فصلنامه پژوهشهای تولیدات دامی
پیاپی 40 (تابستان 1402)

In the poultry industry, the use of agricultural and industrial waste  is one of the economic strategies for providing feed . Corn gluten feed is an industrial waste that is produced through the wet corn milling process and due to its cheap price, good nutritional value and availability, can reduce feed production costs and provide part of the energy and protein required by poultry.

This experiment was performed with 320 on-d-old male Ross 308 broiler chickens in a completely randomized design with 2×4 factorial arrangement including four levels of corn gluten feed (0, 12, 24, 36%) and two levels of multi enzyme (0 and 0.07%) was performed. For each experimental treatment, four replications containing 10 birds were assigned. During the experiment, feed intake and body weight were measured periodically. At the end of the experiment, two birds were selected from each replicate and their carcass characteristics were examined after slaughter. Nutrient digestibility was also assessed by sampling feces at 21 days of age. At 21 and 42 days of age, two chicks were selected based on the average body weight of each replicate and blood was drawn from their wing vein.

The rations containing 36% level of corn gluten feed had more feed consumption in the growth period, as well as the lowest weight gain and the highest food conversion ratio in the initial periods, growth and the entire rearing period, compared to other levels of corn gluten feed consumption (p<0.05). The average weight gain and feed conversion ratio improved in treatments containing enzymes in the initial and growth periods. Birds containing enzyme levels without corn gluten feed had the highest weight gain and the lowest food conversion ratio in the entire rearing period compared to other treatments (p<0.05). Addition of enzyme to the diet containing 36% of corn gluten feed increased the relative weight of liver and bursa of Fabricius compared to diets without enzyme (p<0.05). Addition of enzyme also decreased fat in the ventricular cavity (p<0.05). The use of 36% level of corn gluten feed in the diet improved the digestibility of crude fat compared to zero and 12% levels of corn gluten feed in the diet. Addition of enzyme to the diet improved the digestibility of crude protein (p<0.05). At the age of 21 days, treatments containing a mixture of 12 or 24% corn gluten feed and enzyme in the diet caused a decrease in the concentration of triglyceride and very low density lipoprotein compared to the levels containing 12 and 24 percent corn gluten feed. Also, by adding enzyme to the diet, blood glucose concentration increased significantly.

In general, the results showed that by supplementation multienzyme in, corn gluten feed up to 36% can be used in the diet of broilers without negative

 The limitation of water and soil resources, as well as the import of major food items used in animal nutrition, shows the necessity of using alternative food sources and the use of industrial and agricultural by-products in animal nutrition. Also, cereal grains are the main food for humans, and considering the growth of human population, especially in developing countries, it is not logical to use them in animal rations. In addition, it has been reported that the trend of grain production in the world is decreasing. Barley is an important source of energy in the whole world and is the basic energy unit in livestock nutritional standards. The content of digestible energy, crude protein, starch and lysine of barley is between corn and oats. Barley grain is similar to oats in some ways, but the shell of the barley grain is smaller and hardly attached to the kernel. For this reason, it should be processed before feeding. Due to having a coating, the amount of crude fiber in barley is higher than non-coated grains such as corn, sorghum, wheat and rye. Barley should be considered intermediate between oats and other grains in terms of nutritional value and characteristics, but its density is similar to corn and its starch digestion in the small intestine is slightly less than corn. In most varieties of barley, the seed is surrounded by a coat that constitutes 10 to 14% of the seed weight. The average crude protein content of barley grain is close to 10% of dry matter, which is of low quality and lacks amino acid lysine. The main protein of endosperm is prolamin, which forms the majority of seed protein. In the past, many attempts have been made to minimize the use of cereal grains in animal diets with different alternatives. In line with the optimal use of agricultural by-products in livestock feeding, a lot of research has been done, which is the replacement of by-products such as cereal bran instead of cereal grains in the concentrate.

