Iranian Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology
Volume:11 Issue: 2, Summer and Autumn 2019

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing glycerol with erythritol on cryopreservation of ram spermatozoa. Semen samples (n=24) were collected from four rams in six times. In each session, the collected ejaculates (n=4) were pooled and split into 12 equal parts. The amount of 0.032 M glycerol (G32E0, equal to 3% glycerol), 0.016 M glycerol and 0.016 M erythritol (G16E16), 0.008 M glycerol and 0.024 M erythritol (G8E24), 0.032 M erythritol (G0E32), 0.054 M glycerol (G54E0, equal to 5% glycerol), 0.027 M glycerol and 0.027 M erythritol (G27E27), 0.013 M glycerol and 0.041 M erythritol (G13E41), 0.054 M erythritol (G0E54), 0.076 M glycerol (G76E0, equal to 7% glycerol ), 0.038 M glycerol and 0.038 M erythritol (G38E38), 0.019 M glycerol and 0.057 M erythritol (G19E57) and 0.076 M erythritol (G0E76) were added. The diluted samples were frozen using standard protocol. After thawing, the samples were incubated at 37°C for 6 h. Results showed that progressive sperm motility and acrosome integrity were higher in G13E41 (18.85 % and 27.41 %, respectively) than treatments that contained only glycerol at 6 h (p < 0.05). At the level of 0.032 and 0.054 M cryoprotectant, the highest of total sperm motility was observed in G8E24 (19.16 %) and G13E41 (18.85 %) at 6 h, respectively (p < 0.05). Therefore, the quality of frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa can be improved by using the mixture of 0.013 M glycerol plus 0.041 M erythritol or 0.008 M glycerol plus 0.024 M erythritol.

The limitations of rennin application in cheese crafting usually urge the discovery of novel proteases. The Withania coagulans fruits are well-known for their caseinolytic activity in cheese production. The study aims to evaluate some of the factors affecting the milk-clotting activity (MCA) of W. coagulans fruit enzymatic extract in even and odd-toed hoofed-mammals milk. The extracts were prepared by distilled water and normal saline and their protein content were evaluated. The time necessary for the appearance of discernible and discrete particles in the mare and cow milk by the two concentrations of saline and hydro W. coagulans extracts (SE and HE, respectively) was assessed at 35 and 40°C while exposing different levels of calcium chloride. The interaction of these factors on MCA was evaluated using mixed-design ANOVA. Three significant interaction patterns considering the maximum number of factors were revealed (p < 0.05). The higher extract concentration and incubation temperature (40°C) was always effective in producing the utmost MCA in these interactions. The SE was faster than HE in milk clot formation. The cow milk was a more suitable substrate than mare milk for the enzyme activity.

The aim of this study was to investigate the fungi and algae isolated from milk samples in dairy cows with clinical and subclinical mastitis from dairy farms around Mashhad, Iran. A total of 503 milk samples were obtained from 10 industrial dairy farms. All samples were simultaneously cultured on the surface of Blood agar, Macconkey agar, and Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol. Fungi and algae were identified using phenotypic characteristics. In the examined samples, the bacterial contamination (338 out of 503 samples; 67.20%) was the most dominant followed by algae (93 out of 503 samples; 18.5%), filamentous fungi (32 out of 503 samples; 6.4%) and yeast fungi (26 out of 503 samples; 5.2%). Penicillium spp. (2.8%), Aspergillus spp. (2.6%), Cladosporium spp. (1.2%), Geotrichum spp. (0.4%), Ulucaladium spp., Scopolariopsis spp. and Alternaria spp. (0.2% each), Cryptococcus neofermenes (3%), Candida spp. (1%), Trichosporon spp. (0.8%) and Rhodoturula spp. (0.4%) were the filamentous and yeast fungi isolated from milk samples. Of the 93 algae isolated from 503 milk samples (18.5%), 83 (16.5%) samples were positive for Prototheca zopfii and 10 (2%) samples for Prototheca wickerhamii. According to the results of this study, yeast fungi, filamentous fungi and algae, especially Prototheca spp. are important contaminant factors in milk and contribute to clinical and subclinical bovine mastitis. Therefore, proper sanitation practices and management of dairy herds and judicious use of antibiotics is essential to control the fungal and algal contamination both in the environment and the breast.

Brucellosis is one of the most important causes of abortion in cattle resulting in significant economic losses and public health concerns in the developing countries. A case-control study was conducted from October 2016 to October 2017 to investigate risk factors of brucellosis in aborted cattle in Jimma zone. During the study period, 141 cases and 282 controls were selected to assess and compare the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies between cases and controls. Cattle that had experienced abortion were defined as cases, whereas controls were cattle that had no record of abortion. Sera samples were collected from both cases and control cattle groups for laboratory tests (serological test). The existence of the anti-Brucella antibodes in serum samples was first tested by the Rose Bengal Plate test, and the all positive samples were confirmed using the complement fixation test. An overall of 4.02% seroprevalence of brucellosis was recorded in the study areas. Antibody against Brucella organism was higher among cases (6.38%) than controls (2.84%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified age (OR 14.16, CI= 2.91-28.84), breed (OR 5.36, CI= 1.76-11.33), herd size (OR 11.82, CI= 1.31-16.17) and species composition (OR 5.10, CI=1.49-13.43) as risk factors (p < 0.05) for Brucella seropositivity. This study documented the occurrence of cattle brucellosis in study areas. Thus, applicable control methods and creating public awareness on the zoonotic transmission of brucellosis should be conducted. Moreover, further study considering more causes should be carried out to identify the specific causes of abortion in cattle for the preparation of the appropriate vaccine.

