Food intake, milk production, and tissue changes of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey x Holstein-Friesian dairy cows within a medium-input grazing system and a high-input total confinement system

Although interest in crossbreeding within dairy systems has increased, the role of Jersey crossbred cows within high concentrate input systems has received little attention. This experiment was designed to examine the performance of Holstein-Friesian (HF) and Jersey x Holstein-Friesian (J x HF) cows within a high concentrate input total confinement system (CON) and a medium concentrate input grazing system (GRZ). Eighty spring-calving dairy cows were used in a 2 (cow genotype) x 2 (milk production system) factorial design experiment. The experiment commenced when cows calved and encompassed a full lactation. With GRZ, cows were offered diets containing grass silage and concentrates [70:30 dry matter (DM) ratio] until turnout, grazed grass plus 1.0 kg of concentrate/day during a 199-d grazing period, and grass silage and concentrates (75:25 DM ratio) following rehousing and until drying-off. With CON, cows were confined throughout the lactation and offered diets containing grass silage and concentrates (DM ratio; 40:60, 50:50, 40:40, and 75:25 during d 1 to 100, 101 to 200, 201 to 250, and 251 until drying-off, respectively). Full-lactation concentrate DM intakes were 791 and 2,905 kg/cow for systems GRZ and CON, respectively. Although HF cows had a higher lactation milk yield than J x HF cows, the latter produced milk with a higher fat and protein content, so that solids-corrected milk yield (SCM) was unaffected by genotype. Somatic cell score was higher with the J x HF cows. Throughout lactation, HF cows were on average 37 kg heavier than J x HF cows, whereas the J x HF cows had a higher body condition score. Within each system, food intake did not differ between genotypes, whereas full-lactation yields of milk, fat plus protein, and SCM were higher with CON than with GRZ. A significant genotype x environment interaction was observed for milk yield, and a trend was found for an interaction with SCM. Crossbred cows on CON gained more body condition than HF cows, and overall pregnancy rate was unaffected by either genotype or management system. In summary, milk and SCM yields were higher with CON than with GRZ, whereas genotype had no effect on SCM. However, HF cows exhibited a greater milk yield response and a trend toward a greater SCM yield response with increasing concentrate levels compared with the crossbred cows.

ARMS2 Increases the Risk of Early and Late Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the European Eye Study

OBJECTIVE:
To study associations between severity stages of early and late age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and genetic variations in age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) and complement factor H (CFH) and to investigate potential interactions between smoking and ARMS2.
DESIGN:
Population-based, cross-sectional European Eye Study in 7 countries in Europe.
PARTICIPANTS:
Four thousand seven hundred fifty participants, 65 years of age and older, recruited through random sampling.
METHODS:
Participants were classified on the basis of the more severely affected eye into 5 mutually exclusive AMD severity stages ranging from no AMD, 3 categories of early AMD, and late AMD. History of cigarette smoking was available and allowed classification into never, former, and current smokers, with the latter 2 groups combined into a single category of ever smokers for analysis. Genotyping was performed for single nucleotide polymorphisms rs10490924 and rs4146894 in ARMS2 and rs1061170 in CFH. Associations were analyzed by logistic regression.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Odds ratios (ORs) for stage of AMD associated with genetic variations in ARMS2 and CFH and interactions between ARMS2 and smoking status.
RESULTS:
Early AMD was present in 36.4% and late AMD was present in 3.3% of participants. Data on both genotype and AMD were available for 4276 people. The ORs for associations between AMD stage and ARMS2 increased monotonically with more severe stages of early AMD and were altered little by adjustment for potential confounders. Compared with persons with no AMD, carriers of the TT genotype for rs10490924 in ARMS2 had a 10-fold increase in risk of late AMD (P<3 × 10(-20)). The ORs for associations with CFH were similar for stage 3 early AMD and late AMD. Interactions between rs10490924 in ARMS2 and smoking status were significant in both unadjusted and adjusted models (P = 0.001). The highest risk was observed in those doubly homozygous for rs10490924 and rs1061170 in CFH (OR, 62.3; 95% confidence interval, 16-242), with P values for trend ranging from 0.03 (early AMD, stage 1) to 1 × 10(-26) (late AMD).
CONCLUSIONS:
A strong association was demonstrated between all stages of AMD and genetic variation in ARMS2, and a significant gene-environment interaction with cigarette smoking was confirmed.

