Survival and fertility rate of cooled dromedary camel spermatozoa supplemented with catalase enzyme

The present study was planned to study the effects of addition of different concentrations of catalase enzyme (0, 250, 500 and 1,000 IU/ml) to cooled dromedary camel semen extended with tris-yolk-fructose extender on semen quality during storage at 5 C for up to 5 days. Conception rates of she-camels artificially inseminated with whole fresh or extended cooled dromedary camel semen with or without 500 IU/ml catalase enzyme were also estimated. The results showed that addition of catalase enzyme at concentrations of 250 or 500 IU/ml to extended cooled dromedary camel semen significantly increased (P<0.01) the percentage of sperm motility and significantly decreased (P<0.01) the percentages of dead spermatozoa, sperm abnormalities and acrosomal damage. The highest (P<0.01) percentage of sperm motility was recorded with extended cooled dromedary camel semen supplemented with catalase enzyme at a concentration of 500 IU/ml, and the lowest (P<0.01) value was recorded with catalase enzyme at a concentration of 1000 IU/ml. On the other hand, the lowest (P<0.01) percentages of dead spermatozoa, sperm abnormalities and acrosomal damage of spermatozoa were recorded with extended cooled dromedary camel semen supplemented with 500 IU/ml, and the highest (P<0.01) values were recorded with catalase enzyme at a concentration of 1,000 IU/ml. Advancement of the storage time at 5 C significantly decreased (P<0.01) the percentage of sperm motility and significantly increased (P<0.01) the percentages of dead spermatozoa, sperm abnormalities and acrosomal damage of spermatozoa. Moreover, the conception rates of she-camels artificially inseminated with whole fresh, extended cooled dromedary camel semen free-catalase enzyme and extended cooled dromedary camel semen supplemented with catalase enzyme at a concentration of 500 IU/ml were 46.15, 22.22 and 37.50%, respectively. In conclusion, the results show that addition of catalase enzyme at a concentration of 500 IU/ml to semen extender can be used as an agent for prolongation of dromedary camel sperm cell survival during storage at 5 C.     

Serological survey of Brucella abortus antibody prevalence in the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) from eastern Sudan

A five year investigation of Brucella antibody prevalence in camel sera was conducted in 1502 one-humped camels of both sexes and different ages. The average (mean +/- SD) incidence rate of positive results was 6.95 +/- 1.55%. Among adult one-humped camels, the rate was 4.94 +/- 2.51% in males and 13.76 +/- 4.41% in females. Juvenile one-humped camel calves showed a 0% incidence rate in males and a 1.82 +/- 3.64% in females. Antibodies against Brucella abortus were prevalent in one-humped camel sera throughout the five years of the survey with incidence rates of 6.54, 5.79, 9.32, 5.03 and 8.06%, respectively from 1985 to 1989.     

Effect of dietary inclusion of Leucaena leucocephala or Moringa oleifera leaf meal on performance of growing rabbits

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of including either Leucaena leucocephala (LLM) or Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) as tropical feed resources at two levels (30 or 40 %) on growth performance, carcass traits, and economical efficiency of growing rabbits. A total of 60 California growing rabbits were randomly distributed into five experimental groups, each consisting of 12 rabbits and were allocated individually; the groups were control, 30 % LLM, 40 % LLM, 30 % MOLM, and 40 % MOLM. The experimental period lasted from 6 to 12 weeks of age. The results showed that rabbits fed control and 30 % MOLM diets had significantly the highest final body weight and daily weight gain being 2,040 and 2,000 g and 31.6 and 30.6 g/day, respectively. Similarly, the best feed conversion ratio was associated with 30 % MOLM and control groups (3.2 and 3.4), while the worst value was for 40 % LLM group (5.2). MOLM treatments recorded significantly the highest dressing percentage along with control group. The inclusion of MOLM by 30 and 40 % improved the economical efficiency (2 and 1.5) in comparison with the control group (1.1). The results suggest that MOLM can be included in growing rabbit diets up to 40 % without any adverse effect on growth performance or carcass traits with higher economical efficiency of growing rabbits.     

