Carbon kinetics of milk formation in Holstein cows in late lactation

Carbon transfer to milk in Holstein cows in late lactation was measured by introducing changes in the natural stable carbon isotope composition of the feed. Six Holstein cows in mid-lactation were placed on a diet naturally low in 13C (-25.0% vs Pee Dee belemnite [PDB] an international carbon isotope standard), based on alfalfa-barley, and six others were placed on a diet naturally enriched in 13C (-11.5% vs PDB), based on corn. After a 7-wk equilibration period on these diets, three cows were switched from alfalfa-barley to corn, and three were switched from corn to alfalfa-barley. The three other cows in each group served as controls. 13C/12C ratios were measured in daily morning milk samples during the week before and for 6 wk after the changes in diet. After the diets had been switched, milk isotope ratios rapidly approached the isotopic composition of the new diet, indicating rapid transfer of dietary carbon into milk. The data were consistent with a model whereby milk was synthesized from a single precursor pool that responded rapidly to dietary perturbation. The milk precursor pool had a half-life of approximately .9 d and had a mass of approximately 7 kg of carbon, which was renewed daily by the entry of 5 kg of digestible dietary carbon.     

Spatial and temporal analysis of coffee wilt disease caused by Fusarium xylarioides in Coffea canephora

Coffee wilt disease (CWD) caused by Fusarium xylarioides, considered to be a soil-inhabiting fungus, is endemic in several African countries, affecting commercially important coffee species and causing serious economic losses. Coffee wilt disease development in naturally infected Coffea canephora fields at the Coffee Research Institute in Uganda was assessed from April 2001 to March 2006 to generate information about temporal and spatial spread of the disease. Maps of diseased trees were also generated from the data. Semi-variance analysis was performed on the data to show the spatio-temporal structure of disease. Host influence on the spatio-temporal structure was deduced from the distribution pattern of diseased and healthy trees and analysis of variance. Results show that the temporal disease epidemic progress was slow. The disease was found to spread from initial infections to healthy neighbouring trees, resulting in an aggregated pattern. An infected tree could infect up to three healthy trees away, in any direction. Disease foci formed and expanded with time, coalescing but punctuated in spots planted with resistant hosts. There were varying levels of susceptibility among host genotypes, affecting the rates and levels of epidemic development. The implications of the findings to the control of CWD are discussed.     

III. Buchbesprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Effect of reducing dietary mineral content on growth performance, water intake, excreta dry matter content and blood parameters of broilers

1. The objective of this study was to investigate whether it is possible to reduce phosphorus (P) excretion by feeding a lower level of dietary P than that currently recommended, without compromising welfare, and whether this is sensitive to the level of dietary calcium (Ca). 2. A randomised complete block design was used with a total of 224 1-d-old male chicks of a commercial genotype in two batches. Chicks had a 10-d adaptation period. After this, they were moved to cages and allocated to one of 4 dietary treatments (4 and 3 birds per cage in batch 1 and 2, respectively). A standard level of Ca and P (8.3 and 6.6 g/kg, respectively) was compared with three lower levels of Ca (7.3, 6.3 and 5.3 g/kg) all at the same reduced level of P (5.5 g/kg). Records were made of live weight of birds on an individual basis and feed and water consumption on a cage basis. Every 7 d, the dry matter (DM) content of a sample of mixed excreta from each cage was measured. Birds were slaughtered and samples taken for analysis of plasma mineral content, retention of N, Ca and P and tibia bone strength. 3. The initial reduction in dietary mineral level did not adversely affect performance or bone strength. However, decreasing dietary Ca level below 7.3 g/kg, at constant P, led to reduced feed consumption and bone strength. Dietary treatment had no significant overall effect on water intake, water : feed ratio, excreta DM content, Ca and P retention or metabolisability of DM. There was no significant correlation between mean plasma Ca or P level and DM content of rectal digesta. 4. In conclusion, reducing dietary P from 6.6 to 5.5 g/kg to reduce potential environmental impact of broiler production had an adverse effect on bird welfare when the level of Ca was reduced below 7.3 g/kg, as a result of decreased feed intake in the early growth period and reduced skeletal strength.     

Resistance to benzimidazole and macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics in cattle nematodes in Argentina

In April 2003, persistent scouring and ill-thrift that was reported in calves form an intensive beef rearing operation in central Argentina despite treatments with benzimidazole and ivermectin. In order to conduct a controlled faecal egg count reduction test on this herd, 40 calves 5-8-months-old were selected on the basis that they had a nematode eggs per gram (epg) of faeces count greater than 150. Animals were divided into four groups (1-4) of 10 calves. Calves of groups 1-3 were treated, respectively, with subcutaneous injection of ivermectin (200 mcg/kg), ricobendazole (4 mg/kg) and levamisole (7.5 mg/kg), while calves of group 4 remained as untreated controls. The egg count reductions carried out 10 days later were lower than 15% in calves treated with ivermectin and ricobendazole, but 100% in animals receiving levamisole. Pooled post-treatment faecal cultures showed larval percentages of 92 and 95 for Haemonchus and 8 and 5 for Cooperia in the faeces of calves treated with ivermectin and ricobendazole, respectively. This is the first reported case of Haemonchus parasiting cattle showing simultaneous resistance to avermectins and benzimidazole type anthelmintics.     

Genetic characterization by fluorescent AFLP of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi strains isolated from different host species

The genetic diversity of 71 Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi strains isolated from different host species and from diverse geographical regions was determined by fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (f-AFLP) analysis. The study was carried out using three different selective primer combinations. Strains of P. syringae pv. syringae , P. syringae pv. phaseolicola , P. syringae pv. glycinea , P. syringae pv. tagetis and P. amygdali were also included as outgroups. Based on cluster analysis of f-AFLP data, all P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi strains showed a high degree of similarity, grouping in a cluster and forming a taxon clearly separate from outgroup strains. AFLP analyses failed to support placing strains of P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi , P. syringae pv. phaseolicola and P. syringae pv. glycinea in the same species. Strains of P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi formed subclusters that correlated with the host species. Strains identified within these subclusters were related to the geographical region where the strains were isolated. Strains of P. savastanoi pv. savastanoi from olive were divided into two subclusters. Strains from oleander were differentiated from those from ash and were divided into two additional subclusters, distinct from olive strains. Three strains isolated from jasmine showed a high level of similarity among them but, at a lower Dice similarity coefficient, were linked to a subcluster including olive strains. Finally, two strains isolated from privet were similar to strains from olive and were included in the same subcluster.