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The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of the combination of oregano and Bacillus subtilis on treproductive performance and diarrhea of female Arctic foxes. Seventy-five female Arctic foxes in good mental state were randomly divided into five groups, with three replicates in each group and five foxes in each replicate. The foxes in control group were fed with basal diet, and the foxes in experimental groups were fed with basic supplentment with 200 mg/kg + 150 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg + 300 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg + 150 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg + 300 mg/kg oregano carvacrol and Bacillus subtilis, respectively. The experiment lasted for 185 d. The results showed that the estrus onset time of experimental group Ⅰ, group Ⅲ and group Ⅳ was 20 d shorter than that of control group. The mating time of experimental group Ⅰ and group Ⅳ was 20 d shorter than that of control group. The average litter size and average litter weight of experimental group Ⅰ were 14.84% and 13.31% higher than those of control group, respectively (P<0.05). The diarrhea rate, frequency and index of foxes in experimental group Ⅰ were significantly lower than those of control group (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that adding oregano and Bacillus subtilis to diet of female Arctic foxes can shorten the mating time of estrus, increase the mating rate and conception rate, increase litter size, improve birth weight and birth weight uniformity, reduce abortion rate and reduce diarrhea, when the combined supplemental level of oregano and Bacillus subtilis is 200 mg/kg + 150 mg/kg, the effect is better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to screen the active regions and transcription factor binding sites in the promoter of the CBD103 gene related to Arctic fox coat color, and to provide a basis for revealing the molecular genetic mechanism of CBD103 gene regulating the coat color formation. The 5'-flanking region fragment 2 123 bp of Arctic fox CBD103 gene was cloned, and 4 truncated promoter reporter vectors of different lengths were constructed. The promoter activity was detected by the dual-luciferase reporter assay system. Point mutations were performed on the 3 predicted specificity protein 1 (Sp1) transcription factor binding sites in the highest promoter active region, and 3 mutant vectors were constructed. The activity was then detected by the dual-luciferase reporter assay system. The results showed that the region 1 656 (-1 604/+51) had the highest activity in the 4 truncated promoters of different lengths, and the promoter activity of the three mutant vectors constructed in this region were significantly lower than that of the wild type (fragment 1 656). The region of -1 604 /+51 was the core promoter region of CBD103 gene in Arctic fox and -1 552/-1 564, -1 439/-1 454 and -329/-339 regions were positive regulatory regions. This study successfully obtained the core promoter region and positive regulation regions of the Arctic fox CBD103 gene, which laid a foundation for further study on the molecular genetic mechanism of this gene regulating Arctic fox coat color.