ASAS-NANP SYMPOSIUM: Review of systems thinking concepts and their potential value in animal science research

Worldwide, our collective research and policy institutions, including the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), are calling for more systems-based research and analysis of society’s most pressing and complex problems. However, the use of systems analysis within animal science remains limited and researchers may not have the tools to answer this call. This review thus introduces important concepts in systems thinking methodology, such as policy resistance, feedback processes, and dynamic complexity. An overall rationale for systems thinking and analysis is presented, along with examples of the application of these concepts in current animal science research. In order to contrast systems approaches to more frequently employed event-oriented research frameworks, both frameworks are then applied to the ASAS’ identified “Grand Challenge” problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in order to compare these two kinds of analyses. Systems thinking stresses the importance of underlying system structures that lead to persistent problem behaviors vs a focus on unidirectional cause-and-effect relationships. A potential systems framework for animal production decisions to use antimicrobials is shown that more explicitly accounts for AMR in a way that can lead to different animal production decisions than the event-oriented framework. Acknowledging and accounting for fundamental system structures that can explain persistent AMR will lead to different potential solutions to this problem than would be suggested from more linear approaches. The challenges and benefits of incorporating systems methods into animal science research are then discussed.     

Response of laying hens to L-arginine,L-citrulline and guanidinoacetic acid supplementation in reduced protein diet

A study was conducted with Hy-Line Brown laying hens to examine the effects of reduced protein diet, deficiency of arginine (Arg), and addition of crystalline Arg, citrulline (Cit) and guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) as substitutes for Arg. Hen performance, egg quality, serum uric acid, liver and reproductive organ weights, and energy and protein digestibility were measured using a completely randomized design with 5 treatments. Treatments were a standard diet (17% protein diet; SP), a reduced diet (13% protein diet deficient in Arg; RP) and RP with added Arg (0.35%, RP-Arg), GAA (0.46% equivalent to 0.35% Arg, RP-GAA) or Cit (0.35%, RP-Cit) to the level of SP. It was hypothesized that performance would decrease with Arg deficient RP diet and the addition of GAA or Cit in RP would allow birds to perform similar or greater than Arg-added RP treatment. The experiment was conducted from 20 to 39 wk of age but the treatment effect was seen only after 29 wk of age. The birds offered RP had reduced egg and albumin weights (P < 0.01), lower yolk color score (P < 0.01), lower protein intake and excretion (P < 0.01) than those offered SP. When Arg or Cit were added to RP to make them equivalent to SP, feed intake (FI) and egg production were not different than those of RP (P > 0.05). The birds offered RP-GAA decreased FI and egg production (P < 0.01) compared to those offered RP. The addition of Arg, Cit or GAA to the RP had no effect on egg quality parameters, protein and energy digestibilities (P > 0.05). However, birds offered the RP-Cit diet tended to have higher Haugh unit (P = 0.095) and lower shell breaking strength (P = 0.088) compared to all other treatments while those offered RP-GAA had higher energy digestibility (P < 0.05) than all other groups but RP. The limited performance response of hens fed RP with added Arg, GAA, or Cit may be due to deficiency of some other nutrients in RP such as phenylalanine, potassium or non-essential amino acids and other components of soybean meal in the diet.     

High diversity and clonality are hallmarks of Fusarium circinatum in South Africa

Pitch canker on plantation-grown Pinus species, caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium circinatum, first appeared in the western and southern Cape regions of South Africa. However, outbreaks have subsequently been reported from the major plantation growing regions of KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo in the eastern, summer rainfall regions of the country. It is more than 10 years since the last detailed population genetics studies on F. circinatum in the region were conducted. To shed light on the population biology of F. circinatum in this region of South Africa, we used microsatellite markers and mating-type assays to study a collection of 296 isolates from different nurseries and plantation sites. Our results showed that populations in the region are highly diverse, but strongly interconnected, with various genotypes shared across nursery and plantation collection sites. In contrast to nursery populations, those associated with pitch canker outbreaks were characterized by the presence of relatively small numbers of dominant genotypes that were generally widespread across the region. Opposite mating-type individuals occurred in most of the isolate collections, but multilocus linkage disequilibrium analyses pointed towards clonality being the main reproductive mode of F. circinatum in the region. Most of the pathogen's genetic variation could probably have resulted from multiple different introductions into the country and more specifically, into the summer rainfall region. Because the spread and establishment of invasive pathogens are typically driven by aggressive clones, the results of this study provide important considerations for current and future Pinus disease management strategies.