Joram Mwacharo

Anthropological and biophysical processes have shaped livestock genomes over Millenia and can explain their current geographic distribution and genetic divergence. We analyzed 57 Ethiopian indigenous domestic goat genomes alongside 67 equivalents of...

Ethiopia has about 52 million indigenous goats with marked phenotypic variability, which is the outcome of natural and artificial selection. Here, we obtained whole-genome sequence data of three Ethiopian indigenous goat populations (Arab, Fellata...

Domestic goats are distributed worldwide, with approximately 35% of the one billion world goat population occurring in Africa. Ethiopia has 52.5 million goats, ~99.9% of which are considered indigenous landraces deriving from animals introduced to...

In this study, we investigated how IBD patterns shared between individuals of the same breed could be informative of its admixture level, with the underlying assumption that the most admixed breeds, i.e. the least genetically isolated, should have a...

Environmental adaptation traits of indigenous African cattle are increasingly being investigated to respond to the need for sustainable livestock production in the context of unpredictable climatic changes. Several studies have highlighted genomic...

The objective of this work was to study genetic diversity by comparing whole genome sequence data of Rutana, Gumuz and Washera sheep found in Amhara and Benishanguel gumuz regional states of Ethiopia. We employed variant calling format tools version...

Breeding programs involving either centralized nucleus schemes and/or importation of exotic germplasm for crossbreeding were not successful and sustainable in most Africa countries. Community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) are now suggested as...

Pituitary pars tuberalis (PT) plays an important role as the transmission center in the seasonal reproduction of animals. It helps convert external photoperiod signals into intrinsic seasonal reproduction signals. In sheep PT, specific expression...

Dorper and Hu sheep exhibit different characteristics in terms of reproduction, growth, and meat quality. Comparison of the genomes of two breeds help to reveal important genomic information. In this study, whole genome resequencing of 30 individuals...

The present study aimed to investigate the activity dynamics of Ixodes ricinus group ticks in a forest located in north-western Tunisia (Aïn Draham, Jendouba District) and assess the variation of abiotic factors (temperature, Normalized Difference...

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), as a novel class of small non-coding RNAs that have been shown to be indispensable in germline integrity and stem cell development. However, the expressed characteristics and regulatory roles of piRNAs during different...

African sheep manifest diverse but distinct physio-anatomical traits, which are the outcomes of natural- and human-driven selection. Here, we generated 34.8 million variants from 150 indigenous northeast African sheep genomes sequenced at an average...

In recent times, community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) have been advocated as the best strategy for genetic improvement of local breeds in smallholder farms in developing countries. Since 2009, CBBPs have been...

MicroRNA (miRNA) is of great importance to muscle growth and development, including
the regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs). In our
research group’s previous study, we found that miR-181a is...

Background: Ticks are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites considered second to mosquitos as vectors and reservoirs of multiple pathogens of global concern. Individual variation in tick infestation has been reported in indigenous sheep, but its...

In this study, breeding objective traits were identified, and alternative breeding schemes were simulatedand evaluated for two goat populations. The traits were as follows: body size, twinning ability and kiddinginterval (KI) for Arab goats and body...

Litter size is an important economic trait in the mutton sheep industry. BMP15 is one of the key candidate genes for litter size in sheep. In this study, the entire ORF region of BMP15 was sequenced in 154 Luzhong mutton ewes, and the novel...

Autochthonous Sudanese cattle breeds, namely Baggara for beef and Butana and Kenana for
dairy, are characterized by their adaptive characteristics and high performance in hot and dry agroecosystems.
They are thus used largely by nomadic and semi...

Knowledge on how adaptive evolution and human socio‐cultural and economic interests shaped livestock genomes particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa remains limited. Ethiopia is in a geographic region that has been critical in the history of African...

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections have negative impacts on animal health, welfare and production. Information from molecular studies can highlight the underlying genetic mechanisms that enhance host resistance to GIN. However, such...

Background
Many recent studies have shown that miRNAs play important roles in the regulation of animal reproduction, including seasonal reproduction. The pineal gland is a crucial hub in the regulation of seasonal reproduction. However, little is...

