Dietary copper supplementation modulates performance and lipid metabolism in meat goat kids

Forty-eight male Lezhi black goat kids with similar body weight ((12.09±1.70) kg) and age ((60±5) d) were used to determine the effect of dietary copper (Cu), in the form of reagent grade Cu sulfate (CuSO₄∙5H₂O), on performance, serum lipid profile, and the relative mRNA abundance of genes involved in lipid metabolism.  Goat kids were stratified by body weight and randomly assigned to one of 4 treatment groups.  Each treatment consisted of 12 replicate pens with each pen containing one goat kid.  Treatment groups received the basal diet with no supplemental Cu (control), basal diet plus 10 mg of Cu kg^–1 of dry matter (DM), basal diet plus 20 mg of Cu kg^–1 of DM, or basal diet plus 30 mg of Cu kg^–1 of DM.  Goats were housed individually in pens and fed a high-concentrate pelleted diet for 60 d.  Average daily gain, average daily feed intake and feed:gain of goats were not affected by dietary Cu supplementation (P>0.10).  No differences were detected in serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations of goat kids fed with different Cu concentrations (P>0.05).  However, serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations decreased linearly (P=0.01) as the concentration of dietary Cu increased.  Intramuscular fat content of longissimus muscle increased (P=0.002) quadratically and liver Cu concentrations increased (P<0.001) linearly as dietary Cu concentration increased.  Compared with the control, dietary supplementation of 20 mg Cu kg^–1 DM decreased the relative mRNA abundance of fatty acid-binding protein 4 (P=0.01) and lipoprotein lipase (P=0.05), and tended to decrease the relative mRNA abundance of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (P=0.06) in longissimus muscle of goats.  The relative mRNA abundance of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (P<0.001), carnitine acetyltransferase (P=0.001), and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (P=0.001) were also decreased in liver by Cu supplementation.  These results indicate that dietary supplementation of Cu modified lipid metabolism by increasing muscular fat and decreasing serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and the modification might be associated with the reduction of relative mRNA abundance of genes for oxidation of long-chain fatty acid in muscle and liver of Lezhi black goat kids.     

Measurement of trimethylamine concentration and evaluation of pig meat natural quality by a spectrophotometric method

Pig meat off-flavor is attributed to trimethylamine (TMA) concentration, and it is considered as the precursor of the fishy off-flavor problems. In this study, TMA concentrations in pig meat were determined, and the interactions with breed and gender effects were discussed. In addition, the TMA threshold for meat off-flavor and pig meat natural quality was measured in relation to meat storage and movement, and the influential factors including the pig breed and storage time were discussed. The results indicated positive effects on the precursor of the fishy off-flavor and the TMA threshold. Native breeds were found to have lower TMA concentrations than European breeds (P<0.01), and females and castrated males had significantly lower TMA concentration than males (P<0.01), The threshold concentration of TMA when meat was classed as off-flavored was 25 μg·g^-1, and this occurred after 35–38 h of storage. The natural qualities, such as appearance, flavor, color and overall acceptable scores declined significantly after 4 days in storage (P<0.01). It is concluded that pig meat off-flavor, breed and gender were essential factors affecting flavor for meat breeding programs, and storage time is important for pig meat natural quality.     

Reduction of N2O emissions by DMPP depends on the interactions of nitrogen sources (digestate vs. urea) with soil properties

