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2016 Vol. 15 No. 8 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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Review
Crop Genetics · Breeding · Germplasm Resources
Physiology·Biochemistry·Cultivation·Tillage
Plant Protection
Animal Science · Veterinary Science
Soil & Fertilization﹒Irrigation﹒Plant Nutrition﹒ Agro-Ecology & Environment
Food Science




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Research progress and strategies for multifunctional rapeseed: A case study of China FU Dong-hui, JIANG Ling-yan, Annaliese S Mason, XIAO Mei-li, ZHU Long-rong, LI Li-zhi, ZHOU Qing-hong, SHEN Chang-jian, HUANG Chun-hui 2016, 15(8): 1673-1684.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(16)61384-9 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect     Rapeseed (Brassica napus), is an important source of edible oil, animal fodder, vegetables, condiments and biodiesel, and plays a significant role in securing edible oil production worldwide. However, in countries with comparatively low levels of agricultural mechanization, such as China, increasing costs of labor and agricultural inputs are decreasing rapeseed profitability, and hence the area of rapeseed under cultivation. If the value of rapeseed crops is not further increased, the rapeseed growing area will continue to decrease, potentially jeopardizing oil production. Therefore, full exploitation of the existing and potential value of rapeseed is desirable. Different rapeseed products are already utilized in different ways, with more applications currently underutilized. As well as oil extraction from the seeds, the shoot and leaves can be used as vegetables, the roots to absorb soil cadmium for pollution remediation, the flowers for sightseeing and as a source of nectar, the pollen for extracting flavonoids and useful amino acids, the seeds/seed meal for extracting isthiocyanates and other important sulforaphane compounds, the straw and seed meal for fodder, and immature whole plants for green manure. This review summarizes recent research on ways to explore the potential holistic value of rapeseed, by taking the example of multifunctionality of rapeseed in China.

Crop Genetics · Breeding · Germplasm Resources

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Expression analysis of two reverse duplicated small heat shock protein genes in rice (Oryza sativa L.) GUO Hong-xia, ZENG Wen-zhi, WANG Chuang-yun, FENG Jing-lei, TANG Hui-wu, BAI Mei, LIU Yaoguang, ZHAO Li, WANG Lu-jun, FAN Tao, GUO Jing-xin 2016, 15(8): 1685-1692.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61224-2 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect       The small heat shock protein (sHSP) chaperones are required for protecting cellular proteins from damage, as well as refolding denatured proteins. This study was carried out to investigate the temporal-spatial expression patterns of two sHSP genes in rice. These two genes, named as Os16.9A and Os16.9B, are reverse duplicated genes that adjacently located on chromosome 1 and probably share the same or overlapping DNA region as a promoter. The interval sequence between the start codons of the two genes which are transcribed in opposite directions is only about 2.6 kb. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was carried out to detect the expression of the two genes under normal growth conditions and different stress conditions. The expression patterns of the two genes were in detail investigated by using β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene fusion system. Results showed that heat shock stress can induce high level expression of the two genes. Under normal growth conditions, Os16.9A and Os16.9B expressed in vegetative organs and young panicles. GUS staining combined with cytological observations showed that the two genes expressed mainly in the vascular tissues of roots, stems and young panicles, implicating that Os16.9A and Os16.9B play important roles not only for heat shock response, but also for normal development in rice.

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QTL mapping of grain appearance quality traits and grain weight using a recombinant inbred population in rice (Oryza sativa L.) GAO Fang-yuan, ZENG Li-hua, QIU Ling, LU Xian-jun, REN Juan-sheng, WU Xian-ting, SU Xiangwen, GAO Yong-ming, REN Guang-jun 2016, 15(8): 1693-1702.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61259-X Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      Grain appearance quality traits, measured as grain length (GL), grain width (GW), length to width ratio (LWR), grain thickness (GT) and the percentage of grain with chalkiness (PGWC), as well as 1 000-grain weight (TGW), are very important factors that contribute to rice grain quality and yield. To detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting these traits, we developed a set of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from Gang46B (G46B) and K1075, a G46B introgression line with lower PGWC. Based on a linkage map containing 33 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, a total of 15 additive QTLs governing six measured traits were identified on 4 chromosomes across two environments. Of these, the five major QTLs which controlled GW, LWR, GT, PGWC, and TGW, each explaining up to 44.30, 55.29, 62.30, 30.94, and 28.78% of the variation, respectively, were found in the same interval of RM18004–RM18068 on chromosome 5. The G46B alleles contributed to the increase in GW, GT and PGWC at all loci, as well as the increase in TGW at its major QTL locus. Significant interactions between additive QTL and the environment were found at most loci, in which the largest, accounting for 15.06% of variation, was observed between qPGWC-5 and the environment. A total of 15 epistasis QTLs were detected for all the traits, and GL, GW and PGWC had significant epistasis QTLs based on environment interactions with minor effects. These results are valuable for future map-based cloning of the QTLs and the collaborative improvement of G46B in grain appearance quality and yield.

