Differential Gene Expression Patterns of Male Sterile Lines of Alfalfa Hybrids at Bud Differentiation Stage and Heterosis

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is important legume forage that is widely cultivated in China and other countries. Alfalfa breeding can’t meet the need of production now, highlighted in yield and resistance of current alfalfa cultivars (He et al., 2000; Wei et al., 2007). Increasing heterozygosity of hybrids and thus the heterosis is a way to breed alfalfa cultivars with high yield and resistance (Hong et al., 2009). The objective of this study was to investigate the correlations of various differential gene expression patterns with forage yield in order to better understand the role the alfalfa male sterile lines may play in the heterosis of their progeny

Characterization of the microRNA408-LACCASE5 module as a regulatory axis for photosynthetic efficiency in Medicago ruthenica: implications for forage yield enhancement

Medicago ruthenica is closely related to Medicago sativa, a commonly cultivated forage. Characterized by its high tolerance to environmental stress, M. ruthenica is a valuable genetic resource. However, low yield limits its large-scale utilization. Leaf morphology, an important agronomic trait, is closely related to forage yield and photosynthetic efficiency. In the presented study, “Correlation of Leaf Morphology and Photosynthetic Performance with Forage Yield in Medicago ruthenica: The Underlying Molecular Mechanisms,” comprehensive data analysis revealed a significant positive association between leaf width and leaf area with forage yield in Medicago ruthenica (p < 0.05). The specific cultivar “Mengnong No.1 (MN No.1) had a large leaf area, and its physiological parameters related to photosynthetic characteristics were superior. Anatomical examination revealed that the leaves of MN No.1 had strong palisade tissue and compact cell structure. Subsequent investigations, utilizing small RNA and transcriptome sequencing, discerned critical miRNA-target gene networks that underpin the high photosynthetic efficiency in M. ruthenica. A total of 63 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified, inclusive of several well-characterized miRNAs such as miR408, miR171, and miR398. These miRNAs were predicted to target 55 genes (mRNAs), of which 6 miRNA-target gene pairs, particularly those involving miR408and miR171, exhibited inverse expression patterns. Among the six postulated miRNA-target gene pairs, the targeted cleavage of LACCASE5 (LAC5) by miR408 was conclusively validated through degradome sequencing, with the cleavage site pinpointed between the 9th and 10th nucleotides from the 5′end of miR408 via the 5′-RLM-RACE assay. Therefore, it is posited that the miR408-MrLAC5 module constitutes a central mechanism in fostering high photosynthetic efficiency in M. ruthenica. Moreover, these findings also provide valuable information for further study of the regulatory genes and miRNA functions of forage yield in legume forage

The State of Grasslands across Inner Mongolia and Mongolia

Grasslands across Inner Mongolia and Mongolia, with their long history of nomadic livestock grazing, are very important natural resources for animal husbandry and environmental services. The main types of grasslands are meadow steppe (forest steppe), typical steppe (steppe) and desert steppe. Most of the grasslands are degraded due to over-grazing, which reduces animal production and the values of environmental services. Overgrazing decreases plant production, species biodiversity, ecosystem stability, soil fertility & structure, and lowers animal productivity leading to reduced household incomes. In pastoral areas across Inner Mongolia and Mongolia, degraded grasslands can be rehabilitated by better managing stocking rates. Our surveys, experiments and farm demonstrations have found that, in degraded grasslands, lower stocking rates had benefits for animal production, net incomes and environmental services. To implement these improvements across Inner Mongolia and Mongolia will be challenging to avoid deleterious trade-offs with livelihoods as it will require changes in herder practices. Further research and demonstration are required to develop locally relevant systems

Effect of different regions on fermentation profiles, microbial communities, and their metabolomic pathways and properties in Italian ryegrass silage

IntroductionItalian ryegrass is less studied in northern China due to high-quality forage grass has not been fully utilized. Full utilization of high-quality forage grass helps to alleviate the shortage of forage grass in winter and spring season and guarantee stable development of livestock production. Consequently, this study was aimed to evaluate the effects of different regions in northern China on the fermentative products, bacterial community compositions, and metabolic pathways and metabolites of Italian ryegrass silage.MethodsThe Italian ryegrass was harvested from three regions (Ordos-WK; Hohhot-AK; Ulanqab-SYK) and ensiled for 60 days. Single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) were used to analyze bacterial communities and metabolites, respectively.ResultsAfter 60 d of fermentation, the SYK group had the lowest pH (4.67), the highest lactic acid contents (95.02 g/kg DM) and largest lactic acid bacteria populations (6.66 log10 cfu/g FM) among the treatment groups. In addition, the SYK group had the highest abundance of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (63.98%). In SYK group, isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis was the significantly enriched (p < 0.05) and high-impact value (0.0225) metabolic pathway. In AK group, tryptophan metabolism the was the significantly enriched (p < 0.001) and high-impact value (0.1387) metabolic pathway. In WK group, citrate cycle (TCA cycle) was the significantly enriched (p < 0.001) and high-impact value (0.1174) metabolic pathway. Further, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was positively correlated with cinnamic acid, tetranor 12-HETE, D-Mannitol, (2S)-2-amino-4-methylpentanoic acid L-Leucine, guanine, isoleucyl-aspartate and 3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl propanoate, but negatively correlated with isocitrate and D-mannose.DiscussionIn conclusion, this study can improve our understanding of the ensiling microbiology and metabolomics in different regions to further regulate the fermentation products and promote livestock production

The effects of grazing and the meteorologic factors on wind-sand flux in the desert steppe

