Differences among domestic chicken breeds in tonic immobility responses as a measure of fearfulness.

Background: One priority for animal welfare is for animals to experience less fear, especially during human contact. For domestic animals, breeds that are less fearful may provide genetic resources to develop strains with improved welfare due to lower susceptibility to fear. Genetic predispositions inherited in these breeds might reflect the large diversity of chicken breeds.

Evaluation of Rumen Degradation Kinetics of Low-Lignin Alfalfa 'Hi-Gest 360' in Saskatchewan Canada.

The objective of this study was to determine rumen degradation kinetics of new low-lignin alfalfa ( L.) cv. Hi-Gest360 (HiGest) in comparison with conventional alfalfa cv.

Corrigendum: Phenotypic and genetic parameters of circadian rhythms from core body temperature profiles and their relationships with beef steers' production efficiency profiles during successive winter feeding periods.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.

Phenotypic and genetic parameters of circadian rhythms from core body temperature profiles and their relationships with beef steers' production efficiency profiles during successive winter feeding periods.

This 2-year study evaluated differences in circadian parameters obtained from measures of core body temperatures using telemetric reticulo-rumen and rectal devices during two winter feeding regimes in western Canada. The study also estimated phenotypic correlations and genetic parameters associated with circadian parameters and other production traits in each feeding regime. Each year, 80 weaned steer calves (initial age: 209 ± 11 days; BW: 264 ± 20 kg) from the same cohort were tested over two successive regimes, Fall-Winter (FW) and Winter-Spring (WS) at Lanigan, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Optimized utilization of the co-products from bioethanol processing and oat grain: effect of blending on biochemical, biodegradation, and nutritional profiles.

The objective of this study was to (1) optimize the utilization of wheat-based dried distillers grains with soluble (wDDGS) by blending with oat ( Avena sativa L.) grain as an alternative feed for beef cattle when the barley price is high and (2) investigate the effect of blending on biochemical, biodegradation, and nutritional profiles. Oat grains were blended with wDDGS produced in western Canada at different levels (4:0, 3:1, 2:2, and 1:3 on %DM basis in two batches, denoted O0, O25, O50, and O75, respectively).

Evaluation of the feed value for ruminants of blends of corn and wheat distillers dried grains.

Recently, biofuel processing has produced a large amount of biofuel coproducts. However, to date, there is little information on the metabolic characteristics of proteins and energy in biofuel coproduct-based rations. The objective of this study was to study the metabolic characteristics of proteins and energy in biofuel coproduct-based rations in terms of (1) chemical and nutrient profiles, (2) protein and carbohydrate subfraction associated with various degradation rate, (3) rumen and intestinal degradation and digestion kinetics, and (4) metabolic characteristics of proteins.

Effect of wheat-based dried distillers' grains with solubles inclusion on barley-based feed chemical profile, energy values, rumen degradation kinetics, and protein supply.

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of replacing the barley grain portion of the diet by wheat-based dried distillers' grains with solubles (wDDGS) at graded levels on feeding value for beef cattle. Two cultivars of barley were mixed with two sources of wDDGS in ratios of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75% (weight DM basis; denoted B0, B25, B50, and B75, respectively). This study revealed that increasing wDDGS inclusion level increased most of the nutritional composition linearly except for starch, which linearly decreased (from 609 to 320 g/kg of DM).

Detecting molecular features of spectra mainly associated with structural and non-structural carbohydrates in co-products from bioEthanol production using DRIFT with uni- and multivariate molecular spectral analyses.

The objective of this study was to use DRIFT spectroscopy with uni- and multivariate molecular spectral analyses as a novel approach to detect molecular features of spectra mainly associated with carbohydrate in the co-products (wheat DDGS, corn DDGS, blend DDGS) from bioethanol processing in comparison with original feedstock (wheat (Triticum), corn (Zea mays)). The carbohydrates related molecular spectral bands included: A_Cell (structural carbohydrates, peaks area region and baseline: ca. 1485-1188 cm(-1)), A_1240 (structural carbohydrates, peak area centered at ca.

Heat-induced changes to lipid molecular structure in Vimy flaxseed: spectral intensity and molecular clustering.

Autoclaving was used to manipulate nutrient utilization and availability. The objectives of this study were to characterize any changes of the functional groups mainly associated with lipid structure in flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum, cv. Vimy), that occurred on a molecular level during the treatment process using infrared Fourier transform molecular spectroscopy.

Chemical profile, rumen degradation kinetics, and energy value of four hull-less barley cultivars: comparison of the zero-amylose waxy, waxy, high-amylose, and normal starch cultivars.

The objective of this study was to compare three new Canadian hull-less barley cultivars with altered starch characteristics (zero-amylose waxy, CDC Fibar; waxy, CDC Rattan; and high-amylose, HB08302) with conventional normal starch hull-less barley (HB) cultivar (CDC McGwire) in terms of ruminant feed value. The study revealed that altered starch HB cultivars possessed several desirable feed characteristics, distinct from conventional normal starch HB, although they were similar in some respects: (1) basic chemical and carbohydrate subfraction profiles varied; (2) starch degradation kinetics showed altered starch HB containing higher soluble starch, rumen undegraded starch, lower degradable starch, and slower degradation rate; (3) all altered starch HB cultivars had similar soluble and degradable starch, different from that of conventional normal starch HB; (4) two waxy HB cultivars were lower, whereas the high-amylose cultivar was similar in effective degradability of the starch as compared to conventional normal starch HB; (5) zero-amylose waxy HB had the greater effective degradability of protein among HB cultivars; and (6) amylopectin in HB had a positive relationship with protein supply (increasing amylopectin was correlated with increased effective degradability of protein). Overall, these results demonstrate that the alteration of starch structure in granule affects not only starch fermentation and utilization but also protein value in hull-less barley.

Protein molecular structures and protein fraction profiles of new coproducts from BioEthanol production: a novel approach.

The objectives of this study were to determine the protein molecular structures of the new coproducts from bioethanol production, quantify protein structure amide I to II and alpha-helix to beta-sheet spectral peak intensity ratio, and illustrate multivariate molecular spectral analyses as a novel research tool for rapid characterization of protein molecular structures in bioethonal bioproducts. The study demonstrated that the grains had a significantly higher ratio of alpha-helix to beta-sheet in the protein structure than their coproducts produced from bioethanol processing (1.38 vs 1.

Structural makeup, biopolymer conformation, and biodegradation characteristics of a newly developed super genotype of oats (CDC SO-I versus conventional varieties): a novel approach.

Recently, a new "super" genotype of oats (CDC SO-I or SO-I) has been developed. The objectives of this study were to determine structural makeup (features) of oat grain in endosperm and pericarp regions and to reveal and identify differences in protein amide I and II and carbohydrate structural makeup (conformation) between SO-I and two conventional oats (CDC Dancer and Derby) grown in western Canada in 2006, using advanced synchrotron radiation based Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (SRFTIRM). The SRFTIRM experiments were conducted at National Synchrotron Light Sources, Brookhaven National Laboratory (NSLS, BNL, U.