The effects of dietary nucleotide supplementation from 9 days of age until the end of post-weaning on piglets hormonal and immune responses and on growth performance were investigated. During lactation (days 9 to 21) and post-weaning (days 22 to 55) 10 [HBI Fomeva11 Landrace)] litters (n = 108 piglets) had ad libitum access to two standard diets, both supplemented with 0% (T0 group) or 0.1% (T1 group) of yeast extract nucleotides. BW of piglets at days 21 (P 0.05). Cortisol content was lower in T1 than in T0 at days 28 and 35 (P 0.05). Nucleotide-supplemented diets increased lymphocyte subpopulation CD4 cells were higher in T1 than in T0 at day 21 (P < 0.05). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells cytokine expression was influenced by dietary nucleotide supplementation. At weaning, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1 and IL-10 was higher (P < 0.05). At day 28, piglets in T1 showed higher values of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, TNF- was enhanced (P < 0.05). In conclusion, these results suggest that starting a dietary nucleotide supplementation before weaning can improve the adaptive capabilities of weaned piglets to the stressors, enhancing the growth performance.

The aim of this research is to propose equations to estimate body weight (BW) from body measures (BMs) in the Cornigliese sheep, an endangered breed reared in Italy for meat purpose. BW and BMs were submitted to correlation and multiple regression analyses. Two datasets were used: (i) 303 animals (178 females, 125 males, BW 4.00–117.80 kg), on which BW, height at withers (HW), chest circumference (ChC) and body length (BL) were measured; (ii) 156 animals (109 females, 47 males, BW 5.15–117.80 kg) out of 303 on which croup height (HCr), chest width (ChW), chest depth (ChD) and croup width (CrW) were also considered. On each dataset, two regression models were applied, one containing all variables (models 1 and 3, respectively, for datasets 1 and 2) and the other one comprising groups of variables, selected by means of the stepwise procedure (models 2 and 4, respectively, for datasets 1 and 2). BW resulted correlated with all BMs (from 0.852 for ChW to 0.950 for ChC; p < .001). Models 1 and 3 fitted the data better than models 2 and 4, both for all animals and for females and males separately. We concluded that BW could be predicted from BMs also in Cornigliese sheep breed. The best fits were obtained when the highest number of measures was included in the model (models 1 and 3). Nevertheless, models 2 and 4 could be used more easily in extensive sheep breeding than models 1 and 3, since they require less parameters.

Horses are nowadays mainly used for sport and leisure activities, and several local breeds, traditionally used in agriculture, have been exposed to a dramatic loss in population size and genetic diversity. The loss of genetic diversity negatively impacts individual fitness and reduces the potential long-term survivability of a breed. Recent advances in molecular biology and bioinformatics have allowed researchers to explore biodiversity one step further. This study aimed to evaluate the loss of genetic variability and identify genomic regions under selection pressure in the Bardigiano breed based on GGP Equine70k SNP data. The effective population size based on Linkage Disequilibrium (N_e) was equal to 39 horses, and it showed a decline over time. The average inbreeding based on runs of homozygosity (ROH) was equal to 0.17 (SD = 0.03). The majority of the ROH were relatively short (91% were ≤2 Mbp long), highlighting the occurrence of older inbreeding, rather than a more recent occurrence. A total of eight ROH islands, shared among more than 70% of the Bardigiano horses, were found. Four of them mapped to known quantitative trait loci related to morphological traits (e.g., body size and coat color) and disease susceptibility. This study provided the first genome-wide scan of genetic diversity and selection signatures in an Italian native horse breed.

International audienceThe trends of the physicochemical properties, chemical constituents and main nitrogen fractions of Haflinger mare milk were studied. Milk samples were collected at d 4, 20, 40, 60, 80, 120, 150 and 180 post-partum, by hand-milking from 5 mares, 7-14 years old (4-11 parities) and 400-490 kg live weight. Density, pH, titratable acidity, fat, protein, lactose and ash varied significantly during the first lactation period, while the freezing point showed statistically no significant modifications. The contents of fat, protein and ash diminished. In addition, the gross energy value tended to decrease and the lactose content increased. Total N content decreased significantly ($P < 0.0001$), especially between d 4 (515 mg) and d 40 (286 mg) and, to a lesser degree, until d 180 of lactation (255 mg$\cdot$100 g$^{-1}$ milk). The casein number varied significantly ($P < 0.001$), particularly between the beginning (56.32% ) and the end (45.40% ) of lactation. The trend of non-protein N and globulin N fractions was different; both the 2nd and 3rd month showed the lowest values of the entire lactation ($P < 0.05$). The non-protein N proportion (NPN $\times$ 100 / total N) increased significantly ($P < 0.001$) from the beginning (7.74% at d 4) to the end (12.37% at d 180) of lactation. The globulin N proportion increased from the end of the 4th lactation month, reaching in the final period an average value of about 10% of total N, but with an irregular trend ($P > 0.05$).Propriétés physico-chimiques, composition chimique, valeur énergétique et fractions azotées du lait de jument de race Haflinger pendant 6 mois de lactation. L'évolution des propriétés physico-chimiques, des constituants chimiques et des principales fractions azotées du lait de jument de race Haflinger a été étudiée. Les prélèvements de lait ont été effectués à 4, 20, 40, 60, 80, 120, 150 et 180 jours après la mise-bas. Les échantillons de lait ont été prélevés manuellement sur 5 juments, ayant un âge de 7 à 14 ans (4 à 11 mises-bas) et un poids vif de 400 à 490 kg. La densité, le pH, l'acidité de titration, la matière grasse, les matières azotées, le lactose et les cendres ont varié de façon significative pendant la première période de lactation ; tandis que le point de congélation n'a pas été significativement modifié. Les teneurs en matières azotées, matière grasse et cendres ont été diminuées, de même que la valeur énergétique ; en revanche, la teneur en lactose a augmenté. La teneur en azote total a diminué significativement (P 0,05$) en fin de lactation

Genetic diversity has become an urgent matter not only in small local breeds but also in more specialized ones. While the use of genomic data in livestock breeding programs increased genetic gain, there is increasing evidence that this benefit may be counterbalanced by the potential loss of genetic variability. Thus, in this study, we aimed to investigate the genetic diversity in the Italian Holstein dairy cattle using pedigree and genomic data from cows born between 2002 and 2020. We estimated variation in inbreeding, effective population size, and generation interval and compared those aspects prior to and after the introduction of genomic selection in the breed. The dataset contained 84,443 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and 74,485 cows were analyzed. Pedigree depth based on complete generation equivalent was equal to 10.67. A run of homozygosity (ROH) analysis was adopted to estimate SNP-based inbreeding (F_ROH). The average pedigree inbreeding was 0.07, while the average F_ROH was more than double, being equal to 0.17. The pattern of the effective population size based on pedigree and SNP data was similar although different in scale, with a constant decrease within the last five generations. The overall inbreeding rate (ΔF) per year was equal to +0.27% and +0.44% for F_ped and F_ROH throughout the studied period, which corresponded to about +1.35% and +2.2% per generation, respectively. A significant increase in the ΔF was found since the introduction of genomic selection in the breed. This study in the Italian Holstein dairy cattle showed the importance of controlling the loss of genetic diversity to ensure the long-term sustainability of this breed, as well as to guarantee future market demands.

Boar semen bacterial contamination in Italy and antibiotic efficacy in a modified extender