Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella on midwest and northeast USA dairy farms

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella isolated from dairy herds in New York, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, USA. Serogroup and antimicrobial susceptibility characteristics were determined for Salmonella from cattle and environmental samples collected during August 2000–October 2001 as part of a longitudinal study where 129 herds were visited at 2-month intervals. Salmonella isolates were tested (using a broth microdilution method) for susceptibility to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ampicillin, ceftiofur, ceftriaxone, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Of the 1506 isolates tested for minimum inhibitory concentrations to these 14 antimicrobial agents, 81.2% were pan-susceptible and for most herds (81.6%) the predominant antimicrobial resistance pattern was pan-susceptible. At least 1 Salmonella isolate resistant to 5 or more antimicrobial agents was found on 23.6% of herds. This resistance phenotype was most common among serogroups B and E1 and among samples from calves and farmer-designated sick cows. Resistant samples most frequently exhibited resistance to tetracycline, streptomycin, and/or ampicillin. No samples were resistant to ceftriaxone (though 13 were in the intermediate range), and very few samples were resistant to ciprofloxacin (n = 1), nalidixic acid (n = 5), or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (n = 7).     

Genomic prediction for meat and carcass traits in Nellore cattle using a Markov blanket algorithm

This study was carried out to evaluate the advantage of preselecting SNP markers using Markov blanket algorithm regarding the accuracy of genomic prediction for carcass and meat quality traits in Nellore cattle. This study considered 3675, 3680, 3660 and 524 records of rib eye area (REA), back fat thickness (BF), rump fat (RF), and Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF), respectively, from the Nellore Brazil Breeding Program. The animals have been genotyped using low-density SNP panel (30 k), and subsequently imputed for arrays with 777 k SNPs. Four Bayesian specifications of genomic regression models, namely Bayes A, Bayes B, Bayes Cπ and Bayesian Ridge Regression methods were compared in terms of prediction accuracy using a five folds cross-validation. Prediction accuracy for REA, BF and RF was all similar using the Bayesian Alphabet models, ranging from 0.75 to 0.95. For WBSF, the predictive ability was higher using Bayes B (0.47) than other methods (0.39 to 0.42). Although the prediction accuracies using Markov blanket of SNP markers were lower than those using all SNPs, for WBSF the relative gain was lower than 13%. With a subset of informative SNPs markers, identified using Markov blanket, probably, is possible to capture a large proportion of the genetic variance for WBSF. The development of low-density and customized arrays using Markov blanket might be cost-effective to perform a genomic selection for this trait, increasing the number of evaluated animals, improving the management decisions based on genomic information and applying genomic selection on a large scale.     

突破肉牛产业发展效益瓶颈问题的探讨

随着肉牛产业从持续火热期逐渐回落,加上饲料价格的新一轮上涨,出栏育肥牛盈利空间被极度压缩,一度出现一定比例的亏损和弃养现象。这是市场规律调节的结果,是养殖业必然要经历的市场阵痛期。所以仅仅依靠高行情去获得盈利,促进肉牛产业的发展是不可能长久的。本文阐述了从提高种牛品质、提高母牛繁殖性能、抓好犊牛培育及早期断奶、粗饲料储备等几方面着手,抓技术提质增效,抓管理降低成本,理顺养牛投资理念,使肉牛产业安全走出低谷期,以突破肉牛产业发展效益瓶颈。这是市场规律调节的结果,是养殖业必然都要经过的市场阵痛期。所以仅仅依靠高行情去获得盈利,促进肉牛产业的发展是不可能长久的。文章阐述了从提高种牛品质、提高母牛繁殖性能、抓好犊牛培育及早期断奶、粗饲料储备等几方面着手,抓技术提质增效,抓管理降低成本,理顺养牛投资理念,使肉牛产业安全走出低谷期,以突破肉牛产业养殖效益瓶颈。     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定猪牛组织中甲基盐霉素残留量

建立超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定猪牛组织中甲基盐霉素残留量。猪、牛组织中残留的甲基盐霉素,经乙腈溶液提取,硅胶固相萃取柱净化,超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定,外标法定量。甲基盐霉素在5 ng/mL～250 ng/mL的浓度范围内呈现良好的线性关系,甲基盐霉素在猪、牛肌肉、肝脏、肾脏、脂肪中的检测限均为2.5μg/kg,定量限均为5.0μg/kg,猪牛肌肉、肝脏、肾脏、脂肪中5.0 ng/g～100 ng/g添加浓度范围内的回收率均值为71.9%～88.4%,批内批间RSD值均<15%。     

Plasma lipopolysaccharide elevations in cattle associated with early-stage infection by Fasciola hepatica

Fasciolosis is an endemic zoonotic parasitic disease with significant impacts on human health and both animal health and production. Early post-infection impacts on the host remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the changes, if any, to levels of endotoxin in cattle plasma in response to early-stage infection with Fasciola hepatica. Thirty-six (36) commercial bred cattle were experimentally infected with approximately 400 viable metacercariae. Plasma lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) levels were examined on 24 occasions from 0 h before infection to 336 h after infection using the Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate chromogenic end point assay and compared with that of six (6) uninfected control animals. Peak lipopolysaccharide levels in infected animals were reached at 52 h after infection and returned to pre-infection levels at time 144 h after infection. Infected animals had significantly elevated lipopolysaccharide levels between 24 and 120 h after infection when compared to uninfected animals. The mean change in endotoxin units (EU)/mL over time after infection was statistically significant in infected animals. Elevations of lipopolysaccharide occurred in all infected animals suggesting a possible repeatable and titratable endotoxemia conducive to therapeutic agent model development.     

