Follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH),an important hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis(HPG)hormone,is secreted by the pituitary gland.This study confirms that FSH is expressed in chicken follicles at different stages,and ...Follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH),an important hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis(HPG)hormone,is secreted by the pituitary gland.This study confirms that FSH is expressed in chicken follicles at different stages,and positive FSHβ mRNA signals were stronger(P<0.05)in granulosa cells than in oocytes.The 369 bp coding sequence of FSHβ in ovaries is 100%identical to that in the pituitary gland.The experiment in vitro revealed that the ovary possessed FSH secretory capacity.Further,FSHβ mRNA was significantly upregulated(P<0.05)in follicles and significantly higher(P<0.05)than that in the pituitary gland by approximately 2–23 times with the development.The number of granulosa cells decreased significantly(P<0.05)in the cells with siRNA treatment,confirming that the ovarian FSH could promote granulosa cell proliferation.This view was supported by cell cycle analysis and CCND2 and CCNE2 expression.Further research indicated that no difference(P>0.05)was observed between the number of granulosa cells treated with FSHβ siRNA and in exogenous FSH.However,the number of granulosa cells without FSHβ siRNA transfection was significantly higher(P<0.05)for exogenous FSH.This finding suggests that the proliferative effect of exogenous FSH on ovarian granulosa cells depend on endogenous FSH.This study demonstrated that the FSH gene was expressed in chicken follicles and promoted ovarian granulosa cell proliferation,which enriched the theory on HPG axis.展开更多
Dietary threonine(Thr) deficiency increases hepatic triglyceride content and reduces sebum and abdominal fat percentages in lean type(LT), but not in fatty type(FT) Pekin ducks. However, the molecular changes regardin...Dietary threonine(Thr) deficiency increases hepatic triglyceride content and reduces sebum and abdominal fat percentages in lean type(LT), but not in fatty type(FT) Pekin ducks. However, the molecular changes regarding the role of Thr in lipid metabolism in LT and FT ducks induced by Thr deficiency remains unknown. This study compared differential expression gene profiles related to lipid metabolism in FT and LT Pekin ducks affected by Thr deficiency. We performed transcriptomic profiling and scanned the gene expression in the liver, sebum, and abdominal fat of Pekin ducks fed either Thr-deficient or Thr-adequate diet for 21 days from 14 to 35 days of age. There were 187, 52, and 50 differentially expressed genes(DEGs) identified in the liver, sebum, and abdominal fat of LT ducks affected by Thr deficiency, of which 12, 9, and 5 genes were involved in lipid metabolism, respectively. Thr deficiency altered the expression of 27, 6, and 3 genes in FT ducks’ liver, sebum, and abdominal fat, respectively. None of the DEGs had a relationship with lipid metabolism in FT ducks. KEGG analysis showed that the DEGs in the LT ducks’ livers were enriched in lipid metabolism pathways(linolenic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and arachidonic acid metabolism) and amino acid metabolism pathways(biosynthesis of amino acids, phenylalanine metabolism, β-alanine metabolism, and glycine, serine and threonine metabolisms). The DEGs in the sebum and abdominal fat of LT ducks were not enriched in lipid and amino acid metabolic pathways. Additionally, DEGs involved in lipid metabolism were found to be upregulated by Thr deficiency in LT ducks, such as malic enzyme 3(ME3), acyl-Co A synthetase short-chain family member 2(ACSS2) in liver, and lipase member M(LIPM) in sebum. In summary, dietary Thr deficiency regulated the gene expression involved in lipid metabolism in the liver, sebum, and abdominal fat of Pekin ducks in a genotype-dependent manner.展开更多
Using the method of ＂random sampling in typical colonies of the central area of the habitat＂ and several electrophoresis techniques, the variations of 17 structural loci encoding blood proteins in 60 Small-Tailed Ha...Using the method of ＂random sampling in typical colonies of the central area of the habitat＂ and several electrophoresis techniques, the variations of 17 structural loci encoding blood proteins in 60 Small-Tailed Han sheep and 73 Tan sheep were examined and compared with those of 14 other sheep populations in China and other countries to investigate their levels of genetic differentiation. The average heterozygosities of Small-Tailed Han sheep and Tan sheep were 0.2360 and 0.2587, respectively. The average polymorphic information content values were 0.1974 and 0.2102, respectively. The average effective numbers of alleles were 1.5723 and 1.5751, respectively. The coefficients of gene differentiation in the four groups （including 4, 6, 13, and 16 sheep populations, respectively） were 0.049323, 0.059987, 0.1728, and 0.201256, respectively, indicating that the degree of gene differentiation at the structural loci was the least in Hu sheep, Tong sheep, Small-Tailed Hart sheep, and Tan sheep; followed by the above-mentioned four sheep populations and two Mongolian sheep populations; and was the highest in sheep populations belonging to the Mongolian sheep group, South Asian sheep, and European sheep. The earlier researchers＇ conclusions that both Small-Tailed Han sheep and Tan sheep evolved from Mongolian sheep were further verified by the results of this study. Hu sheep, Tong sheep, Small-Tailed Han sheep, and Tan sheep were decreasingly affected by the bloodline of Mongolian sheep to different degrees. The relationships among sheep populations were not closely related to the geographical distances among sheep populations.展开更多
