Lower Malondialdehyde Content Research Articles

Effects of simvastatin on iNOS and caspase‑3 levels and oxidative stress following smoke inhalation injury.

The overexpression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induces cell apoptosis through various signal transduction pathways and aggravates lung injury. Caspase-3 is an important protein in the apoptotic pathway and its activation can exacerbate apoptosis. Simvastatin, a hydroxymethyl glutaryl-A reductase inhibitor, protects against smoke inhalation injury by inhibiting the synthesis and release of inflammatory factors and decreasing cell apoptosis. Following the establishment of an animal model of smoke inhalation injury, lung tissue and serum were collected at different time points and the protein and mRNA expression of iNOS and caspase-3 in lung tissue by immunochemistry, western blot and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in lung tissue and serum were analyzed using thiobarbituric acid method and the WST-1 method. The results were statistically analyzed. The lung tissues of the rats in the saline group and the low-, middle- and high-dose groups exhibited clear edema and hemorrhage, and had significantly higher pathological scores at the various time points compared with the rats in the control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, lung tissue and serum samples obtained from these four groups had significantly higher mRNA and protein expression levels of iNOS and caspase-3 (P<0.05), significantly lower SOD activity and higher MDA content (P<0.05). Compared with the saline group, the low-, middle- and high-dose groups had significantly lower pathological scores (P<0.05), significantly lower mRNA and protein expression levels of iNOS, caspase-3 and MDA content in lung tissues (P<0.05) and significantly higher SOD activity in lung tissues and serum. The middle- and high-dose groups had significantly lower pathological scores (P<0.05), significantly decreased iNOS and caspase-3 mRNA and protein expression in lung tissues, significantly higher SOD activity in lung tissues and serum and a significantly lower MDA content (P<0.05) compared with the low-dose group. With the exception of SOD activity in lung tissues at 24 and 72 h and MDA content in serum at 48 h, no significant differences were observed between the middle- and high-dose groups. The present study demonstrated that there was an association between the therapeutic effect and dosage of simvastatin within a definitive range. In rats with smoke inhalation injury, simvastatin inhibited iNOS and caspase-3 expression in lung tissues and mitigated oxidative stress, thereby exerting a protective effect. In addition, the effect and dose were associated within a definitive range.

Effect of down-regulated miR-15b-5p expression on arrhythmia and myocardial apoptosis after myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in mice

In this study, the regulation of miR-15b-5p on myocardial ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury-induced arrhythmia and myocardial apoptosis was investigated in mice. We observed the change in miR-15b-5p expression after mice suffered from myocardial I/R injury and the change in myocardial injury, infarct size, apoptosis, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) after down-regulation of miR-15b-5p expression. The negative regulation of miR-15b-5p to KCNJ2 as well as whether cardioprotective effect formed by miR-15b-5p down-regulation relied on the increase of KNCJ2 expression were measured by dual-luciferase reporter assay system. miR-15b-5p expression increased and KCNJ2 mRNA and protein expressions decreased after myocardial ischemia reperfusion (all P < 0.05). miR-15b-5p negatively regulated KCNJ2 in a targeted way. Down-regulating miR-15b-5p expression or increasing KCNJ2 expression significantly decreased the incidence of arrhythmia, infarct size and apoptosis after myocardial I/R and lowered MDA content in the myocardial tissue as well as IL-6 and TNF-α content in the blood (all P < 0.05). KCNJ2 gene knockout reversed the above cardioprotective effect formed by miR-15b-5p down-regulation (P < 0.05). Down-regulating miR-15b-5p expression or up-regulating KCNJ2 expression improves arrhythmia after mice suffered from myocardial I/R injury and inhibits myocardial apoptosis.

