Search Results (12,703)

This study explicitly assesses how crop and livestock production, along with real labor productivity, affect greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture across the European Union (EU), considering both per capita and total emissions. Using annual Eurostat data for EU Member States from 2008 to 2024, the research applies multiple regression models and a multivariate General Linear Model (GLM) to evaluate structural relationships, complemented by Holt exponential smoothing and ARIMA models to analyze temporal dynamics and generate forecasts. The empirical results indicate that crop and livestock production have a statistically significant positive effect on emissions, while real labor productivity has a significant negative impact. The models explain over 92% of the variation in total emissions and over 95% of the variation in per capita emissions, confirming strong explanatory power. Forecasts show continued growth in agricultural output but a declining trend in per capita emissions, primarily driven by productivity improvements. These findings demonstrate that improvements in labor efficiency and technological progress can partially offset the environmental pressures associated with increased agricultural production. The study concludes that achieving climate-neutral agriculture in the EU is feasible through sustained productivity gains and innovation-driven transformation. Full article

The consumption of wild rodents in certain regions of Southwest China creates a potential interface for zoonotic pathogen exposure, yet the virome composition of edible rodents remains insufficiently characterized. In this study, we performed multi-organ RNA metatranscriptomic analysis of three commonly consumed rodent species (Niviventer andersoni, Berylmys bowersi, and Rattus losea) collected from Guizhou Province, analyzing five visceral organs per species. A total of 1198 viral contigs spanning 37 viral families were identified, revealing diverse viral communities across host species and tissues, with host identity emerging as a key factor shaping virome structure. Sequences related to Seoul virus were detected in the lungs of R. losea, showing high similarity to previously reported strains, and sequences closely related to porcine Rotavirus A were identified in the lung samples of N. andersoni, indicating a close phylogenetic relationship with livestock-associated viruses. While these findings do not confirm active infection or transmission, they may reflect potential environmental exposure or ecological links at the wildlife–livestock interface. Overall, this study provides a baseline characterization of the multi-organ virome of edible rodents and highlights the importance of integrated surveillance and risk assessment within a One Health framework. Full article

The mammalian early embryo possesses totipotency and can be captured as extended pluripotent stem cells (EPSCs). The first two cell differentiations result in epiblast, primitive endoderm, and trophectoderm, with the trilineage coexisting in a unified uterine microenvironment. Nevertheless, the in vitro counterparts—primed PSCs, trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), and extraembryonic endoderm (XEN) cells—require a distinct culture system. In this study, we successfully derived stable porcine EPSCs from fibroblasts at 35% efficiency, and interestingly observed that these EPSCs differentiated in parallel and gave rise to the transient coexistence (36–84 h) of trilineage cells when cultured in a single system (LCDM: hLIF, CHIR99021, DiM, and MiH). Then, XEN cells gradually predominated and eventually became the sole population in prolonged LCDM culture. However, TSCs and primed PSCs had to be differentiated from EPSCs under their respective culture system. EPSCs can differentiate into PGC-like cells independently of genetic modification and contribute to mouse neurula-stage embryos. Collectively, the trilineage coexistence phenomenon may provide novel insight into an early embryogenesis mechanism and strategy for porcine blastoid construction. Full article

The non-invasive determination of live weight and body composition of ewes is an important element in ensuring precision livestock management and animal well-being. Traditional practices tend to be subjective, labor-intensive, or rely on expensive medical imaging such as Computed Tomography (CT). This paper proposes a new hybrid deep learning method to predict live weight and carcass traits in Coopworth ewes. The dataset of 1184 images taken from 156 ewes was analyzed and compared using a hybrid model (ResNet18 with Multi-Layer Perceptron through simple concatenation) and two more advanced models: Attention-Guided Feature Fusion Network (AGFF-Net) based on cross-modal attention and a Vision Transformer-based Hybrid Regressor (ViT-HR). Auxiliary tabular variables are the Body Condition Score (BCS) and size category. The Transformer architecture predicts (R² = 0.93) the live weight of ewes by dynamically ranking each visual patch and asking it to query the self-attention sequence. This technique treats the BCS as a distinct token in the self-attention sequence. Data partitioning at the animal level was stringent, thereby giving strong generalization. Findings indicate that the best advanced fusion systems are far better than baseline concatenation, with a high accuracy confirmed with gold standards obtained by CT. Grad-CAM visual explainability makes sure that models are able to localize biologically relevant anatomical locations successfully. The study closes the gap between complex deep learning models and real-world agriculture implementation to provide a correct, interpretable and scalable solution to real-time livestock measurements. Full article

