The present study was carried out to perceive the effects of dietary supplementation of nano-chromium on nutrient utilization and carcass traits in broiler chickens. For this, 120 unsexed day-old broiler chickens were procured and randomly allocated into four different treatment groups with three replicates in each. The control group (T0) was fed with a standard basal diet as per BIS (2007). Treatment groups T1, T2, and T3 were fed the basal diet with 400, 800, and 1600 ppb levels of nano-chromium, respectively for six weeks. Dry matter, crude protein, and total carbohydrate metabolizability were significantly improved in treatment groups T2 and T3; while organic matter and ether extract retention were found significantly higher in treatment groups T1, T2, and T3 when compared with a control group. There was no significant difference in the yield of cut-up parts (% live body weight). The supplementation of nano-chromium did not bring any significant changes in processing loss i.e. blood, feather, head, and shank, but abdominal fat was significantly reduced with increasing levels of nano-chromium. Hence, it can be concluded that dietary supplementation of 1600 ppb nano-chromium in the diet of broiler chicken improved nutrient utilization and lowered abdominal fat in broiler chicken.

Pangasianodon hypophthalmus is an economically important catfish species cultured in India. In the present study, a continuous cell line from the thymus of P. hypophthalmus (PHT) was established using the explant method and subcultured 52 times since development. PHT cells showed optimal growth in L-15 medium containing 20% fetal bovine serum at 28°C. The species of the cell line from striped catfish was confirmed through PCR amplification and sequencing of 16S, and COI genes. The cell line was found to be Mycoplasma free. The modal chromosome number of PHT cells was 60 (2n). Immunophenotyping using different antibodies showed the epithelial nature of the cells. Cytotoxicity of arsenic and mercury was assessed using Neutral red and MTT assay, which revealed reduced cell survival with an increase in toxicant concentration. Cells transfected successfully with the GFP reporter gene using lipofectamine reagent indicated the suitability of the cell line for expression studies. The cell line has been submitted to NRFC, Lucknow with accession no. NRFC-078 at ICAR-NBFGR, Lucknow. The developed cell line will have applications in suspected viral disease investigation, transgenic, and immunological studies.

The present investigation was undertaken to determine the genetic worth of Frieswal (62.5% HF × 37.5% Sahiwal) young bulls through progeny testing under field conditions in Kerala state, India. A total of 65 Frieswal bulls were evaluated based on 1037 first lactation records of their daughters calved over a period of 15 years from 1995 to 2010 were used for the study. The overall average breeding value for the first lactation 305-days milk yield was estimated as 2229.19±50.91 kg with a range of 2193.74±66.59 to 2280.62±66.59 kg. Out of 65 bulls inducted in 7 different sets, 33 bulls (50.7%) had breeding values higher than the herd average (2229.19 kg). The number of daughters per bull varied from 7 to 51 whereas the average number of daughters per bull was 16. The genetic superiority and percentage genetic superiority of the top 25 bulls (38.46%) over population ranged from 6.26 to 51.43 and 0.28 to 2.30, respectively. The least squares analysis of variance revealed that the year of calving had a significant effect on the first lactation milk yield of daughters. The increasing trend of first lactation milk yield over year / bull set observed in the present study indicates the successful implementation of large-scale progeny testing programme under field conditions.

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitic infections are the major constraint for livestock production causing huge economiclosses to the livestock producers in terms of decreased milk production and reduced weight gain. Gastrointestinaldisorders including diarrhoea may be caused by various etiological factors but parasitic infections play a significantrole. A total of 1755 faecal samples from cattle (n = 594) and buffaloes (n = 1161) with the history of digestive disturbances/disorders were tested at four Disease Investigation Laboratories at Ambala, Bhiwani, Mahendergarhand Rohtak in Haryana during July 2020 to June 2021. All the faecal samples were processed by floatation and sedimentation methods. Coprological examination revealed 33.5% cattle and 37.3% buffalo as positive for GIparasites. The major parasitic infection of Amphistomes (6.3%), Buxtonella sulcata (14.8%) and Strongyles (11.05%)was observed in bovines. Highest infection of Strongyles (13.3%) and Buxtonella sulcata (17.4%) was found in cattle and buffaloes, respectively. Gastrointestinal parasitic infections in calves were in higher frequency than adult animals. Season-wise GI parasitic infections were recorded to be non-significantly higher in rainy season. Area-wiseoccurrence of parasitic infection was recorded highest in Rohtak followed by Bhiwani, Ambala and the least in Mahendergarh district of Haryana. This kind of study is found to be helpful in formulating effective control trategiesagainst GI parasitic infections on regional basis.

