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Abstract Background Research into the genetic diversity of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) populations has become increasingly significant in recent decades, primarily due to population declines attributed to human activities and climate change. As a species of great importance, breeding programs that leverage understanding of genomic diversity could offer solutions to mitigate these challenges. The objective of this study was to examine the genomic diversity and population structure of Carniolan honey bees (Apis mellifera carnica) using the Illumina SNP chip on a large honey bee sample collected from Central and South-Eastern European countries. The study also aims to offer recommendations for future breeding programs. Results Our analysis involved Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC), heterozygosity, admixture analysis, fixation indices (FST), Neighbour-Joining tree, gene flow and Isolation-by-distance analysis. DAPC indicated distinct separation between the Carniolan and Italian honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica) populations, whereas the admixture analysis revealed varying levels of gene flow and genetic admixture within the Carniolan honey bee populations, demonstrating closer relationships between specific geographic regions (confirmed by Isolation-by-distance analysis). Furthermore, the research of heterozygosity, genomic inbreeding, pairwise FST values, and Neighbour-Joining tree provided insights into the patterns of genetic differentiation and similarity among the populations of Carniolan honey bee within its natural habitat. We have observed genetic homogeneity of the Carniolan honey bee population when considered in a broader genetic/geographical context. However, the Carniolan honey bee has sufficient genetic diversity in its geographical home range that needs to be carefully monitored and maintained. Conclusions This study provides important insights into the genetic composition, differentiation, and relationships among Carniolan honey bee populations in Central and South-Eastern European countries. The findings are crucial for conservation efforts, breeding programs, and sustainable beekeeping practices. They emphasise the importance of considering genetic factors and population structure in the breeding and management of honey bees. By understanding these genetic relationships, we can develop strategies to preserve genetic diversity, improve breeding outcomes, and ensure the resilience of honey bee populations in the face of environmental changes and challenges. This knowledge can also inform policy makers and stakeholders on best practices to maintain healthy bee populations, which are vital for ecosystem services and agricultural productivity.

Nephrolithiasis is a pathological condition characterized by the formation of solid crystals in the kidneys or other parts of urinary tract. Kidney stones are a serious public health issue and financial burden for health care system, as well as a painful and uncomfortable condition for patients, resulting in renal tissue injury in severe cases. Dietary habits, low fluid and high salt intake predominantly, contribute to the development of kidney stones. Current research suggests that polyphenols have a protective effect in the pathogenesis of kidney stones. Polyphenols are a group of naturally occurring compounds found in plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, tea, and coffee. In this review, we explore mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of polyphenols, such as oxidative stress reduction and modulation of inflammatory pathways, in various in vitro models of nephrolithiasis. Additionally, certain polyphenols, such as catechins found in green tea, have been shown to inhibit the formation and growth of kidney stones in animal studies. This review highlights the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as the inhibition of crystal formation, as results of polyphenol treatment in vitro. Further research is required to determine the specific effects of polyphenols on kidney stone formation in humans; however, current knowledge implicates that incorporating a variety of polyphenol-rich foods into the diet may be a beneficial strategy for individuals at risk of developing nephrolithiasis.

Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease characterized by excessive thyroid hormone production. One of the consequences of that state can be a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD). Graves’ disease is often treated with antithyroid drugs (ATD) as first line therapy, which can lead to disease remission. Moreover, recent data show that improvement in BMD can be expected. However, vitamin D deficiency can coexist along with Graves’ disease, which is also involved in the process of bone remodeling. It is still not known whether lower values of vitamin D can contribute to onset of Graves’ disease and if its supplementation might be helpful in therapy for hyperthyroidism. In the past couple of decades, osteopenia and osteoporosis have become a major health burden not only in post-menopausal women but also as a result of other diseases, leading to extensive research into various pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for bone remodeling. The Wnt (wingless integrated) signaling pathway is a very important factor in bone homeostasis, especially the canonical pathway. Present data indicate that stimulation of the Wnt pathway leads to bone mass increase and, in contrast, its inhibition leads to bone mass decrease. Hence, inhibitors of the canonical Wnt pathway became the focus of interest, in particular sclerostin and dickkopf 1 (DKK1). Hyperthyroidism and osteopenia/osteoporosis are quite common today and can coexist together or as separate entities. In this article, we aimed to give an overview of possible associations and potential mutual pathophysiological mechanisms.

