Zieglerfitzpatrick1655

High-yield and high-quality of milk are the primary goals of dairy production. Understanding the genetic architecture underlying these milk-related traits is beneficial so that genetic variants can be targeted toward the genetic improvement. In this study, we measured five milk production and quality traits in Holstein cattle population from China. These traits included milk yield, fat, and protein. We used the estimated breeding values as dependent variables to conduct the genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Breeding values were estimated through pedigree relationships by using a linear mixed model. Genotyping was carried out on the individuals with phenotypes by using the Illumina BovineSNP150 BeadChip. The association analyses were conducted by using the fixed and random model Circulating Probability Unification (FarmCPU) method. A total of ten single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected above the genome-wide significant threshold (p less then 4.0 × 10-7), including six located in previously reported quantitative traits locus (QTL) regions. We found eight candidate genes within distances of 120 kb upstream or downstream to the associated SNPs. The study not only identified the effect of DGAT1 gene on milk fat and protein, but also discovered novel genetic loci and candidate genes related to milk traits. These novel genetic loci would be an important basis for molecular breeding in dairy cattle.Loading a noble metal on Bi4Ti3O12 could enable the formation of the Schottky barrier at the interface between the former and the latter, which causes electrons to be trapped and inhibits the recombination of photoelectrons and photoholes. In this paper, AgPt/Bi4Ti3O12 composite photocatalysts were prepared using the photoreduction method, and the effects of the type and content of noble metal on the photocatalytic performance of the catalysts were investigated. The photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) showed that the loading of AgPt bimetallic nanoparticles significantly improved the catalytic performance of Bi4Ti3O12. When 0.10 wt% noble metal was loaded, the degradation rate for RhB of Ag0.7Pt0.3/Bi4Ti3O12 was 0.027 min-1, which was respectively about 2, 1.7 and 3.7 times as that of Ag/Bi4Ti3O12, Pt/Bi3Ti4O12 and Bi4Ti3O12. The reasons may be attributed as follows (i) the utilization of visible light was enhanced due to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag and Pt in the visible region; (ii) Ag nanoparticles mainly acted as electron acceptors to restrain the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs under visible light irradiation; and (iii) Pt nanoparticles acted as electron cocatalysts to further suppress the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The photocatalytic performance of Ag0.7Pt0.3/Bi4Ti3O12 was superior to that of Ag/Bi4Ti3O12 and Pt/Bi3Ti4O12 owing to the synergistic effect between Ag and Pt nanoparticles.Mangifera indica Linn popularly known as mango is used in folk medicine to treat gastrointestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to identify the metabolomic composition of lyophilized extract of mango leaf (MIE), to evaluate the antioxidant activity on several oxidative stress systems (DPPH, FRAP, TBARS, and ABTS), the spasmolytic and antispasmodic activity, and intestinal protective effect on oxidative stress induced by H2O2 in rat ileum. Twenty-nine metabolites were identified and characterized based on their ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry, these include benzophenone derivatives, xanthones, phenolic acids, fatty acids, flavonoids and procyanidins. Extract demonstrated a high antioxidant activity in in-vitro assays. MIE relaxed (p less then 0.001) intestinal segments of rat pre-contracted with acetylcholine (ACh) (10-5 M). Pre-incubation of intestinal segments with 100 µg/mL MIE significantly reduced (p less then 0.001) the contraction to H2O2. Similar effects were observed with mangiferin and quercetin (10-5 M; p less then 0.05) but not for gallic acid. Chronic treatment of rats with MIE (50 mg/kg) for 28 days significantly reduced (p less then 0.001) the H2O2-induced contractions. MIE exhibited a strong antioxidant activity, spasmolytic and antispasmodic activity, which could contribute to its use as an alternative for the management of several intestinal diseases related to oxidative stress.Down-regulator associated protein, DrAp1, acts as a negative cofactor (NC2α) in a transcription repressor complex together with another subunit, down-regulator Dr1 (NC2β). In binding to promotors and regulating the initiation of transcription of various genes, DrAp1 plays a key role in plant transition to flowering and ultimately in seed production. TaDrAp1 and TaDrAp2 genes were identified, and their expression and genetic polymorphism were studied using bioinformatics, qPCR analyses, a 40K Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray, and Amplifluor-like SNP genotyping in cultivars of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and breeding lines developed from a cross between spelt (T. spelta L.) and bread wheat. TaDrAp1 was highly expressed under non-stressed conditions, and at flowering, TaDrAp1 expression was negatively correlated with yield capacity. TaDrAp2 showed a consistently low level of mRNA production. Drought caused changes in the expression of both TaDrAp1 and TaDrAp2 genes in opposite directions, effectively increasing expression in lower yielding cultivars. The microarray 40K SNP assay and Amplifluor-like SNP marker, revealed clear scores and allele discriminations for TaDrAp1 and TaDrAp2 and TaRht-B1 genes. selleck chemicals Alleles of two particular homeologs, TaDrAp1-B4 and TaDrAp2-B1, co-segregated with grain yield in nine selected breeding lines. This indicated an important regulatory role for both TaDrAp1 and TaDrAp2 genes in plant growth, ontogenesis, and drought tolerance in bread and spelt wheat.Plants are under constant attack by a suite of insect herbivores. Over millions of years of coexistence, plants have evolved the ability to sense insect feeding via herbivore-associated elicitors in oral secretions, which can mobilize defense responses. However, herbivore-associated elicitors and the intrinsic downstream modulator of such interactions remain less understood. In this study, we show that tobacco hornworm caterpillar (Manduca sexta) oral secretion (OS) induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) protoplasts. By using a dye-based ROS imaging approach, our study shows that application of plant-fed (PF) M. sexta OS generates significantly higher ROS while artificial diet-fed (DF) caterpillar OS failed to induce ROS in isolated tomato protoplasts. Elevation in ROS generation was saturated after ~140 s of PF OS application. ROS production was also suppressed in the presence of an antioxidant NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine). Interestingly, PF OS-induced ROS increase was abolished in the presence of a Ca2+ chelator, BAPTA-AM (1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid).