棉花去泛素化酶基因GhOTUD5原核表达条件的优化

棉花组蛋白去泛素化酶GhOTUD5与生殖发育密切相关。为了获得大量可溶性表达的GhOTUD5蛋白,本试验对目的蛋白原核表达条件进行优化。采用分子克隆方法构建重组表达载体pET-22b-GhOTUD5,转化大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)BL21(DE3)和Transetta(DE3),用异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷(isopropylβ-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside,IPTG)诱导目的蛋白表达。在对影响原核表达的四个单因素(菌体密度OD600,诱导剂IPTG终浓度,诱导时间和诱导温度)分别分析的基础上,设计三水平的正交试验L9(43),摸索大量可溶性目的蛋白表达的最优条件。结果显示,目的蛋白GhOTUD5在Transetta(DE3)中成功表达,在BL21(DE3)中不表达。在菌体密度OD600为0.8、诱导温度为28℃、IPTG终浓度为0.7 mmol/L、诱导3 h的条件下可溶性目的蛋白表达量最高,达到13%左右。该研究结果为进一步研究GhOTUD5在棉花育性方面的功能提供了科学数据。     

母猪妊娠期背膘厚度与体况评分及繁殖性能的关系

利用2 552胎约克夏母猪的历史繁殖数据,分析背膘厚度与体况评分,分别对初产母猪和经产母猪不同妊娠阶段的背膘厚度与繁殖性状进行相关分析。结果表明,体况评分法并不能准确地评判妊娠母猪背膘厚度,更不能反映母猪繁殖性能的高低。初产母猪不同妊娠期的背膘厚度和主要繁殖性状无显著相关性。经产母猪不同妊娠阶段的背膘厚度与繁殖性状显著相关(P<0.05),妊娠期背膘厚度变化量与繁殖性状显著相关(P<0.05)。回归分析表明,为使经产母猪繁殖性能达到最佳,妊娠期间母猪的背膘厚度应控制在10~14 mm,并且保持相对稳定。在妊娠期不同阶段应根据母猪背膘厚度进行精确饲喂,以确保母猪达到最佳背膘厚度,并在整个妊娠期维持相对稳定,这样有利于母猪繁殖性能的提高。     

Influence of diet on growth,reproduction and lipid and fatty acid composition in the sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa

The suspension‐feeding sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa is widely distributed in cold waters and is commercially exploited in the North Atlantic. While the species is considered to have potential for aquaculture, its feeding and reproductive biology differs markedly from that of currently cultivated sea cucumbers. Here, for the first time, the influence of food sources on the condition of C. frondosa was experimentally tested. Individuals were fed with either diatoms or fish eggs for 3 months. Specific growth rate (SGR), organ indices, fecundity, gonad maturity and profiles of lipids and fatty acids (FA) in tissues were compared among treatments and with sea cucumbers collected from the field. Individuals fed with fish eggs showed higher SGR and organ indices than all other treatments. The highest proportion of large oocytes was also found in gonad tubules of females from the fish egg treatment, although individuals fed with diatoms were the only ones in which spontaneous spawning occurred. Moreover, gonad and muscle tissues of sea cucumbers from the fish egg treatment presented the highest levels of lipids and essential FA. In contrast, non‐fed sea cucumbers showed negative SGR, relatively low female fecundity and low concentrations of lipids and FA in tissues. While the fish egg diet presented several obvious benefits, phytoplankton remains an important source of carotenoids, which are vital for vitellogenesis in echinoderms. This indicates that mixed diets rich in lipids, essential FA and carotenoids can be further investigated to optimize growth and reproductive output of this species in captivity.     

