March 2017
Spring Semester is flying by. I love Spring on the Illinois campus. Trees are turning green,
flowers are blooming, and there are signs of new life everywhere. I check my window every day to see if the Morrow Plots have been planted yet. In this issue of “Tails” of Animal
Sciences” we highlight recent events in the Department and accomplishments of some of
our faculty, students, and programs. These “Points of Pride” are an important reminder of
what we do and why it matters. The Department was well represented a couple of weeks
ago in Omaha at the Midwest Meetings of American Society of Animal Science and American Dairy Science Association. Our Quadrathalon Team (advised by Crystal Allen) competed well. Dr. Phil Cardoso received the ADSA Outstanding Young Extension Specialist
Award. PhD students Ben Bohrer (advised by Dr. Boler) and Mario Vailati-Riboni
(advised by Dr. Loor) were named Young Scholars and gave invited presentations. Chloe
Long (advised by Drs. Shike and Felix) took 3rd place in the MS poster competition. Jessie
Kordas (advised by Dr. Shike) took 1st place (out of 18 competitors) in the undergrad oral
research presentations. In addition to this recognition, we had many faculty and students
present papers at the meeting. Scientific peer review is a critical process in the sharing of
research discoveries. This is a very time consuming service activity for faculty. This year
the Journal of Animal Science recognized their Top-10 reviewers. The University of Illinois Animal Sciences Department had 3 faculty in the Top-10! Dr. Hans Stein was number 1 for the second year in a row, Dr. Dustin Boler was number 2, and Dr. Anna Dilger
ranked 6th. Our scientific community owes them a debt of gratitude for this important service. On March 10-11 the department and college held the annual Explore ACES event.
We had over 60 prospective students and their families visit campus. I want to thank
Katelyn Hamlow, Anna Dilger, the Animal Sciences Ambassadors, our clubs, and all the
staff who participated. We held lots of educational events highlighting our programs.
If you are curious about the type of research faculty have been engaged in recently, Jamie
Evans has listed 17 refereed publications that have come out in the past 2 months. We
also highlight the Chronic Wasting Disease research team of Drs. Novakofski, MateusPinilla, and Green. Pretty cool stuff, this animal sciences!
Steve and Spenser
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Dr. Bahr has written an autobiographical article in the Annual Review of
Animal Biosciences entitled My Scientific Journey: From and Agrarian Start to
an Academic Setting. This was published in February 2017.
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-animal-022516022736
Photo Credit: Illini Studios
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCES
Drs. Hans Stein, Dustin Boler, and Anna Dilger were listed in the top 10 reviewers for 2016 Journal
of Animal Sciences.
“Journal of Animal Science (JAS) is the premier journal for animal science and serves as the leading
source of new knowledge and perspective in this area.”
https://www.animalsciencepublications.org/publications/jas
ONLINE DAIRY CLASSES
The dairy on-line classes continue to have record enrollment. AnSci 423 (advanced dairy nutrition)
has 41 enrolled students including students from the U of IL (6), Iowa State University (5),
University of Kentucky, Michigan State University, four veterinarians, University of Minnesota,
Pakistan, Canada, Spain, and New Zealand. The 10 week two credit class is led by Dr. Mike
Hutjens. Dr. Dick Wallace has 25 students enrolled in dairy preventive health management; a one
credit class including students from Japan, Egypt, three veterinarian, U of IL (6), Iowa State,
University of Missouri, and University of Idaho.
Mike’s Newsletter http://go.illinois.edu/dairynews
Online Dairy Classes http://online.ansci.illinois.edu
YouTube Channel http://Go.Illinois.edu/dairy
2017 MIDWEST AMERICAN SOCIETY OF
ANIMAL SCIENCE AND AMERICAN DAIRY
SCIENCE ASSOCIATION MEETINGS
Dr. Phil Cardoso received the Outstanding Young Extension Specialist Award.
(pictured top right)
PhD students Ben Bohrer (advised by Dr. Boler) and Mario Vailati-Riboni (advised by Dr. Loor)
were named Young Scholars and gave invited presentations. (Ben pictured bottom left and
Mario pictured bottom right)
Chloe Long (advised by Drs. Shike and Felix) took 3rd place in the MS poster competition.
(pictured with Dr. Anna Dilger top left)
Jessie Kordas (advised by Dr. Shike) took 1st place (out of 18 competitors) in the undergrad oral
research presentations. (pictured with Dr. Dan Shike bottom middle)
Jessie is our second UG to win a research presentation this year. Nicole Lopez took first place in
the Undergraduate Research Poster Competition at the International Embryo Technology Society's Annual Meeting in Austin, TX in January. Nicole is advised by Dr. Wheeler.
