• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.1769-1774
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• 2023

Objective: Resting comfort may influence sleep-related lying postures in cattle. This study aimed to investigate the effects of bed cleanliness on tucked (TSP) and extended (ESP) head positions in sleep-related lying postures. Methods: The study was conducted over two experimental periods. In each period, four Japanese Black fattening cattle were assigned to the cleaning treatment (CL), in which bedding material was replaced once during each experimental period. Four cattle were assigned to the control treatment (CON) with no bed cleaning. Daily duration, bout frequency, and bout length of sleep-related lying postures were measured, and bed moisture, ammonia concentration in the air, plasma cortisol, and serotonin concentration were also measured within one week before and after cleaning treatment in each period. Results: The bed moisture and ammonia concentrations decreased in CL after bed cleaning. Following bed cleaning, the duration and bout frequency of TSP in CL decreased compared to that observed in CON, whereas ESP in CL increased after bed cleaning. Total duration of sleep-related lying postures and cortisol and serotonin levels did not differ between CL and CON. Conclusion: These results suggest that cattle in sleep-related lying postures shifted from tucked head positions to extended head positions in response to improved bed cleanliness.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1655-1661
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• 2005

The present studies were designed to provide new information on fatty acid profiles of various muscles and adipose tissues of fattening horses in comparison with beef cattle and pigs. In the first study, the lipids were extracted respectively from subcutaneous, intermuscular adipose tissues, longissimus dorsi and biceps femoris muscles of fattening Breton horses (n = 8) with an average body weight of 1,124 kg. In the second study, the lipids were extracted from subcutaneous, intermuscular adipose tissues and longissimus dorsi muscle of fattening horses (n = 13), Japanese Black beef cattle (n = 5), Holstein steers (n = 5) and fattening pigs (n = 5). The fatty acids in the lipid samples were determined by gas chromatography after methylation by a combined base/acid methylation method. It was found that the lipids from horse subcutaneous and intermuscular adipose tissues contained more (p<0.05) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which were mainly composed of linoleic acid (C18:2) and linolenic acid (C18:3) than those in the muscles. The weight percent of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA cis 9, trans 11) in lipids from biceps femoris muscle was 0.22%, which was higher (p<0.05) than that from the other depots. The horse lipids were higher (p<0.05) in PUFA but lower (p<0.05) in SFA and MUFA in comparison with those of the cattle and pigs. The percentage of C18:2 or C18:3 fatty acid in the horse lipids were respectively 2-8 fold or 5-18 fold higher (p<0.05) than those of the cattle and pigs. The percentages of CLA (cis 9, trans 11) in the horse lipids (0.14-0.16%) were very close to those of the pigs (0.18-0.19%) but much lower (p<0.05) than those of the Japanese Black beef cattle (0.55-0.94%) and Holstein steers (0.46-0.71%). The results indicated that the fatty acid profiles of lipids from different muscle and adipose tissues of fattening horses differed significantly. In comparison with that of the beef cattle and pigs, the horse lipids contained more C18:2 and C18:3 but less CLA.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1286-1295
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• 2008

Leptin is produced by adipocytes and its role in the regulation of lipid metabolism, feed intake, productive and reproductive performance of domestic animal species has been greatly stressed and extensively investigated in recent years. This study was conducted to develop a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the estimation of plasma bovine leptin and to determine plasma leptin concentration in fattening Japanese Black cattle (Wagyu) and its crossbreds at commercial farms. Relationships of plasma leptin with plasma vitamin A and age of crossbred cattle were also determined. Recombinant bovine leptin (rbleptin) was produced by the E. coli overexpressed leptin as a GST (glutathione S-transferase)-fusion protein. Then antiserum against bovine leptin was obtained by its immunization in rabbits. Using this antiserum, a bovine specific RIA was developed and plasma leptin level was determined in 120 crossbred fattening cattle (WagyuHolstein, 50:50) at commercial farms. The plasma leptin level increased with the age of cattle and its level was greater in the crossbred heifers than in the steers. Plasma vitamin A level was negatively correlated with plasma leptin level in crossbred heifers and steers. This relationship was stronger in heifers than in steers. Plasma leptin was gradually increased with advancing age in fattening Wagyu cattle. In conclusion, development of a bovine specific RIA to estimate plasma leptin will contribute to better understanding of the role of leptin in cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.597-605
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• 2012

Domestic animals, including ruminants, can synthesize vitamin C (VC) in their liver; as such, the dietary requirement for VC has not been confirmed in these animals. The adequacy of VC has been evaluated by quantifying VC levels in plasma, but the reported values in bovine plasma have been widely variable. Plasma VC concentration is decreased by heat stress, hepatic lesions, fattening, and infectious diseases such as mastitis in cattle. Therefore, VC supplementation is potentially beneficial for cattle with low plasma VC concentration. This review discusses the methods for determination of plasma VC concentration in cattle, VC nutrition, and the efficacy of VC supplementation in calves, dairy cattle, and beef cattle. Additionally I propose a reference range for plasma VC concentration in Japanese Black cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.592-598
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• 2019

