Efficiency of genomic prediction for boar taint reduction in Danish Landrace pigs

Genetic selection against boar taint, which is caused by high skatole and androstenone concentrations in fat, is a more acceptable alternative than is the current practice of castration. Genomic predictors offer an opportunity to overcome the limitations of such selection caused by the phenotype being expressed only in males at slaughter, and this study evaluated different approaches to obtain such predictors. Samples from 1000 pigs were included in a design which was dominated by 421 sib pairs, each pair having one animal with high and one with low skatole concentration (≥0.3 μg/g). All samples were measured for both skatole and androstenone and genotyped using the Illumina SNP60 porcine BeadChip for 62 153 single nucleotide polymorphisms. The accuracy of predicting phenotypes was assessed by cross‐validation using six different genomic evaluation methods: genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) and five Bayesian regression methods. In addition, this was compared to the accuracy of predictions using only QTL that showed genome‐wide significance. The range of accuracies obtained by different prediction methods was narrow for androstenone, between 0.29 (Bayes Lasso) and 0.31 (Bayes B), and wider for skatole, between 0.21 (GBLUP) and 0.26 (Bayes SSVS). Relative accuracies, corrected for h², were 0.54–0.56 and 0.75–0.94 for androstenone and skatole respectively. The whole‐genome evaluation methods gave greater accuracy than using only the QTL detected in the data. The results demonstrate that GBLUP for androstenone is the simplest genomic technology to implement and was also close to the most accurate method. More specialised models may be preferable for skatole.     

Selection and application of broad-specificity human domain antibody for simultaneous detection of Bt Cry toxins

Bt Cry toxin is a kind of bio-toxins that used for genetically modified crops (GMC) transformation widely. In this study, total 15 positive clones could bind the Bt Cry toxins which isolated from a human domain antibody library by 5 rounds affinity selection. According to analyzing of PCR amplification and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the most positive phage domain antibody (named F5) gene was cloned into the pET26b vector and expressed in E. coli BL21. The purified antibody was used to develop an indirect competitive ELISA (IC-ELISA) for Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac, Cry1B, Cry1C and Cry1F toxins, respectively. The working range of detection for standard curves in IC-ELISA were 0.258–1.407 μg/mL, the medium inhibition concentration (IC₅₀) were 0.727–0.892 μg/mL and detection limit (IC₁₀) were 0.029–0.074 μg/mL for those Bt Cry toxins. The affinity of F5 domain antibody with Cry1Ab, Cry1Ac, Cry1B, Cry1C and Cry1F toxins were 1.21–5.94 × 10⁷ M⁻¹. The average recoveries of the 5 kinds of Bt Cry toxins from spiked wheat samples were ranged from 81.2%–100.8% with a CV at 2.5%–9.4%. The results showed that we successfully obtained the broad-specificity human domain antibody for simultaneous detection of Bt Cry toxins in agricultural product samples.     

Is a short concentrate-finishing period in lambs raised on alfalfa pasture effective at reducing fat indoles contents and lightening meat colour?

Pasture-feeding in lambs has been associated with dark-coloured meat and high meat contents of volatile indoles (skatole and indole), which may be responsible for sensory defects. The risk of off-flavours is even higher when lambs graze alfalfa, because it is particularly rich in rapidly degradable proteins. Here, we investigated whether a short concentrate stall-finishing period in lambs that previously grazed alfalfa influences meat sensory quality traits. We compared three feeding treatments, using three groups of 10 male Romane lambs: grazing alfalfa (A), stall-feeding with concentrate and straw (S), and stall-finishing with concentrate and straw for 21 days after previously grazing alfalfa (AS). During stall-feeding, the concentrate was given at a level adjusted to achieve a similar growth pattern in all treatment groups, and the length of the trough was sufficient for all lambs to have access to the feeds at the same time. Lamb live weight and age at slaughter, and carcass conformation and fatness were similar for all treatment groups. Perirenal fat skatole content was lower in AS and S lambs than in A lambs (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively), and not significantly different between AS and S lambs. Perirenal fat indole and dorsal fat skatole concentrations were lower in AS lambs than in A lambs (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively), the other pairwise comparisons being not significant. There was no treatment effect on dorsal fat indole content. Longissimus et lumborum muscle colour coordinates differed between pasture-fed and stall-fed lambs, with a lower lightness (P < 0.005) and greater redness and hue angle (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively) in pasture-fed lambs, but muscle colour coordinates did not differ between A and AS lambs. A 21-d concentrate-based stall-finishing period in lambs previously raised on alfalfa pasture therefore markedly reduced fat indoles concentrations compared to lambs grazed on alfalfa until slaughter but did not change meat colour.     

Rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of androstenone, skatole and indole in back fat from pigs

A rapid high-performance reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous quantitative determination of the main boar taint compounds androstenone, skatole (3-methylindole) and indole, in back fat from pigs has been developed. The compounds are extracted by a simple homogenisation of adipose tissue in methanol; interfering lipids are removed by precipitation after cooling and centrifugation. Androstenone is derivatized pre-column with dansylhydrazine (5 min at ambient temperature) using BF₃ as catalyst. The compounds are separated on a 60 × 4.6 mm I.D., 3 μm Hypersil ODS column (Hewlett-Packard) using a step-gradient; total time for the separation is 15 min. Fluorescence is used for selective detection. The limit of quantitation for indole and skatole is 30 ng/g and for androstenone 200 ng/g back fat. The results for skatole obtained by the present method were compared with those of a colorimetric method, while androstenone determinations were compared with two GC—MS methods and a RIA method. The correlations observed were in the range of 0.946–0.993. The average contents of androstenone and skatole were 640 ± 700 and 78 ± 113 ng/g (n = 1162 male pigs), respectively.     

Gold Immunochromatography Assay for the Rapid Detection of Spiramycin in Milk and Beef Samples Based on a Monoclonal Antibody

Spiramycin (SP) residues in food do harm to human health. It is necessary to establish rapid detection method for SP. In this work, a monoclonal antibody (mAb)‐based gold immunochromatography assay (GICA) is developed for the rapid detection of SP. Under optimum conditions, the half‐maximal inhibitory concentration of SP‐mAb is 0.43 ng mL^–1. The subtype of SP‐mAb is IgG2b. This antibody has no cross‐reactivity with other analogues and has high affinity (4.52 × 10¹⁰ L mol^–1). Qualitative results can be visualized with the naked eye, with a visual detection limit of 1.0 ng mL^–1 and cut‐off value of 10 ng mL^–1. A hand‐held strip scanner is used for the quantitative analysis, with LOD 0.43 ng mL^–1 in assay buffer. The recoveries of SP ranged from 72.3% to 112% in milk and 98.5% to 115% in beef, with variable coefficient ranging from 9.4% to 11.7% in milk and 8.14% to 15.4% in beef. Besides, the proposed GICA method for SP is confirmed by LC–MS/MS in SP‐spiked milk and beef samples. Overall, the developed GICA can be a useful tool for SP residues on‐site screening in milk and beef samples.     

An altered camelid-like single domain anti-idiotypic antibody fragment of HM-1 killer toxin: acts as an effective antifungal agent

Phage-display and competitive panning elution leads to the identification of minimum-sized antigen binders together with conventional antibodies from a mouse cDNA library constructed from HM-1 killer toxin neutralizing monoclonal antibody (nmAb-KT). Antigen-specific altered camelid-like single-domain heavy chain antibody (scFv K2) and a conventional antibody (scFv K1) have been isolated against the idiotypic antigen nmAb-KT. The objectives of the study were to examine (1) their properties as compared to conventional antibodies and also (2) their antifungal activity against different pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungal species. The alternative small antigen-binder, i.e., the single-domain heavy chain antibody, was originated from a conventional mouse scFv phage library through somatic hyper-mutation while selection against antigen. This single-domain antibody fragment was well expressed in bacteria and specifically bound with the idiotypic antigen nmAb-KT and had a high stability and solubility. Experimental data showed that the binding affinity for this single-domain antibody was 272-fold higher (K _d = 1.07 × 10⁻¹⁰ M) and antifungal activity was three- to fivefold more efficient (IC₅₀ = 0.46 × 10⁻⁶ to 1.17 × 10⁻⁶ M) than that for the conventional antibody (K _d = 2.91 × 10⁻⁸ M and IC₅₀ = 2.14 × 10⁻⁶ to 3.78 × 10⁻⁶ M). The derived single-domain antibody might be an ideal scaffold for anti-idiotypic antibody therapy and the development of smaller peptides or peptide mimetic drugs due to their less complex antigen-binding site. We expect that such single-domain synthetic antibodies will find their way into a number of biotechnological or medical applications.     

