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IntroductionThe gut microbiomes of equine are plentiful and intricate, which plays an important part in the growth. However, there is a relative lack of information on the microbial diversity in the pony's gut.MethodsIn this article, 118 fecal samples from DeBa pony, NiQi pony and GuZh horse were studied by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.ResultsDiversity analysis was used to determine the difference of gut microbiota composition among different breeds. Alpha diversity analysis showed that the gut microbiota of NiQi ponies were abundant and various. Beta diversity analysis showed that the microorganisms constitution of DeBa ponies was more similar to that of NiQi ponies. LDA Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis result that the microorganism biomarkers for NiQi pony at the genus level were Phascolarctobacterium, Paludibacter, and Fibrobacter; the bacterial biomarker for DeBa pony was Streptococcus and Prevotella; and the bacterial biomarkers for GuZh horses was Treponema, Treponema Mogibacterium, Adlercreutzia, and Blautia. The correlation analysis between genera with >1% abundance and horse height found that Streptococcus (P < 0.01), Treponema (P < 0.01), Coprococcus (P < 0.01), Prevotella (P < 0.01), Phascolarctobacterium (P < 0.01), and Mogibacterium (P < 0.01) were significantly associated with horses' height. The functional prediction results indicated that DeBa pony have a microbiota functional more similar to NiQi pony.DiscussionFor the first time, our results announce the species composition and structure of the gut microbiota in Chinese ponies. At the same time, our results can provide theoretical reference for further understanding the healthy breeding, feeding management and disease prevention of horses.

In this paper we present the distribution of molecular gas in the Milky Way Galactic plane from $l$ = [59.75, 74.75]$^{\circ}$ and $b$ = [${-}$5.25, +5.25]$^{\circ}$, using the MWISP $^{12}$CO/$^{13}$CO/$\rm {C}^{18}{O}$ emission line data. The molecular gas in this region can be mainly attributed to the Local spur, Local arm, Perseus arm, and Outer arm. Statistics of the physical properties of the molecular gas in each arm, such as excitation temperature, optical depth, and column density, are presented. Using the DBSCAN algorithm, we identified 15 extremely distant molecular clouds with kinematic distances of 14.72$-$17.77 kpc and masses of 363$-$520 M$_{\odot}$, which we find could be part of the Outer Scutum-Centaurus (OSC) arm identified by \cite{2011ApJ...734L..24D} and \cite{2015ApJ...798L..27S}. It is also possible that, 12 of these 15 extremely distant molecular clouds constitute an independent structure between the Outer and the OSC arms or a spur. There exist two Gaussian components in the vertical distribution of the molecular gas in the Perseus spiral arm. These two Gaussian components correspond to two giant filaments parallel to the Galactic plane. We find an upward warping of the molecular gas in the Outer spiral arm with a displacement of around 270 pc with respect to the Galactic mid-plane., Comment: 33 pages, 19 figures

Polarization characteristics and microscope images of the mode converter.

Summary Chinese ponies are endemic to the mountainous areas of southwestern China and were first reported in the archaeological record at the Royal Tomb of Zhongshan King, Mancheng, dated to approximately ∼2,100 YBP.1 Previous work has started uncovering the genetic basis of size variation in western ponies and horses, revealing a limited number of loci, including HMGA2,2LCORL/NCAPG,3ZFAT, and LASP1.4,5 Whether the same genetic pathways also drive the small body size of Chinese ponies, which show striking anatomical differences to Shetland ponies,6 remains unclear.2,7 To test this, we combined whole-genome sequences of 187 horses across China. Statistical analyses revealed top association between genetic variation at the T-box transcription factor 3 (TBX3) and the body size. Fine-scale analysis across an extended population of 189 ponies and 574 horses narrowed down the association to one A/G SNP at an enhancer region upstream of the TBX3 (ECA8:20,644,555, p = 2.34e−39). Luciferase assays confirmed the single-nucleotide G mutation upregulating TBX3 expression, and enhancer-knockout mice exhibited shorter limbs than wild-type littermates (p < 0.01). Re-analysis of ancient DNA data showed that the G allele, which is most frequent in modern horses, first occurred some ∼2,300 years ago and rose in frequency since. This supports selection for larger size in Asia from approximately the beginning of the Chinese Empire. Overall, this study characterized the causal regulatory mutation underlying small body size in Chinese ponies and revealed size as one of the main selection targets of past Chinese breeders., Graphical abstract, Highlights • One single A/G SNP in TBX3 enhancer region drives size variation in Chinese horses • The frequency of the G variant correlates positively with size in 763 horses • Cellular and mice models confirm it affects TBX3 transcription and the limb length • The G variant first occurred ∼2,300 years ago and rose in frequency since, Liu et al. discover a regulatory mutation in TBX3 driving size variation in Chinese horses. Reporter assays and mice models confirm that it can increase TBX3 transcription and the limb length. They find this mutation first occurred ∼2,300 years ago and rose in frequency since, revealing size as one of the main selection targets of past Chinese breeders.

