Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2010 (vol. 55), issue 7
Recombinant human activin A promotes development of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos matured in vitro
S. Hua, J. Lan, Y.G. Liu, Y.L. Song, J. Liu, Y.S. Wang, T. Zhang, Y. Zhang
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2010, 55(7):267-275 | DOI: 10.17221/298/2009-CJAS 
To improve the culture system of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos, we studied the effects of activin A on developmental competence of bovine SCNT embryos during the early development stage based on the traditional culture method, and analyzed the expression level of the genes related to blastocyst hatching (Na/K-ATPase, Glut-1) and related to activin A signalling pathway (ActRII and Smad2). We generated the bovine SCNT embryo using a Holstein cow oocyte as recipient cytoplasm and a foetal ear fibroblast (Holstein cow, 120 days) as donor cell. The embryos were cultured as follows: experiment 1, the addition of activin A at the concentrations...
Evaluation of the microbial population in ruminal fluid using real time PCR in steers treated with virginiamycin
T.J. Guo, J.Q. Wang, D.P. Bu, K.L. Liu, J.P. Wang, D. Li, S.Y. Luan, X.K. Huo
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2010, 55(7):276-285 | DOI: 10.17221/74/2009-CJAS
The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of virginiamycin (VM ) supplementation on ruminal fermentation and microbial populations in steers. Four ruminally cannulated Chinese Luxi steers (BW 559.4 ± 30.1 kg) were used in a crossover design experiment with an experimental period of 28 days. The forage to concentrate ratio of the basal diet was 35:65 on dry matter basis. The experiment consisted of control treatment and treatment with control diet plus VM at a dose of 30 mg/kg concentrate (DM basis). Rumen fluid was collected at 07:30 prefeeding, at 11:30 and 17:30 postfeeding on day 27 and 28. A part of the pooled sample...
The effects of dietary garlic powder on performance, egg yolk and serum cholesterol concentrations in laying quails
S. Canogullari, M. Baylan, Z. Erdogan, V. Duzguner, A. Kucukgul
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2010, 55(7):286-293 | DOI: 10.17221/126/2009-CJAS
This study was conducted to investigate the effects of garlic powder on the performance, egg traits, egg cholesterol and serum parameters of laying Japanese quails. One hundred and twenty 10-weeks-old quails were allocated to four dietary treatments. Quails were caged individually and fed diets supplemented with 0 (control), 1, 2, 4% garlic powder for 12 weeks. There were significant (P < 0.05) differences among the diets in feed consumption, feed efficiency and egg production as averaged over 12 weeks. The better values for these parameters were obtained from the 1% garlic powder supplemented group. Garlic powder addition did not significantly...
Laying performance and eggshell quality in laying hens fed diets supplemented with prebiotics and organic acids
S. ¦wi±tkiewicz, J. Koreleski, A. Arczewska
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2010, 55(7):294-306 | DOI: 10.17221/207/2009-CJAS
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of organic acids and the prebiotic fructans on egg production and eggshell quality when added to the layer diet with different levels of calcium and phosphorus. The experiment was carried out on 168 Bovans Brown hens, allocated to 14 groups of 12 replications. Each hen (replication) was kept in an individual cage 40 cm × 40 cm in size. A 2 × 7 factorial arrangement, with two dietary levels of calcium and phosphorus (normal - 3.70% Ca, 0.65% P, and reduced - 3.25% Ca, 0.60% P) and with diets supplemented by selected additives (none, 0.75% inulin, 0.75% oligofructose, 0.50% volatile fatty acids (VFA), 0.25%...