Four goats (30.1 ± 1.3 kg) with common bile duct re-entrant catheter and duodenal catheter were used to evaluate the effects of duodenal leucine infusion on pancreatic exocrine secretion and plasma parameters with two 4 × 4 Latin square design experiments. In the long-term infusion experiment, goats were fed twice daily [700 g/day, dry matter (DM) basis] at 8:00 and 18:00 hours and were duodenally infused with 0, 3, 6, 9 g/day leucine for 14 days. Pancreatic juice and jugular blood samples were collected over 1-h intervals for 6 h daily from d 11 to 14 days to encompass a 24-h day. In the short-term experiment, goats were infused leucine for 10 h continuously at the same infusion rate with Experiment 1 after feed deprivation for 24 h repeated every 10 days. Pancreatic juice and blood samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 h of infusion. The results showed that the long-term leucine infusion did not affect pancreatic juice secretion, protein output, trypsin and lipase secretion and plasma insulin concentration, but linearly increased α-amylase secretion. No changes in pancreatic protein and lipase secretion were observed in the short-term infusion. Pancreatic juice and α-amylase secretion responded quadratically, with the greatest values observed in the 3 and 6 g/day leucine respectively. Trypsin secretion linearly decreased, while plasma insulin concentration increased linearly with increased leucine infusion. The results demonstrated that duodenal leucine infusion dose and time dependently regulated pancreatic enzyme secretion not associated with the change in plasma insulin concentration.

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To elucidate the role of anti-müllerian hormone ( AMH ) in regulating the development of ovarian follicles in laying hens, the expressions of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor ( FSHR ), AMH receptor type 2 ( AMHR2 ), steroidogenic-related genes steroidogenic acute regulatory protein ( STAR ), cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage ( CYP11A1 ), and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase ( HSD3B1 ) genes were measured from different sized follicles and granulosa cells. The results showed that the expressions of FSHR and AMHR2 genes were higher in small follicles and decreased after follicular selection. Oppositely, the expressions of STAR , CYP11A1, and HSD3B1 were significantly increased after follicular selection. It indicated that AMHR2 might mediate AMH suppression in the stimulating effects of follicle-stimulating hormone ( FSH ) on steroidogenic-related genes expression. To make sure the effects of AMH in this process, a total of 40 hens were treated (negative control, sham operation, 150 ng AMH/d or 300 ng AMH/d) for 25 d. We analyzed ovarian morphology, progesterone concentration in blood plasma, and the expressions of steroidogenic genes in ovaries and follicles. The AMH300 group had significantly lower weight of ovary and hierarchical follicles. Egg weight and ovary weight in AMH150 group were higher than those of sham operation and AMH300 groups, so did hierarchical follicles weight. The steroidogenic genes expressions showed an increase in ovarian tissue and the largest follicle of AMH150 and AMH300 groups. However, progesterone level in the blood was reduced by AMH injection with different concentrations. To further verify the above results, granulosa cells from 6 to 8 mm follicles were cultured with AMH (0, 5, 10, 20, 40, or 80 ng/mL). The results revealed that excessive AMH (80 ng/mL) exerted an inhibitory effect on progesterone synthesis and the expressions of STAR, CYP11A1, and HSD3B1 . However, these genes expressions showed a significant increase in 20 ng/mL AMH-treated group. In summary, AMH inhibited the development of prehierarchical follicles in laying hens. The effects of AMH treatment with different concentrations on follicle development showed the follicle was selected by changing FSH responsiveness of prehierarchical follicles.

Twenty-three polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed from the black rockfish, Sebastes schlegelii, with an enriched partial genomic library by magnetic beads and polymorphism of these loci was assessed in 32 individuals from a wild population. The loci yielded 2-19 alleles per locus, the observed, expected heterozygosity and polymorphic information content ranged from 0.063 to 1.000, 0.091 to 0.945 and 0.085 to 0.926, respectively. Twenty loci confirmed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and only one pairs of loci show significant linkage disequilibrium after Bonferroni's correction. The availability of these markers will facilitate studies of the conservation genetics of S. schlegelii.