Efficacy of essential oils combination on performance,ileal bacterial counts,intestinal histology and immunocompetence of laying hens fed alternative lipid sources

This study was carried out to assess the effects of a blend of herbal essential oils (namely Thymus vulgaris, Mentha piperita, Rosmarinus offisinalis and Anethum graveolens) and different dietary lipid sources on the performance, ileal bacterial enumeration, intestinal histological alterations and immune responses in laying hens. For this purpose, a total of 150 laying hens were randomly allocated to six experimental treatments with five replicates of five birds each. Dietary treatments consisted of three levels of a mixture of essential oils (0, 100 and 200 mg/kg) and two sources of lipid (soybean oil and fish oil containing different ratios of n‐6 to n‐3 fatty acids) fed to the animals during an 80‐days feeding trial. Findings indicated that dietary administration of fish oil not only increased significantly the spleen relative weight (p < 0.01) and the antibody titre against Newcastle virus (p < 0.05) but also led to reductions in liver relative weight (p < 0.05) and feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05). Moreover, the mixture of herbal essential oils brought about declines in hepatic relative weight, heterophile to lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.05) and intestinal pathogen populations (p < 0.01). Mention must also be made of the improvements it made in spleen weight (p < 0.01), antibody titres against SRBC (p < 0.01) and Newcastle virus (p < 0.05), villus height to crypt depth ratio (p < 0.01), goblet cell numbers (p < 0.05), lamina propria lymphatic follicle diameters (p < 0.01) and feed conversion ratio (p = 0.06). It may be claimed that the enhancements observed in the performance of laying hens fed fish oil and 200 mg/kg of the blend of essential oils could have potentially been associated with improved intestinal health indices as well as cellular and humoral immune responses.     

The impact of truncating data on the predictive ability for single‐step genomic best linear unbiased prediction

Simulated and swine industry data sets were utilized to assess the impact of removing older data on the predictive ability of selection candidate estimated breeding values (EBV) when using single‐step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ssGBLUP). Simulated data included thirty replicates designed to mimic the structure of swine data sets. For the simulated data, varying amounts of data were truncated based on the number of ancestral generations back from the selection candidates. The swine data sets consisted of phenotypic and genotypic records for three traits across two breeds on animals born from 2003 to 2017. Phenotypes and genotypes were iteratively removed 1 year at a time based on the year an animal was born. For the swine data sets, correlations between corrected phenotypes (Cp) and EBV were used to evaluate the predictive ability on young animals born in 2016–2017. In the simulated data set, keeping data two generations back or greater resulted in no statistical difference (p‐value > 0.05) in the reduction in the true breeding value at generation 15 compared to utilizing all available data. Across swine data sets, removing phenotypes from animals born prior to 2011 resulted in a negligible or a slight numerical increase in the correlation between Cp and EBV. Truncating data is a method to alleviate computational issues without negatively impacting the predictive ability of selection candidate EBV.     

In vitro studies of Norwegian Red bovine semen immobilized and cryopreserved in alginate solid gel network

Development of new semen cryopreservation techniques improving sperm survival and ensuring availability of viable spermatozoa for a prolonged time‐period after AI is promising tools to reduce sensitivity of timing of AI and enhance overall fertility. The SpermVital^® technology utilizes immobilization of bull spermatozoa in a solid network of alginate gel prior to freezing, which will provide a gradual release of spermatozoa after AI. The objective of this study was to compare post‐thaw sperm quality and in vitro sperm survival over time of Norwegian Red bull semen processed by the SpermVital^® (SV) technology, the first commercialized production line of SpermVital^® (C) and by conventional procedure applying Biladyl^® extender (B). Post‐thaw sperm motility was not significantly different between SV, C and B semen (p > .05). However, sperm viability and acrosome intactness were higher for SV than C and B semen (p < .05). Small differences in DNA quality were observed (p < .05). Sperm viability after storage in uterus ex vivo was higher for SV than for C semen (p < .05). Furthermore, sperm survival in vitro over time at physiological temperature was significantly higher for SV semen than C semen as well as B semen during the incubation period of 48 hr (p < .05). In conclusion, the SpermVital^® technology is improved and is more efficient in conserving post‐thaw sperm quality and results in higher sperm viability over time in vitro for SV than for C and B semen.     

