Investigative baseline reference on the status of pork pH, shear force, colour, drip and cooking loss in RYR1 mutation free, commercial 3-way crosses in Malaysia

This paper attempts to provide findings of an investigative study on the baseline status of the pork quality in Malaysia. With consumer preferences changing towards the selection of good quality meat for consumption, there is a need to establish an investigative reference for the operators in the industry to gauge the performance of their animals and pork quality. This is also important to increase the competitiveness among producers to continuously improve the pork quality available to consumers. In this study, 30 commercial three-way crossed female pigs were randomly selected from government accredited abattoirs from east and west Malaysia and longisimus dorsi were collected for the determination of pH, drip loss, cooking loss, shear force and colour. All animals were screened for the RYR1 gene and the results were then compiled with statistical analysis to obtain an investigative baseline pork quality data in Malaysia. The average pork quality obtained from this study falls within the category of Red, Soft and Exudative (RSE), with an average ultimate pH of 5.83, drip loss more than 5% and L* values at 45.94. We have proposed an investigative baseline meat quality data for Malaysian pork from the average commercial pork quality data obtained. The proposed investigative pork quality baseline data in Malaysian is comparable in terms of studies done in other established countries and/or with international standards and falls within the RSE category of acceptable quality. It provides an investigative benchmark for researchers and end-producers to judge the quality of pork in an objective manner, both for consumption and for export purpose. Moreover, continuous selection against the RYR1 gene has successfully removed the gene from the sample size above, but constant random monitoring is still advisable if farms aim to ensure the elimination of this gene from their herd

Effect of Escherichia coli vaccination in gilts on piglet performances in a farm in Perak, Malaysia

This study aimed to determine the effect of Escherichia coli (Neocolipor vaccine – Merial) vaccination on neonatal diarrhoea score, growth parameters (average weight per piglet and average daily gain) and neonatal mortality rate in newborn piglets. A field trial was conducted in 35 litters of piglets from gilts selected from a farm in Perak, Malaysia. They were randomly allocated into treatment (16 litters from E. coli vaccinated gilts) and control (19 litters) groups. Body weights of the piglets were determined at days 1, 7, 14 and 21 of age and the episodes of diarrhoea and piglet mortality were monitored daily in each pen. The treatment group had significantly lower neonatal mortality rate, day-one neonatal diarrhoea percentage and diarrhoea in the overall period of 1- 21 days (p0.05) difference in the overall diarrhoea percentages and weekly growth parameters between groups. Some of the limitations of the study include environmental stress, routine and random treatment of piglets with diarrhoea with antimicrobial and biasness towards the control groups, which thereafter may have affected the significance of the diarrhoea score and growth parameters. It is presumed that piglets in the control group experienced severe diarrhoea during the first week of life, leading to the significantly (p<0.05) higher mortality rates. It is also deduced that piglets of the treatment group with diarrhoea that survived the first week have lower growth rates. However, in terms of neonatal mortality, the result is reproducible as it is in agreement with other field trials, which indicate that E. coli vaccination in dams could be an alternative way of moderating mortality due to E. coli. In conclusion, this pilot study showed that E. coli vaccination in gilts significantly reduces first week piglet mortality and diarrhoeal percentages at day-one under farm conditions

Effects of Escherichia coli vaccination in gilts on piglet performance in a farm in Perak

This study aimed to observe the effects of Escherichia coli (Neocoliporvaccine – Merial) vaccination on diarrhoea percentages, growth parameters (average weight per piglet and average daily gain) and mortality rate in new-born piglets. A field trial was conducted in 35 litters of piglets from gilts selected from a farm in Perak. They were randomly allocated into Treatment (16 litters from E. coli vaccinated gilts) and Control (19 litters) groups respectively. Body weights of the piglets were measured at days 1, 7, 14 and 21 of age and the episodes of diarrhoea and piglet mortality were monitored daily for each pen. The Treatment group had significantly lower Day 1 neonatal diarrhoea percentage (p 0.05)in the overall diarrhoea percentages (1 - 14 days) and weekly growth parameters between both groups. Environmental stress and inevitable routine treatment of diarrhoea with antimicrobials within the farm may have affected the significance of the diarrhoea percentages and growth parameters in this study. In conclusion, E. coli vaccination in gilts was shown to significantly reduce piglet mortality from Day 1 to Day 7 and neonatal diarrhoeal percentageson1-day-old piglets under typical farm conditions in this pilot study in Malaysia