Effects of silvopastoral areas on milk production at dual-purpose cattle farms at the semi-humid old agricultural frontier in central Nicaragua

In extensive cattle production systems, the composition of grazing areas may significantly influence productivity. In dual-purpose cattle production systems in the lowland tropics, pasture lands with trees, so-called silvopastoral areas, are considered as being important, particularly to facilitate the management of crossbred European native cattle. The aim of the study was to quantify the effects of silvopastoral areas on production at dual-purpose cattle farms in the semi-humid lowlands of central Nicaragua. The relationships between seasonal milk production and herd data, and the proportions of land use types were examined for 74 farms by stepwise regression analysis.     

Presence of Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in the Cattle Tick Boophilus microplus and in Epithelial Tissue Culture Cells of Chironomus tentans

A muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) has been demonstrated and partially characterized in larvae of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus. Its properties are compared with mAChR from an epithelial cell line from the dipteran insect Chironomus tentans. Competition studies with cholinergic ligands of different specificity revealed the muscarinic nature of the cholinergic receptors investigated in both species. In homogenates from tick larvae, specific binding sites for [³H]quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) with high affinity (1·2±(0·13) nM ; B_max 22·5 pmol mg protein⁻¹) were detected that do not bind nicotinic compounds specifically. The estimated IC₅₀ values for nicotine, imidacloprid and α-bungarotoxin were all in the mM range. Additionally, with tick larvae, high-affinity nicotinic binding sites were detected with [³H]nicotine which could be displaced by high concentrations of imidacloprid or QNB. The estimated IC₅₀ values for nicotine, α-bungarotoxin, imidacloprid and QNB were 43(±8) nM , 0·8(±0·2) μM , 2·8(±0·6) μM and 78(±1·9) μM , respectively. With homogenates of the non-neuronal insect cell line from C. tentans, only high-affinity binding sites for [³H]QNB were found. Muscarinic antagonists selectively displaced [³H]quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) binding to tick larvae homogenates. The mAChR of B. microplus preferred pirenzepine (IC₅₀ 2·13(±1·02) μM ) among different subtype-specific mAChR antagonists (4-DAMP had IC₅₀ 49·9(±9·13) μM and methoctramine had IC₅₀ 121(±14·2) μM ) indicating a type of binding site similar to the vertebrate M1 mAChR subtype. The tick muscarinic receptor seems to be a G-protein-coupled receptor, as concluded from the 4·8-fold reduction in receptor affinity for binding of the muscarinic agonist oxotremorine M upon treatment with the non-hydrolysable GTP-analogue γ-S-GTP. Binding data for the agonists oxotremorine M (IC₅₀ 71·3(±19·6) μM ) and carbachol (IC₅₀ 253(±87·1) μM ) parallel the biological efficacy of these compounds, in that, while oxotremorine M showed some activity against ticks, carbachol was ineffective.     

皮南牛培育及新品种审定工作进展

1986年以来,以南阳牛为母本,引进意大利皮埃蒙特牛为父本,通过杂交创新、横交固定、世代选育培育皮南牛(外血75%)。采用常规育种与全基因组选择选育相结合,实现了精准选育,提高了选择效率。培育的皮南牛屠宰率、净肉率、眼肌面积大等优点,已基本具备新品种申报条件。     

牛卵巢活动对超数排卵影响研究进展

超数排卵在实际生产中提高了胚胎移植技术对单胎动物的繁殖率,但是,超数排卵的结果存在很大的差异性。影响超数排卵结果的因素有很多,如牛的自身因素,超数排卵方法的选择,所使用促性腺激素的种类,激素的质量,环境因素等。文章以牛自身卵巢活动对超数排卵的影响为出发点,综述了牛正常卵巢活动及卵泡活动对超数排卵影响的研究进展,包括卵泡波动力学,卵泡波发育过程中促性腺激素的作用;分析了卵巢对促卵泡素(FSH)及促黄体素(LH)的特异应答性机制,对各个卵泡波进行了比较,根据卵泡波动力学理论列举了几种切实可行的同步卵泡波的超排方法,对超数排卵结果差异性的原因做了补充说明。     

浅谈云南省奶牛业

阐述了云南省奶牛业的现状,论述了云南奶牛业发展中存在的五个问题,并针对性地提出了云南省奶牛业发展的六条应对措施。总结认为首先应制定发展目标,做好发展规划,其次政府应加强宏观调控,加大对奶牛业的扶持力度,积极开拓市场,可使云南奶牛业迅速发展。