فصلنامه پژوهشهای تولیدات دامی
پیاپی 37 (پاییز 1401)

Substances of microbial origin and medicinal plants, by improving the level of health and condition of the gastrointestinal tract, provide the basis for the optimal use of nutrients in diets, and by reducing the use of nutrients, while saving production, also prevent environmental pollution. Dietary protein sources are among the most expensive nutrients, reducing their use in poultry diets not only reduces the cost of nutrition, but also prevents environmental pollution by reducing the excretion of nutrients through animal feces. The present experiment was performed to investigate the possibility of reducing the level of crude protein in broiler diets using two probiotic additives and thyme. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of adding probiotc and thyme medicinal plant into normal and 5% lower level crude protein on growth performance, carcass traits and blood biochemical parameters of broilers.

In this experiment 192 Ross 308 broiler chicks were used in 2×2 factorial arrangements with 4 treatments, 4 replicates and 12 chicks in each replicate in a completely randomized design in grower (11 to 24 days) and finisher (25 to 42 days) periods.

In grower period adding probiotic in contrast with thyme significantly increased the amount of daily weight gain (p<0.05). In finisher and total periods, feed additives and diets crude protein level had no effect on performance of broilers. Using probiotic in low crude protein diets redced the carcass percentage of broilers (p<0.05). The level of 5% of crude protein reducing decreased the concentration of blood triglyceride and increased the blood concentration of LDL as compared with normal level of diet crude protein (p<0.05). Thyme powder in low crude protein diets decreased the amount of blood triglyceride (p<0.05). Thyme powder with low crude protein diets increased the amount of blood LDL whereas with normal crude protein diets the level of LDL was decreaased (p<0.05).

Generaly, in broilers reducing 5% of diets crude protein had no adverse effects on their performance and also using microbial and herbal feed additives had no significant effect  on broiler performance.

Lactic acidosis occurs as a result of hypoxia and rapid growth of broilers and can be considered as a physiological stress. In two experiments, the effect of extra nutritional levels of vitamin D3 and guanidinoacetic acid was investigated on performance, relative weight of organs, some physiological and behavioral parameters of broiler chicks under lactic acidosis stress.

In both experiments, 144 chickens of Ross 308 strain were used to study the effect of subcutaneous injection of vitamin D3 at 0 (negative and positive controls), 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 and 50,000 international unit and dietary levels of GAA at 0, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4 and 3 g/kg in a randomized complete block design with 6 treatments, 4 replications and 6 birds per replication.

In the first experiment, liver fat concentrations in birds receiving 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 were 21.79% and 19.16% lower, respectively, compared to negative control and birds receiving 30,000 IU of vitamin D3 (p<0.05). In Experiment 2, the survival rate of birds receiving 1.8 and 3 g/kg GAA in the diet was greater than the birds receiving 0.6 and 1.2 g/kg GAA (p<0.05). Behavioral parameters of the birds were affected by vitamin D3 injection as well as GAA dietary levels (p<0.05).

The results show that subcutaneous injection of vitamin D3 at the level of 50,000 IU and adding GAA to diet at the level of 1.8 g/kg has positive effects on modulation of physiological stress caused by lactic acidosis in broilers.

The most important factor in adjusting poultry feed consumption is energy, which is correlated with feed cost. The net energy system is more accurate and useful for measuring the energy utilization of poultry. The presence of anti-nutritional compounds such as non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) and phytate compounds in some poultry feed items has led manufacturers to use additives such as enzymes and probiotics to reduce the negative effects of these anti-nutrients. Supplementation enzymes and probiotics to wheat-soybean meal based diets with different energy levels improves growth performance, body composition and net energy efficiency in broilers.

This experiment was performed with 8 treatments and 5 replications and 400 Ross 308 broilers. Treatments including diets with and without multi-enzyme (500 g/t), with and without probiotics Lactofid (200 g/t) and two levels of metabolizable energy (2850 and 3100 kcal/kg) were performed in a completely randomized design.

Addition of enzymes and probiotics in diets containing 3100 kcal / kg of metabolizable energy increased feed intake and weight gain and improved feed conversion ratio (p<0.05). Addition of enzymes, probiotics and energy improvement and increases the dry matter and organic matter digestibility (p<0.05). Supplementation enzymes and probiotics in diet with 3100 kcal / kg of energy increases energy efficiency in the body of poultry and increase the efficiency of energy retention of protein and fat in the body (p<0.05).

Addition of enzyme and probiotic to wheat-soybean based diets improved mean daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, dry matter and organic matter digestibility and metabolizable energy. Addition of enzyme and probiotic at both levels of metabolizable energy improved energy retention in the form of protein and fat as well as net energy at the production level.

The present research was performed to evaluate the effect of different levels of valine in low protein diets on performance, blood parameters and tibia bone properties of Ross-308 broiler chickens from 8-21 days.

