Chapters authored
Ovine Artificial Insemination in the Maghreb Region: Present Status and Future Prospects
Artificial insemination (AI) plays a key role in the genetic improvement of farm animals. Although it is widely used for cattle in the Maghreb region, it is scarcely applied in sheep at farm level. This is not only due to low fertility and irregular results that range between 30 to less than 76% for both cervical AI with fresh semen and laparoscopic insemination with frozen semen in most of studied breeds and also because of low results related to conditioning of fresh, chilled and frozen rams′ semen. An appropriately literature analysis was conducted to highlight the importance of sheep breeding in the Maghreb region particularly in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and to assess the efficiency of AI for Magrebin ovine breeds, the results related to different semen conditioning techniques and different AI procedures. The main factors affecting AI results are also presented. Finally, this chapter presents different strategies to improve AI efficiency at farm level in the future and the challenges to extrapolate experimental AI techniques to field conditions at a large scale.
Part of the book: Sheep Farming
Microbiological Quality and Biochemical Characteristics of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Camel Milk as Affected by the Production System and Stage of Lactation
The aim of this work is to study the effect of lactation stage and camel farming system on microbiological, physicochemical parameters, and identification of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of camel milk. Samples were collected from four camels in semi-intensive system and four camels in intensive system. Microbiological and physicochemical parameters were analyzed. Furthermore, to study the effect of lactation stage, samples were collected from three camels and followed during a period of 10 months of lactation from parturition. LAB were isolated from this sample and identified by biochemical methods. The difference between the physico-chemical characteristic basis of camel farming system are not statistically different except fat. The microbiological analysis showed a significant difference in total mesophilic bacteria, yeast, and molds and total coliform between intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive system. The difference between physicochemical and microbiological characteristics basis of lactation stage are statistically significant. In the intensive system, they were identified the same genre of bacteria: Lactococcus lactis, but in semi intensive system, we found different species of LAB. Eight of LAB identified as different Lactococcus or Lactobacillus was isolated in colostrums. The diversity of LAB was affected by lactation stage and farming system.
Part of the book: Milk Protein