ALKBH5 regulates chicken adipogenesis by mediating LCAT mRNA stability depending on m6A modification.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated the role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation in various biological processes, our research is the first to elucidate its specific impact on LCAT mRNA stability and adipogenesis in poultry. RESULTS: The 6 100-day-old female chickens were categorized into high (n = 3) and low-fat chickens (n = 3) based on their abdominal fat ratios, and their abdominal fat tissues were processed for MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq. An integrated analysis of MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq omics data revealed 16 differentially expressed genes associated with to differential m6A modifications. Among them, ELOVL fatty acid elongase 2 (ELOVL2), pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4), fatty acid binding protein 9 (PMP2), fatty acid binding protein 1 (FABP1), lysosomal associated membrane protein 3 (LAMP3), lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and solute carrier family 2 member 1 (SLC2A1) have ever been reported to be associated with adipogenesis. Interestingly, LCAT was down-regulated and expressed along with decreased levels of mRNA methylation methylation in the low-fat group. Mechanistically, the highly expressed ALKBH5 gene regulates LCAT RNA demethylation and affects LCAT mRNA stability. In addition, LCAT inhibits preadipocyte proliferation and promotes preadipocyte differentiation, and plays a key role in adipogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, ALKBH5 mediates RNA stability of LCAT through demethylation and affects chicken adipogenesis. This study provides a theoretical basis for further understanding of RNA methylation regulation in chicken adipogenesis.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Appreciation of Rhododendron Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process.

Qinting Lake Park has effectively imported Rhododendron varieties from Zhejiang Province. The analytic hierarchy process was employed to devise an evaluation framework to evaluate the ornamental and adaptive features of these species. Subsequently, we conducted a standardized evaluation of 24 species for their ornamental and adaptive traits under controlled cultivation conditions. The findings indicated that the percentage of ornamental flowers in the first-level index was significantly greater than the other two factors, indicating that the ornamental value of flowers was the most important in the evaluation of Rhododendron ornamental value. Among the secondary indicators, the proportion of flower color and flower weight was significantly higher than that of other factors, which had the greatest impact on the evaluation results. The 24 Rhododendron species were classified into two grades based on their ornamental value, as determined by index weights and scoring standards. Rhododendron 'Xueqing', Rhododendron 'Big Qinglian', and Rhododendron 'Jinyang No. 9' exhibited superior ornamental value and demonstrated more favorable suitability for garden applications.

Transcriptome and Metabolome Profiling Provide New Insights into Disuse Muscle Atrophy in Chicken: The Potential Role of Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers.

Disuse muscle atrophy is a disease caused by restricted activity, affecting human health and animal protein quality. While extensive research on its mechanism has been studied in mammals, comparatively little is known about this process in chickens, which are a significant source of protein for human consumption worldwide. Understanding the mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle atrophy in chickens is crucial for improving poultry health and productivity, as well as for developing strategies to mitigate muscle loss. In this study, two groups of chickens were subjected to limb immobilization for two and four weeks, respectively, in order to induce disuse muscle atrophy and uniformly sampled gastrocnemius muscle at the fourth week. A combined analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome was conducted to investigate the mechanisms of disuse-induced muscle atrophy. Through H&E staining and immunofluorescence, we found that, compared to slow-twitch muscle fibers, the fast-twitch muscle fibers showed a greater reduction in cross-sectional area in the immobilized leg, and were also the main driver of changes in cross-sectional area observed in the non-immobilized leg. Integrated analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were mainly enriched in pathways related to energy metabolism, such as fatty acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and glycolysis. These results provide important insights for further research on disuse muscle atrophy.

Intermediate soil acidification induces highest nitrous oxide emissions.

Global potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soil are accelerating, with increases in the proportion of reactive nitrogen emitted as N2O, i.e., N2O emission factor (EF). Yet, the primary controls and underlying mechanisms of EFs remain unresolved. Based on two independent but complementary global syntheses, and three field studies determining effects of acidity on N2O EFs and soil denitrifying microorganisms, we show that soil pH predominantly controls N2O EFs and emissions by affecting the denitrifier community composition. Analysis of 5438 paired data points of N2O emission fluxes revealed a hump-shaped relationship between soil pH and EFs, with the highest EFs occurring in moderately acidic soils that favored N2O-producing over N2O-consuming microorganisms, and induced high N2O emissions. Our results illustrate that soil pH has a unimodal relationship with soil denitrifiers and EFs, and the net N2O emission depends on both the N2O/(N2O + N2) ratio and overall denitrification rate. These findings can inform strategies to predict and mitigate soil N2O emissions under future nitrogen input scenarios.

