Search
Search Results
-
Investigation of the effect of allithiamine-enriched feed on the poultry gut microbiome composition and resistome
149-155Views:326Over the past 20–25 years, the poultry industry has evolved into a specific protein production system. However, the stress resulting from intensive rearing practices has led to numerous negative consequences, making the optimisation of livestock gut microbiome composition crucial for mitigating these effects. Advancements in modern molecular biology methods have brought attention to the impacts of nutrients on gut microbiota. In our study, we extensively investigated the changes induced by feed formulations rich in phytonutrients on the gastrointestinal microbiota of livestock using targeted 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Our objective is to examine how the developed feed prototype affects the composition of core microbiomes in raised poultry, community diversity, and the resilience of complex microbial networks. We seek correlations between biological livestock and environmental samples to identify which community constituents, in what proportions and occurrences, may play a role in the development of specific diseases. Based on our measurement results, it can be asserted that allithiamine positively modulated "beneficial" community constituents. Beyond the impact of allithiamine-enriched feed rich in phytonutrients, the composition of the microbial community in the poultry gastrointestinal tract is significantly influenced by the age of the birds. Furthermore, due to the presence of multi-drug-resistant pathogens in environmental samples from livestock facilities, appropriate transmission risk management measures are of paramount importance.
-
Genetic and phenotypic basis of goat adaptability across agro-ecological zones: Implications for breeding and conservation
51-58Views:128Goats are among the most adaptable livestock species that can survive in varied agro-ecological zones globally. This resilience is shaped by the interactions between genetic and phenotypic traits. This review assesses the available information on morphology, physiology, and molecular characteristics that enable them to adapt and their implication for breeding and conservation. Phenotypic characteristics, including variation in coat color, the type and density of hair, body size, skin color, and thermoregulation behavior, were observed to be measures of adaptation to heat, cold, and feed scarcity. The review also observed some key candidate genes at the molecular level, including HSP70, EPAS1, FGF5, and MC1R, among others, with pathways that are responsible for heat tolerance, hypoxia response, and metabolic efficiency. The link between environmental pressures and phenotypic variation is examined as a driver for genetic differentiation among local goat populations. Incorporating these phenotypic and genetic insights forms a basis for breeding strategies that are climate-resilient and for safeguarding adaptive genetic resources. This will ensure that goats stay productive and diverse over time, thereby contributing to food security and the current climate change.
-
Occurrence and damage of the alfalfa root longhorn beetle (Plagionotus floralis Pallas, 1773) in old alfalfa stands in Hungary
82-88Views:389The alfalfa root longhorn beetle is a pest of small importance in old alfalfa stands. It is rarely cited in the international, national literature, or even mentioned in specialized manuels. Plagionotus floralis is common in Hungary but its population density is low. It is a polyphagous species but it has importance - regarding the references – only in alfalfa. This paper analyses data gained in old alfalfa fields at two different regions of the country (Máriabesnyő, Debrecen). Damage of P. floralis was 56% in the roots of an 8-year-old stand in Máriabesnyő. Lenghts of tunnels were between 3 and 22 cm. In spite of the tunnels the alfalfa plants were viable. There was no root longhorn beetle in the 15-year-old Debrecen stand, however it has been found former in the region. The reason for the important density of P. floralis in Máriabesnyő could be the considerable diversity and covering of flowering weeds around the field. Adults of P. floralis feed on flower pollen and nectar. As to the Debrecen area,weeds were cut regularly, so the edge vegetation was poor. Present conditions (no pest control on alfalfa fields, overuse of old and failing alfalfa stands, many untrained growers) favour the reproduction and possible damage of alfalfa root longhorn beetle.
-
The effect of diet composition, a probiotic and a symbiotic treatment on the ileal microbiota composition of one-week-old broiler chickens
213-220Views:375A healthy microbiota present in the small intestine contributes significantly to small intestinal function, including digestion, nutrient absorption and health. The current study investigated the effects of a prebiotic, a probiotic and a symbiotic supplementation on ileal microbiota composition of broilers at 7 days of age. In a total of 574 male Ross 308 day-old chickens were divided into four groups using six replicate pens and 24 chickens per pen. A maise-soybean based control diet (C), a control diet supplemented with probiotics (Broilact; Br), a control diet supplemented with symbiotic (inulin, yeast, Bacillus subtilis; Sy) and a wheat based diet supplemented with wheat bran (W) were formulated. On day 7 of life, two chickens per pen were slaughtered and ileal chymus samples were collected. For microbiota analysis 16S rRNA (V3-V4 region) gene targeted Illumina MiSeq sequencing was used. Feeding all diets supplemented increased the diversity to varying degrees compared to the control (C) diet (p=0.006). As a conclusion, all supplementation substantially influenced ileal microbiota of broiler chickens at an early age. All these results could offer some information for the future study on the relationship between early intestinal microbiota and the compounds of the feed.
