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Screening and identification of lncRNAs in preadipocyte differentiation in sheep
No full textStudies of preadipocyte differentiation and fat deposition in sheep have mainly focused on functional genes, and with no emphasis placed on the role that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may have on the activity of those genes. Here, the expression profile of lncRNAs in ovine preadipocyte differentiation was investigated and the differentially expressed lncRNAs were screened on day 0 (D0), day 2(D2) and day 8(D8) of ovine preadipocyte differentiation, with their target genes being predicted. The competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network was constructed by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis for functional annotation, and some differentially expressed lncRNAs were randomly selected to verify the RNA-Seq results by RT-qPCR. In the study, a total of 2517 novel lncRNAs and 3943 known lncRNAs were identified from ovine preadipocytes at the three stages of differentiation, with the highest proportion being intergenic lncRNAs. A total of 3455 lncRNAs were expressed at all three stages of preadipocyte differentiation, while 214, 226 and 228 lncRNAs were uniquely expressed at day 0, day 2 and day 8, respectively. By comparing the expression of the lncRNAs between the three stages of differentiation stages, a total of 405, 272 and 359 differentially expressed lncRNAs were found in D0-vs-D2, D0-vs-D8, and D2-vs-D8, respectively. Functional analysis revealed that the differentially expressed lncRNAs were enriched in signaling pathways related to ovine preadipocyte differentiation, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase protein kinase B (PI3K-Akt) pathway, and the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) pathway. In summary, lncRNAs from preadipocytes at different stages of differentiation in sheep were identified and screened using RNA-Seq technology, and the regulatory mechanisms of lncRNAs in preadipocyte differentiation and lipid deposition were explored. This study provides a theoretical reference for revealing the roles of lncRNAs in ovine preadipocyte differentiation and also offers a theoretical basis for further understanding the regulatory mechanisms of ovine preadipocyte differentiation
Interpreting Chinese concepts of authenticity: A constructivist epistemology
No full textAuthenticity is one of the central components of the tourist experience and has been the subject of substantial academic research. Despite this attention, debate on the notion is ongoing. This paper aims to enhance the analytic potential of the largely Western-centric notion of authenticity by examining the value and meaning of Suzhou food authenticity, from the perspective of producers and suppliers of food and food tourism experiences. Using semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documentary analysis, this study finds that the broad notion of authenticity has considerable relevance to supply-side stakeholders’ perceptions of food tourism experiences in Suzhou, however in describing certain foods, local stakeholders do not use a term that directly translates to "authentic", and instead rely on many other Chinese concepts and expressions to authenticate food attractions and experiences. This study confirms the significance of authenticity to food tourism experiences from the producer and supplier perspective but also suggests that authenticity is a culturally specific notion and, fundamentally, there is great utility in applying a constructivist epistemology to study the Chinese concepts of authenticity
Variation in the exon 3–4 region of ovine KRT85 and its effect on wool traits
No full textα-keratins are structural proteins in the cortex of wool fibres and assemble in an organized fashion into keratin intermediate filaments. Variation in these keratin proteins affects the structure and characteristics of wool fibre, making keratin genes ideal candidates for the development of gene markers that describe variations in wool traits. A region of KRT85 spanning exon 3–4 (including the entire exon 3, intron 3, exon 4 and part of intron 4) was investigated. Two banding patterns defining two variant sequences (A and B) were observed in this region, and these were characterised by the presence of two single nucleotide polymorphisms. The effect of this variation in the exon 3–4 region of KRT85 on wool traits was investigated in 463 Merino × Southdown-cross lambs. The frequencies of these two variants in these sheep were 55.6% and 44.4%, respectively. Three different genotypes were observed with frequencies of 32.6%, 46.1% and 21.3% for AA, AB and BB, respectively. The presence of A was associated with an increase in greasy fleece weight and clean fleece weight, while the presence of B was associated with an increased wool prickle factor. These findings should be replicated in a broader range of sheep breeds to determine whether the associations are robust and to clarify whether the observed effects are attributable to breed differences or to gene effects themselves
Can the inclusion of forage chicory in the diet of lactating dairy cattle alter milk production and milk fatty acid composition? Findings of a multilevel meta analysis
