Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) and cereals differently affect gut development in broiler chickens and young pigs

Dietary fiber, resistant to host-mediated digestion in the small intestine due to lack of endogenous enzymes, impacts many facets of animal health and is associated with gut development especially in young monogastrics. Furthermore, it can be used as in-feed antibiotic alternative. Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) forage with high content of pectin (uronic acids as building blocks) is a novel class of dietary fiber that is chemically different from cereal grains (with high content of arabinoxylans). In the present study, we investigated effects of dietary inclusion of chicory forage on digestibility, gut morphology and microbiota in broilers and young pigs. In the chicken experiment, 160 1-d old broiler chicks were fed 3 nutritionally balanced diets for 30 d including a cereal-based diet and 2 diets with part of the cereals substituted with 60 and 120 g/kg chicory forage (CF60 and CF120), whereas in the pig experiment, 18 seven-wk old Yorkshire pigs were fed 3 diets for 18 d including a cereal-based diet and 2 diets with 80 and 160 g/kg chicory forage inclusion (CF80 and CF160). Our results showed that young pigs were capable to utilize chicory forage well with higher total tract apparent digestibility (TTAD) of all fiber fractions, particularly uronic acid, compared with the control (P < 0.01). In contrast, a decreased TTAD of all fiber fractions was observed in chickens fed on diet CF120 (P < 0.05). Moreover, diet induced changes in gut morphology were observed in the large intestine of chickens. The alteration of cecal mucosal thickness was further positively correlated with TTAD of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) and its constituent sugars (P < 0.05). In addition, in pigs, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of intestinal microbiota revealed substantial dietary effects (cereal control diet vs. chicory forage inclusion) on the relative abundance of 2 dominant bacterial phylotypes (Prevotella sp. vs. Roseburia sp.) respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, our data showed that chicory forage (Cichorium intybus L.), a novel dietary fiber source in animal nutrition, have potential beneficial properties as fiber ingredient in diets for both pigs and chickens.     

菊苣的基因组大小估算及基因组调查测序

菊苣(Cichorium intybus L.)是一种多年生、药食同源的植物,既可作为蔬菜种植,也可作为优质牧草推广应用。本研究对‘将军’(K042)这一具有较高饲用价值的菊苣牧草品种展开物种鉴定、染色体计数、基因组大小估算、调查测序及初步组装研究。系统进化分析表明,K042跟生菜的亲缘关系较近。染色体计数结果显示,K042体细胞有18条染色体(2n=18);流式细胞术实验结果显示,K042的基因组大小约为1 170.00 Mb;二代Illumina HiSeq测序分析进一步估算K042基因组大小约为1 424.00 Mb。K042基因组的杂合率为1.12%,重复序列含量为73.56%。K042基因组具有高重复、高杂合的复杂特征。根据基因组测序结果对K042展开基因组组装工作,组装后基因组大小为823.36 Mb,重叠群N50长度约为1.03 kb,本研究结果可为将来菊苣分子生物学和遗传育种研究提供重要的基因组学基础参考数据。     

盐胁迫对菊苣幼苗脯氨酸积累及其代谢途径的影响

以菊苣(Cichorium intybus L.)为材料,研究不同浓度NaCl处理对菊苣幼苗体内脯氨酸代谢的影响,以期揭示菊苣中脯氨酸代谢的基本规律。结果表明:随着处理浓度的增加,菊苣中鸟氨酸δ-氨基转移酶(δ-OAT)活性呈上升趋势;吡咯啉-5-羧酸合成酶(P5CS)活性呈现先升后降的趋势;脯氨酸脱氢酶(ProDH)活性呈下降趋势;而脯氨酸含量则显著上升(P<0.05),但高浓度长时间处理后略有降低。研究表明,NaCl胁迫下谷氨酸(Glu)途径和鸟氨酸(Orn)途径对菊苣中脯氨酸的积累均有贡献,低浓度胁迫时P5CS起关键作用的Glu途径占主导地位,高浓度胁迫时δ-OAT起关键作用的Orn途径占主导地位。     