How animals, particularly livestock, adapt to various climates and environments over short evolutionary time is of fundamental biological interest. Further, understanding the genetic mechanisms of adaptation in indigenous livestock populations is...

Great progress has been made over recent years in the identification of selection signatures in the genomes of livestock species. This work has primarily been carried out in commercial breeds for which the dominant selection pressures are associated...

Homozygosity of long sequence genotypes are a result of parents transmitting identical
haplotypes, which can be used to estimate their auto-zygosity. Therefore, we used high-density SNP
Chip data to characterize the auto-zygosity of each breed...

Investigation was carried out to assess the effects of environmental factors and to estimate genetic parameters and trends for
reproductive traits in Bonga sheep, Ethiopia. Animals used in this study were managed by two communities involved in a...

The domestication and subsequent global dispersal of livestock are crucial events in human history, but the migratory episodes during the history of livestock remain poorly documented [1, 2, 3]. Here, we first developed a set of 493 novel ovine SNPs...

Community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) for small ruminants have been suggested as alternatives to centralised, government-controlled breeding schemes which have been implemented in many developing countries. An innovative methodological framework...

In the developing world, rural farmers rely on local breeds to play crucial roles aimed at ameliorating the effects of adverse environments and resources shortages in sustaining their livelihoods. The local breeds appear to be adapted to numerous...

In Tunisia, livestock plays an important role in the economy; unfortunately, Tunisian sheep population faces several health challenges. The aim of this trial was to study phenotypic variability of four local sheep breeds and strains to abomasum...

Understanding the genetic changes underlying phenotypic variation in sheep (Ovis aries) may facilitate our efforts towards further improvement. Here, we report the deep resequencing of 248 sheep including the wild ancestor (O. orientalis), landraces...

To understand the ovarian basis for prolificacy of Bonga sheep, a total of 31 ewes were selected based on litter size (LS) records and divided into two groups: High Prolificacy (HP) (n = 20) with LS ≥ 2 and Low Prolificacy (LP) (n = 11) with LS = 1...

Maximizing the number of ofspring born per female is a key functionality trait in commercial- and/or subsistence-oriented
livestock enterprises. Although the number of ofspring born is closely associated with female fertility and reproductive success...

The BMP7 gene is involved in the growth and development of hair follicles but its regulation mechanism is unclear. We studied the regulation mechanism of the BMP7 promoter by cloning the proximal promoter of BMP7 for bioinformatics analysis. A series...

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) remain one of the main health and production constraints of sheep globally. Considering alternatives to anthelmintics in control of GIN of sheep has become important mainly due to development of anthelmintic...

African livestock breeds are numerous and diverse, and typically well adapted to the harsh environment conditions under which they perform. They have been used over centuries to provide livelihoods as well as food and nutritional security. However...

Ethiopia is home to a diverse gene pool of indigenous sheep populations. Therefore, a better understanding of genetic variation holds the key to future utilization through conservation. Three of these breeds, Afar, Blackhead Somali, and Hararghe...

Variations in body weight and in the distribution of body fat are associated with feed availability, thermoregulation, and energy reserve. Ethiopia is characterized by distinct agro-ecological and human ethnic farmer diversity of ancient origin...

Goat farming in Pakistan depends on indigenous breeds that have adapted to specific agro‐ecological conditions. Pakistan has a rich resource of goat breeds, and the genetic diversity of these goat breeds is largely unknown. In this study, genetic...

Theileria parva is a parasitic protozoan that causes East Coast fever (ECF), an economically important disease of cattle in eastern, central and southern Africa. In South Sudan, ECF is considered a major constraint for livestock development in...

In this study we genotyped 14 microsatellites to assess genetic diversity, population stratification and demographic dynamics using Egyptian local goats (Zaraibi, Baladi, Saidi and Barki) and the Shami (Damascus) goat from the Middle East and West...

Goats and sheep are versatile domesticates that have been integrated into diverse environments and production systems.
Natural and artificial selection have shaped the variation in the two species, but natural selection has played the major role...

Human exchange networks are instrumental in influencing gene flow among domesticates. Here, we investigated levels of within- and between-population genetic diversity in 289 animals from six indigenous sheep populations in Egypt (Barki, Farafra...