Comprehensive impacts of different integrated rice-animal co-culture systems on rice yield, nitrogen fertilizer partial factor productivity and nitrogen losses: A global meta-analysis.

Integrated rice-animal co-culture (IRAC) is an ecological agricultural system combining rice cultivation with animal farming, which holds significant implications for food security and agriculture sustainable development. However, the comprehensive impacts of the co-culture on rice yield, nitrogen (N) losses, and N fertilizer partial factor productivity (NPFP) remain elusive and may vary under different environmental conditions and N management. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of data from various IRAC systems on a global scale, including 371, 298, and 115 sets of data for rice yield, NPFP, and N losses, respectively. The results showed that IRAC could significantly increase rice yield (by 3.47 %) and NPFP (by 4.26 %), and reduce N2O emissions (by 16.69 %), NH3 volatilization (by 11.03 %), N runoff (by 17.72 %), and N leaching (by 19.10 %). Furthermore, there were significant differences in rice yield, NPFP, and N loss among different IRAC systems, which may be ascribed to variations in regional climate, soil variables, and N fertilizer management practices. The effect sizes of rice yield and NPFP were notably correlated with the rate and frequency of N application and the soil clay content. Moreover, a higher amount of precipitation corresponded to a larger effect size on rice NPFP. N2O emissions were closely associated with mean annual air temperature, annual precipitation, N application frequency, soil pH level, soil organic matter content, soil clay content, and soil bulk density. However, NH3 volatilization, N runoff, and N leaching exhibited no correlation with either the environmental conditions or the N management. Multivariate regression analysis further demonstrated that the soil clay content and N application rate are pivotal in predicting the effect sizes of rice yield, NPFP, and N2O emissions under IRAC. Specifically, IRAC with a low N application rate in soils with a high clay content could augment the effect size to increase rice NPFP and yield and reduce N2O emissions. In conclusion, IRAC offers a potent strategy to optimize rice yield and NPFP as well as mitigate N losses.

Investigation of potential genetic factors for growth traits in yellow-feather broilers using weighted single-step genome-wide association study.

Yellow-feather broilers take a large portion of poultry industry in China due to its meat characteristics. Improving the growth traits of yellow-feathered broilers will have great significance for the Chinese poultry market. The current study was designed to investigate the potential genetic factors using the weighted single-step genome-wide association study (wssGWAS) method, which takes consideration of more factors including pedigree, sex, environment and has more accuracy than traditional GWAS. The yellow-feather dwarf chickens from Wens Nanfang Poultry Breeding Co. Ltd. were revolved to recode 9 growth traits: Average daily gain (ADG), body weight (BW) at 45 d, 49 d, 56 d, 63 d, 70 d, 77 d, 84 d, 91 d for analysis. For the results, the region 4.63 to 5.03 Mb on chromosome 15, which was the QTL overlapped in BW45, BW49, BW56, BW63, BW84, might be the crucial genetic region for growth traits. Seven GO terms and 3 KEGG pathways, GO:0005200, GO:0005882, GO:0045111, GO:0099513, GO:0099081, GO:0099512, GO:0099080, KEGG:gga04020, KEGG:gga04540, KEGG:gga04210, were detected to relevant with growth traits. The genes enriched in these biological processes (NRAS, TUBB1, ADORA2B, NTRK3, NGF, TNNC2, F-KER, LOC429492, LOC431325, LOC431324, LOC396480) might have the function in growth of yellow-feather broilers.

Exploring the association between fat-related traits in chickens and the RGS16 gene: insights from polymorphism and functional validation analysis.

