Genetic evaluation using random regression models with different covariance functions for test‐day milk yield in an admixture population of Thailand goats

The objectives of this study were to compare covariance functions (CF) and estimate the heritability of milk yield from test‐day records among exotic (Saanen, Anglo‐Nubian, Toggenburg and Alpine) and crossbred goats (Thai native and exotic breed), using a random regression model. A total of 1472 records of test‐day milk yield were used, collected from 112 does between 2003 and 2006. CF of the study were Wilmink function, second‐ and third‐order Legendre polynomials, and linear splines 4 knots located at 5, 25, 90 and 155 days in milk (SP25–90) and 5, 35, 95 and 155 of days in milk (SP35–95). Variance components were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood method (REML). Goodness of fit, Akaike information criterion (AIC), percentage of squared bias (PSB), mean square error (MSE), and empirical correlation (RHO) between the observed and predicted values were used to compare models. The results showed that CF had an impact on (co)variance estimation in random regression models (RRM). The RRM with splines 4 knots located at 5, 25, 90 and 155 of days in milk had the lowest AIC, PSB and MSE, and the highest RHO. The heritability estimated throughout lactation obtained with this model ranged from 0.13 to 0.23.     

Optimal vision-based guidance row locating for autonomous agricultural machines

Precision Agriculture - With the rapid advances in precision agriculture technology, machine vision is emerging as a means to obtain accurate spatial information for a control system at relatively...     

Effect of season and outdoor climate on litter size at birth in purebred landrace and yorkshire sows in Thailand

The objective of the present study was to retrospectively investigate causes of variation on litter size at birth (total number of piglets born per litter (TB) and number of piglets born alive per litter (BA)) of Landrace (L) and Yorkshire (Y) sows in swine nucleus herds in Thailand. The data included sows farrowed during a four-year period from January 1998 to December 2001. The analyzed data set included observations on 8020 litters from 2199 L sows and 6919 litters from 1680 Y sows. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied for statistical analyses using General Linear Mixed Model (MIXED) procedure of SAS. No breed difference was found for both TB and BA. Farrowing months significantly influenced TB and BA (P<0.001). Sows farrowed in August and September had a lower BA than sows farrowed from November to June (P<0.05). Effect of farrowing months on both TB and BA was more pronounced in primiparous compared with multiparous sows. Average minimum daily temperature during gestation negatively correlated with both TB and BA, average maximum daily temperature during gestation negatively correlated with BA and average daily humidity during gestation negatively correlated with both TB and BA. The correlations were stronger in L than in Y sows.     

The effect of activation protocols on the development of cloned goat embryos

This study was conducted to compare the developmental competence of somatic nuclear transfer (NT) embryos, after either ionomycin or ethanol activation, in locally bred goats. Donor cells were prepared from the ear skin fibroblasts of a female goat. Cells, at passage 3-8, starved by culturing in 0.5% FCS for 4-8 d, were used for NT. Immature oocytes were obtained from FSH-stimulated goats and matured for 22 hr before enucleation and NT. After fusion, the reconstructed embryos were activated with either ionomycin or ethanol followed by culturing in 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) and cytochalasin B (CB), for 3 hr. In experiment I, the fused NT embryos (n=63, ionomycin and n=68, ethanol treatments, respectively) were cultured in B2 with a Vero co-culture system and their developmental competence was evaluated through to Day 9. In experiment II, the NT embryos at the 2-4 cell stage on Day 2 derived from each treatment (ionomycin n=46, and ethanol n=37), were transferred into 10 synchronous recipients. There were no significant differences between the NT embryos derived from the ionomycin and ethanol groups, in fusion (86.3% versus 82.9%), cleavage (90.5% versus 82.4%) and for morula/blastocyst development rates (9.5% versus 5.9%). Sixty percent (3/5) of the recipients from ionomycin became pregnant by midterm (2.5 mts) while only 20% (1/5) from ethanol treatment was pregnant by Day 45. The results demonstrate that activation with either ionomycin or ethanol in combination with 6-DMAP-CB treatment does not affect the development of cloned goat embryos.     

