Evaluation of numbers of microscopic and macroscopic follicles in cattle selected for twinning

We hypothesized that the number of microscopic follicles present in the ovaries of cattle selected for twin births (Twinner) would be greater than in the ovaries of contemporary Controls. Ovaries were collected from seven Control and seven Twinner cows at slaughter. The number of Small (1 to 3.9 mm), Medium (4 to 7.9), and Large (> 8 mm) surface follicles was counted and one ovary was fixed for histological evaluation. Fifty to sixty consecutive 6-microm slices were taken from a piece of cortical tissue, approximately 1 cm x 1 cm in area, located between the surface follicles. Microscopic follicles were classified as primordial (oocyte surrounded by a single layer of squamous pregranulosa cells), primary (oocyte surrounded by a single layer of one or more cuboidal granulosa cells), secondary (oocyte surrounded by two or more layers of granulosa cells), or tertiary (oocyte surrounded by multiple layers of granulosa cells with initiation of antrum formation to < or = 1 mm in diameter). The total number of follicles was counted in 200 fields (2 mm x 2 mm) per ovary. A field containing no follicles was classified as empty. There were significantly more secondary follicles in Twinner compared with Control ovaries (12.9 vs 6.3; P < .05). Twinners also tended to have more small surface follicles (35.4 vs 49.0; P < 0.1). We conclude that ovaries of Control and Twinner cows do not differ in the number of primordial follicles or in the number of follicles activated into the growing pool; however, Twinner cows are able to maintain more growing follicles at the secondary and subsequent stages of development.     

Selenium and vitamin E deficiency in pigs. I. Influence on growth and reproduction.

The effect of selenium (Se) and vitamin E (Vit. E) on reproductive performance, growth and health was studied in pigs. Two levels of Se were used, 0.03 and 0.06 nag per kg feed. The major component of the experimental diets was barley originating from soil which had formerly produced crops with a very low content of Se. Prior to seeding, the area was divided into 2 plots, 1 of which was treated with Se in the form of sodium selenite, 100 g Se per ha. The use of Se enriched fertilizer was an effective way of increasing the Se concentration of the grain. Thus the concentration of Se in the barley produced on the treated area was 5 times higher than in barley from the untreated one.Vit. E was added at a level of 30 i.u. per kg feed, and the concentrations were approx. 15 and 45 i.u. in the basal and experimental diets, respectively.The higher level of Se or Vit. E was not significantly associated with milk yield of the sow, litter size, birth weight or haemoglobin levels. However, there was a tendency to an increase in milk yield of the sows following additions of Se plus Vit. E, and litter size was slightly higher from sows which had received an addition of Vit. E. The concentration of Se and Vit. E was much higher in colostrum than in sow milk, and additions of dietary Se and Vit. E were associated with marked increases in the concentrations of these compounds in both colostrum and sow milk. There was a moderately improving effect of a high Se concentration in feed on growth rate and feed utilization. Low dietary levels of Se and Vit. E were followed by increased mortality rate in piglets; iron toxicity in connection with iron treatment was observed in piglets on low dietary Vit. E. Symptoms characteristic of PSE were not observed in the Se and Vit. E deficient pigs.     

小鼠细胞因子实时定量PCR检测方法的建立及应用

采用荧光SYBR Green I建立小鼠细胞因子mRNA实时定量PCR的检测方法;并利用建立的实时定量PCR的检测方法时感染H5N1禽流感病毒的BALB/c小鼠不同时间采集的肺脏组织中几种重要致炎细胞因子及趋化因子mRNA表达水平进行了检测.对HSN1禽流感病毒感染的BALB/c小鼠肺脏细胞因子的检测具有高度的特异性,检测的灵敏度为10~1～10~2拷贝数.H5N1禽流感病毒感染BALB/c小鼠后,小鼠肺脏中IL-1β、IL-6、TNFα、MIG、IP-10、RANTES、MIF和HMGB1细胞因子mRNA表达水平与时照组小鼠相比均有明显差异.建立的实时定量PCR能在基因转录水平敏感和特异地反应细胞因子的表达水平,该技术在基础和临床免疫研究中,具有良好的应用价值.     

