Identification of the core rumen bacterial taxa and their population dynamics during the fattening period in Japanese Black cattle

The rumen microbiota comprises a vast range of bacterial taxa, which may affect the production of high-quality meat in Japanese Black cattle. The aim of this study was to identify core rumen microbiota in rumen fluid samples collected from 74 Japanese Black cattle raised under different dietary conditions using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. In the rumen of fattening Japanese Black cattle, 10 bacterial taxa, showing >1% average relative abundance and >95% prevalence, irrespective of the dietary conditions and the fattening periods, were identified as the core rumen bacterial taxa, which accounted for approximately 80% of the rumen microbiota in Japanese Black cattle. Additionally, population dynamics of the core rumen bacterial taxa revealed two distinct patterns: Prevotella spp. and unclassified Bacteroidales decreased in the mid-fattening period, whereas unclassified Clostridiales, unclassified Ruminococcaceae, Ruminococcus spp., and unclassified Christensenellaceae increased during the same period. Therefore, the present study reports the wide distribution of the core rumen bacterial taxa in Japanese Black cattle, and the complementary nature of the population dynamics of these core taxa, which may ensure stable rumen fermentation during the fattening period.     

奶牛高产养殖技术要点分析

随着人民物质生活水平的不断提升,畜禽产品的需求量也在不断增大,奶牛产业作为畜牧业的重要组成部分,是农牧民增产、增收的重要途径。奶牛饲养过程中,泌乳量的多少直接影响奶牛养殖场（户）的经济效益,如何让奶牛充分发挥其泌乳性能一直是奶牛养殖过程中需要解决的问题。本文在阐述高产奶牛生产特点的基础上,从多个角度分析了奶牛高产养殖技术的要点,为奶牛养殖场（户）正确进行饲养和管理,充分发挥奶牛生产性能提供理论基础。     

奶牛围产期饲养管理要点

奶牛围产期的饲养管理是规模化奶牛场生产环节中的重中之重,该项工作不仅影响奶牛泌乳量和生鲜乳品质,还直接决定新生犊牛的健康水平和奶牛的产后恢复情况。因此,各牧场需要加强奶牛围产期的饲养管理,让奶牛在分娩前后平稳过渡。本文从营养需要、分群、饲养和环境等方面介绍了奶牛围产前期和围产后期的管理需要,以期为围产期奶牛的科学饲养管理提供理论参考。     

延边黄牛MYH3和MYH8基因多态性及其与生长性状的关联分析

本研究旨在探索延边黄牛肌球蛋白重链3（MYH3）和肌球蛋白重链8（MYH8）基因多态性及其与生长性状的关联性,应用DNA直接测序法和高分辨率熔解曲线分型技术对120头24月龄延边黄牛MYH3、MYH8基因的遗传变异进行分析,并结合延边黄牛生长性状数据进行了关联分析。结果显示,在MYH3基因的29602748位点检测到一处T>G突变,包含2个等位基因：T和G,存在3种基因型：TG、TT和GG;在MYH8基因的29406042位点检测到一处C>T突变,包含2个等位基因：C和T,存在3种基因型：CT、CC和TT。关联分析显示,MYH3基因29602748位点T>G突变显著影响24月龄延边黄牛十字部高和腰角宽,表现为GG基因型十字部高显著高于TT基因型（P<0.05）,腰角宽显著高于TT和TG基因型（P<0.05）。MYH8基因29406042位点C>T突变显著影响24月龄延边黄牛体重和胸围,表现为CT和TT基因型体重显著高于CC基因型（P<0.05）;TT基因型胸围显著高于CC基因型（P<0.05）。本研究结果表明,MYH3、MYH8基因多态性与延边黄牛的部分生长性状相关,可作为现代肉牛育种中分子标记辅助选择的候选基因。     

牛羊养殖中前胃疾病鉴别诊断方法

牛羊都是反刍动物,它们拥有4个胃,分别是瘤胃、网胃、瓣胃和真胃。前3个胃统称为前胃,在前胃中有大量的可以分解和消化饲料中粗纤维的细菌,是牛羊以粗饲料作为主要食物的原因之一。很多牛羊非常容易出现前胃疾病,饲养人员要掌握牛羊前胃疾病的预防办法和治疗措施。     

