Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jaromír Ducháček Author-Name: Matúš Gašparík Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague - Suchdol, Czech Republic Author-Name: Martin Ptáček Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague - Suchdol, Czech Republic Author-Name: Luděk Stádník Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague - Suchdol, Czech Republic Title: Screening of backfat thickness and musculus longissimus lumborum et thoracis depth of Aberdeen Angus cattle in Czech condition Abstract: The aim of this study was to monitor the Czech Aberdeen Angus population for backfat thickness (BT), musculus longissimus lumborum et thoracis (MUSCLE) and live weight (LW) in relation to environmental and genetic conditions. In this study, we also wanted to display the potential for future inclusion of these parameters into national monitoring. Parameters of BT, MUSCLE and LW were measured at 120, 210, and 365 days of age in 769 Aberdeen Angus calves (417 bulls and 352 heifers) on seven farms. Statistical evaluation was performed in the SAS v9.3 software. The bulls achieved significantly higher (P < 0.01) weights and larger MUSCLE compared to the heifers, although the heifers had higher BT. The age of the dam at calving significantly influenced the growth ability of tested calves, but it did not influence BT nor MUSCLE. The nested effect of the year-season, farm and sire bulls (or genetic background) significantly affected LW, BT and MUSCLE of tested calves. The use of the same breeding bulls on different farms resulted in significant differences in growth parameters. Our results displayed the potential of nationwide monitoring of MUSCLE and BT of beef breeds, as official parameters of the beef performance testing in the Czech Republic. The inclusion of these globally used traits in the Czech breeding system would allow to predict breeding values for the Czech beef population. This would lead not only to general improvement of MUSCLE in the population, but also to the production of better breeding animals and slaughter animals with higher value. Keywords: growth ability, ultrasonography, meatiness, fatness, beef calves Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 137-148 Volume: 66 Issue: 5 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/274/2020-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/274/2020-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202105-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:66:y:2021:i:5:id:274-2020-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Serdar Duru Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bursa Uludag, Bursa, Turkey Author-Name: Elif Abdullahoglu Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bursa Uludag, Bursa, Turkey Author-Workplace-Name: Rumida Consulting, Bursa, Turkey Author-Name: Abdurrahman Özlüer Author-Workplace-Name: Rumida Consulting, Bursa, Turkey Author-Name: Ismail Filya Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bursa Uludag, Bursa, Turkey Title: Estimation of heritability for immunoglobulin concentrations in colostrum and serum in Holstein cows and their calves Abstract: In the present study, colostrum quality in Holstein cows and their genetic parameters for passive transfer traits in calves were estimated. In order to get an estimation, colostrum Brix (ColBrix), colostrum immunoglobulin G (ColIgG) of Holstein cows, and serum total protein (STP) and serum immunoglobulin G (SIgG) levels of the calves of selected cows raised in a private livestock company in Turkey were assessed. Variance components and genetic parameters were estimated by MTDFREML using a mixed model. The heritability for ColBrix, ColIgG, STP and SIgG was estimated to be 0.19 ± 0.07, 0.19 ± 0.07, 0.36 ± 0.10 and 0.34 ± 0.10, respectively. According to the results of bivariate analysis, genetic correlations between the traits varied between -0.98 and +0.98. There was a sufficient genetic variance for SIgG in the calves in the population and thus a significant genetic improvement may be achieved by selection in order to increase the passive transfer. It will be worthwhile to continue the efforts for genetic improvement studies which have the potential to reduce calf deaths in the future. Keywords: dairy cattle, passive transfer, calf survival, genetic parameter, MTDFREML Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 149-155 Volume: 66 Issue: 5 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/269/2020-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/269/2020-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202105-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:66:y:2021:i:5:id:269-2020-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Lu Zhu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Jingtong Huang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Jing Jing Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Qi Zheng Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Qianyun Ji Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Ya Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Jianping Ding Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Fugui Fang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Yunsheng Li Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Yunhai Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Name: Yinghui Ling Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Local Animal Genetic Resources Conservation and Biobreeding Laboratory of Anhui Province, Anhui Hefei, P.R. China Title: Expression of microRNAs in the hypothalamus of pregnant and non-pregnant goats Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a significant role in animal reproduction by regulating the expression of protein-coding genes. The hypothalamus regulates the pregnancy cycle changes in goats; however, the action mechanism of miRNAs in this regulation remains to be investigated. In this study, we performed RNA sequencing of hypothalamus samples to establish a comprehensive miRNA profiling of pregnant and non-pregnant goats. A total of 384 miRNAs were identified in the hypothalamus of pregnant goats, of which 239 were newly discovered, and 390 miRNAs were detected in the hypothalamus of non-pregnant goats of which 192 were novel miRNAs. In addition, a total of 280 differentially expressed miRNAs are characterized, of which 171 were known miRNAs and 109 were novel miRNAs. Functional enrichment suggests that the predicted target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs may be involved in the reproductive process. This preliminary study revealed that let-7f-5p, miR-99a-5p and miR-100-5p may be involved in the hypothalamic regulation of pregnancy cycle changes in goats. These data provide a basic reference for subsequent studies