The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the highest, largest and the most complex geographical unit in the world. Its unique topography and physiognomy had formed extreme environment and climatic characteristics i.e., severe winter, low oxygen, strong ultraviolet radiation, etc. For millions of years, plateau indigenous animals have developed unique hypoxic adaptation strategies during the long-term process of evolution. After long-term natural selection, plateau indigenous animals not only have acquired stable hypoxic adaptability in physiology, behavior, biochemistry and morphology, but also developed a series of unique regulatory mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels. In the past century, the research on the adaptive evolution of plateau animals mainly focused on their physiology. Recently, with the continuous genomic database update, the adaptive evolution of plateau animals at molecular level has become a hot spot, but these mechanisms are not yet comprehensively analyzed and the future studies will be needed. Therefore, future research can be combined with the reported relevant phenotypic and genotypic data to comprehensively and systematically analyze the molecular mechanisms and genetic principles of plateau animal adaptive evolution. It will provide theoretical and practical basis for breeding new animal breeds adpating cold, low hypoxia and strong ultraviolet radiation. It will also provide new ideas for clinical prevention and treatment of high-altitude diseases. Based on the unique climatic conditions i.e., hypoxia, low temperature and strong ultraviolet radiation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, combined with the research results of related microorganisms, this paper reviews the research progress on the adaptive evolution of plateau animals in recent decades.

Fertilization is a precise and highly coordinated physiological process in mammals. Sperm-egg fusion is the most critical step. Two highly differentiated haploid gametes, sperm and egg, fuse to form a new zygote, and develop into an embryo. Izumo1 and Juno were the first ligand-receptor proteins, which were found on the plasma membrane of sperm and egg. Their interaction is necessary for sperm-egg recognition. This paper reviews the discovery process of the two important proteins, their interaction during sperm-egg fusion and the latest research progress in mammalian fertilization.

The aim of this study was to detect the influence of castration on gene expression in porcine longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle and reveal the molecular regulation mechanism of castration on porcine meat quality. Six healthy Huainan male pigs were divided into 2 groups, castrated group and intact group (control group), the LD muscle was collected when their body weight achieved 130 kg (300-315 days of age). The LD muscle transcriptomes of pigs in the 2 groups were analyzed by Illumina HiSeq 2000 high-throughput RNA sequencing system. The differentially expressed genes were screened using DESeq software. All of differentially expressed genes were annotated by using GO and KEGG databases. The results showed that 83 613 018 and 83 746 508 reads were obtained from the castrated and intact groups, respectively. And the ratios of these reads to porcine reference genome (Sscrofa10.2) were 73.78% and 74.09%, respectively. Compared with intact pigs, there were 935 differentially expressed genes in LD muscle of castrated pigs, of which 503 up-regulated genes and 432 down-regulated genes (P<0.05 and|log₂(Fold Change)|>0.8). The top up-and down-regulated differentially expressed genes associated with muscle development were collagen type XI alpha 1 chain (COL11A1) and angiotensin Ⅱ receptor type 1 (AGTR1) in castrated group vs intact group. Similarly, the top up-and down-regulated differentially expressed genes associated with lipid metabolism were stearoyl-coA desaturase 1 (SCD-1) and phospholipase A2 group XVI (PLA2G16). GO and KEGG analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly associated with lipid metabolism (like insulin, lipolysis, fatty acid elongation) and muscular development (such as adrenergic signaling, muscle contraction, AMPK signaling pathway) related pathways. In conclusion, castration can increase male pigs' lipid deposition, change muscular development and meat quality. There were 12 differentially expressed genes, including SCD-1, hormone-sensitive lipase(HSL), glucose transporter type 4(GLUT4), serine/threonine kinase(AKT), mitogen-activated protein kinase(MEK), and so on. It was reported that these genes could regulate hormone secretion, muscle development and lipid deposition. These genes were significantly associated with the alteration of meat quality in porcine after castration, so they were worth of further functional verification.

