Effect of vitamins,probiotics and protein level on semen traits and seminal plasma biochemical parameters of post-moult male broiler breeders

1. A study was designed to investigate the comparative effect of supplementary vitamin E, vitamin C, probiotics and dietary crude protein concentration on semen traits and seminal plasma biochemical parameters in male broiler breeders after Zn-induced moulting.

2. A total of 180 male broiler breeders were induced to moult at 65 weeks of age by mixing ZnO in diet at the rate 3000?mg/kg of feed. After moulting, the males were divided into six groups that were given feed supplemented with: vitamin C (500?IU/kg), vitamin E (100?IU/kg), protein (140?g CP/kg), probiotics (50?mg/kg) and the combination of these components, while one group was kept as a control. Semen samples were collected weekly and semen volume, spermatozoa concentration, motility and dead spermatozoa percentage were determined. Seminal plasma was separated to determine the concentration of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), homocysteine, paraoxonase (PON1), arylesterase, ceruloplasmin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities.

3. Semen volume was significantly higher in the vitamin E and C groups compared to the control. Spermatozoa motility was higher in the vitamin E group and dead spermatozoa percentage was significantly lower in the vitamin C group compared with the control group.

4. Seminal plasma TAC was higher in the vitamin E group, homocysteine was lower in the vitamin C and E groups. PON1 was higher in the combination group. Arylesterase increased significantly in the vitamin C and combination groups over time. Seminal plasma AST was significantly lower in the vitamin C and E supplemented groups whereas ALT decreased significantly only in the vitamin E group compared with the control. Higher concentrations of ceruloplasmin were observed in the combination group compared with the other treatments.

5. It was concluded that additional vitamin E and C or their combination was the most potent nutrient treatment for improving the semen traits and seminal plasma biochemical characteristics in male broiler breeders after Zn-induced moulting.     

Effects of low root temperature on sap flow rate,soluble carbohydrates,nitrate contents and on cytokinin and gibberellin levels in root xylem exudate of sand‐grown tomato

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculuntum Mill.) grown in open fields in dry land areas or in non‐controlled greenhouses are subjected to substantial daily changes in root temperature. In the field, root‐zone temperatures fluctuate both diurnally and during the growing season. The purpose of this study was to monitor root‐zone temperature effects on tomato initial growth, transpiration, sap flow rate, leaf and air temperatures differences, nitrate accumulation, total nitrogen, and soluble carbohydrates in the shoot and roots as well as levels of endogenous cytokinins and gibberellins in xylem exudate. Tomato seedlings were grown in three growth cabinets with variable control of root temperatures. Three day/night root temperature regimes (12/12, 16/8 and 20/20°C) were employed. Low day root temperatures of 12 and 16°C reduced shoot dry weight by 47 and 26%, root dry weight by 36 and 14%, shoot nitrate by 79 and 50%, root nitrate by 49 and 16%, levels of cytokinins in root xylem exudate by 27 and 13% and gibberellins by 65 and 23%, in relation to the respective values of 20°C day root temperature. Soluble carbohydrates in the shoot and roots were increased significantly (18 and 111%) by 12°C root temperature. The main effects of low root temperatures on shoot growth stem from slow upward transport of plant hormones and nitrate rather than reduction in their rate of biosynthesis or entry to the root, respectively.     

Toxoplasma gondii virulence prediction using hierarchical cluster analysis based on coding sequences (CDS) of sag1, gra7 and rop18

Toxoplasma gondii consists of three genotypes, namely genotype I, II and III. Based on its virulence, T. gondii can be divided into virulent and avirulent strains. This study intends to evaluate an alternative method for predicting T. gondii virulence using hierarchical cluster analysis based on complete coding sequences (CDS) of sag1, gra7 and rop18 genes. Dendrogram was constructed using UPGMA with a Kimura 80 nucleotide distance measurement. The results showed that the prediction errors of T. gondii virulence using sag1, gra7 and rop18 were 7.41%, 6.89% and 9.1%, respectively. Analysis based on CDS of gra7 and rop18 was able to differentiate avirulent strains into genotypes II and III, whereas sag1 failed to differentiate.     

Correction to: Impact of leaf infestation by herbivorous insects on the elemental uptake of citrus trees

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In the original publication, the article title was incorrectly published as ‘Impact of leave infestation by herbivorous insects on the elemental...     

