Suchergebnisse

Novel strategies that address vitamin A deficiency have been developed, such as high-carotenoid maize, a biofortified transgenic maize line rich in carotenoids generated by genetic transformation. The South African white maize inbred (M37W), which is devoid of carotenoids, was engineered to accumulate high levels of β-carotene (provitamin A), lutein, and zeaxanthin. Maize seeds contaminated with fumonisins and other mycotoxins pose a serious threat to both humans and livestock. During three consecutive harvests, the fungal incidence and the fumonisin and aflatoxin content of maize seeds grown in an experimental field in Catalonia (Northeastern Spain) were evaluated. Fungal infection was similar in high-carotenoid maize and its isogenic line, with Fusarium verticillioides being the most prevalent fungus in all the harvests. Neither Aspergillus spp. nor aflatoxin contamination was found. Fumonisin levels were lower in high carotenoid than in its isogenic line, but this reduction was statistically significant in only 2 of the 3 years of study. Our results suggest that high carotenoid content reduces fumonisin levels in maize grains. ; The study was supported by La Caixa (Recercaixa project PC084082 VitaMaize: high-quality and safe food through antioxidant fortified maize), the Agrotecnio Center, the Catalonian Government (2014 SGR 1296 Agricultural Biotechnology Research Group and XaRTA Reference Network on Food Technology) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIO2014-54441-P). J. Díaz-Gómez thanks the University of Lleida for a pre-doctoral grant. The authors would like to thank the Agricultural Biotechnology group of the University of Lleida, Antonio Michelena, and Jaume Lloveras for their work in the experimental field.

High-carotenoid (HC) maize, a biofortified staple crop which accumulates β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin, was used as a feed component in a chicken feeding trial to assess the bioavailability of provitamin A (PVA) carotenoids in the kernel matrix compared to the synthetic and natural color additives routinely used in the poultry industry. We found that the PVA carotenoids in HC maize were not metabolized in the same manner: β-carotene was preferentially converted into retinol in the intestine whereas β-cryptoxanthin accumulated in the liver. We also considered the effect of zeaxanthin on the absorption of PVA carotenoids because zeaxanthin is the major carotenoid component of HC maize. We found that chickens fed on diets with low levels of zeaxanthin accumulated higher levels of retinol in the liver, suggesting that zeaxanthin might interfere with the absorption of β-carotene, although this observation was not statistically significant. Our results show that HC maize provides bioavailable carotenoids, including PVA carotenoids, and is suitable for use as a feed component. ; This work was supported by La Caixa (Recercaixa project PC084082 VitaMaize: High quality and safe food through antioxidant fortified maize), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIO2014-54426-P; BIO2014-54441-P, FEDER funds), the Catalan Government (2014 SGR 1296 Agricultural Biotechnology Research Group) and the Agrotecnio Center.

Skin color in poultry is achieved by the addition of natural or synthetic pigments to feed. Crops used routinely in feed formulations offer an alternative cost-effective strategy to replace color additives if they are biofortified with sufficient levels of carotenoids. We tested the hypothesis that high-carotenoid (HC) maize, which was genetically engineered to accumulate high levels of β‐carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin in the endosperm, can replace carotenoid additives in poultry feed by performing two feeding trials using diets incorporating different maize lines with diverse carotenoid compositions: control (wild-type M37W, the parental line), HC, and standard yellow commercial maize supplemented with color additives (marigold flowers and red paprika extracts). The effects of dietary treatments on growth performance, health parameters, color evolution and carotenoid distribution were determined. We found that chickens fed on the HC diet grew normally and developed similar pigmentation to animals fed on a commercial diet supplemented with color additives, although yellowness was significantly higher in the commercial diet due to the high concentration of yellow xanthophylls. Lightness scores in chickens fed on the control, HC and commercial diets were 45.88 ± 1.31, 44.32 ± 1.10 and 44.29 ± 0.99, respectively, in breast muscle, and 51.62 ± 1.33, 49.66 ± 0.96 and 50.10 ± 1.16, respectively, in thigh muscle. Redness scores in chickens fed on the control, HC, and commercial diets were 0.36 ± 0.26, 3.25 ± 0.29 and 3.58 ± 0.29, respectively, in breast muscle, and 1.28 ± 0.37, 4.79 ± 0.39 and 4.85 ± 0.34, respectively, in thigh muscle. Yellowness scores in chickens fed on the control, HC, and commercial diets were 2.45 ± 0.47, 7.61 ± 0.64 and 9.66 ± 0.73, respectively, in breast muscle, and 3.38 ± 0.64, 10.00 ± 1.10 and 12.64 ± 0.97, respectively, in thigh muscle. High-carotenoid maize is therefore a cost-effective alternative to feed supplementation in the poultry industry. ; This work was supported by La Caixa (Recercaixa project PC084082 VitaMaize: High quality and safe food through antioxidant fortified maize), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BIO2014-54426-P; BIO2014-54441-P, FEDER funds) and the Catalan Government (2014 SGR 1296 Agricultural Biotechnology Research Group).

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) causes decreased reproductive performance and respiratory problems in pigs. The goals of the current study were 1) to examine whether individual variation applies to infection with PRRSV European strains and 2) to investigate the association of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) WUR10000125 (WUR) at the interferon-inducible guanylate-binding protein 1 gene (GBP1) with average daily gain (ADG) in PRRSV infected and uninfected pigs. The experimental procedure consisted of two trials in which pigs from negative PRRSV farms were infected with a wild-type (n = 80) or vaccinated with an attenuated European PRRS virus strain (n = 40) and then monitored after infection or vaccination. Viral load and ADG were determined for each pig. In a third trial, the ADG for PRRSV-free pigs was monitored. All pigs were genotyped for WUR at the GBP1 gene (AA and AG genotype were defined). Results indicated that there was individual variation in the viral load from pigs challenged with a wild-type or low virulent European PRRSV strain. Secondly, our data showed that WUR SNP was associated to ADG in vaccinated pigs. Thus, ADG in AG pigs was significantly higher than in AA ones after vaccinating with an attenuated PRRSV strain. However, the reverse happened in a PRRSV-free environment where the AA pigs were those that grew faster. Based on these results, there is a scope for selecting pigs according to their responses to PRRS virus infection with European strains and that WUR SNP may play a role in causing PRRSV resistance. ; This study was carried out with the support of the Vall Companys group in Lleida and the Group of Sanejament Porci (GSP, Lleida, Spain). The authors wish to thank specially to Ferran González Romero and Cristina Labella for their collaboration in conducting the field study and technical assistance, respectively. Glòria Abella is an industrial doctorate awarded by the government of Catalonia (No. 2013 DI 027).