The objective of this study was to compare the structure and composition of colon microflora of Mashen and Jinfen White pigs at different developmental stages using Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology. In present study, Mashen and Jinfen White pigs were used as experimental animals. Three boar piglets with similar weight were randomly selected at the stage of 1, 28 and 70 days old, respectively, and the colon microbial diversity was analyzed using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology. The intestinal microorganisms of piglets in two breeds were found to be distributed in 15 phyla, 28 classes, 59 orders, 100 families and 290 genus by bacteria taxonomy analysis. The Firmicutes and Bacteroides are the dominant bacteria, accounting for 49.03% and 31.94% respectively. There was no significant difference in intestinal microbial diversity of piglets at birth between breeds. The microbial diversity increased significantly with the growth and development of piglets, and basically stabilized at the stage of Jinfen White piglet conservation (28-70 d). The specific flora of two breeds of piglets at different stages showed significant difference with the increase of age. Association analysis showed that LPS, TNF-α, IL-6 were significantly correlated with intestinal flora (P<0.05), while the DAO and D-LA had no significant correlation with intestinal flora (P>0.05). The colonic microflora correlated with LPS,TNF-α,IL-6 was different between the two breeds. It is concluded that the structure and composition of colon microflora of piglets were significantly different between two breeds and among different developmental stages,which play the important roles in immune function of piglets.

The aim of this study was to clone and analyze the complete coding region sequences of GATA4/5/6, the key genes regulating the development of duck internal organs. The relationship between mRNA expression levels of GATA4/5/6 at 0, 2, 4, 6,8 weeks old and the development of heart and liver of duck was preliminarily revealed in duck. PCR amplification and cloning were performed on the GATA4/5/6 genes of ducks, and sequence analysis was performed on the coding regions. qRT-PCR was used to detect GATA4/5/6 expression in heart and liver of ducks at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks old. The correlationship analysis between expression level of GATA4/5/6 and heart and liver weight and organ index was performed. The complete coding region sequences of duck GATA4/5/6 genes were obtained by amplification, with the length of 1 242, 1 182 and 1 173 bp, respectively. Further analysis showed that GATA4/5/6 of ducks had 2 zinc finger domains located at the N-terminal and C-terminal and one GATA-N domain. The amino acid consistency rate of GATA-N transcriptional activation domain was low among the 3 genes. The common areas of the 2 zinc finger structures in GATA4/5/6 were higher, but the zinc finger structure at the C-terminal of GATA5 and the zinc finger structure at the N-terminal of GATA6 were the sequence deleting 11 and 15 amino acids, respectively. qRT-PCR results showed that GATA4/5/6 maintained a high expression level in the heart and liver of 0-8 weeks old ducks. But, the developmental expression patterns between different genes and tissues were significantly different. This phenomenon indicated that GATA4/5/6 might have different functions. Further correlation analysis showed that the weight of duck heart and liver was significantly correlated with GATA4 expression level (P<0.01). In conclusion, the present study preliminarily revealed that the sustained and specific expression of GATA4/5/6 might be related to the development of heart and liver in postnatal ducks. Moreover, GATA4 might be particularly closely related to the development of heart and liver due to its more complete zinc finger domain.

This study aimed to analyze the differential expression genes based on transcriptome during the rapid growth process of American short-hair black mink. In this study, the breast muscle of 45 and 90 days old healthy American short-hair black mink (3 independent repetitions) were used as experimental material, the transcriptome library was established using Illumina HiSeq^TM2500 high-throughput sequencing platform. GO and KEGG analysis were performed on the differential expression genes between the two stages, and the candidate genes and metabolic pathways regulating the rapid growth of mink were screened. qRT-PCR was used to validate the result of transcriptome sequencing. The results showed that 279 significant differentially expressed genes were screened out with P<0.05 and|log₂FC|>1 as the criterion. GO enrichment analysis of these genes showed that 66 GO terms were significantly enriched and 44 differentially expressed genes were related to muscle growth, among which 20 were up-regulated and 24 were down-regulated. Twelve pathways related to muscle growth were screened out, such as p53, PPAR and FOXO signaling transduction pathways. These genes may play a regulatory role in the rapid growth process of mink, and can be used as candidate genes for the further study on the growth and development of mink. The results could provide a theoretical basis for exploring the regulation mechanism of growth and development in mink, and breeding large-size mink breeds.

The aim of this study was to explore the expression of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) protein and gene in the main reproductive organs of female yaks, accumulate some fundamental data for comprehending the role of p38MAPK in yak reproductive activity. The samples of main reproductive organs of adult healthy female yak during follicular phase, luteal phase and gestation period(2 each) were collected. Immunohistochemical method was used to locate the expression site of p38MAPK protein in the main reproductive organs of female yaks. The relative expression levels of the p38MAPK gene and protein were detected by qRT-PCR and Western-blot technique, respectively. The results showed that:1) The results of immunohistochemistry showed that p38MAPK protein was positively expressed in ovary, oviduct and uterus in female yak. 2) qRT-PCR results showed that the expression of p38MAPK gene in the ovary was significantly higher during follicular phase than that during gestation period(P<0.05). The expression of p38MAPK gene in oviduct was significantly higher during the luteal phase than that during the follicular phase and gestation period (P<0.05). The expression of p38MAPK gene in the uterus was significantly higher during gestation period than that during follicular phase and luteal phase (P<0.01). 3) The results of Western-blot showed that the expression of p38MAPK protein in the ovary during the follicular phase was significantly higher than that during the luteal phase and gestation period (P<0.01). The expression level of p38MAPK protein in the oviduct during the luteal phase was significantly higher than that during the follicular phase and gestation period (P<0.01). The expression of p38MAPK protein in the uterus during gestation period was significantly higher than that during follicular phase and luteal phase (P<0.01). In conclusion, these results suggest that p38MAPK may be involved in the regulation of reproductive processes that includes follicular development, luteal function and embryo implantation and embryo development. These data provide basic information for researching the reproductive mechanism of female yak.

