Identification of polymorphic loci in the deiodinase 2 gene and their associations with head dimensions in geese

Deng, Yan,Hu, Qian,Tang, Bincheng,Ouyang, Qingyuan,Hu, Shenqiang,Hu, Bo,Hu, Jiwei,He, Hua,Chen, Guohong,Wang, Jiwen Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2022 Animal Bioscience Vol.35 No.5

Objective: This study was conducted to clone and compare the molecular characteristics of the deiodinase 2 (DIO2) gene between Sichuan White geese and Landes geese, and to analyze the association between polymorphisms of the DIO2 gene and head dimensions in Tianfu meat geese. Methods: The coding sequence of the DIO2 gene was cloned by polymerase chain reaction and vector ligation and aligned by DNAMAN software. A total of 350 Tianfu meat geese were used to genotype the polymorphisms of the DIO2 gene and measure the head dimensions. Association analysis between the polymorphisms of the DIO2 gene and head dimensions was carried out. Results: An 840-bp coding sequence of the DIO2 gene was obtained and comparison analysis identified four polymorphic loci between Sichuan White geese and Landes geese. Further analysis showed that the dominant alleles for the four polymorphic loci were G, G, A, and T and the frequency of the heterozygous genotype was higher than that of the homozygous genotype in Tianfu meat geese. Compared to that in the population of non-knob geese of Tianfu meat geese, the head dimensions in the population of knob geese were significantly higher except for nostril height. However, in the non-knob geese, beak width 1, beak width 2, nostril length, cranial width 1, and maxillary length had significant differences among different genotypes or haplotypes/diplotypes. Conclusion: These results suggested that polymorphisms of the DIO2 gene could be considered molecular markers to select larger heads of geese in the population of non-knob geese.

Transcriptome reveals genes involving in black skin color formation of ducks

Lei Wang,Hehe Liu,Bo Hu,Jiwei Hu,Hengyong Xu,Hua He,Chunchun Han,Bo Kang,Lili Bai,Rongping Zhang,Jiwen Wang,Shengqiang Hu,Liang Li 한국유전학회 2021 Genes & Genomics Vol.43 No.2

Background Skin color is colorful for birds, which has been reported to be associated with multi-biological functions, such as crypsis, camoufage, social signaling and mate choice, but little is known about its underlying molecular mechanism. Objective Studies on the major genes afecting the black skin color of ducks. Methods For this purpose, Silver ammonia staining and RNA-seq analysis were carried out to identify the diferences in tissue morphology and gene expressions between black and yellow skin ducks. Results The silver ammonia dyes slice results showed that in the development of black duck, the content of melanin in black skin gradually increased and then decreased, and the content of melanin in yellow and black skin was signifcantly diferent. Through transcriptome, a total of 102 and 84 diferentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identifed in beak skin and web skin, respectively. These DEGs were enriched in melanin biosynthesis and play a critical role in melanogenesis pathway. Co-expression analysis showed that EDNRB2 was the only gene associated with black skin color in DEGs, which was also consistent with qRT-PCR. Conclusions The melanin synthesis pathway dominated by EDNRB2 up-regulated the amount of melanin synthesis, leading to the formation of black skin in ducks.

Effective removal of arsenide from aqueous solutions using mesoporous CoFe2O4/graphene oxide nanocomposites assisted by artificial intelligence

Wu Xianliang,Hu Jiwei,Wang Xingfu,Xin Ling,Li Caifang,Wei Xionghui 한국탄소학회 2021 Carbon Letters Vol.31 No.6

