The use of radioactive isotopes to measure de novo lipogenesis in pigs has been well established; unlike radioactive isotopes, stable isotopes present little or no risk to human and animal subjects, but in vivo approaches to estimate de novo lipogenesis using stable isotopes have not been reported in pigs.

Bovine hepatocytes were first treated with different doses of metformin, then exposed to BHBA levels commonly observed in cows experiencing ketosis. Various methods, including western blot, real-time quantitative PCR, chromatin precipitation, and immunofluorescence, were used to assess the activation of various pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways in hepatocytes.

Alfalfa is a commonly used forage for horses with high nutritional requirements, but some of its utility as a highly digestible feed source may be negatively affected by lignin content. Lignin is a complex phenolic polymer that increases plant rigidity and growth, but negatively interacts gastrointestinal microbial populations, limiting the total tract digestibility of the forage.

Esfandyari and Jensen conducted a Bayesian analysis of growth performance records of Danish beef herds to calculate residual feed intake and demonstrated its statistical utility in genetic selection of beef bulls over a period of 392 days.

In poultry, the accuracy genomic prediction has historically remained relatively stable when animal with known genotypes and phenotypes were added to the breeding population, but was dramatically reduced when no new animals were included, and as a result the response to selection was smaller than expected.

Creatine stores high-energy phosphate bonds in muscle and is synthesized in the liver through methylation of guanidinoacetic acid; supplementation of guanidinoacetic acid may therefore increase methyl group requirements, which may affect methyl group utilization.

GreenFeed, is an acceptable method to measure fecal output. The research team hypothesized that there would be adequate agreement in fecal output estimated using titanium dioxide as an external marker dosed between the GreenFeed and hand feeding in stanchions.

Research recently published in the Journal of Animal Science aimed to use beef heifers to evaluate the effect of maternal nutrient restriction and melatonin supplementation during late gestation on uteroplacental blood flow, vaginal temperatures, and fetal morphometrics during compromised pregnancy. It was hypothesized that maternal nutrient restriction during late gestation would decrease uteroplacental blood flow and melatonin supplementation during the daytime, which would mitigate the adverse effects of compromised pregnancy.

A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Science evaluated whether different reproductive stages of sows altered thermal preference and if current recommendations required updating. It was hypothesized that the reproductive stage would alter thermal preference in sows. This study is the first to look at temperature preference differences based on the reproductive stage of sows.

A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Science aimed to find the start date of genomic selection for a set of economically important traits in pigs, Angus cattle, and broiler chickens by comparing trends obtained using best linear unbiased prediction and single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction.

The research team from Kansas State University hypothesized that guanidinoacetic acid supplementation to Metdeficient cattle would induce a methyl group deficiency and that methionine supplementation would reduce the methyl group deficiency. Additionally, it was thought that guanidinoacetic acid might improve nitrogen retention when methionine was supplemented.

Maternally influenced traits include genetic factors that impact birth and weaning. Cultivating a better understanding of the heritability of maternally influenced traits may improve estimated breeding values (EBV), genetic selection and ultimately productivity.

High backfat is not a desired trait in finisher pigs. Backfat thickness can vary depending on the season when piglets are born. Sows with high weight loss after summer lactation, for instance, yield smaller pigs with higher backfat thickness at harvest.

Crossbreeding enables breeders to capitalize on heterosis, which is the phenomenon of superior average performance of crossbreds compared with the average performance of their parental lines. Breeding programs aiming to improve the performance of crossbreds may benefit from genomic prediction of crossbred performance for purebred selection candidates.

The results of the present study, outlined in the full paper, support the idea that the WNT signaling pathway is involved in the regulation of theca cell proliferation and steroidogenesis, but further research is required to explain the specific mechanisms of action and dose responses of WNT, Dickkopf, and secreted frizzled-related protein 4 and their relationship with other molecules during follicular growth. A better understanding of the role of WNT and their molecular mechanisms will allow for a greater perspective on how these signals impact follicular maturation and subsequent conditions that could lead to ovarian cysts.

Grain-free diets have been popular in the pet industry for over a decade; however, recently, they have been associated with canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Research has linked DCM with a deficient of taurine in cats, which may be a possible cause for DCM in large breed dogs. Methionine and cysteine, amino acid precursors to taurine synthesis in dogs, is very low in ingredients used to replace grains. To date, there has been no research evaluating the plasma and whole blood taurine concentration of dogs when feeding grain-free diets supplemented with nutrients involved in the biosynthesis of taurine.

Adding coproducts to swine feed is an economical choice that can also adversely impact the digestibility of feed. Coproducts contain a higher amount of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), which cannot be digested by pigs. Poorly digested feed leads to reduced performance, an undesired effect. Adding carbohydrase enzymes to feed may make NPS more digestible without negatively impacting performance.

Hindgut acidosis was induced by continuously infusing glucose (GLC) or casein (CAS) into the terminal ileum of growing pigs. Pigs were separated into three groups and given either an infusion of water (control), dextrose 50% (GLC) or casein sodium salt (CAS). Average daily feed intake was reduced in GLC and CAS pigs compared to the control.

Results of the present study demonstrated that, when compared with mid-gestation and nonpregnant sows, late-gestation sows had increased respiration rate and altered blood characteristics in response to increasing dry bulb temperature, which can be indicative of greater heat stress sensitivity.

The Future of Agricultural Resiliency and Modernization Act (FARM Act), designed to help farmers more effectively fight climate change, has been reintroduced by Representative Josh Harder (D-CA), The FARM Act was first introduced by Harder in 2020 and referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.