Myostatin gene role in regulating traits of poultry species for potential industrial applications

The myostatin(MSTN)gene is considered a potential genetic marker to improve economically important traits in live-stock,since the discovery of its function using the MSTN knockout mice.The anti-myogenic function of the MSTN gene was further demonstrated in farm animal species with natural or induced mutations.In poultry species,myo-genesis in cell culture was regulated by modulation of the MSTN gene.Also,different expression levels of the MSTN gene in poultry models with different muscle mass have been reported,indicating the conserved myogenic function of the MSTN gene between mammalian and avian species.Recent advances of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome edit-ing techniques have led to development of genome-edited poultry species targeting the MSTN gene to clearly dem-onstrate its anti-myogenic function and further investigate other potential functions in poultry species.This review summarizes research conducted to understand the function of the MSTN gene in various poultry models from cells to whole organisms.Furthermore,the genome-edited poultry models targeting the MSTN gene are reviewed to inte-grate diverse effects of the MSTN gene on different traits of poultry species.

Soil water content and nitrogen differentially correlate with multidimensional leaf traits of two temperate broadleaf species

The variation and correlation of leaf economics and vein traits are crucial for predicting plant ecological strategies under different environmental changes.However,correlations between these two suites of traits and abiotic factors such as soil water and nitrogen content remain ambiguous.We measured leaf economics and vein traits as well as soil water and nitrogen content for two different shade-tolerant species(Betula platyphylla and Acer mono)in four mixed broadleaved-Korean pine(Pinus koraiensis)forests along a latitudinal gradient in Northeast China.We found that leaf economics traits and vein traits were decoupled in shade-intolerant species,Betula platphylla,but significantly coupled in a shadetolerant species,A.mono.We found stronger correlations among leaf traits in the shade tolerant species than in the shade intolerant species.Furthermore,leaf economic traits were positively correlated with the soil water gradient for both species,whereas vein traits were positively correlated with soil water gradient for the shade intolerant species but negatively correlated in the shade tolerant species.Although economic traits were positively correlated with soil nitrogen gradient in shade intolerant species but not correlated in shade tolerant species,vein traits were negatively correlated with soil nitrogen gradient in shade tolerant species but not correlated in shade intolerant species.Our study provides evidence for distinct correlations between leaf economics and vein traits and local abiotic factors of species differing in light demands.We recommend that the ecological significance of shade tolerance be considered for species when evaluating ecosystem functions and predicting plant responses to environmental changes.

Convergent relationships between flower economics and hydraulic traits across aquatic and terrestrial herbaceous plants

Maintaining open flowers is critical for successful pollination and depends on long-term water and carbon balance.Yet the relationship between how flower hydraulic traits are coordinated in different habitats is poorly understood.Here,we hypothesize that the coordination and trade-offs between floral hydraulics and economics traits are independent of environmental conditions.To test this hypothesis,we investigated a total of 27 flower economics and hydraulic traits in six aquatic and six terrestrial herbaceous species grown in a tropical botanical garden.We found that although there were a few significant differences,most flower hydraulics and economics traits did not differ significantly between aquatic and terrestrial herbaceous plants.Both flower mass per area and floral longevity were significantly positively correlated with the time required for drying full-hydrated flowers to 70%relative water content.Flower dry matter content was strongly and positively related to drought tolerance of the flowers as indicated by flower water potential at the turgor loss point.In addition,there was a trade-off between hydraulic efficiency and the construction cost of a flower across species.Our results show that flowers of aquatic and terrestrial plants follow the same economics spectrum pattern.These results suggest a convergent flower economics design across terrestrial and aquatic plants,providing new insights into the mechanisms by which floral organs adapt to aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Coupling Effect of Water and Phosphate on Economic Traits of Sugarcane

