Browsing by Author "Imumorin, I.G"
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Item Open Access APPLICATION OF MULTIVARIATE PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS TO MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF INDIGENOUS GOATS IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA.(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2011-05-20) Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Okpeku, M.; Peters, S.O; Ozoje, M.O; Ikeobi, C.O.N; Adebambo, O.A; Imumorin, I.GPhenotypic variation present in a population arises due to genotypic and environmental effects, and the magnitude of phenotypic variability differs under different environmental conditions, therefore, the purpose of this study was to objectively describe the linear type traits of extensively managed mature indigenous goats of Southern Nigeria and to predict body weight from their orthogonal shape characters using principal component analysis. Body weight and four body measurements namely, height at withers, neck length, body length and heart girth were measured in 265 randomly selected West African Dwarf (WAD) and Red Sokoto (RS) goats of both sexes. RS goats had significantly (P < 0.05) higher morphological traits compared to their WAD counterparts. Sexual dimorphism was observed in all the traits with higher values recorded for males. Phenotypic correlations among body weight and biometric traits were positive and highly significant (r = 0.76–0.91 versus 0.82–0.97 and 0.66–0.94 versus 0.83–0.91 for WAD and RS female and male goats, respectively). In the varimax rotated principal component factor analysis, two factors were extracted for each sex of the two breeds, although with varying degrees of factor loadings. The principal component based regression models, which are preferable for selecting animals for optimal balance, accounted for 89.00 and 96.00% as well as 81.00 and 91.00% of the variation in body weight of female and male WAD and RS goats, respectively. The information obtained could be useful in designing appropriate management, selection and breeding programmes for utilization of goat genetic resourceItem Open Access Application of principal component and discriminant analyses to morpho-structural indices of indigenous and exotic chickens raised under intensive management system(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2012-04-23) Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Ajayi, O.O; Adeleke, M.A; Sanni, Timothy M; Peters, S.O; Imumorin, I.G; Ozoje, M.O; Ikeobi, C.O.N; Adebambo, O.AThe objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships between body weight and morpho-structural indices to predict body weight from their orthogonal body shape characters using principal component analysis and to morphologically classify the chicken genotypes using multivariate discriminant analysis. Data used were from 273 randomly selected 12-weeks-old indigenous chickens of normalfeathered (NF), frizzle-feathered (FF), naked-neck (NN) and Anak Titan (AT) genotypes. Phenotypic correlation among body weight and most biometric traits ranged from 0.227– 0.876, −0.7–0.901, 0.034–0.968 and −0.207–0.849 for NF, NN and AT chickens, respectively. Factor analysis with varimax rotation of interrelated traits revealed three principal components which accounted for 83.1%, 74.4%, 78.8% and 76.5% of the total variance in NF, FF, NN and AT chickens in the order listed. Breast girth, keel length, thigh length, shank length and wing length were found to be the most discriminating variables to separate the chicken genotypes. The longest distance (72.54) occurred between AT and NF genotypes while the shortest distance (4.27) was recorded for FF and NN genotypes. Classification results showed that 85.2% of AT genotype was correctly classified into their source population. However, 22.7%of NF was misclassified as NN, while 33.3% of NN was misclassified as NF chickens. These results suggest that there is high rate of gene flow between these two indigenous chicken genotypes. Information obtained fromthis study may be considered useful in breed improvement programmes for selection, characterization, conservation and better management of Nigerian indigenous chickenItem Open Access Comparative multivariate analysis of biometric traits of West African Dwarf and Red Sokoto goats(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2011-06-14) Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Salako, Adebowale E.; Imumorin, I.GThe population structure of 302 randomly selected West African Dwarf (WAD) and Red Sokoto (RS) goats was examined using multivariate morphometric analyses. This was to make the case for conservation, rational management