Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2018 (vol. 63), issue 1
Interspecific hybridization of sturgeon species affects differently their gonadal developmentOriginal Paper
Zuzana Linhartová, Miloš Havelka, Martin Pšenička, Martin Flajšhans
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2018, 63(1):1-10 | DOI: 10.17221/37/2016-CJAS 
Gonad development in fish is generally assumed to be negatively influenced by interspecific hybridization, resulting in sterility or sub-sterility. However, this is not the case in sturgeons (Acipenseridae), in which fertile hybrids are common. In the present study, we investigated gonad development in several sturgeon interspecific hybrids and purebred species. Six interspecific hybrid groups and three purebred groups were analyzed including 20 hybrid specimens with even ploidy, 40 specimens having odd ploidy levels, and 30 purebred specimens. Hybrids of species with the same ploidy (even ploidy - 2n, 4n) exhibited normally developed gonads similar...
Eggshell characteristics and cuticle deposition in three laying hen genotypes housed in enriched cages and on litterOriginal Paper
Mohamed Ketta, Eva Tumova
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2018, 63(1):11-16 | DOI: 10.17221/75/2017-CJAS
The objective of the present study was to compare the eggshell characteristics and cuticle deposition of Lohmann Brown, Hy-Line Silver Brown, and Isa Brown layers kept in two different housing systems. The three laying hen genotypes were housed in enriched cages (100 hens, 750 cm2/hen, 10 hens/cage) and in littered pens (100 hens, 9 hens/m2, 10 hens/pen). The experiment was carried out in weeks 40-56 of hens age. Non-significant interactions of genotype and housing system for eggshell quality parameters and cuticle deposition were detected in this study. Egg weight was significantly affected by genotype (P ≤ 0.001)...
Variation for in vivo digestibility in two maize hybrid silagesOriginal Paper
Radko Loučka, Yvona Tyrolová, Filip Jančík, Petra Kubelková, Petr Homolka, Václav Jambor
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2018, 63(1):17-23 | DOI: 10.17221/37/2017-CJAS
The experiment was aimed at confirming that silages made of two very similar hybrids could have different in vivo digestibility, primarily amylase-treated neutral detergent fibre digestibility (aNDFD), which could strongly influence the result of the calculation of energy value of fodder. Both the stay-green whole-plant types were grown at the same locality during two years and harvested at the same days at two-thirds milk line maturity. In the two subsequent years, silages without preservatives were made of both hybrids tested. All silages were fermented for 90 days. The in vivo digestibility of silages was measured in digestion...
Dietary energy level affects the composition of cecal microbiota of starter Pekin ducklingsOriginal Paper
Jun-Qiang Liu, Yan-Hong Wang, Xing-Tang Fang, Ming Xie, Yun-Sheng Zhang, Shui-Sheng Hou, Hong Chen, Guo-Hong Chen, Chun-Lei Zhang
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2018, 63(1):24-31 | DOI: 10.17221/53/2017-CJAS
In this study, we evaluated the phylogenetic diversity of the cecal microbiota of 3-week-old ducklings fed three diets differing in metabolizable energy. The contents of the ceca were collected from ducklings of different groups. The ceca bacterial DNA was isolated and the V3 to V4 regions of 16S rRNA genes were amplified. The amplicons were subjected to high-throughput sequencing to analyze the bacterial diversity of different groups. The predominant bacterial phyla were Bacteroidetes (~65.67%), Firmicutes (~17.46%), and Proteobacteria (~10.73%). The abundance of Bacteroidetes increased and that of Firmicutes decreased with increasing dietary...
Effect of melatonin from slow-release implants on aquaporins (AQP1 and AQP4) in the ovine choroid plexusOriginal Paper
Aleksandra Szczepkowska, Mariusz Tomasz Skowroński, Marta Kowalewska, Stanisław Milewski, Janina Skipor
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2018, 63(1):32-42 | DOI: 10.17221/6/2017-CJAS
Aquaporins (AQPs) play important role in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) secretion and AQP1 and AQP4 are localized in the choroid plexus (CP), which is the main place of CSF production. In ewes, seasonally breeding animals, the turnover rate (TOR) of CSF is photoperiodically modulated and melatonin, a biochemical signal about changing photoperiod, is used to advance the onset of the breeding season by mimicking the stimulatory effect of short days (SD). This study evaluates the effect of melatonin implantation during long days (LD) on AQPs expression in the ovine CP. Studies were performed on ovariectomized, estradiol implanted ewes treated with placebo...