Animal Science Journal最新文献

Mature coconut water (MCW) has been demonstrated to contain bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties. In vivo research showed that MCW supplementation increased semen quality in rats, suggesting that it may boost reproductive performance. This study investigated the impact of MCW on the reproduction of Boer bucks. Two groups of 12 sexually mature bucks were given either plain water (control) or MCW at 5 mL/kg of body weight daily for 60 days. Sexual behaviors were studied using the focal observation technique, whereas semen was collected for quality assessment. Oxidative stress markers, namely, malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH), along with reproductive hormones, specifically luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone, were quantified in blood serum samples via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The oxidative stress analysis showed elevated GSH and reduced MDA levels, accompanied by enhanced sperm quality, including superior motility, concentration, viability, and fewer morphological abnormalities (p < 0.05), in the group receiving MCW. Moreover, there was a rise in LH, FSH, and testosterone levels with improved sexual behaviors (p < 0.05), including a reduced latency to the first mount, increased mount attempts, higher libido, and prolonged kicking and sniffing durations. In conclusion, MCW may improve reproductive health and fertility in Boer bucks.

This study aimed to update the first-liming amino acid (lysine) requirements of fattening pigs maintained and raised in Japan using 146 fattening pigs with an average weight of 62 kg. Five diets were prepared with total lysine concentrations of 0.45%, 0.65%, 0.85%, 0.95%, and 1.05%. Six replicates were used for each lysine concentration. The feeding trial lasted for 4 weeks until the average weight of the pigs reached 92 kg. The total lysine concentration of the diets affected feed efficiency throughout the 4 weeks and was lowest in pigs fed diets with a total lysine concentration of 0.45% and highest in pigs fed 0.85%. The total lysine requirement was estimated using feed efficiency as the response index. The linear and quadratic models estimated 0.68% and 0.75% of the requirement for the first 2 weeks and 0.66% and 0.72% for the 4-week period, respectively. These estimates were equivalent to the total lysine requirement of 0.72% for the 50–70 kg body weight (expected gain of 850 g/d) in the Japanese Feeding Standard for Swine 2013 and higher than the 0.59% for the 70–115 kg body weight (expected gain of 1000 g/d).

In this study, the inclusion of water fly (Notonecta sp., NT) meal was compared with conventional protein sources such as soybean meal (SBM) and fish meal (FM) in diets destined for sheep, with specific reference to growth performance, nutrient intake, nitrogen balance, and in vitro rumen fermentation parameters. For 21 days, 18 male Suffolk lambs were randomly assigned to three experimental diets fed: (1) SBM at 130 g/kg dry matter (DM), as a plant-based protein diet; (2) FM at 50 g/kg DM, as an animal-based protein diet; and (3) NT at 60 g/kg DM, as an insect-based protein diet, for ad libitum feed intake. DM intake was similar among the treatments. The digestibility of DM (p = 0.006) and organic matter (p = 0.002) in the NT group was lower than that of SBM. In vitro rumen fermentation data showed that there were no differences between the treatments for DM degradation and the production of microbial crude protein. No differences were observed among the treatments in terms of enteric methane production. The NT diet produced the lowest NH₃-N at hours 12 and 24 (p = 0.032 and 0.021, respectively). Overall, the dietary inclusion of NT for fattening lambs could be an alternative feeding strategy without deleterious effects on animal performance.

This study investigated the effects of quercetagetin (QG) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, meat quality, and antioxidant capacity of broilers. Four hundred 1-day-old Cobb broilers were randomly divided into five diets, each with eight replicates and 10 birds per replicate. The diets included a basal diet, and four diets with 25, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg QG supplemented in basal diet. Body weight on d 21, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake on days 1–21 were quadratically (p < 0.05) increased with increasing QG supplementation. The apparent digestibility of crude protein, ether extract, and total phosphorus increased linearly (p < 0.05) from day 1 to 21, and increased quadratically (p < 0.05) from day 22 to 42. The L* values of leg muscles were lower (p < 0.05) in QG groups than control group. QG supplementation quadratically (p < 0.05) elevated glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in serum. The L* value was negatively correlated with GSH-Px. These results suggested that QG supplementation (50–100 mg/kg) enhanced early growth, nutrient digestibility, and antioxidant status in broilers, highlighting its functional properties and potential as an additive to improve broiler productivity.

Understanding the factors that influence the lifespan of dairy cows is crucial for enhancing their productive life (PL). This study aimed to investigate the impact of genetic and environmental effects on the PL of Holstein cows. Data included 82,505 cows from 1952 sires that calved for the first time between 2001 and 2016. PL was defined from first calving to culling. Proportional hazard models, assuming a piecewise Weibull distribution of the baseline hazard function, were utilized to account for time-dependent effects, such as herd size variations, year-season, milk yield, fat and protein contents, and the time-independent fixed effect of age at first calving. Herd-year and sire effects were considered as random effects. All effects showed significant associations with PL (p < 0.001). The relative risk of culling was higher in heifers that calved at an older age and cows that calved during the cold season. Moreover, cows with lower production had a significantly shorter PL compared with high-producing cows. The effective heritability in the absence of censored data was estimated at 0.15. These findings suggest that greater attention should be paid to regular and accurate breeding programs, which are essential for enhancing profitability and the PL of Iranian dairy cows.

