The fibroblast growth factor family plays the important role in a variety of biological processes including embryonic development, follicular development, maturation of the germ cells, energy metabolism, organ formation and development, tissue regeneration, skeletal development and homeostasis, and so on. The FGF family was divided into paracrine FGFs, autocrine FGFs and endocrine FGFs depending on its different modes of action. The functions of FGFs are different while some are overlapped. Now, the researches of FGFs are mainly focused on embryonic development, animal reproduction and glycolipid metabolism. Here the biological functions of FGFs in mammalian ovary development are reviewed, in order to further explore the regulatory mechanism of ovary development.

Senecaviral disease is an infectious disease of animals caused by Senecavirus A (SVA), which is classified in the Picornaviridae family. SVA mainly infects pigs, and pigs of different ages are susceptible to SVA infection. However, different SVA isolates have distinct pathogenicity phenotypes for pigs, thus causing diverse clinical symptoms. Although early SVA isolates typically led to subclinical infection in pigs, those obtained in recent years usually cause clinical symptoms similar to foot-and-mouth disease. Vesicular lesions and ulcers were usually visible on the snout and/or coronary bands of SVA-infected pigs, and the neonatal mortality rate was signi-ficantly increased. At present, the disease is mainly endemic in Canada, Brazil, the United States and several other countries. However, there have been reports describing the outbreak of SVA infection in pigs in Guangdong and Hubei Province, China since 2015. In order to raise awareness and draw attention to the disease, to formulate relevant prevention and control plans, and to reserve diagnostic techniques for this disease as early as possible, the latest research progress in the aspects of etiology, epidemiology, clinical symptoms and pathologic changes, quarantine and diagnosis, prevention and control of the disease will be summarized in this review.

The aim of this study was to verify whether CCNY gene was associated with sheep wool production and quality traits, and to explore its possible mechanism. Seven hundred forty-four Chinese Merino sheep (Junken type) were used in the present study. SNPs were identified by Sanger sequencing of the pooled genomic DNA samples, and genotyped by MALDI-TOF-MS. Real-time RT-PCR was used to analyze the gene expression, and immunofluorescence staining was used to localize the protein. CCK-8 method was used to detect cell proliferation. Luciferase reporter gene assay was used to assess the activity of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. The results showed that a total of 3 SNPs(CCNYSNP1, CCNYSNP2, CCNYSNP3) were identified in CCNY gene in Chinese Merino sheep. Association analysis displayed that the 3 identified SNPs and their haplotypes were significantly associated with wool fiber diameter (P<0.05). Tissue expression analysis showed that CCNY gene was highly expressed in testicle and lung, and moderately expressed in several tissues including skin. Immunofluorescence staining showed that CCNY was localized in inner root sheath and hair matrix of hair follicle. CCK-8 assay results showed that CCNY overexpression significantly promoted proliferation of HaCaT and SFF cells(P<0.05). Reporter gene analysis showed that CCNY overexpression significantly increased the activity of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway(P<0.01). These data suggest that CCNY is a crucial factor governing fiber diameter trait, and 3 identified CCNY SNPs might be used in molecular marker-assisted selection for fine wool sheep breeding.

This study aimed to provide theoretical basis for clarifying velvet antler biological characteristics by comparative proteomics. In this study, different parts of Cervus elaphus songaricus velvet antler (on 65 and 75 days old) were studied by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, MALDI-TOF-MS mass spectrometry identification and bioinformatics analysis. 65 differentially expressed proteins were successfully identified, and these proteins were involved in the cellular process, developmental process, localization, metabolic process, response to stimulus, and the KEGG pathway of platelet activation, focal adhesion, metabolic pathways, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. These proteins were associated with bone development (4 proteins), nerve development (3 proteins), vascular development (2 proteins), anti-oxidation and endoplasmic reticulum stress (4 proteins), immune (7 proteins), apoptosis (5 proteins). The results indicated that TTR, RBP4 and CRABP1 played important roles in regulating the growth and development of velvet antler in the process of antler's transition from 65 d to 75 d velvet antler. PRDX2, TXNDC5, ERP29, Pdia6 played important roles in endoplasmic reticulum stress and anti-oxidation. Endoplasmic reticulum stress, endoplasmic reticulum-related death pathway and mitochondrial apoptotic pathways could explain the rapid differentiation of velvet antler cells while a large amount of apoptosis, which could meet the rapid growth and development needs of velvet antler. In addition, GMFβ and CATHL1 may play important roles in nerve development and anti-inflammatory.

