Short-term heat shock proteins 70 and 90 mRNA expression profile and its relation to thermo-physiological parameters in goats exposed to heat stress.

To follow the inheritance potential for heat tolerance after a crossing program in goats, 24 kids from four groups of goat kids (6 kids in each) from Aradi (A) and Damascus (D), their crossbred first-generation F1 (½D½A) and second-generation F2 (¾D»A), were exposed to acute elevated environmental temperature in controlled climatic chambers. Rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR), heat tolerance coefficient (HTC), adaptability coefficient (AC), and mRNA expression of heat shock proteins 70 and 90 ((HSP70 and HASP90, respectively), using real-time PCR were estimated. Results showed that Aradi breed goats had the highest level of expression for heat shock proteins 70 and 90, followed by F1, F2, and Damascus (P ≤ 0.01). Crossbreeds and Damascus showed the highest RT, while Aradi breed showed the lowest value (P ≤ 0.01). Aradi and crossbreeds showed the highest RR, while Damascus showed the lowest RR (P ≤ 0.05). Aradi and F1 showed the highest HTC (P ≤ 0.05), while there was no significant difference between pure breeds and crossbreeds in AC. A significant positive phenotypic correlation (0.81) was observed between HSP70 and HSP90. In addition, RR showed moderate positive correlation with both HSP70 and HSP90. It could be concluded that Aradi breed had putative heat tolerance in comparison to its crossbred progeny from the Damascus breed. The crossbreeding may result in some loss of heat tolerance potential, but the crossbreeds still better adapted to high environmental temperature than the Damascus breed.

Fatty acid and energy metabolism in broiler chickens fed diets containing either beef tallow or an oil blend.

The hypothesis tested was that the feeding of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) results in more whole-body fatty acid oxidation than the feeding of saturated fatty acids (SFA). It was reasoned that the increased fatty acid oxidation would be associated with enhanced whole-body energy expenditure and stimulated de novo fatty acid synthesis. To put the hypothesis to the test, broiler chickens were fed diets containing either beef tallow as source of SFA or an oil blend as source of n-6 PUFA. The broilers either had free access to their diet or were fed a restricted amount. Seven-day-old, male broiler chickens were used; they were kept individually in cages from 1 to 4 weeks of age. In the birds fed ad libitum, the n-6 PUFA diet reduced average daily feed intake (ADFI), but did not significantly affect average daily weight gain (ADG) and the feed:conversion ratio (FCR). The lower ADFI on the n-6 PUFA diet was associated with a higher apparent digestibility of total fatty acids. The ratio of deposition in the body to intake of digestible total PUFA, which reflected n-6 PUFA, was significantly decreased by the n-6 PUFA diet, pointing at preferentially increased n-6 PUFA oxidation on the n-6 PUFA diet. The ratio for n-9 monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was higher than 1.0, which agrees with net de novo synthesis, but the n-6 PUFA diet induced a lower value than did the SFA diet. Feeding either the n-6 PUFA or SFA diet did not influence energy expenditure expressed as percentage of energy intake. This study supports the idea that dietary n-6 PUFA instead of SFA are preferentially oxidized, but no proof was obtained for enhanced energy expenditure and contrary to the hypothesis put forward, the n-6 PUFA diet depressed de-novo fatty acid synthesis.

Inter-related effects of dietary fat and protein level on growth performance in rabbits.

Isoenergetic substitution of dietary corn oil for dietary carbohydrates enhances growth in rabbits. It was hypothesized that identical amounts of metabolizable energy in the form of corn oil are more effective than those of carbohydrates in reducing protein catabolism and thus sparing it for growth, which would imply that the fat effect is greater on a marginal than normal protein diet. Young growing rabbits were fed semi-purified diets either relatively high (21.6 energy % protein) or low in casein (13.0 energy % protein) to which extra corn oil (21.1 instead of 5.3 energy %) was added at the expense of an isoenergetic amount of corn starch and dextrose. The addition of corn oil to the diet with 21.6 energy % protein indeed increased weight gain, but the addition to the diet with 13.0 energy % protein left weight gain unchanged. These results refute our hypothesis, because the low-protein intake was not limiting growth. The enrichment of the high-protein diet with extra corn oil did not affect nitrogen retention, whereas urinary nitrogen excretion was increased. These observations also are at variance with the idea that additional fat would spare nitrogen for growth.

Coagulation profile and platelet parameters of the Arabian sand gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa marica): comparison with humans and camels.

During March 2009, we evaluated the hemostatic profile and platelet indices of 18 Arabian sand gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa marica) and compared the results with those from humans and camels (Camelus dromedarius). Gazelles and camels had shorter activated partial thromboplastin times, lower proconvertin and higher antihemophilic factor coagulation activity, and plasma fibrinogen levels than humans. Prothrombin time was longer in sand gazelles and shorter in camels than it was in humans. Plasma thromboplastin component, Stuart factor, and plasma thromboplastin antecedent were similar in gazelles, humans, and camels, whereas the platelet count of the sand gazelle was significantly higher than it was for camels and humans.