Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S. Hua Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A and F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China Author-Name: J. Lan Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A and F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China Author-Name: Y.G. Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A and F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China Author-Name: Y.L. Song Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A and F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China Author-Name: J. Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A and F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China Author-Name: Y.S. Wang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A and F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China Author-Name: T. Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A and F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China Author-Name: Y. Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A and F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China Title: Recombinant human activin A promotes development of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos matured in vitro Abstract: To improve the culture system of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos, we studied the effects of activin A on developmental competence of bovine SCNT embryos during the early development stage based on the traditional culture method, and analyzed the expression level of the genes related to blastocyst hatching (Na/K-ATPase, Glut-1) and related to activin A signalling pathway (ActRII and Smad2). We generated the bovine SCNT embryo using a Holstein cow oocyte as recipient cytoplasm and a foetal ear fibroblast (Holstein cow, 120 days) as donor cell. The embryos were cultured as follows: experiment 1, the addition of activin A at the concentrations of 0 (control), 20 (M1-20), 40 (M1-40) or 80 ng/ml (M1-80) to the media during the first three days and no addition during the subsequent 5 days; experiment 2, no addition of activin A to the media during the first 3 days and the addition of activin A at the concentrations of 0 (control), 20 (M2-20), 40 (M2-40) or 80 ng/ml (M2-80) during the subsequent 5 days. The results indicated that the blastocyst formation rate and hatching rate, and total blastomere numbers as well as ICM/TE obtained in experiment 1 were not significantly different from the control group (P > 0.05). In contrast, these values obtained in experiment 2 were significantly higher than in the control group (P < 0.05). In addition, the relative abundance (ratio to GAPDH mRNA) of each gene (Glut-1, ActR II and Smad2) was not significantly different among the treatments in the experiment. The expression levels of 4 genes (Na/K-ATPase, Glut-1, ActR II and Smad2) in blastocysts obtained in experiment 2 were higher than those obtained in experiment 1. In conclusion, the present study suggests that the addition of activin A to the culture media from day 4 to day 8 can enhance the developmental competence of bovine SCNT embryos. Keywords: activin A, SCNT, embryo development, bovine Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 267-275 Volume: 55 Issue: 7 Year: 2010 DOI: 10.17221/298/2009-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/298/2009-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201007-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:55:y:2010:i:7:id:298-2009-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: T.J. Guo Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China Author-Workplace-Name: Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, China Author-Name: J.Q. Wang Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China Author-Name: D.P. Bu Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China Author-Name: K.L. Liu Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China Author-Name: J.P. Wang Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China Author-Name: D. Li Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China Author-Name: S.Y. Luan Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China Author-Name: X.K. Huo Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China Title: Evaluation of the microbial population in ruminal fluid using real time PCR in steers treated with virginiamycin Abstract: The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of virginiamycin (VM ) supplementation on ruminal fermentation and microbial populations in steers. Four ruminally cannulated Chinese Luxi steers (BW 559.4 ± 30.1 kg) were used in a crossover design experiment with an experimental period of 28 days. The forage to concentrate ratio of the basal diet was 35:65 on dry matter basis. The experiment consisted of control treatment and treatment with control diet plus VM at a dose of 30 mg/kg concentrate (DM basis). Rumen fluid was collected at 07:30 prefeeding, at 11:30 and 17:30 postfeeding on day 27 and 28. A part of the pooled sample from rumen fluid was transferred to anaerobic culture by a roll-tube technique and analysed for species-specific real-time PCR quantification. The remaining pooled rumen fluid sample was analyzed for pH, VFA, ammonia N and l-lactic acid. The results showed that VM increased the ruminal pH (6.70 vs. 6.63; P < 0.05), but it decreased ammonia nitrogen (4.94 vs. 6.19 mg/100 ml; P < 0.01) and mean counts of amylolytic bacteria and proteolytic bacteria (P < 0.01) as compared to the control. The additive VM did not affect the l-lactic acid concentration (1.39 vs. 1.26 mmol/l) in rumen fluid. Compared to the control, the steers receiving VM have altered a trend of quantification of Selenomonas ruminantium, Anaerovibrio lipolytica, Ruminococcus albus and Streptococcus bovis in rumen fluid (0.05<p<0.1) as compared to the control. However, VM had no significant effect on Lactobacillus