Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2017 (vol. 62), issue 1

Substantial hybridisation between wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa) and East Balkan pigs (Sus scrofa f. domestica) in natural environment as a result of semi-wild rearing in BulgariaOriginal Paper

Ivan Stojanov Nikolov, Bernhard Christian Stoeckle, Georgi Markov, Ralph Kuehn

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2017, 62(1):1-8 | DOI: 10.17221/49/2015-CJAS  

The East Balkan pig (EBP) is a traditional domestic pig breed in Bulgaria managed in semi-wild conditions and well-adapted to the continental climate and rearing on pastures. From the genetical and historical point of view it is important to preserve this ancient breed. However, over the last several years, a dramatic decline of EBP herds has been observed. Moreover, introgression between EBP and wild boar in Bulgaria (WBB) is very likely to have occurred. In this study we used a set of 10 microsatellites and the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method on melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) polymorphisms to study...

Association of missense MTTP gene polymorphism with carcass characteristics and meat quality traits in pigsOriginal Paper

Katarzyna Ropka-Molik, Przemysław Podstawski, Katarzyna Piórkowska, Mirosław Tyra

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2017, 62(1):9-14 | DOI: 10.17221/45/2015-CJAS  

Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, coded by MTTP gene, has multiple functions including participation in formation of chylomicrons, low-density lipoproteins, and very low-density lipoproteins. Therefore MTTP protein plays a key role in the transport of fats and cholesterol between membrane vesicles, which can be associated with lipid metabolism. In the present study, ENSSSCT00000010052.2:c.2518C>T (rs335896411) missense polymorphism (Leu>Phe) located in exon 18 of MTTP gene was investigated in order to estimate its potential association with production traits of pigs. The analysis was performed with five breeds (Duroc,...

Dietary chitosan-Cu chelate affects growth performance and small intestinal morphology and apoptosis in weaned pigletsOriginal Paper

Xiaojing Yue, Luansha Hu, Xiongfeng Fu, Mengyuan Lv, Xinyan Han

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2017, 62(1):15-21 | DOI: 10.17221/86/2015-CJAS  

The effects of dietary chitosan-copper chelate (CS-Cu) on growth performance, diarrhea, intestinal morphology and epithelial cell apoptosis in weaned piglets was investigated. One hundred and sixty Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire weanling barrows with an average body weight of 7.75 kg were randomly assigned to one of the following dietary treatments: (1) control, (2) 100 mg Cu/kg diet from CuSO₄, (3) 100 mg Cu/kg diet from CuSO₄ mixed with chitosan (CuSO₄+CS), (4) 100 mg Cu/kg diet from CS-Cu. The feeding trial lasted for 30 days. The results showed that the pigs receiving a diet containing CS-Cu had higher average daily...

Beta-carotene supplementation positively affects selected blood metabolites across time around the onset of puberty in goatsOriginal Paper

Cesar A. Meza-Herrera, Pedro Pacheco-Alvarez, Ornella E. Castro, Ulises Macias-Cruz, Leonel Avendaño-Reyes, Miguel Mellado, Francisco G. Veliz-Deras, Viridiana Contreras-Villarreal, Jose Abad-Zavaleta, Rafael Rodriguez-Martinez, Gerardo Arellano-Rodriguez

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2017, 62(1):22-31 | DOI: 10.17221/1/2016-CJAS  

The possible effect of beta-carotene supplementation upon peripubertal changes in serum concentrations across time for total protein (TP), urea (UR), cholesterol (CHOL), and glucose (GLU) around puberty onset was evaluated. The experiment was carried out from June to November and prepubertal goats (n = 17, 3 months old, 7/8 Saanen-Alpine, 1/8 Criollo) were randomly assigned to: (1) beta-carotene group (BC) (n = 9; 17.3 ± 1.0 kg live weight (LW), 3.3 ± 0.12 body condition score (BCS), oral supplementation with 50 mg beta-carotene per day per goat) and (2) control group (CC) (n = 8; 16.1 ± 1.0 kg LW, 3.1...

Effect of ZnO nanoparticle on cell viability, zinc uptake efficiency, and zinc transporters gene expression: a comparison with ZnO and ZnSO₄Original Paper

Xiangfei Zhang, Zhisheng Wang, Lei Mao, Xianwen Dong, Quanhui Peng, Juncai Chen, Cui Tan, Rui Hu

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2017, 62(1):32-41 | DOI: 10.17221/15/2016-CJAS  

Zinc plays an important role in functional and structural integrity of cells. The aim of the current study was to compare cell viability, zinc uptake efficiency, and gene expression of metallothionein (MT), divalent metal transporter (DMT-1), and other important zinc transporters (ZnTs) under experimental treatment of TPEN (N, N, N', N'-Tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine) (2 µM), and three zinc sources (zinc oxide nanoparticle (nano-ZnO), bulk zinc oxide (ZnO), and zinc sulfate (ZnSO₄)) at different levels (25, 50, and 100 µM) in rat intestinal epithelial cell line IEC-6. Cells were classified...