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Simple Summary: The Chinese Hu sheep is well-known for its high fertility and early sexual maturity. Rams reach sexual maturity at the age of six months. This study investigated differential crude fat content, fatty acid composition and related metabolism genes localization and expression in cauda epididymis between high and low fertility Hu sheep at six months old. The crude fat content was positively correlated with epididymal weight. High expression of SREBP1 and EVOVL2 in high fertility Hu sheep may lead to the higher n-3 PUFA content, especially DHA, providing a basis for understanding the relationship between fertility and sperm storage environment. The epididymis is an organ that transports, matures and stores sperm, and has functions such as secretion and absorption. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) compositions in sperm membrane were changed during the process of epididymis maturation and influence the male fertility. This study aimed to investigate differences in crude fat and fatty acid content in cauda epididymis between high and low fertility of Hu sheep. One hundred and seventy-nine Hu ram lambs were fed from 56 days to 6 months under the same environment. After the feeding trial, all rams were slaughtered, and the body weight, testicular weight, epididymal weight and sperm density were measured. Pearson correlation analysis showed significantly moderate positive correlation between epididymal weight and sperm density and testicular weight. Eighteen rams were selected and divided into the high fertility group (H, n = 9) and low fertility group (L, n = 9) according to the epididymal weight, sperm density and histomorphology. The crude fat content, fatty acid profile and genes related to fatty acid metabolism were detected. The crude fat content, total fatty acid, total n-3 PUFA and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n-3, DHA) content of cauda epididymis in high fertility group was significantly higher than those in low fertility group (p < 0.05). However, the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFA was significantly lower than that in group L (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry results showed that SREBP1 and ELOVL2 were expressed in pseudostratified columnar ciliated epithelium and smooth muscle cells. The mRNA expression of SREBP1 (p = 0.09) and ELOVL2 (p < 0.05) in the high fertility group were increased. In conclusion, the high expression of SREBP1 and ELOVL2 may contribute to high n-3 PUFA content in cauda epididymis of high-fertility Hu sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the calculation problem of bearing pressure of typical overlying strata structure, in this paper, mechanical calculation, field monitoring and other methods are used to study the influence range of abutment pressure. Recently, many major rock burst accidents in working surface show that with the increase of mining depth and the change of overlying strata structure, the abutment pressure distribution has become one of the problems of safe mining. The influence range, distribution of high stress area and peak position of working surface support pressure need to be solved urgently; and through theoretical analysis, this paper reveals (whole rock single-layer structure, whole rock layered structure, whole rock single-layer structure—without arch in soil layer, whole rock layered structure—without arch in soil layer, whole rock single-layer structure—with soil arching, whole rock layered structure—with soil arching) the stress transfer mode, transfer size, and arching conditions of overlying strata in different areas. The mechanical system of abutment pressure calculation for typical overburden structure is established, which provides theoretical basis for mine optimization design scheme, mining sequence, and limited personnel distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Maillard reaction is a type of nonenzymatic browning process and is an important pathway for the formation of humic-like substances (HLSs). Glucose is one of the three crucial precursors for the Maillard reaction, and a change in glucose concentration can inevitably affect the humification pathway, thereby regulating the composition and quality of HLSs. To verify the scientific hypothesis, the method of liquid shake-flask culture was adopted. Both catechol and glycine with fixed concentrations were added to a phosphate buffer including δ-MnO2, and only the concentration of glucose was adjusted in the sterile culture system. The obtained supernatant fluid and dark-brown residue were collected dynamically through the centrifugation method. The E4/E6 ratio and total organic C (TOC) of the supernatant fluid, the humus composition, and FTIR spectra for the dark-brown residue, and the elemental composition of humic-like acid (HLA) extracted from the dark-brown residue were analyzed to reveal the effect of varying glucose concentrations on the abiotic humification pathways for the Maillard reaction and the characteristics of relevant products under abiotic processes. The results