Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: F. Rumosa Gwaze Author-Workplace-Name: Lovedale Public Further Education and Training, Alice, South Africa Author-Name: M. Chimonyo Author-Workplace-Name: Discipline of Animal and Poultry Science, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Author-Name: K. Dzama Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, South Africa Title: Effect of season and age on blood minerals, liver enzyme levels, and faecal egg counts in Nguni goats of South Africa Abstract: The objective of the study was to determine the relationships between age of the goat and faecal egg counts, liver enzymes, and minerals in the wet and dry seasons in male and female Nguni goats of South Africa. Fifty-six female and forty male Nguni goats were used for the study. Faecal and blood samples were collected once in the dry (August) and wet (January) season. Faecal egg counts (FEC) were determined by the modified McMaster technique while trematodes were determined by the sedimentation method. Blood was analyzed for phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels. Faecal egg counts were significantly higher in the wet compared with the dry season. Most (P < 0.05) of the goats were within the reference values for calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in both seasons. Phosphorus concentrations were significantly affected by age with higher levels in the young (2.1 ± 0.06) compared to the adult (2.0 ± 0.03) goats. Alkaline phosphate was significantly affected by age with higher levels in young than in mature goats. Higher AST, CK, and GGT concentrations were recorded in the wet compared to the dry season (P < 0.05). Higher CK and AST were recorded in male than in female goats while for ALP, the values were higher in female than in male goats. Linear negative relationships (P < 0.05) existed between age and ALP, phosphorus, and FEC, while quadratic relationships existed between age and strongyles and Strongyloides egg counts. Calcium was linearly related (P < 0.05) to FEC, while CK was related to FEC in a quadratic fashion. Age of the Nguni goats can be used to predict faecal egg counts, phosphorus, and ALP levels. Keywords: alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, calcium, phosphorus, nematodes Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 443-453 Volume: 57 Issue: 10 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/6345-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6345-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201210-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:10:id:6345-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: P. Homolka Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: V. Koukolová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: M. Podsedníček Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: A. Hlaváčková Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Nutritive value of red clover and lucerne forages for ruminants estimated by in vitro and in vivo digestibility methods Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the nutrient and energy levels of red clover and lucerne forage. Investigation of forage at different maturity stages of three growths was carried out by chemical analysis, in vitro and in vivo digestibility methods. Generally, maturation caused a significant increase in fibre fractions. With the increasing maturity of forage samples the in vivo, in vitro, and calculated in vivo (in vivocalcul) digestibilities of organic matter (OM) linearly decreased. The in vitro and in vivocalcul digestibilities of OM averaged 0.754 and 0.708 for red clover and 0.717 and 0.667 for lucerne, respectively. The in vivo OM digestibility averaged 0.710 for red clover and 0.666 for lucerne. Gross energy (GE), digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), net energy for lactation (NEL), and net energy for growth (NEG) averaged 18.12, 12.41, 9.60, 5.67, 5.50 and 18.09, 11.56, 9.01, 5.26, 4.99 MJ/kg of dry matter for red clover and lucerne, respectively. The effect of a vegetative stage on energy values of both forages was diverged for various growth times. When data were pooled across the estimated season, seven cutting-specific equations for descriptions of GE, DE, ME, NEL, NEG, in vitro, and in vivo OM digestibilities were obtained for red clover and lucerne, separately. The red clover model expression gave similar prediction equations for lucerne. It was possible to predict cutting-specific equations with coefficients of determination R2 > 0.719 for red clover and R2 > 0.400 for lucerne of the variation in GE, DE, ME, NEL, and NEG. The in vitro and in vivo OM digestibility equations were predicted with R2 being 0.840 (in vitro) and 0.707 (in vivo) for red clover, and 0.979 (in vitro) and 0.937 (in vivo) for lucerne. The parameters of these specific equations were statistically preferable than the general model expression which included both forages together. Keywords: ruminant, forage quality, organic matter digestibility, energy value Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 454-468 Volume: 57 Issue: 10 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/6346-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6346-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201210-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:10:id:6346-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: T. Sigl Author-Workplace-Name: Physiology Weihenstephan, Technical University Munich, Freising, Germany Author-Name: H.H.D. Meyer Author-Workplace-Name: Physiology Weihenstephan, Technical University Munich, Freising, Germany Author-Name: S. Wiedemann Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany Title: Gene expression of six major milk proteins in primary bovine mammary epithelial cells isolated from milk during the first twenty weeks of lactation Abstract: The objective of the present study was to refine a previously developed method to isolate primary bovine mammary epithelial cells (pBMEC) from fresh milk. Using this method, it was tested whether the number of pBMEC and the relation of recovered pBMEC to total somatic cell count vary within the individual lactation stages. Furthermore, the expression levels of the milk protein genes during the first twenty weeks of lactation were determined by quantitative PCR method. A total number of 152 morning milk samples were obtained from twenty-four Holstein-Friesian cows during the first 20 weeks of lactation (day 8, 15, 26, 43, 57, 113, and 141 postpartum). Numbers of extracted pBMEC were consistent at all time-points (1.1 ± 0.06 to 1.4 ± 0.03 ×103/ml) and an average value of RNA integrity number (RIN) was 6.3 ± 0.3. Percentage of pBMEC in relation to total milk cells (2.0 ± 0.2 to 6.7 ± 1.0%) correlated with milk yield. Expression patterns of the casein genes alpha (α)S1, (α)S2, beta (β), and kappa (κ) (CSN1S1, CSN1S2, CSN2, CSN3, respectively) and the whey protein genes α-lactalbumin (LALBA) and progestagen-associated endometrial protein (PAEP; known as β-lactoglobulin) were shown to be comparable, i.e. transcripts of all six milk protein genes were found to peak during the first two weeks of lactation and to decline continuously towards mid lactation. However, mRNA levels were different among genes with CSN3 showing the highest and LALBA the lowest abundance. We hypothesized that milk protein gene expression has a pivotal effect on milk protein composition with no influence on milk protein concentration. This paper is the first to describe milk protein gene expression during lactation in pBMEC collected in milk. Future studies will be needed to understand molecular mechanisms in pBMEC including regulation of expression and translation throughout lactation. Keywords: dairy cow, immunomagnetic cell separation, mammary gland, milk protein gene expression Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 469-480 Volume: 57 Issue: 10 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/6347-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6347-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201210-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:10:id:6347-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Y.X. Yang Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, P.R.China Author-Name: J.Q Wang Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China Author-Name: D.P. Bu Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China Author-Name: S.S. Li Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China Author-Name: T.J. Yuan Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China Author-Name: L.Y. Zhou Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China Author-Name: J.H. Yang Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China Author-Name: P. Sun Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China Title: Comparative proteomics analysis of plasma proteins during the transition period in dairy cows with or without subclinical mastitis after calving Abstract: The transition period is the most critical time of the cow's lactation cycle that is associated with the onset of mastitis. In this study, changes of plasma proteins in cows (n = 12) with or without subclinical mastitis after calving were determined by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), which detected 18 spots with variations in protein spots abundance. These spots were identified by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The changes in protein profile from day 21 before calving to day 1 after calving were similar in cows with or without subclinical mastitis. Abundance of α1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) and haptoglobin was dramatically increased at parturition, while transthyretin was down-regulated at parturition, and apolipoprotein E and immunoglobulin gamma 1 were up-regulated at postpartum compared with prepartum in periparturient dairy cows. In cows infected with subclinical mastitis, AGP, haptoglobin, and serum amyloid A were dramatically increased and continued to be elevated in plasma from day 1 to day 21 after calving compared with cows free of mastitis. Changes of protein in plasma at parturition may serve as an immune system response to parturition and lactation process at the protein level and suggest that these altered proteins would not serve as a potential marker for predicting if the periparturient dairy cows are susceptible to subclinical mastitis. Keywords: dairy cow, plasma proteome, periparturient, mass spectrometry, mastitis Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 481-489 Volume: 57 Issue: 10 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/6348-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6348-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201210-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:10:id:6348-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: P. Padrik Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia Author-Workplace-Name: Animal Breeders' Association of Estonia, Keava, Estonia Author-Name: T. Hallap Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia Author-Name: T. Kaart Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia Author-Name: T. Bulitko Author-Workplace-Name: Animal Breeders' Association of Estonia, Keava, Estonia Author-Name: Ü. Jaakma Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Reproductive Biology, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia Title: Relationships between the results of hypo-osmotic swelling tests, sperm motility, and fertility in Estonian Holstein dairy bulls Abstract: As an attempt to find an inexpensive and simple laboratory method for artificial insemination (AI) bull semen quality assessment, the osmotic resistance of spermatozoa was measured using the hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) test, developed by Jeyendran et al. (1984) (labelled HOS-1), and its modifications (HOS-2, HOS-3), with decreased osmotic pressure aimed at challenging sperm survival ability. The test results were benchmarked against sperm viability measurements performed using the Computerized Motility Analyzer (CMA), and field fertility was calculated as non-return rate (NRR). Two age groups of Estonian Holstein bull sires were included in this study to test possible age effect on semen quality parameters. The HOS-1 test in fresh bull semen correlated well with sperm general motility (GMot) (r = 0.63, P < 0.001 at batch level and r = 0.77, P < 0.001 at bull level) as well as with progressive motility (PMot) in frozen-thawed (FT) semen (r = 66, P < 0.001 at batch level and r = 0.81, P < 0.001 at bull level), which makes the test suitable for the prediction of post-thaw semen quality. However, the HOS-2 and HOS-3 values in FT semen had high correlations with NRR (r = 0.65, r = 0.66, P < 0.001 at batch level and r = 0.63, r = 0.71, P < 0.01 at bull level), which was comparable to those between GMot and NRR or PMot and NRR. A combination of motility parameters and the results of the HOS-1 and HOS-3 tests provided a good model for predicting the potential fertility of bull semen. Values of sperm membrane post-thaw intactness, assessed using HOS-2, as well as of sperm motility measurements were higher in mature bulls compared to those in young bulls. Short conclusion: different modifications of the hypo-osmotic swelling test are useful for routine bovine semen quality assessment at AI stations. Keywords: bull fertility, semen quality, sperm membrane intactness, bull age Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 490-497 Volume: 57 Issue: 10 Year: 2012 DOI: 10.17221/6349-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6349-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201210-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:57:y:2012:i:10:id:6349-CJAS