Comparative analysis of cattle breeds as satellite cells donors for cultured beef

Background: Cultured meat is a promising new field with the potential for considerable environmental and animal welfare benefits. One technological approach to cultured meat production utilises the proliferative and differentiative capacity of muscle-derived satellite cells (SCs) to produce large volumes of cultured muscle tissue from small biopsies of donor animals. Differing genotypes between cattle breeds lead to predictable phenotypic traits, resulting in breeds being favoured for their respective meat or milk production characteristics in the livestock industry. However, whilst these breeds show significant differences in muscle growth, it is unclear whether the physiological differences observed between them in vivo are reflected in differences in SC behaviour in vitro, particularly with respect to proliferation, differentiation and cellular longevity, and hence whether particular breeds might represent preferred SC donors for a cultured beef bioprocess. Results: Comparing SCs isolated from five breeds (Belgian Blue, Holstein Friesian, Galloway, Limousin and Simmental), we found that the proliferation rates were largely unaffected by the donor breed. In contrast, potentially meaningful differences were observed in the kinetics and extent of myogenic differentiation. Furthermore, whilst differentiation dropped for all breeds with increasing population doublings (PDs), SCs from Belgian Blue and Limousin cattle showed significantly longer retention of differentiation capacity over long-term passaging. Conclusion: SCs from all breeds were able to proliferate and differentiate, although Limousin and (particularly) Belgian Blue cattle, both breeds commonly used for traditional meat production, may represent preferred donors for cultured beef production.

Global Research Trends on the Use of Nanotechnology to Boost Meat Production: A Scientometric Analysis

Meat production plays a vital socioeconomic role for sustainable development and for promoting food security in most countries. However, not much is known about research agendas done globally and the advancement of knowledge-generating networks in this area of study. The present study aims to reveal and analyze scientific research outputs on meat production linked with recent nanotechnology research work done till date. A compilation of research advancement and development within the sphere was realized through a scientometric study to comprehend the trend of research outputs, scientific impacts, authors' involvement, collaboration networks, and the advancement of knowledge gaps for future research endeavors on the current subject matter. Scholarly published articles were retrieved from the web of science (WOS) and Scopus databases from 1985 to 2020 and they were merged together using bibliometric package in R studio. All duplicated articles (438) from both data bases were excluded. A combination of terms (nano* AND (livestock* OR meat* OR beef* OR mutton* OR pork* OR chevon* OR chicken* OR turkey*)), and conversely analyzed for scientometric indices. A collection of 656 peer-reviewed, research articles were retrieved for the study period and authored by 2,133 researchers with a collaboration index of 3.31. The research outputs were highest in the year 2020 with total research outputs of 140 articles. The topmost three authors' keywords commonly used by authors were nanoparticles, meat, and chitosan with a respective frequency of 75, 62, and 57. China, Iran, and India ranked top in terms of meat production research outputs linked to nanotechnology and total citation with respective article productivity (total citations) of 160 (3,193), 111 (1,765), and 37 (552). Our findings revealed an increasing trend in research (with an annual growth rate of 25.18%) tending toward advancing meat production with the use of nanotechnology. Likewise, there is an increasing pointer to the fact that research work on nanotechnology and meat production has the prospect to influence positively, decision-making on research direction, and collaborations, hereby increasing the production of meat and its products in the future.

Agroecology Is Affecting Village Chicken Producers’ Breeding Objective in Ethiopia

This study assessed factors that determine village chicken producers’ trait preferences in different agroecologies of Ethiopia. Three hundred and eighty village chicken producers were sampled for individual interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Inbreeding coefficients of chicken populations in the three major agroecologies were estimated. In addition, the multivariate regression model was employed to evaluate the degree to which agroecological difference and socioeconomic and institutional factors impact village chicken producers’ trait preferences. Egg and meat production for consumption and income generation were the three major village chicken production functions in the study. Plumage color and weight were ranked first for male and female chicken, respectively. Red plumage color (52.4%) was the primary choice followed by white color (24.5%). Agroecology and livestock holding (TLU) significantly ( P < 0.05 ) affected farmers’ preference toward economic traits, while land holding significantly ( P < 0.05 ) affected reproductive traits. Distance to market significantly ( P < 0.05 ) affected farmers’ preference toward adaptive traits. The inbreeding coefficient of 0.25, 0.23, and 0.06 was recorded in low, mid, and highland agroecologies, respectively. The agroecological difference is affecting village chicken producers’ breeding objective in Ethiopia. A higher inbreeding coefficient was observed in the low and mid agroecologies. Future breed improvement programs should give due consideration to village chicken producers’ socioeconomic characteristics and agroecological differences.