Variation in seed protein digestion of different pea (Pisum sativum L.) genotypes by cecectomized broiler chickens: 1. Endogenous amino acid losses, true digestibility and in vitro hydrolysis of proteins

The aim of this study was to investigate the cause of variation in the digestibility of pea protein in poultry and to find a tool to select genotypes with high digestibility potential by using an in vitro hydrolysis assay. Eight pea genotypes were selected for their difference in seed protein content and composition. To reduce the variation due to tannins and particle size, seeds from these 8 genotypes were dehulled and micro-ground. They were incorporated as the only protein source in 8 different experimental isoproteinaceous diets with similar metabolisable energy content. The amino acid digestibility was studied in cecectomized chickens. A balance method was used to obtain apparent digestibility, and the isotope dilution technique was used to determine endogenous losses and true digestibility, after feeding a double labelled test meal containing chromic oxide and ¹⁵N-labelled peas. The 8 diets showed differences in apparent amino acid digestibility. The average apparent digestibility for all amino acids varied between 79.5 and 86.3%, with the highest values for arginine (85.2 to 90.8%) and glutamic acid (85.2 to 90.5%), and the lowest values for cystine (63.3 to 69.7%) and tryptophan (69.1 to 80.3%). This variability of apparent amino acid digestibility was due to variations in endogenous losses and true digestibility among the 8 pea genotypes. The average endogenous losses as determined for 9 amino acids ranged from 3.6 to 5.4% of ingested amino acids, with the highest value for threonine (8.0 to 11.0%). The average true digestibility varied between 84.4 and 90.2%, with the highest values for lysine (89.0 to 95.0%), and the lowest for isoleucine (81.0 to 88.7%) and valine (82.4 to 88.7%). In vitro hydrolysis of protein from micro-ground seeds was performed for the 8 pea genotypes using three proteases (pepsin, trypsin and chymotrypsin). The quantity of small peptides (< 3 kDa) that appeared after the combined hydrolysis with pepsin (3 h) followed by trypsin and chymotrypsin (15 min) was significantly correlated with the average true digestibility of the 8 genotypes (R = 0.74; P < 0.05).     

Variation in seed protein digestion of different pea (Pisum sativum L.) genotypes by cecectomized broiler chickens: 2. Relation between in vivo protein digestibility and pea seed characteristics, and identification of resistant pea polypeptides

Eight pea genotypes characterized for their major protein fractions were used to investigate the effect of seed protein composition variability on protein digestibility in poultry. These genotypes of various pea types, were also variable in other seed components. They showed variations in their carbohydrate (insoluble fibre compounds, soluble fibre, soluble carbohydrates) and trypsin inhibitor (TI) contents. To exclude the effect of tannins and of particle size, the seeds were dehulled and micro-ground. They were incorporated as the only protein source in isoproteinaceous diets with similar metabolisable energy content and fed to cecectomized chickens. The average amino acid digestibility (apparent and true) and endogenous amino acid excretion were related with pea diet characteristics (protein composition, carbohydrate composition and TI activity). This allowed to precise which of the diet characteristics affect protein digestibility and endogenous excretion. Average apparent digestibility of amino acids was negatively correlated with insoluble fibre components (R = − 0.71 to − 0.72; p < 0.05) and TI activity (R = − 0.93; p < 0.001). Average endogenous losses of amino acids were positively correlated with soluble carbohydrate content (R = 0.77; p < 0.05) and TI activity (R = 0.84; p < 0.01). Average true digestibility of amino acids was positively correlated with the PA2 albumin level (R = 0.71; p < 0.05), and negatively with the legumin level (R = − 0.72; p < 0.05). Resistant peptides extracted from chicken excreta were analysed through electrophoresis and identified by immunodetection. Intensity of detected resistant peptides showed variation among genotypes. However, for the 8 pea genotypes, the pea proteins, which persisted at the end of the digestive tract, were mainly albumin PA1b and lectin. Other minor peptides were also detected: vicilin, albumin PA2 and legumin peptides which migrated at the same level as β-subunits.