Introduction: Affected by global climate warming and changing rainfall patterns, the degree of soil desiccation in arid grasslands has increased and soil wind erosion has become a major environmental concern. Understanding and controlling the characteristics of sand flux and wind erosion caused by the degradation of grassland vegetation, as well as their changing patterns, has become a top priority in combating grassland degradation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to clarify the extent of wind erosion in desert grasslands and its influencing factors in order to provide a theoretical basis and data support for the restoration of grassland vegetation and the sustainable development of grassland livestock production.Methods: Use of SAS and Origin statistical software to perform multifactorial analysis of variance on variables such as year, stocking rate, meteorological conditions and wind-sand flux to determine the degree of influence of different factors on sand flux and the magnitude of interactions among different factors.Results and discussion: The results showed that wind-sand flux was higher when rainfall was low and stocking intensity was high. Specifically, the wind-sand flux increased by 50.3% and 83.6% in the moderate and high grazing treatments, respectively, compared to the control. The data obtained also showed that there was a significant interaction between climate and grazing intensity, suggesting that an increase in one factor may attenuate the differences in wind-sand flux at different levels of other factors. There is likely to be a threshold effect of stocking rate of moderate grazing on the variation of wind-sand flux influenced by different factors. In summary, the factors affecting wind-sand flux in the arid desert steppe are numerous and complex, with stocking rates below moderate grazing being key to reducing wind-sand flux

Di-2-pyridylhydrazone Dithiocarbamate Butyric Acid Ester Exerted Its Proliferative Inhibition against Gastric Cell via ROS-Mediated Apoptosis and Autophagy

Diversified biological activities of dithiocarbamates have attracted widespread attention; improving their feature or exploring their potent action of mechanism is a hot topic in medicinal research. Herein, we presented a study on synthesis and investigation of a novel dithiocarbamate, DpdtbA (di-2-pyridylhydrazone dithiocarbamate butyric acid ester), on antitumor activity. The growth inhibition assay revealed that DpdtbA had important antitumor activity for gastric cancer (GC) cell lines (IC50 = 4.2 ± 0.52 μM for SGC-7901, 3.80 ± 0.40 μM for MGC-803). The next study indicated that growth inhibition is involved in ROS generation in mechanism; accordingly, the changes in mitochondrial membrane permeability, apoptotic genes, cytochrome c, bax, and bcl-2 were observed, implying that the growth inhibition of DpdtbA is involved in ROS-mediated apoptosis. On the other hand, the upregulated p53 upon DpdtbA treatment implied that p53 could also mediate the apoptosis. Yet the excess generation of ROS induced by DpdtbA led to cathepsin D translocation and increase of autophagic vacuoles and LC3-II, demonstrating that autophagy was also a contributor to growth inhibition. Further investigation showed that DpdtbA could induce cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. This clearly indicated the growth inhibition of DpdtbA was via triggering ROS formation and evoking p53 response, consequently leading to alteration in gene expressions that are related to cell survival

A Promoter Region Polymorphism in PDCD-1

Objective. Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) induces negative signals to T cells during interaction with its ligands and is therefore a candidate gene in the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Herein, we investigate the association of PDCD-1 polymorphisms with the risk of RA among Chinese patients and healthy controls. Methods. Using the PCR-direct sequencing analysis, 4 PDCD-1 SNPs (rs36084323, rs11568821, rs2227982, and rs2227981) were genotyped in 320 RA patients and 309 matched healthy controls. Expression of PD-1 was determined in peripheral blood lymphocytes by flow cytometry and quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results. We observed that the GG genotype of rs36084323 was associated with a increased risk for developing RA (OR 1.70, 95% 1.11–2.61, P=0.049). Patients carrying G/G genotype displayed an increased mRNA level of PD-1 (P=0.04) compared with A/A genotype and healthy controls. Meanwhile, patients homozygous for rs36084323 had induced basal PD-1 expression on activated CD4+ T cells. Conclusion. The PDCD-1 polymorphism rs36084323 was significantly associated with RA risk in Han Chinese population. This SNP, which effectively influenced the expression of PD-1, may be a biomarker of early diagnosis of RA and a suitable indicator of utilizing PD-1 inhibitor for treatment of RA

Trends of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged children among Henan Province from 2000 to 2019

ObjectivesOverweight and obesity are harmful to human health. However, the latest trends of Chinese childhood overweight and obesity prevalence are not available. The aim of this study was to examine the trends from 2000 to 2019 among students in China.MethodsWe analyzed data of 66,072 students in the Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health from 2000 to 2019. Overweight and obesity were defined based on the standard formulated by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF standard), the World Health Organization (WHO standard), and the Working Group on Obesity in China (WGOC standard), respectively. The χ2-test was used to test the trends of overweight and obesity prevalence and logistic regression was conducted to evaluate the prevalence odds ratios of boys vs. girls and urban vs. rural areas.ResultsThe prevalence of obesity/overweight and obesity combined was 6.03/23.58% (IOTF standard), 10.56/25.88% (WGOC standard) and 10.75/29.69% (WHO standard) in 2019. From 2000 to 2019, according to the WGOC standard, the prevalence increased from 2.51 to 10.56% for obesity and increased from 9.81 to 25.88% for overweight and obesity combined (P for trend < 0.001). Obesity/overweight and obesity were greater problems in boys than girls and urban than rural areas, but urban-rural differences decreased over time.ConclusionOverweight and obesity prevalence increased significantly in children and adolescents in China from 2000 to 2019. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in rural areas may contribute to a large percentage of children with overweight and obesity