High-density single nucleotide polymorphism chip-based conservation genetic analysis of indigenous pig breeds from Shandong Province, China

Wang, Yanping,Zhao, Xueyan,Wang, Cheng,Wang, Wenwen,Zhang, Qin,Wu, Ying,Wang, Jiying Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2021 Animal Bioscience Vol.34 No.7

Objective: Shandong indigenous pig breeds are important Chinese pig resources. Their progressive population decline in recent decades has attracted attention towards their conservation. Conservation genetics of these indigenous breeds are essential for developing a conservation and utilization scheme. Methods: A high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (HD-SNP) chip-based comparative analysis of genetic characteristics was performed for seven Shandong indigenous pig breeds in the context of five Western commercial breeds. Results: The results showed that Shandong indigenous pig breeds varied greatly in genetic diversity, effective population size, inbreeding level, and genetic distance with the Western commercial breeds. Specifically, Laiwu and Dapulian displayed low genetic diversity, and had a genetically distant relationship with the Western commercial breeds (average F statistics [F_ST] value of 0.3226 and 0.2666, respectively). Contrastingly, the other five breeds (Yantai, Licha, Yimeng, Wulain, and Heigai) displayed high genetic diversity within breed and had some extent of mixture pattern with the Western commercial breeds, especially Duroc and Landrace (F_ST values from 0.1043 to 0.2536). Furthermore, intensive gene flow was discovered among the seven Shandong indigenous breeds, particularly Wulian, Licha, and Heigai, as indicated by the large cluster formed in the principal component analysis scatterplot and small population differentiation (average of 0.1253) among them. Conclusion: Our study advances the understanding of genetic characteristics of Shandong indigenous breeds and provides essential information for developing an appropriate conservation and utilization scheme for these breeds.

Selection of Reference Genes for Gene Expression Studies in Porcine Whole Blood and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells under Polyinosinic:Polycytidylic Acid Stimulation

Wang, Jiying,Wang, Yanping,Wang, Huaizhong,Hao, Xiaojing,Wu, Ying,Guo, Jianfeng Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2014 Animal Bioscience Vol.27 No.4

Investigating gene expression of immune cells of whole blood or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) under polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) stimulation is valuable for understanding the immune response of organism to RNA viruses. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) is a standard method for quantification of gene expression studies. However, the reliability of qRT-PCR data critically depends on proper selection of reference genes. In the study, using two different analysis programs, geNorm and NormFinder, we systematically evaluated the gene expression stability of six candidate reference genes (GAPDH, ACTB, B2M, RPL4, TBP, and PPIA) in samples of whole blood and PBMC with or without poly I:C stimulation. Generally, the six candidate genes performed a similar trend of expression stability in the samples of whole blood and PBMC, but more stably expressed in whole blood than in PBMC. geNorm ranked B2M and PPIA as the best combination for gene expression normalization, while according to NormFinder, TBP was ranked as the most stable reference gene, followed by B2M and PPIA. Comprehensively considering the results from the two programs, we recommended using the geometric mean of the three genes, TBP, PPIA and B2M, to normalize the gene expression of whole blood and PBMC with poly I:C stimulation. Our study is the first detailed survey of the gene expression stability in whole blood and PBMC with or without poly I:C stimulation and should be helpful for investigating the molecular mechanism involved in porcine whole blood and PBMC in response to poly I:C stimulation.

Genome-wide association study for intramuscular fat content in Chinese Lulai black pigs

Yanping Wang,Chao Ning,Cheng Wang,Jianfeng Guo,Jiying Wang,Ying Wu 아세아·태평양축산학회 2019 Animal Bioscience Vol.32 No.5

Objective: Intramuscular fat (IMF) content plays an important role in meat quality. Identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genes related to pig IMF, especially using pig populations with high IMF content variation, can help to establish novel molecular breeding tools for optimizing IMF in pork and unveil the mechanisms that underlie fat metabolism. Methods: We collected muscle samples of 453 Chinese Lulai black pigs, measured IMF content by Soxhlet petroleum-ether extraction method, and genotyped genome-wide SNPs using GeneSeek Genomic Profiler Porcine HD BeadChip. Then a genome-wide association study was performed using a linear mixed model implemented in the GEMMA software. Results: A total of 43 SNPs were identified to be significantly associated with IMF content by the cutoff p<0.001. Among these significant SNPs, the greatest number of SNPs (n = 19) were detected on Chr.9, and two linkage disequilibrium blocks were formed among them. Additionally, 17 significant SNPs are mapped to previously reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of IMF and confirmed previous QTLs studies. Forty-two annotated genes centering these significant SNPs were obtained from Ensembl database. Overrepresentation test of pathways and gene ontology (GO) terms revealed some enriched reactome pathways and GO terms, which mainly involved regulation of basic material transport, energy metabolic process and signaling pathway. Conclusion: These findings improve our understanding of the genetic architecture of IMF content in pork and facilitate the follow-up study of fine-mapping genes that influence fat deposition in muscle.