Anti-inflammatory response of dietary vitamin E and its effects on pain and joint structures during early stages of surgically induced osteoarthritis in dogs

There is evidence that vitamin E (VE) has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties in human osteoarthritis (OA). This double-blinded and randomized pilot study used a broad spectrum of clinical and laboratory parameters to investigate whether such beneficial effects could be detected in a canine experimental OA model. Dogs were divided into 2 groups: control (n = 8), which received a placebo, and test group (n = 7), which received 400 IU/animal per day of VE for 55 d, starting the day after transection of the cranial cruciate ligament. Lameness and pain were assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS), numerical rating scale (NRS), and electrodermal activity (EDA) at day 0, day 28, and day 55. Cartilage and synovial inflammation lesions were assessed. One-side comparison was conducted at an alpha-threshold of 10%. At day 56, dogs were euthanized and concentrations of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), nitrogen oxides (NO_x), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) were measured in synovial fluid. Concentrations of NO_x and PGE₂ in synovial fluid were lower in the test group (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.03, respectively). Values of VAS, NRS, and EDA showed a consistent trend to be lower in the test group than in the control, while statistical significance was reached for VAS at day 55 and for EDA at day 28 (adjusted P = 0.07 in both cases). Histological analyses of cartilage showed a significant reduction in the scores of lesions in the test group. This is the first time that a study in dogs with OA using a supplement with a high dose of vitamin E showed a reduction in inflammation joint markers and histological expression, as well as a trend to improving signs of pain.     

Protective efficacy of H5 inactivated vaccines in meat turkey poults after challenge with Egyptian variant highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus

In contrast to chickens, there is a paucity of information on the potency of H5 vaccines to protect turkeys against the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus infections. In this study, 4 groups, 10 turkey poults each, were vaccinated at seven days old with one of H5N2 or H5N1 commercial vaccines or one of two prepared H5N1 vaccines from a local Egyptian variant HPAI H5N1 (EGYvar/H5N1) strain. At 35 days age, all vaccinated and 10 non vaccinated birds were challenged intranasal with 10(6) EID(50)/0.1 ml of EGYvar/H5N1. All vaccines used in this study were immunogenic in turkeys. There was no cross reaction between the commercial vaccines and the Egyptian variant H5N1 antigen as obtained by the hemagglutination inhibition test. Birds vaccinated with H5N2 vaccine were died, while other H5N1 vaccinated groups have had 20-40% mortality. The highest virus excretion was found in non-vaccinated infected and H5N2 vaccinated birds. Eleven peculiar amino acid substitutions in H5 protein of the variant strain were existed neither in the vaccine strains nor in the earliest H5N1 virus introduced into Egypt in 2006. In conclusion, single vaccination at seven days old is inadequate for protection of meat turkeys against variant HPAI H5N1 challenge and multi-dose vaccination at older age is recommended. For the foreseeable future, continuous evaluation of the current vaccines in H5N1 endemic countries in the face of virus evolution is a paramount challenge to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the virus.     

Tuberculosis seroprevalence and comparison of hematology and biochemistry parameters between seropositive and seronegative captive Asian elephants of Nepal

We conducted a tuberculosis (TB) serosurveillance program of captive elephants in Nepal and compared hematology and biochemistry parameters between seropositive and seronegative elephants. A total of 153 elephants (male=20, female=133) from four national parks were tested for TB using the ElephantTB STAT-PAK^® Assay (ChemBio Diagnostic Systems, Inc., Medford, NY, USA). The mean reported age for 138 elephants was 38.5 years (range 2–71 years). Seroprevalence for TB was 21.56% (33/153). The majority of seropositive elephants were female (n=30) and from Chitwan National Park (n=29). The occurrence of TB seropositive cases in other more remote national parks suggests TB may be widespread among the captive elephant population of Nepal. Hematology and biochemistry analyses were performed on 13 and 22 seropositive elephants, respectively and, nine elephants from a seronegative TB herd for comparison. Hematology parameters (hemoglobin, packed cell volume, platelet, white blood cells, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate) were comparable between the two groups. Total protein, globulin, and lactate dehydrogenase were significantly higher in seronegative elephants, and bilirubin was significantly higher in seropositive elephants whereas blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase/aspartate aminotransferase (GOT/AST), glutamic pyruvic transaminase/alanine aminotransferase (GPT/ALT), gamma glutamyl transferase (GT), and albumin were not significantly different. The range of biochemical parameters that were significantly different between seropositive and seronegative elephants had narrow ranges. Thus, the potential of these parameters as a direct biomarker for TB diagnosis is limited based on the findings in this study. We recommend including blood parameters in future TB surveillance studies.     

