Differentially expressed genes identified through RNA‐seq with extreme values of principal components for beef fatty acid in Nelore cattle

The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed genes (DEG) in the Longissimus thoracis muscle of Nelore cattle related to fatty acid (FA) profile through RNA sequencing and principal component analysis (PCA). Two groups of 10 animals each were selected containing PC1 and PC2 extreme DEG values (HIGH × LOW) for each FA group. The intramuscular fat (IMF) was compared between cluster groups by ANOVA, and only the sum of monounsaturated FA (MUFA) and ω3 showed significant differences (p < .05). Interestingly, the highest percentage (95%) of phenotypic variation explained by the sum of the first two PC was observed for ω3, which also displayed the lowest number of DEG (n = 1). The lowest percentage (59%) was observed for MUFA, which also revealed the largest number of DEG (n = 66). Since only MUFA and ω3 exhibited significant differences between cluster groups, we can conclude that the differences observed for the remaining groups are not due to the percentage of IMF. Several genes that have been previously associated with meat quality and FA traits were identified as DEG in this study. The functional analysis revealed one KEGG pathway and eight GO terms as significant (p < .05), in which we highlighted the purine metabolism, glycolytic process, adenosine triphosphate binding and bone development. These results strongly contribute to the knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved in meat FA profile of Nelore cattle.     

Transgressive segregation in inter and intraspecific crosses of barley

Summary Six populations of F₂-derived lines of barley and their parents were evaluated for heading date, plant height, grain yield, bundle weight, and harvest index in a replicated experiment in the field. These data were used to estimate the minimum number of effective factor pairs segregating for each trait, the number of favorable factors contributed by each parent in a cross, and the frequencies and magnitudes of transgressive segregates.Heading date, plant height, and harvest index were controlled by three to four effective factor pairs, whereas grain yield and bundle weight were controlled by five or more.All three H. spontaneum strains used in our study contributed one or more useful genes for each of the traits, grain yield, heading date, plant height, bundle weight, and harvest index. Therefore, it seems that H. spontaneum can be a useful source of favorable genes for quantitative traits, especially for grain yield, which could be incorporated into barley varieties readily by backcrossing. Transgressive segregates for grain yield in the interspecific crosses may provide the basic materials for improving the productivity of cultivated barley varieties.Journal Paper No. J-9760 of the Iowa Agric. and Home Econ. Exp. Stn., Ames, IA 50011. Project 2227. Supported in part by a grant from the Science and Education Administration-Cooperative Research, United States Department of Agriculture.     

Nutritional evaluation of pea (Pisum sativum L.) protein diets after mild hydrothermal treatment and with and without added phytase

The effect of mild hydrothermal treatment and the addition of phytase under optimal conditions (pH 5.5, 37 degrees C) on the nutritive utilization of the protein of pea (Pisum sativum L.) flour was studied in growing rats by examining the chemical and biological balance. Mild hydrothermal treatment produced reductions of 83, 78, and 72%, respectively, in the levels of alpha-galactosides, phytic acid, and trypsin inhibitors and also produced a significant increase in the digestive utilization of protein. The additional fall in the levels of phytic acid caused by the addition of phytase did not lead to a subsequent improvement in the digestive utilization of protein. The mild hydrothermal treatment of pea flour produced a significant increase in the metabolic utilization of protein and carbohydrates, which was reflected in the protein efficiency ratio and food transformation growth indices. These effects were not observed in the phytase-supplemented pea diet.     

Physicochemical parameters,fatty acid profile,and sensory attributes of meat from lambs fed with cassava dregs in replacement of corn

Tropical Animal Health and Production - The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the replacement of corn by cassava dregs (0, 33, 66, and 100%) in the diet of lamb on...     

