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Qualité de la viande pour un avenir durable - Qualité sensorielle, normes et solutions innovantes pour le commerce
Get PDFPublication history: Published - 28 April 2020.This meeting/workshop has been organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in collaboration with the organizers of the 2019 International Congress of Meat Science and Technology (ICoMST). The international UNECE meeting/workshop was focused on sustainable meat quality and standards; the latest developments in the area of eating quality; innovative solutions for sustainable meat trade; food integrity, traceability of meat and blockchain technologies; as well as sustainable solutions to food loss/waste prevention in the meat sector. Presentations of speakers are available on http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=51442
ATAC-Seq identifies regions of open chromatin in the bronchial lymph nodes of dairy calves experimentally challenged with bovine respiratory syncytial virus
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 23 November 2020; Published online - 6 January 2021.Background: Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) is a cause of Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD). DNA-based
biomarkers contributing to BRD resistance are potentially present in non-protein-coding regulatory regions of the
genome, which can be determined using ATAC-Seq. The objectives of this study were to: (i) identify regions of
open chromatin in DNA extracted from bronchial lymph nodes (BLN) of healthy dairy calves experimentally
challenged with BRSV and compare them with those from non-challenged healthy control calves, (ii) elucidate the
chromatin regions that were differentially or uniquely open in the BRSV challenged relative to control calves, and
(iii) compare the genes found in regions proximal to the differentially open regions to the genes previously found
to be differentially expressed in the BLN in response to BRSV and to previously identified BRD susceptibility loci.
This was achieved by challenging clinically healthy Holstein-Friesian calves (mean age 143 ± 14 days) with either
BRSV inoculum (n = 12) or with sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (n = 6) and preparing and sequencing ATACSeq
libraries from fresh BLN tissues.
Results: Using Diffbind, 9,144 and 5,096 differentially accessible regions (P < 0.05, FDR < 0.05) were identified
between BRSV challenged and control calves employing DeSeq2 and EdgeR, respectively. Additionally, 8,791
chromatin regions were found to be uniquely open in BRSV challenged calves. Seventy-six and 150 of the genes
that were previously found to be differentially expressed using RNA-Seq, were located within 2 kb downstream of
the differentially accessible regions, and of the regions uniquely open in BRSV challenged calves, respectively.
Pathway analyses within ClusterProfiler indicated that these genes were involved in immune responses to infection
and participated in the Th1 and Th2 pathways, pathogen recognition and the anti-viral response. There were 237
differentially accessible regions positioned within 40 previously identified BRD susceptibility loci.
Conclusions: The identified open chromatin regions are likely to be involved in the regulatory response of gene
transcription induced by infection with BRSV. Consequently, they may contain variants which impact resistance to
BRD that could be used in breeding programmes to select healthier, more robust cattle.This project was funded by the Irish Department of Agriculture and the
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland,
as part of the US-Ireland R&D partnership call (RMIS_0033 Project 16/RD/USROI/
11). JFT and JWK were supported by grant number 2017–67015-26760
from the United States Department for Agriculture National Institute for Food
and Agriculture
Relationships between energy balance during early lactation and cow performance, blood metabolites, and fertility: A meta-analysis of individual cow data
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 15 January 2021; Published online - 6 March 2021This study was designed to contribute to the understanding of the relationships between energy balance (EB) in early lactation [4 to 21 d in milk (DIM)] and fertility traits [interval to start of luteal activity (SLA), interval to first observed heat (FOH), and conception to first artificial insemination (AI)], and their associated relationships with cow performance and blood metabolites between 4 to 150 DIM. Individual cow data (488 primiparous and 1,020 multiparous lactations) from 27 experiments was analyzed. Data on cow performance, EB (on a metabolizable energy basis), and fertility traits were available for all cows, whereas milk progesterone data (to determine SLA) and periodic blood metabolite data were available for 1,042 and 1,055 lactations, respectively. Data from primiparous and multiparous cows were analyzed separately, with the data sets for the 2 parity groups divided into quartiles (Q1–Q4) according to the average EB during 4 to 21 DIM (EB range for Q1 to Q4: primiparous, −120 to −49, −49 to −24, −24 to −3, and −3 to 92 MJ/d, respectively: multiparous, −191 to −79, −79 to −48, −48 to −22, and −22 to 93 MJ/d, respectively). Differences between EB quartiles for production and fertility traits were compared. In early lactation (4 to 21 DIM), moving from Q1 to Q4 mean DMI and metabolizable energy intake increased whereas mean ECM decreased. During the same period, moving from Q1 to Q4 milk fat content, milk fat-to-protein ratio, and