EXPANDING THE REACH OF ANIMAL SCIENCE:
REPRODUCTION IN WHITE-TAILED DEER
There are many aspects of animal science that apply
to native wildlife. An animal scientist may work to
understand how to improve reproductive output of
domestic production animals, while wildlife
biologists seek to understand the natural
reproduction rates of wild populations in order to
improve management and conservation. While the
application of the science differs, animal scientists
and wildlife biologists work in complementary
worlds that can form the basis of strong integrated
projects. In our department, the wildlife-focused
team of Jan Novakofski (animal scientist), Nohra
Mateus-Pinilla (veterinary epidemiologist) and
Michelle Green (wildlife biologist) come together to
study white-tailed deer. This interdisciplinary team
The CWD research team: Jan Novakofski, Nohra Mateus-Pinilla and Michelle
provides students with exposure to integrated
wildlife research and assists them in pursuing their Green. UI News Bureau: L. Brian Stauffer photo
career goals. In an effort to better understand the transmission dynamics of chronic wasting disease and the longterm health of the white-tailed deer herd in Illinois, the group recently investigated the trends in reproduction
among females. The team has extraordinary access to samples through the state of Illinois Department of
Natural Resources that annually collects fetuses from culled deer from January through March, a prime time for
females to be pregnant. The fetuses collected over 10 years were weighed and measured and were accompanied
by data on the age of the mother. After calculating pregnancy rates, litter sizes, fetal growth, sex ratios, and
estimated conception dates, they discovered that maternal age has a major influence on reproduction. Overall,
66% of females were pregnant but when they broke it down by age, they found that 86% and 78% of adults and
yearlings were pregnant but only 21% of fawns were in the same condition. Not only that, but fawns carried
fewer young per litter, typically one although twins were recorded in the study. Adults and yearling females
tended to carry twins and in some cases, adults carried triplets, quadruplets, and rarely quintuplets. The
importance of maternal age continued to be important in fetal growth with fawns carrying smaller fetuses than
adult deer when litter size was taken into account. Fawns may or may not breed in their first year, it depends on
whether they had access to high quality and quantity resources on the landscape. If fawns are not able to access
resources, they will likely delay estrus until the following breeding season. The changing landscape around us
certainly points to spatial variation in fawn reproduction rates, a component of work that is up and coming in the
research lab. And as this all relates back to the concern about chronic wasting disease in Illinois, baseline data in
healthy females generated by this study will provide a way to assess the impacts of disease on female reproduction
in the future.
The paper can be accessed through this link http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S0093691X1730078X
RECENT FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
Devendran S, Mendez-Garcia C, Ridlon JM. Identification and characterization of a 20?-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from
the anaerobic gut bacterium Butyricicoccus desmolans ATCC 43058. Journal of Lipid Research, In Press, 2017.
Sharif M, Silva E, Shah ST, Miller DJ. 2017. Redistribution of soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive-factor attachment protein
receptors in mouse sperm membranes prior to the acrosome reaction. Biol Reprod 96:352-365. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.116.143735,
PMID: 28203732
Supplemental methionine, choline, or taurine alter in vitro gene network expression of polymorphonuclear leukocytes from
neonatal Holstein calves. Abdelmegeid MK, Vailati-Riboni M, Alharti A, Batistel F, Loor JJ. J Dairy Sci. 2017 Feb 1. pii: S0022-0302
(17)30105-4. doi: 10.3168/jds.2016-12025. [Epub ahead of print]
Expression of fatty acid sensing G-protein coupled receptors in peripartal Holstein cows. Agrawal A, Alharthi A, VailatiRiboni M, Zhou Z, Loor JJ. J Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2017 Mar 1;8:20. doi: 10.1186/s40104-017-0150-z.
Maternal supplementation with rumen-protected methionine increases prepartal plasma methionine concentration and alters
hepatic mRNA abundance of 1-carbon, methionine, and transsulfuration pathways in neonatal Holstein calves. Jacometo CB, Zhou Z,
Luchini D, Corrêa MN, Loor JJ. J Dairy Sci. 2017 Feb 1. pii: S0022-0302(17)30091-7. doi: 10.3168/jds.2016-11656. [Epub ahead of
print]
Effects of dietary neutral detergent fiber and starch ratio on rumen epithelial cell morphological structure and gene expression
in dairy cows. Ma L, Zhao M, Zhao LS, Xu JC, Loor JJ, Bu DP. J Dairy Sci. 2017 Mar 8. pii: S0022-0302(17)30211-4. doi: 10.3168/
jds.2016-11772. [Epub ahead of print]
Supplemental Smartamine M in higher-energy diets during the prepartal period improves hepatic biomarkers of health and
oxidative status in Holstein cows. Vailati-Riboni M, Osorio JS, Trevisi E, Luchini D, Loor JJ. J Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2017 Feb 6;8:17.
doi: 10.1186/s40104-017-0147-7.
Short communication: Arginase inhibition reduces the synthesis of casein in bovine mammary epithelial cells. Wang MZ, Ding
LY, Wang C, Chen LM, Loor JJ, Wang HR. J Dairy Sci. 2017 Feb 22. pii: S0022-0302(17)30161-3. doi: 10.3168/jds.2016-118-23. [Epub
ahead of print]
Sulzberger, S., S. Melnichenko, and F.C. Cardoso. (2017). Effects of clay after an aflatoxin challenge on aflatoxin clearance,
milk production, and metabolism of Holstein cows. J. Dairy Sci. 100(3):1856-1869.