This article attempts to evaluate the present status and distribution of the ruminant genetic resources ofKarnataka state vis-a-vis the exotic/crossbred and non-descript animals. The characteristics of the breeds of theruminant species of the Karnataka state, including the new populations and breeds recently identified in the state likeDharwari and South Kanara buffaloes, Mouli and Yalga sheep and Nandidurga and Bidri goats, are also discussed.The total population of ruminant livestock, comprising cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat in Karnataka is 28.673 million.The density of 149.50 ruminants per km2 in this state is only marginally less than the national average of 160.15.However, the density of sheep at 57.62 per km2 is two and a half times than the national figure of 22.59. During20012-2019, the total cattle and buffalo population have registered a decline of 11.01 and 14.00%, whereas, thesheep and goat population has shown an increase of 15.31 and 28.31%. During 2007-2012, periods for which thebreed-wise data is available, the population of pure indigenous cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat have dwindled by37.71, 32.93, 27.86 and 69.00%, compared to only -9.39, -19.79, 0.26 and -22.05% change in the total populationof these species, respectively. Serious conservation efforts are required to arrest this decline in the ruminant geneticresources of the state of Karnataka.

A total of 14,747 dogs were presented to Small Animal Ophthalmology unit of Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital for different ophthalmic diseases during the period of 2018 to 2021. Out of which, 649 (4.4%) dogs had less common intraocular and orbital diseases. The remaining 14,098 (95.6%) dogs had only corneal and extraocular diseases which were not included in this incidence study. The incidence was higher with cataract (n=170, 26.19%), followed by retinal detachment (n=96, 14.79%), proptosis (n=95, 14.64%) and retinal degeneration (n=89, 13.71%). Apart from these, incidence of eyeball lesions like exophthalmos was 2.16% (n=14), enophthalmos 0.46% (n=3) and anophthalmia 0.46% (n=3). The incidence of amaurosis was 7.86% (n=51), hyphema 5.39% (n=35), lens luxation 3.08% (n=20), glaucoma 2.31% (n=15) and panophthalmitis 6.78% (n=44). Incidence of intraocular tumours 1.23% (n=8) and retrobulbar tumours was 0.92% (n=6).

Badri cattle is the first registered cattle breed of Uttarakhand and reared in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions. The study was undertaken with the objective of establishing the normal reference values of certain haematological and biochemical parameters in Badri cattle maintained at Instructional Dairy Farm of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT), Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India. Healthy animals (40) aged between 4 to 8 years, having good body condition score (BCS) and 200-250 kg body weight were selected randomly and blood samples were collected. The haematological parameters such as haemoglobin concentration (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), total erythrocyte count (TEC), total leucocyte count (TLC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), differential leukocyte count (DLC), Neutrophil: lymphocyte (N: L), and absolute leucocyte count (ALC) were estimated. The biochemical parameters such as total protein, albumin, globulin, albumin: globulin (A:G), urea, creatinine, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL (High density lipoprotein), LDL (Low density lipoprotein), total bilirubin, ALT (Alanine aminotransferase), AST (Aspartate transaminase), ALP (Alkaline phosphatase), GGT (Gamma-glutamyl transferase) and CK (Creatinine kinase) were also estimated. The normal haematological and biochemical values established in the present study could be helpful in the diagnosis of certain ailments in Badri cattle and the values would also be useful for academic purposes.

