In vitro digestibility of four high moisture grains used in liquid pig feeding

One of the main challenges in the livestock sector is the need to increase sustainability and production efficiency. In pig production, feed is the main production cost. High moisture grains (HMGs) have recently emerged as an interesting alternative to conventional feedstuffs. In this study, the nutritional value for pigs of eight HMGs was determined considering the chemical composition and the in vitro digestibility. We have used four seeds (lupine, barley, wheat, and corn) and two substrates (water and whey). Lupine HMG showed higher values of crude fat (2.12%) and crude protein (8.59%). Within cereal HMGs, corn HMG showed higher DM (34.37%), OM (36.27%), and starch (27.17%) values; wheat HMG stood out for crude protein content (4.23%) and barley for NDF (5.68%). The pH values were low for all HMG, with lupine having the highest value (4.39). Ammoniacal nitrogen had the highest value for wheat HMG (6.10%). When whey was used as substrate, it improved the characteristics of the HMG. Regarding in vitro digestibility, of the four HMGs studied, wheat showed the highest value for DM (89.93%), while lupine showed the highest value for crude protein (96.12%). When considering the substrates, whey showed better results for all in vitro digestibility's parameters (87.48%, 90.95%, and 90.59%, for DM, OM, and crude protein, respectively). Overall, all HMGs showed good conservation of nutritional value and high in vitro digestibility. The use of whey as a substrate was beneficial for HMG quality. Results show that the analyzed HMG can be efficiently used in the framework of swine production.

Influence of dietary Chlorella vulgaris and carbohydrate-active enzymes on growth performance, meat quality and lipid composition of broiler chickens

Herein, we investigated the effect of Chlorella vulgaris as ingredient (10% of incorporation) in broiler diets, supplemented or not with 2 formulations of Carbohydrate-Active enZymes (CAZymes; Rovabio Excel AP and a mixture of recombinant CAZymes, composed by an exo-β-glucosaminidase, an alginate lyase, a peptidoglycan N-acetylmuramic acid deacetylase and a lysozyme), on growth performance, meat quality, fatty acid composition, oxidative stability, and sensory traits. One hundred twenty 1-day-old Ross 308 male birds were randomly assigned to one of the 4 experimental diets (n = 30): corn-soybean meal–basal diet (control), basal diet with 10% C. vulgaris (CV), CV supplemented with 0.005% of a commercial CAZyme cocktail (Rovabio Excel AP), (CV + R), and CV supplemented with 0.01% of a 4-CAZyme mixture previously selected (CV + M) during the experimental period lasted from day 21 to day 35. Body weight gain and feed conversion rate of broilers were not affected by C. vulgaris but digesta viscosity increased more than 2-fold (P < 0.001) relative to the control. In addition, neither cooking loss, shear force, juiciness, flavor nor off-flavor was impaired by dietary treatments (P > 0.05). By contrast, the dietary C. vulgaris increased tenderness, yellowness (b∗) and total carotenoids in breast and thigh meats. However, no additional protective effect against lipid oxidation was observed in meat with the inclusion of microalga. Chlorella vulgaris, independently of CAZymes, had a minor impact on meat fatty acid composition but improved the proportion of some beneficial fatty acids. In summary, our data indicate a slight improvement of broiler meat quality and lipid nutritional value, without impairment of broilers' growth performance, thus supporting the usefulness of this microalga in poultry diets, up to this high level of incorporation. By contrast, the selected CAZyme mixtures used do not significantly improve the release of microalga nutrients in poultry diets, through the disruption of microalga cell wall, which warrants further research.

14 Effects of long cooling periods of the ear skin on the isolation and cultivation of bovine fibroblasts for posterior use in cloning via nuclear transfer

