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The evolution of the ratite birds has been widely attributed to vicariant speciation, driven by the Cretaceous breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana. The early isolation of Africa and Madagascar implies that the ostrich and extinct Madagascan elephant birds (Aepyornithidae) should be the oldest ratite lineages. We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of two elephant birds and performed phylogenetic analyses, which revealed that these birds are the closest relatives of the New Zealand kiwi and are distant from the basal ratite lineage of ostriches. This unexpected result strongly contradicts continental vicariance and instead supports flighted dispersal in all major ratite lineages. We suggest that convergence toward gigantism and flightlessness was facilitated by early Tertiary expansion into the diurnal herbivory niche after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Animal species identification is one of the primary duties of official food control. Since ostrich meat is difficult to be differentiated macroscopically from beef, therefore new analytical methods are needed. To enforce labeling regulations for the authentication of ostrich meat, it might be of importance to develop and evaluate a rapid and reliable assay. In the present study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay based on the cytochrome b gene of the mitochondrial DNA of the species Struthio camelus was developed. The LAMP assay was used in combination with a real-time fluorometer. The developed system allowed the detection of 0.01% ostrich meat products. In parallel, a direct swab method without nucleic acid extraction using the HYPLEX LPTV buffer was also evaluated. This rapid processing method allowed detection of ostrich meat without major incubation steps. In summary, the LAMP assay had excellent sensitivity and specificity for detecting ostrich meat and could provide a sampling-to-result identification-time of 15 to 20 minutes.

This study determined production performance, nutrient intake, digestibility, and carcass traits from ostrich chicks fed with barberry (Berberis Vulgaris) leaves (BVL) as a replacement for alfalfa hay (AH). For 150 days, 30 male ostrich (Struthio camelus) (9.10 ± 0.89 kg live weight, mean ± SD) were randomly grouped into five dietary BVL inclusion levels to replace AH: a control diet based on 100% AH (CTRL), and four groups with BVL as a substitute for AH at varying levels including 25% (BVL25), 50% (BVL50), 75% (BVL75), and 100% (BVL100). The average daily feed intakes (ADFI) were recorded and birds were weighed monthly. The nutrient intake and digestibility were measured for the following final 5 days of the trial. The ADFI was higher (p = 0.025) for BVL100 and BVL75 than for CTRL. Ostriches fed on BVL50 had the highest average daily gain (ADG, p = 0.025) and the lowest feed conversation ratio (FCR, p = 0.0001). Return per kg BW gain was also enhanced (p = 0.018) with BVL50 feeding. Dietary BVL levels did not affect the digestibility of OM (p = 0.257), CP (p = 0.260), EE (p = 0.610), CF (p = 0.427), and Ash (p = 0.461). Also, there were no changes in AME (p = 0.180) or AMEn (p = 0.670). The hot carcass weight (HCW, p = 0.331) and dressing BW (p = 0.237) were not affected. Overall, the results suggest that BVL can replace AH in ostrich diets without deleterious impact on performance, however, its partial substitution (for 50% AH of diet) has been associated with improved ADG, FCR, and reduced feeding costs.

Humans evolved in a patchwork of semi-connected populations across Africa 1 , 2 ; understanding when and how these groups connected is critical to interpreting our present-day biological and cultural diversity. Genetic analyses reveal that eastern and southern African lineages diverged sometime in the Pleistocene epoch, approximately 350–70 thousand years ago (ka) 3 , 4 ; however, little is known about the exact timing of these interactions, the cultural context of these exchanges or the mechanisms that drove their separation. Here we compare ostrich eggshell bead variations between eastern and southern Africa to explore population dynamics over the past 50,000 years. We found that ostrich eggshell bead technology probably originated in eastern Africa and spread southward approximately 50–33 ka via a regional network. This connection breaks down approximately 33 ka, with populations remaining isolated until herders entered southern Africa after 2 ka. The timing of this disconnection broadly corresponds with the southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which caused periodic flooding of the Zambezi River catchment (an area that connects eastern and southern Africa). This suggests that climate exerted some influence in shaping human social contact. Our study implies a later regional divergence than predicted by genetic analyses, identifies an approximately 3,000-kilometre stylistic connection and offers important new insights into the social dimension of ancient interactions. By tracing the changing size of ostrich eggshell beads, climate is shown to have an important role in influencing when and where regional African populations interacted.