For this purpose, a total of 200 one-day-old male broilers of Ross-308 strain from 8 to 21 days of age in 4 treatments and 5 replications with 10 birds per replication were used. The experimental treatments were adjusted based on nutritional Brazilian Tables (2011) and included: control, recommended level of valine in the diet with 2% diluted crud protein, 10% more than the recommended level of valine in the diet with 2% diluted crud protein and 20% higher than the recommended level of valine in the diet with 2% diluted crud protein. Further performance traits (weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio), biochemical blood parameters (triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxides, urea and uric acid) and bone characteristics (ash, calcium and phosphorus) were measured. Statistical analysis of data in the form of a completely randomized experimental design was analyzed of variance and mean comparison test with SAS software.

The results of the present study showed that the treatment containing 10% more than the recommended level of valine in the diet with 2% diluted crud protein increased the more weight (721.8 g/b) of chickens in growth period (p<0.05). Reduction of dietary crude protein, reduced feed intake (1013.8) during the growing period (p<0.05). Supplementation of 10% more than the recommended level of valine, increased blood superoxide dismutase density (164.8 U/gr Hb). Consumption of 20% more than the recommended level of valine increased blood glutathione peroxides density (172 U/gr Hb) (p<0.05). High dietary protein (control) increased blood urea and uric acid and also increased litter nitrogen (p<0.05). It seems that the addition of valine in low crude protein diets, improved performance and increased blood antioxidant capacity (p<0.05). The 20% more than the recommended level of valine in the diets, increased the calcium density (29.3%) in the bone tibia of broiler chickens (p<0.05).

In generally, according to the results obtained in this experiment, the addition of valine in low protein diets improved performance and increased blood antioxidant capacity and increased calcium and phosphorus absorption in bone.

The inclusion of prebiotics in layer hen diets can act as a growth-promoting antibiotic replacer and have beneficial effects on egg production and egg quality. This study aimed to investigate the effects of liquid prebiotic on the post-molt laying performance, egg quality at different storage temperatures and times, immune system function, and blood biochemical parameters of laying hens.

A total of 144 White Leghorn Hy-Line W-36 laying hens at 83 wk of age were randomly assigned to 6 dietary treatments, 4 replicates, and 6 birds per each for 6 weeks in a complete randomized design experiment. Experimental diets were: 1- A corn-soybean meal-based diet without adding liquid prebiotic as a control, 2 to 5- Supplementing basal diets with 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 ml of liquid prebiotic per Kg of diet, 6- basal diet with adding 500 mg of oxytetracycline as an antibiotic per kg of diet. Laying performance including egg production, egg weight, egg mass were recorded daily, and feed intake and feed conversion ratio were calculated weekly. In order to evaluate the egg quality traits at various storage temperatures (refrigerator temperature (4ºC) and room temperature (25ºC) and storage periods (0, 7, 14 days), two eggs were randomly selected from each replicate in the 2th, 4th and 6th weeks of the experiment and the egg quality traits were measured. To evaluate the effects of liquid prebiotic supplementation on humoral immunity, antibody production against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was used. The data were subjected to statistical analysis using a completely randomized design by SAS 9.1 software (SAS, 2004). The egg quality traits data were subjected to analysis of variance in a completely randomized design as a 6×3×2 factorial arrangements (6 levels of liquid prebiotic and antibiotic supplementations, 2 different storage temperatures and 3 storage periods).

The results showed that by increasing the prebiotic supplementation, the daily egg production (p=0.0057) and egg mass (p=0.0013) were linearly increased, and feed conversion ratio (p=0.0016) were linearly decreased. The effect of adding liquid prebiotic on egg quality traits including egg shape index, shell percentage, and shell thickness was not significant (p>0.05), but the effect of storage period on egg shape index and the effect of storage temperature on shell thickness and egg shape index was significant (p<0.05). Supplementation of diets with liquid prebiotic was significantly influenced the cholesterol, glucose, calcium, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentrations of laying hens (p<0.05). The total antibody titer (IgT) against SRBC was increased by increasing supplemental prebiotic.

In conclusion, supplementation of 2 ml/kg liquid prebiotic in the diet of layer hens at post-molt period can act as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters, thus the laying performance was enhanced, and by augmentation of production the specific immunoglobulins, the immune status was improved.

Due to population growth and increasing demand for protein sources, poultry farming became industrialized. This has increased the density of breeding per unit area and also increased the likelihood of disease in them. However, the spread of diseases has led to a greater tendency to use antibiotics. Therefore, one of the ways to reduce the use of antibiotics is to use medicinal plants, such as mint. Therefore, an experiment was performed to investigate the effects of reducing dietary protein levels and adding peppermint extract on the performance of male Ross 308 broilers.