Prion protein detection via direct immuno-quantitative real-time PCR

We describe a simple and robust assay for the quantitative detection of prions using immuno-quantitative real-time PCR (iQ-RT-PCR) made possible by a direct conjugate of a prion-specific antibody (ICSM35) and a synthetic 99-bp DNA tail. The DNA tail was engineered to include a single ScrFI restriction site, which enabled subsequent quantification of restricted DNA tails using real-time PCR. The assay was tested with scrapie prions bound to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes and to 96-well plates coated with a capturing antibody from a commercially available immuno-based assay (TeSeE). The iQ-RT-PCR assay had a detection limit corresponding to 2.32 × 10² prion epitopes, which represented a 1000-fold increase in detection sensitivity over the commercial assay. Detection of prions from diluted scrapie-positive brain homogenate bound to membranes was linear over a range of 1.06 × 10⁴ to 3.24 × 10² epitopes (R² = 0.92). Given its sensitivity and versatility, the present assay has potential to enable rapid and reliable detection of agents causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.     

Application of gold nanoparticles produced by laser ablation for immunochromatographic assay labeling

Nanodispersed gold is widely used as a marker in different analytical systems. For such purposes, it is usually obtained by the reduction of salts. This work studied the potential analytical applications of nanodispersed gold obtained by laser ablation because gold produced with this method has no chemical coating. The nanoparticles produced were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and spectrophotometry. The average size of the particles was 24.5 nm. Concentration dependences of antibody immobilization on ablative gold were obtained. With the use of antibody-conjugated nanoparticles, an immunochromatographic system was constructed for the detection of zearalenone mycotoxin. This immunoassay was characterized by a detection limit of 0.1 ng/ml antigen with an assay duration of only 15 min, which is on par with current test systems comprising nanodispersed gold obtained by chemical reduction. The simplicity of ablative dispersing makes this a prospective method for the labeling of various antibodies for analytical use.     

Immunomagnetic capture and colorimetric detection of malarial biomarker Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase

We report a sensitive, magnetic bead-based colorimetric assay for Plasmodium falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (PfLDH) in which the biomarker is extracted from parasitized whole blood and purified based on antigen binding to antibody-functionalized magnetic particles. Antigen-bound particles are washed, and PfLDH activity is measured on-bead using an optimized colorimetric enzyme reaction (limit of detection [LOD] = 21.1 ± 0.4 parasites/μl). Enhanced analytical sensitivity is achieved by removal of PfLDH from the sample matrix before detection and elimination of nonspecific reductases and species that interfere with the optimal detection wavelength for measuring assay development. The optimized assay represents a simple and effective diagnostic strategy for P. falciparum malaria with time-to-result of 45 min and detection limits similar to those of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, which can take 4–6 h. This method could be expanded to detect all species of malaria by switching the capture antibody on the magnetic particles to a pan-specific Plasmodium LDH antibody.     

Analysis of the genetics of boar taint reveals both single SNPs and regional effects

Background

Boar taint is an offensive urine or faecal-like odour, affecting the smell and taste of cooked pork from some mature non-castrated male pigs. Androstenone and skatole in fat are the molecules responsible. In most pig production systems, males, which are not required for breeding, are castrated shortly after birth to reduce the risk of boar taint. There is evidence for genetic variation in the predisposition to boar taint.A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify loci with effects on boar taint. Five hundred Danish Landrace boars with high levels of skatole in fat (>0.3 μg/g), were each matched with a litter mate with low levels of skatole and measured for androstenone. DNA from these 1,000 non-castrated boars was genotyped using the Illumina PorcineSNP60 Beadchip. After quality control, tests for SNPs associated with boar taint were performed on 938 phenotyped individuals and 44,648 SNPs. Empirical significance thresholds were set by permutation (100,000). For androstenone, a ‘regional heritability approach’ combining information from multiple SNPs was used to estimate the genetic variation attributable to individual autosomes.

