浙江煤山剖面二叠纪末的小有孔虫动物群

通过对浙江长兴煤山剖面长兴阶上部和二叠系三叠系界线地层进行系统切片和研究,共鉴别出小有孔虫化石18属50种。这一丰富的有孔虫动物群,不仅进一步完善了长兴阶标准剖面的化石资料,而且也为研究二叠纪末的生物灭绝形式提供了新的依据。     

QTL mapping for teat number in an Iberian-by-Meishan pig intercross

The aim of this study was to investigate chromosomal regions affecting the number of teats in pigs and possible epistatic interactions between the identified quantitative trait loci (QTL). An experimental F2 cross between Iberian and Chinese Meishan lines was used for this purpose. A genomic scan was conducted with 117 markers covering the 18 porcine autosomes. Linkage analyses were performed by interval mapping using an animal model to estimate QTL and additive polygenic effects. Complementary analyses with models fitting two QTL were also carried out. The results showed three genomewide significant QTL mapping on chromosomes 5, 10 and 12, whose joint action control up to 30% of the phenotypic variance of the trait. Meishan alleles had a positive additive effect on teat number, and a positive-additive x additive-epistatic interaction was detected between QTL on chromosomes 10 and 12.     

小梅山猪骨髓间充质干细胞Cx43基因修饰

通过在小梅山猪骨髓间充质干细胞(BMSCs)中过表达缝隙连接蛋白43基因(Cx43),探究Cx43对小梅山猪BMSCs增殖及凋亡的影响,为构建转基因动物模型奠定基础。利用分子技术构建Cx43真核表达载体p EGFP-Cx43,Nucleofector TM法转染P3代BMSCs,检测细胞转染效率,经RT-PCR、免疫荧光和Western blotting鉴定Cx43的表达,流式细胞技术分析BMSCs的增殖能力和凋亡情况。酶切鉴定和测序结果表明,p EGFP-Cx43真核表达载体构建成功,转染BMSCs后,EGFP阳性细胞约占60%。转基因BMSCs中Cx43蛋白表达显著增加,细胞增殖能力显著提高、凋亡率显著下降。结果表明,在小梅山猪BMSCs中过表达Cx43不仅能促进细胞增殖而且抑制其凋亡,为下一步在体研究奠定了基础。     

浙江长兴煤山二叠纪末大灭绝化石记录的置信区间分析

化石的保存与采集普遍具有随机性,以至直接观察结果往往不能反映真实的生物分类单元延限以及生物事件,而必须对化石记录进行统计分析,从定量的角度发掘其可信内涵,。浙江长兴煤山财区二叠系－三叠系剖面的化石资料经过数十年采集研究,已提出多期生物群灭绝模式,文中运用置信区间作了分析,。说明了长兴期末生物大灭绝为突发性,灾难性事件。     

Evaluation of quantitative trait loci affecting intramuscular fat and reproductive traits in pigs using marker‐assisted introgression

We investigated the effects of previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) in an experimental backcross (BC) between Chinese Meishan pigs and commercial Duroc pigs. We performed marker‐assisted introgression of two QTL for intramuscular fat (IMF) content (IMF population) and three QTL for reproductive traits (reproduction population) from a donor Meishan pig into a recipient Duroc pig. At the fourth BC generation of the IMF population and third BC generation of the reproduction population, carrier animals were selected for the production of animals homozygous for the QTL. Our previous studies have shown that the presence of a Meishan allele on the IMF QTL is associated with low IMF values, and the Meishan allele on the reproductive QTL is associated with large litters. In this study, the presence of a Duroc allele at the IMF QTL on SSC9 resulted in a 0.27% increase in IMF (additive effect = 0.27 ± 0.08), whereas the presence of a Meishan allele at the IMF QTL on SSC7 resulted in a 0.34% increase in IMF (additive effect = ?0.34 ± 0.09). The presence of the Meishan allele at the IMF QTL on SSC7 thus had the opposite effect to our previous studies, that is, increased IMF. In the reproduction population, we observed no differences between the genotypes of the three QTL in regard to number of corpora lutea or litter size. Marker‐assisted introgression at these QTL is thus unlikely to result in an associated increase in litter size. These results show that it is possible to introgress alleles from other breeds into a selection population using molecular markers; any unexpected results might be associated with the genetic background.     

