IRANIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED ANIMAL SCIENCE
Year:2020 | Volume:10 | Issue:4|Papers Count:20

For chickens, arginine considered an essential amino acid due to the lack of urea cycle in birds. Arginine deficiency causes growth retardation, higher prevalence of disease due to the malfunction of immune sys-tem, and lower gastrointestinal capacity. However, higher levels of arginine in the diet improved growth performance, muscle hypertrophy, and meat quality. Arginine reduces carcass fat accretion by reducing liver lipogenic enzyme expressions and activities, but it improves muscle fat content. As an immunonutri-tion, feeding arginine shows some immunostimulatory and thymotrophic role and improves both humoral and cellular immunity. Also, in ovo injection of arginine improves both growth and immune function of birds. Arginine also improves insulin, growth hormone, and thyroid hormone secretion and by which, im-proves growth in a dose dependent manner. Arginine also improves small intestine histomorphology and enzyme activity and then, improves bird digestive system capacity and efficiency. Accordingly, the aim of this review article was to focus on the effects of arginine on growth, immune system, and meat quality of broiler chickens.

The aim of this study was to determine the most optimal heating time in protection of protein rich feedstuff on digestibility and in vitro ruminal fermentation profile. Proteinous feedstuffs used in this study is soybean meal (Glycine max). This study is designed using one way ANOVA, with five treatments of heating time (T0 (control)= unheated, T1= 10 min, T2= 20 min, T3= 30 min, and T4= 40 min) at 120 ° C and 6 replica-tions. All the treatment samples then incubated for 48 h according to the 2-stage in vitro technique. The results showed that protecting soybean meal through heating decreased the dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) digestibility, NH3 concentration and acetic acid: propionate ratio (A: P) (P<0. 05) compared with the control group. In general, there were no significant effects on ruminal pH, total and proportion of volatile fatty acids (VFA), and microbial protein. A decrease in NH3 concentration and A: P ratio was seen in T2 (49. 05 mg/100 mL and 1. 52, respectively). It can be concluded that protein protection in soybean meal through heat treatment can decrease rumen degradation. The best heating time for protecting soybean meal was found at 20 minutes.

Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) gene has been known as a candidate gene for growth traits in livestock. This research was aimed to identify the polymorphism of MC4R gene and its association with growth traits in Sumba Ongole (SO) cattle. The growth traits data consist of body weight and body size. Eighty four blood samples were collected and used for DNA isolation. The results showed one SNP (g. 1133C>G) re-sulting in two alleles (C and G) and three genotypes (CC, CG, and GG) in SO cattle. The frequency of G allele (0. 59) was higher than C allele (0. 41). The CG genotype had the highest value of genotype frequency (0. 48). The allele and genotype distributions followed the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The single nucleo-tide polymorphism (SNP) g. 1133C > G revealed having no significant association with growth traits in SO cattle. In conclusion, the SNP g. 1133C > G may not useful as selection tool in Sumba Ongole cattle. It can be suggested that the future study is needed to find out the effect of the MC4R gene in Sumba Ongole cattle in different locus.

This experiment was designed to study the effect of insulin like growth factor-I (IGF-I) on cryopreservation of Hariana bull semen. For this purpose, semen ejaculates were collected from four Hariana bulls using artificial vagina at biweekly interval. The semen samples which possess more than 70% initial progressive motility and above 500 million/mL spermatozoa concentration was subsequently subjected to processing for experiment. Semen samples were extended in egg yolk tris glycerol (EYTG) extender and split into four groups. IGF-I was added at 50 ng/80 × 106 spermatozoa, 100 ng/80 × 106 spermatozoa and 150 ng/80 × 106 spermatozoa in the group II, III, IV respectively and group I as control (without IGF-I). Semen samples were evaluated at pre-freeze and post-thaw stage for percent individual progressive motility, percent live spermatozoa, percent hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) positive spermatozoa, percent spermatozoa with intact acrosome. A significant (P<0. 05) higher individual progressive motility, viability, HOS response and acro-somal integrity was observed at pre-freeze and post-thaw stage by using 150 ng/ml IGF-I. Concentration of 150 ng/mL IGF-I was found to be more beneficial in cryopreservation of Hariana bull spermatozoa as evidenced by post-thaw seminal parameter. It was concluded that IGF-I can be added to extender for improving cryosurvial of Hariana bull spermatozoa.