The objective of this paper was to study variability, heritability and correlation of the three production traits in 1409 first-calf heifers of Holstein-Friesian breed; including the determination of the quantity of milk during lactation (ML), the quantity of milk fat during lactation (MM) and the quantity of protein during lactation (PR). According to the obtained results it could be concluded that there were statistically significant differences (P0.05) on variability of any of the examined traits, while the farm on which animals were raised had no effect (P>0.05) on MM, and year and age at first calving did not demonstrate (P>0.05) statistically significant effect on ML and PR. By applying the animal model, based on the use of kinship matrix which involved 3867 animals, by help of REML methodology following heritability coefficients were evaluated: ML h2= 0.25; MM h2= 0.40; PR h2= 0.37. Coefficients determined for genetic and phenotypic correlations indicated existence of complete and positive correlations between these traits the interval of values being from rg = 0.96 between ML and MM to rg = 1.00 between ML and PR.

Srednjoročna simulacija razvoja glavnih agrarno-političkih pokazatelja tržišta goveđega mesa u Hrvatskoj do 2030. godine izrađena je putem modela parcijalne ravnoteže AGMEMOD (AGricultural MEmber State MODeling). Rezultati modela do kraja simuliranoga razdoblja, uz pretpostavku nastavka postojećih mjera i instrumenata Zajedničke poljoprivredne politike, potvrđuju razvoj negativnih trendova u sklopu tržišta goveđega mesa uočenih pregledom povijesnih podataka. Do kraja simuliranoga razdoblja očekuje se smanjenje ukupnoga broja goveda za 8,63% i proizvodnje goveđega mesa za 24,46%, dok domaća potrošnja raste za 25,91%. Negativni proizvodni pokazatelji uz rastuću domaću potrošnju mogli bi uzrokovati rast uvoza goveđega mesa za 82,68%, uz stupanj samodostatnosti od 49% do 2030. godine. Cijena goveđega mesa od ulaska Hrvatske u Europsku uniju je stabilna, te se stabilan razvoj, uz blagi trend smanjenja, očekuje do kraja simuliranoga razdoblja.

The objective of this study was to compare the psysico-chemical composition and fatty acid (FFA) profile of traditional dry cured bacon Slavonska slanina, produced from the authentic Black Slavonian Pig (BP) and modern pigs (MP), using traditional homemade principles. The samples of Slavonska slanina produced from BP had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher fat content (78.32%) than the samples produced from MP (46.47%), while the samples produced from MP showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) protein and moisture content. The samples produced from BP also showed lower aw and salt content but higher pH. Determination of fatty acid composition was performed at the end of the production process. The composition of fatty acids with respect to the groups of saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids was determined, as well as the ratios n-6/n-3 and PUFA/SFA. The results of fatty acid composition determination of Slavonska slanina produced from BP and MP show that oleic acid (C18: 1n9) is the most dominant fatty acid from the MUFA group (47.02 and 46.25%), the most common SFA acid was palmitic acid (C16: 0) (23.44 and 24.96%), and PUFA linoleic acid (C18: 2n-6c) (10.76 and 9.74%). The genotype had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the SFA and USFA composition of Slavonska slanina. The ratios PUFA/SFA (0.34–0.28) and n-6/n-3 (31.84–27.34) for samples of Slavonska slanina produced from BP and MP are in concordance with previously published data for different dry cured meat products, and do not comply with the nutritionally recommended values of international health organizations (PUFA/SFA > 0.4 and n-6/n-3 < 4).

