Quantitative trait loci (QTL) located on chromosome 2 in the region of the myostatin gene or polymorphisms in the myostatin gene have shown major effects on sheep carcass muscling (e.g. Clop et al., 2006). MyoMAXTM (MMQTL) is one such QTL/allele identified in Texel sheep, which increases carcass muscling and reduces carcass fatness (e.g. Laville et al., 2004; Johnson et al., 2005). The UK sheep industry may benefit from using MM-QTL to increase meat yield in lamb carcasses once its effects are verified in a genetic background typical of the stratified UK system.

It is axiomatic that adequate supplies of good quality food is beneficial for health. Conversely it has also long been recognised that populations suffering from malnutrition are more susceptible to various diseases and have poor health. However the concept of functional foods, as foods that offer some health-associated advantage over conventional foodstuffs is a relatively recent innovation into the human nutrition market. Functional foods are generally defined as foods that have an effect on well-being and health or result in reduction in disease risk. The advantages offered by functional foods are generally related to disease avoidance and health maintenance rather than to therapeutic effects of foods. Functional foods are now part of a worldwide nutrition market estimated at $156 billion in 2001 (Starling, 2002). However, they can only become significant in societies where food security is assured and basic foodstuffs are relatively cheap. Consequently the major markets are North America, Europe and Japan.

The significant contribution of pig production in the supply of high quality protein in Nigeria is evident in the rapid increase in number of pig farms witnessed recently. However, African Swine Fever (ASF) has since ravaged pig farms and consequently resulted in loss of farmers’ investments especially in some parts of the Southwest Agro-ecological zone of Nigeria (Majiyagbe et al., 2004; Otesile et al., 2005; Olugasa and Ijagbone, 2007). Putting the growth of the enterprise back on track requires proper assessment of the socio-economic environment surrounding the spread of the disease with the aim of determining the extent of infection, the consequences in terms of mortality of animals and loss of revenue alongside identifying farm specific factors that could have contributed to the spread. This study thus investigated the incidence of ASF and its socio-economic implications on pig enterprise in the zone.

Rapeseed meal (RSM) is the richest source of commercially available home grown protein in the UK, but its inclusion in livestock diets is approximately half that of soyabean meal (SBM, DEFRA, 2004). RSM has a lower protein and available lysine content than SBM but increased nutrient digestibility was observed when pigs were fed RSM supplemented with non-starch polysaccharide degrading enzymes (Hoare et al., 2003). The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of adding different amounts of a cell wall degrading enzyme on the available amino acid content of RSM as estimated in poultry.

Selection for increased milk production may have resulted in the “shift” in nutrient partitioning towards milk production away from maintenance of functional fitness. This has led to the conclusion that dairy cows appear to be less ‘robust’ than in the past. The current national index, £PLI, combines the predicted transmitting ability (PTA) for production and functional traits, multiplied by their relative economic values, with the overall goal of maximising cow profit. Stott et al. (2005) updated economic weights for £PLI, increasing the relative weight on functional traits, but showed that the genetic responses in functional traits were still expected to decline, albeit at a slower rate compared to selection on production alone. The aim of this work is to develop a Robustness Index for UK dairy cattle that halts the predicted genetic decline in health and fertility traits using a restricted index approach.

The production and utilization of complementary cereal/legume bi-crops as ruminant feeds is beneficial for several reasons. The nitrogen fixation by the legume reduces the amount of fertilizer nitrogen required by the cereal. The cereal in turn supports the legume, thereby preventing the lodging that typifies pure stands of mature forage peas. When bi-crops are fed, the legume and cereal components respectively provide relatively low cost protein and energy, which may be synchronously supplied to the animal. In Denmark, pea-barley bi-crops are reported to reduce the cost of feeding without reducing intake and animal performance (Kristensen, 1992). However, little is known about the intake potential and level of animal performance sustainable from such bi-crops when produced and fed under UK conditions. Therefore this study determined the intake, in vivo digestibility and nitrogen (N) balance in sheep of spring sown, peawheat bi-crop silages harvested at three stages of maturity.