Results

A highly significant association was found between variation in skatole levels and SNPs within the CYP2E1 gene on chromosome 14 (SSC14), which encodes an enzyme involved in degradation of skatole. Nominal significance was found for effects on skatole associated with 4 other SNPs including a region of SSC6 reported previously. Genome-wide significance was found for an association between SNPs on SSC5 and androstenone levels and nominal significance for associations with SNPs on SSC13 and SSC17. The regional analyses confirmed large effects on SSC5 for androstenone and suggest that SSC5 explains 23% of the genetic variation in androstenone. The autosomal heritability analyses also suggest that there is a large effect associated with androstenone on SSC2, not detected using GWAS.

Conclusions

Significant SNP associations were found for skatole on SSC14 and for androstenone on SSC5 in Landrace pigs. The study agrees with evidence that the CYP2E1 gene has effects on skatole breakdown in the liver. Autosomal heritability estimates can uncover clusters of smaller genetic effects that individually do not exceed the threshold for GWAS significance.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-424) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Full analytical evaluation of the line shift and line width of ions in solids for Raman processes

In this paper, we present a new analytical method to evaluate the temperature dependence of the thermal line shift and thermal line width of spectral lines in the Raman process using a simple approximation for the Debye functions. The proposed formulae guarantee the accurate and fast calculation of the thermal line shift and thermal line width. As an example of application, the analytical expression obtained is used to calculate the line shift and line width of the ²E → ⁴A₂ transitions in V²⁺:MgO at temperatures from 0 K up to 500 K. This analytical evaluation shows that our results are satisfactory for the wide range temperature variations.     

Antibody–aptamer functionalized fibre‐optic biosensor for specific detection of Listeria monocytogenes from food

Aim: To develop antibody–aptamer functionalized fibre‐optic biosensor for specific detection of Listeria monocytogenes from food products. Methods and Results: Aptamer, a single‐stranded oligonucleotide ligand that displays affinity for the target molecule, was used in the assay to provide sensor specificity. Aptamer‐A8, specific for internalin A, an invasin protein of L. monocytogenes, was used in the fibre‐optic sensor together with antibody in a sandwich format for detection of L. monocytogenes from food. Biotinylated polyclonal anti‐Listeria antibody, P66, was immobilized on streptavidin‐coated optical waveguide surface for capturing bacteria, and Alexa Fluor 647‐conjugated A8 was used as a reporter. The biosensor was able to selectively detect pathogenic Listeria in pure culture and in mixture with other bacteria at a concentration of approx. 10³ CFU ml^?1. This sensor also successfully detected L. monocytogenes cells from artificially contaminated (initial inoculation of 10² CFU 25 g^?1) ready‐to‐eat meat products such as sliced beef, chicken and turkey after 18 h of enrichment. Conclusion: Based on the data presented in this study, the antibody–aptamer functionalized fibre‐optic biosensor could be used as a detection tool for sensitive and specific detection of L. monocytogenes from foods. Significance and Impact of the Study: The study demonstrates feasibility and novel application of aptamer on fibre‐optic biosensor platform for the sensitive detection of L. monocytogenes from food products.     

Influence of the KDEL signal,DMSO and mannitol on the production of the recombinant antibody 14D9 by long-term <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nicotiana tabacum</Emphasis> cell suspension culture

We have established two transgenic cell suspension culture lines of Nicotiana tabacum that express the catalytic antibody 14D9 as a secretory product (sec-Ab) or as a KDEL-tagged product in the endoplasmic reticulum (Ab-KDEL), respectively. After 3 years of culture, the performance improved to a production level of 0.15 ± 0.03 μg ml⁻¹ on the seventh day of culture for the sec-Ab line and 0.48 ± 0.05 μg ml⁻¹ on the third day for Ab-KDEL line. Analysis of the effect of osmotic stress using mannitol (90 g l⁻¹) as an osmolite revealed that there was a 12-fold increase in antibody yield (1.96 ± 0.20 μg ml⁻¹) on the seventh day of culture in line sec-Ab and a fivefold increase (2.31 ± 0.18 μg ml⁻¹) on the seventh day for line Ab-KDEL. The concentration of the antibody in the culture medium was not significant. Dimethyl sulfoxide used as a permeabilizing agent was not effective in increasing 14D9 yield, but it did cause distinctive cell damage at all concentrations tested.     

