Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
10,083
result(s) for
"Carcasses"
Sort by:
Something rotten : a fresh look at roadkill
\"When Heather L. Montgomery sees a rattlesnake flattened on the side of the road, her first instinct is to pick it up and dissect it--she's always wanted to see how a snake's fangs retract when they close their mouths, and it's not exactly safe to poke around in a live reptile's mouth. A wildlife researcher with a special penchant for the animals that litter the roadways, Heather isn't satisfied with dissecting just one snake. Her fascination with roadkill sets her off on a journey from her own backyard and the roadways of the American South to scientists and kids in labs and homes across the globe. From biologists who use the corpses of Tasmanian devils to investigate cures for a contagious cancer, to a scientist who discovered a whole new species of bird from a single wing left behind, to a boy rebuilding animal bodies from the bones up, to a restaurant that serves up animal remnants, Heather discovers that death is just the beginning for these creatures\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Association of liver abnormalities with carcass grading performance and value
The association of liver abnormalities with carcass grading performance, value, and dressed yield was evaluated on data from 76,191 carcasses housed in 2 databases. Liver abnormalities were assigned as follows: normal = edible liver; A- = 1 to 2 small abscesses or inactive scars; A = 1 to 2 large abscesses or multiple small abscesses; A+ = multiple large abscesses; A+AD = liver adhered to gastrointestinal tract or diaphragm or both; A+OP = open liver abscess; cirrhosis; distoma; and telangiectasis. Overall liver abnormality rates among both databases were A- = 5.0%, A = 2.6%, A+ = 2.0%, A+AD = 2.7%, A+OP = 1.4%, cirrhosis = 0.1%, distoma = 5.4%, and telangiectasis = 0.3%, with 80.5% of livers being normal. In database 1 (n = 3,936), BW was 33.3 kg less (P < 0.01) for carcasses with cirrhotic livers compared with carcasses with normal livers. Dressed yields for carcasses with A-, A+, A+AD, A+OP, and cirrhosis liver abnormalities were 0.28 to 0.89 percentage points less (P < 0.05) than carcasses with normal livers. In database 2 (n = 72,255), carcasses with A-, A+, A+AD, A+OP, cirrhosis, distoma, and telangiectasis liver abnormalities had reduced (P < 0.05) HCW and reduced (P < 0.05) LM area as compared with carcasses with a normal liver. Less (P < 0.05) 12th-rib subcutaneous fat was observed for carcasses with A-, A, A+, A+AD, A+OP, cirrhosis, and distoma abnormalities compared with carcasses with normal livers. Estimated KPH was less (P < 0.05) for carcasses with A-, A+, A+AD, A+OP, cirrhosis, and distoma abnormalities. Calculated yield grade was less (P < 0.05) for carcasses with A+AD, A+OP, cirrhosis, and distoma abnormalities compared with carcasses with normal livers. Marbling score of carcasses that had livers with A+AD or A+OP abscess scores or distoma was less (P < 0.05) than that of carcasses with normal livers. In database 2, market price per 45.35 kg did not differ (P = 0.32) among liver classification. Gross carcass value analyses indicated carcasses with A-, A, A+, A+AD, A+OP, cirrhosis, and distoma liver abnormalities were less valuable (P < 0.05) than carcasses with normal livers. These data delineate the association of liver abnormalities present at harvest with subsequent changes in carcass characteristics and ultimately lost carcass value.
Journal Article
Associations between the rumen microbiota and carcass merit and meat quality in beef cattle
The rumen microbiota is important for energy and nutrient acquisition in cattle, and therefore its composition may also affect carcass merit and meat quality attributes. In this study, we examined the associations between archaeal and bacterial taxa in the rumen microbiota of beef cattle and 12 different attributes, including hot carcass weight (HCW), dressing percentage, ribeye area (REA), intramuscular fat content, marbling score, fat thickness, yield grade, moisture content, purge loss, and shear force. There were significant correlations between the relative abundance of certain archaeal and bacterial genera and these attributes. Notably,
Selenomonas
spp. were positively correlated with live weight and HCW, while also being negatively correlated with purge loss. Members of the
Christensenellaceae
R-7,
Moryella
, and
Prevotella
genera exhibited positive and significant correlations with various attributes, such as dressing percentage and intramuscular fat content.
