In recent years, Luchuan pigs in southern China have been used to produce high-quality meat by crossbreeding them with Duroc boars; however, PSE (pale, soft and exudative) meat was frequently reported in the crossbred pigs, and the underlying reason remains unknown. We excluded the possibility of the well-known causative mutations in RYR1 and PRKAG3 but identified the existence of an unfavorable allele of a splicing mutation (g.8283C>A) in PHKG1 in two Duroc boars and three Duroc 9 Luchuan crossbred pigs with PSE meat. An association analysis with 425 Duroc 9 Luchuan crossbred pigs revealed that the polymorphism of the splicing site of PHKG1 has significant association with the ultimate meat pH value (P = 0.035) and color score (P = 0.004). In addition, a strong cis-eQTL (expression QTL) signal for the expression of PHKG1 was identified in 189 Duroc 9 Luchuan crossbred pigs, and the splicing mutation was proven to be significantly associated with the expression of PHKG1 (P = 4.01e-11). Furthermore, RNA-sequencing data analysis confirmed that 131 CC homozygotes had only one transcript (T1), with FPKM (fragments per kilobase of transcript per million) of 35.40 AE 7.28, and 58 CA heterozygotes had two types of transcripts (T1 and T2), with FPKM of 19.63 AE 5.11 and 9.20 AE 2.39 respectively. Based on the association and eQTL analysis results, we concluded that PSE meat in Duroc 9 Luchuan crossbred pigs is caused by the splicing mutation in PHKG1. Our findings further support the effect of the causative mutation in PHKG1 on meat quality. The GEO accession number for the data is GSE124315.
A Thelohanellus species was encountered during a survey on Thelohanellus diversity of Carassius auratus gibelio (Bloch) in China. The infection is characterized by the presence of large cysts of 1.4-3.2 cm in diameter in the skin of host. Mature spores were ampullaceous in frontal view and testudinate in lateral view, measuring 19.7 ± 0.7 (18.6-20.8) μm long, 7.6 ± 0.4 (6.6-8.4) μm wide and 7.3 ± 0.5 (6.6-8.8) μm thick. The single polar capsule was elongated pyriform, with 11.1 ± 0.5 (10.0-11.9) μm long and 5.3 ± 0.3 (4.3-5.8) μm wide. Polar filaments coiled with 7-8 turns. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a smooth spore surface with flat side and convex side. The sutural line was straight or 'S' like, running near the middle of the valves. Histologically, the large cysts consisting of numerous small plasmodia developed in the dermis of the skin. The BLAST search indicated that the newly obtained ssrRNA gene sequences did not match any available sequences in GenBank and phylogenetic analysis placed it in the Thelohanellus clade. Based on morphology and molecular differences with reported Thelohanellus spp., this parasite was described as a new species of genus Thelohanellus.
Caged layer osteoporosis (
CLO
) is a common bone metabolism diseases and poses a great threat to the production of laying hens. So far, there is no effective nutrition intervention to prevent CLO. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary total flavonoids from
Rhizoma Drynariae
(
TFRD
), a Chinese herbal, on bone health, egg quality, and serum antioxidant capacity of caged laying hens. A total of two hundred sixteen, 54-wk-old Lohmann Pink-shell laying hens at were allocated to 3 groups with 6 replicates of 12 hens per replicate. The control group was fed a basal diet (
BD
) and 2 treatment groups additionally supplied with 0.5 or 2.0 g/kg TFRD, respectively. Results showed that supplying 2.0 g/kg TFRD enhanced the activities of serum total antioxidant capacity (
P
< 0.01) and glutathione peroxidase (
P
< 0.05) and had higher femur and tibia bone mineral density (both
P
< 0.05) compared with the control group. Dietary 2.0 g/kg TFRD also reduced the activities of serum alkaline phosphatase (
P
< 0.01), tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (
P
< 0.01), and the contents of osteocalcin (
P
< 0.01). Furthermore, tibia histomorphology observation showed that the microstructure of bone tissue was improved after TFRD treatment. Egg quality was not affected by TFRD while the egg weight significantly increased (
P
< 0.01). These findings suggested that TFRD has beneficial effects on bone health in older caged laying hens.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.