Endocannabinoids as endometrial inflammatory markers in lactating Holstein cows

The objective of this study was to consider endocannabinoid system as inflammatory markers in bovine endometrium to better understand the role of this system in regulating many of the functions that are related to inflammatory condition. At day 26 post‐partum, fourteen cows were divided into two groups depending on the inflammatory condition: 1‐ subclinical endometritis (n = 7, with purulent or mucopurulent uterine discharge detectable in the vagina) and 2‐ healthy (n = 7, No (muco)) purulent discharge. Blood samples were collected at 26 and 30 days relative to calving to determine plasma tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and lipopolysaccharide‐binding protein (LBP) concentrations; moreover, uterine biopsy was carried out on day 26 post‐partum to measure mRNA abundance of TNF, interleukin‐1B (IL1B), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8), endocannabinoid receptor (CNR2), N‐acyl phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D (NAPEPLD), fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), N‐acylethanolamine acid amidase (NAAA) and monoglyceride lipase (MGLL) by real‐time PCR. Results showed mean plasma concentrations of TNF and LBP were lower in healthy cows compared to subclinical endometritis cows (p < .05). Relative mRNA expression for NAAA and FAAH was decreased (p < .05), and relative mRNA expression for CNR2 and NAPEPLD increased in cows with subclinical endometritis compared to healthy cows. In conclusion, relative mRNA expression of TNF, IL1B and CXCL8 and plasma concentration of LBP increased during inflammatory condition along with decreased endocannabinoids hydrolyzing enzyme (NAAA and FAAH), increased enzymes that synthesize endocannabinoids (NAPEPLD) and relative gene expression of the endocannabinoid receptor; together, these contribute to increased endocannabinoids levels during inflammation. Overall, we provide evidence that endocannabinoid system is altered in endometrium tissue during inflammation through increased mRNA expression of CNR2 and synthesis enzyme and decreased mRNA expression of hydrolyzing enzymes interfere with pro‐cytokine production and signalling, which may interfere with the onset and progression of inflammation.     

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.     

Pedotransfer functions to assess adsorbed phosphate using iron oxide content and magnetic susceptibility in an Oxisol

Adsorbed phosphate in soils can be chemically extracted; however, this process is both time‐consuming and not cost‐effective if large numbers of samples have to be analysed. Indirect assessment of adsorbed phosphate by pedotransfer functions (PTFs) can help optimize fertilizer strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of adsorbed phosphate (P_ads), iron oxides and magnetic susceptibility (MS) in oxisols and to calibrate PTFs to predict P_ads. A total of 308 soil samples were collected from Hapludox and Eutrudox soils formed from sandstone in Brazil. The contents of clay (196–607 g/kg), iron oxides (40–165 g/kg), MS (1.2–29 × 10^?6 m³/kg) and P_ads (327–842 mg/kg) were in the range of typical values for these highly weathered soils. This study showed that the attributes studied were spatially dependent. Geomorphic surfaces enabled understanding of spatial variability and helped to develop a more efficient sampling scheme to calibrate PTFs. Moreover, the adsorbed phosphate in these oxisols could be predicted by a PTF using iron oxides and MS as predictors. The MS attribute enabled the most accurate prediction (concordance coefficient = 0.95, root‐mean‐square error = 46 mg/kg and relative improvement in root‐mean‐square error = ?4.12) of spatial variability through PTF compared to other predictors.     