High performance liquid chromatography determination of sulphachloropyrazine residues in broiler and turkey edible tissues

A HPLC method to determine and quantify sulphachloropyrazine residues from broilers and turkeys is reported. This procedure permitted sulphachloropyrazine to be separated from muscle tissue, liver, kidneys and fat with skin after extraction with dichloromethane under slightly acidic conditions. The analytical methodology showed a high specificity and sensitivity and an adequate precision and accuracy with a limit of quantification of 56 ng mL^?1. The peak area showed a linear relationship with a concentration over the range 50–750 ng mL^?1 for sulphachloropyrazine standard solutions. Recovery dates were also satisfactory with values between 69.7 and 77.5%.     

Effect of faecal soiling on skatole and androstenone occurrence in organic entire male pigs

Production of entire male pigs could be a future strategy for organic pig production. However, production of entire males leads to increased risk of carcasses with elevated boar taint levels. It is hypothesized that skatole levels in pig meat are affected by faecal soiling and that organic housing facilities can increase the risk of pigs being heavily soiled. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to investigate if increased pig and pen soiling increases skatole concentration in entire male pigs. In five herds, 1174 organic entire male pigs were reared in four batches across two seasons, summer and winter. Measurements of pig and pen soiling, as well as fat skatole and androstenone concentration and human nose sensory tests of fat odour, were performed. Skatole and androstenone concentrations varied greatly within and between herds with a 10% and 90% percentile for the overall population of 0.02 and 2.25 µg/g for skatole and 0.53 and 4.84 µg/g for androstenone. Human nose positive tests averaged 18.3% with great variation between herds and seasons. Pen soiling had significant effects on pig soiling. Moreover, outdoor pen soiling significantly affected skatole concentration in interactions with herd and season (P<0.001 and P=0.003) and affected human nose positive risk in interaction with herd (P=0.005). Soiling on indoor pen areas did not affect skatole levels and no effect on androstenone was found for any pen area. Soiling of pigs affected both skatole and androstenone levels, with the size of the head and abdomen body areas covered in manure showing significant positive effects on skatole concentration. No effect of density of the manure layer was found on either boar taint measure. Herd significantly affected both skatole and androstenone in fat as well as the human nose positive risk. The human nose test revealed no effect from pig soiling. A large variation in the different boar taint measures was found for both high and low scores of pen and pig soiling, and only a small difference in skatole and androstenone concentrations between the high and low soiling categories was found. Therefore, while increasing the hygiene management could be a strategy for reducing boar taint in production of organic entire male pigs, it should be emphasized that other factors would also need to be considered.     

Gender-related differences in the formation of skatole metabolites by specific CYP450 in porcine hepatic S9 fractions

Higher accumulation of skatole in the fat of male pigs compared with female pigs might be due to gender-related differences in the rate of skatole degradation. In the present study, skatole metabolites and cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isoforms involved in skatole metabolism were for the first time investigated in hepatic S9 fractions from six male and four female pigs (crossbred Landrace×Yorkshire dams and Duroc boar). Surprisingly, the rates of production of major skatole metabolites were similar in male and female pigs. The most abundant metabolite of skatole was 3-hydroxy-3-methyloxindole (HMOI) followed by 3-methyloxindole and indole-3-carbinol in both male and female S9 fractions. Concentrations of formed HMOI and 3-methyloxindole did not differ between the genders (P=0.124 for HMOI, and P=0.575 for 3-methyloxindole). Indole-3-carbinol formation was higher in S9 fractions from the females compared with male pigs (P=0.0001). Enzyme kinetic parameters were similar for both genders (P>0.05). In both male and female pigs, ellipticine, diallyl sulphide (DAS) and quercetin inhibited HMOI formation, confirming the involvement of CYP1A1 and CYP2E1. The formation of 3-methyloxindole was reduced in the presence of the CYP2E1 inhibitor DAS, and formation of indole-3-carbinol was reduced in the presence of CYP1A1 and CYP2A19 inhibitors. We found only minor differences in skatole metabolism between male and female pigs, particularly the involvement of CYP2C and CYP3A in indole-3-carbinol formation in female but not in male pigs. This is a very essential finding, suggesting the involvement of larger number of CYP450 isoforms in female pigs. On the other hand, indole-3-carbinol is a minor skatole metabolite, and the physiological significance of CYP2C and CYP3A involvement in its formation in female pigs, but not in male pigs, needs to be elucidated. Our results, however, should be interpreted with caution because of the low number of animals and possibility of breed and age effects on skatole metabolism.     

