Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for findings of this project consists of livestock producers and extension/outreach personnel, although animal science researchers and teachers will also have interest. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A faculty member of Haramaya University in eastern Ethiopia was the principal investigator for the second and third procedure development experiments as a part of his training and professional development program while on sabbatical. Other project participants of Langston University have learned a great deal about animal responses to such climatic stress factors as well. A student from central Ethiopia involved in the genomics aspect completed a MS program at the University of Florida in 2017. A student from the US has been in a PhD program at Oklahoma State University since the fall of 2015, who has primary responsibility for the aspects of limited drinking water availability. A Postdoctoral Research Associate from the north-central region of Ethiopia is responsible for the stress factors of high heat load and limited feed intake. As noted above, two undergraduate students conducted internships for training in genomics and animal science research at the Department of Animal Science of Oklahoma State University in the summer of 2015 and 2016 and Langston project faculty have received informal training in genomics. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Three articles dealing with studies to develop procedures for evaluating resilience to the three climatic stressors have been published. There were four abstract presentations on the project given at the 2017 annual meetings of the American Society of Animal Science. Project data are also presented in the quarterly Goat Newsletter and the proceedings of the Annual Goat Field Day of the Institute. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The last of the 12 studies to determine the resilience phenotypes will end in early October, 2017. Statistical analyses of the resilience data are being conducted and associated articles are being prepared for submission to peer review journals. Abstract presentations will be made at meetings of the American Society of Animal Science as well. Finally, collaborating genomics experts at the University of Florida will establish genotype-phenotype relationships addressed in similar articles and abstracts.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The three experiments to develop appropriate standardized procedures for evaluating resilience of sheep to low nutrient intake, restricted water availability, and high heat load were conducted over a period of approximately 1 year. This required more time than expected because a new research facility was not completed before the project began as was anticipated. An article on each study has been published. There were four abstract presentations on the project given this year annual meetings of the American Society of Animal Science. Animals from the four distinct climatic zones or regions were purchased and transported to Langston in the summer of 2015. After the quarantine period, phenotype evaluation began thereafter in the fall of 2015. The animals were divided into four sets based on available facilities. Each set has been evaluated for resilience to high heat load conditions and limited availability of drinking water. Three sets have been tested for resilience to limited feed intake, and the last study with the fourth set is underway and will be completed in early October, 2017. Ear punch tissue samples from oldest ewes on the farms where animals were derived and of the animals being phenotyped were subjected to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Two undergraduate students conducted internships for training in genomics and animal science research at the Department of Animal Science of Oklahoma State University in the summers of 2015 and 2016. Langston faculty members in the project attended the following genomics symposia at the 2016 annual meetings of the American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association: Translational genomics to improve fertility of animals; Genomics selection in transforming cattle breeding; and Resilience of livestock to changing environments. In Octobser of 2016, Drs. Goetsch and Gipson attended a workshop at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation presented by Illumina, which focused on how Illumina technology is being used in basic, clinical, and translational research and the related benefits and advancements that are being enabled. Statistical analyses of phenotype data are underway, and phenotype data have been shared with genomics collaborators at the University of Florida.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: HUSSEIN, A., PUCHALA, R., PORTUGAL, I., GIPISON, T. A., WILSON, B. K. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2017. Effect of water restriction on hair sheep breeds from different regions of the United States. J. Anim. Sci. 95(Suppl. 4; page 330; number 675).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: TADESSE, D., PUCHALA, R., GIPSON, T. A., PORTUGAL, I., SAHLU, T. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2017. Effects of high heat load conditions on rectal temperature, panting score, and respiration rate of hair sheep breed from different regions of the United States. J. Anim. Sci. 95(Suppl. 4; pages 337-338; number 692).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: TADESSE, D., PUCHALA, R., GIPSON, T. A., PORTUGAL, I., SAHLU, T. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2017. Effects of high heat load conditions on body weight, dry matter intake, and blood constituent levels of Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix sheep from different regions of the United States. J. Anim. Sci. 95(Suppl. 4; page 340; number 697).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: TADESSE, D., PUCHALA, R., PORTUGAL, I., HUSSEIN, A. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2017. Effects of level of intake of a 50% concentrate pelleted diet on digestion and energy utilization by Katahdin wethers. J. Anim. Sci. 95(Suppl. 4; pages 340-341; number 698).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: GOETSCH, A. L., PUCHALA, R., DOLEBO, A. T., GIPSON, T. A., TSUKHARA, Y. AND DAWSON, L. J. 2017. Simple methods to estimate the maintenance feed requirement of small ruminants with different levels of feed restriction. J. Appl. Anim. Res. 45:104-111.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: MENGISTU, U. L., PUCHALA, R., SAHLU, T., GIPSON, T. A., DAWSON, L. J. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2017. Conditions to evaluate differences among individual sheep and goats in resilience to high heat load index. Small Rumin. Res. 147:89-95.

Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for findings of this project consists of livestock producers and extension/outreach personnel, although animal science researchers and teachers will also have interest. Changes/Problems:Some of the challenges and problems have been addressed above. In addition, when not in the phenotyping experiments, the animals were to have been kept in group confinement pens in the new research facility, which is still unavailable. As a result, it has been necessary to keep the animals outside in pastures, which has resulted in some predation losses and health issues. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A faculty member of Haramaya University in eastern Ethiopia was the principal investigator for the second and third procedure development experiments as a part of his training and professional development program while on sabbatical. Other project participants of Langston University have learned a great deal about animal responses to such climatic stress factors as well. A student from central Ethiopia involved in the genomics aspect began a MS program at the University of Florida in early 2015. A student from the US began a PhD program at Oklahoma State University in the fall of 2015, who has primary responsibility for the aspects of limited drinking water availability. A Postdoctoral Research Associate from the north-central region of Ethiopia is responsible for the stress factors of high heat load and limited feed intake. As noted above, two undergraduate students conducted internships for training in genomics and animal science research at the Department of Animal Science of Oklahoma State University in the summer of 2015 and 2016 and Langston project facility have received informal training in genomics. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?An article on the first experiment is in press and available on-line. An article on the first experiment is in press and available on-line. The article on the second experiment has been published, and the article on the third study dealing with high heat load has been accepted with revision. There were three abstract presentations on the project given this year that are listed later. Two were at the 2016 annual meetings of the American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association in Salt Lake City, Utah in July and one was at the 12th International Conference on Goats in Antalya, Turkey in September of 2016. Project data are also presented in the quarterly Goat Newsletter and the proceedings of the Annual Goat Field Day of the Institute. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The phenotyping studies are underway as noted above. The new research facility, again which was to have been completed before this project began, has been finished but usage has not yet been allowed. If this facility can begin to be used soon, then it is hoped that phenotyping can be completed within a 1-year period. However, most likely it will be necessary to request a final 1-year no-cost extension in order for data analysis and interpretation and preparation of all abstracts and articles for peer-reviewed journals. Relatedly, this time will be necessary for establishing the genotype-phenotype relationships being conducted primarily by the collaborating genomics experts at the University of Florida.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The three experiments to develop appropriate standardized procedures for evaluating resilience of sheep to low nutrient intake, restricted water availability, and high heat load were conducted over a period of approximately 1 year. This required more time than expected because a new research facility was not completed before the project began as was anticipated. An article on the first experiment is in press and available on-line. The article on the second experiment has been published, and the article on the third study dealing with high heat load has been accepted with revision. There were three abstract presentations on the project given this year that are listed later. Two were at the 2016 annual meetings of the American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association in Salt Lake City, Utah in July and one was at the 12th International Conference on Goats in Antalya, Turkey in September. Animals from the four distinct climatic zones or regions were purchased and transported to Langston from July 5 to September 3 in 2015. The quarantine period ended in October and phenotype evaluation began shortly thereafter. The animals are divided into four sets based on the facilities that have been available. Two sets have been evaluated for resilience to high heat load conditions and limited availability of drinking water and one set has been tested for resilience to limited feed intake. At the present time the third set is being evaluated for resilience to limited drinking water availability. The length of time being taken for the evaluation has been longer than desired and expected because use of the new research facility has not yet been allowed. This facility was to have been completed and available for use before this project began. Likewise, access to another facility that could be used for limited feed intake evaluations is not being allowed for animals other than of the Alpine dairy goat breed. Ear punch tissue samples from oldest ewes on the farms where animals were derived and of