Introduction: Excessive fat deposition in chickens can lead to reduced feed utilization and meat quality, resulting in significant economic losses for the broiler industry. Therefore, reducing fat deposition has become an important breeding objective in addition to achieving high broiler weight, growth rate, and feed conversion efficiency. In our previous studies, we observed high expression of Regulators of G Protein Signaling 16 Gene (RGS16) in high-fat individuals. This led us to speculate that RGS16 might be involved in the process of fat deposition in chickens. Methods: Thus, we conducted a polymorphism and functional analysis of the RGS16 gene to investigate its association with fat-related phenotypic traits in chickens. Using a mixed linear model (MLM), this study explored the relationship between RGS16 gene polymorphisms and fat-related traits for the first time. We identified 30 SNPs of RGS16 in a population of Wens Sanhuang chickens, among which 8 SNPs were significantly associated with fat-related traits, including sebum thickness (ST), abdominal fat weight (AFW), and abdominal fat weight (AFR). Furthermore, our findings demonstrated that AFW, AFR, and ST showed significant associations with at least two or more out of the eight identified SNPs of RGS16. We also validated the role of RGS16 in ICP-1 cells through various experimental methods, including RT-qPCR, CCK- 8, EdU assays, and oil red O staining. Results: Our functional validation experiments showed that RGS16 was highly expressed in the abdominal adipose tissue of high-fat chickens and played a critical role in the regulation of fat deposition by promoting preadipocyte differentiation and inhibiting their proliferation. Taken together, our findings suggest that RGS16 polymorphisms are associated with fat-related traits in chickens. Moreover, the ectopic expression of RGS16 could inhibit preadipocyte proliferation but promote preadipocyte differentiation. Discussion: Based on our current findings, we propose that the RGS16 gene could serve as a powerful genetic marker for marker-assisted breeding of chicken fat-related traits.

Harsh Environmental-Tolerant and High-Performance Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on Nanofiber/Microsphere Hybrid Membranes.

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) can convert tiny mechanical energy into precious electrical energy. Constant improvements to the output performance of TENG is not only the driving force for its sustainable development, but also the key to expand its practical applicability in modern smart devices. However, most previous studies were conducted at room temperature, ignoring the influence of temperature on the output performance of TENG. Additionally, due to thermionic emission effect, the electrons transferred to a dielectric surface can be released into a vacuum after contact electrification. Therefore, TENG cannot maintain an effective electrical output under high-temperature conditions. Here, a series of high-temperature operatable flexible TENGs (HO-TENGs) based on nanofiber/microsphere hybrid membranes (FSHMs) was fabricated by electrospinning and electrospraying. The Voc of HO-TENG is 212 V, which is 2.33 times higher than that of control TENG. After 10,000 cycle stability tests, the HO-TENG shows excellent durability. Especially, this HO-TENG can maintain 77% electrical output at 70 °C compared to room temperature, showing excellent high-temperature operability. This study can not only provide a reference for the construction of advanced high-performance TENG, but also provide a certain experimental basis for efficient collection of mechanical energy in high-temperature environment and promote the application of TENG devices in harsh environments.

Integrated rice-crayfish farming system does not mitigate the global warming potential during rice season.

Integrated rice-crayfish farming system (RCS) has become increasingly popular in China. However, previous research has largely ignored the effect of trench around the paddy field on GHG emissions, which may cause inaccurate estimation of the global warming potential (GWP) from the system. This study compared the GWP between rice monoculture (RM) and RCS. The results indicated that the field of RCS had significantly lower CH4 emissions compared with RM due to lower mcrA abundance and higher pmoA abundance, while there was no difference in N2O emissions. In addition, the trench resulted in remarkably more CH4 emissions due to higher mcrA abundance and lower pmoA abundance and less N2O emissions than the field in RCS. In general, RCS seems not to mitigate GWP compared with RM due to more CH4 emissions from the trench in the current mode. Furthermore, our results indicate that RCS can reduce GWP relative to RM only when the area ratio of the trench to the system is controlled to be lower than 13.9 %.

MicroRNA expression profile of chicken jejunum in different time points Eimeria maxima infection.