No full textIn traditional ryegrass/white clover (Lolium perenne L./Trifolium repens L.) pastoral systems, forage herbs such as chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) present an opportunity to fill feed deficits during late spring and summer. Although multiple research publications have evaluated the efficacy of chicory for enhancing milk production and milk fatty acid (FA) profile, no publication has quantitatively synthesised the body of research. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effect of chicory on milk production and composition, as well as on the milk fatty acid composition of dairy cattle. A total of 29 comparisons from 15 unique research publications involving 597 dairy cattle were used to develop a dataset for analysis. Three-level random-effect and robust variance estimator models were used to account for the hierarchical structure of the data and the dependency of effect sizes within publications. Chicory inclusion increased milk yield when compared to grass-based diets {weighted mean difference (WMD) = 1.07 (95% CI 0.54–1.60) kg/cow/d, p < 0.001}, but it provided a similar milk yield when compared to other forages such as legumes and herbs {dicots; WMD = −0.30, (95% CI −89–0.29) kg/cow/day, p = 0.312}. Increases in milk yield were congruent with differences in DM intake (p = 0.09) and ME intakes (p = 0.003), being similar in chicory-fed and dicot-fed cows but higher than grass-fed cows. Chicory feeding’s effect on milk solids was twice as high during mid lactation {154 days in milk; WMD = 0.13, (95% 0.081–0.175) kg/cow/day, p < 0.001} as during late lactation {219 days in milk; WMD = 0.06, (95% 0.003–0.13) kg/cow/day, p = 0.041}. In line with milk yield, greater and more significant effect sizes were found for alpha linolenic acid {ALA; WMD = 0.20 (95% CI 0.06–0.35) g/100 g FA, p = 0.011} when chicory was compared to grass species only. Comparing chicory with dicots suggests that chicory inclusion did not impact ALA concentrations {WMD = 0.001 (95% CI −0.02–0.2) g/100 g FA, p = 0.99}. There were no differences in conjugated linoleic acid concentration in the milk of cows fed chicory or control diets. The study provides empirical evidence of chicory’s efficacy for improved milk production and milk fatty acid composition
The formulation of pasture seed mixture from a diverse pool of six forage species : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
No full textOptimising pasture yield and quality is needed to meet the global food demand. Pasture sward ecosystems that create beneficial diversity and productivity effects will contribute to this. This research used a multi-species pasture mixture experiment to identify optimal seed mixture species combinations under irrigated conditions. This reseach underpins the machanism of linking species mixed pasture properties to the beneficial diversity attributed to community responses. A large-scale diversity experiment used 69 mixtures from six pasture species to investigate the impact of different functional gropus. A simple mixture of combinations of 2 to 3 species from a grass and legume functional group were the key components. On average, mixture communities produced 16% higher biomass yield and contained 64% lower weed biomass than the average performance of the monoculture swards evaluated from 2018 to 2021. Pasture sward responses differed depending on the associated component species, and over time. The model identified several binary and ternary mixture combinations for improved biomass production, weed suppression, and maximising quality; crude protein (CP) and metablizable energy (ME). The highest contributions for herbage biomass were from binary and tertiary mixes of perennial ryegrass (PR), cocksfoot (C), white clover (WC) and red clover (RC), and plantain namely; PR*WC, PR*RC, C*RC, P*WC*RC, PR*WC*RC, PR*C*P and PR*RC*SC. Among those mixture communities, PR*WC and PR*RC maintained the greatest productivity over three years, giving an annual average herbage biomass yield of 13.6 and 15.2 t/ha, when no nitrogen fertilizer was applied. The mixture components in the ternary mixture (PR*WC*RC) produced an annual biomass yield of 15 t/ha. The mixture effect on weed suppression was strong and existed in several mixture communities even though increasing species richness continuously reduced unsown species biomass. Diversity contribution to the nutritional composition of herbage material was not beneficial, but the species' relative abundance in the mixture improved the herbage quality. The optimal mixture combination was PR*RC at the ratio of 50:50 sown seeds equivalent to 12.6 : 13.4 kg/ha (26 kg/ha) viable seed rate. This gave a mean herbage biomass yield per regrowth cycle of 1.98 t/ha (16 t/ha/yr), with a mean weed biomass of 0.13 t/ha/yr, 10.8 MJ ME/kg DM and 20.7% protein content.
Further, the ternary mixture PR*WC*RC at the proportion of 45:11:44 equivalent of 11.3 : 0.8 : 11.8 kg/ha (24 kg/ha) had a mean yield per regrowth cycle of 1.97 t/ha (16 t/ha) DM, 0.8 t/ha weed yield, 10.8 MJ ME/kg DM and 20.8% protein. This ternary mixture combination at the ratio of 50:15:35 was equivalent to 12.6 : 1 : 9.4 kg/ha (23 kg/ha) and produced a mean yield of 1.95 t/ha (16 t DM/ha), 0.48 t DM/ha weed biomass, 10.1 MJ ME/ha and CP 20.2%. These higher productive mixtures were from legume and non-legume functional groups, which improved the pasture herbage biomass yield and quality compared with their monocultures.
