Production of monoclonal antibody against recombinant bovine sex-determining region Y (SRY) and their preferential binding to Y chromosome-bearing sperm

Separation of X and Y chromosome-bearing sperm is an appropriate method for the selection of desired sex of offspring to increase the profit in livestock industries. The purpose of this study was the production of a monoclonal antibody against recombinant bovine sex-determining region Y protein for separation Y sperm. The hybridoma cells from splenocytes of immunized female's balb/C mice and Sp2/0 cells were made. The binding affinity of our monoclonal antibody (mAbSRY2) was compared with mouse monoclonal SRY-15. The Western blot method indicated that mAbSRY2 successfully detected the rbSRY protein. The specificity and sensitivity of mAbSRY2 is comparable to SRY-15 commercially ones. The SRY gene in 100% of bull semen contains the Y chromosome that had the strongest binding affinity to mAbSRY2 was synthesized. In other words, the binding affinity of semen contains the X sperms near the negative control. In general, this immunological method can help to separate X from Y sperms. However, the mAbSRY2 is bind to Y-bearing sexed sperm, but in the future; the sexed sperms need to apply in farms.     

若干家蚕品种的复壮及比较试验

对浙江省夏秋蚕品种薪杭,白云,丰1和54A等进行了充血复壮改良,基本稳定后的复壮系与现行生产系进行了生产性能的比较试验。结果表明复壮系在各项性状都有一定的提高,其中龄期经过,各品种的复壮系与生产系之间差别不大,只有薪杭丙和白云丙稍有延长。全茧量和茧层量基本上复壮系都比生产系有所提高。生命率差异比较大,奠中薪杭的复壮系低下生产系,差异达到显著水平,白云复壮系略微低于白云甲,但高于白云乙,丰1的复壮系与生产系无明显差异,54A则是复壮系高于生产系。良卵数除薪杭丙比薪杭甲略低外,其他品种的复壮系都比生产系显著提高,有的甚至达到极显著水平。说明复壮系在生产性能上有较大的改良,有一定的推广应用价值。     

Blooming phenology and self-incompatibility of some commercial cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars in Iran

Self-sterility in cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the most important problems in commercial cherry orchards in Iran and many other countries. The main objective of this research was to determine self-fertility rate and blooming phenology of 25 commercial cherry (P. avium L.) cultivars in Iran. This study was conducted during 2006–2007.Results revealed that the stage of bud swell in all cultivars began late second decade of March, which lasts 8–11 days. In all cultivars the duration end bloom to petal fall stage took 5 days. Cherry cultivars were classified into three groups considering their overlapping pollination. The cultivars each group had a great overlapped pollination toward each other. The results also showed that there was a significant difference among cultivars in respect of the fruit set (P < 1%). The fruit set of open pollination treatment among the cultivars varied in range of 7.36–41.58%. However fruit set was not observed in isolated pollination (artificial and natural self-pollination). In open pollination, the cultivars were also classified into four groups, i.e. weak fertility (Moreau and Ferracida), mean fertility (Siah Mashhad, Napelon, Proteva, Haj usefy, Lambert, Roshun, Sefid Ghermeze Baghno, Arak, Belamarka, Siah Shabestar, Ghermeze Rezaeyeh, Abardeh, Soraty Lavisan and Victoria), good fertility (Peshrase Mashhad, Dovoumras Mashhad, Bing, Shesheiy Mashhad, Siah Ghazvin and Sefid Rezaeyeh), very good fertility (Zarde Daneshkadeh, Dirrase Italia and No. 1 karaj). All cultivars were found to need cross-pollination and included in self-sterile group.     

Micropropagation of Prunus scoparia,a Suitable Rootstock for Almond under Drought Conditions

Prunus scoparia is a wild deciduous shrub, usually living on dry calcareous soils of the rocky mountains and has been used as a grafting rootstock for domesticated almonds to provide drought resistance. In the current study, micropropagation ability of P. scoparia was investigated using cytokinin and auxin. Uniform nodal shoot pieces (3–5 cm in length) of seedlings were used as explants. The explants were disinfected with 10% sodium hypochlorite solution. For adventitious shoot induction and proliferation, Murashige and Skoog (MS) media containing 7.00 g/l agar and 30.00 g/l sucrose containing five concentrations of benzyl adenine (BA) (0.00, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, and 4.00 mg/1) and also containing six concentrations of Thidiazuron (TDZ) (0.00, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, 5.00, and 7.00 mg/1) were compared. For rooting, in vitro shoots (2–3 cm) were transferred into ½ MS medium supplemented with 30 g/l sucrose, 7.50 g/l agar, and different concentrations of IBA (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 mg/l) and NAA (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 mg/l). Based on the results obtained for shoot proliferation, only 2.00 and 4.00 mg/l BA and 2.00 mg/l TDZ concentrations generated shoots, while other treatments did not show shoot proliferation. Among the three treatments that generated shoots, the best results for shoot number, leaf number, and leaf color quality were observed in media containing 2.00 mg/l TDZ. Based on the results obtained for rooting, the effect of IBA concentrations on the rooting percentage, root number, and root length was significant. Among IBA concentrations, only 0.50 mg/l IBA induced rooting, while there was no rooting in the media containing other IBA concentrations. None of the NAA concentrations showed rooting. In conclusion, MS culture medium supplemented with 2.00 mg/l TDZ and ½ MS culture medium supplemented with 0.50 mg/l IBA are suggested for in vitro shoot proliferation and rooting of P. scoparia, respectively. The results presented herein could be used for in vitro selection and micropropagation of P. scoparia.     

