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ABSTRACT: This study aims to identify candidate genes related to ovarian development after ovarian tissue transplantation through transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and expression network analyses, as well as to provide a reference for determining the molecular mechanism of improving ovarian development following ovarian tissue transplantation. We collected ovarian tissues from 15 thirty-day-old ducks and split each ovary into 4 equal portions of comparable sizes before orthotopically transplanting them into 2-day-old ducks. Samples were collected on days 0 (untransplanted), 3, 6, and 9. The samples were paraffin sectioned and then subjected to Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining and follicular counting. We extracted RNA from ovarian samples via the Trizol method to construct a transcriptome library, which was then sequenced by the Illumina Novaseq 6000 sequencing platform. The sequencing results were examined for differentially expressed genes (DEG) through gene ontology (GO) function and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA), and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Some of the candidate genes were selected for verification using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). Histological analysis revealed a significant reduction in the number of morphologically normal follicles at 3, 6, and 9 d after ovarian transplantation, along with significantly higher abnormality rates (P < 0.05). The transcriptome analysis results revealed 2,114, 2,224, and 2,257 upregulated DEGs and 2,647, 2,883, and 2,665 downregulated DEGs at 3, 6, and 9 d after ovarian transplantation, respectively. Enrichment analysis revealed the involvement multiple pathways in inflammatory signaling, signal transduction, and cellular processes. Furthermore, WGCNA yielded 13 modules, with 10, 4, and 6 candidate genes mined at 3, 6 and 9 d after ovarian transplantation, respectively. Transcription factor (TF) prediction showed that STAT1 was the most important TF. Finally, the qRT-PCR verification results revealed that 12 candidate genes exhibited an expression trend consistent with sequencing data. In summary, significant differences were observed in the number of follicles in duck ovaries following ovarian transplantation. Candidate genes involved in ovarian vascular remodeling and proliferation were screened using RNA-Seq and WGCNA.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of melittin on production performance, antioxidant function, immune function, heat shock protein, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbiota of heat-stressed quails. A total of 120 (30-day-old) male quails were randomly divided into 3 groups. Each group consisted of 4 replicates with 10 birds per replicate. The ambient temperature of the control group (group W) was 24°C ± 2°C. The heat stress group (group WH) and the heat stress + melittin group (group WHA2) were subjected to heat stress for 4 h from 12:00 to 16:00 every day, and the temperature was 36°C ± 2°C for 10 d. The results showed that compared with the group W, heat stress significantly decreased growth performance, serum and liver antioxidative function, immune function, intestinal villus height (VH) and villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (VH/CD), and cecal microbiota Chao and ACE index (P < 0.05). The crypt depth (CD) in the small intestine, and HSP70 and HSP90 mRNA levels in the heart, liver, spleen, and kidney were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Dietary melittin significantly increased growth performance, serum and liver antioxidative function, immune function, intestinal VH and VH/CD, and cecal microbiota Shannon index in heat-stressed quails (P < 0.05). Melittin significantly decreased small intestinal CD, and HSP70 and HSP90 mRNA levels in the viscera (P < 0.05). Furthermore, dietary melittin could have balanced the disorder of cecal microbiota caused by heat stress and increased the abundance and diversity of beneficial microbiota (e.g., Firmicutes were significantly increased). PICRUSt2 functional prediction revealed that most of the KEGG pathways with differential abundance caused by high temperature were related to metabolism, and melittin could have restored them close to normal levels. Spearman correlation analysis showed that the beneficial intestinal bacteria Anaerotruncus, Bacteroidales_S24-7_group_norank, Lachnospiraceae_unclassified, Shuttleworthia, and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014 increased by melittin were positively correlated with average daily feed intake, the average daily gain, serum and liver superoxide dismutase, IgG, IgA, bursa of Fabricius index, and ileum VH and VH/CD. In sum, our results demonstrate for the first time that dietary melittin could improve the adverse effects of heat stress on antioxidant function, immune function, heat shock protein, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbiota in quails, consequently improving their production performance under heat stress.