The inhibition of nitrification by mixing nitrification inhibitors (NI) with fertilizers is emerging as an effective method to reduce fertilizer-induced nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions.  The additive 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) apparently inhibits ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) more than ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA), which dominate the nitrification in alkaline and acid soil, respectively.  However, the efficacy of DMPP in terms of nitrogen sources interacting with soil properties remains unclear.  We therefore conducted a microcosm experiment using three typical Chinese agricultural soils with contrasting pH values (fluvo-aquic soil, black soil and red soil), which were fertilized with either digestate or urea in conjunction with a range of DMPP concentrations.  In the alkaline fluvo-aquic soil, fertilization with either urea or digestate induced a peak in N₂O emission (60 μg N kg^–1 d^–1) coinciding with the rapid nitrification within 3 d following fertilization.  DMPP almost eliminated this peak in N₂O emission, reducing it by nearly 90%, despite the fact that the nitrification rate was only reduced by 50%.  In the acid black soil, only the digestate induced an N₂O emission that increased gradually, reaching its maximum (20 μg N kg^–1 d^–1) after 5–7 d.  The nitrification rate and N₂O emission were both marginally reduced by DMPP in the black soil, and the N₂O yield (N₂O-N per NO₂^–+NO₃^–-N produced) was exceptionally high at 3.5%, suggesting that the digestate induced heterotrophic denitrification.  In the acid red soil, the N₂O emission spiked in the digestate and urea treatments at 50 and 10 μg N kg^–1 d^–1, respectively, and DMPP reduced the rates substantially by nearly 70%.  Compared with 0.5% DMPP, the higher concentrations of DMPP (1.0 to 1.5%) did not exert a significantly (P<0.05) better inhibition effect on the N₂O emissions in these soils (either with digestate or urea).  This study highlights the importance of matching the nitrogen sources, soil properties and NIs to achieve a high efficiency of N₂O emission reduction.     

Effects of LPA on the development of sheep in vitro fertilized embryos and attempt to establish sheep embryonic stem cells

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a small molecule glycerophospholipid, which regulates multiple downstream signalling pathways through G-protein-coupled receptors to achieve numerous functions on oocyte maturation and embryo development.  In this study, sheep in vitro fertilized embryos were applied to investigate the effects of LPA on early embryos development and embryonic stem cell establishment.  At first, the maturation medium containing estrus female sheep serum and synthetic oviduct fluid (SOF) were optimized for sheep IVF, and then the effects of LPA were investigated.  From 0.1 to 10 μmol L^–1, LPA had no significant effect on the cleavage rate (P>0.05), but the maturation rate and blastocyst rate increased dependently with LPA concentration (P<0.05), and the blastocyst morphology was normal.  When the LPA concentration was 15 μmol L^–1, the maturation rate, cleavage rate and blastocyst rate decreased significantly (P<0.05), and the blastocyst exhibited abnormal morphology and could not develop into high-quality blastocyst.  Besides, the exogenous LPA increases the expression of LPAR2, LPAR4, TE-related gene CDX-2 and pluripotency-related gene OCT-4 in sheep early IVF embryos with the raise of LPA concentration from 0.1 to 10 μmol L^–1.  The expression of LPAR2, LPAR4, CDX-2 and OCT-4 from the LPA-0.1 μmol L^–1 to LPA-10 μmol L^–1 groups in early embryos were extremely significant (P<0.05), while the expression of these genes significantly decreased in 15 μmol L^–1 LPA-treated embryos compared with LPA-10 μmol L^–1 group (P<0.05).  The inner cell mass in 15 μmol L^–1 LPA-treated embryos was also disturbed, and the blastocysts formation was abnormal.  Secondly, the sheep IVF blastocysts were applied to establish embryonic stem cells.  The results showed that LPA made the blastocyst inoculated cells grow towards TSC-like cells.  They enhanced the fluorescence intensity and mRNA abundance of OCT-4 and CDX-2 as the concentration increased from 0 to 10 μmol L^–1, while 15 μmol L^–1 LPA decreased OCT-4 and CDX-2 expression in the derived cells.  The expression of CDX-2 and OCT-4 in the blastocyst inoculated cells of LPA-1 μmol L^–1 group and LPA-10 μmol L^–1 group extremely significantly increased (P<0.05), but there was significant decrease in LPA-15 μmol L^–1 group compared with LPA-10 μmol L^–1 group (P<0.05).  Meanwhile, the protein expression of LPAR2 and LPAR4 remarkably increased after treatment of LPA at 10 μmol L^–1 concentration.  This study references the IVF embryo production and embryonic stem cell research of domestic animals.      

