Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: C. Longo Author-Workplace-Name: Animal Nutrition Laboratory, Centre for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Piracicaba, Brazil Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany Author-Workplace-Name: Agrosphere Institute, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany Author-Name: J. Hummel Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany Author-Name: J. Liebich Author-Workplace-Name: Agrosphere Institute, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany Author-Name: I.C.S. Bueno Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Pirassununga, Brazil Author-Name: P. Burauel Author-Workplace-Name: Agrosphere Institute, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany Author-Name: E.J. Ambrosano Author-Workplace-Name: APTA, Sao Paulo Agribusiness Technology Agency, Piracicaba, Brazil Author-Name: A.L. Abdalla Author-Workplace-Name: Animal Nutrition Laboratory, Centre for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Piracicaba, Brazil Author-Name: U.Y. Anele Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany Author-Name: K.-H. Südekum Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany Title: Chemical characterization and in vitro biological activity of four tropical legumes, Styzolobium aterrimum L., Styzolobium deeringianum, Leucaena leucocephala, and Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia, as compared with a tropical grass, Cynodon spp. for the use in ruminant diets Abstract: Leucaena leucocephala (LEU) and three under-utilized tanniferous legumes, Styzolobium aterrimum L. (STA), Styzolobium deeringianum (STD), and Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia Benth (MIC) were chemically characterized and the biological activity of tannins was evaluated using in vitro simulated ruminal fermentation through tannin-binding polyethylene glycol (PEG) and compared with a non-tanniferous tropical grass hay, Cynodon spp. (CYN). The Hohenheim gas test was used and gas production (GP) was recorded at 4, 8, 12, 24, 32, 48, 56, 72, 80, and 96 h incubation with and without PEG. Kinetic parameters were estimated by an exponential model. STA, STD, and LEU contained higher (P < 0.05) crude protein than MIC, which had greater neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre. Total phenols, total tannins, and condensed tannins (CT) were consistently the highest in MIC. Gas production was the lowest from MIC (P < 0.05) and the highest in LEU and STA. MIC + PEG largely reduced (P < 0.05) the lag phase and the fractional rate of fermentation and increased potential GP. Kinetic parameters of STA + PEG and LEU + PEG were not affected. LEU + PEG produced greater gas increment (P < 0.05) than STD + PEG, although both legumes had the same CT. All legumes except MIC were more extensively degraded than CYN. However, fermentation of the legumes was differently affected by the presence and proportions of CT, indigestible fibre or both. Keywords: tannins, tropical forages, rumen fermentation, gas production, kinetics, PEG Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 255-264 Volume: 57 Issue: 6 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/5960-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/5960-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201206-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:6:id:5960-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: A.S. Chaudhry Author-Workplace-Name: School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK Author-Name: R.A.I. Mohamed Author-Workplace-Name: School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK Title: Fresh or frozen rumen contents from slaughtered cattle to estimatein vitro degradation of two contrasting feeds Abstract: The present factorial experiment tested the thawed rumen fluid from frozen rumen contents against fresh rumen fluid from the same slaughtered cattle to estimate in vitro degradation of rapeseed meal (RSM) and grass nuts (GN) as two contrasting feeds at various times. Fresh rumen fluid showed higher (P < 0.05) in vitro dry matter (DMD) and crude protein (CPD) degradation than the thawed rumen fluid at most incubation times. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found between fresh and differently prepared thawed rumen fluids for mean degradation constants (a, b, c) and effective degradability (P0.02) of feeds. While the thawed rumen fluids had lower (P < 0.01) degradation than the fresh rumen fluid, their degradation values correlated very well (R2 ≥ 0.95) with those for the fresh rumen fluid. It appeared that the thawed rumen fluid can be used to predict in vitro degradation of the selected feeds when frequent access to slaughtered or fistulated animals is restricted. Nevertheless it would be vital to improve the activity of thawed rumen fluid prior to testing its suitability for numerous feeds before recommending its routine use to estimate degradation of ruminant feeds. Keywords: frozen rumen fluid, slaughtered cattle, in vitro degradation, feeds Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 265-273 Volume: 57 Issue: 6 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/5961-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/5961-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201206-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:6:id:5961-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: D. Řehák Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Volek Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: L. Bartoň Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: Z. Vodková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Kubešová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: R. Rajmon Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Relationships among milk yield, body weight, and reproduction in Holstein and Czech Fleckvieh cows Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the dynamics and relative body weight (BW) changes after parturition and their relationships to milk yield in Holstein (H) and Czech Fleckvieh (F) cows, and also the relationships between their BW changes in the first 8 weeks of lactation and reproductive performance. A retrospective, observational study comprised analyses of individual cow records from a computerised herd management system. Production, body weight, and reproduction data were collected between December 2004 and February 2009 from F and H