نشریه علوم دامی (پژوهش و سازندگی)
پیاپی 129 (زمستان 1399)

Serotonergic axis has an important role in reproductive process of breeder rooster flocks. The aim of this study was to evaluate semen quality parameters of Ross old broiler breeder roosters, which received serotonin inhibitor (PCPA). In this study, 16 Ross broiler breeder rooster assigned into four groups and received 0, 20, 40 and 80 ppm PAPA during 4 weeks. Then semen samples were collected and frozen. After freezing-thawing process, motion parameters, viability, membrane integrity, morphology, acrosome integrity, mitochondria activity, lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation were evaluated. In results, using 20 and 40 ppm PCPA improved total motility, progressive motility, membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, viability and decreased apoptosis rate in frozen-thawed semen samples. Using PCPA did not have any significant effect on morphology, mitochondria activity, lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation of semen samples. It seems to using 20 and 40 ppm PCPA could be a suitable method to improve Ross old broiler breeder rooster semen quality parameters after freezing-thawing process.

The use of the plant Tribulus Terrestris can improve semen quality in some mammals and birds. However, little information is available about adult male lambs. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effect of different levels of Tribulus terrestris on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sperm of mature male lambs. In this study, 18 lambs of the arabi lambes age 3 monthes and average body weight 16.14±2 were divided into three groups of six in a completely randomized design, and received different levels of Tribulus terrestris including three groups: 1) without Tribulus terrestris (control), 2) 15 g/kg DM Tribulus terrestris and 3) 30 g/kg DM Tribulus terrestris for 5 months. The spermatogenesis was carried out by the electrocautery device two times a week from lambs after feeding Tribulus Terrestris. Quantitative and qualitative semen parameters including seminal volume and pH, sperm concentration, motility, survival and morphological abnormalities of sperms were evaluated. Results showed, the lowest semen volume was in the control group (p < 0.05). The highest concentration, motility and survival of sperm were from 15 g of Tribulus terrestris (p < 0.05). The level of 30 g of Tribulus terrestris showed the highest morphological abnormalities of sperm (p < 0.05). Mean pH was not affected by experimental treatments (p < 0.05). In conclusion, considering to all the measured parameters, adding 15 g of Tribulus terrestris per kilogram dry matter to the diet improved the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sperm in the freshly mature arabi lambs.

The β-lactoglobulin gene (β-LG) has been considered to be one of the most important genes involved in the milk productin related traits. In the present research, the association of β-LG polymorphism with breeding values for milk production related traits was investigated in Brown Swiss cattle. The data of this study was collected from the Golpayegan dairy farm. In this study, genomic DNA was extracted from 150 blood samples by modified salting out method. Following this stage, a fragment of 247 bp was amplified and used for enzymatic digestion. The HaeIII restriction enzyme was used to digest of 247 bp of gene. The results showed that genotypes AA, AB and BB of the β-LG gene were estimated to have frequencies of 0.24, 0.48 and 0.28, respectively. These Genotypes were distributed according to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.Genetic parameters were estimated by the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method using DFREML program. Heritability and repeatability for milk yield traits were estimated to be 0.154 and 0.309, respectively. The statistical analysis based on the General Liner Models revealed that there is no significant effect for β-LG genotypes on the milk yield breeding values.

This research was conducted to investigate the effect of replacement sainfoin forage with alfalfa in dietary concentrate level on growth performance and quantitative and qualitative carcass traits of Lori male lambs. Accordingly, 54 male of Lori lamb with a mean live weight of 30 kg were selected. Treatments included two levels of forage (alfalfa and sainfoin) and three levels of concentrate (60, 70 and 80%). The experiment was conducted as factorial with completely randomized design (3×2) with three replications (replication each consist of three lamb). The results showed the most daily gain and the best feed conversion ratio, carcass yield, the percentage of lean meat were related to lambs fed with sainfoin and 70% concentrate. The production cost per kilogram of carcass and lean meat of lambs fed sainfoin and 70% concentrate were lower than other treatments. The qualitative properties such as pH, chemical composition and meat color were not affected by exrimental diets. In general, the results this research showed that using from sainfoin forage and 70% concentrate can be effect on performance and carcass characteristics of Lori male lambs.

