Livestock Science最新文献

Pedigree records and longitudinal measurements of live weight from 2628 buffaloes were analyzed. The aim of this research was to propose a new selection criteria, the Area Under the Growth Curve (AUGC), derived from a growth curve-based model. A hierarchical Bayesian approach with two levels was employed. In the first level, the growth trajectory was modeled using a fourth-degree polynomial, while in the second level, each parameter of the polynomial function was treated as a dependent variable influenced by environmental and genetic effects. The animal model included sex, dams’ parity and contemporary group (herd-year-season) as fixed effects, and relationships among animals as a random effect. Inference was conducted using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation algorithm. The proposed AUGC is interesting for use in selection programs because it allows breeders to identify heavier animals with lower risk in the production system. Additionally, that trait showed moderate to high heritabilities from weaning onwards, providing a useful new tool for cattle selection in the post-weaning phases.

Broilers reared under tropical conditions are exposed to Heat Stress (HS) yielding adverseness in production. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of plant-derived sanguinarine-based Isoquinoline alkaloids (IQ) on integrating performance of growth with the cecal microbiome and functional metabolism profiles of amino acid metabolism for either precision nutrition or productivity promotion using nutrition strategies with intestinal microecological balance in broilers of 14-and 35-day of age under HS conditions. IQ significantly improved performance, body weight, average daily weight gain, feed intake, and mortality. IQ significantly modulated the cecum microbiome (14- and 35-dayo of age) by enriching microbiome diversity with increase in Bacteriodetes and Cyanobacteria, but decrease in Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. It was found on 14-day of age that abundances of Turicibactor sanguinis, Lactobacillus salivarious, Lactobacillus sacidophilus, and Akkermansia municiphila in the cecum of boiler fed with IQ60 were higher than in that of the control group. While abundances of Enteroccucus cecorum, Enteroccuus villorum, Escherichia fergusonii, and Helicobacter pullorum were lower in broiler fed with IQs demonstrating the potential to suppress Antimicrobial-Resistant (AMR) reservoirs in the cecum. IQs significantly increased amino acid metabolism namely, l-arginine degradation VII and l-tryptophan degradation I, l-tryptophan degradation VI on day 14, and l-alanine degradation VII, l-tryptophan biosynthesis, l-methionine biosynthesis I, l-methionine salvage cycle, and l-threonine degradation II on day 35 (Kruskal-Wallis p-value < 0.05) in which positively correlated with BW and FI but negative correlation with FCR (Pearson correlation, P < 0.05). It is the first finding that IQs potentially modulated the crosstalk between host and microbiota via the microbiome-gut-brain axis for gut homeostasis by improving Turicibacter sanguini, that promoted serotonin biosynthesis from colonic Enterochromaffin Cells (EC) in modulating Gastro-Intestinal tract (GI) motility. It can be concluded that IQ exhibited the potential to modulate cecal microbiota to improve functional amino acid pathways supporting growth performance in stress broilers. The phenotypic activity related to genotype prediction under in silico model of functional microbiome systems with multi-Omics methods relating with microbiome community is worthwhile to be further investigated leading to discovering potential phytogenic compounds for precision feed additives in stress broilers.

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) distillation wastewater (CDWW) is a dark viscous liquid obtained as a by-product of the processing of industrial chicory (Cichorium intybus). The current study aimed to investigate the influence of dietary CDWW on growth performance, oxidative status, immune response, meat quality, and cecal microbial population of broiler chicken. In total, 400 one-d-old male chickens (Ross 308) were allotted into four groups in ten replicates of 10 chickens each. The 1st group was fed a basal diet without CDWW (control), whereas the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th groups were fed diets containing CDWW (15, 30, and 45 mL/kg diet, respectively) for 42 days. At day 42 of age, CDWW significantly increased body weight gain (P < 0.01), improved feed efficiency, and reduced mortality rate (P < 0.05). Treatments did not have a significant effect on feed intake. The 30 and 45 mL of CDWW groups showed an increase in hematological values than other groups (P < 0.05). The ALT, AST, ALP, triglyceride, and cholesterol concentration in serum were lower and immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, IgM) were greater in 30 and 45 mL /kg of CDWW groups than other groups (P < 0.05). The malondialdehyde (MDA) content in serum, liver, breast, and lipid peroxide (LPO) in breast decreased by 30 and 45 mL of CDWW supplementation (P < 0.05). The oxidative enzymes activities in serum, liver, and breast were greater in 30 and 45 mL /kg of CDWW than other groups (P < 0.05). Also, quality properties and composition of beast were improved and ceceal harmful microbial counts were decreased by the 30 and 45 mL /kg of CDWW (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the CDWW at 30 and 45 mL /kg improved the broiler's performance, meat quality, as well as blood indices and cecal microbial load by enhancing antioxidant activities and suppressing lipid peroxidation in meat.