An experiment was conducted in a completely unbalanced random design with 2×2 factorial methods with four treatments, four replications and 10 chickens per replication. Experimental diets include: a) control diet with standard protein and without peppermint extract, two) control diet with three tenths percent of peppermint extract diet, three) low protein diet without peppermint extract, four) low protein diet with the addition of three tenth percent of the ration was peppermint extract. During the experiment, the birds' performance was evaluated periodically, blood parameters, immune response, meat quality, microbial population and carcass characteristics.

During the growing period and the whole breeding period, feed consumption and weight gain in the treatment containing low protein diet with peppermint extract increased significantly compared to the treatment with low protein diet without peppermint extract. The lowest feed conversion ratio was observed in the growing, final and whole growing years in the control treatment containing peppermint extract. Also the lowest percentage of Abdominal fat belonged to the control treatment containing peppermint extract (p<0.05). At 21 and 42 days of age, the lowest level of triglyceride was observed in the control treatment with 0.3% peppermint extract (p<0.05). In this experiment, meat malondialdehyde concentration and microbial population were not affected by experimental treatments.

The results of this experiment showed that adding peppermint extract to the diet from the growing period can improve yield.

Ziziphora one of aromatic and medicinal plants that have a wide distribution in Iran. This study was to investigate the effects of supplemented different levels of Ziziphora tenuior to diet on digestibility, hematological, serum biochemical indices, fecal bacteria and nematode population of Dalagh ewes.

Twelve matured Dalagh ewes averagely weighting (40 ±0.5 kg) were assigned to a completely randomized design experiment with 3 treatments: 1) basal diet without additive (control), 2) basal diet +25g Z. tenuior, and 3) basal diet +50g Z. tenuior per day for each animal. The whole period of the experiment was carried out in 44 days, consisting of 14 days for the adaptation period. Digestibility of dry matter and organic matter were calculated using Acid Insoluble Ash (AIA) method, fresh feces were taken by rectal sampling three times every day from each ewe.  In the last day of experiment, fecal samples from each animal were taken by latex gloves from the rectum then were transferred to sterile containers. The samples were directly transported on ice to the microbiology laboratory. The microbial population was assessed by microbial culture method and the number of parasite eggs in feces was conducted by corrected McMaster method. Blood samples were collected from each animal after 16 hours' starvation period, before the morning feed, at the end of the experimental period.

Addition of Z. tenuior did not significantly affect the dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) digestibility, serum biochemical indices and fecal bacteria. Different levels of Z. tenuior had no significant effects on glucose, cholesterol, Urea, HDL, LDL. But 25 grams Ziziphora treatment had the biggest decline in VlDL and triglyceride (P<0.05). It was found that treatment 50g Z. tenuior significantly increased the percentage of lymphocytes (P=0.007) and reduced the percentage of Neutrophils (P=0.048) compared to other treatments while the differences between other hematological parameters were not significant.

According to the results mentioned, this experiment indicates that supplementation of ewe diet with Z. tenuior could beneficially affect the fecal bacteria and immune status.

To overcome the problems caused by animal feed shortages, efforts are made to increase the availability of nutrients and their digestibility, such as improving the nutritional value of forage plants through biological processing. Schizophyllum commune is an edible fungus of the basidiomycete’s family that has been used for biological processing of forage. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Schizophyllum commune liquid and solid state culture on chemical composition, volume of gas produced, degradability of dry matter, degradability of Neutral Detergent Fiber and volatile fatty acids produced by corn silage.

For processing, 1×1 cm2 of seven-day-old fungi grown in solid culture medium containing potatoes, dextrose and agar were inoculated into glass jars containing 200gr sterilized and soaked corn silage. 100 ml of Liquid culture medium containing secreted enzymes was inoculated into a glass chamber containing 200gr sterile and soaked corn silage after filtration of liquid surface fungi and kept at 26 ° C for 25 days. Gas production of the treatments in glass vials and degradability were measured using nylon bags and three fistulated Holstein cows.

Processing of corn silage by both methods reduced dry matter, organic matter and Neutral Detergent Fiber (p˂0.05). The amount of protein in the treated groups increased compared to the control group and solid culture processing had the greatest effect on changing the amount of silage protein. The amount insoluble Neutral Detergent Fiber increased in the treatment group. Solid culture corn silage showed higher gas volume, digestibility of organic matter and more Metabolisable energy than liquid culture and control group. Solid culture treatment had no effect on the degradability of dry matter. But liquid culture processing reduced the degradability. Liquid culture method could increase the total amount of volatile fatty acids produced in corn silage, but processing by both methods had no effect on the amount of ammonia nitrogen produced by corn silage.

In general, the results showed that processing of corn silage by solid and liquid culture can improve some of the nutritional components of silage, including increasing the amount of protein, gas volume and metabolisable energy, digestibility of dry matter and organic matter, but due to the nature of enzymatic activity of Schizophyllum commune the degradability of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber of processed corn silage was reduced.

