Global gene expression profiling of perirenal brown adipose tissue whitening in goat kids reveals novel genes linked to adipose remodeling.

BACKGROUND: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is known to be capable of non-shivering thermogenesis under cold stimulation, which is related to the mortality of animals. In the previous study, we observed that goat BAT is mainly located around the kidney at birth, and changes to white adipose tissue (WAT) in the perirenal adipose tissue of goats within one month after birth. However, the regulatory factors underlying this change is remain unclear. In this study, we systematically studied the perirenal adipose tissue of goat kids in histological, cytological, and accompanying molecular level changes from 0 to 28 d after birth. RESULTS: Our study found a higher mortality rate in winter-born goat kids, with goat birthing data statistics. Then we used thermal imaging revealing high temperature in goat hips at postnatal 0 d and gradually decrease during 28 d. This is consistent with the region of perirenal BAT deposition and highlights its critical role in energy expenditure and body temperature regulation in goat kids. Additionally, we found a series of changes of BAT during the first 28 d after birth, such as whitening, larger lipid droplets, decreased mitochondrial numbers, and down-regulation of key thermogenesis-related genes (UCP1, DIO2, UCP2, CIDEA, PPARGC1a, C/EBPb, and C/EBPa). Then, we used RNA-seq found specific marker genes for goat adipose tissue and identified 12 new marker genes for BAT and 10 new marker genes for WAT of goats. Furthermore, 12 candidate genes were found to potentially regulate goat BAT thermogenesis. The mechanism of the change of this biological phenomenon does not involve a large-scale death of brown adipocytes and subsequent proliferation of white adipocytes. While apoptosis may play a limited role, it is largely not critical in this transition process. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that perirenal BAT plays a crucial role in thermoregulation in newborn goat kids, with notable species differences in the expression of adipose tissue marker genes, and we highlighted some potential marker genes for goat BAT and WAT. Additionally, the change from BAT to WAT does not involve a large-scale death of brown adipocytes and subsequent proliferation of white adipocytes.

Short-term dietary choline supplementation alters the gut microbiota and liver metabolism of finishing pigs.

Choline is an essential nutrient for pig development and plays a role in the animal's growth performance, carcass characteristics, and reproduction aspects in weaned pigs and sows. However, the effect of choline on finishing pigs and its potential regulatory mechanism remains unclear. Here, we feed finishing pigs with 1% of the hydrochloride salt of choline, such as choline chloride (CHC), under a basic diet condition for a short period of time (14 days). A 14-day supplementation of CHC significantly increased final weight and carcass weight while having no effect on carcass length, average backfat, or eye muscle area compared with control pigs. Mechanically, CHC resulted in a significant alteration of gut microbiota composition in finishing pigs and a remarkably increased relative abundance of bacteria contributing to growth performance and health, including Prevotella, Ruminococcaceae, and Eubacterium. In addition, untargeted metabolomics analysis identified 84 differently abundant metabolites in the liver between CHC pigs and control pigs, of which most metabolites were mainly enriched in signaling pathways related to the improvement of growth, development, and health. Notably, there was no significant difference in the ability of oxidative stress resistance between the two groups, although increased bacteria and metabolites keeping balance in reactive oxygen species showed in finishing pigs after CHC supplementation. Taken together, our results suggest that a short-term supplementation of CHC contributes to increased body weight gain and carcass weight of finishing pigs, which may be involved in the regulation of gut microbiota and alterations of liver metabolism, providing new insights into the potential of choline-mediated gut microbiota/metabolites in improving growth performance, carcass characteristics, and health.

Comparison of Growth Performance and Plasma Metabolomics between Two Sire-Breeds of Pigs in China.

The Yorkshire pigs, renowned for their remarkable growth rate, low feed conversion ratio (FCR), and high meat production, emerge as a novel preference for paternal breeding. In this study, we found that purebred paternal Yorkshire pigs (PY) surpass the purebred Duroc breed in terms of growth rate. Specifically, purebred PY attain a weight of 100 kg at an earlier age compared to purebred Duroc (Male, 145.07 vs. 162.91; Female, 145.91 vs. 167.57; p-value < 0.01). Furthermore, different hybrid combinations suggest that offspring involving purebred PY exhibit superior growth performance. Compared with purebred Duroc, the offspring of purebred PY have an earlier age in days (173.23 vs. 183.54; p-value < 0.05) at the same slaughter weight. The changes of plasma metabolites of 60-day-old purebred boars in the two sire-breeds showed that 1335 metabolites in plasma were detected. Compared with Duroc, 28 metabolites were down-regulated and 49 metabolites were up-regulated in PY. Principal component analysis (PCA) discerned notable dissimilarities in plasma metabolites between the two sire-breeds of pigs. The levels of glycerol 3-phosphate choline, cytidine, guanine, and arachidonic acid increased significantly (p-value < 0.05), exerting an impact on their growth and development. According to our results, PY could be a new paternal option as a terminal sire in three-way cross system.

Estimation of genetic parameters of pig reproductive traits.