[Objective] The aim was to study the coupling effect of water and phosphate on economic traits of sugarcane. [Method] Taking sugarcane variety ROC22 as tested material,coupling effects of different levels of water supply quantity and different levels of phosphorus fertilizer on the yield and quality of sugarcane were studied. Among them,water supply quantity had 3 levels,that was,the water supply quantity per 10 days from the early tillering stage of sugarcane to the end of elongation was 199.5 m3/hm2 (A1),400.5 m3/hm2 (A2) and 600.0 m3/hm2 (A3),respectively; Phosphorus fertilizer as basic fertilizer had 4 levels:P2O5 0 kg/hm2 (B1),120 kg/hm2 (B2),240 kg/hm2 (B3) and 360 kg/hm2 (B4). [Result] Treatment A3B2 in water-fertilizer coupling was more suitable to improve economic traits of sugarcane. [Conclusion] The research results provide theoretical basis for the efficient utilization of water and phosphorus fertilizer in production of Guangxi sugarcane and the cultivation of high-yield and high-glucose sugarcane.

Studies on the Morphologic Characteristics and Economic Traits of Different Ploidy Materials of Ramie

Different ploidy ramie materials were studied via microscopic observation on stem sections and macerated fiber cells. Morphologic differences between different ploidy plants were analyzed. Average bark area percentages in ramie stem transection of haploids, tetraploids, diploids and triploids were 28. 91, 27. 05, 26. 97 and 24.77% respectively. Average percentages of fiber layer area of diploids, haploids, tetraploids and triploids were 16.80, 16. 58, 15.52 and 13.78% respectively. Average fiber cell diameter and cell wall thickness were increased along with the increase of the ploidy of the plants. Average fiber length of diploids, triploids and haploids were 8. 49, 7. 96 and 6. 93 cm respectively. Average L/B (length/breadth) of diploids, triploids and haploids were 2 470. 7, 2 390. 6 and 1 616.3 respectively. Average breadths of fiber of haploids, diploids and triploids were 29. 30, 33. 87 and 49. 20μm respectively. However, there were relatively large variations in the above characteristics among the ramie materials of the same ploidy levels. Field performance of different ploidy plants was also investigated. As the chromosome ploidy increasing, there was a tendency of declining in shoot number per plant and increasing in stem diameter. Average shoots per plant of haploids, diploids, triploids and tetraploids were 5.83, 5.30, 3.77 and 3. 65 whereas their average stem diameters were 0.66, 0. 67, 0. 74 and 0. 76 cm respectively. Triploids were the tallest, while haploids were the shortest. Triploids had strong growth vigour, diploids and tetraploids had moderate growth vigour, while haploids appeared to be lack of growth vigour. Cold stress tolerance of tetraploids were the strongest, diploid had the moderate tolerance, while haploids and triploids were the least tolerant to cold stress. Both haploids and triploids were sterile.

Variation Laws of Anthocyanin Content in Roots and Their Relationships with Major Economic Traits in Purple-Fleshed Sweetpotato Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam

Variation laws of anthocyanin content in root during the development and among the varieties, and their relationships with major economic traits in purple-fleshed sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas （L.） Lam] were studied in the present article. The dynamics of 20 economic traits in 13 purple-fleshed sweetpotato varieties at 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 140 d after their transplanting were investigated, and these traits included anthocyanin content in root, length of the longest vine, number of base branches, root number, dry matter contents in stem, foliage and root, fresh/dry weight of root, fresh/dry weight of stem, flesh/dry weight of foliage, flesh/dry weight of stem and foliage, flesh/dry weight of whole plant, and rations of photosynthate to root, stem, and foliage. The correlations between the variations of anthocyanin content and the other 19 economic traits among varieties and during the whole developing stages, and the correlations of daily increase of anthocyanin content with other l0 kinds of yields were analyzed. The results showed that： （1） During the whole development, the anthocyanin content had three variation types, i.e. a slow-increase type, a fluctuating-change type, and a deviousrising type, and had different responses to the growth of length of the longest vine, number of base branches, flesh/dry yield of root, and photosynthate allotments. （2） The anthocyanin contents among 13 varieties began to have significant difference after 20 d, and showed completed differentiation during 40-100 d, which had significantly negative correlationships with the number of base branches, fresh/dry yield of root, photosynthate allotment ratio to root, and had significant positive correlationships with dry matter content of root, length of the longest vine, fresh/dry yield of stem, dry yield of whole plant and photosynthate allotment ratio to foliage. （3） Because of the significantly negative correlation between daily increase of anthocyanin content and dry matter weight of root, the anthocyanin accumulation competed with dry matter accumulation for photosynthate in root, and the competitive relation was resolved in different ways in different purple-fleshed sweetpotato （PFSP） varieties. So, there had three variation types of anthocyanin content among PFSP varieties during their development, and had different correlations between these variations of anthocyanin content and the major economic traits.

