Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Oravcová Author-Workplace-Name: Slovak Agricultural Research Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: M. Margetín Author-Workplace-Name: Slovak Agricultural Research Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: D. Peškovičová Author-Workplace-Name: Slovak Agricultural Research Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: J. Daňo Author-Workplace-Name: Slovak Agricultural Research Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: M. Milerski Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: L. Hetényi Author-Workplace-Name: Slovak Agricultural Research Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: P. Polák Author-Workplace-Name: Slovak Agricultural Research Centre, Research Institute of Animal Production, Nitra, Slovak Republic Title: Factors affecting ewe's milk fat and protein content and relationships between milk yield and milk components Abstract: Test-day records of purebred Tsigai, Improved Valachian and Lacaune ewes were used to analyse the effect of environmental factors on milk fat and protein content. There were 121 424 and 121 158 measurements of fat and protein content for Tsigai, 247 742 and 247 606 measurements of fat and protein content for Improved Valachian and 2 194 measurements of fat and protein content for Lacaune ewes lambing between 1995 and 2005. Overall means and standard deviations for fat and protein content were 7.77 ± 1.606% and 5.94 ± 0.690% for Tsigai, 7.48 ± 1.446% and 5.82 ± 0.620% for Improved Valachian, and 6.97 ± 1.514% and 5.62 ± 0.692% for Lacaune. For fat content, analyses showed a highly significant (P < 0.01) effect of flock-test day and a highly significant (P < 0.01) or significant (P < 0.05) effect of the month of lambing, with the only exception of the month of lambing in Lacaune. The effect of litter size was highly significant (P < 0.01) or significant (P < 0.05) in Improved Valachian and Lacaune. For protein content, analyses showed a highly significant (P < 0.01) effect of flock-test day and a highly significant (P < 0.01) or significant (P < 0.05) effect of the month of lambing. The effect of litter size was highly significant (P < 0.01) in Tsigai and Improved Valachian. Covariates of days in milk which modelled the shape of lactation curves were insignificant, except for Improved Valachian fat content (Ali-Schaeffer regression adopted for sheep). The model explained about 50% of fat and protein variation in the breeds, with coefficients of determination between 0.517 and 0.587 for fat content and between 0.495 and 0.527 for protein content. Fat and protein content were almost equally correlated with milk yield in the three breeds. Lactation curves were constructed on the basis of solutions of a statistical model employed in the analyses. Keywords: sheep, milk composition, environmental effects, correlations, lactation curves Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 189-198 Volume: 52 Issue: 7 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2274-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2274-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200707-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:52:y:2007:i:7:id:2274-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Z. Sztankóová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: V. Mátlová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: G. Malá Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Title: Genetic polymorphism at the CSN1S1 gene in two Czech goat breeds Abstract: The genetic polymorphism of the CSN1S1 (casein alpha-S1) locus was investigated in two endangered Czech goat breeds (White Shorthair and Brown Shorthair). These breeds are kept mainly for their good dairy performance. Genetic characterization of the CSN1S1 locus contributes to the knowledge of the genetic structure of these two endangered breeds. The study was performed on 498 goats (333 White and 165 Brown Shorthair goats) by means of different polymerase chain reactions (PCR). We detected A* (associated with normal content of protein), E, F and 01 alleles. The analysis showed a prevalence of CSN1S1 F (0.658; 0.597) and CSN1S1 A* (0.269; 0.303) alleles. In both breeds, the frequency of occurrence of E and 01 alleles was very low: E (0.054; 0.085) and 01 (0.019; 0.015), respectively. No population followed the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the value of polymorphic information content (PIC) being 0.426 in White and 0.472 in Brown Shorthair goats. Moreover, the test of population differences (P = 0.130) showed no significant differences between White and Brown Shorthair goats. This genetic peculiarity makes the preservation of the population of both breeds worthwhile. Keywords: goat, CSN1S1, allele frequency, biodiversity Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 199-202 Volume: 52 Issue: 7 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2276-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2276-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200707-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:52:y:2007:i:7:id:2276-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: D. Schneiderová Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agronomy, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Zelenka Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agronomy, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: E. Mrkvicová Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agronomy, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Poultry meat production as a functional food with a voluntary n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio Abstract: We studied the effect of different levels of linseed oils made either of the flax cultivar Atalante with a high content