Ruminococcaceae
UCG-001 was negatively correlated with live weight, HCW, and dressing percentage, while
Acidaminococcus
and
Succinivibrionaceae
UCG-001 were negatively correlated with intramuscular fat content, moisture content, and marbling score. Overall, our findings suggest that specific changes in the rumen microbiota could be a valuable tool to improve beef carcass merit and meat quality attributes. Additional research is required to better understand the relationship between the rumen microbiota and these attributes, with the potential to develop microbiome-targeted strategies for enhancing beef production.
Key points
• Certain rumen bacteria were associated with carcass merit and meat quality
• Moryella was positively correlated with intramuscular fat in beef carcasses
• Acidaminococcus spp. was negatively correlated with marbling and intramuscular fat
Journal Article
The Meat Standards Australia Index indicates beef carcass quality
A simple index that reflects the potential eating quality of beef carcasses is very important for producer feedback. The Meat Standards Australia (MSA) Index reflects variation in carcass quality due to factors that are influenced by producers (hot carcass weight, rib fat depth, hump height, marbling and ossification scores along with milk fed veal category, direct or saleyard consignment, hormonal growth promotant status and sex). In addition, processor impacts on meat quality are standardised so that the MSA Index could be compared across time, breed and geographical regions. Hence, the MSA Index was calculated using achilles hung carcasses, aged for 5 days postmortem. Muscle pH can be impacted by production, transport, lairage or processing factors, hence the MSA Index assumes a constant pH of 5.6 and loin temperature of 7oC for all carcasses. To quantify the cut weight distribution of the 39 MSA cuts in the carcass, 40 Angus steers were sourced from the low (n=13), high (n=15) and myostatin (n=12) muscling selection lines. The left side of each carcass was processed down to the 39 trimmed MSA cuts. There was no difference in MSA cut distribution between the low and high muscling lines (P>0.05), although there were differences with nine cuts from the myostatin line (P<0.05). There was no difference in the MSA Index calculated using actual muscle percentages and using the average from the low and high muscling lines (R
2=0.99). Different cooking methods impacted via a constant offset between eating quality and carcass input traits (R
2=1). The MSA Index calculated for the four most commercially important cuts was highly related to the index calculated using all 39 MSA cuts (R
2=0.98), whilst the accuracy was lower for an index calculated using the striploin (R
2=0.82). Therefore, the MSA Index was calculated as the sum of the 39 eating quality scores predicted at 5 days ageing, based on their most common cooking method, weighted by the proportions of the individual cut relative to total weight of all cuts. The MSA Index provides producers with a tool to assess the impact of management and genetic changes on the predicted eating quality of the carcass. The MSA Index could also be utilised for benchmarking and to track eating quality trends at farm, supply chain, regional, state or national levels.
Journal Article
A Genome-Wide Association Study Points out the Causal Implication of SOX9 in the Sex-Reversal Phenotype in XX Pigs: e79882
Among farm animals, pigs are known to show XX sex-reversal. In such cases the individuals are genetically female but exhibit a hermaphroditism, or a male phenotype. While the frequency of this congenital disease is quite low (less than 1%), the economic losses are significant for pig breeders. These losses result from sterility, urogenital infections and the carcasses being downgraded because of the risk of boar taint. It has been clearly demonstrated that the SRY gene is not involved in most cases of sex-reversal in pigs, and that autosomal recessive mutations remain to be discovered. A whole-genome scan analysis was performed in the French Large-White population to identify candidate genes: 38 families comprising the two non-affected parents and 1 to 11 sex-reversed full-sib piglets were genotyped with the PorcineSNP60 BeadChip. A Transmission Disequilibrium Test revealed a highly significant candidate region on SSC12 (most significant p-value<4.65.10-10) containing the SOX9 gene. SOX9, one of the master genes involved in testis differentiation, was sequenced together with one of its main regulatory region Tesco. However, no causal mutations could be identified in either of the two sequenced regions. Further haplotype analyses did not identify a shared homozygous segment between the affected pigs, suggesting either a lack of power due to the SNP properties of the chip, or a second causative locus. Together with information from humans and mice, this study in pigs adds to the field of knowledge, which will lead to characterization of novel molecular mechanisms regulating sexual differentiation and dysregulation in cases of sex reversal.