on the regulatory role of miRNAs in mammalian pregnancy. Keywords: miRNA, RNA-seq, reproduction, differential expression Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 156-167 Volume: 66 Issue: 5 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/113/2020-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/113/2020-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202105-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:66:y:2021:i:5:id:113-2020-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Neşe Nuray Toprak Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey Author-Name: Ismail Yavaş Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey Author-Name: Ali Anil Çenesiz Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey Author-Name: Necmettin Ceylan Author-Name: Ibrahim Çiftci Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey Title: Effects of digestible amino acid based formulation of low protein broiler diets supplemented with valine, isoleucine and arginine on performance and protein efficiency Abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of digestible amino acid (DAA) based formulation strategy, and l-valine (l-Val), l-isoleucine (l-Ile) and l-arginine (l-Arg) supplementation to reduce the crude protein (CP) level of broiler diets on performance, carcass characteristics and protein efficiency ratio by comparing with the control diet formulated on total amino acid base. A total of 792 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were divided into 48 floor pens, with 24 pens containing 16 chicks and 24 pens containing 17 chicks. The experiment was organized in a completely randomized block design with four dietary treatments as follows; T1: formulated to meet minimum both total amino acid and DAA requirements without using l-Val, l-Ile, and l-Arg, T2: formulated to meet DAA requirements without using l-Val, l-Ile and l-Arg, T3: formulated to meet DAA requirements by using l-Val alone, T4: formulated to meet DAA requirements by using l-Val, l-Arg, and l-Ile. Each treatment had 12 replicates. Neither l-Val (T3) nor l-Val, l-Ile, and l-Arg supplemented (T4) low CP dietary treatments had any negative impact on growth performance, feed conversion ratio during experimental periods, as well as carcass parameters of broilers. Indeed, CP reduction by the addition of l-Val alone or l-Val, l-Ile, and l-Arg together even resulted in a significant improvement in protein efficiency ratio compared to T1 and T2 treatments. Supplementation of l-Val either alone or along with l-Ile and l-Arg to diets formulated based on DAA not only decreased dietary CP but also soybean meal inclusion. It can be concluded that maintained growth performance, and even improved protein utilization can be achieved due to the DAA based formulation strategy and supplementing broiler diets with l-Val alone or together with l-Ile and l-Arg. Keywords: amino acids, carcass, chicken, protein intake Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 168-178 Volume: 66 Issue: 5 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/293/2020-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/293/2020-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202105-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:66:y:2021:i:5:id:293-2020-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Yongjie Xiong Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Regulation and Health, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Name: Qirun Yin Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Regulation and Health, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Name: Kai Song Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Regulation and Health, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Name: Jing Li Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Regulation and Health, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Pork Quality and Safety Control of Agriculture Ministry, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Name: Shaojun He Author-Workplace-Name: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Regulation and Health, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, P.R. China Title: Alpha lipoic acid improves heat stress-induced reduction of serum oestradiol and progesterone levels by affecting oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress in hens Abstract: Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), a natural lipophilic compound, plays an important role in regulating several metabolic pathways due to its antioxidant properties. This study aims to investigate whether ALA could be used as a feed additive to enhance the antioxidant capacity of the ovary tissue in hens exposed to heat stress (HS). One hundred and sixty 128-days-old female chickens were randomly assigned into four groups: the control group (Con), ALA treatment group (ALA), ALA and HS treatment group (ALA + HS), and HS treatment group (HS). The ALA and ALA + HS groups were fed a basal diet with 0.25% ALA, whereas the Con and HS groups were fed a basal diet only. Serum oestradiol, progesterone levels, biomarkers of antioxidant capacity, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers were detected in the ovaries of heat-stressed chickens. HS decreased serum oestradiol and progesterone concentrations compared with the control group, whereas dietary ALA (0.25%) increased oestradiol and progesterone levels in the serum of heat-stressed hens. Malondialdehyde concentration in the ovary was higher in the HS group than that of the ALA + HS group. Compared with the HS group, ALA increased the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase in the ovaries of ALA + HS group. Simultaneously, ALA enhanced the total antioxidative capacity of the ovaries of heat-stressed hens. Moreover, ALA also significantly inhibited the increased expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein, which are two markers of ER stress, and heat shock protein 70, a key biomarker of heat stress, in the ovaries of the ALA + HS group as compared to those of the HS group. This work implied that dietary ALA supplementation improved the antioxidant capacity and attenuated the HS-induced reduction of serum oestradiol and progesterone levels and modulated the oxidative and ER stress, which are involved in the protective effect of ALA in hens exposed to hyperthermia. Keywords: antioxidant, hyperthermia, steroid hormone, oxidative damage, ovarian function Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 179-187 Volume: 66 Issue: 5 Year: 2021 DOI: 10.17221/241/2020-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/241/2020-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202105-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:66:y:2021:i:5:id:241-2020-CJAS