Effect of alpha-linolenic acid on some productive and reproductive traits of the Iranian bee (Apis mellifara meda)

Comparative study on the dynamics and performances of Apis mellifera jemenitica and imported hybrid honeybee colonies in southwestern Saudi Arabia

SUMMARYWe developed a technique to remove varroa (Varroa destructor) from adult honey bees (Apis mellifera) using powdered sugar. Our technique requires isolating a colony's adult bee population in a detachable box prior to powdered sugar application. We designed a detachable ‘bee box’ that connects to the colony's entrance and is capable of holding the adult bee population. By applying a bee repellent, Bee Goreg, to a colony, we forced adult bees into the bee box where they were subsequently dusted with 225 g of powdered sugar. Adult honey bee populations treated in this manner dropped 76.7 ± 3.6% (n = 28) of their mites.

Hypercholesterolemia is the most common pathologic process underlying atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Alpha–linolenic acid (ALA) is believed to benefit the cardiovascular system. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different levels of dietary ALA from linseed oil and walnut on serum lipid profile of rats fed on atherogenic diet (AD). Sixty male Sprague- Dawley rats weighed 121.3±10.6 g were divided into six groups. Rats were fed for 10 weeks on rodent diets contained 2% cholesterol , 3% corn oil and 20% fat whose source was from either palm stearin (saturated fat), corn oil, linseed oil or walnut at different levels of ALA that ranged from zero to 9.71%. Weight gain, liver weight, serum lipid profile and liver function parameters were determined. AD based on saturated fat resulted in significant alterations in serum lipids, increase in body weight gain and relative liver weight accompanied by negative effect on liver function parameters. Dietary ALA could counteract the detrimental effects brought about by the AD. The overall beneficial effects provided by high level of ALA were better than those given by low levels of ALA. Linseed oil exerted a hypolipidemic effect and could be considered as a promising functional food in cardiovascular disease.

The objectives of the study were to examine the effect of diet high in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) on omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) and the health status of the heart. Diets were based on a commercial starter diet, with a low level of fat. The experimental diets contained two levels of ALA (2.23 and 19.37%), with the total fat content was approximately 5%. Pure or blended vegetable oils were included at a level of 2.8% in order to produce diets with the desired levels of linoleic acid (LA) and ALA. The ratio of LA to ALA of the diets was 9.75:1 for control diet and 1.37:1 for high ALA diet. Each diet was provided ad libitum for the duration of the 28-d growth period. At 28 days of age, six selected birds from each pen (12 birds per group) were weighed individually and hearts were collected for analysis. A ratio of right ventricle mass (RV) to total ventricle mass (TV) was used to indicate the health status of the heart. Results showed that dietary treatment increased the level of ALA from 0.1% (control diet) to 0.5% (P<0.01). Increasing levels of dietary ALA raised the level of n-3 LCPUFA and total n-3 in heart tissues by 4-5-fold. There was no significant difference observed in the level of heart LA, arachidonic acid (AA) and total n-6. The increased levels of dietary ALA did not cause changes in the ratio of RV to total TV. In conclusion, it appears clear that based on our data, increasing ALA content in the diet of chickens could potentially be beneficial for the health of the birds; however, further work is necessary.

Identification of inter-individual variations of sperm DNA methylation is very essential for elucidating phenotypic variation of reproduction and production traits. We had generated 28 sperm whole genome sequencing (WGBS) data from healthy individuals. We detected 46 variably methylated regions (VMRs) significantly (P < 5.77 × 10−5) associated with reproduction traits. These significant VMRs were also co-localized (±10 kb) with genes related to sperm motility and reproduction, including ZFP36L1, CRISP2 and HGF. To further identify epigenomic markers associated with reproduction and production traits, we generated WGBS dada for a specific pair of monozygotic twin artificial insemination Holstein bulls with moderately different sperm qualities (Bull1 > Bull2). We found 528 differentially methylated regions between the twin bulls, which spanned or overlapped with 309 differentially methylated genes (DMG). These DMG were particularly associated with reproduction, embryo development and the nervous system. To further obtain DNA methylation markers involved in the diversity of porcine reproduction and production traits due to long-term artificial selection, we profiled sperm DNA methylation of three commercial pig breeds--Duroc, Landrace and Large White. we found the hypomethylated regions (HMRs) were highly conserved among pig breeds, while 1040–1666 breed-specific HMRs were identified and associated with the QTLs of embryonic developmental and phenotypic changes. By integrating reduced representation bisulfite sequencing public data of pig testis, we further defined 1743 conservative HMRs between sperm and testis, which may play a role in spermatogenesis process. Overall, our studies demonstrated associations of sperm DNA methylation with bovine and porcine production and reproduction traits, highlighting the potential of epigenomic information in genomic improvement programs for livestock. (*: yuying@cau.edu.cn)

