking process are essential as is implementing stringent hygiene measures to prevent further spread and reduce the risk of C. perfringens infection.

Male starling floaters preferentially visit nests of males with reduced resource holding potential.

Floaters are sexually mature individuals that are not able to reproduce by defending breeding resources. Floaters often visit active nests, probably to gather public information or to compete for a nesting site. We tested the hypothesis that floaters preferentially prospect nests in which they have a better chance of taking over, and that they do so by assessing the owners' resource holding potential (RHP). We manipulated the flight capacity of male and female breeders in a population of spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor) by clipping two flight feathers per wing before egg laying, thus increasing their wing-load and likely impairing their condition. We subsequently monitored breeder and floater activity by means of transponder readers during the nestling period. We found that nests owned by wing-clipped males were visited by a greater number of male floaters than control nests. This effect was absent in the case of wing-clipped females. The number of male floaters also increased with increasing nestling age and number of parental visits. The experiment shows that male floaters preferentially prospect nests in which the owner shows a reduced RHP, a strategy that likely allows them to evict weak owners and take over their nests for future reproductive attempts.

Disentangling the influence of entanglement on recruitment in North Atlantic right whales.

North Atlantic right whales are Critically Endangered and declining, with entanglements in fishing gear a key contributor to their decline. Entanglement events can result in lethal and sub-lethal (i.e. increased energetic demands and reduced foraging ability) impacts, with the latter influencing critical life-history states, such as reproduction. Using a multi-event framework, we developed a Bayesian mark-recapture model to investigate the influence of entanglement severity on survival and recruitment for female right whales. We used information from 199 known-aged females sighted between 1977 and 2018, combined with known entanglements of varying severity that were classified as minor, moderate or severe. Severe entanglements resulted in an average decline in survival of 27% for experienced non-breeders, 9% for breeders and 26% for pre-breeding females compared with other entanglements and unentangled individuals. Surviving individuals with severe entanglements had low transitional probabilities to breeders, but surprisingly, individuals with minor entanglements had the lowest transitional probabilities, contrary to expectations underpinning current management actions. Management actions are needed to address the lethal and sub-lethal impacts of entanglements, regardless of severity classification.

Michener's group-size paradox in cooperatively breeding birds.

According to Michener's paradox, most altruistic groups in nature should be small and large groups should not exist. This is because per capita productivity is thought to decrease as groups get larger, meaning that the share of indirect fitness available to each group member declines, which favours dispersal. The empirical evidence for a decrease in per capita productivity is contradictory, however, and limited to the social Hymenoptera. I report that per capita reproductive success decreased with increasing group size across 26 cooperatively breeding bird species. Small groups comprising two or three individuals were the most common (79% of 16,101 groups), and these had the highest per capita reproductive success. This close fit between per capita reproductive success and the distribution of group sizes in nature suggests that it may indeed be difficult for large groups to evolve through indirect fitness benefits alone.

Giant monkey facility could ease U.S. shortage.

Breeder would be the country's largest; locals and animal welfare advocates are concerned.

Outlook on genome editing application to cattle.

In livestock industry, there is growing interest in methods to increase the production efficiency of livestock to address food shortages, given the increasing global population. With the advancements in gene engineering technology, it is a valuable tool and has been intensively utilized in research specifically focused on human disease. In historically, this technology has been used with livestock to create human disease models or to produce recombinant proteins from their byproducts. However, in recent years, utilizing gene editing technology, cattle with identified genes related to productivity can be edited, thereby enhancing productivity in response to climate change or specific disease instead of producing recombinant proteins. Furthermore, with the advancement in the efficiency of gene editing, it has become possible to edit multiple genes simultaneously. This cattle breed improvement has been achieved by discovering the genes through the comprehensive analysis of the entire genome of cattle. The cattle industry has been able to address gene bottlenecks that were previously impossible through conventional breeding systems. This review concludes that gene editing is necessary to expand the cattle industry, improving productivity in the future. Additionally, the enhancement of cattle through gene editing is expected to contribute to addressing environmental challenges associated with the cattle industry. Further research and development in gene editing, coupled with genomic analysis technologies, will significantly contribute to solving issues that conventional breeding systems have not been able to address.

Sex-specific effects of inbreeding in juvenile brown trout.

Inbreeding depression, that is, the reduction of health and vigour in individuals with high inbreeding coefficients, is expected to increase with environmental, social, or physiological stress. It has therefore been predicted that sexual selection and the associated stress usually lead to higher inbreeding depression in males than in females. However, sex-specific differences in life history may reverse that pattern during certain developmental stages. In some salmonids, for example, female juveniles start developing their gonads earlier than males who instead grow faster. We tested whether the sexes are differently affected by inbreeding during that time. To study the effects of inbreeding coefficients that may be typical for natural populations of brown trout (Salmo trutta), and also to control for potentially confounding maternal or paternal effects, we sampled males and females from the wild, used their gametes in a block-wise full-factorial breeding design to produce 60 full-sib families, released the offspring as yolk-sac larvae into the wild, sampled them 6 months later, identified their genetic sex, and used microsatellites to assign them to their parents. We used whole-genome resequencing to calculate the kinship coefficients for each breeding pair and hence the expected average inbreeding coefficient per family. Juvenile growth could be predicted from these expected inbreeding coefficients and the genetic sex: Females reached lower body sizes with increasing inbreeding coefficient, while no such link could be found in males. This sex-specific inbreeding depression led to the overall pattern that females were on average smaller than males by the end of their first summer.

