Loss of milk yield due to Akabane disease in dairy cows

Akabane disease is an infection with clinical signs of congenital malformation and abortion in ruminants. Abnormal parturitions caused by Akabane disease result in great economic loss. The purpose of this study is to estimate the reduction in the milk yield from abnormal parturition due to Akabane disease. The data were collected from 33 Holstein cows on 11 farms. The animals had abnormal parturitions during the period from September 1998 to March 1999, and were diagnosed as having Akabane disease. The mean and standard deviation of the rate of reduction in the milk yield of 33 cows after abnormal parturition caused by Akabane disease was -11.4 +/- 14.9%. The means and standard deviations of the rate of reduction of four cows calving abnormally at 220-239 days of gestation, nine cows calving abnormally at 240-270 days of gestation, and 20 cows calving abnormally at 271-300 days of gestation were -26.6 +/- 24.7%, -14.7 +/- 11.0%, and -6.9 +/- 12.3%, respectively. In this study, we demonstrated that the rate of reduction in the milk yield in cows affected by Akabane disease was -11.4 +/- 14.9%, but values as high as -26.6 +/- 24.7% were reached in the comparison with the milk yield obtained after normal parturition.     

Extraction of Fucoxanthin from Raw Macroalgae excluding Drying and Cell Wall Disruption by Liquefied Dimethyl Ether

Macroalgae are one of potential sources for carotenoids, such as fucoxanthin, which are consumed by humans and animals. This carotenoid has been applied in both the pharmaceutical and food industries. In this study, extraction of fucoxanthin from wet brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida (water content was 93.2%) was carried out with a simple method using liquefied dimethyl ether (DME) as an extractant in semi-continuous flow-type system. The extraction temperature and absolute pressure were 25 °C and 0.59 MPa, respectively. The liquefied DME was passed through the extractor that filled by U. pinnatifida at different time intervals. The time of experiment was only 43 min. The amount of fucoxanthin could approach to 390 μg/g dry of wet U. pinnatifida when the amount of DME used was 286 g. Compared with ethanol Soxhlet and supercritical CO₂ extraction, which includes drying and cell disruption, the result was quite high. Thus, DME extraction process appears to be a good method for fucoxanthin recovery from U. pinnatifida with improved yields.     

Changes in the C-reactive protein and 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2α concentrations of uterine lavage samples after the administration of povidone-iodine in cows

Changes in the C-reactive protein (CRP) and 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F_2α (PGFM) concentrations of uterine lavage fluid were examined in cows given an intrauterine povidone-iodine (PI) infusion. The mean polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) ratios (the ratio of PMN to total cells) and CRP concentration of uterine lavage fluid on the day after the treatment were significantly (P<0.05) greater in the PI infusion group (PMN: 53.0 ± 32.7%, CRP: 50.2 ± 32.3 ng/mL) than in the non-treatment control group (PMN: 7.9 ± 21.9%, CRP: 17.2 ± 5.9 ng/mL), whereas there was no significant difference in the mean PGFM concentration between the two groups. The present findings suggest that the uterine CRP level is a useful biomarker of local uterine inflammation in cows.     

Preincubation with green tea polyphenol extract is beneficial for attenuating sperm injury caused by freezing‐thawing in swine

Polyphenols (PFs) extracted from green tea, known to be potent anti‐oxidants, have been reported to be effective in increasing the motility and viability of mammalian sperm, preserved in a liquid form. Therefore, we tested whether PFs might also be effective for maintaining the integrity of frozen‐thawed boar spermatozoa. Ejaculates, collected from Clawn miniature pigs, were diluted in a semen extender containing various amounts of PFs (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2% w/v) and then stored at 15°C overnight. The semen samples were processed, using the straw freezing procedure, and then frozen in liquid nitrogen. After rapid thawing at 40°C, the spermatozoa were subjected to several assays to evaluate semen quality. Spermatozoa frozen in a medium containing 0.01% w/v PFs exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) higher degrees of post‐thawed viability and acrosomal integrity than those stored in the absence of PFs. However, no change in the mitochondrial activity was noted between the two groups. The inclusion of 0.01% PFs in the semen extender was significantly (P < 0.05) effective in increasing both the rates of monospermic oocyte formation and of blastocyst formation. These findings indicate that preincubation with the semen extender, containing 0.01% PFs prior to freezing, exerts a protective effect on boar sperm by preventing injuries associated with freezing‐thawing.     

Correlation between skeletal muscle fiber type and responses of a taste sensing system in various beef samples

The difference of muscle fiber type composition affects several parameters related to meat quality; however, the relationship between muscle fiber types and meat taste is unclear. To elucidate this relationship, we determined the taste of various beef samples using a taste sensor (INSENT SA402B) and analyzed its correlation with different muscle fiber type composition. We used 22 kinds of beef samples and measured nine tastes, including the relative and change of membrane potential caused by adsorption (CPA) values, using six sensors (GL1, CT0, CA0, AAE, C00, and AE1). The taste sensor analysis indicated positive value outputs for the relative C00, AAE, and GL1 values as well as for the CPA value of AAE, which corresponded to bitterness, umami, sweetness, and richness, respectively. We found significant positive correlations of the myosin heavy chain 1 (MyHC1) composition with umami taste, and with richness. This result suggests that high levels of slow MyHC1 can induce strong umami taste and richness in beef. We expect that our results will contribute to the elucidation of the relationship between muscle fiber types and meat palatability.     

Inoculum effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on soybeans grown in long-term bare-fallowed field with low phosphate availability

ABSTRACT

Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase the growth of host plants, especially under condition of low phosphate (P) availability. Although this effect is shown relatively easily in simplified systems such as pot experiments, it is often hard to show in the field because of complicating factors such as competition with indigenous AMF. We conducted an AMF inoculation experiment with three Japanese soybean cultivars (Enrei, Misuzudaizu, and Akishirome) in an allophanic (Umbric Silandic) Andosol field under the long-term selective application of major nutrients (NPK and -P) and bare fallow. In the inoculation plots, introduced AMF were well colonized in soybean roots at flowering stage. In the -P plots, inoculation tended to increase the shoot dry weight of all the three soybean cultivars; this effect remained until harvest. Although a significant difference is not recognized, there was a tendency of residual effect on Enrei in the following year. In the NPK plots, inoculation did not significantly increase the shoot dry weight. We thought that in the -P plots, the long-term selective application of N and K and the long-term maintenance of bare fallow created the soil conditions of low P availability and poor native AMF. Thus, introduced AMF can benefit soybean growth and yield in the soil with low competitor AMF density and low phosphate availability.     

Plant viruses and viroids in Japan

Journal of General Plant Pathology - An increasing number of plant viruses and viroids have been reported from all over the world due largely to metavirogenomics approaches with technological...