The extraction of amplifiable DNA is a crucial step for genetic analysis of farm animals. The aim of present study was to determine the quality and the quantity of DNA extracted from blood, milk, hair and tissue in cattle. It has been shown that milk and hair samples can be used as a reliable source for obtaining good quality and quantity of DNA ready for the next generation sequencing (NGS). Commercially available kit, with several modifications, was included in the evaluation. Raw milk or milk somatic cell pellet storage under -80 °C or -20 °C has shown to be a reliable procedure for preservation when large number of milk samples were collected at once. The quality (purity) and the quantity of extracted DNA were measured using a nanophotometer. The adequacy of the DNA extract was assessed by estimating average read depth of all captured bases of whole NGS mitogenome sequences. Although DNA extracted from different types of samples was suitable for NGS analysis, hair samples showed the largest variation of DNA quantity, low purity and DNA integrity. Non-invasive sampling methods such as milk and hair collection can be used for dairy cattle while sampling from free-range requires handling, capturing and caution. Milk and hair can be used for obtaining optimal DNA concentrations for NGS analysis.

Assessment of the heritability coefficients of longevity traits in the population of Black and White cows was performed on a data set that included production results of 16,539 of black and white culled cows, which reached a total of 50,382 lactations in the period from 1985 to 2012. The cows were grown on 7 farms of the Agricultural Corporation Belgrade and are progeny of 277 bulls. The analysis covered the following traits: length of productive life (LPL), lifetime milk yield (LMY) and number of lactations (NL). Variance components of longevity traits were estimated using a BLUP linear mixed model with animal as a random effect. Cows included in the analysis calved for the first time in the average age of 26.86 months, while the average length of productive life amounted to 1,299.9 days and during that time the animals achieved an average of 3.04 lactations and life time production of 21,016 kg of milk. The values of the heritability coefficients of longevity traits ranged from 0.066; 0.061 and 0.074 regarding the length of productive life, lifetime milk yield and number of lactations respectively.

Over many years castration of male pigs has been a common zootechnical practice performed in order to avoid boar taint or offensive odour of pork found in sexually mature boars. As castration of animals in intensive livestock production has been receiving criticism from international organizations for animal protection and welfare in the last decade, male pigs should be castrated with anesthesia in order to perform the procedure in a less painful and stressful way. Along with boar taint, boar production is accompanied by some other important advantages and disadvantages. Hence, there is a need for a detailed research of this kind of production. The main substances accumulated in the fat of male pigs that cause boar taint are androstenone and skatole. In this scientific review, physiological and zootechnical factors responsible for the development of boar taint and the possibilities of its prevention in the Republic of Croatia will be presented.

The aim of this study was to identify frequencies of alleles and genotypes, to evaluate their frequency in population of Holstein-Friesian cows, and to investigate association of κ-casein genotypes with longevity and lifetime production of cows. Blood samples were collected from 192 Holstein cows which have finished their production. Cows were reared at one farm in Vojvodina in Serbia. In the current study the following ratios of κ-casein genotypes were found: 0.50 were AA, 0.40 were AB and 0.10 were BB. Frequencies of alleles A and B were 0.70 and 0.30, respectively. Based on these results, it can be concluded that cows with heterozygous genotype AB had the longest life (2809 days) with the highest number of productive days (2062), while the cows which were homozygous recessive of genotype BB had the shortest life expectancy (2627 days) and the lowest number productive days (1878). The same trend was observed with regard to the production results of cows of these genotypes, where statistically significant differences have been observed (P0.05). The effect of dominant genes in observed traits was greater than the additive effect of genes. From the ratio of the additive and dominant gene effects, it can be seen that the average degree of dominance in observed traits was positive.

As Black Slavonian pig was forgotten and replaced by commercial hybrid pigs, after mid 1950s population declined drastically. Today’s population was founded from 46 sows and 6 boars in 1996 while currently consist of 1064 sows and 163 boars. Aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic structure and genetic variability in autochthonous Black Slavonian pig breed using pedigree. The quality of the pedigree information was evaluated by percentage of known ancestors, which was about 35.16%. Increase in pedigree completeness over the years is evident. Number of inbred Black Slavonian animals was 1695. Average inbreeding was 3.2%, with evident growth observed by year. Effective number of founders was 50.8 for males and 51.1 for females. Effective number of ancestors was, 35.8 for male and 34.8 for female animals, respectively. The proportion of the genes contributed to the reference population of males and females by the most important ancestor was 7.1% and 9.1%. The first 15 ancestors for males and 12 for females explained around 50% variability in the gene pool. Average effective population size via number of parents for the last 10 years of Black Slavonian pig is 189.2. In order to perform proper selection decisions, additional work should be done to increase the quality of pedigree data affecting the reliability of estimated parameters and genetic structure of the population.