Adding antioxidants to semen extenders could reduce post-thaw sperm damages. Glutathione is an impor-tant intracellular antioxidant that has free radicals scavenging properties and multiple effects on DNA and protein synthesis. In the present study, effects different levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) containing 0 (control), 1. 0, 2. 5, or 5. 0 mM in a nanomicelle-based extender on post-thaw quality of bovine sperm were investigated. Initially, lecithin was added to a tris-based extender containing GSH. The mixture was then emulsified by slowly shaking and sonification so that nano size of particles was obtained. Thirty-six ejaculates from six Holstein bulls were used. The post-thaw quality parameters including computer-assisted sperm analysis of motility, plasma membrane functionality, membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, morphology and level of apoptosis were measured. Compared to the control medium, the total motility and membrane integrity were significantly better in samples containing 2. 5 mM GSH (67. 3± 1. 2% vs. 73± 1. 2% and 71. 3± 1. 5% vs. 77. 6± 1. 5%, respectively). The extender supplemented with 2. 5 mM GSH had the highest percentage of viable sperm during apoptotic test. In conclusion, supplementation of lecithin nanomicelle-based extender with 2. 5 mM GSH reduced damages to bovine sperm during cryopreservation.

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of substitution of corn grain with dried citrus pulp (DCP) on milk composition, fatty acids profiles and blood metabolites in Holstein dairy cows. These parameters were measured in a replicated 4 × 4 latin square design experiment using eight Holstein cows. Each experimental period lasted 4 weeks. The four treatments were: control (without DCP), and supplemented groups with 50%, 75% and 100% DCP: corn grain ratio (dry matter basis), respectively. The experimental diets was fed as a total mixed ration. The applied DCP led to a decrease in dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield, milk fat (MF) concentration, de novo fatty acid synthesis, milk protein concentration, milk protein yield, MF yield, milk lactose yield and MF: protein ratio (FPR). Inclusion of DCP in the dites showed significant differences in blood metaboites containing blood urea nitrogen (BUN), cholestrol, triglyceride (TG) and glucose (P<0. 05). In addition, milk urea nitrogen (MUN) was affected by replaced DCP (P<0. 05). The contents of C16: 0 and C18: 0 in the milk of cows fed the control diet, were higher and lower than the cows fed DCP diets, respectively (P<0. 05). The β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and acetone as ketosis index in the cows fed with DCP were increased significantly (P<0. 05). It was concluded that inclusion of DCP in dairy cow rations improved the fatty acid profile of the milk and increased blood serum glucose concentration and can be used as an energy supplement in the diet of lactating cows to support milk production.

Developing effective selection programs for improving the performance of livestock requires taking the economical selection indices into account. The present study was performed for comparing four selection indices developed in Kermani sheep through simulated data. The relative importance of traits was deter-mined based on the estimated economic values and consequently, the most beneficial traits were applied to develop the selection indices. The considered selection indices were different combinations of traits including ewe body weight (EBW), annual wool weight (AWW) and total weaning weight of lambs per exposed ewe (TWWEE). The first index included all three mentioned traits (EBW, AWW, and TWWEE). The second, third and fourth indices were included (AWW, TWWEE), (EBW, TWWEE) and (TWWEE), respectively. In general, the obtained results indicated that under all the developed selection indices the aggregate genotype, selection index and economic progress increased by increasing in the population size and de-creasing in ram ratio, but resulted in reduced inbreeding average. In more cases, the aggregate genotype decreased by removing a trait from the index. The comparisons among indices indicated that the most suit-able selection index for this breed under rural production system is the first index which included EBW, AWW, and TWWEE. This index had a maximum selection index average, aggregate genotype, and economic progress.