the animals being phenotyped were recently sent for DNA analysis. Two undergraduate students conducted internships for training in genomics and animal science research at the Department of Animal Science of Oklahoma State University in the summers of 2015 and 2016. Langston faculty members in the project attended the following genomics symposia at the 2016 annual meetings of the American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association: Translational genomics to improve fertility of animals; Genomics selection in transforming cattle breeding; and Resilience of livestock to changing environments. Moreover, on October 12, 2016 Drs Goetsch and Gipson attended a workshop at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation presented by Illumina, which focused on how Illumina technology is being used in basic, clinical, and translational research and the related benefits and advancements that are being enabled.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: GOETSCH, A. L., PUCHALA, R., DOLEBO, A. T., GIPSON, T. A., TSUKHARA, Y. AND DAWSON, L. J. 2016. Simple methods to estimate the maintenance feed requirement of small ruminants with different levels of feed restriction. J. Appl. Anim. Res. (In press; available on-line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09712119.2015.1129342).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: MENGISTU, U. L., PUCHALA, R., SAHLU, T., GIPSON, T. A., DAWSON, L. J. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2016. Conditions to evaluate differences among individual sheep and goats in resilience to restricted drinking water availability. Small Rumin Res. 144:320-333.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2016 Citation: MENGISTU, U. L., PUCHALA, R., SAHLU, T., GIPSON, T. A., DAWSON, L. J. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2016. Conditions to evaluate differences among individual sheep and goats in resilience to high heat load index. Small Rumin. Res. (Under Review).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: MENGISTU, U. L., PUCHALA, R., SAHLU, T., GIPSON, T. A., DAWSON, L. J. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2016. Conditions to evaluate differences among individual sheep and goats in resilience to restricted drinking water availability. J. Anim. Sci. 94(E-Suppl. 5; number 1702, pages 815-816).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: TADESSE, D., PUCHALA, R., GIPSON, T. A., TSUKAHARA, Y. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2016. Responses of hair sheep breeds to high heat load index conditions. J. Anim. Sci. (E-Suppl. 5; number 1717, page 823).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: MENGISTU, U. L., PUCHALA, R., SAHLU, T., GIPSON, T. A., DAWSON, L. J. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2016. Conditions to evaluate differences among individual sheep and goats in resilience to high heat load index. Proc. XII Int. Conf. on Goats. Antalya, Turkey. Page 216.

Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for findings of this project consists of livestock producers and extension/outreach personnel, although animal science researchers and teachers will also have interest. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A faculty member of Haramaya University in eastern Ethiopia was the principal investigator for the second and third procedure development experiments as a part of his training and professional development program while on sabbatical. Other project participants of Langston University have learned a great deal about animal responses to such climatic stress factors as well. A student from central Ethiopia involved in the genomics aspect began a MS program at the University of Florida in early 2015. A student from the US began a PhD program at Oklahoma State University in the fall of 2015, who will take primary responsibility for the aspects of limited drinking water availability and resistance to internal parasitism. Also, a Postdoctoral Research Associate from the north-central region of Ethiopia will take the lead in the stress factors of high heat load and limited feed intake. As noted above, two undergraduate students conducted internships for training in genomics and animal science research at the Department of Animal Science of Oklahoma State University in the summer of 2015. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?There were abstract presentations of project data at the national meetings of the American Society of Animal Science in 2014 and in 2015 at both the Southern Section and national meetings of the American Society of Animal Science. Project data are also presented in the quarterly Goat Newsletter and the proceedings of the Annual Goat Field Day of the Institute. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Articles for scientific journals are being prepared for the second and third procedure development studies. Trials to determine phenotypes have recently begun. Depending on when the new animal science research facility is finished, which was to have been completed even before this project began, it should be possible to conduct phenotyping within a 1.5-year period. Hence, a no-cost extension will be required in the spring of 2016.