Características físicas de la carne de corderos Katahdín con Pelibuey alimentados a base de forraje y concentrado

Objective: To evaluate the effect of forage and concentrate in diet on physical characteristics of meat of crossed (F1) Katahdin with Pelibuey lambs. Design/methodology/approach: Thirty-six entire male lambs were distributed in a completely randomized design to four treatments: 1) 100% Concentrated food (CF) with 15 % of CP; 2) 70% CF + 30% of Maralfalfa forage (Pennisetum sp); 3) 70% CF + 30% of Mombaza forage (M. maximum); 4) 70% CF + 30% CT-115 forage (P. Purpureum). Results: No effect of diet on carcass traits and physical properties of meat was found (P> 0.05). The average value of pH and temperature ± SD were 5.58 ± 0.12 and 6.38 ± 0.56 o C, respectively. The little loss of water in meat (0.1%), indicates that it retains its physical-chemical characteristics for storage. Limitations on study/implications: Consumer demands of lamb meat are more focused on quality traits than quantity details, so, in order to comply with demands demanded by market, it is necessary to carry out meat quality evaluations, compare between breeds and feeding systems to determine which genotype produces the best meat. Findings/conclusions: Lambs fed diets that include forage have similar physical characteristics of meat to those that received only concentrate food, which indicates that it is possible to produce lamb meat with excellent properties, using diets with good quality forage.Objetivo: Evaluar el efecto del forraje y concentrado en la dieta sobre las características físicas de la carne de corderos cruzados (F1) Katahdín × Pelibuey (KtPb). Diseño/metodología/aproximación: Treinta y seis corderos machos enteros fueron distribuidos mediante un diseño completamente al azar a cuatro tratamientos:1) 100% Alimento concentrado (AC) con 15 % de PC: 2) 70% AC + 30% de pasto Maralfalfa (Pennisetum sp); 3) 70% AC + 30% pasto Mombaza (M. maximum ); 4) 70% AC + 30%   CT-115 (P. Purpureum). Resultados: No se encontró un efecto de la dieta sobre las características de la canal y propiedades físicas de la carne (P>0.05). Los valores promedio para el pH y temperatura ± DE encontrados fueron de 5.58 ± 0.12 y 6.38 ± 0.56 o C, respectivamente. La poca pérdida de agua en la carne (0.1%), indica que esta conservo sus propiedades físico-químicas adecuadas para su almacenamiento Limitaciones del estudio/implicaciones: Las demandas de los consumidores de cortes de cordero se centran más en los rasgos de calidad que en los detalles de cantidad. Para poder cumplir con los estándares que exige el mercado, es necesario realizar evaluaciones de calidad de la carne, comparar entre razas y sistemas de alimentación para conocer cual fenotipo produce la mejor carne. Hallazgos/conclusiones: Los corderos alimentados con dietas que incluyen forraje tienen características físicas de la carne similar a los que recibieron solo concentrado, lo que indica que es posible producir carne de corderos con excelentes propiedades, utilizando dietas con forrajes de buena calidad

Phytochemicals as antibiotic alternatives to promote growth and enhance host health

There are heightened concerns globally on emerging drug-resistant superbugs and the lack of new antibiotics for treating human and animal diseases. For the agricultural industry, there is an urgent need to develop strategies to replace antibiotics for food-producing animals, especially poultry and livestock. The 2nd International Symposium on Alternatives to Antibiotics was held at the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris, France, December 12-15, 2016 to discuss recent scientific developments on strategic antibiotic-free management plans, to evaluate regional differences in policies regarding the reduction of antibiotics in animal agriculture and to develop antibiotic alternatives to combat the global increase in antibiotic resistance. More than 270 participants from academia, government research institutions, regulatory agencies, and private animal industries from >25 different countries came together to discuss recent research and promising novel technologies that could provide alternatives to antibiotics for use in animal health and production; assess challenges associated with their commercialization; and devise actionable strategies to facilitate the development of alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) without hampering animal production. The 3-day meeting consisted of four scientific sessions including vaccines, microbial products, phytochemicals, immune-related products, and innovative drugs, chemicals and enzymes, followed by the last session on regulation and funding. Each session was followed by an expert panel discussion that included industry representatives and session speakers. The session on phytochemicals included talks describing recent research achievements, with examples of successful agricultural use of various phytochemicals as antibiotic alternatives and their mode of action in major agricultural animals (poultry, swine and ruminants). Scientists from industry and academia and government research institutes shared their experience in developing and applying potential antibiotic-alternative phytochemicals commercially to reduce AGPs and to develop a sustainable animal production system in the absence of antibiotics.Fil: Lillehoj, Hyun. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Liu, Yanhong. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Calsamiglia, Sergio. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Fernandez Miyakawa, Mariano Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Patobiología; ArgentinaFil: Chi, Fang. Amlan International; Estados UnidosFil: Cravens, Ron L.. Amlan International; Estados UnidosFil: Oh, Sungtaek. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Gay, Cyril G.. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; Argentin