By 2050, the earth’ s population is expected to be more than 9 billion. The need for secure food and water supply will force agriculture to increase production. The major greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the live-stock sector are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) throughout the production process. These gases are the key contributor to an increasing earth’ s surface temperature. Global warming occurs as a result of gases emitted by humans into the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect. The live-stock sector contributes between 25 and 40% of anthropogenic methane emissions. Human-derived animal production contributes to global warming by producing 9% of CO2 emissions, 35-40% of CH4, and 65% of N2O gas emissions. Carbon footprint is a measure of the damage that human activities cause to the envi-ronment in terms of the amount of GHGs produced as a unit of CO2. The most common method used in carbon footprint calculations is the Tier 1-2-3 approach developed by the intergovernmental panel on cli-mate change (IPCC). In this study, the carbon footprint of a dairy sheep farm in Niğ de province was calcu-lated using Tier 1 method to determine global warming potential. The carbon footprint of this farm from both sources like N20 and CH4 was 85535. 2 CO2eq year-1. The estimation of GHGs is very obligatory to evaluate global warming stress and avoidance from some fatal diseases.

It was hypothesized that some of the variations in rumen and cecum fermentation parameters can form a share of individual differences resulting in feed efficiency, which may be altered based on the type of diet. This research aimed to determine the effects of dietary effect and feed efficiency of growing lambs (Kermani lambs) on their rumen and cecum indices and also microbial protein synthesis in gastrointestinal tract. Lambs (n=40; bodyweight (BW)=16± 1. 5 kg) were fed either a concentrate (CONC; 11. 8% crude protein (CP), 18% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 2. 66 Mcal/kg metabolizable energy (ME); n=20) or a forage-based diet (FOR; 15. 6% CP, 36. 8% NDF, 2. 15 Mcal/kg ME; n=20). Individual intake was recorded and residual feed intake (RFI) was determined over 42 days. The 8 highest (Low-RFI) and 8 lowest efficiencies (High RFI) records of lambs from each dietary group were selected (n=16; average BW=20± 2. 1 kg), and the samples of rumen and cecum fluid, and also urine were collected at the end of the trial. Data were analyzed as a 2 × 2 factorial design with RFI class (high vs. low efficiency), their type of diet (FOR vs. CONC), and their interaction in the defined model. Based on the results, high-efficiency lambs had a higher level (P<0. 01) of total volatile fatty acid (VFA), proportional concentrations of acetate, propionate, and ammonia nitrogen in the rumen in comparison to low-efficiency lambs. Higher (P<0. 01) amounts of allantoin, xanthine + hypoxanthine, total purine derivative (PD), microbial nitrogen and microbial protein were observed in the high efficiency than low-efficiency lambs. The low efficiency lambs had greater (P<0. 01) proportional acetate, cecal pH and cecal ammonia N compared to high-efficiency lambs. The RFI class × diet type interaction was significant (P<0. 01) for the majority of parameters of the rumen, cecum, and mi-crobial protein synthesis. The results of this experiment exhibited that hindgut fermentation especially ce-cum played a key role in the efficiency of feed utilization in lambs which have consumed larger amounts of fermentable substrates.

Most efficient animals in heat-stressed condition, intelligently regulate their metabolism for maximizing their productivity and fats play an important role in reducing heat stress in these animals but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. The effects of different fat sources on some blood metabolites and hormones and enzyme activities of heat-stressed lambs with different residual feed intake (RFI) were studied. In the preliminary trial, 48 male lambs of four different breeds (Zel, Dalagh, and their hybrids with Romanov; BW=16. 87± 0. 55 kg) in a block randomized complete design used to assay RFI for 67 days. After that, 32 lambs of the same breeds as a block (BW=30. 74± 1. 21 kg) with two different RFIs in heat stressed condition were used in a 2 × 4 factorial trail over 84 days. The treatments included four rations: 1) basal ration (control), 2, 3, and 4) rations supplemented with calcium soap fatty acids (FA), beef tallow, and canola oil, respectively. Dry matter intake (DMI) was high in control and high RFI groups (low efficient) (P<0. 05). Lipid sources had significant effect on serum glucose, cholesterol, triiodothyronine (T3), and Insulin, pulse and respiration rate (P<0. 05). No differences found between treatments for triglyceride, thyroxine (T4), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and Very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Glucose concentration had strong correlation with the RFI (P<0. 01). The Low RFI lambs (LRFI) had high T3 and low LDH levels. These lambs had high respiration and pulse rate (P<0. 05). Lambs fed with fat supplemented rations had higher concentration of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) enzymes than control (P<0. 01). Lipid supplementation in heat stressed lambs markedly alters glucose, cholesterol, T3 and respiration and pulse rate that independently of reduced dry matter intake (DMI) through coordinated changes in fuel supply and utilization by multiple tissues. Even more challenging the most efficient lambs (LRFI) had high physiologic rate and high activity for removing heat from tissues.

