Abstract The correlation between the grain thickness and the yield and quality of brown rice was studied using 9 japonica rice varieties harvested in Jilin Province in 2019. The results showed that there were significant differences between the grain thickness of different varieties. The grading of different grain thickness had a great influence on the grains per panicle and the seed setting rate in the yield components. Further, there was no significant correlation between grain thickness and grain type (aspect ratio), while a strong and significant negative correlation was identified between grain-thickness grading (< 2.0 mm) and processing quality. In addition, grain thickness was found to have a positive effect on the quality of taste. In conclusion, grain length, width, and thickness are independent genetic traits. The ratio of thicker grain-thickness-grading would increase with an improvement in the yield and processing quality, and an increase in the thinner grain-thickness-grading ratio would lead to degradation with regard to appearance and taste. The grain thickness of brown rice has an important impact on the quality of the rice.

ABSTRACT We aimed to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus ACCC11073 on the growth performance, oxidation, inflammation, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family genes of rabbits infected with Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) using antibiotic enrofloxacin hydrochloride (EH) as a reference. There were four treatments including negative control, positive control with L. monocytogenes infection on the first day of feeding trial (PC), PC + EH at 40 mg kg−1, and PC + L. acidophilus at 108 CFU kg−1 of diet using 240 weaned growing rabbits. The results showed that L. monocytogenes infection worsened growth performance of rabbits, whereas EH or L. acidophilus supplementation partially recovered body weight gain, but did not reach the levels of the negative control. Listeria acidophilus and EH decreased L. monocytogenes loads in caecum, liver, spleen, and lymph node, serum oxidative markers including diamine oxidase, malondialdehyde, and protein carbonyl, serum IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. The decreased effects of EH on IL-1β and TNF-α were more pronounced than that of the probiotic. Treatments EH and probiotic also de-regulated the mRNA levels of MAPK1, 3, 6, and 14. Listeria acidophilus exhibits a similar effect to EH against L. monocytogenes in rabbits, and the regulation on inflammatory process is via MAPK family genes. The results suggest that L. acidophilus can be used as a feed additive against L. monocytogenes infection.

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the effect of Artemisia apiacea Hance supplementation on growth performance, cecal opportunistic bacteria, and antimicrobial defense using 120 rabbits. There were four experimental diets containing a control and A. apiacea Hance added at doses of 25, 50, and 75 g kg−1 of feed. The trial lasted for 70 days. The results showed that diets supplemented with A. apiacea Hance improved feed intake, body weight gain, and feed efficiency. Linear and quadratic responses were found between feed intake and herbal meal doses. For cecal opportunistic pathogenic bacteria, compared with the control treatment, the herb decreased cecal C. perfringens, Gram-negative bacteria, and Salmonella spp. by 9.5 to 56.8%. Linear responses of herb doses were found on the four bacteria and a quadratic response on Salmonella spp. In addition, the herb increased the mRNA levels by 12.6 to 57.8% of cecal defensive peptides, including neutrophil peptide defensing-3a, regenerating family member-3 gamma defensin beta-1, and galectin-4. These genes linearly responded to the herb doses. The obtained data suggest that A. apiacea Hance is effective to improve animal growth by beneficially regulating gut opportunistic bacteria and microbicidal peptide activity.

ABSTRACT The world collection of sugarcane (Saccharum hybrids. and related grasses (WCSRG) is an important source of genes for sugarcane and energycane breeding. The core collection or diversity panel of the WCSRG was created in Canal Point with 300 accession and 10 checks to evaluate its diversity. The fiber components of the species and accessions within the WCSRG are unknown, so a shredded and dried fiber sample was taken from each accession and sent for fiber analysis. The acetyl groups, acid insoluble lignin, acid soluble lignin, arabinan, glucan, holocellulose, total lignin, structural ash, and xylan were quantified on a % fiber basis and nonstructural ash on a % total basis. There were significant, but not large differences between species for holocellulose, lignin, acetyl, acid soluble lignin, nonstructural ash, and glucan. For each trait, Saccharum spontaneum had significantly more holocellulose, glucan, lignin, and nonstructural ash and less acetyl and acid soluble lignin than other species. In all populations, glucan and holocellulose were positively correlated and glucan and lignin were negatively correlated. In hybrids, internode length correlated positively with holocellulose and nonstructural ash and negatively with lignin. Principal component analysis indicated that a large amount of diversity exists within each of the species. The results suggest that strategic use of the WCSRG could provide both positive and negative selection for fiber-related traits could be made within all species of the collection.