Construction of Genetic Linkage Maps From a Hybrid Family of Large Yellow Croaker (Larimichthys crocea)

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Genomic dissection of maternal, additive and non-additive genetic effects for growth and carcass traits in Nile tilapia

International audienceAbstractBackgroundThe availability of both pedigree and genomic sources of information for animal breeding and genetics has created new challenges in understanding how they can be best used and interpreted. This study estimated genetic variance components based on genomic information and compared these to the variance components estimated from pedigree alone in a population generated to estimate non-additive genetic variance. Furthermore, the study examined the impact of the assumptions of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) on estimates of genetic variance components. For the first time, the magnitude of inbreeding depression for important commercial traits in Nile tilapia was estimated by using genomic data.ResultsThe study estimated the non-additive genetic variance in a Nile tilapia population of full-sib families and, when present, it was almost entirely represented by additive-by-additive epistatic variance, although in pedigree studies this non-additive variance is commonly assumed to arise from dominance. For body depth (BD) and body weight at harvest (BWH), the proportion of additive-by-additive epistatic to phenotypic variance was estimated to be 0.15 and 0.17 using genomic data (P < 0.05). In addition, with genomic data, the maternal variance (P < 0.05) for BD, BWH, body length (BL) and fillet weight (FW) explained approximately 10% of the phenotypic variances, which was comparable to pedigree-based estimates. The study also showed the detrimental effects of inbreeding on commercial traits of tilapia, which was estimated to reduce trait values by 1.1, 0.9, 0.4 and 0.3% per 1% increase in the individual homozygosity for FW, BWH, BD and BL, respectively. The presence of inbreeding depression but lack of dominance variance was consistent with an infinitesimal dominance model for the traits.ConclusionsThe benefit of including non-additive genetic effects for genetic evaluations in tilapia breeding schemes is not evident from these findings, but the observed inbreeding depression points to a role for reciprocal recurrent selection. Commercially, this conclusion will depend on the scheme’s operational costs and resources. The creation of maternal lines in Tilapia breeding schemes may be a possibility if the variation associated with maternal effects is heritable

Analysis of host- and strain-dependent cell death responses during infectious salmon anemia virus infection in vitro

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) is an aquatic orthomyxovirus and the causative agent of infectious salmon anemia (ISA), a disease of great importance in the Atlantic salmon farming industry. <it>In vitro</it>, ISAV infection causes cytophatic effect (CPE) in cell lines from Atlantic salmon, leading to rounding and finally detachment of the cells from the substratum. In this study, we investigated the mode of cell death during <it>in vitro </it>ISAV infection in different Atlantic salmon cell lines, using four ISAV strains causing different mortality <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results show that caspase 3/7 activity increased during the course of infection in ASK and SHK-1 cells, infected cells showed increased surface expression of phosphatidylserine and increased PI uptake, compared to mock infected cells; and morphological alterations of the mitochondria were observed. Expression analysis of immune relevant genes revealed no correlation between in vivo mortality and expression, but good correlation in expression of interferon genes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results from this study indicate that there is both strain and cell type dependent differences in the virus-host interaction during ISAV infection. This is important to bear in mind when extrapolating <it>in vitro </it>findings to the <it>in vivo </it>situation.</p

Does a single exposure to social defeat render rats more vulnerable to chemically induced colitis than brief inescapable foot-shocks?

All mammals are to different degrees exposed to stressors being physical or social, which may affect health and well-being. Stressful and traumatic situations have direct effects on immune responses that may alter susceptibility to developing somatic illnesses. In animal research, different types of stressors have been investigated in studying the effect on bowel disorders, some stressors being more or less of environmental origin. We aimed, therefore, to explore whether a more natural stressor would differ from a stressor of more unnatural characteristics on dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) induced colitis in adult rats. Specifically, whether social stress within a single social defeat (SD) paradigm would be a more potent stressor than brief inescapable foot-shocks (IFS) in causing elevated faecal granulocyte marker protein (GMP), and crypt- and inflammation scores in colonic tissue. Three groups of male Wistar rats were used; socially defeated rats; inescapable foot-shock rats; and comparison rats. Main findings showed no difference between the groups on GMP levels. However, there was a significant difference on inflammation and crypt scores for the distal part of colon, detected through histology, where socially defeated rats were more susceptible. A single SD seems to be more adverse than inescapable foot-shock on DSS induced colitis, but further studies are recommended to validate a broader range of different outcomes comparing two such different rodent stress models.publishedVersio

Host blood RNA transcript and protein signatures for sputum-independent diagnostics of tuberculosis in adults

