Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2020 (vol. 65), issue 3
Economic weights of current and new breeding objective traits in Aberdeen AngusOriginal Paper
Zuzana Krupová, Emil Krupa, Marie Wolfová
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(3):77-85 | DOI: 10.17221/255/2019-CJAS 
Breeding values estimated for growth, calving performance, and exterior traits are currently combined into simple selection indices for bulls, cows, and heifers of the Aberdeen Angus breed. To establish a comprehensive economic index for this breed, the absolute and relative economic weights (EW) for a complex of 16 production, functional, carcass, and feed efficiency traits were calculated. The absolute EW of a trait expressed the difference in the present values of profit that will be obtained from the descendants of a bull with the average breeding value for this trait, and descendants of a bull with the breeding value one unit higher than the average...
Expression and localization of PIWI proteins in testis and ovary of domestic sheepOriginal Paper
Chunyan Li, Qiuyue Liu, Xiangyu Wang, Wenping Hu, Deping Han, Joram Mwashigadi Mwacharo, Caihong Wei, Mingxing Chu, Ran Di
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(3):86-96 | DOI: 10.17221/7/2020-CJAS
The piRNA-PIWI protein complex plays crucial roles in safeguarding the genome against inordinate transposon mobilization and regulation of embryonic development. A previous study indicated the presence of piRNA in sheep reproductive organs. However, the tissue distribution and cellular localization of PIWI proteins in sheep remains unclear. Therefore the present study aimed to explore the expression profiles of mRNAs of mammalian PIWI proteins (PIWIL1, PIWIL2, PIWIL4 and AGO3) in 9 tissues derived from adult male and female sheep. Results showed the expression of PIWIL1, PIWIL2, and PIWIL4 was significantly higher in the testis and ovary than in the...
Influence of the use of nurse sows on their lifetime performanceOriginal Paper
Kamila Pokorná, Jaroslav Čítek, Kateřina Zadinová, Monika Okrouhlá, Nicole Lebedová, Michal Komosný, Roman Stupka
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(3):97-103 | DOI: 10.17221/12/2020-CJAS
Using nurse sows is a common practice for intensive pig farming because large numbers of piglets per litter result from intensive breeding. This aim of this study was to compare reproductive parameters of nurse sows and non-nurse sows in relation to subsequent reproductive performance. The study evaluated 463 breeding sows that produced at least one litter. The sows were divided into two groups: non-nurse sows (350 sows) and nurse sows (113 sows) at their first farrowing. The average length of first lactation was 35.12 days for nurse sows and 29.79 days for non-nurse sows. At first parity, nurse sows weaned 5.18% more piglets than did non-nurse sows...
Effects of dietary fumaric acid on the growth performance, immune response, relative weight and antioxidant status of immune organs in broilers exposed to chronic heat stressOriginal Paper
Shaojun He, Qirun Yin, Yongjie Xiong, Deyi Liu, Hong Hu
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(3):104-113 | DOI: 10.17221/13/2020-CJAS
This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary fumaric acid (FA) on growth performance, immune responses, immune organ index and antioxidant status in broilers under chronic heat stress (HS). A total of 200 21-day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly assigned in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with two diets (basal diet or 10 g/kg FA diet) and two temperatures (thermoneutral or HS) for 21 days. On day 42, growth performance, immune organ index, immune function and antioxidative ability were determined. HS resulted in a significant reduction in final body weight (FBW), average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), antibody titres against...