Effect of dietary iron supplementation on the equine fecal microbiome.

Iron is an essential element for all living organisms, including bacteria, as several virulence factors and replication components are influenced by iron concentration. The objective of this study was to determine whether the composition and diversity of the fecal microbiota of adult horses are affected by supplemental dietary iron. Ten clinically healthy horses were randomly divided into a control and an iron-supplemented group ( = 5).

Testicular alterations and semen quality in a selected group of breeding buffaloes.

Testicular ultrasound enables the evaluation of changes in the testicular parenchyma. This study aimed to report the occurrence of hypoechogenic testicular alterations and their relationship with semen quality in five breeding buffaloes. Two buffaloes presented with hyperechoic points characteristic of fibrosis and anechoic density content between the parietal and visceral tunica.

Antioxidant action of yerba mate on carcass and meat characteristics and fatty acid profile in meat and fat of lambs finished in tropical pastures.

The objective was to evaluate the effect of the supplementation with natural antioxidants from Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.) on the performance, carcass and meat characteristics, and fatty acid profile in meat and fat of Texel × Ile de France lambs kept in Brachiaria-grass pasture.

Transcriptome profile of skeletal muscle using different sources of dietary fatty acids in male pigs.

Pork is of great importance in world trade and represents the largest source of fatty acids in the human diet. Lipid sources such as soybean oil (SOY), canola (CO), and fish oil (FO) are used in pig diets and influence blood parameters and the ratio of deposited fatty acids. In this study, the main objective was to evaluate changes in gene expression in porcine skeletal muscle tissue resulting from the dietary oil sources and to identify metabolic pathways and biological process networks through RNA-Seq.

Brain fatty acid and transcriptome profiles of pig fed diets with different levels of soybean oil.

Background: The high similarity in anatomical and neurophysiological processes between pigs and humans make pigs an excellent model for metabolic diseases and neurological disorders. Lipids are essential for brain structure and function, and the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have anti-inflammatory and positive effects against cognitive dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases. Nutrigenomics studies involving pigs and fatty acids (FA) may help us in better understanding important biological processes.

Yeast Cell Wall Compounds on The Formation of Fermentation Products and Fecal Microbiota in Cats: An In Vivo and In Vitro Approach.

The effects of yeast cell wall compounds (YCWs) being added to cat food on hindgut fermentation metabolites and fecal microbiota were assessed in in vivo Experiment 1 (Exp. 1) and in vitro Experiments 2 and 3 (Exp. 2 and 3).

RNA-seq transcriptome profiling of pigs' liver in response to diet with different sources of fatty acids.

Pigs () are an animal model for metabolic diseases in humans. Pork is an important source of fatty acids (FAs) in the human diet, as it is one of the most consumed meats worldwide. The effects of dietary inclusion of oils such as canola, fish, and soybean oils on pig gene expression are mostly unknown.

Comparison Between the Direct Method and Friedewald's Formula for the Determination of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Serum Levels in Horses.

This study aimed to compare the use of enzymatic colorimetry and Friedewald's formula for the determination of LDL in horses. A total of 260 samples were used. Direct analysis was performed to determine low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), and total cholesterol (TC).

Methylene blue-mediated antimicrobial photodynamic therapy on chicken semen.

Background: Artificial insemination is widely employed in poultry, but high degrees of bacterial contamination are often observed in semen because of its passage through the cloaca. Consequently, most semen extenders for birds have antibiotics that could aggravate bacterial resistance.

Methods: We evaluated the potential of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an alternative to the use of antibiotics, and assessed whether changes in concentration and incubation time with methylene blue (MB), radiant exposure, and irradiance of light affect spermatozoa activity and bacteria in chicken semen.

High body energy reserve influences extracellular vesicles miRNA contents within the ovarian follicle.

Aiming to evaluate the effects of increased body energy reserve (BER) in Nellore cows' reproductive efficiency, cows were fed with different nutritional plans to obtain animals with high BER (HBER; Ad libitum diet) and moderate BER (MBER: cows fed 70% of HBER group ingestion). To evaluate the BER, cows were weekly weighted and evaluated for subcutaneous fat thickness and insulin serum concentration along the experimental period. At the end of the experimental period, animals were submitted to estrous synchronization and artificial insemination.

