The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between COL6A5 (collagen type VI alpha 5 chain) and LOC102181374 (alcohol dehydrogenase 1) genes and the production performance of Liaoning cashmere goats by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). We have searched for SNP loci of COL6A5 and LOC102181374 genes through sequence alignment and PCR experiments, and have used SPSS and SHEsis software to analyze production data. We obtained five SNP loci in total, including three SNP loci (G50985A, G51140T, G51175A) in COL6A5 gene and two SNP loci (A10067G, T10108C) in LOC102181374 gene. The genotypes G50985A (AG), G51140T (GT), G51175A (AA), A10067G (AA), and T10108C (CC) of these loci have certain advantages in improving the production performance of Liaoning cashmere goats. The haplotype combinations that can improve production performance in COL6A5 gene were H1H5:AGGGAG, H4H4:GGGGAA, and H4H4:GGGGAA. H3H3:GGCC and H2H4:AGTT were the dominant combinations in LOC102181374 gene. At G51175A and A10067G loci, we found that H1H2:AAAG and H1H3:AGAA have dominant effects. These results may provide some support for the molecular breeding of production traits in Liaoning cashmere goats.

Liaoning cashmere goat (LCG) is one of the excellent cashmere goat breeds in China. Because of its larger size, better cashmere, and better cashmere production performance, people pay special attention to it. This article mainly studied the relationship between SNP loci of LIPE gene and ITGB4 gene and milk production, cashmere production and body measurement traits of LCGs. We further identified potential SNP loci by PCR-Seq polymorphism detection and gene sequence comparison of LIPE and ITGB4 genes. Further, we use SPSS and SHEsis software to analyze their relationship to production performance. The consequence indicated that CC genotype of LIPE gene T16409C locus was dominant genotype in milk production and cashmere production, while CT genotype of LIPE gene T16409C locus was dominant in body size. The CT genotype of C168T locus of ITGB4 gene is the dominant genotype of body type and cashmere production, while the dominant genotype of milk production is TT genotype. Through joint analysis, in haploid combinations, H1H2:CCCT is the dominant haplotype combination in cashmere fineness. H3H4:TTCT is a dominant haplotype combination of milk production traits and body measurement traits. These dominant genotypes can provide a reliable basis for the study of production performance of LCG.

This study evaluated dietary quercetin supplementation to investigate the effects of increasing inclusion levels on growth performance, diarrhea, serum health-related indicators, and whole-blood gene expression in weaned piglets. In a 28-day feeding trial, 128 piglets received diets formulated to contain 0, 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg quercetin (four pens of eight piglets per treatment; pen as the experimental unit). Final body weight and average daily gain were higher in the 200 and 300 mg/kg groups than in the control, and the 300 mg/kg group had the highest gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) (p < 0.05). Diarrhea rate declined linearly (p < 0.001); the rate in the 300 mg/kg group was lower than in the control and 100 mg/kg groups but did not differ from the 200 mg/kg group. Quercetin reduced serum malondialdehyde, pro-inflammatory cytokines, urea nitrogen, and aspartate aminotransferase, while increasing total protein, albumin, total antioxidant capacity, several antioxidant enzyme activities, and interleukin-10 (p < 0.05). Serum diamine oxidase activity and D-lactate concentration also declined linearly (p < 0.001). Whole-blood expression of PTGS2 decreased; HMOX1, NFE2L2, and NQO1 increased; and SOD1 was unchanged. Overall, within the tested range, increasing dietary quercetin improved growth and feed efficiency, reduced diarrhea, and was accompanied by coordinated changes in serum health-related indicators and whole-blood transcripts.

This exploratory study investigated meat quality differences and associated molecular characteristics between Liaodan Black (LDM) and Xinjin (XJM) pigs, two local breeds from Northeast China, using meat quality, fatty acid, and total amino acid measurements together with transcriptomic, proteomic, and untargeted metabolomic analyses of the longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle (n = 3 per breed for all analyses). XJM pigs had higher intramuscular fat content and lower shear force, whereas LDM pigs had higher cooking yield. After correction for multiple testing, XJM pigs had higher oleic acid content. Total amino acid analysis showed higher serine, arginine, proline, methionine, and phenylalanine contents in XJM pigs, whereas isoleucine and leucine contents were higher in LDM pigs. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses identified 5678 differentially expressed genes and 533 differentially abundant proteins, respectively, while untargeted metabolomic analysis revealed 622 differential metabolites based on putative annotations. These molecular differences were mainly associated with cytoskeletal organization, oxidative phosphorylation, protein turnover, amino acid metabolism, and central carbon metabolism. Transcriptome–proteome integration identified 258 shared differential features, of which 139 showed concordant changes at the mRNA and protein levels. Integrated analysis identified nine candidate molecules. After Benjamini–Hochberg correction, exploratory correlation analysis showed that GOT1 and GLO1 protein abundances were negatively associated with shear force and cooking yield, whereas ESD protein abundance was positively associated with IMF content. qPCR analysis of selected DEGs showed good agreement with RNA-seq results (r = 0.883, p < 0.001). Overall, the differences observed between the sampled LDM and XJM groups were mainly associated with lipid deposition, muscle structure-related processes, and energy metabolism.

Flower buds of Sophora japonica are flavonoid-rich edible botanical materials. This study developed an enzyme-assisted ultrasonic protocol for producing a quercetin-containing crude extract. A Box–Behnken design evaluated β-glucosidase concentration, digestion time, and the cellulase-to-pectinase mass ratio. The quadratic model was significant (p < 0.0001; R² = 0.9848; adjusted R² = 0.9652). At 14 U/mL β-glucosidase, 72 min of digestion, and a mass ratio of 1.25:1 (w/w), the UV-estimated quercetin-equivalent yield reached 7.34%, compared with 4.17% for ultrasound alone (p < 0.001). HPLC based on retention-time agreement and external calibration estimated quercetin at 71.93 ± 1.35 mg/g initial dry plant material. The dried extract contained 82.93 ± 3.75 mg gallic acid equivalents/g and 154.68 ± 5.56 mg quercetin equivalents/g. It showed concentration-dependent DPPH^•, ^•OH, and ABTS^•+ scavenging, with IC₅₀ values of 1.339 ± 0.061, 3.931 ± 0.108, and 1.004 ± 0.032 mg/mL, respectively, and preliminary antibacterial activity against Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. These findings establish a defined extraction route while distinguishing the UV optimization endpoint from HPLC-based quercetin estimation.

Pig growth is an economically important trait regulated by multiple genes and signaling pathways. To explore the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle growth, RNA sequencing was conducted to compare the transcriptomic profiles of the longissimus dorsi muscle between indigenous Liaoning Black pigs (CH) and commercial Duroc pigs (HD). Muscle samples from six CH (three males and three females) and six HD (three males and three females) pigs were analyzed. Functional annotation, Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment, and protein–protein interaction (PPI) analyses were performed. Sequencing yielded 12 high-quality datasets (Q20 > 97%, Q30 > 93%). Comparative analysis identified 5051 DEGs in females (CHF vs. HDF; 2310 upregulated and 2681 downregulated) and 9972 DEGs in males (CHM vs. HDM; 4984 upregulated and 4988 downregulated). GO terms were mainly enriched in organonitrogen compound and protein metabolic processes, while KEGG pathways were enriched in focal adhesion and insulin signaling. PPI analysis highlighted hub genes ITGB1, SRC, MYL2, PRKACA, and MAPK3. qPCR validation showed strong agreement with RNA-seq data. These findings provide valuable insights into the molecular basis of divergent muscle growth between pig breeds.