Objective: Autophagy is a bulk degradation system for intracellular proteins which contributes to skeletal muscle homeostasis, according to previous studies in humans and rodents. However, there is a lack of information on the physiological role of autophagy in the skeletal muscle of meat animals. This study was planned as a pilot study to investigate changes in expression of two major autophagy-related genes, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain $3{\beta}$ (MAP1LC3B) and autophagy related 7 (ATG7) in fattening beef cattle, and to compare them with skeletal muscle growth. Methods: Six castrated Japanese Black cattle (initial body weight: $503{\pm}20kg$) were enrolled in this study and fattened for 7 months. Three skeletal muscles, M. longissimus, M. gluteus medius, and M. semimembranosus, were collected by needle biopsy three times during the observation period, and mRNA levels of MAP1LC3B and ATG7 were determined by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. The expression levels of genes associated with the ubiquitin-proteasome system, another proteolytic mechanism, were also analyzed for comparison with autophagy-related genes. In addition, ultrasonic scanning was repeatedly performed to measure M. longissimus area as an index of muscle growth. Results: Our results showed that both MAP1LC3B and ATG7 expression increased over the observation period in all three skeletal muscles. Interestingly, the increase in expression of these two genes in M. longissimus was highly correlated with ultrasonic M. longissimus area and body weight. On the other hand, the expression of genes associated with the ubiquitin-proteasome system was unchanged during the same period. Conclusion: These findings suggest that autophagy plays an important role in the growth of skeletal muscle of fattening beef cattle and imply that autophagic activity affects meat productivity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.954-959
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• 2004

In a herd of 24 spring-born steers, plasma leptin and performance of selected purebred (n=5) and backcrossed Hereford (n=5) were compared in a year-round summer grazing and winter feedlot fattening. Bimonthly blood collection and body weight measurement were accomplished. The plasma samples were analyzed for leptin, insulin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, NEFA and glucose. The experimental design utilized one-way ANOVA with breed as the treatment. The purebred obtained higher plasma NEFA (p<0.001) compared to backcross, regardless of seasonal feeding systems (SFS). The backcross showed gradual increase and nonresponsiveness of plasma leptin to SFS. During summer grazing, attenuation of plasma leptin and sudden elevation when shifted to winter feedlot fattening were observed in purebred. Plasma leptin obtained linear relationship with body weight of purebred (r=0.53;p<0.001) and backcrossed Hereford (r=0.49; p<0.01). The purebred and backcrossed Hereford, when shifted to summer grazing, resulted to sustained and restricted daily gain, respectively. Therefore, cattle breeds of higher growth potential exhibit significant elevation of plasma leptin after 400 kg BW, when animal starts to deposit significant body fat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1678-1684
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• 2006

The objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters and sire breeding values for average daily gain (ADG) and carcass traits using sire-maternal grandsire model with REML approach, sire model with REML approach, sire model without relationships among sires and with REML and ANOVA approach, and to investigate advantages and disadvantages of these methods. Data were collected from 42,325 Japanese Black steers and heifers finished and slaughtered from 1991 to 2004. Traits analyzed in this study were average daily gain (ADG) during the fattening period, live weight at slaughter (LW), cold carcass weight (CW), estimated lean yield percentage (LYE), longissimus muscle area (LMA), subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), rib thickness (RT), and marbling score (BMS). Bivariate analyses were also performed to obtain genetic and phenotypic correlation coefficients among traits. Estimated breeding values were obtained from each model, and simple and rank correlations among breeding values from each model were calculated. Estimates of heritability using the four models ranged from 0.25 to 0.31 in ADG, from 0.21 to 0.24 in LW, from 0.23 to 0.27 in CW, from 0.10 to 0.17 in DP, from 0.40 to 0.42 in LYE, from 0.19 to 0.31 in LMA, from 0.31 to 0.34 in SFT, from 0.26 to 0.33 in RT, and from 0.18 to 0.44 in BMS. The differences in heritability estimates using the four models seemed to be feasible in ADG, CW, DP, LMA, RT, and BMS. Genetic correlation coefficients of ADG with CW, SFT, RT and BMS were moderate to high and positive while the genetic correlation coefficients between ADG and LYE was low and negative. Correlation coefficients of BMS with SFT were negligible for both genetic and phenotypic correlations. The correlations of estimates evaluated from sire models with those from sire-maternal grandsire model were not large enough to convincing that breeding values using a sire model were corresponding to those using a sire-maternal grand sire model. If information of maternal grand sires are not available, the sire model with incomplete pedigree information included only sire of sire (Model 2) is optimal among the sire models evaluated in this study.