β‐hydroxy‐β‐methyl butyrate promotes leucine metabolism and improves muscle fibre composition in growing pigs

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of excess leucine (Leu) vs. its metabolites α‐ketoisocaproate (KIC) and β‐hydroxy‐β‐methyl butyrate (HMB) on Leu metabolism, muscle fibre composition and muscle growth in growing pigs. Thirty‐two pigs with a similar initial weight (9.55 ± 0.19 kg) were fed 1 of 4 diets for 45 days: basal diet, basal diet + 1.25% L‐Leu, basal diet + 1.25% KIC‐Ca, basal diet + 0.62% HMB‐Ca. Results indicated that relative to the basal diet and HMB groups, Leu and KIC groups exhibited increased Leu concentrations and decreased concentrations of isoleucine, valine and EAAs in selected muscle (p < 0.05) and had lower mRNA levels of MyHC I and higher expression of MyHC IIx/IIb (p < 0.05), and there was no significant difference between the basal and HMB‐supplemented groups. Moreover, the mRNA expression levels of AMPKα and UCP3 were higher but the myostatin mRNA levels were lower in the soleus muscle of the HMB group than those from other groups (p < 0.05). These findings demonstrated that doubling dietary Leu content exerted growth‐depressing effects in growing pigs; dietary KIC supplementation induced muscular branched‐chain amino acid imbalance and promoted muscle toward a more glycolytic phenotype; while dietary HMB supplementation promoted the generation of more oxidative muscle types and increased muscle growth specially in oxidative skeletal muscle, and these effects of HMB might be associated with the AMPKα‐Sirt1‐PGC‐1α axis and mitochondrial biogenesis.     

苗期耐低氮基因型苦荞的筛选及其评价指标

土壤缺氮是造成我国黄土高原冷凉地区农业低产的主要原因。为了筛选耐低氮苦荞基因型及适宜鉴定指标,采用苗期水培方式,测定9个不同基因型苦荞在不同氮水平下的农艺性状、生理特性及植株氮素利用等指标,采用隶属函数法计算各指标耐低氮指数,通过主成分分析与聚类分析评价各基因型苦荞综合耐低氮能力。结果表明,低氮胁迫下,苦荞地上部生长受抑制程度大于根系,株高、茎粗、叶面积、地上部干重、根系体积、根系表面积及根系平均直径均呈下降趋势,主根长和根冠比呈上升趋势;根系活力、根系硝酸还原酶(NR)活性及可溶性蛋白含量有所下降,而根系超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)活性、丙二醛(MDA)、可溶性糖及游离脯氨酸含量有所升高;叶片叶绿素含量、Fm和Fv/Fm降低,而Fo升高;植株全氮含量及氮积累量降低,而由于植株氮积累量降幅明显大于生物量降幅,导致氮利用效率显著升高。将25个单项指标转化为4个相互独立的综合指标(累计贡献率达87.44%),并将9个苦荞基因型划分为耐低氮型、中间型和不耐低氮型。为了预测苦荞基因型的耐低氮能力,将D值作因变量,各指标耐低氮指数作自变量进行逐步回归分析,建立最优回归方程,筛选出株高、茎粗、叶面积、根冠比、叶绿素含量、Fm、根系超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性及氮利用效率8项对苦荞耐低氮能力有显著影响的指标,并且9个苦荞基因型的苗期耐低氮能力预测值Y与D值显著相关(R2=0.998,P0.01),表明这8个指标可用于耐低氮苦荞基因型的快速鉴定。     

Management strategies for forage rape (Brassica napus L. cv Goliath): Impact on dry-matter yield,plant reserves,morphology and nutritive value

Limited information is available on the grazing management principles of forage rape (Brassica napus L.), particularly in relation to grazing height and intensity and the impact of these on dry-matter (DM) yield and nutritive value. A glasshouse study was undertaken to investigate the effect of three defoliation heights (plant height at harvest; DH: 40, 70 and 90 cm; L, M and H DH respectively) and three defoliation intensities (height at which plants were cut; DI: 5, 20 and 35 cm of residual height; H, M and L DI respectively) on forage rape (cv Goliath) yield and nutritive value at two harvests (harvest 1, H1 and harvest 2, H2), and the impact of nitrogen (N) and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) reserves on regrowth. Increasing DH from L to H increased estimated total DM yield (H1 plus H2) from 0.5 to 4.6 t DM/ha but DI did not affect yield. Dry-matter yield was optimized at 90 cm DH, but greater nutritive value was achieved by harvesting at lower levels of DH. Despite high in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD; 852–889 g/kg), harvesting at 90 cm DH could not meet the protein requirement of lactating dairy cows and harvesting at lower levels risks nitrate poisoning. Our results indicate the optimum DH may be between 70 and 90 cm DH, and 20 and 35 cm DI, which requires further studies.     

Proton accumulation accelerated by heavy chemical nitrogen fertilization and its long-term impact on acidifying rate in a typical arable soil in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain

Cropland productivity has been signiifcantly impacted by soil acidiifcation resulted from nitrogen (N) fertilization, especialy as a result of excess ammoniacal N input. With decades’ intensive agricul...     