Proteomic responses to progressive dehydration stress in leaves of chickpea seedlings

BackgroundChickpea is an important food legume crop with high protein levels that is widely grown in rainfed areas prone to drought stress. Using an integrated approach, we describe the relative changes in some physiological parameters and the proteome of a drought-tolerant (MCC537, T) and drought-sensitive (MCC806, S) chickpea genotype.ResultsUnder progressive dehydration stress, the T genotype relied on a higher relative leaf water content after 3 and 5 d (69.7 and 49.3%) than the S genotype (59.7 and 40.3%) to maintain photosynthetic activities and improve endurance under stress. This may have been facilitated by greater proline accumulation in the T genotype than the S genotype (14.3 and 11.1 μmol g− 1 FW at 5 d, respectively). Moreover, the T genotype had less electrolyte leakage and lower malondialdehyde contents than the S genotype under dehydration stress, indicating greater membrane stability and thus greater dehydration tolerance. The proteomic analysis further confirmed that, in response to dehydration, the T genotype activated more proteins related to photosynthesis, stress response, protein synthesis and degradation, and gene transcription and signaling than the S genotype. Of the time-point dependent proteins, the largest difference in protein abundance occurred at 5 d, with 29 spots increasing in the T genotype and 30 spots decreasing in the S genotype. Some of the identified proteins—including RuBisCo, ATP synthase, carbonic anhydrase, psbP domain-containing protein, L-ascorbate peroxidase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, elongation factor Tu, zinc metalloprotease FTSH 2, ribonucleoproteins and auxin-binding protein—may play a functional role in drought tolerance in chickpea.ConclusionsThis study highlights the significance of genotype- and time-specific proteins associated with dehydration stress and identifies potential resources for molecular drought tolerance improvement in chickpea.

A Maize ZmAT6 Gene Confers Aluminum Tolerance via Reactive Oxygen Species Scavenging.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is the primary limiting factor that affects crop yields in acid soil. However, the genes that contribute to the Al tolerance process in maize are still poorly understood. Previous studies have predicted that ZmAT6 is a novel protein which could be upregulated under Al stress condition. Here, we found that ZmAT6 is expressed in many tissues and organs and can be dramatically induced by Al in both the roots and shoots but particularly in the shoots. The overexpression of ZmAT6 in maize and Arabidopsis plants increased their root growth and reduced the accumulation of Al, suggesting the contribution of ZmAT6 to Al tolerance. Moreover, the ZmAT6 transgenic maize plants had lower contents of malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species (ROS), but much higher proline content and even lower Evans blue absorption in the roots compared with the wild type. Furthermore, the activity of several enzymes of the antioxidant system, such as peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), increased in ZmAT6 transgenic maize plants, particularly SOD. Consistently, the expression of ZmSOD in transgenic maize was predominant upregulated by Al stress. Taken together, these findings revealed that ZmAT6 could at least partially confer enhanced tolerance to Al toxicity by scavenging ROS in maize.

Probiotic (Bacillus cereus) enhanced growth of Pengze crucian carp concurrent with modulating the antioxidant defense response and exerting beneficial impacts on inflammatory response via Nrf2 activation

The purpose of this research was to explore the mechanism of action of B. cereus on Pengze crucian carp (Carassius auratus var. Pengze). Fish fed basal diet with supplementation of living (LBC group) and heated-inactivated (HIBC group) B. cereus at the dose of 1 × 109 CFU kg−1, and basal diet served as Control group. Our results indicated that both additives remarkably promoted the growth of fish (P < .05). Compared to Control group, living B. cereus significantly improved serum antioxidant status through an elevation in the activities of total superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase and the concentration of reduce glutathione (P < .05), whereas only a significantly higher catalase activity was detected in fish fed heated-inactivated B. cereus (P < .05), concurrent with a significant decrease in malondialdehyde concentration in two additive groups (P < .05). Meanwhile, the intestinal antioxidant property was improved in two additive groups through the increase in catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities and reduce glutathione content together with a significantly lower malondialdehyde content (P < .05). The gene expression analysis indicated that the improvement of intestinal antioxidant property appeared to be associated with Nrf2 signaling pathway via up-regulating the mRNA levels of target genes like catalase, glutathione peroxidase 1, or copper/zinc superoxide dismutase. Besides, living and heated-inactivated B. cereus supplementation could inhibit intestinal inflammatory responses by suppressing the transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokine due to the regulation of antioxidant system by Nrf2 activation and inducing the overexpression of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (P < .05). Then, the intestinal barrier function in two B. cereus groups was improved by up-regulating expression of tight junction protein genes like Claudin12, zonula occludens 1, and/or Occludin-like (P < .05). These results revealed that probiotics B. cereus supplementation could promote the growth and further improve intestinal health by enhancing antioxidant capacity, suppressing inflammatory response, and improving intestinal barrier function of Pengze crucian carp through Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Overexpression of a novel E3 ubiquitin ligase gene from Coptis chinensis Franch enhances drought tolerance in transgenic tobacco.