Production of genetically uniform plants from shoot tips of Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. – a critically endangered medicinal herb

We report the successful micropropagation of a critically endangered medicinal plant Aconitum heterophyllum Wall., using low concentrations of plant growth regulators (PGRs) and molecular validation of the clonal stocks. The maximum rate of in vitro shoot multiplication was obtained on 1.0 × Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.25 mg L^?1 Kinetin (Kn) plus 0.25 mg L^?1 Indole acetic acid (IAA). Up to 100% rooting was obtained 15 for shoots cultured on 1.0 × MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L^?1 IAA. Adding 0.25 mg L^?1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) to 1.0 × MS medium resulted in 100% callus formation, while adding 0.25 mg L^?1 IAA plus 0.25 mg L^?1 Kn to 1.0 × MS medium containing 0.25 mg L^?1 2,4-D resulted in 100% generation of embryogenic callus. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) marker analysis was carried out to check for possible somaclonal variation in the plantlets obtained after three consecutive sub-cultures. Of the 15 ISSR primers used, 10 were found to be monomorphic, with 95–98% similarity, and were used for cluster analysis by the unweighted pair group using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) method. The results revealed that in vitro-regenerated plantlets did not exhibit any genetic polymorphism.     

Physiological and biochemical responses for two cultivars of Pisum sativum (“Merveille de Kelvedon” and “Lincoln”) to iron deficiency conditions

The aim of this work was to compare the tolerance and the physiological responses to Fe deficiency of two Pisum sativum cultivars (“Merveille de kelvedon” and “Lincoln”) commonly cultivated in Tunisia. We studied the effects of Fe deficiency on: (i) chlorophyll content, relative growth rate (RGR) and Fe status, (ii) rhizosphere acidification, (iii) changes under Fe-deficient conditions in the activities of two root enzymes, the first related to the proton extrusion (H⁺-ATPase) and the second to iron reduction mechanism (Fe(III)-chelate-reductase: FCR). Three treatments were used: C, control, complete nutrient solution (CNS) containing 30 μM Fe; DD, direct deficiency, CNS without iron; ID, indirect deficiency, CNS containing 30 μM Fe + lime. Fe deficiency led to a significant decrease of chlorophyll content in both cultivars. The below reduction was observed in Fe-deficient plants of Merveille de Kelvedon. In addition, relative growth of shoots and whole plant was not affected by Fe deficiency. H⁺-ATPase and FCR activities were more stimulated in Merveille de Kelvedon than in Lincoln, under DD and ID Fe deficiency. The capacity of this cultivar to maintain plant growth and to preserve adequate chlorophyll synthesis under iron-limiting conditions is related to its better Fe-use efficiency, in addition to its high acidification and root reducing capacities. This allows us to suggest that Merveille de Kelvedon is more effective in overcoming Fe deficiency than Lincoln.     

Adventitious shoot regeneration and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of leaf explants of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.)

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) remains recalcitrant for genetic transformation due to the lack of efficient plant regeneration systems via organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis. In this study, in vitro shoot cultures were derived from a single mature embryo (open pollinated) of ‘Selah’ sweet cherry. Leaf explants were cultured on Woody Plant Medium supplemented with different plant growth regulators to induce shoot regeneration. The optimal regeneration at a frequency of 32.5% and an average of 1.1 shoots per explant occurred on the medium containing 4.54 µM thidiazuron (TDZ) and 2.95 µM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Transient transformation showed an efficient delivery of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene (gusA) using Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105. Under the optimal gene delivery conditions, stable transformations were conducted using pGA643 and pBI-VcFT containing a blueberry FLOWERING LOCUS T (VcFT). A total of 500 leaf explants, 250 for each construct, were used for transformation. After 10-week selection, three leaf explants transformed with the pGA643 produced four kanamycin-resistant shoots, in which stable integration and expression of the nptII were confirmed by Southern blot and RT-PCR analysis, respectively. This study demonstrated that it was possible to produce stable transgenic sweet cherry using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of leaf explants.     

Application of chlorophyll fluorescence for the diagnosis of salt stress in tomato “Solanum lycopersicum (variety Rio Grande)”

To study the response of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Rio Grande) to salinity, the effect on plant growth, water relations, stomatal conductance and Chlorophyll fluorescence was investigated. Tomato plants were grown in peat culture under controlled conditions and submitted during 28 days to saline stress ranging from 0 to 25, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM of NaCl. At the end of the experiment period, plant growth was significantly decreased with increasing salinity.