Traits In Animals Research Articles

Obese Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota rewires carnitine metabolism to promote muscle fatty acid deposition in lean DLY pigs

The gut microbiota consistently shows strong correlations with lipid metabolism in humans and animals, and whether the gut microbiota contributes to muscle fatty acid (FA) deposition and meat traits in farm animals has not been fully resolved. In this study, we aimed to unveil the microbial mechanisms underlying muscle FA deposition in pigs. First, we systematically revealed the correlation between the gut microbiome and muscle FA levels in 43 obese Ningxiang pigs and 50 lean Duroc Landrace Yorkshire (DLY) pigs. Mutual fecal microbial transplantation showed that the obese Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota increased the muscle FA content and improved meat quality by reshaping the gut microbial composition in lean DLY pigs. Lactobacillus reuteri has been identified as a potential microbial biomarker in obese Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota-challenged DLY pigs. A gavage experiment using lean DLY pigs confirmed that L. reuteri XL0930 isolated from obese Ningxiang pigs was the causal species that increased the muscle FA content. Mechanistically, SLC22A5, a carnitine transporter, was downregulated in L. reuteri XL0930-fed DLY pigs, resulting in reduced muscle carnitine levels. Muscle and intestinal L-carnitine levels, which correlated with the muscle FA content, impeded fat synthesis and FA accumulation in invitro and invivo models. In conclusion, we uncovered an unexpected and important role of the obese Ningxiang pig-derived microbiota in regulating muscle FA metabolism via the SLC22A5-mediated carnitine system.

Novel Resilient and Sustainable Farm Profiles in Small Ruminant Production Systems Using Mathematical Programming Model

In this study, a farm-scale mathematical programming model for sheep and goat farms is proposed to simulate economic performance, including new resilience sheep traits that allow animals to counteract the presence of infectious and noninfectious diseases. The model was developed in the Small Ruminants Breeding for Efficiency and Resilience (SMARTER) Horizon 2020 project. The SMARTER model is a comprehensive and adaptable linear programming model that enables the assessment of hypothetical scenarios/challenges related to animal traits that prevent infectious and noninfectious diseases. The optimal performance and the structure of the farm are modeled under the presence of infectious and noninfectious diseases (disease plan) and under conditions where no diseases occur (future plan). A comparison of the model solutions, between presence and absence of diseases, provides suggested adjustments to the farming system and insights into the potential shape of new sustainable farm system profiles for the sheep and goat sector. Technical and economic data from five different sheep farms and one goat farm in Greece and France were used in this empirical application to assess different scenarios in the presence of mastitis, parasitism, and lameness in the flocks. The results showed that the profitability and sustainability of the farms are significantly improved when the resilience of animals reduces the impact of the diseases (the highest increase in gross margin was 23.5%). However, although there is substantial improvement in the economic performance of the farms that rear healthy animals, this does not affect the production and management plan of the farmer and does not alter the farm’s structure.

Comparative study between efficacy of dexamethasone-prostaglandin-receptal combination and mechanical correction in uterine torsion cases in Egyptian buffalo-cows (Bubalus bubalis)

