Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Eva Mixtajová Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Project Management Office, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Joana Nery Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, TO, Italy Author-Name: Radovan Kasarda Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Project Management Office, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Muzaffer Denlí Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Türkiye Author-Name: Achille Schiavone Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, TO, Italy Author-Name: Alkan Çağl&# Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Türkiye Author-Name: José Francisco Pérez Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal and Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona - UAB, Barcelona, Spain Author-Name: Hasan Hüseyin İpçak Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Türkiye Author-Name: José Luis Repetto Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal and Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona - UAB, Barcelona, Spain Author-Name: Stanislava Drotárová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Nutrition and Genomics, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic Author-Name: Cecilia Cajarville Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal and Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona - UAB, Barcelona, Spain Title: Mitigating methane in dairy cattle: Integrated strategies and the evolving role of precision livestock farming Abstract: Modern dairy farming faces the dual challenge of meeting global food demands while mitigating its environmental impact, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as methane (CH4), a potent contributor to climate change. This review explores the role of Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) technologies in monitoring and reducing CH4 emissions from dairy cattle. We evaluate state-of-the-art methods, including direct monitoring (e.g. respiratory chambers, GreenFeed systems) and indirect approaches (e.g. infrared milk spectroscopy, AI-driven analytics), alongside mitigation strategies such as nutritional optimisation, genetic selection, and ruminal additives. PLF emerges as a transformative tool, integrating real-time data on animal health, feed efficiency, and environmental conditions to optimise management practices and reduce emissions per unit of milk produced. By synthesising current research, we highlight the potential of PLF to reconcile productivity with sustainability, offering scalable solutions for the dairy sector. Critical gaps in real-time CH4 monitoring and farm-level implementation are identified, underscoring the need for further innovation. This review provides a roadmap for aligning dairy production with global climate goals while ensuring food security for the growing population. Keywords: emission monitoring, mitigation strategies, rumen fermentation, ruminant emissions, sustainability Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 41-58 Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Year: 2026 DOI: 10.17221/116/2025-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/116/2025-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202602-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:71:y:2026:i:2:id:116-2025-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Eliška Žáková Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague - Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: Emil Krupa Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague - Uhříněves, Czech Republic Author-Name: Zuzana Krupová Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Animal Science, Prague - Uhříněves, Czech Republic Title: Genetic and genomic parameters of piglet birth-weight traits and litter size in Czech Large White and Landrace sows Abstract: This study aimed to estimate heritabilities of piglet birth-weight traits and to investigate the relationships between piglet birth-weight and litter-size traits using field data from Czech Large White and Landrace sows. Data including 86 241 piglets from 5 536 litters were analysed using repeatability, genetic, and genomic models. The investigated piglet-weight traits included arithmetic mean birth weight (MBW), within-litter standard deviation (SDBW), coefficient of variation in birth weight (CVBW), and the proportion of small piglets in the litter (SMALL). Heritability rates of piglet-weight traits were low, with the highest estimates for MBW (0.06-0.10) and SMALL (0.08-0.17), depending on the model used, while the other within-litter variability traits showed heritability rates from 0.03 to 0.05. The heritability rates of litter-size traits, including the number of piglets born alive (NBA) and the number of piglets weaned (NW), were low and ranged from 0.05 to 0.07. The realised accuracies of prediction were moderate to high, ranging from 0.50 to 0.72 for piglet-weight traits and from 0.54 to 0.77 for litter-size traits, with ssGBLUP improving realised accuracy by 4-15% in comparison to BLUP. Genetic correlations estimated using BLUP and ssGBLUP indicated that litter size at birth (NBA) tended to be negatively associated with MBW and positively or weakly associated with piglet-weight variability traits (SDBW, CVBW, and SMALL), whereas NW tended to show positive correlations with MBW and negative correlations with variability traits. However, none of the correlations were statistically significant. Keywords: genetic correlation, heritability, litter size, pig, piglet variability Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 59-66 Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Year: 2026 DOI: 10.17221/135/2025-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/135/2025-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202602-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:71:y:2026:i:2:id:135-2025-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Ari Hameed Omer Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Production, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Duhok, Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq Author-Name: Sherzad Mustafa Hussein Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Production, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Duhok, Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq Title: Performance and physiological responses of E. coli-challenged broiler chickens to dietary Moringa oleifera