Lead in rice: Analysis of baseline lead levels in market and field collected rice grains

In a large scale survey of rice grains from markets (13 countries) and fields (6 countries), a total of 1578 rice grain samples were analysed for lead. From the market collected samples, only 0.6% of the samples exceeded the Chinese and EU limit of 0.2 μg g− 1 lead in rice (when excluding samples collected from known contaminated/mine impacted regions). When evaluating the rice grain samples against the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) provisional total tolerable intake (PTTI) values for children and pregnant women, it was found that only people consuming large quantities of rice were at risk of exceeding the PTTI from rice alone. Furthermore, 6 field experiments were conducted to evaluate the proportion of the variation in lead concentration in rice grains due to genetics. A total of 4 of the 6 field experiments had significant differences between genotypes, but when the genotypes common across all six field sites were assessed, only 4% of the variation was explained by genotype, with 9.5% and 11% of the variation explained by the environment and genotype by environment interaction respectively. Further work is needed to identify the sources of lead contamination in rice, with detailed information obtained on the locations and environments where the rice is sampled, so that specific risk assessments can be performed.

QTLs for shelf life in lettuce co-locate with those for leaf biophysical properties but not with those for leaf developmental traits

Developmental and biophysical leaf characteristics that influence post-harvest shelf life in lettuce, an important leafy crop, have been examined. The traits were studied using 60 informative F-9 recombinant inbed lines (RILs) derived from a cross between cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. Salinas) and wild lettuce (L. serriola acc. UC96US23). Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for shelf life co-located most closely with those for leaf biophysical properties such as plasticity, elasticity, and breakstrength, suggesting that these are appropriate targets for molecular breeding for improved shelf life. Significant correlations were found between shelf life and leaf size, leaf weight, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf stomatal index, and epidermal cell number per leaf, indicating that these pre-harvest leaf development traits confer post-harvest properties. By studying the population in two contrasting environments in northern and southern Europe, the genotype by environment interaction effects of the QTLs relevant to leaf development and shelf life were assessed. In total, 107 QTLs, distributed on all nine linkage groups, were detected from the 29 traits. Only five QTLs were common in both environments. Several areas where many QTLs co-located (hotspots) on the genome were identified, with relatively little overlap between developmental hotspots and those relating to shelf life. However, QTLs for leaf biophysical properties (breakstrength, plasticity, and elasticity) and cell area correlated well with shelf life, confirming that the ideal ideotype lettuce should have small cells with strong cell walls. The identification of QTLs for leaf development, strength, and longevity will lead to a better understanding of processability at a genetic and cellular level, and allow the improvement of salad leaf quality through marker-assisted breeding.

Contribution of apolipoprotein E genotype and docosahexaenoic acid to the LDL-cholesterol response to fish oil

Objectives: To investigate the impact of apolipoprotein E (apoE) genotype on the response of the plasma lipoprotein profile to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) versus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intervention in humans. Methods and results: 38 healthy normolipidaemic males, prospectively recruited on the basis of apoE genotype (n = 20 E3/E3 and n = 18 E3/E4), completed a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over trial, consisting of 3 × 4 week intervention arms of either control oil, EPA-rich oil (ERO, 3.3 g EPA/day) or DHA-rich oil (DRO, 3.7 g DHA/day) in random order, separated by 10 week wash-out periods. A significant genotype-independent 28% and 19% reduction in plasma triglycerides in response to ERO and DRO was observed. For total cholesterol (TC), no significant treatment effects were evident; however a significant genotype by treatment interaction emerged (P = 0.045), with a differential response to ERO and DRO in E4 carriers. Although the genotype × treatment interaction for LDL-cholesterol (P = 0.089) did not reach significance, within DRO treatment analysis indicated a 10% increase in LDL (P = 0.029) in E4 carriers with a non-significant 4% reduction in E3/E3 individuals. A genotype-independent increase in LDL mass was observed following DRO intervention (P = 0.018). Competitive uptake studies in HepG2 cells using plasma very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) from the human trial, indicated that following DRO treatment, VLDL2 fractions obtained from E3/E4 individuals resulted in a significant 32% (P = 0.002) reduction in LDL uptake relative to the control. Conclusions: High dose DHA supplementation is associated with increases in total cholesterol in E4 carriers, which appears to be due to an increase in LDL-C and may in part negate the cardioprotective action of DHA in this population subgroup.