Mapping QTLs Affecting Economic Traits on BTA3 in Chinese Holstein with Microsatellite Markers

It had been demonstrated that the strong and highly significant quantitative trait locus（QTL） can affect protein percentage on Bos Taurus Autosome 3（BTA3） at the position 52 cM, near the microsatellite DIK4353, with the 95% confidence interval spanning from 25 to 57 cM in Chinese Holstein population using QTL-express, MQREML, and GRIDQTL softwares. This study herein focused on such region of fine mapping QTLs for milk production and functional traits with 16 microsatellite markers with coverage of 33 cM between the markers BMS2904 and MB099 on BTA3 in a daughter-designed Chinese Holstein population. A total of 1 298 Holstein cows and 7 sires were genotyped for 16 microsatellites with ABI 3700 DNA sequencer. The variance components QTL linkage analysis（LA） and linkage-disequilibrium（LD） analysis（LA/LD） was performed to map QTLs for 7 traits, i.e., 305-d milk yield, fat yield, protein yield, fat percentage, protein percentage, somatic cell score and persistency of milk yield. Four strong and highly significant QTLs were detected for fat yield, fat percentage, protein percentage and somatic cell score at the position 40, 30, 27 and 26 cM, respectively. Two minor QTLs for milk yield and persistency of milk yield were identified at 42 and 46 cM, respectively. These findings provided a general idea for the fine mapping of the causal mutation for milk production and functional traits on BTA3 in the future.

Estimation of Genetic Parameters for Main Economic Traits in Keerqin Fine Wool Sheep

To investigate the population genetic structure of Keerqin fine wool sheep, the paternal half sib correlation method was employed to estimate the body weight traits, genetic and phenotypic correlation between fleece traits in the Keerqin fine wool sheep. The results showed that the correlation coefficients were 0.690 1, 0.593 1, 0.581 2, 0.210 2 for birth weight with weaning weight, body weight at one week of age, body weight at two week of age, and body weight at three week of age, respectively. The genetic correlations were highly significant （ P 〈0.01 ） for the four pairs of traits. The correlation coefficients were 0.373 3, 0.274 1, 0.268 2 for weaning weight with body weight at one week of age, body weight at two week of age, and body weight at three week of age, respectively. The genetic correlations were also extremely significant （ P 〈 0.01 ） for the three pairs of traits. The correlation coefficients were 0.712 0, 0.805 0, 0.717 1,0.701 9, 0.531 6, 0.719 0, 0.681 3 and 0.521 3 for wool fineness at one week and two week of age, wool fineness at one week and three week of age, staple length and fleece weight at one week of age, staple length at one week and three week of age, fleece weight at one week of age and wool fineness at three week of age, wool fineness at two week and three week of age, wool fineness at two week of age and fleece weight at three week of age, and fleece weight at two week and three week of age, respectively. The high genetic correlations were extremely significant （ P 〈0. O1 ） for the eight pairs of traits. The phenotypic correlations were generally lower than the genetic correlations.

