Genetic parameters for semen production traits in Swiss dairy bulls

Variance components (VC) were estimated for the semen production trait ejaculate volume, sperm concentration and sperm motility in the Swiss cattle breeds Brown Swiss (BS), Original Braunvieh (OB), Holstein (HO), Red‐Factor‐Carrier (RF), Red Holstein (RH), Swiss Fleckvieh (SF) and Simmental (SI). For this purpose, semen production traits from 2,617 bulls with 124,492 records were used. The data were collected in the years 2000–2012. The model for genetic parameter estimation across all breeds included the fixed effects age of bull at collection, year of collection, month of collection, number of collection per bull and day, interval between consecutive collections, semen collector, bull breed as well as a random additive genetic component and a permanent environmental effect. The same model without a fixed breed effect was used to estimate VC and repeatabilities separately for each of the breeds BS, HO, RH, SF and SI. Estimated heritabilities across all breeds were 0.42, 0.25 and 0.09 for ejaculate volume, sperm concentration and sperm motility, respectively. Different heritabilities were estimated for ejaculate volume (0.42; 0.45; 0.49; 0.40; 0.10), sperm concentration (0.34; 0.30; 0.20; 0.07; 0.23) and number of semen portions (0.18; 0.30; 0.04; 0.14; 0.04) in BS, HO, RH, SF and SI breed, respectively. The phenotypic and genetic correlations across all breeds between ejaculate volume and sperm concentration were negative (?0.28; ?0.56). The other correlations across all breeds were positive. The phenotypic and genetic correlations were 0.01 and 0.19 between sperm motility and ejaculate volume, respectively. Between sperm motility and sperm concentration, the phenotypic and genetic correlations were 0.20 and 0.36, respectively. The results are consistent with other analyses and show that genetic improvement through selection is possible in bull semen production traits.     

Relationship Between Soft Wheat Flour Physicochemical Composition and Cookie‐Making Performance

Nowadays in Argentina, cookies, crackers, and cakes are made of flour obtained from bread wheat with additives or enzymes that decrease the gluten strength but increase production costs. The present research work aims to study the relationship between flour physicochemical composition (particle size average [PSA], protein, damaged starch [DS], water soluble pentosans [WSP], total pentosans [TP], and gluten), alkaline water retention capacities behavior, solvent retention capacities profile (SRC) and cookie‐making performance in a set of 51 adapted soft wheat lines with diverse origin to identify better flour parameters for predicting cookie quality. Cookie factor (CF) values were 5.06–7.56. High and significant negative correlations between sucrose SRC (–0.68), water SRC (–0.65), carbonate SRC (–0.59), and CF were found, followed by lactic SRC that presented a low negative but significant correlation (r = –0.35). The flour components DS (r = –0.67), WSP (r = –0.49), and TP (r = –0.4) were negatively associated to CF. PSA showed a negative correlation with CF (r = –0.43). Protein and gluten were the flour components that affected cookie hardness, but no significant correlation were found with pentosan or DS content. A prediction equation for CF was developed. Sucrose SRC, PSA, and DS could be used to predict 68% of the variation in cookie diameter. The cluster analysis was conducted to assess differences in flour quality parameters among genotypes based on CF. Clusters 1 and 4 were typified by lower CF (5.70 and 5.23, respectively), higher DS, pentosan content, and SRC values. Cluster 2 with a relative good CF (6.47) and Cluster 3 with the best cookie quality, high CF (7.32) and low firmness, and the lowest DS, TP, WSP content, and sucrose SRC values.     

Occurrence and Characteristics of CS31A Antigen‐Producing Escherichia coli in Calves with Diarrhoea and Septicaemia in Argentina

CS31A is a K88‐related non‐fimbrial adhesin first described on Escherichia coli strains isolated from diarrhoeic and septicaemic calves. In this report, CS31A antigen was screened by immunological methods and confirmed by PCR among bovine E. coli isolates. In addition, CS31A‐producing strains were characterized with respect to different fimbrial antigens, O‐serogroup and other properties related to virulence. Faecal or tissue specimens of 100 diarrhoeic or septicaemic calves and 27 older cattle with different pathologies from 71 outbreaks or individual cases that occurred in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, were examined. CS31A+ E. coli strains were isolated from 21 (21.0%) calves from 16 outbreaks or individual cases. No CS31A+ E. coli was detected in samples from cattle more than 1 year old. Fimbriae F5, F41, F17a and F17b were not detected among the CS31A‐producing strains. Three (14.3%) of the CS31A+ E. coli strains expressed the F17c fimbria. All of the 21 isolates exhibited at least one property of septicaemic strains (resistance to serum, production of aerobactin or colicins) but none of them demonstrated heat‐stable enterotoxigenic activity. CS31A+ E. coli isolates belonged to 10 serogroups, more commonly O8, O7, O17 and O21. The results obtained here confirm the worldwide distribution of CS31A antigen in bovine E. coli strains. However, CS31A+ or CS31A+/F17c+ E. coli were less frequently isolated than they were in North hemisphere countries.     

Genetic variability of Appaloosa horses: a study of a closed breeding population from Argentina

The genetic diversity and structure of 72 Appaloosa horses belonging to a closed breeding population from an ecological reserve in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was investigated using eight microsatellite markers from the International Society for Animal Genetics panel. Our data showed that this Appaloosa horse population had an elevated degree of genetic diversity (He= 0.746) and did not present a significant increase of homozygous individuals (F_IS~0). However, the short tandem repeats, AHT5, ASB2, HTG10 and VHL20, were not in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (P-value<0.05). Genetic relationships between this population and other well known horse breeds showed that Appaloosa horses from Argentina could have had their origin in the horses of the Nez Perce’s people in Idaho while other Appaloosa horses may have had influences from Andalusian and Lusitano breeds. This closed breeding population conserves an important degree of Appaloosa genetic diversity and notwithstanding its particular breeding characteristics, represents a valuable genetic resource for conservation.     