Tannins have many limiting effects on consumption, nutrient digestion, growth and performance, palatability. There are many plants and by-products that are limited in animal feed due to the high content of anti-nutritional compounds such as tannins. The use of methods that can reduce the amount of these compounds will allow their use in animal feed. The aim of the present experiment was to improve the nutritional value of Ziziphus Spina-Christi, which contains tannins and polyphenolic compounds for ruminants.

Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves were treated with four tannin degrading bacteria including Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinetobacter spp. (isolated from deer rumen), Lactobacillus fermentum (isolated from Najdi goat rumen), and commercial Lactobacillus fermentum. In two stages, chemical composition, digestibility, and fermentation of Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves were studied alone or in combination in a standard diet of fattening lambs by laboratory methods. Experimental treatments in the first and second stages each consisted of 5 treatments, 1- Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves or diets containing it without processing (control), 2- to 5- leaves or diets containing it, which were treated separately with each of the four bacteria.

Gas production potential, gas production rate, truly degradable organic matter, microbial biomass production efficiency, ammonia nitrogen concentration, and protozoa population of Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves treated with tannin-degrading bacteria increased significantly compared to the control (p<0.05). The percentage of dry matter digestibility, NDF, and ADF of the Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves treated with tannin degrading bacteria also increased compared to the control (p<0.05). In the second phase of the experiment, gas production potential, dry matter, NDF, and ADF digestibility percentage, ammonia nitrogen concentration and protozoa population of fattening lamb diets containing processed Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves were increased compared to the control (p<0.05). Gas production rate, partitioning factor (PF) coefficient, microbial biomass production, and microbial biomass production efficiency in diets containing processed Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves increased compared to the control only numerically (p<0.05).

The results of this study showed that considering the positive effects of Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves processing with tannin-degrading bacteria, it could be said that processing this plant to reduce tannin is a suitable solution for better use of Ziziphus Spina-Christi leaves in the diet.

Processing of agricultural by-products for animal feed can upgrade the supply of animal feed without increasing the current production and only by improving productivity via enhancing energy efficiency and maintaining it in the food supply chain, and at the same time, diminish the concerns of waste management, food security, resource constraints, and environmental protection. As a result, human and livestock competition for food make less and feed prices cut.

This experiment was performed to determine the optimal method of ammoniation of wheat straw with anhydrous ammonia (ammonia gas) including the effect of increasing the amount of moisture and the amount of gas used for ammoniation and investigating the effects of replacing ammoniated straw with straw in the diet of fattening calves in two stages. In the first stage, ammoniation of the wheat straw using four levels of moisture (0, 20, 25, and 30%) and four levels of ammonia gas (0, 2, 2.5, and 3%) was performed in a factorial experiment and the chemical composition and digestibility of the samples were determined and compared. In the second stage, in order to investigate the effects of using ammoniated straw in the diet of fattening calves, 24 Simmental fattening calves with an initial weight of 356 ± 15 were divided into control and experimental groups. In the experimental group, NH3-treated straw which was processed using 3% ammonia gas whith 30% moisture in straw, replaced untreated straw in the control group. Dry matter consumption and daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and weight gain cost of calves were studied for five months and compared between the two groups.

Ammoniation of straw did not cause significant changes in the amount of organic matter and ash. The percentage of straw crude protein as a result of ammoniation increased up to 2.7 times and with increasing ammonia level and moisture content, the amount of crude protein showed a tendency to increase. Ammoniation caused a significant difference in the amount of NDF, ADF, hemicellulose, and ADL in straw, and the digestibility of dry matter and organic matter was also improved. Daily dry matter intake increased in the experimental group (p<0.01) and the daily weight gain and mean weight at the end of the experiment period were significantly higher in the experimental group (p<0.01). The feed conversion ratio showed a significant improvement in the experimental group (p<0.01) and the use of ammoniated straw treated with 3% ammonia gas and 30% moisture reduced the ration price and feed cost per kilogram of livestock weight gain.

Treating wheat straw with anhydrous ammonia (ammonia gas) is a simple, fast, and effective way to process straw and increase its nutritional value and digestibility for livestock, and its economic efficiency depends on the availability and price of gas and the method used.

The advantages of using milk replacer include proper growth of lambs, prevention of consumption of bodily reserves of mother ewes, preparation of ewes for the next calving period, reduction of calving distance, increase of twinning and reduction of costs. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of milk replacer on Performance, blood parameters and rumen development.