Coccidiosis stands as a protozoan disease of notable economic impact, characterized by an intracellular parasite that exerts substantial influence over poultry production. This invasion disrupts the integrity of the enteric mucosa, leading to the emergence of severe lesions and diminishing the efficiency of feed utilization in chickens. MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, non-coding RNA molecules with approximately 21-24 nucleotides long in size that play essential roles in various infectious diseases and inflammatory responses. However, the miRNA's expression patterns and roles in the context of Eimeria maxima infection of chicken intestines remain unclear. miRNA sequencing was employed to assess the miRNA expression profile in chicken jejunum during E. maxima infection. In this study, we analyzed miRNA expression profiles related to the host's immune response in the chicken jejunum during E. maxima infection. At 4 days infection and control (J4I versus J4C), 21 differentially expressed miRNAs in the jejunum were identified, comprising 9 upregulated and 12 downregulated miRNAs. Furthermore, in the jejunum, at 7 days infection and control (J7I versus J7C) groups, a total of 35 significantly differentially expressed miRNAs were observed, with 13 upregulated and 22 downregulated miRNAs. The regulatory networks were constructed between differentially expressed miRNA and mRNAs to offer insight into the interaction mechanisms between chickens and E. maxima coccidian infection. Furthermore, within the comparison group, we obtained 946, 897, and 281 GO terms that exhibited significant enrichment associated with host immunity in the following scenarios, J4I vs. J4C, J7I vs. J7C, and J4I vs. J7I, respectively. The KEGG pathway analysis indicated notable enrichment of differentially expressed miRNAs in the jejunum, particularly in J4I vs. J4C; enriched pathways included metabolic pathways, endocytosis, MAPK signaling pathway, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Moreover, in J7I vs. J7C, the KEGG pathway was significantly enriched, including metabolic pathways, protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, and FoxO signaling pathway. A comprehensive understanding of the host genetic basis of resistance with a combination of time-dependent infection to the Eimeria parasite is crucial for pinpointing resistance biomarkers for poultry production.

Pantranscriptome combined with phenotypic quantification reveals germplasm kinship and regulation network of bract color variation in Bougainvillea.

Bracts are the metamorphic non-flower organ in angiosperm plants. The variation of the color and shape of bracts was found to be neo-functionalized (i.e., similar to petals), garnering research interest as a pollinator attractor. Bougainvillea is known for its specialized, large, and colorful bracts, which contrast with its tiny colorless flowers. As a plant whose bracts vary greatly in terms of coloration, the molecular mechanisms for Bougainvillea bract coloration and polychroism are largely unknown. The lack of genomic information for Bougainvillea largely hinders studies into the evolution and genetic basis of bract color variation. In this study, a pan-transcriptome of bracts obtained from 18 Bougainvillea glabra accessions was employed to investigate the global population-level germplasm kinship and the gene regulation network for bract color variation. Our results showed that the bracts of B. glabra accessions have largely differentiated International Commission on Illumination (CIE) L-a-b values. Moreover, germplasm kinship detected using principal component analysis, phylogeny, and admixture analysis showed three optimal subgroups, two of them distinctly clustered, which were not directly correlated with bract color variation at the population level. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between accessions of high vs. low L-a-b values revealed several considerable upregulated genes related to bract color L-a-b variation. A weighted gene co-expression network was constructed, and eight co-expressed regulation modules were identified that were highly correlated with variation in bract CIE L-a-b color values. Several candidate DEGs and co-expressed hub genes (e.g., GERD, SGR, ABCA3, GST, CYP76AD1, CYP76C, and JAZ) that were tightly associated with bract color variation were eventually determined responsible for L-a-b colorations, which might be the core regulation factors contributing to the B. glabra bract color variation. This study provides valuable insights into the research on germplasm kinship, population-level pan-transcriptome expression profiles, and the molecular basis of color variation of key innovative bracts in horticultural Bougainvillea.

Changes of endophytic microbial community in Rhododendron simsii roots under heat stress and its correlation with leaf physiological indicators.

