1. Lipid deposition and metabolism in local and modern pig breeds : a reviewKlavdija Poklukar Žnidaršič, Marjeta Čandek-Potokar, Nina Batorek Lukač, Urška Tomažin, Martin Škrlep, 2020, review article Abstract: Modern pig breeds, which have been genetically improved to achieve fast growth and a lean meat deposition, differ from local pig breeds with respect to fat deposition, fat specific metabolic characteristics and various other properties. The present review aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the differences between fatty local and modern lean pig breeds in adipose tissue deposition and lipid metabolism, taking into consideration morphological, cellular, biochemical, transcriptomic and proteomic perspectives. Compared to modern breeds, local pig breeds accumulate larger amounts of fat, which generally contains more monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids; they exhibit a higher adipocyte size and higher activity of lipogenic enzymes. Studies using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches highlighted several processes like immune response, fatty-acid turn-over, oxidoreductase activity, mitochondrial function, etc. which differ between local and modern pig breeds.
Keywords: pig, adipose tissue, local breeds, modern breeds, cellularity, transcriptome, proteom, adaptation
Published in DKUM: 06.02.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 0
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2. The effect of supplementing pig diet with chestnut wood extract or hops on fresh meat and dry-cured productsUrška Tomažin, Martin Škrlep, Maja Prevolnik Povše, Nina Batorek Lukač, Danijel Karolyi, Matjaž Červek, Marjeta Čandek-Potokar, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Oxidation is one of the major reasons for impaired quality of meat and meat products but can be prevented by the addition of antioxidants. In the present study, the effect of dietary sweet chestnut wood extract and hop cones on the quality and oxidative stability of meat and dry-cured products was investigated. Control pigs (N = 11) were fed a commercial diet (13.1 MJ metabolizable energy, 15.5% crude protein), while the other two experimental groups were supplemented with 3% of sweet chestnut wood extract (Tannin; N = 12) or 0.4% of hop cones (Hops; N = 11). The quality of meat and dry-cured products was evaluated by means of chemical composition, water holding capacity, objective color, and lipid and protein oxidation. No major effects of sweet chestnut wood extract or of hops supplementation were observed, nevertheless, some indications of improved water holding capacity could be attributed to antioxidants supplementation. The color evolution of dry-cured bellies from Tannin and Hops groups of pigs during refrigerated storage was also indicative of an improved oxidative stability.
Keywords: pig meat, meat quality, pig diet, tannin extract, hops, dry-cured products, oxidation, pigs
Published in DKUM: 23.12.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 3
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3. Effect of immunocastration and housing conditions on pig carcass and meat quality traitsMartin Škrlep, Klavdija Poklukar Žnidaršič, Kevin Kress, Milka Vrecl, Gregor Fazarinc, Nina Batorek Lukač, Ulrike Weiler, Volker Stefanski, Marjeta Čandek-Potokar, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: The present study investigated the effects of immunocastration and housing conditions on carcass, meat, and fat quality traits. Immunocastrates (IC, n = 48), entire (EM, n = 48), and surgical castrates (SC, n = 48) male pigs were reared under three different housing conditions. The conditions were standard (n = 36), enriched (n = 36, twice as much space as standard and additional outdoor access), or standard with repeated social mixing (n = 72). Pigs of the IC group were vaccinated at the age of 12 and 22 wk. The animals were slaughtered in four batches, balanced for sex category and housing, at the age of 27 wk reaching 124.7 ± 1.0 kg. Immunocastration led to increased fat deposition (i.e., thicker subcutaneous fat at different anatomical locations, more leaf fat, fatter belly in IC than EM, P < 0.05) but did not affect muscularity traits. As a result, EM exhibited higher and SC lower (P < 0.05) carcass leanness than IC. Fatty acids composition of either subcutaneous or intramuscular fat (IMF) agreed with general adiposity, that is, IC were intermediate between EM and SC exhibiting the lowest and highest fat saturation (P < 0.05), respectively. Compared to SC, EM exhibited higher (P < 0.05) levels of muscle oxidation and collagen content than SC, with IC taking an intermediate position in the case of the level of peroxidation and collagen content, or closer to SC as regards to oxidation of muscle proteins (i.e., carbonyl groups). Meat quality (including marbling score, cooking loss, subjective color redness, and chroma) of IC was similar to EM, and both differed (P < 0.05) from SC. However, IC and SC had less (P < 0.05) tough meat than EM, consistent with protein oxidation. The effect of housing was less evident. Mixing of pigs resulted in lower (P < 0.05) carcass weight and fatness in all sex categories with lower (P < 0.05) oleic and higher (P < 0.05) arachidonic acid in IMF of EM.