Identifying Consumer Groups and Their Characteristics Based on Their Willingness to Engage with Cultured Meat: A Comparison of Four European Countries

Cultured meat, as a product of recent advancement in food technology, might become a viable alternative source of protein to traditional meat. As such, cultured meat production is disruptive as it has the potential to change the demand for traditional meats. Moreover, it has been claimed it can be more sustainable regarding the environment and that it is, perhaps, a solution to animal welfare issues. This study aimed at investigating associations between the consumer groups and demographic and psychographic factors as well as identifying distinct consumer groups based on their current willingness to engage with cultured meat. Four European countries were studied: the Netherlands (NL), the United Kingdom (UK), France (FR) and Spain (ES). A sample of 1291 responses from all four countries was collected between February 2017 and March 2019. Cluster analysis was used, resulting in three groups in the NL and UK, and two groups in FR and ES. The results suggest that Dutch consumers are the most willing to engage with cultured meat. Food neophobia and food technology neophobia seem to distinguish the groups the clearest. Moreover, there is some evidence that food cultural differences among the four countries seem to be also influencing consumers’ decision.

STATISTICAL STUDY OF SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE AT THE MESO-LEVEL

Significant transformations in the Russian economy in 1990-2000 negatively affected the development of agriculture. The number of workers in the industry has declined, and the production of some types of products has dropped to catastrophic levels. In this regard, we consider it timely and necessary to conduct a statistical study of the state of the industry at the meso-level and the factors that influence it. The aim of the research is to study the development of agriculture at the meso-level in the historical aspect based on statistical methods for assessing the current and forecasting future states. The object of research is Orenburg region and its municipalities, which is due to a number of reasons: the region occupies a stable leading position in the agriculture of Volga Federal District; the industry’s contribution to GRP is about 8%; municipalities of the region are in unequal conditions that affect the development of agriculture in the region. The development of crop production in Orenburg region in 1991-2019 characterized by an increase in sunflower production and a lateral trend in gross grain harvest, while the production of silage, annual and perennial grasses significantly decreased. The lack of a forage base against the background of low early maturity led to a significant reduction in the number of cattle - this negatively affected milk production in the region. Meat production managed to keep from falling only due to the growth of poultry population. The construction of regression models based on panel data covering 35 municipalities (period 2000-2019 and 5 variables) showed that three factors influence the volume of agricultural production - the availability of acreage, investment in fixed assets and the number of cattle. The constructed statistically significant regression model with fixed effects indicates a stable structure of producers and the presence of hidden factors. This determines the direction of further research, which consists in identifying latent variables that have a significant impact on the development of the region’s industry

Morphological, Biochemical and Genotypic Analysis of Zoonotic Campylobacter jejuni Isolated from Chicken Meat Samples

Background: Campylobacter species are a leading cause of most important food-borne diarrhoeal illness worldwide while, poultry has been identified as a significant cause of Campylobacter infection in humans. C. jejuni is highly effective in colonizing chicken intestinal mucosa without causing any clinical manifestations and the consumption of poultry meat is the major source of transmission of bacteria to humans. Methods: The total of 19 chicken meat samples collected from retail markets in Chennai were screened by cultural examination, further subjected to phenotypic characterization using biochemical test and genotypic characterization using polymerase chain reaction assay targeting hip O and map A genes. Result: All the isolates showed growth on modified blood free charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar media (mCCDA) and 18 (94.73%) samples showed typical morphological characteristics. The 12 (63.15%) isolates showed biochemical reactions positive. The results from polymerase chain reaction showed that 10 (83.33%) isolates were positive for C. jejuni. This study suggested that, it is essential to investigate the incidence of Campylobacter jejuni infection in poultry and the risk factors at all production stages of meat production to help reducing the disease in humans in terms of food safety.

Exploring Yak (Bos grunniens) Rumen Bacterial and Fungal Communities from 5 Days after Birth to Adulthood

The gut microbial community of mammals, especially ruminants, plays an important role at different ages of the host. Ruminants have a unique compartment in their digestive tract; the rumen, comprising microorganisms that can effectively decompose plant fibers for the host to transform into milk and for growth and development, which is important for meat production. Colonization of rumen microorganisms is closely related to host developmental stage and affects host performance production. There is little information regarding initial colonization and subsequent changes of the rumen microbial population in wild grazing animals, from birth to adulthood. This study investigated the rumen bacterial and fungal populations of grazing yaks in five experimental groups, ranging from a few days after birth to adulthood using amplicon sequencing. Results indicated that rumen microbial communities of these yaks undergo a gradual change from 5 to 180 days after birth, with the bacterial and fungal diversity stabilizing at the age of 2 years. Additionally, Ruminococcus was detected in 5-day-old yak rumens, with a high percentage of Penicillium and other microbial species are important for normal rumen function detected in the adult rumen. The changes to the yak rumen microbial community after birth were reflected in the increased anaerobic fiber degradation group, and decreased aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria. Microbial diversity and abundance in the yak rumen increased with age. Rumen microbial composition of 6-month and 2-year-old yaks had obvious homogeneity. There were some differences in dominant rumen microorganisms among the different age groups. Further studies are required to confirm the functions of these differential and dominant microorganisms in each age group.