In this study, 42 newborn male and female lambs (equal numbers of each sex) of Ghezel breed were used. Treatments in each sex group included 1- whole milk of ewes that were placed next to the mother ewes in two meals in the morning and evening every 12 hours and the starter diet that was freely given to the lambs as a control group. 2- Milk replacer 1 (Iranian) that 15% of body weight with the starter diet was given to lambs freely. 3- Alternative to milk 2 (foreign), which was given 15% of the body weight to the lambs freely with the starter diet. 7 lambs were assigned to each treatment in each sex. Milk replacers were also provided to lambs in the morning and evening until weaning. Feed intake was measured daily. The lambs were weighed every two weeks. Blood samples were taken on days 35 and 75 to determine the effect of milk replacer on blood parameters. In the thirteenth week, male lambs were slaughtered and the characteristics of the internal organs of the carcass and their rumen development were measured.

The results showed that milk substitutes increased feed intake, which was the highest increase in lambs receiving Iranian milk substitutes (p<0.01). Also, feed consumption in male lambs was more than female lambs and with increasing age of lambs, feed consumption also increased significantly (p<0.01). Data on weight gain after weaning of lambs showed that lambs receiving Iranian and foreign milk substitutes gained more weight than lambs receiving breast milk (p<0.01). None of the studied blood parameters except glucose were affected by Iranian and foreign milk substitutes and also the sex of lambs. Liver (p<0.01) and spleen (p<0.05) weights were highest in control groups and lowest in Iranian milk substitutes. Also, ventricular fat was the highest in the Iranian milk substitute group (p<0.05). The rumen villi of the tested lambs were not significantly affected by milk substitution.

According to the positive results observed  in relation to feed intake and  weight after weaning, the use of Iranian milk substitutes in suckling lambs is recommended.

Since the phenomenon of inflammation is considered as one of the significant challenges in different sectors of the livestock industry, so this study aims to evaluate the inflammatory strategy of Theophylline (a Phosphodiesterase, PDE inhibitor) on some production characteristics in laying hens at the late period of egg production (The severity of chronic ovarian inflammation increases due to consecutive ovulation in older laying hens), egg quality characteristics and histological evaluations of infundibulum were performed.

The study was conducted in a completely randomized design, over a period of 4 weeks, using 24 laying hens of W-36 line strains (older than 90 weeks). The birds were randomly divided into two treatments (including a level with a concentration of 3 mg perlive body weight as orally and a control treatment) with 3 replications per treatment and 4 birds per replication. Percentage of oviposition, mean egg weight and feed conversion ratio were calculated. Eggs were collected randomly and weekly and the ratio of shell weight to egg weight, egg shell thickness, egg specific gravity, units and yolk index were measured. Blood were sampled from wing vain to measure glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol. At the end of the study period, the chickens were dissected and the appearance of the ovaries and ovarian tumors were assessed. Also, after evaluating the appearance of the follicles, tissue was sampled from the area closest to the infundibulum to the ovary.

The results showed that despite being none significant result in body weight and daily food intake (p>0.05), usage of PDE inhibitor Theophylline caused to increase in pre-ovulatory follicle diameter (F1) (p≤0.05). Among the quality characteristics of eggs as an indicator of anti-inflammatory effects on oviduct function, egg white height, egg height and shell thickness in birds under the influence of theophylline increased significantly (p<0.05). theophylline supplementation increased blood triglycerides in treated birds (p<0.05). The ratio of control treatment, the use of theophylline could improve the histological anti-inflammatory properties of oviduct by increasing the stability of the epithelial cilia of infundibulum.

The supplementation of PDE inhibitor Theophylline could improve some of the production characteristics and improve some egg quality indicators due to its anti-inflammatory effects in oviduct.

People are sensitive to bee venom and the presence of allergenic compounds in the venom has made it difficult to use and determine the optimal dose for treatment. The aim of this study was to reduce allergenic compounds and to evaluate the quality of gamma ray processed bee venom.

Venom samples were irradiated at doses of 0,2,4,6 and 8 kGy by Gamma cell 220 Cobalt 60 irradiation facility. Chemical compounds of venom were determined pre- and post-irradiation. Protein subunits of venom was detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Allergen compounds were measured using HPLC technique. To assess the immune response and pathology of irradiated venom, 36 mice were grouped into 6 groups with 6 replications. 1 mg of venom per kg of body weight was injected intraperitoneally and after 48 hours, blood was drawn from the heart. Blood serum was isolated for liver enzyme and interleukin-2 assays. In the final of study, mice liver and kidney samples collected and fixed in 10% formalin. Liver samples were sliced, fixed and stained by hematoxylin and eosin. Data were analyzed by SAS Software.