Sex-specific chromosomes, like the W of most female birds and the Y of male mammals, usually have lost most genes owing to a lack of recombination. We analyze newly available genomes of 17 bird species representing the avian phylogenetic range, and find that more than half of them do not have as fully degenerated W chromosomes as that of chicken. We show that avian sex chromosomes harbor tremendous diversity among species in their composition of pseudoautosomal regions and degree of Z/W differentiation. Punctuated events of shared or lineage-specific recombination suppression have produced a gradient of “evolutionary strata” along the Z chromosome, which initiates from the putative avian sex-determining gene DMRT1 and ends at the pseudoautosomal region. W-linked genes are subject to ongoing functional decay after recombination was suppressed, and the tempo of degeneration slows down in older strata. Overall, we unveil a complex history of avian sex chromosome evolution.

A retrospective study was carried out to define the spectrum of spontaneous diseases in ostriches and few other captive ratites, order Struthioniformes, in northwestern Germany. The investigation included 71 ratites necropsied between 1968 and 2014. They consisted of 54 ostriches, 5 emus, and 12 rheas with 37 adults, 23 juveniles and 11 neonates and embryonated eggs. Necropsy reports were reviewed, histologic preparations were re-examined and additional histochemical and immunohistochemical stains were carried out in selected cases. In many animals more than one morphologic diagnosis attributable to different disease processes was found. In adult animals (n = 37), the most commonly altered organ systems were the musculoskeletal system (49%), the digestive system (46%), and the cardiovascular system (46%) affected by traumatic lesions, inflammatory and degenerative changes, respectively. A spongy degeneration was found in the brain (35%); however, immunohistochemistry and western blotting failed to detect pathological prion protein. In juvenile animals (n = 23), the musculoskeletal (44%) and the digestive system (43%) were mainly affected by traumatic and inflammatory lesions, respectively. In embryonated eggs and neonates (n = 11) the major cause of death was circulatory failure associated with generalized subcutaneous edema as described for improper incubation conditions (64%). Summarized, most of the findings observed in adult and juvenile ratites in northwestern Germany are related to trauma, inflammatory and degenerative disorders, whereas death in embryonated eggs and neonates was most likely related to breeding conditions. A spongy encephalopathy awaits further studies to elucidate cause and pathogenesis.

The effects of water supplementation of chelated trace minerals (CTM, which is named Bonzaplex designed with chelate compounds technology) on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of minerals, and some blood metabolites, TM, and antioxidant enzyme values in African ostriches were investigated from 8 to 12 months of age. A total of 20 8-month-old ostriches (five birds in five replicate pens) was randomly allocated into one of the following four treatments: (1) control (basal diet + tap water), (2) low CTM (basal diet +100 mg/bird/day CTM powder in tap water), (3) medium CTM (basal diet +1 g/bird/day CTM powder in tap water), and (4) high CTM (basal diet +2 g/bird/day CTM powder in tap water). Compared with control, medium CTM improved (P < 0.05) daily weight gain and ATTD of phosphorous, zinc, and copper in 12-month-old ostriches. Furthermore, the feed conversion ratio was lower, and ATTD of magnesium was higher in the medium- and high-CTM groups than that in the control group (P < 0.05). At the end of the trial, ostriches receiving high-CTM treatment exhibited the lower (P < 0.05) serum triglyceride and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and higher copper levels compared to those of the control treatment. Supplementation of higher amounts of CTM (medium and high CTM) also increased the activity of serum superoxide dismutase (P < 0.05). No differences were detected for other blood parameters including glucose, total protein, albumin, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, iron, magnesium, and glutathione peroxidase values. In conclusion, supplementation of CTM at the level of 1 g/bird/day to the drinking water can be recommended for improving growth performance, mineral absorption, and antioxidant status of ostriches fed diets containing the recommended levels of inorganic TM.

