Emerging Animal Species最新文献

This is the second part of a two-part review. The first part focused on the nutritive value of meat and meat products of selected neo-tropical mammals with the potential for domestication. The objective of this current review was to investigate the nutritional qualities and carcass traits of selected neotropical reptiles compared to domestic species, focusing on the spectacled caiman, iguana, tegu, and yellow anaconda. Carcass weight analysis revealed that the spectacled caiman and male iguana were efficient converters of live weight to edible carcass weight, with higher yields than other reptiles. Among domestic species, pigs and chickens showed higher carcass yields compared to cattle and lamb. Moisture content in reptile meat was generally higher than in domestic animals, impacting texture and juiciness. Protein content was lower in reptiles but still contributed to daily requirements, while fat content, though generally lower in reptiles, could impact flavor and tenderness. Cholesterol levels were lower in reptiles, particularly the yellow anaconda, making them potentially healthier options for those with cardiovascular concerns. Fatty acid composition analysis indicated varying levels of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, with potential cardiovascular health benefits in reptile meats. Amino acid content, though lower in reptiles compared to domestic species, provided essential building blocks for various physiological functions. Overall, the study highlighted the nutritional value and potential health benefits of including neotropical reptile meat in the human diet, especially as alternative protein sources.

The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is classified as a Vulnerable species, but these animals are regularly brought into rescue centers and are also kept in zoos around the world. They occupy a highly specialized dietary niche with a feeding ecology that is difficult to replicate under human care. This can lead to numerous nutrition-related health problems, including frequent cardiomyopathies. Establishing reference parameters for free-ranging animals is an important tool to assess the health of animals under human care. For this reason, a cardiac assessment through plasma troponin I concentrations, vertebral heart score (VHS) based on thoracic radiographs, and echocardiographic parameters were established for 11 free-ranging giant anteaters in the Cerrado savanna of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The troponin I concentrations were all lower than 0.2 ng/ml, the cutoff limit for detection in the assay used. The mean VHS in the right lateral projections was 7.49, a value almost identical to cats (7.5) and lower than dogs (9.7). A complete echocardiographic assessment is provided and compared with previous case reports. This paper validates the diet-related origin hypothesis for common dilated cardiomyopathy in giant anteaters. This is the first published study with radiographic and echocardiographic parameters for free-ranging giant anteaters, providing important reference parameters for future giant anteater in situ and ex situ conservation initiatives. This work highlights the benefits of veterinary research comparing health parameters for animals living under and outside of human care.

Agroindustrial byproducts have emerged as a promising alternative for sustainable rabbit meat production. This scoping review explores their enormous potential as an integral component of rabbit feed, covering several categories of byproducts, including fruit and food wastes, agricultural pulp wastes, cassava root byproducts, olive byproducts, crop residues, sun-dried brewer's grains, dried distillers grains and solubles, and fruit pomace. These byproducts provide significant benefits to rabbit farms by improving growth rates, feed conversion and overall performance when carefully incorporated into the diet. They serve as valuable sources of essential fiber, protein, and other nutrients and improve rabbit nutrition. While recognizing their nutrient richness, this report also highlights the importance of carefully considering optimal inclusion levels and processing methods to maximize benefits while minimizing potential negative impacts. Incorporating agro-industrial byproducts into rabbit diets not only holds promise for sustainable agriculture, but also improves meat quality. Continued research and experimentation are critical to refine their use and realize their full potential in rabbit production, furthering the overall goal of sustainability and efficiency in meat production.