and genetic improvement of these two most important Nigerian goat breeds. Fifteen morphometric measurements were made on each individual animal. RS goats were superior (P<0.05) to the WAD for the body size and skeletal proportions investigated. The phenotypic variability between the two breeds was revealed by their mutual responses in the principal components. While four principal components were extracted for WAD goats, three components were obtained for their RS counterparts with variation in the loading traits of each component for each breed. The Mahalanobis distance of 72.28 indicated a high degree of spatial racial separation in morphology between the genotypes. The Ward’s option of the cluster analysis consolidated the morphometric distinctness of the two breeds. Application of selective breeding to genetic improvement would benefit from the detected phenotypic differentiation. Other implications for management and conservation of the goats are highlighted.Item Open Access Differential IFN-Gamma (IFN-γ), Interleukin 10 (IL-10) and Cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) Responses in Natural Bovine Trypanosomosis in Nigeria(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2016-09-14) Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Takeet, Michael I.; Fagbemi, Benjamin O.; Peters, S.O; Wheto, M.; Donato, Marcos De; Imumorin, I.GTrypanosomosis is major drawback to profitable livestock production in sub-Sahara African, including Nigeria. Knowledge of the cytokines production in the phase of natural infection may help to better diagnose, treat and prevent bovine trypanosomosis. The purpose of the this study was to determine the levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and cardiac troponin–I (cTnI) in the sera of cattle naturally infected with T. brucei, T. congolense and T. vivax and correlate these levels with parasitaemia and PCV of the infected animals. Five milliliter of blood samples were collected via the jugular vein from 411 randomly selected cattle into EDTA and non-citrated bottle. PCV was determined manually using HCT. Trypansomes were detected and characterized by microscopy and PCR, respectively. Serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-10 and cTnI were determined using commercial ELISA kit. Data were summarized using descriptive statistic and significance of differences determined by ANOVA. Of the 62 samples positive for trypanosomes by microscopy, 50 samples were confirmed to species level by PCR. The sera levels of IFN-γ, IL-10 and cTnI of infected cattle were higher than non-infected cattle. The differences were not significant (p < 0.05) from the non-infected cattle except IL-10. There was no correlation between assayed parameters, the PCV and parasitemia. This is the first report that determines the sera levels of IFN-γ, IL-10 and cTnI in cattle with natural trypanosomosis. Further investigation is required to understand the specific effect of trypanosomes on myocardiac integrity and interaction between the two cytokines in natural trypanosomosis in cattle.Item Open Access Discriminant analysis of morphometric differentiation in the West African Dwarf and Red Sokoto goats(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2010-04-14) Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Salako, A.E; Imumorin, I.G; Ige, A.O; Akinyemi, M.OThis study evaluated the usefulness of morphological characteristics to distinguish two important indigenous goat breeds in Nigeria. Fifteen morphometric traits were measured on West African Dwarf – WAD (n = 160) and Red Sokoto – RS (n = 142) goats that ranged in age of up to 19 months and were reared extensively in villages in southern and northern Nigeria. Univariate analysis revealed that the body measures of RS goats were significantly higher than those of WAD goats. Canonical discriminant analysis gave better resolution, as only seven external morphological characteristics of strong discriminating power were extracted. The most discriminant variable between the two goat populations was rump height, followed in order by body length, horn length, face length, chest girth, neck circumference and head width. The discriminant function obtained correctly classified 100% of individuals from the sample of known goat populations. The classification accuracy of the function was cross-validated using the split-sample method, and indicated a 99.7% success rate (99.4% of WAD goats and 100% of RS goats were correctly assigned to their source genetic group). This study indicates that a discriminant tool may be used successfully in the field to separate WAD and RS goats. The present results could be complemented by molecular characterization using