Introduction: In this study, we aimed to estimate the genetic parameters of the reproductive traits in three popular commercial pig breeds: Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire. Additionally, we evaluated the factors that influence these traits. Method: We collected data from a large number of litters, including 1,887 Duroc, 21,787 Landrace, and 74,796 Yorkshire litters. Using the ASReml-R software to analyze 11 traits, which included: total number of pigs born (TNB); number of piglets born alive (NBA); number of piglets born healthy (NBH); number of piglets born weak (NBW); number of new stillborn piglets (NS); number of old stillborn piglets (OS); number of piglets born with malformation (NBM); number of mummified piglets (NM); total litter birthweight (LBW); litter average weight (LAW); duration of gestational period (GP). We investigated the effects of 4 fixed factors on the genetic parameters of these traits. Results: Among the 11 reproductive-related traits, the gestational period belonged to the medium heritability traits (0.251-0.430), while remaining traits showed low heritability, ranging from 0.005 to 0.159. TNB, NBA, NBH, LBW had positive genetic correlation (0.737 ~ 0.981) and phenotype correlation (0.711 ~ 0.951). There was a negative genetic correlation between NBW and LAW (-0.452 ~ -0.978) and phenotypic correlation (-0.380 ~ -0.873). LBW was considered one of the most reasonable reproductive traits that could be used for breeding improvement. Repeatability of the three varieties was within the range of 0.000-0.097. In addition, the fixed effect selected in this study had a significant effect on Landrace and Yorkshire (p < 0.05). Discussion: We found a positive correlation between LBW and TNB, NBA, and NBH, suggesting the potential for multi-trait association breeding. Factors such as farm, farrowing year, breeding season, and parity should be taken into consideration in practical production, as they may impact the reproductive performance of breeding pigs.

Copper-doped ZnO-ZrO2 solid solution catalysts for promoting methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation.

Copper-doped ZnO-ZrO2 solid solution catalysts were synthesized via co-precipitation for promoting CH3OH synthesis via hydrogenation of CO2. Various testing methods were applied to investigate the effect of various copper contents on the catalysts. The catalytic performance was evaluated by a fixed bed reactor. XRD, HRTEM and Raman spectra collectively indicated that a ZnO-ZrO2 solid solution catalyst with 3% Cu had a higher Cu dispersion, while the H2-TPR results confirmed that a catalyst with 3% Cu had more Cu active sites under low temperature H2 pretreatment. When the copper content increased to 5% and 10%, the catalyst showed a better Cu crystallinity and a worse Cu dispersion, which could have a negative effect. Therefore, the CO2 conversion and methanol yield with a 3% CuZnO-ZrO2 catalyst at 5 MPa, 250°C and 12 000 ml/(g h) increased by 8.6% and 7.6%, respectively. Moreover, the CH3OH selectivity and catalytic stability of the solid solution catalyst were better than those of the traditional CZA catalyst.

Full-length transcriptome profiling for fruit development in Diospyros oleifera using nanopore sequencing.

OBJECTIVES: Diospyros oleifera, one of the most economically important Diospyros species, is an ideal model for studying the fruit development of persimmon. While, the lack of whole-transcriptome has hindered the complex transcriptional regulation mechanisms of sugar and tannin during fruit development. DATA DESCRIPTION: We applied Oxford Nanopore Technologies to six developmental stage of fruit from D. oleifera for use in transcriptome sequencing. As a result of full-length transcriptome sequencing, 55.87 Gb of clean data were generated. After mapping onto the reference genome of D. oleifera, 51,588 full-length collapsing transcripts, including 2,727 new gene loci and 43,223 transcripts, were obtained. Comprehensively annotated, 38,086 of new transcripts were functional annotation, and 972 lncRNAs, 7,159 AS events were predicted. Here, we released the transcriptome database of D. oleifera at different stage of fruit development,which will provide a fundamention of to investigatethe transcript structure, variants and evolution of persimmon.

Characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Diospyros oleifera, the first representative from the family Ebenaceae.

Plant mitochondrial genomes are a valuable source of genetic information for a better understanding of phylogenetic relationships. However, no mitochondrial genome of any species in Ebenaceae has been reported. In this study, we reported the first mitochondrial genome of an Ebenaceae model plant Diospyros oleifera. The mitogenome was 493,958 bp in length, contained 39 protein-coding genes, 27 transfer RNA genes, and 3 ribosomal RNA genes. The rps2 and rps11 genes were missing in the D. oleifera mt genome, while the rps10 gene was identified. The length of the repetitive sequence in the D. oleifera mt genome was 31 kb, accounting for 6.33%. A clear bias in RNA-editing sites were found in the D. oleifera mt genome. We also detected 28 chloroplast-derived fragments significantly associated with D. oleifera mt genes, indicating intracellular tRNA genes transferred frequently from chloroplasts to mitochondria in D. oleifera. Phylogenetic analysis based on the mt genomes of D. oleifera and 27 other taxa reflected the exact evolutionary and taxonomic status of D. oleifera. Ka/Ks analysis revealed that 95.16% of the protein-coding genes in the D. oleifera mt genome had undergone negative selections. But, the rearrangement of mitochondrial genes has been widely occur among D. oleifera and these observed species. These results will lay the foundation for identifying further evolutionary relationships within Ebenaceae.