Keywords: carcass traits, entire males, housing, immunocastrates, meat quality, surgical castrates
Published in DKUM: 18.12.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 3
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4. Adipose tissue gene expression of entire male, immunocastrated and surgically castrated pigsKlavdija Poklukar Žnidaršič, Marjeta Čandek-Potokar, Milka Vrecl, Nina Batorek Lukač, Gregor Fazarinc, Kevin Kress, Volker Stefanski, Martin Škrlep, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Differences in adipose tissue deposition and properties between pig male sex categories, i.e., entire males (EM), immunocastrates (IC) and surgical castrates (SC) are relatively well-characterized, whereas the underlying molecular mechanisms are still not fully understood. To gain knowledge about the genetic regulation of the differences in adipose tissue deposition, two different approaches were used: RNA-sequencing and candidate gene expression by quantitative PCR. A total of 83 differentially expressed genes were identified between EM and IC, 15 between IC and SC and 48 between EM and SC by RNA-sequencing of the subcutaneous adipose tissue. Comparing EM with IC or SC, upregulated genes related to extracellular matrix dynamics and adipogenesis, and downregulated genes involved in the control of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism were detected. Differential gene expression generally indicated high similarity between IC and SC as opposed to EM, except for several heat shock protein genes that were upregulated in EM and IC compared with SC. The candidate gene expression approach showed that genes involved in lipogenesis were downregulated in EM compared with IC pigs, further confirming RNA-sequencing results.
Keywords: pigs, adipose tissue, entire males, immunocastration, surgical castration, RNA-sequencing, expression
Published in DKUM: 10.10.2024; Views: 0; Downloads: 5
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5. Male reproductive organ weight : criteria for detection of androstenone-positive carcasses in immunocastrated and antire male pigsGregor Fazarinc, Nina Batorek Lukač, Martin Škrlep, Klavdija Poklukar Žnidaršič, Alice Broeke, Kevin Kress, Etienne Labussière, Volker Stefanski, Milka Vrecl, Marjeta Čandek-Potokar, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Immunocastration and rearing of entire males (EMs) are sustainable alternatives to surgical castration. However, these animal carcasses have variable risk of boar taint and should be identified at the slaughter line. We aimed to identify a simple and reliable indicator of androstenone-related boar taint by evaluating pelvic urogenital tract weight as a marker of boar-taint animals at the slaughter line. The pelvic urogenital tract, testes, and accessory sex glands of EMs and immunocastrates (ICs) were collected, dissected, and weighed, before colorimetric measurements of testicular tissue. Additionally, GnRH antibody titers and testosterone, androstenone, and skatole levels were determined. Our results showed that 81.8% of EMs had androstenone levels above the risk threshold (>0.5 µg/g fat; EM/Ahigh subgroup), whereas in ICs, the C/Ahigh subgroup with androstenone >0.5 µg/g fat accounted for only 4.3%. Androstenone levels correlated negatively with GnRH antibody titers and positively with testosterone levels and reproductive organ weights. Identification of ICs with androstenone levels above the threshold (IC/Ahigh subgroup) may be achieved via testes or pelvic urogenital tract weight measurements. However, in EMs, the latter is a more reliable parameter. A principal component analysis based on these variables and hierarchical clustering also distinguished the Ahigh from the Alow subgroup, irrespective of IC/EM. The findings highlight the possible use of pelvic urogenital tract weight along with testes weight as a simple, reliable, and efficient morphometric indicator for identifying androstenone-positive carcasses of different sex categories.
Keywords: boar taint, morphometric indicators, immunocastration, entire males
Published in DKUM: 11.04.2024; Views: 213; Downloads: 13
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6. Fiziologija domačih živali : zbirka vaj in nalog za proučevanje osnovnih fizioloških procesov v telesu (1. del)Nina Batorek Lukač, 2023, other educational material Abstract: Študijsko gradivo Fiziologija domačih živali: zbirka vaj in nalog za proučevanje osnovnih fizioloških procesov v telesu je namenjeno študentom 1. letnika visokošolskega študijskega programa Živinoreja in študentom 2. letnika univerzitetnega študijskega programa Agrikultura Fakultete za kmetijstvo in biosistemske vede Univerze v Mariboru. Zbirka je razdeljena na dva
dela. Prvi del je namenjen osvežitvi znanja o zgradbi živalske celice,razdelitvi in zgradbi živalskih tkiv ter razumevanju osnovnih fizioloških procesov. Vsako poglavje zbirke nalog vsebuje teoretično osnovo in navodila za naloge, ki jih mora študent opraviti na vajah. Pravilno
izpolnjene, pregledane in podpisane naloge so dokazilo o aktivnem sodelovanju na vajah, ki je predpogoj za pristop h kolokviju. Zadnja točka vsakega poglavja je namenjena utrjevanju znanja.