Green tea polyphenols supplementation alters immunometabolism and oxidative stress in dairy cows with hyperketonemia

Peripartal cows often experience negative energy balance, and are therefore prone to suffering from metabolic diseases such as hyperketonemia, which causes financial losses in dairy farms. This study aimed to investigate the effect of green tea polyphenol (GTP) supplementation during the periparturient period on production performance, oxidative stress and immunometabolism in dairy cows with hyperketonemia. One hundred Holstein cows were assigned to GTP (0.2 g/kg DM; n = 50) or control (without GTP; n = 50) group based on body weight, previous milk yield, and parity on d 15 before expected parturition. Subsequently, 10 cows with hyperketonemia were selected from each group, according to blood β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) concentration between 1.2 and 2.9 mmol/L from 2 to 3 d postpartum. All cows were fed a close-up diet and a lactation diet with or without GTP supply from 15 d prepartum until 30 d postpartum. Milk and blood samples were obtained from 20 cows selected with hyperketonemia on 10, 20, and 30 d postpartum. Compared with control cows, greater milk yield and lower somatic cell count were observed in GTP cows. The GTP group had lower concentrations of BHBA, free fatty acids, cholesterol, triglyceride, reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, and hydrogen peroxide, greater concentrations of glucose, lower activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and glutamyl transpeptidase, alongside greater activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and total antioxidant capacity. Additionally, GTP supplementation up-regulated concentrations of interleukin-6 and interleukin-10, but down-regulated concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-2, interleukin-8, and interferon-γ in plasma. Greater concentrations of plasma immunoglobulin G were also detected in the GTP group. Overall, the data suggested that GTP supplementation from 15 d prepartum to 30 d postpartum improved the milk yield and health status in cows with hyperketonemia during early lactation.     

Utilization of digital differential display to identify differentially expressed genes related to rumen development

This study aimed to identify the genes associated with the development of the rumen epithelium by screening for candidate genes by digital differential display (DDD) in silico. Using DDD in NCBI's UniGene database, expressed sequence tag (EST)‐based gene expression profiles were analyzed in rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum and other tissues in cattle. One hundred and ten candidate genes with high expression in the rumen were derived from a library of all tissues. The expression levels of 11 genes in all candidate genes were analyzed in the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum of nine Japanese Black male calves (5‐week‐old pre‐weaning: n = 3; 15‐week‐old weaned calves: n = 6). Among the 11 genes, only 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐CoA synthase 2 (HMGCS2), aldo‐keto reductase family 1, member C1‐like (AKR1C1), and fatty acid binding protein 3 (FABP3) showed significant changes in the levels of gene expression in the rumen between the pre‐ and post‐weaning of calves. These results indicate that DDD analysis in silico can be useful for screening candidate genes related to rumen development, and that the changes in expression levels of three genes in the rumen may have been caused by weaning, aging or both. © 2015 Japanese Society of Animal Science     

Accuracy of imputation of single nucleotide polymorphism marker genotypes from low‐density panels in Japanese Black cattle

Using target and reference fattened steer populations, the performance of genotype imputation using lower‐density marker panels in Japanese Black cattle was evaluated. Population imputation was performed using BEAGLE software. Genotype information for approximately 40 000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers by Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip was available, and imputation accuracy was assessed based on the average concordance rates of the genotypes, varying equally spaced SNP densities, and the number of individuals in the reference population. Two additional statistics were also calculated as indicators of imputation performance. The concordance rates tended to be lower for SNPs with greater minor allele frequencies, or those located near the ends of the chromosomes. Longer autosomes yielded greater imputation accuracies than shorter ones. When SNPs were selected based on linkage disequilibrium information, relative imputation accuracy was slightly improved. When 3000 and 10 000 equally spaced SNPs were used, the imputation accuracies were greater than 90% and approximately 97%, respectively. These results indicate that combining genotyping using a lower‐density SNP chip with genotype imputation based on a population of individuals genotyped using a higher‐density SNP chip is a cost‐effective and valid approach for genomic prediction.