Colostrum contains substances such as hormones, enzymes, polyamides, nucleic acid derivatives, and amino acid derivatives and also includes immunomodulating substances, proline-rich polypeptides, immunoglobulins (Ig) as well as bacteriostatic compounds. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of colostral Ig on the level of expression of selected Toll-like receptor genes (TLR3, TLR4, and TLR7). The experiments were conducted on 25 Polish Pony foals. Blood samples were collected according to the following scheme: before first suckling, at the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 10th, 20th, and 30th, day of age. Colostrum was obtained before the first suckling, 24 hr, and 3 days after the delivery. Gene expression analyses were performed on Illumina Eco using a commercial kit TaqMan®MGB probes. The quality of colostrum was assessed via refractometer and BRIX value. The total Ig level was calculated from the spectrophotometric method. IgG levels were measured using ELISA assay. The quality of colostrum significantly correlated with TLR4 and TLR7 expression. Foals that ingested colostrum with low Ig content displayed a higher level of TLR4 gene expression, while in the case of TLR7 the opposite trend was shown. This result indicates that colostrum may play an important role in shaping the mechanisms of building the immune system's response to bacterial pathogens.

The study using cross-sectional data collected from 300 dairy farmers has analyzed the factors affecting adoption of improved forage technologies and its impact on milk yield and feed sufficiency in central region. We used inverse-propensity-weighting regression adjustment (IPWRA) method as main technique for impact evaluation and checked the robustness of the results using matching methods. Our findings suggest that education status, adult cattle unit, animal breed type, off-farm income activities, farm size, and access to training and market significantly influence adoption of improved forage technologies and practices. Further, the adoption led to a significant increase in daily milk yield (1.07 to 1.34 L), total dry matter availability by over 27%, and green fodder availability by around 80%. Ration balancing has been identified as a significant concern in the study region. Consequently, the study suggests that adopting a comprehensive approach is necessary to address the issue of proper ration balancing and fully harness the production potential of dairy animals.

Japanese Brown cattle are the second most popular Wagyu breed, and the Kumamoto sub-breed shows better daily gain and carcass weight. One of the breeding objectives for this sub-breed is to reduce genetic defects. Chondrodysplastic dwarfism and factor VIII deficiency have been identified as genetic diseases in the Kumamoto sub-breed. Previously, we detected individuals in the Kumamoto sub-breed with causative alleles of genetic diseases identified in Japanese Black cattle. In the current study, 11 mutations responsible for genetic diseases in the Wagyu breeds were analyzed to evaluate the risk of genetic diseases in the Kumamoto sub-breed. Genotyping revealed the causative mutations of chondrodysplastic dwarfism, factor XI deficiency, and factor XIII deficiency and suggested the appearance of affected animals in this sub-breed. DNA testing for these diseases is needed to prevent economic loses in beef production using the Kumamoto sub-breed.

We collected 3180 records of oleic acid (C18:1) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) measured using gas chromatography (GC) and 6960 records of C18:1 and MUFA measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in intermuscular fat samples of Japanese Black cattle. We compared genomic prediction performance for four linear models (genomic best linear unbiased prediction [GBLUP], kinship-adjusted multiple loci [KAML], BayesC, and BayesLASSO) and five machine learning models (Gaussian kernel [GK], deep kernel [DK], random forest [RF], extreme gradient boost [XGB], and convolutional neural network [CNN]). For GC-based C18:1 and MUFA, KAML showed the highest accuracies, followed by BayesC, XGB, DK, GK, and BayesLASSO, with more than 6% gain of accuracy by KAML over GBLUP. Meanwhile, DK had the highest prediction accuracy for NIRS-based C18:1 and MUFA, but the difference in accuracies between DK and KAML was slight. For all traits, accuracies of RF and CNN were lower than those of GBLUP. The KAML extends GBLUP methods, of which marker effects are weighted, and involves only additive genetic effects; whereas machine learning methods capture non-additive genetic effects. Thus, KAML is the most suitable method for breeding of fatty acid composition in Japanese Black cattle.

The reported efficiency of N usage by sunflower cake (SFC) was inferior to that of soybean meal (SBM) in a study in which the non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) content was lower in the SFC diet. Here, we adjusted crude protein (CP) and NFC levels to near-equivalence among three diets containing SFC or SBM for four non-lactating Holstein cows. Alfalfa hay was also added to the comparison. The results demonstrated that the total digestible nutrient contents were not significantly different among the diets. Intake N, fecal N, absorbed N, urinary N, and retained N did not differ significantly among the diets. The efficiency of N usage in the body (retained N/absorbed N) did not differ significantly among the diets. No between-diet difference was observed in the protein- and energy-related ruminal and blood properties, including the estimated microbial protein synthesis in the rumen. These results suggest that regardless of the quality and balance of amino acids in a feed, the efficiency of N usage can be improved by a supply of digestible carbohydrates, which leads to an increase in ruminal microbial protein.