Czech Journal of Animal Science, 2020 (vol. 65), issue 6
Comparison of two muscle fibre staining techniques and their relation to pork quality traitsOriginal Paper
Nicole Lebedová, Tersia Needham, Jaroslav Čítek, Monika Okrouhlá, Kateřina Zadinová, Kamila Pokorná, Roman Stupka
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(6):193-204 | DOI: 10.17221/23/2020-CJAS 
This study compared two histochemical staining methods of muscle fibres and evaluated their relationship with the meat quality traits of two high-value porcine muscles. Immunohistochemical (IHC) and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) staining was used to assess the cross-sectional area and proportion of fibre-types I, IIa, IIx and IIb in the samples of longissimus lumborum (LL) and psoas major (PM) muscles collected one-hour post-mortem from 25 crossbred pigs [Large WhiteSire × (Landrace × Large WhiteDam)] at an average age of 152 days....
Phenotypic correlations between reproductive characteristics related to litter and reproductive cycle length in sowsOriginal Paper
Błażej Nowak, Anna Mucha, Wojciech Kruszyński, Magdalena Moska
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(6):205-212 | DOI: 10.17221/108/2020-CJAS
The study estimated phenotypic correlations between reproductive traits in sows classified as maternal (Polish Large White, Polish Landrace, and Yorkshire) and paternal (Duroc, Berkshire, and Hampshire) components, kept on farms located in Poland and in the United States. Altogether, it used data on 736 litters from 196 sows to analyse traits related to litter and reproductive cycle length. The former included litter size, the numbers and the percentages of piglets born alive, stillborn, and weaned; the latter included gestation length, lactation length, and...
Inclusion of Hermetia illucens larvae reared on fish offal to the diet of broiler quails: Effect on immunity and caecal microbial populationsOriginal Paper
Daniela Pasotto, Liesel van Emmenes, Marco Cullere, Valerio Giaccone, Elsje Pieterse, Louwrens Christiaan Hoffman, Antonella Dalle Zotte
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(6):213-223 | DOI: 10.17221/60/2020-CJAS
Hermetia illucens (black soldier fly, BSF) larvae meal has shown to be a good protein source in monogastric animal diets, but published data regarding its immunomodulatory properties is limited. For this purpose, a study has been conducted to evaluate the effects of larvae meal on selected immune parameters and caecal bacterial counts of broiler quails. Hermetia illucens larvae were reared on two substrates (100% chicken feed, BSF-M, or 50% chicken feed + 50% fish offal, BSF-F) in order to manipulate the fatty acid profile of larvae meal by increasing...
Monitoring of genetic diversity in autochthonous Czech poultry breeds assessed by genealogical dataOriginal Paper
Luboš Vostrý, Hana Vostrá-Vydrová, Nina Moravčíková, Barbora Hofmanová, Jana Rychtářová, Karolína Machová, Michaela Brzáková, Radovan Kasarda
Czech J. Anim. Sci., 2020, 65(6):224-231 | DOI: 10.17221/80/2020-CJAS
Czech local poultry breeds face high risks of extinction. Because these populations are closed, they are more likely to lose genetic diversity. The aim of this analysis was to determine the loss of genetic diversity in three Czech autochthonous poultry breeds. Pedigree data from a total of 1 932 Czech Gold Speckled Hens, 325 Czech White Geese and 111 Czech Crested Geese registered in studbooks between 2000 and 2018 were evaluated. Data were analysed to determine the major factors that affect the genetic variability of these breeds. The average numbers of equivalent complete...