绵羊LDHβ基因的生物信息学分析及其在不同剩余采食量绵羊肝脏和肌肉组织中的表达

【目的】为鉴定绵羊乳酸脱氢酶β(lactate dehydrogenase B,LDHβ)基因的分子特征,研究其在不同剩余采食量绵羊肝脏和肌肉组织中的表达差异.【方法】测定了137只‘湖羊’公羔的剩余采食量(residual feed intake,RFI),按RFI进行排序,分别筛选出RFI最高(high-residual feed intake,H-RFI)和RFI最低(low-residual feed intake,L-RFI)的羊各15只,屠宰后,采集肝脏和肌肉组织,利用Q-PCR技术检测绵羊LDHβ基因分别在H-RFI和L-RFI羊肝脏和肌肉中表达量,并利用生物信息学软件构建了该基因的系统进化树和预测其结构与功能.【结果】绵羊LDHβ基因开放阅读框(open reading frame,ORF)为1 005bp,编码334个氨基酸,其蛋白质分子质量为36 479.43U,理论等电点为6.40.绵羊LDHβ基因与山羊的亲缘关系较近,其次为牛,序列同源性高.功能结构域预测结果显示,该基因编码产物在内质网中参与辅酶因子生物合成的可能性最高.Q-PCR结果显示,绵羊LDHβ-mRNA基因在L-RFI羊肝脏和肌肉中表达量均显著低于H-RFI羊(P0.01).【结论】绵羊LDHβ基因作为能量代谢的关键酶参与绵羊饲料效率的调控.     

A comparison of the population genetics of Lethrinus miniatus and Lutjanus sebae from the east and west coasts of Australia: Evidence for panmixia and isolation

Lethrinus miniatus and Lutjanus sebae are important commercial and recreational species of reef fish. Within Australian waters the former species is less widespread than the latter and has a discontinuous distribution, whilst the latter is continuously distributed in tropical Australian waters. The demographic attributes of these species (e.g. long life span, low rates of natural mortality) make them vulnerable to over-exploitation. Consequently, conservative harvest strategies including no-take zones for these species have been adopted by fisheries management agencies to control exploitation. Information on the genetic stock structure of these species is important for developing specific management strategies. However, little is known about genetic stock structures within and between east and west Australian populations of these species. The current study used the mitochondrial genome hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of the control region to examine variation between two sites from both the east and west Australian coasts for each species. HVR1 for L. sebae did not differ genetically either within or between coasts (F_st < 0.018, p > 0.15) at the sites studied, suggesting a panmictic population structure. Similarly, L. miniatus did not differ significantly between sites sampled within coast. However, the west coast HVR1 for L. miniatus east and west coast populations, were discrete (F_st of at least 0.92, p < 0.0001). The degree of genetic sub-division between east and west coast populations indicates that they should be managed as discrete stocks. Further, when considering both species, the lower genetic (both haplotype and nucleotide) diversity in three of the four sites on the west coast of Australia, indicates that this region is genetically impoverished and neutrality tests suggest that selection is responsible. Consequently, west Australian populations will be less resilient to perturbations (e.g. fishing, climate change) than east Australian populations, which have higher genetic diversity.     

Maize Hybrid Variability for Transpiration Decrease with Progressive Soil Drying

Drought is ubiquitous in rainfed cropping systems and often limits maize yields. The sensitivity of transpiration response early in progressive soil drying is a trait with potential to improve crop drought resistance. Simulation studies demonstrated that increased sensitivity to drying soil leading to restricted transpiration rates results in conservation of soil water during vegetative stages for possible use during grain filling. In contrast to other crops, there have been no studies characterizing genotypic variability for this trait in maize. Experiments in controlled environments were conducted to characterize the fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW) threshold on drying soil for 36 hybrids selected for variation in the field for drought resistance, regions of adaptation and stay green. While FTSW thresholds varied among hybrids from 0.60 to 0.33, these thresholds were not uniformly associated with level of drought resistance in the field. Nevertheless, this study demonstrated a high FTSW threshold corresponded with drought resistance observed in some modern maize germplasm (hybrids #7, 17, 24, 27 and 32). This knowledge can enable breeding work seeking to exploit this adaptive trait to improved drought tolerance in low threshold FTSW germplasm.     