Screening Candidate Genes Regulating Placental Development from Trophoblast Transcriptome at Early Pregnancy in Dazu Black Goats (Capra hircus).

This study explored the trophoblast transcriptome to understand potential functional genes involved in early placental development in goats and their enriched signaling pathways. Trophoblast samples were collected from nine Dazu Black goats on days 20, 25, and 30 of pregnancy (D20, D25, and D30). As the pregnancy progressed, the morphology and histological structures showed significant growth, adhesion, and angiogenesis. A total of 23,253 commonly expressed genes (CEGs) and 4439 differently expressed genes (DEGs) were detected by RNA sequencing. The common highly expressed genes (ChEGs) (the top 100 CEGs) with the highest FPKM percentage (29.9%) of all CEGs were annotated to the ribosome pathway and maintain pregnancy. DEGs were abundant in D30 vs. D20 (3715 DEGs). Besides, the DEGs were associated with the inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation and activation of PI3K-Akt, focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction, Rap1, and CAM signaling pathways. The RAP1 may be a central pathway since it coordinates with others to regulate the cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and fusion of trophoblasts. qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis confirmed the transcriptional expression in IGF1, VEGFC, RAPGEF3, PIK3CA, AKT3, ITGB3, ITGA11, SPP1, NOS1, and ATP6V0B genes and protein levels in VEGF, RAPGEF3, and Akt. This is the first study of transcriptome profiling in goat placenta and provides diverse genetic resources for further research on placenta development.

Screening and identification of microRNAs from plasma-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) of Dazu black goat (Capra hircus) in early pregnant stages.

Previous studies have shown that extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and other biological components exist in all kinds of body fluids. EVs, as an intercellular communication carrier, regulate the functions of its target cells by transporting biomacromolecules between cells. In this study, a total of six female Dazu black goats were divided into NP group (NP, non-pregnant group) and P30 (P30, 30-day pregnant group). The goats in NP group (n = 3) were in estrus, but failed to fertilize; the other goats in P30 group (n = 3) were fertilized by natural mating. Firstly, goats plasma-derived EVs were isolated using ultracentrifugation. Secondly, EVs were identified by transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and by testing its markers (CD9 and CD63) using west blotting in NP and P30 groups, respectively. Thirdly, EVs related miRNAs were sequenced and analyzed by bioinformatics method. Data shows that miR-31-5p, miR-137-3p, novel_miR_1355, novel_miR_734 and novel_miR_736 exclusively were expressed in P30 group. Their target genes were significantly enriched in the axon guidance, the Notch signaling pathway, the Wnt signaling pathway, tight junction and the Hippo signaling pathway. And miRNA-mRNA interactive network analysis reveals potential regulatory functions of miRNAs for goat during early pregnancy. These findings provided theretical references for studying the regulation of plasma-derived EVs between the fetal and placental development, and these candidate miRNAs identified might be as markers for diagnosis of goat early pregnancy.

Highly selective conversion of CO2 to methanol on the CuZnO-ZrO2 solid solution with the assistance of plasma.

CuZnO-ZrO2-C was prepared by a co-precipitation method. For comparison, CuZnO-ZrO2-PC and CuZnO-ZrO2-CP were prepared by glow discharge plasma. The catalysts were characterized via the XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, TEM, SEM, EDS, XPS, CO2-TPD and H2-TPR techniques. The catalysts were comparatively investigated for CO2 conversion and methanol selectivity in a fixed-bed reactor under the condition of 2 MPa, 250 °C, H2/CO2 = 3/1 and GHSV = 12 000 mL g-1 h-1. The results showed that the activities of the catalysts increased in the order of CuZnO-ZrO2-PC > CuZnO-ZrO2-CP > CuZnO-ZrO2-C. Moreover, the CO2 conversion of CuZnO-ZrO2-C increased by 38.9% via treatment with glow discharge plasma. The results are well explained based on the CO2-TPD and H2-TPR characterizations of the catalysts.

The Laser Rangefinder System in Quadrature Modem and Ambiguity Resolution.

We propose a laser rangefinder system based on the quadrature modem to achieve amplitude modulation, the method improves the accuracy of the phase measuring and simplifies the hardware design compared to the system with the secondary mixing methods, and to solve the range ambiguity caused by the measuring process, the ranging ambiguity resolving algorithm based on the over-determined equation is proposed, which avoids the searching of the optimal solution, finally the two K60 laser rangefinders and three proposed rangefinders were experimented on the national standard baseline with the precision of 0.18 mm. the measuring time of the proposed system is less than 1.8 s, the average measuring error of those three prototypes is less than 2 mm, and the standard deviation is less than 1 mm within the measuring range 0~60 m. The experimental results show that the proposed design system of the rangefinder has higher measurement accuracy and speed in comparison with the traditional ones, which indicates the high reliability of the proposed design system.