The aim of this study was to identify the key regulatory genes affecting superovulation traits by genome pool resequencing, based on the superovulation treatment on Suffolk sheep. A total of 93 Suffolk donor sheep, aged 2-3 years old with good health conditions, were treated with superovulation. Thirty individuals with good superovulation result (the number of embryos obtained was greater than or equal to 15) were selected to construct a high-yield group. At the same time, another thirty individuals with poor superovulation result (the number of embryos obtained was less than or equal to 9) were selected to construct a low-yield group. After the genome pool resequencing, the SNPs identified in the two groups were analyzed by the selective sweep and gene enrichment. The results indicated that the average total embryos for each individual obtained in the superovulation were (12.55±7.97), and the average viable embryos for each individual were (7.76±7.43). The average viable embryos for the constructed high-yield and low-yield groups were (14.97±8.38) and (2.27±2.10), respectively. A total of 20 189 224 and 20 396 751 SNPs were detected from the two groups by resequencing. After the selective sweep and gene enrichment analysis, a total of 11 candidate genes identified could affect the superovulation of Suffolk sheep, in which, seven genes belong to the HOXA family, the function of two genes have not been verified, and the other two are DPH6 and AKAP6. In general, based on the genome pool resequencing of the high-yield and low-yield groups in superovulation of Suffolk sheep, a total of 11 key regulatory genes were identified. Further validation of the role of HOXA gene family, DPH6 and AKAP6 genes in follicular development may be important to explain the regulation mechanism of superovulation in livestock.

This study aimed to establish sheep immortalized epididymal cell line and provide a basis for further studying the regulation mechanism of epididymis function in sheep. The primary sheep epididymal epithelial cells were isolated and cultured by enzymatic digestion. The pCI-neo-hTERT plasmid was transferred into the sheep epididymal epithelial cells(SEECs) by using liposome and the hTERT-SEECs was screened by G418. The cell expression of keratin 18 (CK18) and human telomerase reverse transcriptase(hTERT) were identified by immunofluorescence. The expression of hTERT mRNA was detected by RT-PCR.The cell growth curve was detected by CCK-8. The growth cycle and apoptosis status were detected by flow cytometry. The ploidy was detected by karyotype analysis. The mRNA and protein expression of glutathione peroxidase 5 (GPX5) and androgen receptor (AR) were detected. The results showed that the primary sheep epididymal epithelial cell exhibited native cobblestone morphology. hTERT was transferred successfully into the SEECs. After 45 passage, the hTERT-SEECs still showed cobblestone morphology, the CK18 and hTERT could be steadily expressed in hTERT-SEECs,and the cells were in normal diploid, the proliferation ability of hTERT-SEECs was higher than that of primary SEECs, the percentage of hTERT-SEECs in G1 phase were significantly less than that of SEECs (P<0.05), while the percentage of hTERT-SEECs in S phase was significantly higher than that of SEECs (P<0.05), the percentage of living hTERT-SEECs was significantly higher than that of SEECs (P<0.05), the apoptosis rate of hTERT-SEECs was significantly less than that of SEECs (P<0.05). There were no significant difference in GPX5 and AR protein concentrations between hTERT-SEECs and SEECs (P>0.05). After long term culture, the hTERT-SEECs established in this study can maintain normal epididymal epithelial cell morphology, have strong proliferative capacity and retain the biological characteristics of epididymal epithelial cells.