To achieve the ambitious targets for tuberculosis (TB) prevention, care, and control stated by the End TB Strategy, new health care strategies, diagnostic tools are warranted. Host-derived biosignatures are explored for their TB diagnostic potential in accordance with the WHO target product profiles (TPPs) for point-of-care (POC) testing. We aimed to identify sputum-independent TB diagnostic signatures in newly diagnosed adult pulmonary-TB (PTB) patients recruited in the context of a prospective household contact cohort study conducted in Andhra Pradesh, India. Whole-blood mRNA samples from 158 subjects (PTB, n = 109; age-matched household controls, n = 49) were examined by dual-color Reverse-Transcriptase Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe-Amplification (dcRT-MLPA) for the expression of 198 pre-defined genes and a Mesoscale discovery assay for the concentration of 18 cytokines/chemokines in TB-antigen stimulated QuantiFERON supernatants. To identify signatures, we applied a two-step approach; in the first step, univariate filtering was used to identify and shortlist potentially predictive biomarkers; this step may be seen as removing redundant biomarkers. In the second step, a logistic regression approach was used such that group membership (PTB vs. household controls) became the binary response in a Lasso regression model. We identified an 11-gene signature that distinguished PTB from household controls with AUCs of ≥0.98 (95% CIs: 0.94–1.00), and a 4-protein signature (IFNγ, GMCSF, IL7 and IL15) that differentiated PTB from household controls with AUCs of ≥0.87 (95% CIs: 0.75–1.00), in our discovery cohort. Subsequently, we evaluated the performance of the 11-gene signature in two external validation data sets viz, an independent cohort at the Glenfield Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK (GSE107994 data set), and the Catalysis treatment response cohort (GSE89403 data set) from South Africa. The 11-gene signature validated and distinguished PTB from healthy and asymptomatic M. tuberculosis infected household controls in the GSE107994 data set, with an AUC of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.91–0.98) and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.89–0.98). More interestingly in the GSE89403 data set, the 11-gene signature distinguished PTB from household controls and patients with other lung diseases with an AUC of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.87–0.99) and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.56–0.89). These criteria meet the WHO TTP benchmarks for a non–sputum-based triage test for TB diagnosis. We suggest that further validation is required before clinical implementation of the 11-gene signature we have identified markers will be possible.publishedVersio

Health and environmental risk evaluation of microorganisms used in bioremediation. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Microbial Ecology of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety

In 2015, The Norwegian Environment Agency requested the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM) to collate an overview of bioremediation of polluted ground based on bioaugmentation described in literature for the degradation of various types of pollutants, (including hydrocarbons, heavy metals, chlorinated compounds, explosives etc.).The assessment of genetically modified microorganisms (GMO), phytoremediation, bioremediation based on natural attenuation, bio-stimulation or biodegradation, including composting, are not included in this report

Agrárpiaci Jelentések TEJ ÉS TEJTERMÉKEK

Magyarországon a nyerstej országos termelői átlagára 104,97 forint/kg volt 2014 májusában, 14 százalékkal haladta meg az egy évvel korábbit. A nyerstej kiviteli ára 99,52 forint/kg volt ugyanekkor, egy év alatt 7 százalékkal csökkent és 5 százalékkal maradt el a belpiaci ártól. A FAO májusi előrejelzése szerint a globális tejtermelés 2,1 százalékkal 783 millió tonnára nő 2014-ben az előző évihez képest. Az Egyesült Államok tejkibocsátása 2,4 százalékkal, Kínáé 2 százalékkal, az Európai Unióé 1,5 százalékkal emelkedhet. Az ife előrejelzése szerint az EU tejfelvásárlása a FAO projekciójánál nagyobb mértékben, 3 százalékkal nőhet az idén. A tej- és tejtermékek exportja (tejegyenértékben kifejezve) Új-Zélandon 4 százalékkal, az EU-ban és az USA-ban egyaránt 3 százalékkal bővülhet 2014-ben az egy évvel korábbihoz viszonyítva. Az ife elemzői szerint az EU-ban a készletek 2014 elején nagyon alacsony szintre süllyedtek, azonban a termelésbővülés hatására ismét emelkedhetnek. A vaj év végi zárókészlete 80 százalékkal, a sovány tejporé 111 százalékkal nőhet az idén az egy évvel korábbihoz viszonyítva. A világpiaci kereslet élénkülése és a magas készletszint miatt az EU a többlettermelését a világpiacon értékesítheti. Az EU sovány tejpor kivitele 14,5 százalékkal, a vajé 4 százalékkal, a sajté 2,5 százalékkal nő, míg a teljes tejporé 2 százalékkal csökken 2014-ben az előző évihez viszonyítva. Az EU sovány tejpor kivitelének erőteljes bővülését az okozza, hogy a magas vajárak sokkal jövedelmezőbbé teszik a sovány tejpor és a vaj termelését a teljes tejporhoz viszonyítva

The use of light, restrictive feeding, fibrous feed and stocking density and the consequences for animal welfare for poultry species kept in Norway - Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

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