This study investigated the arsenide removal by using mesoporous CoFe2O4/graphene oxide nanocomposites based on batch experiments optimized by artifcial intelligence tools. These nanocomposites were prepared by immobilizing cobalt ferrite on graphene oxide and then characterized using various techniques, including small angle X-ray difraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Artifcial intelligence tools associated with response surface methodology were employed to optimize the conditions of the arsenide removal process. The results showed that back propagation neural network combined with genetic algorithm was suitable for the arsenide removal from aqueous solutions by the nanocomposites based on the minimum average values of absolute errors and the value of R2 . The optimal values of the four variables (operating temperature, initial pH, initial arsenide concentration, and contact time) were found to be 25.66 °C, 7.58, 10.78 mg/L and 46.41 min, and the predicted arsenide removal percentage was 84.78%. The verifcation experiment showed that the arsenide removal percentage was 86.62%, which was close to the predicted value. Three evaluation methods (gradient boosted regression trees, Garson method and analysis of variance) all demonstrated that the temperature was the most important explanatory variable for the arsenide removal. In addition, the arsenide removal process can be depicted with pseudo-second-order kinetics model and Langmuir isotherm, respectively. The thermodynamics investigation disclosed that the adsorption process was of a spontaneously endothermic nature. In summary, this study showed that ANN-GA was an efcient and feasible method in determining the optimum conditions for arsenic removal by CoFe2O4/graphene oxide nanocomposites.

Yap signalling regulates ductular reactions in mice with CRISPR/Cas9-induced glycogen storage disease type Ia

Yixia Xie,Baowei Hu,Yue Gao,Yaxin Tang,Guohe Chen,Jiayuan Shen,Zhikai Jiang,He Jiang,Jiwei Han,Junyan Yan,Lifang Jin 한국통합생물학회 2022 Animal cells and systems Vol.26 No.6

Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD-Ia) is caused by a deficiency in the glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase, G6pc) enzyme, which catalyses the final step of gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis. Accumulation of G6pc can lead to an increase in glycogen and development of fatty liver. Ductular reactions refer to the proliferation of cholangiocytes and hepatic progenitors, which worsen fatty liver progress. To date, however, ductular reactions in GSD-Ia remain poorly understood. Here, we studied the development and potential underlying mechanism of ductular reactions in GSD-Ia in mice. We first generated GSD-Ia mice using CRISPR/Cas9 to target the exon 3 region of the G6pc gene. The typical GSD-Ia phenotype in G6pc−/− mice was then analysed using biochemical and histological assays. Ductular reactions in G6pc−/− mice were tested based on the expression of cholangiocytic markers cytokeratin 19 (CK19) and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM). Yes-associated protein 1 (Yap) signalling activity was measured using western blot (WB) analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Verteporfin was administered to the G6pc−/− mice to inhibit Yap signalling. The CRISPR/Cas9 system efficiently generated G6pc−/− mice, which exhibited typical GSD-Ia characteristics, including retarded growth, hypoglycaemia, and fatty liver disease. In addition, CK19- and EpCAM-positive cells as well as Yap signalling activity were increased in the livers of G6pc−/− mice. However, verteporfin treatment ameliorated ductular reactions and decreased Yap signalling activity. This study not only improves our understanding of GSD-Ia pathophysiology, but also highlights the potential of novel therapeutic approaches for GSD-Ia such as drug targeting of ductular reactions.

A Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Janus Membrane Used as Wound Dressings with Enhanced Antibacterial Properties

Mengqi Song,Qian Zhao,Xiuting Wang,Chuan Shi,Xiao Hu,Jiwei Li 한국섬유공학회 2022 Fibers and polymers Vol.23 No.9

In this study, an asymmetric wettable composite wound dressing consists of hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) outer layer and a hydrophilic polydopamine (PDA) coated Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs)/PVDF layer (PVDF-Ag-PDA) was successfully prepared through electrospinning and PDA coating. The results show that the contact angle of thePVDF surface is 132.8 °, while the PDA-coated surface is nearly 0 °, indicating an asymmetric wettability. The highlyhydrophilic PVDF-Ag-PDA layer can significantly reduce bacterial growth, while the PVDF layer with a small pore size andhigh hydrophobicity can prevent bacterial adherence. In addition, cytotoxic assays showed that PVDF/PVDF-Ag-PDApresent a high cell viability percentage (above 80 %), which is attributed to that the thin layer of PDA can alleviate thecytotoxicity of Ag NPs. Therefore, the Janus wound dressing noted as PVDF/PVDF-Ag-PDA has the potential for practicalapplications with the advantages mentioned above.