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Expression pattern and function analyses of the MADS thranscription factor genes in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under phosphorusstarvation condition SHI Shu-ya, ZHANG Fei-fei, GAO Si, XIAO Kai 2016, 15(8): 1703-1715.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61167-4 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      MADS-box (MADS) transcription factors (TFs) act as one of the largest TF families in plants. The members in this family play fundamental roles in almost every developmental process as well as involve plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, 54 of MADS genes in wheat, including 31 released publicly and 23 deposited as tentative consensus (TC) into GenBank database, were subjected to analyses of molecular characterization, expression pattern, and function under contrasting phosphate (Pi)-supply conditions. The 31 released MADS genes share cDNA full lengths of 683 to 1 297 bp, encoding amino acids of 170 to 274 aa that possess molecular weights of 19.21 to 31.33 kDa and isoelectric points of 5.74 to 9.63. Phylogenetic analysis categoried these wheat MADS genes into four subgroups containing 11, 5, 10, and 4 members, respectively. Under Pi sufficiency, the MADS genes showed drastically varied transcripts and they were categoried into expression groups of high, medium, low, and very low, respectively. Among them, several ones were differentially expressed under Pi deprivation, including that five were upregulated (TaMADS51, TaMADS4, TaMADS5, TaMADS6, and TaMADS18) and four were downregulated (TaMADAGL17, TaMADAGL2, TaMADWM31C, and TaMADS;14). qPCR analyses confirmed their expression patterns in responding to the Pi-starvation stress. TaMADS51, one of the upregulated genes by Pi deprivation, was subjected to the functional analysis in mediating plant tolerance to the Pi-starvation stress. The transgenic tobocco plants overexpressing TaMADS51 exhibited much more improved growth features, drymass, Pi acquisition, and photosynthetic parameters as well as antioxidant enzymatic activities under Pi deprivation than wild type. These results indicate that distinct MADS genes are transcriptional response to Pi deprivation and play critical roles in mediating plant tolerance to this stressor through regulating downstream Pi-responsive genes.

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Utilizing modified ubi1 introns to enhance exogenous gene expression in maize (Zea mays L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) PAN Yang-yang, CHEN Rui, ZHU Li, WANG Hai, HUANG Da-fang, LANG Zhi-hong 2016, 15(8): 1716-1726.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61260-6 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      The phenomenon of intron-mediated enhancement (IME) was discovered in 1990 based on the observation that plant introns can stimulate gene expression, particularly in monocots. However, the intrinsic mechanism of IME remains unclear because many studies have yielded various results depending on the promoter, reporter gene, flanking sequences of the intron, and target cell or tissue. In this study, the effect of the first intron of the maize ubiquitin gene (ubi1 intron) was investigated by changing insertion sites, deleting specific regions and mutating individual motifs in maize (Zea mays L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) using ubi1 intron-containing GUS (β-glucuronidase) constructs. In maize callus, the integration of the full-length ubi1 intron into the GUS coding sequence at the +13, +115 and +513 positions by particle bombardment increased GUS activity approximately five-, four- and two-fold, respectively. Eight truncated ubi1 introns in the pSG(13i)N construct significantly influenced GUS gene expression to different degrees in transient assays. Notably, the 3´ region deletions significantly reduced the IME effect, whereas a 142-nt deletion, pSG(13i-P5)N, in the 5´ region caused a 1.5-fold enhancement relative to pSG(13i)N. Furthermore, four site-directed mutageneses were performed in pSG(13i-P5)N; these constructs resulted in the up-regulation of GUS gene expression to different levels. The most effective modified ubi1 intron, pSG(13i-M4)N, was further evaluated and proved in rice using transient experiments. In addition, the sequences flanking the GUS insertion significantly influenced the IME effect of the vectors that were constructed. The modified ubi1 intron had the potential application on crop genetic engineering.

