Distress regulates different pathways in the brain of common carp: an initial study

For the present study, a stress trial with common carp, which is one of the most important species in aquaculture world-wide, was conducted to identify relevant gene regulation pathways in different areas of the brain. Acute distress by air exposure significantly activated the expression of the immediate early gene c-fos in the telencephalon. In addition, evidence for regulation of the two crf genes in relation to their binding protein (crh-bp) have been highlighted in this initial study. Inference about the effects of distress by air exposure has been obtained by using point estimation which allows the prediction of a single value that is the best description of the up to know mostly unknown effects of stress in different brain regions of carp. Furthermore, principal component analyses have been performed to reveal possible regulation patterns in the different parts of the fish brain. In conclusion, these initial studies on gene regulation in the carp brain influenced by exposure to a stressor reveal that a number of genes may be successfully used as markers for exposure to unfavourable conditions

Effects of different acute stressors on the regulation of appetite genes in the carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) brain

Our understanding of the timing of stress responses and specific roles of different regulatory pathways that drive stress responses is incomplete. In particular, the regulation of appetite genes as a consequence of exposure to different stressors has not been studied in sufficient detail in fish. Therefore, a stress trial was conducted with koi carp, aiming at identifying typical effects of stress on regulation of appetite genes. The stressors tank manipulation, air exposure and feed rewarding were chosen. The responses to these stressors were evaluated 10, 30 and 60 min after the stressors were applied. Orexigenic and anorexigenic genes were investigated in four different brain regions (telencephalon, hypothalamus, optic tectum and rhombencephalon). The results show that, apart from the typical appetite regulation in the hypothalamus, the different brain regions also display pronounced responses of appetite genes to the different stressors. In addition, several genes in the serotonergic, dopaminergic and gaba-related pathways were investigated. These genes revealed that rearing in pairs of two and opening of the tank lid affected anorexigenic genes, such as cart and cck, which were not changed by air exposure or feed rewarding. Moreover, distress and eustress led to limited, but distinguishable gene expression pattern changes in the investigated brain regions

Big dairy data to unravel effects of environmental, physiological and morphological factors on milk production of mountain-pastured Braunvieh cows

The transhumance system, which consists in moving animals to high mountain pastures during summer, plays a considerable role in preserving both local biodiversity and traditions, as well as protecting against natural hazard. In cows, particularly, milk production is observed to decline as a response to food shortage and climatic stress, leading to atypical lactation curves that are barely described by current lactation models. Here, we relied on 5 million monthly milk records from over 200 000 Braunvieh and Original Braunvieh cows to devise a new model accounting for transhumance, and test the influence of environmental, physiological and morphological factors on cattle productivity. Counter to expectations, environmental conditions in the mountain showed a globally limited impact on milk production during transhumance, with cows in favourable conditions producing only 10% more compared with cows living in detrimental conditions, and with precipitation in spring and altitude revealing to be the most production-affecting variables. Conversely, physiological factors such as lactation number and pregnancy stage presented an important impact over the whole lactation cycle with 20% difference in milk production, and alter the way animals respond to transhumance. Finally, the considered morphological factors (cow height and foot angle) presented a smaller impact during the whole lactation cycle (10% difference in milk production). The present findings help to anticipate the effect of climate change and to identify problematic environmental conditions by comparing their impact with the effect of factors that are known to influence lactation

Biological Control of the Raspberry Eriophyoid Mite Phyllocoptes gracilis Using Entomopathogenic Fungi

There is an urgent need to develop biological control methods against the eriophyoid mite, Phyllocoptes gracilis, which causes significant losses in organic raspberry production in Europe. The use of entomopathogenic fungi (EF) is a sustainable alternative to conventional chemical pesticides, reducing the risks of pesticide resistance and other negative environmental impacts of agriculture. The objective of this study was to assess the pathogenicity of three strains of EF, two of Beauveria bassiana and one of Metarhizium anisopliae, on P. gracilis under laboratory conditions. Fungal spore suspensions (1 × 107 spores per mL) were sprayed on detached leaves infested with P. gracilis. Treated mites were kept under controlled conditions (25 ± 3 °C, 72 ± 10% relative humidity and photoperiod of 16:8 (light/dark)) and mite mortality was assessed three, five and seven days after inoculation. At all three measurement points (days after inoculation), the mortality of P. gracilis was highest for B. bassiana strain BB 1.1 and M. anisopliae strain MA 10.1. Our data demonstrate that EFs are promising candidates for the development of biological control agents against P. gracilis in raspberry crops