茯茶冠突散囊菌发酵生产吲哚生物碱的研究

冠突散囊菌是茯砖茶"发花"过程中的优势菌,其体内含有丰富的吲哚类生物碱类代谢产物。吲哚生物碱类化合物具有抗菌、抗过敏、抗辐射、抗紫外和抗肿瘤等重要的生物活性,开发前景广阔。为提高吲哚类生物碱类代谢产物的产量,本研究考察了冠突散囊菌繁殖、生长与发酵的影响因素,并利用薄层色谱(TLC)、高效液相色谱(HPLC)、液相色谱-质谱联用技术(LC-MS)对其发酵产物内含成分进行了分析。结果表明冠突散囊菌在察氏固体培养基上能快速繁殖,8 d内能产生大量的成熟孢子,液体培养的最佳条件与时长分别为pH 6.0、温度30℃、转速200 r·min~(-1)和培养时长6 d;鲜茶干粉、鲜茶提取物、茯茶粉、茯茶提取物和色氨酸等能显著诱导吲哚生物碱的合成,其中色氨酸诱导效应最强;内含成分分析表明,TLC可分离出至少10种冠突散囊菌代谢物质,HPLC与LC-MS检测分析其代谢产物的主要成分为吲哚类生物碱,产量达到2.45 g·L~(-1)。本研究为茯茶冠突散囊菌的高值化开发提供了技术支撑。     

Interannual variability in the feeding and condition of subyearling Chinook salmon off Oregon and Washington in relation to fluctuating ocean conditions

Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is one of several economically‐important species of salmon found in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. The first months at sea are believed to be the most critical for salmon survival, with the highest rate of mortality occurring during this period. In the present study, we examined interannual diet composition and body condition trends for late‐summer subyearling Chinook salmon caught off Oregon and Washington from 1998 to 2012. Interannual variability was observed in juvenile salmon diet composition by weight of prey consumed. Juvenile subyearling Chinook salmon were mainly piscivorous, with northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) being especially important, making up half the diet by weight in some years. Annual diets clustered into two groups, primarily defined by their proportion of invertebrate prey (14% versus 39% on average). Diet composition was found to influence adult returns, with salmon from high‐invertebrate years returning in significantly larger numbers 2–3 yrs later. However, years that had high adult returns had overall lower stomach fullness and poorer body condition as juveniles, a counterintuitive result potentially driven by the enhanced survival of less fit individuals in better ocean conditions (top‐down effect). Ocean conditions in years with a higher percentage of invertebrates in salmon diets were significantly cooler from May to August, and bottom‐up processes may have led to a fall plankton community with a larger proportion of invertebrates. Our results suggest that the plankton community assemblage during this first fall may be critical in predicting adult returns of Chinook salmon in the Pacific Northwest.     

疆岳驴体重和体尺性状的相关和回归分析

疆岳驴是我国优良的乳肉兼用地方品种,为了加快对疆岳驴的选育、提纯复壮和保种速度,本研究选择101头疆岳驴进行体重和体尺测定,并应用R语言(2.15.0)进行相关和回归分析。结果表明,年龄对疆岳驴的体高、胸围和体重影响极显著(P<0.001),对体长和管围影响显著(P<0.05),其中1～3岁年龄组的体高、体长、胸围、管围和体重值最大,并且1～3岁公驴的体高、管围和体重显著优于母驴(P<0.05)。疆岳驴的体重与体尺性状有极显著的相关关系(P<0.001),通过建立最优回归方程表明,影响体重的重要性状依次为胸围、体高和体长。建议疆岳驴在选育、提纯复壮和保种时应加大对胸围、体高和体长的选择力度,同时参照最优回归模型可以获得较好的效果。     

绒山羊细菌人工染色体BAC文库构建条件的优化

近年来,细菌人工染色体BAC文库成为应用最广泛的基因组文库之一,它以其容量大、遗传特性稳定、嵌合体少、插入片段易回收、操作简便等不可比拟的优点而被广泛应用于基因组较大的真核生物基因组研究之中。作者就细菌人工染色体BAC文库的构建条件进行了研究,用HindⅢ部分酶切绒山羊基因组,脉冲场凝胶电泳分离大片段DNA,以电洗脱法回收DNA后,与BAC载体连接,将连接产物点透析后,电转化DH10B感受态细胞,最后对转化的片段小提质粒进行NotⅠ酶切,脉冲电泳鉴定其大小。结果表明,本试验采用的方法既可获得较大的插入片段又可获得较高的转化效率,是较好的用于构建大基因组文库的方法。     

Assessment of inbreeding depression for body measurements in Spanish Purebred (Andalusian) horses

Our aim was to ascertain inbreeding depression in the Spanish Purebred horses for eight body measurements. A total of 16,472 individuals were measured for height at withers, height at chest, leg length, body length, width of chest, heart girth circumference, knee perimeter and cannon bone circumference. Three different multivariate animal models including, respectively, no measure of inbreeding, individual inbreeding coefficients (F_i) or individual increase in inbreeding coefficients (ΔF_i) as linear covariates were used. Significant inbreeding depression was assessed. Even though the models including measures of inbreeding fitted better with data, no effect on estimates of genetic parameters was assessed. However, the inclusion of inbreeding measures affected the ranking order according to the Expected Breeding Values (EBV). Due to the better fit with data and nice properties (the adjustment of individual inbreeding coefficients with the pedigree depth and linear behaviour) the use of ΔF_i in the evaluation models can be recommended for morphological traits in horses.     