This study was designed to assess the effects of Astragalus extract, levamisole and ascorbic acid on the humoral immune response of chickens vaccinated with live and inactivated Newcastle Disease (ND) vaccines. Sixty day-old Cobb500 broiler chicks were used for the study. At day old, the maternally derived antibodies (MDA) to ND virus was determined and the chicks were then housed in a bio-secured pen with water and feed given ad-lib. On the sixth day, the MDA decay was determined thereafter, the chicks were shared into 4 treatment groups. Group A (Astragalus extract); Group B (levamisole); Group C (ascorbic acid) and Group D (Control) of 15 chicks each. Response to ND vaccinations was determined through bleeding to obtain sera for haemagglutination inhibition test at 7 and 14 days except for the second booster with inactivated Komarov vaccine where it was done at 7, 14 and 21 days post vaccination respectively. Antibody titres in the chicks 7 days post first dose of vaccination with La Sota was high in all the treatment groups above the control with 100 % of the chicks having protective antibody titre of ≥4 log₂ until day 30 when the antibody titres in all the groups dropped drastically following the second dose of live La Sota vaccination as the first booster vaccine. However, following the second booster with inactivated Komarov the antibody titres increased in all the treatment groups in comparison to the control especially in groups B and C with GMTs of 5.8 ± 0.19 log₂ and 6.1 ± 0.27 log₂ respectively. We observed that ascorbic acid and Levamisole may have humoral immuno-stimulating effects on vaccinated chickens through yet to be fully explored mechanism. It is recommended that ascorbic acid or levamisole could be used during vaccinations as immuno-stimulating agents to enhance humoral antibody response in vaccinated flocks.

Emamectin benzoate (EB) is an antiparasitic veterinary drug in temperate aquaculture to control ectoparasites. Research on its safety, tolerability and toxicity in tropical aquaculture is growing recently. This study examined the neurological and brain histopathological effects and the accumulation of tissue residues in all-male Oreochromis niloticus fry when fed top-coated EB feeds containing doses ranging from 50 to 500 µg/kg biomass/day for 14 days. A dose-dependent increase in mortalities (3.33–13.75 %) and inhibition in acetylcholinesterase activity (43.80–83.52 %) were documented. In the 50-µg group, the muscle EB-residues peaked at 2.77 ng/g and then dropped after dose termination. Yet, traces of residues were demonstrable in the treated groups even after 21 days of cessation of EB feeding. Histologically, dose-dependent alterations like granular layer degeneration, spongiosis, necrotized areas in the stratum album centrale, stratum griserum centrale stratum griseum superficiale, and stratum marginale and stratum opticum degeneration in the brain tissues were documented. The neuron cells were scattered or degenerated and stretched with a shrunken nucleus in the treated groups. The revocable alterations in acetylcholinesterase and brain histoarchitecture upon the termination of dosing indicated that the fry can able to tolerate and mount adaptive responses to overcome the EB toxicity.

Brucellosis caused by the facultative intracellular bacteria of the genus Brucella is associated with huge economic and zoonotic implications worldwide. The disease is among the top priority zoonosis for integrated “one health” approach and has gained wide attention in developed countries. Epidemiological data on brucellosis in ruminants is readily available; however, reports on swine brucellosis remain scanty. Hence, the present study has been undertaken to assess the endemicity of brucellosis in the swine population of Tamil Nadu, India and to identify the infecting Brucella species using conventional bacteriological and molecular techniques. The apparent seroprevalence of brucellosis in pig farms were assessed by RBPT and indirect ELISA (i-ELISA) as 5.2 per cent and 10.1 per cent respectively. There was a moderate agreement between the RBPT and i-ELISA results (Cohen’s kappa coefficient (κ) = 0.512, percent agreement = 93 per cent) Six Brucella isolates could be obtained from various samples; biovar typing by biochemical and molecular methods revealed B. suis biovar 1 as the most prevalent type among swine population in Tamil Nadu. Thus, the determination of Brucella biovar in swine is an important step for epidemiologic characterization of the disease to design the control and eradication strategies.

