Effects of Habitat Types on Macroinvertebrates Assemblages Structure: Case Study of Sun Island Bund Wetland.

Sun Island Bund Wetland (SIBW) is a river floodplain wetland located at the south part of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China. An investigation of the influence of habitat type on macroinvertebrates assemblages structure was conducted in July 2016. Nine (9) sampling sites were selected based on sediment type, water condition, and aquatic vegetation type. Macroinvertebrates attributes including density, biomass, and four diversity indices (Simpson diversity index, Margalef richness index, Shannon-Weiner index, and Pielou evenness index) were assessed. A total of 53 taxa were collected during the study period, with the highest density dominated being from aquatic insects and gastropods. Bellamya purificata and Exopalaemon annandalei were the most dominant among all the species. The results showed that the assemblages structure of macroinvertebrates in different habitats was significantly different. Also, the results with PCA showed that the higher values of invertebrates density, biomass, diversity indices, and species richness had a greater association with the habitat types of silt-humus sediment, closed lentic area, and submerged-flouting-emergent vegetation.

Effects of Dietary Selenium Supplementation on Seminiferous Tubules and SelW, GPx4, LHCGR, and ACE Expression in Chicken Testis.

We investigated the effects of dietary selenium (Se) supplementation on the development of chicken testis and the expression of selenoprotein W (SelW), glutathione peroxidase4 (GPx4), luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptor (LHCGR), and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Sixty roosters were assigned randomly into the control group fed with a basic diet (containing 0.3 mg Se/kg) and the experimental group fed with a diet (containing 0.6 mg Se/kg). The testes were collected individually at age of 6, 9, and 12 weeks. Se was supplemented in chicken feed for 15 days before sampling. The results indicated that dietary Se affected the number of cells in the seminiferous tubules and viability of Sertoli cells in vitro culture. SelW and GPx4 expression in the testes increased significantly in the experimental group compared to that in the control group. LHCGR expression in the testes increased significantly in the experimental group after 12 weeks compared to that in the control group. In contrast, ACE expression was inhibited in the experimental group compared to that in the control group. These results suggest that dietary supplementation with Se improved development of the seminiferous tubules at the cellular level and that SelW, GPx4, LHCGR, and ACE are involved.

14-3-3γ affects mTOR pathway and regulates lactogenesis in dairy cow mammary epithelial cells.

14-3-3 proteins are an acidic protein family that is highly conserved and widely distributed in eukaryotic cells. Recent studies have found that 14-3-3 proteins play critical roles in cell signal transductions, cell growth and differentiation, and protein synthesis. 14-3-3γ is an important member of 14-3-3 protein family. In our previous study, we found that 14-3-3γ was upregulated by estrogen in dairy cow mammary epithelial cell (DCMEC), but the function and mechanism of 14-3-3γ is not known. In this experiment, we first cultured and purified the primary DCMEC and found 14-3-3γ located both in the cytoplasm and nucleus by using immunofluorescence assay. Methionine, lysine, estrogen, and prolactin could upregulate the expression of 14-3-3γ, stimulate the secretion of ß-casein and triglyceride, and raise the cell viability of DCMEC. We constructed a stable 14-3-3γ overexpression cell line of DCMEC and found that the expressions of mTOR and p-mTOR, the secretion of triglyceride and ß-casein (CSN2), and the cell viability of DCMEC were all upregulated. We also observed the effects of 14-3-3γ gene silencing and gained consistent results with 14-3-3γ overexpression. These findings reveal that 14-3-3γ affects the mTOR pathway and regulates lactogenesis in DCMECs.

Molecular network including eIF1AX, RPS7, and 14-3-3γ regulates protein translation and cell proliferation in bovine mammary epithelial cells.

14-3-3γ, an isoform of the 14-3-3 protein family, was proved to be a positive regulator of mTOR pathway. Here, we analyzed the function of 14-3-3γ in protein synthesis using bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs). We found that 14-3-3γ interacted with eIF1AX and RPS7 by 14-3-3γ coimmunoprecipitation (CoIP) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) peptide mass fingerprinting analysis. These interactions of 14-3-3γ with eIF1AX and RPS7 were further confirmed by colocalization and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis. We also found that methionine could promote protein synthesis and trigger the protein expression levels of 14-3-3γ, eIF1AX and RPS7. Analysis of overexpression and inhibition of 14-3-3γ confirmed that it positively affected the protein expression levels of eIF1AX, RPS7, Stat5 and mTOR pathway to promote protein synthesis and cell proliferation in BMECs. We further showed that overexpression of eIF1AX and RPS7 also triggered protein translation and cell proliferation. From these results, we conclude that molecular network including eIF1AX, RPS7, and 14-3-3γ regulates protein translation and cell proliferation in BMECs.