In order to investigate the effect of using different levels of barley bran on performance, nutrient digestibility, some blood metabolites and ruminal parameters in Dalagh ewes, 20 ewes that Three Abdomen Births and Dalagh race with a mean weight of 36.3 ± 3.7 was used. This experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments and five replications. Treatments included: control treatment (diet without barley bran), treatment (diet containing 7 percent barley bran), treatment (diet containing 14 percent barley bran) and treatment (diet containing 21 percent barley bran). The consumed feed and the remaining feed were weighed on a daily basis, and the animals were weighed every two weeks fasting, after 16 hours of starvation, using a digital scale, and all statistical analyzes of this project were performed in SAS software version 9.1.

 The results of this experiment showed that using different levels of barley bran in ewes caused no significant difference in daily weight gain, final weight and feed conversion ratio (p>0.05) However, daily feed intake was affected by experimental treatments in treatment consumer 21% of barley bran reduces daily feed intake (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), insoluble fiber in acidic detergent (NDF) and ether extract(ET) between treatments receiving different amounts of barley bran (p>0.05) but the digestibility of insoluble fiber in neutral detergent. With increasing consumption of barley bran, it decreases so that the control treatment has the highest percentage of digestibility of insoluble fiber in neutral detergent (p<0.05). protozoan population was not affected by experimental treatments during fasting and three hours after feeding (p>0.05), but protozoan population decreased at six hours after morning feeding in barley bran receiving treatments compared to the control treatment (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in ruminal pH during fasting, three and six hours after morning feeding between treatments receiving different amounts of barley bran (p>0.05), but ruminal ammonia concentration in treatment receiving 14% barley bran. Significance was higher than other treatments (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in blood glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, urea, total protein, albumin and globulin levels among different ewes of different levels of barley bran (p>0.05), also, use of barley bran at different levels in relation to nutritional behavior and ruminal activity does not have a significant effect (p>0.05).

 According to the results of this experiment, without reducing feed intake and upsetting the rumen balance, barley bran up to 14% can be used in Dalagh ewes and this substitute of barley, which is also cheap, is a substitute for cereals, and the results of this research can be applied to sheep's rations to reduce nutritional costs.

Heat stress (HS) affects physiological, biochemical and production functions in livestock. By suppressing various components of the immune system, HS increases the susceptibility of livestock to various diseases. This tension has a negative effect on the health and production ability of livestock by disrupting the nervous-hormonal system and suppressing the immune system. The use of different nutritional solutions to improve the immune system of livestock in different stages of production has attracted a lot of attention. This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of glutamine supplementation and protein level on inflammatory indicators, immune system and blood parameters of pregnant Zel breed ewes during the transitional period and the immune response of their lambs during HS.

20 pregnant ewes with an average weight of 42±1 kg and an age of 2.5±1 years and multiparous were selected and randomly assigned to four experimental treatments. Experimental treatments included: 1) basal diet (equal metabolizable protein requirement) 2) basal diet with glutamine (1% diet) 3) diet with 10% more protein than requirement and 4) basal diet with 10% more protein with glutamine.  Blood sampling was done weekly before morning feeding from all ewes using vacuum tubes containing heparin (Venojet) from the jugular vein. Blood parameters including albumin, total plasma protein, alkaline phosphatase and malondialdehyde were measured with relevant kits and with an automatic analyzer. Insulin, immunoglobulin G (IgG), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) were measured using ELISA kits. In order to evaluate the immune response and the state of general inflammation, the differential blood count profile was examined.

One week before and after parturition and on the day of parturition, the amount of albumin, total protein, insulin and IgG increased with glutamine consumption (P<0.05).  Also, glutamine supplementation increased the concentration of IgG in lambs born from ewes (P<0.0001).The effect of experimental treatments on alkaline phosphatase was not significant. Also, the consumption of glutamine supplement one week before parturition, one week after parturition and on the day of parturition decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde (P=0.0030, P=0.0057 and P=0.0301, respectively). The number of white blood cells in one week before parturition and on the day of parturition increased significantly with the addition of glutamine (P=0.0015 and P=0.0024, respectively). Glutamine supplementation significantly reduced blood neutrophils (P<0.05). However, blood lymphocyte was significantly increased (P<0.05). On the day of parturition and one week after parturition, treatments increased the values ​​of IL-2 (P=0.0216 and P=0.0586, respectively) and IL-10 (P=0.0573 and P=0.0019, respectively). While the amount of IL-6 on the day of parturition and one week after parturition was significantly reduced by consuming glutamine and adding the level of metabolizable protein (P=0.0079 and P=0.0027, respectively).

