Review of human-animal interactions and their impact on animal productivity and welfare

Humans and animals are in regular and at times close contact in modern intensive farming systems.The quality of human-animal interactions can have a profound impact on the productivity and welfare of farm animals.Interactions by humans may be neutral,positive or negative in nature.Regular pleasant contact with humans may result in desirable alterations in the physiology,behaviour,health and productivity of farm animals.On the contrary,animals that were subjected to aversive human contact were highly fearful of humans and their growth and reproductive performance could be compromised.Farm animals are particularly sensitive to human stimulation that occurs early in life,while many systems of the animals are still developing.This may have long-lasting impact and could possibly modify their genetic potential.The question as to how human contact can have a positive impact on responses to stressors,and productivity is not well understood.Recent work in our laboratory suggested that pleasant human contact may alter ability to tolerate various stressors through enhanced heat shock protein（hsp） 70 expression.The induction of hsp is often associated with increased tolerance to environmental stressors and disease resistance in animals.The attitude and consequent behaviour of stockpeople affect the animals＇ fear of human which eventually influence animals＇ productivity and welfare.Other than attitude and behaviour,technical skills,knowledge,job motivation,commitment and job satisfaction are prerequisites for high job performance.     

The dual antimicrobial and immunomodulatory roles of host defense peptides and their applications in animal productionOA

Host defense peptides(HDPs) are small molecules with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities against infectious bacteria,viruses,and fungi.Increasing evidence suggests that HDPs can also indirectly protect hosts by modulating their immune responses.Due to these dual roles,HDPs have been considered one of the most promising antibiotic substitutes to improve growth performance,intestinal health,and immunity in farm animals.This review describes the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory roles of host ...     

Effects of drinking water supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri,and a mixture of reuterin and microcin J25 on the growth performance,caecal microbiota and selected metabolites of broiler chickensOA

Background: Since the overuse of antibiotics in animal production has led to a selection of antibiotic-resistant pathogens that affect humans and animals as well. Scientists are therefore searching for novel natural alternatives to antibiotics. In this study Lactobacillus reuteri and a combination of reuterin and microcin J25(RJ) were evaluated as promoters of growth and modulators of the cecal microbiota and metabolite profiles in broiler chickens. Oneday-old Cobb 500 male broilers were distrib...     

Zearalenone induces apoptosis and autophagy by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress signalling in porcine trophectoderm cells

Zearalenone(ZEA), a mycotoxin produced mainly by fungi belonging to Fusarium species in foods and feeds, causes a serious hazard to humans and animals. Numerous studies have revealed that ingesting ZEA can disrupt the reproductive function and impair the reproductive process in animals. This experiment was to investigate the toxicological effect and the mechanism of ZEA exposure on reproduction in pigs during early stages of pregnancy. In the present study, we treated with 0 to 80 μmol/L ZEA for...     

Butyrate in combination with forskolin alleviates necrotic enteritis,increases feed efficiency,and improves carcass composition of broilersOA

Background: The emergence of antimicrobial resistance has necessitated the development of effective alternatives to antibiotics for livestock and poultry production. This study investigated a possible synergy between butyrate and forskolin(a natural labdane diterpene) in enhancing innate host defense, barrier function, disease resistance, growth performance, and meat quality of broilers.Methods: The expressions of representative genes involved in host defense(AvBD9 and AvBD10), barrier function(...     

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,...     

A review of the pangenome: how it affects our understanding of genomic variation,selection and breeding in domestic animals?OA

As large-scale genomic studies have progressed, it has been revealed that a single reference genome pattern cannot represent genetic diversity at the species level. While domestic animals tend to have complex routes of origin and migration, suggesting a possible omission of some population-specific sequences in the current reference genome. Conversely, the pangenome is a collection of all DNA sequences of a species that contains sequences shared by all individuals(core genome) and is also able t...     