Bovine PON1 Gene SNPs and their effects on Bio-economic traits

The objectives of the present study were to determine associations between these polymorphisms of PON1 gene and growth and carcass traits. For this purpose, genotyping was performed on males of 18 Angus, 23 Jinnan cattle, 20 Limousin, 28 Luxi cattle, 26 Qinchuan cattle, 29 Simmental, 29 Charolais. Traits of interest were analyzed using the RFLP-PCR and GLM procedure of SAS 9.1 and least square means of the genotypes were compared by the Tukey＇ s test in the association studies. Association of PONI/ EcoRV genotypes with body weight, average daily gain, rib eye area and tenderness were significant （P〈0.05）, and AG genotype was significant difference with others in average daily gain and tenderness （P〈0.05）, with AA genotype may have higher rib eye area （p〈0.05）. The association analysis of the PONI/Alu I polymorphism showed significant associations between genotypes and growth： body weight and carcass traits net meat weight and tenderness （P〈0.05）. AA genotype was considered more favorable than others in all growth and production traits. There were significant differences among breeds for all associated interests traits and difference between beef breeds and native breeds are obviously in all aspects. And these results may be useful for the breeding selection.

Impacts and Demonstration Effects of Applying Long-acting Slow-release Fertilizer on Economic Yield of Peanut

[Objectives]To study the impacts and demonstration effects of long-acting slow-release fertilizer application on economic yield of peanut.[Methods]The 25,30,35,40,45,50 kg of long-acting slow-release fertilizers were applied to 667 m 2 of peanuts,and different amounts of urea were applied together.[Results]Applying 40 kg of long-acting slow-release fertilizer and 10.45 kg of urea had the best effect.Compared with the application of ordinary compound fertilizers,the plants did not age prematurely,the leaf diseases were mild,the stems and leaves remained dark green when harvested,and the stems and leaves had a longer functional period.Bearing shoots increased by 1.7,single-plant full pods increased by 2.4,double-seed peanuts increased by 3.2,empty pods decreased by 0.5,and single-seed peanuts decreased by 0.7.The experimental demonstration results show that the spring-sowed peanuts had an average yield increase of 29.0-67.2 kg/667 m 2,and the yield increase rate was 7.35%-16.89%,and the difference was extremely significant.[Conclusions]In the high-yield cultivation of peanuts,the application of long-acting slow-release fertilizer can be promoted to improve peanut production.

Study on Effect of Engran Series of Microbial Organic Fertilizers on Flue-cured Tobacco

[Objective] This study was conducted to provide theoretic support for improving yield and quality of flue-cured tobacco by applying microbial organic fertilizers. [Method] A field plot experiment was conducted to study the effects of the Engran series of microbial organic fertilizers on growth and development, diseases and pests and economic traits of flue-cured tobacco. [Result] The result showed that the treatment of conventional fertilization ＋ Engran microbial agent could promote the growth and dry matter accumulation of flue-cured tobacco during the growth period in the field, enhance the disease resistance of tobacco, and improve yield and output value of flue-cured tobacco and income of tobacco growers. Compared with T1,the proportion of high-grade tobacco, the proportion of mid-high grade tobacco,yield, output value and average price increased by 4.4%, 3.8%, 5.48%, 11.51% and5.73% respectively. [Conclusion] The treatment of conventional fertilization ＋ Engran microbial agent showed outstanding performance, is optimum for field production,and could be applied to Flue-cured tobacco.

Genetic and genomic analyses for economically important traits and their applications in molecular breeding of cultured fish

The traits of cultured fish must continually be genetically improved to supply high-quality animal protein for human consumption.Economically important fish traits are controlled by multiple gene quantitative trait loci(QTL),most of which have minor effects,but a few genes may have major effects useful for molecular breeding.In this review,we chose relevant studies on some of the most intensively cultured fish and concisely summarize progress on identifying and verifying QTLs for such traits as growth,disease and stress resistance and sex in recent decades.The potential applications of these major-effect genes and their associated markers in marker-assisted selection and molecular breeding,as well as future research directions are also discussed.These genetic and genomic analyses will be valuable for elucidating the mechanisms modulating economically important traits and to establish more effective molecular breeding techniques in fish.