DNA markers for better management and conservation strategies of genetic resources for indigenous goats.Item Open Access Evolutionary Pattern of Interferon Alpha Genes in Bovidae and Genetic Diversity of IFNAA in the Bovine Genome(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2020-02-12) Peters, S.O; Hussain, Tanveer; Adenaike, Adeyemi S.; Hazzard, Jordan; Morenikeji, Olanrewaju B.; Donato, Marcos De; Paul, Sujay; Babar, Masroor; Imumorin, I.G; Yakubu, AbdulmojeedInterferons are secretory proteins induced in response to specific extracellular stimuli which stimulate intra- and intercellular networks for regulating innate and acquired immunity, resistance to viral infections, and normal and tumor cell survival and death. Type 1 interferons plays a major role in the CD8 T-cell response to viral infection. The genomic analysis carried out here for type I interferons within Bovidae family shows that cattle, bison, water buffalo, goat, and sheep (all Bovidae), have different number of genes of the different subtypes, with a large increase in the numbers, compared to human and mouse genomes. A phylogenetic analysis of the interferon alpha (IFNA) proteins in this group shows that the genes do not follow the evolutionary pattern of the species, but rather a cycle of duplications and deletions in the different species. In this study we also studied the genetic diversity of the bovine interferon alpha A (IFNAA), as an example of the IFNA genes in cattle, sequencing a fragment of the coding sequence in 18 breeds of cattle from Pakistan, Nigeria and USA. Similarity analysis allowed the allocation of sequences into 22 haplotypes. Bhagnari, Brangus, Sokoto Gudali, andWhite Fulani, had the highest number of haplotypes, while Angus, Hereford and Nari Master had the least. However, when analyzed by the average haplotype count, Angus, Bhagnari, Hereford, Holstein, Muturu showed the highest values, while Cholistani, Lohani, and Nari Master showed the lowest values. Haplotype 4 was found in the highest number of individuals (74), and in 15 breeds. Sequences for yak, bison, and water buffalo, were included within the bovine haplotypes. Medium Joining network showed that the sequences could be divided into 4 groups: one with highly similar haplotypes containing mostly Asian and African breeds, one with almost all of the Bos taurus American breeds, one mid-diverse group with mostly Asian and African sequences, and one group with highly divergent haplotypes with five N’Dama sequences and one from each of White Fulani, Dhanni, Tharparkar, and Bhagnari. The large genetic diversity found in IFNAA could be a very good indication of the genetic variation among the different genes of IFNA and could be an adaptation for these species in response to viral challenges they face.Item Open Access GENE FLOW BETWEEN NIGERIAN SHEEP BREEDS AS REVEALED BY MICRO SATELLITE DNA MARKERS(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2020-02-11) Yakubu, Abdulmojeeb; Agaviezor, B.0; Peters, S.O; Ajayi, F.O; Gunn, Hollingsheed H; Adefenwa, M.A; Adebambo, O.A; Ozoje, M.O; Ikeobi, C.O.N; Wheto, M.; Ajayi, O.O; Amusan, S.A; Ekundayo, J.O; Sanni, Timothy M; Okpeku, M.; Onasanya, Gbolabo O; Donato, Marcos De; Ilori, M.B; Kizilkaya, Kadir; Imumorin, I.GThe presence and level of gene flow between the four major Nigerian sheep breeds (West African Dwarf (WAD), Yankasa, Balami and Uda) was assessed using microsatellite DNA markers. DNA was extracted from 50~1of whole blood using the ZymoBead™ Genomic DNA Kit The DNA was amplified by PCR in a MyCycler™ Thermal Cycler (Biorad, Hercules, CA) using 15microsatellite markers selected. DNA fragment analysis of microsatellite markers was carried out using the Applied BioSystems 3730xl DNA Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Carlsbad, CA, USA). The level of gene flow or population structure was assessed by STRUCTURE software and barplots generated by DISTRUCT. At K=2, two clusters was constituted from breeds descending from Balami and Yankasa, both of which are from Northern region in Nigeria. At K=3 and K=4, one more cluster emerged and further analyses did not reveal any additional strong high level substructure, so separating the entire the entire datasets into 3 major clusters was chosen as the final configuration. There are however, several cases of adm ixtures in the genome of some of the individuals that constitute the cluster. Yankasa and Salami breed had more cases of admixtures followed by Udawhile the WAD was the least breed with cases of admixturesItem Open Access Genetic diversity among Trypanosoma vivax strains detected in naturally infected cattle in Nigeria based on ITS1 of rDNA and diagnostic antigen gene