Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2020 (vol. 65), issue 5
Towards smart dairy nutrition: Improving sustainability and economics of dairy productionOriginal Paper
Manfred Schönleben, Joachim Mentschel, Luboš Střelec
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(5):153-161 | DOI: 10.17221/16/2020-CJAS 
To satisfy increasing food and nutrient supply requirements for our growing future human population, farmers and staple food producers carry vital responsibilities. Especially farmers with ruminant livestock like dairy cows transform otherwise for human consumption unsuitable fibre into highly nutritious milk and meat. Nevertheless,...
Effects of dietary microalgae (Schizochytrium spp.) supplement on milk performance, blood parameters, and milk fatty acid composition in dairy cowsOriginal Paper
Gaofei Liu, Xiong Yu, Shengli Li, Wei Shao, Nan Zhang
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(5):162-171 | DOI: 10.17221/19/2020-CJAS
The objective of this study was to examine the effects of dietary inclusion of microalgae (Schizochytrium spp.) on milk yield, milk composition, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) transfer efficiency in dairy cows. Thirty-six lactating Chinese-Holstein dairy cows were randomly allocated to three treatment groups (n = 12; 0, 170, and 255 g microalgae supplement per day) in a 60-day experimental period. No significant treatment effect was observed on DMI and milk performance. Similarly, there was no significant microalgae supplement effect on blood haematological and biochemical...
Blood biochemical parameters measured during the periparturient period in cows of Holstein and Fleckvieh breeds differing in production purposeOriginal Paper
Magdaléna Štolcová, Dalibor Řehák, Luděk Bartoň, Radko Rajmon
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(5):172-181 | DOI: 10.17221/99/2020-CJAS
The aim of this study was to compare the metabolic status of dairy and dual-purpose cows kept in a single herd under identical management conditions. Milk yield and blood biochemical parameters were examined during the periparturient period in Holstein (H) and Fleckvieh (F) cows. Blood samples were first taken on average 14 days prior to the expected date of calving, next in the peripartal period (1-4 days postpartum), and then at weekly intervals (together with milk samples) until the end of the experiment (8 weeks postpartum). Milk yields were higher in H cows...
Frameshift mutation in myostatin gene by zinc-finger nucleases results in a significant increase in muscle mass in Meishan sowsOriginal Paper
Hanfang Bi, Shanshan Xie, Chunbo Cai, Lili Qian, Shengwang Jiang, Gaojun Xiao, Biao Li, Xiang Li, Wentao Cui
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(5):182-191 | DOI: 10.17221/265/2019-CJAS
Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth and development. A significant increase in skeletal muscle was observed in Mstn-/- mice compared with wild-type mice. So far, there has been no report on porcine MSTN mutations leading to skeletal muscle hypertrophy. In this report a MSTN frameshift mutation missing 11 nucleotides in exon 2 was introduced into Meishan pigs by zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology. ZFN-edited MSTN-/- Meishan pigs were successfully produced by a...