The study aimed to examine the changes observed in the morphology of rapid-growing tuberculosis pathogen strain, degree of pathogenicity, sensitized properties, and content of lipids, which depend on the pH of the medium, for 180 inoculations of 1–3 days culture. The reversion of non–acid-resistant forms of Mycobacterium bovis of the rapid-growing strain to bacterial acid-resistant forms occurred because of the following reasons: formation of non–acid-resistant grains in thread-like M. bovis, transformation and fragmentation of non–acid-resistant thread-like forms into acid-resistant rod-shaped bacteria, and output from non–acid-resistant thread-like M. bovis acid-resistant forms. It was found that increasing the number of passages of M. bovis of the rapid-growing strain through the medium at pH 6.7 led to a probable decrease (p<0.05) in the content of total lipids; fractions of phospholipids, triacylglycerols, and sterin ethers; and an increase in the number of diacylglycerols, sterins, and free fatty acids (FFAs). It is established that the decrease in saturated and long-chain fatty acids and the increase in unsaturated and short-chain fatty acids were accompanied by the loss of virulence of mycobacteria. Of the 19 FFAs, nine tended to disappear from the cell wall. Cite this article as: Tkachenko, O., Bilan, M., Hlebeniuk, V., Alekseeva, N., Nedosekov, V., Galatiuk, O., 2020. Chronology of Morphological Forms of Mycobacterium bovis Rapid-Growing Strain. Acta Vet Eurasia 2020; 46: 104-114.

This study aimed to investigate the role of seasonal environmental variations in oocyte growth, oocyte maturity stages, and reproductive capacity of Sparus aurata. To model this in the field, two groups of fish were placed for a 1-year period at two depths: 0-2 m and 10-12 m. Environmental parameters such as temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and water transparency were monitored, and oocyte number was estimated using standard gravimetric techniques. Oocytes were categorized as primary, cortical alveoli, vitellogenic, hydrated, and atretic and were analyzed according to their shape and diameter. Oocyte maturation period was found to initiate in September and peak in November. During this process, the oocytes appeared to shift from more irregular to elliptical shape. Differences in the oocytes of the two groups, mainly concerning the higher vitellogenic and atretic oocyte number of the 10-12 m group compared with the 0-2 m, supported with gonadosomatic index and hepatosomatic index, might reflect the light intensity and temperature effects. Moreover, using the principal components analysis, we observed a possible link between the environmental temperature and light and the onset of spawning. Findings of this study provide a better understanding of S. aurata breeding pattern and may benefit the management of this highly commercial species. Cite this article as: Feidantsis, K., Ntokou, A., Michaelidis, B., 2020. Effect of Seasonality on Oocyte Growth, Oocyte Maturity Stages, and Reproductive Capacity in the Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata) in Relation with Depth. Acta Vet Eurasia 2020; 46: 87-97.

In this study, it was aimed to determine certain spermatological properties of seabream in order to optimize the freezing protocol and to provide more economical and efficient production in seabream culture from the obtained results. In this study, 10 male and 4 female seabreams were selected. After certain spermatological characteristics were determined, the sperm samples were drawn into 0.25 mL straws following the addition of an appropriate cryoprotectant to the best diluent. Four different diluents (Mounib, saline Mounib, Ringer’s, and 1% NaCl) were used to freeze the sperm (Experiment 1). In this experiment, Ringer’s solution afforded the highest motility. Then, 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 10% ethylene glycol (EG), and 10% dimethyl acetamide (DMA) were added to the Ringer’s diluent to determine the most suitable cryoprotectant (Experiment 2). DMSO afforded the highest motility. Following the freezing of sperm, 2 methods were attempted for thawing: 20 s at 26°C and 15 s at 35°C (Experiment 3). Post-thaw motility values of 69.37% and 67.55%, respectively, were obtained. At the end of this study, the hatching rate was 43.48% for frozen sperm. Finally, the best diluent, best cryoprotectant, and optimum thawing temperature and fertility rates for the freezing of seabream sperm were found. Cite this article as: Özgöray, E.D., Akçay, E., 2020. Freezing Protocol Optimization for Gilthead Seabream Sperm, Sparus Aurata L. Acta Vet Eurasia 2020; 46: 54-62.

