Molecular and phenotypic characterization of Sudanese Dairy cattle ( Kenana and Butana )

Abstract

The objectives of the current study were the characterization of some Sudanese dairy cattle types mainly Kenana and Butana (on farm and molecular characterization) and their dairy production systems, adopted management practices, breeding objectives and constraints of dairy development in Sudan. A structured questionnaire was administered to 101 Kenana and Butana owners randomly selected from the homelands of both breeds. Personal interviews and repeated field visits were conducted. The average herd size of Kenana and Butana cattle was 10 and 6 animals, respectively.Kenana and Butana farmers adopteddifferent management systems. The traditional nomadic system was more prevalent in Kenana area (98%), while all Butana owners used a transhumant system (100%). Kenana and Butana cattle are kept in a mixed crop- livestock production system and livestock species kept by farmers comprise cattle, sheep and goats. Cattle are the dominant species, mainly used for draught power followed by milk production. The purpose of keeping cattle in the study area was to generate income from the sale of milk which was the main source of income for herders in the Kenana area (100%) and up to 50% of Butana owners. However, surplus milk is sold at farm gate to middlemen at low prices, and animals are sold live in the village or nearest markets. The general appearance and body conformation were the criteria for selection of viii breeding bulls used by both Kenana and Butana owners (72% and 80.4%, respectively). Disease prevalence was important in both production systems and almost all farmers in both areas reported incidences of diseases. Trypanosomosis were the main problems reported by Kenana herders (61.8%) while Butanan owners complained mainly of ticks. Veterinary services in the country at large have declined in recent years and in some areas have witnessed a degree of collapse. The two breeds were also characterised by genotyping the diacylglycerol acyltransferase1 (DGAT1) gene.In both breeds, the DGAT1 Lysine variant (232K) that is associated with high fat and protein content as well as high fat yield in other breeds was the most frequent allele.The frequencies of the 232K allele were 96.3% and 84.6% in Kenana and Butana breeds, respectively. At the DGAT1 promoter VNTR locus, four alleles containing four to seven repeats of the 18 bp motif were found in both breeds. The most frequent allele was the VNTR allele 3 containing five repeats with a frequency of 60.4 % and 57.5 % in Kenana and Butana breeds, respectively. In conclusion, the two examined Sudanese dairy cattle breeds do not differ in allele frequencies at the DGAT1 locus.