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Overexpression of GmProT1 and GmProT2 increases tolerance to drought and salt stresses in transgenic Arabidopsis GUO Na, XUE Dong, ZHANG Wei, ZHAO Jin-ming, XUE Chen-chen, YAN Qiang, XUE Jin-yan, WANG Hai-tang, ZHANG Yu-mei, XING Han 2016, 15(8): 1727-1743.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61288-6 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      The proline transporter protein (ProT) plays an important role in protective stress responses in various plants. However, its function in abiotic stress responses in soybean (Glycine max) remains obscure. In the present study, two soybean ProT genes, namely GmProT1 and GmProT2, were isolated by homologous cloning. GmProT1 and GmProT2 encode polypeptides of 435 and 433 amino acids, respectively. The GmProT1 and GmProT2 proteins showed high similarity to other ProT proteins. GmProT1 and GmProT2 transcripts were detected in different soybean tissues including roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and developmental seeds, and during diverse developmental stages. GmProT1 was strongly expressed in seeds 35 days after flowering. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the two genes were highly expressed in leaves and could be strongly induced in response to salt and drought conditions and ABA treatment. Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing the two genes were generated, which showed that GmProT genes attenuate damage from salt and drought stress. In addition, transgenic Arabidopsis plants accumulated proline in response to salt and osmotic stress. Transcription levels of salinity-responsive gene (RD29B and S0S3) and drought-induced gene (CDPK1) were higher in the transgenic lines than that of wild type plants. Our work provides evidence that GmProT genes function in the response to abiotic stresses and may affect the synthesis and response system of proline.

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The variation of NAD+-SDH gene in mutant white-fleshed loquat LI Jing, WANG Yong-qing, CHEN Dong, TU Mei-yan, XIE Hong-jiang, JIANG Guo-liang, LIU Jia, SUN Shu-xia 2016, 15(8): 1744-1750.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61297-7 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) can be divided into yellow- and white-fleshed cultivars by flesh color. However, a Dongting loquat mutant, which involved bud sport and growing white-fleshed fruit in the central region of the trunk (as wild loquat bears yellow-fleshed fruits naturally), was discovered in the preliminary study. The study cloned the coding sequence (CDS) of NAD+-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD+-SDH ) gene from the selected materials of mutant loquat, wild loquat and other nine loquat cultivars/accessions, and found that the CDS of NAD+-SDH gene from the mutant loquat, other than the rest two types of materials, had three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) loci; in addition, the amino acid encoded at variation loci changed accordingly. NAD+-SDH plays an active role in converting sorbitol into fructose in loquat cultivars. For the mutant white-fleshed loquat, the activity of NAD+-SDH rises first and then drops, the sorbitol content decreases steadily, and its fructose content is higher than that in wild loquat from coloration to maturation stage. As demonstrated by the real-time fluorescence quantification PCR analysis, the expression level of NAD+-SDH gene at maturation stage is about 5-fold lower than wild type. It may be assumed that, the three SNPs loci might lead to excessive conversion of sorbitol into fructose under the catalytic action of NAD+-SDH of white-fleshed mutant loquat at maturation stage, resulting in the increase of fructose content and reduced expression abundance of mRNA after transcription. Besides, NAD+-SDH gene may be related to flesh color and carbohydrate variation of white-fleshed mutant loquat.

Physiology·Biochemistry·Cultivation·Tillage

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Morphological and physiological traits of large-panicle rice varieties with high filled-grain percentage MENG Tian-yao, WEI Huan-he, LI Chao, DAI Qi-gen, XU Ke, HUO Zhong-yang, WEI Hai-yan, GUO Bao-wei, ZHNAG Hong-cheng 2016, 15(8): 1751-1762.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61215-1 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      Understanding the morphological and physiological traits associated with improved filling efficiency in large-panicle rice varieties is critical to devise strategies for breeding programs and cultivation management practices. Information on such traits, however, remains limited. Two large-panicle varieties with high filled-grain percentage (HF) and two check large-panicle varieties with low filled-grain percentage (LF) were field-grown in 2012 and 2013. The number of spikelets per panicle of HF and LF both exceeded 300, and the filled-grain percentage (%) of HF was approximately 90, while that of LF was approximately 75 over the two years. The results showed that when the values were averaged across two years, HF yielded 12.9 t ha–1, while LF yielded 11.0 t ha–1. HF had a greater leaf area duration, biomass accumulation and transport of carbohydrates stored in the culm to the grains from heading to maturity compared with LF. HF exhibited a higher leaf photosynthetic rate, more green leaves on the culm, and higher root activity during filling phase, especially during the middle and late filling phases, in relative to LF. The length of HF for upper three leaves was significantly higher than that of LF, while the angle of upper three leaves on the main culm was less in both years. Meanwhile, specific leaf weight of HF was significantly higher when compared with LF. In addition, the grain filling characteristics of HF and LF were investigated in our study. Our results suggested that a higher leaf photosynthetic rate and root activity during filling phase, greater biomass accumulation and assimilate transport after heading, and longer, thicker and more erect upper three leaves were important morphological and physiological traits of HF, and these traits could be considered as selection criterion to develop large-panicle varieties with high filled-grain percentage.

