Naturally Occurring Egg Drop Syndrome Infection in Turkeys

A decrease in the egg quality, production, fertility and hatchability without serious clinical signs of illness was recorded in turkey fl ocks in Croatia at the beginning of 2002. It was assumed that the egg drop syndrome virus might be one of the etiological agents responsible for the abnormalities in the egg production. The systematic serological monitoring, using a haemagglutination inhibition test, showed that the antibodies to the egg drop syndrome virus existed in 94.4 and 55.1% of the sera analysed in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The haemagglutination inhibition titres ranged from 16 to 128. The sera samples were randomly collected from 11 - to 46-week-old hens from the affected fl ocks. The serological evidence of the egg drop syndrome virus infection was confirmed by detection of the presence of the virus genome in the turkey sera by the polymerase chain reaction. Vaccination of the 18- and 25-week-old turkey hens against the egg drop syndrome virus started in March 2003. After this period, the presence of antibodies to the egg drop syndrome virus (the haemagglutination inhibition titres between 16 and 256) was found in 96.7% of the analysed sera, while the egg production reached normal or higher values for the Nicholas hybrid line of turkeys

Genome-wide screening for genetic variants in polyadenylation signal (PAS) sites in mouse selection lines for fatness and leanness

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) determines mRNA stability, localisation, translation and protein function. Several diseases, including obesity, have been linked to APA. Studies have shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms in polyadenylation signals (PAS-SNPs) can influence APA and affect phenotype and disease susceptibility. However, these studies focussed on associations between single PAS-SNP alleles with very large effects and phenotype. Therefore, we performed a genome-wide screening for PAS-SNPs in the polygenic mouse selection lines for fatness and leanness by whole-genome sequencing. The genetic variants identified in the two lines were overlapped with locations of PAS sites obtained from the PolyASite 2.0 database. Expression data for selected genes were extracted from the microarray expression experiment performed on multiple tissue samples. In total, 682 PAS-SNPs were identified within 583 genes involved in various biological processes, including transport, protein modifications and degradation, cell adhesion and immune response. Moreover, 63 of the 583 orthologous genes in human have been previously associated with human diseases, such as nervous system and physical disorders, and immune, endocrine, and metabolic diseases. In both lines, PAS-SNPs have also been identified in genes broadly involved in APA, such as Polr2c, Eif3e and Ints11. Five PAS-SNPs within 5 genes (Car, Col4a1, Itga7, Lat, Nmnat1) were prioritised as potential functional variants and could contribute to the phenotypic disparity between the two selection lines. The developed PAS-SNPs catalogue presents a key resource for planning functional studies to uncover the role of PAS-SNPs in APA, disease susceptibility and fat deposition. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00335-022-09967-8

Overview of Croatian poultry industry over the period 2003-2004

Peradarska je proizvodnja u Hrvatskoj tijekom 2003. i 2004. godine, unatoč gospodarskim poteškoćama, zadržala razinu iz prethodnih godina. Primje-ćuje se, međutim, restrukturiranje peradarskih proizvođača u smislu okrupnjavanja proizvodnje. Izgrađeno je i dosta novih nastambi za perad koje su opremljene najsuvremenijom opremom, a i dosta je starih nastambi adaptirano i opremljeno novim sustavima. Pojedini proizvođači kasne u primjeni novih tehnoloških rješenja i spoznaja, i to pretežito mali pro-izvođači koji će se vjerojatno izgubiti u tržišnoj utakmici. Analizirane smjese za hranidbu peradi u većini su slučajeva po kemijskom sastavu i higijenskim zahtjevima bile na zadovoljavajućoj razini. Dio smjesa za tov pilića ipak je sadržavao manju količinu proteina i metaboličke energije, pa se u takvim slučajevima ne iskorištavaju u potpunosti potencijali modernih hibrida tovnih pilića i tako gubi profit. Zdravlje se peradi u Hrvatskoj tijekom protekle dvije godine općenito može ocijeniti zadovoljavajućim. Zarazna bolest burze (gumborska bolest), koja je uzrokovala značajne gospodarske gubitke tijekom proteklih desetak godina, sada je u opadanju, no izrazito se povećala učestalost zarazne kržljavosti. S obzirom da se zarazna kržljavost sprečava ponajprije pridržavanjem temeljnih tehnoloških postulata peradarske proizvodnje, smatramo da ovoj bolesti ne bi smjelo biti mjesta u našoj intenzivnoj peradarskoj proizvodnji. Bakterije iz roda Salmonella su u 2004. izdvojene u daleko većem broju negoli u prethodne dvije godine, međutim najveći broj izolata odnosi se na salmonele iz skupine «C1». S. Enteritidis, koji je bio najčešći serovar tijekom proteklih desetak godina, zapravo je u laganom opadanju, dok je serovar S. Typhimurium nešto češće izdvajan. Učestalo izdvajanje salmonela iz skupine «C1» upućuje na njihovu nazočnost u smjesama za hranidbu peradi, čemu treba posvetiti posebnu pozornost.Poultry production in Croatia during 2003 and 2004 remained at the same level as in previous years despite the economical difficulties. However, restructuring of the industry to larger poultry producing companies was noted. Many new poultry farms with modern equipment have been built, and many old farms have been renewed and equipped with new systems. Some of the poultry producers are not up to date with management and husbandry, and these are primarily small producers who will probably disappear due to market competition. Analysed feed for poultry are generally at a satisfactory level regarding chemical composition and hygienic standards. Some broiler feed samples had a lower quantity of protein and energy, therefore genetic potential of the modern broiler hybrids is not fully exploited and profit is lost. Poultry health during the last two years can be generally estimated as satisfactory. Infectious bursal disease (Gumboro disease), which caused significant economic losses in the recent years, has decreased, but incidence of infectious stunting syndrome significantly increases. Infectious stunting syndrome is controlled primarily by basic management principles, so we assume that this disease should not be a problem in our poultry industry. Bacteria from Salmonella genus were isolated in 2004 in a greater number compared to two previous years, but most of the isolates belonged to “C1” group. S. Enteritidis, which was the predominant serovar during the last decade, slightly decreased, whereas S. Typhimurium serovar is increasing. Frequent isolation of “C1” group salmonellas implicates their presence in feed, and particular attention should be paid to this problem