Association of the Porcine Cluster of Differentiation 4 Gene with T Lymphocyte Subpopulations and Its Expression in Immune Tissues

Xu, Jingen,Liu, Yang,Fu, Weixuan,Wang, Jiying,Wang, Wenwen,Wang, Haifei,Liu, Jianfeng,Ding, Xiangdong,Zhang, Qin Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2013 Animal Bioscience Vol.26 No.4

Cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) is mainly expressed on $CD4^+$ T cells, which plays an important role in immune response. The aim of this study was to detect the association between polymorphisms of the CD4 gene and T lymphocyte subpopulations in pigs, and to investigate the effects of genetic variation on the CD4 gene expression level in immune tissues. Five missense mutations in the CD4 gene were identified using DNA pooling sequencing assays, and two main haplotypes (CCTCC and AGCTG) in strong linkage disequilibrium (with frequencies of 50.26% and 46.34%, respectively) were detected in the population of Large White pigs. Our results indicated that the five SNPs and the two haplotypes were significantly associated with the proportions of $CD4^-CD8^-$, $CD4^+CD8^+$, $CD4^+CD8^-$, $CD4^+$ and $CD4^+/CD8^+$ in peripheral blood (p<0.05). Gene expression analysis showed the mRNA level of the CD4 gene in thymus was significantly higher than that in lymph node and spleen (p<0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between animals with CCTCC/CCTCC genotype and animals with AGCTG/AGCTG genotype in the three immune tissues (p>0.05). These results indicate that the CD4 gene may influence T lymphocyte subpopulations and can be considered as a candidate gene affecting immunity in pigs.

Exploring the relationship between goal orientations for teaching of tertiary teachers and their teaching approaches in China

Jiying Han,Hongbiao Yin,Wenlan Wang 서울대학교 교육연구소 2015 Asia Pacific Education Review Vol.16 No.4

This study addresses a paucity of research into teacher motivation in higher education by exploring the relationship between tertiary teachers’ goal orientations for teaching and their approaches to teaching in China. A questionnaire gathered responses from 262 Chinese tertiary teachers, and the results showed these teachers reporting higher levels of relational and mastery goals for teaching and greater student-focused approach to teaching. Male teachers reported lower levels of ability-approach and mastery goals than female teachers, and teachers with no more than 5 years of teaching experience scored higher on both ability-approach and ability-avoidance goals than those with more than 15 years of teaching experience. The study also revealed that teachers’ ability goals significantly predicted a teacher-focused approach to teaching, and mastery goals predicted a student-focused approach to teaching.

Preparation of Heparin-Functionalized Microspheres and Study on Their Adsorption Characteristic for Basic Protein Lysozyme

Jiying Men,Ruixin Wang,Xiaoyu Hu,Hongyu Zhao,Hongwei Wei,Cong Hu,Baojiao Gao 한국고분자학회 2016 Macromolecular Research Vol.24 No.2

In suspension polymerization system, poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) microspheres are firstly prepared. Then, ring opening reaction takes place when heparin is bonded on PGMA microspheres to obtain functional PGMA-heparin microspheres. The chemical structure and physicochemical characters of PGMA-heparin microspheres are fully characterized with infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and zeta potential determination. The adsorption properties of PGMA-heparin for lysozyme are mainly investigated. The effects of the main factors on the adsorption properties are explored, furthermore the adsorption mechanism is analyzed in depth, and the adsorption thermodynamics is also researched. The experimental results show that the strong electrostatic interaction is formed between high density of negative charge coming from the carboxyl groups or sulfonic acid groups of heparin and the positive charge of basic protein lysozyme. The adsorption of PGMA-heparin for lysozyme is dependent on the pH value of the medium, and the saturated adsorption amount of PGMA-heparin for lysozyme possesses a maximum at pH 8, which reaches up to 654 mg/g. The adsorption of PGMA-heparin for lysozyme is an exothermic process which is driven by entropy, and the adsorption amount decreases with increasing the temperature.

Non-Planar 3D Nano-Aperture Design with Strong Near-Field Enhancement

Jiying Xu,Jia Wang,Qian Tian 한국물리학회 2005 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.47 No.1

In this paper a non-planar 3D nano-aperture structure, a two-step-shaped aperture with a combination of a rectangular aperture and a triangular aperture in each step, is proposed. By a 3D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, numerical simulations with a recording medium absent and present have been carried out with plane wave and Gaussian wave. The calculation results reveal that no matter what wave is incident, the novel aperture shows strong near-field enhancement. The peak intensity is enhanced at least 280 times and the power throughput is 1.8994 with plane wave and even approaches 3 with Gaussian wave. With a recording medium, when the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the light spot is 135 nm × 115 nm, the power delivered to the medium reaches 12.39 % of the incident power. This kind of non-planar 3D nano-aperture can be directly used as an exit aperture of a very-small-aperture laser or as an unattached shield, to produce a sub-wavelength light source with high transmission.

