Effect of dietary bovine lactoferrin on growth,haematology and non‐specific immune response in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary lactoferrin (Lf) on growth, haematology and non‐specific immune response of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum). Fish were fed an experimental diet containing 0 (as control), 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg Lf kg^?1 diet twice daily for 8 weeks and sampled at 2, 4, 6 (immune function and growth), and 8 weeks (immune function, haematology and growth). Statistical analyses revealed no significant effects of dietary Lf on growth performance (specific growth rate, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, feed intake and condition factor) or haematological parameters (red and white blood cell count, haemoglobin, haematocrit, serum iron and total iron binding capacity [TIBC]). Among the serum non‐specific immune parameters, lysozyme activity increased significantly in fish fed 100, 200, or 400 mg Lf kg^?1 feed for 8 weeks, whereas haemolytic complement activity increased in fish fed 100 and 400 mg Lf kg^?1 diet after 6 weeks. The antiprotease activity increased in groups fed 100, 200 or 400 mg Lf kg^?1 diet after 8 weeks. However, no significant effect was observed on serum peroxidase level. It can be concluded that feeding of rainbow trout on the diet supplemented with 100 mg kg^?1 or higher for 8 weeks enhances the non‐specific immune response.     

The influence of dietary fish oil replacement with mixture of vegetable oils on reproductive performance,immune responses and dynamic of fatty acids during embryogenesis in Oncorhynchus mykiss

A 90‐day feeding trial was carried out to examine the influence of fish oil (FO) substitution with blends of vegetable oils (VOs) on reproductive efficiency of female brooders and fluctuation in fatty acid (FA) profile of embryos in Oncorhynchus mykiss. A basal diet was formulated in which 20% (80FO/20VO), 50% (50FO/50VO), 75% (25FO/75VO) and 100% (100VO) of FO were replaced by mixture of VO. Reproductive performance of brooders was not affected by drastic alternations in FA profile of diets. The level of saturated and monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) significantly increased, whereas the levels of long‐chain polyunsaturated FAs (LC‐PUFAs), mainly docosahexaenoic acid, profoundly decreased during embryogenesis. The concentrations of MUFA and n?6 PUFA increased in the eggs with increasing the incorporation of VO mixture in diets; however, the concentration of LC‐PUFA and n?3/n?6 PUFA ratio decreased. Haematological parameters and humoral immune responses including total immunoglobulin content, lysozyme and alternative complement pathway activities in brooders fed with the experimental diets did not statically different. In summary, incorporating mixture of various VO sources especially linseed and sunflower oils as good sources of α‐linolenic and linoleic acids, respectively, along with low levels of residual fat from fish meal in diet suggested a good strategy for providing the appropriate essential FA requirements of O. mykiss brooders for their successful reproduction.     

Effects of temperature and water limitation on the germination of Stipagrostis ciliata seeds collected from Sidi Bouzid Governorate in Central Tunisia

Most ecological studies in North Africa reveal a process of continuous degradation of rangeland ecosystems as a result of overgrazing. This degradation appears across the decreasing of perennial grass diversity. Indeed, the majority of steppe ecosystems are characterized by a low density of perennial grass species at present. This study evaluated the effects of temperature and water limitation on the seed germination of Stipagrostis ciliata(Desf.) de Winter, a perennial grass species. The seeds were collected from the Bou Hedma Park, Sidi Bouzid Governorate, Central Tunisia. The thermal time and hydrothermal time models were used to describe the seed germination of S. ciliata under different water potentials and temperatures. The germination response of S. ciliata seeds in darkness was evaluated over a range of temperatures(15°C, 20°C, 25°C, 30°C and 35°C) and across a wide range of osmotic potentials(0.0, –0.2, –0.6, –1.2, –1.6 and –2.0 MPa) of the polyethylene glycol(PEG6000) solutions at each temperature level. Among the tested temperatures, 25°C was found to be the optimal temperature to the germination of S. ciliata seeds. The final germination percentage(75.2%) was obtained with distilled water. The progressive decrease of osmotic potential of the PEG6000 solutions inhibited the seed germination. However, the number of days to first germination was increased with a reduction of osmotic potential. A significant positive relationship was identified between final germination percentage of S. ciliata seeds and osmotic potential of the PEG6000 solutions, with R~2 ranging from 0.5678 to 0.8761. Furthermore, a high degree of congruency between predicted and observed germination time course curves was observed. In general, S. ciliata exhibits a significant adaptation capacity for water limitation and high temperature in arid ecosystems.     