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The three experiments to develop appropriate standardized procedures for evaluating resilience of sheep to low nutrient intake, restricted water availability, and high heat load were conducted over a period of approximately 1 year. An abstract was published on the first experiment and presented at the 2014 national meetings of the American Society of Animal Science, and an article was submitted to a peer-reviewed scientific journal.An abstract for the second experiment was presented in February at the 2015 meetings of the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science, and an abstract for the third study was presented at the 2015 national meetings as well. Manuscripts for these second and third experiments are being prepared. The four distinct climatic zones or regions were selected. National sheep breed associations provided assistance in identification of collaborating producers. Initial visits occurred in early 2015 and animals were purchased and transported to Langston from July 5 to September 3. The quarantine period ended in early October. Phenotype evaluation recently began in mid-October. Ear punch tissue samples from oldest ewes on the farms where animals for phenotyping originated will be sent for DNA analysis this fall. Two undergraduate students conducted internships for training in genomics and animal science research at the Department of Animal Science of Oklahoma State University in the summer of 2015.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: URGE, M., PUCHALA, R., GIPSON, T. A., SAHLU, T. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2015. Effects of level and length of water restriction on body weight, feed intake, and plasma osmolality of Katahdin sheep and Boer and Spanish goat wethers. J. Anim. Sci. 93(E-Suppl.; number 103, page 42). URGE, M., PUCHALA, R., GIPSON, T. A., SAHLU, T. AND GOETSCH, A. L. 2015. Effects of high heat load on BW, DMI, rectal temperature, and respiration rate of Katahdin sheep and Boer and Spanish goat wethers. J. Anim. Sci. 93(E-Suppl. s3; page 176, number M477).

Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Primary target audiences for findings of this project are livestock producers and extension/outreach personnel, although animal science researchers and teachers will also have interest. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A faculty member of Haramaya University in eastern Ethiopia has been the principal investigator for the second and third procedure development experiments as a part of his training and professional development program while on sabbatical.Other project participants of Langston University have learned a great deal about animal responses to such climatic stress factors as well.A graduate student to be involved in the genomics aspect has just begun a MS program, and a student for the phenotyping component has been recruited and will be soon beginning a PhD program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? There was an abstract presentation of project data at the national meetings of the American Society of Animal Science in 2014.There will be presentations in 2015 at both the Southern Section and national meetings of the American Society of Animal Science.Project data are also presented in the quarterly Goat Newsletter and the proceedings of the Annual Goat Field Day of the Institute. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Preparations for activities of the next year have been made.Laboratory and statistical analyses on these experiments are also underway.The four distinct climatic zones have been selected.National sheep breed associations are providing assistance in identification of collaborating producers. Initial visits will be made to each area in early 2015 and animals will be transported to campus in the spring and early summer.Phenotype evaluation will begin in the summer/early fall period.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The three experiments to develop appropriate standardized procedures for evaluating resilience of sheep to low nutrient intake, restricted water availability, and high heat load were conducted over a period of approximately 1 year.An abstract was published on the first experiment and presented at the 2014 national meetings of the American Society of Animal Science, and an article has been submitted to a peer-reviewed scientific journal. An abstract for the second experiment will be presented in February at the 2015 meetings of the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science, and an abstract for the third study will be submitted for the 2015 national meetings.Laboratory and statistical analyses on these experiments are also underway.The four distinct climatic zones have been selected.National sheep breed associations are providing assistance in identification of collaborating producers. Initial visits will be made to each area in early 2015 and animals will be transported to campus in the spring and early summer.Phenotype evaluation will begin in the summer/early fall period.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Primary products are packages of information to be disseminated via means such as articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and abstracts for meetings of professional societies. A publication in the last reporting period is listed below. GOETSCH, A. L., PUCHALA, R., DOLEBO, A., GIPSON, T. A. AND TSUKAHARA, Y. 2014. A simple method to estimate feed required for maintenance of small ruminants. J. Anim. Sci. 92(E-Supplement 1; number 1899, page 924).