Evaluation of in vitro culture systems for goat preantral follicles using reused ovaries from reproductive biotechniques: An alternative to maximize the potential of reproduction

This study aimed to examine the in vitro culture of secondary preantral follicles, using reused ovaries, to compare both the 2D and 3D methods of in vitro culture of preantral follicles, and the system of medium replacement. Twenty‐five pairs of ovaries from mixed‐breed goats were used for the experiment. Follicular puncture of antral follicles was performed for in vitro production. After this procedure, the secondary preantral follicles were submitted to a microdissection procedure. The isolated preantral follicles were randomly divided into three treatments: (a) Two‐dimensional culture with partial replacement of medium during culture (2D PR), (b) Three‐dimensional culture with addition of medium during culture (3D AD) and (c) Three‐dimensional culture with partial replacement of medium (3D PR). The culture period was 18 days. All treatments at the end of the in vitro culture period (18 days) presented a follicular survival rate which ranged from 59% to 70%, demonstrating that it was possible to perform an experiment with preantral follicles using ovaries that had previously been used in another reproductive biotechnique. The 3D AD treatment showed a survival percentage and follicular diameter higher than the 2D PR treatment, however, it did not differ from the 3D PR treatment. In conclusion, experiments employing the use of preantral follicles can be performed with success after the ovaries have been used for experiments with antral follicles. Moreover, the three‐dimensional system with the addition of medium is recommended for in vitro culture of preantral follicles, since this system is more practical and financially feasible.     

Detection of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae in pigs by real-time quantitative PCR for the apxIVA gene

A real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) for detection of the apxIVA gene of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae was validated using pure cultures of A. pleuropneumoniae and tonsillar and nasal swabs from experimentally inoculated Caesarean-derived/colostrum-deprived piglets and naturally infected conventional pigs. The analytical sensitivity was 5colony forming units/reaction. In comparison with selective bacterial examination using tonsillar samples from inoculated animals, the diagnostic sensitivity of the qPCR was 0.98 and the diagnostic specificity was 1.0. The qPCR showed consistent results in repeatedly sampled conventional pigs. Tonsillar brush samples and apxIVA qPCR analysis may be useful for further epidemiological studies and monitoring for A. pleuropneumoniae.     

新生籽鹅组织qRT-PCR分析中内参基因的选择

分别以1日龄健康籽鹅肝脏、肾脏、心脏、肌肉和卵巢为研究对象,应用实时定量RT-PCR技术,探讨28SrRNA、18SrRNA、GAPDH、ACT、HPRT1、SDH和TUB等7个内参基因mRNA的表达水平。经过geNorm和NormFinder程序分析,结果显示7个内参基因稳定度由高到低依次为GAPDH=HRPT1〉28SrRNA〉TUB〉SDH〉ACT〉18SrRNA;基因表达的稳定值分别为0.215（GAPDH）,0.215（HRPT1）,0.339（28SrRNA）,0.471（TUB）,0.721（SDH）,0.888（ACT）,1.177（18SrRNA）;表明GAPDH和HRPT1这2个内参基因适合用于目的基因表达的校正。     

SNP discovery, expression and association analysis for the SDHD gene in pigs

The SDHD gene was examined for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) as well as for expression changes in the Longissimus dorsi muscle of commercial pigs with different potential for growth. Three SNPs, including one previously described in the coding region and two new ones in the 3'-UTR, were found. The normalized expression of SDHD was correlated with growth, meat quality and sensory traits (p < 0.05). For the commercial pigs used in this study, as well as a Berkshire × Yorkshire resource population, the SNPs have been associated (p < 0.05) with: growth, carcass composition, meat quality and sensory traits. Despite the fact that the described SNPs were not significantly associated with the normalized expression values, the SDHD SNPs and expression were associated with growth and meat quality traits in pigs.     

SNP discovery, expression and association analysis for the SDHD gene in pigs

The SDHD gene was examined for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) as well as for expression changes in the Longissimus dorsi muscle of commercial pigs with different potential for growth. Three SNPs, including one previously described in the coding region and two new ones in the 3′‐UTR, were found. The normalized expression of SDHD was correlated with growth, meat quality and sensory traits (p < 0.05). For the commercial pigs used in this study, as well as a Berkshire × Yorkshire resource population, the SNPs have been associated (p < 0.05) with: growth, carcass composition, meat quality and sensory traits. Despite the fact that the described SNPs were not significantly associated with the normalized expression values, the SDHD SNPs and expression were associated with growth and meat quality traits in pigs.     

