Leersia hexandra, a weed host of the rice brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)

A population of the rice brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Homoptera: Delphacidae), was abundant on a weed, Leersia hexandra, growing in irrigation canals near rice fields in the Philippines. When individuals of this population were placed on rice, Oryza sativa, feeding was low and they could not survive. Conversely, L. hexandra was not a host for the N. lugens population maintained on rice. Although the two N. lugens populations differed in feeding behaviour, under ‘no choice’ conditions in the greenhouse they interbred and produced progeny which could utilize both L. hexandra and O. sativa as a host. The Leersia population is important in the management of N. lugens on rice as it is attacked by the same predators, parasites and pathogens as the rice population.     

Levels of resistance of rice cultivars and the weed Leersia hexandra L. to Nephotettix malayanus Ishihara et Kawase and N. virescens (Distant)

Studies on the mechanisms of resistance of some rice cultivars and the weed, Leersia hexandra, to Nephotettix malayanus indicated low survival and popu;ation growth of the insect on resistant cultivars. Tests on feeding behaviour indicated that more feeding punctures were made on resistant than on susceptible cultivars. The amount of honeydew excreted was not related to the levels of resistance. Honeydew excreted on resistant cultivars was acidic (pH 5·08–6·92) and on susceptible L. hexandra, basic (pH 7·56). On the basis of the quality of honeydew excreted, N. malayanus was considered to be predominantly a xylem feeder. A test on the serial transmission of the rice tungro virus (RTV) showed that N. malayanus transmitted the virus for only one day after feeding acquisition. N. virescens was a more efficient vector of RTV than N. malayanus. N. malayanus prefers to feed on L. hexandra rather than on the rice cultivars tested.     

Comparison of tiletamine-zolazepam-ketamine and tiletamine-zolazepam-ketamine-xylazine anaesthesia in sheep

Summary The anaesthetic effects of intravenous tiletamine-zolazepam 6.6 mg/kg-ketamine 6.6 mg/kg (TK) and tiletamine-zolazepam 6.6 mg/kg-ketamine 6.6 mg/kg-xylazine 0.11 mg/kg (TKX) were evaluated in six wethers. Heart rate, respiration rate, arterial blood pressure, and the electrocardiogram were monitored during anaesthesia. Analgesia was tested by electrical stimulation in the left flank. Atropine (0.03 mg/kg) was given intramuscularly before induction, but after recording of baseline heart rate and respiratory rate. The duration of analgesia was 28.7 ± 6.9 min with TK and 82.8 ± 26.6 min with TKX. Heart rate increased significantly within 5 min after TK or TKX administration. Respiratory rate remained unchanged after TK administration, but increased significantly from 5 to 45 min after TKX administration. Arterial blood pressure decreased significantly at 15 min with TK and 30 min with TKX. Sheep remained recumbent for 201 min with TK and 166 min with TKX. All recovered uneventfully. We conclude that either TK or TKX may be used for anaesthetising sheep.     

Evaluation of Cheetah and Leopard Spermatozoa Developmental Capability after Interspecific ICSI with Domestic Cat Oocytes

The ICSI procedure is potentially of great value for felids, and it has not been extensively studied in these species. The objectives of this work were to determine the best conditions for ICSI in the domestic cat (DC) to generate interspecific embryos by injecting cheetah (Ch) and leopard (Leo) spermatozoa. Firstly, DC oocytes were matured with insulin–transferrin–selenium (ITS) or without it (MM) and cultured using atmospheric (21%) or low (5%) oxygen tension after ICSI. The group ITS‐5%O₂ showed the highest blastocyst rate (p < 0.05), 20.9% vs 8.7%, 7% and 6.5%, for MM‐21%O₂, MM‐5%O₂ and ITS‐21%O₂, respectively. The best conditions were used to generate the interspecific embryos, together with ionomycin activation (Io) after ICSI. Interspecific embryos resulted in high rates of blastocysts that were not positively affected by Io activation: 32.6% vs 21% for Ch and Ch‐Io, 9.8% vs 21% for Leo and Leo‐Io, and 20% vs 17.4% for DC and DC‐Io. We also evaluated DNA‐fragmented nuclei of experiment 1 and 2 blastocysts, using TUNEL assay. The fragmented nucleus proportion was higher in the ITS‐5%O₂ group, 67.6%. Surprisingly, interspecific blastocysts showed the lowest fragmented nucleus proportion: 27% and 29.9% for Ch and Leo, respectively. We concluded that ITS and 5%O₂ improve blastocyst formation in DC, although with a concomitant increase in DNA fragmentation. Most importantly, cheetah and leopard spermatozoa were able to generate blastocysts without artificial activation, which suggests that developmental capacity of wild felid spermatozoa can be evaluated by interspecific ICSI. This technique should be used to assist wild felid reproduction.     