Ecosystem‐based management of Amazon fisheries and wetlands

Infrastructure development and overfishing in the Amazon make it imperative to define adequate scales for the ecosystem‐based management of commercial fisheries and the wetlands on which they depend. We mapped fisheries and fish ecology data from Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia to an explicit GIS framework of river basins and mainstems. Migratory species account for more than 80% of the known maximum catches of commercial fisheries across the Amazon. Of these migratory species, we nominated six long‐distance migratory fish taxa as flagship species to define the two main commercial fishery regions. The migrations of at least one goliath catfish species define a large‐scale longitudinal link joining the Andes, Amazon Lowlands and Amazon River estuary. Migratory Characiforms demonstrate interbasin wetland connectivity between nutrient‐rich and nutrient‐poor rivers over at least 2 million km², or about one‐third of the Amazon Basin. We show that flooded forest area is the most important wetland variable explaining regional variations in migratory characiforme biomass as indicated by maximum annual fishery catches. The sustainable management of Amazon fisheries will require transnational cooperation and a paradigm shift from local community management alone to a more integrated approach that considers both rural and urban consumers and challenges, and the realistic life histories of migratory species.     

Polymorphism of high M r glutenin subunits in wild emmer Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccoides: chromatographic,electrophoretic separations and PCR analysis of their encoding genes

Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccoides (Körn. ex Asch. et Graebn.) Thell. (AABB), the immediate progenitor of tetraploid and hexaploid wheats, is a species characterised by a wide range of protein polymorphism and by high protein content. Surveys on polymorphism and genetic control of the high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) present in this species, in two forms x- and y-type at the Glu-A1 and Glu-B1 loci, are still considered useful, both to improve technological properties of breeding varieties and to study the genome evolutionary process in wheats. Comparative Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoretic and Reversed Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic analyses (SDS-PAGE, RP-HPLC) of the HMW-GS present in several accessions of T. turgidum subsp. dicoccoides allowed the detection of new alleles of Glu-A1 and Glu-B1 loci, with x- and y-type glutenin subunits, apparently similar to those present in cultivated wheats in molecular weight, but different in surface hydrophobicity. In addition, changes in the number of x- and y-type subunits at the glutenin loci were also ascertained. The y-type subunits at the Glu-A1 locus, which are never expressed in cultivated bread and durum wheats, and single y-type expressed glutenin subunits at the Glu-B1 locus were also identified in several accessions. DNA extracted from samples, differing in number or type of HMW-GS and corresponding to x- and y-type genes at Glu-1 loci, were amplified using specific primers, two of which were constructed within the transposon-like sequence of Chinese Spring DNA and analysed by polymerase chain reaction. The results showed this insertion in some accessions of T. turgidum subsp. dicoccoides and also the presence of silent Ax, Bx and By type genes. The usefulness for breeding of these comparative analyses carried out on different HMW-GS alleles detected in Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccoides, is discussed.     

Nitrogen fractions and mineral content in different lupin species (Lupinus albus, Lupinus angustifolius, and Lupinus luteus). Changes induced by the alpha-galactoside extraction process

The protein and mineral composition of different varieties of three different lupin species (Lupinus albus, Lupinus angustifolius, and Lupinus luteus) and the effect of alpha-galactoside removal by means of a hydroalcoholic extraction process on such composition were studied in relationship to nutrient distribution among the different anatomical parts of the seed (embryo, cotyledon, and seed coat). The extent of processing-derived protein insolubilization was assessed by both chemical and electrophoretic techniques and related to the amount of nitrogen soluble in H(2)O, NaCl, ethanol, NaOH, and sodium dodecyl sulfate/beta-mercaptoethanol (SDS/BME). The alpha-galactoside extraction process caused a significant increase in the amount of total and insoluble nitrogen and decreased the amount of soluble protein nitrogen, without affecting the content of soluble nonprotein nitrogen. alpha-Galactoside extraction was not effective at decreasing the levels of Mn present in lupins, and processing caused an increase in the content of this mineral in all of the species studied with the exception of L. albus var. multolupa. In general, the effect of processing on mineral content varied with the different lupin species, and mineral losses were lower in L. luteus.     