The adsorption capability and kinetics of the adsorption of Pd(II) on polyester fabric treated with chitosan have been studied. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out in which the experimental parameters such as the initial metal ion concentration, contact time and temperature were varied. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were employed to analyze the experimental data. The best approximation to the experimental data was given by the Langmuir isotherm and the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 1.241 mg·g-1 for Pd(II) on chitosan. The kinetic data were analyzed using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The data correlated well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating that the chemical sorption was the rate-limiting step. The thermodynamic parameters like Gibbs free energy (ΔG° ), enthalpy (ΔH°) and entropy (ΔS° ) were also evaluated by applying the Van’t Hoff equation. The results indicated the exothermic nature of the adsorption process. This study offers a general model for the study of the kinetics of reactions between chitosan and metal ions on a polyester fabric base. It could be confirmed that the Pd-chitosan layer was deposited on polyester fabric when observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM).

PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing approaches were applied to assess the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and analyze the genetic polymorphisms at partial exon 2 and intron 2 of H-FABP(Heart fatty acid-binding protein)gene, and five sheep populations that comprised of Small-Tailed Han sheep (SH, 48), Ningxia Tan sheep (Tan, 121), Tan x SH F1 (23), Poll Dorset (48) and Suffolk (24) sheep were screened in this study. The result showed: (1)four SNPs at 981(G/A), 1014(A/C) 1019(T/C) and 1058 (-/G ) and nine genotypes (AA, BB, CC, AB, AC, BC, AD, CD and BD) were detected using primer 2, the AA was the predominant genotype. A chi-square analysis suggested that the allele frequencies and genotype frequencies of H-FABP were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium except the Tan and Suffolk populations. Statistical analysis revealed a low polymorphism information content (PIC) in the Suffolk and Tan x SH F1 populations (PIC amp; 0.25) but an intermediate PIC in the remaining three populations (0.25 amp; PIC amp;0.50). It meant that the fragment of H-FABP had polymorphisms, which could be used as a candidate gene associated gene with phenotypic traits like intramuscular fat content in different sheep populations. (2)Three genotypes (HH, Hh and hh) determined by a SNP at 2407(T-C) were detected using primer 4. The genotype frequencies were in the order of HHHhhh. A chi-square analysis suggested that the allele frequencies and genotype frequencies of H-FABP were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the Tan and Poll Dorset populations, and the PIC values were low (PIC amp; 0.25). However, there was no polymorphisms in SH, Tan x SH F1 and Suffolk populations.

PCR-RFLP was applied to analyze the polymorphism of MSTN gene UTR in 345 sheep that comprised of eleven sheep breeds, namely Texel sheep, Charolais sheep, Small-tailed Han sheep, Monggolian sheep, Ujumqin sheep, Altay Fat-rumped sheep, Hulunbeir sheep, Tashikurgan sheep, Duolang sheep, Hu sheep, and Gangba sheep. A 271 bp and a 1 003 bp long PCR products were digested with Mboand Bsato demonstrate polymorphism in the eleven sheep breeds, which were all at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05). The distribution of 3 genotypes in 11 sheep breeds was significantly different (P

With the establishment of modern sheep production systems in China, various forms of hybridization with Western breeds and between native breeds have been utilized for genetic improvement. At the same time, the progressive destruction or deterioration of sheep habitat has accompanied urbanization in China. Together these factors have accelerated the loss of genetic diversity, or even resulted in the extinction of some indigenous breeds. It is therefore important that efficient strategies for surveillance, evaluation, conservation and utilization of available genetic resources are developed for this species. In this study, a total of 30 microsatellite markers were used to assess genetic diversity for 12 native breeds and one Western sheep breed in Northern China. The high polymorphism information contents at the 30 markers, varying from averages of 0.519 to 0.666 for the 13 breeds, imply the retention of natural variation from source populations in the domestic breeds from different geographic regions in China. Analysis of genetic differentiation revealed substantial divergence among these breeds. Neutrality tests indicated that more than one third of the 30 loci were in departure from neutrality, implying that some evolutionary forces (e.g. selection and migration) had acted on these populations. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses displayed a remarkable degree of consistency between geographic origins, breeding histories and the pattern of genetic differentiation.

Using Jining Grey goat ear marginal tissues as experimental materials, we succeeded in establishing a fibroblast cell bank, including 32 samples, by means of a primary explant and cryopreservation technique. The results from the biological analysis suggested that the population doubling time of the cell line was approximately 48 h. The diploid accounted for 98.35%, the isozyme analysis of the lactic dehydrogenase and malic dehydrogenase disproved cross contamination, and the results of the bacterium, fungi, virus, and mycoplasma detection tests were all negative. The transfection rates of 3 fluorescent protein genes were high, which supported the opinion that exogenous genes could be effectively expressed in the cells. This research has not only preserved the precious germplasm resources of the Jining Grey goat at the somatic cell level, but it has also provided valuable materials for the study of genomics, postgenomics, and somatic cloning.

Considering the characteristics of science and technology resources image, the system structure of image retrieval techniques from the Science and technology Resources image database is designed to rapidly and effectively retrieve the image from the database. Firstly, a novel image retrieval algorithm based on texture is proposed. The algorithm proposed takes fully the advantage of statistical attribution of image’s Nonsubsampled Contourlet transform (NSCT) coefficients to form the eigenvector for depicting textural feature and shape feature. Finally, the TBIR method is used to retrieve the image from the database. Secondly the CBIR method is used to retrieve the image from the result of the TBIR method. Moreover, the three key technologies, the image segmentation, the feature extraction and the similarity measurement, is researched and comprehensively used to retrieve the image.