Abstract: This study was conducted to examine the effects of Moringa oleifera (MO) seed powder on the performance and gut health of broilers challenged with E. coli. A total of 720 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 72 pens across two separate rooms, following a 2 × 6 factorial design. The factors per room included (i) challenge: no or yes, and (ii) feed additive: control (none), antibiotic [oxytetracycline (OTC) at 0.5 g/kg], MO 0.1%, MO 0.2%, MO 0.4%, and MO 0.8%. At 9 days old, birds in both challenged and non-challenged rooms were inoculated with 1.5 ml of E. coli-O157:H7 inoculant (3.8 × 108 CFU) and 1.5 ml of saline, respectively. Performance data showed that, throughout the study, unchallenged birds had better weight gain (WG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) than challenged birds. On day 35, broilers given OTC and all MO levels showed improved WG (P < 0.001) and FCR (P < 0.003). Interactions between challenge and additives were observed on day 10 for FCR (P = 0.031); on days 24 and 35 for WG (P < 0.001); and on days 24 and 35 for FCR (P < 0.004 and P = 0.002, respectively). On day 24, challenged birds fed all MO levels exhibited higher WG and better FCR than challenged controls, while on day 35, both challenged and unchallenged MO-fed birds showed improved WG and FCR compared to control groups. E. coli significantly increased crypt depth (CD), jejunum muscle thickness, and caecal E. coli colonies. MO significantly enhanced villus height (VH), the VH : CD ratio, villous tip width, and surface area, while decreasing CD, muscle thickness, and E. coli colonies. Challenged birds had significantly lower serum total protein, albumin, and Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) titres, while serum alanine aminotransferase ALT activity was higher than in non-challenged birds. Overall, Moringa at 0.4% showed comparable or better results than OTC in preventing E. coli-induced declines in broiler performance and gut health. Keywords: Escherichia coli, gut histomorphology, meat-type chicken, phytogenics, productivity, serum biochemical Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 79-93 Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Year: 2026 DOI: 10.17221/153/2025-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/153/2025-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202602-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:71:y:2026:i:2:id:153-2025-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: David Zapletal Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Martina Kosťuková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Lenka Rozsypalová Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Vlastimil Šimek Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: František Ježek Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Origin Food and Gastronomy Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Josef Kameník Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Origin Food and Gastronomy Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Radka Dobšíková Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Animal Breeding, Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Effect of dietary administration of Mentha piperita alone and in combination with Artemisia abrotanum on growth performance, body composition, physicochemical properties and amino acid composition of meat in Eimeria-challenged broilers Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary administration of peppermint (Mentha piperita) alone and in combination with southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum) on performance, body and carcass composition, physicochemical characteristics, and amino acid composition of breast meat in broilers under Eimeria challenge. A total of 160 14-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to four dietary groups: the control (C) group was fed a basal diet; the CC group received a grower diet containing the coccidiostat robenidine; the M group was fed the diets with the addition of 20 g peppermint/kg of diet; the MS group was fed the diets with the addition of 10 g peppermint + 10 g of southernwood/kg of diet. The addition of peppermint to the diet increased final live weight compared to the CC group (P < 0.05). The highest value of dressing percentage was found in the M group as compared to the CC group (P < 0.01) and C group (P < 0.05). Compared with the C group, a higher intramuscular fat content was found in the breast meat of broilers in both the M and MS groups (P < 0.01; P < 0.05, resp.). Concerning the colour of meat, lower values for yellowness b* and chroma C* characteristics were observed in the C group compared to the MS group (P < 0.05) and mainly to the M group (P < 0.01). In spite of the lower crude protein content (P < 0.05) in the meat of the MS group, the highest content of all essential amino acids (P < 0.05) as well as the total content of all assessed amino acids (P < 0.01) were found in the meat of the MS group, resulting in a considerable increase in the nutritional value of the breast meat proteins of these broilers. Keywords: amino acid, breast muscle, carcass trait, coccidiosis, meat nutrition, phytogenic additive Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 67-78 Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Year: 2026 DOI: 10.17221/173/2025-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/173/2025-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjs-202602-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:71:y:2026:i:2:id:173-2025-CJAS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Petr Kotlík Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Molecular Ecology, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Liběchov, Czech Republic. Title: Obituary Notice - Prof. Ing. Antonín Stratil, DrSc. (1941-2025) Abstract: Professor Antonín Stratil (1941-2025) was a respected animal geneticist whose six-decade career made lasting contributions to biochemical, molecular and genomic research, education, and service to the scientific community. Journal: Czech Journal of Animal Science Pages: 94-95 Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Year: 2026 DOI: 10.17221/15/2026-CJAS File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/15/2026-CJAS.html File-Format: text/html File-URL: http://cjas.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/15/2026-CJAS.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjs:v:71:y:2026:i:2:id:15-2026-CJAS