Keywords: splošna fiziologija, zgradba živalske celice
Published in DKUM: 29.11.2023; Views: 654; Downloads: 35
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7. Immunocastration in adult boars as a model for late-onset hypogonadismNina Batorek Lukač, Kevin Kress, Marjeta Čandek-Potokar, Gregor Fazarinc, Martin Škrlep, Klavdija Poklukar Žnidaršič, Raffael Wesoly, Volker Stefanski, Milka Vrecl, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Background:
While immunocastration has been studied in male pre-pubertal pigs, data on older, sexually mature animals are limited. To understand the physiological effects of androgen deprivation in the late sexual development phase, we compared mature immunocastrated boars (n = 19; average age = 480 days) to young male immunocastrated pigs (n = 6; average age = 183 days) and young entire males (n = 6; average age = 186 days) as positive and negative controls, respectively.
Objectives:
We hypothesized that the timing of gonadotropin-releasing hormone suppression (early or late sexual development phases) influences the extent of reproductive function inhibition, histological structure of testicular tissue, and expression levels of selected genes related to steroid metabolism.
Materials and methods:
Antibody titer, hormonal status, and histomorphometric analysis of testicular tissue were subjected to principal component analysis followed by hierarchical clustering to evaluate the immunocastration effectiveness in mature boars.
Results:
Hierarchical clustering differentiated mature immunocastrated boars clustered with young immunocastrated pigs from those clustered with entire males. Although all mature immunocastrated boars responded to vaccination, as evidenced by the increased gonadotropin-releasing hormone antibody titers (p < 0.001), decreased serum luteinizing hormone concentrations (p = 0.002), and changes in testicular tissue
vascularization (lighter and less red testicular parenchyma; p ≤ 0.001), the responses were variable. Sharp decreases in testes index (p < 0.001), Leydig cell volume density (p < 0.001), Leydig cell nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio (p < 0.001), and testosterone concentration (p < 0.001) were observed in mature immunocastrated boars clustered with young immunocastrated pigs compared with those that clustered with entire males. Additionally, mature immunocastrated boars clustered with young immunocastrated pigs showed lower hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 7 expression than entire males (p < 0.05). The young immunocastrated pigs group showed higher folliclestimulating hormone receptors than the entire males and mature immunocastrated boars, lower steroidogenic acute regulatory protein expression levels compared with
entire males, and mature immunocastrated boars clustered with entire males (p < 0.01).
Conclusion:
The two-dose vaccination regime resulted in progressive but variable regression of testicular function in adult (post-pubertal) pigs; however, it was insufficient to induce a complete immunocastration response in all animals.
Keywords: response to immunocastration, pigs, anti-GnRH, morphometry, testicular mRNA expression
Published in DKUM: 16.08.2023; Views: 490; Downloads: 79
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8. Salivary gland adaptation to dietary inclusion of hydrolysable tannins in boarsMaša Mavri, Marjeta Čandek-Potokar, Gregor Fazarinc, Martin Škrlep, Catrin Rutland, Božidar Potočnik, Nina Batorek Lukač, Valentina Kubale, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: The ingestion of hydrolysable tannins as a potential nutrient to reduce boar odor in entire males results in the significant enlargement of parotid glands (parotidomegaly). The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of different levels of hydrolysable tannins in the diet of fattening boars (n = 24) on salivary gland morphology and proline-rich protein (PRP) expression at the histological level. Four treatment groups of pigs (n = 6 per group) were fed either a control (T0) or experimental diet, where the T0 diet was supplemented with 1% (T1), 2% (T2), or 3% (T3) of the hydrolysable tannin-rich extract Farmatan®. After slaughter, the parotid and mandibular glands of the experimental pigs were harvested and dissected for staining using Goldner’s Trichrome method, and immunohistochemical studies with antibodies against PRPs. Morphometric analysis was performed on microtome sections of both salivary glands, to measure the acinar area, the lobular area, the area of the secretory ductal cells, and the sizes of glandular cells and their nuclei. Histological assessment revealed that significant parotidomegaly was only present in the T3 group, based on the presence of larger glandular lobules, acinar areas, and their higher nucleus to cytoplasm ratio. The immunohistochemical method, supported by color intensity measurements, indicated significant increases in basic PRPs (PRB2) in the T3 and acidic PRPs (PRH1/2) in the T1 groups. Tannin upplementation did not affect the histo-morphological properties of the mandibular gland. This study confirms that pigs can adapt to a tannin-rich diet by making structural changes in their parotid salivary gland, indicating its higher functional activity.
