Search results for " pig"
showing 10 items of 733 documents
The way wear goes: phytolith-based wear on the dentine–enamel system in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)
2019
The effect of phytoliths on tooth wear and function has been contested in studies of animal–plant interactions. For herbivores whose occlusal chewing surface consists of enamel ridges and dentine tissue, the phytoliths might particularly erode the softer dentine, exposing the enamel ridges to different occlusal forces and thus contributing to enamel wear. To test this hypothesis, we fed guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus; n = 36 in six groups) for threeweeks exclusively on dry or fresh forage of low(lucerne), moderate (fresh timothy grass) or very high (bamboo leaves) silica content representing corresponding levels of phytoliths. We quantified the effect of these treatments with measuremen…
Large Spatial Scale of the Phenotype-Environment Color Matching in Two Cryptic Species of African Desert Jerboas (Dipodidae: Jaculus)
2014
We tested the camouflage hypothesis, or the linkage between animal (Saharan rodent) and habitat coloration, on the largest geographical scale yet conducted. We aimed to determine whether phenotypic variation is explained by micro-habitat variation and/or genetic polymorphism to determine 1) the strength of linkage between fur color and local substrate color, and 2) the divergence in fur coloration between two genetic clades, representing cryptic species, throughout the complete range of the African desert jerboas (Jaculus jaculus). We used a combination of museum and field-collected specimens, remote sensing tools, satellite and digital photography and molecular genetic and phylogenetic met…
Melanism is related to behavioural lateralization in nestling barn owls.
2017
5 pages; International audience; Behavioural laterality is a commonly observed phenomenon in many species suggesting there might be an advantage of using dominantly one side over the other for certain tasks. Indeed, lateralized individuals were often shown to be more successful in cognitive tasks compared to non-lateralized conspecifics. However, stressed individuals are also often, but not always, more strongly lateralized. Because barn owl (Tyto alba) females displaying larger black spots on the tip of their ventral feathers produce offspring that are more resistant to a variety of environmental stressful factors, we examined whether laterality is associated with melanin-based coloration.…
The Biomass of Algae and Algal Extracts in Agricultural Production
2018
Fertilizers and plant growth regulators (PGRs) based on seaweeds are commonly known, having been produced and utilized for dozens of years. Algae are rich in carbohydrates, proteins, minerals and chemical compounds that belong mainly to the following groups: polysaccharides, polyphenols, phlorotannins, plant pigments, unsaturated fatty acids, sterols and plant hormones.
Biological and physical modification of carbonate system parameters along the salinity gradient in shallow hypersaline solar salterns in Trapani, Ita…
2017
Abstract We investigated changes in the chemical characteristics of evaporating seawater under the influence of microbial activity by conducting geochemical analyses of the brines and evaporite sediments collected from solar salterns in Trapani, Italy. The microbial activity had a substantial effect on the carbonate system parameters. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was substantially removed from the brine during the course of evaporation from the seawater to the point where calcium carbonate precipitates, with an accompanying decrease in its carbon isotopic composition (δ 13 C DIC ) to as low as −10.6‰. Although the removal of DIC was due to calcium carbonate precipitation, photosynthesis…
Genome-wide association meta-analysis highlights light-induced signaling as a driver for refractive error
2018
Skin affections after sulfur mustard (SM) exposure include erythema, blister formation and severe inflammation. An antidote or specific therapy does not exist. Anti-inflammatory compounds as well as substances counteracting SM-induced cell death are under investigation. In this study, we investigated the benzylisoquinoline alkaloide berberine (BER), a metabolite in plants like berberis vulgaris, which is used as herbal pharmaceutical in Asian countries, against SM toxicity using a well-established in vitro approach. Keratinocyte (HaCaT) mono-cultures (MoC) or HaCaT/THP-1 co-cultures (CoC) were challenged with 100, 200 or 300 mM SM for 1 h. Post-exposure, both MoC and CoC were treated with 1…
Fifteen Shades of Grey: Combined Analysis of Genome-Wide SNP Data in Steppe and Mediterranean Grey Cattle Sheds New Light on the Molecular Basis of C…
2020
Coat color is among the most distinctive phenotypes in cattle. Worldwide, several breeds share peculiar coat color features such as the presence of a fawn pigmentation of the calf at birth, turning over time to grey, and sexual dichromatism. The aim of this study was to search for polymorphisms under differential selection by contrasting grey cattle breeds displaying the above phenotype with non-grey cattle breeds, and to identify the underlying genes. Using medium-density SNP array genotype data, a multi-cohort FST-outlier approach was adopted for a total of 60 pair-wise comparisons of the 15 grey with 4 non-grey cattle breeds (Angus, Limousin, Charolais, and Holstein), with the latter sel…
Genome-wide analyses reveal the regions involved in the phenotypic diversity in Sicilian pigs.
2019
Nero Siciliano (Sicilian Black, SB) is a local pig breed generally of uniform black color. In addition to this officially recognized breed, there are animals showing morphological characteristics resembling the SB but with gray hair (Sicilian Grey, SG). The SG, compared with the SB, also shows a more compact structure with greater transverse diameters, higher average daily gains and lower thickness of the back fat. In this study, using the Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip, we run genome-wide analyses to identify regions that may explain the phenotypic differences between SB (n = 21) and SG (n = 27) individuals. Combining the results of the two case–control approaches (GWAS and FST), we identi…
Fatty Acids of Microbial Origin in the Perirenal Fat of Rats (Rattus norvegicus domestica) and Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) Fed Various Diets.
2020
Guinea pigs are assumed to practice caecotrophy to a higher degree than rats. Studies from leporids suggest that through the practice of caecotrophy, hindgut fermenting species could build up microbial fatty acids (FA) in body tissues. We hypothesized that microbial FA would be detectable in the body tissue of guinea pigs and rats, and this to a higher degree in guinea pigs. Twenty-four rats and guinea pigs were fed with four different pelleted diets (lucerne-, meat-, meat-bone-, insect-based) in groups of six animals for 8 weeks. Perirenal adipose tissue differed in FA composition between the species in spite of the common diets. FA typically associated with microbial activity (saturated F…
Evaluation of the RYR1 gene genetic diversity in the Latvian White pig breed
2016
The ryanodine receptor 1 (RYR1) is a calcium ion channel in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle. Multiple polymorphic loci have been identified in the RYR1 gene in human and animals and some of them are associated with certain phenotypes. However, there are still few data on the RYR1 genetic variability in pig and only the missense mutation Arg615Cys, associated with the malignant hyperthermia, porcine stress syndrome and meat quality, has been studied in several commercial and local breeds. Aim. To genotype the rs344435545 (C1972T, Arg615Cys), rs196953058 (T8434C, Phe2769Leu) and rs323041392 (G12484A, Asp4119Asn) in the Latvian local pig breed Latvian White and to evaluate the ev…