Effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the egg quality,immune response,zinc retention,and blood parameters of laying hens in the late phase of production

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO‐NPs) on the performance, egg quality, Zn retention, immunity responses, superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), egg malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and serum parameters in laying hens in the late phase of production. A total of 288 laying hens at 64 weeks of age were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 6 replicates, and 12 birds within each group. Experimental diets included a corn‐soybean meal‐based diet (without Zn supplementation) and a basal diet supplemented with 80 mg/kg of Zn‐oxide, ZnO‐NPs, and Zn‐methionine. The results indicated that egg production and egg mass were significantly higher in the Zn‐methionine and ZnO‐NPs groups (p < .05). Also, eggshell thickness and shell strength increased in the ZnO‐NPs group as compared with the other groups (p < .05). Moreover, Zn supplementation decreased egg loss (p < .05). There were significant differences among treatments in Zn deposition in tibiotarsus, liver, pancreas, eggs, and excreta (p < .01). Antibody titre, heterophil (%(, and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were significantly higher in birds fed with Zn‐supplemented diets (p < .05). In treatments supplemented with ZnO‐NPs and Zn‐methionine, the SOD activity in the liver, pancreas, and plasma was greater as compared with the other treatments (p < .05). The MDA content in eggs was significantly reduced in groups supplemented with Zn (p < .01). Moreover, dietary Zn supplementation significantly affected serum total protein, albumin, glucose, alkaline phosphatase activity, carbonic anhydrase activity, and Zn level (p < .05). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that dietary supplementation with ZnO‐NPs can improve the performance of laying hens. Therefore, ZnO‐NPs can enhance zinc absorption in the intestine of aged layers and can be a more suitable source of zinc than regular Zn‐oxide in diets.     

Efficacy of essential oils combination on performance,ileal bacterial counts,intestinal histology and immunocompetence of laying hens fed alternative lipid sources

This study was carried out to assess the effects of a blend of herbal essential oils (namely Thymus vulgaris, Mentha piperita, Rosmarinus offisinalis and Anethum graveolens) and different dietary lipid sources on the performance, ileal bacterial enumeration, intestinal histological alterations and immune responses in laying hens. For this purpose, a total of 150 laying hens were randomly allocated to six experimental treatments with five replicates of five birds each. Dietary treatments consisted of three levels of a mixture of essential oils (0, 100 and 200 mg/kg) and two sources of lipid (soybean oil and fish oil containing different ratios of n‐6 to n‐3 fatty acids) fed to the animals during an 80‐days feeding trial. Findings indicated that dietary administration of fish oil not only increased significantly the spleen relative weight (p < 0.01) and the antibody titre against Newcastle virus (p < 0.05) but also led to reductions in liver relative weight (p < 0.05) and feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05). Moreover, the mixture of herbal essential oils brought about declines in hepatic relative weight, heterophile to lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.05) and intestinal pathogen populations (p < 0.01). Mention must also be made of the improvements it made in spleen weight (p < 0.01), antibody titres against SRBC (p < 0.01) and Newcastle virus (p < 0.05), villus height to crypt depth ratio (p < 0.01), goblet cell numbers (p < 0.05), lamina propria lymphatic follicle diameters (p < 0.01) and feed conversion ratio (p = 0.06). It may be claimed that the enhancements observed in the performance of laying hens fed fish oil and 200 mg/kg of the blend of essential oils could have potentially been associated with improved intestinal health indices as well as cellular and humoral immune responses.     

大黄鱼消化道菌群结构、消化酶和非特异性免疫酶活力分析

为研究大黄鱼(Larimichthys crocea)消化道的菌群结构、消化酶和非特异性免疫酶活力特征,本研究采用高通量测序技术系统分析大黄鱼胃、幽门盲囊和肠道中菌群组成及分布,并对比研究工厂化养殖和网箱养殖模式下的消化道菌群;同时,结合生化分析方法解析2种模式下消化道消化酶和非特异性免疫酶活力特征。结果显示,2种养殖模式下,菌群多样性随消化道延伸呈下降趋势;乳杆菌科(Lactobacillaceae(f))、Fructobacillus、黄杆菌属(Flavobacterium)等代表的菌属为共有优势菌群。其中,拟杆菌属(Bacteroides)和Anaerostipes等的丰度随消化道延伸呈下降趋势,而乳杆菌科、E01_9C_26_marine_group(o)所代表的菌属及黄杆菌属等则相反;普氏菌属(Prevotella_9)、乳杆菌科代表的菌属为2种模式养殖大黄鱼的主要差异菌属。工厂化养殖条件下,幽门盲囊和肠道中的菌群组成及其参与营养和免疫相关代谢通路的基因数目差异不显著(P>0.05),但与胃部的菌群组成和相关代谢通路基因数目存在明显差异;而网箱养殖大黄鱼胃部与幽门盲囊和肠道的菌群结构及相关代谢通路基因数目差异相对较小。2种养殖模式下的大黄鱼消化道菌群与饲料菌群相近。另外,胃和幽门盲囊也具有非特异性免疫酶活性,说明,整个消化道还具有一定的化学免疫屏障作用。本研究结果将为大黄鱼健康养殖提供基础参考,并为消化道菌群生理功能探讨提供理论依据。     