The results of this experiment showed that glutamine supplementation improves the health status of pregnant ewes under HS and their lambs.

Due to the ban on the use of antibiotics as a growth promoter in the broiler industry since 2007, researchers are always looking for a suitable alternative to antibiotics. Silver nanoparticles with antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties were used as one of the proposed alternatives to antibiotics and the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of coated silver nanoparticles on zeolite on the expression of metallothionein gene as a biomarker of heavy metals in the liver cells of broiler chickens.

In this experiment, Ross 308 broiler chickens were allocated to five experimental diets: control or basal diet, basal diet supplemented by 1% zeolite, basal diet supplemented by 1% zeolite coated with 0.5% nanosilver, basal diet supplemented by 0.15% organic acid and basal diet supplemented by 1% zeolite coated with 0.5% nanosilver and 0.15% organic acid were designed under normal and heat stress conditions. Liver tissue samples were collected on days 21 and 42 of rearing period. In order to perform gene expression studies, RNA was extracted and its quality was evaluated by electrophoresis and after purification, cDNA synthesis was performed. In the following the polymerase chain reaction was performed for tissue cDNA samples for metallothionein gene and also betaactin as reference gene.

The results showed a significant increase in expression of metallothionein gene in the liver tissue of broilers in zeolite treatment on d 21 (p<0.05). Also, on d 42 of rearing period without heat stress conditions, a significant increase in metallothionein gene expression were observed on silver nanoparticles coated on zeolite and 0.15% organic acid (NSOA) treatment. Also, on d 42 under heat stress conditions the results showed a significant increase in zeolite (Z) and silver nanoparticles coated on zeolite (NS) treatments in liver tissue in comparison with control treatment (p<0.05).

The results of present study indicated that metallothionein gene could be considered as a reliable heavy metal biomarker under normal and heat stress conditions in broiler chickens.

Reproductive efficiency and egg production are decreased in aged birds, which are economically significant. The current study was aimed to compare the different ages of laying Japanese quails on egg quality characteristics, blood parameter and liver histology.

A total number of 180 laying Japanese quail were purchased from three commercial flocks with different ages studied for one week after four weeks of habituation. Birds were assigned into three age groups, young (11 weeks), adult (26 weeks) and old (45 weeks) with five replications (9 birds per replication). During of experiment, feedlot performance and egg quality parameters were evaluated. In the end of study, ten quail per treatment were randomly selected and dissected. Following this time, blood and liver samples were collected for evaluating blood biochemical parameters (triglyceride, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), very lowdensity lipoprotein (VLDL), aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and liver histology. The liver tissue was processed with hematoxylin-eosin after processing.

The findings showed that in old quails, a decreased the percentage of egg production and egg mass, and an increased the food conversion ratio and consumed feed per dozen eggs compared with other two groups (P<0.05). In adult and young quails had lower egg weigh, egg Length and width, yolk diameter, yolk weight, yolk percentage and albumen height than old group and Yolk index, albumen and shell percentage had higher (p<0.005). Old quails had higher Haugh unit and Shell weight than adult quails(p<0.005). In different age groups, Shape index, yolk height, egg white weight, and shell thickness were not significantly different. In adult quails Triglyceride and VLDL were higher than the other two groups (P<0.05). Total cholesterol, HDL and LDL were the highest in the adult group and the lowest in the old group (P<0.05). Old quails had more liver tissue damage than young quails.

In general, although the egg quality characteristics of Japanese quails increase with age, production performance decreased along with the decrease of blood lipid metabolites and the increase of liver damage.

Changes in the microbial population of the digestive tract affect the reproductive and neoral systems. Both systems are involved in the process of estrus and ovulation. In this study, the main goal  wasis to investigate the changes in the rumen microbial population in non-breeding seasons during the estrous period for animals that have  signs of estrus and animals that do not show estrus signs.

