Effects of potential detoxifying agents on growth performance and deoxynivalenol (DON) urinary balance characteristics of nursery pigs fed DON-contaminated wheat

Citation: Frobose, H. L., Stephenson, E. W., Tokach, M. D., DeRouchey, J. M., Woodworth, J. C., Dritz, S. S., & Goodband, R. D. (2017). Effects of potential detoxifying agents on growth performance and deoxynivalenol (DON) urinary balance characteristics of nursery pigs fed DON-contaminated wheat. Journal of Animal Science, 95(1), 327-337. doi:10.2527/jas2016.0664Two experiments were conducted to evaluate potential detoxifying agents on growth of nursery pigs fed deoxynivalenol (DON)-contaminated diets. Naturally DON-contaminated wheat (6 mg/kg) was used to achieve desired DON levels. In a 21-d study, 238 pigs (13.4 +/- 1.8 kg BW) were used in a completely randomized design with a 2 x 2 + 1 factorial arrangement. Diets were: 1) Positive control (PC; < 0.5 mg/kg DON), 2) PC + 1.0% Product V (Nutriquest LLC, Mason City, IA), 3) Negative control (NC; 4.0 mg/kg DON), 4) NC + 1.0% Product V, and 5) NC + 1.0% sodium metabisulfite (SMB; Samirian Chemicals, Campbell, CA). There were 6 or 7 replicate pens/treatment and 7 pigs/pen. Analyzed DON was decreased by 92% when pelleted with SMB, but otherwise matched formulated levels. Overall, a DON x Product V interaction was observed for ADG (P < 0.05) with a tendency for an interaction for ADFI (P < 0.10). As anticipated, DON reduced (P < 0.001) ADG and ADFI, but the interaction was driven by even poorer growth when Product V was added to NC diets. Pigs fed NC diets had 10% poorer G: F (P < 0.001) than PC-fed pigs. Reductions in ADG due to DON were most distinct (50%) during the initial period. Adding SMB to NC diets improved (P < 0.01) ADG, ADFI, and G: F, and improved (P < 0.02) ADG and G: F compared to the PC diet. A urinary balance study was conducted using diets 3 to 5 from Exp. 1 to evaluate Product V and SMB on DON urinary metabolism. A 10 d adaptation was followed by a 7 d collection using 24 barrows in a randomized complete block design. Pigs fed NC + SMB diet had greater urinary DON output (P < 0.05) than pigs fed NC + Product V, with NC pigs intermediate. Daily DON excretion was lowest (P < 0.05) in the NC + SMB pigs. However, degradation of DON-sulfonate back to the parent DON molecule was observed as pigs fed NC + SMB excreted more DON than they consumed (164% of daily DON intake), greater (P < 0.001) than pigs fed the NC (59%) or NC + Product V (48%). Overall, Product V did not alleviate DON effects on growth nor did it reduce DON absorption and excretion. However, hydrothermally processing DON-contaminated diets with 1.0% SMB restored ADFI and improved G: F. Even so, the urinary balance experiment revealed that some of the converted DON-sulfonate can degrade back to DON under physiological conditions. While further research is needed to discern the stability of the DON-sulfonate, SMB appears promising to restore performance in pelleted DON-contaminated diets

Studies of Reservoir Hosts for Marburg Virus

Marburg virus nucleic acid was found in 12 bats, antibodies were found in 2 species of these bats, but no live virus was isolated

Evolution and extinction of Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) cephalopods from the López de Bertodano Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica

One of the most expanded records to contain the final fortunes of ammonoid cephalopods is within the López de Bertodano Formation of Seymour Island, James Ross Basin, Antarctica. Located at 65° South now, and during the Cretaceous, this sequence is the highest southern latitude onshore outcrop containing the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) transition. We present comprehensive new biostratigraphic range data for 14 ammonite and one nautiloid species based on the collection of >. 700 macrofossils from high-resolution sampling of parallel sedimentary sections, dated Maastrichtian to earliest Danian in age, across southern Seymour Island. We find evidence for only a single, abrupt pulse of cephalopod extinction at the end of the Cretaceous when the final seven ammonite species disappeared, consistent with most evidence globally. In the lead up to the K-Pg extinction in the James Ross Basin, starting during the Campanian, ammonite diversity decreased overall, but the number of endemic taxa belonging to the family Kossmaticeratidae actually increased. This pattern continued into the Maastrichtian and may be facies controlled, linked to changes in sea level and seawater temperature. During the early Maastrichtian, ammonite diversity dropped significantly with only two species recorded from the basal López de Bertodano Formation on Seymour Island. The subsequent diversification of endemic taxa and reappearance of long-ranging, widespread species into the basin resulted in an increase in ammonite diversity and abundance during the mid-Maastrichtian. This was coincident with an apparent period of warming temperatures and sea level rise interpreted from palynology and sedimentology, perhaps reflecting a high latitude expression of the Mid-Maastrichtian Event. Late Maastrichtian diversity levels remained stable despite reported climatic and environmental variation. Ammonite diversity patterns during the Maastrichtian parallel those of microfossil species such as nannofossil and planktonic foraminifera, suggesting that dynamic climatic and environmental changes affected many planktonic and nektonic organisms during the latest Cretaceous. However, we suggest that these perturbations had a minimal effect on overall diversity prior to the catastrophic extinction event at the K-Pg boundary

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Role of genetic testing for inherited prostate cancer risk: Philadelphia prostate cancer consensus conference 2017

Purpose: Guidelines are limited for genetic testing for prostate cancer (PCA). The goal of this conference was to develop an expert consensus-dri

Compendium of 4,941 rumen metagenome-assembled genomes for rumen microbiome biology and enzyme discovery

The Rowett Institute and SRUC are core funded by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) of the Scottish Government. The Roslin Institute forms part of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh. This project was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC; BB/N016742/1, BB/N01720X/1), including institute strategic programme and national capability awards to The Roslin Institute (BBSRC: BB/P013759/1, BB/P013732/1, BB/J004235/1, BB/J004243/1); and by the Scottish Government as part of the 2016–2021 commission.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

In silico exploration of Red Sea Bacillus genomes for natural product biosynthetic gene clusters

Background: The increasing spectrum of multidrug-resistant bacteria is a major global public health concern, necessitating discovery of novel antimicrobial agents. Here, members of the genus Bacillus are investigated as a potentially attractive source of novel antibiotics due to their broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities. We specifically focus on a computational analysis of the distinctive biosynthetic potential of Bacillus paralicheniformis strains isolated from the Red Sea, an ecosystem exposed to adverse, highly saline and hot conditions. Results: We report the complete circular and annotated genomes of two Red Sea strains, B. paralicheniformis Bac48 isolated from mangrove mud and B. paralicheniformis Bac84 isolated from microbial mat collected from Rabigh Harbor Lagoon in Saudi Arabia. Comparing the genomes of B. paralicheniformis Bac48 and B. paralicheniformis Bac84 with nine publicly available complete genomes of B. licheniformis and three genomes of B. paralicheniformis, revealed that all of the B. paralicheniformis strains in this study are more enriched in nonribosomal peptides (NRPs). We further report the first computationally identified trans-acyltransferase (trans-AT) nonribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthase (PKS/ NRPS) cluster in strains of this species. Conclusions:B. paralicheniformis species have more genes associated with biosynthesis of antimicrobial bioactive compounds than other previously characterized species of B. licheniformis, which suggests that these species are better potential sources for novel antibiotics. Moreover, the genome of the Red Sea strain B. paralicheniformis Bac48 is more enriched in modular PKS genes compared to B. licheniformis strains and other B. paralicheniformis strains. This may be linked to adaptations that strains surviving in the Red Sea underwent to survive in the relatively hot and saline ecosystems

Do Frogs Get Their Kicks on Route 66? Continental U.S. Transect Reveals Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Infection

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been devastating amphibians globally. Two general scenarios have been proposed for the nature and spread of this pathogen: Bd is an epidemic, spreading as a wave and wiping out individuals, populations, and species in its path; and Bd is endemic, widespread throughout many geographic regions on every continent except Antarctica. To explore these hypotheses, we conducted a transcontinental transect of United States Department of Defense (DoD) installations along U.S. Highway 66 from California to central Illinois, and continuing eastward to the Atlantic Seaboard along U.S. Interstate 64 (in sum from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia). We addressed the following questions: 1) Does Bd occur in amphibian populations on protected DoD environments? 2) Is there a temporal pattern to the presence of Bd? 3) Is there a spatial pattern to the presence of Bd? and 4) In these limited human-traffic areas, is Bd acting as an epidemic (i.e., with evidence of recent introduction and/or die-offs due to chytridiomycosis), or as an endemic (present without clinical signs of disease)? Bd was detected on 13 of the 15 bases sampled. Samples from 30 amphibian species were collected (10% of known United States' species); half (15) tested Bd positive. There was a strong temporal (seasonal) component; in total, 78.5% of all positive samples came in the first (spring/early-summer) sampling period. There was also a strong spatial component—the eleven temperate DoD installations had higher prevalences of Bd infection (20.8%) than the four arid (<60 mm annual precipitation) bases (8.5%). These data support the conclusion that Bd is now widespread, and promote the idea that Bd can today be considered endemic across much of North America, extending from coast-to-coast, with the exception of remote pockets of naïve populations