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Background and Aim: Dietary supplements play pivotal roles in promoting productive and reproductive performance in ruminant animals. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effects of extruded flaxseed and Salmate ® (Ballard Group, Inc, OH, USA) inclusion in diets on milk yield and composition, ruminal degradation and fermentation, and flow of fluids and digesta in lactating cattle., Materials and Methods: Six rumen-fistulated Holstein lactating cows were distributed to a 6 × 6 design of Latin square (L.S.). The groups were assorted into a control group fed a basal control diet and two treated groups fed diets containing extruded flaxseed (7.0%) or Salmate ® (25 g/head/day). The basal control, extruded flaxseed, and Salmate ® diets were formulated as isonitrogenous and isoenergetic. Each L.S. period of the group comprised 21 days, including 10 days for adaptation to the diet and 11 days for data sampling and recording., Results: Feed intake did not differ among the control, extruded flaxseed, and Salmate ® groups. Milk yield (kg) and protein and fat composition (%) were improved on feeding the extruded flaxseed diet compared with the Salmate ® and control diets. Extruded flaxseed or Salmate ® diet had no effect on the values of ruminal pH, ammonia, and volatile fatty acids except isobutyrate, which decreased in the Salmate ® group. Degradable efficiency and ruminal digestibility were significantly decreased with the inclusion of extruded flaxseed and/or Salmate ® in the diets. The extruded flaxseed and Salmate ® groups had a greater digesta passage rate than the control group. The extruded flaxseed and control groups had a greater liquid passage rate than the Salmate ® group., Conclusion: The inclusion of extruded flaxseed in the diet improved (p < 0.05) milk yield, milk composition, and milk Omega-6: Omega-3 ratio with no changes in ruminal fermentation, notable negative effects on degradable efficiency and ruminal digestibility., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Al-Saiady, et al.)

Maturation conditions and oocytes quality have substantial roles on developmental competence of unreconstructed or reconstructed oocytes. Cloning has been reported successfully with low efficiency through embryonic or somatic nuclear transfer into enucleated metaphase II oocytes. It has been suggested that introducing embryonic or somatic nucleus to cytoplast at earlier stage might improve reprogramming of the introduced nucleus. In addition, the synchronization between the donor nucleus and recipient cytoplasts might effect on reprogramming and further embryonic development. Therefore, the question arises; does the cytoplast of germinal vesicle (GV) oocyte containing nuclear sap improve developmental competence upon reconstruction with embryonic/somatic nucleus compared with MII cytoplast. It has been indicated that GV material is essential for remodeling of sperm or embryonic or somatic nucleus in GV oocyte cytoplast and their further embryonic developmental competence. GV cytoplasts could be obtained through micromanipulation. Different micromanipulation techniques of immature oocytes at different stages were adapted in addition to introducing donor nuclei at G0/G1, S and G2/M phase, and enucleolation technique as well. Upon micromanipulation, it could obtain GV cytoplasts; cumulus-free and without GV material, cumulus-complexes and without GV material, cumulus-free and with GV material, and cumulus-complexes and with GV material in addition to enucleolated GV oocytes. Therefore, this short review will address briefly the importance of maturation conditions, cumulus cells, oocyte quality, the techniques of enucleation GV oocyte, the cell cycle stage of the introduced donor cell, or nucleus for oocyte maturation and embryo development.