Review: Strategies for enteric methane mitigation in cattle fed tropical forages

Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas (GHG) produced and released by eructation to the atmosphere in large volumes by ruminants. Enteric CH4 contributes significantly to global GHG emissions arising from animal agriculture. It has been contended that tropical grasses produce higher emissions of enteric CH4 than temperate grasses, when they are fed to ruminants. A number of experiments have been performed in respiration chambers and head-boxes to assess the enteric CH4 mitigation potential of foliage and pods of tropical plants, as well as nitrates (NO3−) and vegetable oils in practical rations for cattle. On the basis of individual determinations of enteric CH4 carried out in respiration chambers, the average CH4 yield for cattle fed low-quality tropical grasses (>70% ration DM) was 17.0 g CH4/kg DM intake. Results showed that when foliage and ground pods of tropical trees and shrubs were incorporated in cattle rations, methane yield (g CH4/kg DM intake) was decreased by 10% to 25%, depending on plant species and level of intake of the ration. Incorporation of nitrates and vegetable oils in the ration decreased enteric CH4 yield by ∼6% to ∼20%, respectively. Condensed tannins, saponins and starch contained in foliages, pods and seeds of tropical trees and shrubs, as well as nitrates and vegetable oils, can be fed to cattle to mitigate enteric CH4 emissions under smallholder conditions. Strategies for enteric CH4 mitigation in cattle grazing low-quality tropical forages can effectively increase productivity while decreasing enteric CH4 emissions in absolute terms and per unit of product (e.g. meat, milk), thus reducing the contribution of ruminants to GHG emissions and therefore to climate change

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Comprehensive analysis of chromothripsis in 2,658 human cancers using whole-genome sequencing

Chromothripsis is a mutational phenomenon characterized by massive, clustered genomic rearrangements that occurs in cancer and other diseases. Recent studies in selected cancer types have suggested that chromothripsis may be more common than initially inferred from low-resolution copy-number data. Here, as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we analyze patterns of chromothripsis across 2,658 tumors from 38 cancer types using whole-genome sequencing data. We find that chromothripsis events are pervasive across cancers, with a frequency of more than 50% in several cancer types. Whereas canonical chromothripsis profiles display oscillations between two copy-number states, a considerable fraction of events involve multiple chromosomes and additional structural alterations. In addition to non-homologous end joining, we detect signatures of replication-associated processes and templated insertions. Chromothripsis contributes to oncogene amplification and to inactivation of genes such as mismatch-repair-related genes. These findings show that chromothripsis is a major process that drives genome evolution in human cancer

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

The effects of metabolizable energy intake on carcass energy content in Pelibuey sheep

El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar el efecto del consumo de energía metabolizable (CEM) sobre el contenido energético de la canal de ovejas Pelibuey. Veinticuatro (24) ovejas con un peso vivo de 37.2±4.0 kg y condición corporal de 2.5± 0.12 se asignaron al azar a cuatro grupos de seis animales. Un grupo se sacrificó al inicio del experimento para las mediciones de referencia, y las ovejas de los grupos restantes se asignaron a uno de tres niveles de CEM: bajo (B), medio (M) y alto (A) durante 65 días. El CEM fue: 0.247, 0.472 y 0.532 MJ/kgPV0.75/día para B, M y A, respectivamente. Las ovejas se sacrificaron y la canal se dividió en dos mitades; la mitad izquierda se disecó en grasa, músculo y hueso. Las ovejas en el nivel B y M removieron 55 y el 26 % de su contenido de energía inicial de la canal respectivamente, mientras que el nivel A aumentó su contenido de energía en un 14 %. Los cambios diarios en la energía en la canal fueron -1.099, -0.515 y 0.285 MJ/día para B, M y A, respectivamente. Las proporciones de la energía en canal como músculo y grasa fueron 76 y 24 %, 68 y 32 %, y 65 y 35 % para los niveles de B, M y A, respectivamente. Las ovejas Pelibuey remueven aproximadamente el 55 % del contenido de energía de la canal cuando se someten a condiciones de subalimentación severa.An evaluation was done of the effect of metabolizable energy intake (MEI) on carcass energy content in Pelibuey sheep. Twenty-four (24) sheep (37.2±4.0 kg live weight; 2.5±0.12 body condition) were randomly assigned to four groups of six animals each. To establish reference data, one group was killed as the experiment began. The remaining three groups were assigned to one of three MEI levels for 65 d: low (L), 0.247 MJ/kgLW0.75/d; medium (M) 0.472 MJ/kgLW0.75/d; or high (H) 0.532 MJ/kgLW0.75/d. After the experimental period, the animals were killed and each carcass divided longitudinally in half: the left half was dissected into fat, muscle and bone components. Carcass energy content decreased by 55 % in the L treatment, and by 26 % in the M treatment. However, it increased by 14 % in the H treatment. Daily changes in carcass energy content were -1.099 MJ/d in the L treatment, -0.515 MJ/d in the M treatment and 0.285 in the H treatment. Energy stored in fat was 76 % in L, 68 % in M and 65 % in H, while energy stored in muscle was 24 % in L, 32 % in M and 35 % in H. Under conditions of severe undernourishment, Pelibuey sheep lose approximately 55 % of carcass energy content

