Intelligent Multi-Modeling Reveals Biological Mechanisms and Adaptive Phenotypes in Hair Sheep Lambs from a Semi-Arid Region

Robson Mateus Freitas Silveira^{1

2}, Fábio Augusto Ribeiro², João Pedro Dos Santos², Luiz Paulo Fávero^{2

3}, Luis Orlindo Tedeschi⁴, Anderson Antonio Carvalho Alves⁵, Danilo Augusto Sarti⁶, Anaclaudia Alves Primo⁷, Hélio Henrique Araújo Costa⁷, Neila Lidiany Ribeiro⁸, Amanda Felipe Reitenbach⁹, Fabianno Cavalcante de Carvalho⁷, Aline Vieira Landim⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Science, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba 13418-900, SP, Brazil.
² MBA in Data Science and Analytics, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), 11 Pádua Dias Ave, Piracicaba 13418-900, SP, Brazil.
³ School of Economics, Business and Accounting, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 05508-900, SP, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
⁵ Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
⁶ Hamilton Institute, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Maynooth University, County Kildare W23 F2H6, Ireland.
⁷ Department of Animal Science, Vale do Acaraú State University (UVA), Sobral 62040-370, CE, Brazil.
⁸ Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Paraíba, Campus II, PB-079 Highway (km 12), Areia 58397-000, PB, Brazil.
⁹ Institute of Chemistry, University of Brasília, Brasília 70904-970, DF, Brazil.

PMID: 40725468
PMCID: PMC12294602
DOI: 10.3390/genes16070812

Intelligent Multi-Modeling Reveals Biological Mechanisms and Adaptive Phenotypes in Hair Sheep Lambs from a Semi-Arid Region

Robson Mateus Freitas Silveira et al. Genes (Basel). 2025.

. 2025 Jul 11;16(7):812.

doi: 10.3390/genes16070812.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Science, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba 13418-900, SP, Brazil.
² MBA in Data Science and Analytics, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ), University of São Paulo (USP), 11 Pádua Dias Ave, Piracicaba 13418-900, SP, Brazil.
³ School of Economics, Business and Accounting, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 05508-900, SP, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
⁵ Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
⁶ Hamilton Institute, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Maynooth University, County Kildare W23 F2H6, Ireland.
⁷ Department of Animal Science, Vale do Acaraú State University (UVA), Sobral 62040-370, CE, Brazil.
⁸ Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Paraíba, Campus II, PB-079 Highway (km 12), Areia 58397-000, PB, Brazil.
⁹ Institute of Chemistry, University of Brasília, Brasília 70904-970, DF, Brazil.

PMID: 40725468
PMCID: PMC12294602
DOI: 10.3390/genes16070812

Abstract

Background: Heat stress challenges small ruminants in semi-arid regions, requiring integrative multi-modeling approaches to identify adaptive thermotolerance traits. This study aimed to identify phenotypic biomarkers and explore the relationships between thermoregulatory responses and hematological, behavioral, morphometric, carcass, and meat traits in lambs.

Methods: Twenty 4-month-old non-castrated male lambs, with an average body weight of 19.0 ± 5.11 kg, were evaluated under natural heat stress.

Results: Thermoregulatory variables were significantly associated with non-carcass components (p = 0.002), carcass performance (p = 0.027), commercial meat cuts (p = 0.032), and morphometric measures (p = 0.029), with a trend for behavioral responses (p = 0.078). The main phenotypic traits related to thermoregulation included idleness duration, cold carcass weight, blood, liver, spleen, shank, chest circumference, and body length. Exploratory factor analysis reduced the significant indicators to seven latent domains: carcass traits, commercial meat cuts, non-carcass components, idleness and feeding behavior, and morphometric and thermoregulatory responses. Bayesian network modeling revealed interdependencies, showing carcass traits influenced by morphometric and thermoregulatory responses and non-carcass traits linked to ingestive behavior. Thermoregulatory variables were not associated with meat quality or hematological traits.

Conclusions: These findings highlight the complex biological relationships underlying heat adaptation and emphasize the potential of combining phenomic data with computational tools to support genomic selection for climate-resilient and welfare-oriented breeding programs.

Keywords: adaptation; advanced analytics; meat traits; phenotypic biomarker; thermoregulatory responses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Canonical standardized coefficients of thermoregulation with behavioral response, carcass performance, non-carcass components, commercial meat cuts and morphometric responses. RR: respiration rate; HR: heart rate; RT: rectal temperature; MSF: minutes spent feeding; MSI: minutes spent in idleness; MSR: minutes spent ruminating, CCW: cold carcass weight; FCW: fasting carcass weight; HCW: hot carcass weight, BLOOD: blood volume; LUNG: lung weight; HEART: heart weight; KIDNEYS: kidney weight; LIVER: liver weight; SPLEEN: spleen weight; SHANK: shank weight; TP: thorax perimeter; BL: body length; SHANKCIR: shank circumference; LEA: loin eye area. Note: * p < 0.05 and ** p < 0.001, *** p < 0.0001.

**Figure 2**
Renamed latent variables and eigenvalues of the original variables according to exploratory factor analysis.

**Figure 3**
Bayesian network between latent variables showing the correlation between behavioral, thermoregulatory, productive and morphometric responses of hair sheep in semi-arid area of Brazil.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Intelligent Multi-Modeling Reveals Biological Mechanisms and Adaptive Phenotypes in Hair Sheep Lambs from a Semi-Arid Region

Affiliations

Intelligent Multi-Modeling Reveals Biological Mechanisms and Adaptive Phenotypes in Hair Sheep Lambs from a Semi-Arid Region

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources