Improving crop salt tolerance through soil legacy effects.

Soil salinization poses a critical problem, adversely affecting plant development and sustainable agriculture. Plants can produce soil legacy effects through interactions with the soil environments. Salt tolerance of plants in saline soils is not only determined by their own stress tolerance but is also closely related to soil legacy effects. Creating positive soil legacy effects for crops, thereby alleviating crop salt stress, presents a new perspective for improving soil conditions and increasing productivity in saline farmlands. Firstly, the formation and role of soil legacy effects in natural ecosystems are summarized. Then, the processes by which plants and soil microbial assistance respond to salt stress are outlined, as well as the potential soil legacy effects they may produce. Using this as a foundation, proposed the application of salt tolerance mechanisms related to soil legacy effects in natural ecosystems to saline farmlands production. One aspect involves leveraging the soil legacy effects created by plants to cope with salt stress, including the direct use of halophytes and salt-tolerant crops and the design of cropping patterns with the specific crop functional groups. Another aspect focuses on the utilization of soil legacy effects created synergistically by soil microorganisms. This includes the inoculation of specific strains, functional microbiota, entire soil which legacy with beneficial microorganisms and tolerant substances, as well as the application of novel technologies such as direct use of rhizosphere secretions or microbial transmission mechanisms. These approaches capitalize on the characteristics of beneficial microorganisms to help crops against salinity. Consequently, we concluded that by the screening suitable salt-tolerant crops, the development rational cropping patterns, and the inoculation of safe functional soils, positive soil legacy effects could be created to enhance crop salt tolerance. It could also improve the practical significance of soil legacy effects in the application of saline farmlands.

Dietary Guanidine Acetic Acid Improves Ruminal Antioxidant Capacity and Alters Rumen Fermentation and Microflora in Rapid-Growing Lambs.

Guanidine acetic acid (GAA) has been reported to improve growth performance, nutrient utilization, and meat quality in livestock. This study aimed to investigate whether coated GAA (CGAA) in comparison with uncoated GAA (UGAA) could have different effects on rumen fermentation, antioxidant capacity, and microflora composition in the rumen. Seventy-two lambs were randomly arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial experiment design with two diets of different forage type (OH: oaten hay; OHWS: oaten hay plus wheat silage) and three GAA treatments within each diet (control, diet without GAA addition; UGAA, uncoated GAA; CGAA, coated GAA). The whole feeding trial lasted for 120 days. The lambs in the OH group presented lower total volatile fatty acid (VFA), alpha diversity, Firmicutes, NK4A214_group, and Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group than those on the OHWS diet in the last 60 days of the feeding stage (p < 0.05). Regardless of what GAA form was added, dietary GAA supplementation increased the total VFA, microbial crude protein (MCP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and antioxidant capacity in rumen during lamb feedlotting (p < 0.05). However, molar propionate proportion, acetate:propionate ratio (A:P), and relative Succiniclasticum abundance decreased with GAA addition in the first 60 days of the growing stage, while the molar butyrate proportion and NK4A214_group (p < 0.05) in response to GAA addition increased in the last 60 days of feeding. These findings indicated that dietary GAA enhanced antioxidant capacity and fermentation characteristics in the rumen, but the addition of uncoated GAA in diets might cause some dysbacteriosis of the rumen microbiota.

Dietary Guanidine Acetic Acid Addition Improved Carcass Quality with Less Back-Fat Thickness and Remarkably Increased Meat Protein Deposition in Rapid-Growing Lambs Fed Different Forage Types.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether guanidine acetic acid (GAA) yields a response in rapid-growing lambs depending on forage type. In this study, seventy-two small-tailed Han lambs (initial body weights = 12 ± 1.6 kg) were used in a 120-d feeding experiment after a 7-d adaptation period. A 2 × 3 factorial experimental feeding design was applied to the lambs, which were fed a total mixed ration with two forage types (OH: oaten hay; OHWS: oaten hay plus wheat silage) and three forms of additional GAA (GAA: 0 g/kg; UGAA: Uncoated GAA, 1 g/kg; CGAA: Coated GAA, 1 g/kg). The OH diet had a greater dry matter intake, average daily gain, and hot carcass weight than the OHWS diet. The GAA supplementation increased the final body weight, hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, and ribeye area in the longissimus lumborum. Meanwhile, it decreased backfat thickness and serum triglycerides. Dietary GAA decreased the acidity of the meat and elevated the water-holding capacity in mutton. In addition, the crude protein content in mutton increased with GAA addition. Dietary GAA (UGAA or CGAA) might be an effective additive in lamb fed by different forage types, as it has potential to improve growth performance and meat quality.

Cysteamine Supplementation In Vitro Remarkably Promoted Rumen Fermentation Efficiency towards Propionate Production via Prevotella Enrichment and Enhancing Antioxidant Capacity.

Cysteamine (CS) is a vital antioxidant product and nutritional regulator that improves the productive performance of animals. A 2 × 4 factorial in vitro experiment was performed to determine the effect of the CS supplementation levels of 0, 20, 40, and 60 mg/g, based on substrate weight, on the ruminal fermentation, antioxidant capacity, and microorganisms of a high-forage substrate (HF, forage:corn meal = 7:3) in the Statistical Analysis System Institute. After 48 h of incubation, the in vitro dry matter disappearance and gas production in the LF group were higher when compared with a low-forage substrate (LF, forge hay:corn meal = 3:7), which was analyzed via the use of the MIXED procedure of the HF group, and these increased linearly with the increasing CS supplementation (p < 0.01). With regard to rumen fermentation, the pH and acetate were lower in the LF group compared to the HF group (p < 0.01). However, the ammonia N, microbial crude protein, total volatile fatty acids (VFA), and propionate in the LF group were greater than those in the HF group (p < 0.05). With the CS supplementation increasing, the pH, ammonia N, acetate, and A:P decreased linearly, while the microbial crude protein, total VFA, and propionate increased linearly (p < 0.01). Greater antioxidant capacity was observed in the LF group, and the increasing CS supplementation linearly increased the superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione, and glutathione reductase, while it decreased the malondialdehyde (p < 0.05). No difference occurred in the ruminal bacteria alpha diversity with the increasing CS supplementation, but it was higher in the LF group than in the HF group (p < 0.01). Based on the rumen bacterial community, a higher proportion of Bacteroidota, instead of Firmicutes, was in the LF group than in the HF group. Furthermore, increasing the CS supplementation linearly increased the relative abundance of Prevotella, norank_f_F082, and Prevotellaceae_UCG-001 under the two substrates (p < 0.05). Prevotella, norank_f_F082, and Prevotellaceae_UCG-001 were positively correlated with gas production, rumen fermentation, and antioxidant capacity in a Spearman correlation analysis (r > 0.31, p < 0.05). Overall, a CS supplementation of not less than 20 mg/g based on substrate weight enhanced the rumen fermentation and rumen antioxidant capacity of the fermentation system, and it guided the rumen fermentation towards glucogenic propionate by enriching the Prevotella in Bacteroidetes.

Tandem mass tag-based proteomics analysis reveals the effects of Guri Gumu-13 pill on drug-induced liver injury.

The incidence of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is second only to viral hepatitis and steatohepatitis in China, and DILI has become a serious public health problem that cannot be ignored. Guri Gumu-13 pill (GRGM) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which has a protective effect on liver diseases. However, the underlying therapeutic mechanisms of GRGM for DILI are still vague. In this study, the protective effect of GRGM on acetaminophen (APAP)-induced DILI was investigated based on the proteomics clues. The effects of GRGM on APAP-induced DILI in rats were studied using tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics technology. Besides, western blotting was exerted to verify related proteins. Using the TMT-based quantitative proteomics approach, 237 proteins were identified as regulated in APAP-induced DILI and 58 proteins were regulated by GRGM. The 17 overlapping differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified, and 7 proteins were inversely regulated. Enrichment analysis of KEGG indicated that metabolic pathways, linoleic acid metabolism, and retinol metabolism might be affected in DILI. Next, Cyp2c11, Aldh1a1, and Fads2 were verified with molecular biotechnology. GRGM exerts therapeutic effects through multi-pathways regulation in the treatment of DILI. This work may provide proteomics clues for the continuation of research on DILI treatment with GRGM.

Mechanisms exploration of terrestrosin D on pulmonary fibrosis based on plasma metabolomics and network pharmacology.

Terrestrosin D (TED) is the active ingredient of Tribulus terrestris L., which is used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulations and has a wide range of pharmacological activities. A previous study showed that TED alleviated bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF) in mice. However, the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of TED are still unclear and need further investigation. In this study, we evaluated the effect of TED in a mice of BLM-induced PF in terms of histopathological and biochemical indices. UHPLC-MS-based plasma metabolomics combined with network pharmacology was used to explore the pathological basis of PF and the mechanism of action of TED. Histological and biochemical analyses showed that TED mitigated inflammatory injury in the lungs, especially at the dosage of 20 mg/kg. Furthermore, BLM changed the plasma metabolite profile in the mice, which was reversed by TED via regulation of amino acid and lipid metabolism. Subsequently, a biomarkers-targets-disease network was constructed, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1 were identified as the putative therapeutic targets of TED. Both factors were quantitatively analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Taken together, the combination of UHPLC-MS-based metabolomics and network pharmacology can unveil the mechanisms of diseases and drug action.

Natural deep eutectic solvents as tailored and sustainable media for the extraction of five compounds from compound liquorice tablets and their comparison with conventional organic solvents.

An efficient and environmentally friendly ultrasound-assisted (UAE) natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) extraction method was applied for the extraction of five bioactive compounds (liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, glycyrrhizic acid and isoliquiritigenin) from compound liquorice tablets (CPLTs), and the antioxidant activities of these compounds were evaluated. In this study, eighteen different NADES systems based on either two or three components were tested and a 1,4-butanediol-levulinic acid system (1 : 3 molar ratio) was selected as a topgallant solvent for maximizing analyte extraction yields. Various extraction parameters, such as water content, liquid/solid ratio, extraction time and temperature, were systematically optimized by single-factor and response surface methodology (RSM) experiments. The results indicated that the optimum extraction conditions for the analytes featured a water content of 17%, a liquid/solid ratio of 42 mL g-1 and an extraction time of 30 min. The extracted amounts of liquiritin, isoliquiritin, liquiritigenin, glycyrrhizic acid and isoliquiritigenin reached 5.60, 3.17, 1.27, 74.62 and 1.34 mg g-1, respectively, under optimized conditions, which were much higher than those extracted using conventional organic solvents. In addition, antioxidant tests revealed that the NADES extracts showed higher DPPH and hydroxyl radical-scavenging capacity than the conventional solvent extracts used for comparison. This study provides a suitable approach for efficiently extracting the bioactive compounds of CPLTs. Meanwhile, NADESs can be extended to other natural products as green extraction media.

Effects of 20-day litter weight on weaned piglets' fighting behavior after group mixing and on heart rate variability in an isolation test.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of 20-day litter weight on behavior and heart rate variability (HRV) of piglets under stress. METHODS: Forty four original litters were categorized as high litter weight (HW) litters (n = 22) and low litter weight (LW) litters (n = 22) by 20-day litter weight. From each original HW litter, three males and three females were randomly selected after weaning and the 12 piglets from two original litters with similar age of days were regrouped into one new high litter weight (NHW) litter (11 NHW litters in total). The original LW litters were treated with a same program, so that there were 11 new low litter weight (NLW) litters as well. The latencies to first fighting, fighting frequencies and duration within three hours were recorded after regrouping and the lesions on body surface within 48 hours were scored. Besides, HR (heart rate, bpm, beats per minute) and activity count (ACT), time domain indexes and frequency domain indexes of the piglets were measured in an isolation trial to analyze the discrepancy in coping with stress between the original HW and LW litters. RESULTS: The results exhibited that piglets from the HW litters launched fighting sooner and got statistically higher skin lesion score than those from the LW litters (p = 0.03 and 0.02, respectively). Regarding the HRV detection, compared with the HW litters, the LW litters exhibited a lower mean HR (p<0.05). In the isolation test, a highly significant higher ACT value was observed between the HW litters, compared to the LW litters (p<0.01). Significant differences were observed in standard deviation of R-R intervals, standard deviation of all normal to normal intervals, and most frequency-domain indicators: very low-frequency, low-frequency, and high frequency between the HW and LW litters as well. The difference in LF:HF was not significant (p = 0.779). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that compared with litters of low 20-day litter weights, litters with higher 20-day litter weight take more positive strategies to cope with stress and have stronger HRV regulation capacity; HW litters demonstrate better anti-stress and adaptation capacity in the case of regrouping and isolation.