This study aimed to predict and validate the crucial miRNA regulating BCKDHA gene expression, where BCKDHA was α subunit of BCKDH (Branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex), which was a key rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of branched-chain amino acids. Three online softwares were used to predict miRNAs targeting BCKDHA. QPCR was used to detect expressions of the crucial miRNA and BCKDHA mRNA in 3T3-L1 cells during its differentiation and after over-expressing the crucial miRNA, respectively. The results showed that miR-194-5p was a key miRNA regulating BCKDHA expression with fully complementation between its seed sequence and the 190-196th bases of BCKDHA 3'UTR. The expression of miR-194-5p decreased while that of BCKDHA mRNA increased with differentiation. The target relationship was also validated by dual luciferase reporter results which showed that miR-194-5p negatively regulated the expression of BCKDHA gene. The expression of BCKDHA mRNA was significantly reduced(P<0.05) after over-expressing miR-194-5p. It is concluded that miR-194-5p inhibits the expression of BCKDHA by targeting its 3' UTR.

This study aimed to predict the transcription factor, protein and miRNA interacting with HOTAIR by bioinformatics, provide research direction for understanding the molecular mechanism of melanoma pathogenesis, and provide a target for designing new drugs and a theoretical basis for treating the melanoma. In this study, we downloaded HOTAIR sequences of 8 species from UCSC database, established phylogenetic tree by MEGA4.0. We used lncRNAtor and other databases to analyze the upstream regulatory factors, miRNA interacting with HOTAIR and related proteins. The expression patterns of HOTAIR in various tissues and the diseases associated with HOTAIR were analyzed via NONCODE and lncDisease databases. Some of the target miRNAs related to melanoma were predicted by TargetScan software. The molecular regulatory network of miRNA-HOTAIR-melanoma-associated genes was drew using Cytoscape3.2.0 software. The results showed that HOTAIR was located on human 12q13.13 chromosome between HOXC11 and HOXC12 genes at 54 356 092-54 368 740 nt. The HOTAIR was conservative among different species. HOTAIR was regulated by 27 regulatory factors in 18 different cells. HOTAIR was expressed in various tissues, and the expression in testis was higher than that in other tissues, but the expression in lung and ovary was lower than that in other tissues. GO analysis showed that the target genes of HOTAIR involved in cell apoptosis, DNA replication, transcription and other biological processes, which showed that HOTAIR played important roles in the process of pathology and physiology of cancer and some human diseases. The interaction analysis showed that there were interaction sites in miR-217, miR-203 and miR-194 with HOTAIR. In melanoma, HOTAIR may compete with MITF and NKX3-1 to miR-217, miR-203 and miR-194. GO function analysis and KEGG pathway analysis show that the expression level of HOTAIR was closely related to tumor metastasis, recurrence and prognosis, combined with the regulation of transcription factors to HOTAIR, which provide a theoretical basis for treatment of tumors.

The objective of this work was to explore the impact of parities on antioxidant activities of extractions from dairy goat placenta, which could provide technical foundation to the application of placenta. The scavenging rate of DPPH radical and hydroxyl radical were taken as the evaluate indices of antioxidant peptides activity, the water-soluble protein content in the extract was also taken into account. The changes of placenta extract indices for different parities were compared and the attenuation of indicators with the change of storage conditions was investigated. The results showed that:1) The polypeptides contents of 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd parities in placenta were (0.201±0.03), (0.270±0.02) and (0.193±0.02) mg·mg^-1 dry matter, respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging rate of 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd parities were 32.75%, 53.20% and 37.97%.The scavenging rate of hydroxyl radicals of these 3 parities were 35.45%, 51.94% and 39.35%. The water-soluble protein content were 16.63%, 23.87% and 18.60%, respectively. 2) Compared with the ambient temperature, the decay rate was slower under the condition of 4℃, there was significant difference among parities under different conditions (P<0.05). 3) The preservation rate of DPPH radical scavenging of 2^nd parities at 4℃ was 78.85%.The preservation rate of hydroxyl radicals scavenging activity of 2^nd parities was 71.93%. The preservation rate of the water-soluble protein content was 77.36%. In conclusion, it is demonstrated that the 2^nd parities was the most prominent on antioxidant activity, dacay rate and WSP content and 4℃ was the ideal storage temperature for the preservation of activities.

