• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.896-903
• /
• 2019

Objective: Qianbei-Pockmarked goats are affected by a disorder locally referred to as 'Ruanguzheng Disorder', which is characterized by emaciation, lameness, muscular relaxation, stiffness of the extremities, and abnormal curvatures of the long bones. Our objective was to determine the relationship between the disorder and phosphorus deficiency. Methods: Tissue samples were collected from affected and healthy animals, while soil and herbage samples were collected from affected and healthy pastures. Biochemical parameters were determined using an automatic biochemical analyzer (OLYMPUS AU 640, Olympus Optical Co., Tokyo, Japan). Mineral contents in soil, forage, and tissue were determined using a Perkin-Elmer AAS5000 atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkin-Elmer, Norwalk, CT, USA). Results: The results showed that phosphorus contents in herbages from affected pastures were markedly lower than those from healthy areas (p<0.01), and the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the affected herbages was 12.93:1. The phosphorus contents of wool, blood, tooth, and bone from affected animals were also markedly lower than those from healthy animals (p<0.01). Serum phosphorus values in affected animals were much lower than those in healthy animals, while serum alkaline phosphatase values from affected animals were markedly higher than those from healthy animals (p<0.01). Inorganic phosphorus values from affected animals were approximately half of that in the control group. Supplementation of disodium hydrogen phosphate prevented and cured the disorder. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Ruanguzheng disorder in Qianbei-Pockmarked goats is primarily caused by phosphorus deficiencies in herbage due to fenced pastures and natural habitat fragmentation.

• Genes and Genomics
• /
• v.40 no.11
• /
• pp.1137-1148
• /
• 2018

Freshwater gobies Rhinogobius cliffordpopei and R. giurinus are invasive species with particular concern because they have become dominant and were fierce competitors in the invaded areas in Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (southwest of China). Information about genetic characteristics of R. giurinus have been published, but there were still no relevant reports about R. cliffordpopei. In present study, the complete mitochondrial genome of R. cliffordpopei was determined, which was 16,511 bp in length with A+T content of 51.1%, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, 2 ribosomal RNAs, and a control region. The gene composition and the structural arrangement of the R. cliffordpopei complete mtDNA were identical to most of other teleosts. Phylogenetic analyses placed R. cliffordpopei in a well-supported monophyletic cluster with other Rhinogobius fish. But the phylogenetic relationship between genus Rhinogobius and Tridentiger remained to be resolved.