Herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs – a pilot study

Background

The major indication for antibiotic use in Danish pigs is treatment of intestinal diseases post weaning. Clinical decisions on antibiotic batch medication are often based on inspection of diarrhoeic pools on the pen floor. In some of these treated diarrhoea outbreaks, intestinal pathogens can only be demonstrated in a small number of pigs within the treated group (low pathogen diarrhoea). Termination of antibiotic batch medication in herds suffering from such diarrhoea could potentially reduce the consumption of antibiotics in the pig industry. The objective of the present pilot study was to suggest criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs.Data previously collected from 20 Danish herds were used to create a case series of clinical diarrhoea outbreaks normally subjected to antibiotic treatment. In the present study, these diarrhoea outbreaks were classified as low pathogen (<15% of the pigs having bacterial intestinal disease) (n =5 outbreaks) or high pathogen (≥15% of the pigs having bacterial intestinal disease) (n =15 outbreaks). Based on the case series, different diagnostic procedures were explored, and criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea were suggested. The effect of sampling variation was explored by simulation.

Results

The diagnostic procedure with the highest combined herd-level sensitivity and specificity was qPCR testing of a pooled sample containing 20 randomly selected faecal samples. The criteria for a positive test result (high pathogen diarrhoea outbreak) were an average of 1.5 diarrhoeic faecal pools on the floor of each pen in the room under investigation and a pathogenic bacterial load ≥35,000 per gram in the faecal pool tested by qPCR. The bacterial load was the sum of Lawsonia intracellularis, Brachyspira pilosicoli and Escherichia coli F4 and F18 bacteria per gram faeces. The herd-diagnostic performance was (herd-level) diagnostic sensitivity =0.99, diagnostic specificity =0.80, positive predictive value =0.94 and negative predictive value =0.96.

Conclusions

The pilot study suggests criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs. The suggested criteria should now be evaluated, and the effect of terminating antibiotic batch medication in herds identified as suffering from low pathogen diarrhoea should be explored.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2046-0481-67-24) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

家蚕中赤蚁(sch)和油蚕(od)基因对数量性状影响的遗传分析

应用家蚕BC1世代数据 ,按标记基因型重新组合成 4种类型 ,以消除标记基因型间的差异。在 4种重新组合类型中就赤蚁 (sch)和油蚕 (od)基因对茧长、全茧量和茧层量等 3种数量性状的作用进行了遗传分析 ,发现这 2种质量性状基因对茧长的影响是由与茧长主基因相连锁的连锁效应引起的 ,而sch对全茧量和茧层量可能产生减效作用。F和t测验表明 ,这 2种数量性状值在 4种基因组合类型间无论是方差比值还是平均数都达到显著或极显著水平 ,所以可认为其差异是标记基因型差异所导致的结果     

Identification of QTLs related to sugar and organic acid composition in melon using near-isogenic lines

The soluble sugar and organic acid composition of melon (Cucumis melo L.) fruit flesh has become a major focus of plant breeding worldwide in an attempt to improve taste. Thus, sugar and organic acid profiles were characterized using near-isogenic lines (NILs) derived from the Spanish cultivar Piel de Sapo (PS) and the exotic Korean accession Shongwan Charmi (PI 161375). Fruits were cultivated in only one environment. These data were used to map 60 quantitative trait loci (QTLs): 18 for individual sugars, eight for sucrose equivalents, five for the glucose-to-fructose ratio, seven for the total sugar content and 21 for organic acids. Within the QTLs that were associated with the sugar profile, 27 defined the sugar content: eight for fructose, six for glucose, four for sucrose, and nine for sucrose equivalents. Although increased sweetness of selected NILs compared with the parental PS was achieved by an increased glucose or fructose content, only glucose heritability was above 0.5. A total of 21 QTLs (two with positive effects and nineteen with detrimental effects compared with the PS levels) controlled the organic acid profile: l-glutamic, ascorbic and succinic acids (the principal ones) and fumaric, citric, oxalacetic, and isocitric acids. The levels of sugars imparted by the PI 161375 introgression frequently decreased the score grades given to NILs by consumers. Within the 32 QTLs mapped for sensory traits, 27 were associated with lower scores in taste (nine QTLs), sweetness (eight QTLs) or global quality appreciation (nine QTLs); two with increased fruit sourness or sweetness and three with increased fruit bitterness. The QTLs defined herein may assist breeders to understand the overall organoleptic balance (sweetness, sourness, and umami taste) in melon fruit, particularly those located within linkage groups III, V, VI, and VIII to XI.     

