Lack of effect of recombinant bovine interferon alpha I1 in the treatment of experimentally-induced bovine warts.

Fifteen four-month old calves were inoculated, on five scarified sites on each side of the neck, with a suspension of ground wart tissue from a steer naturally infected with bovine papilloma virus 1. Warts started to appear about one month postinfection and were measurable in ten calves two months postinfection, when the trial started. After stratification on the size of the warts, all fifteen calves were allocated randomly to one of the following treatment groups: twice weekly intramuscular injections of 5 mg recombinant bovine interferon alpha I1 (rBoIFN alpha I1), weekly injection of 5 mg of rBoIFN alpha I1 or placebo, for three weeks. The biggest wart on each calf at the beginning of the trial was measured and photographs of all warts were taken weekly for five weeks. An analysis of covariance on the log of the volumes of warts during the five weeks of the trial showed a significant difference between groups (p = 0.026). Warts in treated groups tended to grow faster than in the placebo group.     

Describing the growth and molt of modern domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) primary wing feathers

The use of feathers as noninvasive physiological measurements of biomarkers in poultry research is expanding. Feather molting patterns and growth rates, however, are not well described in domestic poultry. These parameters could influence the measurement of these biomarkers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the juvenile primary feather molting patterns and feather growth rates for domestic turkeys. The 10 primary wing feathers of 48 female turkeys were measured weekly from week 1 (0 d of age) to week 20. Feathers were manually measured, and the presence or absence of each primary feather was recorded weekly. Generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate if feather growth differed between the primary feathers. The molting of the juvenile primary feathers followed a typical descending pattern starting with P1 (5 wk of age), while P9 and P10 had not molted by the end of the study (20 wk of age). The average feather growth rate was 2.4 cm/wk, although there was a significant difference between the 10 primary feathers (P < 0.0001, 2.1 to 2.8 cm/wk). Over time, feather growth followed a pattern where the growth rate reaches a peak and then declines until the feather is molted. The results of this study provide a critical update of patterns of molting and feather growth in primary wing feathers of modern turkeys. This can have implications for the interpretation of physiological biomarkers, such as the longitudinal deposition of corticosterone, in the feathers of domestic turkeys.     

An assay for quantitative virulence in Rhynchosporium commune reveals an association between effector genotype and virulence

Detailed knowledge of the evolutionary genetics of virulence is needed to understand and predict host–pathogen dynamics. This study used a virulence assay based on digital image analysis and treated virulence as a quantitative rather than a binary trait. Such quantitative data may better reflect the genetic underpinning of virulence in many pathogen systems and provide better resolution in statistical investigations. A greenhouse experiment based on a common garden design was conducted to measure virulence (% of leaf area covered by lesions) of 126 genetically distinct isolates of the barley scald pathogen, Rhynchosporium commune, originating from nine field populations around the world. Virulence in this pathosystem was found to be a quantitative trait with a continuous distribution in all populations. By comparing population genetic differentiation for virulence and neutral microsatellite markers (i.e. a Q_ST/G_ST comparison), evidence that virulence is under stabilizing selection across populations was found. Heritability values were high and ranged from 0·52 to 0·96 with a mean heritability of 0·84. Virulence was positively correlated with spore production as predicted by the trade‐off theory of virulence evolution. Furthermore, an association analysis between virulence and sequence haplotypes of three known necrosis‐inducing effector genes (NIP1, NIP2 and NIP3) revealed a significant effect of NIP2 haplotypes and NIP1 deletions. Overall, the results support a quantitative model for virulence in the R. commune–barley pathosystem and very high evolutionary potential for this trait.     

Poultry science: The next 20 years?

1. The theme of the lecture is that research in poultry science has moved too far in the direction of molecular biology and away from studies with whole animals. This has happened partly because exciting prospects are opening up in the field of gene manipulation but mainly because of the use of inappropriate referees to evaluate research proposals.

2. Agricultural research is defined as work intended to benefit agriculture and directed towards those problems which seem capable of solution. Science research is something else. Too much of the money allocated for agricultural and biotechnology research is being spent on science research. The system of rewarding agricultural scientists needs to be adjusted away from counting papers published.

3. Some examples are given of problems in poultry science which seem likely to be soluble by gene manipulation. These include “essential” amino acid synthesis within the chicken, improvement of shell strength, the prevention of many diseases, but probably not the improvement of quantitative traits or of behavioural adaptation to intensive husbandry.

4. Examples are also given of problems likely to require empirical solutions, such as the benefits of acclimatisation or the long‐term response to a lighting programme. Here the need is to develop better theories to guide modelling activities.

5. The author concludes that there is much research that can and should be done in poultry science in the next 20 years but calls for a recognition that some problems cannot be solved by a “fundamental” approach but will need experiments with whole animals coupled with model‐building activities.     

