Project description:Cistus ladanifer L. is a common shrub endemic to the Mediterranean that is highly concentrated in condensed tannins (CT). CT form complexes with dietary protein that resist microbial degradation in the rumen, which enhances dietary protein utilization in ruminant diets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the utilization of CT in the diet of lambs on the proteomes of muscle, hepatic and adipose tissues. Twenty-four white merino ram lambs were divided in three groups (n=8) fed on different diets: control (16% crude protein - CP), reduced protein (12% CP) and reduced protein treated with CT extract. At the end of the trial, lambs were slaughtered and the longissimus lumborum muscle, hepatic and peri-renal adipose tissues sampled. A two-way approach was used for shotgun proteomic analysis: 2D-DIGE (gel-based) and nanoLC-MS (gel-free). In the muscle, control lambs had lower abundance proteins that partake in the glycolysis pathway. With dietary 12 % CP, lambs had higher abundance of Fe-carrying proteins in the hepatic tissue. Lambs with dietary CT had higher abundance of hepatic flavin reductase. In the adipose tissue, control lambs had lower abundance of fatty-acid synthase. In conclusion, CT inclusion influences specific pathways in lamb tissues.
Project description:To provide a transcriptome resource for identification of transcripts where abundance correlated with developmental changes in willow plantlets derived from bud culture after transfer to soil.
Project description:Shrub willow (Salix spp.), a short rotation woody biomass crop, has superior properties as a perennial energy crop for the Northeast and Midwest US. However, the insect pest potato leafhopper Empoasca fabae (Harris) (PLH) can cause serious damage and reduce yield of susceptible genotypes. Currently, the willow cultivars in use display varying levels of susceptibility under PLH infestation. However, genes and markers for resistance to PLH are not yet available for marker-assisted selection in breeding. In this study, transcriptome differences between a resistant genotype 94006 (S. purpurea) and a susceptible cultivar ‘Jorr’ (S. viminalis), and their hybrid progeny were determined. Over 600 million RNA-Seq reads were generated and mapped to the Salix purpurea reference transcriptome. Gene expression analyses revealed the unique defense mechanism in resistant genotype 94006 that involves PLH-induced secondary cell wall modification. In the susceptible genotypes, genes involved in programed cell death were highly expressed, explaining the necrosis symptoms after potato leafhopper feeding. Overall, the discovery of resistance genes and defense mechanisms provides new resources for shrub willow breeding and research in the future.
Project description:We have conducted a season and subspecies comparasion on the two Willow Warbler subspecies Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus and Phylloscopus trochilus acredula. The analysis were performed by hybridizing cDNA from the Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) on a Affymetrix costum array designed for the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), the Lund-zf array.
Project description:Cistus ladanifer (rockrose) is a perennial shrub quite abundant in the Mediterranean region, and it is a rich source in secondary compounds such as condensed tannins (CTs). Condensed tannins from C. ladanifer were able to change the ruminal biohydrogenation (BH), increasing the t11-18:1 and c9,t11-18:2 production. However, the adequate conditions of the C. ladanifer CTs used to optimize the production of t11-18:1 and c9,t11-18:2 is not yet known. Thus, we tested the effect of increasing the doses of C. ladanifer CT extract (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 g/kg dry matter (DM)) on in vitro rumen BH. Five in vitro batch incubations replicates were conducted using an oil supplemented high-concentrate substrate, incubated for 24 h with 6 mL of buffered ruminal fluid. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and long chain fatty acids (FA) were analyzed at 0 h and 24 h, and BH of c9-18:1, c9, c12-18:2 and c9, c12, c15-18:3, and BH products yield were computed. Increasing doses of C. ladanifer CTs led to a moderate linear decrease (p < 0.001) of the VFA production (a reduction of 27% with the highest dose compared to control). The disappearance of c9-18:1 and c9,c12-18:2 as well as the production of t11-18:1 and c9, t11:18:2 was not affected by increasing doses of C. ladanifer CTs, and only the disappearance of c9, c12, c15-18:3 suffered a mild linear decrease (a reduction of 24% with the highest dose compared to control). Nevertheless, increasing the C. ladanifer CT dose led to a strong depression of microbial odd and branched fatty acids and of dimethyl acetals production (less than 65% with the highest dose compared to control), which indicates that microbial growth was more inhibited than fermentative and biohydrogenation activities, in a possible adaptative response of microbial population to stress induced to CTs and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The ability of C. ladanifer to modulate the ruminal BH was not verified in the current in vitro experimental conditions, emphasizing the inconsistent BH response to CTs and highlighting the need to continue seeking the optimal conditions for using CTs to improve the fatty acid profile of ruminant fat.
Project description:Novel valorization routes for tannins were opened by the development of a simple, straightforward, robust, and flexible approach to the selective functionalization of condensed and hydrolyzable tannins. Irrespective of the different degrees of polymerization, different commercial tannins were efficiently functionalized by the generation of an ether linkage bound to a short linker carrying the desired functional group. Functionalizations could be realized at varying degrees of technical loadings, i.e., amounts of introduced tannin-alien functionalities per number of phenolic hydroxyl groups. The same strategy was found suitable for the synthesis of polyethylene glycol-functionalized tannin copolymers. Condensed tannins functionalized with carboxylic acid moieties could be converted into a tannin-oligopeptide hybrid.
Project description:Tannins have always been the subject of great interest for their countless properties, first of all their ability to produce functional coatings on a variety of materials. We report herein a comparative evaluation of the antioxidant properties of wood tannin-based coated substrates. In particular, nylon membrane filters were functionalized with chestnut (hydrolyzable) or quebracho (condensed) tannins by dip coating under different conditions. The efficiency of functionalization was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, which invariably highlighted the superior ability of condensed tannins to induce the formation of a functional and robust coating. The results of the antioxidant assays revealed also the deleterious effects of aerial or enzymatic oxidation conditions on substrate functionalization, being more significant in the case of hydrolyzable tannins. On the other hand, the use of oxidizing conditions allowed to obtain more stable coatings, still exhibiting good antioxidant properties, in the case of condensed tannins. The presence of iron ions did not lead to a significant improvement of the coating efficiency for either tannins. The systematic approach used in this work provides novel and useful information for the optimal exploitation of tannins in antioxidant functional coatings.