Farmers' breeding practices and traits of economic importance for indigenous chicken in RWANDA

Integrated Analysis of the Effects of Cecal Microbiota and Serum Metabolome on Market Weights of Chinese Native Chickens

The gut microbiota plays an important role in the physiological activities of the host and affects the formation of important economic traits in livestock farming. The effects of cecal microbiota on chicken weights were investigated using the Guizhou yellow chicken as a model. Experimental cohorts from chickens with high- (HC, n = 16) and low-market-weights (LC, n = 16) were collected. Microbial 16S rRNA gene sequencing and non-targeted serum metabolome data were integrated to explore the effect and metabolic mechanism of cecal microbiota on market weight. The genera Lachnoclostridium, Alistipes, Negativibacillus, Sellimonas, and Ruminococcus torques were enriched in the HC group, while Phascolarctobacterium was enriched in the LC group (p < 0.05). Metabolomic analysis determined that pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), luvangetin (2H-1-benzopyran-6-acrylic acid), and menadione (vitamin K3) were significantly higher in HC serum, while beclomethasone dipropionate (a glucocorticoid) and chlorophene (2-benzyl-4-chlorophenol) were present at higher levels in the LC group. The microbes enriched in HC were significantly positively correlated with metabolites, including pantothenic acid and menadione, and negatively correlated with beclomethasone dipropionate and chlorophene. These results indicated that specific cecal bacteria in Guizhou yellow chickens alter the host metabolism and growth performance. This study provides a reference for revealing the mechanism of cecal microbe actions that affect chicken body weight.

Morphobiometrical characteristics of indigenous chicken ecotype populations in Rwanda

The rational of conservation and sustainable use of indigenous chicken (IC) resources requires their morphobiometrical characterisation. This study morphobiometrically characterised the IC ecotypes in Rwanda. The morphological features and zoometric measurement data were randomly collected on 1670 mature IC of both sexes from five ecotypes of Rwanda. The nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test were used in evaluating the effect of ecotypes on the qualitative morphological variables. Zoometric measurements were analysed with the PROC GLM of SAS. The findings showed that the feather morphology and distribution were mainly normal (98.3 and 84.40%, respectively) while feather colour was dominated with multicoloured (38.10%). The majority of the birds had red earlobe (49.20%), yellow shanks (53.80%) and single comb-type (71.70%). These parameters were different (p < 0.05) between the ecotypes. Bodyweight and linear body measurements were highly different (P < 0.001) between ecotypes. Differences associated with sex (P < 0.001) were observed in body weight and linear body measurements. The interaction between ecotype and sex significantly (P < 0.001) influenced body weight, body length, shank length, comb length, comb height, wattle length, chest circumference, neck length and wingspan. The IC ecotypes in Rwanda were found to be diverse morphobiometrically both in quantitative and qualitative traits. These variations provide a foundation for classification of the chicken into breeds.

Genetic diversity and population structure of indigenous chicken in Rwanda using microsatellite markers

Rwanda has about 4.5 million of indigenous chicken (IC) that are very low in productivity. To initiate any genetic improvement programme, IC needs to be accurately characterized. The key purpose of this study was to ascertain the genetic diversity of IC in Rwanda using microsatellite markers. Blood samples of IC sampled from 5 agro-ecological zones were collected from which DNA was extracted, amplified by PCR and genotyped using 28 microsatellite markers. A total of 325 (313 indigenous and 12 exotic) chickens were genotyped and revealed a total number of 305 alleles varying between 2 and 22 with a mean of 10.89 per locus. One hundred eighty-six (186) distinct alleles and 60 private alleles were also observed. The frequency of private alleles was highest in samples from the Eastern region, whereas those from the North West had the lowest. The influx of genes was lower in the Eastern agro-ecological zone than the North West. The mean observed heterozygosity was 0.6155, whereas the average expected heterozygosity was 0.688. The overall inbreeding coefficient among the population was 0.040. Divergence from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was significant (p<0.05) in 90% of loci in all the populations. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that about 92% of the total variation originated from variation within populations. Additionally, the study demonstrated that IC in Rwanda could be clustered into four gene groups. In conclusion, there was considerable genetic diversity in IC in Rwanda, which represents a crucial genetic resource that can be conserved or optimized through genetic improvement.