BackgroundAccording to reports, the majority of domesticated species exhibited uterine torsion. It was occasionally noted as a cause of dystocia in buffaloes. The uterus might twist more frequently late in pregnancy because of certain animal traits. The current research monitored the clinical findings and laboratory assays associated with uterine torsion cases in pregnant buffalo-cows through comparing between normal labored buffalo-cows (Norm-Labgr; n = 20), mechanically corrected uterine torsed animals without medicament interference (UtrTorsgr; n = 160), and mechanically corrected uterine torsed animals with medicament interference (UtrTors-Medgr; n = 40) through focusing on placental characterization, calves body weight, milk constituents and milk somatic cell count (SCC) in normal labored buffaloes and uterine torsed ones. Through clinical and laboratory investigations of these buffaloes (N = 220) had been conducted 3 times; 7 h pre-calving and post calving (Post uterine correction) i.e. 48 and 96 h. Uterine torsion prevalence parameters, placental characterization, calves body weight, milk constituents and milk somatic cell counts were evaluated in normal labored buffaloes and uterine torsed ones.Results and ConclusionsThe study concluded pre-calving remarkable variations in clinical findings, leukogram picture, calf birth weight and some placental characterization parameters between Norm-Labgr and each of UtrTorsgr and UtrTors-Medgr whereas these variations disappeared post-partum as a result to either only mechanical correction or mechanical correction plus medicaments interference. No pre-or post-calving significant changes between UtrTorsgr and UtrTors-Medgr except for the abnormal clinical findings were more representative in UtrTors-Medgr than those in UtrTorsgr particularly pre-calving. The applied pre-calving therapeutic regimen including dexamethasone-prostaglandin-receptal combination had a powerful potential efficacy that induced vaginal delivery of calves in UtrTors-Medgr as well as prepartum mechanical correction of torsed uterus approved higher efficacy in UtrTorsgr. The applied prepartum mechanical correction of torsed uterus and/or pre-calving therapeutic regimen as well as subsequent post-calving, post uterine correction applied medicament treatment accelerated rapid recovery of affected buffalo-cows through achieving rapid restoring of their physiological parameters. Buffalo-cow’s milk composition, milk pH and milk SCC were not affected whereas no significant variations were reported between Norm-Labgr, UtrTorsgr and UtrTors-Medgr.

Natural and biomimetic superhydrophobic surface: Review of the manufacturing techniques

Nature has produced many materials, things, and processes at all scales, from the large to the tiny. The newly growing area of biomimicry enables the development of materials, tools, and techniques with desired features by mimicking biology or nature. Consequently, the traits of animals, plants, and insects in nature have drawn much attention. Because of its surface roughness and epicuticular waxes, the lotus leaf, for instance, has a superhydrophobic surface. These surfaces feature a water-repellent effect and high and low-contact angle hysteresis. This essay briefly introduces the theoretical wetting process before describing some of the traits of several naturally occurring species. Next, a thorough analysis of artificial superhydrophobic surfaces made in the last five years utilizing the most popular fabrication methods is provided.

Current Applications and Trends in Rabbit Nutraceuticals

To ensure the sustainability of rabbit production and protect the global rabbit industry, cost-effective and practical strategies for improving rabbit production and meat quality must be developed. Recently, rabbit farming, like other animal farming, has faced feed shortages due to the impact of climate change, high competition among livestock species, and war conditions. The continued use of conventional feed additives in rabbit diets, whether derived from plant or animal sources, has become a critical issue. Furthermore, there is a global trend toward finding natural alternatives to synthetic drugs, such as antibiotics, in rabbit farms. Finding readily available and alternative feed additives is therefore critical to protecting the rabbit industry, particularly in subtropical and Mediterranean-developing countries. Nutraceuticals positively influence several physiological and productive traits in animals, as well as enhancing their health and welfare. The present review aims to provide an overview of previous studies on the potential of using some plant and animal products as nutraceutical alternatives and feed additives in rabbit diets, separately or in combination, to act as natural growth promoters, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial agents, and immunostimulants in rabbit farms. From the results, some unconventional plant and animal products, such as spirulina, garden cress, milk whey, and bee venom, can be successfully used as dietary supplements and substitutes in rabbit farms to motivate rabbit growth and reproduction, as well as enhance immunity. These products are rich in minerals, vitamins, enzymes, organic acids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. These active substances benefit the animal’s digestive tract in different ways, including activating the digestive enzymes and maintaining microbial balance, promoting vitamin synthesis. They also improve rabbit production, reproduction, and health.

Seroepidemiology of Maedi-Visna in Intensively Reared Dairy Sheep: A Two-Year Prospective Study.

