Polymerisation of gluten proteins in developing wheat grain as affected by desiccation

The breadmaking quality of wheat is affected by the composition of gluten proteins and the polymerisation of subunits that are synthesised and accumulated in developing wheat grain. The biological mechanisms and time course of these events during grain development are documented, but not widely confirmed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to monitor the accumulation of gluten protein subunits and the size distribution of protein aggregates during grain development. The effect of desiccation on the polymerisation of gluten proteins and the functional properties of gluten were also studied. The results showed that the size of glutenin polymers remained consistently low until yellow ripeness (YR), while it increased during grain desiccation after YR. Hence, this polymerisation process was presumed to be initiated by desiccation. A similar polymerisation event was also observed when premature grains were dried artificially. The composition of gluten proteins, the ratios of glutenin to gliadin and high molecular weight-glutenin subunits to low molecular weight-glutenin subunits, in premature grain after artificial desiccation showed close association with the size of glutenin polymers in artificially dried grain. Functional properties of gluten in these samples were also associated with polymer size after artificial desiccation.     

Disulphide structure of high-molecular-weight (HMW-) gliadins as affected by terminators

This study aimed at elucidating SS-bonds of HMW-gliadins (HGL) from wheat with the focus on terminators of glutenin polymerisation. HGL from wheat flour extracts non-treated or treated with the S-alkylation reagent N-ethylmaleinimide (NEMI) were compared. HGL from wheat flour Akteur were isolated, hydrolysed with thermolysin and the resulting peptides pre-separated by gel permeation chromatography and analysed by liquid chromatography/mass-spectrometry using alternating electron transfer dissociation/collision-induced dissociation. Altogether, 22 and 28 SS-peptides from samples without and with NEMI treatment, respectively, were identified. Twenty-six peptides included standard SS-bonds of α- and γ-gliadins, high-molecular-weight and low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits. Eleven SS-bonds were identified for the first time. Fifteen peptides unique to HGL contained cysteine residues from gliadins with an odd number of cysteines (ω5-, α- and γ-gliadins). Thus, gliadins with an odd number of cysteines, glutathione and cysteine had acted as terminators of glutenin polymerisation. Decisive differences between samples without and with NEMI treatment were not obvious showing that the termination of polymerisation was already completed in the flour. The two HGL samples, however, were different in the majority of ten peptides that included disulphide-linked low-molecular-weight (LMW) thiols such as glutathione and cysteine with the former being enriched in the non-treated HGL-sample.     

A rapid extensigraph protocol for measuring dough viscoelasticity and mixing requirement

The extensigraph is particularly useful in characterizing dough viscoelastic properties; however, testing throughput for standard method is low due to the prerequisite for farinograph water absorption, long dough resting and milling to prepare large amounts of flour. Therefore, a rapid extensigraph method was developed that reduced sample size (165 g wheat) for milling and more than tripled throughput. Wheat is milled in Quadrumat Junior mill with a modified sieving system. The resulting flour (100 g) was mixed with a pin mixer at constant water absorption to allow the evaluation of wheat genotypes at the absorption level they are expected to perform. Dough was subsequently stretched by an extensigraph after 15 min of floor time and 30 min resting. Strong correlations for extensigram R_max (r > 0.93), extensibility (r > 0.64) and area (r > 0.88) were found for the proposed method compared to the standard method. Mixing parameters (time and energy) obtained during dough preparation provided further information about dough strength and mixing requirement. By significantly reducing sample size requirement and increasing testing throughput, this rapid extensigraph method can be widely adopted in milling and baking industry and meets the need for a fast evaluation of dough strength in breeding trials.     

温度对波纹龙虾消化酶活力的影响

研究了波纹龙虾温度对不同消化器官中消化酶活力的影响,为人工饲料科学配制依据。用酶学分析方法,设计6个温度梯度(20℃、25℃、30℃、35℃、40℃和45℃),分别测定波纹龙虾胃、肠和肝胰脏的类胃蛋白酶、胰蛋白酶、淀粉酶和脂肪酶的活力。结果显示:在反应温度20℃~45℃范围内,波纹龙虾胃、肠、肝胰脏内的消化酶均随着温度的升高表现为先升后降趋势;不同消化器官中胃蛋白酶活力值出现拐点的温度不一样,胃、肠和肝胰脏的胃蛋白酶活力最大的温度分别是30℃、35℃和40℃;不同消化器官胃蛋白酶的活力有显著差异(P0.05),大小依次为胃肠肝胰脏;波纹龙虾不同消化器官的类胰蛋白酶出现最大酶活力的温度相同,为40℃,但胃的类胰蛋白酶活力明显较肠和肝胰脏的低(P0.05),差值最大可达40 U/mg;波纹龙虾胃、肠和肝胰脏的淀粉酶活力在25℃均出现最大值;在消化器官中,肠道淀粉酶活力最大,与胃和肝胰脏的酶活力有显著性差异(P0.05);波纹龙虾胃、肠和肝胰脏内的脂肪酶活力最大的温度为30℃,活力最高的是肝胰脏,胃内的脂肪酶活力明显的比肠和肝胰脏的要低(P0.05)。     