Evaluating the quality of indigenous chicken eggs in Gena Bossa district of Dawro zone, South Ethiopia.

This study was carried out in the Gena Bossa district to evaluate the quality of indigenous chicken eggs in different agro-ecology and education levels of chicken producers. A total of 108 fresh eggs were collected from randomly selected 36 households for the determination of egg quality parameters and three eggs from each household, 36 eggs from each Agro-ecology, and 27 eggs from each education level of farmers collected. Eggs collected from highland agro-ecologies had the highest egg weight (43.

Effect of whole oilseeds in the diet on bacterial diversity in the solid fraction of the ruminal content of steers.

Our hypothesis was that different whole oilseeds included in the diet for steers confined could alter the diversity of rumen bacteria compared to a diet without oilseeds or an exclusively forage diet. It was aimed to evaluate the effects of oilseeds inclusion in the diet on bacterial diversity in the solid fraction of the ruminal content of steers, by gene sequences of the conserved 16S rDNA region. Six crossbred steers castrated males, fitted with ruminal cannula were used in a 6 × 6 Latin square design, using 21-day period.

Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) as a source of antioxidants with soybean grain in supplementation of lactating ewes reared in tropical pastures.

The hypothesis tested is that the association of soybean grain and yerba mate as an antioxidant source can increase the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) with lower oxidation of milk from lactating ewes reared in tropical pastures. Sixteen ewes were randomly distributed in a 2x2 factorial scheme (with or without yerba mate at 110 g / kg of dry matter (DM); with or without soybean grain at 210 g/kg of DM). Yerba mate intake reduced DM intake, and concentrations of ether extract (EE), protein, lactose, defatted dry extract, density, omega-3 concentrations, and the ratio between saturated/monounsaturated fatty acids (FA), but increased the concentration of monounsaturated FA and the sequestering power of free radicals by DPPH without altering the concentrations of conjugated dienes and the concentrations of substances reactive to thiobarbituric acid in milk.

Influence of infection on milk production and quality of Holstein dairy cows.

We wished to determine if infection can negatively impact milk quality and production in Holstein dairy cows. For this Research Communication, milk samples (271) from Holstein cows from 3 herds were screened for by real-time PCR. Positive ( = 21) and negative animals ( = 21) were matched by herd, age, lactations and days in milk (DIM).

Bacterial species in the ruminal content of steers fed oilseeds in the diet.

The aim of this study was to evaluate bacterial species and diversity of methanogenic Archaea in the solid fraction of the ruminal content, through the gene sequences of the conserved 16S rDNA region, in response to the following diets: canola, cottonseed, sunflower, soybean, corn silage, and control diet. Six rumen-fistulated crossbred steers, with body weight (BW) of 416.33 ± 93.

Inhibition of FGF receptor impairs primitive endoderm differentiation in bovine embryos.

The first cellular differentiation event in the pre-implantation embryo results in the trophectoderm (TE) and the inner cell mass (ICM). A second event occurs in the latter, resulting in the epiblast and the primitive endoderm (PE). This second differentiation is still not fully characterized in bovine development, although it is likely to involve FGF signalling.

Proteomics Unveils Post-Mortem Changes in Beef Muscle Proteins and Provides Insight into Variations in Meat Quality Traits of Crossbred Young Steers and Heifers Raised in Feedlot.

Proteomics has been widely used to study muscle biology and meat quality traits from different species including beef. Beef proteomics studies allow a better understanding of the biological processes related to meat quality trait determination. This study aimed to decipher by means of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D-PAGE), mass spectrometry and bioinformatics the changes in post-mortem muscle with a focus on proteins differentially expressed in the Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle of immunocastrated young heifers and steers.

Effects of fetal bovine serum on trophectoderm and primitive endoderm cell allocation of -produced bovine embryos.

Supplementing embryonic culture medium with fetal bovine serum (FBS) renders this medium undefined. Glucose and growth factors present in FBS may affect the results of cell differentiation studies. This study tested the hypothesis that FBS supplementation during culture (IVC) alters cell differentiation in early bovine embryo development.

