Association of the porcine C3 gene with haemolytic complement activity in the pig

The complement component C3 plays an essential role in the activated complement system, which is involved in phagocytosis, inflammation and immunoregulation to destroy infectious microorganisms. The C3 molecule has more implications in the general defence mechanisms. In this study, the porcine C3 cDNA sequences including 5'- and 3'- flanking regions were determined and the polymorphisms in this gene were identified to carry out an association analysis between C3 and complement activity traits. Porcine C3 gene has high homology with human C3. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one microsatellite were detected in the porcine C3 gene. Haemolytic complement activity of alternative and classical pathways (ACH, CCP) was measured in 416 F2 animals of a crossbred of Duroc × Berlin Miniature Pig, which were immunized with Mycoplasma, Aujeszky and PRRS vaccines. C3 markers were found to be significantly associated (P < 0.05) with both ACP and CCP. Animals with the more frequent haplotype present in Duroc and other commercial breeds exhibit higher ACP and CCP levels than the animals with haplotype specific to some Berlin Miniature Pigs. The association of C3 with complement activity reinforces the importance of C3 as a candidate gene for natural resistance to microorganisms

Effect of leukemia inhibitory factor polymorphism on litter size traits in Thai commercial pig breeds

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a crucial candidate gene that impacts on implantation process. In this study, the effects of the porcine LIF polymorphism on litter size traits were elucidated in Thai commercial pig populations. Genotyping of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the porcine LIF gene was detected in coding and 3ˊ-untranslated regions. The porcine LIF c.*24C>T was segregating in Large White, Landrace, and Large White × Landrace (LW × LR) crossbred sows. No polymorphisms at two non-synonymous SNPs loci (LIF c.28C>A and LIF c.161A>G) were found in this study. The porcine LIF c.*24C>T was significantly associated with the total number born (TNB), the number born alive (NBA), and the number of piglets weaned alive (NWA) traits in Large White and Landrace sows. Moreover, the porcine LIF c.*24C>T was associated with the NBA and NWA traits in LW × LR crossbred sows. The favorable LIF c.*24C allele was positively correlated with the litter size traits. These findings indicated that the polymorphism of the porcine LIF gene was associated with litter size traits and confirms the significance of porcine LIF as a candidate gene for litter size traits in pig breeding. Thus, the porcine LIF gene could be used for improving prolific traits in these Thai commercial pig populations

Toxicity of Metarhizium flavoviride conidia virulence against Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and its impact on physiological and biochemical activities

Insect pests of agricultural crops have establish immunological tolerance against fungal infection caused by pathogens via different humoral and cellular processes. Fungal infection can be prevented by insect antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes, but there is no clear understanding of how they physiologically and biochemically interact. Our study aims to examine the antioxidant and detoxifying enzyme defense systems of the pest insect Spodoptera litura in response to infection by Metarhizium flavoviride. At 48 h following exposure to M. flavoviride, antioxidant enzyme levels were modified, and phenoloxidase and total hemocyte count were decreased significantly. The amount of detoxifying enzymes increased significantly. M. flavoviride appears to directly affect the S. litura immune system and results in decreased immunity. In a bioassay, M. flavoviride was found to be harmful to S. litura larvae in their third and fourth instar stage. M. flavoviride may be an effective tool in the control of S. litura larvae. Such entomopathogenic fungi represent cheaper, pollution free, target specific, promising alternatives to synthetic chemical tools in the for control insect pests

Efficiency of Fresh and Fermented Banana Stem in Low Protein Diet on Nutrient Digestibility, Productive Performance and Intestinal Morphology of Crossbred Pig ((Thai native x Meishan) x Duroc)

Banana stem is a common feed component for raising pigs in mountainous Southeast Asia. However, its nutritive value and digestibility are low. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of unfermented and fermented banana stems on crossbred pigs concerning nutrient digestibility, productive performance, and intestinal morphology. Initially, an in vitro ileal digestibility test was performed for the following feedstuffs: fresh banana stem (BS), fermented banana stem (FBS), concentrate (C), fresh banana stem + concentrate (BSC), and fermented banana stem + concentrate (FBSC). For the 120-day experiment, 16 crossbred pigs were divided into two groups and fed with BSC and FBSC. They were placed in individual cages and subsequently moved to metabolic cages for seven days to determine apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD). Finally, all pigs were slaughtered and their small intestines were analyzed for intestinal morphology. The results show that pure fresh and fermented banana stems had low digestibility. However, their digestibility increased by 50% when mixed with concentrate. Crossbred pigs fed BSC and FBSC did not exhibit significant differences in their performance, but the intestinal morphology of the FBSC group had improved intestinal morphology, especially the villi height. In conclusion, both fresh and fermented banana stems can be recommended in a low protein diet as feed for crossbred pigs in an improved production system. This is relevant for raising pigs in mountainous areas, as it has the potential to reduce feed cost and maintain production performance