Magnaporthe oryzae Oryzae (MoO) pathotype is a devastating fungal pathogen of rice; however, its pathogenic mechanism remains poorly understood. The current research is primarily focused on single-omics data, which is insufficient to capture the complex cross-kingdom regulatory interactions between MoO and rice. To address this limitation, we proposed a novel method called Weighted Gene Autoencoder Multi-Omics Relationship Prediction (WGAEMRP), which combines weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and graph autoencoder to predict the relationship between MoO–rice multi-omics data. We applied WGAEMRP to construct a MoO–rice multi-omics heterogeneous interaction network, which identified 18 MoO small RNAs (sRNAs), 17 rice genes, 26 rice mRNAs, and 28 rice proteins among the key biomolecules. Most of the mined functional modules and enriched pathways were related to gene expression, protein composition, transportation, and metabolic processes, reflecting the infection mechanism of MoO. Compared to previous studies, WGAEMRP significantly improves the efficiency and accuracy of multi-omics data integration and analysis. This approach lays out a solid data foundation for studying the biological process of MoO infecting rice, refining the regulatory network of pathogenic markers, and providing new insights for developing disease-resistant rice varieties.

ABSTRACT: To study the effects of melittin on egg-laying performance and intestinal barrier of quails, 240 quails (aged 70 d) were randomly divided into 4 groups with 6 replicates (10 quails per replicate). They were fed with basal diet (group B), basal diet + 0.08 g/kg melittin (group BA1), basal diet + 0.12 g/kg melittin (group BA2) and basal diet + 0.16 g/kg melittin (group BA3). The experiment lasted for 21 days. The eggs were collected every day. At the end of the experiment, duodenal, jejunal, and ileal tissues were collected, and the cecal contents were sampled. Intestinal antioxidant index, barrier function, and intestinal flora were analyzed. The results showed that the addition of melittin significantly increased the laying rate and average egg weight. Addition of melittin significantly increased the antioxidant function, mechanical barrier, immune barrier, and the villus height to crypt depth ratio of small intestine. Addition of melittin had no significant effect on the α and β diversity of cecal flora, but significantly increased the abundance of Bacteroidales at family level and genus level. Bioinformatics analysis of cecal content showed significant increase in COG functional category of cytoskeleton, and significant decrease in RNA processing and modification in group BA2. KEGG functional analysis showed significant decrease in steroid biosynthesis, caffeine metabolism, and cytochrome P450 pathways in group BA2. In conclusion, addition of 0.12 g/kg melittin to feed improved the laying performance and the intestinal antioxidant capacity and barrier function of quails but had no significant effect on the composition and structure of cecal microbial community. This study provides experimental data and theoretical basis for the application of melittin as a new quail feed additive.

Magang geese exhibit a unique characteristic of follicular development, with eight largest orderly arranged pre-ovulatory follicles in the abdominal cavity. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this follicular development. This study aimed to compare gene expression profiles of granulosa cells (GCs) at different stages of follicular development and provide comprehensive insights into follicle selection and the mechanisms underlying the well-defined follicle hierarchy in Magang geese. GCs of large white follicles (LWFs), small yellow follicles (SYFs), F8, F4, and F1 were used for RNA-seq analysis; 374, 1117, 791, and 593 genes were differentially expressed in stages LWFs to SYFs, SYFs to F8, F8 to F4, and F4 to F1, respectively, suggesting that these genes contribute to follicle selection and development. Reliability of sequencing data was verified through qPCR analysis of 24 genes. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways revealed a complex mechanism that remodels the extracellular matrix and turnover of extracellular matrix components in follicular development and ovulation and involves multiple pathway, such as focal adhesion, adherens junction, and extracellular matrix–receptor interaction. Some unique characteristics were observed during the different follicular development stages. For instance, some differentially expressed genes were enriched in progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation and steroid biosynthesis from stage SYFs to F8, whereas others were enriched in actin cytoskeleton regulation and vascular smooth muscle contraction from stage F4 to F1. These findings enhance our current understanding of GC function and ovarian follicles during the key stages of follicular development.