Drought stress has a significant effect on the growth, physiology and biochemistry of medicinal plants. SDIR1 (Salt- and Drought-Induced Ring Finger1), a C3H2C3-type RING-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase gene plays an important role in the stress response of various plants. However, the role of this gene is not clear in Coptis chinensis. In this study, the CcSDIR1 gene was cloned from C. chinensis using RACE and RT-PCR. Sequence analysis revealed that CcSDIR1 had an open reading frame of 840bp that encodes 279 amino acids with a theoretical molecular weight about 31kDa and pI value of 5.65 and shared conserved domains with other plants. On comparison with the wild-type plants, overexpression of CcSDIR1 in transgenic tobaccos increased drought tolerance and showed better growth performance. However, lower malondialdehyde contents and high antioxidant enzyme activities were observed in transgenic tobacco plants compared to wild-type plants. In addition, Evans blue staining showed high cell viability of transgenic lines under drought stress. These results suggest that CcSDIR1 regulates various responses to drought stress by increasing antioxidant enzyme activities and reducing oxidative damage. From the study results, the CcSDIR1 gene will be very useful for drought stress research in plants.

Physiology of Leymus chinensis under seasonal grazing: Implications for the development of sustainable grazing in a temperate grassland of Inner Mongolia

Plants have different physiological characteristics as the season changes, grazing management in compliance with plant growth and development characteristics may provide new ideas for sustainable livestock development. However, there has been little research on seasonal grazing and plants physiological responses under it. Here, we studied a typical steppe ecosystem of Inner Mongolia, with Leymus chinensis as the dominant species, in five grazing treatments: continuous grazing, seasonal grazing (which started in spring or in early and late summer), and no grazing (the control). We analyzed growth and resistance of L. chinensis in the five treatments by measuring annual primary productivity, morphological traits and various physiological processes. Compared with continuous grazing, seasonal grazing significantly alleviated grassland degradation. The plants were less affected by stress under spring grazing, with net photosynthesis and non-photochemical quenching closer to the control values and with a lower malondialdehyde content. The annual primary production of plants under grazing started in the early and late summer were 3–4 times the value under continuous grazing. Regrowth under early-summer grazing was greatly improved, and stress resistance was stronger with a higher proline content and high antioxidant enzyme activity. And nutrient accumulation at the end of the growing season such as abundant soluble sugars were transferred from aboveground tissue to the roots in September under late-summer grazing, which benefited regrowth the next year. All these physiological processes were regulated by hormonal changes. Our results highlight how plants response grazing stress in different growing seasons and suggest that seasonal grazing can improve the stress resistance and regrowth capacity of forage vegetation, and applying this knowledge can promote more sustainable grazing practices.

Selecting suitable phospholipid source for female Eriocheir sinensis in pre-reproductive phase

Three experimental diets (the basal diet plus 2.5% soybean lecithin, 2.5% egg yolk lecithin or 2.5% krill oil) and one control diet were formulated to feed female Eriocheir sinensis (95.23 ± 4.43 g) for 10 weeks. The dietary phospholipid (PL) promoted the accumulation of lipids in the hepatopancreas and ovary of female E. sinensis, and krill oil more effectively boosted lipid deposition in the hepatopancreas and ovaries than soybean lecithin and egg yolk lecithin. Krill oil greatly improved the nutritional value of the edible parts (e.g., ovaries, hepatopancreas and muscle) of female E. sinensis by efficiently promoting polar lipids and n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid deposition. The female E. sinensis fed diets with PL supplement had a lower content of malondialdehyde and higher specific activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in the hepatopancreas, and krill oil exhibited the best antioxidant effect among three different PL sources. In addition, krill oil more effectively promoted vitellogenesis of female E. sinensis than other PL sources. Therefore, krill oil might be an excellent PL source, and could be used in the diet of E. sinensis in the pre-reproductive phase.

