Utilization of Sake lees as Broiler Feedstuff and its Effects on Growth Performance and Intestinal Immunity

Increasing food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem, and efforts are being made to use waste food as potential livestock feed material. The amount of self-supplied feed is lower in Japan than in other countries, and the government recommends FLW use for animal feed. Sake (Japanese rice wine) is a traditional alcoholic beverage. During the sake manufacturing process, large amounts of squeezed solids or “lees” (sake lees) are generated. Sake lees are nutritious and functional, but are prone to spoilage. In this study, we investigated whether sake lees should be mixed with animal feed immediately or after drying. To assess the usefulness of sake lees as a poultry feed ingredient and determine the effect of sake lees on intestinal immunity, we performed a feeding trial with three treatments: a raw sake lees (RSL) diet, dried sake lees (DSL) diet, and control diet. Three-week-old broilers were fed these diets (n=8 per group) for two weeks. We then calculated feed efficiency and performed RT-qPCR to assess the effects of diet on intestinal immunity. The growth performance in the RSL diet group was equivalent to that in the control diet group. The DSL diet became difficult for broilers to eat, resulting in decreased growth performance. In the ileum of RSL-diet broilers, the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1 and avian β-defensin (AvBD)12 were significantly increased compared to those of control diet broilers (p<0.05), and a significant correlation was observed between the two genes (p<0.05). Our results indicated that sake lees should not be dried and should be mixed immediately with feed, and this sake lees when fed to chicken activates the intestinal immunity. However, sake lees have a lower fat content than corn, and it is thus important to combine sake lees with high-energy feed.     

Effect of oral administration of 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphyenl on the intestinal microbiota of Sprague–Dawley rats

The effect of the endocrine-disrupting chemical 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphyenl (PCB 126) on intestinal microbiota after oral administration, and the improvement of intestinal microbiota and feces quantity by the subsequent administration of Lactobacillus acidophilus or Lactobacillus reuteri was investigated. All the rats were given 100 μg/kg bodyweight of PCB 126. The changes in bacterial counts were confirmed using a culture method. The administration of PCB 126 tended to decrease the bacterial counts of lactobacilli (10^9.6−10^10.2 to 10^8.8−10^9.2) and bifidobacteria (10^5.3−10^6.1 to 10^3.6−10^4.2), and to increase those of Enterobacteriaceae (10^8.2−10^9.1 to 10^9.4−10^10.3) and staphylococci (10^6.6−10^7.4 to 10^7.2−10^8.4) compared to no PCB 126 administration. After administration of PCB 126, L. acidophilus or L. reuteri orally administered to rats caused Enterobacteriaceae and staphylococci counts to decrease, suggesting that the intestinal microbiota was improved by the lactobacilli. The administration of L. acidophilus and L. reuteri improved the balance of intestinal microbiota, and defecation volume returned to its normal level. L. acidophilus and L. reuteri have a remedial effect on intestinal microbiota affected by PCB 126 and can function to lessen accumulated PCB 126 volume.     

Genetic parameters for production traits and measures of residual feed intake in Duroc and Landrace pigs

Data on 380 Duroc boars from seven generations, and 1026 Landrace pigs (341 boars and 685 gilts) from six generations were used to estimate genetic parameters for daily gain (DG), backfat thickness (BF), metabolic weight (MWT), daily feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and residual feed intake (RFI). Two measures of RFI were estimated as the difference between actual feed intake and that predicted from models that included initial test age and weight and DG (RFI1); and initial test age and weight, DG and BF (RFI2). Heritability estimates for DG, MWT and FI were moderate for both breeds. BF estimates were high for both the breeds. The measures of feed efficiency (FCR and RFI) were moderately heritable. Genetic correlations of BF with measures of RFI were stronger when BF was not included in the estimation of RFI (0.40 and 0.46 for Duroc and Landrace, respectively (for RFI1), compared with 0.05 and 0.06 for Duroc and Landrace, respectively (for RFI2)). Genetic correlations of MWT with measures of RFI were all negative and low. Genetic and phenotypic correlations between DG and measures of RFI were close to zero, which indicated that selection for reduced RFI could be made without adversely affecting DG. BF should also decrease, and MWT should increase under selection for reduced RFI. The reduction in BF would depend on the measure of RFI used.     