Endometritis is a frequent postpartum disease of dairy cows and inflicts considerable distress on the animals and costs to the dairy industry. This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of Chinese and Western Medicine combination treatments for dairy cow endometritis to provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of these infections. This analysis provides new information for veterinary medical research. We used the keywords ‘Chinese and Western Medicine, Traditional and Western Medicine, Chinese herbs, Traditional Chinese Medicine Traditional Medicine, Chinese, Zhong Yi Xue, Chinese Traditional Medicine, Chinese Medicine, Traditional, Endometritis, Metritis and Cow to assess relevant literature sources collected in CNKI, Wanfang, Vepsa, China Patent Information Network, PubMed, Web of Science and other domestic and foreign databases. We utilized Cochrane system instructions to perform a meta-analysis using RevMan 5. 3 and Stata 16.0 software. We identified 13 randomized clinical trials (RCT) involving 847 dairy cows including cows 435 treated with a combination of Chinese and Western Medicine and 412 cows treated with the Western Medicine approach. The effectiveness for the combination therapy was better than that of the control (antibiotic only) where the relative risk was 1.19 with 95% CI (1.12, 1.26) and Z= 5.96, P<0.01. We found no significant heterogeneity between these studies (I2=0<50%, P= 0.50<0.1) and publication bias was absent as investigated through funnel plots and the Egger regression model (P=0.197>0.05). These results indicated that although the Chinese herbal preparations differed between studies (n= 13), when coupled with Western antibiotic treatments the animals recovered faster than did the control Western antibiotic treatments. These randomized control studies indicated that the efficacy of Chinese and Western Medicine on endometritis in dairy cows is greater than that of Western Medicine treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enrofloxacin is a special antibacterial agent for animals and is a synthetic third-generation fluoroquinolone broad-spectrum antibacterial agent. It has excellent antibacterial effects and is widely used in clinical practice. However, the solubility of enrofloxacin is extremely low and this has greatly limited its clinical use. We assessed progress in overcoming this deficiency by tracking pharmaceutical alterations to enrofloxacin in vivo delivery systems. We used the keywords 'enrofloxacin', 'pharmaceuticals' and 'preparations' to assess relevant literature sources collected in CNKI, Wanfang, Vepsa, China Patent Information Network, PubMed, Web of Science and other domestic and foreign databases from 2010 to 2022 to summarize the research progress of enrofloxacin pharmaceutics. A total of 62 valid literature were retrieved and we found that pharmaceutic technologies successfully were able to increase enrofloxacin solubility, palatability, bioavailability and half-life. The continuous development and promotion of new drug formulations and new materials will give enrofloxacin preparations broad application prospects in veterinary medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Egg laying in Magang geese is characterized by extended interruption between clutches and lowing laying rate. Both the ovarian follicular development and ovulation characteristics, and the associated endocrine and molecular regulatory mechanisms involved are poorly understood, but could be important for guiding development of molecule aided selection of egg laying performances in geese. This study, therefore, recorded egg-laying characteristics of Magang geese, and the endocrine and molecular regulatory mechanisms of ovarian follicular development, maturation, and ovulation in Magang geese. Methods: Oviposition, ovarian follicle development, and reproductive hormone and gene expression profiles were observed in a small flock of Magang geese. Results: Greater than 73% of eggs were laid during the day. The average oviposition interval was 46.8 h (36-55 h). It took approximately 18 days for large white follicles to develop into mature F1 follicles; follicular growth was exponential. LHR expression levels increased from the small to the large mature follicles, but FSHR expression decreased in the granulosa and thecal layers. As the follicles matured, inhibin alpha and inhibin betaA expression increased in the granulosa layer. Activin IR, activin IIRA, activin IIRB, and beta-glycan expressions also increased as the follicles increased in size, but were more abundantly expressed in the thecal than in the granulosa layers. During the oviposition cycle, plasma concentrations of gonadal hormones decreased rapidly, whereas the level of PGFM peaked around ovulation. The profiles of activin, inhibin, follistatin, estradiol, and progesterone leading to ovulation were characterized. Conclusions: The molecular and endocrine mechanisms that regulate follicular development in Magang geese are similar to those in chickens. Moreover, gonadotropin regulation and interaction between activin, inhibin, and