Current situation and future prospects for global beef production: overview of special issue

The demand for beef as a protein source is increasing worldwide, although in most countries beef accounts for considerably less than half of total meat consumption. Beef also provides a highly desirable eating experience in developed countries and, increasingly, in developing countries. The sustainability of beef production has different meanings in the various geographical and socio-economic regions of the world. Natural resources including land mass and uses, rainfall and access to livestock feed, and the robustness of the economy are major determinants of the perception of beef sustainability. In this overview of the 2016 International Symposium on “Future Beef in Asia” and this subsequent Special Edition of the Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences on “Current Situation and Future Prospects for Global Beef Production”, the contributions have been grouped into the following categories: Countries in Southeast Asia; Europe; and Countries producing highly marbled beef for export and/or domestic consumption. They also include reference to Special Topics including marbled beef production, and use of “omics” technologies to enhance beef quality assurance. Among these broad categories, notable differences exist across countries in the production and marketing of beef. These reflect differences in factors including natural resource availability and climate, population size, traditional culture and degree of economic development including industrial and technological developments. We trust that the International Symposium and this Special Edition on Current Situation and Future Prospects for Global Beef Production, the contents of which that are briefly summarized in this paper, will serve as a valuable resource for the livestock industries, researchers and students with an interest in enhancing the prospects for sustainable, efficient beef production that satisfies the growing size and complexity of consumer demands and markets for beef

The Japanese Wagyu beef industry: current situation and future prospects — A review

In Japan, Wagyu cattle include four Japanese breeds; Black, Brown, Shorthorn, and Polled. Today, the renowned brand name Wagyu includes not only cattle produced in Japan, but also cattle produced in countries such as Australia and the United States. In recent years, the intramuscular fat percentage in beef (longissimus muscle) from Japanese Black cattle has increased to be greater than 30%. The Japanese Black breed is genetically predisposed to producing carcass lipids containing higher concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids than other breeds. However, there are numerous problems with the management of this breed including high production costs, disposal of untreated excrement, the requirement for imported feed, and food security risks resulting from various viral diseases introduced by imported feed. The feeding system needs to shift to one that is more efficient, and improves management for farmers, food security for consumers, and the health environment for residents of Japan. Currently, we are developing a metabolic programming and an information and communications technology (ICT, or Interne of Things) management system for Wagyu beef production as future systems. If successful, we will produce safe, high-quality Wagyu beef using domestic pasture resources while solving the problems of how to utilize increasing areas of abandoned agricultural land and to make use of the plant-based feed resources in Japan’s mountainous areas

Physiological Roles of Adipokines, Hepatokines, and Myokines in Ruminants

Since the discovery of leptin secreted from adipocytes, specialized tissues and cells have been found that secrete the several peptides (or cytokines) that are characterized to negatively and positively regulate the metabolic process. Different types of adipokines, hepatokines, and myokines, which act as cytokines, are secreted from adipose, liver, and muscle tissue, respectively, and have been identified and examined for their physiological roles in humans and disease in animal models. Recently, various studies of these cytokines have been conducted in ruminants, including dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, and goat. Interestingly, a few cytokines from these tissues in ruminants play an important role in the post-parturition, lactation, and fattening (marbling) periods. Thus, understanding these hormones is important for improving nutritional management in dairy cows and beef cattle. However, to our knowledge, there have been no reviews of the characteristics of these cytokines in beef and dairy products in ruminants. In particular, lipid and glucose metabolism in adipose tissue, liver tissue, and muscle tissue are very important for energy storage, production, and synthesis, which are regulated by these cytokines in ruminant production. In this review, we summarize the physiological roles of adipokines, hepatokines, and myokines in ruminants. This discussion provides a foundation for understanding the role of cytokines in animal production of ruminants

Mitochondrial dysfunction and increased reactive oxygen species impair insulin secretion in sphingomyelin synthase 1-null Mice

Sphingomyelin synthase 1 (SMS1) catalyzes the conversion of ceramide to sphingomyelin. Here, we generated and analyzed SMS1-null mice. SMS1-null mice exhibited moderate neonatal lethality, reduced body weight, and loss of fat tissues mass, suggesting that they might have metabolic abnormality. Indeed, analysis on glucose metabolism revealed that they showed severe deficiencies in insulin secretion. Isolated mutant islets exhibited severely impaired ability to release insulin, dependent on glucose stimuli. Further analysis indicated that mitochondria in mutant islet cells cannot up-regulate ATP production in response to glucose. We also observed additional mitochondrial abnormalities, such as hyperpolarized membrane potential and increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mutant islets. Finally, when SMS1-null mice were treated with the anti-oxidant N-acetyl cysteine, we observed partial recovery of insulin secretion, indicating that ROS overproduction underlies pancreatic β-cell dysfunction in SMS1-null mice. Altogether, our data suggest that SMS1 is important for controlling ROS generation, and that SMS1 is required for normal mitochondrial function and insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells.Masato Yano, Ken Watanabe, Tadashi Yamamoto, Kazutaka Ikeda, Takafumi Senokuchi, Meihong Lu, Tsuyoshi Kadomatsu, Hiroto Tsukano, Masahito Ikawa, Masaru Okabe, Shohei Yamaoka, Toshiro Okazaki, Hisanori Umehara, Tomomi Gotoh, Wen-Jie Song, Koichi Node, Ryo Taguchi, Kazuya Yamagata, Yuichi Oike, Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Increased Reactive Oxygen Species Impair Insulin Secretion in Sphingomyelin Synthase 1-null Mice, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Volume 286, Issue 5, 2011, Pages 3992-4002, ISSN 0021-9258, https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M110.179176

