Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2019 (vol. 64), issue 4

Effects of γ-aminobutyric acid on aggressive behaviour, jejunum villus morphology, serum biochemical indicators and hippocampal neuropeptide mRNA levels in piglets at weaning with mixingOriginal Paper

Hongyuan Mei, Chengying Yang, Qing Xie, Yang Yang, Xianmei Luo, Hanwei Jiao, Ling Gan

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2019, 64(4):151-159 | DOI: 10.17221/33/2018-CJAS  

The effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on weanling piglets after mixing stress were investigated and the underlying molecular mechanism was analyzed. Sixty weaning piglets were randomly assigned to either the control group (weaning and mixing with a 3 : 3 sex ratio) or the GABA supplement group (30 mg GABA/kg body weight/day + weaning and mixing with a 3 : 3 sex ratio). Aggressive behaviours have been recorded for 2 days and the number of lesions for 3 days. The diarrhea rate on day 6 post-weaning and mixing was analyzed. Serum biochemical indicators, antioxidant variables, jejunum villus morphology...

Estimation of genetic parameters and accuracy of genomic prediction for production traits in Duroc pigsOriginal Paper

Bryan Irvine Lopez, Vanessa Viterbo, Choul Won Song, Kang Seok Seo

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2019, 64(4):160-165 | DOI: 10.17221/150/2018-CJAS  

Abstract: Genetic parameters and accuracy of genomic prediction for production traits in a Duroc population were estimated. Data were on 24 828 purebred Duroc pigs born in 2000-2016. After quality control procedures, 30 263 single nucleotide polymorphism markers and 560 animals remained that were used to predict the genomic breeding values of individuals. Accuracies of predicted breeding values for average daily gain (ADG), backfat thickness (BF), loin muscle area (LMA), lean percentage (LP) and age at 90 kg (D90) between pedigree-based and single-step methods were compared. Analyses were carried out with a multivariate...

Effect of sex on growth, biochemical and haematological parameters of blood, carcass value and meat quality in nutrias (Myocastor coypus)Original Paper

Tomáš Němeček, Eva Tůmová, Darina Chodová

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2019, 64(4):166-173 | DOI: 10.17221/193/2018-CJAS  

Sex differences in growth, blood indicators, carcass values and meat quality in nutrias were evaluated. In the fattening experiment, 136 nutrias of both sexes (1 : 1 ratio) were fattened until 8 months of age. At the end of the experiment, 18 males and 18 females with average weights were selected for the determination of biochemical indicators, carcass value and meat quality. The growth of males was significantly higher than in females; the differences were 12% at three months of age and increased to 24% at eight months of age. The effect of sex on the biochemical indicators of blood was observed in total protein (P ≤ 0.029), albumin (P...

Dietary Artemisia vulgaris meal improved growth performance, gut microbes, and immunity of growing Rex rabbitsOriginal Paper

Jianping Wang, Lin Lin, Bin Li, Feike Zhang, Ning Liu

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2019, 64(4):174-179 | DOI: 10.17221/162/2018-CJAS  

Artemisia vulgaris (A. vulgaris) is an edible plant showing antioxidant and antibacterial effects, but its effect as a feed additive or forage source on the herbivore growth and health is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of A. vulgaris meal supplementation on the growth performance, gut microbes, and immune function in rabbits. A total of 120 growing Rex rabbits were randomly allocated into 4 treatments with 6 replicates per 5 rabbits each. There were four experimental diets containing A. vulgaris meal at doses of 0, 3.0, 6.0 or 9.0%, respectively. The experiment lasted for 70 days. The results...

QTL fine mapping for intramuscular fat and fatty acid composition using high-density SNP chip array on SSC12 in Korean native pig × Yorkshire F2 populationOriginal Paper

Sangwook Kim, Byeonghwi Lim, Kwansuk Kim, Kyoungtag Do

Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2019, 64(4):180-188 | DOI: 10.17221/50/2018-CJAS  

Intramuscular fat (IMF) and fatty acid composition are characteristics that are used as important indicators of evaluating high quality pork and contribute to the economic benefits of the pig farming industry. In this study, quantitative trait loci (QTL) fine mapping of chromosome 12 was performed in a population of F2 intercross between Yorkshire (YS) and Korean native pigs (KNPs) by adopting combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium method using high-density SNP chips. QTLs for IMF (H3GA0034813 to H3GA0034965) and oleic acid (C18:1) (ASGA0054380 to ALGA0066299) were located at 120 cM (54.112-57.610 kb) and 85...