Pet humanization and premiumization of pet foods have led to significant changes in the co-product market, as pet food companies are looking for more profitable protein sources for their products. Co-products such as beef liver (BL) and beef heart (BH) can be combined to generate restructured pet foods rich in vitamins and nutrients. Sodium alginate and encapsulated calcium lactate (ALGIN) can improve the acceptability of meat pieces by transforming them into a singular shape. The objective of this experiment was to assess the physiochemical parameters of co-products for utilization in raw pet foods and restructured pet treats generated from BL and BH by using ALGIN as a structure-forming agent. Results demonstrated increased cooking loss as ALGIN inclusion decreased, but cooking loss decreased as BL proportions increased (p = 0.0056). Expressible moisture of raw pet food decreased as ALGIN inclusion increased, but more moisture was released from treats when BL proportions increased (p less then 0.0001). Increasing ALGIN and BH led to increased water activity of cooked treats (p less then 0.0001). Thus, we suggest that BL and BH combinations with ALGIN inclusion produces a viable platform for higher inclusions of co-products in pet treats. Additionally, these ingredients improved the finished product quality characteristics of raw pet foods.The majority of the genetic studies in aquaculture breeding programs focus on commercial traits such as body weight, morphology, and resistance against diseases. However, studying stress response in European seabass may contribute to the understanding of the genetic component of stress and its future use to select broodstock whose offspring may potentially be less affected by handling. A total of 865 European seabass offspring were used to measure body weight and stress response. Moreover, a disease challenge experiment with Vibrio anguillarum was conducted in a subset (332) of the above fish to study disease resistance. MK-5108 mouse Fish were genotyped with a 57k SNP array, and a Genome-Wide Association study (GWAS) was performed. Five SNPs were found to be statistically significant, three of which affect stress indicators and body weight (in a subgroup of the population), and a putative SNP affects growth performance, while no SNP associated with resistance to Vibrio was found. A moderate to high genomic heritability regarding stress indicators and body weight was estimated using the Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) process. Finally, the accuracy, along with the correlation between Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) and Genomic Estimated Breeding Values (GEBVs), were calculated for all the traits.This study explored a possible relationship between the circulating oxytocin, cortisol, and the willingness of dairy cows to engage in social behaviors with humans in an experimental context. The behaviors of twenty-nine cows were recorded during the impossible task paradigm, a procedure aimed at creating a violation of expectancy, in the presence of the caregiver and a stranger. The results showed that serum oxytocin levels were positively correlated with duration and negatively correlated with the latency of the cows‘ social interactions with the caregiver. This research provides a clear correlation between circulating oxytocin and a willingness to engage in social contact with the caregiver, excluding the possible effect of different cortisol levels on such behavior.This study analyzes the evolution of the population structure and genetic diversity of Braford cattle in South America from 1949 to 2019 to suggest effective strategies for breeding in the future. The percentage of bulls historically increased. The average generational interval decreased to 11.78 years for the current population. Average inbreeding (F) and coancestry (C) are low and show a historically increasing trend (0.001% to 0.002%, respectively). The degree of nonrandom mating (α) increased from -0.0001 to 0.0001 denoting a change in the trend to mate similar individuals. The average relatedness coefficient (ΔR) increased in the current period from 0.002% to 0.004%. A single ancestor explained 4.55% to 7.22% of the population’s gene pool. While the effective population size based on the individual inbreeding rate (NeFi) was 462.963, when based on the individual coancestry rate (NeCi), it was 420.168. Genetic diversity loss is small and mainly ascribed to bottlenecks (0.12%) and to unequal contributions of the founders (0.02%). Even if adequate levels of diversity can be found, practices that consider the overuse of individual bulls (conditioned by nature or not), could lead to a long-term reduction in diversity. The present results permit tailoring genetic management strategies that are perfectly adapted to the needs that the population demands internationally.The replacement of soybean meal (SBM) from intensively reared dairy sheep diets has emerged as a significant challenge for sustainable production. However, the effects of this replacement on milk production have not been sufficiently elucidated. The objective of this study was to prospectively assess the effects of replacing SBM with a mixture of alternative protein sources on the milk yield (MY) and the milk quality traits (MQT) in intensively reared dairy sheep. A total of 112 multiparous, purebred milking ewes of the Chios and Frizarta breeds, from two intensive dairy sheep farms, were involved in the study, postweaning, and were assigned to either the control (CR) or the experimental ration (ER) group. In the ER, 3/4 of the SBM was replaced by a mixture of rapeseed meal, cottonseed cake, and fava beans, producing a ration of a similar nutritional