A 1.1 Mb duplication CNV on chromosome 17 contributes to skeletal muscle development in Boer goats.

The Boer goat is one of the top meat breeds in modern animal husbandry and has attracted widespread attention for its unique growth performance. However, the genetic basis of muscle development in the Boer goat remains obscure. In this study, we identified specific structural variants in the Boer goat based on genome-wide selection signals and analyzed the basis of the molecular heredity of related candidate genes in muscle development. A total of 9 959 autosomal copy number variations (CNVs) were identified through selection signal analysis in 127 goat genomes. Specifically, we confirmed that the highest signal CNV (HSV) was a chromosomal arrangement containing an approximately 1.11 Mb (CHIR17: 60062304-61171840 bp) duplicated fragment inserted in reverse orientation and a 5 362 bp deleted region (CHIR17:60145940-60151302 bp) with overlapping genes (e.g., ARHGAP10, NR3C2, EDNRA, PRMT9, and TMEM184C). The homozygous duplicated HSV genotype (+/+) was found in 96% of Boer goats but was not detected in Eurasian goats and was only detected in 4% of indigenous African goats. The expression network of three candidate genes ( ARHGAP10, NR3C2, and EDNRA) regulating dose transcription was constructed by RNA sequencing. Results indicated that these genes were involved in the proliferation and differentiation of skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) and their overexpression significantly increased the expression of SAA3. The HSV of the Boer goat contributed to superior skeletal muscle growth via the dose effects of overlapping genes.

Repeated Superovulation Accelerates Primordial Follicle Activation and Atresia.

For humans, ARTs (assisted reproductive technologies) have become the most effective method to treat subfertility/infertility in clinic. To obtain enough oocytes during ART, ovarian stimulation is performed by exogenous hormones, and some patients undergo several ovarian stimulation cycles. Although some adverse effects of ARTs on women and offspring are reported, few studies are focused on the effects of multiple superovulation on ovarian reserve. In the present study, we found that repeated superovulation significantly reduced primordial follicle number and the serum AMH. Compared to the decreased antral follicle number, the expression of genes related to primordial follicle activation, such as Foxo3, Akt, and Rptor, and the atretic follicle number in ovaries were increased by superovulation times. We further found that repeated superovulation reduced the plasma level of FSH, LH, and estradiol, and increased the expression of genes related to apoptosis (Bax, Casp3 (caspase-3), Casp8, and Casp9) in granulosa cells, providing evidence that repeated superovulation disrupted the balance between survival and death in granulosa cells. In summary, our results suggest that repeated superovulation has adverse effects on folliculogenesis.

Optimizing nitrogen fertilizer amount for best performance and highest economic return of winter wheat under limited irrigation conditions.

Inappropriate water and fertilizer management can lead to unstable crop yields. Excessive fertilization can potentially cause soil degradation and nitrogen (N) leaching. The aim of this study was to explore the optimal N application rate on two wheat varieties with different nitrogen responding under limited water irrigation at three experimental sites in the Piedmont plain of the Taihang Mountains, China. A two-year field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of five N application rates (N0, N120, N180, N240, and N300) on winter wheat growth, leaf area index, aboveground biomass, grain yield, grain N accumulation, and net return. The results showed that N application rate significantly affected leaf area index, aboveground biomass, grain yield, and harvest index. Variety and variety × N rate interactions had a significant effect on few indicators. Compared with N0, N180 improved leaf area index, aboveground biomass, grain yield, and grain N accumulation. Compared with N240 and N300, N180 increased the harvest index and N harvest index, without significantly reducing grain yield or grain N accumulation, while enhancing a higher N use efficiency. Fertilizers applied in the ranges of 144.7-212.9 and 150.3-247.0 kg ha-1 resulted in the highest net return for the KN199 and JM585 varieties, respectively. Our study provides a sound theoretical basis for high-efficiency fertilizer utilization in sustainable winter wheat production in the Piedmont plains of the Taihang Mountains of China.