In order to investigate changes in rumen fluid microbial population in estrus cycle, two groups of 10 animals in estrus and non estrus status were selected.  Once every four days rumen fluid samples were collected for microbial culture and other investigations from both groups. In order to cultivate and separate the colonies, general culture medium for anaerobic bacteria colonies such as Plate count agar, MRS agar (de Man-Rogosa - Sharpe) and starch agar was used. Subtraction of colonies was also done by subtractive cultures or different diagnostic tests to identify colonies. Data analysis was done using SAS software version 1/9. Means were compared with the least square procedure and adjusted for Tukey's test.

The  comparison between the two groups at 5 different times showed that only on the day of estrus, the population of lactic acid producing bacteria was higher than anestrous group (P<0.05). The comparison between two groups of estrus and anestrus  at 5 different times showed that the estrus group had a higher lipolytic bacterial population than the anestrus group in  days of  5, 6 and 17 of estrus cycle (P<0.05), but  at the day of 13th bacterial population in anestrus group  was higher (P<0.05). The comparison between estrus and anestrus groups showed that the amount of the total bacterial population in the estrus group at all the sampling times in the estrus group was higher than anestrus group (P<0.05).

In total, the cultures obtained from the rumen fluid in the estrus group showed that between amylolytic, lipolytic and total colonies of anaerobic bacterial populations in certain days of estrus cycle was different between animals with sign and no sign of estrus.

The continuous effort of breeders towards producing high-quality broiler strains demands continuous evaluation of broiler strains in terms of traits beyond performance. Increase in leg disorders in commercial broiler chickens resulted in considerable attention being given to the characteristics of leg bones. Furthermore, digestive tract characteristics have been considered to have a critical role in the poultry growth. Therefore, in this study, feedlot performance, intestinal morphology and tibial bone characteristics were compared and investigated in two strains of broiler chickens (Ross 308 and Arian) in Iran.

One-day-old chicks from Ross308 and Arian strains were separately allocated to two treatment groups. The initial number of each strain was 48, divided into 12 replicate cages, each with four chicks. The body weight and feed intake were recorded in weekly intervals for six consecutive weeks. The randomly selected broilers were slaughtered at 32 days of age, to make measurements of the morphometric characteristics in the different segments of small intestine, and also tibial morphology, breaking strength and composition. Feet relative weight and carcass percentage were determined at the end of the rearing period.

The whole feed intake of the Arian broilers was significantly higher throughout the experimental period, but overall body weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were not statistically different between the two strains. In accordance with the present results, in most of the studies conducted in Iran, Ross and Arian strains were not superior to each other in terms of body weight gain and feed conversion ratio during the breeding period of 1 to 42 days. Carcass yield in both slaughter ages was lower in Arian than in Ross. This may be due to the lower relative weight of the feet, visceral fat, or internal organs in the Ross308 broiler chickens in comparison with the Arian broilers. The villus thickness and the jejunal and the ileal surface area were significantly greater in the Arian broilers than in the Ross308. However, ileal goblet cell densities were lower in the Arian broilers than in Ross308. A decrease in the acidic goblet cells may be considered relevant to increased susceptibility of the small intestine to bacterial translocation, which theoretically may lead to inflammatory responses in the broiler body. Among the tibial characteristics, only the diameter of the diaphysis and the medullary canal were significantly wider in the Arian broilers than in the Ross308.

Ross308 strain had lower feed intake (in the entire period of trial), the better feed conversion ratio (up to 28 days of age), and higher carcass yield in comparison with those in Arian. It is possible that the gut microbial flora of the Arian strain has a role in higher feed consumption and lower density of acidic goblet cells in the intestinal villi of this strain. However, the Arian chickens had a tibial bones with higher diameters and intestinal villi with greater absorptive surfaces than those in Ross308; the features which may lead to the reduction of leg disorders (especially in the cage breeding system) and better absorption of nutrients in the broiler chickens, respectively. In general, according to the experimental conditiond and economic considerations, Ross308 strain is recommended for broiler farms.

Estimates of genetic and environmental parameters of different component traits related to growth are needed to develop a proper selection program. The Kleiber ratio (KR) is defined as average daily gain as a proportion of metabolic body weight. Most studies conducted in KR ignored the effect of sex-linked chromosomes and assumed that direct genetic effects were influenced by autosomal chromosomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate (Co)variance components of both autosomal and sex-Linked chromosomes for KR in Markhoz goat.

