Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Two Populations of Dastarcus helophoroides (Fairmaire) under High Temperature Stress

The differentially expressed genes (DEGs), key genes and metabolic pathways of the parasitic beetle, Dastarcus helophoroides (Fairmaire), were compared between the fiftieth commercially reared population and the first natural population to reveal the adaptive mechanism in response to high temperature stress. The high-throughput sequencing technique was employed for transcriptome sequencing of two populations of D. helophoroides. In total, 47,763 non-redundant transcripts with the average length of 989.31 bp and the N50 of 1607 bp were obtained. Under high temperature stress, 1108 DEGs were found in the commercial population; while there were 3946 DEGs in the natural population, which were higher than those in the commercial population (3.56 times). High temperature stress of D. helophoroides promoted the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and metabolism-related genes in both populations, but metabolism synthesis and hydrolysis of natural population was much higher, allowing them to produce more resistant substances (such as HSPs, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxiredoxin (Prx), etc.). Therefore, HSPs may play a major role in the high temperature adaptation of a commercial population, while the natural population probably respond to heat stress with more resistant substances (such as HSPs, SOD, Prx, etc.). These results provide a reference to select and domesticate a specific ecotype with stronger adaptability to the high temperature weather in the forest and further improve the efficiency of D. helophoroides as a bio-control factor.

Genes and proteins associated with ribeye area and meat tenderness in a commercial Nellore cattle population

Despite several studies on genetic markers and differently expressed genes related to ribeye area (REA) and tenderness traits in beef cattle, there is divergence in the results regarding the genes associated with these traits. Thirteen genes that had been associated or have biological functions that may influence such phenotypes were included in this study. A total of five genes for REA (IGF-1, IGF-2, MSTN, NEDD4, and UBE4A) and eight genes for meat tenderness (CAPN1, CAPN2, CAST, HSPB1, DNAJA1, FABP4, SCD, and PRKAG3) were selected from previously studies in beef cattle. Genes and its respective proteins expression were validated in a commercial population of Nellore cattle using quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and advanced mass spectrometry (LC / MS-MS) techniques, respectively. MSTN gene was upregulated in animals with low REA. CAPN1, CAPN2, CAST, HSPB1, and DNAJA1 genes were upregulated in animals with tougher meat. The proteins translated by these genes were not differentially expressed. Our results could confirm the potential of some studied genes as biomarkers for carcass and meat quality in Nellore cattle.

1414. Real-World Study of Healthcare Resource Use and Costs Associated with Inappropriate and Suboptimal Antibiotic Use Among Females with Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection in the United States

Background Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common outpatient infection requiring medical care in the US; but, despite Infectious Diseases Society of America 2011 guidelines for treating uncomplicated UTI (uUTI), variation in prescribing practices still exists. Few studies have used real-world data (RWD) to evaluate uUTI-associated healthcare resource use (HRU) and costs. We examined HRU and direct costs associated with appropriate and optimal (AP&OP) and inappropriate or suboptimal (IA/SO) antibiotic (AB) prescribing in females with uUTI using US RWD. Methods This retrospective cohort study used RWD from IBM MarketScan (commercial/Medicare claims) to examine uUTI-related HRU and costs (inpatient, emergency room, outpatient, pharmacy) per index uUTI episode and during 1-year follow-up among females (age ≥ 12 years) diagnosed with uUTI from July 1, 2013–December 31, 2017 (index date). Patients had an oral AB prescription ± 5 days of the index date, and continuous health plan enrollment ≥ 6 months pre/1 year post-index date; those with complicated UTI were excluded. Patients were stratified by AB prescription as follows: AP&OP = guideline-compliant and correct duration; IA/SO = guideline non-compliant/incorrect duration or re-prescription/switch within 28 days. Results The study included 557,669 patients. In the commercial population (n=517,664, mean age 37.7 years), fewer patients were prescribed AP&OP (11.8%) than IA/SO (88.2%) ABs, a trend also seen in the Medicare population (n=40,005, mean age 74.5 years). In both populations, adjusted average numbers of uUTI-related ambulatory visits and pharmacy claims were lower for the AP&OP cohort than the IA/SO cohort during index episode and 1-year followup (p < 0.0001, Table 1). In the commercial population, total adjusted uUTI-related costs were &194 (AP&OP) versus &274 (IA/SO; p < 0.0001); in the Medicare population, total adjusted uUTI-related costs were &253 (AP&OP) versus &355 (IA/SO; p < 0.0001) (Table 2). Table 1. uUTI-related HRU for commercial and Medicare populations calculated using the GLM model Table 2. uUTI-related costs for commercial and Medicare populations calculated using the GLM model Conclusion Overall uUTI-related HRU and costs in the US were low during index episodes and follow-up. However, females with uUTI prescribed IA/SO ABs were more likely to incur higher HRU and costs than those prescribed AP&OP ABs, suggesting an unmet need for training to optimize uUTI prescribing per US guidelines. Disclosures Madison T. Preib, MPH, STATinMED Research (Employee, Former employee of STATinMED Research, which received funding from GlaxoSmithKline plc. to conduct this study) Fanny S. Mitrani-Gold, MPH, GlaxoSmithKline plc. (Employee, Shareholder) Xiaoxi Sun, MA, STATinMED Research (Employee, Employee of STATinMED Research, which received funding from GlaxoSmithKline plc. to conduct this study) Christopher Adams, MPH, STATinMED Research (Employee, Employee of STATinMED Research, which received funding from GlaxoSmithKline plc. to conduct this study) Ashish V. Joshi, PhD, GlaxoSmithKline plc. (Employee, Shareholder)

Formation of Hybrid Computational Structure for the Analysis of Critical Control Scenarios in Biocybernetics