The objective of this study is to prospectively evaluate the seroepidemiology of maedi-visna (MV) infections in intensively reared dairy sheep. A total of 407 purebred Chios and Lacaune ewes from four farms were surveyed for two consecutive years and were serologically tested semiannually with an indirect ELISA at pre-mating and pre-lambing. The farms' structure and management practices were similar and animal traits (age, breed, and production stage) were recorded. Based on the serological status, morbidity frequency measures were estimated, and ewes were categorized as constantly seronegative, constantly seropositive, seroconverted, seroreverted, or as animals with an intermittent presence of antibodies. During the study, period seroprevalence, incidence rate, and cumulative incidence were 84.8%, 33.6 new cases per 100 sheep-semesters, and 64.2%. Point-seroprevalence ranged from 48.5% to 96.0% among the studied farms and sampling occasions, and they increased by age. Increased morbidity frequency measures indicate the significance of horizontal transmission in intensive dairy sheep farms. A remarkable percentage of infected animals seroreverted (8.1%) or presented an intermittent presence of antibodies (10.3%) during the study, confirming the risk of misdiagnosis in cross-sectional studies and in the currently implemented testing and elimination programs. The serological patterns observed in our study need to be considered when studying MV epidemiology and for the designing of efficient MV elimination programs.

Association of plasma miRNAs with early life performance and aging in dairy cattle.

Early life performance traits in dairy cattle can have important influences on lifetime productivity. Poor health and fertility are of great economical and animal welfare concern. Circulating miRNAs have been linked to several livestock traits, including resistance to infection, fertility, and muscle development. This study aimed to identify circulating miRNAs associated with early life performance traits and aging in dairy cattle. Plasma samples from female calves (n = 12) identified retrospectively as differing in health, growth, and fertility outcomes prior to first calving were analyzed using PCR arrays detecting 378 miRNAs. Levels of 6 miRNAs differed significantly in calves with poor growth/fertility relative to controls (t-test: P<0.05). Additionally, general(ized) (non)linear mixed models identified 1 miRNA associated with average daily gain until weaning, 22 with live bodyweight at one year of age, 47 with age at first service, and 19 with number of infections before first calving. Out of 85 distinct miRNAs that were associated with at least one animal trait, 9 miRNAs were validated by RT-qPCR in a larger cohort (n = 91 animals), which included longitudinal plasma samples (calf, heifer, first lactation cow). Significant associations (P<0.05) involving individual miRNAs or ratios between miRNAs and early-life performance traits were identified, but did not retain significance after multiple testing adjustment. However, levels of 8 plasma miRNAs (miR-126-3p, miR-127, miR-142-5p, miR-154b, miR-27b, miR-30c-5p, miR-34a, miR-363) changed significantly with age, most prominently during the calf-to-heifer transition. Comparative RT-qPCR analyses of these miRNAs across 19 calf tissues showed that most were ubiquitously expressed. Online database mining identified several pathways involved in metabolism and cell signaling as putative biological targets of these miRNAs. These results suggest that miR-126-3p, miR-127, miR-142-5p, miR-154b, miR-27b, miR-30c-5p, miR-34a, miR-363 are involved in regulating growth and development from birth to first lactation (~2 years old) and could provide useful biomarkers of aging in cattle.

Molecular breeding of farm animals through gene editing

The rapid development of biotechnology has promoted people's understanding of the biological functions of candidate genes for important economic traits in farm animals. Molecular breeding by gene editing has greatly revolutionized the breeding of farm animals. Through gene editing and embryo manipulation, breeds with designed economic or disease-resistant traits can be readily generated. Along with this fast progress, the safety assessment of gene-edited farm animals has attracted public and regulatory attention. This review summarizes the research progress of gene editing in farm animals, focusing on performance improvement, disease resistance, bioreactors, animal welfare, and environmental friendliness. The limitations and future development of gene editing technology in farm animal breeding are also discussed.

