Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of freeze-thawed cycles (Fresh meat, F-T 1 cycle and F-T 2 cycles) on the quality characteristics of porcine longissimus dorsi muscle. Methods: A total of 20 three-crossbred pigs [Duroc × (Large White × Landrace)] were randomly obtained from a commercial slaughterhouse in Thailand. Muscle samples were immediately taken from 10-11th of the longissimus dorsi for histochemical analysis. The muscles were cut into 2...

Objective: Adequate vitamin and trace mineral intake for pigs are important to achieve satisfactory growth performance. There are no data available on the vitamin and trace mineral intake across pig producers in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the amount of vitamin and trace minerals used in Chinese pig diets. Methods: A 1-year survey of supplemented vitamin and trace minerals in pig diets was organized in China. A total of 69 producers were invited for the survey, which represents approximately 90% of the pig herd in China...

Objective: Bedding materials directly contact hooves of dairy cows and they may serve as environmental sources of lameness-associated pathogen. However, the specific composition of bacteria hidden in bedding materials is still not clear. The aim of this study was to determine the effect bedding material and its bacterial composition has on lameness of Holstein heifers. Methods: Forty-eight Holstein heifers with similar body weights were randomly assigned into three groups including sand bedding (SB), concrete floor (CF), and compost bedding (CB)...

Objective: An experiment was conducted to determine the appropriate fasting time prior to slaughter for broilers in floor-feed and scatter-feed mode. Methods: On 21 d of breeding, 120 Arbor Acres broilers were divided into floor-feed and scatter-feed groups, chicks from each group were further assigned to feed withdrawal treatments for 0, 4, 6, 8 and 10 h. Some resultant indicators such as carcass contamination, body weight loss, meat quality of 54-day-old broilers were measured...

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of replacing cassava chips with broken rice in a fermented total mixed ration diet on silage quality, feed intake, ruminal fermentation, growth performance, and carcass characteristics in the final phase of fattening beef cattle. Methods: Eighteen Charolais-Thai native crossbred steers (average initial body weight: 609.4 ± 46 kg; average age 31.6 mo) were subjected to three ad libitum dietary regimes and were maintained in individual pens for 90 d before slaughter...

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of different environmental enrichment materials on the growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and hair follicle development of growing Rex rabbits. Methods: One hundred and twenty Rex rabbits were randomly divided into four groups; reared in conventional cages (not enriched) and in enriched cages with either willow stick (WS), rubber duck (RD), or a can containing beans (CB), for 44 days. Results: The average daily gain of the CB group was the highest and had a significant difference from that of the other groups (P < 0...

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of feeding diets naturally contaminated with deoxynivalenol (supplemental 2 mg/kg) on health, growth, and the effects of a mycotoxin-detoxifying additive in newly-weaned pigs. Methods: Thirty-six pigs (27 day-old) were housed individually and assigned to 3 treatments for 5 weeks: CON (diet containing minimal deoxynivalenol), MT (diet with supplemental 1.9 mg/kg of deoxynivalenol), and MT+D (MT + mycotoxin-detoxifying additive, 0...

Objective: Shandong indigenous pig breeds are important Chinese pig resources. Their progressive population decline in recent decades has attracted attention towards their conservation. Conservation genetics of these indigenous breeds is essential for developing a conservation and utilization scheme. Methods: Here, an HD-SNP chip-based comparative analysis of genetic characteristics was performed for seven Shandong indigenous pig breeds in the context of five Western commercial breeds...

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Moringa oleifera leaves (MOL) on blood hematology, lipid profile and immunity status of growing rabbits. Methods: A total of 120, unsexed Alexandria line weaned rabbits, at 4 weeks of age were randomly divided into four groups (30 rabbits each). The first group was fed the control diet and the other groups (2-4) were fed the basal diet supplemented with 10, 20 or 30% MOL for 5 weeks of experimental period...

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Allium mongolicum Regel extracts on the growth performance, carcass characteristics, fat color, and concentrations of three branched-chain fatty acids related to flavor in ram lambs. Methods: Sixty 3-month-old, male, small-tailed Han sheep were selected and randomly allocated into four groups in a randomized block design. Four feeding treatments were used: 1) a basal diet without supplementation as the control group (CK); 2) the basal diet supplemented with 10 g∙lamb-1∙d-1 Allium mongolicum Regel powder as the AMR group; 3) the basal diet supplemented with 3...