Echinococcosis/hydatidosis in western Iran

In the present study, 115 stray dogs (56 males and 59 females, mixed breed), 86 golden jackal (Canis aureus, 42 males and 44 females), 60 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes, 33 males and 27 females), and three female wolves (Canis lupus) were examined for Echinococcus granulosus infection, as well as, 32,898 sheep, 10,691 goats, 15,779 cattle and 659 buffaloes for hydatid infection from five provinces in western Iran during 3 years (1997-2000). Meanwhile fertility rates of different types and forms of cysts isolated from infected animals and the viability of protoscolices were also determined. Results indicated that 19.1% of the dogs, 2.3% of the golden jackals and 5% of the red foxes were infected with Echinococcus granulosus. 11.1% of the sheep, 6.3% of the goats, 16.4% of the cattle and 12.4% of the buffaloes were also found to be infected with hydatid cyst. The cysts isolated from liver and lungs of the sheep show higher fertility rate than the cysts of liver and lungs of goats, cattle and buffaloes.     

The suitability of some blood gas and biochemical parameters as diagnostic tools or early indicators of ascites syndrome in broiler sire lines

In recent few years, there have been some attempts to find a reliable indicator trait as a selection criterion against susceptibility to ascites syndrome (AS). Blood parameters were of great interest as they could be measured in live animals without implementing an ascites‐inducing challenge (AIC). In this work, the suitability of some blood parameters was evaluated for diagnosing AS‐susceptible chicks in later steps of the disease in trial 1 as well as their early predictive ability in trial 2. In the first trial, one hundred 1‐day‐old chicks from two pure broiler lines namely S₁ and S₂ and, in the second trial, 226 1‐day‐old chicks from line S₂ were subjected to AIC. Saline drinking water (1200 mg/l) and lower‐than‐standard ambient temperatures were the implemented AICs in trials 1 and 2 respectively. The blood parameters including pH, partial pressure of O₂ (pO₂), partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂), bicarbonate ion concentration (BIC), percentage of haematocrit (HCT) and saturated haemoglobin (SaO₂) were measured twice per each bird at days 28 and 35 in trial 1 and once in trial 2 at day 21. The results of the first trial revealed that in line S₂ some of the blood parameters differed significantly between the ascitic and non‐ascitic groups following exposure to AIC. In this line, the incidence of AS was accompanied by a lower pO₂, SaO₂ and BIC, while with higher pCO₂ and HCT values. In the second trial, however, although almost all of the parameters showed meaningful differences between the ascitic and non‐ascitic broilers, only mean difference of BIC parameter was statistically significant. The general conclusion of this study is that the blood parameters can somewhat have diagnostic ability in the condition in which the AIC is already present, whereas the results did not approve their usefulness as early predictors of AS.     

Effect of high-dose phytase and citric acid,alone or in combination,on growth performance of broilers given diets severely limited in available phosphorus

1. Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of high-dose phytase alone or in combination with citric acid (CA) in the diet severely limited in available phosphorus (P) on performance, plasma P and plasma Ca of broilers from 22 to 42 d of age.

2. In Trial 1, 297 21-d-old female chicks were placed into 27 pens and allocated to 9 maize-soybean meal-based dietary treatments, which were a positive control [PC, 4.23 g/kg non-phytate P (NPP)] and 8 negative control (NC, 1.35 g/kg NPP) groups consisting of two concentrations of CA (0 and 20 g/kg) and 4 concentrations of phytase (0, 1000, 2000 and 4000 U/kg) in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement. In Trial 2, 192 21-d-old male chicks were placed into 24 pens and allocated to 6 wheat-canola meal-based dietary treatments, which were a PC (4.2 g/kg NPP), a NC (1.68 g/kg NPP) and 4 NC groups consisting of two concentrations of CA (0 and 20 g/kg) and two concentrations of phytase (2000 and 4000 U/kg) in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement.