The goal for most warmblood studbooks is to produce horses that are internationally competitive in sports like show jumping or dressage. The linear scoring system, describing the horse between two biological extremes, is commonly used for a more objective assessment of young horses in many studbooks. However, few studies have examined the phenotypic association between traits linearly scored at a young age and sport performance, and whether there might be an intermediate optimum on the linear scale. This study investigated the phenotypic association between linearly scored traits and competition performance in show jumping or dressage, using the results of linear scoring from young horse performance tests between 2013 and 2021 and competition data between 2014 and 2021 for Swedish Warmblood horses. Sport performance was defined as lifetime accumulated points achieved in show jumping or dressage competitions. Horses were classified as jumping (J) or dressage (D) horses according to their sires’ and grandsires’ classification. In total, 48 linearly scored traits, assessed on a biological scale from A to I, were analyzed. The phenotypic association between the linear score for each trait and sport performance was studied using linear models for sport performance including fixed effects of sex, birth year and linear and quadratic regression on adjusted linearly scored trait values. Significant differences in LS means between J and D horses were found for all linearly scored traits except for length of body and five traits referring to leg conformation. For J horses, 25 linearly scored traits (eight conformation traits, three gait traits, 13 jumping traits and one behavior trait) were found to be significantly associated (p < 0.05) with show jumping performance. A majority of these traits (21 out of 25 traits) showed a linear association with performance, indicating that stronger expression (towards A on the assessment scale) was favorable for performance in show jumping in J horses. For D horses, 21 linearly scored traits (eleven conformation traits and ten gait traits) were significantly associated with dressage performance. Most of these traits (15 out of 21 traits) showed a linear association with performance, while six traits showed an association with optimal scores, indicating that breeding for more extreme expression of the specific trait is not associated with better sport performance. These results underline the importance of linearly scored traits as indicator traits of later sport success.

Crossbreeding is one way of achieving complementarity between breeds in relation to economically important characteristics; in addition, it allows the effect of heterosis to be exploited. The aim of this study was to measure the behavioural evolution of different genetic groups and mating systems in continuous alternating crosses of Charolais and Nellore cattle. Seventy-nine purebred Charolais (C) and Nellore (N) steers were evaluated during finishing in confinement, together with their second (3/4C 1/4 N and 3/4 N 1/4C), third (5/8C 3/8 N and 5/8 N 3/8C) and fourth generation (11/16C 5/16 N and 11/16 N 5/16C) crosses. The confinement period was 97 days, including 13 days for adaptation to the environment and feeding regime. Behavioural assessments were carried out when weighing, evaluating the composite scale score, time taken to exit the scales, measurement of flight distance, location of the facial hair whorl, and plasma cortisol level at slaughter. The Charolais animals showed a better composite scale score, longer exit time and shorter flight distance than the Nellore animals. For generation 3 (5/8 animals), the inclusion of Charolais genes afforded a higher composite scale score in each of the assessments, longer flight time in the assessments at 14 and 77 days, shorter flight distance in each of the assessments, with the facial hair whorl positioned further below the eye line, determining animals of a calmer behaviour. Purebred Nellore and predominantly Nellore animals from the third generation of crosses were higher in cortisol at slaughter than the purebred Charolais or predominantly Charolais animals, showing significant heterosis only in the second generation. Bos taurus animals are calmer and have a more suitable temperament than Bos indicus, however, the behaviour of zebu cattle can improve as the period of confinement increases, with the type of handling affecting behaviour and reactivity throughout the assessments.

