A molecular phylogenetic analysis was done of not-yet-cultured spirochaetes inhabiting the gut of the termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar). Ninety-eight clones of near-full-length spirochaetal 16S rDNA genes were classified by ARDRA pattern and by partial sequencing. All clones grouped within the genus Treponema, and at least 21 new species of Treponema were recognized within R. flavipes alone. Analysis of 190 additional clones from guts of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Zootermopsis angusticollis (Hagen), as well as published data on clones from Cryptotermes domesticus (Haviland), Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggatt, Nasutitermes lujae (Wasmann) and Reticulitermes speratus(Kolbe), revealed a similar level of novel treponemal phylogenetic diversity in these representatives of five of the seven termite families. None of the clones was closely related (i.e. all bore < or = 91% sequence similarity) to any previously recognized treponeme. The data also revealed the existence of two major phylogenetic groups of treponemes: one containing all of the currently known isolates of Treponema and a large number of phylotypes from the human gingival crevice, but only a minority of the termite gut spirochaete clones; another containing the majority of termite spirochaete clones and two Spirochaeta (S. caldaria and S. stenostrepta), which, although free living, group within the genus Treponema on the basis of 16S rRNA sequence. Signature nucleotides that almost perfectly distinguished the latter group, herein referred to as the 'termite cluster', occurred at the following (E. coli numbering) positions: 289-G x C-311; A at 812; and an inserted nucleotide at 1273. The emerging picture is that the long-recognized and striking morphological diversity of termite gut spirochaetes is paralleled by their phylogenetic diversity and may reflect substantial physiological diversity as well.

The protein quality of an extruded mixture of hatchery by-product meal and soybean meal (EHSM) and the calcium availability of autoclaved hatchery by-product meal (AHBM) were determined. In Experiments 1 and 2, EHSM or soybean meal (SBM) were the only protein sources in diets formulated to contain 16, 20, or 24% CP. In both experiments, there were five or six replicate pens randomly allotted to each level of dietary protein and each pen contained five poults. In Experiment 1, there was a significant increase in the Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER; P < or = 0.005) in poults from a fast-growing line compared with poults from a slow-growing line selected for egg production but no significant differences between EHSM and SBM. In Experiment 2, PER was increased in poults fed EHSM (P < or = 0.002). In both studies, there was a large decline in PER in those poults fed the 16% SBM diet, and this resulted in a significant source by level interaction. There were no significant source or level of protein effects on the Net Protein Ratio (NPR) or Net Protein Utilization (NPU) in Experiment 2. In Experiment 3, AHBM, steamed bone meal and limestone were the primary sources of calcium in diets containing 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2% calcium. There were four replicate pens per level and source of calcium. The length and width of the femur and tibia were measured along with fat-extracted bone weight and ash. Poults fed diets containing AHBM and limestone had improved feed efficiency (P < or = 0.008) compared with those fed bone meal. There were no significant diet effects on any bone measurements.

Experiments were conducted to confirm the existence and ontogeny of fatty acid binding protein (FABP) in the intestine and yolk sac membrane of turkey poults (Meleagridis gallopavo) during embryonic and early posthatch development. Intestinal (I-) FABP was measured using an immunoblot procedure incorporating anti-chick liver (L-)FABP antisera. FABP activity in both tissues was also confirmed with a ligand-binding assay incorporating 14C-oleic acid. I-FABP did not cross-react with chick L-FABP antisera until hatch, embryonic day 28 (ED 28), after which there was a 39% increase in I-FABP concentration through the first 3 d posthatch (PD 3). FABP concentration calculated on a total intestinal basis (ng/intestine), however, increased 10-fold through PD 6. Specific activity [disintegrations per minute (dpm)/ mg cytosolic protein] was greatest at hatch and decreased slightly thereafter, whereas specific activity of FABP in the yolk sac membrane peaked between ED 16 and ED 19 and then declined. Total yolk sac activity (dpm/yolk sac membrane), however, plateaued at ED 22 before declining to low levels by PD 3, coincident with the period of maximal lipid transfer out of the yolk.

Turkey hens were fed either a standard breeder diet (CON, myristic acid, C14.0, 1.1%; palmitic acid, C16:0, 16.8%; oleic acid, C18:1, 23%; linoleic acid, C18:2, 48.7%) or a diet containing 5% coconut oil (COCO) enriched with medium chain fatty acids (MCFA; lauric acid, C12:0, 22.6%; C14:0, 10.8%; C16:0, 12.5%; C18:1, 14.8%; C18:2, 24.6%). After 10 d on the diets, fresh eggs were collected for yolk lipid and fatty acid (FA) determination. An additional 60 to 95 eggs were incubated and the FA profiles of the neutral lipid (NL) and phospholipid (PL) fractions of yolk sac and liver lipids were determined. The NL fraction of the yolk sac from CON eggs contained less C12:0 (0 vs 0.49%) and C14:0 (0.7 vs 4.6%) and more C18:1 (41.3 vs 37.5%). The PL fraction of the yolk sac from both treatments contained < 1% C14:0, and there was less than a 2% difference between treatments in other FA concentrations. The hepatic NL fraction from both treatments contained < 1% C14:0 and only C18:1 showed > 1% differences between treatments (Control = 59.9%; COCO = 56.62%). There were no dietary effects on the FA profile of hepatic PL. The presence of only minimal quantities of MCFA in hepatic NL and PL suggests that absorbed yolk sac MCFA are extensively metabolized during embryonic development.

Fatty acid (FA) profiles in embryonic yolk sacs (YS) and livers were studied in embryos from a randombred turkey line (RBC2) and a line selected for body weight at 16 wk (F line). There were no differences in FA profiles of fresh yolk lipids. During the course of incubation, oleic acid (C18:1) was higher and linoleic acid (C18:2) was lower in YS triglyceride (TG) and phospholipid (PL) subclasses in F line compared with RBC2 embryos. In both lines, the C18:1 content of YS cholesteryl esters (CE) increased from 58 to 63% during the last 6 d of incubation. From 22 to 28 d of incubation, there was a constant C18:1 concentration in hepatic CE, which was > 60% of total hepatic CE FA. As incubation proceeded, palmitic acid (C16:0) and C18:1 in hepatic TG decreased from 27 to 16% and 37 to 34%, respectively. The stearic acid (C18:0) in TG increased from 12% at Day 22 to 32% of total FA at hatch (Day 28) in RBC2 embryos compared with a lesser increase in the F line (11.8 to 18.6%). In hepatic PL, arachidonic acid (C20:4) decreased, whereas both C16:0 and C18:0 increased from 22 to 28 d of incubation. During this same time period, there was an overall decline in docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6) only in the RBC2. On Days 26 and 28, F line embryos had greater concentrations of C22:6 and C20:4 in hepatic PL than did RBC2. These results suggest that selection for increased BW has changed the proportional incorporation of different FA into embryonic lipids.