Epidemiology of ovine helminthiasis in Haryana,India

Tracer lambs were used to study the pasture contamination with infective stages of helminth parasites during one annual cycle in a subtropical climate. Post-mortem worm counts indicated that low infections with Haemonchus contortus occurred throughout the year except in June. However, twenty five or more H. contortus per lamb were recorded in January, April, May and August. Trichostrongylus colubriformis infection was detected throughout the year and 150 or more worms per lamb were recorded during January to May and in August. Anoplocephalids were recorded from the lambs throughout the year but had no seasonal pattern. Low infections with Oesophagostomum columbianum and Trichuris ovis were observed. The faecal egg counts from the permanent flock with whom the tracer lambs were grazed revealed heavy to mild worm burdens throughout the year. Coproculture indicated that H. contortus predominated from the second fortnight of May to December except in the second fortnight of July. Infection with T. colubriformis was more severe from January to the first fortnight of May and in the second fortnight of July. Negligible infections with O. columbianum, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, Gaigeria pachyscelis and Dictyocaulus filaria were also observed. Biohythergraphs prepared for H. contortus and T. colubriformis showed differences between observed and expected results. It is suggested that for realistic biohythergraphs related parameters in addition to rainfall and temperature should also be considered.     

Molecular Variability in Different Indian Isolates of Equine Herpesvirus-1

Three abortigenic Indian isolates of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) (Tohana, Hisar and Bikaner), along with two exotic abortigenic isolates (AB4 and V592) and another EHV-1 isolate (Jind) obtained from a case of perinatal foal mortality, were studied for variability. For this purpose, PCR and restriction endonuclease (RE) digestion techniques were used simultaneously as a DNA fingerprinting system. Nine different regions of EHV-1 virus were amplified by PCR using primer pairs specific for the regions and the products obtained from these regions were subsequently subjected to various restriction endonucleases to further assess the variability in the number of RE sites as well as in their positions. No difference was observed in all the four abortigenic isolates in terms of the size of different PCR products amplified by all the nine primer pairs, except for primer pairs ‘E’ and ‘C’. PCR products obtained with primer pair E revealed that Tohana and Bikaner isolates were most similar while Hisar isolate was like V592 isolate. However, the PCR product obtained from Jind isolate had a size between the PCR products of Hisar and Tohan/Bikaner isolates. The primer pair ‘C’ used to amplify the region between 1151 to 3679 in ‘Gene 1,2,3’ clearly differentiated the EHV-1 isolate obtained from a case of perinatal foal mortality from isolates obtained from abortion cases. This primer pair needs to be exploited more extensively for use as a potential marker for differentiating the EHV-1 isolates, mainly the abortion cases from perinatal foal mortality ones. Restriction endonuclease studies done with PCR product of all the isolates with various primer pairs did not reveal any changes in the position or number of RE sites present in the products amplified, indicating no variation in different RE sites within the amplified PCR products. However, this study clarified that all the Indian isolates belonged to the IP group of EHV-1.     

Experimental Bubalian Fasciolosis: Kinetics of Antibody Response using 28 kDa Fasciola gigantica Cysteine Proteinase as Antigen

Tropical Animal Health and Production -     

Seasonal variations in species diversity, dry matter and net primary productivity of herb layer of Quercus leucotrichophora-Pinus roxburghii mixed forest in Kumaun Himalaya, India

Plant biomass, species diversity and net primary productivity are presented for herb layer of banj oak (Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus)-chir pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.) mixed forest in Kumaun, central Himalaya, India. The species diversity declined from a maximum (3.56) in September to a minimum (2.11) in December. The monthly live shoots biomass exhibited a single peak growth pattern with highest live shoot biomass of 185 g·m-2 in August. The seasonal pattern showed that the maximum above-ground production (131 g·m-2) occurred during the rainy season and the minimum (1 g·m-2) during winter season. The below-ground production was maximum during winter season (84 g·m-2) and minimum during summer season (34 g·m-2). The annual net shoot production was 171 g·m-2 and total below-ground production was 165 g·m-2. Of the total input 61% was channeled to above-ground parts and 39% to below-ground parts. Transfer of live shoots to dead shoots compartments and that of dead shoots to litter compartments was 61% and 66%, respectively. The total dry matter disappearance was 61% of the total input within annual cycle. The herb layer showed a net accumulation of organic matter, indicating the seral nature of the community.     

