Diverse amdoparvoviruses infection of farmed Asian badgers (Meles meles).

Amdoparvoviruses infect various carnivores, including mustelids, canids, skunks, and felids. Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) belongs to the prototypical species Amdoparvovirus carnivoran1. Here, we identified a novel amdoparvovirus in farmed Asian badgers (Meles meles), and we named this virus "Meles meles amdoparvovirus" (MMADV). A total of 146 clinical samples were collected from 134 individual badgers, and 30.6% (41/134) of the sampled badgers tested positive for amdoparvovirus by PCR. Viral DNA was detected in feces, blood, spleen, liver, lung, and adipose tissue from these animals. Viral sequences from eight samples were determined, five of which represented nearly full-length genome sequences (4,237-4,265 nt). Six serum samples tested positive by PCR, CIEP, and IAT, four of which had high antibody titers (> 512) against AMDV-G. Twenty-six of the 41 amdoparvovirus-positive badgers showed signs of illness, and necropsy revealed lesions in their organs. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis of the viral NS1 and VP2 genes of these badger amdoparvoviruses showed that their NS1 proteins shared 62.6%-88.8% sequence identity with known amdoparvoviruses, and they clustered phylogenetically into two related clades. The VP2 proteins shared 76.6%-97.2% identity and clustered into two clades, one of which included raccoon dog and arctic fox amdoparvovirus (RFAV), and the other of which did not include other known amdoparvoviruses. According to the NS1-protein-based criterion for parvovirus species demarcation, the MMADV isolate from farm YS should be classified as a member of a new species of the genus Amdoparvovirus. In summary, we have discovered a novel MMADV and other badger amdoparvoviruses that naturally infect Asian badgers and are possibly pathogenic in badgers.

The Genetic Diversity of Mink (Neovison vison) Populations in China.

The American mink (Neovison vison) is a semiaquatic species of Mustelid native to North America that is now widespread in China. However, the knowledge of genetic diversity of mink in China is still limited. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity and identified significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in mink populations of five different color types in three different mink farms in China. Using double-digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, we identified a total of 1.3 million SNPs. After filtering the SNPs, phylogenetic tree, Fst, principal component, and population structure analyses were performed. The results demonstrated that red mink and black mink grouped, with separate clustering of all other color types. The population divergence index (Fst) study confirmed that different mink populations were distinct (K = 4). Two populations with different coat colors were subjected to the selection signature analysis, and 2300 genes were found to have a clear selection signature. The genes with a selection signature were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) categorization and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, the results revealed that the genes with a selection signature were enriched in the melanogenesis pathway. These study's findings have set the stage for improved breeding and conservation of genetic resources in real-world practical mink farming.

[Effects of the removal of invasive Moso bamboo on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities in subtropical forests]. / å ¥ä¾µæ¯›ç«¹çš†ä¼å¯¹äºšçƒ­å¸¦æ£®æž—åœŸå£¤å¾®ç”Ÿç‰©ç”Ÿç‰©é‡å’Œé ¶æ´»æ€§çš„å½±å“.

Removal of invasive plant species is the first step to restoring the invaded ecosystems. The soil microbial biomass and extracellular enzyme activities were measured in Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) pure forest (completely invasion), invasive P. edulis removal forest (secondary succession 5 years after clear cutting), and the evergreen broadleaved forest (no invasion) in Tianmu Mountain. The results showed that compared with P. edulis pure forest, invasive P. edulis removal significantly increased the contents of soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrate nitrogen, available phosphorus and potassium, as well as microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass phosphorus (MBP), while significantly decreased microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN). The activities of α-glucosidase (AG), ß-glucosidase (BG), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) and phenol oxidase (POX) in the forest with removal of invasive P. edulis were significantly higher than those in P. edulis pure forest, while invasive P. edulis removal did not change the activities of cellodisaccharide hydrolase (CBH), ß-N-acetyl-glucosaminopeptidase (NAG), acid phosphatase (ACP) and peroxidase (PER). Furthermore, the activities of AG, BG and LAP were positively correlated with SOC and MBC, while the increase in POX activity was positively correlated with soil nitrate content. In addition, MBC, MBN and MBP, and activities of AG, BG, NAG, LAP and ACP in P. edulis removal forest forest were significantly higher than those in evergreen broadleaved forests. Taken together, the removal of invasive P. edulis could increase soil nutrient contents, microbial biomass and extracellular enzyme activities, thus could be considered as an effective way to restore the invaded forests. Our results provide important theoretical basis for controlling P. edulis invasion in subtropical forests.

Denitrification performance and bacterial flora analysis of immobilized denitrification filler in industrial wastewater.

The study aimed at evaluating the nitrogen removal performance of the immobilized denitrification filler, and the influence of shock loading on the high-rate denitrification process. A pilot scale reactor was operated for treatment of aniline production wastewater. The nitrogen removal activity significantly increased in the continuous feed experiments, reaching 5.23 kg N m-3 day-1 on day 31 (30 °C) at Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) = 10 h. In the impact experiment, the denitrification filler was inhibited by Free Nitrite Acid (FNA) when the shock load flowed 1.5 times into the bioreactor and recovered after the load was restored for 20 h. The high-throughput results demonstrated that the dominant position of the denitrifying bacteria further enhanced in a micro toxic and high-salinity environment, providing a basis for the dominance of the composite denitrifying bacteria and the efficacy of the immobilization technology.

[Research on Denitrification Performance of Enhanced Secondary Effluent by Embedded Denitrification Filler and Pilot Application].

