Uterine Expression of WNT7A and β-catenin After Induction of Oestrus in Sheep

WNT7A and β-catenin localisations and roles in regulating periimplantation ovine conceptus development under natural estrous conditions have been elaborated.However,their locations and expression patterns have not been reported under induction of oestrus.The localisation,expression and function of WNT7A and β-catenin in the uterine tissues of the early pregnant and non-pregnant sheep on days 10,12,14,16 and 18 following artificial induction of oestrus were investigated by means of in situ hybridisation,real-time RT-PCR,immuno-histochemistry and western blotting methods.WNT7A and β-catenin mRNA and protein were both restricted to the apical surfaces of the uterine luminal epithelium (LE) and glandular epithelium (GE).In pregnant sheep,protein localisation of WNT7A and β-catenin was observed both in the endometrial LE and GE.Their staining presented on day 10,increased between day 12 and day 16,and decreased on day 18.WNT7A and β-catenin mRNA and protein expression increased initially and then decreased from day 10 to day 18,peaking on day 16,and β-catenin reaching a peak on day 18 in the uterine tissues of pregnant sheep (p0.05).By contrast,no significant changes in WNT7A and β-catenin mRNA and protein expression levels were observed from day 10 to day 18 of the oestrus cycle in the uterine tissues of non-pregnant sheep (p0.05).Additionally,WNT7A and β-catenin mRNA and protein expression levels in the uterine tissues of the early pregnant sheep were significantly higher than those of non-pregnant sheep (p0.05).Treatment of endometrial epithelial cells with WNT7A increased the mRNA expressions of β-catenin,c-myc and Cyclin D1.These results provided an underlying mechanism of periimplantation ovine conceptus development under induction of oestrus.     

Identification and quantification of benzimidazole resistance polymorphisms in Haemonchus contortus isolated in Northeastern Brazil

Haemonchus contortus is the most prevalent nematode in Brazil. The objective of this study was to select 6 populations of H. contortus of known or suspected benzimidazole resistance status and characterize these using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) F200Y, F167Y and E198A in the β-tubulin isotype 1 gene. qPCR was performed using DNA from a pool of 10 adult male H. contortus from a single animal per farm. Faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) and egg hatch test (EHT) were used to determine the resistance status. Samples were obtained from 6 farms located in 5 counties in the Ceará State: Tauá, Boa Viagem, Quixadá, Santa Quitéria and Solonópole. The inbred-susceptible-Edinburgh (ISE) isolate was used as reference for comparative purposes in the qPCR. Benzimidazole resistance was detected by FECRT on all farms with efficacy values ranging from 0 to 51%. EC50 values as determined by EHT were all above 1.49 μg/ml. High frequencies of the resistant SNPs F200Y and F167Y alleles were detected but no resistance was detected at SNP E198A. Our results suggest that the SNPs F167Y and F200Y are both important for benzimidazole resistance in the studied populations.     

糖对长白猪精液NAGaseⅡ的抑制机理

以长白猪精液为材料,采用经典的纯化方法获得N-乙酰-β-D-氨基葡萄糖苷酶（EC 3.3.1.52,NAGase）的2种同工酶,命名为：NAGaseⅠ和NAGaseⅡ。其中NAGaseⅡ的比活力为358.21U/mg,纯化倍数为6.37倍。以海藻糖、D-甘露糖、蔗糖、葡萄糖为效应物,研究其对该酶活性的影响。结果表明：在特定浓度范围内,海藻糖对酶活力基本没有影响;D-甘露糖、蔗糖、葡萄糖对该酶均有一定的抑制作用;D-甘露糖对酶的抑制作用表现为非竞争型,抑制常数KI为11.94mmo/L;蔗糖对酶的抑制作用表现为竞争型,抑制常数KI为0.56mmol/L;葡萄糖对酶的抑制作用表现为混合型,抑制常数KI和KIS分别为0.35mol/L和64.29mmol/L。     