Journal Article
Animal-level factors associated with the achievement of desirable specifications in Irish beef carcasses graded using the EUROP classification system
Abstract
Beef carcasses in Europe are classified on measures of carcass weight, conformation, and fat cover. These measurements provide the basis for payment to producers, with financial penalties for carcasses that do not conform to desirable characteristics. The objective of the present study was to identify animal-level factors associated with the achievement of a desirable carcass weight, conformation score, fat score, and age at harvest, as stipulated by Irish beef processors in accordance with the EUROP carcass classification system. The stipulated specifications were a EUROP conformation score ≥O=, a carcass weight between 270 and 380 kg, a EUROP fat score between 2+ and 4=, and an age at harvest ≤ 30 mo. In the present study, 59% of cattle failed to achieve at least one of these desired specifications. The logit of the probability of achieving the desired specifications was estimated using multivariable logistic regression and carcass data from 4,717,989 cattle finished and harvested in Ireland between the years 2003 and 2017. In comparison to beef-origin carcasses and after accounting for breed differences, the likelihood of dairy-origin carcasses achieving the desired age, conformation, fat, and weight specifications was 0.97, 0.88, 1.14, and 1.05, respectively. In comparison to heifer carcasses, the odds ratio (OR) of bull and steer carcasses simultaneously achieving all of the desired specifications (i.e. the overall specification) was 0.35 and 0.95, respectively. Additionally, after accounting for breed differences, heifers from the dairy herd were half as likely as heifers from the beef herd to achieve the overall specification, whereas the odds of dairy-origin bulls (OR = 3.46) and steers (OR = 2.41) achieving the overall specification was greater than that of their respective beef-origin counterparts. Finally, cattle with a greater breed proportion of Angus were most likely to achieve the overall specification. Results from the present study could provide a deeper understanding as to why animals fail to achieve desirable carcass specifications and could be implemented into the management decisions made on farm to ensure that the supply of beef carcasses that achieve the desired metrics is maximized.
Journal Article
Pigs vs people: the use of pigs as analogues for humans in forensic entomology and taphonomy research
Most studies of decomposition in forensic entomology and taphonomy have used non-human cadavers. Following the recommendation of using domestic pig cadavers as analogues for humans in forensic entomology in the 1980s, pigs became the most frequently used model cadavers in forensic sciences. They have shaped our understanding of how large vertebrate cadavers decompose in, for example, various environments, seasons and after various ante- or postmortem cadaver modifications. They have also been used to demonstrate the feasibility of several new or well-established forensic techniques. The advent of outdoor human taphonomy facilities enabled experimental comparisons of decomposition between pig and human cadavers. Recent comparisons challenged the pig-as-analogue claim in entomology and taphonomy research. In this review, we discuss in a broad methodological context the advantages and disadvantages of pig and human cadavers for forensic research and rebut the critique of pigs as analogues for humans. We conclude that experiments using human cadaver analogues (i.e. pig carcasses) are easier to replicate and more practical for controlling confounding factors than studies based solely on humans and, therefore, are likely to remain our primary epistemic source of forensic knowledge for the immediate future. We supplement these considerations with new guidelines for model cadaver choice in forensic science research.
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study identifying genetic variants associated with carcass backfat thickness, lean percentage and fat percentage in a four-way crossbred pig population using SLAF-seq technology
Background
Carcass backfat thickness (BFT), carcass lean percentage (CLP) and carcass fat percentage (CFP) are important to the commercial pig industry. Nevertheless, the genetic architecture of BFT, CLP and CFP is still elusive. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) based on specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) to analyze seven fatness-related traits, including five BFTs, CLP, and CFP on 223 four-way crossbred pigs.
