Introduction: Improving feed efficiency (FE) is a significant goal in animal breeding programs. Variations in FE and its relationship with rumen microbiota remain poorly understood across different goat breeds.Methods: This study assessed the influence of the rumen microbiome and host genome on FE in 10 Shami (SH) goats and 10 Zaraibi (ZA) goats, all of which were fed the same diet. The animals were genotyped using the Illumina 65KSNP chip arrays v2, and their rumen bacteria and archaea were investigated using PCR-amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene.Results: The results showed that the ZA goats exhibited higher FE than the SH goats (p < 0.05) and a greater relative abundance (p < 0.05) of rumen bacterial groups that are involved in the degradation of cellulose and hemicelluloses, such as Bacteroidota and Fibrobacterota, along with genera such as Prevotella, Lachnospiraceae AC2044 group, Lachnospiraceae NK3A20 group, and Succiniclasticum, which are linked to carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism pathways. In addition, breed differences were found to affect the proportions of milk fatty acids. The association analysis identified 26 genome windows containing several putative candidate genes, such as TMEM241, AP4S1, FTO, HYAL2, BBS2, CD52, CRYBG2, PIGV, WDTC1, EEF1A2, GBA2, FNIP1, ACSL6, STARD10, VPS26B, ACAD8, GLB1L3, NRN1L, LCAT, and SLC7A6. These genes contributed to FE traits in Egyptian goats, as they are involved in obesity, metabolism, and the transport of energy, vitamins, fatty acids, proteins, and lipids through diverse biological pathways.Discussion: This study suggests that specific genetic markers and rumen microbial traits could be used to identify high-efficient individuals in Egyptian goat breeds, and improving breeding strategies for FE.

Background: Micropropagation is an increasingly sought-after propagation method in the cannabis industry as growers seek to maximize production efficiency, improve multiplication rates and cultivate plants that are free from biotic stress. However, knowledge about the impact of micropropagation on cannabis is still limited in the scientific literature, as most studies have primarily focused on optimizing environmental parameters and growth conditions. Methods: In vitro cultures of three cannabis cultivars (Critical Purple Kush, Green Crack, and Gelato) were initiated and maintained for 60 weeks with subcultures every three weeks. Leaf samples were collected at the start and after every five subcultures for DNA extraction, and the genomes were sequenced using 3D-GBS and EM-seq to identify genetic (SNPs) and epigenetic (DMPs) variations, followed by GO and KEGG pathway analyses. Results: The results revealed that genomic variants from our CPK (16,169), GC (15,472) and GEL (16,605) samples were mostly located within the intergenic regions. Mutations seem to mostly occur during culture initiation and the first five subcultures, plateauing afterwards up to the 20th subculture. Methylation sequencing revealed that DMPs were less frequent than SNPs, with differential methylation levels showing cultivar-specific patterns varying between CPK, GC and GEL with respectively 22%, 9% and 13% for promoter regions, 13%, 5% and 6% for exon regions, 4%, 4% and 3% for intron regions and 61%, 82% and 78% for intergenic regions. These results indicate a strong cultivar dependency of epimutation and suggest their potential phenotypic impact. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of genes harboring SNPs and DMPs revealed functional associations relevant to cannabis micropropagation. Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of monitoring both genetic and epigenetic stability for long-term cannabis cultivation.

Yin, X.-B., Lamara, M., Liyanage, N. S., Zhu, R.-L. & Fenton, N. J. 2021. Riccardia vitrea (Aneuraceae), a liverwort species new to China and North America. – Herzogia 34: 279 –285. The liverwort species Riccardia vitrea Furuki (Aneuraceae) is reported for the first time for China and North America (Canada). This report is primarily focused on its occurrence in Canada.. Riccardia vitrea is characterized by numerous small oil bodies in both epidermal and inner cells, and by prostrate, wide and poorly developed ultimate pinnules, and is thus easily distinguished from other Canadian species of the genus. This constitutes a significant extension of its known range from East Asia to North America. This species could be overlooked owing to the fact that dry specimens without oil bodies are often used in identification, and it is probably more widespread than currently known in the boreal forests of Canada. Illustrations and descriptions based on the Canadian specimens are provided with a key for Canadian species of the genus.