Harpinpsta from Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci Is Defective and Deficient in Its Expression and HR-inducing Activity

To elucidate the role of harpins produced by Pseudomonas syringae, the corresponding hrpZ gene was isolated from P. s. pv. tabaci. The sequence information revealed that this gene carries a serious mutation with 326 bp lacking in the central region and potentially encodes only 140 N-terminal amino acids because of a frame shift. The investigation of biological properties using recombinant harpin indicated harpin_psta was incapable of inducing HR in both host and nonhost plants. Based on an immunoblot analysis to detect harpin from P. s. pathovars in hrp-inducing medium, the truncated harpin_psta was neither expressed nor secreted into the culture medium. These results suggest that harpin is not the sole determinant of the host-parasite specificity in P. s. pv. tabaci. Received 10 August 2000/ Accepted in revised form 21 December 2000     

Morphological changes and habitat shifts with growth of endangered floodplain fish: Possible adaptations to fluctuating environments

Adaptations that maximise food intake are dependent on food and/or habitat types. However, there have been few studies on the ability of floodplain primary freshwater fish to rapidly change their morphology, especially the internal one, to maximise utilisation efficiency of food resources in response to environmental fluctuations during their life history. We investigated morphological changes of an Acheilognathinae species (Acheilognathus longipinnis) that inhabits creeks in Japan to determine whether body shape variation correlated with environmental characteristics, including water depth, current velocity, vegetation cover and food availability. When shifting from floodwater-level to low-water-level season, the current velocity of the study area increased as the water level decreased, causing a significant increase in periphyton and a significant decline in zooplankton and phytoplankton. Concurrently, during the short period when A. longipinnis grow from the juvenile to the premature stage, changes in internal morphology, that is intestinal elongation, and changes in external morphology such as an increase of body depth were observed. In contrast, intestinal length significantly decreased in the adult stage. Our findings suggest that morphological changes between floodwater-level and low-water-level seasons associated with juvenile to premature development are an adaptation to changes in food availability due to environmental fluctuations. Additionally, the shortening of the intestine from the premature to the adult stage may be an adaptive strategy for reproduction.     

Hybrid aspen with a transgene for fungal manganese peroxidase is a potential contributor to phytoremediation of the environment contaminated with bisphenol A

To assess the possible utility of a fungal gene for manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) produced by a transgenic plant in phytoremediation, we transformed hybrid aspen with a chimeric gene for MnP. Our gene construct allowed expression of the gene for MnP in plants and relatively high MnP activity was detected in the hydroponic medium in which roots of plants that expressed the transgene had been cultured. Some of our transgenic plants were able to remove bisphenol A from the medium more efficiently than wild-type plants. Our results demonstrate that, without any modification of the coding sequence, a chimeric gene for fungal MnP can be expressed in a woody plant, with secretion of active MnP from roots into the rhizosphere. Our strategy suggests new options using woody plants for phytoremediation.     

Pericardial mesothelioma in a neonatal calf

We encountered an extremely rare tumor, a pericardial mesothelioma, in a neonatal calf. The patient calf showed severe abdominal distention, and died immediately after birth. The thoracic cavity was contained a huge heart with a large amount of pericardial fluid. A number of granular and cobblestone-like nodules were dispersed over the epicardium and pericardium. The nodules consisted of papillary proliferations of neoplastic cells, and the neoplasm occasionally showed mesenchymal proliferations. Immunohistochemistry revealed that they had the characteristics of mesothelial cells (cytokeratin-and vimentin-positive), and the neoplasm was diagnosed as mesothelioma.