Lamb concentrate costs account for around 30% of the variable costs of an early lambing system and can account for up to 33% of the variable costs for store lamb finishing (MLC, 2000). Over recent years the price for finished lambs has declined. It is against this background of declining lamb prices and reduced gross margins that cheaper alternatives to proprietary lamb concentrates are being sought. The aim of this work was to evaluate an ensiled mix of pressed sugar beet pulp and dried maize distillers dark grains (Praize, Trident Feeds Limited) for finishing lambs.

Insemination at an inappropriate time is one of many constraints to good fertility in dairy cows. As a result, many studies have attempted to improve the synchrony of oestrus in controlled breeding programmes. However, the success of insemination depends not merely on the detection of oestrus, but also on the timing of ovulation relative to insemination. Thus a better understanding of the factors associated with the precise timing of behavioural oestrus and ovulation is required. In this study the time of ovulation has been determined, by ultrasound scanning, in relation to a variety of follicular phase events in dairy cows following both natural luteolysis and luteolysis induced by treatment with a prostaglandin F2a analogue. The objectives were firstly to determine whether differences existed in the timing of follicular phase events following natural and induced luteal regression and secondly to determine the degree of variation that exists between the timing of ovulation and the timing of other follicular phase events.

Lameness is a major cause of lost production, economic loss and compromised welfare in dairy cows. The majority of bovine lameness results from damage to the hoof, culminating in solear lesions and inflammation of the laminae (laminitis). Management factors predisposing to laminitis have been identified, but little is known about the biology of hoof development. Impaired keratinization has been linked histologically with subsequent laminitis, but factors regulating keratinization are unknown. We have developed a tissue culture technique for measuring cell proliferation and keratinization in hoof explants obtained by biopsy.

Angora goats are efficient producers of hair fibre. They produce more fibre in relation to their size than sheep(Shelton et al., 1973). In skin and Mohair fibre cystine, which may be synthesised from methionine, is present in relative excess (5-10 times) to the other amino acids, when compared with major protein stores, such as skeletal muscle. Consequently a limitation in the supply of sulphur amino acids, may have disproportionate effects on the amount of nitrogen partitioned to other body tissues. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of additional rumen protected intestinally available methionine in the diet on the partitioning of nitrogen between mohair and other body tissues in the Angora goat.

Meat tenderisation results from the weakening of the myofibrillar structures and has been attributed to endogenous proteolytic enzymes. It has been proposed that tenderization is a mulitenzymatic system and the process of slaughter and exsanguination would engage muscle cells in a form of cell death (Ouali et al., 2006). Caspases are primarily associated with apoptosis and once activated they target and cleave a number of substrates including components of the Z-disk and costameres. Recent studies have shown that caspases are active in skeletal muscle during the postmortem conditioning period and our preliminary data indicates that there is a relationship between caspase activity and shear force (Kemp et al., 2006). The aim of this study was to investigate whether recombinant caspase 3 was capable of porcine degrading myofibrillar proteins in vitro.

The general aim of selection in animal breeding is to acquire new generation of animals, which under future economic conditions of production system are more efficient than the present generation. In selection index method, genetic trend of important traits is directed based on their weights in economic efficiency of production system to acquire maximum improvement in economic merit (Mirhosseini et al., 2005). Silkworm commercial egg is produced by crossing between Japanese and Chinese origin parent stocks. There are three steps in the cycle of egg production including GGP (great grand parent), GP (grand parent) and P (parent stock). Breeding programs along with high selection pressure are used only in GGP lines which are typically much smaller in size than other stocks. The objective of this study was to evaluate effect of six generations of index selection in the GGP lines on performance of commercial silkworm hybrids.