The utilization of synthetic antibiotics in the production of food fish is a concern globally due to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the residual effects of these drugs. This study investigated the in vitro antimicrobial activity and growth-promoting effects of lemongrass meal (LGM) in Clarias gariepinus fingerlings. The fish were fed diets (40% crude protein) fortified with 0, 5, 10, and 15gLGM/kg lemongrass meal, and a 3g Oxytetracycline (OTC)/kg diet was used as the negative control for 70 days. Data on the zones of inhibition (ZI), weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), and optimum inclusion level was obtained. Higher ZI was obtained from OTC against Aeromonas hydrophila, while higher ZI was obtained from lemongrass extract against Pseudomonas putida. Feeding C. gariepinus fingerlings with10gLGM/kg diet significantly enhanced WG, SGR, and PER, compared to the control treatments. The FCR (1.40) was significantly reduced in fish fed a 10gLGM/kg diet, compared to the control and other LGM-fortified treatments. The quadratic regression analysis showed 0.83% and 0.86% as optimum inclusion levels for WG and FCR, respectively. The results from this study suggested that lemongrass possesses antibacterial properties and that the meal could be included in the fish diet at 10 g/kg as a natural growth promotant. Cite this article as: Adeniyi, O.V., 2020. Growth performance of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Fed Diets Fortified with Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus). Acta Vet Eurasia 46, 15-23.

Here, we investigated the effects of 6 h of road transportation on the hematology and behavior of 50 adult Rouen ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) administered with antioxidants under hot climatic conditions. The ducks were divided into five groups, each consisting of 10 ducks: ascorbic acid (AA), vitamin E (Vit-E), melatonin, control (transported and not given antioxidant) and sedentary (neither transported nor given antioxidants). Thermal conditions during transport were recorded. Blood samples, behavior, and the liveweight of ducks were analyzed before and after transportation. Our findings suggest that 6 h of road transport and exogenous administration of AA, Vit-E, and melatonin had no significant (p>0.05) adverse effects on the hematology, heterophil/lymphocyte ratio (a widely accepted indicator of stress in ducks), behavior, and liveweight of the ducks. In conclusion, the physiological responses of Rouen ducks to the stress of 6 h of road transportation were minimal, transient, and not detrimental to their health and welfare. The administration of antioxidants, AA, Vit-E, and melatonin prior to 6 h of road transportation did not noticeably ameliorate the minimal stress that Rouen ducks experienced. Cite this article as: Minka, N.S., Hassan, F.B., Ayo, J.O., 2020. The Effects of Road Transportation under Hot Climatic Conditions and the Administration of Antioxidants on the Physiological Responses of Rouen Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus). Acta Vet Eurasia 46, 30-36.

The testicular thermoregulation ismaintained by a complex anatomical structures and physiological phenomenaincluding convection, conduction, radiation and evaporation. The testiculartemperature variation has a deleterious outcome on the reproductive performanceof male reproductive system, though, duration and intensity of the insult isthe pivot point. By regulating the altered thermal offense, the reproductiveperformance can be improved, however, with a consistent increase in the globaltemperature, there is a need of extensive investigations to undermine thethermoregulatory mechanism, its performance, anatomical and physiologicaladaptations, in the upcoming hot and humid environment. Cite this article as: Sarfraz, A., Qureshi,A.S., Shahid, R.U., Hussain, M., Usman, M., Umar, Z., 2019. Maintenance of ThermalHomeostasis with Special Emphasis on Testicular Thermoregulation. Acta VetEurasia 45, 63-72.