The impact of the catechol-O-methyltransferase genotype on vascular function and blood pressure after acute green tea ingestion

SCOPE: Evidence for the benefits of green tea catechins on vascular function is inconsistent, with genotype potentially contributing to the heterogeneity in response. Here, the impact of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype on vascular function and blood pressure (BP) after green tea extract ingestion are reported. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty subjects (n = 25 of the proposed low-activity [AA] and of the high-activity [GG] COMT rs4680 genotype), completed a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Peripheral arterial tonometry, digital volume pulse (DVP), and BP were assessed at baseline and 90 min after 1.06 g of green tea extract or placebo. A 5.5 h and subsequent 18.5 h urine collection was performed to assess green tea catechin excretion. A genotype × treatment interaction was observed for DVP reflection index (p = 0.014), with green tea extract in the AA COMT group attenuating the increase observed with placebo. A tendency for a greater increase in diastolic BP was evident at 90 min after the green tea extract compared to placebo (p = 0.07). A genotypic effect was observed for urinary methylated epigallocatechin during the first 5.5 h, with the GG COMT group demonstrating a greater concentration (p = 0.049). CONCLUSION: Differences in small vessel tone according to COMT genotype were evident after acute green tea extract.

Analysis of physiological data from the International Clonal Trial (CFC)

A range of physiological parameters (canopy light transmission, canopy shape, leaf size, flowering and flushing intensity) were measured from the International Clone Trial, typically over the course of two years. Data were collected from six locations, these being: Brazil, Ecuador, Trinidad, Venezuela, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Canopy shape varied significantly between clones, although it showed little variation between locations. Genotypic variation in leaf size was differentially affected by the growth location; such differences appeared to underlie a genotype by environment interaction in relation to canopy light transmission. Flushing data were recorded at monthly intervals over the course of a year. Within each location, a significant interaction was observed between genotype and time of year, suggesting that some genotypes respond to a greater extent than others to environmental stimuli. A similar interaction was observed for flowering data, where significant correlations were found between flowering intensity and temperature in Brazil and flowering intensity and rainfall in Côte d’Ivoire. The results demonstrate the need for local evaluation of cocoa clones and also suggest that the management practices for particular planting material may need to be fine-tuned to the location in which they are cultivated.

The role of the international cocoa germplasm database and the international cocoa quarantine centre in information management and distribution of cocoa genetic resources

A range of physiological parameters (canopy light transmission, canopy shape, leaf size, flowering and flushing intensity) were measured from the International Clone Trial, typically over the course of two years. Data were collected from six locations, these being: Brazil, Ecuador, Trinidad, Venezuela, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Canopy shape varied significantly between clones, although it showed little variation between locations. Genotypic variation in leaf size was differentially affected by the growth location; such differences appeared to underlie a genotype by environment interaction in relation to canopy light transmission. Flushing data were recorded at monthly intervals over the course of a year. Within each location, a significant interaction was observed between genotype and time of year, suggesting that some genotypes respond to a greater extent than others to environmental stimuli. A similar interaction was observed for flowering data, where significant correlations were found between flowering intensity and temperature in Brazil and flowering intensity and rainfall in Côte d’Ivoire. The results demonstrate the need for local evaluation of cocoa clones and also suggest that the management practices for particular planting material may need to be fine-tuned to the location in which they are cultivated.

