A table for adjusting expected progeny differences (EPD) to a base year and breed basis depends on analyses of records of progeny of bulls of different breeds in a common environment and requires that those reference bulls also have other progeny to provide within-breed EPD. Currently, the germ plasm evaluation project at the Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) provides such a common environment...

This study aimed at determining the physico-morphological attributes, in vitrofertilityand their interrelationships in semen of Sahiwal bulls. Semen samples werecollected weekly for 6 weeks from ten mature Sahiwal bulls divided randomly into 5 groups. The mean (±SEM) of ejaculate volume (mL), mass activity (score 0-5), progressive sperm motility (%), sperm concentration (106/mL), live sperm (%)...

Wild African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are commonly infected with intestinal strongyle parasites. Our objective was to determine baseline fecal strongyle egg counts for elephants in the northeast region of Etosha National Park, Namibia and determine if these numbers were affected by annual rainfall, elephant demography (age of individuals and composition of groups), and hormonal state of m...

Angus bulls (n = 20) from three pure-bred herds in Georgia were acquired to determine the impact of selecting sires based on phenotypic yearling ultrasound intramuscular fat percentage (UIMF) or UIMF EPD on marbling score of steer progeny. Each year in each herd, pairs of bulls were selected to create large differences based on their age adjusted phenotypic yearling UIMF measurements. The avera...

Switzerland is officially free from bovine Tritrichomonas foetus. While bulls used for artificial insemination (AI) are routinely examined for this pathogen, bulls engaged in natural mating, as well as aborted fetuses, are only very sporadically investigated, indicating that the disease awareness for bovine tritrichomoniasis is low. Natural mating in cattle is becoming increasingly popular in S...

Residual feed intake (RFI) testing has increased selection pressure on biological efficiency in cattle. The objective of this study was to assess the association of the rumen microbiome in inefficient, positive RFI (p-RFI) and efficient, negative RFI (n-RFI) Brahman bulls grazing 'Coastal' bermudagrass [Cynodondactylon (L.) Pers.]under two levels of forage allowance (high and low stocking inten...

The aim of the present study was to clarify if flow-cytometric sex-sorting of bovine sperm affected in vitro blastocyst production in different bulls, either in terms of its ability to fertilize the oocyte or by interfering with post-fertilization embryo development. We performed in vitro fertilization (IVF) using both commercially available frozen-thawed X-sorted and non-sorted sperm of 4 Hols...

AIM The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of species, breed and age on bacterial load in fresh and frozen semen of Cattle and Buffalo bull. MATERIALS AND METHODS Present study covered 56 cow and 10 buffalo bulls stationed at Central Semen Station Anjora, Durg (Chhattisgarh). Impact of breeds on bacterial load in semen was assessed using six breeds of cattle viz. Sahiwal, G...

The purpose of the present work was to identify Neospora caninum infections in beef bulls belonging to 19 herds from six counties located in the Corrientes province, Argentina. The presence of antibodies to N. caninum was evaluated in 305 serum samples of bulls (Bos taurus and Bos indicus). Age and breed were recorded. An indirect fluorescent antibody test was used to determine specific antibod...

Bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP-15) expression has been detected in the testis, but its roles in this organ has not been well elucidated. We evaluated polymorphisms of the BMP-15 gene by PCR-SSCP and PCR-RFLP in 212 Chinese Holstein bulls, and investigated possible associations with sperm quality traits, including semen volume per ejaculate, sperm density, fresh sperm motility, thawed sperm ...