In this paper, programs in field of animal reproduction of the National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2012 to 2016 were searched using Internet-based Science Information System (ISIS). Analyses were carried out according to number of proposals and funds, supporting institutions, principle investigators, research objects and content. The results showed that number of General Programs funded increased significantly during the last 5 years. Principle investigators of General Programs were mostly senior title, while principle investigators of Young Scientists Fund were mostly middle rank title. Most principal investigators had doctorate degrees. The main bodies of the supporting institutions were universities. Research objects were focused on livestock, and research content was focused on ovarian function, oocyte maturation and somatic cell nuclear transfer. Omics technologies have been the most important methods used in basic research in animal reproduction field. Epigenetic mechanism of animal reproduction is the hotspot in the current research.

To obtain three-dimensional model of sheep's ovarian artery, analyze its characteristics of morphology, distribution and relevant functions, which would provide reference for studies of reproductive physiology and ovarian anatomy in sheep. Uteruses and ovaries from 20 Tibetan sheep were collected, and their vessels' perfusion in ovarian arteries were performed with 8% ABS to obtain vascular casts, and then the anatomical characteristics were determined by investigating and analyzing casts. Results showed that sheep ovarian artery containing ovarian, uterine and fallopian tube branches and the slender branches supplied blood to mesenteries. Ovarian spiral arteries had 3 different shapes including intensive, ordinary and slight coiling and there was occasionally an additional spiral branch to adhere arterial trunk. Furthermore, ovarian artery showed a shape of spiral fist with intensive coiling at the ovarian hilum, and then the fist arises arterioles toward follicles or corpus luteums. Results indicated that sheep ovarian artery was similar to that of cattle, and anatomical characteristics with the intricate spirals and coiling in ovarian arterial configuration might lower blood pressure, maintain the stability of blood supply to ovaries and promote the maturation of dominant follicles.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of short-term or long-term feeding of high-level pea fiber (PF) on the bacterial community and metabolites in the cecum of pigs. Fifty 28 days of age healthy weaned Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire piglets with body weight of ((7.2±0.5) kg) were selected and randomly allocated in 2 groups according to the principle of no difference in body weight in each group. There were 5 replicates (5 piglets per replicate) in each group. Pigs in the control group were given basal diets. The pigs in experimental groups were fed 10%, 20% or 30% PF diets for the post-weaning period (from experiment beginning to 30 d post-weaning) growing period (30-90 d post-weaning) and finishing period (90-160 d post-weaning), respectively. At the end of the first and the last periods, one pig from each replicate in each group was sacrificed and the cecal digesta was collected immediately. The bacterial community and the numbers of certain bacterial group were detected with 454 pyrosequencing and real-time PCR. The concentrations of volatile fatty acids in the cecal digesta were measured using gas chromatography. The results showed as follows:1) Short-term or long-term intake of high-level PF had no significant effect on the ADFI and ADG of the pigs (P>0.05). 2) The long-term feeding of PF significantly increased the concentration of total volatile fatty acids and decreased the ratio of propionate in cecal digesta of pigs(P<0.05). 3) According to the result of pyrosequencing, compared with control group, the ratio of phylum Firmicutes in cecum of piglets with short-term feeding of PF was reduced by 5.6%, while the ratio of phylum Proteobacteria was increased by 4.3%. In cecum of pigs with long-term feeding of PF, the ratio of phylum Bacteroidetes was increased by 4.8%, and the ratio of phylum Firmicutes was decreased by 6.8%. Unique bacterial species were found in cecum of pigs fed with PF supplemented diet. 4) Real-time PCR analysis confirmed that, compared with control group, short-term feed of PF significantly increased the copies of total bacteria, Bacteroides-Prevotella-Porphyromonas(BPP), Enterococcus and Clostridium cluster IV (P<0.05), and the copies of Bacteroidetes, Lactobacillus and Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (P<0.01), while the copies of Firmicutes was significantly decreased (P<0.01) in cecum of piglets. Long-term feeding of PF significantly increased the copies of D. desulfuricans (P ≤ 0.01), while decreased the copies of total bacteria, BPP, Helicobacter-Flexispira-Wollinella(HFW) (P<0.05), as well as the copies of Enterococcus, Streptococcus and Clostridium cluster I (P ≤ 0.01) in cecum of pigs. Therefore, bacteria (especially hydrogenotrophic bacteria) in hindgut of pigs can rapidly response to the high-level PF in the diet. The change of SCFAs proportion indicate that this variation of bacterial community may be involved in the altered microbial fermentation in the hindgut. Although the high level of dietary PF may reduce the abundance of some conditional pathogens such as Streptococcus and increase the abundance of some probiotics such as Lactobacillus, it may not be beneficial to the butyrate production in cecum of pigs.

