ABSTRACT This study investigated the effect of calcium (Ca) and phytase interaction on growth performance and bone quality in 1-42-day-old broiler chickens. A total of 624 female one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were allotted to 13 treatments with four replicates and 12 birds per replicate. A 2 × 6 factorial experiment was designed to test the combinations of 0.50% and 1.00% Ca with 0, 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, and 10,000 FTU/kg phytase in the basal diet (0.25% non-phytate phosphorus, NPP). The control diet contained adequate Ca and phosphorus (P). Dietary Ca, phytase, and their interaction affected growth performance and bone mineralization of broilers at 1-42 days of age (p<0.05). The broilers fed with 1.00% Ca had lower body weight gain (BWG) and feed intake (FI) compared with the birds fed with 0.50% Ca (p<0.05). The BWG, FI, leg bone weight, and ash weight of the broilers fed with 0.25% NPP were lower than those of birds fed with the control diet (p<0.05). The addition of 500-10,000 FTU/kg phytase improved growth rate and leg bone quality, especially at 1.00% Ca (p<0.05). No differences were observed in growth performance and bone quality of 42-day-old broilers fed with 1.00% Ca + 2,500-10,000 FTU/kg phytase and the control diet (p>0.05). These data indicated that high doses of phytase (2,500-10,000 FTU/kg) alleviate the negative effects of Ca and P imbalance (Ca-to-NPP ratio = 4.0) on growth performance and bone mineralization of broiler chickens.

ABSTRACT Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are present on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix in all metazoans. HSPGs interact with growth factors and receptors through heparan sulfate (HS) chains. The sulfation pattern of heparan sulfate chains influences signaling events mediated by heparan sulfate proteoglycans located on the cell surface. SULF1 and SULF2 are two endo-sulfatases that can cleave specific 6-O-sulfate groups within the heparan chains. To determine their possible roles in tissues and satellite cells in vitro, their expression pattern was examined in tissues from 40-day-old chickens and in satellite cells from the breast muscles of 1-week-old and 2-week-old chickens using RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry analyses. The SULF1 and SULF2 transcripts were widely distributed in various tissues. Upon increasing culture times in chicken´s primary skeletal muscle satellite cells, SULF1 and SULF2 expression in 1-week-old chickens was significantly higher than in 2-week-old chickens, suggesting that sulfatases play a key role in satellite cell development. Therefore, our findings increase our knowledge of sulfatase expression diversity and provide a solid basis for further research concerning this molecular mechanism.

ABSTRACT There is increasing evidence that bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6) plays critical roles in regulating various stages of ovarian follicle development in mammals. However, the mechanisms of regulation of BMP6 in the chicken ovary remain unclear. In this study, mRNA and protein expression level of BMP6 in chicken ovarian follicles at different development stages were determined by qRT-PCR and western blot separately. Different concentrations of BMP6 protein and FSH were added to the culture medium, and the effects to proliferation of granulose cells were detected, further effect on expression pattern of progesterone synthesis associated genes were also analyzed by qRT-PCR and Western blotting and the secretion of progesterone was detected by ELISA. The results showed that mRNA and protein expression level of BMP6 increased significantly in the follicle with the development of follicle (p<0.05) and reached a peak at F1 follicle. Adding concentration of 50ng/ml and 100ng/ml of BMP6 protein promoted significantly the proliferation of granulosa cells (p<0.05), as well as up-regulated the expression of Steroid hormone synthesis acute regulatory protein (StAR) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) genes in mRNA and protein level. Meanwhile, the secretion of progesterone was significantly higher in the group that added BMP6 and FSH separately than blank control group (p<0.05) and reached a peak in the group that both added BMP6 and FSH. Collectively, these findings highlight that BMP6 is associated with proliferation of follicular cells and the synthesis of progesterone, which indicated that it took an important role in the follicular development of chicken.

ABSTRACT BMP6, a member of the subfamilies of the morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), plays a crucial role in osteogenic and chondrocyte differentiation in vitro and stimulates chondrogenesis, making chondrocytes differen-tiate on their terminal stage. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between polymorphism of BMP6 gene and slaughter traits in chicken respectively. We screened the exonic and intronic regions of BMP6 gene by DNA pool construction and amplified DNA fragment by PCR, and finally, we got nine SNPs. Association analysis revealed that BMP6 had no significant association among all slaughter traits in Yellow bantam chicken. However, BMP6 had a significant difference with femur weight, tibia weight, femur length (p<0.05), and was extremely significant with tibia length (p<0.01) in Avian chicken. Moreover, femur perimeter also had significant correlation with BMP6 in Avian chicken. These results provide useful information for further investigation on the function of chicken BMP6 gene.

In this study, soil physicochemical properties, microbial community structure and nematode assemblages were investigated to assess the soil qualities of an in situ phosphate mine after up to 10 years of revegetation with the nurse plant Alnus nepalensis. Our results showed that A. nepalensis cultivation significantly decreased the total P concentration, suggesting the high remediation potential. Moreover, A. nepalensis improved the levels of soil-available N and K and promoted the growth of microorganisms, as suggested by the 1.45- and even 3.26 fold increase in microbial carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), respectively, after 10 years of remediation. Soil enzyme activities relating to C (β-glucosidase), N (urease) and P (acid phosphatase) were also stimulated. The sum of the indicator phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and the Gram-positive and -negative bacteria also increased significantly after restoration. The nematode density increased gradually from zero in untreated soils to 2.3 g-1 of soil after 10 years of restoration, at which time the highest percentage of plant parasites was observed. Cluster analysis produced three clusters: cultivation for 0 and 1 years in cluster 1; 2, 3 and 4 years in cluster 2; and 5 and 10 years in cluster 3. These results showed that both the nutrient pools and the stability of the soil ecosystems in the revegetated soils were gradually reestablished and that the enzyme activities (β-glucosidase and urease), the microbial community (sum of PLFAs, G+: G-) and the nematode assemblage (density and plant parasite percentage) might be used as valid bioindicators for soil heath after contamination remediation.