Many animals with high genetic value have died suddenly without having their germplasm conserved invitro. To simulate tissue transportation from the farm to the laboratory and to determine how long after an animal’s death it is possible to isolate and cultivate fibroblasts to form a cryobank for further use in nuclear transfer, ears of eight bovine females were obtained on the moment of death and preserved for 30 days at 5°C in a refrigerator. On Days 0, 2, 4, 7, 14, 21, and 30 postmortem (named D0 to D30), fibroblast cultivation was performed on Dulbecco’s modification of minimum essential media (DMEM) medium with 10% of fetal bovine serum. When in cellular confluence, cells were cryopreserved in DMEM with 10% of dimethyl sulfoxide. The following analyses were performed: time that allowed cell culture, time until initial cell attachment and proliferation, time until confluence was reached (counting from when the first cells attached and proliferated around the biopsies until they were confluent), contamination rates, cell concentration on freezing moment, and cell viability through membrane integrity via flow cytometry (using annexin and propidium iodide to verify viable, necrotic, and apoptotic cells). Test of means and Tukey’s test were used to compare data at 5%. All time points allowed cell isolation and culture. Contamination was more prevalent on Days 14, 21, and 30. Remaining results are presented in Table 1. While D0 cells took 4 days to initiate attachment and proliferation around the biopsies, and another 24.0±2.0 days to reach confluence, D30 cells needed 33.5±1.5 days to attach and proliferate and another 31 days to reach cellular confluence, totaling ~64.5±1.5 days from the day of cultivation until freezing against a total of 28±2.0 days for D0 cells. Concentration dropped drastically on Days 14, 21, and 30 and so did cell viability on Days 21 and 30. It was concluded that cooling of the bovine ear skin at 5°C is an important strategy for transporting bovine tissue for long distances and obtaining viable cells up to 30 days after an animal’s death. However, the increase in cooling time interferes with the proliferation and viability cell patterns until and after cryopreservation. The first cloned embryos from D30 cells were transferred to recipient cows to investigate any differences in embryo viability between different days. This second phase of the experiment is still ongoing. Table 1.Mean and standard deviation of initial cell attachment/proliferation, time to confluence, concentration, and viability Day A/P (days) Confluence (days) Concentration (cell/mL) Viability (%) D0 4±0a 24±2a 1.334.375±131.375a 85.6±2.2a D2 5.33±1.5a 28.0±3.1a 1.645.050±252.639a 82.19±16.81a D4 4.33±1.03a 36±4b 1.571.656±234.462a 80.80±30.0a D7 10.0±1.78b 36±0b 1.509.400±347.860a 75.02±28.52a D14 19.6±2.19c 34.5±4.04b 698.125±131.203b 79.23±17.73a D21 24.5±3.5c 36±0b 304.166±47.604c 27.46±12.46b D30 33.5±1.5d 31±0b 311.250±0c 28.71±13.9b a-dDifferent letters represent statistically significant differences (P&lt;0.05).

135 Strategies for transfection of bovine mesenchymal stem cells with pBC1-anti-CD3 vector

Cells from different origins behave differently regarding the incorporation of exogenous genetic material and the formation of transgenic cells. In this context, the objective of this study was to verify the potential of transfection of bovine mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton's jelly and adipose tissue, comparing two transfection protocols, using Lipofectamine LTX and Plus or Xfect reagents, with the integration of humanized anti-CD3. Skin fibroblasts were used as a control group. Humanized anti-CD3 is a monoclonal antibody that interacts with the CD3 molecule of the T-cell receptor, leading to the suppression of T-cells. This antibody is considered an option in the treatment of human autoimmune diseases and against the rejection of transplanted organs. Humanized anti-CD3 was used in this work for the production of bovine transgenic cells that, in the future, will be used in the development of bioreactor animals. In all steps of this study, cell types were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) and antibiotics, in an incubator at 39°C with 5% CO2 in air with saturated humidity. All cells were plated at 5×105 into 24-well culture dishes and co-transfected with vector pBC1-anti-CD3-IRES-FEO and pEF-NEO-GFP using Lipofectamine LTX with reagent Plus or Xfect. Forty-eight hours after transfection, neomycin was added in each treatment and cells were cultured for 2 weeks. Treated cells were submitted to fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and PCR evaluations. Wharton's jelly cells were sensitive to treatments and started necrosis. In the flow cytometry assay, the median fluorescence was higher in adipocytes than in fibroblasts, for both the Xfect reagent (20.057±1.620.7 and 10.601±702.86, respectively, P&lt;0.05) and for LTX (19.590±113.84 and 10.518±442.65 respectively, P&lt;0.05). These results, associated with the evaluation of epifluorescence, demonstrated that adipocytes presented a better response to transfection than did other cells, independent of the kit used. Performing PCR on co-transfected adipocytes and fibroblasts demonstrated the presence of anti-CD3, making this approach feasible in future experiments. Southern blotting analysis is being performed to confirm DNA integration. Financial support was provided by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAPDF); Embrapa MP1.

