Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yu-Yun Gao Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Xing-Li Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Li-Hui Xu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Hui Peng Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Chang-Kang Wang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, P.R. China Author-Name: Ying-Zuo Bi Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, P.R. China Title: Encapsulated blends of essential oils and organic acids improved performance, intestinal morphology, cecal microflora, and jejunal enzyme activity of broilers Abstract: This study investigated effects of encapsulated blends of essential oils (EO) and organic acids (OA) on performance, intestinal morphology, cecal microflora, and jejunal mucosal enzyme activity and secretory IgA (s-IgA) level of broilers. Three hundred one-day-old male broilers were divided into 5 treatments with 5 replicates each. Control group received basal diet. Three additional groups received basal diets supplemented with 150, 200, or 250 mg/kg encapsulated blends of EO and OA. Antibiotic group received basal diet supplemented with 30 mg/kg bacitracin zinc. On days 21 and 70 of trial, 2 broilers from each replicate were weighed, and then blood, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and cecum samples were collected. Results showed that broilers fed blends of EO and OA had greater average daily gain (ADG) (linear, P = 0.043) and gain-to-feed ratio (G : F) (linear, P = 0.052) at day 21 compared to broilers fed the control diet. Blends of EO and OA reduced cecal Escherichia coli and Salmonella level of 21- and 70-day-old broilers (linear, P < 0.01). Jejunum villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (VCR) of 21-day-old broilers was elevated by blends of EO and OA (linear, P = 0.041) compared to control. Blends of EO and OA promoted chymotrypsin activity at day 21 (quadratic, P = 0.014), jejunal mucosal s-IgA content at day 70 (linear, P = 0.012), α-amylase activity at day 70 (quadratic, P = 0.043), and chymotrypsin activity at day 70 (quadratic, P = 0.037). Compared to control, antibiotic group increased ADG at day 21 (P = 0.039), decreased cecal Salmonella level at day 21 (P = 0.018), enhanced jejunum VCR at day 21 (P = 0.049), and elevated jejunal mucosal s-IgA content at day 21 (P = 0.016). It can be stated that EO and OA blends enhanced performance, increased jejunal s-IgA level and enzyme activity, improved intestinal morphology, and balanced intestinal microflora of broilers. Keywords: essential oils, organic acids, encapsulation, growth, microflora, secretory IgA, broilers Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 189-198 Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.17221/172/2018-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/172/2018-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201905-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:64:y:2019:i:5:id:172-2018-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Michaela Brzáková Author-Name: Ludmila Zavadilová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: Josef Přibyl Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: Petr Pešek Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: Eva Kašná Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: Anita Kranjčevičová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic Title: Estimation of genetic parameters for female fertility traits in the Czech Holstein population Abstract: Genetic parameters for fertility traits in Czech Holstein population were estimated. The database obtained from the Czech-Moravian Breeders Corporation with 6 414 486 insemination records between years 2005-2015 was used. Date of calving of the selected animals was taken from the database of milk records from 2005-2015. Fertility traits were age at first service (AFS), age at first calving (AFC), days open (DO), calving interval (CI) and first service to conception interval in cows (FSC-C) and heifers (FSC-H). The heritability of each trait was estimated using single-trait animal models. The model included fixed effects of herd-year-season of birth, herd-year-month of calving, lactation order, parity, last calving ease, linear and quadratic regressions on age at first insemination in heifers or on age at first calving in cows. Random effects were animal, permanent environmental effect and random residual error. After edits, the final data set included up to 599 901 observations from up to 448 037 animals dependent on traits. The range of heritability estimates was from 0.010 to 0.058. The lowest heritability was for first service to conception interval in heifers, and the highest heritability was for age at first service. Variances of random permanent effects were higher than variance of additive genetic effect in all traits manifested in mature cows. Repeatability ranged from 0.060 to 0.090. Genetic correlations between traits were estimated using a bivariate animal model. High positive genetic correlations were found between AFS-AFC, DO-CI, FSC-C-DO and FSC-C-CI. A moderate genetic correlation was found between AFS-FSC-H and between AFC. A negative correlation was found between AFS-FSC-C. Correlations between other traits were close to zero. The results suggest that the level of these reproductive traits can be improved by selection of animals with high genetic merit. Keywords: dairy cattle, fertility, heritability, genetic correlation, heifers, cows Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 199-206 Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.17221/51/2018-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/51/2018-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201905-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:64:y:2019:i:5:id:51-2018-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mengdi Liang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China Author-Name: Xin Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China Author-Name: Jia Guo Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China Author-Name: Yuwei Yang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China Author-Name: Yonghong Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China Author-Name: Xianzhong Yu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China Author-Name: Boxing Sun Title: Apoptosis of porcine Sertoli cells is inhibited by QKI-5 via regulating CASP8 Abstract: QKI, a KH domain containing RNA binding, is an RNA-binding protein that is involved in cell proliferation and apoptosis through binding to the QKI response element (QRE) site of its target mRNA. And Caspase 8 (CASP8) and Caspase 3 (CASP3) play important roles in the pathway of apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of QKI-5 on the apoptosis of Sertoli cells. The experimental