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Archives of Virology Aug 2018In 2018, the order Mononegavirales was expanded by inclusion of 1 new genus and 12 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales...
In 2018, the order Mononegavirales was expanded by inclusion of 1 new genus and 12 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) and summarizes additional taxonomic proposals that may affect the order in the near future.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Mononegavirales; Mononegavirales Infections; Phylogeny
PubMed: 29637429
DOI: 10.1007/s00705-018-3814-x -
Environmental Biosafety Research 2008To address some concerns about the expansion of genetically engineered pharmaceutical and industrial crops to outdoor plantings and potential impacts on the human food...
To address some concerns about the expansion of genetically engineered pharmaceutical and industrial crops to outdoor plantings and potential impacts on the human food supply, we determined whether commercial agriculture seeds of maize or corn Zea mays L., barley Hordeum vulgare L., safflower Carthamus tinctorius L. and rice Oryza sativa L. are digested or pass viably through the digestive tract, or are transported externally, by captive mallard ducks Anas platyrhynchos L., ring-necked pheasants Phasianus colchicus L., red-winged blackbirds Agelaius phoeniceus (L.) and rock pigeons Columba livia Gmelin (with the exception of whole maize seeds which were too large to feed to the blackbirds). These crop seeds, whether free-fed or force-fed, did not pass through the digestive tract of these bird species. The birds nonetheless did retain viable seeds in the esophagus/crop and gizzard for several hours. For example, after foraging for 6 h, mallards had retained an average of 228 +/- 112 barley seeds and pheasants 192 +/- 78 in the esophagus/crop, and their germination rates were 93 and 50%, respectively. Birds externally transported seeds away from the feeding location, but in only four instances were seeds found attached to their muddy feet or legs and in no case to feathers. Risk of such crop seeds germinating, establishing and reproducing off site after transport by a bird (externally or internally) or movement of a carcass by a predator, will depend greatly on the crop and bird species, location, environmental conditions (including soil characteristics), timing, and seed condition.
Topics: Agriculture; Animals; Birds; Carthamus tinctorius; Columbidae; Crop, Avian; Ducks; Feeding Behavior; Gene Flow; Gizzard, Avian; Plants, Genetically Modified; Poaceae; Seeds; Songbirds
PubMed: 19081011
DOI: 10.1051/ebr:2008021 -
Scientific Reports Jan 2024The increasing demand for cultivated lands driven by human population growth, escalating consumption and activities, combined with the vast area of uncultivated land,...
The increasing demand for cultivated lands driven by human population growth, escalating consumption and activities, combined with the vast area of uncultivated land, highlight the pressing need to better understand the biodiversity conservation implications of land use change in Sub-Saharan Africa. Land use change alters natural wildlife habitats with fundamental consequences for biodiversity. Consequently, species richness and diversity typically decline as land use changes from natural to disturbed. We assess how richness and diversity of avian species, grouped into feeding guilds, responded to land use changes, primarily expansion of settlements and cultivation at three sites in the Lake Victoria Basin in western Kenya, following tsetse control interventions. Each site consisted of a matched pair of spatially adjacent natural/semi-natural and settled/cultivated landscapes. Significant changes occurred in bird species richness and diversity in the disturbed relative to the natural landscape. Disturbed areas had fewer guilds and all guilds in disturbed areas also occurred in natural areas. Guilds had significantly more species in natural than in disturbed areas. The insectivore/granivore and insectivore/wax feeder guilds occurred only in natural areas. Whilst species diversity was far lower, a few species of estrildid finches were more common in the disturbed landscapes and were often observed on the scrubby edges of modified habitats. In contrast, the natural and less disturbed wooded areas had relatively fewer estrildid species and were completely devoid of several other species. In aggregate, land use changes significantly reduced bird species richness and diversity on the disturbed landscapes regardless of their breeding range size or foraging style (migratory or non-migratory) and posed greater risks to non-migratory species. Accordingly, land use planning should integrate conservation principles that preserve salient habitat qualities required by different bird species, such as adequate patch size and habitat connectivity, conserve viable bird populations and restore degraded habitats to alleviate adverse impacts of land use change on avian species richness and diversity.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Kenya; Lakes; Conservation of Natural Resources; Ecosystem; Biodiversity; Birds
PubMed: 38243068
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52107-2 -
Poultry Science Dec 2017Research was conducted to evaluate the impact of litter Salmonella status during feed withdrawal on Salmonella recovery from the crop and ceca following feed withdrawal....
