MST1/2 in inflammation and immunity.

The mammalian Sterile 20-like kinase 1/2 (MST1/2) belongs to the serine/threonine (GC) protein kinase superfamily. Collective studies confirm the vital role MST1/2 in inflammation and immunity. MST1/2 is closely related to the progress of inflammation. Generally, MST1/2 aggravates the inflammatory injury through MST1-JNK, MST1-mROS, MST1-Foxo3, and NF-κB pathways, as well as several regulatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), mitochondrial extension factor 1 (MIEF1), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Moreover, MST1/2 is also involved in the regulation of immunity to balance immune activation and tolerance by regulating MST1/2-Rac, MST1-Akt1/c-myc, MST1-Foxos, MST1-STAT, Btk pathways, and lymphocyte function-related antigen 1 (LFA-1), which subsequently prevents immunodeficiency syndrome and autoimmune diseases. This article reviews the effects of MST1/2 on inflammation and immunity.

Effects of dietary rubber seed oil on production performance, egg quality and yolk fatty acid composition of Hy-Line Brown layers.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effects of dietary supplement of rubber seed oil on production performance, egg quality, and yolk fatty acid composition in laying hens during a 16-week feeding trial period. METHODS: Forty-eight 25-week-old laying hens of Hy-Line Brown were randomly divided into three groups. Each group comprised four replicates and each replicate had four birds. Rubber seed oil was incorporated into a corn-soybean meal basal diet by 3.5% (group I), 4.5% (group II), or 0 (control group) and equivalent nutrition was supplied for the test groups and the control group. The performance related values were determined using standard or well established methods. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in the production performance, the egg quality, the composition of saturated fatty acids, and the content of cholesterol and monounsaturated fatty acids in the yolk within the three groups. Interestingly, both test groups achieved a significantly higher content of linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid and a significantly lower content of arachidonic acid (p<0.05) compared with the control group. With the increased level of dietary rubber seed oil, there was an increasing trend in the content of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), n-3 PUFA and total PUFA, but a declining trend in the n-6/n-3 ratio. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that the rubber seed oil supplemented diet effectively improved the total PUFA content in eggs without impairing the layers' production performance and the egg quality.

The Composition of Fungal Communities in the Rumen of Gayals (Bos frontalis), Yaks (Bos grunniens), and Yunnan and Tibetan Yellow Cattle (Bos taurs).

The rumen is a microbial-rich ecosystem in which rumen fungi play an important role in the feed digestion of ruminants. The composition of rumen fungi in free-range ruminants such as gayals, yaks, Tibetan yellow cattle, and the domesticated Yunnan yellow cattle was investigated by sequencing an internal transcribed spacer region 1 (ITS1) using Illumina MiSeq. A total of 285 092 optimized sequences and 904 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained from the four cattle breeds. The rumen fungi abundance and Chao and Simpson indexes were all higher in free-range ruminants than in domesticated ruminants. Three fungal phyla were identified by sequence comparison: Neocallimastigomycota, Basidiomycota, and Ascomycota. Basidiomycota and Ascomycota have very low abundance in the rumen of four breeds cattle but anaerobic fungi (AF) Neocallimastigomycota occurred in a high abundance. In Neocallimastigomycota, the dominant genera were Piromyces, Anaeromyces, Cyllamyces, Neocallimastix, and Orpionmyces in four cattle breeds. The composition of the major genera of Neocallimastigaceae varied greatly among the four cattle breeds. The unclassified genera were unequally distributed in gayals, yaks, Tibetan and Yunnan yellow cattle, accounting for 90.63%, 98.52%, 97.79%, and 27.01% respectively. It appears that free-range ruminants have more unknown rumen fungi than domesticated ruminants and the cattle breeds and animal diets had an impact on the diversity of rumen fungi.The rumen is a microbial-rich ecosystem in which rumen fungi play an important role in the feed digestion of ruminants. The composition of rumen fungi in free-range ruminants such as gayals, yaks, Tibetan yellow cattle, and the domesticated Yunnan yellow cattle was investigated by sequencing an internal transcribed spacer region 1 (ITS1) using Illumina MiSeq. A total of 285 092 optimized sequences and 904 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained from the four cattle breeds. The rumen fungi abundance and Chao and Simpson indexes were all higher in free-range ruminants than in domesticated ruminants. Three fungal phyla were identified by sequence comparison: Neocallimastigomycota, Basidiomycota, and Ascomycota. Basidiomycota and Ascomycota have very low abundance in the rumen of four breeds cattle but anaerobic fungi (AF) Neocallimastigomycota occurred in a high abundance. In Neocallimastigomycota, the dominant genera were Piromyces, Anaeromyces, Cyllamyces, Neocallimastix, and Orpionmyces in four cattle breeds. The composition of the major genera of Neocallimastigaceae varied greatly among the four cattle breeds. The unclassified genera were unequally distributed in gayals, yaks, Tibetan and Yunnan yellow cattle, accounting for 90.63%, 98.52%, 97.79%, and 27.01% respectively. It appears that free-range ruminants have more unknown rumen fungi than domesticated ruminants and the cattle breeds and animal diets had an impact on the diversity of rumen fungi.