The use of an embedded broad-spectrum high-efficiency denitrification filler to treat secondary effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants can effectively reduce total nitrogen (TN) concentration of the effluent. This study consists of two parts. The D1 stage studies the adaptability of the secondary effluent based on the embedded denitrification, removal effect of total nitrogen, stable working conditions, and backwashing conditions; In the D2 stage, the change in the nitrogen removal performance of the filler under the condition of a year-long stable operation was studied. The variation in the microbial population before and after the operation of the embedded packing was studied by high-throughput sequencing and real-time quantitative PCR detecting system real-time (qPCR). In this research, the embedded denitrification filler had a water temperature of (24±1)℃, pH:7.1, hydraulic retention time (HRT):1 h, and filling rate:10%. Sodium acetate was added to ensure stable operation for seven days. Under adequate carbon source conditions, the filler can adapt to the quality of secondary effluent water and achieve effluent TN<5mg·L-1. By comparing and studying the effect of different HRT on the removal of filler TN, it is concluded that HRT is 30 min and the filling rate is 10%. After a year of stable operation under 7.2 m3·d-1influent conditions, the TN removal rate can reach 90.42%, and the total nitrogen in the effluent can be stabilized below 5 mg·L-1. In comparison with the backwashing effect, the backwashing strength was 5.2 L·(m2·s)-1, and the cycle is three days long. High-throughput sequencing and real-time quantitative PCR analysis results show that the abundance and copy number of denitrifying functional genus in the filler before and after the operation exhibited significant changes, which indicated that the bacteria could achieve good self-growth under embedding conditions.

Analysis of rapid culture of high-efficiency nitrifying bacteria and immobilized filler application for the treatment of municipal wastewater.

Activated sludge from the A2/O process in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was used as the seed sludge for enrichment to achieve faster growth of nitrifying bacteria and higher nitrification efficiency of the filler made by nitrifying bacteria. The bacterial community was enriched in a self-circulating bacteria culture tank by a continuous ammonia feeding mode. The study found that the nitrifying bacteria community was enriched in 38 days with the ammonia oxidation rate of approximately 275.58 mg (L h)-1. High-throughput sequencing demonstrated that Nitrosomonas belonging to ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was predominant in the sludge after 38 days at a ratio extending from 0.43% to 61.91%. The enriched sludge was used as the bacterial source and the immobilization was carried out with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). After the recovery culture, the ammonia oxidation rate of the filler was up to 44.61 mg (L h)-1 for the treatment of municipal wastewater, and the effluent ammonia was below 1 mg L-1, indicating that the immobilized filler is effective for municipal wastewater nitrification. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations showed that immobilized fillers were highly porous and bacteria adhered to the network structure, demonstrating that the filler provided a good growth microenvironment for microorganisms.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Mink (Neovison vison) Skin Reveals the Key Genes Involved in the Melanogenesis of Black and White Coat Colour.

Farmed mink (Neovison vison) is one of the most important fur-bearing species worldwide, and coat colour is a crucial qualitative characteristic that contributes to the economic value of the fur. To identify additional genes that may play important roles in coat colour regulation, Illumina/Solexa high-throughput sequencing technology was used to catalogue the global gene expression profiles in mink skin with two different coat colours (black and white). RNA-seq analysis indicated that a total of 12,557 genes were differentially expressed in black versus white minks, with 3,530 genes up-regulated and 9,027 genes down-regulated in black minks. Significant differences were not observed in the expression of MC1R and TYR between the two different coat colours, and the expression of ASIP was not detected in the mink skin of either coat colour. The expression levels of KITLG, LEF1, DCT, TYRP1, PMEL, Myo5a, Rab27a and SLC7A11 were validated by qRT-PCR, and the results were consistent with RNA-seq analysis. This study provides several candidate genes that may be associated with the development of two coat colours in mink skin. These results will expand our understanding of the complex molecular mechanisms underlying skin physiology and melanogenesis in mink and will provide a foundation for future studies.

An examination of the origin and evolution of additional tandem repeats in the mitochondrial DNA control region of Japanese sika deer (Cervus Nippon).

Tandem repeat units are only detected in the left domain of the mitochondrial DNA control region in sika deer. Previous studies showed that Japanese sika deer have more tandem repeat units than its cousins from the Asian continent and Taiwan, which often have only three repeat units. To determine the origin and evolution of these additional repeat units in Japanese sika deer, we obtained the sequence of repeat units from an expanded dataset of the control region from all sika deer lineages. The functional constraint is inferred to act on the first repeat unit because this repeat has the least sequence divergence in comparison to the other units. Based on slipped-strand mispairing mechanisms, the illegitimate elongation model could account for the addition or deletion of these additional repeat units in the Japanese sika deer population. We also report that these additional repeat units could be occurring in the internal positions of tandem repeat regions, possibly via coupling with a homogenization mechanism within and among these lineages. Moreover, the increased number of repeat units in the Japanese sika deer population could reflect a balance between mutation and selection, as well as genetic drift.

[Association analysis between SNPs of the growth hormone receptor gene and growth traits in arctic fox].

Using single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene were detected in an arctic fox population. Correlation analysis between GHR polymorphisms and growth traits were carried out using the appropriate model. Four SNPs, G3A in the 5'UTR, C99T in the first exon, T59C and G65A in the fifth exon were identified on the arctic fox GHR gene. The G3A and C99T polymorphisms of GHR were associated with female fox body weight (Pamp;0.05) and the T59C and G65A polymorphisms of GHR were associated with male fox body weight (Pamp;0.05) and the skin length of the female fox (Pamp;0.01). Therefore, marker assistant selection on body weight and skin length of arctic foxes using these SNPs can be applied to get big and high quality arctic foxes.