The utilization of agro-industrial by-products, such as fruit residues, presents a promising strategy for providing alternative feed to ruminants amidst rising prices and limited availability of traditional roughage. In this study, we investigated the effects of Rosa roxburghii tratt residue, a local fruit residue in Guizhou province of China, on the growth, blood metabolites, rumen fermentation, and slaughter performance of Hu sheep. Ninety-six sheep were randomly divided into four groups, namely control, treatment 1, treatment 2, and treatment 3, and fed diets containing 0, 10, 20, and 30% Rosa roxburghii Tratt residue, respectively. Feeding varying levels of Rosa roxburghii Tratt residue showed no significant differences in dry matter intake, average daily gain, or the ratio of dry matter intake to average daily gain. However, sheep in the group fed with 30% Rosa roxburghii Tratt residue showed the highest gross profit. Plasma albumin content was lower in groups fed with Rosa roxburghii Tratt residue-containing diets compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, diet treatment 3 decreased plasma creatinine levels compared to control and treatment 1 (p < 0.05). Sheep in treatment 2 and treatment 3 exhibited higher plasma high-density lipoprotein level than control and treatment 1 (p < 0.05), as well as increased total cholesterol levels compared to control (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in other plasma metabolites. Rumen pH, N-NH3, volatile fatty acids, and methane levels did not differ significantly among the four groups. However, feeding diets treatment 2 and treatment 3 resulted in decreased water holding capacity and increased shear force compared to control and treatment 1 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, pH, red chromaticity (a*), yellowness index (b*), and luminance (L*) were unaffected among the four groups of sheep. In conclusion, the inclusion of up to 30% Rosa roxburghii Tratt residue had no adverse effects on growth performance, allowing for feed cost savings without impacting rumen fermentation parameters. Rosa roxburghii tratt residue also showed benefits in improving plasma protein efficiency and enhancing lipid metabolism, albeit with limited effects on meat quality. Considering its affordability, Rosa roxburghii Tratt residue presents a practical choice for low-cost diets, ensuring economic returns.

Vulnerability curves (VCs) have been measured extensively to describe the differences in plant vulnerability to cavitation. Although the roles of hydraulic conductivity (Ks,max) and hydraulic safety (P50, embolism resistance), both of which are parameters of VCs (\'sigmoidal\' type), in tree demography have been evaluated across different forests, the direct linkages between VCs and tree demography are rarely explored. In this study, we combined measured VCs and plot data of 16 tree species in Panamanian seasonal tropical forests to investigate the connections between VCs and tree mortality, recruitment and growth. We found that the mortality and recruitment rates of evergreen species were most significantly positively correlated with P50. However, the mortality and recruitment rates of deciduous species only exhibited significant positive correlations with parameter a, which describes the steepness of VCs and indicates the sensitivity of conductivity loss with water potential decline, but is often neglected. These differences among evergreen and deciduous species may contribute to the poor performance of existing quantitative relationships (such as the fitting relationships for all 16 species) in capturing tree mortality and recruitment dynamics. Additionally, evergreen species presented a significant positive relationship between relative growth rate (RGR) and Ks,max, while deciduous species did not display such relationship. The RGR of both evergreen and deciduous species also displayed no significant correlations with P50 and a. Further analysis demonstrated that species with steeper VCs tended to have high mortality and recruitment rates, while species with flatter VCs were usually those with low mortality and recruitment rates. Our results highlight the important role of parameter a in tree demography, especially for deciduous species. Given that VC is a key component of plant hydraulic models, integrating measured VC rather than optimizing its parameters will help improve the ability to simulate and predict forest response to water availability.

