Xylanase in broiler diets with differences in characteristics and content of wheat

1. Experiments were conducted to measure the effect of xy‐lanase supplementation on the performance of broilers fed on wheat‐based diets containing high and low extract viscosity wheat (experiment 1), baking and feeding quality wheat (experiment 2) and with variation in wheat content (experiment 3).

2. Xylanase supplementation improved food conversion ratios by 2·2–2·9% and body weight gain by 0·2–2·5%. This was independent of wheat characteristics but slightly dependent on the wheat content of the diet. These effects were related to a lowering of digesta viscosity.

3. Differences in extract viscosity of wheat were not reflected in broiler digesta viscosity.

4. Reduction of digesta viscosity resulted in only a slight improvement of litter score. Reduced intestinal viscosity decreased relative pancreas weight and to a lesser extent relative small intestinal weight.

5. Baking quality wheat Baldus gave better performance than the feed quality wheats Apollo and Slejpner.

6. It was concluded that xylanase supplementation of wheat‐based diets invariably had a positive effect on broiler performance.     

Variation in plasma cholesterol concentration over time in the domestic fowl

1. Variations in the concentration of plasma cholesterol available to the developing oocyte over a three week period in Gallus domesticus are described.

2. There are small changes in concentration between weeks for individual birds, but no changes between consecutive days within weeks or times within days.

3. It is recommended that future attempts to assess the relationship between variation in blood and yolk cholesterol concentrations estimate blood cholesterol concentration from two samples taken a week apart.     

Comparative responses of genetically lean and fat chickens to lysine,arginine and non‐essential amino acid supply. I. growth and body composition

1. Three experiments were performed to study the effects of amino acid imbalance on the growth of genetically lean (LL) or fat (FL) male chickens from 28 to 42 d of age. In experiment 1, five concentrations of digestible lysine were compared (4.75, 6.75, 7.75, 8.75 and 9.75 g/kg). In experiment 2, four concentrations of digestible arginine were compared (6.53, 7.69, 8.84 and 10.0 g/kg). In experiment 3, three diets were compared: a high‐protein diet (189 g CP/kg), a low‐protein diet containing added essential amino acids (EAA) (144 g CP/kg) and this low‐protein diet supplemented with 40 g/kg of non‐essential amino acids (NEAA) (glutamic acid + aspartic acid).

2. LL birds exhibited a lower growth rate than the FL when the diet was deficient in either lysine or arginine. Plotting weight gain against lysine or arginine intake suggested that most of this effect was caused by variations in food intake.

3. When protein gains (body or total proteins) were plotted against lysine or arginine intake, LL chickens appeared more efficient than FL chickens.

4. Similar growth rates, although slightly lower in FL, were obtained with low‐ and high‐protein diets. However, NEAA supplementation of the low‐protein diet reduced adiposity of LL and did not modify that of FL. Increasing crude protein content (all amino acids) was more effective than NEAA supplementation in decreasing the adiposity of both lines.     

Effects of faba bean tannins on the growth and histological structure of the intestinal tract and liver of chicks and rats

1. Diets containing a freeze‐dried tannin extract from faba beans (Vicia faba L.) at concentrations of 0, 8 and 16 g/kg were fed to growing chicks and rats.

2. Chicks fed on the tannin‐containing diets exhibited a high mortality and significant decreases in body‐weight as well as lower food intakes and higher food intake:weight gain ratios (P<0.01). In rats there was no mortality but the growth and food intake were adversely affected (P< 0.05).

3. Histological changes occurred in the ileal mucosa of chicks. Atrophy and shortening of villi with distortion of their architecture were observed. Similar histological disorders but less pronounced were also found in rats.

4. Histopathology of the liver of both chicks and rats showed an hydropic degeneration of hepatocytes, clearly more severe in the former than in the latter.     

Boric acid-phenolic relationships within the Pinus echinata-Pisolithus tinctorius ectomycorrhizal association

At germination, container-grown shortleaf pine seedlings were inoculated with Pisolithus tinctorius (Pers.) Coker & Couch or left uninoculated, and both groups were fertilized semiweekly with a modified Hoagland's solution supplemented with 0 or 0.4 mM boric acid. After 12, 16 and 24 weeks, seedling root tissue was analyzed for ectomycorrhizal colonization, phenolic concentration and phenoloxidase activity. In addition, phenoloxidase activity was assayed in P. tinctorius that had been cultured in a liquid medium containing boric acid. Inoculation with P. tinctorius increased the root phenolic concentration of 16- and 24-week-old seedlings, and increased root phenoloxidase activity in 12-, 16- and 24-week-old seedlings. Fertilization with boric acid reduced the phenolic concentration of P. tinctorius ectomycorrhizae after 24 weeks. Although boric acid fertilization did not affect the phenoloxidase activity of 12-, 16- and 24-week-old inoculated roots, or that of 16- and 24-week-old uninoculated roots, it increased the phenoloxidase activity of P. tinctorius grown in vitro and 12-week-old uninoculated roots. We conclude that boric acid fertilization influences the phenolic relations of the shortleaf pine-P. tinctorius ectomycorrhizal association, possibly through a boric acid-induced increase in phenoloxidase activity.     

Root produced DHZR-, ZR- and IPA-like cytokinins in xylem sap in relation to coppice shoot initiation and growth in cloned trees of Betula pubescens

Six-year-old cloned Betula pubescens Ehrh. trees, grown outdoors at 65 degrees 01' N, were cut on six dates during the growing season to study coppice shoot development in relation to root-produced cytokinin-like compounds. Bleeding sap was collected over timed intervals for two days after cutting, and endogenous cytokinin-like compounds were measured by ELISA assay in HPLC-purified fractions of xylem sap. Initiation and development of coppice shoots on the clonally propagated plants were comparable to those in seedlings. Coppice shoot initiation was affected by the time of cutting, diminishing significantly after June. Of the cytokinin-like compounds detected in the xylem sap, zeatin riboside-like (ZR) compounds were present in the highest concentrations, and the concentrations of dihydrozeatin riboside-like (DHZR) and isopentenyladenoside-like (IPA) compounds were approximately one third and one eighth of the ZR concentrations, respectively. The concentration of cytokinin-like compounds was positively correlated with xylem sap flow rate. The export of cytokinin-like compounds, especially DHZR- and ZR-types, was positively correlated with the initiation and elongation rate of coppice shoots, the number of lateral branches, and the radial growth of the more slowly growing coppice shoots. The export of cytokinin-like compounds collected immediately after cutting may represent the basal value for each tree. This value is probably affected by the size and activity of the root system and may be a relevant estimate for predicting the success of coppicing.     

Topographic forcing of the atmosphere and a rapid change in the length of day

During June to September 1992, a special campaign was held to measure rapid changes in Earth's rotation rate and to relate these measurements to variations in the atmosphere's angular momentum, due principally to changes in zonal winds. A strong rise in both length of day and atmospheric momentum during a particular 6-day subperiod is documented, and this example of a short-period perturbation is identified with a specific regional coupling mechanism. Mountain torques within the southern tropics appear to account for most of the rapid momentum transfer between the solid Earth and atmosphere, with those across South America especially important.