plasma nonesterified fatty acid and β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations decreased, whereas milk protein content and plasma glucose concentrations increased in both primiparous and multiparous cows. When examined over the entire experimental period (4 to 150 DIM), many of the trends in intakes and milk production remained, although the magnitude of the difference between quartiles was much reduced, whereas milk fat content did not differ between quartiles in primiparous cows. The percentage of cows with FOH before 42 DIM increased from Q1 to Q4 (from 46 to 72% in primiparous cows, and from 41 to 58% in multiparous cows). Interval from calving to SLA and to FOH decreased with increasing EB during 4 to 21 DIM, with these occurring 9.8 and 10.2 d earlier, respectively, in Q4 compared with Q1 (primiparous cows), and 7.4 and 5.9 d earlier, respectively, in Q4 compared with Q1 (multiparous cows). For each 10 MJ/d decrease in mean EB during 4 to 21 DIM, FOH was delayed by 1.2 and 0.8 d in primiparous and multiparous cows, respectively. However, neither days to first AI nor the percentage of cows that conceived to first AI were affected by daily EB during 4 to 21 DIM in either primiparous or multiparous cows, and this is likely to reflect a return to a less metabolically stressed status at the time of AI. These results demonstrate that interval from calving to SLA and to FOH were reduced with increasing EB in early lactation, whereas early lactation EB had no effect on conception to the first service.This work was supported by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland (DAERA, Northern Ireland, UK) as part of the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM, Republic of Ireland) NutriGen project. Maurício Civiero was in receipt of a scholarship from Programa de Bolsas Universitárias de Santa Catarina (UNIEDU/FUMDES, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil) and thanks Centro Universitário Vale do Iguaçu (UNIGUAÇU, União da Vitória, PR, Brazil) for providing time to complete this wo
Vitamin D biofortification of pork may offer a food-based strategy to increase vitamin D intakes in the UK population
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 3 November 2021; Published online - 3 December 2021.Hypovitaminosis D is prevalent worldwide, with many populations failing to achieve the
recommended nutrient intake (RNI) for vitamin D (10–20 µg/day). Owing to low vitamin
D intakes, limited exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) induced dermal synthesis, lack of
mandatory fortification and poor uptake in supplement advice, additional food-based
strategies are warranted to enable the UK population to achieve optimal vitamin D
intakes, thus reducing musculoskeletal risks or suboptimal immune functioning. The aims
of the current study were to (1) determine any changes to vitamin D intake and status
over a 9-year period, and (2) apply dietary modeling to predict the impact of vitamin
D biofortification of pork and pork products on population intakes. Data from the UK
National Diet and Nutrition Survey (Year 1–9; 2008/09–2016/17) were analyzed to explore
nationally representative mean vitamin D intakes and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)
concentrations (n = 13,350). Four theoretical dietary scenarios of vitamin D pork
biofortification were computed (vitamin D content +50/100/150/200% vs. standard).
Vitamin D intake in the UK population has not changed significantly from 2008 to 2017
and in 2016/17, across all age groups, 13.2% were considered deficient [25(OH)D <
25 nmol/L]. Theoretically, increasing vitamin D concentrations in biofortified pork by 50,
100, 150, and 200%, would increase vitamin population D intake by 4.9, 10.1, 15.0,
and 19.8% respectively. When specifically considering the impact on gender and age,
based on the last scenario, a greater relative change was observed in males (22.6%)
vs. females (17.8%). The greatest relative change was observed amongst 11–18 year
olds (25.2%). Vitamin D intakes have remained stable in the UK for almost a decade,
confirming that strategies are urgently required to help the population achieve the RNI
for vitamin D. Biofortification of pork meat provides a proof of concept, demonstrating
that animal-based strategies may offer an important contribution to help to improve the
vitamin D intakes of the UK population, particularly adolescentsThis work was funded as part of a Department for the Economy (DfE) Co-operative Awards in Science and Technology (CAST) PhD studentship, supported by Devenish Nutrition Limited
Evaluation of thermogravimetric analysis as a rapid tool for the detection of rhizobacteria biostimulants used in precision agriculture
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 31 October 2020; Published online - 17 January 2021Six-week-old root samples were evaluated using high resolution (maximum resolution [MaxRes]) thermogravimetric
analyses (TGA) of the cell wall compositions of Gram-positive (Bacillus mucilaginosus, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens,
and Bacillus subtilis) and Gram-negative (Burkholderia sp., Rahnella aquatilis strain H 2.6, and R. aquatilis strain
RC 2.5) root colonizing plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) commercial inoculant strains (biostimulants)
applied to pot grown wheat plants. TGA discriminated the strains within the two types of rhizobacterial cohorts and
thus provided a rapid non-molecular means for the detection of PGPR inoculant biostimulants within hours of root