This experiment was conducted to determine chemical composition and nutritive value of radish leaf (RL) in vitro. In the first stage, chemical composition of radish leaves were determined, then its fermentation parameters and nutrients disappearance was investigated using in vitro gas production (GP) and two-stage nutrient digestion methods compared to wheat straw (WS) and alfalfa. In the second stage, RL was included in the diet at the levels of 0, 50, 100, 150 or 200 g/kg dry matter (DM) and incubated in vitro. Results showed that DM, organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), lignin, Ca and P content of RL were 135, 752, 178, 385, 281, 52, 17.5 and 2.85 g/kg DM, respectively. Total volume of gas production and nutrient disappearance were significantly higher in RL compared to WS (p < 0.05), and most of these parameters were comparable with alfalfa. Including different levels of RL in the diet increased DM and OM disappearance (p < 0.05). Highest and lowest short chain fatty acids, and two-stage DM and NDF disappearance were observed by incubation of diet containing 200 g RL and control diet, respectively (p < 0.05). Overall, results of the present study showed that radish leaf has better nutritive value than that of WS, and it is comparable with alfalfa in term of rumen digestion of fermentation. Inclusion of this by-product in the diet up to 200 g/kg DM is recommended.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of addition of a nitroglycerin (NG) slow release drug on performance, blood and hormonal parameters of broiler chicks under ascites induction conditions. A total of 500 broiler chicks at 7 days of age were used in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments, 5 replicates and 20 chicks per each replication. The experimental treatments included: 1) positive control group (without induction of ascites and without addition of NG); 2) negative control group (induction of ascites without adding NG, treatments 3, 4 and 5, including induction of ascites with 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg NG in diet, respectively. In order to induce cold stress, the temperature was fixed at 15oC from 15 until 42 day of age. The results showed that the feed intake and body weight were not affected by experimental treatments in the growth and finisher period, but the use of nitroglycerin (20 mg / kg) resulted in a significant improvement in the feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the finisher and the whole period. Efficiency of energy and protein consumption as well as production index significantly improved with consumption of 20 mg NG compared to negative control group, which was comparable to that of control group. The concentration of blood glucose was significantly increased as a result of stress. The levels of T3 and T3 / T4 ratios increased by stress and decreased by using NG.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of anti-stress feed additive containing probiotic Protexin®, vitamin C and betaine in three commercial broiler strains on immune responses, some blood parameters and oxidative stability of breast muscle under heat stress conditions. A total of 720 one-day-old broiler chicks were used in a completely randomized design as a 2×3 factorial arrangement consisting 2 levels of additive (with and without) and three broiler strains (Arbor Acres, Ross 308 and Cobb 500) with 6 treatments, 4 replicates and 30 birds in each replicate. The birds were exposed to heat stress (37 °C) for 8 hours daily from 22 to 42 days of age. In addition of performance parameters, humoral immune response was measured by intravenous administration of 5% sheep red blood cell (SRBC) suspension and primary and secondary antibody titers were determined. At 42 day of age, blood samples were collected to measure blood serum parameters including total protein, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL and LDL. The heterophile to lymphocyte ratio and also glutathione peroxidase and super oxide dismutase enzyme activities were evaluated at 42 day of age. Among the evaluated parameters, only LDL concentration was affected by experimental strains (p < 0.05) and the minimum serum LDL concentration was observed in Arbor Acres strain. Generally, the strain and feed additive used in this experiment had no significant effect on immune response and breast muscle oxidative stability of heat-stressed broilers.

In order to evaluate the effect of alkaline hydrolyzed feather meal on performance and lipid oxidation of meat and egg of laying quails, 64 adult quails at 40 day of age were used. Forty eight female and 16 male quails were randomly used in three to one proportion in separate cages in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 4 replicates of 4 birds in each. The experimental treatments consisted of control (containing soybean meal as major protein source), and treatments containing 3%, 6% and 9% alkaline hydrolyzed feather meal, respectively. During the experimental period, egg weight, feed conversion ratio, egg mass, feed intake and egg production percentage were measured. At the end of experimental period (82 days of age), two birds per cage were selected, slaughtered and the malondialdehyde content in fresh and stored meat and egg samples were determined. The results of this experiment showed that no significant difference was observed in feed conversion ratio, egg mass, feed intake and egg production percentage (P>0.05). The weight of egg in treatments containing 3 and 9 alkaline hydrolyzed feather meal was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased when compared with control and treatment containing 6% alkaline hydrolyzed feather meal in whole experimental period. The malondialdehyde content of meat and egg of laying quails was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in groups fed alkaline hydrolyzed feather meal when compared to control treatment. The results of this study showed that the use of alkaline