Milk Yield and Milk Fatty Acids from Crossbred F1 Dairy Cows Fed on Tropical Grasses and Supplemented with Different Levels of Concentrate.

The objective of this study was to determine milk fatty acids from crossbred F1 dairy cows fed on tropical grasses and supplemented with different levels of concentrate. Twelve dairy cows (50% Holstein × 50% Brahman) with 60 days of lactation grazing tropical grasses were assigned to a Switchback design, with three periods of 15 days with different concentrate levels: 0, 150, 300 and 450 g /kg. Milk samples were obtained on the last five days of each experimental period.

Productive characteristics, chemical composition, in vitro digestibility, and degradation kinetics of two Brachiaria grasses at different regrowth ages.

The study aimed at the effect of different regrowth ages on chemical, productive, and morphological characteristics, in addition to the kinetics of gas production and in vitro digestibility of grasses of the genus Brachiaria. The treatments consisted of two regrowth ages (21 and 35 days) and two grass species (Brachiaria brizantha and B. ruziziensis), in plat with a dimension of 10 × 10 with four replications, totaling 16 plats in a completely randomized design.

Hematologic profiles and development of innate immune function in healthy Holstein calves during the pre-weaning period.

Background: The development and state of innate immune cell function during the first 90 days of life in dairy calves have not been fully described.

Objective: This transversal study attempted to examine the changes that occur in circulating blood cells and the innate immune response in healthy calves from birth to 89 days of age.

Methods: Healthy Holstein calves represent three windows of development, G1 from 1 to 7 days old (n = 26), G2 from 30 to 40 days old (n = 28), and G3 from 60 to 89 days old (n = 36) were sampled once each from a single herd.

Exploratory lipidome and metabolome profiling contributes to understanding differences in high and normal ultimate pH beef.

The aim of this work was to compare the lipidome and metabolome profiling in the Longissimus thoracis muscle early and late postmortem from high and normal ultimate pH (pHu) beef. Lipid profiling discriminated between high and normal pHu beef based on fatty acid metabolism and mitochondrial beta-oxidation of long chain saturated fatty acids at 30 min postmortem, and phospholipid biosynthesis at 44 h postmortem. Metabolite profiling also discriminated between high and normal pHu beef, mainly through glutathione, purine, arginine and proline, and glycine, serine and threonine metabolisms at 30 min postmortem, and glycolysis, TCA cycle, glutathione, tyrosine, and pyruvate metabolisms at 44 h postmortem.

Efficacy of prepartum vaccination against neonatal calf diarrhea in Nelore dams as a prevention measure.

Background: Neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD) is the leading cause of calf morbidity and mortality in beef cattle. Cow's vaccination in last stage of pregnancy is one of the most important measures to mitigate the risk of NCD outbreaks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of prepartum single dose vaccination against NCD, especially Bovine Rotavirus type A (BoRVA) and Bovine Coronavirus (BCoV), in Nelore dams and offspring.

Assessment of corn wet distillers grains fed to crossbred bulls on feeding behavior, rumen morphology, liver abscesses and blood parameters.

Corn ethanol production has been growing in Brazil in the last ten years, generating by-products to feedlot diets. This study evaluates the effects of the inclusion of low-fat corn wet distillers grains (LF-WDG) on feeding behavior, ruminal health, liver abscesses and blood parameters of F1 Angus-Nellore bulls feedlot finished. Our hypothesis is that evaluation of data from feeding behavior, rumen and liver health would help to explain animal performance.

Economic impact of poisoning by Brachiaria grass in lambs from birth to finishing receiving to different levels of supplementation.

This study aims to evaluate the economic impact of poisoning by Brachiaria grass in lambs from birth to weaning (suckling) and from weaning to slaughter (finishing) different levels of energy protein supplementation (EPS). In addition, we estimated the economic efficiency of removing lambs from the pasture as a control measure to minimize the losses caused by Brachiaria grass poisoning. Seventy lambs were used in the suckling phase, distributed in two nutritional treatments (control and creep feeding).