Relative predominance of each of five probiotic strains was investigated in the ileum of weaned pigs, compared with that in feces, when administered in combination at c. 5 x 10(9) CFU day(-1) for 28 days. Probiotic was excreted at 10(6)-10(9) CFU g(-1) feces, while ileal survival ranged from 10(2) to 10(6) CFU g(-1) digesta. In contrast to the feces, where Lactobacillus murinus DPC6002 predominated, the bacteriocin-producing Lactobacillus salivarus DPC6005 dominated over coadministered strains both in the ileum digesta and in mucosa. Probiotic administration did not alter counts of culturable fecal Lactobacillus or Enterobacteriaceae but higher ileal Enterobacteriaceae were observed in the ileal digesta of probiotic-fed pigs (P<0.05). We observed decreased CD25 induction on T cells and monocytes (P<0.01) and decreased CTLA-4 induction (P<0.05) by the mitogen phytohemagglutinin on CD4 T cells from the probiotic group. Probiotic treatment also increased the proportion of CD4+ CD8+ T cells within the peripheral T-cell population and increased ileal IL-8 mRNA expression (P<0.05). In conclusion, superior ileal survival of L. salivarius compared with the other coadministered probiotics may be due to a competitive advantage conferred by its bacteriocin. The findings also suggest that the five-strain combination may function as a probiotic, at least in part, via immunomodulation.

An experiment with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments (n = 10 sows/treatment) was conducted to investigate the effect of maternal dietary supplementation with seaweed extract (SWE: 0 vs. 10.0 g/d) and fish oil (FO) inclusion (0 vs. 100 g/d) from d 109 of gestation until weaning (d 26) on sow colostrum and milk composition, humoral immune response on d 5 and 12 of lactation, and suckling piglet performance. Furthermore, the influence of dietary treatment on the phagocytic activity of whole blood white cells at weaning was examined. The SWE (10 g) contained laminarin (1 g), fucoidan (0.8 g), and ash (8.2 g) and was extracted from a Laminaria spp. The FO contained approximately 40% eicosapentaenoic acid and 25% docosahexaenoic acid. The SWE-supplemented sows had greater colostrum IgG (P < 0.01) and milk protein (P < 0.05) concentrations on d 12 of lactation compared with non-SWE-supplemented sows. Piglets suckling SWE-supplemented sows had greater serum IgG (P < 0.01) and IgA (P < 0.05) concentrations on d 5 and IgG concentrations on d 12 (P < 0.05) of lactation compared with those suckling non SWE-supplemented sows. In contrast, FO supplementation exerted a suppressive effect on piglet serum IgA concentrations on d 5 of lactation (P < 0.05) compared with non-FO-supplemented diets. Dietary FO supplementation enhanced the n-3 PUFA proportion of sow milk (P < 0.001) and piglet serum at weaning (P < 0.001). Piglets suckling SWE-supplemented sows had a greater percentage of Escherichia coli phagocytizing leukocytes (P < 0.05) and a reduced percentage of E. coli phagocytizing lymphocytes (P < 0.01) compared with non-SWE-supplemented sows. Piglets suckling FO-supplemented sows had a greater percentage of leukocytes (P < 0.05) and lymphocytes (P < 0.05) phagocytizing E. coli compared with non-FO-supplemented sows. However, total leukocyte, lymphocyte, monocyte, and neutrophil numbers were not influenced by sow dietary treatment. Average piglet weaning weight and ADG between birth and weaning were not influenced by sow dietary treatment. In conclusion, the current study demonstrates that SWE supplementation from d 109 of gestation until weaning enhanced colostral IgG concentrations and circulatory IgG concentrations in suckled piglets on d 5 and 12 of lactation. Furthermore, the percentage of leukocytes and lymphocytes phagocytizing E. coli at weaning increased in piglets suckling FO-supplemented sows, indicating an enhancement of immune function against presenting pathogens. However, the combination of SWE and FO bestowed no positive effect on immune responses investigated in the current study.