Sibling species of the major malaria vector Anopheles gambiae display divergent preferences for aquatic breeding sites in southern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: When integrated with insecticide-treated bed nets, larval control of Anopheles mosquitoes could fast-track reductions in the incidence of human malaria. However, larval control interventions may deliver suboptimal outcomes where the preferred breeding places of mosquito vectors are not well known. This study investigated the breeding habitat choices of Anopheles mosquitoes in southern Nigeria. The objective was to identify priority sites for mosquito larval management in selected urban and periurban locations where malaria remains a public health burden.  METHODS: Mosquito larvae were collected in urban and periurban water bodies during the wet-dry season interface in Edo, Delta, and Anambra States. Field-collected larvae were identified based on PCR gel-electrophoresis and amplicon sequencing, while the associations between Anopheles larvae and the properties and locations of water bodies were assessed using a range of statistical methods. RESULTS: Mosquito breeding sites were either man-made (72.09%) or natural (27.91%) and mostly drainages (48.84%) and puddles (25.58%). Anopheles larvae occurred in drainages, puddles, stream margins, and a concrete well, and were absent in drums, buckets, car tires, and a water-holding iron pan, all of which contained culicine larvae. Wild-caught Anopheles larvae comprised Anopheles coluzzii (80.51%), Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) (11.54%), and Anopheles arabiensis (7.95%); a species-specific PCR confirmed the absence of the invasive urban malaria vector Anopheles stephensi among field-collected larvae. Anopheles arabiensis, An. coluzzii, and An. gambiae s.s. displayed preferences for turbid, lowland, and partially sunlit water bodies, respectively. Furthermore, An. arabiensis preferred breeding sites located outside 500 m of households, whereas An. gambiae s.s. and An. coluzzii had increased detection odds in sites within 500 m of households. Anopheles gambiae s.s. and An. coluzzii were also more likely to be present in natural water bodies; meanwhile, 96.77% of An. arabiensis were in man-made water bodies. Intraspecific genetic variations were little in the dominant vector An. coluzzii, while breeding habitat choices of populations made no statistically significant contributions to these variations. CONCLUSION: Sibling malaria vectors in the An. gambiae complex display divergent preferences for aquatic breeding habitats in southern Nigeria. The findings are relevant for planning targeted larval control of An. coluzzii whose increasing evolutionary adaptations to urban ecologies are driving the proliferation of the mosquito, and An. arabiensis whose adults typically evade the effects of treated bed nets due to exophilic tendencies.

Correlative variation of economically valuable traits in South Kazakh Merino.

Fine-fleeced sheep are distinguished by numerous economically valuable traits that constitute the foundation for productive distinctions among breeds, populations, lines, and individuals. Many of these traits have already been mentioned or thoroughly examined during studies on the correlative variability of productivity indicators, blood parameters, characteristics of pulmonary gas exchange, histological structures of the skin, and features of the experimental sheep's coat. The objective of our research was to investigate the correlative variability of key economically valuable traits that characterize the overall functional state of sheep organisms under varying environmental conditions. The study was conducted at the "Sharbulak" breeding farms and the "Samat" peasant farms in the Kazygurt district of the Turkestan region. Our findings reveal that one-year-old rams surpass ewes in terms of live weight by 32-37% and in terms of unwashed wool shearing by 21-23%. Two-year-old rams outperform ewes in live weight by 2.15-2.17 times and in unwashed wool shearing by 2.38-2.44 times. The highest phenotypic variability in relative terms (as indicated by the coefficient of variation) is observed in the shearing of pure wool, with an average coefficient of variation of 18.1% across all sex and age groups of sheep. This is followed by the wool coefficient (17.4%) and the yield of pure fiber (12.5%). For each group of animals, the most substantial phenotypic correlation coefficients were observed between the live weight of sheep and the shearing of unwashed wool. On average, across all groups of sheep at the "Sharbulak" breeding farm, this phenotypic correlation reaches +0.411 ± 0.077. Correspondingly, for the sheep herd at the "Samat" peasant farm, it is +0.326 ± 0.075. The second-highest phenotypic correlation pertains to the cut of unwashed wool and the length of wool (with correlation coefficients of +0.156 ± 0.058 and +0.145 ± 0.057, respectively, for the herds). The third-highest correlation involves live weight and wool length (+0.131 ± 0.085 and +0.105 ± 0.078, respectively). No statistically significant differences were identified in the average correlation coefficients between the live weight of sheep, the shearing of unwashed wool, and the length of the staple among the flocks of sheep at the "Sharbulak" breeding farm and the "Samat" peasant farm.