Reticuloendotheliosis virus(REV)causes the atrophy of immune organs and immuno-suppression in chickens,but the underlying molecular mechanism of the immune response after infection by REV is not well understood.Presen...Reticuloendotheliosis virus(REV)causes the atrophy of immune organs and immuno-suppression in chickens,but the underlying molecular mechanism of the immune response after infection by REV is not well understood.Presently,the RNA-seq was used to analyze the regulation of immune response to REV in chicken lymphocytes from peripheral blood.Overall,134 differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)between cells with REV infection or without in vitro were screened.Based on the differentially expressed protein-coding genes,the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain(NOD)-like receptor pathway related to immune regulation was enriched.Two lncRNAs(L11530 and L09863)were predicted to target the NOD1 and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 5(TRAF5)gene,respectively,which are involved in the NOD-like receptor pathway with cis-regulation way.The in vitro results revealed the significantly up-regulated(P<0.01)levels of lncRNA-L11530 and its target gene,NOD1,and the significantly down-regulated(P<0.05)levels of lncRNA-L09863 and its target gene,TRAF5,in lymphocytes after REV infection.These changes also occurred in vivo in blood lymphocytes of chickens infected with REV.Further,L09863 and L11530 were respectively interfered,the expression levels of their target genes NOD1 or TRAF5 were significantly down-regulated,accompanied by the change of IL-8 and IL-18 secretions in lymphocytes.The NOD-like receptor pathway appears to be important in the immune response to REV,LncRNA-11530 and lncRNA-09863 might involve in the immune regulation on REV infection by targeting NOD1 or TRAF5 in blood lymphocytes of chickens.Our findings reveal a new regulation of lncRNAs(L11530 and L09863)on immunity in chicken peripheral blood lymphocytes for REV infection by changing the expression of the target genes via the NOD-like receptor pathway.展开更多
This study investigated the effects of floor and cage rearing systems on performance,meat quality,and enteric microorganisms of male and female yellow feather broilers.Two hundred Xueshan chickens(42 days old;100 of e...This study investigated the effects of floor and cage rearing systems on performance,meat quality,and enteric microorganisms of male and female yellow feather broilers.Two hundred Xueshan chickens(42 days old;100 of each sex)were divided into four groups,according to sex and rearing system(stainless-steel cage or litter floor).Male and cage-reared broilers exhibited better(P<0.001)performance and higher(P≤0.001)eviscerated percentage than female and floor-reared broilers.The interaction between rearing system and sex had an effect(P<0.05)on the percentage of breast and thigh muscles.Female floor-reared broilers presented the highest(P<0.02)percentage of breast and thigh muscles among all the groups.In both sexes,the abdominal fat content in cage-reared broilers was higher(P<0.01)than that in floor-reared broilers.Female cage-reared broilers exhibited better(P<0.05)meat quality of breast muscle than other groups.An analysis of welfare observations indicated that the feather quality of floor-reared broilers was better(P<0.01)than that of cage-reared broilers,whereas the gait scores were not significantly affected(P>0.05)by rearing system.The enteric microbiota assessment by 16 S rRNA amplicon-based sequencing showed that Firmicutes,Proteobacteria,and Bacteroidetes were the most prevalent phyla in both rearing systems,and that the cecum was relatively stable in terms of microbiome composition.Floor-reared broilers exhibited a richer diversity of bacteria in the intestinal tract than cage-reared broilers,while alpha diversity was not significantly different(P>0.05)among the groups.The ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes and the abundance of Helicobacter and Romboutsia could potentially affect the production of broilers.These findings indicate that cage rearing improved the production of male Xueshan broilers,which may be due to the difference in enteric microbiota between cage and floor rearing systems.展开更多
基金This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31802057)the Second Batch of Special Grant from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2020TQ0252)+1 种基金the Postdoctoral Research Funding Project of Jiangsu Province,China in 2020(2020Z213)the Open Project Program of Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety,the Ministry of Education of China(JILAR-KF202017).