This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of dietary valine level in low protein diets (protein levels were reduced by approximately 2 percentage points compared to the recommended level of NRC (2012)) on growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality of finishing pigs. Fifty-four Duroc×Landrace×Large White gilts with the body weight of (75.17±1.86) kg were assigned into 3 groups with 6 replicates per group and 3 gilts per replicate. The gilts in the 3 groups were fed diets containing 0.33% (low valine level, L-Val group), 0.48% (NRC recommended level of valine, N-Val group, as control group) or 0.65% (high valine level, H-Val group) standardized ileal digestible valine, respectively.The experiment lasted for 35 days. The growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality of finishing pigs were determined by corresponding methods. The results showed that:1) The average daily gain and average daily feed intake of finishing pigs in L-Val group were significantly reduced compared with control group (P<0.05); 2) Compared with the control group, the concentrations of serum total cholesterol, albumin, glucose, insulin activity and HOMA-IR in H-Val group were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the concentrations of serum free fatty acid, total protein and insulin-like growth factor Ⅰ in L-Val group were significantly decreased (P<0.05); 3) With the increase of Val level, the carcass weight of pigs fed both L-Val and H-Val diets was significantly decreased (P<0.05), as dietary Val level increasing, the 10^th rib fat thickness and intramuscular fat content were linear reduced (P<0.05), and there was a linear trend to increase fat-free lean index (P=0.06); 4) Compared with the control group, the shear force and marbling score significantly reduced in L-Val group(P<0.05), and the drip loss decreased linearly as Val level increasing (P<0.01). The results indicated that diets with low Val level reduced the average daily gain, carcass weight, shear force and marble score of finishing pigs, increased intramuscular fat content, the 10^th rib fat thickness and drip loss, and had a negative impact on growth performance, carcass traits and water holding capacity. Diets with high Val level did not further improve growth performance, while improved carcass traits and meat quality, and enhanced insulin sensitivity.

In order to investigate the distribution of phosphorus (P) contents in feedstuffs from different regions of China and make a rational use of feed resources, we analyzed P contents in 4 054 feed samples collected from 31 provinces (cities, municipalities) in China. The results showed that:1) The average P contents in different kinds of feedstuffs ranged from 0.35% to 7.77%. The distribution regularities of P contents were as follows:mineral feeds > animal protein feeds > plant protein feeds > cereal by-products > forage grass feeds > straw feeds > cereals. A significant difference was also observed in P contents among different feeds in the same category(P<0.05). 2) Regional comparisons among different provinces were made in P contents of corn, wheat and soybean meal, and the results showed that the P contents in feedstuffs were greatly affected by environmental changes in different regions(P<0.05). P contents in feedstuffs varied with the types of feedstuffs and different regions. The formulation of diets by using the average P contents in feedstuffs could influence its accuracy. The results from the current study would be of great significance toward having a knowledge of actual P contents in the feedstuffs to precisely formulate diets in order to ensure animal health and efficient production, and reduce feed cost and the environmental pollution of P excretion.

DEAD-box helicase 56 (DDX56) belongs to the DEAD box helicase family that participate in RNA metabolism and ribosome synthesis. To study the effects of porcine DDX56 on replication of FMDV and virus-triggered RLR pathway, we screened the FMDV proteins for interacting with porcine DDX56. The effect of overexpression of porcine DDX56 on the replication of FMDV in PK-15 cells was detected by Q-PCR and Western blot experiments. The effect of porcine DDX56 on the virus-triggered RLR pathway was analyzed by double luciferase report system and Q-PCR assay. The results showed that porcine DDX56 interacts with FMDV VP0, VP1, VP2 and 3A proteins. Overexpression of porcine DDX56 facilitated the replication of FMDV and inhibited the Sendai virus (SeV)-triggered activation of RLR pathway. Porcine DDX56 could cooperate with FMDV VP0, VP1, VP2 and 3A proteins to inhibit the production of the virus-triggered type Ⅰ interferon. In a word, porcine DDX56 promotes the FMDV replication by cooperating with FMDV VP0, VP1, VP2 and 3A proteins to inhibit the production of type Ⅰ interferon.