The article presents the data ondistribution and defeat of gastropod mollusks by parasitic trematodes inbiotopes of small reservoirs (rivers, lakes and swamps) of the Dnipro basin ofnorthern regions of Ukraine. During the 2016-2017 years, at the following areaswere collected and identified: Lymnaea (L.) stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758); L.truncatula (Müller, 1774); Planorbis (P.) corneus (Linnaeus, 1758); P.рlanorbis (Linnaeus, 1758); Viviparus contectus (Millet, 1813); Valvatapiscinalis (Müller, 1774) and Succinea pfeifferi (Rossmässler, 1834). The microscopicstudy of the mollusks’ liver allowed us to detect the presence of pathogens ofcattle trematodoses inside a certain number of the snails – Fasciola hepatica(Linnaeus, 1758) and Paramphistomum sp. (Fischoeder, 1901). At biotopes ofsmall rivers, 8.3% of mollusks L. truncatula species, 23.5% of L. stagnalis and5.7% of P. corneus were affected. At lakes and swamps, the number of affectedL. truncatula was 36.3%, and L. stagnalis – 13.7%. It was determined the defeatof ruminants with fasciolosis and paramfistomatoses in designated regions. Ittestifies to the formation of sustainable natural foci of these invasions.

Exotic pet animal ownership is on the riseall over the world. Regardless of being companion animals which are importantsubjects in veterinary medicine, they also play a role in the transmission ofdiseases to other animals and human beings. Therefore, veterinarians areexpected to have the knowledge and good practice in exotic pet medicine. Thissurvey was performed among small animal practitioners with the aim ofidentifying their self-evaluation of competency and knowledge about the exoticpet medicine in Istanbul. As a data collection tool, a three-part questionnairedeveloped by the researchers was used in the current study. The first part ofthe survey covered demographic variables of respondents; the second partconsisted of 6 questions, which examine the self-evaluation of small animalpractitioners on competency and knowledge about the exotic pet medicinepractice. The third part consisted of 8 Likert type questions about thehusbandry, transmission, prevention, diagnosis and therapy of the diseases forthe four different exotic pets including fish, turtle, other reptiles and bird.The results showed that approximately 80% of the respondents consider thatexotic pet disease is essential regarding veterinary medicine. Thirty-fivepercent of the veterinarian said that they were not sure about “what is anexotic pet disease” while, 53% of them responded that question, as they did nothave any knowledge about the exotic pet diseases. For the 91.4% of the clinicsinvestigated, the exotic animals as a patient were 1-10% or less than 1% of allthe patients. It has shown that 42.4%, 32%, 16.9%, and 8.7% of the exotic pets’species examined were birds, turtles, the other reptiles, and 8.7% fish,respectively. Ninety percent of the veterinarians consider that they did notget enough education about the exotic pet animal practice during theirundergraduate study at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Istanbul. It hasbeen determined that more than half of the participants (65%) were consideredthemselves as having adequate knowledge of the husbandry, transmission,prevention, diagnosis and therapy of the diseases of the birds. However, theydid not have enough experience about turtle, other reptiles and fish. As aconclusion, the results indicated the importance of education, specialisationand practice on potential exotic pet species.

This study was conducted to assess theeffect of dietary inclusions of Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) andPsidium guajava (P. guajava) diets on the growth performance of Clariasgariepinus (C. gariepinus). Seven treatments were administered to 420 C.gariepinus juveniles. They were: Control (Basal diet of 42% crude protein), L.plantarum (LPc) (cell/1000 mL) at 40, 60, 80 and P. guajava leaf meal (PGLM)(g/1000g) at 40, 60 and 80 per kg of feed. Body Weight Gain (BWG) (g), SpecificGrowth Rate (SGR) (g/day), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), Survival Rate (SR) (%),Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) and Nitrogen Metabolism (NM) were evaluated.Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at p<0.05. From theresults, 40LPc had the highest body weight gain (73.52±2.30) g and SpecificGrowth Rate (SGR) (1.19±0.02) g/day, while 80 PGLM had the least body weightgain (46.10±0.12) g  and SGR (0.99±0.00)g/day. No significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in feed conversionratio across all treatments. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) observedin the survival rate between control (93.80±4.98)% and 80 PGLM (96.77±4.09)%.No significance difference (p>0.05) was observed in protein efficiency ratiobetween control (1.01±0.36) and 60 PGLM (0.95±0.36). There was no significantdifference (p>0.05) observed in nitrogen metabolism across all treatmentgroups. Hence, the inclusion level of 40 cells/1000 mL of L. plantarumfortified diet in cultured juvenile C. gariepinus was observed to have a bettergrowth enhancing performance and nutrient utilization than P. guajava leaf mealat 40g/1000g.