Cloning and sequence analysis of nine novel MYB genes in Taxodiaceae plants

Myeloblastosis(MYB) is one of the largest transcribed factor families in plants. To gain an overall picture of the evolution of MYB genes in relict plants, we cloned nine novel MYB genes in Taxodiaceae plants(Taxodium distichum, Taxodium ascendens, Cryptomeria japonica var. Sinensis, Cryptomeria japonica cv. Araucarioides, Cryptomer Japonica, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Taiwania cryptomerioides and Glyptostrobus pensilis). The deduced amino acid sequences for MYBs showed that the nine MYB proteins contained two DNA binding domains. The first domain is from amino acid position 29 to 78, wherein three tryptophanes at 33, 53 and 73 were separated by 19 amino acids, respectively. The second domain is from amino acid position 82 to 127, wherein three tryptophanes at 86, 105 and 124 were separated by 18 amino acids, respectively, whereas the first tryptophane at amino acid position 86 is replaced by a phenylalanine. The characterization of these conserved domains at nine MYBs indicated that they all belong to the R2R3-MYB group. The secondary structure analysis showed that α-helix and β-turn are the major motifs of the predicted secondary structure of MYBs. The three dimensional model of each MYB protein showed that the structure is like clip, making it more flexible and mobile. The similarities between the nine MYB proteins in Taxodiaceae were calculated. The highest identical value of 99% is between CjsMYB, CjMYB and CjaMYB, whereas the lowest value of 82% is between TaMYB and ClMYB. According to the phylogenetic tree, the distances between different genera were relatively large whereas those within genera were relatively small. As expected, accessions of the same genus formed a subgroup before being grouped with other genera.     

开花麻竹叶绿素荧光参数测定

叶绿素荧光是研究光合作用的有效探针。为了探讨开花对麻竹光合作用的影响,应用PAM-100分别测定了开花与未开化麻竹的叶绿素荧光参数。结果表明,随着光强的升高[0~2 000μmol/（m^2·s）],在开始阶段[0~200μmol/（m^2·s）]麻竹叶片的NPQ、Y（NPQ）、Y（ND）、ETR（Ⅱ）和ETR（Ⅰ）均迅速升高,Y（Ⅱ）和Y（Ⅰ）却迅速下降,之后变化缓慢并趋于平稳,而Y（NA）和Y（NO）几乎一直维持平稳;其中未开花麻竹的NPQ、Y（Ⅰ）和ETR（Ⅰ）均高于开花麻竹,Y（Ⅱ）、Fv/Fm和ETR（Ⅱ）无明显差异。在本实验培养光照下[230μmol/（m2·s）],未开花麻竹的NPQ、Y（Ⅰ）和ETR（Ⅰ）也均高于开花麻竹。由此表明,开花引起麻竹PSⅠ的Y（Ⅰ）和ETR（Ⅰ）以及PSⅡ的NPQ降低,这意味着开花麻竹的光保护能力下降,使得PSⅠ受体侧电子积累,导致光合效率下降。     

油橄榄叶提取物对海洛因依赖小鼠肺组织结构及IL-1β和TNF-α表达的影响

将100只健康小鼠皮下注射海洛因(10mg/kg)40d,然后分别用不同剂量的(50、100、200mg/kg)油橄榄叶提取物(OLE)进行皮下注射治疗,观察肺脏组织结构的变化,检测肺脏中白介素-1β(interleukin-β,IL-β)和肿瘤坏死因子-α(tumor necrosis factor-A,TNF-α)的表达情况.结果表明:与模型对照组相比,OLE使海洛因依赖小鼠肺泡直径、肺泡隔厚度减小,肺脏中IL-1β和TNF-α的表达明显减弱,且呈较好的量效关系,表明OLE能够对海洛因造成的肺损害起到保护作用,其作用机制可能是OLE抑制了IL-1β和TNF-α的在肺中的表达.     

Evaluation of β-(1 → 3, 1 → 6)-glucans and High-M alginate used as immunostimulatory dietary supplement during first feeding and weaning of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.)

