Effects of continuous or rotational grazing of two perennial ryegrass varieties on the chemical composition of the herbage and the performance of finishing lambs

Plant breeding has developed perennial ryegrass varieties with increased concentrations of water‐soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) compared with conventional varieties. Water‐soluble carbohydrates are major metabolic and storage components in ryegrass. Therefore, if perennial ryegrass herbage is allowed to grow to greater heights it should contain higher water‐soluble carbohydrates concentrations, for example as under rotational grazing rather than continuous grazing by livestock. This study investigated this hypothesis and measured the performance of lambs grazed rotationally and continuously. Replicated plots of the variety AberDart (bred to express high WSC concentrations) or the variety Fennema were grazed by a core group of ten male Cheviot lambs for 10 weeks. Lambs were weighed and replicate forage samples were taken every 7 d. Concentrations of WSC in AberDart herbage were significantly (P < 0·05), but not substantially, higher than those in Fennema herbage. Rotational grazing did not increase the differential in WSC concentration between the AberDart and Fennema varieties. However, there was a tendency (P = 0·07) for lambs rotationally grazing the AberDart swards to have a higher final live weight than lambs grazing the Fennema swards. Overall, lamb performance was increased when either perennial ryegrass variety was rotationally rather than continuously grazed (P < 0·001).     

Effect of Physiologically Relevant Heat Shock on Development,Apoptosis and Expression of Some Genes in Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Embryos Produced In Vitro

For investigating the effects of physiologically relevant heat shock, buffalo oocytes/embryos were cultured at 38.5°C (control) or were exposed to 39.5°C (Group II) or 40.5°C (Group III) for 2 h once every day throughout in vitro maturation (IVM), fertilization (IVF) and culture (IVC). Percentage of oocytes that developed to 8‐cell, 16‐cell or blastocyst stage was lower (p < 0.05) and the number of apoptotic nuclei was higher (p < 0.05) for Group III > Group II > controls. At both 8–16‐cell and blastocyst stages, relative mRNA abundance of stress‐related genes HSP 70.1 and HSP 70.2 and pro‐apoptotic genes CASPASE‐3, BID and BAX was higher (p < 0.05) in Groups III and II than that in controls with the exception of stress‐related gene HSF1. Expression level of anti‐apoptotic genes BCL‐XL and MCL‐1 was also higher (p < 0.05) in Groups III and II than that in controls at both 8–16‐cell and blastocyst stages. Among the genes related to embryonic development, at 8–16‐cell stage, the expression level of GDF9 was higher (p < 0.05) in Group III than that in controls, whereas that of GLUT1, ZAR1 and BMP15 was not significantly different among the three groups. At the blastocyst stage, relative mRNA abundance of GLUT1 and GDF9 was higher (p < 0.05) in Group II than that in controls, whereas that of ZAR‐1 and BMP15 was not affected. The results of this study demonstrate that exposure of buffalo oocytes and embryos to elevated temperatures for duration of time that is physiologically relevant severely compromises their developmental competence, increases apoptosis and affects stress‐, apoptosis‐ and development‐related genes.     

Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) ES Cell–Like Cells are Capable of In Vitro Skeletal Myogenic Differentiation

When buffalo embryonic stem (ES) cell–like cells that expressed surface markers SSEA‐4, TRA‐1‐60, TRA‐1‐81, CD9 and CD90 and intracellular markers OCT4, SOX2 and FOXD3, as shown by immunofluorescence, and that expressed REX‐1 and NUCLEOSTEMIN as confirmed by RT‐PCR, were subjected to suspension culture in hanging drops in absence of LIF and buffalo foetal fibroblast feeder layer support, they differentiated to form three‐dimensional embryoid bodies (EBs). Of 231 EBs examined on Day 3 of suspension culture, 141 (61.3 ± 3.09%) were of compact type, whereas 90 (38.4 ± 3.12%) were of cystic type. The cells obtained from EBs were found to express NF‐68 and NESTIN (ectodermal lineage), BMP‐4 and α‐skeletal actin (mesodermal lineage), and α‐fetoprotein, GATA‐4 and HNF‐4 (endodermal lineage). When these EBs were cultured on gelatin‐coated dishes, they spontaneously differentiated to several cell types such as epithelial‐ and neuron‐like cells. When EBs were cultured in the presence of 1 or 2% DMSO or 10^?8 m or 10^?7 m retinoic acid for 25 days, ES cells could be directed to form muscle cell–like cells, the identity of which was confirmed by expression of α‐actinin by immunofluorescence and of MYF‐5, MYOD and MYOGENIN genes by RT‐PCR. MYOD was first detected on Day 10 in both treatment groups and on Day 15 in controls, whereas MYOGENIN was first detected on Day 10, Day 15 and Day 25 in the presence of retinoic acid, in the presence of DMSO and in controls, respectively. The present study demonstrates the ability of buffalo ES cell–like cells to undergo directed differentiation to cells of skeletal myogenic lineage.     