sequences(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2017-09-05) Takeet, Michael I.; Fagbemi, Benjamin O.; Peters, S.O; Donato, Marcos De; Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Wheto, M.; Imumorin, I.GTrypanosoma vivax (sub-genus Duttonella) is largely responsible for non profitable livestock production in sub-Sahara Africa. In Nigeria, no study has addressed the molecular characteristic of T. vivax except Y486. Hence, we characterized and assessed the genetic diversity among T. vivax detected in naturally infected cattle in Nigeria using internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of ribosoma DNA (rDNA) and diagnostic antigen gene (DAG) sequences. The length of ITS1 and DAG sequences range from 215–220 to 257–338 bp, respectively and the mean G–C contents were 60 and 61.5 %. Homology search revealed 93–99 and 95–100 % homologies to T. vivax DAG and ITS1 sequences from GenBank. Aligned sequences revealed both ITS1 rDNA and DAG to be less polymorphic but DAG sequences of the Y486 strain and its clone showed marked variation from autochthonous strains. Phylogenetic analysis yielded tree that grouped T. vivax ITS1rDNA gene and DAG sequences into two main clades each. Considering the ITI1 rDNA sequences, clade A contained autochthonous T. vivax within which the South American sequences clustered, clade B contained the sequences of T. vivax from East Africa. Analysis of DAG revealed that the clade A contains autochthonous T. vivax sequences but clade B contained the Y486 and its clones. In conclusion, the diagnostic antigen gene sequences of the T. vivax detected in this study may have undergone considerable gene recombination through time and suggests that more than one strain of T. vivax exist among cattle population in NigeriaItem Open Access Genetic diversity analysis of the mitochondrial D-loop of Nigerian indigenous sheep(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2012-03-06) Agaviezor, B.O; Adefenwa, M.A; Peters, S.O; Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Adebambo, O.A; Ozoje, M.O; Ikeobi, C.O.N; Ilori, B.M; Wheto, M.; Ajayi, O.O; Amusan, S.A; Okpeku, M.; Donato, M. De; Imumorin, I.GIndigenous livestock resources are strategic in the socio-economics of rural agricultural systems to ensure food security in resourcepoor countries. Therefore, better understanding of genetic variation holds the key to future utilization through conservation. We report the first analysis of genetic diversity of Nigerian sheep based on the D-loop region of the Ovis aries mitochondrial genome using 1 179 bases between sites 15 437 and 16 616 base pairs. A sample of 290 animals made up of Balami, West African Dwarf (WAD), Uda and Yankasa breeds were randomly collected from across Nigeria. Ninety-six haplotypes were observed with a high mean haplotype diversity of 0.899 ± 0.148. Gene diversity was highest in Uda (0.921 ± 0.021) and lowest in WAD (0.852 ± 0.061). Population specific FST indices varied from 0.00133 in Uda to 0.00335 in WAD. Yankasa had the highest number of polymorphic sites (201), while the least was in Uda (96). Analysis of molecular variance revealed that 0.23 percent of the variation is found among populations compared with 99.77 percent variation found within populations. The phylogenetic tree indicates that the mitochondrial lineages of these sheep breeds originated from a common source consistent with first divergence of Yankasa followed by WAD, while Balami and Uda remain more closely related. These results suggest that evolutionary divergence of Nigerian sheep breeds based on mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence may be coincident with geographical distribution in Nigeria and suggest significant interbreeding. This could have implications for managing improvement and conservation strategies and long-term conservation of Nigerian indigenous sheep.Item Open Access Genetic Diversity in Exon 2 of the Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II DQB1 Locus in Nigerian Goats(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2013-04-12) Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Salako, Adebowale E.; Donato, Marcos De; Takeet, Michael I.; Peters, S.O; Adefenwa, Mufliat A; Okpeku, Moses; Wheto, Mathew; Agaviezor, Brilliant O.; Sanni, Timothy M; Ajayi, Oyeyemi O.; Onasanya, Gbolabo O; Ekundayo, Oludotun J; Ilori, Babatunde M; Amusan, Samuel A; Imumorin, I.GThe DQB1 locus is located in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II region and involved in immune response. We identified 20 polymorphic sites in a 228 bp fragment of exon 2, one of the most critical regions of the MHC DQB1 gene, in 60 Nigerian goats. Four sites are located in the peptide binding