sampling. The latter was due to the greater degree of definition of TGA fingerprints of individual thermal weight
loss events occurring over a degradation range, and heightened the corresponding peak temperature divergences
within strains of either type of bacteria themselves for their unequivocal identification. Confirmation of biostimulant
rhizobacteria identity in concomitant root samples was achieved through either cultural methods or direct tissue
PCR molecular protocols within 5 days and 2 days of sampling, respectively. The results suggested that MaxRes
TGA could serve as a rapid, inexpensive stand-alone tool or as combinatorial utility alongside pyrolysis gas
chromatography mass spectra, and Fourier transform infrared analytics for the early detection of PGPR biostimulants
in precision farmingWe thank EU-BIOFECTOR (Grant Agreement No. 312117) funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Northern Ireland, UK for their Evidence and Innovation grant (activity 48125) to carry out the study at the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute laboratories (AFBINI.GOV.UK
The early marine distribution of Atlantic salmon in the North-east Atlantic: A genetically informed stock-specific synthesis
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 3 June 2021; Published online - 5 July 2021.The survival of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), an increasingly rare anadromous species,
has declined dramatically during its marine phase, with disproportionate impacts on
the poorly understood early post-smolt
period. Logistical constraints on collecting
oceanic data to inform this issue pose a formidable obstacle. To advance understanding
of post-smolt
distributional ecology in the North-east
Atlantic, a comprehensive
analysis of existing information was undertaken. Data were synthesized from 385 marine
cruises, 10,202 individual trawls, and 9,269 captured post-smolts,
spanning three
decades and ~4.75 million km2 of ocean, with 3,423 individuals genetically assigned
to regional phylogeographic origin. The findings confirm major migrational post-smolt
aggregations on the continental shelf-edge
off Ireland, Scotland and Norway, and an
important marine foraging area in the Norwegian Sea. Genetic analysis shows that
aggregational stock composition does not simply reflect distance to natal rivers, with
northern phylogeographic stock groups significantly under-represented
in sampled
high-seas
aggregations. It identifies a key foraging habitat for southern European
post-smolts
located in international waters immediately west of the Vøring Plateau
escarpment, potentially exposing them to a high by-catch
mortality from extra-territorial
pelagic fisheries. Evidence of the differential distribution of regional stocks
points to fundamental differences in their migration behaviours and may lead to inter-stock
variation in responses to environmental change and marine survival. The study
shows that understanding of post-smolt
marine ecology, as regards to stock-specific
variations in habitat utilization, biological performance and exposure to mortality factors,
can be significantly advanced by data integration across studies and exploiting
genetic approaches.Norges Forskningsråd. Grant Number: 280308; Seventh Framework Programme. Grant Number: 212529
Timescale of reduction of long-term phosphorus release from sediment in lakes
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 19 May 2021; Published online - 25 May 2021.It is important for lake management and policy to estimate the timescale of recovery from long-term P release from sediment after a reduction in the external load. To provide a scientific basis for this, a condensed model was elaborated, applied and evaluated in four lakes. The model is based on first order kinetics, with an overall rate constant composed of the rate of diagenesis of labile P (kd,2) and rate of burial of P (kb) below an active sediment layer. Using the variation of P fractions in dated sediment cores, kd,2 varied from 0.0155 to 0.383 yr−1, kb from 0.0184 to 0.073 yr−1 and the overall rate constant from 0.0230 to 0.446 yr−1. The active layer depths, 8 to 29 cm, and kd,2 values are within the ranges found by others. The time for a 75% reduction (t75) of labile P in the active layer is 60 years in Lough Melvin, 3 in Ramor, 33 in Sheelin and 41 in Neagh, although P release is only important in Ramor and Neagh. Combining the kd,2 values with other estimates (mean 0.0981 yr−1, median 0.0426; n=14) produces a t75 value of less than 14 and 33 years. A review of other models indicates a timescale of one to two decades and from lake monitoring also of one to two decades. It is desirable to estimate the timescale directly in all lakes if sediment P release is important, but, generally, it should take between one and three decades.Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland; Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Irelan
Long term abundance patterns of potamodromous brown trout in a large lacustrine catchment in County Fermanagh
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 12 February 2021; Published online - 29 September 2021.Long-term survey data detailing brown trout abundance in the Lough Erne catchment in Co.
Fermanagh were tabulated from 1968–2016. These data included redd counts and electric fishing surveys across three key spawning tributaries in addition to gill-net surveys of the lake. The abundance
of spawning adults fluctuated widely across the time-series and were examined in relation to various
pressures, including a major disease epidemic and the invasion of the catchment by zebra mussels.