伊犁马LPL基因多态性及其与肉质性状关联性分析

【目的】研究伊犁马脂蛋白脂酶(lipoprotein lipase,LPL)基因多态性及其对肉质性状的影响,为专门化肉用马选种提供技术支撑。【方法】以41匹成年伊犁马为研究对象,采集颈静脉血液样本及其三角肌、背阔肌、臂三头肌、腹外斜肌和臀中肌5个部位肌肉样本,提取伊犁马DNA样本并测定肉质性状,利用PCR测序法筛选LPL基因突变位点并进行多态性分析,结合伊犁马肉质性状数据与LPL基因多态性进行关联性分析。【结果】所选马匹中共检测出2个突变位点(g.715T>C和g.12074C>A),均为内含子突变,2个位点均只检测出2种基因型,为低度多态位点。g.715T>C位点TT基因型马匹背阔肌和臀中肌失水率显著高于TC基因型马匹(P<0.05),背阔肌剪切力极显著大于TC基因型马匹(P<0.01),腹外斜肌剪切力极显著小于TC基因型马匹(P<0.05),三角肌和臀中肌剪切力显著大于TC基因型马匹(P<0.05);g.12074C>A突变位点CC基因型马匹臂三头肌和臀中肌失水率极显著低于CA基因型马匹(P<0.01),背阔肌和腹外斜肌失水率显著低于CA基因型马匹(P<0.05),臂三头肌熟肉率极显著高于CA基因型马匹(P<0.01),三角肌和腹外斜肌熟肉率与CA基因型马匹呈显著差异(P<0.05),臂三头肌和腹外斜肌剪切力极显著高于CA基因型马匹(P<0.01)。【结论】LPL基因g.715T>C和g.12074C>A位点是影响伊犁马肉质性状的潜在位点。     

新疆褐牛、哈萨克牛产肉性能及肉品质对比分析

【目的】研究新疆褐牛与哈萨克牛肉用性能和肉品质。【方法】选取12月龄健康新疆褐牛、哈萨克牛阉牛各5头,在同样的饲养管理条件下,持续育肥18个月后屠宰,利用体尺测定、屠宰测定和检测分析的方法对新疆褐牛和哈萨克牛体尺发育、肉用性能和肉品质分析测定。【结果】体尺测定新疆褐牛体高、十字部高均显著高于哈萨克牛(P<0.05),通过屠宰测定,新疆褐牛后腿围,大腿肉厚,胴体重,眼肌面积均显著高于哈萨克牛(P<0.05),新疆褐牛剪切力显著低于哈萨克牛(P<0.05);肉色亮度值(L^*),红色度(a^*),黄色度值(b^*)新疆褐牛均显著高于哈萨克牛(P<0.05),脂肪和蛋白质含量显著高于哈萨克牛(P<0.05)。【结论】新疆褐牛与哈萨克牛相比在体尺发育和肉用性能方面表现出显著优势,且肉品质较为突出。     

日粮中不同藜麦添加水平对芦花鸡肉品质及微量元素的影响

为研究日粮中不同藜麦添加水平对芦花鸡肉品质、肌肉营养成分及微量元素的影响,选取49日龄健康脱温芦花鸡150只,随机分为5组:不添加藜麦及其副产物的对照组(CK)和添加4%(Q4)、8%(Q8)、12%(Q12)的藜麦籽实(原粮)及12%藜麦糠(QS)的处理组,饲喂75 d后屠宰并取胸肌和腿肌样品,测定肉品质、营养成分和微量元素。结果表明,胸肌Q12组45 min肉色(亮度L^*、黄度b^*),Q4、QS组剪切力、蒸煮损失、滴水损失及各试验组的失水率均显著低于CK组(P<0.05);Q8、QS组红度a^*和QS组熟肉率均显著高于CK组(P<0.05);标准化评分表明Q12组胸肌肉品质最好;腿肌Q4、Q12组亮度L^*(45 min、24 h),Q12组黄度b^*(45 min)、滴水损失,Q4组剪切力,Q8、Q12、QS组蒸煮损失均显著低于CK组(P<0.05);而Q8、QS组45 min肉色(红度a^*)则显著高于CK组(P<0.05);标准化评分结果表明,Q8组腿肌肉品质最好;Q8组胸肌水分、Q4组腿肌粗灰分及各试验组胸肌、腿肌粗蛋白均显著高于CK组(P<0.05);胸肌Q12组铜元素含量,腿肌Q8组钙元素、Q12组锰元素含量均显著高于CK组(P<0.05)。由此可见,日粮中添加藜麦对芦花鸡肉品质、肌肉营养成分、微量元素有一定改善作用,且添加8%藜麦籽实对肉品质改善效果更佳。     

