Prolific sheep have proven to be a valuable model to identify genes and mutations implicated in female fertility. In the Lacaune sheep breed, large variation in litter size is genetically determined by the segregation of a fecundity major gene influencing ovulation rate, named FecL and its prolific allele FecL(L) . Our previous work localized FecL on sheep chromosome 11 within a locus of 1.1 Mb...

The Small Tailed Han is a prolific local sheep breed in China. The bone morphogenetic protein receptor IB (BMPR-IB) gene, which affects the fecundity of Booroola Merino sheep, and the bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP-15) gene, which affects the fecundity of Inverdale, Hanna, Belclare, Cambridge, and Lacaune sheep, were studied as candidate genes associated with the prolificacy of Small Tailed...

The aim of the study was to evaluate motility parameters of Lacaune (Lc) and east-Friesian (eF) ram frozen-thawed spermatozoa by cASA (computer-Automated Sperm Analysis) technique in relation to their in vivo fertilizing ability. Fresh ejaculates were diluted in a Triladyl extender containing 20 % egg yolk, 6 % glycerol and 0.1 % trehalose and frozen in a liquid nitrogen vapour. The evaluation ...

Genomic prediction utilizes single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip data to predict animal genetic merit. It has the advantage of potentially capturing the effects of the majority of loci that contribute to genetic variation in a trait, even when the effects of the individual loci are very small. To implement genomic prediction, marker effects are estimated with a training set, including indi...

Litter size is one of the most important economical traits in sheep breeding industry. In addition to minor genes, litter size is under the influence of major genes. Bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP-15), a member of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß) superfamily, which is specifically expressed in oocytes, plays a dramatic role in sheep prolificacy. Reported mutations in this gene ca...