Early diagnosis of pregnancy is of utmost importance to optimize profit in pig husbandry. Identifying candidate protein biomarkers for early diagnosis of pregnancy in a non-invasive sample such as saliva may produce a colossallead to accomplish the purpose. Therefore, in this study, comparative salivary proteome profile of day 12 of gestation, representing elongation of blastocysts stage and non-pregnant sows was explored by label-free quantitation (LFQ) based mass spectrometry approach to identify early pregnancy biomarkers. A total of 115 proteins were identified as differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) with significant difference between non-pregnant and early pregnancy groups. Among the DEPs, majority of the proteins (82 out of 115 DEPs) were found to be down-regulated in early pregnancy group (fold change >2) compared to non-pregnant control. Functional classification and pathway analysis of the DEPs revealed involvement of most of the proteins in integrin signalling pathways, blood coagulation, carbohydrate metabolism, oxidative stress response and regulation of protein folding. Few DEPs with higher fold change during early pregnancy such as thioredoxin, heat shock 70 kDa protein 1A, alpha 1-S haptoglobin, and glutathione S-transferase pi 1 may have potential as biomarkers for early pregnancy diagnosis in pigs based on their recognized role in different pregnancy related activities. Overall, our results provide a set of salivary proteins which can be used as potential biomarkers for early pregnancy diagnosis after large scale validation.

Present study was conducted to observe effect of supplementing rumen protected methionine and choline on leukogram profile, oxidative stress, inflammatory and immunomodulatory responses during transition period in Surti buffaloes. Twenty-seven pregnant Surti buffaloes were selected and divided into three groups of nine animals each with following diet regime: Group I (Control)-basal diet, Group II (RPM)-basal diet+rumen protected methionine and Group III (RPM+RPC)-basal diet+rumen protected methionine+rumen protected choline. Supplementation of RPM @ 10 g/buffalo/day and RPC @ 50 g/buffalo/day was done from -15 d prepartum to 30 d postpartum. Blood samples were collected at start of experiment, 1st, 3rd and 6th week postpartum. At 1st and 3rd week postpartum, significantly higher level of GSH, SOD as well as TAS and lower level of LPO were observed in Group II and III as compared to control. Group III had highest SOD as well as TAS and lowest LPO levels. TNF-α and haptaglobin during postpartum period were significantly lower in Group II and III. Group III had lowest levels of TNF-α at 1st and 3rd week and haptoglobin at 1st, 3rd and 6th week postpartum. In vitro neutrophil phagocytic activity and lymphocyte proliferation were significantly higher in Group III followed by Group II and control during entire postpartum period. It was concluded that supplementation of rumen protected methionine and choline during transition phase of Surti buffaloes reduces oxidative stress as well as inflammatory tendencies and increases antioxidant status as well as immune response. Beneficial effects of supplementing both are more than supplementing rumen protected methionine alone.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the ameliorating potential of the flavonoid-rich fraction of Phyllanthus emblica (FRFPE) and saponin-rich fraction of Tribulus terrestris (SRFTT) against mercuric chloride (HgCl2)-induced renal toxicity in rats. Forty-two male SD rats were divided into seven different groups, namely normal control (C1), toxicity control (C2), vehicle control (C3), standard control (C4), Flavonoid rich fraction of Phyllanthus emblica (FRFPE; T1), Saponin rich fraction of Tribulus terrestris (SRFTT; T2) and FRFPE + SRFTT (T3). Serum biochemical markers and oxidative stress indicators were measured. Histopathological examination of kidney sections was also carried out. Our data revealed that BUN and creatinine levels in rats’ serum were significantly higher, whereas serum total protein, albumin, and globulin levels were significantly lower in the toxicity group. HgCl2 administration reduced the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and reduced glutathione (GSH) and an elevated MDA in kidney tissue when compared with the control. The treatment with FRFPE and SRFTT markedly attenuated HgCl2-induced oxidative stress in kidney. Further, oxidative stress-related alteration in biochemical markers was confirmed by histopathological changes in rats of different treatment groups. According to histopathology of the kidney, the treatment of FRFPE and SRFTT considerably reduced the damage produced by HgCl2 in rats. LC-QTOF-MS analysis of FRFPE and SRFTT showed the presence of tannins, triterpenoids, alkaloids, gallic acid, steroid derivatives, quinoline derivatives and flavonoids. According to the findings, the flavonoid-rich fraction of P. emblica and the saponin-rich fraction of T. terrestris showed an antioxidant activity and protected the rat kidney from mercury-induced oxidative damage.