Comparisons between the pork Warner-Brazler shear force values of the roasting and boiling cooking methods

This study focuses on investigating the difference in Warner Brazler Shear Force (WBSF) values of pork meat and its reliability between roasting and boiling cooking methods. Ten samples of longissimus dorsi (LD) whole cuts from commercial three-way crosswere trimmed to a length of 4 cm thickness each. Each sample was then separated into 2 groups: Group 1:Roasted with convection oven to internal temperatures of 70°C, and Group 2: Boiled in a water bath of 80°C for 30 min until internal temperature of 70°C. A total of 57 pairs of cylindrical cores (6-7 cylindrical cores) were obtained from each cooked LD for analysis. Difference between the two cooking methods for both the shear force values were compared using pairwise student T test statistical analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to establish and quantify reproducibility for reliability of the measurements. The WBSF values for roasted pork is significantly lower (p<0.05) than the WBSF values of boiled pork, with very high ICC between both samples [r=0.905, 95% CI (0.64, 0.98)]. Bland & Altman plots subjected to limits of agreements (LOA) also showed good agreements for all the measurements. Roasting gives a lower WBSF values when compare to boiling (0.51kg difference, 10.89% difference). Both roasted and boiled cooking methods can be used to determine the shear force values of pork

Screening of Streptococcus suis in swine workers of selected states in Peninsular Malaysia

Background and Aim: Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic pathogen that is highly associated with contact between live pigs and raw pig material. In view of the recent reports of human infections in Malaysia, epidemiological data on the status of S. suis in the human population, especially among people working closely with pigs and/or raw pork, should be provided. The aim of this study was to detect S. suis among individuals working in the swine industry in several major pig production areas in Peninsular Malaysia. Materials and Methods: Demographic information, exposure determinants, and oral swabs were collected from swine personnel, including farmers, butchers, and veterinarians. Oral swabs were subjected to bacterial isolation and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for S. suis detection. Results: The study included 40 participants working in the swine industry, with a predominant representation of males (62.5%) and Malaysian Chinese individuals (60.0%) who consumed pork (92.5%). Notably, none of the participants reported consuming raw or partially cooked pork. In spite of their occupational exposure risk, none of the oral swabs showed positive results for S. suis infection. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report and detection study of S. suis using oral swabs obtained from swine personnel in Peninsular Malaysia

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Meat quality, meat fatty acid composition, and effects of transport stress on crossbred pigs in Malaysia

Pork meat quality and local genetic diversity of pigs is relatively unknown in Malaysia since the abolishing of designated breeder farms and centralized suppliers since the Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia. This is compounded by the presence of unlicensed slaughterhouses, which threatens the quality of pork for the consumer. This study seeks to determine the general pork quality from model farms in Malaysia, as well as the effect of transportation duration on meat quality, stress parameters and HSP70 expression. This study also compares the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) values between the roasted and boiled meat to approximate local consumer preference and laboratory meat quality evaluation method. Meat quality parameters were evaluated from the longissimus dorsi of 10 Duroc crossbreeds to estimate that the local pork quality falls into the category of Red, Soft and Exudative meat (acceptable with mild defects). The fatty acid profile analysis done on the longissimus dorsi of 6 Landrace pure breed, 4 Large White pure breed and 10 Duroc crossbreds showed that the Duroc crossbreds have the lowest saturated fatty acid content and the highest unsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid ratio compared to pure breeds. However, producers may need to increase the polyunsaturated fatty acid omega 3 (PUFA n-3) levels in Duroc crosses due to high PUFA n-6: n-3 ratio. As for the effects of transportation, 20 Duroc crosses were assigned to long transportation stress (3-hour transportation duration), while 10 Duroc crossbreds were subjected to short transportation stress (30-minute transportation duration). A transportation duration of 3 hours is correlated with high serum corticosterone levels, down-regulation of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression, higher tendency of muscle lipid oxidation and lower pH45minutes when compared to the short transportation group. This study suggests that the initial stress caused by short transportation durations of 30 minutes up-regulates the expression of HSP70 for cellular repair mechanism. This mechanism is severely impacted after 3 hours of transportation stress, leading to the downregulation of HSP70 and the tendency of increased cellular oxidative potential in the muscle. In conclusion, the proposed pork quality baseline reference falls within the RSE category, still deemed satisfactory in terms of consumer perception with Duroc cross still demonstrating consumer preferable meat quality and fatty acid composition compared to the other breeds. Results heavily suggests keeping the transportation time limit to within 3 hours to reduce further negative impact on meat quality. These may be achieved contributing to the benefits of the establishments of pig farming areas (PFA) within the country. HSP70 gene expression may be potentially used as a biomarker for drip loss. This study also suggests a pathway where the expression of HSP70 can be associated with changes in meat quality supported by high correlations. This study presents pork quality from Malaysian model pig farms to serve as a guideline to other pork producers, as well as provides insight into how transportation duration impacts ultimate meat quality