Keywords: pigs, dietary supplements, tannins, parotid gland, mandibular gland, immunohistochemistry, histology, proline-rich proteins (PRP), swine
Published in DKUM: 07.07.2023; Views: 506; Downloads: 51
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9. Pojavnosti najpogostejših prehranskih alegrij pri psih v Sloveniji : magistrsko deloJulija Pučko, 2023, master's thesis Abstract: Alergija je pretirana reakcija imunskega sistema na specifičen alergen. Prehranske alergije pri psih so v zadnjih desetletjih vedno bolj prisotne in povzročajo različne dermatološke in gastrointestinalne bolezenske znake. Namen magistrskega dela je bil oceniti pojavnost ter najpogostejše oblike prehranskih alergij v Sloveniji. Hkrati smo popisali tudi prehranjevalne navade psov. Podatke za raziskavo smo pridobili z anketnim vprašalnikom, ki ga je izpolnilo 324 lastnikov. Razmerje med spoloma je bilo dokaj uravnoteženo (53 % samic), prevladovali so čistopasemski psi (60 %), ki živijo v hiši z lastnikom (68 %). Ugotovili smo, da največ lastnikov hrani svoje pse s komercialno pripravljeno suho briketirano hrano (41 %), ki jo najpogosteje kupujejo v specializiranih trgovinah za male živali (45 %). Glede na rezultate, se alergije na hrano pojavljajo pri 39 % psov, pri čemer je najpogostejši alergen perutninsko meso (15 %). V 50 % primerov alergije na hrano nastopijo že v prvem letu starosti psa in se najpogosteje kažejo kot srbečica (19 %). Lastniki psov prehranske alergije najpogosteje diagnosticirajo z izločitveno dieto (46 %). Pridobljeni rezultati raziskave lahko pripomorejo k ozaveščanju lastnikov psov o pomenu ustrezne prehrane ter ohranjanju močnega imunskega sistema za dobro počutje psov ter kot pomoč veterinarski stroki o pojavnosti prehranskih alergij v Sloveniji.
Keywords: psi, prehranske alergije, alergeni, klinični znaki, metode diagnosticiranja
Published in DKUM: 04.07.2023; Views: 557; Downloads: 33
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10. Vpliv imunokastracije na razvoj in funkcijo testikularnega tkiva pri prašičih : diplomsko deloInes Vrabl, 2022, undergraduate thesis Abstract: Imunokastracija je ena od alternativ kirurški kastraciji, pri kateri s cepljenjem proti gonadotropin sproščujočemu hormonu prekinemo delovanje osi hipotalamus-hipofiza-moda. Z imunokastracijo tako povzročimo disfunkcijo mod, ki se manifestira v morfoloških in histoloških spremembah na modih. Cilj naše raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kako se moda imunokastratov razlikujejo od mod merjascev na morfološki in histološki ravni. V raziskavo je bilo vključenih šest merjascev in šest imunokastratov. Na klavni liniji smo pridobili podatke o masi klavnih trupov, teži in barvi mod. V vzorcih podkožne maščobe smo določili vsebnost substanc vonja po merjascu. Na tkivnih rezinah parenhima mod smo naredili 50–100 meritev semenskih tubulov na žival. Rezultati so pokazali zmanjšanje vrednosti androstenona (za 28-krat; p = 0,008) in manjšo maso mod (za 2,3-krat; p < 0,0001) pri imunokastratih. Moda imunokastratov so bila svetlejša (p < 0,0001) ter manj rdeča (p = 0,004). Na histološkem nivoju imajo moda imunokastratov v primerjavi z merjasci manjšo površino (za 1,5-krat; p = 0,004) in premer semenskih tubulov (za 1,2-krat; p = 0,004), manjšo višino germinativnega epitelija (za 1,3-krat; p = 0,018), površino in premer lumna semenskih tubulov (za 1,5 in 1,2-krat; p = 0,028 in 0,019) ter površino germinativnega epitelija (za 1,5-krat; p = 0,005). Rezultati raziskave so pokazali, da se moda imunokastratov bistveno razlikujejo od mod merjascev na morfološki (manjša masa, spremenjena barva in steroidogeneza) in histološki ravni (spremenjena struktura semenskega epitelija). Po imunokastraciji se bistveno zmanjša višina semenskega epitelija, zoži se lumen in zmanjša se površina semenskih tubulov.
Keywords: prašiči, imunokastracija, androstenon, skatol, moda, histološke analize
Published in DKUM: 04.05.2022; Views: 1008; Downloads: 53
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