Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Samiec Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Reproduction Biotechnology, Immuno- and Cytogenetics, National Research Institute of Animal Production, Balice/Kraków, Poland Author-Name: M. Skrzyszowska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Reproduction Biotechnology, Immuno- and Cytogenetics, National Research Institute of Animal Production, Balice/Kraków, Poland Title: Microsurgical nuclear transfer by intraooplasmic karyoplast injection as an alternative embryo reconstruction method in somatic cloning of pigs and other mammal species; application value of the method and its technical advantages: a review Abstract: The introduction of cell nuclei into enucleated recipient cells, beyond enucleation, is the most significant stage of somatic cloning procedure. Microsurgical transfer of somatic nuclei can be an alternative method of clonal nuclear-cytoplasmic hybrid reconstruction towards cell fusion induced in the electric field, not only from the aspect of molecular mechanisms of nuclear chromatin rearrangement, advantageously influencing epigenetic reprogramming and structural remodelling of exogenous genetic material but also because in recent studies on pig cloning it was proved that the effectiveness of piezo-driven microinjection of ear-derived fibroblast karyoplasts measured by the percentage of oocytes preserving vitality after the cell nuclei transplantation operation did not differ significantly from the survival rate (viability) of clonal cybrids reconstituted by an electrofusion method. An intraooplasmic injection system of karyoplasts prepared from cells at G0/G1 or G2/M stages of cell cycle could also increase considerably the total efficiency of somatic cloning technique in pigs and in other mammal species. Keywords: somatic cloning, microsurgical nuclear transfer, karyoplast, intraooplasmic injection, chromatin remodelling, epigenetic reprogramming Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 235-242 Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Year: 2005 DOI: 10.17221/4163-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/4163-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200506-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:50:y:2005:i:6:id:4163-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Koyuncu Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uludag, Bursa, Turkey Author-Name: S. Kara Uzun Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uludag, Bursa, Turkey Author-Name: S. Ozis Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uludag, Bursa, Turkey Author-Name: S. Duru Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uludag, Bursa, Turkey Title: Development of testicular dimensions and size, and their relationship to age and body weight in growing Kivircik (Western Thrace) ram lambs Abstract: Forty-seven Kivircik ram lambs, aged 2 months, raised and managed under an intensive system were used to measure the development of testis diameter and length, and scrotum circumference, length and volume, and their association with the development of body growth. The effects of age and body weight of lambs, type of birth and dam age on the development of the five testicular parameters from weaning at 2-6 months of age were investigated. In ram lambs, the respective least-squares means of testis measurements: testis diameter, testis length, scrotum circumference, scrotum length and scrotum volume were 2.55 ± 0.099 cm, 5.83 ± 0.165 cm, 15.23 ± 0.650 cm, 7.24 ± 0.287 cm and 87.57 ± 5.921 cm3 at 2 months; and 2.99 ± 0.099 cm, 6.59 ± 0.164 cm, 14.24 ± 0.657 cm, 10.60 ± 0.290 cm and 157.49 ± 5.987 cm3 at 6 months. The effect of birth type on testis diameter and the effect of dam age on testis length were significant (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01), besides the effects of lamb age and live weight of lambs on the whole testis measurements were significant (P < 0.01). Keywords: Kivircik lamb, testimetrical parameters, environmental effects Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 243-248 Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Year: 2005 DOI: 10.17221/4164-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/4164-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200506-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:50:y:2005:i:6:id:4164-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: R. Omelka Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany and Genetics, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: M. Bauerová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Botany and Genetics, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: J. Mlynek Author-Workplace-Name: Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: B. Buchová Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: D. Peškovičová Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: J. Bulla Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Title: Effect of the oestrogen receptor (ESR) gene on reproductive traits of Large White, White Meaty and Landrace pigs Abstract: We investigated the effect of oestrogen receptor (ESR) gene on total number of born (TNB), number of born alive (NBA) and number