The effect of a catastrophic flood disaster on livestock farming in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand

In 2011, a catastrophic flood disaster in Thailand affected not only humans but also took animal lives. Data on livestock losses, including death, loss, and decreased production, were collected in Nakhon Sawan province. The time-series map of the flooded area from August to December 2011 was available online from the Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency. To evaluate the high-density areas of livestock loss, a spatial hot spot analysis was performed. The Getis-Ord Gi statistic with weighted zone of indifference and the Euclidean distance measurement were employed to identify spatial clusters of species that were affected by the flood. The results indicated that the majority of livestock losses were from poultry and swine farms. The density of poultry and swine loss was significantly different between sub-districts with clusters of high-density loss alongside the river, particularly in Chum Saeng and Kao Liew. Using spatial hot spot analysis as a tool to classify and rank the areas with high flood risks provides an informative outline for farmers to be aware of potential flood damage. To avoid unexpected loss from flooding, poultry and swine farms in risk areas should be properly managed, particularly during the flooding season between August and December.     

Molecular signature and colony morphology affect in vitro pluripotency of porcine induced pluripotent stem cells

Overall efficiency of cell reprogramming for porcine fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is currently poor, and few cell lines have been established. This study examined gene expression during early phase of cellular reprogramming in the relationship to the iPSC colony morphology and in vitro pluripotent characteristics. Fibroblasts were reprogrammed with OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC. Two different colony morphologies referred to either compact (n = 10) or loose (n = 10) colonies were further examined for proliferative activity, gene expression and in vitro pluripotency. A total of 1,697 iPSC-like colonies (2.34%) were observed after gene transduction. The compact colonies contained with tightly packed cells with a distinct-clear border between the colony and feeder cells, while loose colonies demonstrated irregular colony boundary. For quantitative expression of genes responsible for early phase cell reprogramming, the Dppa2 and EpCAM were significantly upregulated while NR0B1 was downregulated in compact colonies compared with loose phenotype (p < .05). Higher proportion of compact iPSC phenotype (5 of 10, 50%) could be maintained in undifferentiated state for more than 50 passages compared unfavourably with loose morphology (3 of 10, 30%). All iPS cell lines obtained from these two types of colony morphologies expressed pluripotent genes and proteins (OCT4, NANOG and E-cadherin). In addition, they could aggregate and form three-dimensional structure of embryoid bodies. However, only compact iPSC colonies differentiated into three germ layers. Molecular signature of early phase of cell reprogramming coupled with primary colony morphology reflected the in vitro pluripotency of porcine iPSCs. These findings can be simply applied for pre-screening selection of the porcine iPSC cell line.     

Integrating machine vision-based row guidance with GPS and compass-based routing to achieve autonomous navigation for a rice field weeding robot

Precision Agriculture - Autonomous weeding robots are a productive and more sustainable solution over traditional, labor-intensive weed control practices such as chemical weeding that are harmful...     

Genetic associations between milk fat‐to‐protein ratio,milk production and fertility in the first two lactations of Thai Holsteins dairy cattle

The aims of this study were to estimate, simultaneously, the genetic parameters of test‐day milk fat‐to‐protein ratio (FPR), test‐day milk yield (MY), and days‐open (DO) in the first two lactations of Thai Holsteins. A total of 76 194 test‐day production records collected from 8874 cows with 8674 DO records between 2001 and 2011 from different lactations were treated as separated traits. The estimates of heritability for test‐day FPR in the first lactation showed an increasing trend, whereas the estimates in the second lactation showed a U‐shape trend. Genetic correlations for FPR‐DO and MY‐DO showed a decreasing trend along days in milk (DIM) in both lactations, whereas genetic correlations for FPR‐MY increased along DIM in the first lactation but decreased in the second lactation. Genetic correlations of FPR between consecutive DIM were moderate to high, which showed the effectiveness of simultaneous analyses. Selection of FPR in the early stage has no adverse effect on MY and DO for the first lactation but has a negative effect on MY and positive effect on DO for the second lactation. This study showed that genetic improvement of the energy balance using FPR, MY and DO with multi‐trait test day model could be applied in a Thailand dairy cattle breeding program.