广西5种人工林地土壤微生物数量及土壤酶活性分析

为当地珍贵速生树种人工林的发展及合理利用提供理论依据。分析广西5种珍贵树种人工林土壤微生物数量及土壤酶活性差异,以相同立地条件下12年生的黑木相思(Acacia melanoxylon)、老排(Mytilaria laosensis)、红椎(Castanopsis hystrix)、黧蒴椎(Castanopsis fissa)和火力楠(Michelia macelurei)人工纯林为研究对象,采用稀释平板涂布法和土壤酶活性测定法,测定和分析该5种人工林地土壤微生物数量及酶活性。结果表明:5种林地的土壤微生物总数和细菌数量大小均为:火力楠黧蒴锥红椎黑木相思米老排。但5种林地的土壤酶活性大小不一,蔗糖酶、脲酶、蛋白酶、酸性磷酸酶活性在5种林地之间的差异极其显著,而过氧化氢酶活性不显著。5种林地中土壤酶活性相对较强的是米老排人工林,较弱的是黑木相思林和火力楠林。土壤酶活性与微生物数量的相关分析表明,土壤中蔗糖酶活性与放线菌数量呈极显著正相关关系,其余相关性没有达到显著水平。     

Abscisic Acid May Alter the Salicylic Acid‐Related Abiotic Stress Response in Maize

The effect of 0, 0.05 or 0.1 mm abscisic acid treatment on chilling tolerance and salicylic acid‐related responses was investigated in young maize seedlings (Zea mays L., hybrid Norma). Although the pre‐treatment of maize seedlings with abscisic acid slightly decreased the chlorophyll content, it also reduced the level of chilling injury caused by 6 days of cold treatment at 5 °C. Under normal growth conditions, increased levels of bound salicylic acid and of bound ortho‐hydroxycinnamic acid were observed in the leaves during abscisic acid treatment. In the roots, abscisic acid did not affect the free and bound salicylic acid levels, but increased the amount of free and bound ortho‐hydroxycinnamic acid. The activity of glutathione‐S‐transferase increased on the 3rd day of abscisic acid treatment, whereas it did not change when followed by cold stress, compared with the control leaves. In the roots, the activities of glutathione reductase, glutathione‐S‐transferase and ascorbate peroxidase increased during the abscisic acid treatment, and those of glutathione‐S‐transferase and ascorbate peroxidase were also stimulated when abscisic acid pre‐treatment was followed by cold stress, compared with the control roots. Our results suggest that an overlap may exist between the abscisic acid‐induced cold acclimation and the salicylic acid‐related stress response.     

生长调节物质对小豆豆芽营养成分影响和功能性评价

为筛选最适合芽菜培养的小豆品种,以‘白红8号’为试材,设置3种生长调节物质(乙酰水杨酸、乙烯利和6-苄氨基腺嘌呤(6-BA))的各6个浓度(0.0、0.1、0.2、0.3、0.4、0.5 mmol/L;0、20、30、40、50、60 mg/L和0、2、3、4、5、6 mg/L)喷施处理,测定其生物特性(上胚轴长度、上胚轴直径、萌发率、鲜重、干重和产出比)、营养成分(可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖)及抗氧化等特性。结果表明:3种生长调节物质喷施处理都能够提升其营养价值,在乙烯利喷施浓度为50 mg/L,‘白红8号’小豆芽苗菜中各营养成分、酶活性及抗氧化性等均可达到最大值,显著提高了其营养价值。因此,为提高生产中小豆芽苗菜的产量和营养价值,最终确定乙烯利喷施浓度为50 mg/L效果最佳。     

氮添加对天山高寒草原土壤酶活性和酶化学计量特征的影响

为探究氮添加对高寒草原生态系统土壤酶活性的影响,于2018年在中国科学院巴音布鲁克草原生态系统研究站,选择4个氮添加水平(对照,N0,0 kg·hm^-2·a^-1;低氮,N1,10 kg·hm^-2·a^-1;中氮,N3,30 kg·hm^-2·a^-1;高氮,N9,90 kg·hm^-2·a^-1),开展土壤酶活性对氮添加响应的研究,分析土壤酶活性对氮添加的响应特点,土壤酶化学计量比以及土壤酶活性与土壤环境因子的关系。结果表明:与对照相比,氮添加在N3水平显著增加β-1,4葡萄糖苷酶(βG)、β-D-纤维二糖水解酶(CBH)和β-1,4木糖苷酶(βX)酶活性(P<0.05),N1和N3水平显著增加碱性磷酸酶(AKP)活性(P<0.05),N3水平显著降低多酚氧化酶(PPO)活性(P<0.05),氮添加对亮氨酸氨基肽酶(LAP)活性影响不显著,N3水平下显著增加N-乙酰-β-D氨基葡萄糖苷酶(NAG)活性(P<0.05)。相关分析表明,8种土壤酶活性均与土壤有机碳(SOC、NAG除外)和总磷(TP)显著相关,与土壤总氮(TN)不相关。研究区土壤酶活性C∶N∶P化学计量比为1∶1∶1.2,与全球生态系统的土壤酶活性C∶N∶P的比值1∶1∶1相偏离,表明该研究区土壤微生物生长受磷素限制。冗余分析(RDA)进一步揭示出土壤有机碳和土壤全磷含量是影响土壤酶活性的主要因子。     