MILK PRODUCTIVITY OF COWS UNDER DIFFERENT OPTIONS OF PARENTAL PAIR SELECTION

Introduction. One of the main ways to improve dairy herds is through the identification and utilization of the most effective combinations of parent pairs. This can be achieved by both within-line selection and crossbreeding. It is important to identify the most promising lines and their optimal combinations to ensure their effective utilization for further herd improvement. According to many authors, a systematic approach that involves identifying successful and unsuccessful combinations with the repeated use of the most effective variants will reliably contribute to the increase of the genetic potential of dairy cattle productivity.&#x0D; Materials and methods of research. In light of the above, the aim of our research was to investigate the formation of milk production traits in Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy cows in different farms of Ukraine, depending on various options for parent selection. The research was conducted on first-calf heifers and mature cows (third lactation) of Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy breed in three farms: SE EF "Oleksandrivske" in Vinnytsia region (Forest-Steppe zone, n = 714), LLC AE "Imeni Volovikova" in Rivne region (Polissya zone, n = 1840), and SE "Experimental farm "Askaniyske" in Kherson region (Steppe zone, n = 926). The sample included cows that had completed at least the third lactation during the research. In the study animals, the milk production traits (milk yield, milk fat content, and milk fat yield) were studied based on various options of within-line and between-line parent selection through retrospective analysis of zootechnical records data over the past ten years.&#x0D; Research results. The analysis of between-line selection of Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy animals in SE EF "Oleksandrivske" showed that the most successful combinations for milk yield and milk fat yield in first-calf heifers were when the dams belonged to the Valiant line and the sires belonged to the Chif line. For mature cows (third lactation), the most successful combinations were when the dams belonged to the Eleveishn line and the sires belonged to the Starbuck line. The lowest values of the mentioned traits for the studied lactations were observed in cows obtained from the crossbreeding of the R. Meximes-Chif and S. T. Rokita-Chif lines, respectively.&#x0D; In LLC AE "Imeni Volovikova", the most productive animals for the first lactation were those obtained from the combination of the Starbuck-Bella lines, while for the third lactation, the individuals derived from the crossbreeding of the Bella-Chif lines showed the highest productivity. The least successful combination for both studied lactations was when the dams belonged to the S. T. Rokita line and the sires belonged to the Bella line, as animals resulting from this crossbreeding had the lowest milk yield and milk fat yield values.&#x0D; SE "Experimental farm "Askaniyske", the highest milk yield and milk fat yield values for the first lactation were observed in individuals whose dams belonged to the Seateischna line and the sires belonged to the Starbuck line. For the third lactation, the highest values of the mentioned traits were found in cows obtained from the combination of the Chif-Starbuck lines. The lowest productivity for the mentioned lactations was observed in cows resulting from the crossbreeding of the R. Sovering-Bella and R. Sovering-Chif lines, respectively.&#x0D; In the internal line breeding at the SE EF "Oleksandrivske," the most productive individuals were found to be first-generation offspring whose parents belonged to the Chief line, and mature cows from the Starbuck line. In the LLC AE "Imeni Volovikova" the animals from the Bella line showed superior performance in both lactations. In the SE "Experimental farm "Askaniyske" cows from the Eleveishn line were found to be the most productive.&#x0D; Regarding milk fat content in the Forest-Steppe zone, the best performers were first-generation offspring resulting from the combination of the Cavalier-Chief lines, as well as mature cows from the Eleveishn-Starbuck cross. In the Polissya zone, animals obtained from the Eleveishn-Bella and Starbuck-Bella crosses showed the highest milk fat content. In the Steppe zone, first-generation and mature cows whose mothers belonged to the R. Sovereign line and fathers belonged to the Chief and Bella lines, respectively, demonstrated superior traits.&#x0D; Conclusions. Thus, improvement of economically important traits in animals can be achieved through both internal line breeding and interline breeding. In this regard, it is crucial to identify the best line combinations and effectively utilize them in further breeding work.

REGIONAL CENTERS FOR THE BREEDING OF HOLSTEIN CATTLE OF UKRAINE

REGIONAL CENTERS FOR THE BREEDING OF HOLSTEIN CATTLE OF UKRAINE

Boldness is not associated with dynamic performance capacity in hermit crabs

Boldness, the way an individual reacts to risk, is a commonly studied personality trait in animals. Consistent among-individual differences in startle response durations (latency to recover from a startling stimulus) are frequently assumed to reflect variation in boldness. An alternative explanation is that these latencies are not directly driven by variation in responses to information on risk, but by underlying differences in dynamic performance capacities. Here we investigate this possibility by analysing relationships between locomotory speed, a measure of whole-body dynamic performance capacity in hermit crabs, and startle response duration, a repeatable latency measure used as an index of boldness. Individuals differed in mean startle response duration, in the consistency of their startle responses, in their reaction norms across repeated observations, and mean startle responses increased with crab mass. However, there were no relationships between startle responses and locomotory speed. This indicates that startle responses do not reflect underlying performance capacities and suggests that they provide insight into differences in how individuals respond to risky situations. Since similar latencies are used as measures of boldness in other animals, we suggest that potential relationships between apparent boldness and performance capacity should be tested.