伊犁马不同部位肉食用品质与脂肪酸组成差异性分析

【目的】 研究伊犁马不同部位肉食用品质及脂肪酸含量,分析不同部位对伊犁马肉食用品质及脂肪酸组成的影响。【方法】 试验选取9匹1岁伊犁马为研究对象,采集三角肌、背阔肌、臂三头肌、腹外斜肌和臀中肌肌肉样本,分别测定其失水率、熟肉率、剪切力、粗脂肪含量及脂肪酸含量,计算饱和脂肪酸、单不饱和脂肪酸和多不饱和脂肪酸含量并进行差异性分析。【结果】 熟肉率三角肌极显著低于腹外斜肌(P<0.01),失水率背阔肌和臂三头肌显著低于臀中肌(P<0.05),十三烷酸(C13∶0)含量三角肌极显著高于背阔肌、臂三头肌和腹外斜肌(P<0.01),二十碳二烯酸(C20∶2)含量背阔肌极显著高于臀中肌(P<0.01),花生四烯酸(C20∶4N6)含量背阔肌极显著高于腹外斜肌(P<0.01),二十碳三烯酸(C20∶3N3)含量背阔肌极显著高于臀中肌(P<0.01),二十四烷酸(C24∶0)含量背阔肌、臂三头肌和腹外斜肌极显著高于臀中肌(P<0.01),多不饱和脂肪酸与饱和脂肪酸含量比值三角肌与背阔肌显著高于腹外斜肌(P<0.05)。【结论】 不同部位伊犁马肉失水率、熟肉率等食用品质及脂肪酸含量存在差异,富含不饱和脂肪酸,是具有高开发价值的肉类。     

Quantifying in situ N2 fluxes from an intensively managed calcareous soil using the 15N gas-flux method

Denitrification-induced nitrogen (N) losses from croplands may be greatly increased by intensive fertilization.  However, the accurate quantification of these losses is still challenging due to insufficient available in situ measurements of soil dinitrogen (N₂) emissions.  We carried out two one-week experiments in a maize–wheat cropping system with calcareous soil using the ¹⁵N gas-flux (¹⁵NGF) method to measure in situ N₂ fluxes following urea application.  Applications of ¹⁵N-labeled urea (99 atom%, 130–150 kg N ha⁻¹) were followed by irrigation on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th days after fertilization (DAF 1, 3, and 5, respectively).  The detection limits of the soil N₂ fluxes were 163–1 565, 81–485, and 54–281 μg N m⁻² h⁻¹ for the two-, four-, and six-hour static chamber enclosures, respectively.  The N₂ fluxes measured in 120 cases varied between 159 and 2 943 (811 on average) μg N m⁻² h⁻¹, which were higher than the detection limits, with the exception of only two cases.  The N₂ fluxes at DAF 3 were significantly higher (by nearly 80% (P<0.01)) than those at DAF 1 and 5 in the maize experiment, while there were no significant differences among the irrigation times in the wheat experiment.  The N₂ fluxes and the ratios of nitrous oxide (N₂O) to the N₂O plus N₂ fluxes following urea application to maize were approximately 65% and 11 times larger, respectively (P<0.01), than those following urea application to wheat.  Such differences could be mainly attributed to the higher soil water contents, temperatures, and availability of soil N substrates in the maize experiment than in the wheat experiment.  This study suggests that the ¹⁵NGF method is sensitive enough to measure in situ N₂ fluxes from intensively fertilized croplands with calcareous soils.     

A genome-wide association study of five meat quality traits in Yorkshire pigs

Meat quality is an important trait in the pig industry. To identify genomic regions and haplotype blocks responsible for meat quality traits in pigs, a genome-wide association study was conducted for five traits including intramuscular fat content, pH at 45 min and 24 h, drip loss within 24 h and water-holding capacity in 231 Yorkshire barrows using illumina porcine 60k SNP chips. The results showed that a total of 344 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were significantly associated with five meat quality traits (P<1×10^-4). Moreover, 323 SNPs were within the reported QTL regions, of which 21 were novel. Also, 158 SNPs fell into the proximal region of meat quality related genes. In addition, 25 haplotype blocks based on 116 SNPs were revealed with SNP combination patterns for five traits. Our study added new SNP information for identification of meat quality traits in pigs and will help elucidate the mechanisms of meat quality in pigs.     

