Genome-wide Association Study of Porcine Hematological Parameters in a Large White × Minzhu F2 Resource Population

Hematological traits, which are important indicators of immune function in animals, have been commonly examined as biomarkers of disease and disease severity in humans and animals. Genome-wide significant quantitative trait loci (QTLs) provide important information for use in breeding programs of animals such as pigs. QTLs for hematological parameters (hematological traits) have been detected in pig chromosomes, although these are often mapped by linkage analysis to large intervals making identification of the underlying mutation problematic. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the common form of genetic variation among individuals and are thought to account for the majority of inherited traits. In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to detect regions of association with hematological traits in a three-generation resource population produced by intercrossing Large White boars and Minzhu sows during the period from 2007 to 2011. Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip technology was used to genotype each animal and seven hematological parameters were measured (hematocrit (HCT), hemoglobin (HGB), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), red blood cell count (RBC) and red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW)). Data were analyzed in a three step Genome-wide Rapid Association using the Mixed Model and Regression-Genomic Control (GRAMMAR-GC) method. A total of 62 genome-wide significant and three chromosome-wide significant SNPs associated with hematological parameters were detected in this GWAS. Seven and five SNPs were associated with HCT and HGB, respectively. These SNPs were all located within the region of 34.6-36.5 Mb on SSC7. Four SNPs within the region of 43.7-47.0 Mb and fifty-five SNPs within the region of 42.2-73.8 Mb on SSC8 showed significant association with MCH and MCV, respectively. At chromosome-wide significant level, one SNP at 29.2 Mb on SSC1 and two SNPs within the region of 26.0-26.2 Mb were found to be significantly associated with RBC and RDW, respectively. Many of the SNPs were located within previously reported QTL regions and appeared to narrow down the regions compared with previously described QTL intervals. In current research, a total of seven significant SNPs were found within six candidate genes SCUBE3, KDR, TDO, IGFBP7, ADAMTS3 and AFP. In addition, the KIT gene, which has been previously reported to relate to hematological parameters, was located within the region significantly associated with MCH and MCV and could be a candidate gene. These results of this study may lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of hematological parameters in pigs

Automatic Parking Path Planning and Tracking Control Research for Intelligent Vehicles

As a key technology for intelligent vehicles, automatic parking is becoming increasingly popular in the area of research. Automatic parking technology is available for safe and quick parking operations without a driver, and improving the driving comfort while greatly reducing the probability of parking accidents. An automatic parking path planning and tracking control method is proposed in this paper to resolve the following issues presented in the existing automatic parking systems, that is, low degree of automation in vehicle control; lack of conformity between segmented path planning and real vehicle motion models; and low success rates of parking due to poor path tracking. To this end, this paper innovatively proposes preview correction which can be applied to parking path planning, and detects the curvature outliers in the parking path through the preview algorithm. In addition, it is also available for correction in advance to optimize the reasonable parking path. Meanwhile, the dual sliding mode variable structure control algorithm is used to formulate path tracking control strategies to improve the path tracking control effect and the vehicle control automation. Based on the above algorithm, an automatic parking system was developed and the real vehicle test was completed, thus exploring a highly intelligent automatic parking technology roadmap. This paper provides two key aspects of system solutions for an automatic parking system, i.e., parking path planning and path tracking control

Effects of sulfur fertilization and short-term high temperature on wheat grain production and wheat flour proteins

The content of wheat flour proteins affects the quality of wheat flour. Sulfur nutrition in wheat can change the protein content of the flour. The inconsistency and instability of wheat grain quality during grain filling under high temperature stress (HTS) are a major challenge to the production of high-quality wheat. The effects of sulfur fertilization and HTS on wheat flour protein and its components are unknown. In this study, treatments varying two factors: sulfur fertilization and exposure to short-term HTS, at 20 days post-anthesis, were applied to two wheat cultivars with differing gluten types. Plants of a strong-gluten wheat (Gaoyou 2018) and a medium-gluten wheat (Zhongmai 8) were grown in pots in Beijing in 2015–2017. HTS significantly increased the contents of total protein, albumin, gliadin, glutenin, Cys, and Met in wheat kernels, but reduced grain yield, grain weight, protein yield, globulin content, and total starch accumulation. The HTS-induced increase in total protein amount was closely associated with nitrate reductase (NR) and glutamine synthetase (GS) activities in flag leaves. Sulfur fertilization increased grain and protein yields; grain weight; total protein, albumin, gliadin, glutenin, and globulin contents; protein yield; total starch; Cys, Met; and NR and GS activities. HTS and sulfur fertilization had larger effects on the strong- than on the medium-gluten cultivar. Sulfur fertilization also alleviated the negative effects of HTS on grain yield, protein yield, and starch content. Thus, growing wheat with additional soil sulfur can improve the quality of the flour. Keywords: Triticum aestivum L., Sulfur fertilization, Strong gluten, Climate warmin

The Combined Application of Mineral Fertilizer and Organic Amendments Improved the Stability of Soil Water-Stable Aggregates and C and N Accumulation

Soil aggregate stability is one of the important physical properties affecting rice (Oryza sativa L.) production and soil sustainability. This study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of different medium-term fertilization regimes on soil aggregate stability and aggregate-associated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in rhizosphere and bulk soil. This experiment consisted of three treatments, including mineral fertilizer alone (NPK), mineral fertilizer plus rice straw (NPK + RS), and controlled-release blended fertilizer plus cattle manure (CRF + CM). Although higher fertilizer costs were in the CRF + CM treatments, one-time application could save labor costs compared to the conventional split application of chemical fertilizers. The results showed that, compared to the NPK alone, the combined application of NPK with organic amendments improved the proportion of >0.25 mm macroaggregate, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN) concentrations, and mean weight diameter (MWD) in both rhizosphere and bulk soil during the whole rice growing season. In rhizosphere, the proportion of macroaggregate was significantly positively (p p 2 mm class and organic C associated with smaller particle-sized aggregates (0.25–2 mm and <0.25 mm). In addition, the organic C associated with 0.25–2 mm showed the largest contribution of the total SOC content in all treatments during the rice growing stage. Overall, the results suggested that the medium-term application of mineral fertilizer with organic amendments was beneficial to improve soil aggregate stability and C and N accumulation

Intra-annual dynamics of xylem growth in Pinus massoniana submitted to an experimental nitrogen addition in Central China

In recent decades, anthropogenic activities have increased nitrogen (N) deposition in terrestrial ecosystems. This higher availability of N is expected to impact plant growth. However, the effects of N deposition on tree growth remain inconclusive due to the wide variability of experimental methods used. This study aimed to test the effect of short-term N addition on the intra-annual wood formation of Chinese red pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) in a warm-temperate forest of Central China. From 2013, solution containing 25 kg N ha-1 year-1 was applied monthly to the understory of experimental plots from April to December to double the current natural N deposition. Each week from March to December in 2014 and 2015, cambial activity and the timings and dynamics of xylem formation were monitored by collecting microcores from stems. Xylem formation lasted from March to November, producing an average of 19 and 33 cells for all studied trees in 2014 and 2015, respectively. No difference in xylem cell production was observed between control and N-treated trees. Moreover, N-treated trees had similar timings, rates and durations of xylem formation as control trees. These findings indicated that short-term N addition was unable to affect timings and dynamics of xylem formation in Chinese red pine of warm-temperate forest