Effects of age on slaughter performance and meat quality of Binlangjang male buffalo.

Twelve representative buffalo were selected from 22 suckling calves, 41 weaned calves, 57 reserve bulls and 20 adult bulls for slaughter. The study aims to assess the effect of age on dressing percentage, meat percentage and carcass meat yield and physico-chemical properties of longissimus dorsi and biceps femoris, and to evaluate the correlation between live weight and marbling, backfat thickness, rib eye area. The results showed that the slaughter performance and meat quality of Binlangjang male buffalo showed an obvious change with age. The dressing percentage decreased from 54.93% to 51.22% with the increase of age, while meat percentage and carcass meat yield increased gradually with age, which were 34.58-38.59%, 62.95-75.34%; Marbling, backfat thickness and rib eye area increased with age, and there was significant difference between the situation before 3 months and after 12 months of age (P < 0.05). The moisture content was maximum at birth, which then gradually decreased, but the difference was insignificant (P > 0.05). The levels of fat, protein, cholesterol and inosine acid were significantly different before 3 months of age from those after 12 months (P < 0.05). Cholesterol content was negatively correlated with age, the minimum was 80.25 mg/100 g; Inosine acid content increased with age, reaching 133.11 mg/100 g. Marbling, backfat thickness, rib eye area had a high correlation with live weight, with correlation coefficients respectively at 0.9096, 0.9291, 0.9551. Based on the prediction model of live weight, Buffaloes was suitable for slaughtering for superior slaughter performance and meat quality after 24 months of age.

Possible Association of IFN-γ Gene -316A/G SNP with Humoral Immune Response to Killed H5N1 HPAI Vaccine in a Red Junglefowl Population.

To understand the role of interferon (IFN)-γ gene (IFNG) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the resistance to H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), we determined the SNPs, the log2-transformed specific antibody titers, and ex vivo recall antigen-specific IFN-γ production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in 62 red junglefowls (Gallus gallus) immunized twice with inactivated H5N1 HPAI vaccine. Consequently, 52 SNPs were detected in the amplified 1137-bp length covering the promoter region and all exons, with +2133A/T SNP in the coding DNA sequence that caused a missense mutation and was identified in G. gallus for the first time. For -316A/G SNP genotypes, the chi-squared test showed that the bird sample was in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P=0.369>0.05), and the least squares analysis revealed an increasing tendency in the antibody titers with G to A substitution so that a significant difference occurred between the AA genotype (8.031±0.247) and the GG genotype (6.571±0.528) (P=0.015<0.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.0004-0.0866), as basically consistent with the antigen-induced IFN-γ protein expression, which indicated possible association of the -316A/G SNP with a secondary humoral immune response to the HPAI vaccine in the bird population. These findings may help to improve genetic resistance using cross-breeding and enhance HPAI vaccine-induced immunity in chicken production.