Veterinary Research Forum最新文献

Adding trace minerals to animal diets has a positive impact on reproductive performance. This study aimed to investigate whether supplementing zinc, manganese, and copper affects the testosterone level, sperm quality, and anti-oxidant enzyme activities in rams. Ten mature Afshari rams (2.50 years old; weighing 100 ± 3.29 kg) were fed a nutritionally adequate diet for 11 weeks, half of which receiving a sulfated zinc, manganese, and copper in their daily concentrates (supplemented group), while the other half served as a control group receiving no mineral in the concentrates. Ejaculate volume, as well as sperm concentration, motility, viability, morphology, and membrane integrity were assessed. From week five onwards, all parameters were significantly higher in the supplemented group. Additionally, the percentage of abnormal sperm was lower, anti-oxidant enzymes activities in the seminal plasma were improved, and plasma testosterone concentration was higher in the supplemented group compared to the control group. However, alkaline phosphatase activity was not significantly different. Furthermore, seminal plasma concentrations of copper, zinc, and manganese at the end of the study were higher in the supplemented group compared to pre-treatment levels, while these parameters were decreased in the control group. Overall, co-supplementing copper, zinc, and manganese in rams maintained the sperm quantity and quality, as well as seminal plasma anti-oxidant capacity, emphasizing the importance of studied elements in ram reproduction.

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is an important pathogen in the poultry industry causing avian infectious bronchitis that is, an acute but highly contagious disease affecting the upper respiratory tract, kidneys and reproductive tract. The 3^rd passage of a polymerase chain reaction confirmed nephropathogenic IBV isolate was used for this study. Heat stability for 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 min at 56.00 ˚C, pH sensitivity at pH 3.00, 7.00, 9.00, and 11.00 ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for 10, 15, 20, and 30 min, and chloroform sensitivity were studied. The IBV isolate was found to be susceptible to a temperature of 56.00 ˚C for 5 min and above, UV irradiation within 10 min, chloroform treatment and to pH 11.00 while being resistant to pH 3.00 and 9.00. The second part of the study investigated in vitro effectiveness of the disinfection potential of several commercially used disinfectants in Pakistan against the IBV isolate. For this purpose, Virkon S, Bromosept, and Beloran were employed for the virus inactivation test. Following the IBV challenge for contact time of 1, 5, 10, and 30 min, we counted the number of embryos that died after incubation. Results showed that suitable dilution of disinfectant for the recommended contact period could kill the virus. The maximum susceptibility was seen in the case of Virkon S which killed the virus in just 1 min. Thus, IBV could be killed using commercially available Virkon S, Beloran, and Bromosept after being used in recommended concentrations for recommended contact time.

Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a common congenital anomaly in large animals, but it is rarely documented in small ruminants. This report described a case involving a three-month-old male lamb of the Iranian Shall breed that was presented to a Veterinary Hospital of University of Tehran with nasal discharge and growth retardation. Clinical examination revealed a heart rate of 120 beats per min, a respiratory rate of 50 breaths per min, pale mucous membranes and a low-grade pansystolic murmur that was auscultated bilaterally in the thoracic region. Echocardio-graphy revealed a 10.00 mm defect between the right and left ventricles, located in the supraventricular region behind the aortic valve, along with evidence of left-to-right shunting. Imaging studies including echocardiography and radiography indicated increased cardiac volume particularly in the right ventricle. These findings were corroborated by necropsy. This case study aimed to elucidate the imaging findings associated with Ventricular septal defect in an Iranian Shall lamb.

Today, a combination of immunological and bioinformatics tools has become common for vaccine design, making vaccine production affordable. Considering the importance of recombinant protein purification for vaccine production in a cost-effective way, our study aimed to in silico design a fusion protein vaccine against egg drop syndrome virus (EDSV) with a higher isoelectric point for more affordable purification. The in silico design of fusion protein, including egg white lysozyme and fiber protein as an antigen from egg drop syndrome virus, was performed. In addition to isoelectric point changing, lysozyme probably helps the antigenicity by increasing the size of the antigen. Also, lysozyme can act as a preservative. The physicochemical characteristics, stability, secondary and tertiary structure, epitope prediction, antigenicity, and mRNA structure were analyzed using computational and bioinformatics tools. The results showed that the isoelectric point of the gene construct was 8.87, which can be purified by ion exchange chromatography. Validation of the Ramachandran plot showed that the predicted model was accurate and suitable. The tertiary structure of the fusion protein was modeled as well, and its trimer structure, being required for immunogenicity, was preserved. The antigenicity of the target construct was also suitable. Protein was stable and hydrophilic based on aliphatic index and grand average of hydropathicity, which can be a good candidate for a vaccine. After experimental studies, this fusion protein may be used as a vaccine against EDSV.