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis of extinct ratite species is of considerable interest as it provides important insights into their origin, evolution, paleogeographical distribution and vicariant speciation in congruence with continental drift theory. In this study, DNA hotspots were detected in fossilized eggshell fragments of ratites (dated ≥25000 years B.P. by radiocarbon dating) using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). DNA was isolated from five eggshell fragments and a 43 base pair (bp) sequence of a 16S rRNA mitochondrial-conserved region was successfully amplified and sequenced from one of the samples. Phylogenetic analysis of the DNA sequence revealed a 92% identity of the fossil eggshells to Struthio camelus and their position basal to other palaeognaths, consistent with the vicariant speciation model. Our study provides the first molecular evidence for the presence of ostriches in India, complementing the continental drift theory of biogeographical movement of ostriches in India, and opening up a new window into the evolutionary history of ratites.

As animals vocalize, their vocal organ transforms motor commands into vocalizations for social communication. In birds, the physical mechanisms by which vocalizations are produced and controlled remain unresolved because of the extreme difficulty in obtaining in vivo measurements. Here, we introduce an ex vivo preparation of the avian vocal organ that allows simultaneous high-speed imaging, muscle stimulation and kinematic and acoustic analyses to reveal the mechanisms of vocal production in birds across a wide range of taxa. Remarkably, we show that all species tested employ the myoelastic-aerodynamic (MEAD) mechanism, the same mechanism used to produce human speech. Furthermore, we show substantial redundancy in the control of key vocal parameters ex vivo , suggesting that in vivo vocalizations may also not be specified by unique motor commands. We propose that such motor redundancy can aid vocal learning and is common to MEAD sound production across birds and mammals, including humans. In contrast to the larynx of mammals, birds produce sound using a unique vocal organ called the syrinx. Using ex vivo preparations, Elemans et al. show that, despite large anatomical differences, sound production across a range of avian taxa is via the myoelastic-aerodynamic mechanism, the same mechanism involved in human speech.

This experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effects of different levels of soluble and insoluble fibers on growth performance and blood indices in ostrich at the age of 1 to 6 months. Thirty 30-day-old ostriches (males and females) were randomly assigned to five treatments with six replicates. There were five dietary treatments consisted of (1) basal diet; (2 and 3) diets containing 2 and 4% more soluble fibers (SF) than basal diet, and (4 and 5) diets containing 2 and 4% more insoluble fibers (ISF) than the basal diet. The dietary treatments had no significant influence on growth performance of ostriches. By increasing the levels of SF and ISF, the concentration of blood glucose (P < 0.0001) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL, P = 0.0046) increased, while the plasma concentration of triglyceride (P < 0.0001) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL, P = 0.0006) decreased. The plasma enzyme activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) decreased in ostriches fed diet containing 4% more SF as compared with control (P < 0.0006). Body weight gain (BWG) at the starter phase (3–4 months) was higher than the pre-starter (1–2 months) and grower (5–6 months) phases (P < 0.0001). The highest concentration of blood glucose was observed at 2 months of age while the lowest magnitude was found at 4 months of age (P < 0.0001). The plasma cholesterol concentration increased at 4 months and decreased at 6 months as compared with 2 months (P < 0.0001). The concentration of HDL and LDL at 4 months of age was higher than two other ages (P < 0.0001). The blood concentration of triglyceride (P < 0.0001), VLDL (P < 0.0001), and ALT (P = 0.0005) decreased as ostriches grew up. It could be concluded that increasing the levels of soluble and insoluble fibers in the diet up to 4% more than previous recommendation may not have negative effects on growth performances and blood indices in ostrich.