Salt stress and mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek]: effects,physiological perspective and management practices for alleviating salinity

Mungbean is an important food grain legume with high economic status. It has an excellent source of dietary protein and nutritional health benefits, particularly for the vegetarians. It increases soil fertility and also plays an imperative role in major cropping systems due to its short life span. Production of mungbean is still decreasing due to its susceptibility towards various environmental stress factors. Salt stress is one of the most prevailing abiotic stress imposing threats for agriculture food crops along with increasing world population and limited natural resources. Fewer efforts have been made to develop an improved variety of mungbean. The present review summarizes the adverse effects of salt stress and mungbean response at the physiological and molecular level. It covers recent studies on introgression of useful traits in mungbean for its better adaptability and survival under stressed conditions. Modern biotechnological approaches and traditional breeding methods may assist the development of salt-tolerant cultivars of mungbean for salinity-affected area in arid and semi-arid regions. Researchers involved in this area should keep this goal on priority for sustainable mungbean production. Availability of protein-rich food may help to reduce the problem of malnutrition in poor families and national food security issue for a continuous rising population.     

Assessment of genetic diversity in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) germplasm using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)

AFLP technique was applied to assess genetic diversity among 44 common bean accessions that included 6 exotic accessions, 15 Indian land races and 23 released varieties. Eight AFLP primer pairs were used that produced 820 products of which 698 were polymorphic (85.12%). Wide variations were observed among all the accessions for the number of amplification products, percent polymorphism and average polymorphism information content (PIC). The Jaccard's similarity indices (J) based on the AFLP profiles were subjected to UPGMA cluster analysis. The dendrogram generated revealed seven major groups. Seventeen out of 23 released varieties were restricted to clusters VI and VII. The value of r = 0.934 in Mantel's test for cophenetic corrlelation applied to the cluster analysis indicated the high fitness of the accessions to a group. The germplasm used in the present study had narrow genetic base, although moderate to high genetic diversity was observed. The details of diversity analysis and the potential use of Indian common bean accessions in common bean breeding programme are provided in the present study.     

Expression and localization of angiopoietin family in corpus luteum during different stages of oestrous cycle and modulatory role of angiopoietins on steroidogenesis,angiogenesis and survivability of cultured buffalo luteal cells

The objective of this study was to document the expression and localization of angiopoietin (ANGPT) family members comprising of angiopoietin (ANGPT1 and ANGPT2), and their receptors (Tie1 and Tie2) in buffalo corpus luteum (CL) obtained from different stages of the oestrous cycle, and the modulatory role of ANGPT1 and ANGPT2 alone or in combinations on progesterone (P₄) secretion and mRNA expression of phosphotidylinositide‐3kinase‐protein kinase B (PI3K‐AKT), phosphoinositide‐dependent kinase (PDK), protein kinase B (AKT), Bcl2 associated death promoter (BAD), caspase 3 and von willebrand factor (vWF) in luteal cells obtained from midluteal phase (MLP) of oestrous cycle in buffalo. Real‐time RT‐PCR (qPCR), Western blot and immunohistochemistry were applied to investigate mRNA expression, protein expression and localization of examined factors whereas, the P₄ secretion was assessed by RIA. The mRNA and protein expression of ANGPT1 and Tie2 was maximum (p < .05) in mid luteal phase (MLP) of oestrous cycle. The ANGPT2 mRNA and protein expression was maximum (p < .05) in early luteal phase, decreased in MLP and again increased in late luteal phase of oestrous cycle. ANGPT family members were localized in luteal cells and endothelial cells with a stage specific immunoreactivity. P₄ secretion was highest (p < .05) with 100 ng/ml at 72 hr when luteal cells were treated with either protein alone. The mRNA expression of PDK, AKT and vWF was highest (p < .05) and BAD along with caspase 3 were lowest (p < .05) at 100 ng/ml at 72 hr of incubation period, when cultured luteal cells were treated with either protein alone or in combination. To conclude, our study explores the steroidogenic potential of angiopoietins to promote P₄ secretion, luteal cell survival and angiogenesis through an autocrine and paracrine actions in buffalo CL.     