Weed infestation is affected by chickpea farmer demographics and agronomic practices

To investigate the effects of agronomic practices and farmer demographics on levels of weed infestation in chickpea fields, a survey was conducted during 2015 in Sanjabi district, Kermanshah, Iran. Two sets of data were collected: (a) weed sampling from the selected chickpea fields, and (b) questionnaire recording of farmer demographics and agronomic management. The farmers were asked about their residence status (resident or migrant), occupation (farming only, farming plus a second job), experience and education levels, as well as seedbed preparation, sowing date and method, source of seed supply, crop cultivar, sowing seed rate, weed control operation and crop rotation history. The results showed that weed species composition was similar across the studied fields. The use of a row crop planter, a sowing rate of 45 kg ha^‐1, and weed control resulted in 30.2, 23.03 and 34.2% reductions in weed infestation compared with hand sowing, a sowing rate of 30 kg ha^‐1 and lack of weed control, respectively. Weed density decreased with increasing farmer experience and decreased by 33.0% and 23.5% in chickpea fields of resident farmers and owners whose sole occupation was agriculture. We found that 89.5% of the most experienced farmers adopted weed control operations and most resident landowners (77.4%) opted for crop planter (77.4%) and weed control (90.3%) compared to migrant farmers (50 and 68.5%, respectively). More landowners who were exclusively farmers performed weed control (90.6%) than owners who had a second job (67.9%).     

Photosynthetic reaction,mineral uptake,and fruit quality of strawberry affected by different levels of macronutrients

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of three nutrient recipes containing different concentrations of macronutrients in the vegetative stage [Vegetative Nutrient Solution: (VNS-I, VNS-II, and VNS-III)] and two nutrient recipes in reproductive stage [Reproductive Nutrient Solution: (RNS-I and RNS-II)], on physiological and biochemical parameters of strawberry ‘Paros’ in a soilless system. The results indicated the significant effects of nutrient solution on the photosynthetic capacity, yield, minerals uptake and titratable acidity of strawberry fruits. In the other hand fruit total soluble solids affected by vegetative nutrient solution. The highest yield was obtained under application of lowest level of minerals. Vegetative growth including leaf number and leaf area, as well as total chlorophyll were the highest as potassium (K⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), and nitrogen (N) concentrations were increased. The highest content of N and Ca²⁺ uptake were in VNS-III × RNS-I formulation. Additionally, the highest vitamin C was in VNS-I formulation. Moreover, the most firmed fruits and the highest post-harvest shelf life of fruits were produced in VNS-III × RNS-I formulation.     

The Effect of Irrigation Management and Nitrogen Fertilizer On Grain Yield and Water-use Efficiency of Rice Cultivars in Northern Iran

Gesunde Pflanzen - Alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWDI) is a water-conserving strategy in rice fields. An experiment, conducted as a split-split plot design and based on...     

The less genetic diversity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticeae</Emphasis> A and D genomes,the smaller diversity in γ-prolamins CD-epitopes

Triticeae γ-type seed prolamins have undergone many rounds of gene duplications during evolution. However, the population genetics of total Triticeae γ-prolamin genes has not been studied in an evolutionary perspective so far. Here, evolutionary pattern of γ-prolamin multigene family containing 557 sequences from wheat and closely related species (γ-gliadins), rye (γ-secalin) and barley (γ-hordeins) was investigated. Furthermore, Triticeae genomes were searched for low immuno-reactive celiac disease (CD) epitope contents in their γ-prolamins for the possibility of developing less immunogenic cultivars. Large numbers of haplotypes with segregating sites and mutations in γ-type seed prolamin multigene family were evident. Polymorphism analyses of both promoters and coding regions of species-specific γ-prolamins demonstrated no deviation from neutral theory. The sliding window revealed that most of the singleton polymorphic sites are resided in the variable R1 domain. Furthermore, the significant negative Tajima’s D and H tests’ values of each groups 1, 2, 3, and 8 showed a selective sweep for R and D genome duplication processes. The dN/dS ratio analysis revealed strong purifying selection acting upon duplication of the two ancestral branches, while the neutral selection among overall groups was observed. Our results support previously reported findings that the groups of 2, 3, 8 (D genome) and 10 (A genome) can potentially be recommended for selection approaches or genetic engineering of less immunogenic cereal grains. Furthermore, the results provide new insights on the evolutionary dynamics of γ-prolamin multigene family, polyploidy speciation and phylogeny of Triticeae species.     

Feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia virus and Toxoplasma gondii in stray and household cats in Kerman-Iran: Seroprevalence and correlation with clinical and laboratory findings

This study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection among stray and owned cats in southeastern Iran and to identify the influence of age, sex, lifestyle, health status, and laboratory findings on seropositivity. The overall infection rate for FIV, FeLV, and T. gondii was 19.2%, 14.2%, and 32.1% respectively. Results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that old adults more likely to be seropositive than juveniles for FIV, FeLV, and T. gondii (adjusted odds ratios [ORs], 1.84, 1.56, and 2.57 respectively). Anemic and diseased cats ([ORs], 6.62 and 0.9) were at a greater risk of testing positive for FeLV. Male cats were 4.91 times as likely to have FIV as were female and hyperglobulinemia was significantly more prevalent in FIV-infected cats ([ORs], 3.4). In conclusion, FIV and FeLV seem to be endemic in Iran and retroviral-associated immunosuppression may be a risk factor for active toxoplasmosis in infected cats.     

Prediction breeding value and genetic parameter in Iranian Holstein bulls for milk production traits

Data set included records of 43303 cows for first lactation. Records were collected from 2000 to 2006 in Animal Breeding Center of Iran Studied traits were yield of milk, fat, protein and percentage of fat and protein. Total number of animal was 197561 individual in pedigree. Genetic and phenotypic parameters were estimated with REML method under single trait Animal Model. Breeding values were predicted with BLUP procedure. The model for the analyses included the factors herd-year-season as fixed factor (1694 levels), animal as random effect and age at calving as co variable with minimum and maximum of 23 and 36 month. Respectively the estimated heritabilities were 0.35 (+/-0.02), 0.33 (+/-0.02), 0.31 (+/-0.017), 0.28 (+/-0.02), 0.27 (+/-0.016) for milk, fat, protein yield, percent of fat and protein. Mean of breeding values of sires were 180.2 (+/-28.2), 3.7 (+/-1.26), 2.3 (+/-1.06), -0.036 (+/-0.014) and -0.028 (+/-0.009) for milk, fat, protein yield, percent of fat and protein, respectively.     

Effects of probiotic lactic acid bacteria on growth performance,carcass characteristics,hematological indices,humoral immunity,and IGF-I gene expression in broiler chicken

The effects of screened lactic acid bacteria strains were evaluated on growth performance, humoral immunity, and IGF-1 gene expression in broiler chickens. The three dietary groups of negative control fed basal diet, the native LAB probiotic group (NP), and PrimaLac commercial LAB probiotic (PC) were studied. The results revealed that NP and PC diets significantly improved feed conversion ratio and increased body weight, as well as relative weight of carcass compared with group fed NC diet (P?<?0.05). Lymphocyte level was significantly increased in birds fed NP and PC (P?<?0.01), while serum triglycerides and total cholesterol levels were significantly decreased compared with the NC (P?<?0.05). Significant increases were observed in antibody titers against Newcastle disease virus of vaccinated birds (P?<?0.03), and morphological analysis of ileum revealed significant increases (P?<?0.05) in the villus height and villus height/crypt depth in birds fed NP and PC compared with the NC. The dietary significantly increased Lactobacillus spp. (P?<?0.05), while Escherichia coli (P?<?0.04) populations were significantly decreased, and also, the expression of IGF-1 gene in liver tissue of broilers fed NP and PC was significantly increased compared with the NC (P?<?0.05). These results indicated that the identified native LAB strains can be used commercially as a low-cost probiotic in poultry industry of Iran.