The purpose of this study is to isolate Mycoplasma bovine (M. bovis) epdemic strains in some areas of China and analyse the genetic characteristics and evolutionary relationship of M. bovis. Three hundred and twenty-seven samples were collected from cattle with respiratory symptoms in several large-scale farms of Heilongjiang, Hebei, Jiangsu, Anhui and Inner Mongolia between 2017 and 2018. Twenty strains of M. bovis were cultured and identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. The isolates were classified according to Multiple Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) with the adoption of 7 housekeeping genes including adh1,gltX,gpsA,gyrB,pta2,tdk and tkt. In order to analyze the genetic characteristics and evolutionary relationship of M. bovis isolates, the minimum spanning tree of 20 clinical isolates and 85 strains of M. bovis published in GenBank database were set up. The results showed that MycbPAN005 was identified as ST-6 and the other strains were identified as ST-10, indicating that ST-10 was the main epidemic type in China. All M. bovis in China belong to CC1 category and there is only one housekeeping gene different among ST-32, ST-26, ST-43 and ST-10 except for ST-6, which indicate that the population structure of M. bovis is relatively steady in China.This is the first report domestically about ST-6 strain, providing new materials for epidemic disease database research of M. bovis.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression profile characteristics of lncRNA of the protoscoleces in Echinococcus granulosus and to provide theoretical evidence for further revealing the role of lncRNA in the development of the protoscoleces. The protoscoleces were collected from the infected sheep liver under sterile condition, and the total RNA was extracted. Then the lncRNA Library of the protoscoleces was constructed and sequenced by RNA sequencing technology. The results showed that 609 novel lncRNA molecules were identified from the protoscoleces for the first time. Among them, there are 431 intergenic lncRNAs, 11 intronic lncRNAs, 68 anti-sense lncRNAs, and 99 sence lncRNAs. GO analysis indicated that the top 200 lncRNA molecules were mainly associated with negative regulation of MAP kinase, SMC binding complex, IMP biosynthesis, and acetyltransferase activator activity. The results of KEGG analysis indicated that the top 200 lncRNA molecules were mainly associated with apoptosis, steroid skeleton biosynthesis, carbon metabolism, and dorsal-ventral axis formation. The results of cis analysis indicated that in these 609 novel lncRNA molecules, there are 79, 31, 10, 128, 43, 84 and 73 lncRNA moleculess potential interplayed with the Wnt signaling pathway, Hedgehog signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, Notch signaling pathway, bile-salt signaling pathway, and dorsal-ventral axis. The results of qRT-PCR showed that the top 10 lncRNA molecules were consistent with the sequencing results. The results of whole-mount in situ hybridization showed that the highly expressed lncRNA molecules were expressed in the sucker, epidermis and disperse cells of the protoscoleces. To sum up, a large number of novel lncRNA molecules were found in the E. granulosus in this study, which enriched the data of lncRNA of the protoscoleces, and laid a foundation for further analysis of the role of lncRNA in the development of protoscoleces in E. granulosus.

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of Toxoplasma gondii surface antigen 1 (SAG1) adhering to heparan sulfate on the host cell surface and the roles of SAG1 during T. gondii invasion in host cells. The recombinant plasmid pGEX-SAG1 was obtained by extracting the DNA of Toxoplasma gondii ME49 strain, amplifying the SAG1 gene fragment by PCR and cloning it into the prokaryotic expression vector pGEX-4T-1. The obtained recombinant plasmid pGEX-SAG1 was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 CodonPlus-RIPL and induced by IPTG to express the recombinant protein GST-SAG1. The purified recombinant protein GST-SAG1 was used to analyze the heparin-binding characteristics, and the activity of SAG1 adherence to host cells was detected by IFA and Western blot. The heparin inhibition assays were used to further analyze the effects that the exogenous heparin blocked SAG1 adhering to the host cell surface in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that the recombinant expression vector pGEX-SAG1 was successfully constructed and then GST-SAG1 protein was expressed and purified. Heparin binding and competitive inhibition experiments showed that GST-SAG1 protein could bind to heparin, and the binding could be inhibited by heparin in a concentration-dependent manner. IFA and Western blot analysis indicated that SAG1 protein could adhere to the surface of Vero and HEK293A cells. The heparin inhibition assays showed the exogenous heparin could competitively inhibit SAG1 binding to heparan sulfate on the host cell surface to block T. gondii invasion. These results suggest T. gondii SAG1 involved in adhering to heparan sulfate on the host cell surface, contributing to invading host cells. This finding further reveals the interaction between SAG1, an important factor of T. gondii invasion, and heparan sulfate on the host cell surface during T. gondii invasion, it also lays the foundation for elucidating the molecular mechanism of heparin in the process of T. gondii invasion.

This study aimed to establish a rapid and accurate detection method for Babesia caballi. Six-week-old female BALB/c mice were immunized with purified Bc48 recombinant protein to prepare monoclonal antibodies, and a CI-ELISA method was established by Bc48 recombinant antigen and monoclonal antibody. The results showed that three hybridoma cell lines stably secreting monoclonal antibodies were prepared and named as 1H2, 7F4 and 11F4. By screening for CI-ELISA conditions, the optimal coating concentration of the antigen was 0.19 μg·mL^-1, and the optimal working concentration of monoclonal antibody 11F4 was 1:3.2×10⁵. The CI-ELISA was determined to have a critical value of 45% by detecting 30 Babesia caballi negative sera and 20 positive sera. Specificity test showed that the CI-ELISA does not reacted with positive sera from Theileria equi infected horses. Using the established CI-ELISA to detected 90 clinical sera, the total coincidence rate with the standard c-ELISA kit was 92.2%, the positive coincidence rate was 92.1%, and the negative coincidence rate was 94.1%. This results indicated that CI-ELISA method has characteristics of strong specificity, high sensitivity, good stability and repeatability, and simple operation. These results suggested that CI-ELISA established by monoclonal antibody (11F4) and recombinant protein (His-Bc48) was specific and reproducible, which could provide an effective means for the detection and monitoring of Babesia caballi infection in XinJiang, China.

