Partial Replacement of Fish Meal with Soy Protein Concentrate in Diets of Atlantic Cod

In two feeding trials conducted with juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua (initial mean weight = 87.9 or 15.92 g), soy protein concentrate (SPC) was used to replace fish meal in isonitrogenous, isocaloric diets. In the first trial, five experimental diets (47% protein, 15% fat; calculated gross energy = 5,059 kcal/kg) were formulated to replace 28, 60, 80, and 100% of dietary fish meal. In the second trial, three diets were formulated with SPC to replace 0, 25, and 50% of the fish meal in a modified commercial diet for marine finfish (50% protein, 15% fat; calculated gross energy = 4,900 kcal/kg; calculated digestible energy = 3,570 kcal/kg). Upon conclusion of the studies, no differences in survival, growth, hepatosomatic index, or viscerosomatic index were found among the treatment groups. The fish attained mean weights of 162.7 and 39.1 g in the first and second trials, respectively, with specific growth rates of 0.76% and 1.12% and feed conversion ratios of 1.28 and 1.29, respectively. No consistent pattern of enteritis was observed in the histological sections taken from fish in either study. These results indicate that SPC can entirely replace fish meal in diets of juvenile Atlantic cod or can be combined with other common feed ingredients to replace up to 50% of dietary fish meal

Partial Replacement of Fishmeal with Soybean Meal and Soy Protein Concentrate in Diets of Atlantic Cod

Juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua (initial weight = 24.1 +/- 1.4 g [mean +/- SE) were fed diets in which fish meal (FM) was replaced with soy protein concentrate (SPC) and soybean meal (SBM) in isonitrogenous, isocaloric diets for 84 d. A standard marine finfish diet (3 mm, 54% protein, 14% fat) was modified to produce four experimental diets in which 50% of FM was replaced with soy at 0:1, 1:1, or 1:2 ratios of SPC: SBM and 100% FM replacement with a 1:1 ratio of SPC:SBM. No differences in mortality or feed intake were detected among treatments, and fish fed the 50% FM replacement diets, in any combination, grew as well or better than the control for all variables investigated. Cod fed the 100% FM replacement diet exhibited the lowest growth and differed from the control with respect to final body weight, growth, specific growth rate, and thermal-unit growth coefficient. No enteritis was observed in histological sections. These results indicate that 100% fish meal replacement is not recommended, but 50% replacement can be used without significant reductions in growth or condition indices

Concurrent Infection of Skunk Adenovirus-1, Listeria monocytogenes, and a Regionally Specific Clade of Canine Distemper Virus in One Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and Concurrent Listeriosis and Canine Distemper in a Second Gray Fox

One free-ranging Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) underwent autopsy following neurologic disease, with findings including morbilliviral inclusions and associated lesions in numerous tissues, adenoviral intranuclear inclusions in bronchial epithelial cells, and septic pleuropneumonia, hepatitis, splenitis, and meningoencephalitis. Molecular diagnostics on fresh lung identified a strain within a distinct clade of canine distemper that is currently unique to wildlife in New England, as well as the emerging multi-host viral pathogen skunk adenovirus-1. Bacterial culture of fresh liver resulted in a pure growth of Listeria monocytogenes, with whole genome sequencing indicating that the isolate had a vast array of antimicrobial resistance and virulence-associated genes. One year later, a second fox was euthanized for inappropriate behavior in a residential area, and diagnostic workup revealed canine distemper and septic L. monocytogenes, with the former closely related to the distemper virus found in the previous fox and the latter divergent from the L. monocytogenes from the previous fox

Characterisation of North American <i>Brucella</i> isolates from marine mammals

<div><p>Extension of known ecological niches of <i>Brucella</i> has included the description of two novel species from marine mammals. <i>Brucella pinnipedialis</i> is associated predominantly with seals, while two major <i>Brucella ceti</i> clades, most commonly associated with porpoises or dolphins respectively, have been identified. To date there has been limited characterisation of <i>Brucella</i> isolates obtained from marine mammals outside Northern European waters, including North American waters. To address this gap, and extend knowledge of the global population structure and host associations of these <i>Brucella</i> species, 61 isolates from marine mammals inhabiting North American waters were subject to molecular and phenotypic characterisation enabling comparison with existing European isolates. The majority of isolates represent genotypes previously described in Europe although novel genotypes were identified in both <i>B</i>. <i>ceti</i> clades. Harp seals were found to carry <i>B</i>. <i>pinnipedialis</i> genotypes previously confined to hooded seals among a diverse repertoire of sequence types (STs) associated with this species. For the first time <i>Brucella</i> isolates were characterised from beluga whales and found to represent a number of distinct <i>B</i>. <i>pinnipedialis</i> genotypes. In addition the known host range of ST27 was extended with the identification of this ST from California sea lion samples. Finally the performance of the frequently used diagnostic tool Bruce-ladder, in differentiating <i>B</i>. <i>ceti</i> and <i>B</i>. <i>pinnipedialis</i>, was critically assessed based on improved knowledge of the global population structure of <i>Brucella</i> associated with marine mammals.</p></div

Phylogenetic relationships of BruMLSA21 STs based on concatenated sequence data.

<p>Bar = substitutions per nucleotide position.</p

Summary of molecular and phenotypic characteristics of the North American marine mammal <i>Brucella</i> panel.

<p>Summary of molecular and phenotypic characteristics of the North American marine mammal <i>Brucella</i> panel.</p

Minimum spanning tree of available BruMLSA21 profiles from European and North American sampling illustrating the relationship between ST and host species.

<p>Each circle denotes a particular ST type with the size of the circle illustrating the number of isolates of that particular type. Thick solid lines denote single locus variants (SLV), while thinner and thinnest solid lines represent STs that vary at 2 or 3 loci respectively. Dashed lines types that vary at 4 or more loci. The halos surrounding groupings represent clusters defined in Bionumerics created if neighbours differed in no more than 3 of 21 loci.</p