Derakhshani, H, H. M. Tun, F. C. Cardoso, J. C. Plaizier, E. Khafipour, and J. J. Loor. (2017). Linking peripartal dynamics of
rumen microbiota to dietary changes and production parameters. Frontiers in Microbiology. 12 January. https://doi.org/10.3389/
fmicb.2016.02143
Kalebich, C. C., M. E. Weatherly, K. N. Robinson, G. M. Fellows, M. R. Murphy, and F.C. Cardoso. (2017). Foliar fungicide
(pyraclostrobin) application effects on plant composition of a silage variety corn. Anim. Feed Sci. Tech. Anim. Feed Sci. Tech. 225:3853.
Cardoso, F. C. 2017. “10 Steps for a successful transition period, part 1” Progressive Dairyman, Jerome – ID. p 54-55, February 25.
Lotti, S.N., Polkoff, K.M., Rubessa, M., Wheeler, M.B. 2017. Modification of the Genome of Domestic Animals. Animal Biotechnology Pages 1-13 Published online:19 Jan 2017.
DOI: 10.1080/10495398.2016.1261874.
Rubessa, M., Polkoff, K., Bionaz, M., Monaco, E., Milner, D.J., Holllister, S.J., Goldwasser, M.S., and Wheeler, M.B. 2017. The
Use of the Pig as a Model for Bone Regeneration. Animal Biotechnology Pages 1-13 | Published online: 07 Mar 2017. DOI:
10.1080/10495398.2017.1279169.
Characterization of variability in pork carcass composition and primal quality
E. K. Arkfeld, D. A. Mohrhauser, D. A. King, T. L. Wheeler, A. C. Dilger, S. D. Shackelford and D. D. Boler
Journal of Animal Science 95 (2) 697-708
A summary review of carcass cutability data comparing primal value of immunologically and physically castrated barrows
B. N. Harsh, B. Cowles, R. C. Johnson, D. S. Pollmann, A. L. Schroeder, A. C. Dilger and D. D. Boler 1
Translational Animal Science 1 (1) 77-89
Richardson, E., Bohrer, B.M., Arkfeld, E.K., Boler, D.D., and Dilger, A.C. (2017). A comparison of intact and degraded desmin in cooked and uncooked pork longissimus thoracis and their relationship to pork quality. Meat Science. doi: 10.1016/
j.meatsci.2017.02.024.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
One of our May 2016 graduates, Micah Tryba, will
be on The Voice this season on NBC.
You can follow her Facebook Page at
https://www.facebook.com/micahtryba.
Congratulations to Weinan Zhou. Weinan’s abstract was recently selected as a Poster of Distinction by the Programming
Committee of the Gastrointestinal & Liver Section of the
APS. Weinan will be honored at the 2017 Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Chicago in April.
Advised by Dr. Megan Dailey
2017 ACADEMIC QUADRATHLON RESULTS
2017 ACADEMIC QUADRATHLON-UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
We had 5 teams compete in the university Academic Quadrathlon (AQ) and the winning team
went go on to compete at the Midwest regional competition in Lincoln, Nebraska in March.
Winning Team-
Sammi Bessler, sophomore
Tessa Cowser, senior
Elaine Richardson, senior
Lauren Urbanowski, senior
2nd Place Team-
Adam Fritz, senior
Logan Honegger, senior
Justin Lewis, senior
William Milashoski, senior
3rd Place team-
Katie Havighorst, senior
Jessie Kordas, senior
AJ Patsavas, senior
Mareah Volk, junior
4th Place Team-
Milos Dordevic, sophomore
April Faulkner, sophomore
Katie Lauder, sophomore
Leonardo Molina, sophomore
5th Place Team-
Tishauna Edwards, sophomore
Aisha Qazi, junior
Olivia Wilson, junior
STUDENT RECOGNITION
Marissa Keever, a student working with Professor Beever, successfully defended her M. S. thesis "Comparison of the Molecular Phenotypes
of Pigs Carrying Different IGF2 Alleles at Four
Development Time Points ". We wish Marissa
success in her pursue of doctoral studies in cancer research.
Stephen Gainey, a student working with Professor Freund, successfully defended his Ph. D.
thesis "Hypoxic immunomodulation results in
increased disease risk and altered behavior via
non-canonical pathways". We wish Stephen success pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry after relocating to St. Louis, MO.
Congratulations Marissa!
Congratulations Stephen!
Samantha Lotti, a student working with Professor Wheeler, successfully defended her M. S.
thesis "Using CRISPR/Cas9 to modify the genome of cattle ". We wish Sammi success in her
research scientist position at the Seattle Children's Research Hospital.
Congratulations Sammi!
SPRING 2017 ACADEMIC DEADLINES
DATE
DEADLINE
Monday, April 3
Priority registration for summer and fall begins
Friday, April 14
Last day to drop or C/NC second eight-week course
Monday, April 24
Open enrollment begins for eligible students
Wednesday, May 3
Last day of class
Thursday, May 4
Reading Day (no classes, no final exams)
May 5 -12
Final exams
Department of Animal Sciences
Animal Sciences Laboratory
1207 West Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801
217-333-3131
[email protected]