The study was conducted to optimize non-starch polysaccharide(NSP) enzymes of corn-soybean-DDGS diet and wheat-soybean diet for growing pigs using in vitro method. The NSP enzymes (cellulase, xylanase, β-mannanase, α-galactosidase, β-glucanase and pectinase) were added into the corn-soybean-DDGS diet and the wheat-soybean diet. In a one-way completely randomized experimental design, in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of the two diets was determined using the gastric fluid and small intestinal fluid based on physiological data of growing pigs and the dose-response of the NSP enzymes on the IVDMD of diets were analyzed,respectively. Then the regression relationship of 6 NSP enzymes and the IVDMD of diets were established and the optimal NSP enzyme components was screened using a quadratic regress-universal rotary design. The results showed that:1) Quadratic effects of NSP enzymes on the IVDMD of corn-soybean-DDGS and wheat-soybean diets for growing pig were observed in the present study. 2) The optimal NSP enzyme components were 427.1 U·kg^-1 cellulase, 7 057.5 U·kg^-1 xylanase, 3 587.8 U·kg^-1 β-mannanase, 202.1 U·kg^-1 α-galactosidase, 1 543.3 U·kg^-1 β-glucanase and 72.7 U·kg^-1 pectinase for corn-soybean-DDGS diet, and 1 117.9 U·kg^-1 cellulase, 35 087.7 U·kg^-1 xylanase, 1 917.1 U·kg^-1 β-mannanase, 305.0 U·kg^-1 α-galactosidase, 806.7 U·kg^-1 β-glucanase and 133.7 U·kg^-1 pectinase for wheat-soybean diet. 3) The IVDMD of corn-soybean-DDGS diet and wheat-soybean diet with the optimal NSP enzymes were increased by 3.89% and 3.48%, respectively. The optimal NSP enzyme components effectively improve the IVDMD of corn-soybean-DDGS diet and wheat-soybean diet. The in vitro digestion method based on physiological parameter of growing pigs can be used as a convenient and rapid method for screening NSP enzyme components of a swine diet.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary wine grape pomace(WGP) supplementation on meat quality and antioxidative capacity in longissimus dorsi(LD)muscle of ram lambs under pen raising condition. Twenty-four Dorper×Small thin-tailed crossed ram lambs(5 month old, (25±1) kg) were randomly selected and equally divided into 4 groups. Six lambs were raised under free-range conditions and fed with basal diet, the other eighteen lambs were housed in individual and received 3 levels of WGP supplementation(0%, 5% and 10%, air-dry matter basis). At the end of experiment, all animals were slaughtered and sampled for meat quality and antioxidative capacity determination. The results showed that:1) Concentration of reactive oxygen species(ROS, P<0.01) and malondialdehyde(MDA, P<0.05) in LD muscle were elevated when lambs were raised under penned condition; Dietary WGP supplementation effectively reduced their concentration(P<0.05). 2) The effect of dietary WGP supplementation on pH, color, cooking loss and intramuscular fat(IMF)content were not significant. The Warner-Bratzler shear force was decreased when lambs were fed with WGP supplementation diet(P<0.05); Meanwhile, the collagen content decreased(P<0.05). 3) Total antioxidative capacity(T-AOC) and glutathione peroxidase 4(GPx4) activity increased when lambs were fed with 10% WGP supplementation diet(P<0.05), while both 5% and 10% dietary WGP supplementation increased superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity(P<0.05), and had no significant effect on catalase activity. WGP supplementation did not alter both SOD and catalase expression at both mRNA and protein levels, while the mRNA and protein contents of Nrf2 were elevated (P<0.05). Although mRNA abundance was not altered, 5% WGP supplementation increased GPx4 protein expression(P<0.05). Dietary 10% WGP supplementation can be used as a feed ingredient in lamb production to relieve oxidative stress, improve antioxidant capacity and meat quality.

