JSR Farming (United Kingdom)

Green hay transfer from species‐rich donor sites is now commonly used in Europe to restore species‐rich semi‐natural grassland, both on ex‐arable land and on former intensive grassland. However, species transfer rates are usually well below 100%, and due to lack of further colonization by additional target species after initial restoration, continued progress toward the target plant community is often very slow. We used data from a restoration experiment aiming to reestablish species‐rich grazed meadows of the MG5 grassland type according to the British National Vegetation Classification to investigate relationships between species abundance at a donor site, species capture by green hay and its seed content, and success of species establishment on experimental plots in formerly intensively managed species‐poor grassland undergoing restoration. Our results show that species with higher abundance at the donor site were more likely captured as seed in green hay, and were more likely to establish after hay application at the recipient site. Species with low abundance at the donor site that also possessed specific germination requirements that might prevent immediate establishment after green hay transfer were particularly unlikely to get established after transfer. These findings can provide guidance for additional measures aimed at ensuring establishment of a wider range of target species. Such measures could include targeted sowing of species in addition to green hay application, and management of restored grassland swards to extend or reopen an initial window of opportunity for the establishment of green hay species that might not be germinable immediately after hay transfer.

Veterinary RecordVolume 187, Issue 1 p. 33-33 Letters and notices Is it time to stand united? British Veterinary Poultry Association (BVPA) Phil Hammond, Corresponding Author Phil Hammond senior vice-president bvpa@bvpa.org.uk BVPA, PO Box 4, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 9DJemail: bvpa@bvpa.org.ukSearch for more papers by this author Phil Hammond, Corresponding Author Phil Hammond senior vice-president bvpa@bvpa.org.uk BVPA, PO Box 4, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 9DJemail: bvpa@bvpa.org.ukSearch for more papers by this author First published: 09 July 2020 https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.m2696Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume187, Issue1July 2020Pages 33-33 RelatedInformation

Balancing selection provides a plausible explanation for the maintenance of deleterious alleles at moderate frequency in livestock, including lethal recessives exhibiting heterozygous advantage in carriers. In the current study, a leg weakness syndrome causing mortality of piglets in a commercial line showed monogenic recessive inheritance, and a region on chromosome 15 associated with the syndrome was identified by homozygosity mapping. Whole genome resequencing of cases and controls identified a mutation causing a premature stop codon within exon 3 of the porcine Myostatin (MSTN) gene, similar to those causing a double-muscling phenotype observed in several mammalian species. The MSTN mutation was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the population at birth, but significantly distorted amongst animals still in the herd at 110 kg, due to an absence of homozygous mutant genotypes. In heterozygous form, the MSTN mutation was associated with a major increase in muscle depth and decrease in fat depth, suggesting that the deleterious allele was maintained at moderate frequency due to heterozygous advantage (allele frequency, q = 0.22). Knockout of the porcine MSTN by gene editing has previously been linked to problems of low piglet survival and lameness. This MSTN mutation is an example of putative balancing selection in livestock, providing a plausible explanation for the lack of disrupting MSTN mutations in pigs despite many generations of selection for lean growth.

Veterinary RecordVolume 181, Issue 5 p. 124-124 News section Antibiotic use in the poultry industry Gudrun Ravetz President, Corresponding Author Gudrun Ravetz President bvahq@bva.co.uk BVA, 7 Mansfield Street, London, W1G 9NQSearch for more papers by this authorPhilip Hammond PhD, Philip Hammond PhD BVPA, PO Box 4, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 9DJSearch for more papers by this author Gudrun Ravetz President, Corresponding Author Gudrun Ravetz President bvahq@bva.co.uk BVA, 7 Mansfield Street, London, W1G 9NQSearch for more papers by this authorPhilip Hammond PhD, Philip Hammond PhD BVPA, PO Box 4, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 9DJSearch for more papers by this author First published: 29 July 2017 https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.j3598Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume181, Issue5July 2017Pages 124-124 RelatedInformation

There have been serious global declines in diversity of bumblebees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. The most effective means of increasing abundance and diversity of bumblebees on farmland is to sow simple, low cost mixtures of dicotyledons rich in pollen and nectar, as prescribed under the UK agri-environment schemes. The potential benefits of this management prescription for butterflies are unknown. Similarly, more information is needed on how to manage this habitat to maximise the provision of pollen and nectar resources whilst protecting breeding habitat for butterflies. This study aimed to devise mixtures and cutting management regimes which address these issues. We found significant effects of seed mixture, timing and frequency of cutting, and removal of cut material on vegetation composition, flower resource availability and pollinators (the abundance, species richness and temporal distribution of butterflies and bumblebees, including males and queens, attracted to the mixtures). We recommend that nectar flower mixtures are refined by the inclusion of the best performing species to provide mid- and late-season forage resources (Trifolium spp., Lotus corniculatus and Centaurea nigra), and the removal of competitive grass species. Summer cutting in May or early June, with removal of herbage where possible, should be applied to half the patch to extend the flowering season, and minimise damage to butterfly breeding habitat. This should be accompanied by the typical autumn cut to the whole patch. Even with best management practice, such nectar flower mixtures are only effective for 3–4 years and this should be recognised in policies aimed at enhancing pollinator populations in agricultural landscapes.

Gamete-gamete interactions are critically modulated by carbohydrate-protein interactions that rely on the carbohydrate-selective recognition of polyvalent carbohydrate structures. A galactose-binding protein has been identified in mammalian spermatozoa that has similarity to the well-characterized hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor. With the aim of exploiting the ability of this class of proteins to bind and internalize macromolecules displaying galactose, we designed hybrid carbohydrate-antioxidant polymers to deliver antioxidant vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) to porcine spermatozoa. Treatment of sperm cells with one hybrid polymer in particular produced large increases in intracellular sperm levels of alpha-tocopherol and greatly reduced endogenous fatty acid degradation under oxidative stress. The polymer-treated spermatozoa had enhanced physiological properties and longer half-lives, which resulted in enhanced fertilization rates. Our results indicate that hybrid polymer delivery systems can prolong the functional viability of mammalian spermatozoa and improve fertility rates, and that our functionally guided optimization strategy can be applied to the discovery of active glycoconjugate ligands.