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The influence of selected agronomic factors on the chemical composition of spelt wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta L.) grain Wioletta Biel, Slawomir Stankowski, Anna Jaroszewska, Stanislaw Pu?yński, Paulina Bo?ko 2016, 15(8): 1763-1669.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61211-4 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      The increase of spelt crop area is a result of overproduction of the basic cereals and the introduction of environmentally-friendly cultivation methods. Due to high interest in healthy lifestyle, healthy food and intensive development of organic agriculture, it was necessary to thoroughly examine the newly-formed cereal strains in order to register the best ones as varieties in the future. The experimental factors included: two weed control methods (mechanical and chemical), two sizes of sowing rate (300 and 500 seeds m–2) and the strains of spelt: three new breeding strains (STH 28-4609, STH 28-4614, STH 28-4619) and Oberkulmer Rotkorn cultivar. The research did not show protein diversity depending on a genotype, mean protein content reached 13% in grain dry mass. The plants weeded mechanically showed the significantly highest crude fat content (2% dry matter (DM)). Mean value of crude fibre for all plants equalled 3.3% DM. The increase of neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin fractions was directly proportional to the increase in crude fibre content, which is beneficial for civilisation diseases prophylaxis. The studied agronomic factors did not significantly influence the essential amino acids content or total amino acids. The harrowed plants had grain with significantly increased nutrient content (crude protein, ether extract, crude fibre, acid detergent fibre (ADF), cellulose, sulphur amino acids, leucine, and sum of essential amino acids) which is very important for organic farming.

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Improved drought tolerance by α-naphthaleneacetic acid-induced ROS accumulation in two soybean cultivars XING Xing-hua, FANG Chuan-wen, LI Long, JIANG Hong-qiang, ZHOU Qin, JIANG Hai-dong, WANG Shao-hua 2016, 15(8): 1770-1784.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61273-4 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      Drought is a major abiotic factor limiting agricultural crop production. The objective of this study was to investigate whether α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) confers drought tolerance to soybeans and if such tolerance is correlated with the early reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in leaves. The plants of soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) cv. Nannong 99-6 and cv. Kefeng 1 were foliar treated with 40 mg L−1 NAA at the beginning of bloom and then exposed to water stress for 10 d. We monitored changes in ROS levels, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system as well as plant biomass during the drought treatment. The results showed that drought stress significantly depressed the growth and yield regardless of spraying NAA. However, drought-stressed plants treated with NAA showed much higher plant biomass and yield than those without NAA. The ROS levels increased in stressed Kefeng 1 but not in stressed Nannong 99-6 2–4 days after the treatment (DAT). During 6–10 DAT, stressed Kefeng 1 had greater increase in the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS), reduced ascorbate (AsA), and glutathione (GSH), smaller increase in ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) as compared with stressed Nannong 99-6. Low ROS prevented ROS from directly reacting with membrane lipid during this stage and, consequently, reduced the cell damage. NAA application elevated ROS levels at 4 DAT, and then increased antioxidant capacity and blocked the increase in the MDA and ROS in stressed Nannong 99-6 and Kefeng 1. Overall, the results indicate that NAA application effectively alleviates the adverse effects of drought stress, which is partially attributable to increase in antioxidant ability and decrease in lipid peroxidation induced by the early ROS accumulation triggered by NAA.

Plant Protection

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Characterization and function of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus-derived small RNAs generated in tolerant and susceptible tomato varieties BAI Miao, YANG Guo-shun, CHEN Wen-ting, LIN Run-mao, LING Jian, MAO Zhen-chuan, XIE Bing-yan 2016, 15(8): 1785-1797.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61315-6 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      Virus-tolerant plant, which allows the accumulation of virus and then generates virus-derived small RNAs (vsRNAs), is a valuable material to reveal the antiviral efficiency of vsRNAs. Here, a comparison of vsRNAs in Tomato yellow leaf curl virus tolerant and in susceptible tomato varieties showed the consistent trend of vsRNAs’ distribution on virus genome, which is presented as an obvious characteristic. However, the expression level of vsRNA in tolerant variety is less than that in susceptible variety. Slicing targets of vsRNA-mediated viral transcripts were investigated using parallel analysis of RNA ends, and geminivirus DNA methylation was determined by bisulfite sequencing, which uncovered that not all vsRNAs participated in viral mRNA degradation and DNA methylation. Additionally, by comparing with the expression pattern of vsRNAs, viral DNA and mRNA, we proposed the quantity of vsRNAs is corresponding to the expression level of viral mRNA, while the virus-suppression of vsRNAs is not high-efficient.

