Effects of feeding fermented fish on egg cholesterol content in hens

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding fermented fish (FF) to layers on laying performance, and polyunsaturated fatty acid and cholesterol levels in eggs and plasma. A total of 96, 13-week-old Babcock B380 pullets were used in this study. They were randomly assigned to four numerically equal groups with eight replicates per treatment, three birds per replicate. All the birds were housed in individual cages. The dietary treatments were: Control diet, without FF; FF3 diet containing 3% (w/w) FF, FF6 diet containing 6% (w/w) FF and FF9 diet containing 9% (w/w) FF. The study was carried out for 16 weeks inclusive of two weeks of adjustment. Weekly feed intake and egg production were recorded. Blood plasma cholesterol and fatty acid profiles were assayed at the end of the experiment. FF did not enhance ( P  > 0.05) egg mass but ( P  < 0.05) decreased egg weight slightly. However, egg yolk cholesterol and plasma cholesterol concentrations were reduced ( P  < 0.05) by FF. The n-6:n-3 fatty acids ratio in the egg yolk (Control = 7.9, FF9 = 6.2) and plasma (Control = 10.6, FF9 = 6.2) were decreased by feeding FF. Moreover, FF was able to increase ( P  < 0.05) the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrations in egg yolk and plasma. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that FF increased DHA and reduced egg yolk cholesterol in poultry eggs.     

Key amino acids of interactions between interferon-induced protein N-Myc interactor and human cytomegalovirus tegument protein UL23

AIM:To investigate the key amino acids of interferon-induced protein N-Myc interactor (Nmi) that interacts with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) tegument protein UL23. METHODS:According to the previous results, 10 groups of the truncated Nmi fragment were constructed on plasmid pGEX-4T-1. Recombinant plasmids were transformed into E.coli Rosetta (DE3) competent cells, and fusion proteins with GST tag were expressed and purified. The domains on Nmi that mediated the interaction with UL23 were identified by GST-pulldown test. Based on the results of GST-pulldown test, 3 groups of deleted Nmi fragments were inserted into the eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA4-Myc by homologous recombination. The plasmid with Flag-tagged UL23 plasmid and wild-type Nmi or deletion mutants were co-transfected into HeLa cells to reconfirm the key amino acids on Nmi that interacted with UL23 by the method of co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). RESULTS:The prokaryotic expression vectors of 10 groups of truncated Nmi mutants fused with GST gene were successfully constructed. Three groups eukaryotic expression vectors of Nmi deletion mutants fused with Myc gene were also successfully constructed. The results of GST-pulldown test indicated that the region of 192~202 aa located on Nmi was a key area to interact with UL23. The UL23 binding domain of Nmi in the amino acids 192~202 aa was confirmed by Co-IP, which was consistent with the GST-pulldown results. CONCLUSION:The 192~202 aa of Nmi are key amino acids in the interaction with UL23. This may provide the basis for clarifying the molecular mechanisms by which UL23 plays an important role in the latency of HCMV in host.     

Feeding of different levels of metabolite combinations produced by Lactobacillus plantarum on growth performance,fecal microflora,volatile fatty acids and villi height in broilers

The effects of feeding different dosages of metabolite combination of L. plantarum RS5, RI11, RG14 and RG11 strains (Com3456) on the performance of broiler chickens was studied. A total of 504 male Ross broilers were grouped into 7 treatments and offered different diets: (i) standard corn‐soybean based diet (negative control); (ii) standard corn‐soybean based diet +100 ppm neomycin and oxytetracycline (positive control); (iii) standard corn‐soybean based diet + 0.1% metabolite combination of L. plantarum RS5, RI11, RG14 and RG11 strains (Com3456); (iv) standard corn‐soybean based diet + 0.2% of Com3456; (v) standard corn‐soybean based diet + 0.3% of Com3456 (vi) standard corn‐soybean based diet + 0.4% of Com3456 and (vii) standard corn‐soybean based diet + 0.5% of Com3456. Supplementation of Com3456 with different dosages improved growth performance, reduced Enterobacteriaceae and increased lactic acid bacteria count, and increased villi height of small intestine and fecal volatile fatty acid concentration. Treatment with 0.4% and 0.2% Com3456 had the best results, especially in terms of growth performance, feed conversion ratio and villi height among other dosages. However, the dosage of 0.2% was recommended due to its lower concentration yielding a similar effect as 0.4% supplementation. These results indicate that 0.2% is an optimum level to be included in the diets of broiler in order to replace antibiotic growth promoters.