Use of a staphylococcal vaccine to reduce prevalence of mastitis and lower somatic cell counts in a registered Saanen dairy goat herd

This investigation evaluated the efficacy of a bacterin in reducing the prevalence of staphylococcal mastitis and somatic cell counts (SCC) in a dairy goat herd. Does were vaccinated or left as controls, and the levels of mastitis and SCC monitored over 18 months. Staphylococcus caprae (42.5%), S. xylosus (15.1%), and S. simulans (10.0%) were the predominant causes of intramammary infections (IMI). The infection rate was 1.64 IMI/doe among vaccinates, which tended to be lower (P < 0.12) than controls (2.67 IMI/doe). The spontaneous cure rate of IMI after immunization was 1.28 cures/doe in vaccinates, which was higher than controls (0.6 cures/doe; P < 0.043). Average SCC of milk samples from vaccinates tended to be lower than that of controls (1274 × 10³/ml vs. 1529 × 10³/ml, respectively) (P < 0.10). Results support the continued study of mastitis vaccines for use in managing staphylococcal mastitis and SCC in dairy goats.     

Associations between bacterial genotype and outcome of bovine clinical Staphylococcus aureus mastitis

Background

Staphylococcus aureus is an important cause of clinical mastitis in dairy cows worldwide. The cure rate after antimicrobial treatment of clinical S. aureus mastitis is very variable due to both cow and bacterial factors. Studies have shown that bacterial genotype might affect short-term bacteriological and clinical cure, but the long-term outcome has been less studied. The objectives of this study were to investigate associations between bacterial genotype and long-term outcome of veterinary-treated clinical mastitis (VTCM) caused by S. aureus during a follow-up period of 120 days and to study genotype variation among Swedish S. aureus isolates. S. aureus isolates from cases of VTCM were genotyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Long-term outcome measurements used were somatic cell count (SCC), additional diagnoses of VTCM, milk yield and culling. Isolates were classified into clusters (>80% similarity) and pulsotypes (100% similarity). Clusters and pulsotypes were grouped according to occurrence. Multivariable mixed-effect linear regression models including cow and bacterial factors with possible influence on SCC or milk yield were used to calculate differences in SCC or milk yield between groups. Additional outcome measures were calculated using a test of proportions.

Results

The isolates (n = 185) were divided into 18 clusters and 29 pulsotypes. Two pulsotypes were classified as common, and were found in 64% of the cases of VTCM. Remaining isolates were classified as less common or rare pulsotypes. The distribution was similar at cluster level. Outcome was calculated from follow-up data on 111 cows. Significantly lower SCC during the follow-up period was found in cows infected with common clusters compared to in cows infected with less common/rare clusters. The proportion of cows with SCC <200 000 cells/ml during the whole follow-up period was significantly higher in the group common clusters than in the group less common/rare clusters. Bacterial genotype did not influence the other outcome parameters.

Conclusions

In Sweden, two S. aureus pulsotypes, identified in about 64% of clinical S. aureus cases, were widespread. Cows infected with the common genotypes had significantly lower SCC during 120 days after treatment compared to cows infected with less common or rare genotypes.     

Growth,Reproductive Performance,Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality in F1 and F2 Progenies of Somatic Cell-Cloned Pigs

The objective of this study was to examine the health and meat production of cloned sows and their progenies in order to demonstrate the application of somatic cell cloning to the pig industry. This study compared the growth, reproductive performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of Landrace cloned sows, F1 progenies and F2 progenies. We measured their body weight, growth rate and feed conversion and performed a pathological analysis of their anatomy to detect abnormalities. Three of the five cloned pigs were used for a growth test. Cloned pigs grew normally and had characteristics similar to those of the control purebred Landrace pigs. Two cloned gilts were bred with a Landrace boar and used for a progeny test. F1 progenies had characteristics similar to those of the controls. Two of the F1 progeny gilts were bred with a Duroc or Large White boar and used for the progeny test. F2 progenies grew normally. There were no biological differences in growth, carcass characteristics and amino acid composition among cloned sows, F1 progenies, F2 progenies and conventional pigs. The cloned sows and F1 progenies showed normal reproductive performance. No specific abnormalities were observed by pathological analysis, with the exception of periarteritis in the F1 progenies. All pigs had a normal karyotype. These results demonstrate that cloned female pigs and their progenies have similar growth, reproductive performance and carcass quality characteristics and that somatic cell cloning could be a useful technique for conserving superior pig breeds in conventional meat production.     

A Cathepsin B Inhibitor,E-64, Improves the Preimplantation Development of Bovine Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Embryos

Bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is an important and powerful tool for basic research and biomedical and agricultural applications, however, the efficiency of SCNT has remained extremely low. In this study, we investigated the effects of cathepsin B inhibitor (E-64) supplementation of culture medium on in vitro development of bovine SCNT embryos. We initially used three concentrations of E-64 (0.1, 0.5, 1.0 μm), among which 0.5 μm resulted in the highest rate of blastocysts production after in vitro fertilization (IVF), and was therefore used for further experiments. Blastocyst development of SCNT embryos in the E-64 treatment group also increased relative to the control. Moreover, the cryosurvival rates of IVF and SCNT blastocysts were increased in E-64 treatment groups when compared with the control. On the other hand, we found that IVF and SCNT blastocysts derived from E-64-treated groups had increased total cell numbers and decreased apoptotic nuclei. Furthermore, assessment of the expression of apoptosis-related genes (Bax and Bcl-xL) in bovine IVF and SCNT blastocysts treated with E-64 by real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed suppressed expression of the pro-apoptotic gene Bax and stimulated expression of the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-xL. Taken together, these finding indicate that addition of E-64 to embryo culture medium may have important implications for improving developmental competence and preimplantation quality in bovine IVF and SCNT embryos.     