Introduction: Climate change is exerting profound impacts on ecosystems worldwide. In Quebec, Canada, mean annual temperatures are projected to rise by 2°C over the coming decades. In addition, the frequency and intensity of climate extremes are expected to increase, posing significant risks to forest ecosystems and affecting the performance and survival of tree species. Methods: To assess the potential impacts of climate change on the local adaptation of white spruce, six geographically distant seed sources were evaluated seven years after planting at two test sites with contrasting growing conditions and latitude in Quebec, eastern Canada. Fall phenology was monitored from mid-July to mid-August 2021. For frost tolerance assessment, representative samples were collected in early September. Additionally, two sampling dates at the end of the growing season were used to characterize the dynamics of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC). Results and Discussion: Bud set phenology, autumn frost tolerance, and late-season NSC concentrations (fructose, glucose, sucrose, and pinitol) were significantly influenced by test site, seed source, and their interactions. The average bud set initiation occurred one week later at the southern site compared to the northern site, whereas the final stage of bud set was similar between sites. Significant differences among seed sources were observed for certain phenological stages. By early October, all seed sources growing at the southern site showed reduced frost tolerance compared to those at the northern site, with visible needle tissue damage occurring at temperatures below –12°C, highlighting the increased risk of early autumn frost damage at the southern site. Fructose and glucose exhibited contrasting site-specific temporal trends, increasing from September to October at the southern site while decreasing at the northern site. In contrast, sucrose showed the opposite pattern, with the southwestern seed source exhibiting the lowest content, emphasizing the contrasting roles of NSC in sustaining late-season growth under warmer conditions and in regulating dormancy induction and cold hardiness under colder conditions. Overall, our study highlights the crucial role of NSC dynamics in cold tolerance and local adaptation to early autumn frost events. The implications of these findings for assisted migration strategies are discussed.

Background Clubroot of canola ( Brassica napus ), caused by the obligate pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin, is a major disease worldwide. Genetic resistance remains the best strategy to manage this disease. The objective of the study was to identify and map new sources of resistance to clubroot in B. napus using genome-wide association mapping. The reaction of a collection of 177 accessions to four highly virulent pathotypes of P. brassicae was assessed. These pathotypes were selected because they were most recently identified and showed different virulence patterns on the Canadian clubroot differential (CCD) lines. The collection was then genotyped using genotyping by sequencing (GBS) method. Multi-locus mixed linear model (MMLM) was used to perform the association analysis. Results The majority of accessions were highly susceptible (70 –100 DSI), while few individual accessions showed strong resistance (0–20 DSI) to 5X (2 accessions), 2B (7 accessions), 3A (8 accessions) and 3D (15 accessions). In total, 301,753 SNPs were mapped to 19 chromosomes. Population structure analysis indicated that the 177 accessions belong to two major populations. SNPs were associated with resistance to each pathotype using MLMM. In total, 23 significant SNP loci were identified, with 14 SNPs mapped to the A-genome and 9 to the C-genome. The SNPs were associated with resistance to pathotypes 5X (4 SNPs), 2B (9), 3A (5) and 3D (5). A blast search of 2 Mb upstream and downstream identified 61 disease resistance genes, of which 24 belonged to TIR-NBS-LRR proteins and 20 belonged to CC-NBS-LRR proteins. The distance between a SNP locus and the nearest resistance genes ranged from 0.11–1.66 Mb. This indicated that NBS-LRR gene family might have an important role in clubroot resistance in B. napus . Conclusion The resistant B. napus lines and the SNP markers identified in this study can be used for breeding for resistance to clubroot and contribute to understanding the genetic mechanism of resistance to clubroot.