Methods for calculating economic weights of traits in pigs

Selection of animals is performed on the basis of a complex of traits, which are characterised by breeding values and economic weights. Various methodologies are used to choose the most important traits in pig breeding programs. Using the subjective approach, economic importance of pig traits were based on the required genetic gain and on subjective decision of the breeders. These methods could be ambiguous, however the insufficient information about the trait importance can be complemented in some cases (e.g. for organic pig farms). In objective methods, the performance of a pig production system (measured as profit or costs) in relation to improving the genetic level of a pig trait is considered. Compared to other livestock species, pigs breeding structure play some role when defining the trait economic weights. The general, flexible and fee available computer program would be useful tool for calculating economic weights of pig traits

Bio-economic Models for Efficient Dairy Cattle Breeding

The objective of this study was to define the main principles when the economic weights of traits are defined to be applicate in dairy cattle breeding. The competitive farming is a function of additive genetic values of traits weighted with economic values. For the calculation of economic values, the bio-economic models are mostly used. These models should reflect the production circumstances of evaluated production systems and be flexible to fit other production situations. Except of the production traits, the functional traits and traits for feed intake utilization are very important for the sustainable production. The environmental benefits (e. g. reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, welfare) should be mentioned as well. Results based on the bio-economic models provide the first information whether the breeding goal for cattle would be redefined. Moreover, flexibility of the bio-economic models enables to evaluate the breeding goals for different customer groups and for different cattle breeds. They are beneficial tools for comprehensive evaluation of the economic values for the most important traits in cattle and in sheep

Milk Quality, Somatic Cell Count, and Economics of Dairy Goats Farm in the Czech Republic

Mammary gland anatomy in small ruminants is very similar to that of cows; however, milk synthesis throughout lactation exhibits many functional particularities in small ruminants compared with that of cows. Goat’s milk is beneficial for human nutrition owing to the fatty acid composition, fat globule size, and conjugated linoleic acid content. As a raw material for dairy products, goat’s milk must be safe for human consumption. The number of mesophilic microorganisms, somatic cells, and selected mastitis pathogens should be limited. A prerequisite for the production of milk of high hygienic quality is the health of the mammary gland. Goat’s milk processing into cheese and other products is in the Czech Republic mostly performed on farms, partly for direct sales to consumers and partly for supplying selected stores. Revenues from dairy commodities represent the most important source of income for dairy goat farms. Mammary gland health has an important effect on the economics of dairy goat farms. Profitability can fall by up to 1/3 owing to indirect effects of udder health problems

Top-Down proteomics based on LC-MS combined with cDNA sequencing to characterize multiple proteoforms of Amiata donkey milk proteins

An in-depth molecular characterization of the main milk proteins, caseins (CNs) and whey proteins, from Amiata donkey combining top-down proteomic analysis (LC-MS) and cDNA sequencing, revealed multiple proteoforms arising from complex splicing patterns, including cryptic splice site usage and exon skipping events. Posttranslational modifications, in particular phosphorylation, increased the variety and complexity of proteoforms. αs2-CN perfectly exemplifies such a complexity. With 2 functional genes, CSN1S2 I and CSN1S2 II, made of 20 and 16 exons respectively, nearly 30 different molecules of this CN were detected in the milk of one Amiata donkey. A cryptic splice site usage, leading to a singular shift of the open reading frame and generating two αs2-CN I isoforms with different C-terminal sequences, was brought to light. Twenty different αs1-CN molecules with different phosphorylation levels ranging between 4 and 9P were identified in a single milk sample, most of them resulting from exon skipping events and cryptic splice site usage. Novel genetic polymorphisms were detected for CNs (β- and αs-CN) as well as for whey proteins (lysozyme C and β-LG I). The probable new β-LG I variant, with a significantly higher mass than known variants, appears to display an N-terminal extension possibly related to the signal peptide sequence. This represents the most comprehensive report to date detailing the complexity of donkey milk protein micro-heterogeneity, a prerequisite for discovering new elements to objectify the original properties of donkey’s milk

Electrokinetic characterization of extracellular vesicles with capillary electrophoresis : A new tool for their identification and quantification

This work reports on the development of the first capillary electrophoresis methodology for the elucidation of extracellular vesicles' (EVs) electrokinetic distributions. The approach is based on capillary electrophoresis coupled with laser-induced fluorescent (LIF) detection for the identification and quantification of EVs after their isolation. Sensitive detection of these nanometric entities was possible thanks to an 'inorganic-species-free' background electrolyte. This electrolyte was made up of weakly charged molecules at very high concentrations to stabilize EVs, and an intra-membrane labelling approach was used to prevent EV morphology modification. The limit of detection for EVs achieved using the developed CE-LIF method reached 8 x 10(9) EV/mL, whereas the calibration curve was acquired from 1.22 x 10(10) to 1.20 x 10(11) EV/mL. The CE-LIF approach was applied to provide the electrokinetic distributions of various EVs of animal and human origins, and visualize different EV subpopulations from our recently developed high-yield EV isolation method. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Technical Efficiency and its Determinants in Dairy Cattle