results show that pig tissues contain QKI-5, QKI-6 and QKI-7. Overexpression of QKI-5 significantly decreased the mRNA expression of CASP8 (P < 0.05) and the protein expression of CASP8 (P < 0.05). On the contrary, inhibiting QKI-5 increased the expression of CASP8 significantly. Overexpression of QKI-5 significantly reduced the apoptosis of Sertoli cells and promoted cell growth (P < 0.05). Furthermore, QKI-5 specifically reduced the stability of CASP8 mRNA by binding QRE sites on CASP8. Our experiments provide preliminary evidence that QKI-5 induces Sertoli cells proliferation by inhibiting apoptosis, and this may be one of the factors promoting testicular development. Keywords: pig, QKI-6, QKI-7, QRE, RNA-binding protein, stability Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 207-215 Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.17221/158/2018-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/158/2018-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201905-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:64:y:2019:i:5:id:158-2018-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Moataz Fathi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt Author-Name: Ibrahim Al-Homidan Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia Author-Name: Gamal Rayan Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt Author-Workplace-Name: College of Agricultural Sciences and Food, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia Author-Name: Salah El-Safty Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt Author-Name: Tarek Ebeid Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt Author-Name: Osama Abou-Emera Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia Author-Workplace-Name: Agriculture Research Center, Animal Production Research Institute, Giza, Egypt Title: Laying performance, immune response and antioxidant properties of hens segregating for naked neck and frizzle genes under low ambient temperature Abstract: Major genes could be introgressed into laying hens to attenuate heat stress. However, under cold and/or moderate ambient temperature, these genes might possess different behaviour. The main objective of this study was to evaluate laying performance, immune response, and antioxidant status of native laying hens segregating for naked neck (Na) and frizzle (F) genes under low ambient temperature. Five genotypes were studied: homozygous naked neck (NaNaff), heterozygous naked neck (Nanaff), homozygous frizzle (nanaFF), heterozygous frizzle (nanaFf), and normally feathered (nanaff). The hens were raised under temperature range 22.2-16.7°C. No adverse effect due to ambient temperature was detected in laying performance for naked neck genotypes. Significant decrease in egg weight was recorded in nanaFF genotype compared to the other genotypes leading to significant decrease in egg mass. Significant improvement in shell thickness was associated with Na and F genes. NaNaff genotype had a significantly higher eggshell strength compared to nanaff. Furthermore, Na and F genes improved cellular mediated immune responsiveness, whereas this improvement did not extend to humoral immunity. Birds carrying F gene in homozygous state had a higher total antioxidant activity compared to the remaining genotypes. It could be concluded that the presence of Na and F genes in laying hens raised under low ambient temperature significantly increased shell thickness and, in turn, improved shell strength. Moreover, they greatly enhanced cellular immunity, particularly in heterozygous naked neck status. Keywords: laying hens, naked neck gene, frizzle gene, immunocompetence, low temperature Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 216-225 Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.17221/221/2018-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/221/2018-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201905-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:64:y:2019:i:5:id:221-2018-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Mateusz Bucław Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Poultry and Ornamental Birds Breeding, West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland Author-Name: Danuta Majewska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Poultry and Ornamental Birds Breeding, West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland Author-Name: Danuta Szczerbińska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Poultry and Ornamental Birds Breeding, West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland Author-Name: Małgorzata Jakubowska Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Physiological Chemistry, Institute of Food Commodity Sciences, West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland Title: Nutritional quality assessment of different muscles derived from 15-year-old female emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae): Meat physicochemical traits and sensory scores Abstract: The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is considered a versatile farm species whose main by-products are meat and oil. At present, there is lack of information on the value of the meat of laying females at the end of their reproductive cycle which hampers the development of a specific market. To fill this gap, the present research aimed at studying the mineral composition, fatty acid profile, cholesterol level, selected physicochemical parameters and sensory quality of the meat of laying females at the end of their reproductive life cycles was carried out. The study should extend the knowledge on the application of this type of meat in food products as well as the available nutritional information on the muscles of female emus slaughtered at the end of their reproductive lives. The research material consisted of eight females slaughtered at the age of 15 years, at the end of their reproductive period. Following exsanguination, plucking and evisceration, the carcasses were cooled at 4°C for 24 h. After this time, five muscles were separated from both halfs of the carcases. The results showed that meat from 15-year-old females is of satisfactory nutritional quality. The rich mineral composition, high protein content, and low intramuscular fat and cholesterol contents deserve special emphasis. For this reason, the meat can be recommended for formulating healthy diets for humans. Its trading development is therefore expectable. Keywords: emu, meat, proximate composition, minerals, fatty acids Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 226-238 Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Year: 2019 DOI: 10.17221/140/2018-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/140/2018-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-201905-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:64:y:2019:i:5:id:140-2018-CJAS