Variation in the mortality rate of turkeys during transport to the slaughterhouse with travel distance and month

Failure to comply with animal welfare requirements during the transport of turkeys to the slaughterhouse increases stress in animals, which is manifested by increased mortality rate during transport. The numbers of turkeys that died during transport or soon after arrival may serve as an important parameter to indicate the level of animal welfare during transport of turkeys. The number of turkeys that died during transport to slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic in the period from 1997 to 2004 was investigated. The mortality rate found was 0.28% +/- 0.06% but varied with travel distance. The lowest mortality rate was found in case of travel distance below 50 km (0.18% +/- 0.08%) while long travel distances resulted in considerable increase in the mortality rates of turkeys (between 0.28% +/- 0.07 and 0.37% +/- 0.10%). The mortality rate of transported turkeys was also affected by the particular month of the year. Thus, the highest overall mortality rate occurred at long travel distances during winter months, i.e. in December (0.34% +/- 0.18%), January (0.32% +/- 0.06%), and February (0.36% +/- 0.07%). The comparison of individual years has shown a long-term trend towards a decrease in turkeys' mortality during transportation to slaughterhouses from 0.32% in 1998 to 0.20% in 2004. The decrease was statistically significant (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient r = -0.86, p < 0.01). This trend can be evaluated as positive.     

Specialization and rarity predict nonrandom loss of interactions from mutualist networks

The loss of interactions from mutualistic networks could foreshadow both plant and animal species extinctions. Yet, the characteristics of interactions that predispose them to disruption are largely unknown. We analyzed 12 pollination webs from isolated hills ("sierras"), in Argentina, ranging from tens to thousands of hectares. We found evidence of nonrandom loss of interactions with decreasing sierra size. Low interaction frequency and high specialization between interacting partners contributed additively to increase the vulnerability of interactions to disruption. Interactions between generalists in the largest sierras were ubiquitous across sierras, but many of them lost their central structural role in the smallest sierras. Thus, particular configurations of interaction networks, along with unique ecological relations and evolutionary pathways, could be lost forever after habitat reduction.     

1,25(OH)D vitamin D promotes NOS2 expression in response to bacterial and viral PAMPs in primary bovine salivary gland fibroblasts

Veterinary Research Communications - The faecal-oral route is a predominant mode of infectious disease transmission and yet the immunology of the bovine oral cavity is poorly understood. The...     

New data about home range and movements of Oligoryzomys flavescens (Rodentia: Cricetidae) help to understand the spread and transmission of Andes virus that causes Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is an emerging infectious disease caused by viruses of the genus Orthohantavirus. The rodent Oligoryzomys flavescens is distributed along four countries of South America. In Argentina, O. flavescens acts as a reservoir of three genotypes of ANDV orthohantavirus. The aims of this work were to estimate home range size and movements—with spool‐and‐line and radiotelemetry—of infected and non‐infected O. flavescens in order to understand the spread and transmission of the virus. O. flavescens use a wide area to satisfice its requirements, reaching a home range of 1.82 ha during spring. Orthohantavirus infection did not change the behaviour of individuals. We observed a great overlapping in the home range of infected and non‐infected individuals resulting in a high probability of virus dispersion on rodent population. These results show that human health risks could be high on island environments and knowledge about the movement ecology of O. flavescens provides useful information on prevention.     

Assessing resistance of rubber tree clones to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Microcyclus ulei</Emphasis> in large-scale clone trials in Ecuador: a less time-consuming field method

Resistance of rubber tree clones to South American Leaf Blight (SALB) caused by the fungus Microcyclus ulei is normally assessed in specific large-scale clone trials, which in general entail a considerable amount of work. Four variables are observed monthly on each tree over many years: disease severity and conidial sporulation intensity on young leaves, and severity and stroma density on mature leaves. In order to simplify this field assessment method, we tested the resistance of eight rubber tree clones to M. ulei in Ecuador in a Fisher block design with four replicates per treatment. Three months after planting, monthly observations were made for a period of 12 months on the foliage focusing on the four variables, in order to quantify disease development. Given the correlations between the four variables, assessment of conidial sporulation intensity on young leaves and stroma density on mature leaves should be sufficient. The most suitable period to start the assessment was 6 months after planting, for a duration of six to nine months. As repeated observations on the same trees were autocorrelated, it was possible to reduce the assessment frequency to once every 2 months. To conclude, assessing the resistance of rubber tree clones to SALB in large-scale clone trials can be optimized to reduce the number of observation times by 50%.     

Pre‐slaughter mortality among turkeys related to their transport

Overall mortality among turkeys transported for slaughter in the Czech Republic from 2009 to 2014 was 0.147%. The lowest mortality (0.023%) was found in turkeys transported for distances up to 50 km; longer distances were associated with increasing death rates, with the highest losses (0.543%) recorded for distances from 201 to 300 km. Differences were also found when comparing transport‐related mortality rates according to the season of the year. The highest mortality (0.228%) was associated with transports carried out in summer, whereas the lowest death rates were found in turkeys transported for slaughter in winter (0.105%) and autumn (0.113%). According to the ambient temperatures in which transports associated with the highest death rates among turkeys were carried out (14 to 21°C), it appears that heat stress can be a major factor in the birds’ mortality. However, low ambient temperatures (i.e. below ?2°C) also appear to increase transport‐related mortality, as shown by our results. In addition to shortening the lengths of transport distances, appropriate consideration of prevailing climatic conditions and the sensitivity of turkeys to high and low temperatures during transport may also lead to a reduction in the number of turkeys dying during transport for slaughter.