Expression characteristics of pineal miRNAs at ovine different reproductive stages and the identification of miRNAs targeting the AANAT gene.

BACKGROUND: Many recent studies have shown that miRNAs play important roles in the regulation of animal reproduction, including seasonal reproduction. The pineal gland is a crucial hub in the regulation of seasonal reproduction. However, little is known about the expression characteristics of pineal miRNAs in different reproductive seasons (anestrus and breeding season). Therefore, the expression profiles and regulatory roles of ovine pineal miRNAs were investigated during different reproductive stages using Solexa sequencing technology and dual luciferase reporter assays. RESULTS: A total of 427 miRNAs were identified in the sheep pineal gland. Significant differences in miRNA expression were demonstrated between anestrus and the breeding season in terms of the frequency distributions of miRNA lengths, number of expressed miRNAs, and specifically and highly expressed miRNAs in each reproductive stage. KEGG analysis of the differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs between anestrus and the breeding season indicated that they are significantly enriched in pathways related to protein synthesis, secretion and uptake. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed that many target genes of DE miRNAs in the ribosome pathway showed relatively low expression in the breeding season. On the other hand, analyses combining miRNA-gene expression data with target relationship validation in vitro implied that miR-89 may participate in the negative regulation of aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) mRNA expression by targeting its 3'UTR at a unique binding site. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide new insights into the expression characteristics of sheep pineal miRNAs at different reproductive stages and into the negative regulatory effects of pineal miRNAs on AANAT mRNA expression.

[Effects of long term tillage practices on photosynthetic characteristics and grain yield of wheat]. / é•¿æœŸè€•ä½œæ–¹å¼å¯¹å°éº¦å ‰åˆç‰¹æ€§å’Œäº§é‡çš„å½±å“.

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of long-term tillage practices on photosynthetic characteristics of flag leaf, dry matter accumulation and its allocation, and grain yield, with a wheat cultivar, Jimai 22, in both 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 growing seasons. Four tillage practices, namely rotary tillage (R), plowing (P), strip rotary tillage and subsoiling at an interval of 2 years (SRS), and rotary tillage and subsoiling at an interval of 2 years (RS), were conducted in field for 9 years since 2007. The results showed that the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), and stomatal conductance (gs) of flag leaves under SRS treatment were significantly higher than those of other treatments from 21 to 35 days after anthesis. The SRS treatment had higher average photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) capture ratio than RS and P treatments, while the lowest values were found under R treatment during grain-filling stage. Compared with the other treatments, the plants of SRS treatment had the highest accumulation of dry matter at maturity, the highest allocation of dry matter in grains, and the highest contribution ratio of dry matter from vegetative organs to grains after anthesis. The grain yield and water use efficiency of SRS treatment were significantly higher than those of the other treatments, and the water consumption amount of SRS treatment was significantly higher than that of both R and P treatments, with no significant difference from the RS treatment. Under the current experimental condition, it was suggested that SRS would be the most effective tillage practice to increase both grain yield and water use efficiency for winter wheat production.

[Effects of supplemental irrigation by monitoring soil moisture on the'water-nitrogen utilization of wheat and soil NO3(-)-N leaching].

Field experiments were conducted during 2012-2014 wheat growing seasons. With no irrigation in the whole stage (WO) treatment as control, three supplemental irrigation treatments were designed based on average relative soil moisture contents at 0-140-cm layer, at jointing and anthesis stages (65% for treatment W1 ; 70% for treatment W2; 75% for treatment W3; respectively), to examine effects of supplemental irrigation on nitrogen accumulation and translocation, grain yield, water use efficiency, and soil nitrate nitrogen leaching in wheat field., Soil water consumption amount, the percentage of soil water consumption and water irrigation to total water consumption in W2 were higher, and soil water consumption of W2 in 100-140 cm soil layer was also higher. The nitrogen accumulation before anthesis and after anthesis were presented as W2, W3>W1>W0, the nitrogen accumulation in vegetative organs at maturity as W3>W2>Wl>W0, and the nitrogen translocation from vegetative organs to grain and the nitrogen accumulation in grain at maturity as W2> W3>W1>W0. At maturity, soil NO3(-)-N content in 0-60 cm soil layer was presented. as W0>W1>W2>W3, that in 80-140 cm soil layer was significantly higher in W3 than in the other treatments, and no significant difference was found in 140-200 cm soil layer among all treatments. W treatment obtained the highest grain yield, water use efficiency, nitrogen uptake efficiency and partial productivity of applied nitrogen. As far as grain yield, water use efficiency, nitrogen uptake efficiency and soil NO3(1)-N leaching were concerned, the W2 regime was the optimal irrigation treatment in this experiment.