Melatonin reduces apoptotic cells, SOD2 and HSPB1 and improves the in vitro production and quality of bovine blastocysts

Effects of adding different concentrations of melatonin (10^-7 , 10^-9 and 10^-11  M) to maturation (Experiment 1; Control, IVM + 10^-7 , IVM + 10^-9 , IVM + 10^-11 ) and culture media (Experiment 2; Control, IVC + 10^-7 , IVC + 10^-9 , IVC + 10^-11 ) were evaluated on in vitro bovine embryonic development. The optimal concentration of melatonin (10^-9  M) from Experiments 1-2 was tested in both maturation and/or culture media of Experiment 3 (Control, IVM + 10^-9 , IVC + 10^-9 , IVM/IVC + 10^-9 ). In Experiment 1, maturated oocytes from Control and IVM + 10^-9 treatments showed increased glutathione content, mitochondrial membrane potential and percentage of Grade I blastocysts (40.6% and 43%, respectively). In Experiment 2, an increase in the percentage of Grade I blastocysts was detected in IVC + 10^-7 (43.5%; 56.7%) and IVC + 10^-9 (47.4%; 57.4%). Moreover, a lower number and percentage of apoptotic cells in blastocysts were observed in the IVC + 10^-9 group compared to Control (3.8 ± 0.6; 3.6% versus 6.1 ± 0.6; 5.3%). In Experiment 3, the IVC + 10^-9 treatment increased percentage of Grade I blastocysts with a lower number of apoptotic cells compared to IVM/IVC + 10^-9 group (52.6%; 3.0 ± 0.5 versus 46.0%; 5.4 ± 1.0). The IVC + 10^-9 treatment also had a higher mRNA expression of antioxidant gene (SOD2) compared to the Control, as well as the heat shock protein (HSPB1) compared to the IVM + 10^-9 . Reactive oxygen species production was greater in the IVM/IVC + 10^-9 treatment group. In conclusion, the 10^-9  M concentration of melatonin and the in vitro production phase in which it is used directly affected embryonic development and quality.

Morphological characterization and conservation of bovine spermatogenic cells by refrigeration at 4°C and freezing using different cryoprotective molecules

The objectives of this study were study a practical method to characterize bovine spermatogenic cells and test the efficiency cells conservation by refrigeration at 4°C and cryopreservation in different solutions using two cooling curves. Cellular identification was performing by analysis of shape, size and morphology, associated with nucleus positioning and nuclear-cytoplasm ratio (NCR). Cellular samples were kept at 4°C for a period of 96 h in refrigeration solution and every 24h plasma membrane and DNA integrity were evaluated. Cryopreservation of cells was carried out using solutions containing 10% Dimethyl sulfoxide, 5% Dimethylformamide, 7% Glycerol and 7% Ethylene glycol, using a controlled and non-controlled cooling curve. Results of cellular characterization demonstrated that spermatocytes II presented a cylindrical shape, NCR of 1:1.5 and diameter ranging from 14.5 to 17.5 μm. Round spermatids presented diameter ranging from 7.6 to 13.4 μm, acrosomal cap and NCR of 1:2. Elongation and elongated spermatids showed to marked divergence in shape. There was a daily significant loss of viability of cooled cells until third day of storage, however they presented 72.77±5.16% viability after 4 days of storage at 4°C. There was no difference among the cryoprotectant solutions and cooling curves. In conclusion we demonstrated that association of microscopes and staining was a practical method to identify bovine spermatogenic cells. Furthermore, refrigeration at 4°C is an important strategy to preserve over 70% of viable cells after 4 days and cryopreservation, regardless of cryoprotectant solution or cooling curve used, can maintain over 50% of cells viable.

Pollinators of Richardia grandiflora (Rubiaceae): an Important Ruderal Species for Bees

Ruderal species may provide pollen and nectar to maintain the pollinators of crops in periods of floral resource shortage. The knowledge about the floral biology of these plant species and their interaction with insects is important for management strategies of agricultural systems. The study was carried out at an experimental research station in two different periods (August 2010-April 2011 and August 2012-January 2013). Floral biology was studied, and the reproductive system and reproductive efficacy (RE) were analyzed using controlled pollination experiments. Furthermore, floral visitors and pollination were identified and quantified. Reproductive success obtained in the open pollination and cross-pollination experiments was higher than those obtained in spontaneous self, hand self, and wind pollination. Richardia grandiflora bloomed throughout the experimental period, and flowers were visited by Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera, which were observed foraging for pollen and/or nectar. Among the floral visitors, bees were the richest and most frequent group and often contacted anthers and stigmas during visits. Africanized honeybees touched the floral reproductive structures in all visits, and their frequency may be related to changes in the reproductive efficacy between the study periods. Pollinator species of crops cultivated at the experimental research station were frequent bee visitors of R. grandiflora. We demonstrated that R. grandiflora requires cross-pollination and biotic pollen vectors. Among floral visitors, bees are the main pollinators, especially the Africanized honeybees. R. grandiflora can be considered an important ruderal species for maintaining bee pollinator populations at the study site, providing resources during the period that crops are not blooming.