follistatin secretion may govern 3-stage maturation in the final preovulatory follicles in Magang geese. The rapid rebound of postovulatory secretions of inhibin and follistatin may inhibit recruitment of new SYF recruitment once a sequence of eggs is started, and may limit the egg clutch size to no more than the number of LYFs present before the first sequence egg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The iterated fission probability (IFP) method and Contributon-linked eigenvalue sensitivity/uncertainty estimation via track-length importance characterization (CLUTCH) method are commonly used by many Monte Carlo codes for the sensitivity analysis of k-eigenvalue to continuous-energy nuclear data. The memory consumption of the IFP method is huge and the CLUTCH method is proposed to reduce the memory usage of the IFP method. However, it's hard to tally sufficiently-converged importance weighting functions for the mesh-based CLUTCH (CLUTCH-Mesh) method for large-scale problems, such as AP1000 whole core problem, subsequently reducing the accuracy of sensitivity coefficients calculated by the CLUTCH method. Therefore, the function expansion tally (FET) was used to tally importance weighting functions in the CLUTCH (CLUTCH-FET) method in this paper. Legendre polynomial was selected as the basic function of FETs and both segmented FETs with low orders and the global FET with the high order were implemented. During the tally process of FETs, the spatial locations of particles should be projected into domains of definition firstly, and then the tally scores of function expansion coefficients were obtained and accumulated. By averaging function expansion coefficients among inactive cycles, the FET was finished. The FETs were used for both ancestor fission neutrons distribution in original generations and the averaged progenies of the ancestor fission neutron in asymptotic generations. Based on the method mentioned above, the IFP, CLUTCH-Mesh and CLUTCH-FET methods were implemented in Monte Carlo code NECP-MCX. The verifications were conducted among Godiva, Flattop and AP1000 whole core problems by comparing the sensitivity results of CLUTCH-Mesh method, CLUTCH-FET method and the IFP method, whose results were selected as the reference. The numerical results indicate that for small-scale problems, such as Godiva and Flattop problems, the CLUTCH-Mesh and CLUTCH-FET methods are able to calculate the sensitivity results with the same high precision as the IFP method. In addition, the tally efficiency of CLUTCH-Mesh method equals to that of the CLUTCH-FET method and the tally efficiency of these two methods are significantly higher than that of the IFP method. For large-scale problems, such as the AP1000 whole core problem, large bias exists between the sensitivity results of the CLUTCH-Mesh method and those of the IFP method because very large number of particles are needed to obtain sufficiently-converged importance weighting functions. However, the CLUTCH-FET method remains high accuracy and tally efficiency for large-scale problems. The FOM (figure of merit) values of the CLUTCH-FET method can be increased by 5.2 and 6.0 times when compared to those of the IFP method and the CLUTCH-Mesh method, respectively. Therefore, the CLUTCH-FET method is recommended for sensitivity calculation of large-scale problems. Segmented FETs with low orders are more recommended than a global FET with high order to avoid under-fitting or over-fitting problems.

Autophagy is a conserved degradation process that maintains intracellular homeostasis to ensure normal cell differentiation and development in eukaryotes. ATG8 is one of the key molecular components of the autophagy pathway. In this study, we identified and characterized BcATG8, a homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) ATG8 in the necrotrophic plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Yeast complementation experiments demonstrated that BcATG8 can functionally complement the defects of the yeast ATG8 null mutant. Direct physical interaction between BcAtg8 and BcAtg4 was detected in the yeast two-hybrid system. Subcellular localization assays showed that green fluorescent protein-tagged BcAtg8 (GFP-BcAtg8) localized in the cytoplasm as preautophagosomal structures (PAS) under general conditions but mainly accumulated in the lumen of vacuoles in the case of autophagy induction. Deletion of BcATG8 (δBcAtg8 mutant) blocked autophagy and significantly impaired mycelial growth, conidiation, sclerotial formation, and virulence. In addition, the conidia of the δBcAtg8 mutant contained fewer lipid droplets (LDs), and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays revealed that the basal expression levels of the LD metabolism-related genes in the mutant were significantly different from those in the wild-type (WT) strain. All of these phenotypic defects were restored by gene complementation. These results indicate that BcATG8 is essential for autophagy to regulate fungal development, pathogenesis, and lipid metabolism in B. cinerea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]