Selenoprotein V Protects Against Oxidative Stress, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, and Apoptosis

Abstract Objectives Selenoprotein V (SELENOV) contains a thioredoxin-like fold and a conserved CxxU motif with a potential redox function. Three experiments were performed to assess its in vivo and in vitro roles and mechanisms in coping with different oxidant insults. Methods In Expt.1, SELENOV knockout (KO) and wildtype (WT) mice (male, 8-wk old) were given an IP injection of saline, diquat (DQ, 12.5 mg/kg), or acetaminophen (APAP, 300 mg/kg) (n = 10), and killed 5 h after the injection to collect liver and blood. In Expt. 2, primary hepatocytes were isolated from the 2 genotypes, cultured in complete Williams's medium E, and treated with DQ (0, 0.25 and 0.75 mM) and APAP (0, 1, 3, and 6 mM) for 12 h. In Expt. 3, 293 T cells were transfected with a control plasmid (GFP) or the plasmid containing Selenov gene (full length, OE) and treated with APAP (0, 1, 2, and 4 mM) for 24 h or H2O2 (0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mM) for 12 h. Results In Expt. 1, the DQ and APAP injections caused greater (P &amp;lt; 0.05) rises in serum alanine aminotransferase activities, hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) and carbonyl contents, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related proteins (BIP and CHOP), apoptosis-related proteins (FAK and caspase 9), and 3-nitrotyrosine, along with lower total anti-oxidizing-capability (T-AOC) and severer hepatocyte necrosis in the central lobular areas, in the KO than in the WT. In Expt. 2, the DQ and APAP treatments induced elevated (P &amp;lt; 0.05) cell death (20–40%), MDA contents (25–35%), and decreased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) T-AOC (50–65%) in the KO hepatocytes than in the WT cells. The KO hepatocytes treated with APAP displayed a sharp decline (P &amp;lt; 0.05) in cellular total respiration ability than the WT cells. In Expt. 3, the OE cells had greater viability and T-AOC and lower reactive oxygen species, MDA, and carbonyl contents after the APAP and H2O2 exposures (all at P &amp;lt; 0.05) than the controls. Moreover, the OE cells had greater (P &amp;lt; 0.05) redox enzyme activities (GPX, TrxR, and SOD), and lower (P &amp;lt; 0.05) expressions of ER stress-related genes (Atf4, Atf6, Bip, Xpp1t, Xbp1s, and Chop) and proteins (BIP, CHOP, FAK, caspase 9) than the controls after the treatment of H2O2 (0.4 mM). Conclusions Our data revealed the in vivo and in vitro roles and mechanisms of SELENOV in protecting against oxidative stress, ER stress, and apoptosis induced by pro-oxidants. Funding Sources This research is supported in part by an NSFC grant #31,320,103,920.

Effects of dietary Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Paracoccus marcusii, and Lactobacillus plantarum supplementation on the growth, immune response, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal health of juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)

This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of probiotics Bacillus cereus (BC), B. subtilis (BS), Paracoccus marcusii (PM), and Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) on growth, immune response, antioxidant property, and intestine health of juvenile grass carp. Our results showed that dietary probiotics could promote the growth performance, which was significantly increased in BS, PM, and LP groups compared to the fish in Control group. Also, probiotics supplementation significantly enhanced the immunity of fish measured by the content of C3 and C4, and/or AKP activity in serum, and elevated antioxidant property of intestine accompanying by a significantly lower content of malondialdehyde. Compared to Control group, dietary B. cereus and B. subtilis significantly affected intestinal antioxidant system through Nrf2 signaling pathway by up-regulating the expression of catalase, CuZn superoxide dismutase and/or Mn superoxide dismutase, and further improved the intestinal barrier function by up-regulating mRNA levels of ZO-1, ZO-2, ZO-3, and Clauding-12. Besides, B. cereus, P. marcusii, and L. plantarum supplementation could decrease intestinal inflammation by suppressing TLR4 signaling pathway, meanwhile P. marcusii supplementation up-regulated the expression of ZO-2 and ZO-3. Overall, our results indicated that dietary B. cereus, B. subtilis, P. marcusii, and L. plantarum had a positive impact on the growth performance, immunity and antioxidant property of grass carp, and B. cereus, B. subtilis, and P. marcusii exerted benefits on the intestinal health through elevating antioxidant property and decreasing permeability of intestine.