Male and female broiler chickens differ in performance and this will cause unwanted experimental errors in research. For this reason, single-sex or mixed-sex broilers are used in most studies. This study aimed to assess the performance differences between groups of chickens with varying male/female ratios to determine how sex ratio can affect performance criteria. Birds (N = 550) were separated by sex and placed in 11 groups (pens) according to the male/female ratios, including group 1 (10 males + 0 female), group 2 (9 males + 1 female), group 3 (8 males + 2 females), group 4 (7 males + 3 females), group 5 (6 males + 4 females), group 6 (5 males + 5 females), group 7 (4 males + 6 females), group 8 (3 males + 7 females), group 9 (2 males + 8 females), group 10 (1 male + 9 females), and group 11 (0 male + 10 females). The results showed that male broiler chickens had higher feed intake and body weight gain than female broiler chickens, but the feed conversion ratio was not affected by gender. The digestibility of phosphorus, bone strength, bone density, bone calcium and phosphorus, pH, and redness and water holding capacity of meat were higher in male broilers. The dripping loss was higher in female broilers. This study showed that male and female broiler chickens differed in most of the parameters examined in the research, and the use of separate breeding affected the research results.

Doxorubicin (DOX), as a potent anti-cancer agent, exerts side effects in vital organs. Various chemical compounds with tissue protective properties are used to prevent the side effects of DOX. This study was planned to investigate the effects of histidine (HIS) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) ​​on DOX-induced acute kidney injury. The possible mechanisms were followed by determining the histopathological changes of the kidney along with the biochemical alterations of the blood and kidney tissue. Forty-eight rats were divided into eight groups of six animals each to receive normal saline and DOX after alone and combined treatments with HIS and NAC. The DOX at a single dose of 15.00 mg kg^-1 was intraperitoneally injected on day one. The separate and combined intraperitoneally injections of HIS and NAC at a similar dose of 100 mg kg^-1 were began 30 min after DOX administration and continued for seven consecutive days. The DOX increased kidney weight and caused congestion, hemorrhages and degeneration in kidney tissue. It also increased serum urea and creatinine concentrations and kidney tissue levels of malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and caspase-3, and decreased superoxide dismutase activity in this tissue. Separate and combined treatments with HIS and NAC improved all the above-mentioned effects of DOX. The restoring effects of the combined treatment were more prominent than the effect of amino acids alone. It was concluded that anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic mechanisms might be related to the tissue protective effects of HIS and NAC against DOX-induced acute renal injury.