Radiographic assessment of pulmonary fluid clearance and lung aeration in newborn calves delivered by elective Caesarean section

The aim of this study was to develop a radiographic standard for the assessment of pulmonary fluid clearance and lung aeration in newborn calves. Caesarean‐delivered mature calves (n = 9) underwent lung assessment by thoracic radiography as well as arterial and venous blood gas analysis within the first 30 min, 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 24 hr after birth. The results indicated that newborn calves delivered by elective Caesarean section suffered from a physiological combined respiratory and metabolic acidosis with the dominance of respiratory acidosis, and an improvement in these conditions was recorded within 24 hr after birth. Concerning the radiographic results, clear lung fields, improvement in lung expansion, air content of the lung and absence of lung opacification occurred within 24 hr of birth. Furthermore, the ventral lung quadrant showed an improvement in radiographic opacification and lung expansion earlier than the dorsal lung regions. The findings of this study support the potential role of thoracic radiography in the assessment of pulmonary fluid clearance and lung aeration in newborn calves.     

Evolution Through Innovation in Aquaculture: A Critical Review of the Greek Mariculture Industry

Marine aquaculture in Greece is a relatively new industry based on the culture of aquatic species such as the Mediterranean sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), and Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis). In the early 1980s, the results of research and development were applied to develop pilot semiacademic commercial farms. Such farms were gradually moved to the industrial scale of today, producing some 80,00–120,000 tons of finfish and up to 25,000–35,000 tons of mussels annually. The problems encountered during the adaptation of innovation to the production and management of this blue revolution is critically discussed from the early developmental phases up to the present.     

Prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time using a point‐of‐care analyser (Abaxis VSpro®) in Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus)

There are few reports of coagulation times in marsupial species. Blood samples collected from 14 Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) under anaesthesia during routine health assessments were analysed for prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) using a point‐of‐care analyser (POC) (Abaxis VSPro®). The wallabies had an aPTT mean of 78.09 s and median of 78.1 s. The PT for all wallabies was greater than 35 s, exceeding the longest time measured on the POC. Although PT was significantly longer, aPTT was similar to the manufacturer's domestic canine reference range.     

Effect of testicular tissue lysate on developmental competence of porcine oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of testicular tissue lysate (TTL) on developmental competence of germinal vesicle (GV) stage porcine oocytes. Two types of TTL were prepared through repeated freeze–thaw in liquid nitrogen, one from whole testicular tissue (wTTL) and other from either of four different sections of testes, namely just beneath the tunica albuginea (TA), from the transitional area between the seminiferous cord/tubules and the mediastinum testis (TR) and from the intermediate area (parenchymal tissue origin) and CE (cauda epididymis origin). The whole or section‐wise TTL treatments were given for 44 hr during in vitro maturation (IVM). Oocyte maturation was done in either of the two media, namely defined (high‐performance basic medium for porcine oocyte maturation, commercially available) and serum containing (TCM199). After maturation, oocytes were co‐incubated with fresh spermatozoa for 6 hr and then transferred to embryo culture media. Treatment of GV stage oocytes with wTTL (1 mg/ml) increased the cleavage and morula percentage rate (69.23 ± 6.23 and 48.15 ± 6.77, respectively) than that of their control (58.33 ± 8.08 and 32.54 ± 5.53, respectively) in defined media, and in serum‐containing media, cleavage and morula percentage rate were almost equal in both treatment (54.56 ± 7.79 and 34.70 ± 6.78, respectively) and control (59.52 ± 8.21 and 38.52 ± 6.54, respectively). However, effect of wTTL was not significant. In case of section‐wise TTL supplements, TR section significantly (p < .01) improved cleavage and morula rate (58.43 ± 7.98 and 36.14 ± 6.89, respectively) followed by TA. In conclusion, present study indicates that IVM, in vitro fertilization and in vitro culture of embryo are improved in the presence of TTL, particularly its TR section. Further study is expected to reveal the principal components of TTL which may prove useful for IVM.