This experiment was conducted to study the effect of follistatin (FST) on the proliferation of goat ovarian follicular granulosa cells. Primary ovarian follicular granulosa cells were isolated and cultured from goat ovarian tissue. The goat FST was cloned by RT-PCR, shRNA fragment was designed, and lentiviral overexpression vector and interference vector were constructed. The effect of overexpression and interference were detected by qPCR technique, and the proliferation effect of the cells was detected by CCK-8 assay. Goat ovarian follicular granulosa cells were identified by immunofluorescence of follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), and the positive rate was 95%. After the lentivirus infected granulosa cells, the expression of fluorescent protein accounted for 80%. The effect of overexpression of FST and interference with lentiviral vector were both significant (P<0.05) by qPCR. Overexpression of FST significantly (P<0.05) inhibited the proliferation of granulosa cells, and interfered with FST significantly (P<0.05) promoted granulosa cell proliferation. The ovarian follicular granulosa cells were isolated; the FST overexpression and interference vectors were successfully constructed. The infection results indicated that FST could inhibit the proliferation of goat ovarian follicular granulosa cells. It provides basic data for further study of the role of FST in the regulation of mammalian follicular development and its mechanism.

The aim of this study was to study the distribution and quantification of IL-17 and HSP90 in liver tissues of different cattle, and to compare the positive reaction and differential expression of IL-17 and HSP90 in the liver tissues of Yak, Cattle-yak and Yellow cattle. Liver samples of healthy adult Yak, Cattle-yak and Yellow cattle (n=5) were selected, respectively. HE, immunohistochemical, and Quantitative Real-time PCR methods were used to observe the histological features, protein positive localization, and gene quantification of liver, respectively. Results showed that:hepatic cells were arranged in a cord-like manner, and a small number of Lymphocytes and Kupffer's cells were found in the blood sinuses between the hepatic cords (HE staining). Both IL-17 and HSP90 were expressed in the cytoplasm of liver cells of Yak, Cattle-yak and Yellow cattle (Immunohistochemical results). The results of Immunohistochemistry Semi-quantitative, and Quantitative Real-time PCR were consistent. The highest expression was found in the liver of Cattle-yak, followed by Yak, and the lowest in Yellow cattle (P < 0.01). Differential expression of IL-17 and HSP90 genes in liver of Yak, Cattle-yak and Yellow cattle shows species specificity. Semi-quantitative positive results of IL-17 and HSP90 protein showed that the liver of Yak and Cattle-yak had better adaptability to temperature differences than the liver of Yellow cattle.

In order to study the effect of RhoU (Wrch1) in osteoclast (OC) differentiation, we used RAW 264.7 cells (mononuclear macrophage cell line) as the basis for transfection of negative lentivirus and siRhoU lentivirus and established stable cell lines. In the presence of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and nuclear factor-κB receptor activating factor ligand (RANKL), the negative control group and the RhoU-silencing group were induced for 3 or 4 days, respectively. The expression of RhoU and osteoclast-specific protein and its mRNA was detected by Western blot and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), respectively. The formation of osteoclasts was observed by tartrate acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. The morphology of osteoclasts and their precursor cells was observed by confocal laser scanning microscope. The results showed that compared with the negative control group, the RhoU gene mRNA and protein expression in the RhoU-silencing group was significantly decreased (P<0.01).The number and area formation of osteoclasts were significantly decreased (P<0.01). The formation of filopodia in osteoclast precursor cells was blocked and it lacked complete sealing zone. The expression of osteoclast-specific gene mRNA and protein was significantly decreased (P<0.01 or P<0.05), while the TRAP gene mRNA was not changed (P>0.05). In conclusion, silencing RhoU can inhibit the differentiation of osteoclasts, inhibiting the formation of filamentous pseudopods in precursor cells and affecting their fusion may be the main mechanism.

