Minilivestock: from gathering to controlled production

Many small animals, vertebrates and invertebrates, homoiotherms (endotherms) and poikilotherms (ectotherms), are used by man since he gathers, hunts or collects them in the wild. When bred under controlled conditions in captivity, these animals are called minilivestock. a term also used for those small species that are little known in animal production. To qualify as minilivestock, animals must have a potential benefit either nutritionally for food or economically for animal-feed or revenue, and currently not being utilized to their full potential. Rodents are eaten in Africa and Latin America. The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) is considered a particularly efficient meat source. Giant African snails (Achatina spp) are highly prized as food in West and Central Africa and Asia, and are produced commercially. Annelids living in litter and manure convert vegetable refuse to animal protein which can be used as feed for pigs and poultry. There is a continuous demand for frogs' legs on the international market and also for many species of insect, alive or mounted. The development of minilivestock will contribute to meeting human needs and will also protect the environment from excessive harvesting.     

Advances in enteropathogen control in poultry production

Poultry meat has been associated frequently and consistently with the transmission of enteric pathogens, including Salmonella and Campylobacter. This association has resulted in the development of HACCP‐based intervention strategies. These strategies (hurdles) begin with elite breeder flocks and filter down the production pyramid. These hurdles include those already established, such as biosecurity, vaccination, competitive exclusion, pre‐ and probiotics, feed and water control, and those more experimental, such as bacteriophage or immunoglobulin therapy. The reduction in enteropathogens entering the processing plant, which employs critical control points, further reduce the exposure of consumers to these organisms. The synergistic application of hurdles will result in an environment that is restrictive and detrimental to enteropathogen colonization and contamination.     

Floristic heterogeneity between forested sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda: insights into the fine-scale determinants of density in a large-bodied frugivorous primate

1.  Despite a long history of research on the influence of fruit availability on the population density of large-bodied vertebrate frugivores, operational understanding of the factors regulating density in these taxa remains elusive. We propose that fruit resources can be distinguished from one another on the basis of their functional role for the animals in question, and that such a classification system can aid in identifying the most influential determinants of frugivore density.
2.  We compared the availability of several resource classes between two sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda separated by only 12 km yet differing threefold in density of chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ).
3.  We categorized plant species used for fruit by chimpanzees according to their availability relative to habitat-wide fruit productivity, and by their tendency towards inter-individual fruiting synchrony. We predicted that the site of high chimpanzee density would support a higher density of food plant species tending to produce crops during periods of high habitat-wide productivity [high fruit abundance (HFA foods)] and of those tending to fruit synchronously among individuals during times of low habitat-wide availability (sLFA foods). The first food class should provide chimpanzees with a high nutrient density (and thus promote population growth), whereas the second should provide stable subsistence during lean periods and thus a temporally consistent resource base.
4.  Counter to our prediction, only sLFA resources were more abundant at the site of high chimpanzee density than at the site of low density. We suggest that sLFA resources are most important in influencing density of large-bodied frugivores.     

Beneficial lactobacilli in food and feed: long-term use, biodiversity and proposals for specific and realistic safety assessments

Lactobacilli have played a crucial role in the production of fermented products for millennia. Their probiotic effects have recently been studied and used in new products. Isolated cases of lactobacillemia have been reported in at-risk populations, but lactobacilli present an essentially negligible biological risk. We analyzed the current European guidelines for safety assessment in food/feed and conclude that they are not relevant for the Lactobacillus genus. We propose new specific guidelines, beginning by granting a 'long-standing presumption of safety' status to Lactobacillus genus based on its long history of safe use. Then, based on the available body of knowledge and intended use, only such tests as are useful will be necessary before attributing 'qualified presumption of safety' status.     

国际转基因食品安全评价政策及启示

转基因技术作为现代生物技术的核心之一,在保障粮食安全、保护生态安全、拓展农业功能等方面发挥了重要作用,但同时,也带来了潜在的安全性问题。为此,世界上主要国家和国际组织都制定了与转基因生物安全管理相关的法律法规,加强管理。通过对国际食品法典委员会（Codex Alimentarius Commission, CAC）、经济合作与发展组织（Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD）的转基因食品安全评价体系与评价政策进行介绍分析,总结其现实积极作用及价值,指出其缺陷或不足,以期为健全我国转基因食品安全评价体系、完善监管措施,提供理论政策及法律规范方面的参考性建议。     

Edible insects as minilivestock

Many species of insects (probably 1000 or more) have served as traditional foods among indigenous peoples, especially in warmer climes, and the insects have played an important role in the history of human nutrition. As part of the hunter-gatherer style of life, the main criteria for selection of these traditional species appears to be medium-to-large size and easy availability, i.e., abundance, as noted by Dufour and others. Thus it is not surprising that many insects considered as crop pests in modern agriculture have served as important food sources. Locusts and grasshoppers, which often occur in swarms, are good examples, and these insects have been included in the diets of almost every culture with any history of food-insect use.     

Some New Aryl-5′-fluoro-2′-meth-oxyphenyl Ketones and Their Thiosemicarbazones as Possible Fungicides

Feeding studies on rice genetically modified with soybean glycinin were performed on rats for four weeks. The rats were divided into three groups, each being fed on (I) only a commercial diet, (II) this diet plus control rice and (III) this diet plus rice genetically modified with glycinin. The rats were fed with 10 g/kg-weight of rice every day by oral administration. During the test period, the rats in every group grew well without marked differences in appearance, food intake, body weight, or cumulative body weight gain. There were also no significant differences in the blood count, blood composition or internal organ weights among the rats. Necropsy at the end of the experiment indicated neither pathological symptoms nor histopathological abnormalities in the liver and kidney. Judging from these results, the rice genetically modified with glycinin is considered to have been essentially the same in nutritional and biochemical characteristics as the control rice.     