Gut microbiota—a positive contributor in the process of intermittent fasting-mediated obesity control

Historically, intermittent fasting (IF) has been considered as an effective strategy for controlling the weight of athletes before competition. Along with excellent insight into its application in various spaces by numerous studies, increasing IF-mediated positive effects have been reported, including anti-aging, neuroprotection, especially obesity control. Recently, the gut microbiota has been considered as an essential manipulator for host energy metabolism and its structure has been reported to be sensitive to dietary structure and habits, indicating that there is a potential and strong association between IF and gut microbiota. In this paper, we focus on the crosstalk between these symbionts and energy metabolism during IF which hold the promise to optimize host energy metabolism at various physical positions, including adipose tissue, liver and intestines, and further improve milieu internal homeostasis. Moreover, this paper also discusses the positive function of a potential recommendatory strain (Akkermansia muciniphila) based on the observational data for IF-mediated alternated pattern of gut microbiota and a hopefully regulatory pathway (circadian rhythm) for gut microbiota in IF-involved improvement on host energy metabolism. Finally, this review addresses the limitation and perspective originating from these studies, such as the association with tissue-specific bio-clock and single strain research, which may continuously reveal novel viewpoints and mechanisms to understand the energy metabolism and develop new strategies for treating obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disorders.     

Influence of NaCl salinity on some physiological aspect of strawberry cv. Camarosa

One of the most important elements affecting the growth and development of a plant is salinity. Therefore, to evaluate the effect of salinity on some physiological aspect of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) plants cv. Camarosa, a greenhouse experiment was conducted at Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan in 2009. This study was carried out as Factorial experiment based on RCD design with 4 replications to determine the influence of salinities (0, 30, 60 and 9 mMol.L-1) on proline, soluble sugars content, chlorophyll a (CHLa), chlorophyll b (CHLb), total chlorophyll (TC), Spad and chlorophyll florescence. Results indicated that fresh leaves tissue were used to measure proline, soluble protein and soluble sugars content, CHLa, CHLb, TC. Salinity treatment significantly increased proline content, soluble sugars while chlorophyll a (CHLa), chlorophyll b (CHLb), Spad and chlorophyll florescence significantly decreased. Nine day after NaCl exposure, Fv/Fm and Spad in 60 and 90 mM NaCl were significantly lower than control. It was concluded that this cultivar of strawberry may uses osmoregulation by increasing proline and soluble sugars level in order to tolerate salinity conditions.     

Yields of Green Grams and Pigeonpeas under Smallholder Conditions in Machakos County,Kenya

Green grams and pigeonpeas have multiple benefits to the rural poor as food security, fodder for livestock and fuel for small-scale farmers, despite low smallholder yields in Kenya. However, little is known about the factors between different farmers that influence the yields of green grams and pigeonpeas. The objectives of this study therefore were to describe and compare how the groups of farmers in agro-ecological zones (AEZs) LM 4 and LM 5 differ by their yields of green grams and pigeonpeas and to estimate the parameters of the variables which explain the yields. Data collection was through a well-structured questionnaire, administered to 364 respondents, selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. Each AEZ had an equal sample size (182 respondents). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regression were used during data analysis. The ANOVA results showed that the mean of the green gram yields in AEZs LM 4 and LM 5 was 19.90 and 173.67 kg ha^?1 while the mean of the pigeonpea yields was 109.26 and 34.01 kg ha^?1, respectively. The multiple linear regression model results showed that the green gram yields were positively related to the use of improved seed (p?=?0.001), cultivated farm sizes (p?=?0.011), green gram crop intensity (p?=?0.005), oxcart (p?=?0.003) and agro-ecological zone (p?=?0.000). The farmer differences in the use of improved seed were found to be significantly and positively related to the yields of pigeonpeas (p?=?0.057), while the sizes of the cultivated farms (p?=?0.057) and the agro-ecological zones (p?=?0.000) showed inverse relationships (IRs). Based on the given research evidence, it was therefore concluded that the groups of farmers in AEZs LM 4 and LM 5 have different yields of green grams and pigeonpeas and there are factor gaps in productivity.     

Effects of Stocking Density and Monosex Culture of Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii on Growth and Production in Concrete Tanks in Saudi Arabia

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of stocking density and monosex culture on growth, survival, yield and feed conversion ratio of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii in concrete tanks. Juvenile prawns with an average weight of 1.8 g were stocked into triplicate tanks at densities of 5, 10, 15 and 20 prawns/m², grown for 168 d and fed a 34% tilapia diet. Stocking density had significant effect on prawns. Final mean body weight decreased with the increasing density, being highest at 5 prawns/m² (29.6 9). and lowest at 20 prawns/m² (17.4 g). Total yield increased from 135 g/m² (1,350 kg/ha) at a density of 5 prawns/m² to 261 g/m² (2,610 kg/ha) at density 15/m^z to 245 g/m² (2,450 kg/ha) at 20/m^z. Feed conversion ratios were high and ranged from 3.7 (5 prawns/m²) to 5.6 (20 prawns/m²).
In monosex culture of freshwater prawns stocked in triplicate tanks at a density of 5 prawns/m² for 112 d, the all-male population had the best growth performance and feed conversion ratio, followed by the mixed-sex and all-female populations. The all-male population had 99% marketable prawns (>20 g) with an average yield of 159 g/m² (1,590 kg/ha); the mixed-sex population had 90% marketable prawns and the yield was 135 g/m^z (1,350 kg/ha); and the all-female population had 75% marketable prawns with an average yield of 108 g/m² (1,080 kgha).