Diazinon (DZN), as an organophosphorus pesticide (OP), induces oxidative stress leading to the generation of free radicals and causes some pathological changes in the body. The purpose of this study was to assess the protective effects of L-carnitine (LC) and Silybum marianum aqueous extract (SMAE) against DZN-induced hepatotoxicity in male rat liver. Rats were assigned in 9 groups (n=8) including control, sham, DZN15, SMAE100, LC300, SMAE100+LC300, DZN15+LC300, DZN15+SMAE100 and DZN15+SMAE100+LC300. Thirty days after the treatment by oral gavage, blood samples were taken and serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), Albumin (Alb) and total protein (TP) were measured using photometric method. Besides, the livers of rats were removed and evaluated histopathologically. The DZN15 treatment significantly increased the AST, ALT, ALP and GGT levels (p<0.05) and conversely decreased the Alb and TP levels (p<0.05). Moreover, administration of the DZN15 resulted in lymphocytic inflammation, congestion, apoptosis hepatocyte, and lesser sinusoids space. However, the DZN15+SMAE100+LC300 treatment did not change the ALT, ALP, GGT, Alb and TP levels (p˃0.05) but increased the AST level significantly compared to the control (p<0.05). Besides that, lesser structural alterations and improvement in the liver tissue were observed. The findings suggest that co-administration of SMAE and LC could reduce DZN-induced hepatic tissue damages and improve the hepatic biochemical parameters in rats.

The effects of indigenous probiotics Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus pentosus alone, and in combination with β-1,3-glucan in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were investigated. Eight groups were defined: control (G1), 1% β-1,3-glucan (G2), L. plantarum (G3), L. pentosus (G4), L. plantarum + L. pentosus (G5), L. plantarum with 1% β-1,3-glucan (G6), L. pentosus with 1% β-1,3-glucan (G7) and L. plantarum + L. pentosus with 1% β-1,3-glucan (G8). After eight weeks, the innate immune responses were elevated in all treated groups; however, synergistic effects were observed for anti-trypsin, bactericidal activity and respiratory burst activity in groups 7 and 8. Although the other immune responses were higher in treated groups, they did not make statistically significant differences. Checking microbiota showed that β-1,3-glucan improved conditions of indigenous probiotics. The diet 8 caused significant alterations in the intestinal microbiota by significantly decreasing the proportion of total count bacteria to lactic acid bacteria, which were demonstrated by reducing the total number of bacteria in Group 8 compared to the control group.

This study investigated the effects of Aloe vera and Salvia officinalis extracts on hematological and haemato-biochemical parameters, histopathology, and resistance against hypoxia stress in Oncorhynchus mykiss. The rainbow trout (10 ± 0.1 g) were fed seven different diets supplemented with 0% (control), 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% of A. vera or S. officinalis extract for 30 days. The feeding in all treatments was continued for 2 weeks using control diet. The fish blood samples were collected on days 30th and 45th, and total red blood cells, hematocrit and hemoglobin were measured. The glucose and cortisol of serum were examined just before and one hour after hypoxia stress (3 mg L-1) at days 30th and 45th. The gill tissue samples were taken from all treatments for histopathological study at the end of experimental period. The S. officinalis (0.5%) treated group showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in red blood cells, hematocrits and hemoglobin compared to control group. While the A. vera (1 and 1.5%) treatments revealed significant increase in hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Moreover the glucose and cortisol levels of serum were increased significantly only in S. officinalis (0.5%) treated group after hypoxia stress on days 30th and 45th compared to the control group (p < 0.05). No serious histopathological changes were observed in any treatments and control group. Based on the results obtained, dietary S. officinalis (0.5%) hydroethanolic extract improved the haematological and haemato-biochemical parameters and increased the rainbow trout resistance against hypoxia stress.

The animal health monitoring is required to issue health certificates. The viral hepatitis virus is one of the most important infectious agents in mice breeding colonies. This research used RT-PCR to identify contaminations to mouse hepatitis virus. 18 out of 29 specimens were found to be infected, a prevalence of 62%. PCR product was purified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the identified strain in this study was closely related to a strain reported from France. In the conventional system, contamination with different infectious agents is inevitable, thus it is better to replace the contaminated colonies with clean animals.

Coenurosis (gid or sturdy) is a zoonotic disease that is caused by Taenia multiceps metacestode. It is common in small ruminants. The cysts in sheep are more cerebral, while are noncerebral in goats. Coenurosis decreases production, and results in the death of the affected animals and in the disposal of the organs or even carcasses in severe infection. The present study describes severe subcutaneous coenuri associated with contamination in other tissues including the skeletal muscles and visceral organs. A remarkable clinical observation was the aggregation of cysts in variable sizes in the subcutaneous tissue of whole body. Subcutaneous tissue is not a common site for cyst formation. Coenurosis was confirmed based on the morphological characteristics of the cysts including the clusters of protoscolices and rostellar hooks.