Butyrate supplementation in the liquid diet of dairy calves leads to a rapid recovery from diarrhea and reduces its occurrence and relapses in the preweaning period.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of continuous butyrate administration in dairy calves' liquid diet considering diarrhea, metabolic profile, gastrointestinal development, and corporal growth. Immediately after birth, calves were randomly allocated into 2 groups of 62 calves (50 females and 12 males), with access to water and a solid feed ad libitum. The butyrate group (BG) received 4 g/d of sodium butyrate (Admix Easy, Adisseo) diluted in the whole milk, and the control group (CG) received whole milk with no supplementation. Sodium butyrate was administered from d 1 of life until the weaning at 90 d. Feces consistency was assessed daily for the first 30 d of life and characterized by scores from 0 to 4 (0 and 1 for normal, and 2, 3, and 4 for abnormal feces). Diarrhea was diagnosed when the animals had abnormal feces and fever. Morbidity, recurrence, mortality, and lethality data were recorded and compared between the groups. Average daily gain (ADG) and corporal growth (body weight, thoracic perimeter, height at the withers, and croup width) were evaluated weekly, from the first day to d 30, and later at 45, 60, and 90 d of life. Blood samples were taken weekly for up to 30 d to determine the circulating levels of total calcium, phosphorus, chloride, bicarbonate, glucose, ß-hydroxybutyrate, and nonesterified fatty acids. The males were euthanized at 15 (n = 6 per group) and 30 d (n = 6 per group) for morphometric, histological, and gene expression analysis of the gastrointestinal tract. The results showed that the BG had a lower rate of morbidity (BG = 30% vs. CG = 50%) and recurrence (BG = 26.7% vs. CG = 60%) of diarrhea than the CG. In addition, the BG had abnormal feces for a shorter period (BG = 4.64 ± 0.47 d vs. CG = 8.6 ± 0.65 d). The ADG tended to be higher in BG than CG up to 30 and 60 d. Metabolic evaluations showed the lowest levels of glucose and highest levels of nonesterified fatty acids in BG. On d 30 of life, rumen papillae length, papilla area, duodenum villus length, and crypt depth were higher in BG than in CG. The duodenal gene expression at 30 d showed that animals with diarrhea episodes that did not receive butyrate had the highest levels of transcripts for the LCT and GLP2 genes. In addition, in different ways, both butyrate and neonatal diarrhea affected the gene expression of IGF1, SLC5A1, and AQP3. These results allow us to conclude that continuous supplementation with sodium butyrate improves gastrointestinal development, reduces the occurrence of diarrhea, and makes clinical conditions milder with faster recovery, favoring a higher ADG in the first 30 and 60 d of life. Based on these results, we conclude that sodium butyrate can be indicated for liquid diet supplementation to accelerate gastrointestinal tract development and prevent severe cases of neonatal diarrhea, tending to improve average daily gain until weaning.

NanoSMGT: transfection of exogenous DNA on sex-sorted bovine sperm using nanopolymer.

The objective was to introduce exogenous DNA into commercially sex-sorted bovine sperm using nanopolymer for transfection. In the first experiment, the optimal concentration and ratio of linear-to-circular plasmid was determined for NanoSMGT in unsorted sperm. A second experiment was conducted to transfect exogenous DNA into sex-sorted sperm. Exogenous DNA uptake occurred in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). The optimal amount of DNA was 10 µg/10(6) cells. The ratios of linear-to-circular plasmid do not influence the uptake by unsorted sperm cells and none of the tested treatments affected sperm motility and viability. Commercially sex-sorted bovine sperm were able to uptake exogenous DNA using nanopolymer; however, both X- and Y-sorted sperm had decreased DNA uptake in comparison to unsorted sperm (P < 0.05). Neither sperm motility nor viability were affected by nanotransfection. In conclusion, nanopolymer efficiently introduced exogenous DNA into commercially sex-sorted bovine sperm; we inferred that these sperm could be used for production of embryos of the desired sex, a technique named NanoSMGT.

Teores de cloretos, lactose e índice cloretos/lactose na secreção láctea de bovinos da raça Jersey no primeiro mês da lactação / Chloride and lactose contents and chloride/lactose ratio in milk from Jersey cows in the first month of lactation

Avaliou-se a influência do período colostral nos teores lácteos de cloretos, lactose e do índice cloretos/lactose. Foram colhidas 418 amostras de leite provenientes de glândulas mamárias sadias, e que não apresentavam crescimento bacteriano ao exame microbiológico, de 127 vacas da raça Jersey. As amostras foram distribuídas em oito grupos: 0 ┤1/2 dia; 1/2 ┤1 dia; 1 ┤2 dias; 2 ┤3 dias; 3 ┤5 dias; 5 ┤7 dias; 7 ┤15 dias; 15 ┤30 dias em lactação. Nas amostras, colhidas antes da ordenha, foram determinados os valores de cloretos, por titulação colorimétrica, e de lactose, por radiação infravermelho, e calculou-se o índice cloretos/lactose. Nas primeiras 24 horas da lactação, observou-se abrupta diminuição no teor lácteo de cloretos e do índice cloretos/lactose, associada com o aumento no teor lácteo de lactose. A transição da secreção de colostro para leite em relação ao teor de cloretos e lactose e ao índice cloretos/lactose na secreção láctea ocorreu na primeira semana da lactação, a partir do terceiro dia da lactação para o valor de cloretos e para a relação cloretos/lactose e a partir do quarto dia da lactação para o teor de lactose. Recomenda-se, nas primeiras 24 horas da lactação, a adoção dos seguintes limites de normalidade: cloretos, <173,4mg/dL; lactose >3,94g/dL e índice cloretos/lactose, <6,11 por cento. Entre o segundo e o sétimo dia da lactação (transição de colostro para leite), indicamse os seguintes limites: cloretos <125,9mg/dL; lactose, >4,03g/dL e índice cloretos/lactose <3,54.

In order to assess the influence of the colostral period on chloride and lactose levels and on the chloride/lactose ratio, 419 milk samples from 127 Jersey cows were analyzed. The samples were collected from healthy udders that did not present any bacterial growth in the microbiological examination. Cows were distributed into eight groups as follows: 0 ┤1/2 day; 1/2 ┤1 day; 1 ┤2 days; 2 ┤3 days; 3 ┤5 days; 5 ┤7 days; 7 ┤15 days; 15 ┤30 days of lactation. The samples were collected before milking to analyze the levels of chloride by colorimetric titration, lactose by infrared radiation, and to determine the chloride/lactose ratio. In the first 24 hours after partition, there was an abrupt reduction in chloride levels as well in chloride/ lactose ratio, associated with an increase in lactose levels. It was observed that the transition of the secretion from colostrum to milk, regarding chloride and lactose levels and chloride/lactose ratio occurred during the first week of lactation: from the 3rd day of lactation for chloride and chloride/lactose ratio and from 4th for the lactose levels. It is recommended the use the following thresholds as normal ranges for the first 24 hours of lactation: chloride <173.4mg/dL; lactose >3.94g/dL, and chloride/lactose ratio <6.11 percent; and between 2nd and 7th days of lactation (transition from colostrum to milk), it was suggested the use of the following values: chloride <125.9mg/dL; lactose >4.03g/dL and chloride/lactose ratio <3.54.