Research was conducted to evaluate the impact of litter Salmonella status during feed withdrawal on Salmonella recovery from the crop and ceca following feed withdrawal. In 4 experiments, pens of broilers in separate rooms were challenged with marker strains of either Salmonella Montevideo or Salmonella Heidelberg. Three d post challenge, a 12-hour feed withdrawal was initiated, and one pen of broilers was switched between rooms for each Salmonella serotype. In experiments 3 and 4, non-challenged broilers also were added to the Salmonella challenge pens. The litter of each pen was sampled before and after the feed withdrawal period, the broilers euthanized, and the crop and ceca aseptically removed for Salmonella isolation. Results showed that only the challenge Salmonella serotype was recovered from the litter in challenge pens where broilers were not moved, while both Salmonella serotypes were recovered from the litter of the switched pens. Salmonella was recovered from 56/80 crops and from 66/80 ceca of challenged broilers that remained in the challenge pens. The challenge Salmonella serotype was recovered from 50/80 crops and from 60/80 ceca, and the switched pens' litter Salmonella serotype was recovered from 19/80 crops but not from the ceca in broilers challenged with Salmonella and then switched between pens. For experiments 3 and 4, Salmonella was recovered from 19/40 crops and from only 2/40 ceca from the non-challenged broilers placed into the Salmonella challenge pens. The results from broilers that were switched between Salmonella challenge pens indicate that the recovery of Salmonella from the crop of broilers following feed withdrawal (on Salmonella-contaminated litter) appears to depend mainly on the initial challenge Salmonella (62%) and less on the litter Salmonella (24%) status during the feed withdrawal period. In contrast, only the initial challenge Salmonella was recovered from the ceca (79%) from broilers that remained in challenge pens or were switched between Salmonella challenge pens. However, when non-challenged broilers were placed into the Salmonella challenge pens and commingled during the 12-hour feed and water withdrawal period, it was possible to recover the pen litter Salmonella from the ceca at a low level of 5% (2/40).
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Cecum; Chickens; Crop, Avian; Environmental Microbiology; Floors and Floorcoverings; Food Deprivation; Male; Poultry Diseases; Salmonella Infections, Animal; Salmonella enterica; Serogroup
PubMed: 29053866
DOI: 10.3382/ps/pex231 -
Poultry Science Oct 2017A total of 720 straight-run Heritage 56 M × fast feathering Cobb 500F broiler chickens was fed from 11 to 13 d of age to determine the impacts of dietary calcium (Ca),...
Impacts of dietary calcium, phytate, and phytase on inositol hexakisphosphate degradation and inositol phosphate release in different segments of digestive tract of broilers.
A total of 720 straight-run Heritage 56 M × fast feathering Cobb 500F broiler chickens was fed from 11 to 13 d of age to determine the impacts of dietary calcium (Ca), phytate phosphorus (PP), and phytase concentrations on inositol phosphate (IP3-6) profile in different digestive tract (GI) segments. The experiment was a 2 × 2 × 3 randomized block design with 2 Ca (0.7 and 1.0%) and 2 PP (0.23 and 0.34%) concentrations and 3 doses of Buttiauxella sp. phytase (0, 500, and 1,000 FTU/kg). The experiment was replicated in time (block) with 3 replicates per treatment (Trt) of 10 birds per block. Concentrations of IP3-6 in the crop, proventriculus (Prov) plus (+) gizzard (Giz), and distal ileum, as well as the ileal IP6 and P disappearance were determined at 13 d of age. The detrimental impact of Ca on IP6 and P disappearance was observed only in the ileum, where 11% reduction in both IP6 and P disappearance was seen when Ca increased from 0.7 to 1.0% (P < 0.05). Higher IP5 and IP6 concentrations were seen in both the crop and Prov+Giz at 0.34% PP as compared to birds fed to 0.23% PP diets, regardless of Ca or phytase (P < 0.05), whereas IP3 and IP4 concentrations were not affected by PP (P > 0.05). Inclusion of phytase, at both 500 and 1,000 FTU/kg, resulted in lower IP6 and the accumulation of lower IP ester (IP3-5) concentrations in all GI segments (P < 0.05). Improved IP6 and P disappearance was seen as a result of phytase inclusion, despite the degree of improvement affected by PP (P < 0.05). On average, 5.5 and 6.7 times improvement in IP6 was observed with 500 and 1,000 FTU phytase/kg inclusion, respectively, resulting in 41 and 64% greater P digestibility, respectively. In conclusion, phytase can effectively degrade IP6 to lower esters and increase P utilization. However, the efficacy of phytase can be affected by diet Ca and PP concentrations.
Topics: 6-Phytase; Animal Feed; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Calcium, Dietary; Chickens; Diet; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enterobacteriaceae; Inositol Phosphates; Phytic Acid; Random Allocation
PubMed: 28938789
DOI: 10.3382/ps/pex170 -
PloS One Mar 2011Increased production of biomass crops in North America will require new agricultural land, intensify the cultivation of land already under production and introduce new...
