Comparative survival and growth performance of European lobster larvae,Homarus gammarus,reared on dry feed and conspecifics

A bottleneck of crustacean larval culture concerns nutrition and associated cannibalism in communal rearing systems, which impact on larval survival, development and growth. For early‐stage European lobster, Homarus gammarus larvae, feeding ecology and body composition are largely unknown. We initiated four progressive feeding experiments (novel feed types, feeding regime and feed size and cannibalism effects) on growth and survival, to inform and update husbandry protocols. Performance of larvae offered a dry commercial feed was not significantly different compared with a conventional wet plankton feed of the same ration and size grade (both within 600–1,000 μm). Further experiments found that the same ration of dry feed offered six times daily improved development and growth, over the conventional regime of three times daily. Small‐grade dry feed (particles: 250–360 μm) improved larval performance compared with a larger feed (360–650 μm). Larvae were also fed different proportions of dry feed and/or conspecifics in both communal and individual rearing systems (the latter preventing cannibalism via segregation). Individually reared larvae, fed only dead conspecifics, displayed the greatest survival (80%) to postlarvae. This underlines the impact of cannibalism on survival and nutrition in H. gammarus larviculture. A final experiment analysed H. gammarus zoea 1 composition, identifying deficiencies in ash and carbohydrate in lobster feeds. This suggests a need for a species‐specific, formulated dry feed for H. gammarus larviculture. Our research represents the first investigation of H. gammarus larval composition and dietary requirements and highlights decreased growth potential associated with providing nutrition solely from generic commercial feed.     

Selection efficiency of high inorganic phosphorus-low stachyose lines from soybean breeding populations of different genetic backgrounds

Reducing the antinutritional components of soybean (Glycine max) seed is necessary for producing animal feed with increased metabolizable energy and nutrient availability. The objective of this study was to evaluate marker-assisted and phenotypic selection for the high inorganic phosphorus (Pi) and low stachyose traits controlled by the Lpa and MIPS1 mutations in six breeding populations. Phenotypic selection for low phytate individuals carrying Lpa mutations using Pi was reliable, but the assay should include parental genotypes to construct thresholds before performing selections, as the effect of Lpa on Pi depends on genetic background. Phenotypic selection for low phytate individuals carrying MIPS1 using Pi should be complemented with sugar data because selection based solely on Pi may be inefficient, as this trait is not environmentally stable in MIPS1 germplasm. Marker-assisted selection for simple sequence repeat (SSR) linked to Lpa2 (Satt527, Satt561) depended on the pedigree of the population suggesting that perfect markers (e.g., single nucleotide polymorphism) should become the molecular tool for screening a large number of progenies with high efficiency.     

Effects of dietary protein and lipid levels on growth performance,fatty acid composition and antioxidant‐related gene expressions in juvenile loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

Dojo loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is one of the most important cultured freshwater fish in several East Asian countries. However, a little information is available in its nutritional requirements. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding varying levels of dietary protein and lipid on growth, fatty acid composition and antioxidant‐related gene expressions in juvenile loach. Six practical diets at three levels of protein (30%, 40% and 50%) and two levels of lipid (6% and 12%) were fed to loach juveniles (initial weight 0.40 g) in triplicated groups (20 fish per replicated) for a period of 8 weeks. Results showed that regardless of lipid level, body weight gain of fish was significantly increased with incremental dietary protein level. Meanwhile, feed conversion ratio was significantly decreased by dietary protein levels, and the lowest value was observed in fish fed dietary protein levels of 50%, regardless of dietary lipid level. Moreover, the percentage of 22:6n‐3 in viscera was significantly increased by different protein levels. The expression level of catalase was significantly increased with incremental dietary protein level with both lipid levels. Meanwhile, the expression level of hepatic nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) was downregulated with incremental dietary protein level with 6% of lipid level, but the expression was upregulated with incremental dietary protein level with 12% of lipid level. In conclusion, these data suggested that 6% lipid and 50% protein in diet was optimal for loach during early development stage.     

洛阳市植烟区生态环境聚类及烟叶化学成分分析

[目的]分析不同生态环境烟叶的化学成分差异性及适宜性。[方法]以降雨、海拔和日照条件为因子,对洛阳市烟区生态环境进行系统聚类,并抽取34个样品分析了不同生态环境中烟叶的化学成分含量及适宜性。[结果]与2015年全国平均含量相比,洛阳市烟叶的总植物碱、总氮和钾含量较低,淀粉和游离氨基酸含量略高,样品间氯含量、钾氯比和糖碱比变异较大;聚类分析将洛阳市烟区划分为A、B、C、D 4类小生态环境烟区;A类烟区烟叶的总植物碱、氯含量相对较高,D类烟区烟叶的钾氯比、糖碱比和氮碱比相对较高;4类烟区烟叶的总植物碱、总氮、游离氨基酸含量和氮碱比适宜性较好,碳水化合物含量高出适宜范围,糖碱比例不协调,钾、氯含量偏低。[结论]总体来看,A类烟区烟叶化学成分适宜性最佳。     