-
Management of phytopathogens by application of green nanobiotechnology: Emerging trends and challenges
15-22Views:636Nanotechnology is highly interdisciplinary and important research area in modern science. The use of nanomaterials offer major advantages due to their unique size, shape and significantly improved physical, chemical, biological and antimicrobial properties. Physicochemical and antimicrobial properties of metal nanoparticles have received much attention of researchers. There are different methods i.e. chemical, physical and biological for synthesis of nanoparticles. Chemical and physical methods have some limitations, and therefore, biological methods are needed to develop environment-friendly synthesis of nanoparticles. Moreover, biological method for the production of nanoparticles is simpler than chemical method as biological agents secrete large amount of enzymes, which reduce metals and can be responsible for the synthesis and capping on nanoparticles.
Biological systems for nanoparticle synthesis include plants, fungi, bacteria, yeasts, and actinomycetes. Many plant species including Opuntia ficus-indica, Azardirachta indica, Lawsonia inermis, Triticum aestivum, Hydrilla verticillata, Citrus medica, Catharanthus roseus, Avena sativa, etc., bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis, Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Lactobacillus sp., Klebsiella aerogenes, Torulopsis sp., and fungi, like Fusarium spp. Aspergillus spp., Verticillium spp., Saccharomyces cerevisae MKY3, Phoma spp. etc. have been exploited for the synthesis of different nanoparticles. Among all biological systems, fungi have been found to be more efficient system for synthesis of metal nanoparticles as they are easy to grow, produce more biomass and secret many enzymes. We proposed the term myconanotechnology (myco = fungi, nanotechnology = the creation and exploitation of materials in the size range of 1–100 nm). Myconanotechnology is the interface between mycology and nanotechnology, and is an exciting new applied interdisciplinary science that may have considerable potential, partly due to the wide range and diversity of fungi.
Nanotechnology is the promising tool to improve agricultural productivity though delivery of genes and drug molecules to target sites at cellular levels, genetic improvement, and nano-array based gene-technologies for gene expressions in plants and also use of nanoparticles-based gene transfer for breeding of varieties resistant to different pathogens and pests. The nanoparticles like copper (Cu), silver (Ag), titanium (Ti) and chitosan have shown their potential as novel antimicrobials for the management of pathogenic microorganisms affecting agricultural crops. Different experiments confirmed that fungal hyphae and conidial germination of pathogenic fungi are significantly inhibited by copper nanoparticles. The nanotechnologies can be used for the disease detection and also for its management. The progress in development of nano-herbicides, nano-fungicides and nano-pesticides will open up new avenues in the field of management of plant pathogens. The use of different nanoparticles in agriculture will increase productivity of crop. It is the necessity of time to use nanotechnology in agriculture with extensive experimental trials. However, there are challenges particularly the toxicity, which is not a big issue as compared to fungicides and pesticides.
-
Microsatellite Diversity of Androgenic Black Poplar (Populus nigra)
60-67Views:247Genetic variation of somatic clones (1 to 35) of black poplar (Populus nigra) developed from two anther-donor trees N-SL and N-309 was determined by five SSR primer pairs. Twenty SSR alleles were detected, the number of alleles per marker ranged from 1 to 6, with an average of 3.3 including WPMS-2 (5 alleles), WPMS-4 (6 alleles), WPMS-6 (2 alleles), WPMS-20 (6 alleles) and PTR-4 (1 allele) detected by ALF (automatic laser fluorometer). A
dendrogram produced by SPSS11 based on the presence versus absence of SSR alleles discriminated the groups of somatic clones of N-SL from somatic clones of N-309. The polymorphic markers of WPMS-2 (5 alleles), WPMS-4 (6 alleles) and WPMS-20 (6 alleles) revealed clonal variation in 1 clone (37) out of the 6 from the N-309 tree, and three subgroups out of the 29 somatic clones from the N-SL tree (17 and 24), (2 and 14) and (10 and 15). The remaining 23 of the 29 N-SL somatic clones with uniform genetic similarity suggests a good degree of genetic stability in black poplar. Nevertheless, the new SSR-clones may provide useful new genetic resources for poplar breeding. -
The effect of different genotype cattle grazing on the nutrient content of saline grasslands vegetation
46-50Views:655Maintaining saline grasslands in good condition, preserving their yield and diversity is important not only for the purpose of nature conservation, but also for farming. Therefore, the primary purpose of our study is to analyse the effect of pasture use of the smaller weight extensive and the larger weight intensive beef cattle on the grassland vegetation and nutrient content. In this way, we can answer the question whether grazing for nature conservation can be achieved with more profitable, more economical and more intense varieties.