Effects of five cryoprotectants on proliferation and differentiation‐related gene expression of frozen‐thawed bovine calf testicular tissue

The cryopreservation of testicular tissue is a potential method for preserving male fertility. However, the effect of cryopreservation on bovine calf testicular tissue is scarce. This study investigated the effect of different cryoprotectants on bovine calf testicular tissue at the molecular level. Testicular tissue from ten immature bovine calves (6 months) was collected after slaughter and cryopreserved in an extender containing different concentrations of the following five cryopreservation solutions (CP): bovine serum albumin (BSA) with 5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), trehalose with 5% DMSO, DMSO and glycerol and ethylene glycol (EG). After 7‐day cryopreservation, the expression levels of three spermatogonial stem cell (SSC)‐related genes, octamer‐4 (OCT4), KIT ligand (MGF/SCF) and kit oncogene (C‐KIT), were investigated by quantitative PCR (qPCR). The cell viability was highest for the tissues preserved with 30 mg/ml BSA (77.82% ± 1.22) and 40 mg/ml trehalose (74.23% ± 1.16) compared with other groups (p < 0.05), and the level of expression of the three genes was highest with 30 mg/ml BSA (p < 0.05). Compared with other CPs, the 30 mg/ml BSA and 40 mg/ml trehalose have the better cryopreserve protection. The 30 mg/ml BSA is the most viable media for the cryopreservation of testicular tissue from cattle.     

Viral skin diseases in the Netherlands

The most common viral skin problems are discussed in the third article in our equine dermatology series.     

Influence of the root endophyte Piriformospora indica on the plant water relations,gas exchange and growth of Chenopodium quinoa at limited water availability

This study aimed to evaluate the ability of Piriformospora indica to colonize the root of Chenopodium quinoa and to verify whether this endosymbiont can improve the growth, performance and drought resistance of this species. The study delivered, for the first time, evidence for successful colonization of P. indica in quinoa. Hence, pot experiment was conducted in the greenhouse, where inoculated and non‐inoculated plants were subjected to ample (40%–50% WHC) and deficit (15%–20%WHC) irrigation treatments. Drought adversely influenced the plant growth, leading to decline the total plant biomass by 74%. This was linked to an impaired photosynthetic activity (caused by lower g_s and C_i/C_a ratio; stomatal limitation of photosynthesis) and a higher risk of ROS production (enhanced ETR/A_gross ratio). P. indica colonization improved quinoa plant growth, with total biomass increased by 8% (controls) and 76% (drought‐stressed plants), confirming the growth‐promoting activity of P. indica. Fungal colonization seems to diminish drought‐induced growth hindrance, likely, through an improved water balance, reflected by the higher leaf ψ_w and g_s. Additionally, stomatal limitation of photosynthesis was alleviated (indicated by enhanced C_i/C_a ratio and A_net), so that the threat of oxidative stress was minimized (decreased ETR/A_gross). These results infer that symbiosis with P. indica could negate some of the detrimental effects of drought on quinoa growth, a highly desired feature, in particular at low water availability.     

Evaluation of Cold Tolerance in NERICAs Compared with Japanese Standard Rice Varieties at the Reproductive Stage

New Rice for Africa (NERICA) is a general name for interspecific rice varieties derived from a cross between the high‐yielding Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) between locally adapted African rice (Oryza glaberrima Steud.). Eight NERICAs were evaluated for cold tolerance (CT) at the reproductive stage and compared with their O. sativa parents and three Japanese standard rice varieties over 3 years. Cold tolerance was evaluated based on the filled grain ratio (FGR) after cold water irrigation. The FGR was greatly reduced by cold water irrigation. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 had higher FGR (51.9–57.9 %), while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 had lower FGR (6.2–14.5 %). NERICA 1, 2 and 7 were less affected by cold stress, with a 31 % mean reduction in FGR, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 were greatly affected, with their FGRs being reduced by more than 80 %. NERICA 3 and 4 were moderately affected by cold stress, with about 45 % reduction rate in FGR. FGR significantly influenced the grain weights of the varieties with strong positive correlations (r = 0.83–0.91; P < 0.001), and thus, similar trends in grain weights were observed. Grain weights were reduced by 61.7–96.4 % under cold stress. NERICA 1, 2 and 7 showed significantly better performance than NERICA 3 and 4, while NERICA 6, 15 and 16 performed poorly under cold water irrigation. The Japanese varieties Koshihikari (very tolerant) and Ozora (moderately tolerant) were more affected by cold water irrigation than NERICA 1, 2 and 7. On the basis of the mean reduction rate (%) in FGR under cold stress, the varieties were classified as follows: NERICA 1, 2 and 7 as tolerant; NERICA 3 and 4 as moderately tolerant; and NERICA 6, 15 and 16 as susceptible to cold stress. However, NERICA 7 grain yields were lower under cold stress due to both greatly reduced number of panicles per plant and number of spikelets per panicle. Therefore, NERICA 1 and 2 are suitable candidates for production in the highland regions of East Africa and should be promoted for production.