Amino acid profiles of rumen undegradable protein: a comparison between forages including cereal straws and alfalfa and their respective total mixed rations

Optimizing the amino acid (AA) profile of rumen undegradable protein (RUP) can positively affect the amount of milk protein. This study was conducted to improve knowledge regarding the AA profile of rumen undegradable protein from corn stover, rice straw and alfalfa hay as well as the total mixed ratio diets (TMR) based on one of them as forage source [forage‐to‐concentrate ratio of 45:55 (30% of corn stover (CS), 30% of rice straw (RS), 23% of alfalfa hay (AH) and dry matter basis)]. The other ingredients in the three TMR diets were similar. The RUP of all the forages and diets was estimated by incubation for 16 hr in the rumen of three ruminally cannulated lactating cows. All residues were corrected for microbial colonization, which was necessary in determining the AA composition of RUP from feed samples using in situ method. Compared with their original AA composition, the AA pattern of forages and forage‐based diets changed drastically after rumen exposure. In addition, the extent of ruminal degradation of analysed AA was not constant among the forages. The greatest individual AA degradability of alfalfa hay and corn stover was Pro, but was His of rice straw. A remarkable difference was observed between microbial attachment corrected and uncorrected AA profiles of RUP, except for alfalfa hay and His in the three forages and TMR diets. The ruminal AA degradability of cereal straws was altered compared with alfalfa hay but not for the TMR diets. In summary, the AA composition of forages and TMR‐based diets changed significantly after ruminal exposure, indicating that the original AA profiles of the feed cannot represent its AA composition of RUP. The AA profile of RUP and ruminal AA degradability for corn stover and rice straw contributed to missing information in the field.     

Multimarker and rare variants genomewide association studies for bone weight in Simmental cattle

Bone weight, defined as the total weight of the bones in all the forequarter and hindquarter joints, can reflect somebody conformation traits and skeletal diseases. To gain a better understanding of the genetic determinants of bone weight, we used a composite strategy including multimarker and rare‐marker association to perform genomewide association studies (GWAS) for that character in Simmental cattle. Our strategy consisted of three models: (i) A traditional linear mixed model (LMM) was applied (Q+K‐LMM); (ii) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with p‐values less than .05 from the LMM were selected to undergo the least absolute shrinkage and selector operator (Lasso) in the second stage (LMM‐Lasso); (iii) genes containing two or more rare SNPs were examined by performing the sequence kernel association test (gene‐based SKAT). A total of 1,225 cattle were genotyped with an Illumina BovineHD BeadChip containing 770,000 SNPs. After the quality‐control procedures, 1,217 individuals with 608,696 common SNPs and 105,787 rare SNPs (with 0.001 < minor allele frequency [MAF] <0.05) remained in the sample for analysis. A traditional LMM successfully mapped three genes associated with bone weight, while LMM‐Lasso identified nine genes, which included all genes found by traditional LMM. Only a single gene, EPHB3, surpassed the significance threshold after Bonferroni correction in gene‐based SKAT. In conclusion, based on functional annotation and results from previous endeavours, we believe that LCORL, RIMS2, LAP3, PRKAR2B, CHSY1, MAP2K6 and EPHB3 are candidate genes for bone weight. In general, such a comprehensive strategy for GWAS may be useful for researchers seeking to probe the full genetic architecture underlying economic traits in livestock.     

微白黄链霉菌对红豆草壳二孢的拮抗效果评价

红豆草壳二孢叶斑黑茎病(Ascochyta onobrychidis)是红豆草(Onobrychis viciaefolia)最重要的病害之一,在分离此病菌的同时得到一种对此病菌具有较强抑制作用的微生物,为评价此拮抗菌的开发利用前景,本研究采用形态学、分子生物学和生物化学方法鉴定了其分类地位,并测定了其对红豆草壳二孢的抑菌效果。通过构建系统发育树并结合其形态特征和生理生化特性,将该拮抗菌鉴定为微白黄链霉菌(Streptomyces albidoflavu),在高氏一号培养基上菌落为黄白色,可产生黄白色水溶性色素,孢子丝钩状,顶端螺旋形;在平板对峙试验中该菌的菌落对红豆草壳二孢菌落的相对抑制率达74.33%,同时该菌发酵液对红豆草壳二孢菌丝生长和孢子萌发的抑制率分别为80.95%和93.87%。该菌具有生物防治红豆草壳二孢的开发和利用价值。     

Impact of cold-season grazing and supplementary feeding on rumen metabolic parameters and micro-organisms in the ewes of Gansu Alpine Fine Wool Sheep北大核心CSCD