Accurate determination of morphometric body measurements is essential for monitoring growth, evaluating production traits, and supporting selection decisions in cattle breeding. However, traditional measurement methods require direct contact with animals, which may increase labor requirements, negatively affect animal welfare, and pose safety risks for operators. This study evaluated the relationship and agreement between traditional tape measurements and smartphone-camera-based morphometric measurements in cattle. A total of 100 cattle raised in the Mediterranean region of Türkiye, including 50 Holstein and 50 Simmental animals, were included in the study. Withers height, body length, rump height, and forechest width were measured using both conventional tools and a smartphone-camera-based method. Regression analyses demonstrated strong linear relationships between methods, particularly for body length and withers height (R² = 0.564–0.961). Bland–Altman analysis revealed small but significant systematic differences between methods, with camera-based measurements generally producing slightly higher values than tape measurements. The strongest agreement was observed for body length measurements, whereas wider limits of agreement were detected for anatomically complex traits, such as rump height and forechest width. Although the findings support the potential applicability of smartphone-based morphometric measurements as a practical and contactless alternative under field conditions, measurements were obtained only from a single lateral view, which should be considered an important methodological limitation. Future studies using multi-view or three-dimensional imaging systems may further improve measurement accuracy and agreement. Full article

This study comprehensively explores the environmental implications of two feeding strategies in pig farming, focusing on three scenarios: Brazilian tables (BT-2017), NRC (NRC-2012), and AGPIC (AGPIC-2021). The comparison involves conventional phase-feeding (CON) and the daily fit model (DFM). The five-phase system provided the same diet to all pigs within a group during each proposed phase. In contrast, the DFM adjusted the diet based on the nutritional requirements of pigs, anticipating subsequent diets through daily adjustments. We employed a cradle-to-gate approach, with the functional unit defined as one barrow with an initial body weight of 20.61 ± 0.85 kg, raised to 138.94 ± 0.90 kg over a 120-day growing-finishing period. Input data were sourced from observed commercial records from pig farms in Brazil, including over 1,000,000 data points from pigs raised under standard industry conditions. We evaluated the impact of the life cycle by considering factors such as acidification, climate change, ecotoxicity, eutrophication, land use, resource use, and water use. The OpenLCA software (version 1.11.0) and the Environmental Footprint 3.0 impact assessment method were used. Our results indicate that the DFM consistently outperforms the CON strategy in terms of reducing environmental impacts. Among the three scenarios, BT-2017 results in higher environmental impact reductions compared with NRC-2012 and AGPIC-2021. This is due to the higher concentration of corn and soybean meal in diets. Notable reductions include in relation to land use-related climate change impacts (12.55%), freshwater eutrophication (6.21%), mineral and metal resource depletion (6.11%), and fossil resource use (4.88%). These findings highlight that even modest adjustments to feeding strategies can effectively reduce the environmental footprint of pig farming. Full article

To explore the molecular basis of hypoxia tolerance variation within euteleosts, we compared the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathways of the highly tolerant Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and the hypoxia-sensitive rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Evolutionary analysis revealed that Nile tilapia possesses single copies of Hif-1α and prolyl hydroxylase domain protein 2 (Phd2), whereas rainbow trout retains two and three copies, respectively. The Leu-X-X-Leu-Ala-Pro (LXXLAP) motifs in the oxygen-dependent degradation (ODD) domain of Hif-1α and the interacting loop region of Phd2 are highly conserved, indicating a conserved core mechanism for regulating Hif-1α stability. However, differences in charged residue composition flanking the Phd2 loop (e.g., fewer positively charged residues in Nile tilapia) were identified. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the complex formed by Nile tilapia Phd2 and the Hif-1α LXXLAP motif was unstable across physiological temperatures, suggesting potential impairment of the catalytic geometry compatible with hydroxylation and elevated normoxic Hif-1α stability. In contrast, the corresponding complexes in rainbow trout were more stable, particularly at low temperatures. Expression profiling revealed that Nile tilapia tissues, including the heart, maintain higher basal expression of glycolytic genes, may help support energy production during hypoxia. Our findings indicate that a weakened protein interaction and high constitutive expression is predicted to enhance HIF pathway responsiveness, potentially priming vital tissues for glycolytic energy production and may contribute to this species’ hypoxia tolerance. Full article

