Seasonal weight loss effect in the hepatic fatty acid composition in Australian Merino, Damara and Dorper sheep

Seasonal weight loss (SWL) is one of the major limitations in small ruminant production in drought-prone regions. The study of breeds with higher tolerance to the effects of SWL is particularly important to define breed selection strategies. In this work we evaluated the effect of SWL in the hepatic fatty acids profile in three ovine breeds with different levels of tolerance: the Merino (susceptible to SWL), the Dorper (intermediate tolerant to SWL), and Damara (tolerant to SWL).