region, and 10 amino acid substitutions are peculiar to Nigerian goats, compared with published sequences. A significantly higher ratio of nonsynonymous/synonymous substitutions (dN/dS) suggests that allelic sequence evolution is driven by balancing selection (P\0.01). In silico functional analysis using PANTHER predicted that substitution P56R, with a subPSEC score of -4.00629 (Pdeleterious = 0.73229), is harmful to protein function. The phylogenetic tree from consensus sequences placed the two northern breeds closer to each other than either was to the southern goats. This first report of sequence diversity at the DQB1 locus for any African goat breed may be useful in the search for disease-resistant genotypesItem Open Access Molecular Diagnosis of Subclinical African Trypanosoma vivax Infection and Association with Physiological Indices and Serum Metabolites in Extensively Managed Goats in the Tropics(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2013-06-27) Sanni, Timothy M; Onasanya, Gbolabo O; Adefenwa, Mufliat A; Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Ikeobi, C.O.N; Adebambo, O.A; Talabi, Adewale O.; Ozoje, M.O; Wheto, M.; Takeet, Michael I.; Peters, S.O; Donato, Marcos De; Thomas, Bolaji N.; Imumorin, I.GTrypanosomosis remains a major challenge to livestock production in much of tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, while diagnosis and treatment still depend on inefficient parasitological techniques. Endemic infections depend on animal reservoirs with subclinical parasitemia. We report molecular diagnosis of subclinical Trypanosoma vivax (T. vivax) infection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the first time in Nigerian goats and associate parasite presence with gross physiological traits and serum metabolites in extensively managed Nigerian goats. PCR was used to amplify a 400 bp DNA fragment of the parasite genome in 205 goats across three geographical zones of the country. Results showed a high subclinical infection rate (SCIR) of 71.7% in the total goats examined. Overall SCIRs of 71%, 75.9% and 55.6% were recorded in West African Dwarf, Red Sokoto and Sahel goats respectively, while geographical SCIRs were 71.2% (Southwest), 75% (Northwest) and 70% (Northeast). T. vivax presence had significant (P < 0.05) effect on respiratory rate and is associated with higher creatinine levels in sera. Logistic regression analyses with Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness- of-fit showed that respiratory rate is the most important predictive trait for the presence of T. vivax infection (P < 0.05). Goats appear to be a viable reservoir for T. vivax infection of other livestock. Molecular diagnosis of subclinical trypanosomosis using PCR could be useful for large scale epidemiological studies, early diagnosis of subclinical infection and treatment of the disease in extensively managed tropical goats.Item Open Access Molecular survey of pathogenic trypanosomes in naturally infected Nigerian cattle(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2013-09-12) Takeet, Michael I.; Fagbemi, Benjamin O.; Donato, Marcos De; Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Rodulfo, Hectorina E.; Peters, S.O; Wheto, M.; Imumorin, I.GMicroscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to survey pathogenic trypanosome infection in naturally infected Nigerian cattle. In 411 animals sampled, microscopy detected 15.1% positive infection of at least one of Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense or Trypanosoma vivax, while PCR detected 63.7% positive infections of at least one of those species and Trypanosoma evansi. PCR detected 4.4%, 48.7%, 26.0% and 0.5% respectively of T. brucei, T. congolense, T. vivax and T. evansi infections. All of the T. congolense detected were savannah-type, except for two forest-type infections. Prevalence of mixed infections was 13.9%, being primarily co-infection by T. congolense and T. vivax while prevalence of mixed infections by T. evansi, T. vivax and T. congolense was 1.5%. Microscopy showed poor sensitivity but specificity greater than 94%. Infection rates were much higher in Southern than in Northern Nigeria. Infections were lowest in N’dama compared to Muturu, Sokoto Gudali and White Fulani breeds. Animals with T. vivax monoinfection and mixed infections showed significantly lower packed cell volume (PCV) values. Those infected with any Trypanosoma species with <200 parasites/ll showed higher PCV values than those infected with >200 parasites/ll. The new finding of savannah- and forest- type T. congolense in Nigeria and the relatively high abundance of mixed infections are of significant clinical relevance. This study also suggests