Purification and physicochemical properties of deoxyribonuclease from pyloric caeca of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhuaL.)

A deoxyribonuclease (DNase) of pancreatic origin has been purified from extracts of the pyloric caeca from Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.). The crude extract was prepared by mincing frozen caeca tissue in equal volumes of buffer. The enzyme was isolated from the supernatant after streptomycin sulfate precipitation and centrifugation. The purification scheme further included chromatography on Q-Sepharose Fast Flow and hydroxyapatite columns. Affinity adsorption chromatography of the hydroxyapatite fraction on 8-(6-aminohexyl)-amino-5′-AMP-Sepharose, revealed an apparently homogeneous protein with molecular weight of 35,000 Da as judged by NaDodSO₄-PAGE. In sum a 644-fold enzymatic enrichment and 3.5% total enzyme recovery was achieved. The cod enzyme resembles DNase I-type enzymes with an alkaline pH activity optimum and shows dependency for Mg²⁺. The pI of the enzyme is 6.5 as determined by isoelectric focusing and DNase-zymography. Our findings suggest that the nuclease is a member of the cod's digestive enzymes secreted from the connective tissue surrounding the caeca.     

Performance of Broilers Fed on Diets Containing Different Amounts of Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) Leaf Meal

The performance and gut measurements of broilers fed on diets containing different amounts of chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) leaf meal (CLM) were examined in two experiments. In the first experiment, 60 Hubbard chickens (30 males and 30 females; 2 weeks old) were fed on five maize diets; these were formulated using 0, 150 (CLM150), 250 (CLM250) or 350 (CLM350) g CLM/kg, and the fifth diet contained soyabean. In the second experiment, 148 Ross male chicks, 1 day old, were fed on three isonitrogenous and isoenergetic maize–soyabean-based diets, which included 0 (control), 150 (C150) or 250 (C250) g CLM/kg. The diets were offered ad libitum for 2 or 3 weeks in the first and second experiments, respectively. Food intake, weight gain and the food:weight gain ratio were recorded. The weight of the gizzard and intestine and the weight and length of the caeca were also determined in the second experiment. In experiment 1, the birds fed on the maize–soyabean diet had a higher (p<0.05) weight gain and final weight than birds fed on maize only or on the CLM150 diets. There were no differences for any of the variables studied between the birds fed on the maize–soyabean diet and those fed on the CLM250, nor between males and females. In the second experiment, weight gain, food intake and the food:weight gain ratio for birds fed on C250 were lower (p<0.05) than those in birds fed on either the control or C150 diets. The weights of the gizzard and intestine were the lowest and the highest, respectively, in birds fed on C250 (p<0.05). The length and weight of the caecum from birds fed on the control diet were lower (p<0.05) than those of birds fed on either the C150 or C250 diets. The results from this study suggest that CLM may be included up to 150 g/kg in commercial diets without having an adverse effect on poultry performance, and may also be mixed with maize up to 250 g/kg to improve the performance of chickens fed on low-protein diets.     

Salmonella enterica subsp. salamae serovar Sofia,a prevalent serovar in Australian broiler chickens,is also capable of transient colonisation in layers

1. Salmonella enterica subsp. salamae serovar sofia (S. sofia) is a prevalent strain of Salmonella in Australian broilers and has been isolated from broiler chickens, litter, dust, as well as pre- and post-processing carcasses, and retail chicken portions but has never been reported in commercial Australian layers or eggs.

2. To investigate whether a S. sofia isolate from a broiler could colonise layers, one-month-old Hyline brown layers were orally inoculated with S. sofia and colonisation was monitored for 2–4 weeks.

3. Overall, 30–40% of the chickens shed S. sofia from the cloaca between 6 and 14 d post-inoculation which then declined to 10% by d 21. Necropsy at 2 weeks post-inoculation revealed 80% of birds harboured S. sofia in the caecum, whilst, by 4 weeks post-infection, no chickens were colonised with S. sofia in the gastrointestinal tract, liver or spleen. Additionally, no aerosol ‘bird to bird’ transfer was evident.

4. This study demonstrated that laying hens can be colonised by broiler-derived S. sofia; however, this colonisation was transient, reaching a peak at 14 d post-inoculation, and was completely cleared by 28 d post-inoculation. The transience of colonisation of S. sofia in layers could be a factor explaining why S. sofia has never been detected when screening for Salmonella serotypes found in Australian laying hens or eggs.     