The wild Onychostoma macrolepis, a species under national class II protection in China, lacks a specific compound feed for captive rearing. Understanding the dietary amino acid pattern is crucial for optimal feed formulation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the four different dietary amino acid patterns, i.e., anchovy fishmeal protein (FMP, control group) and muscle protein (MP), whole-body protein (WBP), fish egg protein (FEP) of juvenile Onychostoma macrolepis, on the growth performance, body composition, intestinal morphology, enzyme activities, and the expression levels of gh, igf, mtor genes in juveniles. In a 12-week feeding trial with 240 juveniles (3.46±0.04g), the MP group demonstrated superior outcomes in growth performance (FBW, WGR, SGR), feed utilization efficiency (PER, PRE, FCR). Notably, it exhibited higher crude protein content in whole-body fish, enhanced amino acid composition in the liver, and favorable fatty acid health indices (AI, TI, h/H) in muscle compared to other groups (P < 0.05). Morphologically, the MP and FMP groups exhibited healthy features. Additionally, the MP group displayed significantly higher activities of TPS, ALP, and SOD, along with elevated expression levels of gh, igf, mtor genes, distinguishing it from the other groups (P < 0.05). This study illustrated that the amino acid pattern of MP emerged as a suitable dietary amino acid pattern for juvenile Onychostoma macrolepis. Furthermore, the findings provide valuable insights for formulating effective feeds in conserving and sustainably farming protected species, enhancing the research\'s broader ecological and aquacultural significance.

Heterosis has been widely utilized in agricultural production. Despite over a century of extensive research, the underlying mechanisms of heterosis remain elusive. Most hypotheses and research have focused on the genetic basis of heterosis. However, the potential role of gut microbiota in heterosis has been largely ignored. Here, we carefully design a crossbreeding experiment with two distinct broiler breeds and conduct 16S rRNA amplicon and transcriptome sequencing to investigate the synergistic role of gut microbiota and host genes in driving heterosis. We find that the breast muscle weight of the hybrids exhibits a high heterosis, 6.28% higher than mid-parent value. A notable difference is observed in the composition and potential function of cecal microbiota between hybrids and their parents. Over 90% of the differentially colonized microbiota and differentially expressed genes exhibit nonadditive patterns. Integrative analyses uncover associations between nonadditive genes and nonadditive microbiota, including a connection between the expression of cellular signaling pathway and metabolism-related genes and the abundance of Odoribacter, Oscillibacter, and Alistipes in hybrids. Moreover, higher abundances of these microbiota are related to better meat yield. In summary, these findings highlight the importance of gut microbiota in heterosis, serving as crucial factors that modulate heterosis expression in chickens.

UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to determine the effects of compatibility of Clostridium butyricum and Bacillus subtilis on growth performance, lipid metabolism, antioxidant status and cecal microflora of broilers during the starter phase.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 600 1-day-old Ross 308 broilers were randomly divided into two groups with six replicates in each group. Chickens in the control group were fed a basal diet, while chickens in the experimental group were fed a diet supplemented with 2 × 108 CFU/kg of C. butyricum and 1 × 109 CFU/kg of B. subtilis. The experimental period was 21 days.
UNASSIGNED: Addition of C. butyricum and B. subtilis significantly increased (p<0.05) the body weight and liver NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME) activity of broilers, enhanced (p<0.05) the average daily gain and average daily feed intake of broilers. However, the addition of C. butyricum and B. subtilis did not significantly affect the concentrations of triglyceride and total cholesterol in the serum, the activities of fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase in the liver, the total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase activity and malondialdehyde content in the serum and liver. Besides, microbial analysis revealed that supplementation of C. butyricum and B. subtilis increased (p<0.05) the abundance of Firmicutes such as CHKCI001 and Faecalibacterium, decreased (p<0.05) the abundance of Bacteroidota such as Bacteroides and Alistipes. Spearman correlation analysis confirmed that the above cecal microbiota were closely related to the growth performance of broilers (p<0.05). In addition, simultaneous supplementation of C. butyricum and B. subtilis significant affected (p<0.05) 33 different functional pathways such as lipid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism. This explains the phenomenon of increased growth performance and liver NADP-ME activity in the probiotics group.
UNASSIGNED: The compatibility of C. butyricum and B. subtilis could improve the growth of broilers during the starter phase by changing the cecal microflora.