This study was conducted in West Azerbaijan province, Iran (37°27'18.022" N, 45°0'0" E) to investigate the genotyping and phylogenetic characterization of Mannheimia haemolytica in cattle and buffaloes from November 2022 to January 2024. Mannheimia haemolytica is a bacterium known to cause pasteurellosis pneumonia, a respiratory disease in ruminants, such as cattle and sheep. This is one of the main causes of economic losses in the feedlot industry. In addition to the deaths, treatment costs are also significant. The lung and nasal swab samples were collected from 378 cattle and buffaloes. The M. haemolytica was detected in 32 (8.46%) of the samples, with a notably higher isolation rate from lung tissue (56.25%; n = 18) compared to the nasal swabs (43.75%; n = 14). Interestingly, the study also revealed a seasonal pattern, with the highest isolation rates observed during January, February, and March. Multi-locus sequence typing demonstrated that all isolates belonged to sequence type 1 (ST1) within clonal complex 28. This finding is consistent with the global prevalence of ST1 in bovine isolates, indicating widespread distribution. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a strong correlation between ST1 and STs 30 and 54, highlighting the prevalence of ST1 in M. haemolytica among ruminants in West Azerbaijan, Iran. Further research is needed to investigate its potential for causing disease and its transmission pattern.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) are among one of the most prevalent and important infectious agents, which cause a severe economic impact on pig farming worldwide. Circulation of these viruses together in the same pig population may lead to the syndemic infection with altered pathogenicity and thereby pathology and clinical manifestation of the diseases. The present study evaluated syndemic infection between PRRSV and PCV2 in the pig population reared in the backyard farms in Mizoram state of India. The syndemicity between PRRSV and PCV2 was confirmed by clinico-pathological studies followed by simultaneous detection of both the viruses in tissue samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), immunohisto-chemistry and SYBR green-based real-time PCR / RT- PCR. The syndemicity resulted to a more severe respiratory disease in affected pigs. Pathological studies on affected pigs revealed a combined picture of hemorrhagic lesions with lymphadenopathy. The SYBR green-based absolute quantification assay estimated the PCV2 load in more quantities than that of PRRSV in all the tissues. The highest PRRSV load was detected in the lungs, while the highest PCV2 load was detected in mesenteric and inguinal lymph nodes. The co-circulation of different pathogenic viruses and their persistent infections in a population is always a matter of great concern to pig producers across the world. The present findings highlighted the similar situation with syndemic infection of PRRSV with PCV2 for the first time in Mizoram, India, that caused severe respiratory disease in affected pigs.

An outbreak of contagious foot rot due to Fusobacterium necrophorum infection was reported in a herd of four-horned antelopes (Tetracerus quadricornis) in a wildlife sanctuary at Goa, India. The infected animals showed signs of anorexia, limping and foot lesions, like erosions and sloughing of hooves. Mortality was recorded in two antelopes in which gross lesions, like generalized congestion of skeletal muscles and internal organs, and multi-focal to coalescing abscesses in lung, pleura, and diaphragm were observed. Histopathological evaluation of interdigital skin showed zones of coagulative necrosis, infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells, congestion, hemorrhage, and thrombosis in the dermis. Lung showed extensive areas of consolidation with alveolar edema, hyperemic alveolar capillaries, hemorrhage, and infiltration of inflammatory cells. The bacterial culture from heart blood, lung, liver, and kidney tissues revealed isolation of F. necrophorum being also confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using amplification of lktA gene of F. necrophorum. In addition, the PCR also confirmed the presence of F. necrophorum DNA in the interdigital skin, lung, and liver tissues. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the F. necrophorum isolate from the present study grouped closely with isolates from Australia, China, Pakistan, and Iraq, as well as an Indian isolate from goat. The affected live animals were treated with oral antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medicines, and vitamin supplements for seven days, and recovered. This study confirmed the first outbreak of contagious foot rot and systemic infection with F. necrophorum in a herd of four-horned antelopes in India.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of using a Rovabio^® Plus multi-enzyme on production and reproductive performance, duodenum morphology and biochemical parameters in 45 - 60 weeks old broiler breeders. For this purpose, 260 broiler breeders of Ross 308 strain were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments and five replications (13 hens and one rooster in each replication). Experimental treatments included: 1) Positive control diet (diet with standard energy and phosphorus and without multi-enzyme), 2) Negative control diet (diet in terms of energy 5.00% and phosphorus 50.00% less than the positive control diet, 3) Negative control diet with 1.00 g kg^-1 Rovabio^® Plus multi-enzyme and 4) Positive control diet with 1.00 g kg^-1 Rovabio^® Plus multi-enzyme. The results showed that negative control diet caused a significant decrease in the egg production percentage, egg weight, egg mass, settable eggs, fertile eggs, hatchability and one grade chickens, increased the feed conversion ratio and embryonic losses. Addition of 1.00 g kg^-1 of multi-enzyme to negative control diet made the above parameters similar to the positive control treatment, however, the positive control treatment supplemented with multi-enzyme had a better performance compared to other treatments. This research showed that dietary supplementation of Rovabio^® Plus multi-enzyme in broiler breeders at the age of 45 - 60 weeks led to the improvement of productive performance and incubation in negative control diet.