Ruminal fermentation characteristics and related feeding values of compound feeds and their constituting single feeds studied by using in vitrotechniques

Single concentrate feeds are mixed together forming compound feeds for cattle. However, knowledge regarding the potential interactions (associative effects) between the feeding values of single feeds in compound feeds is lacking. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate ruminal fermentation characteristics and feeding values of eight industrially produced compound feeds in mash form from their constituent single feeds for dairy cows through in vitroassays. Additivity was given for gas production (GP), digestibility of organic matter (dOM) and utilisable CP at the duodenum (uCP). Additivity of CP fractions (determined using the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS)) was dependent on the fraction and compound feed type; however, the effective degradation calculated from CP fractions (ED_CNCPS) showed additivity. Additivity was not given for intestinal digestibility of rumen-undegraded protein (ID_RUP) for five out of eight compound feeds. Precise calculation of metabolisable energy (ME) of compound feeds from ME of single feeds was possible when using the same ME equations for all single and compound feeds. Compound feeds are often provided in pellet form; therefore, our second objective was to evaluate the effects of pelleting on ruminal fermentation characteristics and feeding values of compound feeds. Pelleting affected GP at 24 h (GP₂₄; up to 2.4 ml/200 mg DM), dOM (up to 2.3 percentage point (pp)) and ME (up to 0.3 MJ/kg DM), but these differences were overall small. More considerable effects of pelleting were observed for uCP, which was increased in all compound feeds except the two with the highest CP concentrations. The ID_RUPwas lower in most compound feeds following pelleting (up to 15 pp). Pelleting also affected CP fractions in a non-systematic way. Overall, the effects of pelleting were not considerable, which could be because pelleting conditions were mild. Our third objective was to compare in situruminal CP degradation (ED_{IN_SITU}) of compound feeds with ED using two prediction methods based on CP fractions. ED_{IN_SITU}reference data were obtained from a companion study using the same feeds. Prediction accuracy of ED_{IN_SITU}and ED_CNCPSwas variable and depended on the compound feed and prediction method. However, future studies are needed as to date not enough data are published to draw overall conclusions for the prediction of ED_{IN_SITU}from CP fractions.     

Production kinetics of β-carotene from Planococcus sp. TRC1 with concomitant bioconversion of industrial solid waste into crystalline cellulose rich biomass

Cost effective bioprocessing of nutraceuticals in present global scenario is a matter of concern. This study explored Paper mill sludge (PMS) and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) as inexpensive substrate for Planococcus sp. TRC1 mediated valuable β-carotene production and residual treated biomass as value added crystalline cellulose source simultaneously. Both biomass supported significant bacterial growth reaching highest yield 38.54 ± 1.4 mg/g on PMS (36 h) and 47.13 ± 1.9 mg/g (48 h) on SCB in solid state fermentation. Luedeking-Piret model revealed growth associated production with α and much lower β values of 5.18 and 0.24 for PMS and 4.5 and 0.165 for SCB. Cost analysis exhibited decrementation of pigment cost/mg by 84 % compared to synthetic media. Optimum production conditions were 30 °C temperature, pH 7, 10 % inoculum and initial moisture content 80 % (PMS) and 85 % (SCB). TLC (R_f = 0.9), HPLC (RT = 7.646) and lambda max (465 nm) confirmed pigment’s β-carotene nature with significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. It showed stability at varied temperature, pH and light conditions along with negligible phytotoxicity on Vigna radiata. Planococcus sp. TRC1 delignified PMS (41 %) and SCB (38 %) and FT-IR, FESEM and XRD suggested crystalline nature of residual cellulose rich fraction shedding light on a biorefinery approach for valorization of industrial solid wastes.     

Decoupling of impact factors reveals the response of German winter wheat yields to climatic changes