APOE genotype influences triglyceride and C-reactive protein responses to altered dietary fat intake in UK adults

Background: The response of plasma lipids to dietary fat manipulation is highly heterogeneous, with some indications that APOE genotype may be important. Objective: The objective was to use a prospective recruitment approach to determine the effect of dietary fat quantity and composition on both lipid and nonlipid cardiovascular disease biomarkers according to APOE genotype. Design: Participants had a mean (±SD) age of 51 ± 9 y and a BMI (in kg/m2) of 26.0 ± 3.8 (n = 44 E3/E3, n = 44 E3/E4) and followed a sequential dietary intervention (the SATgenϵ study) in which they were assigned to a low-fat diet, a high-fat high-SFA (HSF) diet, and the HSF diet with 3.45 g DHA/d (HSF-DHA), each for 8 wk. Fasting blood samples were collected at the end of each intervention arm. Results: An overall diet effect was evident for all cholesterol fractions (P < 0.01), with no significant genotype × diet interactions observed. A genotype × diet interaction (P = 0.033) was evident for plasma triglycerides, with 17% and 30% decreases in APOE3/E3 and APOE3/E4 individuals after the HSF-DHA diet relative to the low-fat diet. A significant genotype × diet interaction (P = 0.009) was also observed for C-reactive protein (CRP), with only significant increases in concentrations after the HSF and HSF-DHA diets relative to the low-fat diet in the APOE3/E4 group (P < 0.015). Conclusions: Relative to the wild-type APOE3/E3 group, our results indicate a greater sensitivity of fasting triglycerides and CRP to dietary fat manipulation in those with an APOE3/E4 genotype (25% population), with no effect of this allelic profile on cholesterol concentrations. The SATgenϵ study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01384032.

Efeito de períodos de semeadura e das condições de armazenamento sobre a qualidade de grãos de feijão para o cozimento

A conservação adequada pode manter as características do grão recém-colhido por mais tempo, assegurando o valor comercial do produto estocado. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de períodos de semeadura na qualidade de cozimento de grãos de feijão da cultivar TPS Nobre, quando armazenados em diferentes condições de temperatura, de umidade e tempo de estocagem. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com três repetições. Os tratamentos consistiram da combinação de três períodos de semeadura, com três ambientes de armazenamento e três tempos de armazenamento dos grãos (0, 3 e 6 meses). A interpretação dos resultados permitiu inferir que as porcentagens de grãos normais e de grãos duros revelaram comportamento diferenciado em função do ambiente e do tempo de armazenamento. Constatou-se maior porcentagem de grãos duros após seis meses de armazenamento, realizado sob temperatura média do ar de 12 °C e umidade relativa de 45%-50% e também quando os grãos foram resultantes de semeadura realizada tardiamente (21/10/03). A absorção de água e o tempo de cozimento dos grãos de feijão foram alterados em função do período de semeadura, das condições e do tempo de armazenamento, caracterizando a existência de efeitos da interação genótipos x ambientes na qualidade para o cozimento dos grãos. Sendo assim, maior ou menor tempo para a absorção de água ou para o cozimento podem ser requeridos em função da qualidade dos grãos no momento da colheita ou das condições de temperatura e de umidade de armazenamento.

Qualidade nutricional e tecnológica de genótipos de feijão cultivados em diferentes safras agrícolas