We aimed to evaluate the quality of the carcass and meat of cull cows from different genetic groups. It was considered 48 cows being 16 of the Nellore breed (NEL), 16 ½Angus ½Nellore (ANGNEL), and 16 ½Caracu ½Nellore (CARNEL), slaughtered at the end of eight pregnancy seasons, with approximately 11 years of age. For carcass analysis, body weight at slaughter (SW), hot carcass weight (HCW), carcass yield (CY), carcass finishing (CF), fat distribution (FDIST), cold storage conformation (CSC), marbling (MAR), subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), ribeye area (REA), internal depth (INTD), external depth (EXTD), carcass length (CL), physiological maturity (FMAT), muscle color (COLOR) and texture (TEXT). For meat analysis, samples taken from the Longissimus muscle were analyzed after zero and 14 days of maturation for exudation losses (ExuL at 0 and 14 days), cooking losses (CookL), pH (pH at 0 and 14 days), color components of meat (L*, a* and b* 0 and 14 days) and shear force (SF at 0 and 14 days), the ether extract (EE) of the samples was also evaluated according to the genetic group of the cull cows. The Means were compared according to the adjusted Tukey-Kramer test (α = 0.05). The data were evaluated for the presence of outliers, homogeneity of variance, and normality of residuals. The effects of genetic groups on the described characteristics were evaluated by restricted maximum likelihood (REML) analysis, adjusting a mixed model containing the effects of cow age, genetic group, and slaughter date. NEL and ANGNEL cows presented higher SFT results when compared to CARNEL cows. The REA, INTD, and EXTD, ANGNEL and CARNEL cows obtained greater results when compared to NEL cows group. There was no significant effect on the genetic group of cull cows for the variables CY, CF, FDIST, CSC, MARM, FMAT, COLOR and TEXT. A significant difference was observed only for the L* characteristic (0 and 14 days of maturation), in which NEL cows presented darker meat than ANGNEL, with CARNEL cows having intermediate results. The ANGNEL cull cows have higher slaughter weights, and carcass weights, and AOL and EGS with better carcass finish. Cull cows slaughtered at an advanced age, between 10 and 11 years old, have similar meat quality. We recommend the meat maturation process for 14 days to improve the tenderness of the meat from cull cows, since in this 14-day meat maturation process, calpains degrade the myofibrillar proteins at certain internal points of the molecules and improve the tenderness of the meat, regardless of the genetic group.

Avian coccidiosis caused by Eimeria spp. is a relevant disease for poultry usually prevented by synthetic coccidiostats. Citrus aurantium L. var. dulcis peel essential oil (CEO), and Yucca schidigera’s saponins (Ys) were tested as valid natural alternatives to coccidiostats drugs. Their anticoccidial effects, gut health and growth performance of broiler chickens were investigated with discovery-driven research by a field trial during the broiler chicken production cycle in a rural free-range farm with a history of coccidiosis infection. One hundred forty 1-d-old female broiler chickens were assigned to 4 experimental treatment groups (35 broiler chicks each), fed ad libitum with a coccidiostats-free diet, during 9 wk of the trial (63 d). The treatment groups included: control (C); CEO (1 ml/L); Ys pure extract (0.05 ml/L); and CEO + Ys (CEO 1 ml/L + Ys 0.05 ml/L), administered by drinking water. Fecal coccidia oocyst count (OPG), and growth performance were evaluated weekly. On wk 9 all broiler chickens were slaughtered, and serum biochemical indices and intestinal lesions were histologically evaluated and scored. Results showed that from the 6th to 9th wk, the treated groups had lower OPG than the C group (P < 0.05), with the lower value observed in the CEO and Ys groups. More severe coccidiosis intestinal lesions attributable to E. maxima were detected in the C group. All chickens showed a variable degree of intestinal lymphoplasmacytic and heterophilic inflammation without differences in the histological and intestinal lesion scores. At the end of the trial, the body weight (BW) was greater in the treated groups compared to the C group (P < 0.05). However, no differences in FI, WDI, FCR, mortality, and organ weights were evidenced. Albeit within the physiological range, serum AST, cholesterol, total proteins, albumin, and P were higher in the Ys group (P < 0.05), compared to the C group, which was also observed in the CEO + Ys group for the cholesterol, total protein and albumin content. The CEO and Ys biologically active metabolites, even if taken in moderate concentrations, can help to reduce the OPG and gut damage during the coccidia infection, improving the broiler chicken's growth performance.