鳙30日龄生长性状的遗传参数

为了研究鳙早期生长性状的遗传改良潜力,利用2个亲本群体进行群体繁殖(组1)和人工授精(组2)实验,并分别采集672尾30日龄鱼苗,用于开展对早期生长性状的遗传分析。通过微卫星标记分别鉴定了其中628和660尾个体的亲本来源,并依此获取群体双列杂交的信息;亲本对应子代贡献率存在极显著差异。在2个繁殖组中,体质量和体长在家系间均存在极显著差异;在组2中,体质量和体长在交配设计间均存在显著差异。此外,杂交组合的2个生长性状均呈现出中亲杂种优势(0.39%～7.64%),其特殊配合力也均为正值(0.01～0.02)。基于动物模型和限制性最大似然法,鳙30日龄体质量和体长的遗传力估值分别为0.47和0.49,且均达到极显著水平。体质量和体长间存在极显著的遗传相关和表型相关,分别为0.89和0.83。研究表明,通过家系构建和群体杂交,可以获得具有生长优势的鳙鱼苗;鳙30日龄生长性状具有较高选育潜力,而亲本对子代贡献的不平衡现象在选育过程中需要引起重视。     

鱼类组蛋白核苷酸的多态性及其在杀鱼爱德华氏菌感染中的作用

组蛋白是染色体核小体的重要组分,在调控染色质结构、基因转录、个体发育等不同生物学过程中起着重要作用。为了研究鱼类组蛋白基因是否存在核苷酸的多态性以及组蛋白核苷酸多态性是否会影响鱼类的抗病力,本实验以斑马鱼和草鱼为研究对象,通过PCR扩增克隆了组蛋白H2A的全长开放阅读框;利用过表达技术、菌落平板计数、感染存活分析以及荧光定量PCR技术,研究了斑马鱼和草鱼组蛋白H2A核苷酸多态性不同变异体在杀鱼爱德华氏菌感染中的作用。在本研究中,实验发现鱼类组蛋白H2A存在着丰富的核苷酸多态性。序列分析结果显示斑马鱼和草鱼组蛋白H2A核苷酸多态性的变异体核苷酸序列相似性为90%～100%;而两两H2A核苷酸多态性变异体氨基酸序列之间最多只有3个位点存在差异。通过体内和体外抗菌实验可知,斑马鱼和草鱼组蛋白H2A核苷酸的多态性显著影响H2A的抗菌活性。此外,筛选出的抗菌组蛋白H2A核苷酸多态性的变异体在斑马鱼体内的过表达,不仅具有免疫增强的作用,还能显著增强斑马鱼对杀鱼爱德华氏菌感染的抗病力。本研究为筛选具有抗病作用的组蛋白H2A免疫保护原奠定了重要基础。     

无锡地区鸡群禽流感疫苗免疫效果

对江苏省无锡地区鸡群使用禽流感H5和H9灭活疫苗或活疫苗后的免疫水平进行了监测。结果显示：母源抗体水平越低,抗体上升幅度越大,且抗体达到最高时所需的时间越短;H5单价灭活苗与H5＋H9二联灭活苗产生H5的抗体效果差异不大。通过对其他禽类和鸟类的临床样品检测发现：应加大对野禽及鸟类的监测力度,防止携带该病毒传播给家禽。这一监测结果对有效防控该病具有重要的实践价值。     

垃圾堆放场主要杂草对重金属的富集特点

通过测定重庆江北祺龙垃圾场、北碚金刚碑垃圾场、九龙坡二郎垃圾场中6种植物中4种重金属（Cd、Cu、Zn、Pb）的含量,发现灯笼草和鹅儿肠对4种重金属的吸收和富集能力较强,杂草对重金属的富集能力与土壤中重金属的背景值有一定的相关性。     

中药饲料添加剂对断奶仔猪免疫功能的影响

选取胎次相近、日龄相同的杜-长-大哺乳仔猪16窝,随机分为4组,前3个处理组在相同的基础日粮中分别添加中药饲料添加剂Ⅰ(4 kg/t)、中药饲料添加剂Ⅱ(4 kg/t)、金霉素(70 g/t)和杆菌肽锌(30 g/t)。于仔猪断奶前3 d、断奶后1,4,7,14,28 d采血,对免疫指标进行分析,研究中药饲料添加剂对断奶仔猪免疫功能的影响。结果表明:中药饲料添加剂能提高断奶仔猪血液红细胞数、白细胞数、淋巴细胞百分率,能促进断奶仔猪血清免疫球蛋白、补体的生成,显示中药饲料添加剂对断奶仔猪的免疫增强作用。     

杂交粳稻品质性状的配合力和杂种优势分析

以9个新育成的BT型粳稻不育系和5个恢复系为亲本,采用NCⅡ设计研究12个品质性状的配合力和杂种优势.结果表明:各性状的亲本一般配合力方差均达显著或极显著水平,特殊配合力方差除精米长和长宽比外也均达到显著或极显著水平.精米率、整精米率、食味值、直链淀粉含量和蛋白质含量同时受加性和非加性效应的作用,糙米率、垩白率、垩白度、精米长、精米宽、长宽比和精米厚等性状则主要受加性效应的影响.粒型和食味品质性状同时受不育系和恢复系的影响,碾米品质和外观品质性状则受恢复系的影响较大.除精米率、整精米率和食味值有一定程度的超高亲优势外,其他性状多介于双亲之间.杂种优势同时受亲本一般配合力和组合特殊配合力的影响,且多数性状都达到显著或极显著水平.在供试材料中,不育系以95122A最好,香粳8016A次之;恢复系以J16最好,R187次之,用上述亲本选配的杂交组合米质性状较好.