Genetic variation of body size, condition and pyloric caeca number in juvenile brown trout, Salmo trutta L.

Parental and individual variance components of body length, weight, condition (estimated as the second principal component of the length–weight relationship) and pyloric caeca number were investigated in 6‐month‐old brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) by the mean of two sib analyses, which provided consistent results. The average heritabilities (±SE) were 0.12 (±0.08) for length, 0.16 (±0.08) for weight, 0.47 (±0.14) for condition and 0.38 (±0.12) for pyloric caeca number. Maternal effects were also observed, although short of significance, in length, weight and caeca number. Correlations between caeca number and body size averaged +0.10 among individuals within lots, but genetic correlations were negative, i.e. about ?0.9 for length and ?0.7 for weight. There was no significant correlation between caeca number and condition. These results lead to question the role that pyloric caeca may play in growth, as well as their usefulness in fish breeding.     

Effects of dietary addition of Macleaya cordata alkaloid extract on growth performance,caecal indices and breast meat fatty acids profile in male broilers

The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether a low‐dietary application (15 mg/kg) of an alkaloid preparation containing quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids and obtained from Macleaya cordata (Sangrovit) influenced caecal metabolism, growth performance and long‐chain fatty acid composition of breast meat. One‐day‐old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were fed a diet without supplement or with a 15 mg/kg dose of Sangrovit (C and A groups respectively) for 5 weeks. Although the A treatment was not accompanied by an enhanced final body weight of broilers, the intake of a diet with Sangrovit influenced the caecal microflora activity. The addition of Sangrovit to a diet decreased potentially harmful β‐glucuronidase and β‐glucosidase activities (p < 0.05 and p = 0.075 respectively), and at the same time led to a significant increase in activities of bacterial glycolytic enzymes α‐glucosidase, α‐galactosidase, β‐galactosidase in comparison to the control group. The concentration of total short‐chain fatty acids in the caecal digesta was increased in the A treatment contributing to the tendency towards lower caecal pH (p = 0.078). The analysis of breast meat fatty acids showed that the dietary application of Sangrovit evoked some changes in contents of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) contents. The applied dosage of Sangrovit caused an increase in the sum of MUFA and the tendency towards lower PUFA sum (p < 0.05 and p = 0.062 respectively) as in relation with the C group. Although the nutritionally relevant n‐6/n‐3 PUFA and the (PUFA + MUFA)/saturated fatty acids ratios remained similar in both groups, further research is postulated to establish the effect of this preparation on meat quality. To sum up, despite of a lack of the improvement in final body weight, a low dose of dietary Sangrovit was found to exert positive effects on the caecal metabolism of the broilers.     

不同规格瘤背石磺胃盲囊5-羟色胺和P物质分布与数量的初步研究

将不同规格野生瘤背石磺,按8g以下、8-18g和18g以上分为三组,组织切片观察胃盲囊组织结构,并采用免疫组化方法,观察5-羟色胺和P物质在胃盲囊中分布及数量变化规律。结果表明：瘤背石磺胃盲囊主要由非纺锤型和纺锤型两种类型绒毛组成,这两种绒毛所占比例在瘤背石磺不同发育阶段明显不同,在18g以上组中以纺锤型为主,此时纺锤型所占比例(66%)约为非纺锤型(34%)的2倍。各组瘤背石磺胃盲囊中均有大量5-HT和P物质阳性细胞的分布,这些细胞主要分布于上皮粘膜层,且主要分布在非纺锤型绒毛中,5-羟色胺和P物质阳性非纺锤型绒毛比例均匀约为纺锤型绒毛的10倍。5-羟色胺和P物质阳性细胞数在瘤背石磺胃盲囊的分布规律,均有随瘤背石磺不断发育重量不断增加而增加的趋势,其中18g以上组5-羟色胺阳性细胞数（112.82个·cm-2）约为8g以下组（34.8个·cm-2）的3倍,而18g以上组P物质阳性细胞数（177.48个·cm-2）约为8g以下组（51.08个·cm-2）的3.5倍。在各组中P物质阳性细胞的数量明显高于5-羟色胺,且在不同发育段其增加趋势更为明显。结论：瘤背石磺胃盲囊5-羟色胺和P物质分布均有随体重增加而增加的趋势。这些细胞主要分布于非纺锤绒毛的粘膜上皮。其中P物质阳性细胞数明显高于5-羟色胺。