Transgenic overexpression of rubisco subunits and the assembly factor RAF1 are beneficial to recovery from drought stress in maize

Finding ways to increase Rubisco activity in crops to improve photosynthesis has long been a key objective. We have developed maize plants with transgenic overexpression of Rubisco subunits and Rubisco assembly factor 1 (RAF1) that resulted in higher Rubisco content, photosynthetic capacity and dry biomass under non-stressed growth conditions. The question remains, however, whether the transgenes conferring these effects could confer a growth penalty under stress conditions, given the nitrogen sink that Rubisco represents. In the present study, control and transgenic maize lines either overexpressing RAF1, both large and small subunits of Rubisco (LSSS), or all three (RAF1-LSSS), were subjected to mild, and severe drought conditions, and then re-watered. The results demonstrate that RAF1-LSSS, which has increased Rubisco abundance relative to the control, was slightly more affected than wild-type Rubisco level plants in terms of gas exchange and chlorophyll content after 14 days of stress. After returning plants to well-watered conditions, however, RAF1-LSSS displayed a more robust recovery compared to other genotypes. We attribute this to its high Rubisco content and the low malondialdehyde content noted prior to recovery, which indicates reduced oxidative degradation of lipids. Strong recovery was also observed in lines overexpressing RAF1 alone, in contrast with its lack of improved performance under non-stressed conditions. In contrast, LSSS displayed improved growth under non-stressed conditions, but showed a clear growth penalty during stress along with poor recovery. Taken together, our results suggest that while the high-Rubisco trait is neutral during water stress, recovery is more rapid once the stress is removed.

Activation of Systemic Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Adolescent Girls with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Combination with Metabolic Disorders and Excessive Body Weight.

Relevance: Mitochondrial dysfunction and systemic inflammation are believed to play pivotal role in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and related complications of metabolic disorders in adult patients. Though such researches are limited or almost absent in adolescents. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of mitochondrial dysfunction and systemic inflammation on PCOS pathogenesis during adolescence with regard to body mass index and insulin resistance. Design: a case-control study. Methods: The study included 95 adolescent girls (15 to 17 years old inclusive) diagnosed with PCOS based on the Rotterdam criteria. The control group consisted of 30 healthy girls of the same age with a regular menstrual cycle. All participants were subjected to a full clinical and instrumental examination, as well as an assessment of the levels of leptin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and malondialdehyde (MDA) as oxidative stress marker. Serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, TNF-α, and plasma concentrations of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), sFas, and sFasL were determined. Patients with PCOS were divided into groups according to the presence of metabolic disorders (MD) (impaired glucose tolerance and/or over insulin resistance) and normal weight or excessive weight (NW or OW). Results: Patients with PCOS of NW in the absence of metabolic disorders (MD−/NW) had a lower concentration of MDA and a higher level of IL-10 compared to healthy girls (p < 0.05). The group (MD−/NW) was characterized with lower levels of CRP, leptin, MDA, and higher levels of sFasL, when compared to OW patients with PCOS in the absence of metabolic disorders (MD−/OW) (p < 0.05). Overweight adolescent girls with PCOS and metabolic disorders (MD+/OW) showed higher CRP, leptin, and a two-fold increase in IL-6 and IL-18 concentrations compared to the control group of healthy girls (p < 0.05 for all parameters). The group (MD+/OW) was also characterized with higher levels of CRP, leptin, MDA, IL-18, MIF (p < 0.05), when compared to overweight patients with PCOS in the absence of metabolic disorders (MD−/NW). In comparison with the MD−/OW group, the obese insulin resistant girls with PCOS (MD+/OW) had a highera level of IL-18 (p < 0.05). Moreover, the MD+/OW girls demonstrated a significant increase in CRP, MDA and IL-18 levels when compared to the MD+/NW group (p < 0.05). OW girls with PCOS without MD (MD−/OW) had lower concentrations of sFasL compared to healthy girls (p < 0.05), and higher levels of MDA compared to MD+/NW (p < 0.05). Adolescent girls of NW with PCOS and with MD (MD+/NW) had lower levels of MDA compared to the control group of healthy girls (p < 0.05). These data are confirmed by a correlation analysis and two-factor ANOVA test. Conclusions: Lean girls with PCOS demonstrate the protective mechanism of decrease in oxidative stress mediated by the activation of antioxidant defense, reduction of lipid peroxidation and systemic inflammation. Excessive weight and metabolic disorders in adolescents with PCOS are the most significant factors in reducing the capacity of antioxidant systems, activation of oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and systemic inflammation.