Dearth periods associated with less floral resources negatively impact Apis mellifera colony performance. Artificial diets offer nutritional supplements to sustain bee colonies under stressful conditions. An eight-week feeding trial was conducted using various artificial diets (eight diets, including a control diet), formulated with varying quantities of pulses, yeast, fenugreek powder, vegetable oil, dry apricot powder, and powdered sugar. Colony performance of bees subjected to different artificial diets was evaluated based on diet consumption, brood area, adult bee population, worker bee longevity, honey production, and enzymatic activity. Diet-7, which uniquely combined lupin, mung bean, and chickpea flours, proved the most efficacious and was the most consumed diet (84.29 ± 1.61 g), while diet-1 showed the lowest consumption (35.30 ± 1.08 g). Maximum brood area was recorded in colonies which were offered diet-7 (1385.95 ± 14.91 cm2), followed by diet-6, whereas the lowest was observed in the control (831.03 ± 18.95 cm2). The adult bee population was highest in diet-7 (21,594.50 ± 94.55 bees/hive), while lowest in the control (diet-0) (12,625.43 ± 385.06 bees/hive). Worker bee longevity was greatest in diet-7 (49.40 ± 0.41 days) and lowest in the control group (37.01 ± 0.39 days). Honey production was also highest in diet-7 (8.86 ± 0.21 kg), while lowest in the control (2.79 ± 0.35 kg). The results further showed that the enzymatic activities of bees were significantly improved due to diet-7, with the highest values for amylase (48.62 ± 0.23 U/mg), lipase (16.85 ± 0.20 U/mg), proteinase (25.21 ± 0.18 U/mg), and α-glucosidase (39.21 ± 0.21 U/mg). In conclusion, statistical analyses confirmed that diet-7 emerged as the most effective artificial diet, enhancing colony performance across all evaluated parameters. Future research should aim to optimize diet formulations and evaluate their effectiveness on colony health, including gut microbiome and immune function, across different seasons and ecological regions.

Genome-wide elucidation of CNV regions and their association with production and reproduction traits in composite Vrindavani cattle

BackgroundPrevious work showed that the functional cardiac effect of dietary alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in rats requires a long feeding period (6 months), although a docosahexaenoic (DHA) acid-supply affects cardiac adrenergic response after 2 months. However, the total cardiac membrane n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition remained unchanged after 2 months. This delay could be due to a specific reorganization of the different subcellular membrane PUFA profiles. This study was designed to investigate the evolution between 2 and 6 months of diet duration of the fatty acid profile in sarcolemmal (SL), mitochondrial (MI), nuclear (NU) and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane fractions.MethodsMale Wistar rats were randomly assigned to 3 dietary groups (n = 10/diet/period), either n-3 PUFA-free diet (CTL), or ALA or DHA-rich diets. After 2 or 6 months, the subcellular cardiac membrane fractions were separated by differential centrifugations and sucrose gradients. Each membrane profile was analysed by gas chromatography (GC) after lipid extraction.ResultsAs expected the n-3 PUFA-rich diets incorporated n-3 PUFA instead of n-6 PUFA in all the subcellular fractions, which also exhibited individual specificities. The diet duration increased SFA and decreased PUFA in SL, whereas NU remained constant. The SR and MI enriched in n-3 PUFA exhibited a decreased DHA level with ageing in the DHA and CTL groups. Conversely, the n-3 PUFA level remained unchanged in the ALA group, due to a significant increase in docosapentaenoic acid (DPA). N-3 PUFA rich diets lead to a better PUFA profile in all the fractions and significantly prevent the profile modifications induced by ageing.ConclusionWith the ALA diet the n-3 PUFA content, particularly in SR and SL kept increasing between 2 and 6 months, which may partly account for the delay to achieve the modification of adrenergic response.