The tests were carried out in May 2016 and May 2017, in the Hortobágy National Park (Pap-ere and Zám puszta), where a total of 16 sample areas were analysed. These areas are grazed with extensive beef cattle (Hungarian grey) and mixed genotype of intensive cattle. The associations were selected along a moisture gradient, such as wet salt marsh (Bolboschoenetum maritimi) and drier saline meadow (Beckmannion eruciformis). All the vegetative material collected both years in May was analysed for the following parameters: dry matter, crude protein, crude fibre and life-sustaining net energy content. We compared the effects of medium grazing (0.46 livestock/ha) and abandonment on vegetation and nutrient content.
We examined the effect of (i) grazing, (ii) different grasslands (salt marsh, saline meadow) and (iii) grazing of different cattle breeds (Hungarian grey, intensive beef) on the nutrient content of the vegetation of grasslands Based on our results, it was found that grazing had an impact on crude protein and life-sustaining net energy content. The highest crude protein content (12.75 m/m%) was obtained in the year 2017 in the area where higher density had been grazed for two years. For the lifesustaining net energy, the highest value (5.05 MJ/kg d.m.) was also obtained in 2017 and the lowest in 2016. Furthermore, it was found that there was no significant difference between the effect of the two cattle breeds on the parameters examined. Significant effects were observed only in the case of life-sustaining net energy: in the area of intensive beef cattle we received a higher value (5.15 MJ/kg body weight) than in the area with extensive beef cattle (4.96 MJ/kg body weight).
Our results have also shown that cattle grazing is of the utmost importance for the maintenance of both wet and mesophilous habitats. Based on our three-year study, we can say that grazing by both extensive and intensive cattle breeds is suitable for the management of saline habitats.
-
Harnessing diversity in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) to enhance climate resilience and micronutrient concentration through genetic and agronomic biofortification
9-20Views:549Huge consumption of wheat-driven food products with low bioavailability and small concentrations of zinc is responsible for zinc-induced malnutrition and associated health complications. The contemporary durum wheat varieties have inherently tiny zinc concentrations in developing grain, which cannot meet the daily human zinc demand. Despite the fact that over two billion people are suffering from iron and zinc-induced malnutrition, various intervention measures have been deployed to reverse the effect of zinc-induced malnutrition on humans. There are evidences that agronomic and genetic biofortification approaches can increase grain yield and nutritional quality (i.e. zinc, iron, protein, and vitamins) of durum wheat to a greater extent. However, there is a lack of direct empirical evidence for which the influence of both biofortification approaches on improving human health. Application of micronutrient-containing fertilizers either in the soil or foliarly is effective in combination with NPK, organic fertilizers coupled with efficient durum wheat varieties, emphasizing the need for integrated soil fertility management (ISFM). Although genetic biofortification is a cost-effective and sustainable approach, agronomic biofortification provides an immediate and effective route to enhancing micronutrient concentrations in durum wheat grain. The application of zinc-containing fertilizers is more effective under drought conditions than in normal growing situations. Hence, this article provides a key information for agronomists and breeders about the potential of biofortification interventions to improve durum wheat yield and enrich the grain qualitative traits to ensure food and nutritional security of the ever-increasing world population.
-
Genetic diversity study of Hungarian honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies – Previous announcement
61-64Views:759In Hungary, the Apismelliferacarnica is the native breed which is the only recognised and breedable honey bee in the country. It is assumed that there are a number of non-native and hybrid honey bee breeds in Hungary. The microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA surveys applied here will be utilised to easily and accurately identify the various sprads, and open up new ways in the research of honey bees. The isolation of the genomial DNS from 5 to 7 day old larvae samples was successfully carried out. In the future the plan is to carry out the measure with microsatellite markers. As an initial step the optimal annealing temperature was identified. In the mitochondrial DNA survey the COI-COII mytochonrial regional primer due to its low anneling temperature cannot be used with any normal sequencing methods. By using these method the aim of this research is the measurement of genetic variance.
-
Comparison of Variability among Irradiated and Control Inbred Maize Lines via Morphological Descriptions and Some Quantitative Features
70-73Views:307Knowledge of genetic diversity in breeding material is fundamental for hybrid selection programs and for germplasm preservation as well. Research has been done with nine irradiated (fast neutron) and four non-treated inbred lines. The aims of this study were (1) to investigate the degree of genetic variability detected with morphological description (based on CPVO TP/2/2) in these materials, (2) to compare the genetic changes among irradiated and non-irradiated maize inbred lines (based on some quantitative features). The irradiation did not change any of the characteristics clearly in positive or negative way, which can be related to the fact that the effect of induced mutation on genetic structure cannot be controlled. From the irradiated lines we have managed to select plants with earlier ripening times and better phenotypes. We could distinguish 3 main groups by the morphological features; these results match our expectations based on pedigree data. Markers distinguishable on the phenotypic level (e.g. antocyanin colouration, length of tassels) were significant in all lines.