体细胞数对发酵乳品质的影响研究

为确定用于生产发酵乳的原料乳质量标准,以提高发酵乳产品品质,选用蒙牛自有牧场30头不同健康状况、不同泌乳期的荷斯坦牛原料乳,按体细胞数分为低于20万个/mL组、20万-80万个/mL组及大于80万个/mL组,在发酵乳制备的当天及样品冷藏后的第1、7、14、21天分别测定发酵的产酸曲线、发酵乳的质构特性。结果表明,随着原料乳中体细胞数的增加,产品黏度下降,弹性降低,硬度增加,pH值降低,品质下降。     

Characterization of Amaranthus cruentus L. seed proteins by 2-DE and LC/MS–MS: Identification and cloning of a novel late embryogenesis-abundant protein

Amaranth is taking great attention as an important cereal crop that could fulfill food requirements for the growing population, especially in developing countries. However, the protein composition of these seeds is not well known yet. We have used the proteomics tools to characterize amaranth seed proteome. About 400 proteins spots were resolved on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and protein spots were analyzed by LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry). Identified proteins were related to stress and defense responses, metabolic, respiratory, and oxide-reduction processes. One abundant spot was identified as a Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) protein and the gene was cloned and characterized. The AcLEA cDNA contains a 418 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 139 amino acids. Bioinformatics analysis showed that AcLEA belongs to LEAs Group 5. Proteomics is a powerful technique that could be used even in non-sequenced organisms such as amaranth. The obtained information reveals that amaranth seed, beyond the classical seed storage proteins, contains proteins related to protection against stress. The identification of these proteins opens the door to the application of new strategies to improve the quality of amaranth production.     

橡胶树体胚发生过程中的生理生化特性

以巴西橡胶树花药为外植体,研究了巴西橡胶树花药体胚发生过程中抗氧化酶活性和某些生理参数的变化。结果表明,橡胶树花药体胚发生过程中,SOD活性变化表现在培养30 d达到最高值,而后下降平缓;丙二醛(MDA)含量在第60天达到最高。生理参数的变化表现为可溶性蛋白含量0 d含量最高,可溶性糖的含量在50 d达到最高,据此认为,SOD和MDA对橡胶树花药体胚的诱导起主导作用,可溶性蛋白含量与不定芽的发生密切相关。     

奶牛乳体细胞数变化及影响因素调查

调查分析了大庆地区四个规模化牧场近3年奶牛DHI数据。结果表明,乳体细胞评分均值为5.05(其乳体细胞数均值为49万·mL-1)。75.75%的奶牛个体,其生鲜乳体细胞数小于50万·mL-1。胎次、泌乳阶段、自然月份等因素影响奶牛生鲜乳体细胞数。调查结果为牛场奶牛综合管理及制定科学可行的乳房炎防治措施提供依据。     

马尾松体细胞胚胎发生相关基因PmSERKl的克隆与表达分析

体细胞胚胎发生不仅是植物微繁、种质保存的有效手段，同时也是研究高等植物胚胎发育和遗传转化的模式系统之一。本研究从马尾松未成熟合子胚诱导的胚性细胞团中成功克隆了体胚发生受体激酶基因PmSERK1。该基因全长2303bp，包含完整的开放阅读框，编码626个氨基酸，其蛋白分子量约为69kD。序列分析发现PmSERK1与其它植物的SERK基因高度同源。系统进化树重建表明，PmSERK1与已知参与体胚发生的关键SERK基因聚为一类，如MtSERK1、CuSERK1、AtSERK，和DcSERK。表达分析显示：PmSERK1在主要的组织器官（根、茎、针叶等）略有表达；但在诱导培养的非胚性愈伤中没有检测到表达，而在经继代培养的胚性愈伤中表达很高且逐渐增加，且在培养20d时达到最高。另外，在再生的子叶胚中，PmSERK1的表达量也很高。综上所述表明，PmSERK1是与体胚发生相关的关键SERK基因的直系同源基因，可以作为愈伤组织胚性的标记基因。     

香榧体细胞胚发生、发育的形态与细胞学观察

将香榧(Torreya grandis‘Merrillii’)的未成熟合子胚置于SH+0.1 mg·L-1 NAA+500 mg·L-1AC+3%蔗糖+0.5 g·L-1 Gln培养基上暗培养45 d,诱导产生半透明颗粒状胚性愈伤组织;将胚性愈伤组织转入SH+20 g·L-1 PEG+10 mg·L-1 ABA培养基中暗培养3个月诱导体细胞胚。采用碘—碘化钾染色和石蜡切片技术对体胚起源、形态发育与细胞组织学进行了观察。结果表明:胚性愈伤组织起源于合子胚胚轴表皮或皮层细胞的对称分裂。胚性愈伤组织含有两类细胞,一种是细胞质浓厚、细胞核大、体积小的圆形胚性细胞,另一种是高度液泡化拉长的细胞。胚性愈伤组织包含由这两种细胞构成的原胚团Ⅰ、原胚团Ⅱ和原胚团Ⅲ,以及一些游离细胞。原胚团Ⅲ在无植物生长调节剂的SH基本培养基上形成原胚,原胚接入成熟培养基,历经球形、棒状、心形、鱼雷形胚后发育成子叶胚。将子叶胚转入萌发培养基后胚根伸长,胚芽发育长出针叶,形成完整的再生植株。同时在离体培养中合子胚胚柄处退化的裂生多胚也能重新发育形成胚体。在初生体胚发育过程中表面常伴有次生体细胞胚的形成。