Activity of and requirement for selected amino acids in growing female pigs. 1. Lysine

In N balance experiments with a total 59 growing female pigs in the live weight range of 33 to 55 kg the lysine efficiency (bc-1 value) and the lysine efficiency coefficient (kLys) of various cereal proteins were ascertained under the consideration of various charges and varieties. The range of kLys = 0.65 ... 0.96 shows a wide spectrum of lysine efficiency, which results in an analogous differentiation of the derived lysine requirement values. Assuming kLys = 1.0 (lysine efficiency 100%, i.e. the maximum value for bc-1 found as yet for native proteins) a daily lysine requirement (efficient amino acid) of 8.9, 10.8 and 12.6 g resp. was ascertained for 100 g daily protein retention at 30, 40 and 50 kg live weight resp.     

基于内部核糖体进入位点提高重组NDV表达IBDV VP2基因的研究

为提高重组新城疫病毒(NDV)外源基因表达量,本研究采用内部核糖体进入位点序列(IRES)构建表达鸡传染性法氏囊病病毒超强毒(vvIBDV) HLJ07株VP2双拷贝基因的重组NDV(rClone30-VP2-IRES-VP2),同时构建表达单拷贝VP2基因的重组NDV (rClone30-VP2)作为对照.间接免疫荧光试验表明VP2蛋白在感染两种重组病毒的鸡胚成纤维细胞(DF-1)中得到表达.Real-time PCR检测结果表明rCIone30-VP2-IRES-VP2中VP2 mRNA转录水平明显高于rClone30-VP2.生长曲线分析表明,两株重组病毒株与亲本NDV LaSota (Clone30)株在细胞培养中可以同样稳定复制.重组病毒株在鸡胚中多次传代之后仍稳定表达VP2蛋白.本研究通过建立NDV的反向遗传操作系统构建了独立表达IBDV双拷贝VP2基因的重组NDV,并证明双拷贝基因的表达水平优于单拷贝基因,为提高重组NDV外源基因的表达量提供了新的思路.     

鸭毛囊中ASIP基因片段的克隆及组织表达分析

根据GenBank发表的鸡刺鼠信号蛋白(ASIP)基因序列的同源保守区域,设计了1对特异性引物。以番鸭、高邮鸭和英系北京鸭(即樱桃谷鸭)毛囊RNA为模板,经扩增、测序及拼接得到的部分mRNA序列均为编码序列,共308bp,对应编码102个氨基酸。与已发表的原鸡和鹌鹑的ASIP对应的mRNA核苷酸序列进行比对,番鸭、高邮鸭和英系北京鸭的同源性均在92.53%以上,相应编码的氨基酸序列同源性均高于92.16%。高邮鸭与英系北京鸭核苷酸,氨基酸序列一致,同源性为100%。半定量PCR结果显示,番鸭ASIP基因表达具有较高的普遍性,在皮肤组织(毛囊和皮肤)和中枢神经系统(下丘脑)及其他非皮肤中均有表达。皮肤和毛囊的表达差异不显著(P>0.05),下丘脑中的ASIP基因相对表达量最高,极显著高于皮肤中ASIP基因的表达量(P<0.01),而与毛囊中的差异不显著(P>0.05)。     

The efficiency of and requirements for selected amino acids in growing female pigs. 3. Threonine

With the help of an N utilization model by Gebhardt (1963) and its further development the threonine efficiency coefficients (kThr) of wheat, barley, maize, rye and peanut oil meal of different charges with a supply of L-lysine monohydrochloride, DL-methionine and DL-tryptophan was ascertained with a total of 59 female pigs of the local breed (35-45 kg live weight) by means of an N balance method. The variation range of kThr was between 0.61 and 0.87 based on a threonine effectivity of wheat gluten with lysine as standard. The derived threonine requirement for 100 g daily protein retention with a live weight of 40 kg was ascertained as 6.9 g (kThr = 1) and 9.6 kg (kThr = 0.71 as mean values of the protein sources studied). The proof of threonine limitation in the protein sources was provided by the supplementation of DL threonine.     

Evaluation of selected plants for acute toxicosis in budgerigars.

Pairs of budgerigars were given samples, by gavage, of plants considered potentially toxic to pet birds. Samples were prepared by flash-freezing and powdering fresh plant material in liquid nitrogen and resuspending the material in deionized water for administration. Of the 19 plants tested, only 6 induced clinical signs of illness; these plants included yew, oleander, clematis, avocado, black locust, and Virginia creeper (Taxus media, Nerium oleander, Clematis sp, Persea americana, Robinia pseudoacacia, Parthenocissus quinquefolio).     