A 2 £ 2 factorial experiment (ten sows per treatment) was conducted to investigate the effect of maternal dietary supplementation with a seaweed extract (SWE; 0 v. 10·0 g/d) and fish oil (FO; 0 v. 100 g/d) inclusion from day 109 of gestation until weaning (day 26) on pig performance post-weaning (PW) and intestinal morphology, selected microflora and immune status of pigs 9 d PW. The SWE contained laminarin (10 %), fucoidan (8 %) and ash (82 %) and the FO contained 40 % EPA and 25 % DHA. Pigs weaned from SWE-supplemented sows had higher daily gain (P¼ 0·063) between days 0 and 21 PW and pigs weaned from FO-supplemented sows had higher daily gain (P,0·05) and gain to feed ratio (P,0·01) between days 7 and 14 PW. There was an interaction between maternal SWE and FO supplementation on caecal Escherichia coli numbers (P,0·05) and the villous height to crypt depth ratio in the ileum (P,0·01) and jejunum (P,0·05) in pigs 9 d PW. Pigs weaned from SWE-supplemented sows had lower caecal E. coli and a higher villous height to crypt depth ratio in the ileum and jejunum compared with non-SWE-supplemented sows (P,0·05). There was no effect of SWE on E. coli numbers and villous height to crypt depth ratio with FO inclusion. Maternal FO supplementation induced an increase in colonic mRNA abundance of IL-1a and IL-6 (P,0·05), while SWE supplementation induced an increase in ileal TNF-a (P,0·01) and colonic TFF3 mRNA expression (P,0·05). In conclusion, these results demonstrate that SWE and FO supplementation to the maternal diet influenced the gastrointestinal environment and performance of the weaned pig.

The combined genetic map and assembly, combined with another recently released genome assembly, represent a significant resource for the perennial ryegrass genetics community.

The present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation of a seaweed extract (SWE) to sows and weaned pigs on postweaning growth performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal microflora, volatile fatty acid concentrations and immune status of pigs at days 11 and 117 post-weaning. Gestating sows (n 20) were supplemented with a SWE (0 v. 10·0 g/d) from day 107 of gestation until weaning (day 26). At weaning, pigs (four pigs per sow) were divided into two groups based on sow diet during lactation and supplemented with a SWE (0 v. 2·8 g/kg diet), resulting in four treatment groups: (1) BB (basal sows -basal pigs); (2) BS (basal sows -treated pigs); (3) SB (treated sows -basal pigs); (4) SS (treated sows -treated pigs). Pigs weaned from SWE-supplemented sows had a higher average daily gain (ADG) between days 0 and 21 (P, 0·05) post-weaning compared with pigs weaned from non-SWE-supplemented sows. Pigs offered post-weaning diets (PW) containing SWE had decreased colonic Escherichia coli populations on day 11 (P,0·01) and decreased colonic Enterobacteriaceae numbers on day 117 (P, 0·05). Pigs offered PW containing SWE had a greater mRNA abundance of MUC2 in the colon at day 11 post-weaning (P, 0·05) compared with pigs offered unsupplemented diets. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that SWE supplementation post-weaning provides a dietary means to improve gut health and to enhance growth performance in starter pigs. Dietary SWE supplementation increased ADG during the grower -finisher (GF) phases. However, there was no growth response to SWE inclusion in GF diets when pigs were weaned from SWE-supplemented sows.

The performance of an intermittently aerated sequencing batch reactor (IASBR) technology was investigated in achieving partial nitrification, organic matter removal and nitrogen removal from separated digestate liquid after anaerobic digestion of pig manure. The wastewater had chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations of 11,540 ± 860 mg/L, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD(5)) concentrations of 2,900 ± 200 mg/L and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations of 4,041 ± 59 mg/L, with low COD:N ratios (2.9) and BOD(5):COD ratios (0.25). Synthetic wastewater, simulating the separated digestate liquid with similar COD and nitrogen concentrations but BOD(5) of 11,500 ± 100 mg/L, was also treated using the IASBR technology. At a mean organic loading rate of 1.15 kg COD/(m(3) d) and a nitrogen loading rate of 0.38 kg N/(m(3) d), the COD removal efficiency was 89.8% in the IASBR (IASBR-1) treating digestate liquid and 99% in the IASBR (IASBR-2) treating synthetic wastewater. The IASBR-1 effluent COD was mainly due to inert organic matter and can be further reduced to less than 40 mg/L through coagulation. The partial nitrification efficiency of 71-79% was achieved in the two IASBRs and one cause for the stable long-term partial nitrification was the intermittent aeration strategy. Nitrogen removal efficiencies were 76.5 and 97% in IASBR-1 and IASBR-2, respectively. The high nitrogen removal efficiencies show that the IASBR technology is a promising technology for nitrogen removal from low COD:N ratio wastewaters. The nitrogen balance analysis shows that 59.4 and 74.3% of nitrogen removed was via heterotrophic denitrification in the non-aeration periods in IASBR-1 and IASBR-2, respectively.

Washing of trucks before leaving the abattoir is mandatory in the Republic of Ireland; however, little is known about the efficacy of the cleaning methods in use on trucks following the transportation of live pigs in Ireland. A National Salmonella Control Programme is in place in the Republic of Ireland, which requires the categorization of all pigs according to their Salmonella status. Herds in categories 1, 2, and 3 have a serological prevalence of infection with Salmonella serotypes of 10% to 50% to

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