Effect of dietary modification of muscle long-chain n-3 fatty acid on plasma insulin and lipid metabolites, carcass traits, and fat deposition in lambs

In a previous study we showed that feeding fish meal significantly increased muscle long chain n-3 fatty acids (FA) and hot carcass weight. In this study we compared the effect of fish meal and fish oil on increasing muscle long-chain FA. We also investigated whether the increase in carcass weight was due to the effect of dietary enrichment of muscle long-chain n-3 FA on muscle membrane phospholipids and(or) to rumen by-pass protein provided by fish meal. Forty crossbred ([Merino x Border Leicester] x Poll Dorset) wether lambs between 26 and 33 kg BW were randomly assigned to one of five treatments: 1) basal diet of oaten:lucerne chaff (Basal); 2) Basal + fish meal (9% DM) = FM; 3) Basal + fish oil (1.5% DM) with protected sunflower meal (9% DM ) = FOSMP; 4) Basal + fish oil (1.5% DM) = FO; or 5) Basal + protected sunflower meal (10.5% DM) = SMP. Daily intake of ME (9.60 - 10.5 MJ ME/d) and CP (150 to 168 g/d) in all treatments was kept similar by varying the ratio of oaten:lucerne chaff and by feeding the animals at 90% ad libitum intake. Blood samples were collected at the start of the experiment and on the day (d 42) prior to slaughter. Lambs were then slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. At 24 h postmortem carcass traits were measured and longissimus thoracis muscle taken for analysis of FA of phospholipid and triglyceride fractions. Lambs fed FO and FOSMP showed a marked increase in muscle longchain n-3 FA (P < 0.001) and a reduction in magnitude of the rise in insulin concentration (P < 0.001) after feeding compared with lambs fed Basal and SMP diets. Lambs in FM had a moderate increase (P < 0.001) in muscle long-chain n-3 FA content. Compared with Basal diet, both plasma total cholesterol (P < 0.02) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.001) levels were greater in SMP and less in FO and FOSMP treatments. The i.m. fat content was reduced (P < 0.05) in FM and FO treatments, but carcass weight was increased only with fish meal (P < 0.03). Adding SMP to FO produced muscle with an intermediate level of i.m. fat, whereas muscle long-chain n-3 FA, i.m. fat, and insulin concentration were unchanged with SMP treatment. These results indicate that an increase in carcass weight in FM may be due to the supply of ruminally undegraded protein. They also suggest that fish oil along with fish meal can increase long-chain n-3 FA content in phospholipid of muscle membrane. This may be associated with reduced i.m. fat content and altered insulin action and lipoprotein metabolism.     

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of antibodies to the sheep scab mite Psoroptes ovis

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay has been shown to detect antibodies in the circulation of sheep infected with Psoroptes ovis. Strong positive reactions were obtained from 19 sheep with four-month-old infections. No cross reaction was observed with sera obtained from sheep infected with either Fasciola hepatica, Nematodirus battus, Ostertagia circumcincta or Damalinia ovis.     

Nitrogen metabolism and fertility in cattle: I. Adaptive changes in intake and metabolism to diets differing in their rate of energy and nitrogen release in the rumen

The ruminal degradability, intake, and metabolism of diets differing in their relative rate of energy and nitrogen release in the rumen were characterized prior to their use in a study of the effects of high peripheral levels of ammonia on reproductive function in cattle. In a 2 x 2 factorial experiment, replicated four times, 16 heifers were offered isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets containing two sources of fermentable carbohydrate, fiber (slow energy release, SE) or starch (fast energy release, FE), and two rates of nitrogen release, which were either synchronous (S) or asynchronous (A) to that of energy release. Throughout the experiment, the amount of feed offered was held constant, at a level equivalent to 1.5 x maintenance. Four ruminally fistulated sheep were used to determine the in situ degradability of these diets. The 16 heifers were bled before feeding at 0800 and at 0900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1400, and 1600 on d 0 (introduction to dietary treatments) and on d 4, 7, 11, 14, 21, and 28. Diet refusals were recorded at hourly intervals after feeding. The rapidly degradable nitrogen fraction of the SE:A and FE:A diets was greater than that of the SE:S and FE:S diets. Postprandial jugular plasma ammonia levels rose to a peak of around 300 micromol/L in heifers offered the SE:A and FE:A diets but did not rise in heifers offered the SE:S and FE:S diets. All feed offered was consumed within 1 h on diets SE:S and FE:S throughout the experiment. The proportion of feed consumed within 1 h of feeding declined from 100% on d 0 to around 70 and 56% by d 21 for heifers given the SE:A and FE:A diets, respectively. Peak postprandial plasma ammonia levels were accordingly lower, at around 160 micromol/L. Plasma urea levels averaged 7 mmol/L and were unaffected by dietary treatment. High plasma ammonia levels were associated with a suppression in the normal postprandial rise in insulin. There was no significant metabolic adaptation to high-ammonia-generating diets, and heifers given these diets modified their pattern of intake in an apparent attempt to avoid excessively high levels of plasma ammonia.