The energy value of foods as well as energy requirements of dogs and cats is currently expressed in terms of metabolizable energy (ME). The determination of ME content of foods requires experimental animals and is too expensive and time consuming to be used routinely. Consequently, different indirect methods have been proposed in order to estimate as reliably an accurately as possible the ME content of pet food. This work analyses the main approaches proposed to date to estimate the ME […]

Following the development of more accurate methods for lipid evaluation, various compounds have been discovered and studied as a way to improve and enrich diets to meet the animal requirements. Triglycerides are the major lipid component of diets and source of fatty acids that are used in the synthesis of important compounds as phospholipids. The fatty acids from phospholipids play a fundamental role in cell signaling and are substrates for specific enzymes in the synthesis of immune response mediators. Several […]

Major gaps in knowledge on fish larval nutritional requirements still remain, what leads to high mortalities and quality problems in marine larviculture. This paper reviews a range of new tools, such as tracer studies, population genomics, nutritional programming, functional genomics and proteomics, as well as some examples of their present use, and potential future applications in the study of fish larvae nutrition.

This work presents a conceptual analysis of the main biotechnologies used in Chilean salmoniculture, which is based on the production of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, 356.407 t),silver salmon or coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch, 116.481 t), (O. tshawytscha, 2.062 t) and rainbow trout (O. mykiss, 189.178 t).These activities are focused on the photoperiod artificial manipulation to obtain out-of-season spawning, in the use of hormonal therapies which allow synchronizing the final oocyte maturation (FOM) and sexual maturity acceleration or the increase in milt […]

Selection of potential ingredients for feed formulation for any fish species requires knowledge of the apparent digestibility coefficients of energy and nutrients. The nutritive value of various ingredients has been investigated in Brazil and alternative source is must support similar fish performance and no adverse effects on fish health and the environment. Several factors can affect nutrient digestibility and the apparent digestibility coefficients of wide range of feed ingredients should be used for more accurate and economical feed formulation.

The project aims at giving a technological upgrade to Brazilian aquaculture to attend the demands of the productive chain. The research focus in obtaining genetically improved fishes; in developing environmental friendly feeds of high zootechnical performance; and in implementing the integrated sanitary control in production systems. The adoption of “Best Management Practices” (BPMs) in aqualcuture systems will assure the production of good quality fishes and shrimps with higher market prices. The AQUABRASIL project involves more than 70 researchers of eleven […]

Increased movement toward alliances and grid pricing in the U.S. has led to an increase interest in genetic values for carcass traits. The literature suggests that carcass genetic values are an effective tool to enhance selection for carcass traits, and that it is possible to select sires within a breed that can increase marbling score without adversely affecting external fat thickness or percent retail product relative to the breed mean. Ultrasound has been investigated as a cheaper means of collecting […]

The first studies to identify, characterize and use molecular markers to characterize genetic resources and generate tools for animal breeding and management date from the end of the 80s. In the last 20 years the technologies to generate molecular data went through several innovation cycles. The last wave of technological innovations represents a true revolution, bringing methods to identify and genotype SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) markers in large scale. High density DNA chips were generated to genotype from tens of […]

Data strongly influenced by factors not accounted for by the statistical model can bias estimates of genetic parameters and values. Moreover, several traits of economic importance do not follow a normal distribution or have censored data. The objective of this study is to describe and illustrate the application of hierarchical Bayesian models for the detection and muting of outliers and for the analysis of censored data. First, the traditional specification of the animal model in hierarchical stages is presented under […]

The confinement reactivity (CR) has been used as a measure of temperament in Brazil and it is defined as the animal reaction when contained in the scale. It is quantified through the animal reactivity test – REATEST®. This test consists of an electronic device coupled to the scale and of specific software. The device captures the movement that the animal provokes in the scale, during 20 seconds and sends it for the software that processes this movement and determines the […]