Mitochondrial DNA Sequence and Phylogenetic Evaluation of Geographically Disparate Sus scrofa Breeds

Next generation sequencing of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) facilitates studies into the metabolic characteristics of production animals and their relation to production traits. Sequence analysis of mtDNA from pure-bred swine with highly disparate production characteristics (Mangalica Blonde, Mangalica Swallow-bellied, Meishan, Turopolje, and Yorkshire) was initiated to evaluate the influence of mtDNA polymorphisms on mitochondrial function. Herein, we report the complete mtDNA sequences of five Sus scrofa breeds and evaluate their position within the phylogeny of domestic swine. Phenotypic traits of Yorkshire, Mangalica Blonde, and Swallow-belly swine are presented to demonstrate their metabolic characteristics. Our data support the division of European and Asian breeds noted previously and confirm European ancestry of Mangalica and Turopolje breeds. Furthermore, mtDNA differences between breeds suggest function-altering changes in proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation such as ATP synthase 6 (MT-ATP6), cytochrome oxidase I (MT-CO1), cytochrome oxidase III (MT-CO3), and cytochrome b (MT-CYB), supporting the hypothesis that mtDNA polymorphisms contribute to differences in metabolic traits between swine breeds. Our sequence data form the basis for future research into the roles of mtDNA in determining production traits in domestic animals. Additionally, such studies should provide insight into how mtDNA haplotype influences the extreme adiposity observed in Mangalica breeds.     

Transmission of mitochondrial DNA in pigs and progeny derived from nuclear transfer of Meishan pig fibroblast cells

In embryos derived by nuclear transfer (NT), fusion, or injection of donor cells with recipient oocytes caused mitochondrial heteroplasmy. Previous studies have reported varying patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transmission in cloned calves. Here, we examined the transmission of mtDNA from NT pigs to their progeny. NT pigs were created by microinjection of Meishan pig fetal fibroblast nuclei into enucleated oocytes (maternal Landrace background). Transmission of donor cell (Meishan) mtDNA was analyzed using 4 NT pigs and 25 of their progeny by PCR-mediated single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis, PCR-RFLP, and a specific PCR to detect Meishan mtDNA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP-PCR). In the blood and hair root of NT pigs, donor mtDNAs were not detected by PCR-SSCP and PCR-RFLP, but detected by SNP-PCR. These results indicated that donor mtDNAs comprised between 0.1% and 1% of total mtDNA. Only one of the progeny exhibited heteroplasmy with donor cell mtDNA populations, ranging from 0% to 44% in selected tissues. Additionally, other progeny of the same heteroplasmic founder pig were analyzed, and 89% (16/18) harbored donor cell mtDNA populations. The proportion of donor mtDNA was significantly higher in liver (12.9 +/- 8.3%) than in spleen (5.0 +/- 3.9%), ear (6.7 +/- 5.3%), and blood (5.8 +/- 3.7%) (P < 0.01). These results demonstrated that donor mtDNAs in NT pigs could be transmitted to progeny. Moreover, once heteroplasmy was transmitted to progeny of NT-derived pigs, it appears that the introduced mitochondrial populations become fixed and maternally-derived heteroplasmy was more readily maintained in subsequent generations.     

小梅山猪Ghrelin基因的克隆及其在生殖轴的表达

以小梅山母猪为试验材料,通过RT-PCR、克隆及荧光定量,研究Ghrelin在其生长发育不同阶段生殖轴表达情况,旨在探究Ghrelin对动物繁殖性能的影响。结果表明,初生、初情期至性成熟卵巢Ghrelin mRNA表达量呈上升趋势,不同阶段间差异显著(P<0.05)。性成熟时生殖轴不同组织Ghrelin mRNA表达量,卵巢明显高于垂体和下丘脑(P<0.05),而垂体与下丘脑间差异则不显著(P>0.05)。     

Comparison of genetic models for analysing the effects of a PvuII polymorphism in the oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) gene on prolificacy in an Iberian x Meishan pig population

The effect of a previously reported PvuII polymorphism in oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) was analysed in an F(2) population of Iberian x Meishan pigs. We tested three hypotheses: (1) that a causal mutation was fixed in the parental populations, (2) that a causal mutation existed that was in complete linkage disequilibrium with the alleles of the PvuII polymorphism and (3) that a causal mutation existed in linkage disequilibrium within each parental population. The third model was the most plausible based on the available data. ESR1 alleles displayed different patterns of linkage disequilibrium with the causal mutation in each of the parental populations and the PvuII polymorphism was clearly not the causal mutation. As a consequence, the use of the ESR1 mutation for selection must be evaluated for a particular pig population before it is applied.