BackgroundEggshell quality is important for the poultry industry. During eggshell formation a mass of inorganic minerals is deposited. The Sodium Channel (SCNN1) gene family plays an essential role in cation transportation. The objective of this study was to investigate the pattern of expression of members of the SCNN1 gene family, their variation and their effects on eggshell quality.ResultThe highest expression of SCNN1a, SCNN1b, and SCNN1g genes were in the active uterus during eggshell mineralization, while SCNN1d showed its highest expression level in the quiescent uterus (no egg present). Nineteen candidate SNPs from the four genes were genotyped in a population of 338 White Leghorn layers. Association analysis between SNPs (haplotypes/diplotypes) and eggshell traits was performed. Among seven significant SNPs, five SNPs were associated with eggshell strength, eggshell thickness, eggshell percentage or/and egg weight, while the other two SNPs within SCNN1d were only associated with eggshell percentage. These SNPs had a 0.25-6.99% contribution to phenotypic variance, depending on the trait. In haplotype analysis, SCNN1b and SCNN1d were associated with egg weight. The SCNN1b and SCNN1g were significantly associated with eggshell weight while only SCNN1g explained 2.04% of phenotypic variance. All the alleles of the members of SCNN1 gene family were associated with eggshell percentage and eggshell thickness, and others members had an association with eggshell strength except for SCNN1a. The contribution of different haplotypes of the SCNN1 gene family to eggshell phenotypic variance ranged from 0.09% to 5.74%.ConclusionsOur study indicated that the SCNN1 gene family showed tissue expression specificity and was significantly associated with eggshell traits in chicken. This study provides evidence that genetic variation in members of the sodium channel can influence eggshell quality.

The Jiangxi Province of China has numerous native domestic chicken breeds, including some black skin breeds. The genetic diversity of Jiangxi native chickens is largely unknown, and specifically, the genetic contribution of the grey junglefowl to black skin chickens is not well understood. To address these questions, the complete D-loop region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and beta-carotene dioxygenase 2(BCDO2)gene was sequenced in a total of 209 chickens representing seven Jiangxi native breeds. Thirty-one polymorphic sites were identified across the complete mtDNA D-loop region sequence. Twenty-three haplotypes were observed in the seven breeds, which belonged to four distinct mitochondrial clades (A, B, C and E). Clade A and B were dominant in the chickens with a frequency of approximately 67.9%. There were five SNPs that defined two haplotypes, W and Y in BCDO2. Four breeds had one haplotype and three breeds had two. We conclude that Jiangxi native chicken breeds have relatively low genetic diversity and likely share four common maternal lineages from two different maternal ancestors of junglefowl. Furthermore, some Jiangxi chicken populations may have been mixed with chickens with exotic lineage. Further research should be established to protect these domestic chicken resources.

IntroductionPatients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) need strict blood glucose control to reduce the incidence of perinatal complications in the mother or infant. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values of GDM patients were affected by β-thalassemia minor and to subsequently discuss the limitations of HbA1c monitoring for blood glucose control.Methods41 GDM patients with β-thalassemia minor were enrolled to serve as the study group. 93 GDM patients without thalassemia were randomly selected as a control group. Clinical data on the 134 mothers as well as their newborns were retrospectively analyzed. The blood glucose values of the participants at various times during the gestation period were compared between the groups, as were their HbA1c and ferritin levels and iron deficiency rates in late pregnancy (36–38 weeks of gestation). Pearson’s coefficient was calculated to determine the correlations between HbA1c and ferritin in both the study and control groups.ResultsThe study and control groups did not show any significant differences in newborn birth weight, maternal age, maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational age, newborn sex, gravidity, and parity. The blood glucose values of the participants at different times during the gestation period also did not differ significantly between the study group and the control group. However, the late-pregnancy HbA1c level (5.23 ± 0.49%) and iron deficiency rate (12.19%) in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group (5.42 ± 0.43% and 58.06%, respectively); P  < 0.05. Also, the late-pregnancy ferritin level in the study group (46.59 ± 18.03 ng/mL) was significantly higher than that in the control group (25.58 ± 11.42 ng/mL); P  < 0.05. In addition, a significant negative correlation was observed between HbA1c and ferritin in both the study group (R = − 0.459, P = 0.003) and the control group (R = − 0.358, P = 0.010).ConclusionsThe HbA1c level is affected by many factors. Using serum HbA1c values to monitor blood glucose in GDM patients with β-thalassemia minor may lead to a mistaken assumption of low blood glucose levels, so HbA1c may not be a suitable indicator for monitoring blood glucose in pregnant women, particularly GDM patients with β-thalassemia minor.

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) is a multifunctional complex enzyme important in the cellular biosynthesis of fatty acids. The present study was to investigate the association of the SCD gene with milk production traits in dairy cattle. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (g.6926A>G and g.8646A>G) in introns 3 and 4, and three SNPs (g.10153A>G, g.10213T>C and g.10329C>T) in exon 5 were identified with pooled DNA sequencing and genotyped using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry assay in 752 Chinese Holstein cows. Polymorphism g.10329C>T was predicted to result in an amino acid replacement from alanine to valine in the SCD protein. With a mixed animal model, the significant associations of the five SNPs with 305-day milk, fat and protein yields and protein percentage were determined. We further demonstrated cows with heterozygous genotypes (A/G or C/T) had highest 305 day milk yield, fat yield, protein yield and lowest protein percentage. Heterozygous cows with genotype AG at the g.6926A>G locus showed the greatest milk yield (P < 0.0001), fat yield (P < 0.0001) and protein yield (P < 0.0001) among other heterozygous genotypes at any of the loci. Dominance effects of all identified SNPs on milk, fat and protein yields and protein percentage were significant. Moreover, significant allele substitution effects at g.6926A>G locus on milk yield and at g.10213T>C on protein yield were observed. Five-locus haplotypes and strong linkage disequilibrium (D' > 0.9) between the five SNPs were also observed. The results suggest that identified polymorphisms could be potential genetic markers to improve the production performance of Chinese Holstein.

Effect of mobile health based peripartum management of gestational diabetes mellitus on postpartum diabetes: a randomized controlled trial,