Carcass characteristics of zebu steers receiving different oleaginous grains - doi: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v35i3.14533

This research aimed to evaluate carcass traits of Zebu steers fed different oleaginous grains. Thirty one 23 months old zebu steers with 365 + 37.5 kg of live weight were used. The diets consisted ofcorn silage and four different concentrates; no additional lipids and three different ground oilseeds sources: soybean, cottonseed and linseed. The diets had concentrate:roughage ratio of 60:40 and were offered ad libitum. The experimental period was of 84 days, preceded by a 28 day adaptation period. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design and the means were compared by Scott-Knott test at 5% level of probability. The CS inclusion of into the diet decreased (p < 0.05) carcass yield of the animals. The hindquarter was heavier (p < 0.05) with the addition of SB to the diet. The spare ribs had the highest performance (p < 0.05) and outside flat was heavier (p < 0.05) when the animals were submitted to CS and FS diets. The CS addition to the diet improved carcass characteristics

Energy and protein requirements for Angus and Nellore young bulls

Thirty-two animals with initial body weight (BW) of 380±5.2 kg were used to determine energy and protein requirements of Nellore and Angus young bulls using the comparative slaughter technique. Four animals per breed were slaughtered at beginning of the experiment. The remainder were housed in individual stalls, where eight animals per breed were fed ad libitum a silage/concentrate (SC) diet (300 g/kg of silage and 700 g/kg of a concentrate based on corn and soybean meal, DM basis). Another 4 animals per breed were fed the SC diet at 55% of their dry matter intake adjusted for the metabolic BW of animals that received the SC diet ad libitum. Intake was measured daily and a metabolism trial was conducted with total collection of feces and urine. The data were used then to estimate the metabolizable energy intake. After 84 d of growth the cattle were slaughtered.The data were analyzed using the GLM and NLIN procedures of SAS adopting significance level of 0.05. The metabolizable energy requirements for maintenance differed between Angus and Nellore: 0.580 versus 0.456 MJ/kg BW0.75·d−1 when calculated by logarithm model and 0.559 versus 0.483 MJ/kg BW0.75·d−1 when calculated by nonlinear model. There was no difference between breeds in the nutritional requirements for growth. Our results support that Zebu bulls have lower net energy requirements for maintenance than Bos taurus taurus bulls

Indirect methods for predicting body composition of Boer crossbreds and indigenous goats from the Brazilian semiarid

The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation and to develop regression equations between the body composition obtained by the comparative slaughter and the neck composition and the ultrasound ribeye area (REAu) in goats from the Brazilian semiarid region. Forty-five intact male goats from three genetic groups were used: 15 Canindé, 15 Moxotó, and 15 F1 Boer x non-descript breed. Animals were randomly assigned to three feeding levels (ad libitum, 25 and 50 % restriction) aimed to result in different slaughter weights and body composition, to fit the regression equations. The REAu was assessed between the 12th and 13th ribs with a 7.5 MHz linear transducer. The values of crude protein, ether extract, and water in the empty body showed high positive correlation (P  0.80) from the REAu and from the neck composition

Net requirements of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sulphur for growth of non-descript breed hair lambs of different sex classes in the Brazilian semiarid conditions

The aim of this study was to determine the net requirements of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), and sulphur (S) for weight gain of non-descript breed hair lambs (NDBL) of different sex classes reared under Brazilian semiarid conditions. Sixty NDBL (20 intact males, 20 castrated males, and 20 females), with an average initial body weight of 18.1 ± 0.4 kg and average age of 5 months were used. The macromineral requirements were determined by the differences in body composition through comparative slaughter direct method. The animals were confined for 58 days, and the average fasting body weight (FBW) and average daily gain (ADG) of lambs fed ad libitum were 29.2 ± 0.6 and 0.19 ± 0.01 kg, respectively. The net requirements of macrominerals for gain of NDBL did not differ between sex classes (P > 0.05), and ranged from 1.83 to 1.46 g/day of Ca, 1.21 to 1.01 g/day of P, 37 to 30 mg/day of Mg, and 0.31 to 0.28 g/day of S, for lambs with an ADG of 0.200 kg and 15 or 30 kg of FBW, respectively (P < 0.05). The N to S net ratio reduced and increased, respectively, as the body weight and ADG increase. The net requirements of Ca, P, Mg, and S for gain of NDBL slaughtered young and at the same age did not differ between sex classes and decreased as the body weight increased. The net requirements for gain of Ca and P were similar to those recommended by NRC (2007)