Vesicles Cytoplasmic Injection: An Efficient Technique to Produce Porcine Transgene‐Expressing Embryos

The use of vesicles co‐incubated with plasmids showed to improve the efficiency of cytoplasmic injection of transgenes in cattle. Here, this technique was tested as a simplified alternative for transgenes delivery in porcine zygotes. To this aim, cytoplasmic injection of the plasmid alone was compared to the injection with plasmids co‐incubated with vesicles both in diploid parthenogenic and IVF zygotes. The plasmid pcx‐egfp was injected circular (CP) at 3, 30 and 300 ng/μl and linear (LP) at 30 ng/μl. The experimental groups using parthenogenetic zygotes were as follows: CP naked at 3 ng/μl (N = 105), 30 ng/μl (N = 95) and 300 ng/μl (N = 65); Sham (N = 105); control not injected (N = 223); LP naked at 30 ng/μl (N = 78); LP vesicles (N = 115) and Sham vesicles (N = 59). For IVF zygotes: LP naked (N = 44) LP vesicles (N = 94), Sham (N = 59) and control (N = 79). Cleavage, blastocyst and GFP+ rates were analysed by Fisher's test (p < 0.05). The parthenogenic CP naked group showed lower cleavage respect to control (p < 0.05). The highest concentration of plasmids to allow development to blastocyst stage was 30 ng/μl. There were no differences in DNA fragmentation between groups. The parthenogenic LP naked group resulted in high GFP rates (46%) and also allowed the production of GFP blastocysts (33%). The cytoplasmic injection with LP vesicles into parthenogenic zygotes allowed 100% GFP blastocysts. Injected IVF showed higher cleavage rates than control (p < 0.05). In IVF zygotes, only the use of vesicles produced GFP blastocysts. The use of vesicles co‐incubated with plasmids improves the transgene expression efficiency for cytoplasmic injection in porcine zygotes and constitutes a simple technique for easy delivery of plasmids.     

Identification of Polymorphisms in the Osteopontin Gene and Their Associations with Certain Semen Production Traits of Water Buffaloes in the Brazilian Amazon

The osteopontin gene may influence the fertility of water buffaloes because it is a protein present in sperm. The aim of this work was to identify polymorphisms in this gene and associate them with fertility parameters of animals kept under extensive grazing. A total of 306 male buffaloes older than 18 months, from two farms, one in the state of Amapá and the other in the state of Pará, Brazil were used in the study. Seven SNPs were identified in the regions studied. The polymorphisms were in gene positions 1478, 1513 and 1611 in the region 5′upstrem and positions 6690, 6737, 6925 and 6952 in the region amplified in intron 5. The SNPs were associated with the traits, namely scrotal circumference, scrotal volume, sperm motility, sperm concentration and sperm pathology. There were significant SNPs (p < 0.05) for all the traits. The SNP 6690 was significant for scrotal circumference, sperm concentration, sperm motility and sperm pathology and the SNP 6737 for scrotal volume. The genotype AA of SNP 6690 presented the highest averages for scrotal circumference, sperm concentration and motility and the lowest total number of sperm pathologies. For the scrotal volume trait, the animals with the largest volume were correlated with the presence of the genotype GG of SNP 6737. These results indicate a significance of the osteopontin gene as it seems to exert a substantial influence on the semen production traits of male buffaloes.     

Test-retest repeatability of the National Animal Health monitoring system dairy heifer health report in New York and Pennsylvania, USA

We did a test-retest study on 21 farms to assess the repeatability of the Dairy Heifer Health Report of the National Dairy Heifer Evaluation Project. The median retest interval was 42 days (range 14–63 days), retest interviewers were blinded as to responses on the first visits, and all date-specific questions were anchored to the dates of the first tests. The overall discrepancy percentage was 8.5% (95% CI 8.0–9.0). Individual farms had discrepancy percentages of 3.0–15.2%; 240 out of the 539 questions had no discrepancies at all, but 81 questions had more than four (out of 21 possible) discrepancies (lowest percentages among the 81: 24%; 95% lower confidence limit on 24%: 6%). Combining ‘no’ and ‘not applicable’ responses for six similarly worded questions in the Biosecurity section would reduce the overall questionnaire discrepancy percentage to 7.8% and would bring that section's discrepancy percentage down to 8.6%. The other discrepancy percentages by section were: Maternity Hygiene, 14.1 %; Preweaning Hygiene, 4.8%; Disease Agents, 3.6%; Vaccination Practices, 12.1%; Preventive Practices, 16.8%. Discrepancy percentages did not differ importantly by type of question (independent, filter, or subordinate) or by type of response required (categorical, count, or measurement). Discrepancy percentages were independent of retest interviewer, test-retest interval and order of test within state (a proxy for time since training of the interviewers) but were correlated with herd size (r_sp = 0.59).     

一起仔猪水肿病的诊疗

2003年10月,我县某养猪专业户自繁自养的9头70日龄仔猪,突然发生一种以头部水肿、共济失调、惊厥和麻痹为特征的疫病,经临床检查、剖检变化、实验室检验确诊为仔猪水肿病.     

Production responses to internal parasite control in dairy cattle

A significant increase in milk production, averaging 164 litres per cow per lactation (a 4.8% increase), was seen after cows infected with gastrointestinal nematodes, paramphistomes and Fasciola hepatica were treated with broad-spectrum anthelmintics. Three hundred and ninety pairs of cows from eight herds with year-round calving were studied. One cow in each matched pair was given 7.5 mg/kg fenbendazole, 7.5 mg/kg levamisole hydrochloride and 15 mg/kg oxyclozanide in March, May and August of one year; the other cow in the pair received no anthelmintic. The number of nematode and trematode eggs was significantly decreased in the faeces of treated cows.