László Gulyás
7004483184
Publications - 7
Determination of Natural Blood Plasma Melatonin Concentration of Tsigai Ewes Characteristic for Gestation and Early Postpartum Period Between Autumnal Equinox and Winter Solstice
Publication Name: Veterinary Sciences
Publication Date: 2025-04-01
Volume: 12
Issue: 4
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Melatonin is a special hormone with many functions. Its production in human and animal organisms is particularly seasonal and related to physiological processes. This study monitors blood plasma melatonin concentration in sheep during the whole gestation and early post-partum period, taking into account the effect of the season that has been less studied so far and in certain details for the first time. It proves that nocturnal plasma melatonin concentration in pregnant ewes increases between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice in Central Europe in the Northern Hemisphere. It observes that nocturnal plasma melatonin concentration (between 18:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.) in pregnant ewes follows a less pronounced variation. Furthermore, it provides proof that nocturnal plasma melatonin concentration in pregnant ewes does not change as pregnancy progresses. It is the first to report that nocturnal plasma melatonin concentration decreases to the same level in ewes and new-born lambs immediately after birth, without nighty fluctuations.
Open Access: Yes
Evaluation of finger imprint persistence as a practical method for measuring the severity of mammary oedema in dairy cows
Publication Name: Journal of Central European Agriculture
Publication Date: 2024-06-28
Volume: 25
Issue: 2
Page Range: 292-304
Description:
The study aims to assess the severity of udder oedema around the calving using a traditional scoring (0-3 point scale) and the firstly applied fingerprint test to measure skin firmness. Furthermore, it was investigated how the degree of udder oedema is influenced by the effects taken into account in the processing. The study was carried out on 62 animals diagnosed with udder oedema before calving at a typical large-scale dairy operation in Hungary. It was found that with more severe udder oedema, the first udder teats are thicker (P = 0.038) and the udder skin surface is cooler (P = 0.007), and the duration of the fingerprint is significantly longer (P < 0.001). There is a strong positive correlation between oedema severity and fingerprint persistence (r = 0.66, P < 0.05). This suggests that the persistence of finger imprint is a reliable indicator of the severity of udder oedema.
Open Access: Yes
Experiences of a CAEV (Caprine arthritis encephalitis virus) eradication programme in an alpine goat farm
Publication Name: Magyar Allatorvosok Lapja
Publication Date: 2024-05-01
Volume: 146
Issue: 5
Page Range: 259-271
Description:
Background: The CAEV (Caprine arthritis encephalitis virus) together with Maedi visna virus (MVV) are specific pathogen of small ruminants (small ruminant lenti-viruses (SRLV). The clinical signs can be arthritis or mastitis in adults and encephalitis in kids, however, most of the CAEV infections remain subclinical. The viral infection can be lifelong and the animals can become a virus carrier at any time. The most effective way to eradicate the virus is through the selection and culling of infected animals, based on serological results. Objectives: An eradication programme was carried out in a goat herd of 150 does in Tahitótfalu between 2020 and 2023. A routine serological survey revealed that the number of CAEV seropositive animals in the herd was very high, and as the number of animals with clinical symptoms started to increase, an eradication program became advisable. The objective was to lower the rate of seropositive animals, and to keep the herd free from the clinical signs. Materials and Methods: The primary method for screening the animals was the antibody ELISA method. It was sensitive and specific enough to find the seropo-sitive animals in the herd. As an additional method, real-time and conventional PCR methods was used to test blood samples. Results and Discussion: After the initial seropositive results, there were several other test methods in the herd to detect the seropositive animals. In 2020 the percentage of seropositive goats was between 33% and 100%, so an eradication programme was advised to decrease the number of infected animals and to reduce the clinical signs in the herd. As a consequence of the selection-based programme, the rate of seropositive animals was successfully decreased in the herd by the end of 2021 (1-20%). However, due to a prolonged period of immu-nosuppression, the disease started to spread again among the animals during 2022, and the complete eradication could not be achieved. Nevertheless, our experiences show that CAEV eradication programmes can be a useful tool to decrease the clinical consequences of the disease on dairy goat farms.