The effect of feeding level and physiological status on total flow and amino acid composition of endogenous protein at the distal ileum in swine.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of BW, feed intake, and the physiological condition of the animal on the loss and amino acid composition of endogenous protein in swine. Ten growing barrows and five multiparous sows were equipped with a T-cannula in the distal ileum for digesta collection. A protein-free diet was fed to all animals. The barrows were given free access to the experimental diet. The sows also were allowed to consume the diet on an ad libitum basis, and digesta were collected during lactation and in the following gestation period. In addition, digesta from the gravid sows were collected after restricting the sows to 2 kg of feed per day. For each animal group, the endogenous losses of protein and amino acids were calculated in relation to DMI, and the amino acid composition of endogenous protein was calculated. The total endogenous gut protein loss at the distal ileum of growing pigs, lactating sows, and gestating sows, given free access to feed, was 12.4, 9.4, and 11.2 g/kg DMI, respectively. These values were not different (P > .10). However, when gestating sows were fed only 2 kg/d, 17.8 g of endogenous protein was lost per kilogram of DMI, which was higher (P < .05) than for any of the other groups. This difference was mainly caused by higher (P < .05) losses of glycine, proline, and serine. There were no differences (P > .05) in amino acid composition of endogenous protein between growing pigs, lactating sows, and gestating sows given free access to feed, but restricted-fed gestating sows had an amino acid composition of endogenous protein that was significantly different from that of the other groups. The results from the experiment showed that age, BW, and the physiological condition of the animal have little or no effect on the amount of endogenous protein and amino acids lost at the distal ileum of hogs if calculated in relation to DMI. Likewise, the amino acid composition was not affected by the BW or physiological condition of the animal. However, DMI had a significant effect on endogenous protein losses in sows as well as on amino acid composition of endogenous protein.     

Spatial Clustering of Escherichia coli with Reduced Susceptibility to Cefotaxime and Ciprofloxacin among Dairy Cattle Farms Relative to European Starling Night Roosts

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have been implicated in the dispersal of zoonotic enteric pathogens. However, their role in disseminating antimicrobial‐resistant organisms through their home range has not been clearly established. The aim of this study was to determine whether starling night roosts served as foci for spreading organisms with reduced susceptibility to antimicrobials among dairy cattle farms. Bovine faecal pats were collected from 150 dairy farms in Ohio. Each farm was visited twice (in summer and fall) between 2007 and 2009. A total of 1490 samples (10 samples/farm over two visits) were tested for Escherichia coli with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin. Using a spatial scan statistic, focal scans were conducted to determine whether clusters of farms with a high prevalence of organisms with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin surrounded starling night roosts. Faecal pats 13.42% and 13.56% of samples carried Escherichia coli with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin, respectively. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) spatial clusters of faecal pats with high prevalence of Escherichia coli showing reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin were identified around these night roosts. This finding suggests that the risk of carriage of organisms with reduced susceptibility to antimicrobials in cattle closer to starling night roosts was higher compared to cattle located on farms further from these sites. Starlings might have an important role in spreading antimicrobial‐resistant E. coli to livestock environments, thus posing a threat to animal and public health.     

Diagnosis of ovine fascioliasis by a dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: a rapid microdiagnostic technique

A microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-ELISA) was modified for making an immunodiagnosis of Fasciola hepatica infections in sheep. Sheep were alloted as follows: group I-3 controls and 4 principals, each inoculated with 500 metacercariae; group II-3 controls and 7 principals, each inoculated with 250 metacercariae; and group III-3 controls and 7 principals, each inoculated with 500 metacercariae. Blood and fecal samples were collected from each animal every 2 weeks for 16 weeks. Presence (or absence) of flukes was confirmed by fecal examinations and examination of dissected livers at necropsy of the sheep. The dot-ELISA incubations were done at ambient room temperature. Nitrocellulose disks dotted with 1 microliter (50 ng of protein) of F hepatica excretory/secretory products were placed in 96-well tissue culture plates. After nonspecific binding sites on the disks were bound with bovine serum albumin-triethanolamine-buffered saline solution, dilutions (1:2) of positive- and negative-control serum samples or experimental serum samples were placed in appropriate wells for a 30-minute incubation. Wells were washed (3 times), and 50 microliters of horseradish peroxidase conjugated rabbit anti-sheep immunoglobulin G was added to each well for a 30-minute incubation and then aspirated. Substrate solution (4-chloro-1-naphthol, methanol, triethanolamine-buffered saline solution, and H2O2; 50 microliters) was added for a 30-minute incubation and then aspirated. Disks were air dried for visualization: solid purple dot = positive sample, or no dot = negative sample.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Prestorage heat treatment reduces pathogenicity of Penicillium expansum in apple fruit

Penicillium expansum is one of the main postharvest pathogens of apples in Israel. Heating apple fruit inoculated with P. expansum for 96 h at 38°C completely inhibited decay development. Fruit held for 24 h at 42°C or 12 h at 46°C had significantly reduced decay after an additional 14 days incubation at 20°C, compared with unheated inoculated control fruit. Mycelial growth and percentage spore germination in vitro were inversely proportional to length of time of exposure to various temperatures. The ET₅₀ for spore germination was 42, 34 and 20 h at 38, 42 and 46°C, respectively, while the ET₅₀ for mycelial growth was 48, 44 and 36 h at those temperatures. When Penicillium spores were incubated on crude extract prepared from the peel of apple fruits held 4 days at 38°C, germ tube elongation was significantly reduced, while the walls of the tubes were thicker, compared with germ tubes from spores incubated on crude extract prepared from peel of non-heated fruit. The evidence presented here supports the hypothesis that the effect of heating on the decay of apples caused by P. expansum is not only the result of direct inhibition of fungal germination and growth by high temperature, but is also partly due to the formation of an inhibitory substance in the heated peel.