This study was focused on genetic evaluation of longevity in Croatian Simmental cattle using linear and survival models. The main objective was to create a genetic model that is most appropriate to describe the longevity data. Survival analysis, using piecewise Weibull proportional hazards model, used all information on the length of productive life including censored as well as uncensored observations. Linear models considered culled animals only. The relative milk production within herd had a highest impact on cows’ longevity. In comparison of estimated genetic parameters among methods, survival analysis yielded higher heritability value (0.075) than linear sire (0.037) and linear animal model (0.056). When linear models were used, genetic trend of Simmental bulls for longevity was slightly increasing over the years, unlike a decreasing trend in case of survival analysis methodology. Average reliability of bulls’ breeding values was higher in case of survival analysis. The rank correlations between survival analysis and linear models bulls’ breeding values for longevity were ranged between 0.44 and 0.46 implying huge differences in ranking of sires.

Comparison of productive parameters of two analyzed groups (the first generation of imported gilts and the gilts born on the domestic farm) was conducted on a nucleus farm that imported the gilt lines from the TOPIGS breeding program. For the purposes of the nucleus pig farm, TOPIGS gilts were imported from Netherlands. The nucleus farm where the analysis of the two groups’ productive parameters was conducted imported the ancestral and grandfather lines to produce the parenting generation TOPIGS 40 sows which are bred with a Pietrain line of boars. The TOPIGS 40 sow is an animal based on A-line and B-line characterized by high fertility rate, excellent maternal characteristics, good capacity for growth, and quality meaty body. The analysis of productive parameters of the two observed groups of gilts (the first generation of 105 imported gilts and 88 gilts born on the domestic farm) resulted in significantly higher number of total born, born alive and weaned piglets after the first farrowing (P

The aim of this study was to compare different statistical methods for the estimation of daily and 305-day lactation milk, fat and protein yields of Holstein and Simmental cattle breeds using an alternative milk recording scheme. Data included 6,824 individual test-day milk yield records collected according to the A4 milk recording method on 668 cows reared on 15 family farms. Daily milk, fat and protein yields were estimated using several statistical methods with regard to breed. The 305-day lactation yields were calculated from estimated daily yields using the Test Interval Method. The correlation between estimated and true yields, as well as the mean difference among estimated and true yield were used as the evaluation criteria for estimation methods. The linear regression of daily to partial milk, fat and protein yields while taking into account the interval between successive milkings was shown to be the most accurate model for estimating daily values, either from morning or evening records. The simple doubling of morning or evening records overestimated and underestimated the daily yields, respectively. When 305-day lactation milk, fat and protein yields were compared no difference between evaluated methods were found. Also, a separate estimation of daily and 305-day lactation yields according to breeds did not result in increased estimation accuracy.

Different AT milk recording schemes, with purpose of detection of scheme with the highest lactation milk yields prediction accuracy as well as with simplest practice application, were compared in this study. Analysed data were collected from November 2004 till November 2006 on 15 family farms in Croatia according to A4 milk recording scheme by the field assistants of the Croatian Livestock Centre. Measuring at test-day included measurement of milk yield and taking one sample for milk composition analysis at each milking (evening and morning). During research, total of 769 cows were included in research. More than 50 % of all cows were Holstein breed (58.9 %), while the rest of the cows belonged to the Simmental breed. For prediction of daily milk yields two methods were used: M I. = linear regression of daily on partial values with taking into account the interval between successive milkings; M II. = doubling of partial values. The Test Interval Method (TIM) was used for prediction of lactation values. As evaluation criteria for comparison of schemes, correlation and difference between estimated and true milk yields were used. Scheme S II., that is use of first morning, then evening test-day record, in case of doubling the partial yields, showed as scheme with the highest prediction accuracy. Regardless of milk recording scheme, use of method M I. in daily milk yields prediction, resulted in high accuracy and low milk yields, milk fat and protein bias prediction in standard lactation. Research results implicate the use of method M I. in daily milk yields prediction, as well as possibility of different AT milk recording schemes combination in practice.