PEOPLE ▶▶▶


Misset International Misset, publishing house of Pig Progress, recently wel- comed two new faces. An- drea Raemaekers was appointed teamlead inter- national in mid-September. She takes the place of Roel Leferink, who became digit al design and imple- mentation manager at Trouw Nutrition. In addition, on 1 August Rebecca Kwakman joined the international editorial team as content manager in- ternational. She will create content for all Misset Inter- national brands and also strengthen social media use.


University of Illinois For the second year in a row, University of Illinois veteri- nary student Zack Talbert has received the Morrison Swine Innovator Prize. Talbert tested the performance of a fumigation box designed to improve the removal of pathogens from objects entering a swine barn.


Essential Ag Solutions Essential Ag Solutions welcomed Brad Carson as a key account manager. In this role, Carson will develop and ser- vice accounts on a national level to grow business for the company. Carson previously worked for Tonisity, Nedap Livestock Management USA and Bioverse.


Hato Lighting Over the last few months, Hato Lighting in the Netherlands has welcomed four new employees. Renée Gehring joined as marketing sales employee, Maikel Widdershoven was appointed junior controller, Mauranne Hardy was wel- comed as new product management assistant and Marc Kessels joined the company as product manager.


Manuka Biotech Manuka Biotech, a Malaysian business unit of Singao, ap- pointed Yat Lun Mak (Maky) as regional sales manager. He will be responsible for the feed additives company’s commercial outreach and strategic growth.


Amlan International Amlan International appointed Fred H. Kao to the new role of vice president of global sales. The position supports the gut health product line for the global market.


32 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 9, 2020 Sperm vitality extended with sugars?


An international consortium of re- searchers has been looking to find ways to extend the viability of pig se- men using naturally occurring sugars. The team, with researchers from Brazil, USA, India and Russia, identified natu- rally occurring sugars in the oviduct that slow the maturation of pig sperm. If sperm maturation can be slowed, sperm viability could be extended. They published their new paper in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One. The research group had previously shown that in the pig oviduct, before fertilisation, sperm bind to two “gly- cans” motifs (found on oviduct oligo- saccharides) called bi-SiaLN and LeX. In the new study, the team examined the


ability of these glycans to regulate the normal influx of Ca2+


ions into sperm,


which affect their maturation rate and lifespan. “After 24 hours, the viability of sperm bound to immobilised bi-SiaLN and LeX was higher (46% and 41% respectively) compared to the viability of free-swim- ming sperm (10–12%),” the team stated in their paper. The glycan motifs sup- press Ca2+


influx and extend sperm


lifespan but do not affect sperm capaci- tation or motility. In future, these two glycans could be used to conduct sperm fertility testing. They could also be added to the ovi- duct during artificial insemination to increase success.


Precision feed better for environment


Adjusting the nutrients in pig feed to match the actual needs of the animal will result in a much lower burden on the environment. That was the conclu- sion of a study conducted by Wagenin- gen Livestock Research within the EU Feed-a-Gene project. This is conducted in collaboration with 22 international partners. The project focused on im- proving feed conversion for pigs, poul- try and rabbits in different production systems, as well as on reducing the


environmental impact. Researchers fo- cused on feed, the animals’ genetic pre- disposition and how these two aspects may be better aligned. Dr Alfons Jans- man, senior researcher at Wageningen, said, “We researched which processing technologies are best suited to release the nutrients in the feedstock. We con- sidered the palatability of the feed- stock, what part benefits the animal and what part is released into the envi- ronment through excrement and urine.”


PHOTO: MISSET


PHOTO: MISSET


PHOTO: RONALD HISSINK


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