Polymorphisms in growth hormone gene and their associations with calf weight in Japanese Black cattle

The objectives of this study were to detect effective genetic polymorphisms of bovine growth hormone (bGH) gene associated with calf weight in Japanese Black cattle. Fifty‐eight sires and 47 breeding cows were used to detect the polymorphisms in exons by single‐strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). Four homozygous and six heterozygous SSCP genotypes were identified in exon 5. Although each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) had been reported, these genotypes were caused by three SNPs at the nucleotide positions 2141, 2277 and 2291. Four haplotypes C‐C‐A, G‐C‐A, C‐C‐C and G‐T‐A were newly identified. It was suggested that other haplotypes not detected in this study may not exist, considering the allele frequencies reported in Bos taurus and Bos indicus, and the migrating process of native Japanese cattle. Thereafter, we examined associations between the detected polymorphic sites in exon 5 by PCR – restriction fragment length polymorphism and calf weight using 53 breeding dams and 135 calves. The birth weights of calves with haplotype G‐C‐A are significantly lighter and calves' weights produced by cows with such haplotype are also lighter at 30 days old, using regression analysis. Although further research is necessary, these results may serve as a useful criterion to select breeding stocks, especially in maternal abilities.     

The requirement of environmental acidification for Ibaraki virus infection to host cells

The effect of environmental acidification on Ibaraki virus (IBAV) infection was tested using endosomal inhibitory chemicals and low pH treatment. Treatment of target cells with endosomal inhibitors significantly decreased the progeny virus production. IBAV outer capsid proteins, VP5 and VP2, were removed from virion when purified IBAV was exposed to low pH environment. Further experiment showed that the exposure to low pH buffer facilitated IBAV infection when the cellular endosomal pathway was impaired by bafilomycin A1. Results obtained in this study suggest that acidic environment is essential to initiate IBAV infection.     

Commensal bacteria coated by secretory immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs and calves

A large amount of secretory immunoglobulin A (S‐IgA) is secreted in the alimentary tract of mammals. It has been reported that S‐IgA coats a portion of commensal intestinal bacteria in human and mouse. However, S‐IgA‐coated bacteria have not been studied in pigs and calves. In this study, we evaluated the distribution of S‐IgA‐coated commensal intestinal bacteria in each portion of the gastrointestinal tracts of pigs and calves. Immunoglobulin G (IgG)‐coated bacteria were also analyzed because a considerable amount of IgG is secreted in the gastrointestinal tracts of pigs, and in particular, calves. S‐IgA‐ or IgG‐coated bacteria were detected in all the segments of the gastrointestinal tracts of pigs and calves. The proportion of S‐IgA‐coated bacteria to total bacteria (i.e. S‐IgA coating ratio) varied in the segments of the gastrointestinal tract in pigs, whereas those of calves were nearly the same throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The S‐IgA and IgG coating ratios were higher in pigs than in calves for all segments of the gastrointestinal tract.     

Simple preconditioners for the conjugate gradient method: experience with test day models

Preconditioned conjugate gradient method can be used to solve large mixed model equations quickly. Convergence of the method depends on the quality of the preconditioner. Here, the effect of simple preconditioners on the number of iterations until convergence was studied by solving breeding values for several test day models. The test day records were from a field data set, and several simulated data sets with low and high correlations among regression coefficients. The preconditioner matrices had diagonal or block diagonal parts. Transformation of the mixed model equations by diagonalization of the genetic covariance matrix was studied as well. Preconditioner having the whole block of the fixed effects was found to be advantageous. A block diagonal preconditioner for the animal effects reduced the number of iterations the higher the correlations among animal effects, but increased memory usage of the preconditioner. Diagonalization of the animal genetic covariance matrix often reduced the number of iterations considerably without increased memory usage.     

A cell preparation of Enterococcus faecalis strain EC-12 stimulates the luminal immunoglobulin A secretion in juvenile calves

The immune system in juvenile calves is immature, so calves are susceptible to several diarrheal and respiratory diseases. Oral administration of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) is known to improve the growth performance and prevent diarrheal and respiratory diseases by stimulating the immune system in juvenile calves. Most of the immunostimulation by LAB is achieved by their cell wall components, and therefore we evaluated the immunostimulation of the cell preparation of Enterococcus faecalis strain EC-12 (EC-12) in juvenile calves in a clinical field. Twenty-nine 1-week old calves were used. Fourteen calves were administered 0.2% (w/w) of an EC-12 preparation that supplemented a milk replacer, and other calves were not supplemented. Feces and serum was collected at day 0, 7 and 49 after the administration to measure the IgA and IgG concentration. The fecal IgA concentration was increased by EC-12 administration at day 49, and the serum IgA concentration was also increased at day 7. These results suggested that oral administration of EC-12 in juvenile calves might have an immunostimulatory effect and provide earlier recovery of IgA levels in mucosal immunity.     

中国常年淹水稻田CH4排放量估算

A special kind of rice field exists in China that is flooded year-round. These rice fields have substantially large CH4 emissions during the rice-growing season and emit CH4 continuously in the non-rice growing season. CH4 emission factors were used to estimate the CH4 emissions from year-round flooded rice fields during the rice-growing season in China.The CH4 emissions for the year-round flooded rice fields in China for the rice growing season over a total area of 2.66 Mha were estimated to be 2.44 Tg CH4 year^-1. The uncertainties of these estimations are discussed as well. However,the emissions during the non-rice growing season could not be estimated because of limited available data. Nevertheless,methane emissions from rice fields that were flooded year-round could be several times higher than those from the rice fields drained in the non-rice-growing season. Thus, the classification of “continuously flooded rice fields”in the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories is suggested to be revised and divided into “continuously flooded rice fields during the rice growing season” and “year-round flooded rice fields”.