Effect of the dietary supplementation with extracts of chestnut wood and grape pomace on performance and jejunum response in female and male broiler chickens at different agesOA

Background: Recently, interest in the use of herbs and phytogenic compounds has grown because of their potential role in the production and health of livestock animals. Among these compounds, several tannins have been tested in poultry, but those from chestnut wood and grape-industry byproducts have attracted remarkable interest. Thus, the present study aimed to gain further insights into the mechanisms involved in the response to the dietary supplementation with extracts of chestnut wood or gra...     

PREFACE

<正>Reproduction is essential for the health and well-being of humans,livestock,companion animals,and wildlife populations.Regarding animal agriculture,reproductive efficiency is a major limitation in many cases to economic success of the livestock enterprise.This is due to high rates of embryonic mortality and intra-uterine growth restriction that reduce reproductive efficiency and production of health offspring in humans and animals.A high level of reproductive performance for livestock species reduces the impact of animal agriculture on the     

Functional roles of taurine,L-theanine,Lcitrulline, and betaine during heat stress in poultryOA

Heat stress(HS) is an important environmental stress factor affecting poultry production on a global scale. With the rise in ambient temperature and increasing effects of global warming, it becomes pertinent to understand the effects of HS on poultry production and the strategies that can be adopted to mitigate its detrimental impacts on the performance, health, welfare, immunity, and survival of birds. Amino acids(AAs) have been increasingly adopted as nutritional modifiers in animals to amelio...     

Tissue expression and developmental regulation of chicken cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides

Cathelicidins are a major family of antimicrobial peptides present in vertebrate animals with potent microbicidal and immunomodulatory activities. Four cathelicidins, namely fowlicidins 1 to 3 and cathelicidin B1, have been identified in chickens. As a first step to understand their role in early innate host defense of chickens, we examined the tissue and developmental expression patterns of all four cathelicidins. Real-time PCR revealed an abundant expression of four cathelicidins throughout the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and urogenital tracts as well as in all primary and secondary immune organs of chickens. Fowlicidins 1 to 3 exhibited a similar tissue expression pattern with the highest expression in the bone marrow and lung, while cathelicidin B1 was synthesized most abundantly in the bursa of Fabricius. Additionally, a tissue-specific regulatory pattern was evident for all four cathelicidins during the first 28 days after hatching. The expression of fowlicidins 1 to 3 showed an age-dependent increase both in the cecal tonsil and lung, whereas all four cathelicidins were peaked in the bursa on day 4 after hatching, with a gradual decline by day 28. An abrupt augmentation in the expression of fowlicidins 1 to 3 was also observed in the cecum on day 28, while the highest expression of cathelicidin B1 was seen in both the lung and cecal tonsil on day 14. Collectively, the presence of cathelicidins in a broad range of tissues and their largely enhanced expression during development are suggestive of their potential important role in early host defense and disease resistance of chickens.     

Mapping short tandem repeats for liver gene expression traits helps prioritize potential causal variants for complex traits in pigsOA

Background: Short tandem repeats(STRs) were recently found to have significant impacts on gene expression and diseases in humans, but their roles on gene expression and complex traits in pigs remain unexplored. This study investigates the effects of STRs on gene expression in liver tissues based on the whole-genome sequences and RNA-Seq data of a discovery cohort of 260 F6 individuals and a validation population of 296 F7 individuals from a heterogeneous population generated from crosses among e...     

Dietary resistant starch alleviates Escherichia coli-induced bone loss in meat ducks by promoting short-chain fatty acid production and inhibiting Malt1/NF-κB inflammasome activationOA

Background: Escherichia coli(E. coli) infection in humans and animals usually comes with gut dysbiosis, which is potential culprit to skeletal health, it is still unclear to whether diet interfered gut microbiome changes can be a protective strategy to bone loss development. Here, the effects of resistant starch from raw potato starch(RPS), a type of prebiotic, on E. coli-induced bone loss and gut microbial composition in meat ducks were evaluated.Results: The results showed that dietary 12% RPS...     