Étude clinique de phase I avec bénéfice individuel direct de radioimmunothérapie du myélome multiple utilisant l’anticorps anti-CD138 marqué à l’iode 131 (131I-B-B4)

PurposeThe objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicity, the absorbed dose to critical organs and tumour of B-B4 monoclonal antibody labeled with Iodine 131 in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) enrolled in a phase I study.Patients and methodFour patients with MM were enrolled and received for dosimetric study an injection of 20 mg/m² of B-B4 coupled with 370 MBq of Iodine 131. During the treatment phase, after viewing the target, three patients received a fixed dose of 20 mg/m² of ¹³¹I-B-B4 with an initial activity of 555 MBq/m², corresponding to level 1.ResultsImmunoscintigraphy showed an early and intensive uptake of the axial skeleton confirming the targeting of the disease by the antibody. Grade 3/4 haematological toxicity was observed in two patients with a trend to tally with the estimated average dose received by the bone marrow, calculated in the dosimetric study (blood method and imaging method). No other toxicity was observed. No complete or partial response was observed.ConclusionThe dose of 555 MBq/m² of ¹³¹I-B-B4 has shown encouraging results in terms of dosimetry and toxicity of RIT in MM. Other developments are possible with the use of humanized monoclonal antibody and the labeling with an alpha particle emitter.     

Generation of transgenic plants expressing plasma membrane-bound antibodies to the environmental pollutant microcystin-LR

In this paper we describe the engineering and regeneration of transgenic tobacco plants expressing a recombinant plasma membrane-retained antibody specific to microcystin-LR (MC-LR), the environmental toxin pollutant produced by cyanobacteria. The antibody was created by a genetic fusion of the antigen binding regions of the microcystin-specific single chain antibody, 3A8, with the constant regions from the murine IgG1κ, Guy’s 13, including a membrane retention sequence at the C-terminal end of the antibody heavy chain. The antibody produced in the leaves was shown to be functional by binding to MC-LR in an ELISA with antibody yields in transgenic plant leaves reaching a maximum of 1.2 μg g⁻¹ leaf f.wt (0.005% total soluble protein). Antibody-MC-LR complexes formed in leaves after addition of MC-LR to hydroponic medium around the roots of transgenic plant cultures.     

Nickel oxide hollow microsphere for the chemiluminescence determination of tuberculostatic drug isoniazid

In this article, nickel(II) oxide (NiO) hollow microspheres (HMSs) were fabricated and used to catalyze chemiluminescence (CL) reaction. The studied CL reaction is the luminol-oxygen reaction that was used as a sensitive analytical tool for measuring tuberculostatic drug isoniazid (IND) in pharmaceutical formulations and water samples. The CL method was established based on the suppression impact of IND on the CL reaction. The NiO HMSs were produced by a simple hydrothermal method and characterized by several spectroscopic techniques. The result of essential parameters on the analytical performance of the CL method, including concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), luminol, and NiO HMSs were investigated. At the optimum conditions, the calibration curve for IND was linear in the range of 8.00 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.00 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ (R² = 0.99). A detection limit (3S) of 2.00 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ was obtained for this method. The acceptable relative standard deviation (RSD) was obtained for the proposed CL method (2.63%, n = 10) for a 5.00 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ IND solution. The mechanism of the CL reaction was also discussed.     

Use of data mining techniques to investigate disease risk classification as a proxy for compromised biosecurity of cattle herds in Wales

Background  

Boar taint is the unpleasant odour and flavour of the meat of uncastrated male pigs that is primarily caused by high levels of androstenone and skatole in adipose tissue. Androstenone is a steroid and its levels are mainly genetically determined. Studies on androstenone metabolism have, however, focused on a limited number of genes. Identification of additional genes influencing levels of androstenone may facilitate implementation of marker assisted breeding practices. In this study, microarrays were used to identify differentially expressed genes and pathways related to androstenone metabolism in the liver from boars with extreme levels of androstenone in adipose tissue.