Effects of feeding blend-pelleted co-products on nutrient intake, digestibility, and production performance of high producing dairy cows

The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of feeding newly developed blend-pelleted carinata meal (BPPCR) and blend-pelleted canola meal (BPPCN) on nutrient intake, digestibility, and production performance of high producing dairy cows. In this study, nine mid-lactating Holstein cows (body weight, 679 ± 124 kg; days in milk, 96 ± 22) were used in a triplicated 3 × 3 Latin square study. Within each square, each cow was randomly assigned to one of three treatments: control (typical barley-based diet in Western Canada), BPPCR (soybean and canola meal in the control diet replaced by BPPCR), and BPPCN (soybean and canola meal in the control diet replaced by BPPCN). Each period lasted for 21 d, with the first 14 d as an adaptation period. The total collection of feces and urine were conducted on six cows from two Latin squares. The results showed that there were no treatment effects on milk yield, milk composition, and nutrient intake and digestibility (P > 0.10). The nitrogen balance among the three treatment groups was not different either. In conclusion, replacing soybean meal and canola meal with blend-pelleted co-products did not affect the nutrient intake, digestibility, and production performance in high producing dairy cows.

Comparative transcriptome analyses and identification of candidate genes involved in vertebral abnormality of bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis

Body deformity occurs both in wild and farmed fishes, which is one of the most challenging problems for aquaculture industry. In most cases, such body deformities are linked to skeletal deformities. Currently, very limited information is available on skeletal deformities of farmed fish species which may be caused by genetic factor. In this study, we performed muscle and vertebra transcriptome analyses in body deformity and normality of bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (from one meiotic gynogenesis family) using RNA-Seq. A total of 43,923 and 44,416 unigenes were predicted in muscles and vertebrae, respectively. Based on these data, we further explored the gene expression profiles in gynogenetic normal and abnormal bighead carp. No differentially expressed gene (DEG) was found in transcriptome data of muscles. Totally, 20 key DEGs were identified in transcriptome data of vertebrae, such as low density lipoprotein-related protein 2 (lrp2), bone morphogenetic protein 2B (bmp2b) and collagen alpha-1(IV) (col4a1). 12 potential pathways were also identified in vertebra transcriptome data, which were mainly involved in development, growth, cytoskeleton and energy metabolism, such as MAPK signaling pathway, regulation of actin cytoskeleton and TGF-beta signaling pathway. Results of this study will be informative for the understanding of genetic mechanisms for body shape formation and also provide potential candidate genes for selection program involved in body shape and skeletal development in H. nobilis.