Maternal supply of cysteamine alleviates oxidative stress and enhances angiogenesis in porcine placentaOA

Background: Oxidative stress in placenta is associated with the occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in sow,but there are few satisfactory treatment strategies for these conditions. This study investigated the potential of cysteamine(CS) as an antioxidant protectant for regulating the reproductive performance, redox status, and placental angiogenesis of sows.Methods: The placental oxidative stress status and vascular density of piglets with different birth weights: < 1.0 kg(low birth weig...     

Dietary supplementation with 0.4% L-arginine between days 14 and 30 of gestation enhances NO and polyamine syntheses and water transport in porcine placentaeOA

Background:Most embryonic loss in pigs occurs before d 30 of gestation.Dietary supplementation with L-arginine(Arg) during early gestation can enhance the survival and development of conceptuses(embryo/fetus and its extraembryonic membranes) in gilts.However,the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown.Methods:Between d 14 and 30 of gestation,each gilt was fed daily 2 kg of a corn-and soybean-meal based diet(12% crude protein) supplemented with either 0.4% Arg(as Arg-HCl) or an isonitrogenou...     

Stimbiotic supplementation modulated intestinal inflammatory response and improved broilers performance in an experimentally-induced necrotic enteritis infection modelOA

Background: Two experiments were conducted to establish an optimal NE challenge model and evaluate the efficacy of stimbiotic(STB) supplementation in necrotic enteritis(NE) challenged broilers. In Exp. 1, a total of 120 Arbor Acres(AA) broilers(45.0 ± 0.21 g) were randomly assigned to 6 treatments in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement. Vaccine treatments included non-challenge(0), × 10 the recommended dose(× 10) or × 20 the recommended dose(× 20) by the manufacturer. Clostridium perfringens(CP) treat...     

Dietary fiber du ing gestation improves lactational feed intake of sows by modulating gut microbiotaOA

Background The feed intake of sows during lactation is often lower than their needs. High-fiber feed is usually used during gestation to increase the voluntary feed intake of sows during lactation. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of bulky diets on the appetites of sows during lactation have not been fully clarified. The current study was conducted to determine whether a high-fiber diet during gestation improves lactational feed intake(LFI) of sows by modulating gut microbiota.Method...     

Genomic patterns of homozygosity and inbreeding depression in MurcianoGranadina goatsOA

Background: Inbreeding depression can adversely affect traits related to fitness, reproduction and productive performance. Although current research suggests that inbreeding levels are generally low in most goat breeds, the impact of inbreeding depression on phenotypes of economic interest has only been investigated in a few studies based on genealogical data.Results: We genotyped 1040 goats with the Goat SNP50 BeadChip. This information was used to estimate different molecular inbreeding coeffi...     

Effects of dietary coenzyme Q10 supplementation during gestation on the embryonic survival and reproductive performance of high-parity sowsOA

Background Fertility declines in high-parity sows. This study investigated whether parity-dependent declines in embryonic survival and reproductive performance could be restored by dietary coenzyme Q10(Co Q10) supplementation.Methods Two experiments were performed. In Exp. 1, 30 young sows that had completed their 2^nd parity and 30 high-parity sows that had completed their 10^th parity, were fed either a control diet(CON) or a CON diet supplemented with 1 g/kg Co Q10(+ Co Q1...     

Dietary calcium supplementation promotes the accumulation of intramuscular fatOA

Background: In the livestock industry, intramuscular fat content is a key factor affecting meat quality. Many studies have shown that dietary calcium supplementation is closely related to lipid metabolism. However, few studies have examined the relationship between dietary calcium supplementation and intramuscular fat accumulation.Methods: Here, we used C2C12 cells, C57BL/6 mice(n = 8) and three-way cross-breeding pigs(Duroc×Landrace×Large white)(n = 10) to study the effect of calcium addition o...     

Dietary supplementation of zinc oxide modulates intestinal functionality during the post-weaning period in clinically healthy pigletsOA

Background To improve our understanding of host and intestinal microbiome interaction, this research investigated the effects of a high-level zinc oxide in the diet as model intervention on the intestinal microbiome and small intestinal functionality in clinically healthy post-weaning piglets. In study 1, piglets received either a high concentration of zinc(Zn) as zinc oxide(Zn O, Zn, 2,690 mg/kg) or a low Zn concentration(100 mg/kg) in the diet during the post weaning period(d 14–23). The effec...     

Mechanisms underlying the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the placental injury and fetal growth restriction in an ovine gestation modelOA

Background Exposure to bisphenol A(BPA), an environmental pollutant known for its endocrine-disrupting properties, during gestation has been reported to increase the risk of fetal growth restriction(FGR) in an ovine model of pregnancy. We hypothesized that the FGR results from the BPA-induced insufficiency and barrier dysfunction of the placenta, oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS). However, precise mechanisms underlying the BPA-induced place...     