The results showed that true protein content and malondialdehyde level in irradiated samples had no differ with the control group (p>0.05). Electrophoresis patterns and HPLC results showed that irradiation at doses of 4 and 6 kGy decreased phospholipase and hyaluronidase amount and increase the low subunits of protein (p<0.05). According to the HPLC results of bee venom samples before and after irradiation, bioactive compounds of bee venom including histamine, dopamine and norepinephrine were detected at 1.692, 2.739 and 1.756 minutes, respectively. In the sample of non-irradiated venom, the amount of histamine, dopamine and norepinephrine based on the percentage of the area under the curve were 3.541, 1.640 and 0.343%, respectively. The amount of histamine, dopamine and norepinephrine decreased after irradiation. According to the results of ELISA test, serum interleukin-2 concentration was not significantly different in different treatments of crude and irradiated venom with doses of 2, 4 and 6 kGy (p>0.05). However, the dose of 8 kg reduced the effects of bee venom on increasing the activity of helper T lymphocytes (p<0.05). Based on the histology results, irradiated bee venom at doses of 4 and 6 kGy reduced hyperemia and swelling of hepatocytes.

According to the results of this study, a dose of 6 kGy of gamma ray without negative effects on the characteristics of bee venom can be used for bee venom radiation and reduction of allergen compounds.

One of the major problems of mother herd industry is the accumulation of abdominal fats and increasing plasma fat index by furthering production period. These changes predispose chickens and roosters to metabolic diseases and fertility issues. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of flaxseed oil and ginger powder on fat metabolism, lipid profiles and liver enzymes of broilers.

we used 72 pieces of Ross 308 broiler mother rooster by 45 weeks of age, in a completely randomized factorial design (4×2) including 2 levels of ginger powder (consisting 0 & 1.5 percent of ratio), 4 levels of flaxseed oil. (0, 1, 2 and 3percent of ratio) as long as 10 weeks in 8 experimental treatments with 3 replicate and 3 roosters per replication.

The results of present study revealed that consumption of ginger powder and flaxseed oil significantly reduced the triglyceride and plasma cholesterol concentrations in broiler compared to the control group (p<0.05).  Also, interactions of different levels of ginger powder and flaxseed oil on triglyceride and total plasma were significant (p<0.05). Consumption ginger powder significantly reduced low-density lipoproteins and increased high-density lipoproteins of blood plasma (p<0.05), while flaxseed oil and the simultaneous effects of ginger powder and flaxseed oil had a significant effect on low density lipoproteins (LDL). And did not have any significant effect on high density lipoproteins (HDL) (p<0.05).  The Glucose concentration didn’t affect by ginger powder and flaxseed oil and also the interaction effects of ginger powder and flaxseed oil (p<0.05). Using 1.5% of ginger powder in diet decreased aspartate aminotransferase enzyme (p<0.05), while using flaxseed oil and simultaneous consumption of flaxseed oil and ginger powder had no significant effect on aspartate aminotransferase enzyme (p<0.05). The main effect of ginger powder, flaxseed oil and the interaction effects of ginger powder and flaxseed oil in reducing plasma alanine aminotransferase were also significant (p<0.05). Liver weight, relative liver weight and abdominal fat weight, relative weight of abdominal fat weight didn’t affect by ginger powder and flaxseed oil and the simultaneous effects of ginger and flax (p<0.05).

Based on the results of the present study, supplementation of the mother rooster diet simultaneously with a level of 1.5% ginger powder and the level of 2% flaxseed oil had positive effect on lipid profile and liver enzymes.

Type traits describing the skeletal characteristics of an animal are moderately to strongly genetically correlate with other economically important traits in cattle including fertility, longevity and carcass traits. The present study aimed to conduct a genome wide association studies (GWAS) based on gene-set enrichment analysis for identifying the loci associated with conformation traits using the 50K arrays.

Genome wide association study was performed with biometric traits using GEMMA software v. 0.98. Using the biomaRt2 R package R the SNP were assigned to genes if they were within the genomic sequence of the gene or within a flanking region of 25 kb up- and downstream of the gene. For the assignment of the genes to functional categories, the GO, KEGG, DAVID and PANTHER databases were used.

In this research, 12 SNP markers on chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 25 located in PLCB1, PTBP1, TMEM130, PLCB4 (BL), TGFBR3, SYN3, TRAK1 (WH), GLP1R, HMGA1 (CG) and CAPN3, MYOG and MYO18B (CD) genes were identified. Some of the genes that were found are consistent with some previous studies related biometric traits. According to pathway analysis, 17 pathways from gene ontology and biological pathways were associated with biometric traits (p˂0.05). Among these pathways, muscle structure development, anatomical structure formation involved in morphogenesis, anatomical structure homeostasis, Osteoclast differentiation, skeletal muscle cell differentiation and calcium signaling pathway have important functions in development of skeletal muscle, glucose homeostasis, osteogenesis process, regulation of ion calcium and activation.

The finding of this research confirms the results of previous studies from genomic scanning related to type traits, also revealed additional genomic regions, could be useful for genetic selection in the cattle breeding programs.