Effects of prolonged in vitro culture and cryopreservation on viability, DNA fragmentation, chromosome stability and ultrastructure of bovine cells from amniotic fluid and umbilical cord

The objective of this work was to study cellular types that did not participated in the gastrulation process, amniotic fluid cells (AFCs) and umbilical cord cells (UCCs), in conditions of long-term culture and cryopreserved with different solutions. The AFCs and UCCs were used in a comparative study with ear fibroblast cells (EFCs) that were cultured in vitro until 20 cellular passages and cryopreserved in 10% dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO), 5% dimethyl formamide (DMF) and 7% glycerol (Gly) solutions. The cellular viability, ultrastructure, DNA fragmentation and chromosome stability were evaluated to determine the cellular type most resistant. In all cell types, it was possible to evaluate the AFCs until 15 passages and UCCs until 20 passages with different periods of cellular growth to reach the confluence phase. Solutions containing 10% DMSO ensured viability of 90.33 ± 5.58%, 90.56 ± 4.40% and 81.90 ± 3.31%, respectively for EFCs, AFCs and UCCs, being significantly more efficient and with less variation than other cryoprotectant solutions. The AFCs were more sensitive to cryopreservation and presented low viability rate at the passage 20 (17.2 ± 8.87%). There was no change in karyotype and nuclear fragmentation was low in all cellular passages studied. With the scanning electron analysis was possible the characterization of AFCs and UCCs in suspension. The three cellular types of cells presented different shapes and characteristics on the surface. The results demonstrate that bovine AFCs and UCCs can be isolated, cultured in vitro and cryopreserved in 10% DMSO, not causing damage to DNA and chromosomes. The UCCs were more resistant than AFCs in all aspects.

Density and Distribution of Xylocopa Nests (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Caatinga Areas in the Surroundings of Passion Fruit Crops

Due to their importance as pollinators of many plant species, this study aimed to know the nest density, spatial distribution, and nesting substrates used by Xylocopa species in the Caatinga, a xerophilous vegetation of Northeastern Brazil. Three areas of Caatinga in the surroundings of passion fruit crops were sampled. The bee species found in these areas were Xylocopa grisescens Lepeletier and Xylocopa frontalis (Olivier). All nests were in Commiphora leptophloeos (Burseraceae) trees (n = 113). Phytosociological analysis showed that this tree species presented the highest absolute density (212.5 individuals/ha) and index of importance value (52.7). The distribution pattern of the C. leptophloeos was aggregated. The nests were located in dead and dried branches with an average diameter of 5.3 ± 2.0 cm (n = 43). The mean number of nests/tree was 3.1 ± 2.8 (n = 113). The less disturbed area showed 6.7 nests/ha and 4.2 nests/tree. In the disturbed areas, 0.9 nests/ha and 2.4 to 2.7 nests/tree were observed. The availability of substrate for nesting in the studied areas and its importance as a limiting factor for nesting are discussed.

Limiar anaeróbico (V4) e frequência cardíaca de cavalos Crioulos condicionados para prova funcional

Determinou-se o limiar anaeróbico (V4) de 23 cavalos Crioulos hígidos em treinamento. Os animais selecionados foram submetidos a testes de desempenho, composto por três etapas de velocidade progressiva de 6m/s, 8m/s e 10m/s, com duração de cinco minutos cada etapa, até que fosse atingida a concentração de 4mmol/dL de lactato sanguíneo. As concentrações de lactato sanguíneo elevaram-se a partir da velocidade de exercício de 6,0m/s, sendo que 20 animais (90%) atingiram 4mmol/L de lactato na velocidade entre 6 - 8m/s, com média de frequência cardíaca que variou de 121 a 140bpm. Concluiu-se que a V4 do cavalo Crioulo está entre as velocidades de 6 - 8m/s e a frequência cardíaca entre 121 - 140bpm.

Influence of the orientation of nest entrance, shading, and substrate on sampling trap-nesting bees and wasps

The use of trap nests supplies important biological information concerning the biology of bees and wasps. However, the knowledge about the factors that influence the management of these groups is still scarce. Our study aimed to analyze the effects of the orientation of nest entrance, shading, and block material (wood or vermiculite) on the frequency, richness, and composition of trap-nesting species at two agricultural areas in the Atlantic Forest region of the state of Paraiba. Both sites showed similar species richness and composition. However, a higher number of nests was found at the Alhandra site, mainly of the species Trypoxylon aurifrons Shuckard and Centris analis (F.). Regarding the orientation, the number of nest entrances oriented to prevailing wind direction was significantly smaller. Most species nested more frequently in shaded areas than in sunny areas and the wood blocks were more attractive than the vermiculite blocks, especially for bees.