that T. congolense is the most prevalent species in NigeriaItem Open Access Morphological and microsatellite DNA diversity of Nigerian indigenous sheep(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2012-04-22) Agaviezor, B.O; Peters, S,O; Adefenwa, Mufliat A; Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Adebambo, O.A; Ozoje, M.O; Ikeobi, C.O.N; Wheto, M.; Ajayi, O.O; Amusan, S.A; Ekundayo, Oludotun J; Sanni, Timothy M; Okpeku, M; Onasanya, Gbolabo O; Donato, Marcos De; Ilori, Babatunde M; Kizilkaya, Kadir; Imumorin, I.GBackground: Sheep is important in the socio-economic lives of people around the world. It is estimated that more than half of our once common livestock breeds are now endangered. Since genetic characterization of Nigerian sheep is still lacking, we analyzed ten morphological traits on 402 animals and 15 microsatellite DNA markers in 384 animals of the 4 Nigerian sheep breeds to better understand genetic diversity for breeding management and germplasm conservation. Results: Morphological traits of Uda and Balami were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than Yankasa, which were both higher than West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep. Stepwise discriminant analysis showed tail length, rump height, chest girth, ear length and chest depth as the most discriminating variables for classification. Mahalanobis distances show the least differentiation between Uda and Balami and the largest between WAD and Balami sheep. While 93.3% of WAD sheep were correctly assigned to their source genetic group, 63.9% of Yankasa, 61.2% of Balami and 45.2% of Uda were classified correctly by nearest neighbour discriminant analysis. The overall high Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) of all microsatellite markers ranged from 0.751 to 0.927 supporting their use in genetic characterization. Expected heterozygosity was high for all loci (0.783 to 0.93). Mean heterozygote deficiency across all populations (0.171 to 0.534) possibly indicate significant inbreeding (P < 0.05). Mean values for FST, FIT and FIS statistics across all loci were 0.088, 0.394 and 0.336 respectively. Yankasa and Balami are the most closely related breeds (DA = 0.184) while WAD and Balami are the farthest apart breeds (DA = 0.665), which is coincident with distance based on morphological analysis and population structure assessed by STRUCTURE. Conclusions: These results suggest that within-breed genetic variation in Nigerian sheep is higher than between-breeds and may be a valuable tool for genetic improvement and conservation. The higher genetic variability in Yankasa suggests the presence of unique ancestral alleles reflecting the presence of certain functional genes which may result in better adaptability in more agro-ecological zones of Nigeria. These genetic characteristics are potentially useful in planning improvement and conservation strategies in Nigerian indigenous sheepItem Open Access Multivariate analysis of sexual size dimorphism in local turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in Nigeria(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2010-10-12) Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Ajayi, O.O; Jayeola, Oluwaseun O.; Imumorin, I.G; Takeet, Michael I.; Ozoje, M.O; Ikeobi, C.O.N; Peters, S.OAbstract Sexual size dimorphism is a key evolutionary feature that can lead to important biological insights. To improve methods of sexing live birds in the field, we assessed sexual size dimorphism in Nigerian local turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) using multivariate techniques. Measurements were taken on 125 twenty-week-old birds reared under the intensive management system. The body parameters measured were body weight, body length, breast girth, thigh length, shank length, keel length, wing length and wing span. Univariate analysis revealed that toms (males) had significantly (P<0.05) higher mean values than hens (females) in all the measured traits. Positive phenotypic correlations between body weight and body measurements ranged from 0.445 to 0.821 in toms and 0.053–0.660 in hens, respectively. Three principal components (PC1, PC2 and PC3) were extracted in toms, each accounting for 63.70%, 19.42% and 5.72% of the total variance, respectively. However, four principal components (PC1, PC2, PC3 and PC4) were extracted in hens, which explained 54.03%, 15.29%, 11.68% and 6.95%, respectively of the generalised variance. A stepwise discriminant function analysis of the eightmorphological traits indicated that body weight, body length, tail length and wing span were the most discriminating variables in separating the sexes. The single discriminant function obtained