Delta-like 1 homolog or pre-adipocyte factor 1 (Dlk1) is one of the most significant genes and widely ex-presses all over mammal’ s development. Some of the functions identified for Dlk1gene are development of muscle, healing of wound, adipocytes proliferation, liver, lung and pancreas development. It also prevents Notch gene conducting toward to govern several operations such like cellular proliferation and differentia-tion. The aim of this study was to assay the expression of Dlk1 gene in liver, humeral and femur muscles, brain, adipose, testis and rumen tissues of Kermani lambs. Tissue samples from thirty male lambs of Ker-mani sheep with approximately the similar weight and age from the Animal Science Research and Training Station of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman were picked up. Total RNA was isolated, cDNA was syn-thesized and Real-Time PCR was performed. SAS and REST softwares were used for analyzing the results. The Dlk1 gene was expressed in all studied tissues of Kermani sheep. The highest expression of Dlk1 gene expression was observed in liver tissue. There was no statistically significant difference between rumen and femur (leg) muscle, between humeral muscle and liver and between adipose and brain tissue (P>0. 05). The lowest expression was related to testicular tissue. Based on results of current study, it can be concluded that this gene has pleiotropic effects with different major and minor outcomes in different tissues. But, for reaching to more decisive conclusion for any tissue, it is necessary to carry out further research noticing various physiological, epigenetic and genetic conditions.

INTRODUCTION Improving the genetic make-up of farm animals has been the main approach for enhancing various attributes of live-stock to meet human food demands (Laible et al. 2015). Unlike classical genetic selection strategies that need long-term breeding plans, transgenesis approaches could achieve similar genetic improvements within a single generation. Apart from its agricultural applications, farm animal trans-genesis has also been employed in biomedicine such as gene pharming and xenotransplantation. So far, great mile-stones have been achieved for precise genome engineering using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas9 technology in farm animals (Whitelaw et al. 2016). However, there is still a large room to improve the efficiency of gene transfer technologies in farm animals (Laible et al. 2015). Gamete transfection is one of the most attractive approaches in animal transgene-sis. The main advantage of this system is the lack of mosaic patterns of gene integration and expression at the G0 gen-eration (Esponda and Esponda, 2005). Direct transfection of sperm cells has been considered as a promising strategy to deliver transgenes in a straight-forward pathway in large animals (Lavitrano et al. 2002). However, its reproducibil-A. Ebnali1, A. DehghaniPoudeh1, A. Pirestani1, 2, M. Forouzanfar3 and We report a method for gene transfer via in vivo testis-mediated gene transfer (TMGT) in sheep. A non-viral vector, pDB2, which carried an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgene under control of a human cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter, was mixed with the TransIT transfection reagent. The lipoplex mixture was injected intra-testicularly or into the cauda epididymis of 12 and 5 rams, respectively, as well as the intra-testis of 5 mature roosters. Each injected rooster was crossed with four virgin hens and their hatched chicks were assessed for the presence of the EGFP transgene. After 60 days, both rams and roosters were investigated for the transgene. Unlike roosters, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of sperm cells which were collected from the epididymis and seminiferous revealed that more than 50% of sperm samples from the intratesticular rete-injected group were PCR-positive for the EGFP transgene. Transgene uptake was also observed in seminiferous tubules and epididymis of the intratesticular rete and the cauda epididymis groups, respectively. In conclusion, the combined approach of TMGT and lipofection can lead to ovine sperm transfection. This approach has potential to be combined with the clustered regularly inter-spaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas technology and used for on-farm gene editing of sheep species.

