In this study, we compared cross-bred dairy cows in the Susa Valley (Piedmont, northern Italy), reared either near a high-temperature steel production plant (Farms A and B) or in an industry-free area (control). Exposed cows (n 5 36) were selected based on mean bulk milk toxic equivalent values of polychlorodibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and dioxinlike (DL) polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs) equal to 18.56 pg/g fat and 8.56 pg/g of fat in dairy cows from Farms A and B, respectively, exceeding both those permitted by the legislation in force (6 pg/g fat PCDDs and DL-PCDFs/PCBs), and those measured in dairy cows (n 5 19) of the farm used as control (1.75 pg/g of fat PCDDs and DL-PCDFs/PCBs). Two types of peripheral blood cell cultures were performed: without (normal cultures for the chromosome abnormality (CA)-test: gaps, chromatid breaks, chromosome breaks and fragments) and with addition of bromodeoxyuridine [for the sister chromatid exchange (SCE)-test]. Both tests revealed a significant (P £ 0.05) higher chromosome fragility in the exposed cattle compared to controls: CA/cell mean values (without gaps) were 0.65 6 0.91, 0 51 6 0.81 and 0.13 6 0.39 in Farms A, B and controls, respectively, while SCE/cell mean values were 7.00 6 2.88, 6.39 6 2.80 and 5.29 6 2.51. Although the role of other pollutants (e.g. heavy metals) in the genesis of the recorded chromosome alterations cannot be ruled out, our results confirm the findings of previous research into dioxin-exposed sheep.

The increasing use of genetically modified (GM) feeds has aroused many concerns in Europe. The possibility to replace soybean in livestock feedstuffs has led to revalue the use of legume grains such as pea (Pisum sativum), lupin (Lupinus albus) and field bean (Vicia faba var. minor). The use of the these legume grains may lower the European dependence of protein rich feeds. The cultivation of legume grains is economically feasible and is widely practiced in South Italy due to the favorable land and climatic conditions and accordingly to the EU provisions on crop rotation. This study was planned in order to evaluate the influence of a diet containing a variety of pea (Pisum sativum L., var. Corallo) commonly cultivated in South Italy as alternative to a traditional soybean meal based feed on the productive performances and meat quality traits in heavy lambs of two local Merino crossbreeds. The experiment was conducted using two different Merino ethnic groups of 20 male lambs each: “Merinizzata Cavone” (MC) and “Merinizzata Leccese” (ML). All the lambs were raised traditionally with their dams suckling milk until the age of 50 days and then they were weaned using a commercial weaning feed for a week. The lambs of each genetic pool were divided into two homogeneous groups (No. = 10) and fed with one of the two pelletted rations containing: a) soybean meal (SBM) or b) pea feed (PF). Lambs were slaughtered altogether at the age of 100 days. The results show that pea may be successfully used in lamb diets providing satisfactory results in terms of growth performance and meat quality. The MC group has shown good results in terms of lamb growth along with meat yield and quality. This genotype deserves additional investigation in order to get further insight on the response of animals to dietary treatments, that is extremely variable in lamb breeds commonly used for meat production in South Italy.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with extruded linseed and linseed oil on the productive performances of Gentile di Puglia breed lambs slaughtered at about 90 days of age and on meat quality traits of the muscles Longissimus lumborum (Ll) and Semimembranosus (Sm) before and after cooking. Thirty male lambs were divided into three homogeneous groups (n = 10) fed the following diets for six weeks: Control (C) - commercial feed containing soybean meal (16%) and soybean oil (3%); LE - feed containing extruded linseed (9%) in total replacement of soybean oil and partial replacement of soybean meal (10 vs 16%); OL - feed containing linseed oil (3%) instead of soybean oil. The diets didn’t affect neither the in vitam nor the post mortem performances. Overall, the fatty acid profile was significantly improved by the experimental diets for both the muscles examined and for raw and cooked meat. The LE diet significantly (P<0.01) increased the α-linolenic acid (C18: 3 ω3) content in the Ll muscle compared to OR and C groups, in both raw and cooked samples. The LE and OL diets markedly increased the ω3 fatty acid content in the raw as well as in the cooked meat. Consequently, the ω6/ω3 ratio in the Ll samples was much better for the LE and OL groups compared to the Control and below the recommended value of 4 for the protection of human health. The results obtained for the Sm muscle globally show the same trend found for the Ll muscle, thus confirming the positive effects following the use of extruded linseed in the diet for growing lambs.

In mammals, T cells develop along two discrete pathways characterized by expression of either the αβ or the γδ T cell receptors. Human and mouse display a low peripheral blood γδ T cell percentage ("γδ low species") while sheep, bovine and pig accounts for a high proportion of γδ T lymphocytes ("γδ high species"). While the T cell receptor alpha (TRA) and delta (TRD) genes and the genomic organization of the TRA/TRD locus has been determined in human and mouse, this information is still poorly known in artiodactyl species, such as sheep.