Increased production of biomass crops in North America will require new agricultural land, intensify the cultivation of land already under production and introduce new types of biomass crops. Assessing the potential biodiversity impacts of novel agricultural systems is fundamental to the maintenance of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, yet the consequences of expanded biomass production remain unclear. We evaluate the ability of two candidate second generation biomass feedstocks (switchgrass, Panicum virgatum, and mixed-grass prairie) not currently managed as crops to act as post-breeding and fall migratory stopover habitat for birds. In total, we detected 41 bird species, including grassland specialists and species of state and national conservation concern (e.g. Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii). Avian species richness was generally comparable in switchgrass and prairie and increased with patch size in both patch types. Grassland specialists were less abundant and less likely to occur in patches within highly forested landscapes and were more common and likely to occur in larger patches, indicating that this group is also area-sensitive outside of the breeding season. Variation in the biomass and richness of arthropod food within patches was generally unrelated to richness and abundance metrics. Total bird abundance and that of grassland specialists was higher in patches with greater vegetation structural heterogeneity. Collectively, we find that perennial biomass feedstocks have potential to provide post-breeding and migratory stopover habitat for birds, but that the placement and management of crops will be critical factors in determining their suitability for species of conservation concern. Industrialization of cellulosic bioenergy production that results in reduced crop structural heterogeneity is likely to dramatically reduce the suitability of perennial biomass crops for birds.
Topics: Animal Migration; Animals; Arthropods; Biomass; Birds; Breeding; Ecosystem; Geography; Michigan; Models, Biological; Poaceae; Population Dynamics; Regression Analysis; Species Specificity
PubMed: 21390274
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016941 -
BMC Microbiology Nov 2016The chicken gut microbiota is an important and complicated ecosystem for the host. They play an important role in converting food into nutrient and energy. The coding...
BACKGROUND
The chicken gut microbiota is an important and complicated ecosystem for the host. They play an important role in converting food into nutrient and energy. The coding capacity of microbiome vastly surpasses that of the host's genome, encoding biochemical pathways that the host has not developed. An optimal gut microbiota can increase agricultural productivity. This study aims to explore the composition and function of cecal microbiota in Dagu chicken under two feeding modes, free-range (outdoor, OD) and cage (indoor, ID) raising.
RESULTS
Cecal samples were collected from 24 chickens across 4 groups (12-w OD, 12-w ID, 18-w OD, and 18-w ID). We performed high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes V4 hypervariable regions to characterize the cecal microbiota of Dagu chicken and compare the difference of cecal microbiota between free-range and cage raising chickens. It was found that 34 special operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in OD groups and 4 special OTUs in ID groups. 24 phyla were shared by the 24 samples. Bacteroidetes was the most abundant phylum with the largest proportion, followed by Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. The OD groups showed a higher proportion of Bacteroidetes (>50 %) in cecum, but a lower Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in both 12-w old (0.42, 0.62) and 18-w old groups (0.37, 0.49) compared with the ID groups. Cecal microbiota in the OD groups have higher abundance of functions involved in amino acids and glycan metabolic pathway.
CONCLUSION
The composition and function of cecal microbiota in Dagu chicken under two feeding modes, free-range and cage raising are different. The cage raising mode showed a lower proportion of Bacteroidetes in cecum, but a higher Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio compared with free-range mode. Cecal microbiota in free-range mode have higher abundance of functions involved in amino acids and glycan metabolic pathway.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Bacteroidetes; Base Sequence; Cecum; Chickens; China; Classification; Crop, Avian; Feces; Feeding Behavior; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Microbial Consortia; Microbiota; Phylogeny; Proteobacteria; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Sequence Analysis, RNA
PubMed: 27814685
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-016-0877-2 -
Poultry Science Jun 2001The purpose of this experiment was to determine how sampling method (direct plating or enrichment) affected the rate of Campylobacter spp. isolation from crop and cecal...
