Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Tomáš Slanina Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Michal Miškeje Author-Workplace-Name: AgroBioTech Research Centre, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Filip Tirpák Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Martyna Błaszczyk Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Zoology of Vertebrates and Human Biology, Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland Author-Name: Robert Stawarz Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Zoology of Vertebrates and Human Biology, Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland Author-Name: Peter Massányi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Zoology of Vertebrates and Human Biology, Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland Title: Effect of taurine on turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) spermatozoa viability and motility Abstract: The effect of taurine on the turkey spermatozoa motility and viability during the in vitro incubation was assessed. Experimental samples were prepared by diluting the raw semen in nine different concentrations of taurine - from 10 mg/ml to 0.078125 mg/ml. The motility parameters were evaluated by the CASA system (Computer Assisted Semen Analyser) using the program Sperm Vision® and for spermatozoa viability assessment the eosin-nigrosin staining was performed. Selected parameters were evaluated at six time periods: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 h at 5°C and 41°C. At 5°C, a significantly lower percentage of motility and progressive motility was detected only in the samples with the highest concentration of taurine (10 mg/ml) at time 0 and 1. After 2 h of incubation a significant preventive effect of taurine on spermatozoa parameters was observed. The tendency of the taurine effect on motility parameters was different during the in vitro incubation at 41°C. Significantly lower values of motility parameters were detected in all experimental samples in comparison to the control after 5 h. The analysed concentrations of taurine did not significantly affect viability of turkey spermatozoa during all time periods. A higher percentage of dead spermatozoa were observed at 41°C (4.87-9.90%) if compared to 5°C (2.12-4.88%). The results indicated that the addition of taurine (from 2.5 to 7.5 mg/ml) to turkey spermatozoa positively affected the monitored spermatozoa parameters incubated at 5°C. Keywords: amino acid, liquid storage, in vitro, CASA system, membrane integrity, fowl Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 127-135 Volume: 63 Issue: 4 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/79/2017-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/79/2017-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201804-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:63:y:2018:i:4:id:79-2017-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Nina Moravčíková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding Biology, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Mojca Simčič Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia Author-Name: Gábor Mészáros Author-Workplace-Name: Division Livestock Science, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Vienna, Austria Author-Name: Johann Sölkner Author-Workplace-Name: Division Livestock Science, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Vienna, Austria Author-Name: Veronika Kukučková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding Biology, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Michal Vlček Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding Biology, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Anna Trakovická Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding Biology, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Ondrej Kadlečík Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding Biology, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Author-Name: Radovan Kasarda Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding Biology, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia Title: Genomic response to natural selection within alpine cattle breeds Abstract: The aim of this study was to analyse the genomic regions that have been target of natural selection with respect to identifying the loci responsible mainly for fitness traits across six alpine cattle breeds. The genome-wide scan for selection signatures was performed using genotyping data from totally 465 animals. After applying data quality control, overall 35 873 single nucleotide polymorphisms were useable for the subsequent analysis. The detection of genomic regions affected by natural selection was carried out using the approach of principal component analysis. The analysis was based on the assumption that markers extremely related to the population structure are also candidates for local adaptation potential of the population. Based on the expected false discovery rate equal to 10% up to 1138 loci were identified as outliers. The strongest signals of selection were found in genomic regions on BTA 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 22. Most genes located in the identified regions have been previously associated with immunity system as well as body growth and muscle formation that mainly reflect the pressure of both natural and artificial selection in respect to adaptation of analysed breeds to the local environmental conditions. The results also signalized that those regions represent a correlated selection response in way to maintain the fitness of analysed breeds. Keywords: cattle, fitness, footprints of selection, genomics, local adaptation, PCAdapt Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 136-143 Volume: 63 Issue: 4 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/62/2017-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/62/2017-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201804-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:63:y:2018:i:4:id:62-2017-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Małgorzata Ochota Author-Name: Wojciech Niżański Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Reproduction and Clinic of Farm Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland Title: Effect of vitrification on apoptotic changes in feline embryos Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a vitrification-warming procedure on the viability of cat embryos and blastocysts and the incidence of apoptotic changes in blastocysts subjected to vitrification and blastocyst that developed from vitrified embryos. In the first part of the experiment, post-thaw embryo development and blastocyst viability were evaluated based on morphological appearance and the ability to develop (embryos) or re-expand (blastocyst) compared to control. In the second part, blastocysts that were viable after vitrification-warming and blastocysts that developed from vitrified-warmed embryos were stained with Annexin-V and TUNEL to evaluate apoptotic changes. Most of the vitrified-warmed embryos were viable after thawing, 36.3% developed to morula, and 14.7% to the blastocyst stage. The overall re-expansion rate of blastocysts that were vitrified on day 7 was 55.6%. Vitrification significantly increased apoptotic and necrotic changes in blastocysts, but did not influence late apoptotic and necrotic changes in blastocysts that developed from vitrified-warmed embryos. The total number of blastomeres in blastocysts was similar in blastocysts that developed from vitrified-warmed embryos (99.1 ± 23.1), but lower in blastocysts vitrified on day 7 (82.1 ± 16.8), if compared to the control group (107.9 ± 24.2). These results show that the vitrification-warming procedure returns embryos capable of further development to a good quality blastocyst in vitro. Whereas, vitrification of blastocysts caused the progression of apoptotic changes in some blastomeres, however it did not affect the overall