β-lactoglobulin is one of the important milk proteins in several ruminants like goats, sheep and cattle. This study was performed to investigate the genetic polymorphism of exon 7 and 3’ UTR region of β-lactoglobulin (BLG) gene and its association with milk composition in 120 unrelated individuals of Iranian indigenous Khalkhali goats. Purified polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products (427 bp) were sequenced under standard conditions using Sanger sequencing. Alignment of sequenced fragments against reference sequence leads to identification of one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), substitution A (frequency equal to 0. 44) to C (frequency equal to 0. 56) in the 3’ UTR region of BLG gene. Observed frequencies of AA, AC and CC genotypes were 0. 12, 0. 64 and 0. 24, respectively. The effects of identified genotypes on milk composition were analysed using general linear model. We found that BLG gene genotypes have a significant effect on milk parameters except for lactose percentage (P<0. 05). The milk of goats with AA and AC genotypes had higher protein and fat percentages, respectively, in compaired with other genotypes (P<0. 05). Obtained results revealed that, identified genotypes in the BLG gene of Khalkhali goats is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

The effect of ionophore and non-ionophore coccidiostats on performance parameters, carcass characteris-tics, serum biochemical parameters and gut microbial floras in broilers was investigated. A total of 300 one-day-old broilers were randomly allocated into five treatments including: (1) basal diet (control group); (2) basal diet with 60 ppm salinomycin; (3) basal diet with 3. 75 ppm maduramicin; (4) basal diet with 1 ppm Diclazuril; and (5) basal diet with 125 ppm amprolium. Supplementing the diet with diclazuril improved weight gain compared to all diets containing ionophore coccidiostats (P<0. 05). Additionally, feed intake significantly increased with broilers fed on diclazuril containing feed compared with broilers fed on maduramicin at 1 to 42 days. For female chicks, the highest carcass yield value was recorded in the control group, followed by the salinomycin, and maduramicin treatments respectively; however, thigh yield was higher in the diclazuril treatment group (P<0. 05). Highest carcass and breast yields for male broilers were obtained in the diclazuril treatment group (P<0. 05). Lactobacilli and Coliform bacterial populations were significantly higher in the diclazuril and control groups when compared to the salinomycin group at 28 and 42 days (P<0. 05). Blood glucose and total protein were significantly increased by feeding diclazuril diets in both male and female broilers (P<0. 05). Blood sodium and potassium concentrations were affected by treatment in male chickens (P<0. 05). The use of diets containing non-ionophore coccidiostats, particularly diclazuril, had beneficial effects on the overall growth performance of broiler chickens.

