Effects of dietary protein and lipid levels on growth performance,fatty acid composition and antioxidant‐related gene expressions in juvenile loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

Dojo loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is one of the most important cultured freshwater fish in several East Asian countries. However, a little information is available in its nutritional requirements. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding varying levels of dietary protein and lipid on growth, fatty acid composition and antioxidant‐related gene expressions in juvenile loach. Six practical diets at three levels of protein (30%, 40% and 50%) and two levels of lipid (6% and 12%) were fed to loach juveniles (initial weight 0.40 g) in triplicated groups (20 fish per replicated) for a period of 8 weeks. Results showed that regardless of lipid level, body weight gain of fish was significantly increased with incremental dietary protein level. Meanwhile, feed conversion ratio was significantly decreased by dietary protein levels, and the lowest value was observed in fish fed dietary protein levels of 50%, regardless of dietary lipid level. Moreover, the percentage of 22:6n‐3 in viscera was significantly increased by different protein levels. The expression level of catalase was significantly increased with incremental dietary protein level with both lipid levels. Meanwhile, the expression level of hepatic nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) was downregulated with incremental dietary protein level with 6% of lipid level, but the expression was upregulated with incremental dietary protein level with 12% of lipid level. In conclusion, these data suggested that 6% lipid and 50% protein in diet was optimal for loach during early development stage.     

Calibration and validation of optical chlorophyll‐measuring devices for use in predicting crude protein concentration in tropical grass herbage

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the Fieldscout CM 1000 NDVI and Yara N‐Tester as easy‐to‐use and cost‐effective tools for predicting foliar chlorophylls (a, b and total) and crude protein (CP) concentrations in herbage from three tropical grass species. Optical chlorophyll measurements were taken at three stages (4, 8 and 12 weeks) of regrowth maturity in Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) and Mulato II (Brachiaria hybrid) and at 6 and 12 weeks maturity in Paspalum spp (Paspalum atratum). Grass samples were harvested subsequent to optical measurements for laboratory analysis to determine CP and solvent‐extractable chlorophylls (a, b and total) concentrations. Optical chlorophyll measurements and CP concentrations were highly correlated (Yara N‐Tester: r² = 0·77–0·89; Fieldscout CM 1000 NDVI: r² = 0·52–0·84). Crude protein prediction models from the Yara N‐Tester and Fieldscout CM 1000 NDVI accounted for 70–89% and 44–73% CP variability, respectively, in Mulato II and Guinea grass. The Yara N‐tester produced more accurate and reliable CP estimates based on very high concordance correlation coefficient [CCC (0·73–0·91)] and low rMSPE, mean and regression bias. It is concluded that the Yara N‐Tester produces more accurate and reliable CP estimates of tropical pastures.     

Dietary α‐linolenic acid affects lipid metabolism and tissue fatty acid profile and induces apoptosis in intraperitoneal adipose tissue of juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)

A 56‐day feeding trial was conducted to elucidate the effects and mechanism action of dietary α‐linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n‐3) on lipid accumulation and fatty acid profile of muscle, hepatopancreas and intraperitoneal fat (IPF) in juvenile grass carp using three isonitrogenous and isoenergetic semi‐purified diets containing 0.0% (control group), 1.0% and 2.0% ALA, respectively. The lowest intraperitoneal fat (IPF) ratio was found in 2.0% group. In the muscle, hepatopancreas and IPF, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n‐3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n‐3) contents increased with the increase in dietary ALA. In the IPF, caspase 3, caspase 8 and caspase 9 showed the highest activities in 2.0% group, while the value of Bcl‐2/Bax (B‐cell leukaemia 2/Bcl‐2‐associated X protein) reached the lowest. Meanwhile, swelling of the IPF mitochondria was observed in 2.0% group. The gene expressions of fatty acid desaturase (FAD) and fatty acid elongase (ELO) in the hepatopancreas and muscle showed significantly higher levels in the treatment groups, whereas an opposite trend was existed in the IPF. Fatty acid synthase (FAS), sterol regulatory element binding protein‐1c (SREBP‐1c) in the IPF and hepatopancreas reached the lowest in 2.0% group. Overall, dietary ALA could promote n‐3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) synthesis and suppress the accumulation of lipid by decreasing the expression of related genes and promoting the apoptosis in IPF.     