In order to investigate the effect of high dietary copper on oxidative damage and expression of Nrf2 signaling pathway related genes in the kidneys of broilers, 48 one-day-old healthy white feather broilers were randomly divided into 4 groups with 12 each in this study. The birds were fed with basal diets (Cu 11 mg·kg^-1, the control group), and high-copper diets (Cu 110 mg·kg^-1, the high-copper group Ⅰ; Cu 220 mg·kg^-1, the high-copper group Ⅱ; Cu 330 mg·kg^-1, the high-copper group Ⅲ, respectively). On day 49, the kidneys were collected for histopathology examination. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC); and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected. Additionally, mRNA levels of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), glutamate cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM), hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1), and NAD (P) H quinone oxidoreducetase 1 (NQO1) were measured using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The results showed that widen renal interstitial and exfoliated renal tubular epithelial cells were observed in the high-copper groups. Additionally, the activities of SOD, GR, and T-AOC in the high-copper group Ⅲ were significantly decreased compared to those in the control group, but there was no significant change in the content of MDA. Moreover, mRNA levels of Nrf2 and GCLC in the high-copper group Ⅱ and the high-copper group Ⅲ were markedly higher than those in the control group, and mRNA levels of GCLM and HO-1 up-regulated with the increase of dietary copper, but NQO1 mRNA level did not significantly changed. The results suggest that high dietary copper can induce oxidative damage and the expression of Nrf2 signaling pathway related genes in the kidneys of broilers.

The aim of this study was to explore the protective mechanism of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on myocardial injury induced by LPS in rats. Firstly, thirty healthy male SD rats, weighing 180-220 g, were randomly and evenly divided into three groups:control group (CON), lipopolysaccharide group (LPS) and DEX group (DEX), with 10 rats in each group. The sepsis model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg·kg^-1 LPS in rat of LPS, and DEX group; and in DEX group, the rats were pretreated with 30 μg·kg^-1 DEX 30 minutes before LPS injection. Four hours later, the abdominal cavities of rats were opened by dissection, blood samples were collected from abdominal aorta, and at the same time, myocardial tissues were obtained. Serous creatine kinase (CK) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) levels were measured. HE staining was used to detect myocardial pathological changes in rats. Western blot was applied to detect the expression of NOX2, NLRP3, IL-1β and IL-18 in myocardial tissue. Results were as follows:Compared with CON group, serous CK and LDH levels in LPS group increased significantly (P<0.01 or P<0.001); histopathological observation revealed that myocardial tissue injury was aggravated, and myocardial fibrous septum was widened. The expression of NOX2 and downstream NLRP3 inflammatory body-related proteins were increased significantly (P<0.05, P<0.01 or P<0.001). The above indexes in DEX group were significantly lower than those in LPS group (P<0.05, P<0.01 or P<0.001), and there was no significant difference between DEX group and CON group (P>0.05).The results showed that DEX inhibited the activation of NLRP3 inflammatory bodies by reducing the activity of NOX2. Finally, the expression of inflammatory factors was reduced to improve myocardial injury induced by sepsis in rats.

Based on the transcriptome sequencing results of tail adipose tissue between the big-tailed and small-tailed Hulun Buir sheep, 10 important genes related to fat were selected to explore their expression in different tissues and investigate the relationship between genes and fat metabolism in sheep. The mRNA expression difference of candidate genes, including CFD, PLIN4, THY1, IL-18, PTPN11, LPL, IRX3, HOXA10, MID1IP1 and UGCG, were detected in 7 tissues (tail fat, hip fat, subcutaneous fat, perirenal fat, omental fat, liver and muscle) between big-tailed and small-tailed Hulun Buir sheep of 6-month-old by real-time fluorescence quantitative method. The results showed that:1) Ten genes were expressed in other tissues except for trace expression in muscle, and there was a significant difference at the expression levels in one or more tissues between different lines. 2) The expression levels of IRX3 and UGCG genes in the tail adipose tissue of the big-tailed sheep were significantly lower than those in the small-tailed sheep (P<0.01), indicating that these 2 genes were directly related to fat metabolism in the tail of sheep. 3) The expression trends of PLIN4 and PTPN11 genes in different tissues were similar, and the expression levels in subcutaneous and omental adipose tissues in the big-tailed sheep were higher than those in the small-tailed sheep (P<0.01), while the expression trend of THY1 gene was opposite, the expression in subcutaneous and omental fat tissues in the big-tailed sheep was lower than that in the small-tailed sheep (P<0.01, P<0.05). 4) The expression of LPL gene in the hip adipose tissue of the small-tailed sheep was significantly higher than that of the big-tailed sheep (P<0.01); only the CFD gene was highly expressed in the liver and higher in the big-tailed sheep than that in the small-tailed sheep (P<0.01), while other genes were lowly or tracely expressed in the liver; HOXA10 gene was highly expressed only in perirenal adipose tissue, and the expression level in big-tailed sheep was higher than that in small-tailed sheep (P<0.01). The results will provide a reference for further elucidate the molecular mechanism of fat metabolism in sheep.

