Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is an important grain and forage crop. This crop is widely grown in Northern China (Yang et al.2020). In Aug 2021, foxtail millet variety of Jigu42 showing lodging ...

Introduction: Global population growth and consumption upgrades have led to an increase in demand for animal feed protein sources, which has prompted an urgent need to find economical alternative protein sources. In this study, the potential of partially replacing traditional protein source soybean meal (SBM) with fermented cottonseed meal (FCSM) in practical applications were evaluated.Methods: The 180 24-week-old Hyland Brown laying hens were randomly divided into a control group (CON, fed SBM) and an experimental group (FCSM, fed FCSM). The effects of FCSM on the production performance, immune system, intestinal morphology and microbiota composition of laying hens were investigated. Furthermore, the enrichment of FCSM for characteristic nutrient metabolites and key pathways was further explored.Results: The feed-to-egg ratio and egg quality indexes (eggshell thickness, eggshell strength, albumen height and Haugh units) of laying hens in the FCSM group were significantly better than those of the CON group (p < 0.05). Additionally, splenic index, immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM and IgA) and albumin/globulin ratio were stable in the FCSM group. FCSM significantly increased the species richness of the gut flora as well as the beneficial bacteria such as Rikenellace_ae_RC9_gut_group and Romboutsia (p < 0.05). Non-targeted metabolomics analyses indicated that microbial solidstate fermentation technology increased the levels of nutrients in CSM, such as L-glutamine, ornithine, citrulline, and D-galactose.Conclusion: FCSM promoted the absorption of nutrients and intestinal health in laying hens by regulating the intestinal flora, demonstrating superior efficacy over BSM in overall production performance, immune function, and intestinal morphology. These findings provides a theoretical basis for the resource reuse in CSM and the precise nutrition of laying hens.

The basidiomycetous fungus Rhizoctonia solani Kühn (teleomorph Thanatephorus cucumeris [Frank] Donk) is a fungal pathogen that causes various diseases on economically important crops, such as foxtail millet, maize, and rice. Using the PacBio Sequel platform, we assembled a draft genome of an R. solani strain AG4-JY that was isolated from foxtail millet with sheath blight at the stem. The genome was approximately 43.43 Mb on 53 scaffolds, with a scaffold N50 length of 2.10 Mb. In all, 10,545 genes and 179 noncoding RNAs were predicted, and 10,488 genes had at least one database annotation. In addition, the proteins encoded by 709 genes were predicted as secretory proteins. The AG4-JY genome sequence provides a valuable resource for understanding the interactions between R. solani and foxtail millet and controls sheath blight in the world.

Objective: discussion on a series of biospecimen related issues are conducted, such as collection and preservation, quality control, as well as management and application, during the construction of human tissue biobank in a general hospital. Methods: To develop a set of standardized operational procedures and to collect tissue samples, such as whole blood, serum, plasma, fresh frozen tissues, cerebrospinal fluid, and paraffin-embedded tissues, which were classified and made aliquots according to different requirements, and stored at -80℃ temperature refrigerator or in liquid nitrogen. At the same time, a set of information management software was used to realize management of the biobank. Results: currently, there are more than 20,000 specimens of various benign and malignant cases, which cover 380 diseases, being collected in the biological database in our hospital. These specimens include paraffin-embedded tissue, fresh frozen tissue, femoral head, whole blood, plasma, serum and cerebrospinal fluid, etc. A large number of these specimensare beneficial is used in clinical research at present. Conclusion: the establishment of biological sample bank can maximize the value of non-reborn human tissue specimens, and provide normal control standards as well as benign and malignant disease standards for clinical diagnosis and treatment, which is of great significance to the research of disease pathogenesis and the development of detection technology.