Abstract. Nowadays there is an increased demand to preserve the biological diversity in wild and farm animals. In this paper the history, utilisation and reproductive performance of the endangered native Hungarian swine breed Mangalica are reviewed. This fat-type race was the most typical since the middle of the nineteenth century. However, Mangalica nearly disappeared in the 1970-ies due to changing dietary habits and breeding of modern industrial pig breeds. The valuable characteristics of Mangalica, like resistance and excellent adaptability to extreme housing conditions, motherliness and delicious meat taste are recognised anew.

Motility is one of the most important characteristics associated with the fertilising ability of spermatozoa indicating their viability and structural integrity. Therefore, the examination of motility constitutes an integral part of semen analysis. Computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) allows an accurate and objective assessment of different sperm motion characteristics with high repeatability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the different kinematic (velocity) parameters of frozen/thawed bull semen and determine if any of them could be correlated with their fertilising capability after insemination based on the achieved pregnancy rate. Ejaculates from 10 bulls were collected and frozen. The kinematic/velocity parameters of spermatozoa were measured by CASA and compared to the pregnancy results of almost 9,000 females artificially inseminated (AI) with frozen semen of any of the 10 tested bulls. The data of the experiments are summarised mainly with a focus on the effects of individual velocities (curvilinear velocity: VCL, straight-line velocity: VSL, average path velocity: VAP) on fertility rather than on the influence of progressive motility as a whole. We conclude that VAP is the most useful semen motility characteristic which has clinical relevance in the prediction of fertility.Key words: Semen evaluation, CASA, fertility prediction, velocity characteristics, semen motility Male fertility is an important factor in bovine reproduction, considering that the semen of any particular bull will be used for the insemination of several females. Fertility evaluation of males is primarily based on quality assessment of semen using conventional parameters such as morphology, concentration and motility of spermatozoa. The correlation between semen quality and fertility has been well documented (Bratton et al., 1956;Davis et al

Artificial insemination (AI) can undoubtedly be regarded as the oldest and most widely used assisted reproductive technique/technology (ART) applied in livestock production and it is one of the most important ARTs. The three cornerstones of its application are that it is simple, economical and successful. Artificial insemination offers many well-known benefits for producers. Fresh, fresh + diluted + chilled and frozen semen can be used for AI in small ruminants. To ensure its successful use, the AI technique must be selected on the basis of the type of semen planned to be used. This review paper gives a detailed overview of semen processing and its effects on semen quality, as well as of the AI techniques applied in small ruminants and their success rates.

Ochratoxin A is a common feed contaminant, which may impair animal health and may lead to residues in edible tissues of slaughter animals. To simulate field conditions, broiler chicks were exposed to a total of 0.5 mg ochratoxin A per week for each of 4 weeks. Plasma toxin levels and tissue residues were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results indicate an accumulation in plasma and wide distribution into all organs, with high levels in the liver and the kidney. Microscopical changes that could primarily be associated with toxin exposure were glomerulonephrosis, tubulonephrosis, focal tubular epithelial cell proliferation and multiple, adenoma-like structures in the renal parenchyma. The HPLC and ELISA methods gave similar results for both tissue distribution and depletion. Differences in absolute tissue toxin concentrations obtained by the two methods might be attributed to the different extraction and clean-up procedures, along with antibody specificity. The findings indicate that the dose applied causes subclinical tissue lesions and measurable tissue residues.

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A direct, competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibody has been developed for quantitative determination of ochratoxin A (OA) in different cereals. A dichloromethane/citric acid mixture was used for extraction of cereals. This cleanup procedure proved to be as effective for ochratoxin A extraction as protocols using strong acids. The mean withinassay and interassay coefficients of variation for the standard curve was <10%. The range of this test is 1-10 ng/g, with a detection limit of 0.5 ng/g OA. The toxin recovery from cereals infected with 5-100 ng/mL OA varied between 90 and 130%.

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