Effects of dietary taurine levels on epidermal thickness and scale loss in red sea bream,Pagrus major

Taurine is often added to artificial fish diets to compensate for a reduction in fish meal (FM). However, the taurine content of FM‐based diets is typically lower than in diets consisting of raw fish, even in diets where FM is the only protein source. We evaluated the effects of dietary taurine in FM‐based diets on epidermal thickness and scale detachability in red sea bream Pagrus major. We compared the effect of diets containing 0% (control), 0.3% (Tau‐0.3%), 0.6% (Tau‐0.6%) and 1.0% (Tau‐1.0%) taurine. Red sea bream (average body weight, 39 g) were fed these diets for 7 weeks. Taurine supplementation had no effect on growth, feed intake, feeding efficiency, or survival. However, the epidermal thickness was higher in fish in the Tau‐0.6% and Tau‐1.0% groups than in the control and Tau‐0.3% groups. Similarly, scale loss was significantly higher in the control group than in the Tau‐0.6% and Tau‐1.0% groups. Our results suggest that supplementation with >0.6% taurine (1.0% in diet) improves skin condition.     

Sheep genetic diversity in Bhutan using microsatellite markers

Genotype data from eight microsatellite markers were used to assess genetic diversity and relationships among five indigenous Bhutanese sheep populations, Sakten, Jakar, Sarpang, Sipsu and Tsirang. Estimates of mean observed and expected heterozygosities, mean number of alleles per locus/population were obtained. The highest observed heterozygosities were found in Jakar (0.657) and Sakten (0.647), while the lowest one was found in Tsirang (0.539). Genetic distances, pairwise proportion of different alleles, UPGMA tree, and principal component analysis indicate close relationship among Tsirang, Sipsu and Sarpang populations, while Jakar and Sakten populations are located in one cluster. These two clusters are separated geographically, and show distinct phenotypic as well as molecular characters. We therefore recommend that the Bhutanese native sheep populations be classified into at least two distinct breeds, Jakar‐Sakten sheep and Sipsu sheep. Since Jakar and Sakten sheep have different morphological phenotypes, further analyses will be required to understand the genetic differences between these two sheep populations.     

Characteristics of PCR fragments amplified using five microsatellite markers for identifying the Nagoya breed

The Nagoya breed is a native chicken of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, a dual‐purpose breed for eggs and meat. A method for distinguishing the Nagoya breed from Aichi Prefecture from other chickens using five microsatellite markers (ABR0015, ABR0257, ABR0417, ABR0495 and ADL0262) has already been utilized in order to check the authenticity of Nagoya breed‐labeled chicken on the market. The present study was conducted to investigate nucleotide sequences and sizes of PCR fragments containing the five microsatellite regions for the Nagoya breed and to confirm that the genomic identification could continue to be applied in the future. The DNA sequencing of fragments containing the five markers showed that ABR0015, ABR0417 and ABR0495 had a single haplotype, ABR0257 had three haplotypes, and ADL0262 had two haplotypes, although all the markers exhibited one fixed fragment size each upon sequencing of the fragments and fragment analysis. The results of the fragment analysis of each marker using DNA samples of 28 Nagoya breed males (G0 generation) reared in 2000–2001 and 20 of their offspring males (G8) reared in 2008–2009 showed one fixed fragment size in both populations. Therefore, we confirmed that the five microsatellite markers are useful tools for accurately distinguishing the Nagoya breed from other chickens.     

Chemical characterization of milk oligosaccharides of an African lion (Panthera leo) and a clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa)