cows kept in a single experimental station. A total of 475 calving interval records (F: N = 132; H: N = 343) were included in the analysis. The data were evaluated using the mixed linear model with repeated measures, and parameters were estimated by the REML method. Whereas BW changes in F first-parity cows significantly (P < 0.01) differed from those detected in greater-parity cows during the major part of lactation, no such differences were manifested for H first-parity animals. The average BW change in weeks 1 to 8 was closely correlated with the BW change in the lactation week, with the lowest BW (NADIR) (r > 0.83, P < 0.0001) in both breeds. In H cows, the average BW change in weeks 1 to 8 and in NADIR significantly (P < 0.01) negatively correlated with the length of postpartum anoestrus, days between parturition and conception, days between first service and conception, and calving interval (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). In F cows, the only significant correlations were those with days between parturition and first service (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). It was concluded that BW changes postpartum might indicate reproduction problems particularly in H cows. Keywords: dairy cow, negative energy balance, body weight, milk yield, reproduction Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 274-282 Volume: 57 Issue: 6 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/5962-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/5962-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201206-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:6:id:5962-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: W. Huang Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Swine Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: Z. Xu Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Swine Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: Y. Xiong Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Swine Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P.R. China Author-Name: B. Zuo Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Swine Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P.R. China Title: QTL analysis for carcass composition and meat quality traits on SSC7q1.1-q1.4 region in Large White × Meishan F2 pigs Abstract: Significant QTL for carcass and meat quality traits on Sus scrofa chromosome 7 (SSC7) were detected in various Meishan derived resource populations, especially on q1.1-q1.4 region. In order to confirm and narrow the QTL in this region, seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one insertion or deletion located in eight genes (BTNL1, SLC39A7, COL21A1, PPARD, GLP1R, MDFI, GNMT, and PLA2G7) were included for linkage mapping in a Large White × Meishan resource population, as well as two flanking microsatellite markers (SW2155 and SW352). Ten chromosome-wise significant QTL and two suggestive QTL were found. QTL affecting carcass weight and dressing percentage were mapped within the interval BTNL1 and SLC39A7. QTL for skin weight and percentage, bone weight and percentage in carcass were located between the interval PPARD and GLP1R. QTL for fat weight and percentage in carcass were detected between GNMT and PLA2G7 genes, while QTL for loin muscle width was found between GLP1R and MDFI. The results of this study will help to facilitate identifying the causative molecular genetic variation in this region. Keywords: single nucleotide polymorphism, linkage map, quantitative trait locus, Sus scrofa chromosome 7 Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 283-289 Volume: 57 Issue: 6 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/5963-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/5963-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201206-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:6:id:5963-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: M. Škrlep Author-Workplace-Name: Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia Author-Name: N. Batorek Author-Workplace-Name: Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia Author-Name: M. Bonneau Author-Workplace-Name: INRA, UMR, 1348 PEGASE, Saint Gilles, France Author-Workplace-Name: Agrocampus Ouest, 1348 PEGASE, Rennes, France Author-Name: M. Prevolnik Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Hoče, Slovenia Author-Name: V. Kubale Author-Workplace-Name: Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia Author-Name: M. Čandek-Potokar Author-Workplace-Name: Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Hoče, Slovenia Title: Effect of immunocastration in group-housed commercial fattening pigs on reproductive organs, malodorous compounds, carcass and meat quality Abstract: In the present study, the effect of immunocastration on carcass traits, meat quality, reproductive organs development, and boar taint compounds was investigated. Male piglets (50% Duroc crosses) were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: entire males (EM; n = 19), surgical castrates (SC; n = 20) and immunocastrates (IC, vaccinated with Improvac® at the age of 79 and 142 days; n = 21). Pigs were fed ad libitum and weighed at the time of first and second vaccination and before slaughter (176 days of age). No differences between treatment groups were detected for carcass weight. In the case of backfat thickness, carcass lean meat content, and belly leanness score, IC were intermediate between EM (the leanest) and SC (the fattest), differing (P < 0.05) from both control groups. Regarding loin eye fat area, neck intermuscular fatness, ham leanness, and leaf fat weight, IC were similar to EM and were less fat than SC (P < 0.01). IC had lower intramuscular fat than SC (P < 0.01) and higher average pH 24 than both EM and SC (P < 0.01), resulting in darker colour. IC also demonstrated lower drip loss than EM (P < 0.05). Immunocastration caused a significant reduction of reproductive organs and concentrations of boar taint compounds (P < 0.01) which were comparable with the levels observed for SC. Keywords: pigs, immunocastration, carcass, meat quality, reproductive organs, boar taint Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 290-299 Volume: 57 Issue: 6 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/5964-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/5964-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201206-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:6:id:5964-CJAS