猪转化生长因子β受体Ⅱ基因克隆与组织表达特征分析

为了研究猪转化生长因子β受体Ⅱ(transforming growth factor beta receptorⅡ,TGFBR2)基因序列特征和组织表达特征,利用克隆测序技术获得二花脸猪TGFBR2基因编码区序列,采用RT-PCR技术分析二花脸猪TGFBR2基因的组织表达特征。结果显示:二花脸猪TGFBR2基因编码区序列长度为1 461 bp,编码蛋白含486个氨基酸残基,含有ec TbetaR2结构域、蛋白激酶结构域等典型的功能域;RT-PCR发现TGFBR2基因在二花脸猪下丘脑、子宫、卵巢和肌肉等12种组织中广泛表达,特别是在卵巢组织中高表达。结果表明:猪TGFBR2基因为进化上相对保守且在卵巢组织中高表达的基因。     

猪G蛋白偶联受体12(Gpr12)基因克隆鉴定及其表达分析

为研究猪G蛋白偶联受体12(G protein-coupled receptor 12,Gpr12)基因的序列和组织表达特征,探索Gpr12 mRNA在卵泡发育过程中的表达规律,本研究利用克隆测序技术获取猪Gpr12基因的编码区序列,并利用生物信息学方法分析Gpr12基因序列和蛋白的潜在特征;RT-PCR技术检测Gpr12基因的组织表达模式;荧光定量PCR技术检测Gpr12 mRNA在猪卵泡发育过程中的表达规律。结果表明:猪Gpr12基因编码区序列长1 005 bp,编码蛋白含有典型的7次跨膜结构域和DRY基序,存在多个潜在的磷酸化和糖基化修饰位点;Gpr12基因在所检测的组织和细胞中均有表达,且在脑、垂体和卵母细胞中高表达;随着卵泡的发育,Gpr12 mRNA的表达量极显著升高(P<0.01),表明Gpr12基因可能参与了猪卵泡发育的调控过程。     

Reduced dietary protein level influences the free amino acid and gene expression profiles of selected amino acid transceptors in skeletal muscle of growing pigs

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of reduced dietary protein level on growth performance, muscle mass weight, free amino acids (FAA) and gene expression profile of selected amino acid transceptors in different fibre type of skeletal muscle tissues (longissimus dorsi, psoas major, biceps femoris) of growing pigs. A total of 18 cross‐bred growing pigs (Large White × Landrace × Duroc) with initial body weight (9.57 ± 0.67 kg) were assigned into three dietary treatments: 20% crude protein (CP) diet (normal recommended, NP), 17% CP diet (low protein, LP) and 14% CP diet (very low protein, VLP). The results indicated improved feed‐to‐gain ratio was obtained for pigs fed LP and NP diets (p < 0.01), while the pigs fed VLP diet showed the worst growth performance (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the weights of longissimus dorsi and psoas major muscle between LP and NP groups (p > 0.05). Majority of the determined FAA concentration of LP group were greater than or equal to those of NP group in both longissimus dorsi and psoas major muscle (p < 0.01). Further, the mRNA expression levels of sodium‐coupled neutral amino acid transceptor 2, L‐type amino acid transceptor 1 and proton‐assisted amino acid transceptors 2 were higher in skeletal muscle tissue in LP group compared to those of the pigs fed NP or VLP diet. These results suggested that reduced dietary protein level (3 points of percentage less than recommended level) would upregulate the mRNA expression of amino acid transceptors to enhance the absorption of FAA in skeletal muscle of growing pigs. There seems to be a relationship between response of AA transceptors to the dietary protein level in skeletal muscle tissue of different fibre type. To illustrate the underlying mechanisms will be beneficial to animal nutrition.     

Response of animals to dietary gramine. I. Performance and selected hematological, biochemical and histological parameters in growing chicken, rats and pigs.

The effects of feeding varied levels of low- and high-gramine yellow lupin seeds (LG and HG, respectively), and of synthetic gramine added to the diets in amounts ranging from 0.15 to 1.2 g per kg were investigated in one experiment on growing chicken and in two experiments on growing rats. The comparison of LG and HG lupin and the effect of 0.5 g gramine per kg of LG diet were determined in a growth-balance experiment with pigs. Organ weights and histology, blood parameters and activity of liver enzymes were determined. The response to HG lupin and gramine concentration varied among the species, the rats being more affected than chicken; no adverse effects of HG lupin or gramine were found in growing pigs. The common reaction of rats and chicken to the high levels of gramine (native or synthetic) was the decrease of feed intake and body gain. The increase of the relative weight of liver or kidney, changes in hematological parameters and liver enzymes were found only in rats. The estimated NOAEL (no-observed-adverse-effect level) of gramine was about 0.3 g/kg diet for rats, 0.65 g for chicken and at least 0.5 g for growing pigs.