Estimates of Genetic Parameters for Shape Space Data in Franches-Montagnes Horses

Conformation traits such as joint angles are important selection criteria in equine breeding, but mainly consist of subjective evaluation scores given by breeding judges, showing limited variation. The horse shape space model extracts shape data from 246 landmarks (LM) and objective joint angle measurements from triplets of LM on standardized horse photographs. The heritability was estimated for 10 joint angles (seven were measured twice with different LM placements), and relative warp components of the whole shape, in 608 Franches-Montagnes (FM) horses (480 stallions, 68 mares and 60 geldings born 1940–2018, 3–25 years old). The pedigree data comprised 6986 horses. Genetic variances and covariances were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood model (REML), including the fixed effects birth year, age (linear and quadratic), height at withers (linear and quadratic), as well as postural effects (head, neck, limb position and body alignment), together with a random additive genetic animal component and the residual effect. Estimated heritability varied from 0.08 (stifle joint) to 0.37 (poll). For the shape, the type was most heritable (0.36 to 0.37) and evolved from heavy to light over time. Image-based phenotyping can improve the selection of horses for conformation traits with moderate heritability (e.g., poll, shoulder and fetlock)

Differential effects of acute eustress and distress on gene regulation patterns in the carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) brain

The activities of certain genes as a consequence of exposure to stressors related to typical handling procedures in aquaculture have not been studied in sufficient detail in fish. A stress trial with koi carp was, therefore, conducted, aiming at identifying relevant gene expression patterns in different brain regions during stress responses. The following stressors were selected: tank manipulation, distress caused by exposure to air and eustress due to feed rewards. Responses to these stressors were evaluated 10, 30 and 60 min after their application. The exact determination of gene expression profiles in the carp brain required the comparison of several suitable reference genes, which is also highly recommended for other studies focusing on the fish brain. Moreover, and as expected, the mRNA expression of a number of early immediate genes indicated activity in different brain regions as a response to changes in rearing and experimental conditions. In addition, the mRNA expression of metabolic genes was investigated, since increased brain activity may also increase the metabolic demands of certain brain areas. Furthermore, genes related to the stress axis were included in the study. The mRNA expression patterns of genes belonging to the stress axis revealed that negative stress caused by exposure to air had broad- ranging effects on the gene regulation patterns in the fish brain, even if the fish were only treated for 1 min. This parallels the effects that have been observed on blood cortisol and glucose. In contrast, a limited number of genes allows discrimination of eustress and distress, which indicates that further research is needed in the future. Finally, the use of different control groups is highly recommended for fish experiments to correct for typical experimental procedures such as lid openings or social isolation

Braunvieh: Wie viel Kreuzung erträgt die Zucht?

Viele Schweizer Milchviehbetriebe bringen mehr Original-Braunvieh-Blut in ihre Braunviehherden. Ziel ist es vor allem, die Robustheit der Tiere zu verbessern. Etwas tiefere Milchleistungen nehmen die Züchterinnen und Züchter dafür in Kauf. Eine vom FiBL angeregte Studie legt nun den Schluss nahe, dass man, statt einzukreuzen, genauso gut auf reine Original-Braunvieh-Tiere setzen kann

Evaluation of truncating variants in the LCORL gene in relation to body size of goats from Switzerland

This follow-up study aimed to investigate the previously postulated possible association between truncating variants in the LCORL gene and larger body size in goats. We have clearly shown that body size in Boer goat is obviously not associated with the frameshift variant previously found in large-sized Pakistani goat breeds, nor with a second LCORL frameshift variant studied. However, we found suggestive evidence of genotype–phenotype association for three other breed-specific truncating variants in the LCORL with withers height and other body size traits in selected cohorts of four different local Swiss goat breeds. Due to the small sample size and the low to moderate frequency of variant alleles, we consider these results preliminary before claiming causality. Nevertheless, these initial results in Swiss goats support the evidence previously shown in dogs for a direct effect on stature due to loss-of-function variants leading to the absence of the functionally important DNA-binding domain of the long LCORL isoform. Therefore, the research should continue with enlarged cohorts of well-phenotyped animals