Introduction: The response mechanism of Rhododendron simsii and its endophytic microorganism to heat stress is still unclear. Methods: The light incubator was used to set the temperature gradients, and the control (CK) was (day/night: 14/10 h) 25/22°C, the moderate-heat-stress (MHS) was 35/30°C and the high-heat-stress (HHS) was 40/35°C. Results: Compared with CK, MHS significantly increased the contents of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, proline, and soluble sugar, as well as the activities of catalase and peroxidase in leaf, while HHS increased the activities of ascorbate peroxidase, and decreased chlorophyll content. Compared with CK, MHS reduced soil available nitrogen (N) content. Both heat stress changed the endophytic microbial community structure in roots. MHS enriched Pezicula and Paracoccus, while HHS significantly enriched Acidothermus and Haliangium. The abundance of Pezicula positively correlated with the contents of chlorophyll a and proline in leaf, and negatively correlated with soil ammonium N content. The abundance of Pezicula and Haliangium positively correlated with soluble sugar and malondialdehyde contents, respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that root endophytic microorganisms play an important role in helping Rhododendron resisting heat stress, mainly by regulating soil N content and plant physiological characteristics.

Research Note: Association of single nucleotide polymorphism of AKT3 with egg production traits in White Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata).

Prior studies on transcriptomes of hypothalamus and ovary revealed that AKT3 is one of the candidate genes that might affect egg production in White Muscovy ducks. The role of AKT3 in the uterus during reproductive processes cannot be overemphasized. However, functional role of this gene in the tissues and on egg production traits of Muscovy ducks remains unknown. To identify the relationship between AKT3 and egg production traits in ducks, relative expression profile was first examined prior to identifying the variants within AKT3 that may underscore egg production traits [age at first egg (AFE), number of eggs at 300 d (N300D), and number of eggs at 59 wk (N59W)] in 549 ducks. The mRNA expression of AKT3 gene in high producing (HP) ducks was significantly higher than low producing (LP) ducks in the ovary, oviduct, and hypothalamus (P < 0.05 or 0.001). Three variants in AKT3 (C-3631A, C-3766T, and C-3953T) and high linkage block between C-3766T and C-3953T which are significantly (P < 0.05) associated with N300D and N59W were discovered. This study elucidates novel knowledge on the molecular mechanism of AKT3 that might be regulating egg production traits in Muscovy ducks.

A missense mutation in ISPD contributes to maintain muscle fiber stability.

BACKGROUND: Livestock and poultry skeletal muscle development was regulated by a variety of genetic factors playing an essential role in this process. In our de novo sequencing, a missense mutation in ISPD exon 2 showed a selected signature for well-developed muscles. However, the relationship between this mutation and muscle phenotypes remains unclear. RESULTS: Based on the genotype bias of this missense mutation in gamecock chickens, we compared the cross-section of muscle fibers among the individuals with different genotypes with the results showing a genotype preference of this missense mutation in the chickens with hypertrophic muscle fibers. Comparing TT- and CC-genotype ISPD showed that TT- genotype was associated with heavier skeletal muscle and a better effect on myogenesis and myofiber stability. At cellular level, ISPD was identified to inhibit myoblast proliferation, differentiation and antagonize of muscular atrophy. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the missense mutation of Arg84Lys in ISPD was associated with well-developed muscles and demonstrated to improve chicken muscles' development.

Metagenomic analysis reveals the microbiome and antibiotic resistance genes in indigenous Chinese yellow-feathered chickens.

Yellow-feathered chickens have great nutritional value and are widely and traditionally used in China, on an industrial scale as broilers. The presence of intestinal microbes has been shown to correlate with poultry performance and serves as an essential reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern. Here, we investigated functional characteristics of the gut microbiome of indigenous Chinese yellow-feathered chickens (the Huiyang Bearded, Xinghua, Huaixiang, Zhongshan Shanlan, Qingyuan Partridge, and Yangshan chickens) through metagenomic sequencing and reconstructed 409 draft genomes, including 60 novel species and 6 novel genera. Furthermore, we assessed the functions of the intestinal microbial communities and examined the ARGs within them. The results showed that the microbial populations of yellow-feathered broilers were primarily dominated by Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes at the phylum level and Bacteroides at the genus level. Furthermore, the Qingyuan Partridge chicken showed a significantly higher abundance of Prevotella than the other five breeds of chicken. Principal coordinates analysis indicated significant differences in the structures of microbial communities and ARGs, based on the binary Jaccard distance, among the six chicken breeds. Moreover, 989 ARGs conferring tetracycline, multidrug, and aminoglycoside resistance were identified, which represented more than 80% of the faecal resistomes; the most abundant gene in the yellow-feathered chickens was tet(Q). In addition, we found the greatest abundance of resistance genes in Xinghua chickens, indicating that Xinghua chickens are highly resistant to antibiotics. Overall, our findings revealed differences in the gut microbial community structure of indigenous Chinese yellow-feathered broiler breeds and the composition and characteristics of ARGs and antibiotic resistance that enabled us to reconstruct the yellow-feathered chicken gut microbial community genomes. The current data significantly improves our knowledge of the gut microbiome and antibiotic resistance of popular broiler breeds in China.

