| Buffaloes have poor heat tolerance capacity compared to other domestic ruminants and are more prone to heat stress due to scarcely distributed sweat glands, dark body color and sparse hair on the body surface. Thermal environment is a major factor that can affect milk production and reproduction in buffalo especially animals of high genetic merit. Therefore present study was undertaken to study the effect of seasonal stress on Murrah buffalo. Thirty healthy non-lactating Murrah buffaloes each around two years of age were selected for the experiment. Rectal temperature, respiration rate, heart rate and various hormones level were measured in different season to know the effect of heat stress in buffalo. Season had no significant effect on rectal temperature, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) level. However, it had significant effect on respiration rate(P≤0.05), heart rate(P≤0.01) and cortisol level (P≤0.05) in Murrah buffalo. They had lowest level of respiration rate, heart rate and cortisol level in winter season and highest level in summer. This indicates stressful condition of animal in summer.

Present study was undertaken to investigate the single nucleotide polymorphism within growth hormone gene and its correlation with body weight in Black Bengal goat. Two fragments of growth hormone gene, 245 bp fragment (partial intron 1, exon 2 and partial intron 2) and 472 bp fragment (partial intron 2, exon 3 and intron 3 and partial exon 4) were analyzed for detection of polymorphism expected to be present at this locus. SSCP of 245 bp and 472 bp fragment revealed 4 and 5 genotypes, respectively. Sequencing revealed substitution at 5 places in 245 bp fragment whereas at 6 places in 472 bp fragment of growth hormone gene. Least square analysis revealed that only 472 bp fragment genotypes had significant effect on body weight at 6 and 9 month of age. Animals having AC genotype had the highest birth weight, whereas animals having CC genotype had lowest birth weight.

This study was aimed to genetic profiling of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) gene in Murrah buffalo investigating 50 unrelated adult animals at ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna (India) in winter, spring, and summer. PCR ready genomic DNA samples and season-wise total RNA samples were prepared. The PCR products of Hsp70 eluted from agarose gel were sequenced and analyzed. The first-strand cDNA was synthesized and concentration was equalized to 25 ng/μl. Expression kinetics of mRNA transcripts in different seasons was studied using Brilliant SYBR Green QPCR technique and the data retrieved was analyzed by least-squares ANOVA. DNA sequencing by primer walking revealed four allelic variants of Hsp70 gene. Alignment study revealed one substitution in 5′UTR, six substitutions in coding region, and one addition in 3′UTR. The highest percent identity and negligible phylogenetic distance were found among the alleles and reference bovine sequences. The relative mRNA expression was significantly higher in summer when THI ≥ 84 than the spring and winter; fold change increased by 4.5 times in summer than the spring whereas found nearly half in winter. These findings can be useful for heat stress management in buffaloes and help in understanding the mechanism of thermo-regulation well.

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AIM: To estimate the level of serum lipoprotein (a) [Lp (a)] in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and to determine the relationship between Lp(a) in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and micro-vascular complications. METHODS: A cross sectional study was performed that enrolled 144 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus above the age of 25 years attending outpatient Department of Medicine, JannayakKarpuri Thakur Medical College & Hospital, Medhura, Bihar. Lp(a) levels were measured quantitatively in venous samples using Turbidimetric Immunoassay in all subjects. Each patient was evaluated for micro vascular complications, namely diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy. The relationship between Lp(a) levels and the micro vascular complications was assessed by univariate analysis. RESULTS: Mean age of cases was 53.93 ± 10.74 years with a male to female ratio of 1.3:1. Mean duration of diabetes was 9.53 ± 7.3 years. Abnormal Lp(a) levels (≥ 30 mg/dL) were observed in 38 (26.4%) diabetic subjects. Seventy-eight (54.16%) cases had diabetic nephropathy and significantly higher Lp(a) levels were found among these cases [Median 28.2 mg/dL (Interquartile range; IQR 24.4-33.5) vs 19.3 mg/dL (IQR 14.7-23.5); P< 0.05]. Retinopathy was present among 66 (45.13%) cases and peripheral neuropathy was detected among 54 (37.5%) cases. However, Lp(a) levels were not significantly different among those with or without retinopathy and neuropathy. Positive correlation was found between higher Lp(a) levels and duration of diabetes (r = 0.165, P < 0.05) but not with HbA1c values (r = – 0.083). CONCLUSION: Abnormal Lp(a) levels were found among 26.4% of diabetic subjects. Patients with diabetic nephropathy had higher Lp(a) levels. No association was found between Lp(a) levels and diabetic retinopathy or neuropathy. Longer duration of diabetes correlated with higher Lp(a) levels.