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of physical form of the diet and the type of probiotic on performance, carcass characteristics and acidity of the small intestine and cecum contents of broilers (from 1 to 42 days of age). Seven hundred and twenty day old Ross broilers were randomly distributed to 24 experimental units and 6 dietary treatments (4 replicates with 30 birds in each). The completely randomized design with factorial arrangement 2×3 with two forms of feed (mash and pellet) and three modes of using probiotic (without probiotic, probiotics Protoxin and Multi Behsil) were used. The results showed that pelleting diets resulted in greater feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG) and improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) during starter, grower and overall period (p < 0.01). The use of Protexin compared to the absence of probiotics resulted in a significant increase in WG (56.31 vs. 53.78 g/bird/day) and improved FCR (1.61 vs. 1.73) (p < 0.05). The use of probiotic supplementation in the diet caused a significant increase in the breast percentage (22.62 and 21.5 vs. 20.63) and decrease in the pH of duodenum (5.57 and 5.59 vs. 5.83), jejunum (5.95 and 5.92 vs. 6.16) and ileum (6.58 and 6.91 vs. 6.98), respectively (p < 0.05). Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the use of probiotic in pellet diets has led to improved breeding performance of broiler chickens compared to mash form diet. In this regard, Protexin compared to the Multi Behsil probiotic showed higher efficacy.

In order to investigate the effect of different levels of orange waste on feed consumption, digestibility of nutrients, ruminal behavior, cellulase enzymes and blood parameters in Dalagh ewe, 12 Dalagh ewes with age of 1-1.5 years and with average body weight of 33.4 ± 0.9 was used. This experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of 1- control treatment, 2- treatment containing 10 percent of orange waste, and 3- treatment containing 20 percent of orange waste. The whole period of the experiment was carried out in 44 days, consisting of 14 days of adaptation period and 30 days for sampling period. Fecal samples were collected on days 25 to 27 for three days and three animals from each treatment for determine digestibility. On the day 20, activities on rumination behavior of ewes were estimated for 24 hours. Blood samples were taken at the end of period before the morning feeding to measure blood parameters. Sampling from ruminanl fluid 3h after morning feeding was done day 30 to measure pH, protozoan population and acivity of fibrolytic enzyme. The orange waste effectively increased protozoa, resting time, extracellular micro crystalline and total micro crystalline and decreased eating time, rumination time, chewing time, digestibility of dry matter and organic matter compared with the control diet . According to the results mentioned , orange waste can be used up to 20% of the diet of ewes without any adverse effect on growth performance

The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters of lactation curve traits (milk yield at beginning of lactation, the rate to reach peak yield, a parameter related to maximum milk yield, the changes in curve shape after reaching maximum yield, peak time, peak milk, persistency) was fitted by Rook function and the inbreeding effect on these parameters for Holstein cows in Iran. For this purpose, the test-day milk yield records of the first three lactations that were collected by the Animal Breeding Center of Iran from 1983 to 2017, were used. The Rook function parameters were calculated for all animals and the peak time, peak milk and persistency were estimated from the curve parameters. The estimation of variance components and genetic parameters of traits were performed by single and two- trait analysis via Gibbs sampling method using of Gibbs3f90 software. The effect of inbreeding was negative on the most of the traits; especially those had a higher heritability and also decreased milk production persistency. The heritability range of the aforementioned traits varied from 0.0003 to 0.086 and the highest heritability was related to persistency trait (0.086) in second lactation and peak milk (0.067) in third lactation. In general, the parameters of the lactation curve had a low heritability, so genetic selection would not show favorable results and changes in environmental and management conditions could be more effective for improving these traits.

Establishment and maintenance of pregnancy are essential for product persistency in ruminants, and especially in dairy cattle. Embryo implantation into the uterus is an essential process for the maintenance of pregnancy, and involves complex interactions between the embryo and maternal endometrium. Examination of genes and mechanisms regulating the initiation of implantation is necessary to understand implantation process. In this study, in order to better understand the molecular basis of implantation, we undertook the transcriptome profiling of endometrial cells of pregnant with non-pregnant cows, during this period. In total differentially expressed genes were identified with the comparison of the endometrial profiles. Thus, after preprocessing and analysis of data and meta-analysis, gene interactions were investigated using data mining approach. Also with the reconstruction of network and search for important and functional modules, we found 4 main modules. The most important genes contained CLU, ACTA2, MX1, MX2, C1S, COL3A1, S100A11, NID1, SELL, PTN and CDH13. The results of this study suggest that identified modules can be used as markers for uterus receptivity, and embryo implantation.