In the present study, the data were collected from 1992 to 2014 at Markhoz goat breeding station in Kurdistan province, Iran. The traits were kleiber ratio from birth to weaning (KR1), kleiber ratio from weaning to six months of age (KR2), kleiber ratio from weaning to six months of age (KR2), kleiber ratio from six to nine months of age (KR3) and kleiber ratio from nine to twelve months of age (KR4). The GLM procedure of the SAS software was used to determine significant fixed effects. The model accounting for fixed effects included year, sex, birth type and age of doe. In addition, random effects included direct additive genetic effects of autosomal chromosomes, direct additive genetic effects of sex-linked, maternal genetic effects, maternal permanent environmental effects and residual effects. (Co)variance components and genetic parameters were estimated using six different single-trait analysis via Average Information algorithm of Restricted Maximum Likelihood method using WOMBAT software. Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) test was applied to select the most apropariate model for each trait.

The most suitable model for KR1, KR2, KR3 and KR4 traits were the sixth, first, fourth and first models, respectively. Based on the best models, the estimated direct autosomal heritabilities were 0.410, 0.019, 0.172 and 0.020 for KR1, KR2, KR3 and KR4, respectively. The estimated sex-linked direct heritabilities were 0.008, 0.021, 0.049 and 0.023 for KR1, KR2, KR3 and KR4, respectively. The maternal heritability for KR1 and KR3 were 0.106 and 0.057, respectively. The maternal permanent environmental effect of 0.064 was estimatedfor KR1. The autosomal, sex-chromosome and phenotypic correlations between traits were ranged from -0.518 to 0.901, -0.943 to 0.652 and -0.001 to 0.312, respectively.

The results of this study showed that a considerable ratio of the phenotypic variance is explained by sex-linked chromosome effects. Therefore, including the sex-linked chromosome effect in the model may lead to a more precise estimates of direct autosomal heritability.

In order to determine the contribution of genetics for survival of lambs as well as use in the breeding program, it is necessary to estimate the covariance components and genetic parameters. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to estimate genetic parameters for survival from birth to six months of Sanjabi lambs.

Survival records of Sanjabi lambs, supplied by Mehrgan station from 2016 to 2022, were used. To find significant fixed effects, birth year, sex, birth type (single and multiple) and dam age were investigating based on the GLM procedure. Significant environmental factors were included in the final model of genetic analysis. To estimate the genetic parameters of survival traits, both restricted maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods via Gibbs sampling were used. In order to investigate the effect of maternal factors, six animal models with and without maternal genetic and permanent environmental effects were taken into account, and the appropriate model was selected based on Akaike's criterion (AIC). In addition, genetic parameters of survival traits were calculated based on threshold model and Bayes method.

Maternal genetic effect for survival from birth to one and two months of age was significant (p<0.05). Maternal heritability for survival from birth to one and two months of age was 0.43 and 0.18, respectively. Based on univariate analysis, direct heritability for survival traits from birth to one, two, three and six months of age based on the linear model was 0.38, 0.82, 0.017 and 0.043, and based on threshold model was 0.045, 0.020, 0.033 and 0.049, respectively. Based on the REML method, genetic correlation ranged from 0.433 (between traits of survival from birth to one month and survival from birth to two months) to 0.993 (between traits of survival from birth to three months and survival from birth to six months). Also based on the Bayesian method via Gibbs sampling ranged from 0.427 (between survival from birth to one month and survival from birth to two months) to 0.989 (between survival from birth to three months with survival from birth to six months).

Estimated genetic parameters based on Bayes method was more accurately than REML method. The negative covariance between direct and maternal genetic effects made the high value of direct heritability for survival from birth to two months of age. Low to medium direct heritability show the slow genetic progress of survival traits, therefore-paying attention to non-genetic factors along with genetic factors will increase survival of lambs. The genetic correlation between survival traits was positive and high in such a way that the selection for survival at a certain age will cause the correlated response for survival at other ages. Considering the importance of reproductive traits such as the number of lambs per ewe, the genetic improvement of survival is of particular importance and can be included in the breeding goals of Sanjabi sheep.