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Imazamox microbial degradation by common clinical bacteria: Acinetobacter baumannii IB5 isolated from black soil in China shows high potency LIU Chun-guang, YANG Xin, LAI Yang, LU Hong-gang, ZENG Wei-min, GENG Gui, YANG Feng-shan 2016, 15(8): 1798-1807.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(16)61344-8 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect     Herbicidal residues of imazamox are hazardous to some sensitive rotational aftercrops. The aim of the study was to isolate and identify a microbial strain capable of degrading imazamox. The strain IB5, capable of efficiently degrading imazamox, was isolated from an imazamox-contaminated soybean field in Heilongjiang Province, China. It was found to degrade 98.61% of 400 mg L–1 imazamox within 48 h by high-performance liquid chromatograph. Through morphological, physiological and biochemical characterization, and the 16S rDNA sequencing, the strain was identified as Acinetobacter baumannii. An optimal degradation condition was obtained and verified: 400 mg L–1 imazamox, 0.1% (volume ratio) initial inoculum, 37°C and pH 7.0. Four main products were captured in the liquid chromatograms and mass spectra, and a pathway for imazamox degradation by IB5 was proposed. This work provides a new suitable candidate for imazamox biodegradation and theoretical evidence for imazamox residue bioremediation. A. baumannii is a common clinical bacteria, but its imazamox-degrading feature has not been reported previously.

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Characterization of a native whitefly vitellogenin gene cDNA and its expression pattern compared with two invasive whitefly cryptic species GUO Jian-yang, DU Yu-ping, WAN Fang-hao, YE Gong-yin 2016, 15(8): 1808-1815.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61301-6 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a species complex, of which two invasive species, called MEAM1 and MED whiteflies, have invaded many parts of the world in the past 30 years and replaced native whitefly populations in many regions of invasions including many areas in China. One of the possible reasons for the invasion is that MEAM1 and MED whiteflies are more fecund than the native species. However, factors that affect reproduction and the molecular mechanism of vitellogenesis among various B. tabaci cryptic species are not clearly known. In this study, cDNAs of vitellogenin (Vg) genes were sequenced from native B. tabaci Asia II 1 and invasive B. tabaci MED in China. The deduced amino acid sequences were 2 182 residues in Asia II 1 and 2 217 residues in MED. Compared to the Vg gene cDNA sequence of Asia II 1 species, the Vg gene in MED could be cleaved at least into four subunits, with deduced molecular weight of 50, 90, 150 and 190 kDa, respectively. However, only two different subunits were cleaved between residues 459 and 460 in the Asia II 1. In addition, more than two serine-rich stretches located in both the N-terminal and the C-terminal region in invasive species. More GHN domains were revealed only in the N-terminal region of B. tabaci MED. Vg gene expression pattern was characterized using quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR to compare the dynamic of vitellogenin gene mRNA level. Vg gene transcription reached the peak level at 13 d after eclosion in B. tabaci Asia II 1, 3 d later than that in MED and another invasive species of the B. tabaci complex MEAM1. We assumed that the present difference of Vg gene expression pattern is due to the different regulation pattern of vitellogenesis among species of the B. tabaci complex. These results provide useful information to reveal the mechanisms of reproduction in whitefly species complex.

Animal Science · Veterinary Science

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p53 and NFκB regulate microRNA-34c expression in porcine ovarian granulosa cells XU Yuan, ZHANG Ai-ling, XIAO Guang, ZHANG Zhe, CHEN Zan-mou, ZHANG Hao, LI Jia-qi 2016, 15(8): 1816-1824.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61178-9 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous 18–24 nucleotide (nt) non-coding RNAs, some of which have been indicated to play key roles in granulosa cells (GCs) function. However, little is known about how the miRNA gene expression itself is regulated in the GCs. Our previous study showed that miR-34c, identified to be a pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative factor in many cell types, exerted the same effects in porcine GCs. Here, the transcriptional regulation of miR-34c expression in GCs was further investigated. 5´ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) assay indicated that the pri-miR-34c transcription start site was located in 1 556 bp upstream of pre-miR-34c. With dual-luciferase reporter assay, we confirmed a 69 bp core promoter region (–1 799 bp/–1 730 bp) was indispensable for the transcription of miR-34c. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay demonstrated that p53, p50, and p65 could bind to the transcription factor binding sites within the 69 bp core promoter region. In addition, deletion of transcripition factor binding sites resulted in obvious change of the miR-34c promoter activity. Finally, using overexpression and knockdown of p53, p50, and p65 strategies, we showed that p53 and p50 could positively regulated miR-34c expression, whereas p65 neletively regulated miR-34c expression in GCs. Our results provide new data about the transcription regulatory mechanism of miRNA genes in GCs.