Editorial: Mining, development, and utilization of genetic resources related to economic traits of aquatic animals based on omics technology

Editorial: Mining, development, and utilization of genetic resources related to economic traits of aquatic animals based on omics technology

A newly identified small tRNA fragment reveals the regulation of different wool types and oxidative stress in lambs

Novel small RNAs derived from tRNAs are continuously identified, however, their biological functions are rarely reported. Here, we accidentally found the reads peak at 32nt during statistical analysis on the miRNA-seq data of lamb skin tissue, and found that it was related to the wool type of lambs. This 32nt peak was composed of small tRNA fragments. The main component sequence of this peak was a novel small tRNA derived from Glycyl tRNA (tRNAGly), the expression level of tRNAGly-derived tRNA fragments (tRFGly) was 5.77 folds higher in the coarse wool lambs than that in the fine wool lambs. However, in contrast, the expression of tRNAGly in the skin of fine wool lambs is 6.28 folds more than that in coarse wool lambs. tRNAGly promoted the synthesis of high glycine protein including KAP6 in fine wool lamb skin. These proteins were reported as the major genes for fine curly wool. Integrative analysis of target gene prediction, proteomics and metabolomics results revealed that tRFGly reduced the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the skin of coarse wool lambs by targeted inhibition of the Metabolic signal and the corresponding Glutathione metabolic pathway, on the contrary, the level of oxidative stress in the skin of fine wool lambs was significantly higher. This study revealed for the first time the relationship between tRNAGly and its derived tRFGly and animal traits. tRFGly has the function of targeting and regulating protein synthesis. At the same time, tRFGly can reduce the expression of its resource complete tRNA, thereby reducing its ability to transport specific amino acid and affecting the expression of corresponding proteins.

Expression Pattern of Genes Related to Heat Shock Proteins, Apoptosis, Antioxidants and Interleukins in Growing Female Murrah Buffaloes Implanted with Melatonin during Summer Season

Background: Heat stress has deleterious effect in the production trait and biological functions in animals. In tropical continents, melatonin has been shown to retain genomic actions and regulating the expression of several genes necessary for cell survival during stress. So, the study was carried out to observe the effect of melatonin implantation on mRNA gene expression for Heat Shock Proteins, Apoptosis, Antioxidants and Interleukins affected by heat stress during summer season. Methods: Twelve healthy growing female Murrah buffaloes were selected and grouped into control and treatment (melatonin @ 18 mg/50 kg body weight subcutaneously). Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells were separated at fortnightly intervals and processed for quantitation of mRNA expression following the double delta Ct method. Result: The fold change in expression pattern of Heat Shock Proteins 60, 70, 90, BAX, Caspase-3, IL-2 and IL-6 were found significantly (P≤0.05) higher in control group. Whereas Bcl-2, Mn SOD and CuZn SOD were found significantly (P≤0.05) higher in treatment group. Melatonin implantation reduces the stress levels by up-regulating the expression of the antioxidant genes, anti-apoptotic genes and lowering the expression of heat shock protein genes during heat stress. Therefore, melatonin can be implanted to growing buffaloes for coping during heat stress.