The aim of this study was to invastigate the effect of organic acids and silver nanoparticles coated on zeolite on performance, intestinal morphology and gastrointestinal microbial population in broiler chickens. A total of 375 one-day old broiler chickens were randomly assigned to 5 diets including: (1) a basal diet (control), (2) the basal diet containing 1% zeolite, (3) the basal diet containing 1% of zeolite-coated with 0.5% silver nanoparticles, (4) the basal diet containing 1/5 g/kg Organic acids and (5) the basal diet containing 1% of zeolite-coated with 0.5% of silver nanoparticles and 1/5g/kg organic acids. The experimental treatments had no significant effect on performance characterization of birds (P>0.05). Total count of anaerobic bacteria in ceca was decreased on silver nanoparticles coated on zeolite treatment on 21 d of experiment (p < 0.05). The number of lactobacillus bacteria in ileum was increased in all of treatments compared to the control group on 42 d of experiment (p < 0.05) and both tretments contain with organic acid were the most number of lactobacillus bacteria in ceca (p < 0.05). The use of silver nanoparticles coated on zeolite in chickens significantly increased villi length, villi/crypt depth, villus surface area, muscular layer thickness and decreased crypt depth and villus width compared to control treatment (p < 0.05). In conclusion silver nanoparticles coated on zeolite in broilers diet can increase intestinal lactobacillus and could be used as growth and health promoter supplements in broiler chickens feed.

All breeds of Irannians sheep except Zel has a fat tail, and despite their lower carcass fat percentage, male lambs have higher fat-tail weight. Using within breed genetic variation requires accurate and precise measuring of fat tail weight on candidates of selection. The aime of this study was comparision of artificial neural network (ANN) modeling and linear modeling methods to prediction of fat tail weight, using body weight and different tail dimensions. 32 lambs of Chal and Zandi breeds,crosses of Zandi×Chal,Zel×Zandi and Zel×Chal hybrids were used for modeling to an estimation of fat-tail weight. Inputs of the model was birth type, sex, breed, upper width , mid width and lower width of fat tail,fat tail height and body weight, output of the model was fat tail weight. body weight, genotype, and fat tail mid-width had the largest positive correlations with fat-tail weight,0.83,-0.82 and0.80,respectively. The adequacy parameters of the best artificial neural network model had a coefficient determination of 0.99 and a mean squared error(RMSE)of 70.3g. The values of these estimated parameters by the multiple linear model were 0.891 and 263.86, respectively. The results of the extension of the original study showed the complexity of the interactions between the model inputs. Present research approved to accurate and unbiased estimation of tail weight of different breeds and crosses using artificial neural network. Furthermore, present study showed that ANN model can be used for accurate and presise estimation of fat tail weight using measured traits on sheep,than linear model.

The current experiment was conducted in order to compare the effects of Yaghooti Grape (V. venifera) along with commercial antioxidant of Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) on performance, biochemical parameters and carcass characteristics of broilers. 150 day-old Ross 308 male chicks were randomly distributed in to 5 experimental treatments with 3 replicates and 10 chicks per replicate in completely randomized design manner for 42 days. Experimental groups were: Control (basal diet with no additive); Basal diet with 150 ppm Yaghooti grape Methanolic extraction; basal diet with 3% Yaghooti grape pulp; basal diet with 3% Yaghooti grape juice and basal diet with 200 ppm BHT. Results showed that different dietary treatments had no significant impact on performance including body weight, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio, liver enzymes and intestinal components in all studied treatments, compared to control group. Application of 3% of grape pulp in broiler diet led to significant reduction in cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL and increase in blood serum HDL. For carcass characteristics, grape pulp has significantly increased relative carcass and breast weights and reduction in gizzard and liver weights in broilers, compared with control group. Therefore, it can be concluded that treatment with Yaghooti grape pulp can be a suitable replacer for BHT commercial antioxidant in terms of biochemical parameters and carcass characteristic’s improvement in commercial broilers.