Biochemical Changes in Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii During Larval Development

Abstract.— Quantitative changes in the protein, lipid and carbohydrate were studied in the early larval stages of developing freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii reared under fed and starved conditions to understand the relative importance of these nutrients in energy metabolism of the growing larvae. Larvae obtained from several females were stocked into three 250-L tanks at a density of 30 larvae/L. The feeding regime consisted of newly hatched Artemia nauplii. Protein was always the major organic constituent followed by lipids and then carbohydrates of both fed and starved larvae. Protein levels of both fed and starved larvae increased during development, suggesting an important role in morphogenesis. The decline of lipid during the larval growth that was more rapid for starved larvae, suggests a probable utilization of lipid as the major metabolic source of energy. Carbohydrates formed less than 5 and 2.4% of the larval dry weight of fed and starved larvae, respectively, suggesting their limited role in larval metabolism.     

额河银鲫食性的初步研究

对额河银鲫的食性和年龄与生长关系进行了调查研究。结果表明：额河银鲫是一种杂食性鱼,它的主要食物组成是藻类、水生植物、原生动物、水生混虫、轮虫以及小鱼等。在食物成分上有性变化。在春季和夏季主要摄性食物而秋季主要摄食动物性食物。     

Nestedness and modularity in fragmented Shasha Forest Reserve,southwestern Nigeria

Species co-occurrence and nestedness pattern in Shasha forest reserve were investigated with a view to determining the effect of interactions to species contribution. Three distinct sites (Gmelina arborea plantation, undisturbed forest, and Pinus carribaea (plantation) were selected in the forest reserve. Four 25 m × 25 m plots were established in each of the site within the forest reserve. Species enumeration, identification,, and distribution into families of the standing vegetation were carried out. Woody species represented the most diverse life form. Plant species diversity was highest in UF and lowest in Gmelina plantation. Differences in woody species composition among the three forest types were determined by non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis, analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), and similarity of percentages. Using z-score and NODF (a nestedness metric based on overlap and decreasing fill). Three modules were detected and modularity score Q = 0.2. The composition analyses (NMDS and ANOSIM) revealed a significant difference in the woody species composition among the forest types. Our research may contribute to understand species assemblage in one of the diverse forests of Africa. Current work highlighted species occurrence in Shasha forest and highlighted the importance of non-random pattern which could serve as framework for conservation perspective.     

Low-dose ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) modulates the course and magnitude of the antibody response to vaccination against Equid herpesvirus 1 in horses

The purpose of this study was to determine if ginseng fed at low levels enhances a horse's antibody response to vaccination against Equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1). For 28 d, 5 horses received ground, powdered ginseng (35 mg/kg body weight, 1.7 mg/kg total ginsenosides) in molasses as a carrier, and 5 received molasses only. On day 14, each horse was vaccinated against EHV-1. The time course of the antibody response to vaccination was significantly altered in the horses receiving ginseng, a clinically relevant increase in antibody titer being observed by postvaccination day 2 compared with day 6 in the control horses. The horses receiving ginseng also had a significant decrease in serum levels of sodium and a significant increase in serum levels of potassium. No adverse effects of ginseng treatment were identified by hematologic and blood biochemistry profiles. Thus, low-dose dietary supplementation with ginseng in healthy horses may be a useful adjunct to vaccination.     

Morphological study of Socorro Island Merino sheep and its crosses with hair breeds

Tropical Animal Health and Production - A study was conducted with the objective to characterize the morphology of Socorro Island Merino sheep. A total of 67 sheep, 62 females, 26 purebred and 36...     

First report of Cryptosporidium deer-like genotype in Malaysian cattle

Fifty faecal samples from diarrheic calves between 1 and 6 months old were collected per rectum from 5 farms around Petaling District in Selangor, Malaysia for Cryptosporidium species detection and genotyping investigation. Oocysts were purified using sedimentation and gradient centrifugation, then examined by immunofluorescence assay (IFAT). Genomic DNA was extracted from all samples and nested PCR was performed to amplify the SSU rRNA gene. Eighteen samples (36%) were positive for Cryptosporidium species by PCR. The sequence and phylogenetic analysis of 14 isolates indicated that Cryptosporidium parvum was most common (11 isolates) followed by Cryptosporidium deer-like genotype (3 isolates). The present work reports the first data on Cryptosporidium genotyping from cattle in Malaysia.     