Calidad seminal de ovinos de pelo suplementados con Moringa oleifera (Moringaceae) y Trichanthera gigantea (Acanthaceae)

Se evalúo el efecto de la inclusión de Moringa oleifera Lam. y Trichanthera gigantea (Bonpl.) Nees en la dieta de ovinos de pelo (Pelibuey) sobre su calidad seminal. Durante 90 días, se dividieron las dietas de 15 ovinos (24 kg ± 3.95) en tres tratamientos: T1: dieta integral con 30% de M. oleifera + pasto Taiwán (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.), T2: dieta integral con 30% de T. gigantea + pasto Taiwán y T3: alimento comercial + pasto Taiwán. Se determinaron la ganancia diaria de peso (GDP), rendimiento de la canal (RC), desarrollo testicular (DT) (determinado por el ancho (AE) y la circunferencia escrotal (CE)), el volumen del eyaculado, concentración y motilidad, viabilidad (SYBR-14/IP), actividad mitocondrial (J-C1) e integridad acrosomal (FITC-PSA) en los espermatozoides. No se encontraron diferencias (p>0.05) en la GDP y RC. Se encontraron diferencias (p˂0.05) en el DT, los T1 (AE = 48.84±5.99 mm, CE = 26.48±1.13 cm) y T3 (AE = 48.83±4.34 mm, CE = 26.62±1.27 cm) presentaron valores más elevados que T2 (AE = 44.57±5.59 mm, CE = 25.42±1.50 cm); en la viabilidad, T2 (62.90±6.10%) y T1 (54.00±6.61%) poseen mayores porcentajes que T3 (24.45±7.56%); en la motilidad, T1 (93.9± 2.1%) y T2 (88.6±1.9%) tuvieron mayor porcentaje que T3 (71.9± 4.0%). La inclusión de M. oleifera y T. gigantea en la dieta permite obtener una GDP, RC y DT similar al alimento comercial e incrementa más del 20% de las células espermáticas viables; también mejora algunos parámetros de motilidad, lo que incrementa el potencial reproductivo de los sementales

Prediction of carcass energy content of Pelibuey ewes by ultrasound measurements/ Predicción del contenido de energético de la canal de ovejas Pelibuey por mediciones de ultrasonido

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between body ultrasound measurements (USM) and carcass energy content (CEC) of Pelibuey ewes. USM were taken 24 h before slaughter in twenty-two ewes. Fat thickness (FT) and Longissimus dorsi area (LDA) were determined in the thoracic (TFT and TLDA) and lumbar region (LFT and LLDA). CEC was considered as the sum of the energy of muscle and adipose tissues in the carcass. The correlation coecient (r) between body weight (BW) and CEC was 0.89 (p < 0.001). Nonetheless, correlations for LDA and CEC were not signicant (p > 0.05). The r2 for equation including BW and LFT was 0.87 (RSD= 15.34). The inclusion of LFT improved the prediction by about 8 %. The use of some USM in combination with BW provides good CEC estimates in Pelibuey ewe

Effect of condensed tannins from on rumen fermentation, methane production and population of rumen protozoa in heifers fed low-quality forage

Objective The aim of the experiment was to assess the effect of increasing amounts of Leucaena leucocephala forage on dry matter intake (DMI), organic matter intake (OMI), enteric methane production, rumen fermentation pattern and protozoa population in cattle fed Pennisetum purpureum and housed in respiration chambers. Methods Five crossbred heifers (Bos taurus×Bos indicus) (BW: 295±6 kg) were fed chopped P. purpureum grass and increasing levels of L. leucocephala (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of dry matter [DM]) in a 5×5 Latin square design. Results The voluntary intake and methane production were measured for 23 h per day in respiration chambers; molar proportions of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were determined at 6 h postprandial period. Molar concentration of VFAs in rumen liquor were similar (p>0.05) between treatments. However, methane production decreased linearly (p0.05) in rumen protozoa population were found. Conclusion Inclusion of 80% of L. leucocephala in the diet of heifers fed low-quality tropical forages has the capacity to reduce up to 61.3% enteric methane emission without affecting DMI, OMI, and protozoa population in rumen liquor