Associations between maternal vitamin D status and porcine litter characteristics throughout gestationOA

Emerging evidence suggests an important role of vitamin D in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy,and the regulation of foetal growth across mammalian species.However,the temporal changes in maternal vitamin D status throughout gestation in the pig and the relationship between maternal vitamin D status and litter characteristics of interest across gestation remain poorly understood and under-investigated.The abundance of 25(OH)D in maternal plasma was quantified by HPLC–MS/MS at gestat...     

Microbial and metabolomic mechanisms mediating the effects of dietary inulin and cellulose supplementation on porcine oocyte and uterine developmentOA

Background: Dietary fiber(DF) is often eschewed in swine diet due to its anti-nutritional effects, but DF is attracting growing attention for its reproductive benefits. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of DF intake level on oocyte maturation and uterine development, to determine the optimal DF intake for gilts, and gain microbial and metabolomic insight into the underlying mechanisms involved.Methods: Seventy-six Landrace × Yorkshire(LY) crossbred replacement gilts of s...     

Implication and challenges of direct-fed microbial supplementation to improve ruminant production and healthOA

Direct-fed microbials(DFMs) are feed additives containing live naturally existing microbes that can benefit animals’ health and production performance. Due to the banned or strictly limited prophylactic and growth promoting usage of antibiotics, DFMs have been considered as one of antimicrobial alternatives in livestock industry.Microorganisms used as DFMs for ruminants usually consist of bacteria including lactic acid producing bacteria,lactic acid utilizing bacteria and other bacterial groups,...     

Dietary supplementation of laminarin improves the reproductive performance of sows and the growth of suckling pigletsOA

Background Maternal nutrition is essential in keeping a highly efficient production system in the pig industry. Laminarin has been shown to improve antioxidant capacity, reduce the inflammatory response, and favor the homeostasis of intestinal microbiota. However, the effect of dietary supplementation of laminarin on the reproductive performance of sows and the growth of suckling offspring remains unknown.Methods A total of 40 Landrace × Yorkshire multiparous sows on d 85 of gestation, similar i...     

The significan e of N-carbamoylglutamate in ruminant productionOA

Improving the efficiency and production of grazing ruminants to support food and fiber production, while reducing the environmental footprint and meeting the welfare needs of the animals, is important for sustainable livestock production systems. Development of new technologies that can improve the efficiency of nitrogen(N) utilization in ruminants, and that are effective and safe, has important implications for ruminant livestock production. N-carbomoylglutamate(NCG) is a functional micronutrie...     

Serum metabolic profile and metabolome genome-wide association study in chickenOA

Background Chickens provide globally important livestock products. Understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms underpinning chicken economic traits is crucial for improving their selective breeding. Influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, metabolites are the ultimate expression of physiological processes and can provide key insights into livestock economic traits. However, the serum metabolite profile and genetic architecture of the metabolome in chickens have no...     

Glyphosate exposure deteriorates oocyte meiotic maturation via induction of organelle dysfunctions in pigsOA

Background: Recently, defects in mammalian oocytes maturation induced by environmental pollution results in the decreasing animal reproduction. Animal exposed to glyphosate is largely unavoidable because glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicide worldwide due to its high-efficiency and broad-spectrum effects, which causes glyphosate an environmental contaminant found in soil, water and food. During the last few years, the growing and wider use of glyphosate has raised great concerns ab...     

Selenoproteins synergistically protect porcine skeletal muscle from oxidative damage via relieving mitochondrial dysfunction and endoplasmic reticulum stressOA

Background The skeletal muscle of pigs is vulnerable to oxidative damage, resulting in growth retardation. Selenoproteins are important components of antioxidant systems for animals, which are generally regulated by dietary selenium(Se) level. Here, we developed the dietary oxidative stress(DOS)-inducing pig model to investigate the protective effects of selenoproteins on DOS-induced skeletal muscle growth retardation.Results Dietary oxidative stress caused porcine skeletal muscle oxidative dama...     

Potential roles of the rectum keystone microbiota in modulating the microbial community and growth performance in goat modelOA

Background Ruminal microbiota in early life plays critical roles in the life-time health and productivity of ruminant animals. However, understanding of the relationship between gut microbiota and ruminant phenotypes is very limited. Here, the relationship between the rectum microbiota, their primary metabolites, and growth rate of a total of 76 young dairy goats(6-month-old) were analyzed, and then 10 goats with the highest or lowest growth rates respectively were further compared for the diffe...