• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.51.1-51.10
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• 2021

Background: Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a highly fatal lymphoproliferative disease of cattle, deer, bison, water buffalo, and pigs caused by the gamma-herpesviruses alcelaphine herpesvirus-1 (AlHV-1) and ovine herpesvirus-2 (OvHV-2). Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of OvHV-2 in sheep, goats, cattle, and buffalo in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan, by applying molecular and phylogenetic methods. Methods: Blood samples were aspirated from sheep (n = 54), goat (n = 50), cattle (n = 46) and buffalo (n= 50) at a slaughterhouse and several farms. The samples were subjected to heminested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the OvHV-2 POL gene and the OvHV-2 ORF75 tegument protein gene. Results: The highest percentage of MCF positive samples was in sheep (13%), whereas goat, cattle, and buffalo had lower positive percentages, 11%, 9%, and 6.5%, respectively. Four OvHV-2-positive PCR products obtained from sheep samples were sequenced. The sequences obtained were submitted to the NCBI GenBank database (MK852173 for the POL gene; MK840962, MK852171, and MK852172 for the ORF75 tegument protein gene). Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close similarity of study sequences with those of worldwide samples. Conclusions: This study is the first cross-sectional study on the prevalence and molecular detection of OvHV-2 in apparently healthy cattle and buffalo that could be carrying OvHV-2 acquired from OvHV-2-positive sheep and goats. The results indicate that OvHV-2 is circulating in Pakistan. Further studies are needed to characterize OvHV-2 and elucidate further its prevalence.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.605-614
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• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of TMR on in vitro rumen fermentation and methane production of goat with different forage sources. The experiment was arranged 4×2 factorial design. The different forage sources were rice straw (RS), Italian rye grass (IR), timothy (TI) and alfalfa (AL), respectively. There were two different forage : concentrate ratios such as 20:80 (20) and 50:50 (50), respectively. Therefore, totally 8 treatments were used: 1) RS20, 2) RS50, 3) IR20, 4) IR50, 5) TI20, 6) TI50, 7) AL20, and 8) AL50, respectively. The rumen fluid of goat was collected from the slaughterhouse. For fermentation parameters, ruminal pH, total gas, methane, hydrogen, ammonia nitrogen, and volatile fatty acid were determined. The pH values were within an optimal range across all treatments. Total gas productions at TI20 and AL50 were significantly greater than others (p<0.05). Methane production was significantly lower in TI and AL compared with other treatments (p<0.05). The relatively high dietary NDF content in treatments showed significantly lower methane production (p<0.05). Significant alterations treatments were detected at ammonia nitrogen concentration according to the ratio of forage : concentrate (p<0.05). AL treatment showed greater total volatile fatty acid production compared with other treatments (p<0.05). Therefore, the present study suggests that both Timothy and Alfalfa could be recommendable forage sources for goat based on results with volatile fatty acid as an energy source and methane as an index for energy loss and environmental issues. Also, the 50:50 (forage : concentrate) ratio would prefer to 20:80.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.265-270
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• 2018

Up-to-date artificial insemination (AI) using frozen sperm consider as the most widely using technology for improvement of Korean Native Cow (Hanwoo) embryo production. However, it is time consuming, required at least 15~20 years to make more than 6 generations, and their offspring number is limited. To overcome such limitations, superovulation and in vitro fertilization have been developed. For superovulation, the number of produced embryos are not enough for commercialization and donor cows need rest period. This led to use of slaughterhouse ovary for in vitro fertilization, but it is impossible to repeat the collection from the same individual and it only can improve the genetic merits of offspring for one generation. Production of embryos using Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) technique, where oocytes can be repeatedly collected from living elite donor, might overcome these limitations. In this study, we investigated the possibility of using OPU technique from donors at different age and different session periods for mass-embryo-production. Oocytes were collected from 26 donor cows twice per week, 3 - 4 months per year, between 2013 and 2016. Results showed that, the average number of embryo produced in first year used donor was significantly higher than that in second year used donor ($3.89{\pm}2.85$ vs $3.29{\pm}2.70$), however, there was no significant difference between third year used donor ($3.51{\pm}3.32$) and other groups. Taken together, our data showed that repeated using of donor up to three years is possible for in vitro embryo mass-production. Moreover, OPU can be used as suitable embryo producing technique for livestock breed improvement.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.332-344
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• 2019