Antral Follicle Populations and Embryo Production – In Vitro and In Vivo – of Bos indicus–taurus Donors from Weaning to Yearling Ages

Interest in indicus–taurus cattle has been increasing, as these animals are likely to present the best characteristics of Zebu and European bovine breeds. The aim of this study was to compare the embryo production of indicus–taurus donors with high vs low antral follicle counts obtained by ovum pickup/in vitro production (OPU/IVP) and superovulation (SOV)/embryo collection. Braford females at weaning age (3/8 Nelore × 5/8 Hereford, n = 137, 9 ± 1 month old) were subjected to six serial ovarian ultrasonographs and were assigned to two groups according to the number of antral follicles ≥3 mm as follows: G‐High antral follicular count (AFC, n = 20, mean ≥40 follicles) and G‐Low AFC (n = 20, mean ≤10 follicles). When the females (n = 40) reached 24 months of age, they were subjected to both OPU/IVP and SOV/embryo collection. The average number of follicles remained highly stable throughout all of the ultrasound evaluations (range 0.90–0.92). The mean number of COCs recovered (36.90 ± 13.68 vs 5.80 ± 3.40) was higher (p < 0.05) for females with high AFC, resulting in higher (p < 0.05) numbers of total embryos among females with high vs low AFC (6.10 ± 4.51 vs 0.55 ± 0.83). The mean number of embryos per collection was also higher (p < 0.05) for G‐High vs G‐Low (6.95 ± 5.34 vs 1.9 ± 2.13). We conclude that a single ultrasound performed at pre‐pubertal ages to count antral follicles can be used as a predictor of embryo production following IVP and SOV/embryo collection in indicus–taurus females.     

Detection of y-type Subunit at theGlu-A1Locus in Some Swedish Bread Wheat Lines

Electrophoretic and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP–HPLC) analyses were performed on gluten proteins extracted from flours milled from two different Swedish bread wheat lines; these lines have been reported to possess a novel highM_rglutenin subunit controlled by a gene at theGlu-A1locus, referred to as 21*. Although RP–HPLC indicated that subunit 21* has a surface hydrophobocity similar to that of the commonly occurring allelic subunits 1 or 2*, it differs from them in isoelectric point, being more basic when analysed by two dimensional gel electrophoresis (IEF/SDS–PAGE). RP–HPLC separations of highM_rglutenin subunits showed the presence of an additional peak, the behaviour of which was similar to that of y-type subunits encoded by genes at theGlu-A1ylocus and present only in wild wheatsT. urartu(AA) orT. dicoccoides(AABB). Based on chromatographic results and on the tight linkage observed with subunit 21*, it is suggested that the additional component (indicated as 21*y), present in the breeding lines analysed, corresponds to the y-type subunit encoded at theGlu-A1locus. Genes encoding the subunits 21* and 21*y were also analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Contrary to what was observed for the polypeptide itself, the gene corresponding to subunit 21* was similar in size to that encoding subunit 2* and shorter than that corresponding to subunit 1. Moreover, the amplification product corresponding to the active 21*y gene was shorter than that of the allelic inactive gene present in the bread wheat cultivar Cheyenne. As reported for other highM_rglutenin subunits, gene size differences observed were due to a different length of the repetitive region. Because cultivated polyploid wheats have been shown to have only the x-type subunit at theGlu-A1locus, it is speculated that the new combination, with both x- and y-type subunits expressed, might have been introgressed during breeding processes from the wild wheat progenitorsT. urartuorT. dicoccoides, which have genotypes expressing both types of subunits.     

Effect of natural and controlled fermentation on chemical composition and nutrient dialyzability from beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

The effect of natural and controlled fermentation with an inoculum of Lactobacillus plantarum and additional thermal treatment (dry heat at 120 degrees C for 20 min) on the availability of N, P, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ca, and Mg from Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. carrilla was estimated using an in vitro method based on equilibrium dialysis. Natural and controlled fermentations caused significant reductions in the pH and phytate content (36%) of the bean flours, with a concomitant increase in the titratable acidity and free phosphorus content, and had no effect on the other nutrients studied. The percentage of dialyzable N, P, Cu, and Mg was significantly improved by both types of fermentation, whereas Zn dialyzability was significantly reduced. The greatest reduction was observed for the bean flour fermented with an inoculum of L. plantarum. The percentage of dialyzable Fe improved significantly as a result of natural fermentation but was not affected by controlled fermentation. The application of dry heat at 120 degrees C for 20 min caused a significant increase in Fe dialyzability and a further reduction in the percentage of dialyzable Zn in fermented bean flours but did not affect the dialyzability of the other nutrients studied.