Identification of genome regions and important variations associated with expression level of MYH genes and its correlation with meat quality traits in pigs

Meat quality is one of the most important economic traits in pig breeding. It has been reported that the composition of type II muscle fibers is correlated with meat quality in pigs. Type II muscle fibers contain three isoforms, IIa, IIb and IIx, which contain specific myofibrillar proteins MYH2, MYH4 and MYH1, respectively. In this study, the expression levels of MYH1, MYH2, and MYH4 genes in the Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle were measured in 114 Yorkshire pigs. Further, the correlations between the expression level of MYH genes and the meat quality traits of intramuscular fat, drip loss, water-holding capacity and postmortem pH values were analyzed. The results showed that the expression level of MYH2 was positively correlated with the intramuscular fat (R= 0.20, P<0.05). The expression levels of MHY1 and MYH4 were negatively correlated with the pH at 24 h post mortem (pH_24h ; R= －0.28, P<0.01; R= －0.25, P<0.01, respectively). Besides, the 60K SNP chip was used for genotyping the individuals. Genome wide association analysis indicated that 15 SNPs were significantly associated with the expression levels of these three MYH genes. The results indicated the expression levels of MYH1, MYH2 and MYH4 genes could be useful markers for improvement of meat quality in pigs.     

Grain zinc and iron concentrations of Chinese wheat landraces and cultivars and their responses to foliar micronutrient applications

Grain zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) concentrations and their responses to foliar application of micronutrients in 28 Chinese wheat landraces and 63 cultivars were investigated in a two-year field experiment.  The average grain Zn and Fe concentrations were 41.8 mg kg^–1 (29.0−63.3 mg kg^–1) and 39.7 mg kg^–1 (27.9−67.0 mg kg^–1), respectively.  Compared with cultivars, landraces had greater grain Zn (11.0%) and Fe (4.8%) concentrations but lower harvest index (HI), grain weight per spike (GWS), grain number per spike (GNS) and thousand grain weight (TGW).  Both Zn and Fe concentrations were negatively and significantly correlated with HI, GWS, and GNS, while showed a poor association with TGW, suggesting that lower HI, GWS, and GNS, but not TGW, accounted for higher Zn and Fe concentrations for landraces than for cultivars.  Grain Zn concentrations of both cultivars and landraces significantly increased after foliar Zn spray and the increase was two-fold greater for landraces (12.6 mg kg^–1) than for cultivars (6.4 mg kg^–1).  Foliar Fe spray increased grain Fe concentrations of landraces (3.4 mg kg^–1) and cultivars (1.2 mg kg^–1), but these increases were not statistically significant.  This study showed that Chinese wheat landraces had higher grain Zn and Fe concentrations than cultivars, and greater increases occurred in grain Zn concentration than in grain Fe concentration in response to fertilization, suggesting that Chinese wheat landraces could serve as a potential genetic source for enhancing grain mineral levels in modern wheat cultivars.     

