Newcastle disease (ND) and avian influenza (AI) are common in the poultry industry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral administration of ginseng stem-and-leaf saponins (GSLS) on the humoral immune responses of chickens to inactivated ND and AI vaccines. In experiment 1, oral administration of GSLS at a dose of 5 mg/kg of BW for 7 d on the immune response in chickens intramuscularly injected with inactivated ND vaccine was evaluated. Results showed that GSLS significantly increased the antibody level against ND in the serum of chickens. In experiment 2, the same regimen of GSLS was administered to chickens inoculated with inactivated AI vaccines, and an enhanced serum antibody response to AI vaccination was also observed. Considering the safety of GSLS, because no adverse effect was found throughout the experiments, GSLS may be a promising oral adjuvant to improve immunization in poultry.

Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most destructive diseases of rice worldwide. The identification and utilization of resistance genes are crucial and significant for breeding resistant rice cultivars. We identified a resistance gene from Shuangkang77009, which is highly resistant to the rice blast isolate Guy11 using map‐based cloning. We performed bulked segregant analysis combined with specific length amplified fragment sequencing. We also performed association analysis, candidate gene prediction and cDNA sequencing to identify the candidate gene. The resistance gene is located on chromosome 6, and we ultimately mapped the resistance locus to a 92‐kb region. The resistance gene in Shuangkang77009 was allelic to PigmR, hereafter referred to as Pigm‐1. The Pigm‐1 protein had one amino acid change: serine (Ser) residue 860 was replaced by tyrosine (Tyr) in Pigm‐1 compared with the previously identified Pigm protein, which significantly changed the structure of the Pigm‐1 protein based on 3‐D structure simulation. In addition, using the developed molecular marker linked to the Pigm‐1 gene and molecular marker‐assisted selection technology, we introduced the Pigm‐1 gene into Minghui86, a widely used and excellent restorer. We generated 11 stable homozygous rice lines with desirable agronomic traits and strong resistance to rice blast. In conclusion, Pigm‐1, a natural allelic variant of PigmR, was responsible for blast resistance in Shuangkang77009 rice. The molecular marker‐assisted breeding strategy for Pigm‐1 was highly efficient.