Effects of the dietary protein to energy ratio on growth,feed utilization and body composition in Macrobrachium nipponense

Oriental river prawn (Macrobrachium nipponense) has been widely cultured in Asian countries. However, its nutritional studies are very limited. In the present 8‐week study, we investigated the effects of dietary protein to energy ratio (P/E ratio) on the growth, feed utilization and body composition in juvenile M. nipponense (initial weight 0.302 ±0.03 g). Two‐factor experiment was designed and nine semi‐purified diets were formulated to contain three lipid levels (20, 80 and 140 g kg^?1) and three protein levels (330, 380 and 430 g kg^?1), producing P/E ratios from 16.5 to 23.4 mg KJ^?1 protein. The results indicated that the growth, survival rate and protein efficiency were dose dependently improved by the increased dietary lipid, but not dietary protein content. Increased dietary lipid content and/or protein content increased lipid accumulation in whole body, hepatopancreas and muscle, but did not change the feed intake and hepatopancreas weight. In conclusion, our present study indicated that M. nipponense is a species with relatively high‐energy requirement. It could utilize dietary lipid content up to 140 g kg^?1, while the dietary protein with more than 330 g kg^?1 would not promote growth and protein efficiency. Taken together, 330 g kg^?1 dietary protein and 140 g kg^?1 dietary lipid level with P/E ratio 16.49 could be optimum for M. nipponense.     

Effect of high inclusion of rendered animal by‐product ingredients on growth,digestibility and economic performances in climbing perch Anabas testudineus

A 70‐day growth trail was conducted to investigate the effects of inclusion of high levels of meat and bone meal (MBM) and protein concentrate (PC) on growth, digestibility and economic performances of climbing perch, Anabas testudineus. Four isonitrogenous diets were formulated by lowering the level of dietary fishmeal protein at 0 (D₁, control), 70 (D₂), 85 (D₃) and 100% (D₄) with a mixture of MBM and PC protein (1:1). Triplicate groups of 300 fish (mean weight of 0.80 g) stocked in each 40 m² pond and fed the respective test diets. A digestibility trial was conducted after the growth trial in indoor glass aquarium. The result showed that growth parameters were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) with fishmeal replacement levels. However, significant differences were not found in feed conversion ratio and survival of fish. No difference was also found in protein efficiency ratio among D1, D2 and D3. Similar to growth parameters, total fish production was highest in D1, intermediate in D2 and D3; and lowest in D4. Apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter, protein and lipid were highest (P < 0.05) in D1 and lowest in D4. The economic analysis revealed that the benefit cost ratio was ranked by D₃ (1.81), D₂ (1.71), D₁ (1.66) and D₄ (1.46) respectively. Upon considering the overall performances and unavailability of finite protein sources, it can be concluded that 70–85% fishmeal could be replaced with a mixture of MBM and PC (1:1) in practical diets for climbing perch.     

Impacts of diet on hindgut microbiota and short‐chain fatty acids in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)

Diet is known to influence intestinal microbiota in fish, but the specifics of these impacts are still poorly understood. Different protein/fibre ratio diets may result in differing structures and activities of gut microbiota. We examined the hindgut microbiome of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) fed three different diets: fish meal (FM, high protein – low fibre), Sudan grass (SG, high fibre – low protein) and compound feed (CF, intermediate). Microbial profiles of fish fed on FM were significantly different from profiles of fish fed CF and SG (F = 18.85, p < .01). Cetobacterium, known to be positively associated with protein digestion, was the dominant microbial group in FM samples (approximately 75.7%), while Lachnospiraceae and Erysipelotrichaceae, thought to be involved in fermentation of plant polysaccharides, were dominant in CF and SG samples (46.8% and 42.9% respectively). Network analyses indicated that the abundance of Lachnospiraceae and Erysipelotrichaceae was in a significantly positive correlation (r = .895, p = .001). Short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels may indicate that the digestibility of diet by microbiota in the grass carp gut decreased from FM to SG (FM>CF>SG). Overall low SCFA levels indicate that hindgut fermentation probably provides a low proportion of energy requirements in grass carp.     

