Henan Agricultural University

L-Theanine Prevents Autophagy Impairment to Counteract Cadmium-Induced Hepatic Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Ferroptosis, and Glucolipid Dysmetabolism in Mice

Background: Cadmium (Cd) exposure impairs the autophagic response, a core mechanism for cell preservation and organismal homeostasis, eventually resulting in metabolic disturbances, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. L-theanine (LT) exhibits multiple health benefits...

Partial replacement of soybean meal with alfalfa meal in reduced-protein diets for finishing pigs: effects on muscle nutrient composition, nitrogen utilization, and gut microbiota

This study evaluated a dietary reformulation involving partial replacement of soybean meal with 15% alfalfa meal and a moderate reduction in dietary crude protein (CP), focusing on muscle nutrient composition, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen (N) excretion, and gut microbiota in...

Ectomycorrhizal tree relative abundance is associated with higher aboveground biomass but reduced species richness and tree-size variation in temperate–subtropical transition forests

Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) tree species often dominate temperate and warm-temperate forests, yet how variation in their relative abundance is associated with species diversity and aboveground biomass (AGB) remains unclear. We analyzed a total of 6 ha of permanent forest monitoring plo...

Advances and Challenges of Intelligent Technologies in Farm Animal Disease, Feeding and Building Environmental Control

The global demand for high-quality animal products is driving the rapid development of livestock farming [...]

Maternal childhood maltreatment and adolescent internalizing problems: Intergenerational pathways via emotion regulation difficulties and offspring maltreatment

Background Research has established the intergenerational transmission of maternal childhood maltreatment to offspring internalizing problems. However, the potential indirect pathways underlying this intergenerational association remain under-explored, particularly regarding how...

Dietary fiber source-dependent modulation of pregnant sow fecal microbiota, gas profiles, and short-chain fatty acids in vitro

Growing evidence indicates that dietary fiber (DF) modulates gut microbiota and microbial fermentation metabolites, but the dynamic fermentation outcomes of different DF sources remain difficult to monitor directly under physiological conditions. This study used an in vitro batch...

Dual mechanism of silver nanoparticles in controlling tobacco Fusarium root rot: Direct antifungal activity and induced systemic resistance

Tobacco root rot caused by Fusarium species severely threatens crop yield. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) offer a promising alternative to conventional fungicides for sustainable crop disease management. However, the comprehensive antifungal activity and underlying mechanism of AgN...

An elite allele TaNPF7.6-A1mod enhances nitrogen use efficiency and grain yield in wheat

Breeding wheat varieties with a high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) reduces both production costs and threats to the ecological environment. Here, using candidate-gene and genome-wide association studies, we identify TaNPF7.6-A1 as a positive regulator of NUE in wheat. A widely co...

Polycomb protein ZmEMF1a restricts endosperm proliferation and directs differentiation via stage‐specific H2Aub1 and H3K27me3 landscapes in maize

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins serve as pivotal epigenetic repressors that govern the transcriptional programs underlying cell growth and differentiation. However, their functional roles in maize endosperm remain largely unexplored. Here, we characterize the recessive maize small-...

African swine fever virus pMGF110-9L plays a critical role in the integrated stress response and viral pathogenesis

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is the causative agent of ASF, a highly contagious and frequently fatal hemorrhagic disease in domestic swine and wild boars, posing a significant threat to the global pig industry. To ensure successful replication, ASFV may modulate cellular stre...

The LrAN2-LrSOS3 regulatory module enhances salt tolerance and anthocyanin accumulation in Lycium ruthenicum

Abiotic stress-induced anthocyanin accumulation enhances stress tolerance and improves the quality of fruits, vegetables, and other horticultural crops. The promising natural blue colorant petanin, mainly derived from the wild resource of Lycium ruthenicum fruit, has attracted co...

RegPathTopic: deterministic regulatory-path topic modeling with traceable regulatory vocabularies for single-cell annotation

Single-cell RNA sequencing annotation can achieve high label accuracy when suitable references are available, but assigned labels do not necessarily expose the regulatory features associated with cell identity or state. Existing regulator-activity methods address related biologic...

Dissecting a novel Fusarium head blight resistance QTL TaFhb-6A in wheat Line R111 using integrated multi-omics strategies

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating fungal disease that threatens wheat yield and quality worldwide. Breeding FHB-resistant cultivars is the most sustainable solution, whereas the narrow genetic basis of resistance has restricted breeding progress. In this study, we devel...

Alfalfa leaf meal reprograms macrophage polarization via the gut microbiota-lanosterol-TLR4 axis to maintain intestinal epithelial homeostasis

Intestinal inflammatory dysfunction characterized by persistent mucosal inflammation and impaired epithelial barrier integrity causes substantial economic losses in livestock production. Nutritional interventions that modulate the gut microbiota–innate immune axis represent a pro...

Isolation, Molecular Characterization, and Pathogenicity Evaluation of a Genotype GI Feline Calicivirus Isolate

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a highly heterogeneous pathogen and a major cause of feline upper respiratory tract disease, highlighting the need for continuous surveillance of its genetic diversity and pathogenic characteristics. In this study, we isolated and comprehensively chara...

Transcriptome-informed selection and validation of reference genes for RT-qPCR normalization in Cuphea hookeriana across tissues and under low-temperature stress

Reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is widely used to quantify gene expression, but reliable normalization requires reference genes with stable expression in the species, tissues, and experimental conditions being examined. Cuphea hookeriana is an ornamental shrub wh...

Arg374 and Arg393 contribute to the hemagglutination activity and cell attachment of porcine parvovirus 1 VP2 virus-like particles

Porcine parvovirus 1 (PPV1) is an important swine pathogen associated with reproductive disorders. The VP2 capsid protein is the major structural protein of PPV1 and is capable of self-assembly into virus-like particles (VLPs), providing a useful model for studying capsid structu...

Interactions with Locust Bean Gum Regulate the Gelling Capacity of Myofibrillar Protein Emulsion: Effects of Locust Bean Gum Concentration

Myofibrillar protein (MP) emulsion systems tend to be unstable, leading to loss of water and oil from the emulsion gel. Thus, improvements in MP emulsification ability are needed to enhance the quality of meat products. The effects of different added concentrations of locust bean...

Genome-Wide Identification of the PAL Gene Family in Idesia polycarpa and Transcriptomic Responses to Botryosphaeria dothidea Infection

Idesia polycarpa is a woody oil tree threatened by stem canker caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea, yet the organization and infection-responsive behavior of its phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene family remain poorly understood. Here, we identified five IpPAL genes and charact...

The Genetic Basis of ZmBGLU17 in Modulating Maize Resistance to the Fall Armyworm Spodoptera Frugiperda

Maize, as a globally important food crop, is threatened by pests including the fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda) throughout its production. Current management strategies are largely limited to conventional chemical insecticides and transgenic maize varieties. However, th...