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Effects of early energy and protein restriction on growth performance, clinical blood parameters, carcass yield, and tibia parameters of broilers YANG Hai-ming, WANG Wei, WANG Zhi-yue, YANG Zhi, WAN Yan, HOU Bang-hong, HUANG Kaihua, LU Hao 2016, 15(8): 1825-1832.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61234-5 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary energy and protein dilution from age 8 to 14 d on growth performance, clinical blood parameters, carcass yield, and tibia parameters of broilers. Treatments were assigned in a completely randomized manner with factorial arrangement (4×4) including 4 levels of energy dilution and 4 levels of protein dilution. All birds were fed the same diet during the remaining period of time. The feeds were weighed every week, and the birds were weighed at 7, 14, and 42 d. At 14 d, blood samples were taken for clinical chemistry measurements, and 4 birds from each replicate were sacrificed to measure carcass yield and tibia parameters at 42 d. From 8 to 14 d, average daily feed intake (ADFI) of the 20% protein dilution group increased significantly compared with that of the 10% protein dilution group (P<0.05). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the group with 30% protein dilution and 15% energy dilution creased the most among all treatment groups. From 15 to 42 d, the ADFI and FCR of the 20% protein dilution group were greater than those of the 0 and 10% protein dilution groups (P<0.05), and the FCR of the 15% energy dilution group increased significantly (P<0.05). At 42 d, body weight (BW) of the 15% energy dilution group was less than that of the other groups (P<0.05). Significant interactions were observed in ADFI, FCR, and BW at 42 d of age between energy dilution and protein dilution (P<0.05). At 14 d, serum total protein levels of birds in the 20 and 30% protein dilution groups decreased significantly compared to that of the 10% protein dilution group (P<0.05). Blood urea nitrogen concentration of birds in the 20 and 30% protein dilution groups decreased significantly compared with those in 0 and 10% protein dilution groups (P<0.05). Triacylglycerol concentration of birds in the 20% protein and 10% energy dilution groups decreased significantly compared with that of the 0 dilution group (P<0.05). The carcass yields were unaffected by dilution of energy and protein (P>0.05). The bone breaking strength of the 15% energy dilution group decreased significantly compared with that of the 5% energy dilution group (P<0.05). This study suggested that dietary protein and energy reduced 10% from 8 to 14 d of age can not affect the growth performance and other indexes in broilers.

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The cellular interactome for glycoprotein 5 of the Chinese highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus DU Ji-ge, GE Xin-na, DONG Hong, ZHANG Ning, ZHOU Lei, GUO Xin, YANG Han-chun 2016, 15(8): 1833-1845.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61186-8 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      The glycoprotein 5 (GP5) of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a multi-functional protein that plays important roles in virus assembly, entry and viral anti-host responses. In the present study, we investigated the cellular binding partners of GP5 by using lentivirus transduction coupled with immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry. There were about 40 cellular proteins identified with high Confidence Icons by MS/MS. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) indicated that these proteins could be assigned to different functional classes and networks. Furthermore, we validated some of the interactions by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and confocal microscopy, including those with mitofilin, a mitochondrial inner membrane protein that might be involved in PRRSV or GP5-induced apoptosis, and calnexin, a protein chaperone that might facilitate the folding and maturation of GP5. The interactome data contribute to understand the role and molecular mechanisms of GP5 in PRRSV pathogenesis.

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Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of chicken reoviruses in China WEN Chu, ZHONG Qi, ZHANG Jia-dong, LU Jian-shan, ZHANG Li-xin, YUAN Xi-min, GAN Menghou, CAI Xue-peng, ZHANG Guo-zhong 2016, 15(8): 1846-1855.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61200-X Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect       Avian reovirus (ARV) has been responsible for many cases of chicken tenosynovitis in China in recent years, causing high morbidity among layer and broiler chickens. To study the degree of genetic divergence and evolution among ARVs, the full-length nucleotide sequences of the σC-encoding gene of eight ARV field isolates and the entire coding-region sequences of four isolates were determined and analyzed. The sequence analysis revealed that the eight σC-encoding genes shared 99.0–99.9% nucleotide sequence identity with each other and over 99% with the chicken reovirus reference strain S1133. However, the nucleotide sequences of the eight σC-encoding genes varied extensively from that of isolate AVS-B (GenBank accession no. FR694197), with only 55.5% identity. A sequence analysis of the whole ARV-coding region showed some nucleotide substitutions in the open reading frames encoding λA, λB, λC, μA, μB, μNS, σC, σA, σB, and σNS in the field strains. A phylogenetic analysis showed that all eight isolates clustered in group I with S1133, but that four field isolates shared less homology with strain S1133 than the others, indicating that they had been evolved in the field. We also studied the pathogenicity of two strains. No characteristic lesions were observed in vaccinated chickens, and no virus was detected in sampled tissues. However, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed significant differences between the antibody responses of the inoculated groups and the negative controls. These results revealed that Chinese isolates shared the highest sequence homologies with S1133, grouped together in one cluster. Although the vaccination against ARV is used in farms, the pathogens still persist in Chinese poultry flocks.