Characterization of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella Kinshasa from dairy calves in Texas

AIM: To determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella isolated from a central Texas dairy calf farm that raises animals for dairy-beef production. METHODS AND RESULTS: Salmonella isolates collected from 50 faecal samples were characterized for susceptibility to 20 antimicrobial agents. Seventy per cent of the faecal samples (35 of 50) tested positive for Salmonella, and high rates of resistance to the following drugs that are commonly used for treatment of bacterial enteritis in livestock were observed: ampicillin (88%), apramycin (83%), neomycin (86%), spectinomycin (91%) and oxytetracycline (90%). No resistance to the fluoroquinolone antibiotics was observed. The most prevalent Salmonella serotype was Kinshasha (22 of 35 samples), followed by Agona (4 of 35), Newport (3 of 35), Infantis (2 of 35), Montevideo (2 of 35), Lille (1 of 35) and Newington (1 of 35). The Kinshasa, Agona, Newport and Infantis serotypes all displayed resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulphamethoxazole and tetracycline, and the penta-resistance phenotype was transferable to an Escherichia coli recipient strain. SIGNIFICANCE: Multi-drug resistant Salmonella in dairy calves pose a costly animal health problem and a potential risk to the public health. This study emphasizes the need for alternative, non-antimicrobial intervention strategies for the control of zoonotic pathogens.     

A population and energy model of a forest insect outbreak

A model is proposed for the dynamics of a forest insect population with account of food consumption and the response of plants to damage. Equations are derived relating the propagation coefficient, female mass, pest conversion efficacy, and plant reaction. Outbreak scenarios are analyzed as dependent on steady-state female weight. The results are compared with the data of observations in nature.     

Salmonella spp. are affected by different levels of water activity in closed microcosms

Controlling water activity (a _w) can significantly impact the growth of Salmonella in poultry litter and manure — a phenomenon that was studied quantitatively using two common serotypes of Salmonella. The quantitative effect of changes in levels of a _w on Salmonella populations was determined using inoculated, frosted glass rectangles placed in closed chambers (microcosms). Glass rectangles with known concentrations of Salmonella enteritidis and S. brandenburg were placed in microcosms maintained at an a _w level of 0.893 for 24 h at room temperature (RT) and then transferred to other microcosms maintained at the same temperature but with higher a _w levels (0.932 and 0.987). Salmonella populations on the slides were quantified at 4, 18, 24, and 48 h. Slightly elevated levels of a _w (<0.1, i.e., 10% equilibrium relative humidity) for 24 h resulted in a 100-fold increase in counts of Salmonella. The data also suggested that in vitro adaptation to dry environments may occur when the organisms are exposed to alternating levels of relatively high and low (0.987 and 0.893) levels of a _w. Any increased tolerance of Salmonella to reduced levels of a _w could be the result of physico-chemical changes in the organism due to selective environmental pressure, formation of a protective biofilm, and/or entry into a dormant state. Results from this study are compatible with those from previously reported on-farm surveys, reinforcing the contention that maintaining a _w below 0.85 in and around litter/manure surfaces in poultry or livestock bedding areas may be a critical factor in safe production of food. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2001) 26, 222–225. Received 18 May 2000/ Accepted in revised form 24 January 2001     

Effects of a diet containing genetically modified rice expressing the Cry1Ab/1Ac protein (Bacillus thuringiensis toxin) on broiler chickens

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of feeding Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice expressing the Cry1Ab/1Ac protein on broiler chicken. The genetically modified (GM) Bt rice was compared with the corresponding non-GM rice regarding performance of feeding groups, their health status, relative organ weights, biochemical serum parameters and occurrence of Cry1Ab/1Ac gene fragments. One hundred and eighty day-old Arbor Acres female broilers with the same health condition were randomly allocated to the two treatments (6 replicate cages with 15 broilers in each cage per treatment). They received diets containing GM rice (GM group) or its parental non-GM rice (non-GM group) at 52–57% of the air-dried diet for 42 days. The results show that the transgenic rice had a similar nutrient composition as the non-GM rice and had no adverse effects on chicken growth, biochemical serum parameters and necropsy during the 42-day feeding period. In birds fed the GM rice, no transgenic gene fragments were detected in the samples of blood, liver, kidneys, spleen, jejunum, ileum, duodenum and muscle tissue. In conclusion, the results suggest that Bt rice expressing Cry1Ab/1Ac protein has no adverse effects on broiler chicken. Therefore, it can be considered as safe and used as feed source for broiler chicken.     

Collective control without explicit coding: The case of communal nest excavation

The nests of social insects result from a succession of stimulus responses steps involving the environment, the workers, and the by-product of their activities (which modify their environment). In this way social insects can build without any reference to a blueprint. In this paper we explore the link between individual building behavior and the characteristics (form, size, location, etc.) of the structures produced. We show with a mathematical model (in the form of nonlinear differential equations) that social insects using behavioral mechanisms, which do not require an explicit measure of the nest and the colony size, can nevertheless effectively regulate, at the level of the colony, the size of the nest in response to changes in the size of the colony population. In addition, even though individual workers do not directly compare environmental characteristics, the colony can expand the nest preferentially in the most favorable zone. The models used show how such regulations and decision making can be a by-product of an amplifying communication between the builders and their work and how different patterns of building through time can be generated tuning the same basic rules.