The paper reported a case of tubal ectopic pregnancy in cats, which is rare in veterinary clinic, and has not reported in cats. A 2-year-old British shorthair cat palpated a substantial hard object in the abdomen. No other abnormalities in clinical examination. X-rays showed an oval-shaped mass with a clear edge in the abdominal cavity. The cat was subjected to exploratory laparotomy and ovariohysterectomy, histopathological examination was performed on the removed tissue. Resultant diagnosis was tubal ectopic pregnancy, the gestational sac was found in the fallopian tube with hyaline degeneration of the cyst wall. Oviduct wall, pregnant sac wall and fetal tissue were calcified. The endometrium showed Arias-Stell reaction. No recurrence was noted in our patient after one year of follow-up. Ectopic tubal pregnancy in cats is rare in clinic, which has certain reference value and significance for clinical diagnosis and treatment of related diseases.

To explore the differences in transcriptome levels between Haemonchus contortus albendazole sensitive and resistant strains, and to find out drug resistance-related genes. Samples of susceptible and resistant strains were analyzed using Illumina HiSeq 4000 platform and their transcriptome libraries were constructed. After quality filtering, bioinformatics analysis was carried out. The results showed that:A total of 218 significantly different expressed genes (DEGs) between albendazole-susceptible and resistant strains were obtained. Among these 218 genes, 121,82 and 102 DEGs have been annotated to 206 GO terms of three categories respectively, namely biological process, cellular component and molecular function. KEGG analysis showed that 42 significantly DEGs were involved in 31 KEGG pathways, and clustered significantly in pathways of drug metabolism-cytochrome P450, drug metabolism-other enzymes and so on. In addition, we identified 9 drug resistance genes in susceptible and resistant strains, such as GST, CYPs, UGT and so on, which play an important role in the drug resistance of Haemonchus contortus. In this study, the biological characteristics of DEGs in susceptible and resistant strains were predicted by RNA-Seq, which involved functional classification and metabolic pathways. This study provides a foundation for drug target prediction and the establishment of early differential diagnosis methods for drug resistance provides an important basis.

In July, 2017, an outbreak of swine vesicular disease caused by unknown pathogen in a pig farm in southern China. In order to confirm the pathogen of the vesicular disease and understand its genetic evolution, the pathogens associated with vesicular disease detected by RT-PCR and virus isolation, electron microscopy test and the phylogenetic analysis of VP1 gene were performed. RT-PCR results indicated that Senecavirus A (SVA), responsible for the vesicular disease occurred in the farm in southern China, was detected. SVA were successfully isolated in BHK21 cells and named CH/FuJ1/2017 strain. The SVA isolates had the lowest homology with the prototype SVV-001 strain and the highest homology with USA-GBI29-2015 strain from the United States. The analysis based on the amino acid sequences of SVA VP1 gene showed that isolates of SVA were located in a relatively independent branch and compared with SVV-001 strain, there were six amino acids mutations in VP1 in 59, 62, 63, 93, 97 and 172, respectively. These amino acids mutations mainly located on BC loop and CD loop Ⅱ on VP1. In conclusion, this study showed that SVA isolates in China were genetic diversity, and there was close correlation among some SVA isolates from China and foreign SVA isolates.

In order to seek high cellulase-producing strains, the termites intestinal flora was studied. The bacteria in intestinal tract were isolated by the method of medium separation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Three cellulase activities in the screened strains were analyzed at 48 h, and the strains were identified by gene sequencing and biochemical analysis. Ten cellulase-producing bacteria strains were screened (CX1-10), and the ratio of the diameter of hydrolysis zone was the largest (2.78) in CX10. Filter Paper Enzyme (FPA) in CX10 had the highest activity, reaching 49.5 IU·mL^-1. Cellulose Endonuclease in CX9 had the highest activity, reaching 25.9 IU·mL^-1. Cellulose endoglucanases in CX8, CX9 and CX10 were 67.8, 70.4 and 95.0 IU·mL^-1, respectively. All of the screened strains were identified as Bacillus, Citrobacter and Serratia. In this study, 10 bacteria were successfully isolated from the intestines of lower termites, among which the CX10 synthesize cellulase activity was the highest, which was identified as Bacillus firms.