Habitat quality and biodiversity indicator performances of a threatened butterfly versus a multispecies group for wet heathlands in Belgium

We analyzed whether a single species (i.e., the threatened Alcon Blue butterfly Maculinea alcon) was a useful indicator for the quality and area of wet heathlands in Belgium. During a survey of 18 wet Erica tetralix heathlands, we identified 624 species from 20 different taxonomic groups. Sites with the single indicator species M. alcon were significantly richer in typical wet heathland species and in Red List species but did not show significant differences in biotope quality (i.e., the number of different typical wet heathland biotope attributes) than sites without. In addition, we used a multispecies indicator approach including a group of nine species from five different taxonomic groups (two birds, two dragonflies, two butterflies, two vascular plants and one grasshopper). High quality sites (5-9 species from the multispecies indicator group present) tended to have more Red list species than low quality sites (0-4 species from the multispecies indicator group present) but did not expose differences in overall species richness, typical wet heathland species or in biotope quality. The number of species in this umbrella group, however, was positively correlated with both the diversity of typical wet heathland species and with biotope quality. Furthermore, the complementary information of the species in the multispecies indicator group usefully signalled distinctions in biotope area and configuration, vulnerability to fragmentation, eutrophication, desiccation and contained species of different trophic levels; this was not the case for M. alcon as a single indicator species. We discuss the use of a single indicator and of a multispecies group as conservation umbrella and advocate a much wider use of combined knowledge from different taxonomic groups in conservation planning and evaluation.     

Genetic parameters of drinking and feeding traits of wean-to-finish pigs under a polymicrobial natural disease challengeOA

Background: The pork industry faces unprecedented challenges from disease, which increases cost of production and use of antibiotics, and reduces production efficiency, carcass quality, and animal wellbeing. One solution is to improve the overall resilience of pigs to a broad array of common diseases through genetic selection. Behavioral changes in feeding and drinking are usually the very first clinical signs when animals are exposed to stressors such as disease. Changes in feeding and drinking...     

m‐carboxycinnamic acid bishydroxamide improves developmental competence,reduces apoptosis and alters epigenetic status and gene expression pattern in cloned buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) embryos

Incomplete or aberrant reprogramming of nuclear genome is one of the major problems in somatic cell nuclear transfer. In this study, we studied the effect of histone deacetylase inhibitor m‐carboxycinnamic acid bishydroxamide (CBHA) on in vitro development of buffalo embryos produced by Hand‐made cloning. Cloned embryos were treated with CBHA (0, 5, 10, 20 or 50 μM) for 10 hr from the start of reconstruction till activation. At 10 μM, but not at other concentrations examined, CBHA increased (p < .05) the blastocyst rate (63.77 ± 3.97% vs 48.63 ± 3.55%) and reduced (p < .05) the apoptotic index of the cloned blastocysts (8.91 ± 1.94 vs 4.36 ± 1.08) compared to untreated controls, to levels similar to those in IVF blastocysts (4.78 ± 0.74). CBHA treatment, at all the concentrations examined, increased (p < .05) the global level of H3K9ac in cloned blastocysts than in untreated controls to that observed in IVF blastocysts. Treatment with CBHA (10 μM) decreased (p < .05) the global level of H3K27me3 in cloned blastocysts than in untreated controls but it was still higher (p < .05) than in IVF blastocysts. CBHA (10 μM) treatment increased (p < .05) the relative expression level of pluripotency‐related genes OCT‐4 and NANOG, and anti‐apoptotic gene BCL‐XL, and decreased (p < .05) that of pro‐apoptotic gene BAX than in untreated controls but did not affect the relative expression level of apoptosis‐related genes p53 and CASPASE3 and epigenetics‐related genes DNMT1, DNMT3a and HDAC1. These results suggest that treatment of cloned embryos with 10 μM CBHA improves the blastocyst rate, reduces the level of apoptosis and alters the epigenetic status and gene expression pattern.     

In Vitro Cytochrome P450 2E1 and 2A Activities in the Presence of Testicular Steroids

Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and 2A (CYP2A) are the main enzymes involved in the metabolism of skatole in pigs. In this study, physiological concentrations of androstenone, 17β‐oestradiol and testosterone were tested for their ability to regulate CYP2E1 and CYP2A activity in liver microsomes isolated from entire male and female pigs as well as in microsomes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing either human recombinant CYP2E1 or CYP2A6. We found that physiological concentrations of androstenone and oestradiol had the ability to inhibit CYP2E1 activity. The magnitude of this inhibition (approximately 30%) was similar in recombinant human CYP2E1 and microsomes from entire male pigs. This inhibition was only seen when adding the steroid to the assay 15 min before the substrate. Interestingly, CYP2E1 activity in the microsomes from female pigs was not affected. None of the investigated steroids modified the activity of recombinant human CYP2A6. However, CYP2A activity was slightly increased in the microsomes from female pigs in the presence of oestradiol, but the magnitude of this increase was very low (below 10%) and probably irrelevant. Overall, these results indicate that physiological concentrations of androstenone and oestradiol have a potential to inhibit CYP2E1 activities in vitro, and that this inhibition is gender‐specific. Further studies are needed to investigate the biochemical mechanisms underlying those differences between the genders.     

Evaluation of infiltration models with different numbers of fitting parameters in different soil texture classes

In this study, the ability of eight different infiltration models (i.e. Green and Ampt, Philip, SCS (US-Soil Conservation Service), Kostiakov, Horton, Swartzendruber, Modified Kostiakov (MK) and Revised Modified Kostiakov (RMK) models) were evaluated by least-squares fitting to measured infiltration data. Six comparison criteria including coefficient of determination (R²), mean root mean square error (MRMSE), root mean square error (RMSE), the F-statistic (F), C_p statistic of Mallows (C_p) and Akaike information criterion (AIC) were used to determine the best performing model with the least number of fitting parameters. Results indicated that R² and MRMSE were not suitable for model selection. A more valid comparison was achieved by F, C_p, AIC and RMSE statistics. The RMK model including four parameters had the best performance with the majority of soils studied. RMK was better than the MK model in approximately 51.6, 57, 68.5 and 70.6% of soils, when using F, C_p, AIC and RMSE statistics, respectively, and for the other models, a higher per cent of soils was obtained. The RMK model was the best for loam, clay loam and silty clay loam soils, but the MK model was the best for silty loam soils.     

Associations of antimicrobial uses with antimicrobial resistance of fecal Escherichia coli from pigs on 47 farrow-to-finish farms in Ontario and British Columbia

This study assessed the associations between antimicrobial use and other management practices in pigs and antimicrobial resistance in generic Escherichia coli recovered from feces of weaner and finisher pigs on 39 purposefully selected farrow-to-finish farms in Ontario and 8 in British Columbia. Antimicrobials (n = 13), most frequently penicillins and tetracycline, wer dministered to different age groups of pigs on study farms through various routes of administration. Logistic regression was used to model risk factors to antimicrobial resistance in fecal E. coli of pigs for the following antimicrobials: ampicillin, apramycin, carbadox, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, neomycin, nitrofurantoin, spectinomycin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole tetracycline, and cotrimoxazole (trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole). Use of antimicrobials in weaner pigs compared with use in finisher pigs was associated with resistance in most models. There was phenotypic evidence of different mechanisms of resistance selection, including direct selection [use of carbadox was associated with carbadox resistance (OR = 6.48)]; cross-resistance [use of spectinomycin was associated with streptomycin resistance (OR = 2.29)]; and possible co-selection [ceftiofu use was associated with tetracycline resistance (OR = 6.12)]. These results provide further evidence that use of antimicrobials in pigs selects for resistance among fecal E. coli within and between classes of antimicrobials.