Comparative digestion of cell wall components of alfalfa hay cubes between Sika deer (Cervus nippon) and cattle

Four female Sika deer (mean bodyweight, 48 kg) and three male Holstein cattle (mean bodyweight, 209 kg) were offered alfalfa hay cubes at 2% (deer) and 2.5% (cattle) of bodyweight, respectively. The digestibility of the cell walls and cell wall components (rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, galactose and glucose) in alfalfa and its retention time of the alfalfa in the digestive tract and rumen parameters were determined. Cell walls and xylose were less digestible in the deer than in the cattle (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). The digestibility of galactose in the deer was as high as that in the cattle. The digestibility of the other sugars and total neutral sugars was numerically lower in the deer, but the differences were not significant. In the deer, mannose was most digestible, followed in order by galactose, arabinose, glucose, rhamnose and xylose; whereas, in the cattle, mannose was most digestible, followed in order by arabinose, glucose, galactose, rhamnose and xylose. The retention time in the digestive tract was shorter in the deer than in the cattle. In the deer, the number of ruminal protozoa was somewhat higher, and the concentrations of propionic acid and butyric acid were higher (P < 0.05) than in the cattle. These results indicate that Sika deer might utilize pectic polysaccharides as a carbon source in preference to glucose containing polysaccharides such as cellulose. The lower digestibility of all cell wall components except galactose in the Sika deer might be mainly due to its shorter retention time.     

Nucleotide sequence polymorphisms of beta1‐, beta2‐, and beta3‐adrenergic receptor genes on Jinhua,Meishan, Duroc and Landrace pigs

The full amino acid coding sequences of adrenergic receptor genes beta1, beta2, and beta3 (ADRB1, ADRB2, and ADRB3)were determined for Jinhua, Meishan, Duroc and Landrace pigs. Non‐synonymous substitution of Arg458Pro was found in the porcine ADRB1 gene, resulting in a 469 amino acid sequence. Continuous substitutions of Asn29Asp and Glu30Gln were found in the porcine ADRB2 gene, resulting in a 418 amino acid sequence. Additionally, a Lys30 polymorphism of the ADRB2 gene was found in the Jinhua pigs. There were three non‐synonymous substitutions of Asn24Thr, Arg264Gln and Asn398Asp on the porcine ADRB3 gene. A thymine insertion in the ADRB3 gene, resulting in a protein with two fewer amino acids, was found in the Jinhua and Meishan pigs. To assess the effect of ADRB polymorphisms on porcine subcutaneous fat layer thickness, we calculated the genetic frequency of the variants in fatty and lean groups, each consisting of 24 pigs that were crossbreds of Duroc and Jinhua pigs. The effect of the ADRB3 gene polymorphism was not evaluated, because there was insufficient variation on the ADRB3 gene in the examined groups. Although Fisher's exact test showed no significant difference in the frequency of ADRB1 and ADBR2 variants between the two groups, the Arg458 variant of ADRB1 was higher (P = 0.11) in the lean group, and pigs in that group had a thinner fat layer than did those with the Pro458 variant. These results imply a possibility of ADRB1 polymorphism as a minor factor in porcine fat layer thickness. The Asp29 variant of ADRB2 was higher in the lean group (P = 0.11), and the Glu30 variant was higher in the fatty group (P = 0.15), but the Asp29 variant was found only in the Chinese pigs. Thus, the effect of ADRB2 polymorphisms was not clear in this study.     

Expression analysis of CCL27 and CCL28 mRNA in lesional and non-lesional skin of dogs with atopic dermatitis

Chemokines are important regulators of the selective recruitment of inflammatory cells into sites of allergic inflammation. Since canine atopic dermatitis (AD) shares many clinical features of human AD, patterns of chemokine production in dogs may also be similar with those in humans. The aim of this study was to examine mRNA expression of CCL27 and CCL28 in lesional skin of dogs with AD to demonstrate similarity of chemokine production with human counterparts. RNA was extracted from skin biopsy specimens of 12 dogs with AD. The mRNA expression of CC chemokines (CCL4, CCL19, CCL20, CCL21, CCL24, CCL27 and CCL28) was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and was compared between lesional and non-lesional skin. Seven types of chemokines examined were constitutively expressed in both lesional and non-lesional skin. It was found that mRNA expression levels of CCL27 and CCL28 among the chemokines were significantly different between lesional and non-lesional skin (P<0.05). Expression level of CCL27 mRNA in lesional skin was significantly lower than that in non-lesional skin. On the other hand, CCL28 mRNA expression in lesional skin was found to be higher than that in non-lesional skin. These results suggest that CCL28 but not CCL27 may play important roles in immunopathogenesis of canine AD, indicating that experimental canine study may provide additional information that can be extrapolated to human AD.     

Urinary albumin and transferrin as early diagnostic markers of chronic kidney disease

Feline renal diseases are increasingly noted in veterinary practice. It is important to diagnose and identify the pathological basis of renal dysfunction accurately at an early stage, but there are only a few reports on this area in clinical veterinary medicine. We investigated the efficacy of measurement of urinary albumin (u-Alb) and urinary transferrin (u-Tf) for early diagnosis using 5-µl urine samples collected noninvasively by catheterization from normal (IRIS stage I) cats and cats with stage I chronic kidney disease (CKD). The u-Alb levels in normal and stage I CKD cats were 6.0 ± 4.5 and 11.2 ± 8.4 mg/dl, respectively, and the u-Tf levels were 0.09 ± 0.42 and 0.52 ± 0.79 mg/dl, respectively. Based on ROC curve analysis, the sensitivity and specificity of u-Alb and u-Tf were higher than those of the currently used biomarker, the plasma creatinine level. The sensitivity of u-Alb was higher than that of u-Tf, whereas the specificity of u-Tf was higher than that of u-Alb. The validity of the threshold albumin level (20 mg/dl) was confirmed by measurements using SDS-PAGE. Since leakage of u-Tf in urine precedes leakage of u-Alb, inclusion of u-Tf in biochemistry tests may be appropriate for IRIS staging as a diagnostic marker of early diagnosis of renal disorder in cats.     