Overview of Croatian poultry industry over the period 2003-2004

Peradarska je proizvodnja u Hrvatskoj tijekom 2003. i 2004. godine, unatoč gospodarskim poteškoćama, zadržala razinu iz prethodnih godina. Primje-ćuje se, međutim, restrukturiranje peradarskih proizvođača u smislu okrupnjavanja proizvodnje. Izgrađeno je i dosta novih nastambi za perad koje su opremljene najsuvremenijom opremom, a i dosta je starih nastambi adaptirano i opremljeno novim sustavima. Pojedini proizvođači kasne u primjeni novih tehnoloških rješenja i spoznaja, i to pretežito mali pro-izvođači koji će se vjerojatno izgubiti u tržišnoj utakmici. Analizirane smjese za hranidbu peradi u većini su slučajeva po kemijskom sastavu i higijenskim zahtjevima bile na zadovoljavajućoj razini. Dio smjesa za tov pilića ipak je sadržavao manju količinu proteina i metaboličke energije, pa se u takvim slučajevima ne iskorištavaju u potpunosti potencijali modernih hibrida tovnih pilića i tako gubi profit. Zdravlje se peradi u Hrvatskoj tijekom protekle dvije godine općenito može ocijeniti zadovoljavajućim. Zarazna bolest burze (gumborska bolest), koja je uzrokovala značajne gospodarske gubitke tijekom proteklih desetak godina, sada je u opadanju, no izrazito se povećala učestalost zarazne kržljavosti. S obzirom da se zarazna kržljavost sprečava ponajprije pridržavanjem temeljnih tehnoloških postulata peradarske proizvodnje, smatramo da ovoj bolesti ne bi smjelo biti mjesta u našoj intenzivnoj peradarskoj proizvodnji. Bakterije iz roda Salmonella su u 2004. izdvojene u daleko većem broju negoli u prethodne dvije godine, međutim najveći broj izolata odnosi se na salmonele iz skupine «C1». S. Enteritidis, koji je bio najčešći serovar tijekom proteklih desetak godina, zapravo je u laganom opadanju, dok je serovar S. Typhimurium nešto češće izdvajan. Učestalo izdvajanje salmonela iz skupine «C1» upućuje na njihovu nazočnost u smjesama za hranidbu peradi, čemu treba posvetiti posebnu pozornost.Poultry production in Croatia during 2003 and 2004 remained at the same level as in previous years despite the economical difficulties. However, restructuring of the industry to larger poultry producing companies was noted. Many new poultry farms with modern equipment have been built, and many old farms have been renewed and equipped with new systems. Some of the poultry producers are not up to date with management and husbandry, and these are primarily small producers who will probably disappear due to market competition. Analysed feed for poultry are generally at a satisfactory level regarding chemical composition and hygienic standards. Some broiler feed samples had a lower quantity of protein and energy, therefore genetic potential of the modern broiler hybrids is not fully exploited and profit is lost. Poultry health during the last two years can be generally estimated as satisfactory. Infectious bursal disease (Gumboro disease), which caused significant economic losses in the recent years, has decreased, but incidence of infectious stunting syndrome significantly increases. Infectious stunting syndrome is controlled primarily by basic management principles, so we assume that this disease should not be a problem in our poultry industry. Bacteria from Salmonella genus were isolated in 2004 in a greater number compared to two previous years, but most of the isolates belonged to “C1” group. S. Enteritidis, which was the predominant serovar during the last decade, slightly decreased, whereas S. Typhimurium serovar is increasing. Frequent isolation of “C1” group salmonellas implicates their presence in feed, and particular attention should be paid to this problem