Effect of anthocyanin‐rich corn silage on digestibility,milk production and plasma enzyme activities in lactating dairy cows

Anthocyanin in purple corn (Zea mays L.) has been reported to show several functional and biological attributes, displaying antioxidant, antiobesity and antidiabetic effects in monogastric animals. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding anthocyanin‐rich corn (Zea mays L., Choko C922) silage on digestibility, milk production and plasma enzyme activities in lactating dairy cows. The cows were fed diets based on the control corn or the anthocyanin‐rich corn silage (AR treatment) in a crossover design. The anthocyanin‐rich corn silage‐based diet had a lower starch content, nutrient digestibility and total digestible nutrients content when compared to the control diet. The milk yield, lactose and solids‐not‐fat contents in the AR‐treatment cows were lower than in the control cows. The feeding of the anthocyanin‐rich corn silage led to a reduction in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity and an increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the plasma. These data suggest that the anthocyanin‐rich corn has a lowering effect on AST activity with concomitant enhancement of SOD activity in lactating dairy cows. However, a new variety of anthocyanin‐rich corn with good nutritional value is needed for practical use as a ruminant feed.     

Association of BoLA‐DRB3 alleles with mastitis resistance and susceptibility in Japanese Holstein cows

In this study, 714 cows from 26 dairy herds were reclassified as healthy or mastitic cows on the basis of long‐term somatic cell count (SCC) in milk. Cows with more than three consecutive lactation records of SCC from the first or second to fifth lactation, were selected, and their BoLA‐DRB3 (DRB3) alleles were identified using polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) method. Cows with an SCC of < 200 000 cells/mL in all monthly records were classified as healthy (n = 91). Cows with an SCC of > 300 000 cells/mL in two consecutive tests or four non‐consecutive tests or cows with an SCC of > 500 000 cells/mL in any one test during lactation, regardless of parity, were classified as mastitic (n = 201). Mastitic cows (n = 153) from another 40 herds were considered to be infected if bacteriological testing revealed mastitis pathogens in milk. Their DRB3 alleles were identified using PCR‐sequence‐based typing (PCR‐SBT). The differences in DRB3 allelic frequencies between healthy cows and cows with various degrees of mastitis were re‐investigated. Moreover, the associations of various amino acid motifs in DRB3 alleles with resistance or susceptibility to mastitis pathogens were re‐examined. DRB3.2*8(DRB3*1201) and DRB3.2*16(DRB3*1501) alleles were found to be associated with susceptibility, while DRB3.2*22(DRB3*1101), DRB3.2*23(DRB3*2703), and DRB3.2*24(DRB3*0101) alleles were found to be associated with resistance.     

Effect of replacing corn with brown rice grain in a total mixed ration silage on milk production,ruminal fermentation and nitrogen balance in lactating dairy cows

Nine multiparous Holstein cows were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design to determine the effects of substituting corn grain with brown rice (BR) grain in total mixed ration (TMR) silage on milk yield, ruminal fermentation and nitrogen (N) balance. The TMR silages were made from the ensiling of TMR containing (dry matter basis) 50.1% forage in rice silage and corn silage combination, and 49.9% concentrate. The grain portion of the diets contained 31.2% steam‐flaked corn, 31.2% steam‐flaked BR or an equal mixture of corn and BR. Dietary treatments did not affect dry matter intake, milk yield and milk fat, protein and lactose yields. The ruminal pH and total volatile fatty acid concentrations were not affected by dietary treatment. The urinary N excretion decreased linearly (P < 0.01) in response to increased levels of BR, with no dietary effect on N intake, N secretion in milk and fecal N excretion. Our results indicate that steam‐flaked BR is a suitable replacement for steam‐flaked corn in dairy cow diets, and that it can be included in rations to a level of at least 31.2% of dry matter without adverse effects on milk production, when cows were fed rice silage and corn silage‐based diets.     

Anthracnose of bacopa caused by Colletotrichum destructivum

Severe spotting and blighting of leaves were found on bacopa (Sutera cordata), a scrophulariaceous ornamental, in greenhouses in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, from January through February 2007. After we isolated and identified the causal fungus as Colletotrichum destructivum and inoculated host plants with the isolate to confirm pathogenicity, we named this new disease anthracnose of bacopa.     

Development of AFLP-derived SCAR markers associated with resistance to two races of southern root-knot nematode in sweetpotato

The southern root-knot nematode (SRKN) Meloidogyne incognita severely damages yield and quality in sweetpotato production, and host plant resistance is one of the primary options for SRKN control. Segregation of F₁ progeny resistant and susceptible to the SP1 and SP2 races of SRKN suggested that the race-specific resistance of the sweetpotato cultivar ??Hi-Starch?? is mostly controlled by single genes and that the genes for resistance against each race are closely located. Bulked segregant analysis and subsequent analysis of 86 F₁ progeny plants identified nine amplified fragment-length polymorphism markers associated with SRKN resistance and a single linkage map consisting of seven of these markers. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis using the segregating resistance data of the F₁ progeny allowed mapping of both a locus with a large effect on resistance to the SRKN race SP1 and another affecting resistance to SP2 to the region around E33M53_090 that was designated as qRmi(t). Two AFLP markers in the vicinity of qRmi(t), E33M53_090 and E41M32_206, were converted to locus-specific sequence-characterized amplified region markers based on their internal and adjacent DNA sequences. These markers might be useful for marker-assisted selection of SRKN resistance in sweetpotato breeding and as a first step to map-based cloning of the responsible QTL(s).     