The effects of Escherichia coli vaccination in gilts on piglets performance in a farm in Perak

This study aimed to observe the effects of Escherichia coli (Neocolipor® vaccine) vaccination on neonatal diarrhoea score, growth parameters and neonatal mortality rate in newborn piglets. A field trial was conducted in 35 litters of piglets from gilts selected from a farm in Perak. Body weights of the piglets were measured at days 1, 7, 14 and 21 of age and the episodes of diarrhoea and piglet mortality were monitored daily. The Treatment group had significantly lower (p0.05). Environmental stress and routine treatment of diarrhoea with antimicrobials may have affected the significance of the diarrhoea score and growth parameters in this study. In conclusion, E. coli vaccination in gilts was shown to significantly reduce first week piglet mortality and diarrhoeal percentages on day one under farm conditions in this pilot study in Malaysia

Genotype Shift of Malaysian Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) from PCV2b to PCV2d within a Decade

This paper aims to update the molecular status of porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) in Malaysia. Firstly, the molecular detection rate of PCV2 in farm and sampled pig population were reported to be 83.78% (31/37 farms) and 83.54% (66/79 pigs) positive for PCV2, respectively. PCV2 was detected across all age groups, from fetuses, porkers to sows. Co-detection of PCV2 and PCV3 antigens was also reported at a rate of 28.77% (21/73). Secondly, PCV2 antigen was also detected in Malaysian abattoir lung samples: 18 out of 19 (94.74%) samples originating from clinically healthy finishers were tested positive. Further, this is the first study to confirm the circulation of PCV2 in the wild boar population roaming Peninsular Malaysia, where 28 out of 28 (100%) wild boar lung samples were found positive. One decade earlier, only genotype PCV2b was reported in Malaysia. This most recent update revealed that genotypes PCV2a, PCV2b and PCV2d were present, with PCV2d being the predominant circulating genotype. PCV2 cap gene nucleotide sequences in this study were found to be under negative selection pressure, with an estimated substitution rate of 1.102 &times; 10&minus;3 substitutions/site/year (ssy)

Endoscopy gender determination and reproductive hormone profiles of Painted Terrapins (<i>Batagur borneoensis</i>) subjected to <i>ex situ</i> incubation

Chelonian exhibit temperature dependent sex determination, and ex situ incubation of eggs in conservation hatcheries may render a gender bias. The gender of juvenile Painted terrapins (Batagur borneoensis) produced at a conservation hatchery in Malaysia was determined by endoscopy of the gonads. Circulating reproductive hormones (testosterone, progesterone and estradiol) were profiled for 31 juveniles and nine captive-reared non-breeding adult terrapins. Endoscopy revealed a gender bias of 96.8% (30/31) females. Testosterone levels in the juvenile females (2.49 ± 1.29) were significantly lower than that of the adult females (12.20 ± 4.29), and lower than values in the juvenile male (9.36) and adult males (27.60, 35.62). The progesterone levels in the juvenile females (107.12 ± 68.68) were significantly higher than that of the adult females (51.13 ± 24.67), but lower than values in the juvenile male (33.27) and adult males (3.43, 8.51). Estrogen levels were significantly lower in the juvenile females (1.57 ± 1.35) compared to the adult females (77.46 ± 53.45). Negative correlations were observed between levels of progesterone and testosterone, and progesterone and estrogen. A positive correlation was noted between estrogen and testosterone. The present study constitutes the first attempt to determine the gender and reproductive hormone profiles of juvenile Painted terrapins produced by ex situ incubation, and captive non-breeding adults. Endoscopy of the gonads is a useful techniques for gender determination among juvenile turtles, while the use of testosterone as a gender biomarker warrants further investigation