Yield development of agricultural crops over time is not merely the result of genetic and agronomic factors, but also the outcome of a complex interaction between climatic and site‐specific soil conditions. However, the influence of past climatic changes on yield trends remains unclear, particularly under consideration of different soil conditions. In this study, we determine the effects of single agrometeorological factors on the evolution of German winter wheat yields between 1958 and 2015 from 298 published nitrogen (N)‐fertilization experiments. For this purpose, we separate climatic from genetic and agronomic yield effects using linear mixed effect models and estimate the climatic influence based on a coefficient of determination for these models. We found earlier occurrence of wheat growth stages, and shortened development phases except for the phase of stem elongation. Agrometeorological factors are defined as climate covariates related to the growth of winter wheat. Our results indicate a general and strong effect of agroclimatic changes on yield development, in particular due to increasing mean temperatures and heat stress events during the grain‐filling period. Except for heat stress days with more than 31°C, yields at sites with higher yield potential were less prone to adverse weather effects than at sites with lower yield potential. Our data furthermore reveal that a potential yield levelling, as found for many West‐European countries, predominantly occurred at sites with relatively low yield potential and about one decade earlier (mid‐1980s) compared to averaged yield data for the whole of Germany. Interestingly, effects related to high precipitation events were less relevant than temperature‐related effects and became relevant particularly during the vegetative growth phase. Overall, this study emphasizes the sensitivity of yield productivity to past climatic conditions, under consideration of regional differences, and underlines the necessity of finding adaptation strategies for food production under ongoing and expected climate change.     

The role of peroxisomes in xylose alcoholic fermentation in the engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Xylose is a second‐most abounded sugar after glucose in lignocellulosic hydrolysates and should be efficiently fermented for economically viable second‐generation ethanol production. Despite significant progress in metabolic and evolutionary engineering, xylose fermentation rate of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae remains lower than that for glucose. Our recent study demonstrated that peroxisome‐deficient cells of yeast Ogataea polymorpha showed a decrease in ethanol production from xylose. In this work, we have studied the role of peroxisomes in xylose alcoholic fermentation in the engineered xylose‐utilizing strain of S. cerevisiae. It was shown that peroxisome‐less pex3Δ mutant possessed 1.5‐fold decrease of ethanol production from xylose. We hypothesized that peroxisomal catalase Cta1 may have importance for hydrogen peroxide, the important component of reactive oxygen species, detoxification during xylose alcoholic fermentation. It was clearly shown that CTA1 deletion impaired ethanol production from xylose. It was found that enhancing the peroxisome population by modulation the peroxisomal biogenesis by overexpression of PEX34 activates xylose alcoholic fermentation.     

蛹虫草菌生物合成虫草素的研究进展

蛹虫草Cordyceps militaris是我国传统的药用真菌,虫草素是蛹虫草的主要活性成分,具有抗癌、抗肿瘤、抗病毒等多种生理功能。蛹虫草菌液体发酵是最有希望实现高效生产虫草素的途径,但现阶段生产强度低,亟需应用发酵工程及代谢工程手段提高虫草素产量。文中对液体发酵体系中培养基组分(碳/氮源、前体物质、金属离子等)和培养条件(pH、溶氧量、光照等)对虫草素产量的影响进行了总结,并对虫草素的分离纯化、生物合成基因簇及合成代谢途径进行了阐述,最后探讨了实现虫草素高效生产的关键环节。     

临安区不同森林类型竞争指数比较研究

竞争对树木生长有重要影响,通常用竞争指数定量描述树木之间的竞争关系。以浙江省杭州市临安区的乔木林为对象,利用2004年临安区森林资源监测数据,基于Voronoi图的Hegyi竞争指数,在区域尺度上对临安区多种森林类型的竞争关系进行分析。结果表明：在单木水平上,不同森林类型单木的总竞争指数、种内竞争指数、种间竞争指数在胸径5-10 cm最大;单木平均竞争指数随着胸径的增大而降低,胸径 > 30 cm的竞争压力得以缓解;临安区林木的竞争主要来源于种内竞争,天然林的种内竞争占总竞争指数的比例 > 50%,人工林的种内竞争占总竞争指数的比例 > 60%。径级平均总竞争指数、种内竞争指数、种间竞争指数与胸径的关系均服从对数函数关系。在林分水平上,不同森林类型的林分总竞争指数、种内竞争指数、种间竞争指数存在显著差异。平均总竞争顺序为：天然阔叶林 > 天然针阔混交林 > 人工针叶林 > 天然针叶林 > 人工针阔混交林 > 人工阔叶林。种内平均竞争顺序为：人工针叶林 > 天然阔叶林 > 天然针叶林 > 天然针阔混交林 > 人工针阔混交林 > 人工阔叶林。种间平均竞争顺序为：天然针阔混交林 > 人工针阔混交林 > 天然阔叶林 > 天然针叶林 > 人工针叶林 > 人工阔叶林。人工阔叶林的平均总竞争指数、种内竞争指数和种间竞争指数均为最小,该森林类型以山核桃经济树种为优势树种,说明为提高山核桃产量,人为控制低种植密度的经营措施有效降低了林分竞争强度。