The purpose of this experiment was to determine how sampling method (direct plating or enrichment) affected the rate of Campylobacter spp. isolation from crop and cecal samples. In four separate trials, 32 New York-dressed broiler carcasses were obtained from commercial plants (n = 128). Crops and ceca were removed aseptically, direct plated, and enriched. Samples were direct-plated on Campy-Cefex plates that were incubated at 42 C for 36 to 48 h under a microaerobic atmosphere (5% O2, 10% CO2, 85% N2). After direct plating, samples were enriched in Bolton broth at 37 C for 4 h and 42 C for 20 h under a microaerobic atmosphere before plating onto Campy-Cefex plates. Campylobacter spp. was detected in 95.3% of direct-plated crop samples and 99.2% of enriched crop samples. Campylobacter spp. was detected in 100% of direct-plated cecal samples and 63.3% of enriched cecal samples. All 128 crop and cecal samples were positive for the organism by one or both methods. Mean counts of Campylobacter spp. were 3.6 log10 cfu/g of crop sample and 6.8 log10 cfu/g of cecal sample. For these two sample types, both of which tend to be contaminated with many viable cells, direct plating is sufficient for isolation of Campylobacter. Direct plating also provides an estimate of contamination level. Enrichment of cecal samples resulted in a decreased rate of detection and did not allow estimation of numbers of Campylobacter. The large numbers of non-Campylobacter species that inhabit the intestinal tract may out-compete Campylobacter during enrichment, confounding detection.
Topics: Animals; Campylobacter; Cecum; Chickens; Colony Count, Microbial; Crop, Avian; Culture Media; Food Microbiology
PubMed: 11441854
DOI: 10.1093/ps/80.6.825 -
PloS One 2011Trefoil factors are essential healing initiators participating in mucosal reconstitution and tissue morphogenesis, especially on the surfaces of the gastrointestinal...
Trefoil factors are essential healing initiators participating in mucosal reconstitution and tissue morphogenesis, especially on the surfaces of the gastrointestinal tract. This family has been cloned and characterized predominantly from mammals and amphibians. Avian species ingest stone and grit to help digest food, which may expose their gut to severe physical conditions. To further the understanding of the function of the TFF gene family across species, we undertook this research to clone, sequence, and characterize the spatio-temporal expression patterns of chicken TFF2 (ChTFF2) cDNA. Bioinformatics analysis of the promoter region and deduced amino acid sequence demonstrated that ChTFF2 contained unique characteristics; specifically the chicken promoter has multiple start sites and the protein contains a series of Lys-Lys-Val repeats. Unlike mammals, where TFF2 is detected primarily in the stomach, and occasionally in the proximal duodenum, chicken TFF2 transcripts are found throughout the gastrointestinal tract, with major expression sites in the glandular and muscular stomach as well as evident expression in the colon, small intestine, cecal tonsil and crop. Temporal analysis of intestinal ChTFF2 transcripts by quantitative RT-PCR showed high levels in embryos and a trend of constant expression during embryonic and post-hatch development, with a reduction occurring around hatch. Phylogenetic analysis highlighted the conservation of TFF proteins and functional divergence of trefoil domains, which suggest a transitional role in the bird during evolution.
Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Avian Proteins; Base Sequence; Biological Evolution; Blotting, Western; Chickens; Cloning, Molecular; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptides; Phylogeny; Promoter Regions, Genetic; RNA, Messenger; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Trefoil Factor-2
PubMed: 21829480
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022691 -
Poultry Science May 2012Changes in the expression levels of avian β-defensin (AvBD) mRNA were evaluated in necrotic enteritis (NE) disease model in 2 genetically disparate commercial broiler...
Changes in the expression levels of avian β-defensin (AvBD) mRNA were evaluated in necrotic enteritis (NE) disease model in 2 genetically disparate commercial broiler chicken lines: Ross and Cobb. The NE was initiated in the gut by a previously established co-infection model using oral Eimeria maxima infection followed by a Clostridium perfringens challenge. Among the 14 AvBD types examined, there was a tissue-specific expression of AvBD transcripts: AvBD1, AvBD7, and AvBD9 in the crop; AvBD8, AvBD10, and AvBD13; in the intestine and AvBD1 and AvBD7 in the spleen. The 2 different commercial broiler chicken lines showed differential gene expression patterns of AvBD transcripts following co-infection with E. maxima and C. perfringens, with R-line chickens generally showing higher expression levels than the C strain. Both chicken strains showed enhanced gene expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17F, and TNFSF15 in spleen, and TNFSF15 in intestine, whereas IL-17F was significantly increased only in the intestine of R-line chickens following NE infection. Although the exact nature of interactions between defensins and cytokines in determining the outcome of host innate immune responses to the pathogens of NE remains to be investigated, the differences in gene expression levels of β-defensins and proinflammatory cytokines in the intestine, crop, and spleen could explain the predisposed disease resistance and susceptibility to NE in the 2 commercial broiler chicken lines.
Topics: Animals; Chickens; Crop, Avian; Cytokines; Enteritis; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation; Immunity, Innate; Intestinal Mucosa; Necrosis; Poultry Diseases; RNA, Messenger; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Spleen; beta-Defensins
PubMed: 22499864
DOI: 10.3382/ps.2011-01948