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The SNPs C.513A>T in the MHC B-F gene and rs15001532 in the SPOCK1 gene are associated with Salmonella pullorum disease resistance in chickens ZHANG Ze-tang, GAN Jian-kang, ZHANG Wen-wu, ZHANG De-xiang, ZHANG Xi-quan, LUO Qing-bin 2016, 15(8): 1856-1862.  DOI: 10.1016/S1671-2927(00)10664 Abstract ( )

Soil & Fertilization﹒Irrigation﹒Plant Nutrition﹒ Agro-Ecology & Environment

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Effects of land uses on soil physic-chemical properties and erodibility in collapsing-gully alluvial fan of Anxi County, China DENG Yu-song, XIA Dong, CAI Chong-fa, DING Shu-wen 2016, 15(8): 1863-1873.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61313-2 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect       This study was designed to identify molecular markers single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of MHC B-F gene and SPOCK1) associated with Salmonella pullorum disease susceptibility/resistance. A two-stage case-control association study was used. In the first study, a small population comprising 401 Partridge chickens (201 cases and 200 controls) was used, and a total of 118 SNPs genotyped. In the second study, a bigger population comprising 1 075 Partridge chickens (527 cases and 548 controls) was used, and SNPs with significant effect determined in the first study were further analysed. In the first study, 8 SNPs were significantly associated with S. Pullorum disease susceptibility/resistance, however, after further analysis, only the SNPs rs15001532 and C.513A>T were found to be significantly associated with S. Pullorum disease susceptibility/resistance. The relative risk test demonstrated that the AA genotype of rs15001532 resulted in a higher risk of S. Pullorum infection, whereas birds with the TT genotype of C.513A>T were more susceptible to S. Pullorum infection. This research was based on the researches on human complex diseases. With help of these train of thoughts, some common animal diseases can be studied effectively and the process of candidate gene research for animal disease can be improved.

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Water and salt movement in different soil textures under various negative irrigating pressures WANG Jia-jia, HUANG Yuan-fang, LONG Huai-yu 2016, 15(8): 1874-1882.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61209-6 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect       This study examined the effect of different negative pressures and soil textures on water and salt movement to improve the efficiency of negative pressure irrigation (NPI). Four soil textures of varying fineness (Loamy Sand, Loam, Silty Loam, and Sandy Loam) and three negative pressure values (0, –5, and –10 kPa) were used. As irrigation time increased, wetting front movement speeds decreased, and as negative pressure increased, wetting front size decreased. Coarse soils had the smallest wetting front under greater negative pressure. Next, water infiltration rate decreased as irrigation time increased, and coarse soils had the lowest average infiltration rate under greater negative pressure. Finally, salt content increased with distance from the irrigation emitter and with increased negative pressure. Further, coarse soils were found to have decreased desalination under greater negative pressure. Thus, soil texture has a strong effect on NPI efficiency. However, by adjusting pressure values in accordance with soil texture, soil water content can be controlled and maintained. These findings are important to the improvement of NPI systems, increasing their practicality for agricultural use.

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Characterization of root-associated bacterial community structures in soybean and corn using locked nucleic acid (LNA) oligonucleotide- PCR clamping and 454 pyrosequencing YU Zhen-hua, YU Jiang, Makoto Ikenaga, Masao Sakai, LIU Xiao-bing, WANG Guang-hua 2016, 15(8): 1883-1891.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61195-9 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect       The community structure and diversity of root-associated bacteria have been tentatively investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification methods in several studies. However, the homology between small submit ribosomal (SSU) rRNA genes of plant plastids and mitochondria and that of bacteria have hindered in these studies. To address this issue, in this paper, we adopted the methods of locked nucleic acid (LNA) oligonucleotide-PCR clamping with 454 pyrosequencing to analysis the root-associated bacterial community compositions in soybean and corn. Results showed that plant chloroplast and mitochondria genes were effectively inhibited from PCR amplification in the root samples with LNA oligonucleotides (LNA (+)), and PCR amplicons with LNA (+) had higher bacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) numbers and ACE, Chao1, and Shannon indices, as well as a lower Simpson index than the corresponding samples without LNA oligonucleotides (LNA (–)). Those findings suggested that the methods of this study provide a much more detail description of root-associated bacterial communities. In the soybean LNA (+) sample, Pseudomonas, Bradyrhizobium and Flavobacterium were the three most abundant genera, whereas the top two predominant genera in corn LNA (+) samples were Streptomyces and Niastella. The presence and absence of major genera varied between soybean and corn, suggesting the root-associated bacterial communities differed between two crops. The rare phylotypes and uncultured root-associated bacterial members detected in this study inferred that the root-associated bacterial communities are highly complex and information on their taxonomic affiliates potentially gives the clues for selecting the optimal medium and method to isolate the novel bacteria for further functional analysis.