Varroa infestation is undoubtedly the greatest threat and challenge facing Apiculture today. This external parasite inevitably lives in the bee colony and causes irreparable damage to its colony and the subsequent honey production. One of the proposed strategies in this regard is the use of pesticides, which have a negative impact on the health of bees and honey consumers. To avoid these negative consequences, safer alternative methods of controlling mites are needed, including the use of resistant genetic strains and breeding selection programs to establish colonies with relative resistance to mites. In honeybee colonies, there are several physiological and behavioral mechanisms for Varroa resistance that by examining their relationship with identified resistance genes, the genetic basis of Varroa mite resistance in honeybees is identified and can used in breeding programs. The aim of the present study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in a sample of the Iranian honeybee population, in the candidate gene (the dopamine receptor gene (DOP3)) effective on defense behaviors of honeybees against the varroa mite.

For this purpose, a total of 10 drone bees (5 susceptible and 5 resistant) were selected and their DNA was then isolated using a CTAB-based method. The PCR was carried out based on specific primers in the UTR region sequence of the DOP3 gene. The quantity and quality were then determined using the nanometer method. After a single band (900 bp) of the expected size, product purification and sequencing (Sanger method) were performed. The display of the outputs and the determination of the quality of the raw sequence (phred index) took place with the FinchTV software and the alignment with BLAST and clustering with the MAFTT software.

In this study, differences were observed in several regions of the nucleotide sequence of the UTR region of DOP3 gene, the most important difference in the nucleotide sequence between sensitive and resistant individuals in the two regions. One is in the nucleotide region of 428 to 437 forward readings as many as 9 bp nucleotides and the other is in the nucleotide region of 715 to 720 forward readings as many as 6 bp nucleotides, which in both, mutations of the deletion type have been performed.

Evaluation of the final results showed significant difference, in type of deletion/addition with the size of 6 and 9 bp between two groups (sensitive and resistant to Varroa), respectively which can be used in the molecular identification of resistant colonies and breeding programs to produce Varroa mite resistant colonies. No such deletions from this gene have been reported so far.

Among the country's horse breeds, the Arabian horse has the largest population. Arabian horses are very beautiful and resistant to harsh environmental conditions and are mostly bred in the southern regions of the country. Due to the large population of this breed in the country, it has given rise to several genera that may be genetically distinct. Knowing these differences is important in managing and conserving genetic resources. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of Arabian horses and their different breeds in Iran.

In the present study, the genetic diversity of nine Iranian Arabian horse breeds including Kahilan, Abyan, Hamdani, Saglavieh, Julfan, Khersan, Maliha, Nasmani and Vedeneh was investigated. The identification of the strais was based on the information in the studbook of the Arabian horse that has been published by the Equestrian Federation of Iran. All samples were genotyped using 12 microsatellite markers recommended by the international society of animal genetics (ISAG). Electrophoresis of amplified DNA fragments was performed by 3130 genetic analyzers. Data analysis was performed using GENALEX version 2.0 and NTSYS version 2.02 softwares.

A total of 100 alleles were identified using this number of markers on 251 Arabian horses. ASB17 marker with an average of 7.22 alleles and HTG4 marker with an average of 4.77 alleles showed the highest and lowest number of alleles among all strains, respectively. The highest and lowest heterozygosity was observed in AHT4 marker with a mean of 0.786 and ASB23 marker with a mean of 0.631 allele in all studied strains. Also, the highest and lowest mean heterozygositys were calculated in AHT4 markers with 0.784 alleles and ASB2 with 0.598 alleles, respectively. The average Shannon index for all markers was 1.427. The principal component analysis test showed no specific grouping due to the demographic separation of different Arabian horse strains, and all horses were located in one area on the coordinate axis.

The results of the present study showed a better understanding of the genetic structure of different strains of Arabian horses. The results of this research can also help horse breeders to manage their genetic diversity and breeding. Because there is relatively large genetic diversity within different strains of Arabian horses, there is good potential for breeding programs to improve performance and prevent their extinction.

Due to weakness, the occurrence of unwanted errors, the impact of the environment and exposure to natural events, human always make mistakes in their diagnoses of the environment or different topics, so that different people 's perception of a single and unique event may be very different and be diverse. Nowadays, with the development of image processing technology, human beings try to evaluate the speed and accuracy of their evaluation and diagnosis about objects, plants and animals by using hardware and software facilities and by using the features extracted from images related to objects, plants and animals. To increase and therefore has created a new technology called image processing and has developed it in various dimensions.

In order to identify the best artificial neural network training algorithm for estimating the weight of Kurdi sheep using digital image processing, lambs and adult animals at the sheep breeding station of North Khorasan province were weighed using a scale. During the weighing, some digital images were taken from the side view of sheep using a digital camera by discerning fixed distance. Image processing steps and feature extraction from images of sheep were done using GUI of MATLAB (R2010a) software. Then, three types of artificial neural networks were trained using different types of educational procedure, including Levenberg Marquarth (LM), Scaled Conjugate Gradient (SCG), and Bayesian Regularization (BR) Training algorithms. The extracted features from images were used as input and weight of sheep as output in the training steps of ANNs, and the accuracy of the ANN models in estimating the weight of sheep was compared.