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

Effects of Dam Age, Lamb Gender, and Singleton or Twin Status on Bodyweight and Chest Measurements of Malya Lambs in Middle Anatolia, Turkey

cilek, suleyman/0000-0002-2352-649XWOS: 000362390700014We investigated the effects of dam age, lamb gender, and singleton or twin status on lamb chest measurements and body weight in Malya lambs in Middle Anatolia, Turkey. Data were obtained from 302 lambs in an elite Malya sheep flock. Bodyweight, chest circumference, chest depth, chest length, and chest width were recorded. The least square means method was used to determine factors that significantly affected lamb body weight and chest measurements. The general linear model in the Minitab packet program was used to test the effects of variables on body weight and chest measurements. Dam age did not significantly affect lamb bodyweight or chest measurements during the first year of life, except for chest circumference and chest depth. Male lambs were significantly larger in bodyweight and chest measurements than females at the age of 12 months (p<0.001 for all parameters). Singleton lambs were significantly larger in bodyweight and chest related parameters than twins until 4 months of age, but this effect was only significant at 12 months of age for chest width. It is suggested that there might be compensatory growth in twin lambs after weaning. If farmers are able to ensure twin lamb survival until weaning age, they can expect compensatory growth by 12 months of age.Scientific Research Project Coordination Unit of Kirikkale UniversityKirikkale University [2011/38]This research was supported by the Scientific Research Project Coordination Unit of Kirikkale University (Project number 2011/38). The authors are grateful for assistance from the scientific Research Project Coordination Unit of Kirikkale University. The author also wishes to thank his mother and father, Zahide and Ali Cilek, his dear housekeeper Mehmet Gevrek, shepherd Kaya Turan Kaya, and Veterinary Medicine expert Kadir Gokhan Yildirim for their support

Reproduction Characteristics in Brown Swiss Cows Reared Under Steppe Climate Conditions in Turkey

cilek, suleyman/0000-0002-2352-649XWOS: 000295762200016The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of environmental factors on reproductive traits of pure Brown Swiss cows reared under steppe climate conditions in the central Anatolia region of Turkey. In this study, 1502 reproductive records of Brown Swiss cows, which were reared in Ulas State Farm, were analyzed. The least squares means for gestation period, calving interval, non-pregnant period, insemination number for cows, insemination number per conception for heifers at first insemination, first insemination age, and age at first calving were 287 clays, 416 days, 128 days, 1.8 times, 1.6 times, 608 days, and 928 days, respectively. Calving times significantly affected the non-pregnant period, calving interval and gestation period (P<0.05). The calving intervals were significantly the longest in the 2(nd) calving time and the shortest in the 8(th) and 9(th) calving times (P<0.01). The birth season of heifers significantly affected first insemination age and age at first calving (P<0.01, P<0.001, respectively). For the calving season analysis, gestation period was the longest in autumn (P<0.01). The number of inseminations per conception for cows was significantly larger in spring and autumn than that in summer (P<0.01). The first calving ages were significantly earlier in autumn than in the other seasons (P<0.01). For analysis of insemination season, regarding insemination number per conception, first insemination age and first calving age, heifers in spring and summer were significantly larger than those in winter and autumn (P<0.01). These results suggested that 1) birth and insemination season affected first insemination age and first calving age, 2) Cows born in autumn and winter showed an earlier first insemination and first calving age than in spring and summer, and 3) the same trend would be observed for insemination season.Ulas State FarmThe authors would like to thank the Ulas State Farm for support for this research

Effects of Dam Age, Lamb Gender, and Singleton or Twin Status on Body Size of Malya Lambs in Middle Anatolia, Turkey

The effects of dam age, lamb gender, and singleton or twin status on lamb body size and growth were investigated in Malya lambs in Middle Anatolia, Turkey. Data were obtained from 302 lambs from an elite Malya sheep flock. Wither height, body length, rump height, rump length, back height, rump width, and front cannon bone circumference were recorded. The least square means method was used to determine factors that significantly affected body size of the lambs. General linear model in Minitab packet program was used to test the effects of variables on body size measurements. Least square means for wither height at birth and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months of age were 40.13, 48.09, 55.07, 60.16, 64.99, 70.23, 74.45 and 76.66 cm, respectively. Dam age did not significantly affect body size parameters during the first year of life, except for rump height and front cannon bone circumference. Male lambs were significantly larger between birth and 12 months of age than females (P<0.05). Singleton lambs were significantly larger than twins until 6 months of age (P<0.05), but this effect was not significant after 6 months of age. It is suggested that there might be compensatory growth in twin lambs after weaning. In particular, twins born from 2–year–old dams show strong compensatory growth post–weaning. If farmers are able to ensure twin lamb survival until weaning age, they can expect compensatory growth after 9 months of age