was able to correctly classify 100% of the birds into their source population. The results obtained from the present study could aid future management decisions, ecological studies and conservation of local turkeys in a developing economy.Item Open Access Multivariate Analysis of Spatial Patterns of Morphological Traits in West African Dwarf Goats in Three Agro-ecological Zones of Nigeria(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2010-12-07) Yakubu, Abdulmojeed; Salako, A.E; Imumorin, I.GA multivariate analysis of phenotypic trait distribution across agro-ecological zones (tropical rainforest, guinea savanna and sudan savanna zones) in Nigeria was carried out on 302 West African Dwarf (WAD) goats. Most of the morphometric traits of rainforest and guinea savanna goats were higher (P<0.05) than those of the sudan savanna zone. Abdominal circumference, rump width, ear length, chest depth and cannon circumference were the most discriminating variables among the goats of the three zones. Based on Mahalanobis distances, the least differentiation was observed between rainforest and guinea savanna goats. Only 24.38% of rainforest and 22.86% of guinea savanna goats were classified into their source population. The relatively low morphometric distances as well as intermingling between the three goat populations indicate that they are homogenous and share similar genetic identities. This could aid in their conservation and formulation of appropriate breeding and selection strategies.Item Open Access Physiological adaptation of local, exotic and crossbred turkeys to the hot and humid tropical environment of Nigeria.(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2012-05-20) Ilori, B.M; Peters, S.O; Yakubu, Abdulmojeeb; Imumorin, I.G; Adeleke, M.A; Ozoje, M.O; Ikeobi, C.O.N; Adebambo, O.AA total of 300 birds consisting of 120 local, 120 crossbred and 60 exotic turkeys were used to compare physiological adaptation of birds raised under the high-heat stress environment of Nigerian tropical humid climate. Genotype significantly (PB0.05) affected heat tolerance traits with the highest mean values for rectal temperature, pulse-rate and heat stress index observed in exotic turkeys. Genotype also had significant (PB0.05) effect on serum biochemical parameters such as glucose (GLU), potassium (K ) and Chloride (Cl ). The haematological indices of the birds such as haemoglobin, white blood cell count and heterophyl/lymphocyte ratio (H/L) were equally affected by the different genetic groups (PB0.05). The significantly higher (PB0.05) H/L ratio of the exotic turkeys was an indication of heat stress. The better performance exhibited by local and crossbred turkeys could be exploited in management, conservation and selection decisions of animal genetic resources under tropical conditions.Item Open Access Physiological and haematological indices suggest superior heat tolerance of white-coloured West African Dwarf sheep in the hot humid tropics(Department of Animal Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi., 2012-09-12) Fadare, Adelodun O.; Yakubu, Abdulmojeeb; Peters, S.O; Sonibare, Adekayode O.; Adeleke, M.A; Ozoje, M.O; Imumorin, I.GCoat colour contributes to physiological adaptation in mammals and mediates response to thermal stress. Twenty-four adult West African Dwarf sheep of both sexes and with different coat colour types were used in this study. We measured rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and pulse rate (PR) before sunrise and sunset during the late dry season (January–March) and early rainy season (April– June) as well as packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, white blood cell (WBC) count, plasma sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+). Animals with black coat colour had the highest (P<0.05) mean values of 38.92±0.03 °C, 65.09±1.06 breaths/min, 81.35±0.78 beats/min, 1.70±0.01 for RT, RR, PR and heat stress index (HSI), respectively, followed by brown mouflon and brown with extensive white, while the Badger Face coloured sheep had the least mean values. There were significant (P<0.05) differences between male and female sheep for RT, RR, PR and HSI. Season had a significant (P<0.05) effect on RT, RR, PR and HSI. Coat colour and sex also significantly (P<0.01) affected RBC, WBC, Na+ and K+. Seasonal variation (P<0.05) in all the blood parameters was observed, with the exception of PCV. Interaction effect of coat colour and sex was significant (P<0.05) on RT and HSI. Correlation coefficients among the measured traits ranged from positive to negative values. These results indicate that selection of whitecoloured sheep to attenuate heat stress is desirable in the hot humid tropics