Characterization of Collagen Enzymatic Hydrolysates Derived from Lizardfish (Synodus fuscus) Scales

Acid soluble collagen was extracted from the scales of lizardfish and characterized with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and amino acid analysis. After 8 h of collagen hydrolysis, hydrolysates had an estimated degree of hydrolysis (DH) from 4 ± 0.05 to 25 ± 0.63% (p < 0.05). All hydrolysates had angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory and antioxidant activity. These activity levels showed little change after treatment with gastrointestinal proteases. Results indicated that the lizardfish by-products may be improved by enzymatic treatment with acid-soluble collagen from lizardfish scales.     

Effect of dietary GroBiotic®‐A supplementation as a prebiotic on the intestinal microflora,growth performance,haemato‐serological parameters,survival rate and body composition in juvenile beluga (Huso huso Linnaeus, 1754)

The objectives of the present study were to investigate of GroBiotic^®‐A (GBA) on growth, autochthonous intestinal microbiota and haemato‐serological parameters of beluga juvenile. A total of 180 fish (40.82 ± 5.81 g) were fed diets containing graded levels of GBA (0, 5, 10 and 20 g kg^?1 diet) for 8 weeks. No significantly differences in body composition, total viable aerobic bacteria, mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin, mean cell haemoglobin concentration, neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, albumin, glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase were detected between treatment groups. The fish fed on 10 and 20 g kg^?1 GBA significantly showed higher lactic acid bacteria, final weight, body weight increases, weight gain and lower feed conversion ratio compared with the control and 5 g kg^?1 groups. The group fed 20 g kg^?1 GBA showed a highly significant difference in condition factor, survival rate, final length, total red and white blood cells, lymphocytes, haematocrit, haemoglobin, total protein, total immunoglobulin and lysozyme activity. The specific growth rate of the treatment groups was significantly elevated compared with the control groups. These results indicated that GBA at level 20 g kg^?1 improved growth, welfare and survival of beluga juvenile.     

Coexisting invasive gobies reveal no evidence for temporal and trophic niche differentiation in the sublittoral habitat of Lake Erhai,China

Niche differentiation facilitates the coexistence of species within a community through avoidance of competition via mechanisms involving spatial, temporal and/or trophic dimensions. Where invasive species coexist in their non‐native range, niche differentiation could allow their persistence at higher levels of abundance. Here, we tested whether there was temporal and/or trophic niche differentiation between two congeneric invasive goby species (Rhinogobius cliffordpopei and Rhinogobius giurinus) in the sublittoral habitat of Lake Erhai (south‐west China) through quantifying their diel and seasonal rhythm of locomotion activities, feeding activities and diet composition. Both species displayed two similar diel peaks in activity and two main feeding periods (6:00–10:00 and 18:00–22:00), with rhythms of locomotion and feeding activity not differing significantly between the species in each season. Their diets had a high degree of overlap, being primarily composed of macrozooplankton, aquatic insects and shrimp larvae, with no diel changes across the seasons. Thus, in this habitat, there was no clear temporal or trophic niche differentiation between the invasive congeners, indicating their coexistence with high temporal and trophic overlap. In conjunction with data from the littoral and profundal habitats, the gobies revealed different strategies across the habitats (e.g. spatial segregation, trophic niche differentiation) that minimised their competitive interactions and promoted their coexistence. This suggests that the interactions of invasive fishes during the integration into native communities can be context dependent, varying according to factors including habitat and the availability of food resources.     