The development of technologies made it possible to capture digital images by sensors in order to obtain morphometric measurements that can be used in the development of mathematical models for the prediction of body weight (BW) in animals. The objective was to develop mathematical models to predict body weight in crossbred pigs from morphometric measurements obtained with two-dimensional digital images. Data collection was carried out in the swine sector of IF Goiano, Urutai campus, in 52 crossbred pigs housed in the finishing phase. The animals were randomly weighed and filmed by the Microsoft Kinect® v1 sensor camera in the dorsal view. Subsequently, they were conducted for the measurement of manual morphometric measurements, without restraint, being dorsal length, chest width and flank width. The morphometric measurements predicted from the dorsal images were dorsal length, chest width, flank width, dorsal area and perimeter. Through Mask R-CNN algorithm trains the network by input images, was compute the area of the evaluated object in pixels, and thus, can correlate with measures of interest. The Mask R-CNN algorithm were performed with the Collaboratory Google using Phyton 3.0. Mathematical models were developed using multiple linear regression (MLR) and support vector regression (SVR) methodologies for body weight prediction. All Pearson's correlations between real body weight and real and predicted morphometric measurements by digital images were moderate to high magnitude positive and statistically significant (P<0.05). The difference between the real and predicted BW by the SVR was -1.74 kg (R² = 91%) and -2.39 kg (R² = 88%), respectively. The MLR model with real morphometrics measurements explained 60% of BW variance and estimated a BW 18.76 kg below from the real BW mean. The MLR model with predicted measurements explained 53% of BW variance and estimated a BW 22.51 kg below from the real BW mean. The mathematical model developed from SVR has the potential to estimate the body weight of crossbred pigs using morphometric measurements predicted by digital images such as dorsal length, width, dorsal area and perimeter.

This study evaluated decreasing levels of roughage NDF (10, 7, and 4 % in DM) in DDGS-based finishing diets. In experiment 1, growth performance, feeding behavior, and carcass characteristics were evaluated on 18 Nellore bulls blocked by initial body weight (BW), with 6 replicates per treatment, in a complete randomized block design. In experiment 2, digestibility, feeding behavior, and ruminal fermentation were evaluated on 6 Zebu crossbred steers in two, 3 × 3 Latin square designs. Differences were considered significant at P < 0.05 and trends were declared at P < 0.10. In experiment 1, DMI increased quadratically with decreasing roughage NDF (rNDF) with the greatest DMI value achieved at 7.43 % rNDF (P<0.01). Average daily gain tended to respond quadratically, with the greatest estimated value occurring at 7.23 % rNDF (P<0.09). Similarly, hot carcass weight and final BW tended to respond quadratically (P<0.09). No effects of roughage NDF level were observed on carcass dressing percentage. Animals that received the lowest dietary rNDF selected for particles longer than 8 mm (P<0.05). Increasing roughage NDF levels in the diet tended to increase time spent ruminating (P<0.06). In experiment 2, a greater inclusion level of rNDF did not affect DMI, but linearly increased NDF intake (P<0.01) and tended to decrease DM digestibility (P<0.09). Ruminal pH remained, on average, above 6. Ruminal ammonia-nitrogen increased up to an inclusion level of 6.6 % rNDF and then decreased (P<0.02). Acetate: propionate ratio linearly decreased with increasing levels of dietary roughage NDF (P<0.02). Decreasing roughage NDF inclusion level in diets with high levels of corn DDGS is viable without compromising performance or increasing the risk of ruminal acidosis occurrence. Diets containing between 7.23 % and 7.43 % of roughage NDF are proposed to be suitable when corn DDGS-based diets are used to maximize intake and weight gain.