The sown species proportion of swards differed over time based on the functional species composition of the mixtures. Among the monoculture swards, grasses maintained a higher sown species proportion than legumes or plantain. On average, mixture communities suppressed the weeds, and the suppressive effect was increased with the increasing number of species in the mixture. PR*RC binary mixture maintained a higher sown botanical composition proportion over the 3 years than PR*WC. Modelled Relative Growth Rate Differences (RGRD), with the sown proportion, revealed that the equal proportion of the component species in the identified ternary mixture (PR:WC:RC) balanced the competitive growth and maintained the sown proportion until the 3rd year after establishment. This deviated from the optimal seed proportion that maximised the sward yield responses.
Further, this experiment identified that the reason the sward yields differed was investigated in the third year and showed this was due to the quantity of fraction canopy light interception. Overall, species mixed pasture swards intercepted a higher fraction of canopy light (PAR). Average pre-grazing fraction light interception value of swards (2020/21) across the monocultures and two species mixture commmunities was modelled to the initial sown species component proportion. This quantified the diversity contribution of addtitonal fraction of canopy light interception. This was higher for PR*WC (0.47) than for PR*RC (0.10). The higher fraction of light interception contributed to the diversity attributed to the higher herbage biomass in PR*RC than PR*WC. The highest pre-grazing fraction of light interception and intercepted PAR energy was in summer/spring when temperature and available light levels were highest. However, the positive contribution from RC over WC appeared in autumn when the fraction of light interception from white clover may have been compromised by its shallower roots. In the third year, radiation use efficiency (RUE) of swards differed based on the functional species in the mixture community. Grasses had a lower RUE than clovers. There was a positive relationship between RUE and temperature for monocultures and binary mixtures, especially PR*WC and PR*RC.
This research suggests farmers in irrigated conditions should sow a mixed pasture of 2-3 species that comprise a grass and a clover. The PR:RC mixture (50:50 = 12.6 : 13.4 Kg/ha) and PR*WC*RC in both proportion settings (45:11:44 or 50:15:35 = 11.3 : 0.8 : 11.8 kg/ha or 12.6 : 1.0 : 9.4 kg/ha) improved the pasture herbage biomass yield and quality over time compared with their monocultures. These mixtures provided diversity response that persisted and optimised biomass yield with minimal weed content and maintained the botanical composition which inturn optimised herbage quality
Agrifood sustainability transitions in firms and industry: A bibliographic analysis of research themes
No full textThere is a growing consensus that the modern food system lies at the centre of the grand challenges facing humanity and requires urgent and profound changes in the way that food is produced, processed, distributed and consumed. This review analyses sustainability transitions within agrifood systems, focusing on the role of firms and industries as defined by the Sustainable Transitions Research Network (STRN). This paper conducts the first systematic literature review using bibliometric analysis to assess the current state of research on this theme. The findings reveal a significant increase in publications related to firms and industries within agrifood sustainability transitions. Furthermore, the current research is geographically concentrated in the European Union. The review identifies four key themes in the literature based on co-occurrence of keywords. These are agriculture, innovation, governance, food systems and agroecology. The review identifies increasing awareness of the role of farmers in driving sustainability transitions at the farm level. Furthermore, there is an increasing awareness of the interrelated characteristics of the agrifood system which acknowledges the need for sustainable innovations to occur at multiple stages of the agrifood system. It also shows that there is growing evidence that innovations can occur through disruptive as well as incremental innovation, and highlights the importance of governance influencing transitions. The literature raises questions about Alternative Food Networks as sustainable innovations, their potential for significant change in the established food system and the validity of their claims to food equity and environmental sustainability. A key theme emerging from the literature is an ecological perspective that identifies the complex biological processes and ecosystems as an integral part of agricultural production. These findings provide a greater understanding of the current literature landscape of agrifood sustainable transitions relating to firms and industries and lay a foundation for future research
Corporate sustainability reporting and stakeholders’ interests: Evidence from China
No full textThis paper examines whether the adoption of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) by listed firms could enhance the alignment between corporate sustainability reporting and stakeholders’ interests in China. Drawing on content analysis of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reports of 48 selected listed firms and a questionnaire survey of 409 respondents, this study shows that most of the sampled firms with GRI adoption have more sustainability activities identified in the content analysis than their peers that do not follow the GRI guidelines in the same industries; both groups of firms have a similar pattern of disclosure frequency in light of the six dimensions developed in this study; and there is a disconnect between the stakeholders’ needs and the sustainability reporting practice of the sampled listed firms. The findings reflect that the current corporate social responsibility reporting practice could be interpreted as a strategic response to the government’s policy priorities, rather than a direct attempt to address stakeholders’ concerns