Three‐dimensional visualization of green fluorescence protein‐labelled Edwardsiella tarda in whole Medaka larvae

The invasive fish pathogen Edwardsiella tarda is common in aquatic environments and causes the environmentally and economically destructive emphysematous putrefactive disease called edwardsiellosis. In order to understand the organism's infection pathway, medaka larvae (Oryzias latipes) were immersion‐infected with E. tarda labelled with green fluorescence protein (GFP) and then visualized in three dimensions under confocal laser microscopy and light‐sheet fluorescence microscopy. Confocal microscopy revealed GFP‐labelled E. tarda in the mouth, head, gill bridges, gill cover, skin, membrane fin, gastrointestinal tract and air bladder, and in the caudal vein, somite veins, caudal artery and caudal capillaries. Light‐sheet microscopy additionally showed GFP‐labelled E. tarda in the pharyngeal cavity, muscle of the pectoral fin and cardiac atrium and ventricle. These findings suggest that during its infection of fish, E. tarda initially adheres to, and invades, the epithelial cells of the skin, gills and gastrointestinal tract (through the pharyngeal cavity); E. tarda then enters the blood vessels to access organs, including the air bladder and heart.     

三种因素对海水生物流化床启动期间营养盐去除及amoA基因表达的影响

在实验室规模下,以旋转式生物流化床(CB-FSB)为研究对象,研究了初始总氨氮(TAN)、水温及滤料膨胀率3种条件下,海水生物流化床生物过滤功能启动期间TAN和亚硝酸盐氮(NO-2-N)去除及amoA基因数量的变化。结果显示:生物流化床生物过滤功能启动所需时间随着水温的升高而缩短,在水温为15℃、20℃和25℃时,启动所需时间分别为27 d、25 d和23 d;初始TAN质量浓度的升高也会缩短生物流化床生物过滤功能启动所需要的时间,在初始TAN质量浓度为1 mg/L、2 mg/L、4 mg/L时,启动所需时间分别为24 d、22 d和21 d;在膨胀率为100%和150%时,启动所需时间无明显差别,分别为21 d和20 d,明显好于膨胀率为50%时启动所需时间27 d;amoA基因的数量变化与TAN去除率的变化有一定的相关性,并随着初始TAN浓度的升高而增多,在4 mg/L时数量最多,达到2.76×10~7copies/g。     

脲酶抑制剂与硝化抑制剂对稻田土壤氮素转化的影响

【目的】本研究旨在阐明脲酶抑制剂(urease inhibitor,UI)和硝化抑制剂(nitrification inhibitor,NI)对稻田土壤氮素转化的影响,探讨抑制剂提高稻谷产量以及氮肥利用率的机理。【方法】本试验设在我国南方红壤稻田,共5个处理:1)不施氮肥(CK);2)尿素(U);3)尿素+脲酶抑制剂(U+UI);4)尿素+硝化抑制剂(U+NI);5)尿素+脲酶抑制剂+硝化抑制剂(U+UI+NI);脲酶抑制剂采用N-丁基硫代磷酰三胺(NBPT),硝化抑制剂采用3,4-二甲基吡唑磷酸盐(DMPP)。在水稻分蘖期和孕穗期测定土壤脲酶活性、硝酸还原酶活性、土壤铵态氮含量、硝态氮含量以及微生物碳、氮的含量,分析NBPT与DMPP对水稻两个主要生育期土壤氮素供应的影响,比较各处理的产量以及氮肥利用率,通过逐步回归分析研究以上各指标对产量的影响,探明脲酶抑制剂NBPT与硝化抑制剂DMPP在稻田的增效机理。【结果】1)与单施尿素相比,添加NBPT以及NBPT与DMPP配施均显著提高稻谷产量与地上部氮素回收率,两个处理分别增产6.56%与8.24%,氮素回收率提高幅度为19.4%与23.7%。2)与单施尿素相比,添加NBPT以及NBPT与DMPP配施,显著降低水稻分蘖期的土壤脲酶活性和铵态氮含量,显著提高孕穗期的铵态氮含量,而对此时期的脲酶活性无显著影响,所有处理对两个时期的硝态氮含量、硝酸还原酶活性、微生物量碳、氮含量均无显著影响;因此,NBPT对于抑制脲酶活性以及提高铵态氮含量的作用主要在孕穗期之前,而单施DMPP没有显著效应。3)从各项土壤指标与水稻产量相关性的逐步回归分析结果来看,水稻分蘖期与孕穗期稻田土壤中铵态氮含量对水稻产量影响显著,而且孕穗期的影响大于分蘖期,其余指标则对产量无显著影响。【结论】脲酶抑制剂NBPT以及NBPT与硝化抑制剂DMPP配施显著提高孕穗期土壤中的铵态氮含量,显著提高稻谷产量以及地上部氮素回收率,证明了生产上氮肥后移的重要意义。