Cloning and expression of pigeon IFN-γ gene

This is the first paper describing the cloning of pigeon IFN-γ gene (PiIFN-γ) and the analysis of the in vitro expressed recombinant protein. The PiIFN-γ gene was identified by RT-PCR as a 498 bp, fragment coding for a precursor protein of 165 amino acids instead of 164 amino acids, as observed in the other avian species. The recombinant protein was expressed in vitro by an eukaryotic system and the biological properties of the cytokine were tested using a chicken macrophage cell line. The high degree of amino acid and nucleotide identity, shared with the ChIFN-γ, and the fact that the pigeon protein was functional on chicken cells, indicates a cross-reactivity between pigeon and chicken IFN-γ. The detection of the PiIFN-γ could represent an useful instrument in understanding the role played by this cytokine in immune response related to vaccinations and infectious diseases in the pigeon.     

Foraging behavior of heifers with or without social models in an unfamiliar site containing high plant diversity

Grazing behavior, diet selection and weight gain of heifers (with or without social models) were assessed in an unfamiliar site containing high plant diversity. The study was performed within a tropical forest ecosystem containing a mixture of grass forb/herb, shrub and tree species. Ten inexperienced crossbred Bos taurus × Bos indicus heifers (7 ± 1 months old) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: naive or naive + social model (sm) and two experienced heifers (16 months old) were assigned to the second group. Naive heifers were bottle-nursed from days 2 to 90 after birth and began grazing at 1 month of age in tropical grass monocultures, while experienced animals had been foraging in sites containing a high diversity of plant species for 3 months prior to the study. Each group grazed in separate paddocks for a 12-week period during the rainy season, and animals were observed using focal sampling from 7:00 to 19:30 h to assess diet composition based on bite counts. Weight gain was assessed every 14 days. Paddocks contained from 1481 to 1789 kg/ha of herbaceous dry matter, enough to support the heifers throughout the study without affecting diet selection. Shrub and tree cover ranged from 55.2 to 58.4% across treatments. Bites per minute were adjusted to a log-scaled quadratic-plateau model and the curves showed no differences between treatments (P = 0.756). However, diet composition differed between groups (P < 0.001), with naive + sm heifers ingesting a greater proportion of trees (P < 0.001) and shrubs (P = 0.02), while naive heifers ingested more forb/herbs (P = 0.02); no difference in grass consumption was observed (P = 0.92). Heifers in both treatments consumed the same plant species (50 from 26 families). Over time, utilization of several plant species increased or decreased (P < 0.05), eventually leveling off for the remainder of the study. Although differences in diet composition were observed, they did not affect overall weight gain (117 and 113 g/day in the naive and naive + sm groups, respectively; P = 0.913). However, initial post-weaning weight loss was avoided in the naive + sm group. Social learning facilitates a higher use of shrubs and trees in tropical pastures containing a high diversity of plant species with different growth habits. As many plant species have high potential as forage, more effort should be placed on developing mechanisms to increase their dietary inclusion by cattle.     

Microarray-based detection of viruses causing vesicular or vesicular-like lesions in livestock animals

Definitive diagnosis of vesicular or vesicular-like lesions in livestock animals presents challenges both for veterinary clinicians and diagnostic laboratories. It is often impossible to diagnose the causative disease agent on a clinical basis alone and difficult to collect ample vesicular epithelium samples. Due to restrictions of time and sample size, once laboratory tests have ruled out foot-and-mouth disease, vesicular stomatitis and swine vesicular disease a definitive diagnosis may remain elusive. With the ability to test a small quantity of sample for a large number of pathogens simultaneously, DNA microarrays represent a potential solution to this problem. This study describes the application of a long oligonucleotide microarray assay to the identification of viruses known to cause vesicular or vesicular-like lesions in livestock animals. Eighteen virus isolates from cell culture were successfully identified to genus level, including representatives of each foot-and-mouth disease virus serotype, two species of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), swine vesicular disease virus, vesicular exanthema of swine virus (VESV), bovine herpesvirus 1, orf virus, pseudocowpox virus, bluetongue virus serotype 1 and bovine viral diarrhoea virus 1. VSV and VESV were also identified in vesicular epithelium samples, with varying levels of sensitivity. The results indicate that with further development this microarray assay could be a valuable tool for the diagnosis of vesicular and vesicular-like diseases.