To determine chemical composition as well as apparent metabolizable energy corrected to zero nitrogen balance (AMEn) estimates of Amaranth grain in adult roosters by regression method, firstly, a specie of Amaranthus hybridus chorostachys were cultivated in a farm pilot at agriculture research station (Khalat Poushan-Tabriz-East Azarbaijan-Iran). After harvesting, amaranth grain was sifted and milled. Finally, the chemical composition of amaranth grain produced in the Advanced Animal Nutrition Laboratory was ana-lyzed. Adult roosters 96-week-old Leghorn in individual metabolic cages for nine days used to determine AMEn content by the regression method. The basal diet was based on corn-soybean with 3200 kcal/kg me-tabolizable energy and 12% protein. Two experiments with raw amaranth grain (RAG) and processing ama-ranth grain (PAG), started separately using 40 leghorn roosters in the form of completely random by facto-rial method (2 5), that each experiment consisted of two levels of Rovabio multi-enzyme (0 and 0. 055%) and five amaranth grain levels (0, 15, 30, 45, 60% of replacement or embedment of energizing part of the diet). Each experiment included four replicates that included one bird, it was subjected to biological ex-periments in metabolic cages by total excreta collection method. The obtained results of regression equa-tions in adult roosters showed that AMEn content for raw amaranth without enzyme (RAG-e), raw amaranth with an enzyme (RAG+e), processed amaranth without enzyme (PAG-e), and processed amaranth with an enzyme (PAG+e) were 3250. 24, 3433. 18, 3242. 18 and 3438. 09 kcal/kg, respectively. The total results of this study showed that according to amaranth's adaptable and nutritious agricultural features, it can have a good potential in supplementation of poultry diets with enzymes for improving the energy To determine chemical composition as well as apparent metabolizable energy corrected to zero nitrogen balance (AMEn) estimates of Amaranth grain in adult roosters by regression method, firstly, a specie of Amaranthus hybridus chorostachys were cultivated in a farm pilot at agriculture research station (Khalat Poushan-Tabriz-East Azarbaijan-Iran). After harvesting, amaranth grain was sifted and milled. Finally, the chemical composition of amaranth grain produced in the Advanced Animal Nutrition Laboratory was ana-lyzed. Adult roosters 96-week-old Leghorn in individual metabolic cages for nine days used to determine AMEn content by the regression method. The basal diet was based on corn-soybean with 3200 kcal/kg me-tabolizable energy and 12% protein. Two experiments with raw amaranth grain (RAG) and processing ama-ranth grain (PAG), started separately using 40 leghorn roosters in the form of completely random by facto-rial method (2 5), that each experiment consisted of two levels of Rovabio multi-enzyme (0 and 0. 055%) and five amaranth grain levels (0, 15, 30, 45, 60% of replacement or embedment of energizing part of the diet). Each experiment included four replicates that included one bird, it was subjected to biological ex-periments in metabolic cages by total excreta collection method. The obtained results of regression equa-tions in adult roosters showed that AMEn content for raw amaranth without enzyme (RAG-e), raw amaranth with an enzyme (RAG+e), processed amaranth without enzyme (PAG-e), and processed amaranth with an enzyme (PAG+e) were 3250. 24, 3433. 18, 3242. 18 and 3438. 09 kcal/kg, respectively. The total results of this study showed that according to amaranth's adaptable and nutritious agricultural features, it can have a good potential in supplementation of poultry diets with enzymes for improving the energy and nutrition quality. and nutrition quality.

Prolactin (PRL) Gene in chicken was closely related to broodiness and brooding behavior that located at chromosome 2. This research was conducted to detect insertion/deletion (in/del) 24-bp polymorphism in the prolactin promoter gene and its association with the BC1 hybrid chicken egg productivity. Procedures of this research conducted are chicken maintenance, egg collection for 23 weeks of production, eggs proxi-mate quality (water, ash, protein, carbohydrate, fat, and fiber percentage), DNA isolation, PRL gene ampli-fication, and visualizing DNA bands on PRL promoters. The results showed the average number of cumula-tive eggs of BC1 chicken for 23 weeks was 42. 9 eggs, lower than layer (104. 34 eggs), and higher than pe-lung (30. 17 eggs). Analysis using the pearson correlation test shows the frequency of insertion-deletion polymorphism alleles on the PRL promoter has a signification value of 0. 521 and correlation value 0, 684, so it is concluded that there is no correlation (P>0. 05). Proximate test results of BC1 whole raw egg chicken has characteristics of low fat (3. 2%) and high carbohydrate (9. 1%) compared to commercial egg and has a calorie content of 98. 37/100 g of the sample.

A study on the egg productivity of pearl-gray guinea-fowl from the Bulgarian local population was carried out over three consecutive laying years – 2016, 2017, and 2018. Egg-laying started at 39 weeks of age and the production cycle was 31, 30, and 25 weeks for one-, two-and three-year-old layers, respectively, the average egg-laying intensity being 70. 11, 44. 22, and 32. 81%, depending on the fowl age. The following characteristics were established for the three studied ages of the layers: mean egg weight – 41. 59 ± 0. 13, 42. 31 ± 0. 12 and 38. 49 ± 0. 23g; shape index – 76. 32 ± 0. 19, 76. 54 ± 0. 15 and 77. 96 ± 0. 20%; egg yolk weight – 13. 58 ± 0. 06, 14. 03 ± 0. 05 and 12. 62 ± 0. 08g; egg albumen weigh – 49. 09 ± 0. 13, 48. 00 ± 0. 15 and 51. 35 ± 0. 24 g and shell weight – 18. 23 ± 0. 10, 18. 88 ± 0. 08 and 15. 05 ± 0. 65g, respectively. The univariate analysis with least significant difference (LSD) test has shown significant differences in egg-laying intensity in guinea-fowl comparing the different sea-sons and productive years. The same analysis has revealed significant differences in the morphological charac-teristics of guinea-fowl eggs during the varying seasons and depending on the age of the layers. Taking into account the significant decrease of Guinea fowl egg production in their second and third laying years under an uncontrolled microclimate of the habitat for table eggs production, it is recommended to use guinea hens for a year for commercial production of eggs for consumption.