Influence of Eimeria maxima coccidia infection on gut microbiome diversity and composition of the jejunum and cecum of indigenous chicken.

Coccidiosis is an economically significant protozoan disease and an intracellular parasite that significantly impacts poultry production. The gastrointestinal tract microbiota plays a central role in host health and metabolism, and these microbes enhance chickens' immune systems and nutrient absorption. In this study, we analyzed the abundance and diversity of microbiota of the jejunum and cecum of a dual-purpose indigenous Horro chicken following Eimeria maxima infection. We compared microbial abundance, composition, and diversity at the 4- and 7- days post-infection using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We obtained, on average, 147,742 and 132,986 high-quality sequences per sample for jejunum and cecum content, respectively. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Campilobacterota and Bacteroidota were the major microbial phylum detected in the jejunum content. Firmicutes were the dominant phylum for 4- and 7-days jejunum control groups accounting for (>60% of the sequences). In the infected group Campilobacterota was the dominant phylum in the jejunum (> 24% of sequences) at 4-and 7-days post-infection groups, while Proteobacteria was predominant at 4- and 7-days post-infection of the cecum (> 40% of the sequences). The microbial genus Lactobacillus and Helicobacter were found in the jejunum, while Alistipes, Barnesiella and Faecalibacterium were detected in the cecum. In the jejunum, Helicobacter was dominant at 4 -and-7 days post-infection (≥24%), and Lactobacillus was dominant at 4 -and 7- days in the control group (> 50%). In 4- and 7-days post-infection, Alistipes genus was the more prevalent (> 38%) in the cecum. Thus, clear differences were observed in the bacterial microbiota distribution and abundance between the jejunum and cecum, as well as between infected and control groups for both tissues. The results indicate that chicken intestinal microbial imbalance (dysbiosis) is associated with Eimeria parasite infection and will likely affect the host-microbial non-pathogenic and pathogenic molecular interactions.

Changes and Correlation Between Physiological Characteristics of Rhododendron simsii and Soil Microbial Communities Under Heat Stress.

The relationship between Rhododendron simsii and its soil microbial community under heat stress was not clear. In this study, the effects of heat stress on the physiological characteristics, soil physicochemical properties and soil microbial community structure of R. simsii were investigated. The experimental control (CK) was set as day/night (14/10 h) 25/20°C and experimental treatments were set as light heat stress (LHS) 35/30°C and high heat stress (HHS) 40/35°C. Our results showed that, compared with CK, LHS treatment significantly increased malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, proline and soluble sugar contents, as well as catalase and peroxidase activities, while HHS treatment significantly increased ascorbate peroxidase activity and decreased chlorophyll content. Compared with CK, LHS treatment significantly reduced soil ammonium-nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen content, while HHS significantly increased soil ammonium-nitrogen content. Compared with CK, both treatments changed the soil microbial community structure. For bacterial community, LHS and HHS treatment resulting in the significant enrichment of Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia and Occallatibacte, respectively. For fungal community, LHS treatment resulting in the significant enrichment of Candida, Mortierella and Boothiomyces. The redundancy analysis showed that plant physiological characteristics, soil ammonium-nitrogen content were significantly correlated with the soil microbial community. Therefore, heat stress altered the soil microbial community structure, and affected the availability of soil available nitrogen, which in turn affected the physiological characteristics of R. simsii. We suggest that soil microbial community may play an important role in plant resistance to heat stress, and its mechanism deserves further study.

Chicken Protein S Gene Regulates Adipogenesis and Affects Abdominal Fat Deposition.