Conservation genetics in Chinese sheep: diversity of fourteen indigenous sheep (Ovis aries) using microsatellite markers.

The domestic sheep (Ovis aries) has been an economically and culturally important farm animal species since its domestication around the world. A wide array of sheep breeds with abundant phenotypic diversity exists including domestication and selection as well as the indigenous breeds may harbor specific features as a result of adaptation to their environment. The objective of this study was to investigate the population structure of indigenous sheep in a large geographic location of the Chinese mainland. Six microsatellites were genotyped for 611 individuals from 14 populations. The mean number of alleles (±SD) ranged from 7.00 ± 3.69 in Gangba sheep to 10.50 ± 4.23 in Tibetan sheep. The observed heterozygote frequency (±SD) within a population ranged from 0.58 ± 0.03 in Gangba sheep to 0.71 ± 0.03 in Zazakh sheep and Minxian black fur sheep. In addition, there was a low pairwise difference among the Minxian black fur sheep, Mongolian sheep, Gansu alpine merino, and Lanzhou fat-tailed sheep. Bayesian analysis with the program STRUCTURE showed support for 3 clusters, revealing a vague genetic clustering pattern with geographic location. The results of the current study inferred high genetic diversity within these native sheep in the Chinese mainland.

Characteristics of the mitochondrial genome of four native goats in China (Capra hircus).

Here, we describe the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Jining Gray goat, Fushun black goat, Youzhou black-skin goat, and Hechuan white goat. The mitogenome of those four goats consisted of 16,640 nt, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and a control region. As in other mammals, most mitochondrial genes are encoded on the heavy strand, except for ND6 and eight tRNA genes, which are encoded on the light strand. The complete mitogenome of these four local breeds of Chinese native goats could provide an important data to further breed improvement and animal genetics resource conservation in China.

[Effects of supplemental irrigation based on soil moisture on photosynthetic characteristics and enzyme activity of flan leaf in wheat].

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of supplemental irrigation based on soil moisture on the photosynthesis characteristics and enzyme activity of flag leaf using the wheat cultivar Jimai 20. Three irrigation treatments were designed with target soil moisture of 65% (W65), 70% (W70) and 75% (W75) both at jointing and anthesis stages. Zero-irrigation ( CK) was used as the control. The results showed that the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of flag leaf in treatment W70 was dramatically higher than in other treatments from 14 to 21 days after anthesis, as well as sucrose content and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) activity. The dry matter mass per area of W70 was higher than that of W65 and CK, and was not significantly different from that of W75. The single stem mass of W70 was higher than that of the other treatments. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) and the soluble protein concentration in flag leaf of W70 were significantly higher than in other treatments from 14 to 28 days after anthesis. The malondialdehyde (MDA) content of W70 was lower than that of W65 and CK, and was not significantly different from that of W75 from 14 to 21 days after anthesis. Grain yields of W70 were 8941.4 and 9125.4 kg · hm⁻² in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 wheat growing seasons, showing no significant difference with those of W75, but obviously higher than those of W65 and CK. And the water use efficiency (WUE) of W70 was the highest. Considering grain yield and WUE, maintaining the relative soil water content at 70% by supplemental irrigation both at jointing and anthesis stages was the best treatment.