耐低氮烟草基因型的筛选及氮效率分析

筛选耐低氮及氮高效的烟草基因型是提高氮素利用效率，减少氮污染的一种有效途径。本文采用营养液培养方法，于苗期以低氮(0.5 mmol L–1)和正常氮(5.0 mmol L–1)处理74个不同基因型烟草，通过指标统计、因子分析、聚类分析来确定评价指标及筛选出耐低氮基因型，并结合氮效率综合值分析表明，在低氮和正常氮条件下，不同基因型烟草的根系体积、根系生物量、茎叶氮累积量、地上部生物量变异系数均较大，分别为0.37~0.68和0.38~0.64。低氮和正常氮的主成分基本相似，在不同供氮条件下茎叶氮累积量、地上部生物量均起主要作用。筛选出15个耐低氮基因型，占供试材料的20.3%，其中8个属于低氮高效正常氮低效型，占耐低氮基因型的53.3%，6个属于低氮低效正常氮低效型，占40.0%，1个属于低氮高效正常氮高效型，占0.7%；筛选出8个低氮敏感基因型，其中6个属于低氮低效正常氮高效型，占75.0%，2个属于低氮低效正常氮低效型，占25.0%。初步确定14P9为耐低氮、氮高效基因型，中烟100和K394为低氮敏感、氮低效基因型。     

外源氮添加对湿地土壤N_2O排放量的影响

为搞清湿地土壤驱动N2O排放的关键氮源类型,有效减少湿地N2O的排放,本文通过室内控制温湿度,用气相色谱法分析不同外源氮素对湿地N2O排放的影响。结果表明:外加氮源组总是高于对照组N2O排放量(4.4 mg·m-3)。在设定的剂量范围内,单独添加尿素或尿素与硝酸铵1∶1配合时N2O排放量呈现先增后减的单峰分布趋势,峰值分别为10.6 mg·m-3和229.0 mg·m-3;单独添加硝酸铵时N2O排放量(32.6~111.0 mg·m-3)随着氮素添加量增加呈现持续上升趋势。单独添加尿素或硝酸铵、尿素与硝酸铵1∶1配合均促进N2O的排放,但硝酸铵尿素混合添加对N2O排放量的贡献单独添加硝酸铵单独添加尿素。这为预测内蒙古高原区农牧交错带湿地氮素输入可能带来的温室效应和有效减排提供科学依据。     

Increasing selenium supply during the close-up dry period improves nutrient metabolism and attenuates inflammatory response after calving in dairy cows

The objective of this study was to investigate whether feeding selenium (Se)-replete cows a Se-yeast supplement in late pregnancy affects nutrient metabolism and inflammatory response during the periparturient period. Twenty cows were randomly assigned to two groups with 10 cows each. Cows in one group received Se-yeast at 0.3 mg Se/kg DM during the last 4 weeks before calving in addition to fed a TMR containing supplemented sodium selenite at 0.3 mg Se/kg DM (Se-yeast), while cows in another group were only fed a TMR containing supplemented sodium selenite at 0.3 mg Se/kg DM (Control). Blood samples were collected and analyzed for nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), glucose, insulin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp), and albumin. In control cows, plasma NEFA, IL-1β, IL-6, SAA, and Hp levels increased after calving, but glucose, insulin, and albumin levels decreased after parturition. Se-yeast supplemental cows had lower postpartum concentrations of NEFA, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, SAA, and Hp, and higher postpartum levels of glucose, insulin, and albumin compared with control cows. The results indicate that feeding Se-replete cows a Se-yeast supplement in late pregnancy improves nutrient metabolism and attenuates the inflammatory response after calving.     

Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes and Lipid Metabolism Signaling Pathways between Muscle and Fat Tissues in Broiler Chickens

In this study, signaling pathways and key differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in lipid metabolism in muscle and fat tissues were investigated. Muscle and abdominal fat tissues were obtained from 35-day-old female broilers for RNA sequencing. DEGs between muscle and fat tissues were identified. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses of DEGs were performed. A total of 6130 DEGs were identified to be significantly enriched in 365 GO terms, most of which were involved in biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions in muscle and fat tissues. Three important lipid signaling pathways (pyruvate metabolism, the insulin signaling pathway, and the adipocytokine signaling pathway) were identified among the fat and muscle tissues of broilers. The key common DEGs in these pathways included phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 2 (PCK2), acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 alpha and beta (ACACA and ACACB), and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (AMPK) gene family. Hence, our findings revealed the pathways and key genes and gene families involved in the regulation of fat deposition in the muscle and fat tissues of broilers.     

低氮胁迫对谷子苗期性状的影响和耐低氮品种的筛选

筛选和培育耐低氮能力强的作物品种,是提高作物氮素利用效率,减少氮肥施用量,降低环境污染的有效措施。本研究以45份谷子品种为试材,采用水培的方法,在低氮(0.1mmol·L~(-1))和正常氮(5mmol·L~(-1))条件下,测定苗高、根长和根数等22个氮效率相关指标,采用综合耐低氮系数法以及基于主成分分析的隶属函数法评价参试谷子品种的耐低氮性。结果表明,与正常氮条件相比,低氮胁迫下,谷子苗期根长、根冠比、地上部氮素生理效率、地下部氮素生理效率、单株氮素生理效率有不同程度提高,其余17个指标都有不同程度降低。两种评价方法均根据45个谷子品种的耐低氮能力将其划分为强耐低氮型、耐低氮型、中间型、较敏感型和敏感型5类。筛选出耐低氮性较强的品种5份,编号分别为11、14、17、35和39。利用GGE双标图对品种-耐低氮相关指标的分析表明,编号39和14的耐低氮品种主要耐低氮性状为地下部干重、地下部鲜重、根长;编号为11、35和17的耐低氮品种主要耐低氮性状为地上部鲜重、叶片数、叶宽、叶长、单株氮累积量、地上部氮累积量、单株干质量、地上部干重、地下部氮累积量、根数、苗高和SPAD。可见不同谷子品种的耐低氮机制存在一定差异,研究结果可为谷子耐低氮品种的选育提供材料基础。