Duration of Anthelmintic Effect of Three Formulations of Ivermectin (Oral,Injectable and Pour-on) Against Multiple Anthelmintic-Resistant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Haemonchus contortus</Emphasis> in Sheep

We report the results of investigations that were conducted in a sheep flock in Uttaranchal, India where repeated failure of anthelmintic medication was noted. The study revealed that Haemonchus contortus in sheep had developed resistance to benzimidazoles (fenbendazole, mebendazole and albendazole), imidazothiazole (levamisole) and salicylanide (rafoxanide), while it was fully susceptible to avermectins (ivermectin). Further, the suppression of nematode egg output in faeces of sheep naturally infected with multiple anthelmintic-resistant H. contortus following treatment with ivermectin tablet (0.4 mg/kg body weight (bw), orally), ivermectin injection (1% w/v, 0.2 mg/kg bw, subcutaneously) and ivermectin pour-on (0.5 w/v, 0.5 mg/kg bw) was also studied over a period of 10 weeks post treatment. It was noted that ivermectin tablet after initial clearance of infection (faecal egg count reduction 100%), could not prevent establishment of new patent natural infection for even a single day, while ivermectin pour-on and injection prevented the establishment of new infection for 7 and 14 days post treatment, respectively. Maximum protection period (duration for which mean faecal egg count of sheep reaches 500 eggs per gram of faeces or more) of 68 days was recorded in sheep treated with injectable ivermectin, followed by pour-on (60 days) and oral (53 days) preparations.     

Comparative efficiency of acid phosphatase originated from plant and fungal sources

A study was conducted to demonstrate the comparative efficiency of acid phosphatase generated by plants or fungi towards the hydrolysis of different organic P compounds present in soil. The results revealed that acid phosphatases were most efficient in the hydrolysis of glycerophosphate followed by lecithin and phytin. The P release increased with increase in enzyme concentration. Acid phosphatase generated from fungal sources showed three times greater efficiency in the hydrolysis of phytin, two times greater efficiency in hydrolysis of lecithin than plant phosphatase. Both sources were at par in hydrolyzing glycerophosphate. The results suggest that acid phosphatase generated from plant and fungal sources is different and microbial acid phosphatase to be more efficient than that from plant sources.     

Fishmeal alternative from renewable CO2 for rainbow trout feed

The rapid global growth in fish farming and limited supply of fish meal (FM) has consequently reduced FM inclusion levels in compound feeds leading to a higher reliance on alternative protein sources. Sasya is a single cell protein (SCP) product that has a similar amino acid profile as FM. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of replacing FM with SCP on in vivo digestibility, growth, feed efficiency, whole‐body proximate/amino acid composition and gene expression levels of various hepatic enzymes in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Three isonitrogenous (470 g/kg crude protein) and isolipidic (18 g/kg crude lipid) diets were formulated as follows: Diet 1: control (30% FM); Diet 2:24% FM + 6% SCP and Diet 3:18% FM + 12% SCP. Each diet was hand‐fed to triplicate tanks containing 30 rainbow trout fingerlings (4.99 ± 0.20 g) for 9 weeks. Apparent digestibility coefficients of SCP for dry matter, crude protein, lipid and energy were 60, 80, 93 and 74% respectively. Growth performance (final weight: 69–71 g), feed conversion ratios (0.91–0.94) as well as whole‐body protein and amino acid composition were unaffected by diets. However, Diet 3 significantly increased whole‐body crude fat and energy. Fish fed the SCP‐based diets had significantly higher expression for carnitine palmitoyltransferase‐1b (CPT1b), fatty acid delta 6 desaturase (FADS6) and fatty acid elongase 5 compared to the control. Overall, the quality of the SCP was similar as FM. Therefore, this product could enlarge the portfolio of alternative protein sources that can be used in fish diets and thus open a new market opportunity for use of a new feed resource in the feed industry.