The aims of the present study were to evaluate phenotypic diversity and to determine the live body weight of camel ecotypes elevated in the south region of Kerman province in Iran. The morphological characteristics and body measurements of 136 camels (117 females and 19 males; aged between 3 and 12 years) from eight regions of the Jazmurian were measured. The ecotypes involved Rudbari, Native and Pakistani camel populations, which are the major camels in these rearing areas. The traits evaluated were length and width of the head, ears and the hump, heart and barrel girth. The live body weight was determined using three traits including barrel girth, heart girth and the height at withers. Data were analyzed with general linear model (GLM) and CORR procedures of SAS program. The overall averages of barrel girth, heart girth, height at shoulders and body weight were 177. 56 ± 16. 81 cm; 222. 77 ± 17. 53 cm; 174. 32 ± 9. 14 cm and 346. 21 ± 54. 27 kg, respectively. The means for length and width of the head was significantly (P<0. 05) higher in Pakistani camel population than Rudbari and Native camels, and Native camels were significantly (P<0. 05) important for morphological variables particularly the length and the width of the ears than the other camels. The difference between Pakistani camels and other ecotypes was significant (P<0. 05) based on the estimated body weight. There were positive correlations between estimated body weight and biometric traits and the highest value was calculated between body weight and thoracic girth (r=0. 94). The results of this study showed that phenotypic diversity of camel ecotypes is valuable to select based on their morphological characteristics in breeding programs and the presence of different camel ecotypes based on the morphology may provide a basis for selection and improvement in these populations.

Honeybee immunity and health can be significantly affected by protein nutrition. Essential amino acids have significant effects on animal health, resistance to diseases and survival. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of a number of dietary amino acids (lysine, methionine and threonine) to increase honeybees’ life span. To do so, 78 honeybee hives were studied divided into13 groups (6 hives each) with different concentrations of dietary amino acids. Parameters of honey and pollen production, winter survival, number of brood and mature bees in each group were evaluated. Moreover, expression of genes for immu-nity-related peptides (Vg and Sod) was compared among groups using real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results revealed a significant effect of the different concentrations of amino acids on the pa-rameters studied (P<0. 0001). The honeybees fed with 1. 51 g lysine, 0. 3 g methionine and 0. 572 g threonine at each hive showed the highest levels of Vg and Sod expression compared to other groups (P<0. 0002). Therefore, our results strongly suggest that honey production could be increased by extending the life span of honeybees through the use of essential amino acids in their diet.

The nutritional needs of worker bees are supplied by nectar carbohydrates, protein, and other nutrients in pollen. This paper aims to study the impact of Apimix and Apipasta feeding on the productive parameters of newly created bee colonies and to trace their health status concerning 6 viruses and the cause of nosema-tosis. Bee colonies of the local honeybee Apis mellifera settled in Langstroth hives system were used. The following groups were created: control group) feeding with sugar solution (sugar water 1: 1) without addi-tives; experimental group I) feeding with Apimix and experimental group II) feeding with Apipasta. It was found out that the stimulation feeding with liquid food Apimix significantly increases (P<0. 01) the strength of the bee colonies in the period 13. 07. – 29. 09. 2018. Also, significant positive correlations (r=0. 55 and r=0. 64, P<0. 01) between the amount of sealed worker bee brood and the amount of collected pollen after feeding with Apimix and Apipasta, respectively. Nosema ceranae and Nosema Apis and 6 honey bee vi-ruses were not detected in the bee colonies.