Heterologous expression of an Agropyron cristatum SnRK2 protein kinase gene (AcSnRK2.11) increases freezing tolerance in transgenic yeast and tobacco.

The sucrose non-fermenting-1 related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2) family plays an important role in the response to abiotic stress. To characterize the function of the SnRK2 gene from Agropyron cristatum in stress protection, we cloned the complete coding sequence of the AcSnRK2.11 gene from A. cristatum and generated AcSnRK2.11-overexpressing tobacco lines. The open reading frame of AcSnRK2.11 was 1083bp in length and encoded a polypeptide of 360 amino acid residues. The sequence analysis results showed that AcSnRK2.11 contained conserved domains typified in SnRK2 protein kinases. Subcellular localization analysis showed that AcSnRK2.11 was located in the nucleus. AcSnRK2.11 was constitutively expressed in all of the examined tissues, and its transcription was induced by cold, dehydration, and salt stress, but not by abscisic acid treatment. Overexpression of the AcSnRK2.11 gene conferred freezing tolerance in yeast. AcSnRK2.11-overexpressing tobacco lines showed higher tolerance to freezing stress than did wild-type (WT) based on higher survival rates, lower malondialdehyde content and increased relative water content retention, chlorophyll yields, superoxide dismutase activities, reactive oxygen species content, peroxidase levels, and soluble carbohydrates under low-temperature conditions. The transcripts of NtDREB1, NtDREB2, NtERD10A, NtERD10B, NtERD10C, NtERD10D, NtMnSOD, NtCDPK15, and NtMPK9 in AcSnRK2.11-overexpressing tobacco lines were more abundant than in WT plants under low-temperature stress. These results suggest that AcSnRK2.11 may function as a regulatory factor associated with a cold-response pathway and could be used in plant breeding for cold resistance.

Effect of Amniotic Injection of N-Carbamylglutamate on Meat Quality of Broilers.

Simple SummaryN-carbamylglutamate (NCG) is a key activator of endogenous arginine production, which plays a vital role in meat quality and antioxidant performance. To the best of our knowledge, there is no study about NCG enhancing the meat quality of broilers. The present research was aimed at exploring the effects of amniotic injection of NCG on meat quality of pectoral muscle in broilers. The data showed that the in ovo feeding (IOF) of NCG enhanced the arginine content, improved the nutritional properties, enhanced the antioxidant capacity, and improved the meat quality in the pectoral muscle of broilers. In summary, amniotic injection of NCG on day 17.5 of incubation could be an effective and novel approach to improving the meat quality of broilers.The current study was performed to determine the influence of amniotic injection of N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) on meat quality of pectoral muscle in broilers. A total of 792 alive broiler embryos at 17 d of incubation were assigned to three treatments randomly (non-injected control, saline-injected control, or NCG-injected treatment). The two injection treatments were an injection with 0.1 mL 0.85% aseptic saline alone or containing 2 mg NCG per egg at 17.5 d of incubation. After hatching, 72 healthy male chicks were selected from each treatment and housed in six pens for a 42 day feeding study. Pectoral muscles from six 42-day-old broilers were collected from each treatment group and were dissected for meat quality assays. The results showed that arginine contents in pectoral muscle in either free or hydrolytic form in the NCG group were higher than those in the non-injection control group (p < 0.05). In comparison to the non-injection or saline-injection control groups, NCG injection resulted in a lower lactic acid content in pectoral muscle (p < 0.05). Muscular antioxidant capacity in the NCG group was higher, as evidenced by the higher activity of catalase and glutathione peroxidase and lower content of malondialdehyde (p < 0.05). In addition, the group of in ovo administration of NCG had decreased drip loss and increased crude fat content in pectoral muscle in comparison to those of either control group (p < 0.05) and had enhanced crude protein content compared to that of the saline-injection control group (p < 0.05). Briefly, these results indicate that amniotic administration of NCG in the late incubation phase increased the arginine content, improved the nutritional properties, enhanced the antioxidant capacity, and improved the meat quality in the pectoral muscle of broilers. Amniotic injection of NCG may serve as a novel approach to improving the meat quality of broilers.