Criopreservação de células espermatogênicas bovinas utilizando diferentes moléculas protetoras

Objetivou-se isolar mecanicamente as células espermatogênicas bovinas e avaliar sua viabilidade antes e após a criopreservação com três diferentes moléculas crioprotetoras. As células isoladas apresentaram uma viabilidade inicial média de 76,5% e após a criopreservação de 51,7%; 55,5% e 58,8%, respectivamente para as soluções de DMSO, propanodiol e DMSO com propanodiol, onde a solução de DMSO com propanodiol foi significativamente superior (p

Cryopreservation of epididymal bovine spermatozoa from dead animals and its uses in vitro embryo production

The present study aimed to evaluate viability and in vitro fertilizing ability of cryopreserved epididymal spermatozoa obtained from dead animals. To collect spermatozoa, epididymides from three males (Bulls A1, A2 and A3) were collected at a local slaughterhouse. As a reference ejaculate from a bull with known in vitro fertility, was used. Sperm characteristics (motility, chromatin and acrosome integrity) were evaluated before and after cryopreservation. Then, frozen spermatozoa from all animals were used for in vitro fertilization. Cleavage and blastocyst rates at 48 h (day 2) and 168 h (day 7) post in vitro insemination, for bull A1 (82.1 and 38.6%) and A2 (80.7 and 33.8%) were similar (P>0.05) to the reference bull (88.9 and 57.2%). Bull A3 had the lesser cleavage (42.0%) and blastocyst (26.1%) rates. The results showed that epididymal spermatozoa from dead animals can be successfully cryopreserved and used in vitro production of embryos.

Effects of freeze-drying on cytology, ultrastructure, DNA fragmentation, and fertilizing ability of bovine sperm

Freeze-drying sperm is an alternative to cryopreservation. Although sperm from various species has been freeze-dried, there are few reports for bovine sperm. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of various freeze-drying media on the structural and functional components of bovine sperm. The media tested were composed of TCM 199 with Hanks salts supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) and TCM 199 with Hanks salts supplemented with 10% FCS and 0.2 M trehalose and EGTA solution. The efficiency of each medium on the preservation of freeze-dried sperm structures was evaluated with conventional and electron microscopy, DNA integrity was analyzed by a TUNEL assay, and fertilizing ability of lyophilized sperm was determined with ICSI. Although the plasma membrane was damaged in all media tested, mitochondria were similarly preserved in all freeze-drying treatments. The acrosome was best preserved in the media that contained trehalose (other treatments also conserved this structure). In contrast, media containing EGTA or trehalose most effectively preserved the nuclei in freeze-dried sperm, with only 2 and 5%, respectively, of cells with fragmented DNA. Furthermore, sperm conserved with these media also had higher (P<0.05) rates of sperm head decondensation (32.5 and 27.5%), pronucleus formation (37.5 and 45.0%) and blastocyst formation (19.4 and 18.3%) than medium supplemented with FCS (15.0, 20.0 and 10.2%, respectively). In conclusion, media with EGTA and trehalose adequately protected bovine sperm during freeze-drying by preserving the viability of their nuclei.

The use of the acridine orange test and the TUNEL assay to assess the integrity of freeze-dried bovine spermatozoa DNA

The ability to detect nuclear damage is an important tool for the development of sperm preservation methods. We used the acridine orange test (AOT) and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUDP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay to assess the DNA status of sperm cells preserved with different lyophilization media. The AOT did not detect any differences between different lyophilization media. However, differences in DNA integrity were observed among treatments with the TUNEL assay, suggesting that TUNEL is a more sensitive method to evaluate sperm DNA. The use of TCM 199 and 10% FCS as a lyophilization medium resulted in 14% of the cells with DNA fragmentation in TUNEL test. The AOT indicated only 4% of the cells with chromatin damage, with this same treatment, with no significant differences when compared to the other treatments. The degree of DNA fragmentation was negatively related to fertilizing potential, as sperm DNA damage was inversely correlated with pro-nucleus formation. The TUNEL assay was found to be an efficient method to detect DNA damage in sperm, and it could be used as a tool to predict male fertility.