A functional stock-recruitment relationship between adult spawners and young-of-year juveniles
in the spawning tributaries was identified and described. Redd counts were significantly lower for
the post-zebra mussel time-series (2000–16) than the pre-zebra mussel time-series (1968–99). The
post-zebra mussel invasion period was associated with increased water clarity, reduced plankton productivity and changes to the balance of coarse fish species in the lake. The significance of these
changes is discussed in relation to the trout stock
The Northern Ireland Control Programmes for Infectious Cattle Diseases Not Regulated by the EU
Get PDFPublication history: Accepted - 26 July 2021; Published online - 26 August 2021.The disease control programmes for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD), Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), Johne's Disease (JD), Leptospirosis and Neosporosis are described including the approved diagnostic tools, diagnostic quality systems, and the role of vaccination (where appropriate). This paper describes the control programmes within NI, the challenges relating them, as well as assessing their impact and effectiveness, taking into consideration the quality of data available and number of herds participating. With the NI agricultural industry experiencing increasing financial pressures and post Brexit changes, the necessity of working to maximise the performance of bovine disease control programmes at the individual farm level as well as at the regional level is increasingly important. The programmes described fall into two categories with two distinct aims. Two managed by Animal Health & Welfare NI (AHWNI), the BVD eradication and JD Dairy Control programmes seek to eradicate or control infection at the regional level. A further 5 programmes, covering BVD, JD, IBR, Leptospirosis and Neosporosis, are managed by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and focus on facilitating eradication or control at the individual herd level. These latter programmes conform to the Cattle Health Certification Standards (UK) (CHeCS) which is a UK self-regulatory body set up to ensure consistency between different disease control schemes across herds. The largest of all the programmes described is the AHWNI BVD Eradication Programme which has led to significant reductions in infection incidence. Compliance with it has been high with more than 97% of all cattle alive at the end of 2020 having a BVD test status. The rolling annual incidence of BVD virus positive calves has fallen by 56% since the start of the compulsory programme in 2016. This decrease has occurred largely through industry initiatives to deal with BVD positives, including the voluntary culling of persistently infected (PI) animals by herd owners, a voluntary abattoir ban on the slaughter of BVD virus (BVDv) positive animals, and the inclusion of retention of a BVDv positive animal as a non-conformance in the industry-run Farm Quality Assurance Scheme.This article is based upon work from COST Action Standardizing output-based surveillance to control non-regulated diseases of cattle in the European Union (SOUND control) CA17110 supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)
Long-term variability in N2O emissions and emission factors for corn and soybeans induced by weather and management at a cold climate site
No full textPublication history: Accepted - 24 December 2021; Published online - 31 December 2021.Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are highly variable in space and time due to the complex interplay between soil, management
practices and weather conditions. Micrometeorological techniques integrate emissions over large areas at
high temporal resolution. This allows identification of causes of intra- and inter-annual variability of N2O emissions
and development of robust emission factors (EF). Here, we investigated factors responsible for variability in N2Oemissions
during growing and non-growing seasons of corn and soybeans grown in an imperfectly drained silt loam soil, in
Ontario, Canada. We used quasi-continuously (at half-hourly to hourly intervals) N2O fluxes measured via the fluxgradient
technique over 11 years for corn and 5 years for soybeans and evaluated the uncertainty of default IPCC
and Canada-specific EFs. In the growing season, emissions were controlled by soil nitrate content, soil moisture and
temperature in the fertilized corn, while moisture and temperature regulated N2O emissions in the unfertilized soybeans.
In the non-growing season, nitrogen (N) input from the crop residue did not affect the emissions, pointing to
freeze-thaw cycles as mechanisms for enhanced N2O emissions. The non-growing season contribution to annual emissions
was 38%in corn and 43% in soybeans. On average, annual emissions were 2.6-fold higher in corn than soybeans.
Observed mean N2O EFs were 0.84% (0.12–2.02%) for growing season and 1.69% (0.29–7.32%) for yearly emissions.
The growing season EF derived from long-term N2O emissions was 0.9 ± 0.14%. The interannual variability in N2O
emissions and EFs can be attributed to management practices and annual weather variability. The default IPCC approach
based on overall N input had poorer performance in predicting annual N2O emissions compared to the current
Canadian methodology, which includes management and environmental factor in addition to N inputs. The observed
emissions were further evaluated with a newly developed growing season N2O emission prediction approach for Canada. However, performance of the approach was poorer than IPCC or the current national Canadian approach. Additional tests of the new national methodology are recommended as well as consideration of non-growing season
emissions.Funding for this research was provided Canada's Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council Discovery and Strategic Grants Program
(project STPGP 494224-16), the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food
and Rural Affairs through its Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance program
and the NSERC CREATE Climate-Smart Soils program