不同来源ATP表征冷鲜羊肉新鲜度

【目的】通过系统研究冷鲜羊肉不同来源的三磷酸腺苷（adenosine triphosphate,ATP。包括肉中ATP、微生物ATP、肉表面ATP）在贮藏期间的变化规律,筛选能够表征冷鲜羊肉新鲜度变化的ATP指标,构建菌落总数和挥发性盐基氮预测模型,探究冷鲜羊肉新鲜度的预测新方法。【方法】以小尾寒羊背最长肌为试验材料,在空气密封包装0℃条件下分别贮藏0、1、3、5、7、9、11、13、15、17和21 d,分析冷鲜羊肉贮藏期间新鲜度指标（pH、色泽、挥发性盐基氮、菌落总数）与3种来源ATP（肉中ATP、微生物ATP、肉表面ATP）的变化,利用数据统计评价不同来源ATP的变化规律,并构建新鲜度指标的预测模型。【结果】冷鲜羊肉贮藏期间新鲜度指标菌落总数、挥发性盐基氮均呈现上升趋势,并均在贮藏17 d时超过国家标准限值;肉中ATP呈现不断下降趋势,微生物ATP与肉表面ATP均呈现上升趋势,与新鲜度指标变化趋势保持一致;冷鲜羊肉贮藏期间,肉中ATP、微生物ATP、肉表面ATP含量与菌落总数、挥发性盐基氮的相关系数（R）分别为-0.399、0.910、0.943和-0.357、0.725、0.907。肉表面ATP预测冷鲜羊肉菌落总数的最优模型为Boltzmann拟合模型,其公式为TVC（lg cfu/g）=7.649-4.069/(1+exp(x-5.807)/0.632)（R ²=0.903,P<0.001）,肉表面ATP预测冷鲜羊肉挥发性盐基氮的最优模型为Expedc1拟合模型,其公式为TVB-N（mg/100 g）=2.493*exp(x/3.745)+3.057（R ²=0.888,P<0.001）。【结论】本研究明确了冷鲜羊肉表面ATP与菌落总数、挥发性盐基氮存在显著正相关性,确证了肉表面ATP可以作为冷鲜羊肉新鲜度表征指标;并构建了菌落总数和挥发性盐基氮最优预测模型,为冷鲜羊肉新鲜度快速检测提供了新的思路。     

MicroRNA-370-5p inhibits pigmentation and cell proliferation by downregulating mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 8 expression in sheep melanocytes

In mammals, microRNAs (miRNAs) play key roles in multiple biological processes by regulating the expression of target genes.  Studies have found that the levels of miR-370-5p expression differ significantly in the skins of sheep with different hair colors; however, its function remains unclear.  In this study, we investigated the roles of miR-370-5p in sheep melanocytes and found that the overexpression of miR-370-5p significantly inhibited cell proliferation (P<0.01), tyrosinase activity (P=0.001) and significantly reduced (P<0.001) melanin production.  Functional prediction revealed that the 3´-untranslated region (UTR) of MAP3K8 has a putative miR-370-5p binding site, and the interaction between these two molecules was confirmed using luciferase reporter assays.  In situ hybridization assays revealed that MAP3K8 is expressed in the cytoplasm of melanocytes.  The results of quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting analyses revealed that overexpression of miR-370-5p in melanocytes significantly inhibits (P<0.01) MAP3K8 expression via direct targeting of its 3´ UTR.  Inhibition of MAP3K8 expression by siRNA-MAP3K8 transfection induced a significant inhibition (P<0.01) of melanocyte proliferation and significant reduction (P<0.001) in melanin production, which is consistent with our observations for miR-370-5p.  Target gene rescue experiments indicated that the expression of MAP3K8 in melanocytes co-transfected with miR-370-5p and MAP3K8-cDNA (containing sites for the targeted binding to miR-370-5p) was significantly rescued (P≤0.001), which subsequently promoted significant increases in cell proliferation (P<0.001) and melanin production (P<0.01).  Collectively, these findings indicate that miR-370-5p plays a functional role in inhibiting sheep melanocyte proliferation and melanogenesis by downregulating the expression of MAP3K8.       

Growth and nitrogen productivity of drip-irrigated winter wheat under different nitrogen fertigation strategies in the North China Plain

Excessive application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer is the main cause of N loss and poor use efficiency in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in the North China Plain (NCP).  Drip fertigation is considered to be an effective method for improving N use efficiency and reducing losses, while the performance of drip fertigation in winter wheat is limited by poor N scheduling.  A two-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth, development and yield of drip-fertigated winter wheat under different split urea (46% N, 240 kg ha^–1) applications.  The six treatments consisted of five fertigation N application scheduling programs and one slow-release fertilizer (SRF) application.  The five N scheduling treatments were N0–100 (0% at sowing and 100% at jointing/booting), N25–75 (25% at sowing and 75% at jointing and booting), N50–50 (50% at sowing and 50% at jointing/booting), N75–25 (75% at sowing and 25 at jointing/booting), and N100–0 (100% at sowing and 0% at jointing/booting).  The SRF (43% N, 240 kg ha^–1) was only used as fertilizer at sowing.  Split N application significantly (P<0.05) affected wheat grain yield, yield components, aboveground biomass (ABM), water use efficiency (WUE) and nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP).  The N50–50 and SRF treatments respectively had the highest yield (8.84 and 8.85 t ha^–1), ABM (20.67 and 20.83 t ha^–1), WUE (2.28 and 2.17 kg m^–3) and NPFP (36.82 and 36.88 kg kg^–1).  This work provided substantial evidence that urea-N applied in equal splits between basal and topdressing doses compete economically with the highly expensive SRF for fertilization of winter wheat crops.  Although the single-dose SRF could reduce labor costs involved with the traditional method of manual spreading, the drip fertigation system used in this study with the N50–50 treatment provides an option for farmers to maintain wheat production in the NCP.     