Effect of ABA and Biological Bacterial Agents on the Fruit Quality of Jinhua Large and White Peach

[Objective] The aim was to screen the foliar fertilizer and growth regulators to improve the quality of Jinhua Large and White Peach. [Method] The effects of seven foliar fertilizer and growth regulators on the major economic traits of Jinhua Large and White Peach were studied. [Result] After timely spraying of S-ABA and Fushizhuang in young fruit stage,the major economic traits of Large and White Peach including fruit weight and soluble solids content were significantly higher than that of the control,and significantly better than other treatments. In addition,Huoqing spraying treatment could obviously improve the quality of Large and White Peach. [Conclusion] Shifuzhuang,S-ABA and Huoqing spraying could significantly improve the quality of Jinhua Large and White Peach,which were suitable to be disseminated and applied in production.

Systematic analysis of feeding behaviors and their effects on feed efficiency in Pekin ducks

Background： Feeding behavior study is important for animal husbandry and production. However, few studies were conducted on the feeding behavior and their relationship with feeding efficiency in Pekin ducks. In order to investigate the feeding behavior and their relationship with feed efficiency and other economic traits in Pekin ducks, we selected 358 male Pekin ducks and recorded feeding information between 3 to 6 wk of age using automatic electronic feeders, and compared the feeding behavior under different residual feed intake（RFI） levels.Results： We observed that total feed time, daily feed intake and feed intake per meal had strong positive correlations with feed efficiency traits; moreover, strong correlation between feed intake per meal and body weight was found（R=0.32, 0.36）. Daily feeding rate meal and meal duration had weak correlations with feed efficiency（R=0.14~0.15）. The phenotypic correlation of between-meal pauses, with feed efficiency was not observed. When daily changes were analyzed, high RFI ducks had the highest feed consumption over all times, and obvious differences in daily visits were found among different RFI level animals during the middle period; these differences were magnified with age, but there was no difference in daily meal number. Moreover, our data indicate that high RFI birds mainly take their meals at the edge of the population enclosure, where they are more susceptible to environmental interference.Conclusions： Overal, this study suggests that the general feeding behaviors can be accurately measured using automatic electronic feeders and certain feeding behaviors in Pekin ducks are associated with improved feed efficiency.

Effect of Environment and Genetic Recombination on Subspecies and Economic Trait Differentiation in the F_2 and F_3 Generations from indicajaponica Hybridization

indica and japonica are the two most important subspecies of Asian cultivated rice. Identifying mechanisms responsible for population differentiation in these subspecies is important for indica-japonica hybridization breeding. In this study, subspecies and economic trait differentiation patterns were analyzed using morphological and molecular （InDel and Intron Length Polymorphism） data in F2 and F3 populations derived from indica-japonica hybridization. Populations were grown in Liaoning and Guangdong provinces, China, with F3 populations generated from F2 populations using bulk harvesting （BM） and single-seed descent methods （SSD）. Segregation distortion was detected in F3-BM populations, but not in F3- SSD or in F2 populations. Superior performance was observed with respect to economic traits in Liaoning compared with that in Guangdong and 1 000-grain weight （KW）, seed setting rate （SSR） and grain yield per plant （GYP） were significantly correlated with indica and japonica subspecies types. Analysis of molecular and morphological data demonstrated that the environment is the main factor giving rise to population differentiation in indica-japonica hybridization. In addition, we also found that KW, SSR and GYP are related to subspecies characteristics and kinship, which is possibly a significant factor resulting in economic trait differentiation and determining environmental adaptability. Our study has provided new insights into the process of population differentiation in these subspecies to inform indica-japonica hybridization breeding.

Optimum Application Time and Application Rate of Nitrogen Fertilizer in Brassica napus L.