文摘Follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH),an important hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis(HPG)hormone,is secreted by the pituitary gland.This study confirms that FSH is expressed in chicken follicles at different stages,and positive FSHβ mRNA signals were stronger(P<0.05)in granulosa cells than in oocytes.The 369 bp coding sequence of FSHβ in ovaries is 100%identical to that in the pituitary gland.The experiment in vitro revealed that the ovary possessed FSH secretory capacity.Further,FSHβ mRNA was significantly upregulated(P<0.05)in follicles and significantly higher(P<0.05)than that in the pituitary gland by approximately 2–23 times with the development.The number of granulosa cells decreased significantly(P<0.05)in the cells with siRNA treatment,confirming that the ovarian FSH could promote granulosa cell proliferation.This view was supported by cell cycle analysis and CCND2 and CCNE2 expression.Further research indicated that no difference(P>0.05)was observed between the number of granulosa cells treated with FSHβ siRNA and in exogenous FSH.However,the number of granulosa cells without FSHβ siRNA transfection was significantly higher(P<0.05)for exogenous FSH.This finding suggests that the proliferative effect of exogenous FSH on ovarian granulosa cells depend on endogenous FSH.This study demonstrated that the FSH gene was expressed in chicken follicles and promoted ovarian granulosa cell proliferation,which enriched the theory on HPG axis.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31902174)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province,China(BK20190902)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China(19KJD230003)。
文摘Dietary threonine(Thr) deficiency increases hepatic triglyceride content and reduces sebum and abdominal fat percentages in lean type(LT), but not in fatty type(FT) Pekin ducks. However, the molecular changes regarding the role of Thr in lipid metabolism in LT and FT ducks induced by Thr deficiency remains unknown. This study compared differential expression gene profiles related to lipid metabolism in FT and LT Pekin ducks affected by Thr deficiency. We performed transcriptomic profiling and scanned the gene expression in the liver, sebum, and abdominal fat of Pekin ducks fed either Thr-deficient or Thr-adequate diet for 21 days from 14 to 35 days of age. There were 187, 52, and 50 differentially expressed genes(DEGs) identified in the liver, sebum, and abdominal fat of LT ducks affected by Thr deficiency, of which 12, 9, and 5 genes were involved in lipid metabolism, respectively. Thr deficiency altered the expression of 27, 6, and 3 genes in FT ducks’ liver, sebum, and abdominal fat, respectively. None of the DEGs had a relationship with lipid metabolism in FT ducks. KEGG analysis showed that the DEGs in the LT ducks’ livers were enriched in lipid metabolism pathways(linolenic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and arachidonic acid metabolism) and amino acid metabolism pathways(biosynthesis of amino acids, phenylalanine metabolism, β-alanine metabolism, and glycine, serine and threonine metabolisms). The DEGs in the sebum and abdominal fat of LT ducks were not enriched in lipid and amino acid metabolic pathways. Additionally, DEGs involved in lipid metabolism were found to be upregulated by Thr deficiency in LT ducks, such as malic enzyme 3(ME3), acyl-Co A synthetase short-chain family member 2(ACSS2) in liver, and lipase member M(LIPM) in sebum. In summary, dietary Thr deficiency regulated the gene expression involved in lipid metabolism in the liver, sebum, and abdominal fat of Pekin ducks in a genotype-dependent manner.
基金This paper is translated from its Chinese version in Scientia Agricultura Sinica.We thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments on this manuscript.This study was supported by the International Cooperation Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30310103007 and 30410103150)Project of the Basic Natural Science Foundation for Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province,China(06KJD230203).