One of the goals of identifying loci related to quantitative traits is to find the genes that affecting economic traits related to growth,  which can be of particular importance in the progress of breeding programs. The aim of the present study was to identify the polymorphisms of GH and GHR genes and their association with carcass traits in Zel sheep using PCR-SSCP.

After collecting blood samples from157 Zel sheep, DNA was extracted using modified salting-out procedure. PCR was done to amplify fragments with length of 214 and 218 bp from exon 4 of GH and exon 10 of GHR genes, respectively.  For detection of polymorphisms in each marker site the SSCP and sequencing methods were used.

The results showed the presence of polymorphism in GH gen site; however, no difference was observed among banding patterns for GHR gene. Genotypes 1 and 2 of GH gene were obtained with frequencies of 43.71 and 56.29, respectively.

The sequencing results showed 5 mutations for GH gene in the studied population. No significant associations of the available genotypes in the exon 4 of GH Gene were observed for any trait. In relation to the third structure of mutated protein for both patterns, the results indicated the predicted protein contains only two chains and consequently lacks of performance, compared with the reference protein. Therefore, the studied marker in the GH gene  can not be considered as an effective marker on carcass traits in Zel sheep breed.

Probiotics, to an appropriate extent, are defined as living microorganisms with beneficial properties that have been accepted for both treatment and prevention of pathogens. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a diet containing probiotics on hematology and oxidative stress indices in Dareshoor mares.

For this purpose, 5 horses were fed a diet containing probiotic Bio-Equine (10 g per day) for one month. Blood samples were taken before and after taking probiotics. In stages, complete blood count (Hematocrit, Red blood cell, White blood cell, and percentage of each), serum malondialdehyde levels, total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase enzymes were measured. The obtained data were analyzed using t-test statistical method.

The results showed that the addition of probiotics to the diet had no effect on hematocrit and red blood cell count, but the number of white blood cells and the percentage of neutrophils and lymphocytes in the blood of horses increased with probiotic nutrition, although this increase was not significant (P>0.05). Consumption of probiotics for one month led to an increase in serum antioxidant status, although this increase was only significant for glutathione peroxidase (P<0.001).

Overall, the results showed that the addition of Bio-Equine probiotics to the diet improved the immunity and antioxidant activity of saline horses.

DNA Mitochondria is one of the most commonly molecular markers for phylogenetic studies in animals due to its simple genome structure, which presents an ideal model to study evolution and genetic similarity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the divergence and percentage of genetic similarity along with the phylogenetic analysis of the eight species of wild and domestic goat based on the complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome and the separate sequences of 13 protein-coding genes for each genome.

In the present study, complete mitochondrial genome sequences along with separate sequences of 13 protein-coding genes per each genome from seven wild species of goat including Markhor (C. falcoeri), Capra ibex, Capra nubiana, Capra pyrenaica, Capra sibirica, Capra caucasica, Capra aegagrus, and domesticated species of goat (Capra hircus) were retrieved from NCBI database and compared to each other. Mitochondrial genomes and genes alignment were accomplished by the MegAlign module of DNASTAR software and compared by the Clustal W method. The Sequence Distances sub-section of the MegAlign module of DNASTAR also was used for the analysis of complete genome and gene sequences divergence and similarity percentage. For phylogenetic analysis, complete mitochondrial genomes and protein-coding genes’ sequences were aligned using MEGA7 software.

Based on the analysis, it was found that the highest similarity between the nucleotide sequences of the complete genome (99.50) of domestic goat (Capra hircus) and wild Capra aegagrus goat and the lowest percentage of similarity (93.79) between the nucleotide sequences of the complete genome of the breed Capra nubiana) with wild goat Capra sibirica goat. Also, based on the results of the phylogenetic tree, it was found that domestic goat breeds (Capra hircus) and wild Capra aegagrus goat are divided into one group and wild Capra ibex and Capra pyrenaica breeds are divided into another distinct cluster.

In this study, all the results obtained from complete sequences of the mitochondrial genome analysis are consistent with the results obtained from the sequence of 13 protein coding genes per each genome, which indicates the correct clustering of wild and domestic goat breeds. Therefore, mitochondrial genome sequences could be used as a suitable genetic marker for accurate phylogenetic analysis and clustering of different species of sheep.