Heat stress is a critical threat to tall fescue in transitional and warm climate zones. Identification of association between molecular markers and heat tolerance-related functional traits would promote the efficient selection of heat tolerant tall fescue cultivars. Association analysis of heat tolerance-related traits was conducted in 100 diverse tall fescue accessions consisting of 93 natural genotypes originating from 33 countries and 7 turf-type commercial cultivars. The panel displayed significant genetic variations in growth rate (GR), turfgrass quality (TQ), survival rate (SR), chlorophyll content (CHL) and evapotranspiration rate (ET) in greenhouse and growth chamber trials. Two subpopulations were detected in the panel of accessions by 1010 SSR alleles with 90 SSR markers, but no obvious relative kinship was observed. 97 and 67 marker alleles associated with heat tolerance-related traits were identified in greenhouse trial and growth chamber trial (P < 0.01) using mix linear model, respectively. Due to different experimental conditions of the two trials, 2 SSR marker alleles associated with GR and ET were simultaneously identified at P < 0.01 level in two trials in response to heat stress. High-temperature induced great variations of functional traits in tall fescue accessions. And the identified marker alleles associated with functional traits could provide important information about heat tolerance genetic pathways, and be used for molecular assisted breeding to enhance tall fescue performance under heat stress.

Introduction: Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the primary etiological agent of porcine circovirus diseases (PCVD), which are widespread in most pig herds, causing huge economic losses in the global pig industry. Therefore, it is critical to assess the infection characteristics of PCV2 in different swine herds to develop effective strategies against PCVD.Methods: In this study, routine diagnostic and monitoring protocols were used to collect 12,714 samples from intensive farms in China, and PCV2 was tested for by qPCR to determine positivity rates and viral loads in samples from different herds and materials.Results: PCV2 was found to be prevalent throughout China, and fattening farms had higher positivity rates than breeding farms. The PCV2 positivity rates in breeding farms in Southern China were higher than those in Northern China. Growing–finishing pigs demonstrated the highest positivity rate in the tested samples, while pre-weaning piglets and adult sows had the lowest. Meanwhile, samples with viral loads exceeding 106 copies/mL in growing–finishing pigs had 27.2% positivity, compared to 1.9% and 3.3% in sows and piglets, respectively. The results of the viral loads in the serum samples followed a similar trend.Discussion: The findings reveal that PCV2 circulates in different herds from intensive farms, with positivity increasing from pre-weaning to growing–finishing herds. It is urgent to develop effective strategies to reduce PCV2 positivity in growing–finishing herds and prevent viral circulation among pigs.

Background: Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a contagious intestinal disease caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) characterized by vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, and dehydration, which have caused huge economic losses around the world. At present, vaccine immunity is still the most effective method to control the spread of PED. In this study, we have constructed a novel recombinant L. casei-OMP16-PEDVS strain expressing PEDVS protein of PEDV and OMP16 protein ofBrucella abortusstrain. To know the immunogenicity of the recombinant L. casei-OMP16-PEDVS candidate vaccine, it was compared with BL21-OMP16-PEDVS-F, BL21-OMP16-PEDVS, and BL21-PEDVS recombinant protein.Results: The results showed that we could detect higher levels of IgG, neutralizing antibody, IL-4, IL-10, and INF-γ in serum and IgA in feces of L. casei-OMP16-PEDVS immunized mice, which indicated that L. casei-OMP16-PEDVS candidate vaccine could induce higher levels of humoral immunity, cellular immunity, and mucosal immunity.Conclusion: Therefore, L. casei-OMP16-PEDVS is a promising candidate vaccine for prophylaxis of PEDV infection.

Introduction: Continuous identification and application of novel resistance genes against stripe rust are of great importance for wheat breeding. Wild emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccoides, has adapted to a broad range of environments and is a valuable genetic resource that harbors important beneficial traits, including resistance to stripe rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst). However, there has been a lack of systematic exploration of genes against Pst races in wild emmer wheat.Methods: Genome-wide transcriptome profiles were conducted on two wild emmer wheat genotypes with different levels of resistance to (Pst (DR3 exhibiting moderate (Pst resistance, and D7 displaying high (Pst resistance). qRT-PCR was performed to verify findings by RNA-seq.Results: A higher number of DEGs were identified in the moderately (Pst-resistant genotype, while the highly (Pst-resistant genotype exhibited a greater enrichment of pathways. Nonetheless, there were consistent patterns in the enrichment of pathways between the two genotypes at the same time of inoculation. At 24 hpi, a majority of pathways such as the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, and alpha-Linolenic acid metabolism exhibited significant enrichment in both genotypes. At 72 hpi, the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and circadian rhythm-plant pathways were notably and consistently enriched in both genotypes. The majority of (WRKY, MADs , and AP2-ERF families were found to be involved in the initial stage of response to Pst invasion (24 hpi), while the MYB, NAC, TCP, and b-ZIP families played a role in defense during the later stage of Pst infection (72 hpi).Discussion: In this present study, we identified numerous crucial genes, transcription factors, and pathways associated with the response and regulation of wild emmer wheat to Pst infection. Our findings offer valuable information for understanding the function of crucial Pst-responsive genes, and will deepen the understanding of the complex resistance mechanisms against Pst in wheat.