Cadmium (Cd), as the most prevalent heavy metal contaminant poses serious risks to plants, humans, and the environment. The ubiquity of this toxic metal is continuously increasing due to the rapid discharge of industrial and mining effluents and the excessive use of chemical fertilizers. Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as a novel strategy to alleviate Cd toxicity. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) have become the most important NPs used to mitigate the toxicity of abiotic stresses and improve crop productivity. The plants quickly absorb Cd, which subsequently disrupts plant physiological and biochemical processes and increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which causes the oxidation of cellular structures and significant growth losses. Besides this, Cd toxicity also disrupts leaf osmotic pressure, nutrient uptake, membrane stability, chlorophyll synthesis, and enzyme activities, leading to a serious reduction in growth and biomass productivity. Though plants possess an excellent defense mechanism to counteract Cd toxicity, this is not enough to counter higher concentrations of Cd toxicity. Applying Zn-NPs has proven to have significant potential in mitigating the toxic effects of Cd. ZnO-NPs improve chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthetic efficiency, membrane stability, nutrient uptake, and gene expression, which can help to counter toxic effects of Cd stress. Additionally, ZnO-NPs also help to reduce Cd absorption and accumulation in plants, and the complex relationship between ZnO-NPs, osmolytes, hormones, and secondary metabolites plays an important role in Cd tolerance. Thus, this review concentrates on exploring the diverse mechanisms by which ZnO nanoparticles can alleviate Cd toxicity in plants. In the end, this review has identified various research gaps that need addressing to ensure the promising future of ZnO-NPs in mitigating Cd toxicity. The findings of this review contribute to gaining a deeper understanding of the role of ZnO-NPs in combating Cd toxicity to promote safer and sustainable crop production by remediating Cd-polluted soils. This also allows for the development of eco-friendly approaches to remediate Cd-polluted soils to improve soil fertility and environmental quality.

Macadamia nut plantings in China are expanding year by year. In order to breed and promote superior varieties, this study analyzed the effects of different rootstocks and scions on the survival rate of grafted seedlings, and then selected the best substrate composition for plant growth. The results showed that the survival rate of the HAES788 variety as rootstock and Guire No. 1 as scion was the highest, reaching 96%. The optimal grafting time in December was better than that in March. Furthermore, among 16 substrate formulations, T12, T13, T15, and T16 had advantages of agglomerated soil and more well-developed root systems compared to the CK made of loess. The plant height, stem diameter, leaf length, leaf width, and dry weight of the aboveground and underground parts of the grafted seedlings planted in these substrate formulations were significantly higher than those plants planted in the CK. In addition, the substrate formulations T12, T13, T15, and T16 significantly improved the organic matter, total nitrogen, and total potassium content of the substrate soils, but little improvement was observed for total phosphorus content after 13 months. Overall, macadamia grafting times are best in December, with HAES788 and Guire No. 1 being the best rootstock and scion. The optimal substrate formulations are T12, T13, T15, and T16. This study provides a solid foundation for the production of high-quality macadamia plants.

Cadmium (Cd) is a naturally occurring toxic heavy metal that adversely affects plant germination, growth, and development. While the effects of Cd have been described on many crop species including rice, maize, wheat and barley, few studies are available on cadmium\'s effect on Tartary buckwheat which is a traditional grain in China. We examined nine genotypes and found that 30 µM of Cd reduced the root length in seedlings by between 4 and 44% and decreased the total biomass by 7 to 31%, compared with Cd-free controls. We identified a significant genotypic variation in sensitivity to Cd stress. Cd treatment decreased the total root length and the emergence and growth of lateral roots, and these changes were significantly greater in the Cd-sensitive genotypes than in tolerant genotypes. Cd resulted in greater wilting and discoloration in sensitive genotypes than in tolerant genotypes and caused more damage to the structure of root and leaf cells. Cd accumulated in the roots and shoots, but the concentrations in the sensitive genotypes were significantly greater than in the more tolerant genotypes. Cd treatment affected nutrient uptake, and the changes in the sensitive genotypes were greater than those in the tolerant genotypes, which could maintain their concentrations closer to the control levels. The induction of SOD, POD, and CAT activities in the roots and shoots was significantly greater in the tolerant genotypes than in the sensitive genotypes. We demonstrated that Cd stress reduced root and shoot growth, decreased plant biomass, disrupted nutrient uptake, altered cell structure, and managed Cd-induced oxidative stress differently in the sensitive and tolerant genotypes of Tartary buckwheat.