The objective of this study was to investigate slaughtering performance, carcass grade, and quantitative traits of cuts according to seasonal influence by each month in pigs slaughtered in livestock processing complex (LPC) slaughterhouse in Korea, 2017. A total of 267,990 LYD ($Landrace{\times}Yorkshire{\times}Duroc$) pig data were used in this study. Results of slaughter heads, sex distribution, carcass weight, backfat thickness, grading class, total weight, and fat and lean meat percentages of each cut predicted by AutoFom III were obtained each month. The number of slaughtered pigs was the highest in early and late fall but the lowest in midsummer. Only in midsummer that the number of females was higher than that of castrates. During 2017, carcass weight was the lowest in late summer. Backfat thickness was in the range of 21-22 mm. In mid and late spring, pigs showed high 1+ grade ratio (37.05% and 36.15%, respectively). For traits of 11 cuts predicted by AutoFom III, porkbelly showed lower total weight, lean weight, and fat weight in midsummer to early fall but higher lean meat percentage compared to other seasons. Weights of deboned neck, loin, and lean meat were the highest in midfall compared to other seasons (p<0.05). In conclusion, characteristics of slaughtering, grading, and economic traits of pigs seemed to be highly seasonal. They were influenced by seasons. Results of this study could be used as basic data to develop seasonal specified management ways to improve pork production.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.1109-1122
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• 2020

The aim of this study was to develop a marbling classification and prediction model using small parts of sirloin images based on a deep learning algorithm, namely, a convolutional neural network (CNN). Samples were purchased from a commercial slaughterhouse in Korea, images for each grade were acquired, and the total images (n = 500) were assigned according to their grade number: 1++, 1+, 1, and both 2 & 3. The image acquisition system consists of a DSLR camera with a polarization filter to remove diffusive reflectance and two light sources (55 W). To correct the distorted original images, a radial correction algorithm was implemented. Color images of sirloins of Hanwoo (mixed with feeder cattle, steer, and calf) were divided and sub-images with image sizes of 161 × 161 were made to train the marbling prediction model. In this study, the convolutional neural network (CNN) has four convolution layers and yields prediction results in accordance with marbling grades (1++, 1+, 1, and 2&3). Every single layer uses a rectified linear unit (ReLU) function as an activation function and max-pooling is used for extracting the edge between fat and muscle and reducing the variance of the data. Prediction accuracy was measured using an accuracy and kappa coefficient from a confusion matrix. We summed the prediction of sub-images and determined the total average prediction accuracy. Training accuracy was 100% and the test accuracy was 86%, indicating comparably good performance using the CNN. This study provides classification potential for predicting the marbling grade using color images and a convolutional neural network algorithm.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.1375-1381
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• 2021

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of freeze-thawed cycles (Fresh meat, F-T 1 cycle and F-T 2 cycles) on the quality characteristics of porcine longissimus dorsi muscle. Methods: A total of 20 three-crossbred pigs (Duroc×[Large White×Landrace]) were randomly obtained from a commercial slaughterhouse in Thailand. Muscle samples were immediately taken from 10 to 11th of the longissimus dorsi for histochemical analysis. The muscles were cut into 2.54 cm-thick chops. A minimum of 20 chops were used for each treatment (fresh meat, freeze-thawed 1 and 2 cycles). Individually chops were packaged in polyethylene bags and frozen at -20℃ for 6 months followed by thawing in refrigerator at 4℃ for 24 h (the 1st freeze-thawed cycle). The freeze-thawed procedure was repeated for two cycles (the 2nd freeze-thawed cycle). Thawing loss, shear force value, citrate synthase activity and muscle fiber characteristics were determined on the muscles. Results: Results showed that increasing of freeze-thawed cycle increased the thawing loss (p<0.01) and citrate synthase activity (p<0.001). Shear force value of fresh meat was higher than freeze-thawed 1 and 2 cycles (F-T 1 cycle and F-T 2 cycles). Freeze-thawed cycles affected muscle characteristics. Muscle fiber area and muscle fiber diameter decreased with an increasing number of freeze-thawed cycles (p<0.001), while the thickness of endomysium and perimysium were increased (p<0.001). Conclusion: Repeated freeze-thawed cycles degraded muscle fiber structure and deteriorated pork quality.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.177-183
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• 2022

Objective: The present study evaluated the efficiency of embryo development and pregnancy of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos using different source-matured oocytes in Camelus dromedarius. Methods: Camelus dromedarius embryos were produced by SCNT using in vivo- and in vitro- matured oocytes. In vitro embryo developmental capacity of reconstructed embryos was evaluated. To confirm the efficiency of pregnancy and live birth rates, a total of 72 blastocysts using in vitro- matured oocytes transferred into 45 surrogates and 95 blastocysts using in vivo- matured oocytes were transferred into 62 surrogates by transvaginal method. Results: The collected oocytes derived from ovum pick up showed higher maturation potential into metaphase II oocytes than oocytes from the slaughterhouse. The competence of cleavage, and blastocyst were also significantly higher in in vivo- matured oocytes than in vitro- matured oocytes. After embryo transfer, 11 pregnant and 10 live births were confirmed in in vivo- matured oocytes group, and 2 pregnant and 1 live birth were confirmed in in vitro- matured oocytes group. Furthermore, blastocysts produced by in vivo-matured oocytes resulted in significantly higher early pregnancy and live birth rates than in vitro-matured oocytes. Conclusion: In this study, SCNT embryos using in vivo- and in vitro-matured camel oocytes were successfully developed, and pregnancy was established in recipient camels. We also confirmed that in vivo-matured oocytes improved the development of embryos and the pregnancy capacity using the blastocyst embryo transfer method.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.1215-1225
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• 2022