The objective of this study was to analyse the technical efficiency (TE) of the milk production on totally 83 cattle herds (database of APRC Nitra) in the period 2006-2010 and to synthesise impact of the main inputs (costs) on the TE value. A nonparametric approach Data Envelopment Analysis with the input-oriented variable return to scale model was used to evaluate the TE value. Average value of TE in the analysed period was 0.96, i.e. evaluated herds reached 96% of technical efficiency in milk production on average. For these, reduction of inputs by 4% is recommended to reach the efficiency at the given level of milk yield. Value of individual inputs: total feed costs, material costs, labour costs, repair and service, depreciation, other direct costs and overhead costs, should be reduced by 3.7, 10.0, 3.3, 15.8, 2.1, 2.9 and 8.5% respectively, while maintaining the same level of output. It is possible to state that the analysed farms are inefficient in utilization of inputs for the given level of output. The TE value was statistically significantly influenced by the feed costs only. The negative influence of this factor indicates inefficient utilization of feeds (balance of feeding ration, losses of storage, reciprocal substitution of feeds) or inefficient utilization of its production potential in relation to the given output level

Genetics of feed intake traits in Czech Large White pig population

Submitted 2020-07-08 | Accepted 2020-08-15 | Available 2020-12-01https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2020.23.mi-fpap.217-223Feed represents a substantial proportion of the variable costs of pig production. Feed efficiency is traditionally expressed as the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and more recently as residual feed intake (RFI). Although feed efficiency can be generally improved indirectly by selection for increased growth rate and decreased adipose tissue, a higher genetic response could be achieved through direct selection of feed intake traits. The aim of this study was to provide a pilot analysis of feed intake data of 281 Czech Large White boars. Data were recorded individually using the Feed Intake Recording Equipment in field performance testing from 2018 to 2020. The analysed feed intake traits were average daily feed intake (ADFI), FCR and RFI. RFI was calculated as the deviation of observed ADFI and average population ADFI predicted on the basis of the model, with mid-test metabolic weight and average daily gain as regressors. The heritability estimates were 0.35 and 0.34 for ADFI and FCR, respectively, and the estimate was slightly higher (0.43) for RFI. The genetic standard deviations ranged from 100 to 110 g of feed per day and 103 g of feed per kg of weight gain. The amounts of explained variability by environmental effects of jointly tested animals were from 0.20 to 0.46. The sufficient amount of genetic variability and moderate heritability estimates give the possibility for selection of feed intake traits, although a larger number of animals will be essential to estimate more precise breeding values.Keywords: animal breeding, pig selection, genetic parameters, feed conversion ratio, residual feed intakeReferencesCai, W. & Casey, D.S. & Dekkers, J.C.M. (2008). 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Recent electrokinetic strategies for isolation, enrichment and separation of extracellular vesicles

International audienceExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are a family of cell-derived membrane vesicles that are present in almost all body fluids. EVs have gained significant interest over the last decades as mediators of key functions in numerous patho-physiological condition (clearance, signalling, trophic support, cargo delivery) and as potential prognostic or diagnostic biomarkers. The endogenous delivery capacities of these nanometric entities also hold a high potential as engineered drug nanocarriers for clinical and pharmaceutical ap- plications, especially for targeted therapies. Nevertheless, knowledge about the features of individual EVs (composition, physical and chemical characteristics) is still at the infancy because of the technical challenges to purify and analyze the various subpopulations of EVs. In this review, a comprehensive overview of electrokinetically driven methods for isolation, enrichment and characterization of EVs is presented. This review covers new trends of analytical science (over 7 years up till 2020), serving for high-quality EVs production, isolation, analysis and quality control, which are expected to provide powerful and complementary alternatives to the conventional and recently emerged approaches such as microfluidics. We critically discuss here the pros and cons of the different instrumental and methodo- logical developments for electrokinetic strategies applied to EVs

Les microARN comme marqueurs périphériques précoces de l’inflammation et du statut nutritionnel des vaches laitières en début de lactation

Champ thématique : ProductionLes microARN sont des petits ARN non codants qui contrôlent divers processus biologiques dont la réponse immunitaire et le métabolisme. Chez les ruminants, les données sur les microARN augmentent rapidement. Ainsi, un séquençage haut débit de l’ensemble des microARN (collaboration avec l’Unité Gabi-Jouy) a permis d’établir un répertoire exhaustif (miRNome) dans la glande mammaire de vaches1 et de chèvres2 en lactation. De plus, notre étude portant sur la régulation nutritionnelle de leur expression dans la glande mammaire a mis en exergue 30 microARN régulés par la restriction alimentaire chez la chèvre en lactation3. Récemment, des microARN ont été décrits, chez l’homme, comme biomarqueurs de maladies humaines4 (Ribeiro & Sousa, 2014) alors que chez les animaux d’élevage, leur utilisation comme biomarqueur reste peu exploré. L’objectif de ce projet est de rechercher parmi les microARN présents dans les fluides (sang et/ou lait), des marqueurs précoces de l’inflammation ou de changements d'état nutritionnel, en exploitant le protocole expérimental mis en place dans le cadre du programme Ruminflame afin de les utiliser comme indicateurs de l’état physiologique ou pathologique des animaux