Alpha linolenic acid is an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid and is reported to have the anti-cancer potential with no defined hypothesis or mechanism/s. Henceforth present study was in-quested to validate the effect of alpha linolenic acid on mitochondrial apoptosis, hypoxic microenvironment and de novo fatty acid synthesis using in-vitro and in-vivo studies. The IC50 value of alpha linolenic acid was recorded to be 17.55μM against ER+MCF-7 cells. Treatment with alpha linolenic acid was evident for the presence of early and late apoptotic signals along with mitochondrial depolarization, when studied through acridine orange/ethidium bromide and JC-1 staining. Alpha linolenic acid arrested the cell cycle in G2/M phase. Subsequently, the in-vivo efficacy was examined against 7, 12-dimethylbenz anthracene induced carcinogenesis. Treatment with alpha linolenic acid demarcated significant effect upon the cellular proliferation as evidenced through decreased in alveolar bud count, restoration of the histopathological architecture and loss of tumor micro vessels. Alpha linolenic acid restored the metabolic changes to normal when scrutinized through 1H NMR studies. The immunoblotting and qRT-PCR studies revealed participation of mitochondrial mediated death apoptosis pathway and curtailment of hypoxic microenvironment after treatment with alpha linolenic acid. With all above, it was concluded that alpha linolenic acid mediates mitochondrial apoptosis, curtails hypoxic microenvironment along with inhibition of de novo fatty acid synthesis to impart anticancer effects.

To compare resistance to small hive beetles (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) between Russian and commercial Italian honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), the numbers of invading beetles, their population levels through time and small hive beetle reproduction inside the colonies were monitored. We found that the genotype of queens introduced into nucleus colonies had no immediate effect on small hive beetle invasion. However, the influence of honey bee stock on small hive beetle invasion was pronounced once test bees populated the hives. In colonies deliberately freed from small hive beetle during each observation period, the average number of invading beetles was higher in the Italian colonies (29 +/- 5 beetles) than in the Russian honey bee colonies (16 +/- 3 beetles). A similar trend was observed in colonies that were allowed to be freely colonized by beetles throughout the experimental period (Italian, 11.46 +/- 1.35; Russian, 5.21 +/- 0.66 beetles). A linear regression analysis showed no relationships between the number of beetles in the colonies and adult bee population (r2 = 0.1034, P = 0.297), brood produced (r2 = 0.1488, P = 0.132), or amount of pollen (P = 0.1036, P = 0.295). There were more Italian colonies that supported small hive beetle reproduction than Russian colonies. Regardless of stock, the use of entrance reducers had a significant effect on the average number of small hive beetle (with reducer, 16 +/- 3; without reducer, 27 +/- 5 beetles). However, there was no effect on bee population (with reducer, 13.20 +/- 0.71; without reducer, 14.60 +/- 0.70 frames) or brood production (with reducer, 6.12 +/- 0.30; without reducer, 6.44 +/- 0.34 frames). Overall, Russian honey bees were more resistant to small hive beetle than Italian honey bees as indicated by fewer invading beetles, lower small hive beetle population through time, and lesser reproduction.

This study investigated the impact of Varroa destructor infestation on the amount of capped worker brood, the adult bee population and honey production of authenticated Apis mellifera carnica colonies kept in a Mediterranean climate. For this purpose, colonies were set-up and either maintained mite-free or artificially mite-infested and allowed to develop an infestation. Periodical evaluations of those colonies unravelled the pattern of the previously mentioned variables across the season, and allowed for comparative numerical analyses. Progressive reductions on the amount of capped worker brood, bee population and honey storage in mite-infested colonies only became in- creasingly evident during spring and summer, apparently associated with impressive mite population increases. By the end of the experiment, mite-infested colonies showed a unitary average reduction of 45% in the amount of capped honey they stored, meaning an average annual loss of < 24 kg of honey per colony. However, the amount of capped honey stored per bee and day was found to be independent from colony V. destructorstatus, indicating a lack of direct effect of mite infestation on honey hoard- ing behaviour. Varroa destructor / Apis mellifera /population dynamics / honey production

