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STAT5A gene plays a significant role in growth traits by affecting JAK/STAT pathway. We identified two SNPs which were related to growth traits from 206 healthy and adult purebred individuals of Guizhou Black goats using the methods of direct sequencing and PCR-SSCP. The association analysis between genotypes and growth traits showed that the individuals of genotype TC were superior than CC in chest girth significantly (P<0.05), and the individuals of GA were significant superior than GG and AA in chest girth and body weight (P<0.05). Besides that, the heterozygotes had higher growth traits than those of homozygotes in general. Therefore, we made a conclusion that the two SNPs of STAT5A gene will serve as marker-assisted selection for improving growth traits in goats, but we should still continue to prove the validity of the conclusion by enlarging the total samples and breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultraviolet (UV) A radiation (315-400 nm) is the predominant component of solar UV radiation that reaches the Earth's surface. However, the underlying mechanisms of the positive effects of UV-A on photosynthetic organisms have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effects of UV-A radiation on the growth, photosynthetic ability, and metabolome of the edible cyanobacterium Nostoc sphaeroides . Exposures to 5-15 W m -2 (15-46 µmol photons m -2 s -1 ) UV-A and 4.35 W m -2 (20 μmol photons m -2 s -1 ) visible light for 16 days significantly increased the growth rate and biomass production of N. sphaeroides cells by 18%-30% and 15%-56%, respectively, compared to the non-UV-A-acclimated cells. Additionally, the UV-A-acclimated cells exhibited a 1.8-fold increase in the cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) pool with an increase in photosynthetic capacity (58%), photosynthetic efficiency (24%), Q A re-oxidation, photosystem I abundance, and cyclic electron flow (87%), which further led to an increase in light-induced NADPH generation (31%) and ATP content (83%). Moreover, the UV-A-acclimated cells showed a 2.3-fold increase in ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activity, indicating an increase in their carbon-fixing capacity. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics further revealed that UV-A radiation upregulated the energy-storing carbon metabolism, as evidenced by the enhanced accumulation of sugars, fatty acids, and citrate in the UV-A-acclimated cells. Therefore, our results demonstrate that UV-A radiation enhances energy flow and carbon assimilation in the cyanobacterium N. sphaeroides .IMPORTANCEUltraviolet (UV) radiation exerts harmful effects on photo-autotrophs; however, several studies demonstrated the positive effects of UV radiation, especially UV-A radiation (315-400 nm), on primary productivity. Therefore, understanding the underlying mechanisms associated with the promotive effects of UV-A radiation on primary productivity can facilitate the application of UV-A for CO 2 sequestration and lead to the advancement of photobiological sciences. In this study, we used the cyanobacterium Nostoc sphaeroides , which has an over 1,700-year history of human use as food and medicine, to explore its photosynthetic acclimation response to UV-A radiation. As per our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that UV-A radiation increases the biomass yield of N. sphaeroides by enhancing energy flow and carbon assimilation. Our findings provide novel insights into UV-A-mediated photosynthetic acclimation and provide a scientific basis for the application of UV-A radiation for optimizing light absorption capacity and enhancing CO 2 sequestration in the frame of a future CO 2 neutral, circular, and sustainable bioeconomy., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

This study aimed to investigate polymorphisms of the eighth exon in the GFI1B gene among three indigenous Chinese goat breeds (QianBei Ma goats, GuiZhou white goats, and GuiZhou black goats). Furthermore, association analysis was conducted between these polymorphisms and growth traits. Polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), direct DNA sequencing, and PCR-restricted fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were applied to detect polymorphism sites, and a general linear model was used to analyze their association with growth traits. We found two consistent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites in the eighth exon of the GFI1B gene among the three breeds: 263 bp G→T and 340 bp G→A. The fixed effects model used to analyze growth traits revealed significant differences in body weight, body length, chest depth, and chest breadth between genotypes CD, CC, and DD (P < 0.01). The 340(G/C) polymorphic sites identified here will provide a basis to further study associations between the GFI1B gene and growth traits, as well as establish a theoretical foundation to develop better feeding and genetic resources of indigenous goats.

This study mainly aimed to research the CDS sequence (coding sequence), polymorphisms of exon 1, exon 2 and part of exon 8 of GFI1B in GuiZhou white goat of indigenous Chinese goat. The cDNA of GFI1B was analysed through bioinformatics which was obtained by the reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). The polymorphisms of GFI1B gene exons region was identified whose association with growth traits was analysed by GuiZhou white goat. The results revealed that the cDNA of GFI1B which contained a complete open reading frame (ORF) was 996 bp in full length. The accession numbers on GenBank was JX627316. One new mutation sites of C347A had been determined in the eighth intron. Our results could lay the foundation for the further investigation on the role of GFI1B gene in goat growth traits.

In this study, we constructed a high effective fusion expression-vector in E. coli. This vector, pTO-T7, was characterized as: (1) an enhancer from tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), omega sequence, was ligated in front of a T7 promoter in the regulatory sequence; (2) the multi-cloning sites include eight restriction enzyme sites. It can facilitate fusion or nonfusion expression; (3) the N terminal of a fusion protein starts with the first 12 amino acids of T7 gene 10, and the C terminal is the hexahistidine tag; (4) kanmycin resistance gene was used as a selective marker. EGFP gene was inserted into pTO-T7 vector as a reporter gene. Expression data showed that fused-EGFP accounted to more than 50% of the total E. coli protein, and more than 90% of which was soluble. The fluorescence characters of fused-EGFP were also studied. The expression yield of target gene from plasmid pTO-T7 compared with that from pT-T7 without omega sequence suggested that omega sequence in pTO-T7 can improve the expression of target gene significantly.

Aim: To compare the pharmacokinetics of domestic and imported sustained-release capsule of 5-isosorbide mononitrate (5-IM)., Methods: A single and 5-d-repeated oral doses of 5-IM 50 mg were performed on 2 groups of 20 Chinese healthy subjects (10 subjects for each group) in a randomized crossover protocol. The 5-IM in plasma were measured by gas chromatography with electron-captured detector method. Data were analyzed automatically by using a CAPP program on a PC computer., Results: Fitting the 5-IM concentration-time curves to one-compartment model or following trapezoidal rule, the parameters such as Tmax, Cmax, Ke, MRT, and AUC were calculated and there were no significant differences between the two kinds of capsule. The major pharmacokinetic parameters of domestic and imported 5-IM sustained-release capsule with a 5-d multiple dose were respectively: Cmax (677 +/- 103) and (702 +/- 76) micrograms.L-1; Tmax (5.1 +/- 2.0) and (5.6 +/- 1.3) h; MRT (11.5 +/- 0.5) and (11.4 +/- 0.7) h; AUC0-infinity (12,121 +/- 1346) and (12,352 +/- 988) micrograms.h.L-1. The fraction of drug absorbed in vivo was correlated well with the percentage amount of drug released in vitro at corresponding time (P < 0.05), and the fluctuation indices on d 5 in multiple dose study were not significantly different between the two formulations (P > 0.05). The relative bioavailability of the domestic capsule for single and multiple dose were 96% +/- 11% and 98% +/- 10%, respectively., Conclusion: Domestic 5-IM sustained-release capsule showed bioequivalence compared with the imported capsule and provided the same nitrate-low interval in the latter part of the 24-h dosing interval.