The Carnivora include the superfamilies Canoidea and Feloidea. In species of Canoidea other than the domestic dog, Canis lupus, the milk contains only traces of lactose and much larger concentrations of oligosaccharides. In this study, lactose was found to be the dominant saccharide in the milk or colostrum of two species of Feloidea, namely the African lion (Panthera leo) and the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). In addition to lactose, the following oligosaccharides were characterized in the milk of a lion; Neu5Gc(α2‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc (3′‐NGc‐SL), Fuc(α1‐2)Gal(β1‐4)Glc (2′‐fucosyllactose) and GalNAc(α1‐3)[Fuc(α1‐2)]Gal(β1‐4)Glc (A‐tetrasaccharide). The colostrum of a clouded leopard contained 3′‐NGc‐SL, Gal(α1‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc (isoglobotriose) and A‐tetrasaccharide. These oligosaccharides differ in some respects from those previously identified in another species of Feloidea, the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). These milks contained 3′‐NGc‐SL and A‐tetrasaccharide, while spotted hyena colostrum did not; however, it contained Neu5Ac(α2‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc (3′‐NAc‐SL) and Gal(α1‐3)[Fuc(α1‐2)]Gal(β1‐4)Glc (B‐tetrasaccharide).     

Development of new natural polymer-based wood adhesives III: effects of glucose addition on properties of chitosan

The effects of a Maillard reaction between glucose and chitosan on the resultant chitosan films and the bonding properties of chitosans with different molecular weights were investigated. In film preparation, chitosan and glucose were dissolved in 1% acetic acid and dried in a Petri dish at 50°C. The bonding properties of the Maillard-reacted chitosan in three-ply plywood were evaluated by a tensile shear test. The weight, color, free amino groups, insoluble fraction, and thermal properties of the film changed significantly as the amount of added glucose increased. However, few differences in these properties due to the use of chitosan of different molecular weights were observed. The effect of glucose addition on the tensile strength of the film differed for chitosans of different molecular weights. Improvement of the strength by 10 wt% glucose addition was observed in low-molecular-weight chitosans. The dry- and wet-bond strengths were significantly enhanced with increasing glucose addition for low-molecular-weight chitosans. In addition, good bond strength was maintained even in 1% acetic acid solution. It was thus clarified that the bonding properties of low-molecular-weight chitosan were improved markedly by the environmentally safe method of glucose addition.     

Effect of inorganic ions on bud cell formation by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium oxysporum</Emphasis> in potato dextrose broth

Potato dextrose broth (PDB), a well-known medium for cultivation of fungi, can be made from potato extract and glucose (handmade PDB) or bought as a commercial powder (commercial PDB). Previously, we reported that bud cell formation and fungal biomass of Fusarium oxysporum in handmade PDB are higher than in commercial PDB, and the presence of high molecular weight (>20 MDa) carbohydrates in PDB promoted bud cell formation by most strains of F. oxysporum. In this study, we report the effects of inorganic ions in PDB on bud cell formation and fungal biomass production by F. oxysporum. Concentrations of Mg, K, Fe, PO₄ ³⁻ and SO₄ ²⁻ were higher and of Na and Cl⁻ were lower in handmade PDB than in commercial PDB. Adding each inorganic ion alone to commercial PDB showed that Mg is critical for enhancement of bud cell formation by some strains of F. oxysporum. The addition of Mg²⁺ with raw potato starch to commercial PDB promoted bud cell formation by some, but not all, of the seven F. oxysporum strains tested in this study.     

An outbreak of systemic granulomatous disease in cows with high milk yields

Seven of 92 lactating Holstein cows on a dairy farm developed urticaria with alopecia and decreased milk production, and three of the seven died over the course of 7 to 18 days. Pathologic examination of the three cows, including the two dead and one euthanized cow, revealed that the skin, liver, spleen, kidneys, heart, salivary glands, pancreas, adrenal glands, mammary glands, lymph nodes, and trigeminal ganglia had lymphocytic to lymphogranulomatous inflammation. Inflammation predominated by lymphocytic infiltration was prominent in the heart, pancreas, mammary glands, adrenal gland, and trigeminal ganglia. Severe granulomatous inflammation with multinucleated giant cells was present in the spleen and kidneys. These lesions and their distributions were most similar to those seen in suspected cases of citrus pulp toxicosis and hairy vetch toxicosis. The outbreak of this disease resolved with the elimination of Citrus pulp from the feed. Immunohistochemical detection of lymphocytes and macrophage markers confirmed dramatic hyperplasia of CD3-positive T lymphocytes in these lesions. This strongly suggested that a type 4 hypersensitivity reaction played a role in the development of the lesions.