The current study aimed to provide a precise assessment of the genetic parameters associated with growth and white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) resistance traits in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). This was achieved through a controlled WSSV challenge assay and the analysis of phenotypic values of five traits: body weight (BW), overall length (OL), body length (BL), tail length (TL), and survival hour post-infection (HPI). The analysis included test data from a total of 1017 individuals belonging to 20 families, of which 293 individuals underwent whole-genome resequencing, resulting in 18,137,179 high-quality SNP loci being obtained. Three methods, including pedigree-based best linear unbiased prediction (pBLUP), genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP), and single-step genomic BLUP (ssGBLUP) were utilized. Compared to the pBLUP model, the heritability of growth-related traits obtained from GBLUP and ssGBLUP was lower, whereas the heritability of WSSV resistance was higher. Both the GBLUP and ssGBLUP models significantly enhanced prediction accuracy. Specifically, the GBLUP model improved the prediction accuracy of BW, OL, BL, TL, and HPI by 4.77%, 21.93%, 19.73%, 19.34%, and 63.44%, respectively. Similarly, the ssGBLUP model improved prediction accuracy by 10.07%, 25.44%, 25.72%, 19.34%, and 122.58%, respectively. The WSSV resistance trait demonstrated the most substantial enhancement using both genomic prediction models, followed by body size traits (e.g., OL, BL, and TL), with BW showing the least improvement. Furthermore, the choice of models minimally impacted the assessment of genetic and phenotypic correlations. Genetic correlations among growth traits ranged from 0.767 to 0.999 across models, indicating high levels of positive correlations. Genetic correlations between growth and WSSV resistance traits ranged from (-0.198) to (-0.019), indicating low levels of negative correlations. This study assured significant advantages of the GBLUP and ssGBLUP models over the pBLUP model in the genetic parameter estimation of growth and WSSV resistance in L. vannamei, providing a foundation for further breeding programs.

A 60 day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the impacts of dietary carbohydrates with different complexities and configurations on the growth, plasma parameters, apparent digestibility, intestinal microbiota, glucose, and lipid metabolism of soft-shelled turtles (Pelodiscus sinensis). Four experimental diets were formulated by adding 170 g/kg glucose, fructose, α-starch, or cellulose, respectively. A total of 280 turtles (initial body weight 5.11 ± 0.21 g) were distributed into 28 tanks and were fed twice daily. The results showed that the best growth performance and apparent digestibility was observed in the α-starch group, followed by the glucose, fructose, and cellulose groups (p < 0.05). Monosaccharides (glucose and fructose) significantly enhanced the postprandial plasma glucose levels and hepatosomatic index compared to polysaccharides, due to the un-inhibited gluconeogenesis (p < 0.05). Starch significantly up-regulated the expression of the genes involved in glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, lipid anabolism and catabolism, and the transcriptional regulation factors of glycolipid metabolism (srebp and chrebp) (p < 0.05), resulting in higher plasma triglyceride levels and lipid contents in the liver and the whole body. The fructose group exhibited a lower lipid deposition compared with the glucose group, mainly by inhibiting the expression of srebp and chrebp. Cellulose enhanced the proportion of opportunistic pathogenic bacteria. In conclusion, P. sinensis utilized α-starch better than glucose, fructose, and cellulose.