Background: Effective vaccines are essential to overcome the limitations of livestock immunisation, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where scalable, thermostable, and easy-to-administer solutions are needed. Nanoparticle-based delivery systems, such as the Spontaneous Nanoliposome Antigen Particle (SNAP) technology using CoPoP liposomes, offer a promising alternative for subunit vaccine development, although their performance in large animal species remains poorly characterised. CoPoP enables the rapid non-covalent multimeric display of His-tagged protein antigens combined with immunomodulators on liposomes incorporating cobalt porphyrin–phospholipid (CoPoP). Objective: To evaluate the immunogenicity of CoPoP-based liposomes delivering the Theileria parva p67C antigen in cattle and compare their performance in murine models. Methods: Cattle and mice were immunised with p67C formulated in CoPoP liposomes incorporating QS-21 and/or PHAD immunomodulators. Humoral and cellular responses were assessed. Parallel in vitro stimulation of bovine PBMC with Quil-A was used to investigate the mechanistic effects of saponins on bovine cells. Results: CoPoP liposome formulations did not improve p67C immunogenicity in cattle, with antibody responses at least two-fold lower than previously reported results and no detectable cellular responses. In contrast, the same platform induced up to 2000-fold higher antibody titres in mice. This disparity is likely driven by differences in antigen dose relative to body mass, tissue architecture, lymphatic accessibility, and innate immune signalling differences. PHAD-mediated TLR4 activation appeared less effective in cattle, whereas QS-21 induced a broader immune activation, likely through conserved inflammasome pathways. Despite limited immunogenicity, antigen presentation by CoPoP liposomes was preserved. Conclusions: SNAP-based CoPoP liposomes showed strong immunogenicity in mice but limited efficacy in cattle, highlighting the challenges of cross-species translation. Optimisation of antigen dose and adjuvant selection for the targeted species is required, with QS-21 representing a more promising candidate than the TLR4 agonist. The scalability and versatility of SNAP technology support its continued development for multivalent livestock vaccines. Full article

Continuous and objective monitoring of livestock behavior plays a key role in precision farming, animal welfare assessment, and reproductive management. This study proposes a non-invasive framework for sheep behavior and reproductive activity monitoring that integrates wearable actigraphy, machine learning, and a cloud-based data processing architecture. Tri-axial accelerometer data were collected at 30 Hz using collar-mounted ActiGraph sensors under real farming conditions. Raw acceleration signals were processed without temporal aggregation, preserving full temporal resolution that includes axis-specific acceleration, vector magnitude, and delta magnitude features. Several supervised learning models were evaluated for behavior classification, including BLSTM, LSTM, CNN–BLSTM, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine, targeting behaviors such as standing, walking, grazing, lying, flehmen, and mating. The results indicate that both deep learning and classical machine learning approaches achieve high classification performance, with Random Forest obtaining an overall accuracy of 0.82, while deep sequential models effectively capture temporal patterns and behavioral transitions. Furthermore, a scalable cloud architecture is introduced to automate data ingestion, preprocessing, inference, storage in InfluxDB, and visualization through an interactive web application. The proposed framework supports continuous monitoring and offers practical tools for precision livestock management. Full article

Salmonellosis is a global foodborne pathogen with zoonotic importance that seriously threatens livestock breeding and human health. Due to the implementation of an anti-resistance policy, probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics have attracted widespread attention. In this study, the widely used probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) was selected to study its protective effect on mice infected with Salmonella typhimurium. Two mice groups (n = 15) were treated with either EcN and PBS. Flow cytometry showed that the frequency of mature dendritic cells in the Peyer’s patch was significantly increased compared to the PBS group. Previous administration of EcN protected against challenge with Salmonella typhimurium infection as an increased survival rate of the mice, a decreased degree of pathological changes, and the number of live bacteria in the spleen and liver were recorded compared to the control group. The results of 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing of fecal microbial flora showed that EcN could reduce the abundance of microorganisms in the intestine and reduce the proportion of Lactobacillus, while Ruminococcaceae sp., Rikenella sp. and Bifidobacterium sp. disappeared. In contrast, the abundance of Bacteroides increased, which reduced the effect of Salmonella typhimurium on the distribution of intestinal microorganisms. Our results demonstrated that EcN has a protective effect against Salmonella typhimurium infection and may act as a candidate probiotic bacterium to apply in the future. Full article

Helminth infections remain a major constraint to livestock productivity, particularly in regions where domestic animals and wildlife share grazing habitats. This study investigated the molecular diversity and transmission dynamics of helminth communities in sheep (Ovis aries) and saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) in West Kazakhstan. A total of 35 animals (20 sheep and 15 saiga) were examined, and helminths were identified using polymerase chain reaction targeting the ITS1 region of ribosomal DNA for nematodes and the mitochondrial cox1 gene for cestodes. Of the 20 analyzed samples, 80% were successfully identified at the molecular level. Detected species included Haemonchus contortus, Trichuris ovis, Chabertia ovina, Moniezia expansa, and Avitellina centripunctata. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Chabertia ovina isolates from both hosts clustered within a single monophyletic clade, indicating high genetic similarity and supporting potential cross-species transmission. Mitochondrial markers provided higher resolution for cestode differentiation, whereas ITS1 was effective for nematode identification. The predominance of Chabertia ovina in saiga suggests ecological adaptation and efficient transmission within wild populations. These findings highlight the epidemiological significance of shared grazing ecosystems and underscore the need for integrated parasite control strategies that consider both livestock and wildlife reservoirs. Full article