3. In both trials, birds fed on the PC had significantly higher average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), plasma P and lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) and plasma Ca than those of birds fed on the NC. CA supplementation significantly increased ADG and ADFI. There was a significant interaction between CA and phytase on plasma P where CA improved the effect of phytase on plasma P. In Trial 1, phytase addition improved ADG, ADFI, FCR and plasma Ca linearly.

4. Briefly, this research showed the interaction effect between CA and phytase on plasma P when broilers were fed on diets based on maize-soybean meal or wheat-canola meal. The results showed that CA supplementation lowered the concentration of phytase that is needed in low NPP diets to increase plasma P.     

Effects of limited concentrate feeding on growth and blood and serum variables, and on nutrient digestibility and gene expression of hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes in dairy calves

This study elucidated the effects of limited concentrate feeding on growth, nutrient digestibility, blood profile and gene expression of gluconeogenic enzymes in the liver of dairy calves. The study utilized 36 German Holstein dairy calves (5-7 days of age) divided into two groups of 18 calves each for 150 days. Control group calves received 2 kg/(calf × day) of concentrate, whereas calves in the restricted group received only 1 kg/(calf × day). Good quality forage (mixture of maize and grass silages) was available for ad libitum consumption to both groups. The intake of milk replacer before weaning, and of concentrate were recorded daily per calf; however, the consumption of forages was quantified as daily average of the group. Body weights (BW) were recorded at start and on days 35, 70, 112 and 150. Blood and serum samples and spot urinary and faecal samples were also collected at similar time points. On days 70 and 150, liver biopsies were collected from seven animals in each group. The BW was not different between the groups at all times. Total BW gain in the control group was 124 kg as opposed to 111 kg in restricted group that led to average BW gain of 827 g/day and 739 g/day in respective groups, and the differences were significant (p = 0.018). As planned, the control group had higher concentrate and lower forage intake than the restricted group. The blood haemoglobin, haematocrit and serum variables (glucose, total protein, albumin and urea) were within the normal range in both groups, but serum glucose was higher (p < 0.05) in control than in restricted group at 70 days. There was no difference between groups in organic matter (OM) digestibility which declined (p < 0.001) with increasing age in both groups. Microbial crude protein (MCP) synthesis estimated from urinary allantoin excretion increased (p < 0.001) in both groups with increasing age but was not different between groups. The mRNA expressions for the gluconeogenic enzymes, cytosolic and mitochondrial phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (EC 4.1.1.32) and pyruvate carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.1) measured by quantitative real-time PCR in liver biopsies showed no differences between groups. Overall, restricting concentrate moderately reduced the growth intensity without affecting the normal serum and blood indices, and MCP synthesis and OM digestibility showed no differences between groups, indicating that both concentrate feeding schemes can be successfully applied.     

Evaluation of Water and Nitrogen Use Efficiency,Digestibility and Some Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics of Forage Beet Cultivars Under Different Irrigation Methods and Nitrogen Levels

The aim of this study was to evaluate the water and nitrogen use efficiency and some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of forage beet cultivars under the influence of different irrigation methods and nitrogen levels in two cropping years, 2017–18 and 2018–19, at Agricultural Research Station in Karaj, Iran. Experimental factors included the first factor with four irrigation methods (normal leakage, alternate furrow irrigation, fixed furrow irrigation, type (drip-strip)), the second factor was the amount of nitrogen fertilizer with three levels (150, 200 and 250?kg N ha^?1) and the third factor included three forage beet cultivars (Sbsi052, Jamon and Kyros). Among irrigation treatments, alternate furrow irrigation and fixed furrow irrigation had the highest sugar content with 9.28% and 9.17%, respectively. The highest yield of digestible organic matter was obtained in leakage irrigation treatment, nitrogen fertilizer of 250?kg ha^?1 and in Kyros at the rate of 19.45?t ha^?1. The highest yield of root digestible dry matter, potassium, sodium and free nitrogen was observed in leakage irrigation treatment and consumption of 200?kg ha^?1 nitrogen was observed in foreign cultivars. The highest crude protein was observed in alternate furrow irrigation conditions with a consumption of 200?kg ha^?1 nitrogen in cultivar Sbsi052 at 13.08%. Leakage irrigation and type tape had the highest consumption efficiency and efficiency of nitrogen uptake with application of 150 and 200?kg ha^?1 N, and the highest water use efficiency was also observed in leakage irrigation and type tape with application of 250?kg ha^?1 N in domestic and foreign cultivars. The type irrigation method showed better quantitative and qualitative yield than the furrow irrigation methods.