To find proper nitrogen fertilizer application mode of rapeseed( Brassica napus L.),promote the high and stable yield of rapeseed,field experiment was carried out to study the effect of nitrogen fertilizer application modes on the yield and economic traits of Fengyou 10 rapeseed planted in two different fertility soils,and characteristics and differences of responses of different fertility soils to nitrogen fertilizer application modes were compared and analyzed. The results showed that the yield and related economic traits of rapeseed treated by nitrogen fertilizer were higher than the control group; in the nitrogen fertilizer treatment group,when the nitrogen fertilizer was applied as the base fertilizer and wintering fertilizer at the ratio of 7∶ 3,the rapeseed yield was higher than the control group and reached the highest; when the nitrogen fertilizer was applied as the base fertilizer,wintering fertilizer,and bud fertilizer at the ratio of 5∶ 3∶ 2,the rapeseed yield was significantly higher than the control group but was the lowest. These indicate that sufficient nitrogen supply is the basis for normal growth and development of rape seedlings. When the pure nitrogen fertilizer was at 192 kg/ha and the ratio of base fertilizer and wintering fertilizer was 7∶ 3,it can better coordinate the high yield of rapeseed and overall use of nitrogen fertilizer,and obtain higher rapeseed yield.

Decoding the fish genome opens a new era in important trait research and molecular breeding in China

Aquaculture represents the fastest-growing global food production sector,as it has become an essential component of the global food supply.China has the world's largest aquaculture industry in terms of production volume.However,the sustainable development of fish culture is hindered by several concerns,including germplasm degradation and disease outbreaks.The practice of genomic breeding,which relies heavily on genome information and genotypephenotype relationships,has significant potential for increasing the efficiency of aquaculture production.In 2014,the completion of the genome sequencing and annotation of the Chinese tongue sole signified the beginning of the fish genomics era in China.Since then,domestic researchers have made dramatic progress in functional genomic studies.To date,the genomes of more than 60 species of fish in China have been assembled and annotated.Based on these reference genomes,evolutionary,comparative,and functional genomic studies have revolutionized our understanding of a wide range of biologically and economically important traits of fishes,including growth and development,sex determination,disease resistance,metamorphosis,and pigmentation.Furthermore,genomic tools and breeding techniques such as SNP arrays,genomic selection,and genome editing have greatly accelerated genetic improvement through the incorporation of functional genomic information into breeding activities.This review aims to summarize the current status,advances,and perspectives of the genome resources,genomic study of important traits,and genomic breeding techniques of fish in China.The review will provide aquaculture researchers,fish breeders,and farmers with updated information concerning fish genomic research and breeding technology.The summary will help to promote the genetic improvement of production traits and thus will support the sustainable development of fish aquaculture.

Abundance-weighted plant functional trait variation differs between terrestrial and wetland habitats along wide climatic gradients

Patterns of plant trait variation across spatial scales are important for understanding ecosystem functioning and services.However,habitat-related drivers of these patterns are poorly understood.In a conceptual model,we ask whether and how the patterns of within-and among-site plant trait variation are driven by habitat type(terrestrial vs.wetland)across large climatic gradients.We tested these through spatial-hierarchical-sampling of leaves in herbaceous-dominated terrestrial and wetland communities within each of 26 sites across China.For all 13 plant traits,within-site variation was larger than among-site variation in both terrestrial and wetland habitats.Within-site variation was similar in most leaf traits related to carbon and nutrient economics but larger in specific leaf area and size-related traits(plant height,leaf area and thickness)in wetland compared to terrestrial habitats.Among-site variation was larger in terrestrial than wetland habitats for 10 leaf traits but smaller for plant height,leaf area and leaf nitrogen.Our results indicate the important role of local ecological processes in driving plant trait variation among coexisting species and the dependence of functional variation across habitats on traits considered.These findings will help to understand and predict the effects of climatic or land-use changes on ecosystem functioning and services.