Previous studies using X-ray computed tomography (CT) of Scottish Blackface hill ewes have shown that carcass fat, internal fat and muscle are depleted during pregnancy and early lactation and deposited during late lactation and the dry period (Lambe et al., 2003a). Muscle weights and proportions throughout the year are positively genetically correlated with total litter weight reared, largely due to increased litter size. Average weights of lambs reared were positively correlated with carcass fat weight or proportion pre-lambing and internal fat weight pre-mating, but negatively correlated with internal fat proportion pre-lambing (Lambe et al., 2005). However, is genetic potential to mobilise and regain increased amounts of tissue during the year positively associated with the ability to produce more and heavier lambs? The aim of this study was to address this question by relating total loss and gain of fat and muscle in ewes during the annual cycle with lamb production traits.

Cattle presented for slaughter must now attain a very high level of cleanliness. The objective of this on farm study was to investigate the factors that affect the cleanliness of housed beef cattle in order to provide sound scientific information on the relative importance of these factors and to provide a basis for advice to the industry on producing cleaner cattle.

Most studies on digestion in the equine have been carried out with animals confined to stables with little or no exercise. An increased rate of digesta passage has been reported in exercised versus non exercise horses with an associated decrease in digestibility (Pagan et al., 1998). Microbial degradation makes an important contribution to diet digestibility in the equine. It is not clear however, if exercise has any effect on the composition and activity of the microbial population within hindgut which may impact on the digestion. The aim of this experiment was to assess the impact of exercise on microbial fermentation within the hindgut of the horse.

The Animal Data Centre (ADC) is responsible for producing linear type evaluations for the Ayrshire, Shorthorn, Jersey, Guernsey, Jersey Island and Guernsey Island breeds. Along with publication of breeding values (BV's), it is important to provide farmers and organisations in the industry with information on genetic trends in conformation to establish the effect of selection and determine future selection strategies. As selection goals in conformation are not as clear as in production traits, it is important to analyse each trait to find out how breeds are developing. The objective of the study was therefore to analyse linear type evaluations in order to determine the trends in the traits classified.

Animals have predispositions towards the organoleptic properties, such as flavours, of the foods available to them. These predispositions can influence the feeding behaviour and diet selection of animals and prevent from, or enable them to select a diet that meets their nutrient requirements, in both short - and longer - run (Forbes and Kyriazakis, 1995). In this experiment, we investigated whether predispositions of sheep for novel food flavours could affect their diet selection when offered a choice between two foods with different nutrient content. The specific hypotheses tested were that such predispositions are: (i ) influenced by the nutritional quality of the food that are associated with, and (ii) affected by the current nutritional state of the animal.

High producing dairy cows have been found to be more susceptible to disease (Jones et al., 1994; Göhn et al., 1995) raising concerns about the welfare of the modern dairy cow. Genotype and number of lactations may affect various health problems differently, and their relative importance may vary. The categorical nature and low incidence of health events necessitates large data-sets, but the use of data collected across herds may introduce unwanted variation. Analysis of a comprehensive data-set from a single herd was carried out to investigate the effects of genetic line and lactation number on the incidence of various health and reproductive problems.

The main objective of hoof trimming is to restore the foot to its correct form and accurate weight bearing surfaces (Blowey, 1993). Furthermore, trimming is applied as a means to cure diseases and lameness of the foot. Hoof care for shaping up the foot is usually carried out either by time - for example every cow once a year - or by necessity - all those animals with very long and overgrown claws. This observational study was aimed to investigate how long the influence of trimming lasts when applied for the purpose of restoring the hoof to its correct shape.

NRC (2001) recommended 250 g/kg dietary neutral detergent fibre (NDF) with a minimum of 190 g/kg dietary forage NDF to prevent milk fat depression. This recommendation does not account for the differences in forage particle size. The forage particle size requirements of dairy cows fed barley grain-based diets can differ from those fed maize grain-based diets (Yang and Beauchemin, 2006). The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of lucerne hay and barley grain particle sizes on chewing activity, rumen pH, milk yield and milk composition using barley grain-based diets.