A total of 40 castrated male pigs of the Spanish autochthonous Chato Murciano breed were used for this study to evaluate the influence of two diets. One group of 20 pigs was fed with a high protein/low fat (HP/LF) diet and slaughtered with life weight (LW) of 125.03 kg. The other group of 20 pigs was fed with a low protein/high fat (LP/HF) diet and slaughtered with 121.91 kg LW. The effects of diet on carcass and meat quality traits were studied. Meat samples were taken from the longissimus lumbar (LL) muscle. The HP/LF diet produced a faster growing rate and higher daily weight gain, and measurements in the LL muscle showed higher values of ultimate pH (pHu), colour parameters, and higher content in Ca, Mg, Zn, K and Na. The LP/HF diet led to higher values of Fe and Cu. The difference in the LL muscle intramuscular fat (IMF) levels was noteworthy, with values of 3.21 % in the HP/LF group and 11.00 % in the LP/HF group; however, the dorsal fat thickness measurements showed no differences. The fatty acid composition of the IMF was 42.43 and 42.29 % of saturated fatty acids (SFA), 50.34 and 51.35 % of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and 7.20 and 6.24 % of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for the HP/LF group and LP/HF group respectively, with only statistically significant differences in the MUFA levels (P≤0.05). Zusammenfassung Einfluss zweier verschiedener Diäten auf die Schlachtkörperund Fleischqualität von Chato Murciano SchweinenFür die Untersuchung des Einflusses zweier verschiedener Diäten auf die Schlachtkörperund Fleischqualität sind vierzig kastrierte männliche Schweine der spanischen lokalen Rasse Chato Murciano verwendet worden. Eine Gruppe mit 20 Schweinen ist mit einer proteinreichen bzw. fettarmen Diät (HP/LF) gefüttert worden. Die Tiere wurden mit einem durchschnittlichen Lebendgewicht (LW) von 125,03 kg geschlachtet worden. Die andere Gruppe, die ebenfalls 20 Schweine umfasste, ist mit einer proteinarmen bzw. fettreichen Diät (LP/HF) gefüttert worden. Die Tiere dieser Gruppe sind mit einem durchschnittlichen Lebendgewicht von 121,91 kg geschlachtet worden. Die untersuchten Fleischproben wurden vom Muskel Longissimus lumbar (LL) entnommen. Als Ergebnis dieser Untersuchung zeigte sich, dass die HP/LF Diät ein schnelles Wachstum und eine hohe tägliche Gewichtszunahme verursachte. Außerdem wurden in Arch Tierz 52 (2009) 2, 150-160 151 dem LL-Muskel dieser Gruppe verglichen mit den Ergebnissen der LP/HF-Gruppe höhere pH-Werte (pHu), höhere Farbparametern (L * , a * , b * ) und höhere Ca-, Mg-, Zn-, K-und Na-Gehalte ermittelt. Die LP/HF-Diät verursachte höhere Fe-und Cu-Werte. Die Unterschiede bei den intramuskulären Fettgehalten (IMF) waren signifikant mit Werten von 3,21 % in der HP/LF-Gruppe und 11,00 % in der LP/HF-Gruppe. Die Rückenspeckdicken waren jedoch ähnlich. Die Fettsäurezusammensetzung des IMF betrug 42,43 bzw. 42,29 % gesättigte Fettsäuren (SFA), 50,34 bzw. 51,35 % einfach ungesättigte Fettsäuren (MUFA) und 7,20 bzw. 6,24 % mehrfach ungesättigte Fettsäuren (PUFA) für die HP/LF-bzw. die ...

In a conservation project, reproductive biotechnology was implemented for the recovery and conservation of an endangered bovine breed in Spain. The breed Murciana-Levantina, declared to be worthy of special protection status (http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000464/index.html), is of great interest because of its hardness, longevity, docility and disease resistance. This contribution describes the birth of the first calf of this breed obtained by reproductive biotechnology, using ultrasound-guided punction and aspiration of ovarian follicles, in vitro embryo production, vitrification of embryos by a cryotop device and, finally, the transfer of cryopreserved embryos to recipient heifers of a commercial dairy herd.

Artificial insemination (AI) with frozen semen in goats still presents serious difficulties, especially in certain goat breeds, in spite of technological progress. The aim of this work is the in vitro study of seminal extenders adapted from those used on other species to evaluate the response of goat sperm to several homeostatic conditions in order to achieve optimal post-thaw semen quality. Three different extenders based on different activity principles were used: (1) extender according to the methodology proposed for pigs, (2) skimmed-milk-based extender according to the methodology proposed for goats in France, and (3) a new egg-yolk-based extender replacing membrane-protective surfactants with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and named by our team as extender “IMIDA”. The freezing guidelines were those proposed for the freezing of porcine semen. The results obtained show that the egg-yolk-based extenders have good parameters of sperm motility at thawing, studied objectively using the computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system and also subjectively. In particular, in the sperm resistance test after five hours, the thawed sperm containing SDS in their composition showed an optimal average on every evaluated parameter. The new IMIDA extender provided the highest sperm quality averages, so it could be a good extender to use in cryopreservation of semen in the caprine species.

The evolution of some fetal growth indices and arterial blood flow parameters in the umbilical cord of the embryos and fetuses of primiparous pregnant goats of Murciano-Granadina breed were analyzed by ultrasonography. Weekly ultrasonographic sessions took place from 18- to 125-days post-breeding. Fetal measures were carried out by ultrasound B-mode. This mode was used to take a series of measurements in the embryo/fetus throughout pregnancy: crown-rump length (CRL, from 24-days post-mating -dpm- to 61 dpm), trunk diameter (TD, 24–34 dpm), biparietal diameter (BPD, 28–125 dpm) and eye orbit diameter (EOD, 75–125 dpm). Spectral Doppler was used to study blood flow from umbilical artery. Different blood flow parameters were obtained as follows: Arterial Pulse, Peak Systolic Velocity (PSV), End Diastolic Velocity (EDV), Mean Velocity (MV), Systolic velocity/Diastolic velocity Ratio (S/D), Pulsatility Index (PI) and Resistance Index (RI). In this study, the umbilical cord was first noticed between 32- and 35-days post-breeding. However, these umbilical arterial blood flow parameters were not conclusive (positive S/D ratios and RI < 1) until 65–80 days of pregnancy. The explanation to these results could be that vascular development related to umbilical arteries elasticity and diameter is not good enough in early pregnancy. Therefore, these vessels have already acquired their appropriate characteristics in order to allow blood flow parameters and Doppler index measures from only 2.5 months of pregnancy. This is the first time that a detailed study of fetal growth indices and umbilical artery flow rates in fetuses from Murciano-Granadina goats has been performed throughout virtually the entire duration of gestation. In conclusion, the evolution of the fetal growth indices in this breed has determined that the umbilical artery velocimetric parameters (PSV, EDV, MV) increase significantly and the AP, S/D, PI and RI indices decrease significantly throughout the analyzed pregnancy period.

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