Debaryomyces hansenii supplementation in low fish meal diets p omotes growth,modulates microbiota and enhances intestinal condition in juvenile marine fisOA

Background The development of a sustainable business model with social acceptance, makes necessary to develop new strategies to guarantee the growth, health, and well-being of farmed animals. Debaryomyces hansenii is a yeast species that can be used as a probiotic in aquaculture due to its capacity to i) promote cell proliferation and differen-tiation, ii) have immunostimulatory effects, iii) modulate gut microbiota, and/or iv) enhance the digestive function. To provide inside into the effects o...     

Genetic parameters of drinking and feeding traits of wean-to-finish pigs under a polymicrobial natural disease challengeOA

Background: The pork industry faces unprecedented challenges from disease, which increases cost of production and use of antibiotics, and reduces production efficiency, carcass quality, and animal wellbeing. One solution is to improve the overall resilience of pigs to a broad array of common diseases through genetic selection. Behavioral changes in feeding and drinking are usually the very first clinical signs when animals are exposed to stressors such as disease. Changes in feeding and drinking...     

Effect of dietary magnolia bark extract supplementation in finishing pigs on the oxidative stability of meatOA

Background: Magnolia bark extract(MBE) is a natural supplement with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities. Its properties suggest that the dietary supplementation in livestock could improve the quality of products. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate, for the first time, the effect of dietary MBE supplementation(0.33 mg/kg) in finishing pigs on the oxidative stability of meat. Oxidative stability is of paramount importance for pork, as it affects storage, r...     

Gut health benefit and application of postbiotics in animal productionOA

Gut homeostasis is of importance to host health and imbalance of the gut usually leads to disorders or diseases for both human and animal. Postbiotics have been applied in manipulating of gut health, and utilization of postbiotics threads new lights into the host health. Compared with the application of probiotics, the characteristics such as stability and safety of postbiotics make it a potential alternative to probiotics. Studies have reported the beneficial effects of components derived from ...     

Investigating the effects of peptide-based,MOS and protease feed additives on the growth performance and fecal microbial composition of weaned pigsOA

Background: Digestive disorders in weaning pigs remain a major challenge for swine producers. Different types of commercial feed additives have been developed to promote gut health and development in young pigs, but their effects on resident gut microbial communities remain largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a peptide-based product(Peptiva) in combination with mannose oligosaccharides(MOS) and an exogenous protease on the performance and fecal microbiome o...     

Fecal microbiota dynamics and its relationship to diarrhea and health in dairy calvesOA

Background: Diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in young calves, resulting in considerable economic loss for dairy farms. To determine if some gut microbes might have resistance to dysbiotic process with calf diarrhea by dictating the microbial co-occurrence patterns from birth to post-weaning, we examined the dynamic development of the gut microbiota and diarrhea status using two animal trials, with the first trial having 14 Holstein dairy calves whose fecal samples were collec...     

The ruminal microbiome associated with methane emissions from ruminant livestock

Methane emissions from ruminant livestock contribute significantly to the large environmental footprint of agriculture.The rumen is the principal source of methane, and certain features of the microbiome are associated with low/high methane phenotypes. Despite their primary role in methanogenesis, the abundance of archaea has only a weak correlation with methane emissions from individual animals. The composition of the archaeal community appears to have a stronger effect, with animals harbouring the Methanobrevibacter gottschalki clade tending to be associated with greater methane emissions. Ciliate protozoa produce abundant H_2, the main substrate for methanogenesis in the rumen,and their removal(defaunation) results in an average 11% lower methane emissions in vivo, but the results are not consistent. Different protozoal genera seem to result in greater methane emissions, though community types(A, AB, B and O) did not differ. Within the bacteria, three different ‘ruminotypes' have been identified, two of which predispose animals to have lower methane emissions. The two low-methane ruminotypes are generally characterized by less abundant H_2-producing bacteria. A lower abundance of Proteobacteria and differences in certain Bacteroidetes and anaerobic fungi seem to be associated with high methane emissions. Rumen anaerobic fungi produce abundant H_2 and formate, and their abundance generally corresponds to the level of methane emissions. Thus, microbiome analysis is consistent with known pathways for H_2 production and methanogenesis, but not yet in a predictive manner. The production and utilisation of formate by the ruminal microbiota is poorly understood and may be a source of variability between animals.