No abstract

SummaryThe Chinese indigenous pig breeds in the Taihu Lake region are the most prolific pig breeds in the world. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity and population structure of six breeds, including Meishan, Erhualian, Mi, Fengjing, Shawutou and Jiaxing Black, in this region using whole‐genome SNP data. A high SNP with proportions of polymorphic markers ranging from 0.925 to 0.995 was exhibited by the Chinese indigenous pigs in the Taihu Lake region. The allelic richness and expected heterozygosity also were calculated and indicated that the genetic diversity of the Meishan breed was the greatest, whereas that of the Fengjing breed was the lowest. The genetic differentiation, as indicated by the fixation index, exhibited an overall mean of 0.149. Both neighbor‐joining tree and principal components analysis were able to distinguish the breeds from each other, but structure analysis indicated that the Mi and Erhualian breeds exhibited similar major signals of admixture. With this genome‐wide comprehensive survey of the genetic diversity and population structure of the indigenous Chinese pigs in the Taihu Lake region, we confirmed the rationality of the current breed classification of the pigs in this region.

Science-based assessments of climate change impacts on cropping systems under different levels of global warming are essential for informing stakeholders which global climate targets and potential adaptation strategies may be effective. A comprehensive evaluation of climate change impacts on Canada's crop production under different levels of global warming is currently lacking. The DayCent, DNDC and DSSAT models were employed to estimate changes in crop yield and production for three prominent crops including spring wheat, canola and maize in current agricultural regions of Canada. Four warming scenarios with global mean temperature changes of 1.5°C, 2.0°C, 2.5°C and 3.0°C above the pre-industrial level were investigated. Climate scenarios from 20 Global Climate Models, included in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 and downscaled with a multivariate quantile mapping bias correction method, were used to drive the crop simulation models. Simulated yield changes demonstrate a potentially positive impact on spring wheat and canola yields at all four temperature levels, particularly when shifting planting date is considered in the simulations. There was less consensus for the currently utilized short-season maize cultivars, as yields were only projected to increase by DNDC compared to a slight decrease by DayCent and a slight increase up to 2.5°C followed by a decrease at 3.0°C by DSSAT. These findings indicate that climate at the global warming levels up to 3.0°C above the pre-industrial level could be beneficial for crop production of small grains in Canada. However, these benefits declined after warming reached 2.5°C.

The circular RNA RAPGEF5 (circRAPGEF5) is generated from five exons of the RAPGEF5 gene and abnormal expression in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). However, whether circRAPGEF5 plays a role in PTC tumorigenesis remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of circRAPGEF5 in PTC. The results showed that circRAPGEF5 was upregulated in PTC tissues and cell lines. circRAPGEF5 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro ; and circRAPGEF5 silencing downregulated fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) expression by “sponging” miR-198, suppressing the aggressive biological behaviors of PTC. Luciferase reporter assays confirmed that circRAPGEF5 interacted with miR-198 and that miR-198 interacted with the 3′ UTR of FGFR1 to downregulate its expression. Xenograft experiments confirmed that circRAPGEF5 knockdown suppressed FGFR1-mediated tumor growth by promoting miR-198 expression. circRAPGEF5 acts as a tumor promoter via a novel circRAPGEF5/miR-198/FGFR1 axis, providing a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for the management of PTC.