The objective of this study was to explore the linkage of oxidative stress occurring in mitochondria, skeletal muscles, and plasma in heat stress-challenged broilers. At d 35, 24 broilers were randomly assigned to 2 treatments: rearing at high temperature (32 ± 1°C; heat stress group) or normal temperature (21 ± 1.2°C; control) for 7 d. The oxidative damage of lipid, DNA, and protein and the activities of antioxidative enzymes were measured, respectively, in plasma, skeletal muscles (breast and thigh muscles), and skeletal muscle mitochondria. The result showed that heat exposure increased (P < 0.01) plasma concentrations of thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) whereas it deceased total antioxidant capacity (P < 0.05) and ability to inhibit hydroxyl radicals (AIHR; P< 0.001). Protein carbonyl and TBARS levels were increased (P < 0.001) by heat stress in breast and thigh muscles. In skeletal muscle mitochondria, heat stress increased (P < 0.05) 8-OHdG and suppressed AIHR. Plasma activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was increased (P< 0.001) whereas glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) was suppressed by heat stress (P < 0.001). Heat exposure increased SOD and catalase activities in breast muscle (P < 0.01) but the reverse was true in thigh muscle (P < 0.05). Glutathione peroxidase was increased in thigh muscle (P < 0.001) but was not changed in breast muscle (P > 0.05). Heat stress increased SOD (P < 0.05) and decreased GSH-Px activities (P < 0.05) of mitochondria regardless of muscle types. Plasma allantoin level increased (P < 0.01) correspondingly with urate (P < 0.001) in heat-stressed broilers, indicating that urate could serve as an antioxidant to enhance the antioxidative capacity during stress in a concentration-dependent manner. The activities of respiratory chain complexes I and III were estimated in skeletal muscle mitochondria. Mitochondrial complex I activity was suppressed (P < 0.01) by heat exposure in breast and thigh muscles but complex III activity was elevated only in breast muscle (P < 0.01) of heat-stressed broiler. The fatty acid composition in skeletal muscle was not influenced by heat stress. In conclusion, suppressed mitochondrial complex I activity is associated with oxidative stress induced by heat exposure, which, in turn, is linked with the oxidative damages in muscle tissues and plasma.

Aims:We aimed to develop a biological agent that regulates the microbial community structure of the poplar rhizosphere and alleviates the effects of continuous poplar cropping. Methods and Results: Poplar rhizosphere soils were treated with or without Paenibacillus polymyxa CP-S316 microbial fermentation medium. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to measure bacteria and fungi in both groups, and microbial communities were analysed by metabarcoding. In fungi, the operational taxonomic units, abundance-based coverage estimator and Chao index of the CP-S316-treated group were significantly lower than those in the control check (CK) group. In bacteria, the proportions of Bacillus in the CP-S316 and CK groups were 5Á20 and 2Á38%, respectively, whereas those of Rhizoctonia were 2Á20 and 5Á82% respectively. The diameter at breast height, culturable bacteria and total bacteria of poplars treated with CP-S316 exceeded those in the CK group. Conclusions: Our data confirmed that CP-S316 could improve the microbial community structure of poplar rhizosphere and promote the growth of poplars. Significance and Impact of the Study: Research aimed at alleviating continuous cropping obstacles and promoting poplar growth via biocontrol agents is uncommon. We analysed the community structures of bacteria and fungi in rhizosphere soil to illustrate the use of CP-S316 for poplar cropping for improving plant health in the continuous cropping of poplar trees.

The development of biocontrol strategies for reducing the damage caused by plant pathogens is fully in accord with the current principles of sustainability.

The present study was conducted with broiler chicks exposed to dexamethasone (DEX) to explore its effects on hypothalamic target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling and regulating appetite in diets containing different energy levels. At 5 d age, 48 chicks were divided into one of 4 groups: high-fat diet (HFD) or low-fat diet (LFD) and intracerebroventricular (ICV) injected with either dexamethasone (DEX; 4 μg/2 μL) or saline at 10 d age. The results showed that DEX significantly inhibited gene expression of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcripts (CART), melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R), and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), and inhibited the protein level of the phospho-TOR compared with the control in HFD-fed chicks (P<0.05) but not in LFD-fed chicks (P>0.05). After DEX treatment, hypothalamic agouti-related peptide levels were decreased significantly in HFD-fed chicks (P<0.05) but not in LFD-fed chicks (P>0.05). Compared to the control, DEX-treated chicks did not present any significant changes in neuropeptide Y gene expression with either HFD or LFD (P>0.05), but pro-opiomelanocortin levels were depressed by ICV DEX treatment with both diets (P<0.05). In conclusion, glucocorticoids (GC) downregulated hypothalamic gene expression of CART, CRH, and MC4R in HFD-fed chicks, suggesting that the regulatory network formed by these genes is associated with the appetite control during stress. The TOR pathway may be involved in the regulation of GC on appetite-related genes.

A phytoplasma infecting Sophora Root (Sophora alopecuroides) was detected and identified in Alar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Typical phytoplasma bodies were observed in sieve tubes of the diseased plants by transmission electron microscopy. A partial 16S rRNA gene and ribosomal protein (rp) genes containing rpl22 (rplV) and rps3 (rpsC) were amplified by direct and nested PCR. Based on the sequence similarity of the 16S rRNA and rp genes with accompanying phylogenetic analyses, the phytoplasma associated with Sophora Root yellows belongs to the 16SrI group (aster yellows group). Virtual RFLP analysis of these 16S rRNA and rp gene sequences showed distinct differences from those of reference phytoplasma strains representing previously described subgroups of the 16SrI group. Moreover, the similarity coefficient (0.92) of the RFLP profile of this phytoplasma was less than the threshold similarity coefficient (0.97) required for subgroup classification. Thus, the phytoplasma isolate of Sophora Root plants, designated as 'SoRY', represents a new subgroup. Furthermore, this is the first report of phytoplasma disease associated with Sophora Root plants.