Stimulation of the non-specific defence enhances the disease resistance and growth, and has good potentials as a measure for increased microbial control in juvenile production of marine fish and shellfish. So far, the most commonly used immunostimulants are β-(1 → 3, 1 → 6)-glucans, and in this study the stimulatory potential of a β-(1 → 3, 1 → 6)-glucan of marine origin, the storage polysaccharide from the marine diatom Chaetoceros mülleri, was examined. The glucan (chrysolaminaran) was extracted from cultures of C. mülleri, and used as a dietary supplement in two first feeding experiments with larvae of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L. In one experiment the microalgal glucan was compared to the commercial yeast-glucan product MacroGard®, and in the other to an alginate with a high content of mannuronic acid (High-M alginate) isolated from Durvillaea antarctica. The stimulants were given via rotifers, and weaning to formulated feed was initiated at day 17 or 18 after hatching. The survival ± SEM at day 27 after hatching was 24.5 ± 2.0%, 14.8 ± 4.5% and 13.1 ± 1.4% for the groups fed C. mülleri-glucan, yeast glucan and for the control, respectively, in the first experiment. The group fed C. mülleri-glucan group had higher survival compared to the control (P < 0.05) group, whereas the yeast glucan had no positive effect on the survival (p > 0.05). The dry weights of the groups at day 27 were low, with 203.2 ± 52.2, 165.2 ± 43.4 and 198.5 ± 58.1 μg per larva for the C. mülleri-glucan, yeast glucan and control groups, respectively. In the second experiment the survival in the period of feeding formulated feed (days 18-30) were 44.6 ± 4.3%, 44.7 ± 1.3%, and 33.8 ± 4.1% survival for the C. mülleri-glucan, High-M alginate and control group, respectively. The cod larvae fed C. mülleri-glucan reached an average weight of 531.6 ± 17.2 μg at day 30, which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the control group that had an average of 473.6 ± 3.5 μg. The larvae fed High-M alginate had an average weight of 470.3 ± 31.6 μg per larva at day 30, and not significantly different from the control (p > 0.05). The early weaning to formulated diet had detrimental effect on the growth of the larvae. In both experiments the C. mülleri-glucan group was the only group showing a positive growth rate in the period of weaning to dry feed. The microbial conditions in larval gut and water were monitored with respect to total colony forming units on Marine agar, and Vibrio- and Pseudomonas-like species on selective agars (TCBS and marine Pseudomonas Agar with CFC-supplement). The larvae were rapidly colonised after hatching, but no or weak effects of the stimulants were observed on the colonisation rates or the composition. The total CFU varied from 10¹ to 10² CFU per μg larva after initiation of the first feeding. The percentages of Pseudomonas-like bacteria increased throughout the period, whereas the levels of Vibrio-like bacteria were low and stable. The chrysolaminaran from the diatom C. mülleri was shown to be a promising candidate for use as an immunostimulatory feed additive, and which should be further explored.     

Evaluation of beta-mannanase and nonstarch polysaccharide-degrading enzyme inclusion separately or intermittently in reduced energy diets fed to male broilers on performance parameters and carcass yield

The experimental design consisted of 5 dietary treatments including a positive control (PC), a negative control (NC; with a reduction of 88 kcal/kg of AME through the starter and grower 1 phase and a reduction of 132 kcal/kg of AME in the grower 2, finisher, and withdrawal phases compared with the PC), and the NC supplemented with either β-mannanase, nonstarch polysaccharide-degrading enzymes (NSPase; cocktail carbohydrase), or β-mannanase and NSPase intermittently fed. The intermittent treatment included β-mannanase from d 1 to 21 (starter and grower 1 phases) and NSPase from d 22 to 47. Each treatment included 9 replicate pens with 35 male broilers placed per replicate (1,575 total chicks placed). The dietary program consisted of 5 dietary phases, including the starter through d 10, grower 1 through d 21, grower 2 through d 32, finisher through d 40, and withdrawal through d 47. Broilers were weighed and feed consumption determined on days of dietary changes. On d 48, following an 8-h feed withdrawal, 6 broilers from each replicate pen were removed and processed for whole bird and fat pad measurements. The reduction in energy in the NC diet reduced BW and increased mortality rate, and the inclusion of β-mannanase and NSPase separately and intermittently in the NC diet improved growth performance and reduced mortality to levels that were comparable to the PC. The NC yielded the highest cumulative mortality-corrected FCR and all enzyme inclusion treatments reduced FCR to levels comparable to the PC for the duration of the trial. The NC diet yielded the lowest processing yields and the inclusion of β-mannanase and NSPase separately and intermittently increased multiple processing parameters to a level similar to the PC. These data confirm the ability of β-mannanase and NSPase inclusion separately and intermittently to improve performance parameters in reduced-energy broiler diets.     

猪传染性胃肠炎病毒S基因实时荧光定量RT-PCR检测方法的建立及初步应用简

据猪传染性胃肠炎病毒（transmissible gastroenteritis virus of swine,TGEV）S基因序列设计1对特异性引物,通过对实时荧光定量RT-PCR反应条件的优化,建立了SYBR GreenⅠ实时荧光定量RT-PCR检测TGEV的方法,同时对12份病料进行检测,并与常规RT-PCR进行比较。结果显示,该方法的敏感性达到43.07拷贝/μL,具有良好的特异性和重复性,而常规RT-PCR最低只检测到4.307×10³ 拷贝/μL,敏感性较低。本试验建立的检测TGEV S基因的SYBR GreenⅠ实时荧光定量RT-PCR方法为传染性胃肠炎的鉴别诊断及TGEV的分离鉴定奠定了技术基础。