of α-linolenic acid (612 g/kg) or of the cultivar Lola with a predominating content of linoleic acid (708 g/kg) in a chicken diet upon the fatty acid pattern in meat. Cockerels Ross 308 were fed the diets containing 1, 3, 5 or 7 per cent of oil in the last 15 days of fattening. Breast meat (BM) and thigh meat (TM) without skin of 8 chickens from each dietary group were used for analyses. The relative proportions of fatty acids were expressed as percentages of total determined fatty acids. When feeding Atalante oil, the proportions of n-6 fatty acids were highly significantly lower while those of n-3 fatty acids were higher; the ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in meat was narrower (P < 0.001) than in chickens fed oil with a low content of α-linolenic acid. In BM and TM, the relative proportions of α-linolenic and γ-linolenic acids were nearly the same, the proportion of linoleic acid in BM was lower, and the proportions of the other polyunsaturated fatty acids in BM were higher than in TM. In BM, the ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was significantly (P < 0.001) more favourable than that found in TM. The relative proportions of total saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in meat decreased and those of polyunsaturated fatty acids increased significantly (P < 0.01) in dependence on the increasing level of dietary oils. When feeding Atalante oil, a significant increase in the proportion of linoleic acid in BM but not in TM was observed. The proportions of the other n-6 fatty acids decreased and those of all determined n-3 fatty acids, with the exception of docosahexaenoic acid, significantly increased with the increasing level of oil in the diet. When feeding Lola oil, its increasing content in the diet increased the relative proportion of linoleic acid as well as its elongation to γ-linolenic acid; however, the proportions of arachidonic and adrenic acid did not change significantly (P > 0.05). The proportion of α-linolenic acid increased in both BM and TM. The proportion of eicosapentaenoic and clupanodonic acids in BM significantly decreased. The ratio of n-6 to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ranged from 0.9 to 13.6 and from 1.0 to 17.2 in BM and TM, respectively. An increase in the level of Lola oil in the diet by 1% caused that the n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio extended by 1.00 and 1.19 units in BM and TM, respectively. Dependences of n-6/n-3 ratio on the level of Atalante oil were expressed by equations of convex parabolas with minima at the level of oil 5.8 and 5.9% for BM and TM, respectively. By means of the inclusion of linseed oil with a high content of α-linolenic acid in the feed mixture it would be possible to produce poultry meat as a functional food with a very narrow ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Keywords: chicken meat, fatty acid pattern, linseed oils Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 203-213 Volume: 52 Issue: 7 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2275-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2275-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200707-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:52:y:2007:i:7:id:2275-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: P. Jurajda Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Z. Adámek Author-Workplace-Name: Research Institute of Fish Culture and Hydrobiology, University of South Bohemia, Vodňany, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Janáč Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Z. Valová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Fish and macrozoobenthos in the Vlára stream drainage area (Bílé Karpaty Mountains) Abstract: Fish fauna and macrozoobenthos were surveyed at 51 and 32 sampling sites, respectively, in mountain and submountain streams of the Vlara stream drainage area in the Bílé Karpaty Mountains. The aim of the study was to bring wide knowledge of their aquatic communities with their indicative value of the ecological quality of particular sites. Fish were sampled by electrofishing and macrozoobenthos was collected by kick-sampling using a bottom net (mesh size 500 μm) at the majority of the respective sites. In total, 15 fish species were registered in all profiles. At four headwater sites no fish were recorded at all. Brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario) and stone loach (Barbatula barbatula) were the most frequent species at the sites under study (73% and 67%, respectively). A similar frequency (41%) was documented for chub (Leuciscus cephalus), gudgeon (Gobio gobio) and minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus). The species richness increased downstream in the mainstream of the Vlára stream with the maximum of 10 species found at the lowest study site. Qualitative data on fish assemblages did not fully correspond with the environmental stress. On the other hand, macrozoobenthos indicated a minor decrease in water quality downstream of small villages and farms. Larvae of dipterans (Chironomidae and Simuliidae in particular) and mayflies (Ephemeroptera) dominated among the temporary water macroinvertebrates while numerous populations of Gammarus fossarum (Amphipoda) and in some cases also of Asellus aquaticus (Isopoda) were recorded as permanent inhabitants of clean and polluted stretches, respectively. Keywords: fish community, macroinvertebrates, bioindicators, Bílé Karpaty Mountains, Czech Republic Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 214-225 Volume: 52 Issue: 7 Year: 2007 DOI: 10.17221/2277-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/2277-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-200707-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:52:y:2007:i:7:id:2277-CJAS