blastocyst viability. Keywords: cat, TUNEL, blastocyst, Annexin-V, apoptosis Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 144-151 Volume: 63 Issue: 4 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/101/2017-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/101/2017-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201804-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:63:y:2018:i:4:id:101-2017-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Szilvia Kusza Author-Workplace-Name: Research and Development Station for Sheep and Goats Caransebes, Academy for Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Caransebes, Romania Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary Author-Name: Daniela Elena Ilie Author-Workplace-Name: Research and Development Station for Sheep and Goats Caransebes, Academy for Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Caransebes, Romania Author-Workplace-Name: Research and Development Station for Bovine Arad, Academy for Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Arad, Romania Author-Name: Maria Sauer Author-Workplace-Name: Research and Development Station for Sheep and Goats Caransebes, Academy for Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Caransebes, Romania Author-Name: Krisztina Nagy Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary Author-Name: Traian Stefan Atanasiu Author-Workplace-Name: Research and Development Station for Sheep and Goats Popauti, Academy for Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Popauti, Romania Author-Name: Dinu Gavojdian Author-Workplace-Name: Research and Development Station for Sheep and Goats Caransebes, Academy for Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Caransebes, Romania Title: Study of LGB gene polymorphisms of small ruminants reared in Eastern Europe Abstract: The objectives of the current research were: (i) to determine the allele and genotype frequencies of the LGB gene in the sheep and goat breeds reared in Eastern Europe; (ii) to implement a comparative study in order to evaluate the milk production potential and efficiency of the main sheep and goat dairy breeds reared in Romania; (iii) to test the genetic basis and feasibility of introducing the molecular-marker assisted selection for this trait into future breeding schemes designed for small ruminants. Totally 731 purebred unrelated sheep (Turcana: 111, Racka: 98, Tsigai: 79, Karakul of Botosani: 60, Transylvanian Merino: 77) and goats (Carpatina: 82, Banat's White: 73, Saanen: 74, French Alpine: 77) were sampled and genotyped for the earlier detected alleles. The frequencies of A (0.44-0.53) and B (0.42-0.51) alleles of LGB gene were generally equal, while the C allele incidence was significantly lower for all sheep breeds studied. A relatively low or missing incidence of the C allele and no BC genotype were detected in the studied sheep breeds. All studied sheep breeds were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Gene homozygosity was lower than gene heterozygosity, with the effective allele numbers ranging from 2.00 (Transylvanian Merino) to 2.23 (Tsigai). Two alleles (A and B) and two genotypes (AA and AB) were detected in the four goat breeds studied. Allele A was the most frequent allele found in all breeds (0.57-0.68), while AB genotype had the highest frequency. Gene homozygosity was higher than gene heterozygosity, while the effective allele numbers varied between 1.76 (Banat's White) and 1.96 (Carpatina). The frequency of alleles and genotypes was similar to that reported in other Eastern sheep and goat breeds, however polymorphism has not been studied yet among these breeds in such a high number in Romania. An association study between single nucleotide polymorphisms and milk production traits should follow. Keywords: β -LG, sheep, goats, milk production, Hungary Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 152-159 Volume: 63 Issue: 4 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/93/2017-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/93/2017-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201804-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:63:y:2018:i:4:id:93-2017-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Maria Chrenkova Author-Workplace-Name: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute for Animal Production Nitra, Institute for Nutrition, Lužianky, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Zuzana Formelova Author-Workplace-Name: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute for Animal Production Nitra, Institute for Nutrition, Lužianky, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Zuzana Ceresnakova Author-Workplace-Name: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute for Animal Production Nitra, Institute for Nutrition, Lužianky, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Catalin Dragomir Author-Workplace-Name: National Institute for Research-Development in Animal Biology and Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania Author-Name: Matus Rajsky Author-Workplace-Name: National Agricultural and Food Centre, Research Institute for Animal Production Nitra, Institute for Nutrition, Lužianky, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Ana Cismileanu Author-Workplace-Name: National Institute for Research-Development in Animal Biology and Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania Author-Name: Martin Riis Weisbjerg Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, AU Foulum, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Title: Rumen undegradable protein (RUP) and its intestinal digestibility after steam flaking of cereal grains Abstract: While it is known that heat treatment of cereal grains generally improves the nutritional value for ruminants, simultaneous information on rumen degradability and intestinal digestibility of the rumen by-pass is scarce, especially for non-starch constituents. The effect of steam flaking at 90°C for 30 min on protein quality of maize, wheat, and barley was studied. In addition to proximal chemical analyses, protein rumen degradability was determined in vitro and intestinal digestibility of rumen undegraded protein was determined using the mobile bag method. No significant effects of steam flaking on chemical composition of cereal grains (crude protein, acid detergent fibre, neutral detergent fibre, and starch) were observed. The protein fractions that are relevant to rumen degradability were significantly influenced by the steam flaking: the non-protein nitrogen fraction (A) was reduced (P < 0.05) by 43-93% for all three cereal grains, whereas the fraction that represents true soluble protein (B1) was reduced (P < 0.05) for wheat grains (by 77%) and barley (by 93%). Although the difference was not significant, a decrease of 41% for B1 fraction was also observed for maize. On the other hand, steam flaking markedly increased buffer insoluble but neutral detergent soluble protein fraction (B2) by 15-25% for all three cereal grains, whereas effects on B3 fraction were not significant. Steam flaking was also associated with an increase of the rumen undegradable protein fraction (C) in the case of barley, from 6.6 to 11.1% of total N (P < 0.05) and wheat, from 5.2 to 8.4% of the total N (P < 0.05). Overall, the changes of the protein fractions led to a considerable increase of the rumen undegradable protein (RUP) for all steam-flaked cereal grains (P < 0.05). Steam flaking also increased (P < 0.05) intestinal digestibility of RUP of the cereal grains (by 3.6-34.8%), leading to a more efficient protein use in ruminants. Keywords: heat treatment, protein fractions, protein degradability Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 160-166 Volume: 63 Issue: 4 Year: 2018 DOI: 10.17221/74/2017-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/74/2017-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201804-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:63:y:2018:i:4:id:74-2017-CJAS