Characteristics of the intestinal flora of specific pathogen free chickens with age.

Specific pathogen-free (SPF) experimental animals are recognized as standard laboratory animals in the fields of biomedical, animal husbandry and veterinary research and production. Intestinal flora plays a critical role in nutrient absorption, improving health and protecting the host from pathogens. We therefore explored the variation and maintenance of intestinal flora in SPF chicks in order to better understand the composition of intestinal microflorain SPF chickens, and provide reference for the study of intestinal flora of SPF experimental animals.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 regulates muscle fiber development in cooperation with related genes to affect meat quality.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) is an important signal protein that is widely involved in physiological processes, such as lipid metabolism, cell movement, and disease processes. However, the relationship between LRP1 and meat quality remains unknown in chickens. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between LRP1 and meat quality that builds on our preliminary research, as well as to reveal the underlying molecular mechanism of LRP1 on meat-quality traits.

Lithium chloride's inhibition of 3T3-L1 cell differentiation by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and enhancing villin 2 expression.

The aim of this study is to reveal the relation among villin 2, Wnt/β-catenin, and adipogenesis by adding appropriate lithium chloride (LiCl). The study comprises three parts: the selection of LiCl concentration, the effect of LiCl on adipocyte differentiation during and after differentiation induction. By comprehensively analyzing the results of the experiments, we proved that LiCl can inhibit adipocyte differentiation and enhance villin 2 and β-catenin expressions not only during differentiation induction but also after it.

Genome-wide methylation changes are associated with muscle fiber density and drip loss in male three-yellow chickens.

In eukaryotes, DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification involved in gene expression regulation. Meat quality traits are complicated traits that are controlled by many genes. Changes in the methylation levels of certain genes controlling meat quality traits will inevitably affect their expression levels, thereby affecting meat quality.

A comparative profile of the microRNA transcriptome in immature and mature porcine testes using Solexa deep sequencing.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding regulatory RNAs that play key roles in many diverse biological processes such as spermatogenesis. However, no study has been performed on the miRNA transcriptome of developing porcine testes. Here, we employed Solexa deep sequencing technology to extend the repertoire of porcine testis miRNAs and extensively compare the expression patterns of sexually immature and mature porcine testes.

Patterns of variation of the major histocompatibility complex class IIB loci in Chinese goose (Anser Cygnoides).

In order to understand the variations of genomic organization of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and provide data for the studies on disease resistance of avian species, the MHC class II polymorphism in Chinese Z-goose was investigated for the first time in the present study. Eight alleles, which probably came from different loci, were found in six different geese with only one obvious band in the restriction fragment length polymorphism data. The numbers of nonsynonymous substitutions (dN) in peptide binding region of exon 2 were higher than that of synonymous substitutions (dS), and no stop codons or frameshift mutations were found in this region, indicating that balance selection was in operation, and the sequences are not likely to be pseudogenes.