Results
A total of 227, 921 highly consistent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) evenly distributed throughout the genome were used to perform GWAS. Using the mixed linear model (MLM), a total of 20 SNP loci significantly related to these traits were identified on ten
Sus scrofa
chromosomes (SSC), of which 10 SNPs were located in previously reported quantitative trait loci (QTL) regions. On SSC7, two SNPs (SSC7:29,503,670 and rs1112937671) for average backfat thickness (ABFT) exceeded 1% and 10% Bonferroni genome-wide significance levels, respectively. These two SNP loci were located within an intron region of the
COL21A1
gene, which was a protein-coding gene that played an important role in the porcine backfat deposition by affecting extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. In addition, based on the other three significant SNPs on SSC7, five candidate genes,
ZNF184
,
ZNF391
,
HMGA1
,
GRM4
and
NUDT3
were proposed to influence BFT. On SSC9, two SNPs for backfat thickness at 6–7 ribs (67RBFT) and one SNP for CLP were in the same locus region (19 kb interval). These three SNPs were located in the
PGM2L1
gene, which encoded a protein that played an indispensable role in glycogen metabolism, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis as a key enzyme. Finally, one significant SNP on SSC14 for CLP was located within the
PLBD2
gene, which participated in the lipid catabolic process.
Conclusions
A total of two regions on SSC7 and SSC9 and eight potential candidate genes were found for fatness-related traits in pigs. The results of this GWAS based on SLAF-seq will greatly advance our understanding of the genetic architecture of BFT, CLP, and CFP traits. These identified SNP loci and candidate genes might serve as a biological basis for improving the important fatness-related traits of pigs.
Journal Article
Stability of African Swine Fever Virus in Carcasses of Domestic Pigs and Wild Boar Experimentally Infected with the ASFV “Estonia 2014” Isolate
Europe is currently experiencing a long-lasting African swine fever (ASF) epidemic, both in domestic pigs and wild boar. There is great concern that carcasses of infected wild boar may act as long-term virus reservoirs in the environment. We evaluated the tenacity of ASF virus (ASFV) in tissues and body fluids from experimentally infected domestic pigs and wild boar, which were stored on different matrices and at different temperatures. Samples were analysed at regular intervals for viral genome and infectious virus. ASFV was most stable in spleen or muscles stored at −20 °C and in blood stored at 4 °C. In bones stored at −20 °C, infectious virus was detected for up to three months, and at 4 °C for up to one month, while at room temperature (RT), no infectious virus could be recovered after one week. Skin stored at −20 °C, 4 °C and RT remained infectious for up to three, six and three months, respectively. In urine and faeces, no infectious virus was recovered after one week, irrespective of the matrix. In conclusion, tissues and organs from decomposing carcasses that persist in the environment for a long time can be a source of infection for several months, especially at low temperatures.
Journal Article
Assessing the Influence of Cumulative Chlorella vulgaris Intake on Broiler Carcass Traits, Meat Quality and Oxidative Stability
The impacts of cumulative Chlorella vulgaris intake (proportion of microalga in the diet multiplied by the total feed consumed by each bird) on broiler carcass traits, meat quality and oxidative stability were reviewed to identify the optimal intake levels for maximising benefits. Our findings indicate that a cumulative intake of 8.73 g/bird significantly enhances thigh yield, while levels ranging from 8.73 to 401 g/bird optimise carcass weight and overall meat quality. However, higher cumulative levels may reduce carcass dressing percentage due to metabolic inefficiencies. Furthermore, C. vulgaris intake improves the oxidative stability of broiler meat by increasing antioxidant levels and balancing pro- and antioxidants. Including C. vulgaris in broiler diets boosts total carotenoid content, and antioxidant assays confirm that it enhances meat oxidative stability, with low to moderate cumulative intake levels (8.73 to 401 g/bird) providing the best balance of benefits. Optimal oxidative stability and antioxidant properties were observed at a cumulative intake level of 401 g/bird, showing significant improvements in meat antioxidant capacity. Higher levels may lead to diminishing returns or potential negative effects due to the digestibility issues of the microalga. Future research should refine intake models, understand the bioavailability of C. vulgaris nutrients and explore cost-effective methods to enhance its digestibility, to ensure its viability and sustainability as a feed additive.
Journal Article