We have considered methods of computational modeling of rapid processes in ecosystems and events of changes with extreme amplitude of abundance. For biocybernetics, the phenomena of degradation of the commercial population in the form of a sudden collapse for specialists and an explosive increase in the number of a new species after invasion — outbreaks are of the type predicted with difficulties. We have developed and ecologically substantiated a method for modeling a group of rapid phenomena, including the calculation of threshold states and transient modes. Algorithmically implemented computational structure, which describes spontaneous modes of rapid transformations in ecodynamics based on the internal properties of biosystems. New model is based on the formalization of threshold effects in regulation of reproduction, included as additional functionals in the basic hybrid structure for research in scenario experiments. Computational scenario is obtained for a generalized description of the extreme population process. We have considered the situation of the collapse of the commercial population with a quota-regulated harvest on the example of the king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus near the coast of Alaska. In the simulation scenario of the crab collapse, we took into account the logic of expert management of the level of exploitation of biological resources. The resulting control scenarios using the iterative model use bifurcations and the loss of the invariance property by the attractor. Modeling with the expert logic of fishery management revealed the characteristic signs of the dynamics of crab collapse and predicted important stages in the process of degradation of exploited biological resources.

Genetic parameters for uniformity of harvest weight in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

Background Uniformity of body weight is a trait of great economic importance in the production of white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). A necessary condition to improve this trait through selective breeding is the existence of genetic variability for the environmental variance of body weight. Although several studies have reported such variability in other aquaculture species, to our knowledge, no estimates are available for shrimp. Our aim in this study was to estimate the genetic variance for weight uniformity in a farmed population of shrimp to determine the potential of including this trait in the selection program. We also estimated the genetic correlation of weight uniformity between two environments (selection nucleus and commercial population). Methods The database contained phenotypic records for body weight on 51,346 individuals from the selection nucleus and 38,297 individuals from the commercial population. A double hierarchical generalized linear model was used to analyse weight uniformity in the two environments. Fixed effects included sex and year for the nucleus data and sex and year-pond combination for the commercial data. Environmental and additive genetic effects were included as random effects. Results The estimated genetic variance for weight uniformity was greater than 0 (0.06 ± 0.01) in both the nucleus and commercial populations and the genetic coefficient of variation for the residual variance was 0.25 ± 0.01. The genetic correlation between weight and weight uniformity was close to zero in both environments. The estimate of the genetic correlation of weight uniformity between the two environments (selection nucleus and commercial population) was 0.64 ± 0.06. Conclusions The existence of genetic variance for weight uniformity suggests that genetic improvement of this trait is possible. Selection for weight uniformity should not decrease weight, given the near zero genetic correlation between these two traits. The strong genetic correlation of weight uniformity between the two environments indicates that response to selection for uniformity in the nucleus will be at least partially transmitted to the commercial population if this trait is included in the breeding goal.

Optimum mating designs for exploiting dominance in genomic selection schemes for aquaculture species

Background In commercial fish, dominance effects could be exploited by predicting production abilities of the offspring that would be generated by different mating pairs and choosing those pairs that maximise the average offspring phenotype. Consequently, matings would be performed to reduce inbreeding depression. This can be achieved by applying mate selection (MS) that combines selection and mating decisions in a single step. An alternative strategy to MS would be to apply minimum coancestry mating (MCM) after selection based on estimated breeding values. The objective of this study was to evaluate, by computer simulations, the potential benefits that can be obtained by implementing MS or MCM based on genomic data for exploiting dominance effects when creating commercial fish populations that are derived from a breeding nucleus. Methods The selected trait was determined by a variable number of loci with additive and dominance effects. The population consisted of 50 full-sib families with 30 offspring each. Males and females with the highest estimated genomic breeding values were selected in the nucleus and paired using the MCM strategy. Both MCM and MS were used to create the commercial population. Results For a moderate number of SNPs, equal or even higher mean phenotypic values are obtained by selecting on genomic breeding values and then applying MCM than by using MS when the trait exhibited substantial inbreeding depression. This could be because MCM leads to high levels of heterozygosity across the whole genome, even for loci affecting the trait that are in linkage equilibrium with the SNPs. In contrast, MS specifically promotes heterozygosity for SNPs for which a dominance effect has been detected. Conclusions In most scenarios, for the management of aquaculture breeding programs it seems advisable to follow the MCM strategy when creating the commercial population, especially for traits with large inbreeding depression. Moreover, MCM has the appealing property of reducing inbreeding levels, with a corresponding reduction in inbreeding depression for traits beyond those included in the selection objective.

Correction of INRAPORC® prediction errors for a commercial pig system

ABSTRACT: INRAPORC® is a mechanistic, dynamic, and deterministic model system that is used in commercial pig production. However, its use is limited as it requires performance information for animals under ad libitum (AL) feed management, which is not provided at all stages of production. Verification of the INRAPORC® calibrations were conducted in this investigation using data from a small group of animals fed with AL in a laboratory situation, to simulate the mean kinetics of a larger commercial population and generate the correction equations for the predicted body weight (BW), and backfat thickness (BT). Analyses were performed by comparing the predicted and observed data, and by submitting them to prediction calibration curve tests (b0 = 0, and b1 = 1). The obtained curves presented a systematic, fixed effect error (+2.37 mm) for BT. The predicted BW and BT values were corrected using the values of the systematic errors obtained. As a result, 100% of the BW averages observed were contained in the confidence intervals (CI) of the INRAPORC® predicted averages, without the need for corrections, and 78.5% of the actual BT averages were contained in the CI of the averages predicted by the system, after corrections. The INRAPORC® calibrations, based on a small population of animals in laboratory conditions could thus be utilized to make predictions for commercial pig production systems and for value correction procedures for the BW and BT of pig populations that have systematic errors in their prediction validations.