Morphological and behavioral indicators of reproductive premolt females of the helmet crab Telmessus cheiragonus

Fisheries Science - Evaluation of the molting stage of crustaceans is essential for studying their mating behavior because of molt-dependent changes in their behavior. For example, in species in...     

Transgenic Nicotiana occidentalis Plants Expressing the 50-kDa Protein of Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus Display Increased Susceptibility to Homologous Virus, but Strong Resistance to Grapevine berry inner necrosis virus

ABSTRACT The 50-kDa protein (P50) encoded by the open reading frame 2 of Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), a putative movement protein, was expressed in transgenic Nicotiana occidentalis plants. P50 in transgenic plants was mainly detected in a modified form in the cell wall fraction, similar to that in infected leaves. The P50-expressing plants (P50 plants) complemented the systemic spread of the P50-defective mutants of an infectious cDNA clone of ACLSV (pCLSF), indicating that P50 in transgenic plants was functional. Severity of symptoms was greatly enhanced and accumulation of virus in upper leaves was increased in P50 plants inoculated with pCLSF or ACLSV compared with that in nontransgenic control plants (NT plants). Conversely, transgenic plants expressing the coat protein of ACLSV (CP plants) showed a significant delay in symptom development and a reduction of virus accumulation. However, most P50 plants inoculated with Grapevine berry inner necrosis virus (GINV), another species of the genus Trichovirus, neither developed obvious symptoms nor supported virus accumulation in inoculated or upper leaves. In contrast, systemic symptoms developed and virus accumulated equally in NT and CP plants inoculated with GINV. After inoculation with Apple stem grooving virus or Apple stem pitting virus, there was no difference in symptom development and virus accumulation among P50, CP, and NT plants. Our results indicate that transgenic plants expressing a functional P50 were more susceptible to homologous virus and, on the contrary, showed strong resistance to the heterologous virus GINV.     

Comparison of Chinese and Japanese A1 isolates of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora infestans</Emphasis>

The mating type, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (Gpi) and peptidase (Pep) genotypes, RG57 fingerprint, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype of Chinese isolates of Phytophthora infestans collected in Hebei and Gansu in 1996 were compared with those of Japanese isolates collected during 1997–2000. The Chinese isolates were divided into four genotypes, one of which was identical to the dominant Japanese genotype, A1-A (mating type A1; Gpi 100/100; Pep 100/100; RG57 100010001100110100011001110: 1–25, 14a, and 24a; and mtDNA haplotype IIa). Comparison of the genotypes with reported data revealed that some completely and partially identical genotypes occur in Russia and parts of Europe. The other two A1 genotypes and one A2 genotype were also detected in Gansu (Gpi 100/100, Pep 100/100, and mtDNA haplotype Ia), which were regarded as unique to this region.     

Cytokine and inducible nitric oxide synthase gene expressions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and related clinical characteristics in Theileria orientalis sergenti-infected calves

Eight splenectomized calves were inoculated with Theileria orientalis sergenti (Tos)-infected tick gland homogenate (5 calves) or infected erythrocyte suspension (3 calves). Clinical characteristics were different in calves post-infection. Animals were divided into 3 groups on the basis of susceptibility as high, middle, and low. Increase in mRNA of IFN-gamma, IL-2, and TNF-alpha was observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells at the peak of infection and was seen to be related with pyrexia and parasitemia. Expression of IL-1, IL-4, and inducible nitric oxide synthase was not observed. Decreased plasma nitrite/nitrate level was observed in the groups. The results of this study indicate that Th1 response is the predominant response in Tos infection, and this response is also related with their clinical characteristics.     

Significance of CCN2 expression in bovine preimplantation development

In mammalian preimplantation development, the first cell lineage segregation occurs during the blastocyst stage, when the inner cell mass and trophectoderm (TE) differentiate. Species‐specific analyses are essential to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underlie this process, since they differ between various species. We previously showed that the reciprocal regulation of CCN2 and TEAD4 is required for proper TE differentiation in bovine blastocysts; however, the function of CCN2 during early embryogenesis has remained otherwise elusive. The present study assessed the spatiotemporal expression dynamics of CCN2 in bovine embryos, and evaluated how changes to CCN2 expression (using a CCN2 knockdown (KD) blastocyst model) regulate the expression of pluripotency‐related genes such as OCT4 and NANOG. The conducted quantitative PCR analysis revealed that CCN2 mRNA was expressed in bovine oocytes (at the metaphase stage of their second meiosis) and embryos. Similarly, immunostaining detected both cytoplasmic and nuclear CCN2 at all analyzed oocyte and embryonic stages. Finally, both OCT4 and NANOG expression levels were shown to be significantly reduced in CCN2 KD blastocysts. Together, these results demonstrate that bovine CCN2 exhibits unique expression patterns during preimplantation development, and is required for the proper expression of key regulatory genes in bovine blastocysts.