Objective: Inbreeding depression of reproduction is a major concern in the conservation of native chicken genetic resources. Here, based on the successful development of strongly inbred (Sinb) and weakly inbred (Winb) Langshan chickens, we aimed to evaluate inbreeding effects on reproductive traits and identify candidate genes involved in inbreeding depression of reproduction in Langshan chickens. Methods: A two-sample t-test was performed to estimate the differences in phenotypic values of reproductive traits between Sinb and Winb chicken groups...

Objective: Unlike mammals, goose fatty liver shows a strong tolerance to fatty acids without obvious injury. Stearyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD1) serves crucial role in desaturation of saturated fatty acids (SAFs), but its role in the SAFs tolerance of goose hepatocytes has not been reported. This study was conducted to explore the role of SCD1 in regulating palmitic acid (PA) tolerance of goose primary hepatocytes. Methods: MTT was examined to reflect the effect of PA on hepatocytes viability, and quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of several genes related to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, inflammation, and apoptosis, and the role of SCD1 in PA tolerance of goose hepatocytes was explored using RNA interfere...

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the effect of two plant additives, rich in polyphenolic compounds, supplemented to sheep diets on microorganisms and carbohydrate fermentation in rumen. Methods: In the experiment, 6 ewes of the Polish Mountain breed were fitted with ruminal cannulas. Sheep were divided into three feeding groups. The study was performed in a cross-over design of two animals in each group, with three experimental periods (n=6 per each group)...

Objective: Tenderness is a very complex feature and the process of its formation is very complicated and not fully understood. Its diversification is one of the most important problems of beef production, as a result beef aging is widely used to improve tenderness as it is believed to provide a homogeneous product to consumers. While few studied have evaluated the muscle structure properties in relation to tenderness from early post-mortem, there little to no information available on how the muscle nanostructure of beef carcasses changes during post-mortem ageing to determine the appropriate aging time for acceptable tenderness...

Objective: Effects of inulin supplementation in diet of Haidong chicks under hypoxic conditions on production performance, intestinal morphologic change, microflora contents and the incidence of ascites. Methods: Commercial male chicks (360) were randomly divided into 6 groups and were fed diets supplemented with 0, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1, 0.125 and 0.15 g/kg of inulin, respectively. Results: The body weight gain and feed intake were improved in chicks fed the diets supplemented with 0...

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate effects of antifungal substance and carboxylesterase-producing inoculant on fermentation indices and rumen degradation kinetics of whole crop rice (WCR) silage ensiled at different dry matter (DM) contents. Methods: Dual-purpose inoculants, Lactobacillus brevis 5M2 and L. buchneri 6M1, confirmed both activities of antifungal and carboxylesterase in the previous study. The WCR at mature stage was chopped, and then wilted to obtain three different DM contents consisting of 35...

The objective of this editorial is to present standard guidelines in a peer review process for reviewers. The editorial contains acceptance of invitation, review process, decision for manuscripts, and confidentiality. In addition, this editorial also helps authors publication in Animal Bioscience. This editorial does not aim to provide immutable guidelines for reviewing, however, it can assist reviewers with appropriate and effective ways.

Objective: Follicle selection is an important process in chicken egg laying. Among several small yellow (SY) follicles, the one exhibiting the highest expression of follicle stimulation hormone receptor (FSHR) will be selected to become hierarchal follicle. The role of lncRNA, miRNA and other non-coding RNA in chicken follicle selection is unclear . Methods: In this study, the whole transcriptome sequencing of SY follicles with different expression level of FSHR in Jining Bairi hens was performed, and the expression of 30 randomly selected mRNAs, lncRNAs and miRNAs was validated by qPCR...

Objective: Skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) are significant for the growth, regeneration and maintenance of skeletal muscle after birth. However, currently, few studies have been performed on the isolation, culture and inducing differentiation of goose muscle satellite cells. Previous studies have shown that CTRP3 participated in the process of muscle growth and development, but its role in the goose skeletal muscle development is not yet clear. This study aimed to isolate, culture and identify the goose SMSCs in vitro...

Objective: To determine the effect of postpartum PGF2alpha administration on colostrum and milk yield, colostrum IgG and piglet growth performance. Methods: In total, 36 sows were included in the experiment. The sows were classified into two groups: i) control (n=11) and ii) PGF2alpha (n=25). Sows in the PGF2alpha group received 10 mg of PGF2alpha within an hour after farrowing. The body weight of piglets was measured at 0 and 24 h after birth to estimate colostrum consumption...