reveal that (1) the exogenous addition of glucose at different concentrations simplifies the molecular structure in the supernatant fluid, and the TOC content is decreased to varying degrees, among which the addition of 0.24 mol/L glucose leads to the formation of simpler organic molecules in the supernatant compared to that for the other treatments, and the addition of 0.03 mol/L glucose shows the largest decrease in TOC content; (2) Under the coexistence of glycine and catechol, CHLA treated with the addition of glucose at different concentrations shows an upward trend in the course of the culture, which is significantly higher than that obtained for the CK control. The addition of 0.12 mol/L glucose results in the largest increase in CHLA. During the culture period, the structure of HLA molecules from each treatment first become complex and then gradually become simpler. Finally, the molecular structure of HLA treated with different concentrations of glucose becomes more complex, but the structure of HLA molecules from the CK control tends to be simplified. The addition of glucose can improve the condensation degree of HLA molecules, among which the addition of 0.12 mol/L glucose shows the most significant effect. With increasing exogenous glucose concentration, the number of N-containing compounds in the HLA molecules further decreases, while the number of O-containing functional groups increases. (3) The greater the concentration of glucose added, the higher the proportion of aromatic C structures in the dark-brown residue. During this process, the Mn-O bond lattice vibration of the δ-MnO2 layered structure is greatly enhanced. The organic molecules in the dark-brown residue and δ-MnO2 are bound to each other through intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The CHLA/CFLA ratio for each treatment increases to varying degrees after the culture period, indicating that the addition of glucose is more conducive to the improvement of humus quality than the CK control, among which the addition of 0.12 mol/L glucose shows the best effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: PRAMEY (preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma, Y-linked) is a cancer-testis antigen and is believed to play an important role in testicular development and gametogenesis. However, the structure, expression and function of PRAMEY in sheep remain unknown. In this paper, we found that PRAMEY was extremely expressed in the testis and significantly upregulated during testicular growth. The mRNA abundance of PRAMEY was significantly correlated with testicular size traits in Hu sheep at 6 months. These results imply that PRAMEY may play an important role in testicular growth. PRAMEY (preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma, Y-linked) belongs to the cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) gene family and is predominantly expressed in testis, playing important roles in spermatogenesis and testicular development. This study cloned the full-length cDNA sequence of ovine PRAMEY using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method and analyzed the expression profile and copy number variation (CNV) of PRAMEY using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The results revealed that the PRAMEY cDNA was 2099 bp in length with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1536 bp encoding 511 amino acids. PRAMEY was predominantly expressed in the testis and significantly upregulated during postnatal testicular development. The median copy number (MCN) of PRAMEY was 4, varying from 2 to 25 in 710 rams across eight sheep breeds. There was no significant correlation between the CNV of PRAMEY and testicular size, while a significant positive correlation was observed between the mRNA expression and testicular size in Hu sheep. The current study suggests that the expression levels of PRAMEY were closely associated with testicular size, indicating that PRAMEY may play an important role in testicular growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CHYR (CHY ZINC-FINGER AND RING FINGER PROTEIN) proteins have been functionally characterized in iron regulation and stress response in Arabidopsis, rice and Populus. However, their roles in soybean have not yet been systematically investigated. Here, in this study, 16 GmCHYR genes with conserved Zinc_ribbon, CHY zinc finger and Ring finger domains were obtained and divided into three groups. Moreover, additional 2–3 hemerythrin domains could be found in the N terminus of Group III. Phylogenetic and homology analysis of CHYRs in green plants indicated that three groups might originate from different ancestors. Expectedly, GmCHYR genes shared similar conserved domains/motifs distribution within the same group. Gene expression analysis uncovered their special expression patterns in different soybean tissues/organs and under various abiotic stresses. Group I and II members were mainly involved in salt and alkaline stresses. The expression of Group III members was induced/repressed by dehydration, salt and alkaline stresses, indicating their diverse roles in response to abiotic stress. In conclusion, our work will benefit for further revealing the biological roles of GmCHYRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The deleted in azoospermia-like (DAZL) is an RNA binding protein coding gene in autosomal, playing important roles in testicular development and gametogenesis. In this paper, we found that DAZL is extremely highly expressed in testis compared with other organs and reaches to a peak at sex maturity (6-month old) in testis. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within DAZL were found to have significant effect on the variation coefficient between left and right epididymis weight. The deleted in azoospermia-like (DAZL) gene encoding an RNA binding protein is pivotal in gametogenesis in lots of species and also acts as a pre-meiosis marker. The current study was conducted to detect expression profiles and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of DAZL in sheep using qPCR, DNA-pooled sequencing, improved multiplex ligase detection reaction (iMLDR®) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods. The results confirmed that ovine DAZL showed the highest expression level at six-months of age across five developmental stage. At six-month stage, DAZL expressed primarily in testis across seven tissues analyzed. The abundance of DAZL in the large-testis group is higher than that in the small-testis group although it is not significant. In addition, six SNPs (SNP1-SNP6) were identified in DAZL. Of those, SNP1 (p < 0.05) and SNP6 (p < 0.01) were significantly correlated with the variation coefficient between left and right epididymis weight (VCTW). The current study implies DAZL may play important roles in testicular development and its SNPs are associated with testicular parameters, which supply important indicators for ram selection at early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Increasing litter size is critical for the intensive sheep production system. Genetic marker-assisted selection (MAS) based on proven molecular indicators could enhance the efficacy of sheep selection with improving litter size traits. Many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked with litter size in Hu sheep and Small-tailed Han sheep have been identified. However, they usually explain a small portion of genetic variation and additional genetic markers linked with litter size have not been found. The present study investigated the potential SNPs in ten genes as candidate markers for improved litter size in sheep. As a result, nine SNPs in six out of ten genes can be served as useful genetic markers to improve the selection of litter size since they are significantly associated with litter size either in Hu sheep or Small-tailed Han sheep. Further, a combined haplotypes analysis of the two loci (LIFR: g.35862868C>T and LIFR: g.35862947G>T) revealed that H2H3 (CTTT) combined haplotypes had the largest litter size than the rest combined haplotypes and more than those with either mutation alone in Small-tailed Han sheep. Our knowledge is essential to implement the MAS in sheep and further to increase the profitability in the sheep industry. Hu sheep and Small-tailed Han sheep are the most widely raised and most famous maternal sheep breeds in China, which are known for precocious puberty, perennial oestrus and high fecundity (1–6 lambs each parity). Therefore, it is crucial to increase litter size of these two breeds for intensive sheep industry. The objective of this study was to identify potential genetic markers linked with sheep litter size located at ten genes. This study collected blood sample of 537 Hu sheep and 420 Small-tailed Han sheep with litter size of first parity. The average litter sizes in Hu sheep and Small-tailed Han sheep were 2.21 and 1.93. DNA-pooling sequencing method was used for detecting the potential single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ten genes related to follicle development and female reproduction. SNPscan® was used for individually genotyping. As a result, a total of 78 putative SNPs in nine out of ten candidate genes (except NOG) were identified. In total, 50 SNPs were successfully genotyped in Hu sheep and Small-tailed Han sheep. After quality control, a total of 42 SNPs in Hu sheep and 44 SNPs in Small-tailed Han sheep were finally used for further analysis. Association analysis revealed that nine SNPs within six genes (KIT: g.70199073A>G, KITLG: g.124520653G>C, ADAMTS1: g.127753565T>C, ADAMTS1: g.127754640G>T, NCOA1: g.31928165C>T, NCOA1: g.32140565G>A, LIFR: g.35862868C>T, LIFR: g.35862947G>T and NGF: g.91795933T>C) were significantly associated with litter size in Hu sheep or Small-tailed Han sheep. A combined haplotypes analysis of the two loci (LIFR: g.35862868C>T and LIFR: g.35862947G>T) revealed that H2H3 (CTTT) combined haplotypes had the largest litter size than the rest combined haplotypes and more than those with either mutation alone in Small-tailed Han sheep. Taken together, our study suggests that nine significant SNPs in six genes can be served as useful genetic markers for MAS in sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]