Factors affecting ascorbic acid (AsA) biosynthesis in chickens. II. Effect of dietary AsA and strain of chicken

The present study examined the effect of supplemental ascorbic acid (AsA) and ascertained if genotype is a determinant of biosynthesis and the response of strains to dietary AsA. Slow- (Ottawa Meat Control; OMC) and fast-growing (Peterson Enhanced x Hubbard; PEH) chicks were fed 1000 mg/kg AsA from 1 to 10 weeks of age. The activity of l-gulonolactone oxidase (GLO) was used to measure biosynthesis and estimated synthetic capacity (ESC) computed. Body weight was not affected by diets and relative kidney weight decreased with age. In 1 week, dietary AsA increased plasma AsA and inhibited GLO activity with a greater reduction in OMC birds. At 10 weeks, GLO activity was depressed almost uniformly in both strains. Strain by age and diet by age interactions were detected for GLO activity and ESC with significantly greater decline in PEH birds and birds fed supplemental AsA. The results demonstrated that dietary AsA inhibited biosynthesis in meat type chickens and the response at 10 weeks was not influenced by growth rate; and the age dependent decline in biosynthesis was more pronounced in the commercial PEH birds. The result suggests that such strains may be compromised in some situations. Research using multiple dietary levels of AsA, commercial strains, and defined stressors is warranted.     

Factors affecting ascorbic acid biosynthesis in chickens: III. Effect of dietary fluoride on L-gulonolactone oxidase activity and tissue ascorbic acid (AsA) concentration

The inconsistent beneficial responses to dietary ascorbic acid (AsA) may be due to dietary factors that alter biosynthesis or tissue turnover of AsA. It has been suggested on the basis of altered tissue AsA that dietary fluoride is a determinant of biosynthesis in chickens. Fluoride may enter the food chain of poultry via industrial contamination, feed ingredients and drinking water. The goal of this study was to ascertain whether dietary fluoride at 300 mg/kg influences l-gulonolactone oxidase (GLO) activity in commercial meat-type chickens. The experimental diet was fed from day-old to 3 weeks and responses measured. Growth and feed conversion were not affected by fluoride in the diet. Dietary fluoride neither inhibited nor enhanced GLO activity nor did it increase or decrease AsA concentration in plasma, liver, kidney, adrenal gland and muscle (pectoralis major). Tissue AsA concentration in ascending order was adrenal > liver > kidney > pectoralis major > plasma. The results are consistent with that reported for the rat and calculations based on the results eliminate fluorine contamination for the inconsistent responses of immature chickens to dietary AsA.     

Nematology Research in Europe

 Nematology started in Europe at the end of the last century.In Belgium and the Netherlands for example the first nematological paper(in Dutch) appeared in 1876.It was prepared by de Man and dealt with soil nematodes.Nematology gradually increased in importance.This lead to the establish-ment of the European Society of Nematologists in 1953.Since then, ESN has arranged a symposium every two years with an increasing number of participants.During the last meeting in Dundee, this number exceeded 450.The Society distributes a membership directory and keeps contact with the members through 'Nematology News'.This newspaper reports on the events in the nematology labs and issued twice a year.     

Transmission and pathogenicity of encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) among rats

Due to the probable role played by rodents as a reservoir for the transmission of the EMC virus to pigs, the experiment reported here was performed in order to assess the transmission rate of EMCV within a rat population. Twenty-five eight-week-old Wistar rats housed in individual plastic cages were experimentally infected either with a Greek myocardial EMCV strain (5 rats with a 0.2 x 10(6) TCID50 dose per rat and 10 rats with a 0.5 x 10(4.5) TCID50 dose per rat, oronasally) or a Belgian myocardial EMCV strain (10 rats with a 0.5 x 10(4.5) TCID50 dose per rat, oronasally). Two to five days later, each inoculated rat was moved to a new clean cage and coupled with a contact rat to compare the pathogenicity of the two strains and to estimate the basic reproduction ratio R0, indicating the level of EMCV transmission. During the experiments, faecal virus excretion was measured as well as the serological response against EMCV. After euthanasia, virus isolation was attempted from different rat tissues. Neither strains produced mortality, nor clinical signs and only low titres of neutralising antibodies were found. All contact rats, however, were infected and the virus was isolated from their faeces and from various tissues. Both 10-pair experiments revealed a point estimate for the R0 of infinity (95%-CI for both the Greek and Belgian EMCV strains = 4.48 - infinity), as did the 5-pair experiment with a higher dose of the Greek strain (95%-CI = 1.83 - infinity). Combining the results from the two 10-pair experiments resulted in an estimate for R0 of infinity (95%-CI: 9.87 - infinity). These results indicate that the EMC virus can spread very easily within a rat population by horizontal rat-to-rat transmission (R0 > 1).