Assessing the Bacterial Communities Composition from Differently Treated Agarwood via 16S rRNA Gene Metabarcoding.

Agarwood (Aquilaria sinensis) is one of the most important resin-containing plants used to produce agar around the world and it is a precious herbal medicine usually combined with other herbs. In this study, we used the Illumina sequencing technique to explore the agarwood bacterial community structure from four different incense formations of agarwood, including healthy agarwood, drilling agarwood, liquid fermentation agarwood, and insect attack agarwood. Our results showed that 20 samples of three different incense-formation methods of agarwood and healthy agarwood acquired 1,792,706 high-quality sequences. In-depth investigation showed that when the diversity of agarwood bacterial species was higher, the agarwood incense quality was higher as well. Among healthy agarwood, drilling agarwood, fermentation agarwood, and insect attack agarwood, the bacterial community structure had significant changes. Natural agarwood, such as insect attack agarwood, kept more bacterial community structure, and the incense quality was better. Furthermore, we observed that in the healthy agarwood, Amnibacterium and Delftia were the predominant bacteria. Actinoplanes, Bordetella, and Sphingobacterium were the dominant bacteria in the drilling agarwood. Additionally, Pelagibacterium and Methylovirgula were some of the main bacteria in the fermentation liquid agarwood and the insect attack agarwood, while Cellulomonas and Aeromicrobium were the dominant bacteria. This research provides a basis for further research into the underlying mechanisms of incense production, as well as the bacterial community applications of agarwood production.

Effects of silymarin supplementation during transition and lactation on reproductive performance, milk composition and haematological parameters in sows.

Silymarin has been shown to be a multiple-functional plant extract having antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, antihypertensive, antidiabetic and anti-obesity effects. In recent years, the galactagogue effects of silymarin in animals and humans have also been revealed. This research was conducted to test whether dietary inclusion of silymarin during transition and lactation could impact reproductive performance of sows and to explore the underlying mechanisms. From day 108 of gestation to weaning, sows were randomly assigned to receive dietary treatment of silymarin (40 g/day) or not and were designated as control group (CGP, n = 55) or treatment group (TGP, n = 55). The results showed that piglets' average daily gain and average weaning weight were higher in TGP than CGP sows. In comparison with the CGP sows, the TGP sows had higher serum concentrations of catalase (CAT) on day 18 of lactation and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) on day 7 of lactation. The TGP sows had lower concentration of TNF-α on day 7 of lactation and significantly lower concentration of IL-1ß on day 18 of lactation than CGP sows. There was significantly higher serum concentration of PRL on day 7 of lactation in sows consuming silymarin than sows from the CGP group. On day 18 of lactation, the protein and urea contents in milk were significantly increased while the serum urea concentration was significantly decreased in TGP sows. In summary, our results indicate that silymarin supplementation during transition and lactation can increase circulating concentrations of PRL transiently, reduce oxidative stress, increase feed intake and enhance protein metabolism, thereby significantly increasing milk yield of sows and subsequently improving growth performance of their offsprings.

Phenotypic and genetic variation in phosphorus-deficiency-tolerance traits in Chinese wheat landraces.

BACKGROUND: Phosphorus deficiency is a major limiting factors for affecting crop production globally. To understand the genetic variation of phosphorus-deficiency-tolerance, a total of 15 seedling traits were evaluated among 707 Chinese wheat landraces under application of phosphorus (AP) and non-application of phosphorus (NP). A total of 18,594 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and 38,678 diversity arrays technology sequencing markers were used to detect marker-trait associations under AP and NP. RESULTS: Top ten genotypes with extremely tolerance and bottommost ten genotypes with extremely sensitivity were selected from 707 Chinese wheat landraces for future breeding and genetic analysis. A total of 55 significant markers (81 marker-trait associations) for 13 traits by both CMLM and SUPER method. These were distributed on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 2D, 3A, 4B, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 6D, 7A and 7B. Considering the linkage disequilibrium decay distance, 25 and 12 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected under AP and NP, respectively (9 QTL were specific to NP). CONCLUSIONS: The extremely tolerant landraces could be used for breeding phosphorus-deficiency-tolerant cultivars. The QTL could be useful in wheat breeding through marker-assisted selection. Our findings provide new insight into the genetic analysis of P-deficiency-tolerance, and will be helpful for breeding P-deficiency-tolerant cultivars.

Quantitative trait loci analysis of root traits under phosphorus deficiency at the seedling stage in wheat.

Deficiency of available phosphorus (P) in soil limits wheat production and creates a need to develop P-deficiency-tolerant cultivars. Plant roots, important organs for absorbing nutrients and synthesizing growth regulators, are good candidates for P-efficiency screening. In this study, we evaluated five root traits under hydroponic culture conditions either with (AP) or without (NP) applied P in a recombinant inbred line population (H461/CM107) of Triticum aestivum L. at the seedling stage. Four significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected, on chromosomes 1D, 2D, 3D, and 7D in NP-treated plants, explaining up to 13.0%, 11.0%, 14.4%, and 12.8% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. Among these QTL, Qrt.sicau-3D and Qrt.sicau-7D showed pleiotropic and additive effects. All QTL were found to be novel. The diversity array technology markers flanking the QTL were converted to simple sequence repeat markers that can be deployed in future genetic studies of P deficiency. These QTL lead to an increase in root biomass and respond to P-deficiency stress; these characteristics are crucial to improve root traits for breeding or further investigation of the gene(s) involved in P-deficiency tolerance.

Molecular cloning, tissue distribution and expression analysis of a manganese superoxide dismutase in blunt snout bream Megalobrama amblycephala.

The full-length mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase cDNA of blunt snout bream Megalobrama amblycephala (denoted as MamMnSOD) was identified in liver using homology cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The full-length cDNA of MamMnSOD consisted of 986 bp, with an open reading frame encoding 224 amino acids, a 58-bp 5' untranslated region and a 256-bp 3' untranslated region. The deduced amino acid sequences of MamMnSOD showed high sequence homology to mitochondrial MnSODs from crustaceans. Several motifs, including three mitochondrial MnSOD signatures, amino acid residues responsible for coordinating the manganese, and the putative active center, were almost completely conserved in the deduced amino acid sequences of MamMnSOD. The mRNA expression of MamMnSOD in the tissues of heart, liver, spleen, kidney, muscle, intestine, and gill was examined by quantitative real-time PCR; the highest expression was in the liver. Transcription of MamMnSOD was kinetically modulated in response to nitrite stress in liver and gill tissues. The purified recombinant MamMnSOD showed potent antioxidant activity. Polyclonal antibodies generated from the recombinant product of MamMnSOD were used to specifically identify the native protein in liver of M. amblycephala. Collectively, the findings of this study strongly suggested that MamMnSOD combats oxidative stress and cellular damage induced by nitrite, by detoxifying harmful reactive oxygen species in M. amblycephala.

[Studies on extraction process of the main saponin constituents from the stem bark of Kalopanax septemlobus in Guangxi].

Using orthogonal experiment design, the total saponin constituents were obtained by refluxing extraction with alcohol and separated by macroporous adsorption resin and n-Butyl alcohol from the stem bark of Kalopanax septemlobus. According to the purity analysis and the yield, the extraction process was optimized. The results showed that the main saponin constituents were gained with a yield of 1.32% by using macroporous adsorption resin but 1.05% by using n-Butyl alcohol. The former was more efficient than the latter on both yield and color. The optimal process with isolation by macroporous adsorption resin is cheap, simple and practical.