O feijão é um dos alimentos mais produzidos em todo o território nacional, sendo intensa a busca por cultivares produtivas, adaptadas ao local de cultivo e com boas características culinárias. Assim, este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de avaliar o comportamento de genótipos de feijoeiro, quanto ao teor de proteína, tempo para cozimento e capacidade de hidratação dos grãos. O experimento foi desenvolvido em três safras, correspondendo às épocas da seca 2005, das águas 2005 e da seca 2006. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, com 24 tratamentos, representados pelos genótipos de feijoeiro dos grupos comerciais Carioca e Preto, com quatro repetições. Os grãos de feijão produzidos na safra das águas 2005 tiveram maior tempo médio para cozimento, menor teor de proteína bruta e maior tempo para máxima hidratação. Os genótipos LP 98-20 e CNFC 9494 (Grupo comercial Carioca), como também as cultivares Graúna e IAC Una (Grupo comercial Preto) destacaram-se quanto ao menor tempo para cozimento nas três safras estudadas, enquanto Gen 96A10, CNFC 9484 (Ambos do grupo comercial Carioca) e CNFP 10138 (Grupo comercial Preto) destacaram-se em relação aos demais pela baixa porcentagem de grãos de casca dura e menor tempo para a máxima hidratação dos grãos.

Adaptabilidade e estabilidade fenotípica de genótipos de cenoura

Avaliaram-se a adaptabilidade e a estabilidade fenotípica de dez genótipos de cenoura, nove de polinização aberta [Alvorada (FELTRIN); Tropical (ISLA); Brasília (ISLA); Nova Brasília (ISLA); Carandaí (SVS); Brasília (SVS); Brazlândia (HORTEC); HT-2000 (HORTEC), e Brasília-RL (SAKATA)] e o híbrido AF-845 (SAKATA), em semeaduras, de janeiro e março, em São José do Rio Pardo (SP), janeiro e fevereiro, em Ponta Grossa (PR), e na primeira e última semana de fevereiro, em São Gotardo (MG), e Carandaí (MG), totalizando oito experimentos (SJRP-JAN; SJRP-MAR; PG-JAN; PG-FEV; SG-FEV'; SG-FEV''; C-FEV', e C-FEV''), que foram implementados em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância individual e conjunta, e à análise de adaptabilidade e de estabilidade. Dos oito ambientes testados, apenas C-FEV'', PG-JAN e SG-FEV'' foram considerados favoráveis ao cultivo de cenoura, com destaque para C-FEV''. Entre genótipos, na maioria dos ambientes, 'Brazlândia' se destacou tanto na produtividade total, quanto na produtividade comercial de raízes. Na análise de adaptabilidade, 'Brazlândia' e 'Brasília-RL' indicaram possuir desempenho mais do que proporcional à melhoria promovida pelo ambiente, sendo indicados para semeaduras em ambientes favoráveis. O híbrido AF-845 mostrou ter pequena capacidade em responder às variações ambientais, não sendo indicado para nenhum dos ambientes estudados. Os genótipos de cenoura, em geral, apresentaram estabilidade de comportamento nos ambientes estudados.

Adaptabilidade e estabilidade fenotípica de cultivares de cenoura

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Use of ridge regression for the prediction of early growth performance in crossbred calves

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Interação genótipo-ambiente em cruzamentos de bovinos de corte

Dados de rebanhos bovinos comerciais foram analisados com o objetivo de estimar as interações dos efeitos genéticos com o ambiente que podem influenciar a avaliação de características de crescimento em rebanhos de animais puros e cruzados. O conjunto de dados analisado foi obtido a partir de animais das raças Hereford, Nelore e seus cruzamentos. As características em estudo foram os pesos à desmama e ao sobreano dos animais. As análises estatísticas foram realizadas pelo método dos quadrados mínimos e o modelo proposto incluiu os efeitos de região, grupo de contemporâneos dentro de região, mês de nascimento e sexo do bezerro, os efeitos lineares e quadráticos para a idade do bezerro e idade da vaca ao parto, ambas analisadas dentro de sexo, e os efeitos de grupo genético e da interação grupo genético × região. de modo geral, o desempenho de todos os grupos genéticos foi influenciado pelo efeito de região. Além disso, observou-se tendência de que o aumento da proporção de genes zebuínos promoveu diminuição na diferença de desempenho entre as regiões. Todos os genótipos foram beneficiados no ambiente menos restritivo, o que indica a existência de interação genótipo-ambiente e comprova a importância de que sistemas de cruzamento sejam realizados de forma a manter a adaptação das matrizes e de seus produtos.