Farmers' choice of genotypes and trait preferences in tropically adapted chickens in five agro-ecological zones in Nigeria

This study aimed at determining chicken genotypes of choice and traits preference in chicken by smallholder farmers in Nigeria. Data were obtained from a total of 2063 farmers using structured questionnaires in five agro-ecological zones in Nigeria. Chi square (χ²) statistics was used to explore relationships between categorical variables. The mean ranks of the six genotypes and twelve traits of preference were compared using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis H (with Mann-Whitney U test for post hoc separation of mean ranks), Friedman, and Wilcoxon signed-rank (with Bonferroni's adjustments) tests. Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) was used to assign farmers into groups. Gender distribution of farmers was found to be statistically significant (χ² = 16.599; P ≤ 0.002) across the zones. With the exception of Shika Brown, preferences for chicken genotypes were significantly (P ≤ 0.01) influenced by agro-ecological zone. However, gender differentiated response was only significant (P ≤ 0.01) in Sasso chicken with more preference by male farmers. Overall, FUNAAB Alpha, Sasso, and Noiler chicken were ranked 1st, followed by Kuroiler (4th), Shika Brown (5th), and Fulani birds (6th), respectively. Within genotypes, within and across zones and gender, preferences for traits varied significantly (P ≤ 0.005 and P ≤ 0.01). Traits of preference for selection of chicken breeding stock tended towards body size, egg number, egg size, and meat taste. Spearman's rank order correlation coefficients of traits of preference were significant (P ≤ 0.01) and ranged from 0.22 to 0.90. The two PCs extracted, which explained 65.3% of the variability in the dataset, were able to assign the farmers into two groups based on preference for body size of cock and hen and the other ten traits combined. The present findings may guide the choice of appropriate chicken genotypes while the traits of economic importance may be incorporated into future genetic improvement and conservation programs in Nigeria.

Leveraging Available Resources and Stakeholder Involvement for Improved Productivity of African Livestock in the Era of Genomic Breeding

The African continent is home to diverse populations of livestock breeds adapted to harsh environmental conditions with more than 70% under traditional systems of management. Animal productivity is less than optimal in most cases and is faced with numerous challenges including limited access to adequate nutrition and disease management, poor institutional capacities and lack of adequate government policies and funding to develop the livestock sector. Africa is home to about 1.3 billion people and with increasing demand for animal proteins by an ever growing human population, the current state of livestock productivity creates a significant yield gap for animal products. Although a greater section of the population, especially those living in rural areas depend largely on livestock for their livelihoods; the potential of the sector remains underutilized and therefore unable to contribute significantly to economic development and social wellbeing of the people. With current advances in livestock management practices, breeding technologies and health management, and with inclusion of all stakeholders, African livestock populations can be sustainably developed to close the animal protein gap that exists in the continent. In particular, advances in gene technologies, and application of genomic breeding in many Western countries has resulted in tremendous gains in traits like milk production with the potential that, implementation of genomic selection and other improved practices (nutrition, healthcare, etc.) can lead to rapid improvement in traits of economic importance in African livestock populations. The African livestock populations in the context of this review are limited to cattle, goat, pig, poultry, and sheep, which are mainly exploited for meat, milk, and eggs. This review examines the current state of livestock productivity in Africa, the main challenges faced by the sector, the role of various stakeholders and discusses in-depth strategies that can enable the application of genomic technologies for rapid improvement of livestock traits of economic importance.

Improvement of PD-4 (Aseel), an indigenous chicken, for growth and production traits

Backyard poultry production plays a vital role in providing animal protein at affordable and sustainable manner. Growth and production potential of indigenous chicken need to be improved through selective breeding to enhance the productivity of backyard farming. PD-4 birds (Aseel, indigenous breed) were subjected to selection for higher body weight over eight generations. Study investigated effect of selection on the performance of PD-4 birds with respect to economic traits. There was significant improvement in body weight and shank length at 8 weeks of age. Egg production up to 40 weeks had improved by 19.1 eggs. Egg weight at 28, 32, 36 and 40 weeks of age improved by 0.8, 1.3, 1.7 and 1.3 g respectively. Age at sexual maturity had declined by 14.2 days. There was no significant change in fertility and hatchability traits. Survivors’ egg production up to 72 weeks of age was 156.5±2.79 eggs while hen day and hen housed egg production were 144.9 and 137.5 eggs respectively. Egg weight consistently improved from 35.13 g at age at first egg to 48.07 g at 40 weeks and to 49.63 g at 72 weeks of age. The study demonstrated that indigenous chickens could be improved for body weight and egg production without affecting other economic traits and improved PD-4 variety has the potential to be used as improved dual purpose indigenous chicken variety for low input backyard poultry farming.