Mutant sheep could solve curly question

AgResearch scientists David Scobie (left) and Jeff Plowman examine Sharon the mutant sheep. Photo...
AgResearch scientists David Scobie (left) and Jeff Plowman examine Sharon the mutant sheep. Photo: AgResearch.
The geep might have been a sheep but an odd-looking animal found on the Taieri a few years ago helped spur some interesting research.

Research into "mutant" sheep began in 2011 when a lamb with an unusual coat was brought to the attention of AgResearch staff involved in wool research.

A lamb bred on the Taieri that was initially thought to be a geep. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery.
A lamb bred on the Taieri that was initially thought to be a geep. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery.
That lamb belonged to a farmer whose property was  south of Dunedin who thought he had discovered a geep (a cross between a goat and a sheep) when he brought in a mob of ewes and lambs for tailing.

The animal had  the body of a lamb, but the head, legs and bleat of a goat and a straight, lustrous coat reminiscent of an Angora goat, and the farmer  initially believed it had been sired by a feral goat.  But tests revealed the geep was a sheep and its coat was the result of natural mutation.

Research since then by AgResearch scientists has focused on a greater understanding of what made human hair curly or straight, and the potential for innovative new wool products.

Commonly known as felting lustre mutants, those sheep were rare and shared the naturally occurring trait of straight wool, instead of the usual crimped wool.

"With these mutant sheep, we can, for example, look at twin lambs where one has straight wool and another crimped wool — or one animal that transforms from straight to crimped wool over time — and study the key differences.

"This can then be applied to our understanding of the differences in human hair. It’s an opportunity we would never have been able to get with human subjects," AgResearch Lincoln-based scientist Jeff Plowman said.

Scientists started trying to find  more mutant sheep so they could study what made them different and how proteins in the wool affected the fibres.

"We have found they show a radical change in wool structure and properties that can be tied into specific protein changes.

"In some cases, the mutant sheep undergo a transformation where the straight wool suddenly switches to become crimpy as they mature," Dr Plowman said.

The curvature and diameter of the wool fibre were important properties in controlling performance in textiles and other products. For example, softness, strength and felting were all affected, but the ability to control those properties was limited because diameter and curvature were normally highly linked in sheep — low diameter means high curvature and vice-versa.

"These mutant sheep are exciting because they break the mould and give us a shot at what controls each property independently," he said.

But the mutant sheep, as lambs, had the same problem  Angora goat kids had: they were "a bit delicate" and were probably not suitable for most farms.

Scientists wanted to use what they learned to add value to New Zealand’s sheep flocks. Potentially coming up with things that could help give farmers a better edge in the market was exciting. Scientists were always looking for more mutant sheep if farmers had them, he said.

Add a Comment