of weaned (NW) piglets in Large White (LW), White Meaty (WM) and Landrace (L) sows from six Slovak breeding farms. Detection of ESR (Pvu II) genotypes was performed by the PCR-RFLP method. The frequencies of favourable B allele in LW, WM and L were 0.33, 0.25 and 0.08, respectively. We found a highly significant effect of ESR locus on NW (P ≤ 0.01) in LW, however, we observed a negative effect of BB genotype on the trait. In WM, a positive association of B allele with TNB, NBA and NW was found but the differences were not confirmed statistically. A highly significant effect of ESR locus on TNB, NBA and NW (P ≤ 0.01) was identified only in L breed. We found an increase of +0.62 ± 0.18 (TNB), +0.65 ± 0.18 (NBA) and +0.51 ± 0.16 (NW) pigs per copy of B allele. Keywords: oestrogen receptor gene, reproductive traits, litter size, pig Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 249-253 Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Year: 2005 DOI: 10.17221/4165-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/4165-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200506-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:50:y:2005:i:6:id:4165-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: P. Šafus Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute of Animal Production, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Štípková Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute of Animal Production, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: L. Stádník Author-Workplace-Name: Czech Agricultural University, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Přibyl Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute of Animal Production, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: V. Čermák Author-Workplace-Name: Czech-Moravian Breeders' Association, a. s., Hradišťko, Czech Republic Title: Sub-indexes for bulls ofHolsteinbreed in the Czech Republic Abstract: Sub-indexes were constructed for bulls of the Holstein breed according to groups of production traits - production index for milk (IPH), sub-indexes for reproduction (IRH), longevity (IDH), health resistance (IOH) and fitness (IFH). Every index for selection for a group of traits applies all available information - breeding values for traits of milk performance, fertility and linear type trait classification. The sub-indexes were compared with the total index (SIH). The accuracy of total selection index (SIH) was 69.30%, the accuracies of the other indexes were as follows: IPH 83.32%, IRH 56.04%, IDH 9.80%, IOH 15.57% and IFH 9.86%. All of the indexes were standardised to have the mean 100 and standard deviation 12. Simplified index ZSIH was developed as a sum of IPH, IRH and IDH; its correlation with the total index is r = 0.992. If IPH is used, the values of secondary functional traits decrease. The use of IDH, IOH and IFH results in a decrease in milk performance. Selection differences, i.e. changes in breeding values at various intensities of selection according to some indexes and breeding values for kg of milk and kg of milk proteins, were tested on the basis of breeding values in a sample of the domestic population of bulls. The production index was compared with production indexes used in other countries. Correlations between production indexes were higher than r = 0.790. Keywords: Holstein cattle, bulls, selection index, sub-indexes, production, reproduction, longevity, fitness, reliability, genetic gain Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 254-265 Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Year: 2005 DOI: 10.17221/4166-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/4166-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200506-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:50:y:2005:i:6:id:4166-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: H. Wierzbicki Author-Workplace-Name: Agricultural University, Wroclaw, Poland Title: Breeding value evaluation in Polish fur animals: Factors affecting pelt prices in the international trading system Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of pelt character traits to the price the skins could reach at an auction house. The paper also presents an analysis of trends showing the changes in the contribution of pelt character traits to the pelt price over 4 seasons. 10 177 records of arctic fox pelts sold at the Helsinki Auction House in the seasons 2000-2004 were analysed. The pelts were graded and sorted according to their character traits: size, quality, colour clarity and colour darkness. The significance of the pelt character traits and their effects on the pelt price were tested using the GLM procedure and two linear models (Model 1 - without interactions between main effects, Model 2 - with interactions between main effects). The total variation of the pelt price was partitioned into components connected with random effects included in the models using the REML and VARCOMP procedure. Then, based on the estimated variance components, the percent contribution of each component to the total variation of the pelt price was calculated. It was found that, depending on the model and season, the pelt price was mostly influenced by skin size and quality, whereas