Interpretive Summary: Impacts of heat stress on growth performance and its mitigation in small ruminants

By: Silpa Mullakkalparambil Velayudhan, Ilavarasi Gunasekaran, Balamurugan Narasingam, Agnishwaran Ramajothi, Vanmathi Arulselvam, Eldhose Dona Mary, Darwin Ernest Angelin Shyona, Kalaignazhal Gajendirane, Rebez Ebenezer Binuni, Sejian Veerasamy

Implications

• Climate change and the associated stressors, particularly heat stress is a serious challenge for livestock producers, globally. Even though small ruminants are considered as ideal species with better adaptability to altering environmental conditions, these species also face detrimental effects on growth due to heat stress
• Growth, a crucial trait gets disrupted in heat-stressed animals and is reflected by alterations in hormonal status (growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), thyroxin (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), adrenocorticotropic (ACTH), thyroid stimulating hormone, follicle-stimulating (FSH), luteinizing hormones (LH), prolactin and leptin) and molecular dynamics (GH, leptin (LEP), growth hormone receptor (GHR), IGF-1, myosin enhancer factor (MEF2B), myogenic factor (MYF5), and myostatin (MSTN))
• Conventional growth evaluation metrics can be integrated to artificial intelligence (AI) tools to evaluate growth performance. Effective adoption of advanced AI tools with genomic approaches might unravel molecular mechanisms associated with thermal insult-induced alteration in growth traits.

Introduction

Small ruminants have been amongst the first farm animals to be domesticated by humans. Primarily, these animals are raised for meat, milk and skin ensuring global food security in addition to providing draught power and financial services. Small ruminants are highly valued for their versatility and excellent adaptability to varied geographical and climatic conditions as evident from their wide distribution pattern in Asian and African continents with rough climatic conditions.

Read more in Animal Frontiers, Factors Affecting Animal Growth.