-
Application of molecular genetic methods for birds (literature review)
37-41Views:420Ornithology studies have been extended by molecular genetic techniques. In this paper we are dealing with the most common use of areas. Our basic aim is to give a comprehensive view of the most commonly used methods in ornithological studies, including the available results by their use. We also deal with the following areas: an essential step during examination namely the applicability of sample collecting methods, and the unique identification, also the sex determination, methodology of DNA barcoding, as well as the role of molecular methods to protect endangered species. We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the methods, such as the current trend for each method.
-
Evaluation of Lipizzaner mares’ fertility data in 10 Hungarian stud farms
23-26Views:267Despite numerous studies on the genetic background and performance traits of the Lipizzan breed, fertility characteristics of Hungarian Lipizzan mares have not been systematically examined. This study evaluates the reproductive performance of 220 Lipizzaner mares from 10 Hungarian stud farms, born during the period of 1981 to 2019, using breeding records from 1998 to 2022. The mares were grouped into 25 mare families and 24 birth cohorts. Data on successful pregnancies and foalings were analyzed with respect to age, family affiliation, and breeding year. Results show that mares aged 8–12 years had the highest fertility rates, while a gradual decline was observed after 15 years. Breeding activity increased markedly after 2011, peaking in 2022 with the highest number of matings and foals born. Fertility varied considerably among mare families: some achieved consistently high reproductive success, while others showed low or zero foaling rates despite repeated matings. Hungarian mare families generally produced better fertility results, whereas Fogaras families displayed greater heterogeneity. The study emphasizes the importance of monitoring reproductive efficiency in small mare families, as unfavorable fertility trends may jeopardize their long-term viability. These findings contribute to improving breeding strategies and ensuring the preservation of genetic diversity in the Hungarian Lipizzaner population.
-
Phytoseiid mites on conifers
65-69Views:212The abundance and species diversity of phytoseiids were studied in the evergreen collection of the Corvinus University of Budapest at Soroksár from March to August 2010. 329 phytoseiid mite specimens were collected from 15 cultivars of coniferous trees belonging to the following 4 genera: Juniperus, Abies, Picea and Pinus. 6 phytoseiid mite species have been identified: Amblyseius andersoni (Koch, 1957), Amblyseius tenuis Westerboer 1963, Anthoseius bakeri (Garman, 1948), Anthoseius involutus Livshitz et Kuznetzov 1972, Typhlodromus baccetti Lombardinii 1960 and Typhlodromus cotoneastri Wainstein 1963.
The dominant phytoseiid species were Amblyseius andersoni and Anthoseius involutus.
Amblyseius tenuis and Typhlodromus baccettii are new to the Hungarian fauna. Typhlodromus baccettii was found on Juniperus scopulorum 'Silver Star' and 'Moonglow' while Amblyseius tenuis was collected from Picea glauca 'Alberta Globe'. -
The recent state of cryopreservation techniques for ex-situ gene conservation and breeding purposes in small ruminants: A review
81-87Views:608The viewpoint of the recent cryopreservation techniques (CT) suggests the use of a reduced volume of cryopreservation solution, high concentration of cryoprotectants and ultra-rapid cooling and warming rates help to reduce cryo-injury and maximize the viability of the preserved animal genetic resources (AnGR). The CT had now become widely accepted as one of the best methods of choice for the ex-situ conservation of AnGR due to its high success rate recorded and no-invasive nature as compared to the conventional slow rate freezing (CSRF). Rapid advances and wide acceptability of the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART’s) particularly artificial insemination (AI) in animal breeding had resulted in a greater loss of a large number of good quality genes in virtually almost all the native breeds of animals across the globe. Small ruminant (SR) animals are not an exception in such present predicaments situation of erosion and dilution of the valuable AnGR among the native breeds. As a result of this, 148 and 16 breeds of sheep and goats respectively have already become extinct in Europe and the Caucasus. In view of the aforementioned situation, the present review aimed at exploring some of the current states of development, roles played and potentials of CT in the conservation of SR genes and genome for the immediate and future breeding purposes for sustainable development. It basically covers; animal genetic resource, the need to conserve AnGR, tools for ex situ in vitro conservation of AnGR and recent developments in breeding and cryopreservation of SR AnGR.
Cryopreservation is playing a pivotal role in ex-situ gene conservation of AnGR. Decline in genetic diversity among SR breed population was high in Europe and the Caucasus. There is therefore, need for improvent on current stringent measures on conservation of AnGR in this region of the world.