Aims: To study the genetic parameter (heritability) for production and reproduction traits in Frieswal cattle under field progeny testing programme. Place and Duration of Study: G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India, between March, 2023 and March, 2024. Methodology: The present study was conducted on 1163 Frieswal cattle comprised of five different sets maintained at six field units over a period from 2013-2021. The traits considered were age at sexual maturity (ASM), age at first calving (AFC), gestation period (GP), test day peak yield (TDPY), 305 days milk yield (305D-MY), fat percentage (FP), lactation length (LL), calving interval (CI), service period (SP), number of services per conception (NSPC), dry period (DP). The data were analyzed for the estimation of heritability by the software WOMBAT. Results: The heritability estimates of the traits namely; ASM, AFC, GP, TDPY, 305D-MY, FP, LL, CI, SP, NSPC and DP were 0.469±0.082, 0.467±0.082, 0.259±0.067, 0.248±0.059, 0.354±0.013, 0.413±0.069, 0.389±0.071, 0.394±0.071, 0.452±0.072, 0.072±0.046 and 0.08±0.06, respectively. Conclusion: Therefore, the heritability estimates were found to be low to high magnitude for different reproduction and production traits and further it has been concluded that, this study will aid breeders in selecting high-performing animals for future generations, taking into account the genetic factors that influence milk production and reproductive traits during early lactation.

The evaluation of the relationship of lactose to production and reproduction traits in different breeding conditions of the Slovak Spotted dairy cows

Purslane (Portulaca oleraceae) is a plant rich in omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids which can be added to the diets of chicken to produce meat high in n-3 fatty acids. This research aimed to analyse the impact of the purslane meal addition into a basal diet on the quality and n-3 fatty acids of broiler meat. A total of 150 broilers were assigned randomly to five treatments with six replications. Each replication consisted of five broilers. The treatments were a basal diet supplemented with purslane meal at levels of 0% (Br-E0), 1.5% (Br-E1), 3% (Br-E2), 4.5% (Br-E3), and 6% (Br-E4). Meat samples were taken on day 42 for quality and n-3 fatty acid analysis. Results showed that the addition of purslane meal to the basal diets did not affect (P&gt;0.05) the protein and moisture content of the meat but significantly reduced (P&lt;0.05) the fat content. Increasing the levels of purslane meal rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in the diets increased the ALA, DHA, total n-3 PUFA, total n-6 PUFA, and total PUFA (P&lt;0.05) in the broiler meat. The DHA level of the meat from chickens fed with 6% purslane meal increased by double compared to those fed with control diet. In conclusion, chickens fed ALA enriched diets up to a level of 6% produced meat higher in n-3 fats without negatively affecting the chemical composition of the meat.

Interest is increasing in the potential cardioprotective role of ω-3 (n-3) fatty acids (FAs). Most of the evidence supporting this hypothesis has been derived from studies of the longer-chain members of the n-3 family, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in fish oils.1 The value of the shorter-chain cousin, α-linolenic acid (ALA), found in certain plant oils (flaxseed, soybean, canola, walnut) has been less clear.2 If ALA were able to do the same “heavy lifting” that EPA and DHA do, this would be welcomed news because the capacity to produce ALA is essentially limitless, whereas there are only so many fish in the sea. Campos and colleagues report in this issue of Circulation the results of a major study conducted in Costa Rica that provided new evidence that higher ALA intakes are associated with reduced risk for nonfatal myocardial infarction.3 Article p 339 Three weeks after surviving a heart attack, 1819 patients provided an adipose tissue biopsy for analysis of FA stores and completed a validated food frequency questionnaire. A similar number of matching controls did the same. The authors reported a strong inverse association between myocardial infarction case status and ALA tissue levels across the range of 0.4% to 1% of total adipose tissue FAs, and this corresponded to intakes between 0.4% and 0.9% of total energy (or 1 to 2.4 g ALA per day). This is remarkably …