文摘Using the method of ＂random sampling in typical colonies of the central area of the habitat＂ and several electrophoresis techniques, the variations of 17 structural loci encoding blood proteins in 60 Small-Tailed Han sheep and 73 Tan sheep were examined and compared with those of 14 other sheep populations in China and other countries to investigate their levels of genetic differentiation. The average heterozygosities of Small-Tailed Han sheep and Tan sheep were 0.2360 and 0.2587, respectively. The average polymorphic information content values were 0.1974 and 0.2102, respectively. The average effective numbers of alleles were 1.5723 and 1.5751, respectively. The coefficients of gene differentiation in the four groups （including 4, 6, 13, and 16 sheep populations, respectively） were 0.049323, 0.059987, 0.1728, and 0.201256, respectively, indicating that the degree of gene differentiation at the structural loci was the least in Hu sheep, Tong sheep, Small-Tailed Hart sheep, and Tan sheep; followed by the above-mentioned four sheep populations and two Mongolian sheep populations; and was the highest in sheep populations belonging to the Mongolian sheep group, South Asian sheep, and European sheep. The earlier researchers＇ conclusions that both Small-Tailed Han sheep and Tan sheep evolved from Mongolian sheep were further verified by the results of this study. Hu sheep, Tong sheep, Small-Tailed Han sheep, and Tan sheep were decreasingly affected by the bloodline of Mongolian sheep to different degrees. The relationships among sheep populations were not closely related to the geographical distances among sheep populations.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31802057)the National Key Technology R&D Program of China (2015BAD03B03)
文摘Reticuloendotheliosis virus(REV)causes the atrophy of immune organs and immuno-suppression in chickens,but the underlying molecular mechanism of the immune response after infection by REV is not well understood.Presently,the RNA-seq was used to analyze the regulation of immune response to REV in chicken lymphocytes from peripheral blood.Overall,134 differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)between cells with REV infection or without in vitro were screened.Based on the differentially expressed protein-coding genes,the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain(NOD)-like receptor pathway related to immune regulation was enriched.Two lncRNAs(L11530 and L09863)were predicted to target the NOD1 and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 5(TRAF5)gene,respectively,which are involved in the NOD-like receptor pathway with cis-regulation way.The in vitro results revealed the significantly up-regulated(P<0.01)levels of lncRNA-L11530 and its target gene,NOD1,and the significantly down-regulated(P<0.05)levels of lncRNA-L09863 and its target gene,TRAF5,in lymphocytes after REV infection.These changes also occurred in vivo in blood lymphocytes of chickens infected with REV.Further,L09863 and L11530 were respectively interfered,the expression levels of their target genes NOD1 or TRAF5 were significantly down-regulated,accompanied by the change of IL-8 and IL-18 secretions in lymphocytes.The NOD-like receptor pathway appears to be important in the immune response to REV,LncRNA-11530 and lncRNA-09863 might involve in the immune regulation on REV infection by targeting NOD1 or TRAF5 in blood lymphocytes of chickens.Our findings reveal a new regulation of lncRNAs(L11530 and L09863)on immunity in chicken peripheral blood lymphocytes for REV infection by changing the expression of the target genes via the NOD-like receptor pathway.
基金supported by the National Science&Technology Pillar Program of China(2015BAD03B03)the National Natural Science Youth Fund of China(31802057)the priority academic program development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions,China。
文摘This study investigated the effects of floor and cage rearing systems on performance,meat quality,and enteric microorganisms of male and female yellow feather broilers.Two hundred Xueshan chickens(42 days old;100 of each sex)were divided into four groups,according to sex and rearing system(stainless-steel cage or litter floor).Male and cage-reared broilers exhibited better(P<0.001)performance and higher(P≤0.001)eviscerated percentage than female and floor-reared broilers.The interaction between rearing system and sex had an effect(P<0.05)on the percentage of breast and thigh muscles.Female floor-reared broilers presented the highest(P<0.02)percentage of breast and thigh muscles among all the groups.In both sexes,the abdominal fat content in cage-reared broilers was higher(P<0.01)than that in floor-reared broilers.Female cage-reared broilers exhibited better(P<0.05)meat quality of breast muscle than other groups.An analysis of welfare observations indicated that the feather quality of floor-reared broilers was better(P<0.01)than that of cage-reared broilers,whereas the gait scores were not significantly affected(P>0.05)by rearing system.The enteric microbiota assessment by 16 S rRNA amplicon-based sequencing showed that Firmicutes,Proteobacteria,and Bacteroidetes were the most prevalent phyla in both rearing systems,and that the cecum was relatively stable in terms of microbiome composition.Floor-reared broilers exhibited a richer diversity of bacteria in the intestinal tract than cage-reared broilers,while alpha diversity was not significantly different(P>0.05)among the groups.The ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes and the abundance of Helicobacter and Romboutsia could potentially affect the production of broilers.These findings indicate that cage rearing improved the production of male Xueshan broilers,which may be due to the difference in enteric microbiota between cage and floor rearing systems.