Application of waterborne rosin polymer coating for preserving strawberry during storage

AbstractA water‐soluble rosin polymer (RP) was prepared via polymerization of rosin and maleic anhydride. The structure of the RP was characterized via Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography. The RP was used as a film‐forming agent on strawberries to improve their postharvest quality at room temperature. The effectiveness of this treatment was evaluated based on the impact of the RP coating on the following parameters: weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), firmness, respiration rate, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, anthocyanin content, and total phenolic content (TPC). The samples that coated with the RP exhibited delayed respiration and loss of firmness compared with the control. Correspondingly, the samples coated with the RP had lower weight loss (14.78%), MDA content (8.13 × 10−2 μmol/g), anthocyanin content (37.86 mg/100 g), TPC (3.41 × 10−4 mg/100 g), and higher TSS (8.09%). The results indicated that the RP preservative could effectively maintain the freshness of fruits.

Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Chickpea Accessions at Reproductive Stage Under Receding Moisture Conditions

The present study was conducted to assess the physiological and biochemical responses in the leaves of ten chickpea accessions trifurcated into moderately tolerant, intermittent and moderately sensitive on the basis of their yield losses via drought susceptibility index. Moderately sensitive accessions recorded higher decline in number of leaves and dehydrogenase activity and increased membrane permeability index (MPI) under receding moisture conditions. However, moderately tolerant genotypes, viz. GL 29078 and ICC 4958, maintained number of leaves and optimal dehydrogenase activity and lower MPI in leaves at reproductive stages by enhanced enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase that upregulated their antioxidative defense system at 75% moisture reduction levels. Furthermore, the tolerance capacity was maintained in moderately tolerant genotypes (IPCK-2009-165 and ICC 4958) due to increased proline level that acted as a positive loading variable component in principal component biplot analysis and lowered malondialdehyde content levels in leaves at receding moisture levels. Assessment of leaf tissue-specific response under lysimetric screening and its final correlation with yield adds to paramount importance and uniqueness to the current study.

Improving Storability of “Nanfeng” Mandarins by Treating with Postharvest Hot Water Dipping

The current research aimed at studying the possibility of improving the postharvest storability of “Nanfeng” mandarins by hot water dipping (HWD) treatment. The research was conducted in two phases. Firstly, two different temperatures (50 and 55°C) were tested for three different dipping durations (2, 3, and 4 min) on the mandarin fruits, and the best combination was defined for the prevention of weight loss and fruit decay. Next, the optimal treatment (HWD at 50°C for 3 min) was used in further studies to test the effects on the postharvest fruit quality attributes. Regular measurements were performed to determine total soluble solid (TSS) content, titratable acid (TA) content, vitamin C (VC) content, total sugar content, respiration rate, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme, polyphenoloxidase (PPO) enzyme, and peroxidase (POD) enzyme. According to the results obtained, HWD treatment was found to prevent the loss of TSS, TA, and VC contents during the storage period. The HWD-treated fruits were also found to have a lower respiration rate and MDA content as compared with control treatment. Furthermore, HWD treatment significantly enhanced the activities of SOD, POD, and PPO which are known to enhance tolerance to lipid peroxidation and are associated with the fruit protection from injuries and pathogens. Present results also suggest that the activation of the SOD and POD enzymes is highly related to the respiratory activities of the fresh produce. This suggests that the HWD can be used to improve the storability of “Nanfeng” mandarins by maintaining the postharvest physical and biochemical quality.