As results, the accuracy of the trained ANNs with the three algorithms including SCG, BR and LM, in estimating the weight of sheep in the training phase was estimated to be 91.95, 94.74 and 94.94%, respectively. In the practical test, which was performed by presenting 20 images as a test to each ANN models, the trained ANNs with the SCG, BR and LM algorithm had 4.7%, 0.5% and 2.11% error in estimating the weight. The results showed that all three types of ANN training algorithms had acceptable accuracy to estimate the weight of sheep, meanwhile the accuracy of the artificial neural network trained with BR algorithm was better than the others.

The performance of the proposed method based on image processing and the use of artificial neural network is accurate enough to estimate the weight of Kurdi sheep. It had better performance. Based on the results of the present study, it is quite possible to develop applications based on the use of artificial intelligence to weigh domestic animals, and use of this technology is recommended in several cases where there is no quick and easy access to the scales.

Selection to increase the frequency of new mutations useful only in some subpopulations leaves markers at the genome level. Most of these regions are related to genes and QTLs controlling significant economic traits.

In order to detection of genetic differences between Iranian northwestern crossbred and Holstein cattle breed, respectively number of 100 and 60 sample from Iranian north-west hybrid and Holstein populations were used. After ensuring the distinct structure of the studied populations, FST, XP_EHH and Rsb statistics were used to identify the selection signatures and 21, 16 and 24 regions exceeding the threshold were identified as signatures of selection respectively. These selected genomic regions were surveyed and 104 and 135 genes were extracted from the corresponding areas in ARS-UCD1.2 Bos Taurus Genome Assembly for FST and LD based methods, respectively.

Some of detected genes in regions under selection were involved in metabolic pathways related to taste, smell, fat metabolic pathways, resistance to disease and reproduction performance. Some of detected genes were involved with milk production by involving in WNT (Wingless-type) signaling pathway. The selected genomic regions were further examined for further analysis and finding of gene networks. These analyzes were performed by online software related to the genomic database (DAVID). Only one significant network was identified (p<4.5×10-9). This gene network communicates with taste receptors and specially detection of bitter tastes.

In addition to better understanding about natural and artificial selection effects on the Holstein breed and Iraniannorth-west indigenous hybrid, the selected regions can helpus to detecte QTLs and regions associated with important economic traits. In any case, it will be necessary to carry out more association and functional studies to demonstrate the implication of these genes.

Meteorological indexes are among the factors affecting the yield of various agricultural and livestock products. Given the leading climate change, examining the impact of meteorological limit indices on livestock production can now be an important challenge for producers. Therefore, the purpose of this meteorological analysis is on the trend of Iran's beekeeping industry in the years 1960 to 2018.

Spearman correlation coefficient was used to study the time series statistics of beehives in Iran and meteorological indices of temperature and precipitation. Standard meteorological indexes are obtained on the basis of daily information and statistics recorded at meteorological stations. R software and related packages were used to estimate the indexes. After quantitative and qualitative study of meteorological statistics, related time series were prepared. Finally, heat and humidity indices were compared with the population of bee colonies by standard methods.

The results showed that the number of bee colonies was affected by meteorological indexes so that the highest correlation coefficient between the number of bee colonies with warm nights (TN90p) was 0.84, (TN10p) cold nights and cold days (TX10p) was 81, respectively. 0-, hot days (TX90p) equal to 0.79, heat duration (WSDI) equal to 0.75, number of days with very heavy rain (R20mm) equal to 0.66, annual amount of rain on wet days (PRCPTOT) equal to 0.61 is significant at the level of 0.05. The results of Petite homogeneity test showed a jump point or sudden change in 1990 for the beehive population at a significance level of 0.05. This jump point occurred upwards. Also, the population trend of the incremental bee hive has a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.98. An average of nearly 2 million hives increased statistically in the second half. The highest agreement (0.84) was with the increase in the number of hot nights during these 60 years. The meteorological index of hot nights (TN90p) has increased from 10 to 20 days and is equivalent to 100%.

Overall, the results showed that the number of bee colonies is affected by meteorological limit indices. Also, the results of various studies on the effect of Global Warming on insects, including bees, have shown that with small fluctuations in ambient temperature, there will be many changes in their behavior and life. In such a way that the rate of reproductive activity, pollination, diversity and distribution and susceptibility to pathogens and their pests are affected and in the long run, can lead to many changes in the bee population. Therefore, in order to strengthen, institutionalize, and support this sector, while recognizing the environmental tensions that are growing in the future, help beekeepers by raising their awareness.