colour type and colour clarity had small effects on the pelt price. However, the effect of the skin size on the pelt price in the analysed seasons decreased, whereas the effects of the remaining three traits on the pelt price slightly increased. Keywords: arctic fox, auction house, pelt character traits, pelt price Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 266-272 Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Year: 2005 DOI: 10.17221/4167-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/4167-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200506-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:50:y:2005:i:6:id:4167-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Juśkiewicz Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Division of Food Science, Olsztyn, Poland Author-Name: Z. Zduńczyk Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Division of Food Science, Olsztyn, Poland Author-Name: M. Wróblewska Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Division of Food Science, Olsztyn, Poland Title: The effect of the administration of cellulose and fructans with different degree of polymerization to rats on caecal fermentation and biochemical indicators in the serum Abstract: Research was conducted to determine the physiological effect of substituting 5% of maize starch with cellulose, inulin and oligofructose in the diet of rats. The feeding of cellulose and fructans did not influence the food intake and weight gains of animals. The addition of oligofructose and inulin induced an enlargement of the caecum (wall and digesta). Dry matter and pH of caecal digesta were significantly decreased in rats receiving fructan preparations compared to the cellulose and starch groups. Inulin and oligofructose caused a significant increase in the SCFA content produced in the whole caecum (calculated per 100 g BW). Cellulose as well as fructans decreased the ammonia concentration in the caecal digesta compared to control rats. The diet composition did not have a significant influence on the concentration of glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol in the serum of rats. Compared to the control and cellulose, the investigated fructans were very efficient by inducing beneficial changes in the functioning of the caecal ecosystem. Keywords: cellulose, inulin, oligofructose, caecum, digesta, serum, rats Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 273-280 Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Year: 2005 DOI: 10.17221/4168-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/4168-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200506-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:50:y:2005:i:6:id:4168-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: W. Nowak Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Nutrition and Feed Management, Agricultural University Poznań, Poznań, Poland Author-Name: S. Michalak Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Nutrition and Feed Management, Agricultural University Poznań, Poznań, Poland Author-Name: S. Wylegała Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Nutrition and Feed Management, Agricultural University Poznań, Poznań, Poland Title: In situ evaluation of ruminal degradability and intestinal digestibility of extruded soybeans Abstract: Two ruminally cannulated Jersey cows were used to determine in situ ruminal degradability and intestinal digestibility of raw (E0) soybeans and soybeans extruded at 145°C (E145), 155°C (E155) and 165°C (E165). The degradation of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) was estimated using nylon bags suspended in rumen for 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24 and 48 h calculating the effective ruminal degradabilities (ERD) for an assumed outflow rate of 0.06/h. Four extra sample bags were incubated for 12 h to determine CP digestibility using the mobile nylon bag method. Cows were fed a ration of 30% concentrate and 70% meadow hay. Soybean extrusion at all temperatures decreased the effective protein degradability significantly (P < 0.05). Soybean processing at the highest heat input (E165) decreased ERD (44.0%) in the rumen significantly while the values for E145 and E155 were similar, 50.8 and 50.3% respectively. Soybean extrusion at all tested temperatures was followed by a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the proportion of the rapidly degraded DM and CP fractions a, and both the increased proportions and reduced breakdown rate (c) of the fraction b. The intestinal protein digestibility values of the rumen-undegraded protein of extruded soybean were somewhat higher, however the observed differences between treatments were not significant (P < 0.05). Estimated intestinal digestibilities were 87.2, 89.7, 92.0 and 92.6% for E0, E145, E155 and E165, respectively. Keywords: extrusion, soybean, protein, ruminal degradability, intestinal digestibility Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 281-287 Volume: 50 Issue: 6 Year: 2005 DOI: 10.17221/4169-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/4169-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200506-0007.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:50:y:2005:i:6:id:4169-CJAS