Ankole Longhorn (ALH), Nganda (NGA) and Small East African Shorthorn Zebu (SEAZ) are indigenous Ugandan cattle and poorly characterized. The ancestry of ALH is traced to lateral horned Zebu and indigenous African long horned taurine. The ALH and SEAZ are parent breeds of NGA. Therefore, the current study aimed at phenotypic characterization of Nganda (NGA) and Teso Zebu (TSZ) in Uganda. Data were collected on 41 variables including geographic location, breed and morphometric measurements. A sample of 129 NGA from central and 63 TSZ from eastern Uganda were studied. Descriptive and inferential statistics were generated. Generally, the NGA was a chest-humped breed akin to its parent breeds. The breed had a solid brown coat and extremities (e.g., hooves) compared to the wide color variation tending to solid black in the TSZ. The NGA had significantly (p < 0.05) higher mean values for all linear body measurements except height at withers. However, all linear measurements except ear length were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by the interaction between breed and sex. The rump profile showed distinct breed differences. Our results demonstrate superiority of NGA over the TSZ in terms of linear traits. These results are pertinent in planning the sustainable utilization of these breeds.

Pneumonia is one of the important causes of morbidity and mortality in caprines. Although bacterial organisms play important role in the pathology of pneumonia in goats, it has a multifactorial etiology. In the present investigation 480 goat carcasses in Akola, Maharashtra, India, were examined during April to December 2022, for pneumonic lesions and the occurrence was found to be 6.66% (32/480). Pathological and molecular studies were conducted on pneumonic lungs of goat carcasses, these pneumonic lung samples revealed gross lesions like hepatization, consolidation, congestion, and bronchial froth. Histopathologically, pneumonia was categorized as bronchopneumonia (59.375%, 19/32), interstitial pneumonia (28.125%, 9/32), bronchointerstitial pneumonia (9.375%, 3/32), and hydatidosis (3.125%, 1/32). Bronchopneumonia was further subtyped into suppurative (acute) bronchopneumonia (34.375%, 11/32), chronic bronchopneumonia (15.625%, 5/32) and fibrinous bronchopneumonia (9.375%, 3/32). PCR assays identified Mycoplasma spp. (40.62%), C. pseudotuberculosis (9.37%), P. multocida (21.87%), and M. haemolytica (25%) as bacterial etiologies. This study provides novel insights into the occurrence, histopathological classification, and associated bacterial causes of goat pneumonia in the Akola region.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD), caused by the poxvirus lumpy skin disease virus has entered India, causing serious economic consequences for the Indian dairy sector. To evaluate the diagnostic value of intranodular saline lavage in the identification of LSD-infected animals, skin nodule tissue biopsy, intranodular saline lavage, whole blood, and nasal swab specimens were collected simultaneously from LSD-symptomatic animals. TaqMan probe-based real-time PCR was performed targeting the EEV glycoprotein gene (LSDV126) and the results were compared. qPCR analysis could detect LSDV in all the skin nodule tissue biopsy and intranodular saline lavage. The mean cycle threshold (Cq) values of skin nodule tissue biopsy samples (23.94 ± 2.97) were also comparable with intranodular saline lavage (25.23 ± 2.41) samples. Whole blood and nasal swabs have an extremely poor detection rate for PCR-based viral detection.Our findings demonstrate that intranodular saline lavage is an excellent alternative specimen for the detection of LSDV. Taking into consideration, the simplicity of specimen collection, intranodular saline lavage could be adopted in field conditions for accurate LSDV surveillance testing.

This experiment aimed to determine the effect of urea molasses mineral block (UMMB) supplementation on growth performances and blood biochemical parameters of Mithun calves (Bos frontalis). Ten growing Mithun calves were allocated into two groups (control and UMMB) and the diet including natural grass (50%) and tree forage (50%) was used as basal diet. The Mithun calves from control group were fed only basal diet and calves from treatment group were fed basal diet with supplementation of UMMB. This experiment lasted for 12 weeks and nutrient intakes, digestibility, energy status, body weight gain and blood biochemical parameters were measured. The intakes, digestibilities and digestible intakes of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre, energy intake, energy balance, mineral intake, total weight gain and average daily gain (ADG) were higher (p < 0.05) in UMMB supplemented group than in control group. The serum glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), globulin, calcium, available phosphorus, sodium and potassium concentrations of UMMB supplemented group was also significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of control group, however the albumin and chloride concentrations were not different (p > 0.05). Thus, UMMB supplementation increased the growth performances and some blood biochemical parameters of growing Mithun calves.