Screening,Inheritance and Linkage Marker Analyses of Salt Tolerance in Mutated Scented Japonica Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

We grew 1005 mutated scented japonica rice lines to the seventh steady genetic generation, and treated the seedlings with six true leaves with 300 mM NaCl for three days. Only the salt-tolerant line, SM61, survived. We obtained F₁, F₂ and F₃ populations from the cross between SM61 and a salt-susceptible indica variety, TCS17. After culture with 200 mM NaCl for five days, SM61 and F₁ (SM61×TCS17; TCS17×SM61) plants survived (R) while TCS17 plants did not (S). The R to S ratio in 513 F₂ plants showed a good fit to the Mendelian 3 : 1 segregation ratio by a Chi-square test indicating that the salt-tolerance of SM61 was governed by a single dominant gene. The mutated salt-tolerance gene explained close to 100% of the total phenotypic variation, and was tightly linked to RM223 (marker) located on chromosome 8, which was different from the results of previous studies investigating the relationship of QTLs with salt tolerance. This is the first report of mapping tightly linked markers of a single dominant mutated salt-tolerance gene.     

QTLs in barley controlling seedling elongation of deep-sown seeds

In drought areas, in which topsoil moisture is low, barley seeds are generally sown in the subsoil (deep-seeding). In order for the shoots of germinating seeds to emerge from the deep soil cover, the coleoptile and the first internode of the seedlings must elongate as an adaptive response to deep-seeding. Here, we have mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for these adaptive characteristics. Elongation of the coleoptile and first internode was investigated using seeds sown under two soil cover conditions: at a depth of 9 cm beneath a soil mixture; and, at a depth of 12 cm beneath vermiculite. We identified multiple alleles for increased coleoptile and first internode elongation using a doubled haploid population of 150 lines generated from a cross between the barley cultivars Harrington and TR306. Composite interval mapping analyses of the data revealed two moderate and eleven small effect QTLs, with at least one QTL on each chromosome. The QTLs on chromosomes 5H and 7H had moderate effects on coleoptile elongation (18.5–27.6% of PVE: phenotypic variance explained; 2.6–3.2 mm of Add: additive effect) and first internode elongation (PVE: 16.6–19.6%; Add: 3.1–3.2 mm). The small effect QTLs showed PVEs of less than 15% and an Add range of 1.2–3.2 mm for both characters. A marker assisted selection approach, using markers linked to the QTLs for seedling elongation at deep-seeding, may eventually enable development of drought tolerant barley hybrids.     

孑遗植物水松（Glyptostrobus pensilis）数量性状间的相关聚类分析

以屏南水松天然林为研究对象,运用尺型聚类分析方法对水松种群的25个数量性状进行聚类分析,探讨水松数量性状间的相互关系及其对水松生长、遗传及生态经济性状的影响．结果表明：水松材积与树高、冠长、胸径等性状呈显著正相关,生长性状与光合作用的面积有关;树高是决定材积的第一要素;水松在干形遗传、自然整枝等方面的遗传性较为稳定．     

基于染色体单片段代换系的水稻粒形QTL定位

水稻的粒形是影响水稻产量和品质的重要因子之一, 是由多基因控制的数量性状。染色体单片段代换系由于减少了个体间遗传背景的干扰, 已经成为鉴定复杂性状QTL的新型遗传材料。本研究以广陆矮4号为受体,日本晴为供体的119个染色体单片段代换系群体为试验材料,通过单因素方差分析和Dunnett’s多重比较,测验单片段代换系与受体亲本之间粒形的差异,鉴定了代换片段上粒形相关的QTL。以P≤0.001为阈值, 共检测到39个粒形相关的QTL。其中,粒长相关的19个,其加性效应值为0.18~1.06 mm,加性效应百分率为2.40%~14.13%;粒宽相关的14个,其加性效应值为0.09~0.31 mm,加性效应百分率为2.71%~9.15%;粒厚相关的6个,其加性效应值为0.05~0.10 mm,加性效应百分率为2.14%~4.46%。这些QTL的鉴定,为进一步精细定位并克隆相应QTL和高产、优质水稻新品种的分子标记辅助选择奠定了基础。     

粉状物质定量取料给料实验装置设计

根据有关机械原理设计出了一种新型的粉状物质定量取料给料装置,该装置结构简单,定量准确、快速,并且可以重复地取料给料。实验证明,该装置稳定可靠,具有一定的实际应用价值和推广价值。     

吊瓶精准输液技术对芒果产量的影响

采用吊瓶精准输液技术,在芒果树开花到成熟期按树体大小定量向树杆木质部注射营养液,以确定对芒果产量的增产效应,结果表明：芒果果数可增产23.85%,单果重可增产22.77%,总产量可增产52.06%,其产投比为3.38:1,是对照产投比（2.29:1）的1.48倍。通过定量分析和计算机模拟的方法推导出芒果精确施肥用药量的数学模型为?=5.15383(D)3.09674(g),对吊瓶输液技术导致芒果抗旱丰产的原因进行分析及讨论。