Field efficacy of minidosed pour-on ivermectin and eprinomectin against goat warble fly infestation by Przhevalskiana silenus

The efficacy of minidose of pour-on ivermectin and eprinomectin formulations against first instar larvae of Przhevalskiana silenus was observed in naturally infested goats in the Jammu region, North India. The study was performed in mid August 2011. A total of 280 goats were randomly divided in to 7 groups of 40 each. Goats of the first three groups were treated with pour-on ivermectin at dosage of 2, 5, and 200 μg/kg body weight, respectively, whereas animals of the fourth to sixth groups were treated with pour-on eprinomectin at 25, 50, and 500 μg/kg body weight, respectively. Group VII animals were kept as untreated control. The results indicated that no warbles were recorded between December 2011 and March 2012 on back of animals treated with pour-on preparations of ivermectin at dosage of 5 and 200 μg/kg body weight, respectively, and eprinomectin at dosage of 50 and 500 μg/kg body weight, respectively. Thus, it is concluded that administration of minidose of pour-on ivermectin (5 μg/kg body weight) and eprinomectin (50 μg/kg body weight) is cost effective and so can be used for warble fly control campaign in Jammu region.     

Strategies to modulate the intestinal microbiota and their effects on nutrient utilization,performance, and health of poultry

Poultry is widely produced and consumed meat global y. Its demand is expected to continue increasing to meet the animal protein requirement for ever-increasing human population. Thus, the chal enge that poultry scientists and industry face are to produce sufficient amount of poultry meat in the most efficient way. In the past, using antibiotics to promote the growth of poultry and manage gut microbiota was a norm. However, due to concerns over potential fatalistic impacts on food animals and indirectly to humans, their use as feed additives are banned or regulated in several jurisdictions. In this changed context, several alternative strategies have been proposed with some success that mimics the functions of antibiotics as growth promoters and modulate gut microbiota for their beneficial roles. These include the use of probiotics, prebiotics, organic acids, and exogenous enzyme, among others. Gut microbiota and their metabolic products improve nutrient digestion, absorption, metabolism, and overal health and growth performance of poultry. This paper reviews the available information on the effect of feed additives used to modulate intestinal microbiota of poultry and their effects on overal health and growth performance. Understanding these functions and interactions wil help to develop new dietary and managerial strategies that wil ultimately lead to enhanced feed utilization and improved growth performance of poultry. This review wil help future researchers and industry to identify alternative feed ingredients having properties like prebiotics, probiotics, organic acids, and exogenous enzymes.     

基于iTRAQ技术的甘蔗受黑穗病菌侵染蛋白组分析

黑穗病已成为影响甘蔗产量和含糖量的重要病害。为从蛋白质水平探讨甘蔗应答黑穗病菌的分子机制,本实验选用抗黑穗病品种桂糖29号和感黑穗病品种崖城71-374,处理组用浸渍法接种黑穗病菌,对照组用无菌水模拟接菌,在接种180 d后采取甘蔗叶片,使用iTRAQ技术对蛋白质组进行研究。结果显示,桂糖29号中有定量信息蛋白1429个,差异表达蛋白290个,其中上调表达蛋白153个,下调表达蛋白137个;崖城71-374中有定量信息蛋白1576个,差异表达蛋白125个,其中上调表达蛋白55个,下调表达蛋白70个。抗病品种桂糖29号中差异表达蛋白数多于感病品种崖城71-374,且桂糖29号在KEGG富集到的代谢通路也更多,可能被侵染后抗病品种的免疫调节机制更为复杂,涉及的调控通路网更广。经对光合作用、抗氧化系统、钙信号、苯丙烷类代谢、激素相关差异表达蛋白及共有差异表达蛋白分析,发现光合作用通路、ROS、ABA、钙信号通路相关蛋白在2个品种中多为上调表达,且桂糖29号的上调表达蛋白数多于崖城71-374,可能参与甘蔗后期对黑穗病的应答。植物抗病是一个复杂的过程,需要多种功能与途径参与调控。在本实验中没有发现苯丙烷类代谢途径及一些酶(谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶、超氧化物歧化酶、谷胱甘肽硫转移酶、过氧化氢酶)、激素(生长素、乙烯、赤霉素)参与甘蔗的抗病过程,可能与采样时间有关。     

Rhizospheric and endospheric diazotrophs mediated soil fertility intensification in sugarcane-legume intercropping systems

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Sugarcane-legume intercrops have gained attention because of their ability to improve crop productivity in an ecofriendly manner. We investigated the roles of...     

Hemocyte-mediated shell mineralization in the eastern oyster

The growth of molluscan shell crystals is usually thought to be initiated from solution by extracellular organic matrix. We report a class of granulocytic hemocytes that may be directly involved in shell crystal production for oysters. On the basis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray microanalysis, these granulocytes contain calcium carbonate crystals, and they increase in abundance relative to other hemocytes following experimentally induced shell regeneration. Hemocytes are observed at the mineralization front using vital fluorescent staining and SEM. Some cells are observed releasing crystals that are subsequently remodeled, thereby at least augmenting matrix-mediated crystal-forming processes in this system.     

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL RESPONSES RESULTING FROM CADMIUM AND ZINC ACCUMULATION IN CARROT PLANTS

The interactive effect of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) bioaccumulation on physiological and biochemical characteristics of carrot (Daucus carota L. var Pusa Kesar) plants grown with different levels of Cd and Zn was examined. The combined application of Cd and Zn (Cd+Zn) had synergistic and antagonistic effects at low and high concentrations, respectively, on Cd accumulations in plants, chlorophyll b, and photosynthesis and transpiration rates. Whereas both low and high Cd+Zn concentrations had synergistic effects on Zn accumulation, ascorbic acid, protein content, total phenols, peroxidase activity, chlorophyll a, total, carotenoids and stomatal conductance. Bioaccumulation of Cd had strong and negative relationships with measured physiological and biochemical parameters. The study further showed that Cd and Zn in combination have more toxic effects on carrot plants as compared to their individual treatments. This study concludes that interactive effects of Cd and Zn on test plant depend on their ratios present in plants.     

Peoples’ Perception Towards Urban Forestry and Institutional Involvement in Metropolitan Cities: A Survey of Lalitpur City in Nepal

Universally, trees have been recognized as an important component of urban landscapes for millennia because they provide a wide range of benefits to society. Although the planting of trees has been an integral and important part of human settlements in Nepal, the concept of urban forestry is poorly understood and often neglected. This paper investigates urban peoples?? perceptions towards urban forests as well as the perceived benefits related to the use and existence of urban forests in Lalitpur, Nepal. A survey was conducted among residents and visitors to an urban park. Most respondents held positive attitudes towards urban forests and were aware of the benefits provided. Despite involvement of various agents from both government and non-governmental organizations in promoting urban forests, greenery was declining in the city. The loss and degradation of urban forests adversely affected the ecosystems because the city is suffering from water, air and soil pollution. In recent years, the local government has promoted urban greenery; however, there are no accompanying legislation or regulations governing urban forestry. Therefore, concrete scientific and professional knowledge is required in order to manage the forestry in the city.     

Type 2 antidiabetic activity of bergenin from the roots of Caesalpinia digyna Rottler

Bergenin, a major constituent of Caesalpinia digyna Rottler (Leguminosae) was isolated from its roots and was characterized by comparing its melting point and spectroscopic data (IR, (1)H, (13)C, Mass Spectra) with standard bergenin. Isolated bergenin was then evaluated for antidiabetic (Type 2) activity in streptozotocin (STZ)-nicotinamide induced diabetic rats. Bergenin was administered at doses of 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg; p.o. to normal rats which were subjected to oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Bergenin at same dose level was given to diabetic rats and fasting blood glucose level was estimated on 0th, 7th and 14th day of treatment while plasma lipids, antioxidant enzymes and liver glycogen level in diabetic rats were estimated on 14th day of treatment followed by histopathological studies of pancreas. Bergenin at 10mg/kg; p.o. was found to reduce blood glucose level significantly in OGTT (P<0.01) while it showed a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose level in diabetic rats at same dose level only on 14th day of treatment. Bergenin in all dose levels reversed plasma lipid (reduced elevated TC, LDL-C and increased HDL-C level) profile to normal values except TG. However, bergenin showed no significant effect on liver glycogen at all dose level. The decrease in lipid peroxides and increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in liver illustrated the antioxidant potential of bergenin. Histopathological studies demonstrated the regenerative effect of bergenin on pancreatic β cells. Hence, bergenin isolated from C. digyna possesses significant antidiabetic, hypolipidemic and antioxidant activity in Type 2 diabetic rats.     

Identification of serum protein markers for early diagnosis of pregnancy in buffalo

Improper or delayed pregnancy diagnosis has significant impact over animal production, particularly in buffaloes which inherently suffer from several reproductive inefficiencies. Thus the present study has undertaken to identify serum protein markers pertaining to early pregnancy diagnosis in buffaloes. Serum samples were collected from 10 pregnant Murrah Buffalo heifers at weekly intervals from days 0‐35 post‐artificial insemination and from 12 inseminated non‐pregnant cyclic buffalo heifers on days 0, 7, 14 and 21. Two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis and densitometric analysis revealed the presence of five protein spots showing average density fold change of ≥4 during early pregnancy. Mass spectrometry analysis identified these up‐regulated proteins as anti‐testosterone antibody light chain, apolipoprotein A‐II precursor, serum amyloid A, cytokeratin type II, component IV isoform 1, which are have established roles in embryogenesis, but over‐expression of the fifth identified protein immunoglobulin lambda light chain in pregnancy has been elucidated as a novel finding in the current study. Further, with bioinformatics analysis, potential antigenic B‐cell epitopes were predicted for all these five proteins. An antibody cocktail‐based approach involving antibodies against all these five up‐regulated entire proteins or their epitopes could be developed for early detection of pregnancy in buffaloes. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science     

Expression of follistatin is associated with egg formation in the oviduct of laying hens

The objective of this study was to examine the expression profiles of follistatin (FST) and its associated molecules (MSTN, INHA, INHBB, INHBA, ACVR2A, and ACVR2B) in the oviduct of laying hens at 3 hr and 20 hr post‐ovulation (p.o., n = 5; 35 weeks old), molting (n = 5; 60 weeks old), and non‐laying (n = 4; 35–60 weeks old) hens and also to localize the FST by using immunohistochemistry assay. Expression of FST was significantly higher (p < .05), and MSTN was lower in the uterus of laying hens around 15–20 hr p.o. (during eggshell formation), however, their expressions in the magnum remain unchanged across different physiological stages of hens. FST was mainly expressed in the luminal and glandular epithelium of the uterine tissues, and their expression intensity was highest in laying hens during the eggshell mineralization. There was a relatively increased expression of INHA in the magnum of laying hens around 3 hr p.o. as compared to non‐laying and molting hens. At the same time (3 hr p.o.), there was a significant (p < .05) decrease in the expression of the INHBB, ACVR2A, and ACV2B. These results indicate that follistatin may regulate the differentiation of uterine luminal and glandular epithelium during eggshell biomineralization.