Extremely high relative growth rate makes the cabbage white, Pieris rapae, a global pest with highly abundant and migratory nature

The small cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, is an extraordinarily abundant migratory pest of cabbage that causes severe damage worldwide without known reasons. I here show that the average relative growth rate (RGR: the ratio of the daily increase of biomass to total biomass) of herbivore (Gh; an indicator of the growth speed of herbivore) of P. rapae on cabbage during the larval period is larger by far than those of all other insect–plant pairs tested. It exceeds 1.15 (/day),—meaning that the biomass more than doubles each day—compared to 0.1–0.7 for most insect–plant pairs, including that of Pieris melete, a sibling of P. rapae which never becomes a pest of cabbage. My data further showed the RGR in the larval stage (larval Gh), positively correlates with abundance and/or migratoriness of insect herbivores. These results together with my mathematical food web model suggest that the extraordinarily high larval Gh of P. rapae is the primary reason for its ubiquitously severe pest status accompanied with its abundance and migratoriness, and that the RGR of herbivores, Gh, characterizing the plant–herbivore interface at the bottom of the food webs is an important factor affecting whole ecosystems, including animal abundance, fauna size, plant damage levels, competitiveness among herbivorous species, determination of hostplant, invasiveness, and the evolution of animal traits involved in the so-called r/K strategy, such as migratoriness. Knowledge about Gh will be crucial to controlling pests and improving the negative effects of human activity on ecosystems including faunal decline (or defaunation).

Between-individual variability on reticulorumen digesta passage rate in goats

Identifying factors that influence an individual’s ability to utilize nutrients is a strategy for enhancing livestock sustainability. Digesta passage rate (kp) is one of the most important determinants that influence nutrient utilization. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the individual’s variability on kp. The objective of this study was to investigate between-individual variability of reticulorumen (RR) kp of solutes and particles in goats, and its relationship to total NDF digestibility (NDFd). A dataset consisting of 103 individual records from two studies of castrated male (n = 36), female (n = 34), and intact male (n = 33) growing Saanen goats fed ad libitum and slaughtered at around 16.62 ± 0.96 (n = 21), 23.09 ± 1.33 (n = 19), 30.67 ± 2.25 kg (n = 29), 38.02 ± 1.61 (n = 16), and 44.12 ± 1.95 (n = 18) kg BW was used. The RR kp of solutes and particles were measured using Cr-EDTA and indigestible NDF (iNDF), respectively. Using mixed-effect models, considering sex and BW as fixed effects and study as random effect, we aimed to identify meaningful between-individual variance of RR kp of solutes and particles. Given the characteristic of our dataset (i.e., one observation per individual), our approach focused on exploring the variance between individuals described by the residuals of our fitted models. The RR kp of solutes and particles showed significant (P < 0.05) between-individual variation (CV ≈ 27%). Only 10% of RR kp of solutes variance was explained by DM intake (DMI) (g/d and g/d and g/kg BW) and NDF intake (NDFI); g/d), while 51.8% of the variance in RR kp of particles was explained by DMI and NDFI (g/d and g/kg BW), RR wet pool size, and iNDF:NDF intake ratio. The between-individual variation of RR kp of particles explained 19.5% of the between-individual variation in NDFd (P < 0.001). However, the nutritional and individual traits cited above (i.e., DMI, NDFI, RR wet pool size, and iNDF:NDF intake ratio) explained only 51.8% of the between-individual variation of RR kp of particles, while the remaining 48.2% was attributed to the individual’s inherent characteristics, which in turn explained only 1.24% of the between-individual variation of NDFd (P = 0.146). The RR kp of particles and solutes showed meaningful between-individuals variance, which was partially related to both individual inherent characteristics and nutritional and animal traits. However, the NDFd was found to be unrelated to the inherent characteristics of RR kp of particles.

Effect of Non Genetic Factors and Sire on Lactation Length in Frieswal Cattle

Lactation length is a very important trait of dairy animals directly affecting the milk yield. Shorter or extended lactation lengths are not desirable as it affects the milk yield. Therefore the study of factors affecting lactation length is of most important. The present study was conducted on data of 9094 lactations collected from 3425 Frieswal lactating cattle (Holstein Friesian x Sahiwal cattle) born to 239 sires maintained at Military Farm, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra from the year 1983 to 2018 to quantify effect of certain non genetic factors on lactation length. The normalized data were analyzed using PROC GLM procedure of SAS to study the effect of various genetic (sire) and non genetic (period, season and parity) factors on lactation length. The age at first calving was used as a covariate. The effect of period of calving was found to be highly significant ( less than 0.001) on lactation length. The season, parity and age at first calving were significantly affecting the lactation length. Parity two to six does not differ significantly in lactation length. Among the genetic factors effect of sire was significant on lactation length.