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Wheat, maize and sunflower cropping systems selectively influence bacteria community structure and diversity in their and succeeding crop’s rhizosphere WEN Xin-ya, Eric Dubinsky, WU Yao, Yu Rong, CHEN Fu 2016, 15(8): 1892-1902.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61147-9 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect       Wheat and maize are increasingly used as alternative crops to sunflower monocultures that dominate the Hetao Irrigation District in China. Shifts from sunflower monocultures to alternate cropping systems may have significant effects on belowground microbial communities which control nutrient cycling and influence plant productivity. In this research, rhizosphere bacterial communities were compared among sunflower, wheat and maize cropping systems by 454 pyrosequencing. These cropping systems included 2 years wheat (cultivar Yongliang 4) and maize (cultivar Sidan 19) monoculture, more than 20 years sunflower (cultivar 5009) monoculture, and wheat-sunflower and maize-sunflower rotation. In addition, we investigated rhizosphere bacterial communities of healthy and diseased plants at maturity to determine the relationship between plant health and rotation effect. The results revealed taxonomic information about the overall bacterial community. And significant differences in bacterial community structure were detected among these cropping systems. Eight of the most abundant groups including Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes and Firmicutes accounted for more than 85% of the sequences in each treatment. The wheat-wheat rhizosphere had the highest proportion of Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes and the lowest proportion of unclassified bacteria. Wheat-sunflower cropping system showed more abundant Acidobacteria than maize-sunflower and sunflower monoculture, exhibiting some influences of wheat on the succeeding crop. Maize-maize rhizosphere had the highest proportion of γ- Proteobacteria, Pseudomonadales and the lowest proportion of Acidobacteria. Sunflower rotation with wheat and maize could increase the relative abundance of the Acidobacteria while decrease the relative abundance of the unclassified phyla, as was similar with the health plants. This suggests some positive impacts of rotation with wheat and maize on the bacterial communities within a single field. These results demonstrate that different crop rotation systems can have significant effects on rhizosphere microbiomes that potentially alter plant productivities in agricultural systems.

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Effects of environmentally friendly agricultural land protection programs: Evidence from the Lake Seyfe area of Turkey Ismet Boz 2016, 15(8): 1903-1914.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61271-0 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect      The primary purpose was to investigate the effect of the Environment Friendly Agricultural Land Protection (EFALP) program initiated in 2006. More specifically, the study objectives were to determine the adoption levels of environmentally friendly practices, the extension activities being performed in the region, and to analyse the factors influencing the adoption of the program. Respondents were selected by drawing two stratified samples based on farm size. Cross tabulation and chi-square tests of independence were used to achieve the first objective of the study. Focus-group interviews were conducted for the second objective, and finally, a binary logistic-regression model was applied for the third objective. The findings showed that the adopter farmers used land protection measures extensively relative to the non-adopters, and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock of Turkey, provides useful extension services in the region. Farm size, irrigated land, income level, specialization area, cooperative membership, and travel frequency to large cities influence the adoption of the EFALP program. The conclusion is that the promoted program significantly influenced the protection of the land and other natural resources, and therefore, the regions implementing programs of this type must be extended to other environmentally sensitive areas of the country.

Food Science

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Farmers’ seed choice behaviors under asymmetrical information: Evidence from maize farming in China QIU Huan-guang, WANG Xiao-bing, ZHANG Cai-ping, XU Zhi-gang 2016, 15(8): 1915-1923.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61326-0 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Using a household survey data collected from four leading maize producing provinces in China, this paper studies the decisions of maize farmers on seed choices and variety portfolios when asymmetrical information exists in the market. Our findings indicate, while farmers generally tend to adopt new varieties with the expectation of potential higher yield, the primary driver to do so for those who have less information on seed varieties is to reduce production risk. Improving seed market management and providing more seed information to farmers would be beneficial in choosing seed varieties and maize production.

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Food packing: A case study of dining out in Beijing WANG Yu, XU Shi-wei, YU Wen, Ahmed Abdul-gafar, LIU Xiao-jie, BAI Jun-fei, ZHANG Dan, GAO Liwei, CAO Xiao-chang, LIU Yao 2016, 15(8): 1924-1931.  DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61282-5 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect     Food waste results in nutritional losses, ecological damage, and environmental pollution. This survey is conducted in Beijing and aims to determine whether food waste can be reduced by food packing when leftovers are produced at the dining table and to identify factors that affect food packing behavior and the use of leftovers. Based on statistical and econometric analyses of the relationship between leftovers packing and possible factors, this study finds that the age, educational level, employment status, farming experience, environmental protection consciousness, food saving advertisement, families with old members, and reasons for dining out significantly influence the food packing behavior of the consumers. Moreover, the dining environment plays an important role in leftovers packing. People with intimate relationships, such as families, friends, classmates, or colleagues, are more willing to take leftovers home. Business partners do the opposite. Finally, almost all packed leftovers (91.59%) are eaten by people and animals. Therefore, packing leftovers is an excellent approach to reduce food waste.