The study was conducted to develop a TaqMan probe-based, sensitive, specific duplex real-time PCR for detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis. The specific primers and probes, labeled with FAM and Texas Red respectively, were designed to amplify the P97 gene of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and P37 gene of Mycoplasma hyorhinis. The reaction system of duplex real-time PCR was established and optimized,and its sensitivity, specificity and repeatability were analyzed. The sensitivity of duplex real-time PCR established was 10 copies·μL^-1 for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis. There was no cross reaction with other common viral and bacterial pathogens. The concentration of standard coefficient of variation of Ct values was less than 5%, indicating good reproducibility. Moreover, 72 clinical samples were detected by the duplex real-time PCR assay. The results showed that the positive rates of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae were 80%, 22% and 58.33% in lung tissues, nasal swabs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids samples, respectively; the positive rates of Mycoplasma hyorhinis were 40%, 66% and 41.67% in lung tissues, nasal swabs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids samples, respectively. The duplex real-time PCR for detecting Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis simultaneously was more sensitive than the common PCR, and can be used for detecting clinical samples. The advantage of this method is that it can acquire various information of samples in a short time, and save the time and economic consumption of multiple tests, and it provides a new and reliable detection technology for detection and control of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis.

The qseC gene mutation of Haemophilus parasuis was constructed to investigate the effect of qseC gene on the growth and biofilm formation of H. parasuis. The qseC mutant of H. parasuis was constructed by natural transformation. The growth curves of wild-type strain SC096 and △qseC were depicted. Then crystal violet staining was used to test biofilm formation of wild-type strain and qseC mutant. The amount of biofilm of SC096 and △qseC were measured by a 96-well plate quantitative method. The biofilm changes of the two strains were then observed by scan electron microscope. Results were as follows:The qseC gene mutant of H. parasuis SC096 was constructed successfully. The growth curves revealed that the growth rate of SC096 was similar to that of its qseC mutant. The biofilm formation ability of △qseC was weaker than that of the wild type strain SC096. The results showed that qseC gene may play an important role in the regulation of H. parasuis biofilm formation.

Wohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica is a kind of emerging, rare zoonotic pathogen. In October of 2016, a head of fattening cattle from a beef cattle farm of Jilin Province showed appear purulent lesions in the eyelid, and a variety of antimicrobial treatments are not effective. Eyelid secretion of diseased cattle were collected to isolate and culture bacteria. According to culture, staining, biochemical test and 16S rRNA sequence analysis, the isolated strain was identified as Wohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica, and it was pathogenic to mice. The resistance of the isolate was determined by K-B disk diffusion method using 20 antibiotics. The results showed that the isolate was resistant to penicillin, cefradine and erythromycin, and it was sensitive to the other 17 drugs. Then the β-lactam resistance gene (TEM, ADC, OXA-23, OXA-51), macrolide resistance genes (ermA, ermX) and tetracycline resistance genes (tetK, tetW) were detected, respectively, and the results were negative.

Bordetella avium (B. avium) can cause a highly contagious disease of upper respiratory tract of poultry and often co-infect with immunosuppressive viruses. In order to study the effect of immunosuppressive state on pathogenicity of B. avium, chick embryos were inoculated with reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) and infected with B. avium after they were hatched. The body weight, immune organ index, NDV antibody level, B. avium antibody level, the invasion time point of B. avium in different tissues, histopathological changes, and secondary infections of other bacteria were observed respectively under co-infection and simple infection. The results showed that REV caused severe growth inhibition and immunosuppression in chicks which were aggravated by B. avium infection. At the same time, the antibody level of B. avium was interfered. The detection time of B. avium in the liver, heart and kidney of chicks in the immunosuppressive state was 1 d earlier than that in B. avium simple infection group. Chick tracheal mucosa completely fell down and extensive necrosis appeared in liver, heart and other tissues in co-infection group. And the number of secondary infection cases was significantly increased. In conclusion, in the REV immunosuppressive state, the body defense system of chick is destroyed, and the immune response to B. avium decreased. At the same time it provides convenient for the invasion and spread of B. avium in tissues, so the pathogenicity of Bordetella avium increased in the immunosuppressive state induced by REV.