Silage and total mixed ration hygienic quality on commercial farms: implications for animal production

Implications of silage hygienic quality for animal production were investigated on forty‐five dairy farms in South West England. Samples of grass and maize silages and of total mixed rations (TMR) were obtained together with information on silage technology, herd size and animal production. Samples were analysed for mycotoxins, bacteria, yeasts, moulds and chemical composition. Thirteen mycotoxins were assayed, but none were detected in the samples of grass silage. However, mycotoxins were found in 0·9 of all maize and other silage samples, with deoxynivalenol and zearalenone predominating. There was no relationship between total mycotoxin concentration and mean lactation milk yield per cow. Enterobacteria counts tended to be higher in maize silage than in grass silage and higher still in TMR – a cause for concern. There were no relationships between mould counts and mycotoxin concentrations in silages, implying that mycotoxins may have been produced in the field pre‐ensiling.     

槟榔科学研究近况分析

概述世界槟榔种植区域分布、面积和产量，及2015年度国内外在槟榔生理生化、生防菌、栽培管理、加工和利用等方面取得的研究进展，并对目前槟榔研究技术瓶颈和发展趋势进行了分析。     

Effect of l‐ascorbyl‐2‐polyphosphate supplementation on growth performance,body composition,antioxidative capacity and salinity stress tolerance of juvenile Pacific white shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of ascorbic acid (AsA), in the form of l ‐ascorbyl‐2‐polyphosphate (LAPP) on growth performance, body composition, antioxidative capacity and salinity stress tolerance of juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Five practical diets (46% crude protein and 7.6% lipid) supplemented with graded levels of AsA (14.64, 48.55, 84.98, 308.36 and 639.27 mg kg^?1 diet) were fed to five replicate groups of L. vannamei (mean initial wet weight 0.57 g). No significant differences were found on growth performance among all treatments. However, whole body lipid content significantly decreased with dietary AsA levels increasing. Activities of total antioxidant capacity, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase were significantly affected by dietary AsA levels. Shrimp fed LAPP‐free diet had higher malondialdehyde content than those fed the diets supplemented with LAPP. Dietary AsA levels higher than 308.36 mg kg^?1 diet increased the survival of shrimps after 1, 2 and 3 h of acute salinity change. Broken‐line regression analysis on survival after 3 h of salinity stress and second‐degree polynomial regression analysis on glutathione reductase data indicated that the optimal dietary AsA requirement of L. vannamei was estimated to be 306.39, 319.75 mg kg^?1 diet respectively.     

Effects of starvation,subsequent feeding and photoperiod on flesh quality in farmed cod (Gadus morhua)

The study was designed to investigate the effect of four cycles of 5 weeks starvation followed by 10‐week refeeding compared with daily feeding under either natural photoperiod or continuous light (LL) regime on body composition and flesh quality in Atlantic cod in sea cages, northern Norway. The fish were sampled for body composition and flesh quality parameters at the start of the trial, twice at the end of a 10‐week feeding period and twice at the end of a 5‐week starvation period. There was effect of both feeding and light regime on growth, the two starving groups losing weight during starvation and regaining weight during refeeding, and the group under LL being heavier. But, the mean overall growth did not vary between groups. Starvation/refeeding regime resulted in higher slaughter yield, but no overall effect was seen on hepatosomatic index, water content, water holding capacity (WHC), muscle pH, hardness or flesh colour compared with control groups. Continuous light increased gutted weight and slaughter yield, lowered WHC and depressed maturation compared with fish under natural light regime. Increased growth rate resulted in softer fillets and lower muscle pH.     

Effects of the dietary protein to energy ratio on growth,feed utilization and body composition in Macrobrachium nipponense

Oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense) has been widely cultured in Asian countries. However, its nutritional studies are very limited. In the present 8‐week study, we investigated the effects of dietary protein to energy ratio (P/E ratio) on the growth, feed utilization and body composition in juvenile M. nipponense (initial weight 0.302 ±0.03 g). Two‐factor experiment was designed and nine semi‐purified diets were formulated to contain three lipid levels (20, 80 and 140 g kg^?1) and three protein levels (330, 380 and 430 g kg^?1), producing P/E ratios from 16.5 to 23.4 mg KJ^?1 protein. The results indicated that the growth, survival rate and protein efficiency were dose dependently improved by the increased dietary lipid, but not dietary protein content. Increased dietary lipid content and/or protein content increased lipid accumulation in whole body, hepatopancreas and muscle, but did not change the feed intake and hepatopancreas weight. In conclusion, our present study indicated that M. nipponense is a species with relatively high‐energy requirement. It could utilize dietary lipid content up to 140 g kg^?1, while the dietary protein with more than 330 g kg^?1 would not promote growth and protein efficiency. Taken together, 330 g kg^?1 dietary protein and 140 g kg^?1 dietary lipid level with P/E ratio 16.49 could be optimum for M. nipponense.