Genetic and phenotypic parameter estimates for growth traits in Boer goat

An understanding of influencing factors and genetic principles affecting the growth traits is needed to implement optimal breeding and selection programs. In this study, heritabilities (direct additive and maternal) of body weights at birth (BW0), 90 days (BW90) and 300 days (BW300) of age and average daily gains from birth to 90 days (ADG0-90), birth to 300 days (ADG0-300) and 90 days to 300 days (ADG90–300) of age in Boer goats were estimated on the basis of 1520 Boer goats at Boer Goat Breeding Station in Yidu, China, during 2002–2007. The parameters were estimated using a DFREML procedure by excluding or including maternal genetic or permanent maternal environmental effects, four analysis models were fitted in order to optimize the model for each trait. Influencing factors such as parity, litter size, kidding year and season, as well as sex of kids and some significant interactions among these factors were investigated as the fixed effects for the models. The results showed that the birth year and maternal genetic effects such as parity and litter size of dam were important determinants of the genetic parameter estimates for pre-weaning growth traits, and environmental effects such as birth year, season and sex of kids had some significant effect on post-weaning growth traits. The mean values and standard errors (SE) of direct additive heritability estimates calculated with the optimum model were 0.17 ± 0.07, 0.22 ± 0.08, 0.07 ± 0.07, 0.10 ± 0.08, 0.30 ± 0.12 and 0.08 ± 0.10 for BW0, BW90, ADG0-90, BW300, ADG0-300 and ADG90–300, respectively. For pre-weaning weights, correlation estimates between direct additive and maternal genetic (r_a–m) effect were high and negative ranging from − 0.74 to − 0.86.     

Season and physiological status affects the circadian body temperature rhythm of dairy cows

The circadian body (vaginal) temperature rhythm was measured in 36 dairy cows: Holstein–Friesian (HF, n = 12), Jersey (J, n = 12) and their crossbreed, Holstein–Friesian × Jersey (HF × J, n = 12) at six different periods (5-7 days in duration) during the year that could potentially be a seasonal and physiological stressor. These were a) early winter (late pregnancy), (b) early spring (early lactation), (c) late spring (before mating at mid-lactation), (d) early summer (after mating at mid-lactation), (e) late summer (late lactation, early pregnancy) and, (f) early autumn (drying-off at the end of lactation, mid-pregnancy). Live weight and body condition score was recorded on the first day of each measurement period. Live weight differed (P < 0.001) with breed with HF cows heaviest and J cows lightest (HF: 525 ± 51, HF × J: 456 ± 56, J: 401 ± 30 kg). HF cows tended (P = 0.099) to have a higher body condition than either J or HF × J cows although the overall change in body condition during the experiment was similar (P = 0.961) amongst breeds. The circadian body temperature rhythm differed markedly between each measurement period, being flatter and having a less prominent morning nadir and afternoon peak during early winter compared to spring and summer. The timing of peak body temperature was 4-5 h earlier in early autumn in HF and HF × J cows relative to J cows. There was no breed difference (P ≥ 0.162) in daily mean body temperature except for a tendency (P = 0.075) for mean body temperature to be moderately higher in J cows (38.5 °C) during late summer compared to HF and HF × J cows (38.4 °C), primarily due to an increase (P = 0.001) in daily minimum body temperature (38.0 vs. 37.8 °C). The daily range of oscillation (maximum–minimum) in the body temperature rhythm was highest during late summer, particularly in HF and HF × J cows. Minimum body temperature was also higher (P = 0.033) for J cows than HF and HF × J cows during early autumn (37.9 vs. 37.8 °C). In conclusion, season and physiological status of cattle had a profound effect on the circadian body temperature rhythm but there was little difference between the breeds of dairy cows studied.