Comparative connectomics and escape behavior in larvae of closely related Drosophila species

Evolution has generated an enormous variety of morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits in animals. How do behaviors evolve in different directions in species equipped with similar neurons and molecular components? Here we adopted a comparative approach to investigate the similarities and differences of escape behaviors in response to noxious stimuli and their underlying neural circuits between closely related drosophilid species. Drosophilids show a wide range of escape behaviors in response to noxious cues, including escape crawling, stopping, head casting, and rolling. Here we find that D.santomea, compared with its close relative D.melanogaster, shows a higher probability of rolling in response to noxious stimulation. To assess whether this behavioral difference could be attributed to differences in neural circuitry, wegenerated focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope volumes of the ventral nerve cord of D.santomea to reconstruct the downstream partners of mdIV, a nociceptive sensory neuron in D.melanogaster. Along with partner interneurons of mdVI (including Basin-2, a multisensory integration neuron necessary for rolling) previously identified in D.melanogaster, we identified two additional partners of mdVI in D.santomea. Finally, we showed that joint activation of one of the partners (Basin-1) and a common partner (Basin-2) in D.melanogaster increased rolling probability, suggesting that the high rolling probability in D.santomea is mediated by the additional activation of Basin-1 by mdIV. These results provide a plausible mechanistic explanation for how closely related species exhibit quantitative differences in the likelihood of expressing the same behavior.

Coculturing rice with aquatic animals promotes ecological intensification of paddy ecosystem

AbstractSpecies coculture can increase agro-biodiversity and therefore constitutes an ecological intensification measure for agriculture. Rice–aquatic animal coculture, one type of species coculture, has been practiced and researched widely. Here, we review recent studies and present results of a quantitative analysis of literature on rice–aquatic animal coculture systems. We address three questions: (i) can rice yield and soil fertility be maintained or increased with less chemical input through rice–aquatic animal coculture? (ii) how do aquatic animals benefit the paddy ecosystem? (iii) how can coculture be implemented for ecological intensification? Meta-analysis based on published papers showed that rice–aquatic animal cocultures increased rice yield, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen and decreased insect pests and weeds compared with rice monocultures. Studies also showed that rice–aquatic animal cocultures reduced pesticide and fertilizer application compared with rice monocultures. Rice plants provide a beneficial environment for aquatic animals, leading to high animal activities in the field. Aquatic animals, in turn, help remove rice pests and act as ecological engineers that affect soil conditions, which favor the growth of rice plants. Aquatic animals promote nutrient cycling and the complementary use of nutrients between rice and aquatic animals, which enhances nutrient-use efficiency in the coculture. To generate beneficial outcomes, how to develop compatible partnerships between rice and aquatic animals, and compatible culturing strategies for coculture systems are the key points. Investigating which traits of aquatic animals and rice varieties could best match to create productive and sustainable coculture systems could be one of the future focuses.

Association between INHA gene polymorphisms and litter size in Hainan black goats.

The inhibin alpha (INHA) gene is one of the important genes affecting the reproductive traits of animals. Hainan black goats are the main goat breed in Hainan Island (China), whose development is limited by low reproductive performance. However, the relationship between INHA gene and the reproductive performance of Hainan black goats is still unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to explore the effect of INHA gene polymorphisms on the litter size of Hainan black goats. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of INHA were detected, and the genetic parameters and haplotype frequency of these SNPs were calculated and association analysis was performed for these SNPs with the litter size. Finally, the SNP with significant correlations to litter size was analyzed by Bioinformatics tools. The results showed that the litter size of individuals with the AC genotype at loci g.28317663A>C of INHA gene was significantly higher than those with the AA genotype. This SNP changed the amino acid sequence, which may affect the function of INHA protein by affecting its structure. Our results suggest that g.28317663A>C loci may serve as a potential molecular marker for improving the reproductive traits in Hainan black goats.