Open Access: Yes
Beta-Casein Genotyping in Dairy Cow Herds in Győr-Moson-Sopron County
Publication Name: Chemical Engineering Transactions
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Volume: 107
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 451-456
Description:
The main objective of this study was to determine the beta-casein A1/A2 polymorphism status of animals in two Holstein Friesian dairy cow herds in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary. The A1/A2 status of cattle is determined by the beta-casein gene on the sixth chromosome. The analysed single nucleotide polymorphism is non-synonymous; A1 and A2 variants of bovine beta-casein differ at position 67 of the amino acid chain: A1 variant codes for histidine and A2 codes for proline, which may affect the milk protein degradation process. The analysed polymorphism leads to key conformational changes in the secondary protein structure of beta-casein. Beta-casomorphin (known as BCM7) is released only from A1-type milk and cannot be completely degraded by enzymes during digestion. DNA isolation was performed from whole blood, and a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method with agarose gel electrophoresis was applied in order to determine individual genotypes. The results from the two dairy farms demonstrate that a high proportion of cows (86.08 and 90.74 %) carry the A2 gene variant without targeted selection. At farm „A”, beta-casein polymorphisms were determined in 599 cows and 148 heifers. The genotype distribution of the cows was 47.25 % heterozygous, 38.83 % homozygous A2, whereas 14.02 % of the cows carried the A1A1 genotype. In heifers, A2A2 was already present in a remarkably high frequency (91.89 %), whereas the prevalence of heterozygotes was 7.43 %, and A1A1 animals made up only 0.67 % of the analysed heifer population. In Hungary, a growing number of dairy farms are using verified A2 homozygous breeding bull semen. The introduction of homozygous A2 sperm on the farm „A” remarkably increased A2 frequency in the heifer population. In total, 324 cows were genotyped on farm „B”, where the A2A2 genotype was observed in 30.55 % of the animals. The second most common genotype was A1A2, with a genotype frequency of 60.19 %, whereas A1A1 homozygotes occurred with a 9.26 % frequency. The growing popularity of A2 milk due to potential health benefits is driving Hungarian stakeholders towards the targeted selection of dairy populations; animal genotyping is an evident approach to facilitate this transition.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3303/CET23107076
VARIOUS APPROACHES TO INFLUENCE MELATONIN LEVEL IN SHEEP REPRODUCTION
Publication Name: Veterinarski Glasnik
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Volume: 77
Issue: 1
Page Range: 16-34
Description:
A new field of research in reproductive biology was heralded by the discovery of melatonin in 1958. The concentration of melatonin follows light-dark cycles with significantly higher concentrations during darkness. The authors present the importance of the melatonin protein hormone by focusing on the reproductive processes in domestic sheep. In their literature review, they report that sheep melatonin levels show daily and seasonal rhythms. In sheep as a seasonal breeder and short-day animal species, seasonal increases in melatonin production stimulate sexual activity. The authors describe innovative possibilities for regulating melatonin levels in sheep production. The use of exogenous melatonin brings forward the expression of the sexual cycle. It increases the fertility rate, the number of lambs born, and the chances of survival of twin lambs. Melatonin is a neuroprotection compound against cerebral hypoxia and the development of inflammatory processes in the growing foetus and the newborn lamb.
Open Access: Yes
The First In-deep Pedigree Analysis of Repatriated Gyimes Racka Sheep for a Sustainable Preservation of its Genetic Resource
Publication Name: Chemical Engineering Transactions
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Volume: 107
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 343-348
Description:
The preservation of endangered domestic animal breeds is a specific area of sustainable livestock farming. In the southern part of the Carpathians, a variant of Zaupel-type (Racka) sheep, which was small in size and resistant to the cold mountain weather, developed at the beginning of the 19th century. In order to preserve this historical variant, it was introduced in Hungary in the early 1990s. The aim of this work is to study the pedigree of the repatriated population of the Gyimes Racka to understand its population structure and to support its future breeding work. The pedigree data (2005-2020) show that the number of founding individuals (Nf) was 3,838, within which the number of maternal lineages was 2,255. The effective number of founders (fe) and the effective number of significant ancestors (fa) in the total pedigree population were higher than in the reference population (n=2,591; 67 and 56 vs. 20 and 14, respectively). The pedigree traced back to a maximum of 2.51 generations with an average of 1.34 complete generations and 1.78 equivalent complete generations on average (in the reference population: 6.05, 2.73 and 3.82, respectively). Of the 16,947 animals registered in the herd book (with an average normalised COI of 1.43 % obtained by log transformation), 3,828 were inbred (6.30 %). As regards the maternal generations, it can be observed that the inbred stage increases steadily and significantly from the beginning to the present eighth generation (from 0.00 % to 9.54 %). The average generation interval between breeding animals was 3.29 years (obtained by log transformation). The sire-progeny paths had shorter (2.92-3.02) and the dam-progeny paths had longer (3.62-3.70) intervals. The Gyimes Racka population is already showing signs of genetic narrowing during its short conservation period, which calls for attention to stop undesirable trends.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3303/CET23107058
Effect of temperament on milk production, somatic cell count, chemical composition and physical properties in lacaune dairy sheep breed
Publication Name: Mljekarstvo
Publication Date: 2017-09-29
Volume: 67
Issue: 4
Page Range: 261-266
Description:
Effect of temperament on milk yield, lactation length, physico-chemical properties and somatic cell count of Lacaune ewes were evaluated. The investigation was carried out at a sheep farm in the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron. The temperament of 106 Lacaune ewes was measured by the temperament 5-point-scale test (1=very nervous, 5=very quiet) during milking. Furthermore, 42 ewes were randomly selected from a herd of 106 animals for the analysis of milk composition (fat, protein and lactose), pH, electrical conductivity as well as somatic cell count. It was found that the temperament had a significant effect on lactation length and lactation milk production, lactose, electrical conductivity and somatic cell count. Calm ewes had significantly longer lactation (4 score: 220.7 day; 5 score: 201.4 day) as well as higher milk production (4 score: 207.9 kg; 5 score: 193.3 kg) compared to more temperamental animals (2+3 scores: 166.5 day and 135.5 kg; P<0.05). The content of lactose was significantly lower (4.32) in the more temperamental group, while electrical conductivity was higher (4.81 mS cm-1) compared to calmer animals (4.69 % and 4.16 mS cm-1). Additionally, significant differences were found in milk somatic cell count among the temperament categories. Calmer ewes had a lower somatic cell count in milk (5.17 log cm-3) than more temperamental ones (5.67 log cm-3; P<0.05).
Open Access: Yes