(1) Background: Excessive abdominal fat deposition in broilers not only causes feed waste but also leads to a series of metabolic diseases. It has gradually become a new breeding goal of the broiler industry to improve growth rates and to reduce abdominal fat rates. In a previous study, PROS1 was highly expressed in low-abdominal fat broilers, suggesting a potential role in broilers adipogenesis. However, the function of PROS1 in preadipocytes and its association with abdominal fat traits need to be characterized. (2) Methods: qRT-PCR and Western Blot were used to quantify gene expression at the RNA and protein levels; flow cytometry and EdU were carried out to detect cell proliferation; and a GLM analysis was used to determine the association between PROS1 SNPs and carcass traits. (3) Results: PROS1 was downregulated in high-abdominal fat chicken; PROS1 contributed preadipocyte proliferation but suppressed preadipocyte differentiation; and the SNPs in the PROS1 5' flank were significantly associated with the abdominal fat weight rate. (4) Conclusions: Chicken PROS1 is able to suppress adipogenesis, and its polymorphisms are associated with the abdominal fat weight rate, which can be considered the molecular markers for chicken breeding, indicating that PROS1 is an effective potential gene in regulating abdominal fat deposition.

CircDCLRE1C Regulated Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Response and Apoptosis by Regulating miR-214b-3p/STAT3 Pathway in Macrophages.

The immune cell inflammation response is closely related to the occurrence of disease, and much evidence has shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play vital roles in the occurrence of disease. However, the biological function and regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs in the immune cell inflammation response remain poorly understood. In this study, we constructed an inflammatory model using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated chicken macrophage lines (also known as HD11) to verify the function and mechanism of the novel circDCLRE1C (ID: gga_circ_0001674), which was significantly upregulated in spleen tissues infected by coccidia and the macrophage cells exposed to LPS. The results showed that circDCLRE1C aggravated LPS-induced inflammation and apoptosis in HD11 cells. Systemically, circDCLRE1C acted as a sponge for miR-214b-3p binding sites thereby regulating the expression of STAT3. The overexpression of miR-214b-3p rescued the pro-inflammatory effect of circDCLRE1C in HD11 cells stimulated with LPS, and rescued the high expression of STAT3. In conclusion, our study showed that circDCLRE1C could aggravate LPS-induced inflammation and apoptosis through competitive adsorption of miR-214b-3p, thereby increasing the expression of STAT3.

Integrated effects of microbial decomposing inoculant on greenhouse gas emissions, grain yield and economic profit from paddy fields under different water regimes.

Few studies have comprehensively evaluated the impacts of microbial decomposing inoculants on greenhouse gas emissions and economic profit from paddy fields under different water regimes. Here, this study evaluated the effects of microbial decomposing inoculant treatments (straw returning without or with microbial decomposing inoculants (S and SMD)) on rice yield, CH4 and N2O emissions, economic profit and net ecosystem economic profit (NEEP) from paddy fields under different water regimes (continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWD)) in central China with a two-year field experiment. Compared with S treatment, SMD treatment significantly increased the rice yield and crop water productivity by 6.6-7.2% and 5.6-7.9%, respectively. AWD treatment significantly enhanced the crop water productivity by 56.9-73.7% while did not affect rice yield relative to CF treatment. Regardless of water regimes, SMD treatment did not affect N2O emissions, but significantly increased CH4 emissions by 13.8-39.6% relative to S treatment, resulting in a remarkable enhancement of global warming potential by 13.5-32.5%. Compared with S treatment, SMD treatment improved the economic profit and NEEP. By contrast, AWD treatment significantly increased N2O emissions by 19.1-64.8% compared with CF treatment, but significantly reduced CH4 emissions by 35.3-79.1%. Accordingly, AWD treatment significantly decreased the global warming potential by 33.4-73.9% compared with CF treatment. In addition, AWD treatment resulted in 39.9-96.4% higher economic profit and 48.0-124.4% higher NEEP relative to CF treatment. In summary, AWD treatment is a sustainable water regime that can maintain rice yield, mitigate global warming potential, and increase economic income. However, regardless of water regimes, SMD treatment led to higher rice yield and economic profit, as well as higher global warming potential than S treatment, suggesting that other appropriate treatments of crop straw are needed to mitigate CH4 emissions while improving economic profit for rice sustainable production.