Background: The textile use of llama fiber, achieved through genetic improvement, llama selection and management, shows great potential for producing high-quality clothing and fabrics; providing an alternative income to highland residents who raise llamas. The aim of this research was to determine the fiber medullation of white Ch&acute;aku and Q&acute;ara color varieties of Llamas (Lama glama) from the communities of the Macusani district, Puno Peru.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: A total of 88 Llamas from the Ch&acute;aku and Q&acute;ara white color varieties, including males and females, from the age of milk teeth and two teeth, were used. Fiber samples of approximately 10 g were taken from the thigh, middle rib and shoulder, totaling 264 samples. Samples were analyzed at the Fiber Laboratory of the District Municipality of Corani, using the FIBER MED equipment. Data were analyzed in a completely randomized design (CRD) with a 2(variety) &times; 2 (sex) &times; 2 (age group) &times; 3 (body area) factorial arrangement.&nbsp; 
 
Result: The percentage of fiber medullation types in Ch&acute;aku and Q&acute;ara Llamas averaged 46.02% and 47.38%, showing no significant difference (p&gt;0.05). In Ch&acute;aku Llamas, a statistical difference was observed by sex (p&lt;0.05) for the percentage of medullated, non-medullated and continuous fibers in males and females. In Q&acute;ara variety, there was a significant difference in the percentage of medullated, non-medullated and continuous fibers between milk teeth and two teeth age groups. There was no significant difference (p&gt;0.05) between body area samples.

Fibre Medullation Characteristics in Peruvian Llamas (Lama glama)

Background: Fiber is a distinctive attribute of the alpaca due to its softness qualities; it contains less grease and has a finer cuticle compared to sheep&#39;s wool. Therefore, the types of medullation were estimated: non-medullated fibers (NoMed), fragmented medulla (FragMed), discontinuous medulla (DiscMed), continuous medulla (ContMed) and strongly medullated fibers (StrMed), considering the age and sex of Huacaya breed alpacas (Vicugna pacos) under extensive management conditions in high Andean pastures. 
 
Methods: Six grams of fiber samples were collected from the mid-side region (located above the third last&nbsp; rib, halfway between the midline of the belly and the midline of the back) of 240 Huacaya alpacas from the district of Macusani, province of Carabaya, Puno, during the year 2022. They were then processed in the Fiber Laboratory of the Faculty of Textile Engineering and Garments at the National University of Juliaca using the FIBER EC V4.0 and FIBER MED V1.0 equipment. 
 
Result: The results obtained show that the percentage of non-medullated fibers decreases as the animal&rsquo;s age increases (1 year= 75.60%, 2 years=69.43%, 3 years=69.05% and &gt;4 years=66.25%) (P&le;0.05). The percentage of medullated fibers in animals of 1 year was 24.40%; 2 years, 30.57%; 3 years, 30.95% and &gt;4 years, 33.59% (P&le;0.05). The mean fiber diameter in 1-year-old alpacas is 17.32 mm, 2 years=19.49 mm, 3 years = 19.91 mm and 4 years=20.10 mm (P&le;0.05). The comfort factor in 1-year-old animals is 99.47%, 2 years with 98.02%, 3-year-olds with 97.01% and those older than 4 years with 96.45% (P&le;0.05). Regarding the curvature index, values of 55.86 &deg;/mm were obtained for 1-year-old animals, 53.43 &deg;/mm for 2-year-olds, 53.99 &deg;/mm for 3-year-olds and 52.23&deg;/mm for those older than 4 years (P&le;0.05). In conclusion, Huacaya alpacas exhibit low values for the percentage of strongly medullated fibers due to the age and sex of the animal, demonstrating very good fleece uniformity.

Effect of Age and Sex on Medullation Types and Fiber Characteristics in Huacaya Alpacas

<div style="text-align: justify;">Polymorphic variants of keratin-associated protein (KAP) 6.1 gene with wool traits of Sandyno and Nilagiri breeds of sheep were investigated in this study. Genomic DNA was isolated from blood samples of 125 Sandyno, Nilagiri and Dorset x Nilagiri breeds of sheep along with 76 numbers of wool samples. A 528 bp segment was amplified by PCR using ovine specific primers for KAP 6.1 gene. SSCP analysis of KAP 6.1 gene in Dorset x Nilagiri crossbred sheep resulted in two genotypes for the A/B with no polymorphism. KAP 6.1 gene locus revealed allele frequencies of &nbsp;A, B, C, D and E in Sandyno sheep were 0.67, 0.23, 0.04, 0.01 and 0.04 and in Nilagiri were 0.75, 0.06, 0.11, 0.04 and 0.04 respectively. KAP 6.1 gene revealed departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. KAP 6.1 genes were found to have high degree of homozygosity (0.6667) in Nilagiri sheep. The effective number of alleles (Ne) for KAP 6.1 gene was 1.1690 and 1.7006 respectively in Sandyno and Nilagiri breeds of sheep. The PIC values for KAP 6.1 gene was 0.1341 and 0.3909 in Sandyno and Nilagiri breeds of sheep respectively. FIS values for KAP 6.1 gene was positive (0.1909) in Nilagiri breed and it was negative (&ndash; 0.0110) in Sandyno breed. Least squares analysis of variance showed significant (P&lt;0.05) effect between genotypes and between sexes for wool traits like GFW (kg), CWY (%) and FD (&micro;). Significant (P&lt;0.05) effect of breed (Sandyno and Nilagiri) was observed for all the wool traits (GFW, CWY, FD, SL and Medullation %). Significant (p&lt;0.05) higher CWY production was recorded for AC genotype (62.00 &plusmn; 1.73 %) while low value was recorded for BB genotype (56.25 &plusmn; 1.74 %). FD was found to be high in genotype AC (24.29 &plusmn; 1.17 &micro;) than in AA genotype (23.24 &plusmn; 0.49 &micro;). The homozygote AA was found to have more Medullation (%) and SL. Genotypes BB had higher GFW and lower CWY. The heterozygous genotype AC yielded more FD and CWY with lower most Medullation (%) and SL values. From the study, it may be concluded that KAP 6.1 gene might be a potential molecular marker for genetic selection of wool traits in Sandyno and Nilagiri breeds of sheep .</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">Polymorphism of Keratin - Associated Protein (KAP) 6.1 gene and its association with wool traits of Sandyno and Nilagiri breeds of sheep</div>