The aim of this study was to explore the protein expression characteristics of protoscoleces, to reveal the main functional proteins and signaling pathways during the development of protoscoleces in Echinococcus granulusos, to lay the foundation for the mechanisms of development regulation of protoscoleces and screening target genes for vaccines and drugs. The LC-MS/MS technology was used to analyze the proteins expressed in the protoscoleces, then the proteins were analyzed based on GO, KOG and KEGG. Finally, the qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization were used to analyze the different expression and localization of the β-catenin which is the key gene of the Wnt signaling pathway. The results showed that the present study identified 7 172 peptides, 1 197 proteins, including multiple potential antigenic proteins, such as tetraspanin superfamily, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, enolase and epidermal antigenic proteins. Signal pathway analysis showed that 632 of these proteins involved in 276 pathways, such as Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog, NF-κB, cAMP and bile acid signaling pathways closely related to development of E. granulosus. The in situ hybridization analysis showed that the β-catenin was mainly distributed in the hooks and dispersed cells of the protoscoleces. Meanwhile, the relative transcription of β-catenin was gradually decreased during 0 to 10 days in vitro culture. In summary, this study analyzed the protein expression elements of protoscoleces, revealed the main regulatory pathways of protoscolex development, and provided a theoretical basis for the growth mechanisms of protoscoleces and effective prevention of hydatid disease.

This study was conducted to reveal the difference of immune response upon Salmonella enteritidis (SE) infection between chickens with different Heterophil and Lymphocyte ratio, and trying to prove that chicken flocks of low H/L values has better resistance to Salmonella. Chicken with high and low H/L ratio were selected as parents, and the offspring were divided as High H/L Group and Low H/L Group (HG and LG). The ratio of male and female is 1:3. The chicks were challenged with SE at 7 days old. Liver, cecum and blood serum were collected at 1, 2, 4, 7 and 13 dpi (days post infection). Our results showed that the mortality rate of LG (16.7%) was significantly lower than HG (22.9%). The CFU of SE in liver were significantly different between HG and LG (P<0.05) at 1, 2, 4 and 7 dpi. IL-6 in serum were remarkably higher in Low H/L group than in high group (P<0.05) at 1, 2 and 4 dpi. Low H/L chickens had more TNF-α and LTB-4 in serum than high H/L chickens (P<0.05) at 1, 2 dpi. Chicken with low H/L ratio might have stronger immune response against bacterial infection.

The aim of this study was to investigate the adjuvant effect and safety of wild Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma crude polysaccharides (WCDCP) on mice immunized with foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine. ICR mice were subcutaneously administrated twice with different doses of WCDCP co-administered with FMDV inactivated antigen or FMD vaccine, respectively. Antibody levels of IgG, IgG₁ and IgG_2a in serum were detected by ELISA. The expression levels of CD4⁺CD44⁺ and CD8⁺CD44⁺ T cells in lymph nodes were tested by flow cytometry. The result showed that medium and high dose of WCDCP could significantly enhance antibody level of FMDV-specific IgG in mice with FMDV inactivated antigen (P<0.01). Medium dose of WCDCP could enhance antibody level of FMDV-specific IgG, IgG₁ and IgG_2a in mice with FMDV vaccine (P<0.05), and long-term antibody level could be elicited. The expression levels of CD4⁺CD44⁺ and CD8⁺CD44⁺ T cells in lymph nodes was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05). WCDCP had no effect on the growth of mice. In conclusion, WCDCP can enhance FMDV-specific antibody levels over a long period, significantly enhance the T cell immune response and have no side effects. Therefore, WCDCP can be used as a safe candidate for FMD vaccines.