Association of a non-synonymous SNP of IL17RA gene with litter size traits in Large White and Landrace pigs

Interleukin-17 receptor A (IL17RA) is one of the cytokine receptors of the pro-inflammatory interleukin-17 (IL17) cytokine family. The IL17 and IL17RA genes are involved in inflammatory and immune responses as well as reproductive process of mammals. The purposes of this study were to examine polymorphisms in the porcine IL17RA gene and to assess its effects on litter size traits in Large White and Landrace pigs. Three non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the porcine IL17RA gene were verified. The porcine IL17RA c.785C>T (p.Ala262Val) was found to be segregating in the Large White and Landrace pigs. No polymorphisms in the coding region of the porcine IL17RA gene at the two non-synonymous SNPs loci of c.997G>A (p.Val333Ile) and c.1962T>G (p.Asp654Glu) were found. The porcine IL17RA c.785C>T polymorphism was significantly associated with the total number born (TNB) and the number born alive (NBA) in Large White pigs (PT was significantly associated with the TNB, NBA, total birth weight (TBW), and total weaning weight of piglets at 21 days (TWW) in Landrace pigs (P<0.05). These results supported the importance of the porcine IL17RA gene in the litter size traits of pigs. Thus, the porcine IL17RA could be used as a potential candidate gene for improving litter size traits in pig breeding

Antioxidant activities of plant extracts and essential oil-cyclodextrin complexes and their effect on lipid accumulation in porcine adipocytes in vitro

Fat deposition is important for pig production because excessive fat decreases the economic value of meat production. Plant extracts have been used as feed additive in pig diets to improve oxidative stability of meat. However, only a few studies had investigated the effect of plant extracts on lipid accumulation of porcine adipocytes. Therefore, this study examined antioxidative potential of plant extracts and essential oil-cyclodextrin complexes and their effect on lipid accumulation in porcine adipocytes. Porcine preadipocytes were isolated from dorsal subcutaneous adipose tissue of a 5-month-old female pig. Preadipocytes were differentiated in the presence of extracts, then lipid accumulation was determined using oil red O staining. Results showed that green tea and grape seed extracts had the highest total phenolic and total flavonoid contents and also possessed the highest antioxidant activities. Among essential oil-cyclodextrin complexes, thyme oil had the highest antioxidant activities by all assays. With a regard to the lipid accumulation, all of plant extracts and essential oil-cyclodextrin complexes decreased lipid accumulation in adipocytes from 32.61 to 91.71% compared with the control. Green tea extract, thyme and galangal oil products decreased lipid accumulation about 60% lower than that of the control. In conclusion, green tea and grape seed extracts, and thyme oil powder illustrated high antioxidant potentials, while lipid accumulation in porcine adipocytes was greatly reduced by green tea extract, thyme and galangal oil products. The research finding is beneficial in the development of natural feed additives to improve oxidative stability and reduce excessive subcutaneous fat in pig production

Association of genetic markers with sex determination in Thai red tilapia

The objectives of this study were to verify the polymorphism on sex-linked marker loci and to assess their associations with phenotypic sex characteristics in red tilapia. Four sex-linked genetic markers of Amh, SCAR4, SCAR5, and Oni3161 were genotyped in the Thai red tilapia population. The Amh marker was significantly associated with the phenotypic sex of red tilapia with an accuracy of 46.2%. No significant association of SCAR4, SCAR5, and Oni3161 marker polymorphisms with phenotypic sex characteristics was observed in this study. However, the combinations of these two, three, and four markers were increasingly associated with phenotypic sex characteristics for red tilapia with an accuracy of 62.8, 68.4, and 72.4%, respectively. These results indicate that these combined genetic markers were associated with the phenotypic sex of red tilapias. These findings confirmed the importance of these genetic markers as candidate markers for sex determination in the Thai red tilapia population

Effect of porcine IL-6 polymorphism on litter size traits in commercial pig breeds

This study aimed to verify the polymorphisms in the porcine IL-6 gene and to elucidate its effects on litter size traits in Large White and Landrace sows. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the porcine IL-6 gene (g.91506415A>G, g.91507983A>G, g.91508173C>T, and g.91508716C>T) were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. There was no polymorphism observed on the three SNPs (g.91506415A>G, g.91507983A>G, and g.91508716C>T) of the porcine IL-6 gene. The porcine IL-6 g.91508173C>T polymorphism was found to be segregating in Large White and Landrace sows. The porcine IL-6 g.91508173C>T polymorphism was significantly associated with the total number born (TNB) and the number of piglets weaned alive (NWA) traits in Large White sows (PT polymorphism was significantly associated with the TNB, number born alive (NBA), and NWA traits in Landrace sows (PT polymorphism was associated with litter size traits. These findings confirmed the importance of the IL-6 gene as a candidate gene for litter size traits in pigs