Blood parameters of Angus and Nellore young bulls fed diets with or without forage

We evaluated blood parameters of Angus and Nellore bulls fed diets with and without forage. Forty animals with initial body weight (BW) of 380±16.2 kg were housed in individual stalls. Eight bulls of each breed were fed a whole shelled corn (WSC) diet [850 g kg−1 of WCS and 150 g kg−1 of a pellet based on soybean meal, dry mater (DM) basis] or a ground corn with silage (GC) diet (300 g kg−1 of silage and 700 g kg−1 of a concentrate based on corn and soybean meal, DM basis), ad libitum, and four animals of each breed were limited-fed the GC diet [feed restriction (FR), 55% of the DM intake of bulls fed ad libitum, adjusted for the metabolic BW]. Intake was measured daily, and a metabolism trial was conducted with total collection of feces and urine to estimate the ruminally degraded and undegraded protein (intake and nitrogen balance). Blood samples for determination of hormones and metabolites were collected. The data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS adopting a significance level of 0.05. The diet affected only the serum concentrations of triglycerides, HDL, and VLDL, with limitedfed animals presenting smaller concentrations than ad libitum-fed bulls. No difference in blood parameters was observed between animals fed WSC or GC diets. Nellore bulls presented greater T4, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and serum urea nitrogen concentrations than Angus. Feeding finishing beef cattle with no-roughage diets does not alter their blood parameters. Also, our results support that Zebu cattle might have lower serum removal of nutrients due to a lesser demand for fat and protein deposition than Bos taurus tauru

Differences in Beef Quality between Angus (<i>Bos taurus taurus</i>) and Nellore (<i>Bos taurus indicus</i>) Cattle through a Proteomic and Phosphoproteomic Approach

<div><p>Proteins are the major constituents of muscle and are key molecules regulating the metabolic changes during conversion of muscle to meat. Brazil is one of the largest exporters of beef and most Brazilian cattle are composed by zebu (Nellore) genotype. <i>Bos indicus</i> beef is generally leaner and tougher than <i>Bos taurus</i> such as Angus. The aim of this study was to compare the muscle proteomic and phosphoproteomic profile of Angus and Nellore. Seven animals of each breed previously subjected the same growth management were confined for 84 days. Proteins were extracted from <i>Longissimus lumborum</i> samples collected immediately after slaughter and separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Pro-Q Diamond stain was used in phosphoproteomics. Proteins identification was performed using matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Tropomyosin alpha-1 chain, troponin-T, myosin light chain-1 fragment, cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase, alpha-enolase and 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein were more abundant in Nellore, while myosin light chain 3, prohibitin, mitochondrial stress-70 protein and heat shock 70 kDa protein 6 were more abundant in Angus (<i>P</i><0.05). Nellore had higher phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain-2, alpha actin-1, triosephosphate isomerase and 14-3-3 protein epsilon. However, Angus had greater phosphorylation of phosphoglucomutase-1 and troponin-T (<i>P</i><0.05). Therefore, proteins involved in contraction and muscle organization, myofilaments expressed in fast or slow-twitch fibers and heat shock proteins localized in mitochondria or sarcoplasmic reticulum and involved in cell flux of calcium and apoptosis might be associated with differences in beef quality between Angus and Nellore. Furthermore, prohibitin appears to be a potential biomarker of intramuscular fat in cattle. Additionally, differences in phosphorylation of myofilaments and glycolytic enzymes could be involved with differences in muscle contraction force, susceptibility to calpain, apoptosis and postmortem glycolysis, which might also be related to differences in beef quality among Angus and Nellore.</p></div

Biological processes related to differentially abundant proteins and phosphoproteins in the <i>Longissimus lumborum</i> muscle of Angus and Nellore bulls.

<p>Biological processes related to differentially abundant proteins and phosphoproteins in the <i>Longissimus lumborum</i> muscle of Angus and Nellore bulls.</p

Differentially abundant phosphoproteins in the <i>Longissimus lumborum</i> muscle of Angus and Nellore bulls.

<p>Differentially abundant phosphoproteins in the <i>Longissimus lumborum</i> muscle of Angus and Nellore bulls.</p

Differentially abundant phosphoproteins in the <i>Longissimus lumborum</i> muscle of Angus and Nellore bulls.

<p>Numbers found in the figure correspond to the Match ID shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0170294#pone.0170294.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>.</p