A 300J IGBT PULSED LASER POWER SUPPLY USING ZERO-CURRENT SWITCHING HALF-BRIDGE DC-DC INVERTER

Shi Jiying,Jia Guixi,Shen Yuzhen,Xin Qirong,Wang Qingyue 전력전자학회 1995 ICPE(ISPE)논문집 Vol.1995 No.10

A 300J IGBT pulsed laser power supply designed for 4X65F high voltage pulsed xenon lamp is described. The power supply delivers an output-voltage range from 0V to 1400V to the pulsed load with maximum peak energy of 300J and maximum peak current of 600A. The efficiency range of the power supply is measured from 85.2% to 92.2%. Detailed analysis and design of the power supply, along with the experimental results are presented.

Correlation analyses of CpG island methylation of cluster of differentiation 4 protein with gene expression and T lymphocyte subpopulation traits

Zhao, Xueyan,Wang, Yanping,Guo, Jianfeng,Wang, Jiying Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2018 Animal Bioscience Vol.31 No.8

Objective: Cluster of differentiation 4 protein (CD4) gene is an important immune related gene which plays a significant role in T cell development and host resistance during viral infection. Methods: In order to unravel the relationship of CpG island methylation level of CD4 gene with its gene expression and T lymphocyte subpopulation traits, we used one typical Chinese indigenous breed (Dapulian, DP) and one commercial breed (Landrace), then predicted the CpG island of CD4 gene, determined the methylation status of CpG sites by bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction (BSP), and carried out the correlation analyses of methylation frequencies of CpG sites with mRNA expression and T lymphocyte subpopulation traits. Results: There was one CpG island predicted in the upstream -2 kb region and exon one of porcine CD4 gene, which located 333 bp upstream from the start site of gene and contained nine CpG sites. The correlation analysis results indicated that the methylation frequency of CpG_2 significantly correlated with CD4 mRNA expression in the DP and Landrace combined population, though it did not reach significance level in DP and Landrace separately. Additionally, 15 potential binding transcription factors (TFs) were predicted within the CpG island, and one of them (Jumonji) contained CpG_2 site, suggesting that it may influence the CD4 gene expression through the potential binding TFs. We also found methylation frequency of CpG_2 negatively correlated with T lymphocyte subpopulation traits CD4+CD8-CD3-, CD4-CD8+CD3- and CD4+/CD8+, and positively correlated with CD4-CD8+CD3+ and CD4+CD8+CD3+ (for all correlation, p<0.01) in DP and Landrace combined population. Thus, the CpG_2 was a critical methylation site for porcine CD4 gene expression and T lymphocyte subpopulation traits. Conclusion: We speculated that increased methylation frequency of CpG_2 may lead to the decreased expression of CD4, which may have some kind of influence on T lymphocyte subpopulation traits and the immunity of DP population.

Growth Performance and Meat Quality of Broiler Chickens Supplemented with Bacillus licheniformis in Drinking Water

Liu, Xiaolu,Yan, Hai,Lv, Le,Xu, Qianqian,Yin, Chunhua,Zhang, Keyi,Wang, Pei,Hu, Jiye Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2012 Animal Bioscience Vol.25 No.5

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate effects of Bacillus licheniformis on growth performance and meat quality of broilers. Nine hundred one-d-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 3 experimental groups with three replicate pens of 100 broiler chicks. Three treatments were i) control, ii) basal diets supplemented with 1 ml of B. licheniformis for each in feed water per day iii) basal diets supplemented with 2 ml of B. licheniformis per chick in feed water per day. The supplementation of B. licheniformis significantly increased body weight in grower chickens (p<0.05), and significantly improved the feed conversion in 3 to 6 and 0 to 6 wk feeding period compared with the control group (p<0.05). Additionally, the supplement also resulted in increased protein and free amino acid contents, and decreased fat content in chicken breast fillet (p<0.05). Furthermore, improvement in sensory attributes was observed in broilers fed with the probiotic. In conclusion, B. licheniformis treatments resulted in a significant increase (p<0.05) in broiler productivity based on an index taking into account daily weight gain and feed conversion rate. Meanwhile, the probiotic contributed towards an improvement of the chemical, nutritional and sensorial characteristics of breast fillet. Overall, the study indicates that B. licheniformis can be used as a growth promoter and meat quality enhancer in broiler poultry.