Czech Journal of Animal Science - In Press
Obituary Notice - Professor Antonín Stratil (1941–2025)Editorial
Petr Kotlík
Professor Antonín Stratil (1941–2025) was a respected animal geneticist whose six-decade career made lasting contributions to biochemical, molecular and genomic research, education, and service to the scientific community.
Effect of dietary administration of Mentha piperita alone and in combination with Artemisia abrotanum on growth performance, body composition, physicochemical properties and amino acid composition of meat in Eimeria-challenged broilersOriginal Paper
David Zapletal, Martina Kosťuková, Lenka Rozsypalová, Vlastimil Šimek, František Ježek, Josef Kameník, Radka Dobšíková
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary administration of peppermint (Mentha piperita) alone and in combination with southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum) on performance, body and carcass composition, physicochemical characteristics, and amino acid composition of breast meat in broilers under Eimeria challenge. A total of 160 14-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to four dietary groups: the control (C) group was fed a basal diet; the CC group received a grower diet containing coccidiostat robenidine; the M group was fed the diets with the addition of 20 g peppermint/kg of diet; the MS group was fed the diets with the addition of 10 g peppermint + 10 g of southernwood/kg of diet. The addition of peppermint to the diet increased final live weight compared to the CC group (P < 0.05). The highest value for dressing-out percentage was found in the M group as compared to the CC group (P < 0.01) and C group (P < 0.05). Compared with the C group, a higher intramuscular fat content was found in the breast meat of broilers in both the M and MS groups (P < 0.01; P < 0.05, resp.). Concerning the colour of meat, lower values for yellowness b* and chroma C* characteristics were observed in the C group compared to the MS group (P < 0.05) and mainly to the M group (P < 0.01). In spite of the lower crude protein content (P < 0.05) in the meat of the MS group, the highest content of all essential amino acids (P < 0.05) as well as the total content of all amino acids assessed (P < 0.01) was found in the meat of the MS group, resulting in a considerable increase in the nutritional value of the breast meat protein of these broilers.
Performance and physiological responses of E. coli-challenged broiler chickens to dietary Moringa oleiferaOriginal Paper
Ari Hameed Omer, Sherzad Mustafa Hussein
This study was conducted to examine the effects of Moringa oleifera (MO) seed powder on the performance and gut health of broilers challenged with E. coli. A total of 720 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 72 pens across two separate rooms, following a 2 × 6 factorial design. The factors per room included (a) challenge: No or Yes, and (b) feed additive: control (none), antibiotic (oxytetracycline (OTC) at 0.5 g/kg), MO 0.1%, MO 0.2%, MO 0.4%, and MO 0.8%. At 8 days old, birds in both challenged and non-challenged rooms were inoculated with 1 mL of E. coli-O157:H7 inoculant (3.8 × 108 CFU) and 1 mL of saline, respectively. Performance data showed that, throughout the study, unchallenged birds had better weight gain (WG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) than challenged birds. On day 35, broilers given OTC and all MO levels showed improved WG (p < .001) and FCR (p < .003). Interactions between challenge and additives were observed on day 10 for FCR (p = 0.031); on days 24 and 35 for WG (p < .001); and on days 24 and 35 for FCR (p < .004 and p = 0.002, respectively). On day 24, challenged birds fed all MO levels exhibited higher WG and better FCR than challenged controls, while on day 35, both challenged and unchallenged MO-fed birds showed improved WG and FCR compared to control groups. E. coli significantly increased crypt depth (CD), jejunum muscle thickness, and cecal E. coli colonies. MO significantly enhanced villus height (VH), the VH: CD ratio, villous tip width, and surface area, while decreasing CD, muscle thickness, and E. coli colonies. Challenged birds had significantly lower serum total protein, albumin, and Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) titers, while serum alanine aminotransferase ALT activity was higher than in non-challenged birds. Overall, Moringa at 0.4% showed comparable or better results than OTC in preventing E. coli-induced declines in broiler performance and gut health.
Genetic and genomic parameters of piglet birth-weight traits and litter size in Czech Large White and Landrace sowsOriginal Paper
Eliška Žáková, Emil Krupa, Zuzana Krupová
This study aimed to estimate heritabilities of piglet birth-weight traits and to investigate the relationships between piglet birth-weight and litter-size traits using field data from Czech Large White and Landrace sows. Data including 86 241 piglets from 5 536 litters were analysed using repeatability, genetic, and genomic models. The investigated piglet-weight traits included arithmetic mean birth weight (MBW), within-litter standard deviation (SDBW), coefficient of variation in birth weight (CVBW), and the proportion of small piglets in the litter (SMALL). Heritability rates of piglet-weight traits were low, with the highest estimates for MBW (0.06–0.10) and SMALL (0.08–0.17), depending on the model used, while the other within-litter variability traits showed heritability rates from 0.03 to 0.05. The heritability rates of litter-size traits, including the number of piglets born alive (NBA) and the number of piglets weaned (NW), were low and ranged from 0.05 to 0.07. The realised accuracies of prediction were moderate to high, ranging from 0.50 to 0.72 for piglet-weight traits and from 0.54 to 0.77 for litter-size traits, with ssGBLUP improving realised accuracy by 4–15% in comparison to BLUP. Genetic correlations estimated using BLUP and ssGBLUP indicated that litter size at birth (NBA) tended to be negatively associated with MBW and positively or weakly associated with piglet-weight variability traits (SDBW, CVBW, and SMALL), whereas NW tended to show positive correlations with MBW and negative correlations with variability traits. However, none of the correlations were statistically significant.