Publications by authors named "Xiaohuan Chao"

Article Synopsis
  • Researchers are focusing on improving broiler chickens for better meat production through breeding, particularly using the EGR1 gene as a target.
  • EGR1 shows higher expression in chicken breast tissues with lower muscle content and is involved in muscle growth by affecting myoblast behavior.
  • The study identified specific EGR1 gene variations linked to various slaughter traits in the Jiangfeng M3 lineage partridge chickens, helping to enhance breeding strategies.
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  • Disruption in the estrous cycle can negatively impact fertility, and the dynamics of ovarian follicles are essential for maintaining this cycle.
  • A newly identified long intergenic non-coding RNA (lincRNA), HEOE, is significantly increased in pig ovaries during the estrus phase and is responsive to luteinizing hormone (LH), influencing cell behavior in ovarian granulosa cells.
  • Overexpression or suppression of HEOE disrupts estrous cycle regularity and decreases litter size by altering key pathways in follicular development, suggesting that HEOE could be a promising target for fertility regulation in pigs.
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  • BFT (back fat thickness) is linked to meat quality and lean meat percentage, with notable differences between European LW pigs and Chinese MZ pigs.
  • Copy number variation (CNV) is an important genetic factor that influences these traits, although its specific impact on BFT in different pig breeds is not well understood.
  • The study used next-generation sequencing to detect CNVs and found a specific CNV associated with BFT, which affects gene expression and influences preadipocyte development, contributing to the understanding of pork quality genetics.
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  • Pork belly, valued for its flavor, is often ignored in breeding programs that prioritize lean meat, but its quality relies on the structure of muscle and fat layers.
  • The study utilized deep learning, originally using semantic segmentation, but shifted to image classification due to low accuracy; layer counts were organized into three categories based on fat and muscle layers.
  • The ResNet18 model proved most successful, achieving nearly perfect training accuracy and adequate validation accuracy, and was implemented for real-time analysis of pork belly layers, facilitating better breeding decisions.
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Background: Previous studies have demonstrated the role of N6-methyladenosine (mA) RNA methylation in various biological processes, our research is the first to elucidate its specific impact on LCAT mRNA stability and adipogenesis in poultry.

Results: The 6 100-day-old female chickens were categorized into high (n = 3) and low-fat chickens (n = 3) based on their abdominal fat ratios, and their abdominal fat tissues were processed for MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq. An integrated analysis of MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq omics data revealed 16 differentially expressed genes associated with to differential mA modifications.

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The fertility rate and litter size of female pigs are critically affected by the expression of estrus. The objective of this study was to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of estrus expression by analyzing the differential expression of genes and long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNA), as well as the utilization of alternative polyadenylation (APA) sites, in the vulva and vagina during the estrus and diestrus stages of Large White and indigenous Chinese Mi gilts. Our study revealed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEG) in the vulva was less than that in the vagina, and the DEGs in the vulva were enriched in pathways such as "neural" pathways and steroid hormone responses, including the "Calcium signaling pathway" and "Oxytocin signaling pathway".

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In pig production, pigs often show more aggressive behavior after mixing, which adversely affects animal welfare and growth performance. The Jumonji and structural domain-rich AT interaction domain 2 (JARID2) gene plays an important role in neurodevelopment in mice and various psychiatric disorders in humans. The JARID2 gene may impact the aggressive behavior of pigs.

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A comprehensive understanding of the complex regulatory mechanisms governing estrus and ovulation across multiple tissues in mammals is imperative to improve the reproductive performance of livestock and mitigate ovulation-related disorders in humans. To comprehensively elucidate the regulatory landscape, we analyzed the transcriptome of protein-coding genes and long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) in 58 samples (including the hypothalamus, pituitary, ovary, vagina, and vulva) derived from European Large White gilts and Chinese Mi gilts during estrus and diestrus. We constructed an intricate regulatory network encompassing 358 hub genes across the five examined tissues.

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Copy number variation (CNV) represents a significant reservoir of genetic diversity within the genome and exhibits a strong association with economically valuable traits in livestock. The manifestation of aggressive behavior in pigs has detrimental effects on production efficiency, immune competency, and meat quality. Nevertheless, the impact of CNV on the aggressive behavior of pigs remains elusive.

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As a natural sweetener, stevioside is extracted from Bertoni and possesses potent antioxidant activity. However, little information is known about its protective role in maintaining the intestinal epithelial cells health under oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of stevioside on alleviating inflammation, apoptosis, and improving antioxidant capacity in intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) under oxidative stress by diquat.

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In this study, we evaluated the protective effects and potential mechanisms of acidifiers on intestinal epithelial cells exposure to oxidative stress (OS). IPEC-J2 cells were first pretreated with 5 × 10 acidifiers for 4 h before being exposed to the optimal dose of diquat to induce oxidative stress. The results showed that acidifiers attenuated diquat-induced oxidative stress, which manifests as the improvement of antioxidant capacity and the reduction in reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation.

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Weaning stress decreases the growth performance of piglets and is one of the main concerns of pig industries. Traditional Chinese herbal medicines have been used to reduce the adverse effects of weaning stress as both nutritional supplements and antibiotic substitutes. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a Chinese herbal mixture (Kangtaile, which contained Paeonia lactiflora, licorice, dandelion, and tea polyphenols) on the growth performances, immune response, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal microbiota of weaned pigs.

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Copy number variation (CNV) has been considered to be an important source of genetic variation for important phenotypic traits of livestock. In this study, we performed whole-genome CNV detection on Suhuai (SH) ( = 23), Chinese Min Zhu (MZ) ( = 11), and Large White (LW) ( = 12) pigs based on next-generation sequencing data. The copy number variation regions (CNVRs) were annotated and analyzed, and 10,885, 10,836, and 10,917 CNVRs were detected in LW, MZ, and SH pigs, respectively.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores the role of Long Intergenic Non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) in the estrus expression of gilts and sows by analyzing follicular tissues using RNA-seq.
  • Seventy-three differentially expressed lincRNAs (DELs) were identified across various comparisons between estrus and diestrus phases, with some linked to genetic traits in pigs.
  • A protein-protein interaction network was created using key differentially expressed genes, offering new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying estrus expression and follicular development in gilts.
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Lipid biosynthesis is a complex process, which is regulated by multiple factors including lncRNA. However, the role of lncRNA in chicken abdominal fat accumulation is still unclear. In this research, we collected liver tissues from six high abdominal fat rate Sanhuang broilers and six low abdominal fat rate Sanhuang broilers to perform lncRNA sequencing and small RNA sequencing.

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To explore the regulatory mechanism of abdominal fat deposition in broilers, 100-day-old Sanhuang chickens ( = 12) were divided into high-fat and low-fat groups, according to the abdominal fat ratio size. Total RNA isolated from the 12 abdominal fat tissues was used for miRNA and mRNA sequencing. Results of miRNA and mRNA sequencing revealed that miR-429-3p was highly expressed in high-fat chicken whereas expression was downregulated.

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