长链酰胺化纳米纤维素增强聚乳酸复合材料

以纳米纤维素(NCC)为原料,先采用四甲基哌啶氮氧化物(TEMPO)氧化制备氧化纳米纤维素(TONC),再与不同链长脂肪胺在催化剂作用下发生反应,得到脂肪胺改性纳米纤维素,当脂肪胺为十二胺(DOA)、十四胺(TEA)、十六胺(HEA)、十八胺(OCA)时,分别制得DOATONC、TEATONC、HEATONC和OCATONC。傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、X射线衍射(XRD)和元素分析表明:脂肪链接枝成功,改性后纳米纤维素的晶形没有发生改变,为原有Ⅰ型晶型;接触角和分散性测试表明:随着脂肪链的增长,改性纳米纤维素表面的亲水性明显下降(接触角由65.8°上升至93.9°),而分散率由25.17%先降至11.97%,再升至71.71%。将1%的改性纳米纤维素添加到聚乳酸(PLA)中制得复合膜,机械性能测试结果表明:随着脂肪链的增长,复合膜的机械性能明显提高,其中PLA/OCATONC复合膜的拉伸强度和断裂伸长率分别达到40.2 MPa和6.39%。     

木尔坦棉花曲叶病毒编码蛋白的亚细胞定位分析

 木尔坦棉花曲叶病毒(Cotton leaf curl Multan virus,CLCuMV)是典型的单组分双生病毒,并伴随β卫星分子,是棉花曲叶病的主要病原之一。本研究利用农杆菌介导的瞬时表达系统,将CLCuMV及其卫星分子编码的7个病毒蛋白在本氏烟表皮细胞中表达。通过激光共聚焦显微镜观察发现:V1、C2和C3定位于细胞核;C1和βC1定位在细胞核以及细胞质或细胞膜上,并且在细胞质中形成丝状结构;V2和C4主要定位在细胞质或细胞膜上,细胞核也有微量表达,V2可形成大小不一的颗粒状聚集体结构,C4在细胞膜上可见点状聚集体结构。同时,利用RT-PCR和Western blot对病毒各基因的转录和表达水平进行了分析。CLCuMV编码蛋白的亚细胞定位为蛋白功能的进一步研究提供重要理论依据。     

病程相关蛋白在采后果蔬诱导抗病性中的研究进展

果蔬受到真菌、细菌或病毒侵染时,自身能诱导产生病程相关蛋白(Pathogenesis-related proteins,PRs)。根据它们的结构亲缘关系和生物活性,PRs被分为17个功能家族。在控制果蔬采后病害的研究中,利用激发子诱导产生果蔬抗性已逐渐成为果蔬采后病害防治中一种安全、高效的保鲜方法,这也成为果蔬采后抗病研究的热点和发展趋势。本文综述了果蔬病程相关蛋白的分类、功能、诱导表达,以及蛋白组学技术在果蔬采后PRs表达水平上的应用,以期为果蔬病程相关蛋白的研究提供借鉴和参考。     

木薯(Manihot esculenta)AKT1基因的克隆及生物信息学分析

植物细胞中的K^+通道蛋白AKT1(Arabidopsis K^+transpoter 1)主要负责吸收K^+。本研究基于木薯基因组数据库信息,利用PCR技术从木薯中克隆一个MeAKT1基因,该基因全长2634 bp,编码877个氨基酸,生物信息学分析表明MeAKT1含有10个外显子和9个内含子,编码的氨基酸分子量为99.02 kD,等电点为8.43,属于稳定蛋白。MeAKT1包含有5个跨膜区域,N端含有1个Ion_trans结构域,C端有1个KHA结构域,其二级结构以α-螺旋和无规则卷曲为主,进化树分析发现MeAKT1与蓖麻RcAKT1的亲缘关系最近。通过对MeAKT1蛋白的生物信息学分析有助于下一步深入研究MeAKT1在木薯耐贫瘠过程中的功能。