Exploring the efficiency of tide flow constructed wetlands for treating mariculture wastewater: A comprehensive study on antibiotic removal mechanism under salinity stress
No full textAntibiotic residues in aquaculture environment pose persistent threats to ecology and human health, exacerbated by salt-alkali mariculture wastewater. Yet, little is known about antibiotic removal in tidal flow constructed wetlands (TFCWs) under salinity stress, especially considering TFCW constitution, configuration, and influent water characteristics. Here, the removal performance and mechanism of different TFCWs for sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs: sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, sulfamonomethoxine, and sulfamethoxazole) and trimethoprim (TMP) from mariculture wastewater (with low, medium, and high salinity) were evaluated alongside comparisons of environmental factors and microbial responses. Results showed substantial reduction in alkalinity (from 8.25–8.26 to 7.65–8.18), salinity (from 3.67–11.30 ppt to 3.20–10.79 ppt), and SAs concentrations (from 7.79–15.46 mg/L to 0.25–10.00 mg/L) for mariculture wastewater using TFCWs. Zeolite and yellow flag configurations exhibited superior performance in SAs removal from mariculture wastewater. Furthermore, the salt-alkali neutralization and oxygen transport capabilities of zeolite, along with the salt-alkali tolerance and biofilm formation characteristics of yellow flag, promoted the development of a biofilm in the rhizosphere dominated by oxidative stress tolerance and facultative anaerobic traits, thereby improving the TFCW microenvironment. Consequently, aerobic (Sulfuritalea and Enterobacter) and salt-tolerant (Pseudomonas) functional bacteria involved in antibiotic degradation were selectively enriched in the zeolite- and yellow flag-TFCWs, contributing to the effective biodegradation of SAs (achieving removal efficiency of 92–97 %). Besides, the high salt-alkali levels of mariculture wastewater and the strong oxygen-enriched capacity of the TFCWs not only enhanced the aerobic oxidation reaction of SAs, but also bidirectionally inhibited the substrate adsorption and anaerobic reduction process of TMP. These findings address a critical gap by investigating the efficacy of TFCWs in removing antibiotics from mariculture wastewater under various salinity conditions, providing essential insights for optimizing wetland design and improving wastewater management in mariculture environments
Land banking, land price and Ghana's informal land markets: A relational complexity approach
No full textLand banking practices have received little attention on how such practices shape informal land markets in developing countries. Drawing on a relational complexity framework, this study explores the land banking experience in Ghana's informal land markets. This research conducted semi-structured interviews with over thirty participants from four communities within the Ghanaian informal land market. The analysis revealed that developers are banking large tracts of land as capital investments through land dispositions. The absence of development on these banked lands has created a situation where developers are gradually influencing land prices. The analysis also shows that developers have created complex ongoing relationships with customary land managers. This coalition relationship has shaped land prices through the displacement of state-mediated statutory powers for land exchanges. The study recommends revisiting of stakeholder discussions on the enforcement and monitoring of the processes required under the Ghanaian Lands Commission guidelines for large-scale land transactions
Excellence and reinvigoration of teaching: ERT insights from a New Zealand specialist land-based university
No full textPurpose: To evaluate what aspects of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) pedagogical practices used during the COVID-19 pandemic should be used to inform and improve in-person and online higher education programmes for the traditionally practical courses of agriculture, food and horticulture.
Design/methodology/Approach: Following the Triangulation Design for Validating quantitative data mode, an online Likert scale and open-ended questions survey collected 126 responses from students in mid-2021. Categorised questions focused on technology, virtual classes, laboratories, field trips/tours, assessments, and methods to retain, modify or remove from use. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and quantitative data employed descriptive statistics.
Findings: Results revealed that students would like some elements of ERT retained irrespective of future modes of teaching. Some virtual and online tools were very effective aids for learning practical components of courses, however, students’ well-being was affected by some university practices. Practical implications: As the use of online tools is the reality of today’s classroom, understanding what worked for students is critical for improving learning. Theoretical implication: Agricultural classes with practical components can be transitioned to online but need time, funding and online pedagogy to be successful.
Originality/Value: What was learnt during ERT measures for Agriculture Education should be reviewed to prepare for future issues that may disrupt in-person education practices