Effect of different light intensity on physiology, antioxidant capacity and photosynthetic characteristics on wheat seedlings under high CO2 concentration in a closed artificial ecosystem.

The growth of plants under high carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations (≥ 1000ppm) is explored for the climate change and the bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) environment of long-duration space missions. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a grass cultivated for cereal grain-a global staple food including astronauts. Light and CO2 are both indispensable conditions for wheat seedlings. This study provides insights on the physiology, antioxidant capacity and photosynthetic characteristics of wheat seedlings under a range of photosynthetic photon flux densities in a closed system simulating BLSS with high CO2 concentration. We found that the Fv/Fm, Fv/F0, chlorophyll content, intrinsic water use efficiencies (WUEi), membrane stability index (MSI), and malondialdehyde (MDA) of wheat seedlings grown under an intermediate light intensity of 600μmolm-2s-1 environment were all largest. Interestingly, the high light intensity of 1200molm-2s-1 treatment group exhibits the highest net photosynthetic rate but the lowest MDA content. The stomatal conductance and F0 of high light intensity of 1000μmolm-2s-1 treatment group were both significantly higher than that of other groups. Our study provides basic knowledge on the wheat growth in different environments, especially in a closed ecosystem with artificial lights.

Sinusoidal vibration alleviates salt stress by induction of antioxidative enzymes and anatomical changes in Mentha pulegium (L.)

Effect of mechanical vibration on salt stress alleviation was studied in pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium L.) seedlings under in vitro and greenhouse conditions, and changes in growth, anatomical, and antioxidative responses were investigated. To determine the optimum frequency of vibration, the sterilized seeds were cultivated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium. The 14-day-old seedlings were exposed to various frequencies of sinusoidal vibration (0, 50, 100, and 150 Hz) for 30 min, and the optimum frequency was determined based on some growth, physiological, and anatomical parameters. Vibrations up to 100 Hz increased growth, shoot length, chlorophyll content, and relative water content (RWC). Vibration-induced aerenchyma formation, stele diameter, phloem, and suppressed xylem and only a few xylem vessels can be observed at 100 Hz. For evaluation of vibration effects on salt stress alleviation, the seedlings were treated by optimum vibration frequency (100 Hz) and then were subjected to salinity stress (0, 50, 100, and 150 mM NaCl). In salt-stressed plants, vibration decreased malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2, electrolyte leakage, total carbohydrates, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, and induced proline, protein, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) peroxidase (POX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. The lower contents of MDA, H2O2, and electrolyte leakage under in vitro grown seedlings comparing to that of whole plants could be associated with the higher levels of in vitro antioxidative enzyme activities. However, vibration induced more antioxidative enzyme activities.

CRISPR/Cas9-Induced Loss of Keap1 Enhances Anti-oxidation in Rat Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Stem cells have become a powerful tool in the treatment of many diseases owing to their regenerative ability and rapid promotion of development in regenerative medicine such as in traumatic brain injury. However, the high level of oxidant micro-environment in lesion region leads to more than 99% cells into death. In this study, we used genetic methods to edit Keap1 gene in mesenchymal stem cells, we and observed their antioxidative ability. First, we disturbed the start codon and the 376th amino acid codon of Keap1 in adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSCs) with CRISPR/Cas9, respectively, to release Nrf2 from the binding of Keap1. As a result, Nrf2 was activated and localized into nuclei and regulated cellular anti-oxidation. We observed that the cells lacking Keap1 ATG codon showed obvious nuclear localization of Nrf2. Besides lower expression of Bax-1 and lower content of malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected after H2O2 treatment, we also found higher expression of Bcl-2 in Keap1 ATG codon knock-out cells, whereas a higher expression of PCNA was observed only in the Keap1 376th codon-edited cells, whose Bax-1 expression was lower than that in the control cells. Our study revealed that loss of Keap1 resulted in anti-oxidative ability in Ad-MSCs, suggesting that our strategy can hopefully increase the viability of mesenchymal stem cells after grafting. This study is also a frontier exploration to the application of CRISPR/Cas9 in Ad-MSCs.