An experiment was conducted to scientifically identify the appropriate feed for Gansu Alpine Fine Wool ewes in order to change the animals' breeding mode, which currently can only be mated at the age of 2.5 years due to insufficient nutritional supply. The experiment selected 48 12-month-old ewes and randomly divided them into group a (Diet 1), group b (Diet 2), group c (Diet 3), and a control group with no supplementary feeding. The feed test was run for 90 days. The rumen pH of groups a and b were very significantly higher (P<0.01) or group c significantly lower (P<0.05) than control group. The rumen ammonia nitrogen, protein nitrogen and total nitrogen of groups a, b and c were all higher than control group (P<0.01). The total volatile fatty acids of group a and b were all higher than the control group (P<0.01), group b significantly higher than group c (P<0.05). The molar ratio of acetic acid and propionic acid in group a was very significantly higher than control group (P<0.01), group b and c were significantly higher than control group (P<0.05). The molar ratio of butyric acid in group a was very significantly higher than group c (P<0.01). The ratio of acetic acid and propionic acid in group b was significantly lower than control group (P<0.05). The number of several rumen fiber-degrading bacteria and protozoa in groups a, b and c were very significantly (P<0.01) or significantly (P<0.05) higher than the control. In conclusion, this study shows that supplementary feeding can positively affect the rumen metabolic parameters and the number of several rumen microorganisms in Gansu Alpine Fine Wool ewes. In general, the effects of Diet 1 were the strongest, while Diet 2 also produced notable improvements. © 2018, Editorial Office of Acta Prataculturae Sinica. All rights reserved.     

猪瘟病毒NASBA-RT-LAMP快速检测方法的建立

本研究基于核酸序列依赖性扩增技术(NASBA)和反转录环介导等温扩增技术(RT-LAMP),建立了一种针对猪瘟病毒的,快速、灵敏、特异的两步法检测技术。该方法的检测灵敏度与反转录巢式PCR(RT-NestPCR)相当,最低能检测出46 pg/μL的病毒RNA。该方法的建立为猪瘟病毒的快速诊断提供了新思路。     

Differential Cl−/Salt Tolerance and NaCl‐Induced Alternations of Tissue and Cellular Ion Fluxes in Glycine max,Glycine soja and their Hybrid Seedlings

The salt‐sensitive Glycine max N23674 cultivar, the salt‐born Glycine soja BB52 population, and their hybrid 4076 strain (F₅) selected for salt tolerance generation by generation were used as the experimental materials in this study. First, the effects of NaCl stress on seed germination, tissue damage, and time‐course ionic absorption and transportation were compared. When qualitatively compared with seed germination appearance in culture dishes, and tissue damages on roots or leaves of seedlings, or quantitatively compared with the relative salt injury rate, the inhibition on N23674 was all the most remarkable. After the exposure of 140 mm NaCl for 1 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, 2 days and 4 days, the content of Cl^? gradually increased in the roots and leaves of seedlings of BB52, 4076 and 23674. Interestingly, the extents of the Cl^? rise in roots of the three experimental soybean materials were BB52 > 4076 > N23674, whereas those in leaves were just on the contrary. Secondly, by using the scanning ion‐selective electrode technique (SIET), fluxes of Na⁺ and Cl^? in roots and protoplasts isolated from roots and leaves were also investigated among the three experimental soybean materials. After 140 mm NaCl stress for 2, 4 and 6 days, and when compared with N23674, slighter net Cl^? influxes were observed in root tissue and protoplasts of roots and leaves of BB52 and 4076 seedlings, especially at the cellular protoplast level. The results indicate that with regard to the ionic effect of NaCl stress, Cl^? was the main determinant salt ion for salt tolerance in G. soja, G. max and their hybrid, and the difference in their Cl^?/salt tolerance is mainly attributed to the capacity of Cl^? restriction to the plant above‐ground parts such as leaves.     

Genome‐Wide Identification of MicroRNAs Responsive to High Temperature in Rice (Oryza sativa) by High‐Throughput Deep Sequencing

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to play important roles in plant growth and stress response. Heat stress is a severe abiotic stresses by adversely affecting plant growth and yield. To identify heat‐responsive miRNAs at the genome‐wide level in rice (Oryza sativa), we constructed two small RNA libraries from young panicles treated or not with heat conditions. Ion torrent sequencing of the two libraries identified 294 known miRNAs and 539 novel miRNAs. Differential expression analysis showed that 26 miRNAs were downregulated and 21 miRNAs were upregulated in response to heat stress. Among them, five heat‐responsive miRNAs, including miR162b, miR529a‐p5, PC‐5P‐62245‐9, miR171b and miR169n, were validated by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. A total of 44 target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted. These target genes are most significantly overrepresented in the cell growth process. The results demonstrated that rice miRNAs play critical roles in the heat stress response. This study opens up a new avenue for understanding the regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs involvement in the heat stress response in rice.