Branching patterns of the adrenal arteries in the degu (Octodon degus)

The degu has drawn increasing attention for use as an experimental animal in stress response studies due to its physiological features, such as diurnality and seasonal breeding, which differ from conventional laboratory rodents. Stress response is elicited by steroid hormones secreted by the adrenal gland, whose functions are controlled by pituitary hormones reaching through the adrenal arteries. However, knowledge of the arterial anatomy of the degu adrenal gland remains insufficient. To address this issue, we observed adrenal arteries in 20 male degus injected with red-colored latex. Adrenal arterial branching patterns were classified into Types 1–4, which respectively have 1 to 4 parent arteries that give rise to the adrenal arteries. Based on the combination of the parent arteries, Types 2 and 3 were categorized into subtypes a to c, while Type 4 was categorized into subtypes a and b. On the left side, Type 2 (45%) and Type 3 (45%) were predominant, whereas Type 1 (5%) and Type 4 (5%) were infrequent. On the right side, Type 2 (50%) and Type 3 (45%) were predominant, whereas Type 4 (5%) was infrequent. Type 1 was not present. There were 0 to 4 cranial, 1 to 4 middle and 1 to 4 caudal adrenal arteries, with the total number varying from 2 to 9. The present observation provides knowledge of comparative anatomical features of the degu adrenal arteries, which can serve as an anatomical basis for comparative endocrinological studies.     

Efficacy of a surgical scrub including 2% chlorhexidine acetate for canine superficial pyoderma

The clinical efficacy of a surgical scrub containing 2% chlorhexidine acetate (2CA; Nolvasan^® Surgical Scrub; Fort Dodge Animal Health, USA) was evaluated for the topical management of canine superficial pyoderma. The first study was a randomized, double‐blind, controlled trial. The control was a shampoo containing 4% chlorhexidine gluconate (4CG; Skin Clinic Shampoo; CHD MEDICS, Goyang, Korea). Ten dogs with symmetrical lesions of canine superficial pyoderma were allocated to receive either 2CA or the control shampoo applied to either side of the body twice weekly for 1 week. Both the owners and the investigators subjectively scored skin lesions including pruritus, erythema, crusted papules and scales on a scale of 0–3. The 2CA and 4CG resulted in almost the same degree of improvement of skin lesions, and there were no significant differences between the two groups. The second study was an open trial of 2CA monotherapy in eight dogs with cefalexin‐resistant Staphylococcus intermedius group‐associated superficial pyoderma. The 2CA monotherapy was applied every 2 days for 2 weeks. Five dogs improved with 2CA monotherapy, one partially improved and two did not. No adverse reactions were seen in either trial. This suggests that a 2CA surgical scrub could be a useful and safe topical adjunct therapy for dogs with superficial pyoderma involving cefalexin‐resistant Staphylococcus intermedius group.     

Northerly shift of warm‐water copepods in the western subarctic North Pacific: Continuous Plankton Recorder samples (2001–2013)

Spatial and temporal variation in copepod community structure, abundance, distribution and biodiversity were examined in the western subarctic North Pacific (40–53°N, 144–173°E) during 2001–2013. Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) observational data during the summer season (June and July) were analyzed. The latitudinal distribution of warm‐water species in June shifted northward after 2011 while no apparent latitudinal shift of cold‐water and other species was observed. Species number and the Shannon–Wiener biodiversity index (H′) in June tended to increase in the northern area after 2011. The warm‐water species abundance and center latitude of warm‐water distribution were positively correlated with sea surface temperature (SST) across sampling locations, whereas no significant correlations with SST were observed for cold‐water species or other species. Warm SSTs in June after 2011 appeared to cause the northward shift of warm‐water species distribution, which in turn contributed to the higher biodiversity in the northern area. This study demonstrated the rapid response of warm‐water species to warm SST variation, whereas cold‐water and other species did not exhibit such clear responses. These findings indicate that the response of copepods to environmental changes differs among copepod species, highlighting the importance of investigating lower trophic levels to the species level to evaluate individual species’ responses to climate change.     

Species-specific thermal denaturation pattern of fish myosin when heated as myofibrils as studied by myosin subfragment-1 and rod denaturation rates

Thermal denaturation of myofibrils from various species of fish was investigated by measuring ATPase inactivation, myosin aggregation, myosin subfragment-1 (S-1) and rod denaturation rates as studied by chymotryptic digestion. Decrease in monomeric myosin (myosin aggregation) was always faster than the ATPase inactivation for all myofibrils tested. The relative denaturation rate of rod to that of S-1 differed from species to species. Preceded denaturation of rod was observed with some species, and the opposite was true with other species. The denaturation pattern was explained by the different magnitude of S-1 stabilization by F-actin in myofibrils at low salt medium. Myofibrils which receive a great stabilization by F-actin as studied by ATPase inactivation showed the preceded rod denaturation pattern, and vice versa. S-1 portion, not F-actin, determined the different stabilization of S-1 by F-actin in myofibrils.