猪FTO基因多态性与肉质性状的关联分析

为了探究猪FTO基因多态性与肉质性状的关联性,试验通过限制性片段长度多态性聚合酶链式反应(polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism,PCR-RFLP)的BstuⅠ和TaiⅠ限制性内切酶技术分析了豫西黑猪和长白猪FTO基因第3外显子(c.594C>G)和第4内含子(g.276G>T)的遗传多样性,并将FTO基因的基因型与豫西黑猪背膘厚、pH₁、pH₂₄、滴水损失、肉色和大理石纹等肉质性状进行了关联分析。研究结果表明:FTO基因的c.594C>G位点和g.276G>T位点都具有中度多态性,经检验c.594C>G位点和g.276G>T位点的基因频率均符合χ²检验的Hardy-Weinberg平衡定律(P>0.05)。在c.594C>G位点上,豫西黑猪和长白猪都存在3种不同的基因型,分别为CC、CG和GG基因型,优势等位基因都为C等位基因,且两者C等位基因的频率分别为0.522 7和0.533 3,在肉色评分上,CG基因型和GG基因型个体显著高于CC基因型(P<0.05)。在g.276G>T位点上,豫西黑猪和长白猪都存在3种不同的基因型,分别为GG、GT和TT基因型,优势等位基因均为T等位基因(0.574 1,1.648 1)。结果表明,FTO基因的c.594C>G位点与豫西黑猪的肉质性状具有显著关联性,这在一定程度上说明了FTO基因可以为豫西黑猪肉质性状的遗传选择提供参考依据。     

Investigation of Aegilopsumbellulatafor stripe rust resistance,heading date,and the contents of iron,zinc, and gluten protein

Aegilops umbellulata (UU) is a wheat wild relative that has potential use in the genetic improvement of wheat.  In this study, 46 Ae. umbellulata accessions were investigated for stripe rust resistance, heading date (HD), and the contents of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and seed gluten proteins.  Forty-two of the accessions were classified as resistant to stripe rust, while the other four accessions were classified as susceptible to stripe rust in four environments.  The average HD of Ae. umbellulata was significantly longer than that of three common wheat cultivars (180.9 d vs. 137.0 d), with the exception of PI226500 (138.9 d).  The Ae. umbellulata accessions also showed high variability in Fe (69.74–348.09 mg kg^–1) and Zn (49.83–101.65 mg kg^–1) contents. Three accessions (viz., PI542362, PI542363, and PI554399) showed relatively higher Fe (230.96–348.09 mg kg^–1) and Zn (92.46–101.65 mg kg^–1) contents than the others.  The Fe content of Ae. umbellulata was similar to those of Ae. comosa and Ae. markgrafii but higher than those of Ae. tauschii and common wheat.  Aegilops umbellulata showed a higher Zn content than Ae. tauschii, Ae. comosa, and common wheat, but a lower content than Ae. markgrafii.  Furthermore, Ae. umbellulata had the highest proportion of γ-gliadin among all the species investigated (Ae. umbellulata vs. other species=mean 72.11% vs. 49.37%; range: 55.33–86.99% vs. 29.60–67.91%).  These results demonstrated that Ae. umbellulata exhibits great diversity in the investigated traits, so it can provide a potential gene pool for the genetic improvement of these traits in wheat.     