5‐Aminolevulinic Acid Activates Antioxidative Defence System and Seedling Growth in Brassica napus L. under Water‐Deficit Stress

The present study assesses the effects of 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA, 0, 0.1, 1 and 10 mg l^?1) on the growth of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. cv. ZS758) seedlings under water‐deficit stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000, 0 and ?0.3 MPa). Water‐deficit stress imposed negative effects on seedling growth by reducing shoot biomass, cotyledon water potential, chlorophyll content and non‐enzymatic antioxidants (glutathione and ascorbic acid) levels. On the other hand, water‐deficit stress enhanced the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, enzymatic antioxidants activities, reduced/oxidized glutathione ratio (GSH/GSSG) and reduced/oxidized ascorbic acid (ASA/DHA) ratio in seedlings. Application of ALA at lower dosages (0.1 and 1 mg l^?1) improved shoot weight and chlorophyll contents, and decreased MDA in rape seedlings, whereas moderately higher dosage of ALA (10 mg l^?1) hampered the growth. The study also indicated that 1 mg l^?1 ALA improved chlorophyll content, but reduced MDA content and ROS production significantly under water‐deficit stress. Lower dosages of ALA (0.1 and 1 mg l^?1) also enhanced GSH/GSSG and ASA/DHA as compared to the seedlings under water‐deficit stress. The antioxidant enzymes (ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase, catalase, glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase) enhanced their activities remarkably with 1 mg l^?1 ALA treatment under water‐deficit stress. It was also revealed that 1 mg l^?1 ALA treatment alone induced the expression of APX, CAT and GR substantially and under water‐deficit stress conditions ALA treatment could induce the expression of POD, CAT and GR to a certain degree. These results indicated that 0.1–1 mg l^?1 ALA could enhance the water‐deficit stress tolerance of oilseed seedlings through improving the biomass accumulation, maintaining a relative high ratio of GSH/GSSG and ASA/DHA, enhancing the activities of the specific antioxidant enzymes and inducing the expression of the specific antioxidant enzyme genes.     

云南小麦品种（系）锈病和赤霉病抗性功能基因的KASP标记检测

利用5个锈病成株期抗性基因的KASP标记Sr2_ger9 3p、Lr34jagger、CSTM4_67G、Lr68-2、VPM_SNP和抗赤霉病基因Fhb1的KASP标记TaHRC-KASP,对云南省育成的42个小麦品种（系）进行检测,旨在筛选出含有目标基因的优异小麦种质,为云南省持久抗病小麦新品种（系）的选育提供材料。结果表明,4个材料含兼抗型成株抗锈病基因Lr34/Yr18/Sr57,频率为9.52%;6个品种（系）含兼抗型成株抗锈病基因Lr67/Yr46/Sr55,频率为14.29%;7个材料含抗慢叶锈病基因Lr68,频率为16.67%;含兼抗型成株抗锈病基因Sr2/Yr30和成株抗叶锈基因Lr37的材料各有1个,频率均为2.38%;未检测出含抗赤霉病基因Fhb1的品种（系）。云麦69、云麦75、云麦56、宜麦1号和宜麦3号等兼有2个成株期抗锈病基因,可作为今后云南持久抗锈病育种的抗源材料。