Modern intensive, large-scale livestock and poultry breeding resulting in deterioration of indoor air quality of the animal house, leading to the accumulation of a large number of dust, harmful gases and micro-organisms, thereby affecting the animal health and production. In this study, negative ions were generated by artificial means to study their impact on the total number of aerobic bacteria, the content of dust and ammonia in poultry house, and to explore its application on purifying indoor air of poultry house. Using two identical poultry houses, two trials have been carried out to study the effect of negative ions on improving indoor air and the effective acting time in poultry house. In trial 1, air samples were collected at different time points from two poultry houses, one for experimental group with a negative ion generator in it, the other for control group with no negative ion generator, and the indexes mentioned above were measured. In trial 2, different power of negative ion generator was applied in the poultry house, and air samples were collected and measured before, running and after the application of negative ion generator. The results showed that the negative anions can significantly reduce the impact of the total number of aerobic bacteria and dust content in the house (P<0.05), but also has a significant effect with time (P<0.05). The content of dust with a particle size less 0.5 μm wasn't significantly affected by time (P>0.05),but the content of dust with a particle size of 1.0 μm or higher was significantly lower with prolonging of treatment time (P<0.01). The negative anions has no significant effect on the ammonia concentration in poultry house (P>0.05). And the negative ions that generated with higher power have greater efficiency to clean the dust and aerobic bacteria. With working of the anion generator after 30 min, the total number of aerobic bacteria and dust content in the house can be maintained significantly lower within 30 min and 60 min, respectively (P<0.05). The results suggest that negative ions can be used to improve the air quality of animal house and protect the health of livestock and poultry.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of silencing the inhibin α-subunit (INHα) gene by RNAi on cell cycle and apoptosis-related genes in sheep granulosa cells (GCs), explore the local regulation of INHα on sheep GCs, which can provide a foundation for improving the livestock's fecundity. siINHα and siNC (negative control) were transfected into GCs from antral follicles (3-7 mm) obtained from the ovaries of Thin-tailed Han sheep (1.0-1.5 years old). Non-transfected cells were as blank control (Control). The mRNA expression of INHα and the genes related to cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The cell cycle progression was measured by flow cytometry. The results showed that siRNA was transfected into sheep GCs at 48 h with the silencing efficiency over 85%. Knockdown of INHα by siRNA significantly decreased the mRNA expressions of the cell cycle related genes CyclinD1 and Cyclin B1 by 0.2 and 0.7 times, respectively (P<0.05), but increased the mRNA expression of p21 by 0.9 times (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the mRNA expressions of pro-apoptotic genes Bax, p53 and Caspase3 were increased by 1.8, 3.6 and 0.4 times, respectively (P<0.05), but no significant changes of anti-apoptosis gene Bcl-2 compared with negative control. There was no significant difference between the control and negative control (P>0.05). INHα gene silencing altered the progression of cell cycle as well. The percentage of cell at S phase was decreased, while the percentage of cell at G1 phase was significantly increased compared with the negative control (P<0.05). No significant difference was observed between control and negative control (P>0.05). These results indicated that INHα was a key regulator in GCs and involved in the regulation of folliculogenesis by regulating the growth and apoptosis of GCs in sheep.

The experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary iron levels on production performance, blood serum biochemical parameters and organ index in male mink. Seventy-five healthy male minks with one hundred and forty-five days of age and similar body weight were randomly divided into 5 groups with 15 minks in each group. 0(Fe0), 100(Fe100), 200(Fe200), 300(Fe300) and 400 mg·kg^-1(Fe400) of iron levels were added in basic diet. The trial lasted for 60 d. Production performance, nitrogen metabolism indices, proteins indices, serum iron, enzymes activity of serum and organ index were determined. The results showed that:1)When the diet supplemented with 300 mg·kg^-1 iron, the body weight and body length of minks at the end of experiment were significantly higher than that in Fe0 and Fe100 groups (P<0.05), GLOB were the highest in Fe300 group, TP of Fe300 group was higher than that of group Fe0, Fe100 and Fe200 groups(P<0.05), but it was similar with Fe400 group. 2)No significant differences among all groups in IgG and IgM(P>0.05), but IgA in Fe300 group was higher than that in Fe0 and Fe200 groups (P<0.05). 3)The iron levels in mink's serum was significantly increased with dietary iron levels increasing (P<0.05), dietary iron levels had no significant effects on AST, LDH and ALP in serum of minks (P>0.05). 4)The liver index of Fe300 group was higher than that of Fe0, Fe100 and Fe400 groups (P<0.05), but it was similar with Fe200 group (P>0.05). The kidney index and spleen index were similar among all groups (P<0.05).In conclusion, under this experimental conditions, when the diet supplementation with 300 mg·kg^-1 iron, the total iron was 401 mg·kg^-1 in the diet, it could improve the production performance, promote protein metabolism and improve the level of humoral immunity of minks, and it also could improve the liver index of mink.