value. MY, MQT, and body condition scores were recorded for each individual ewe monthly for a period of 4 months during lactation. The experimental ration was associated with beneficial effects on daily and 100-day fat yields and on the electrical conductivity of milk as an improved udder health status indicator, with no adverse effects on any of the rest of the studied milk production traits.This study aimed to evaluate the impact of dietary addition of jojoba seed oil on productive performance, physicochemical attributes and carcass quality of broiler meat under tropical weather conditions. A total of 384 one-day-old Ross-308 were subdivided into four dietary treatments of jojoba seed oil 0, 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg of control diet. Each treatment group included twelve replicates with eight birds each. The results showed that dietary supplementation of jojoba seed oil linearly increased (p less then 0.01) feed intake, body weight gain and improved (p less then 0.01) feed conversion ratio. Interestingly, diets supplemented with jojoba seed oil linearly (p less then 0.05) improved the percentage of dressing and reduced abdominal fat percentage compared to the control group. Dietary supplementation of jojoba seed oil showed no effects (p ≥ 0.05) on the weight of internal organs, including liver, heart, gizzard, spleen and pancreas of broiler chickens. Increasing jojoba seed oil levels in the diet decreased (p less then 0.001) percentages of cook and drip losses of breast and leg (drumstick and thigh) muscles of broilers. It was concluded that jojoba seed oil used as a feed additive up to 150 mg/kg improves growth performance and meat quality of broiler chickens in tropical weather conditions.In Europe, swine are a livestock reservoir for Hepatitis E virus genotype 3 (HEV-3). Consumption of food containing HEV-3 can cause zoonotic human infection, though risk is reduced by heat treatment. Implementing controls that limit infection in slaughter pigs may further reduce foodborne transmission risk but knowledge of infection dynamics on commercial farms is limited. This study addressed this knowledge gap and in particular investigated the influence of group mixing. Faeces were collected from grower (n = 212) and fattener (n = 262) pigs on a farrow-to-finish farm on four occasions. HEV RNA was detected on all occasions, and prevalence was higher in growers (85.8%) than fatteners (26.0%; p less then 0.001). HEV-positive samples were also collected from the wider farm environment (n = 67; 64.7% prevalence), indicating potential sources for HEV re-circulation within the herd. Timing of infection in a cohort was also investigated. HEV was absent from all piglet faeces (n = 98) and first detected at weaner stage (25.7% prevalence), but only in groups weaned earlier or comprising pigs from many different litters. Farrowing sow faeces (n = 75) were HEV-negative but antibodies were detected in blood from two sows. Results suggest that multiple factors influence HEV infection dynamics on pig farms, and potential foci for further study into practical control solutions are highlighted.Sertoli, Leydig, and spermatogonial cells proliferate and differentiate from birth to puberty and then stay stable in adulthood. We hypothesized that expressions of spermatogenesis-associated genes are not enhanced with a mere increase of these cells‘ numbers. To accept this postulation, we investigated the abundances of Sertoli cell-specific FSHR and AMH, Leydig cell-specific LHR and INSL3, and spermatogonia-specific THY1 and CDH1 markers in immature and mature canine testis. Four biological replicates of immature and mature testes were processed, and RT-PCR was performed to elucidate the cells‘ specific markers. The data were analyzed by ANOVA, using the 2-∆∆Ct method to ascertain differences in mRNA expressions. In addition, Western blot and IHC were performed. Gene expressions of all the studied cells‘ specific markers were down-regulated (p less then 0.05) in adult testis compared with immature testis. Western blot and immunohistochemistry showed the presence of these proteins in the testis. Protein expressions were greater in immature testis compared with mature testis (p less then 0.05). Despite the obvious expansion of these cells‘ numbers from immature to adult testis, the cells‘ specific markers were not enriched in mature testis compared with immature dog testis. The results support the postulation that the gene expressions do not directly correlate with the increase of the cell numbers during post-natal development but changes in gene expressions show functional significance.The aim of the study was to determine the effect of threonine (Thr) and non-essential amino acid (NEAA) levels on mucin secretion and sugar composition of digesta and crude mucin preparations analyzed in different segments of the gut in young pigs. A two-factorial experiment was conducted on 72 pigs using the following factors Thr level (5.1, 5.7, 6.3 and 6.9 g standardized ileal digestible(SID) Thr/kg) and wheat gluten (WG) level used as a source of NEAA (20.4, 40.4 and 60.4 g WG protein in WG20, WG40 and WG60 diets, respectively). Mucin content was affected only by WG level. Tissue mucin content in the duodenum was higher in WG60 pigs than in WG20 and WG40 pigs, whereas in the middle jejunum was higher in WG40 and WG60 pigs than in WG20 pigs. In contrast, luminal crude mucin content in the proximal colon was lower in WG60 pigs compared to WG40 pigs. The lowest and highest Thr levels reduced arabinose and xylose contents and increased glucose content in ileal digesta. The highest WG level reduced arabinose and xylose contents and increased glucose content in ileal digesta.