The epidemiology of parasite infection in local and imported breeds is quite an essential topic in the meat industry and human health. This study aims to determine the prevalence of Dicrocoelium dendriticum in local sheep breeds (Naemi, Najdi, and Harri) and imported breeds from Romania (Romani breed) and the epidemiology of the infection in Saudi Arabia. Morphological description, the relationship between dicrocoeliasis and sex, age, and histological changes were also presented. A total of 6845 slaughtered sheep at Riyadh Automated slaughterhouse were investigated and followed up for 4 months between 2020-2021. It included 4,680 local breeds and 2,165 imported Romanian breeds. Fecal samples and livers and gallbladders from slaughtered animals were examined for apparent pathological lesions. The results indicated that the infection rate in slaughtered animals was 10.6% in imported Romani sheep and 0.9% in the local Naeimi breed. After identifying the parasite morphologically, negative results were obtained from examining feces, gallbladders, and livers of Najdi and Harry sheep breeds. The mean number of eggs per 20 µL/gallbladder was low (72.78 ± 17.8: 76.11 ± 5.07), medium (334.59 ± 90.6: 292.91 ± 26.63), and high (1113.2 ± 22.3: 1004 ± 143.4) in imported and Naeime sheep, respectively. Significant differences were found between gender and age (males and females were 3.67% and 6.31%; > 2 years 4.39%, 1-2 years 4.22%, and 1 year 3.53%) respectively. Histopathological lesions in the liver were more pronounced. Our survey confirmed the presence of D. dendriticum in imported Romani and local Naeimi sheep, and the potential role of imported sheep in the epidemiology of dicrocoeliasis in Saudi Arabia.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.343-352
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• 2022

Pig slaughterhouses harbor high humidity because of the necessary cleaning that takes place simultaneously with slaughter, which facilitates the existence of mold. Due to the enclosed space, there are several limitations to the control of mold growth with respect to cleaning, ventilation, and drying. In this study, the prevalence of fungi was investigated in four pig slaughterhouses in Korea. Four fungi (Aspergillus niger, Penicillium commune, Penicillium oxalicum, and Cladosporium cladosporioides) were detected with the highest frequency. These four strains were subjected to various treatments to reduce their growth. The fungi were inoculated onto stainless steel (SS) chips and treated with ultraviolet (UV)-C irradiation and hot water. Individual treatments with UV-C (15, 30, 90, 150, 300, and 600 mJ/cm²), and hot water (60, 65, 70, and 83℃) were performed to sanitize the SS chips. Simultaneous cleaning with 60℃ hot water and more than 150 mJ/cm² of UV-C reduced the fungal incidence by > 6.5 Log from 6.6-7.0 Log CFU/cm² (initial count). Our results demonstrate that a combined treatment of UV-C and hot water is the most economical and convenient way to prevent microbiological contamination of small tools (such as knives and sharpeners) and steel surfaces in slaughterhouses.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.10.1-10.10
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• 2023

Background: The collection of ovaries from slaughterhouses is an important source of oocytes for in vitro embryo production. On the other hand, the physiological stage of slaughtered females varies and influences embryo production. Objectives: The study examined the in vitro efficiency of embryos and demi-embryos from young, non-pregnant adult, and pregnant adult ewes from a local slaughterhouse. Methods: One thousand three hundred ovaries were collected from August to October 2020. The recovered oocytes were matured, fertilized, and cultured at 5% CO2, 38.5℃, and 100% humidity. Embryo bisection was performed in 96 blastocysts (n = 32 per treatment). The demiembryo pairs were incubated for their reconstitution for 12 h. SAS was used for data analysis. Results: The number of oocytes collected from the experimental group of non-pregnant adult ewes was higher (p ≤ 0.007) than those collected from the group of pregnant adult ewes (2.67 ± 0.19 vs. 2.18 ± 0.15 oocytes/group, respectively). The blastocyst rate was higher (p ≤ 0.0001) in the non-pregnant adult group (36.39%) than in the young (17.96%). The ratio of demi-embryos that recovered the blastocoelic cavity was higher (p < 0.05) in the young group (81.25%) than in the pregnant adult group (59.38%). The diameter of the demi-embryos was higher (p < 0.05) in the non-pregnant adult group (186.54 ± 8.70 ㎛) than those in the young and pregnant adult groups. Conclusions: In conclusion, the in vitro embryo production efficiency was highest when using oocytes from non-pregnant adult ewes under the conditions of this study.