平凉红牛生长性能、胴体及肉质性状分析

【目的】通过研究平凉红牛的生长性能、胴体性状和肉质性状，深入挖掘平凉红牛的肉用特征和遗传特性，为平凉红牛新品种选育提供参考。【方法】试验选取24头平凉红牛阉牛，经强度育肥180 d后屠宰，年龄在24—36月龄，对其体尺、屠宰性能、胴体指数进行测定，并选取其中3头的外脊和大黄瓜条进行肉质测定分析。【结果】经育肥后的成年平凉红牛体重、体高、十字部高、胸围、管围相较于2019年测定的22—28月龄的平凉红牛分别增长6.96%、4.61%、4.43%、4.28%、7.90%，体斜长减少3.52%；胴体重为（417.01±56.94）kg、净肉重为（372.48±54.60）kg、屠宰率为61.56%±1.86%、净肉率为54.92%±2.60%，相较于2010年测定的24月龄平凉红牛数据分别增长12.61%、19.16%、-1.91%、3.82%，肉骨比为8.65±2.00，相较于2012年测定的22—27月龄数据增长27.96%；此外高档肉块重（里脊、外脊、眼肉、上脑）为（51.59±7.92）kg，优质肉块重（臀肉、霖肉、米龙、大黄瓜条、小黄瓜条、辣椒条、肩肉）为（62.62±5.56）k...     

Effect of group size and regrouping on physiological stress and behavior of dairy calves

Mixing or regrouping of calves from different pens is a common animal management practice on the farm, which frequently occurs after weaning and has a negative effect on calve welfare.  Social integration before regrouping may relieve stresses, but more evidences are needed to verify this hypothesis.  The present study aimed to investigate acute physiological and behavioral variations of individually- or group-housed calves after being introduced into a mixed group.  A total of 132 postnatal calves were randomly divided into groups of 1, 3, 6 and 12 animals (S, G3, G6, and G12; 6 replicates in each group) until 59 days of age.  At 60 days of age, every two replicates from different groups (S, G3, G6 and G12) were introduced in a larger pen which containing 44 of the aboved experimental calves.  Before and after regrouping, physiological parameters of stress, including heart rate (HR), saliva cortisol (S-CORT), saliva secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels, and behavioral responses were recorded.  After regrouping, HR and S-CORT increased immediately (P<0.05), and higher (P<0.05) levels of such molecules were found in S calves compared to those in group-housed calves.  Levels of SIgA and IL-2 were decreased (P<0.05), and the lowest (P<0.05) IL-2 values were found in S calves compared to those in group-housed calves.  In addition, the introduced calves displayed a distinct behavior, including altered active and rest time, which was associated with negative emotions triggered by the novel surroundings.  Allogrooming, play, exploration behaviors and lying time were increased significantly (P<0.05) in group-housed calves than those in S calves.  Conversely, self-grooming, aggressive behaviors, standing and walking time were increased (P<0.05) in S calves than those in group-housed calves.  These findings suggest that individually-housed calves may be more susceptible to stressors arising from regrouping than group-housed calves, which consequently negatively affected behavioral and neuroendocrine responses.  Furthermore, moving calves with previous social experience may help mitigate regrouping stress.     

姜黄素通过SIRT1/FOXO1通路缓解玉米赤霉烯酮诱导的猪肾上皮细胞氧化损伤

【目的】探究姜黄素(Cur)对玉米赤霉烯酮(ZEA)诱导猪肾上皮细胞(PK-15)氧化损伤的保护作用，并基于SIRT1/FOXO1信号通路阐明其作用机制，为姜黄素的兽医临床应用提供依据。【方法】试验分为5组：对照组、ZEA组(36.55μg·mL^-1 ZEA)、Cur 6.25组(36.55μg·mL^-1 ZEA+6.25μmol·L^-1 Cur)、Cur 12.5组(36.55μg·mL^-1 ZEA+12.5μmol·L^-1 Cur)、Cur 25组(36.55μg·mL^-1 ZEA+25μmol·L^-1 Cur)；通过MTT法测定ZEA的半数抑制浓度和Cur对PK-15细胞的最大安全浓度；使用倒置显微镜观察PK-15细胞的形态变化；采用试剂盒检测细胞内活性氧(ROS)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)以及丙二醛(MDA)的水平；qRT-PCR检测细胞SIRT1、FOXO1、CAT、Mn-SOD的mRNA水平；West...