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) continue to impose substantial health and productivity losses in grazing ruminants, and the accelerating emergence of anthelmintic resistance (AR) underscores the need for SWC strategies. Although multiple SWC approaches have been validated experimentally, their implementation across European livestock systems remains inconsistent, and limited evidence exists regarding the stakeholders’ perceptions that affect decision-making. This study conducted a multilingual cross-sectional survey of 1261 respondents, including farmers, veterinarians, advisors, and other professionals, across 13 European countries to evaluate perceived worm-control cost burdens and the economic feasibility of seven SWC strategies. Descriptive and regression analyses revealed that a majority of respondents (56.7%) considered diagnostic testing to be financially reasonable, although perceptions varied significantly between countries. Sustainable anthelmintic use, quarantine and strategic screening, and grazing management were perceived as the most viable strategies, whereas biological control and bioactive compound-based approaches elicited greater uncertainty. An aggregated SWC Attitude Score demonstrated systematically higher acceptance among veterinarians compared to farmers, while male and older respondents exhibited lower levels of agreement across practices. The overall findings suggest that economic considerations may not be perceived as the primary barrier to sustainable worm control adoption, but other practical factors may potentially limit implementation. Full article

In the Rhône-Mediterranean-Corsica (RMC) basin (130,000 km², 14 million inhabitants), groundwater intended for human consumption has been monitored for decades. These data, stored in the SISE-EAUX database, were cross-referenced with information from the CORINE Land Cover (CLC) database, which describes human land use, in order to identify potential relationships between pollutant pressure and water quality at the basin scale, as well as the mechanisms specific to each geographical area. Data processing was carried out in three stages. The 27,741 water samples from 2825 abstraction points were assigned to the 224 groundwater bodies (GWBs), and average values for each physicochemical and bacteriological parameter were calculated for each GWB. At the same time, the percentage of surface area covered by each land use type was also extracted at the scale of each GWB. This information was subjected to statistical processing, first separately and then jointly, using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering of parameters. A redundancy in the information carried by the quality parameters, previously observed at the scale of administrative regions (four to five times smaller), is confirmed at this new analysis scale, paving the way for data consolidation and a more synthetic representation. Fecal contamination primarily concerns areas with crystalline lithology and, secondarily, a few karst sectors, with other livestock farming regions being less contaminated. Higher nitrate concentrations are observed in cereal-growing regions and areas of intensive row cropping, while metal concentrations are lower in the drier Mediterranean climate zone than under the more humid continental climate. Structuring factors, notably altitude and climate, emerge at the RMC basin analysis scale, which was not the case at the scale of administrative regions. These structuring factors influence land use, soil type, and hydrological regimes alike, which explains the correlations between the information contained in the CLC and SISE-EAUX databases. Full article

Phytoestrogens are plant-derived phenolic compounds that structurally resemble endogenous estrogens and can exert both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects in animals. In ruminant nutrition, the main classes of phytoestrogens (isoflavones, lignans, stilbenes, coumestans and selected flavonoids) are supplied predominantly by legume forages and soybean-based feeds, in which concentrations can reach several mg/g of dry matter. After ingestion, these compounds are extensively metabolized by the rumen microbiota to derivatives with altered biological potency, such as equol and p-ethyl-phenol, which influence endocrine, immune and metabolic pathways. Experimental and field studies in cattle, sheep and goats indicate that dietary phytoestrogens may improve nitrogen utilization, immune competence, growth performance, antioxidant status and milk yield. However, they can also impair fertility, modify hormone profiles and compromise embryo survival in a compound-, dose-, and species-dependent manner. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the botanical and nutritional sources, ruminal metabolism and transfer of phytoestrogens in ruminants, and critically examine their effects on blood metabolites, immune responses, growth and carcass traits and lactational performance and reproductive function. A structured literature search based on PRISMA principles was used to identify and appraise experimental and observational studies in both grazing and intensive production systems up to 2025. Remaining knowledge gaps and practical implications for the safe use of phytoestrogen-rich feeds in livestock production are highlighted. Full article