spp. (P = 0.41), Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens (P = 0.35), on the genus Ruminococcus (P = 0.25), Ruminococcus flavefaciens (P = 0.52), Prevotella ruminicola (P = 0.54), on the genus Prevotella (P = 0.67) and Megasphaera elsdenii (P = 0.97). In this study, we found that VM had selective effects on ruminal bacteria and influenced ruminal fermentation by changing a part of the specific ruminal bacteria populations. Keywords: virginiamycin, roll-tube technique, ruminal fermentation parameters, real-time PCR Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 276-285 Volume: 55 Issue: 7 Year: 2010 DOI: 10.17221/74/2009-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/74/2009-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201007-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:55:y:2010:i:7:id:74-2009-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S. Canogullari Author-Workplace-Name: Samandag Vocational School, Mustafa Kemal University, Samandag, Hatay, Turkey Author-Name: M. Baylan Author-Workplace-Name: Samandag Vocational School, Mustafa Kemal University, Samandag, Hatay, Turkey Author-Name: Z. Erdogan Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey Author-Name: V. Duzguner Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey Author-Name: A. Kucukgul Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey Title: The effects of dietary garlic powder on performance, egg yolk and serum cholesterol concentrations in laying quails Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of garlic powder on the performance, egg traits, egg cholesterol and serum parameters of laying Japanese quails. One hundred and twenty 10-weeks-old quails were allocated to four dietary treatments. Quails were caged individually and fed diets supplemented with 0 (control), 1, 2, 4% garlic powder for 12 weeks. There were significant (P < 0.05) differences among the diets in feed consumption, feed efficiency and egg production as averaged over 12 weeks. The better values for these parameters were obtained from the 1% garlic powder supplemented group. Garlic powder addition did not significantly affect egg yolk index, egg shell weight and egg shell thickness. However, there were significant differences (P < 0.05) in egg albumen index, egg shell index and Haugh unit. There was a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the egg yolk cholesterol concentration when the dietary level of garlic powder was increased from 0 to 4 g/kg. Plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations increased (P < 0.05) with increasing levels of dietary garlic powder. Plasma cholesterol (P < 0.05) and tri-glyceride (P < 0.05) concentration decreased with garlic powder supplementation. It was concluded that garlic powder in the diet of laying quails reduced the plasma and egg yolk cholesterol concentration. Keywords: garlic powder, laying quail, laying performance, egg traits, serum parameters Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 286-293 Volume: 55 Issue: 7 Year: 2010 DOI: 10.17221/126/2009-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/126/2009-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201007-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:55:y:2010:i:7:id:126-2009-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: S. Świątkiewicz Author-Workplace-Name: National Research Institute of Animal Production, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Balice, Poland Author-Name: J. Koreleski Author-Workplace-Name: National Research Institute of Animal Production, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Balice, Poland Author-Name: A. Arczewska Author-Workplace-Name: National Research Institute of Animal Production, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Balice, Poland Title: Laying performance and eggshell quality in laying hens fed diets supplemented with prebiotics and organic acids Abstract: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of organic acids and the prebiotic fructans on egg production and eggshell quality when added to the layer diet with different levels of calcium and phosphorus. The experiment was carried out on 168 Bovans Brown hens, allocated to 14 groups of 12 replications. Each hen (replication) was kept in an individual cage 40 cm × 40 cm in size. A 2 × 7 factorial arrangement, with two dietary levels of calcium and phosphorus (normal - 3.70% Ca, 0.65% P, and reduced - 3.25% Ca, 0.60% P) and with diets supplemented by selected additives (none, 0.75% inulin, 0.75% oligofructose, 0.50% volatile fatty acids (VFA), 0.25% medium chain fatty acid (MCFA), 0.30% VFA + 0.20% MCFA, 0.75% inulin + 0.50% VFA) was used. The experiment was carried out over 34 weeks, from the age of 26 to 70 weeks. There were no statistically confirmed effects of the factors studied in this experiment on egg performance, i.e. laying rate, egg mass, feed intake and feed conversion. Reducing the dietary levels of Ca and P significantly decreased eggshell percent, thickness, density and breaking strength. The additives used had a considerable effect on eggshell quality at 46, 58 and 70 weeks of age, and these positive effects were most pronounced in the case of inulin and MCFA. There was no significant interaction between Ca and P dietary levels and the additives used. It was thus concluded that selected feed additives which lower the pH of the diet and intestinal content can beneficially influence eggshell quality in older high-producing laying hens. Keywords: laying hens, egg production, eggshell quality, organic acids, prebiotic fructans Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 294-306 Volume: 55 Issue: 7 Year: 2010 DOI: 10.17221/207/2009-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/207/2009-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201007-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:55:y:2010:i:7:id:207-2009-CJAS